Heavy Metal (Starbase 118)
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--Stardate: 238902.05--
Shortly after Captain Jaxx leaves for Earth and his new command, Commander Nicholotti tasks the crew with what she dubs as a 'quick run around the block' in the Victory to handle a quick, but routine survey of a nearby system where a Federation colony is being planned. The mission promises to be a quiet one, allowing Commander Nicholotti the time she needs to really adjust to her new role and the absence of those she had come to love, but things don't seem to want to give her time to grieve. On the contrary, things began to fall apart around them almost as soon as the ship leaves the safety of the spacedock doors. A hacker, some Romulans bent on regaining the glory of their Empire, and the intelligence of a few leaders, ensures that the plan makes it to the point of no return.
Moments before jumping to warp, a high energy beam hits the station and the various ships surrounding it. Within seconds, the sector goes dark with only the Victory, on partial power due to a patch devised by Ensigns Kazazi and Foster, standing between the Starbase, any ships in the area that are now dead in the water, and a sensor ghost of multiple solid projectiles hurtling across the empty void of space heading directly towards them.
--Stardate: 238902.12--
A wave of solid, metallic projectiles is pinpointed just over an hour away from the Starbase, which is still darkened in the wake of the energy wave that took advantage of the frequency gap in the faulty subprocessors. Only one other ship in the area, the Paragon, has reported anything - total loss of power and the inability to move or use their sensors, shields, or weapons. On the bridge of the Victory, as bits and pieces of what's happened begin to surface, the crew gets their first taste of a crisis together. And while it takes them some time to really begin to mesh, ideas and plans begin to form.
As multiple plans and approaches to dealing with the projectiles come together and the ship is put into motion towards the goal, another wave of larger, slower projectiles is discovered. This wave, located just under a week away from the station, is coming from a different direction and stands to be more difficult to handle and more devastating than the first. Putting the information to the side for that moment, the crew deals with the first wave before heading back to Starbase 118, where they will get to work on a week-long frenzy to bring the defensive systems of Starbase 118 back online before it's too late.
--Stardate: 238903.01--
With chaos abound, the new CO of the station is surprised to find both the press and the diplomats seemingly ignorant of the crisis, choosing instead to focus on the rumors that are now spreading like wildfire about her connections with the Chief Tactical Officer. Dismissing these rumors as best as she can, Commander Nicholotti prepares for the arrival of Ambassador Vreeya, a Romulan ambassador with ties to the newly formed Thracian Alliance, on a 'rented' Ferengi ship. She promises to be a friend in their current situation, and with little other resources to rely on, Commander Nicholotti graciously accepts her offer of help.
Meanwhile, in the Intel tower, Commander Breeman and Lt Commander Savannah Taylor discover a strange signal and strange entries surrounding the remaining Romulan Ambassador from the old Romulan government, Ambassador Kerok. The signal and other entries appear to have been placed by someone quite good at covering their tracks - a hacker of sorts. After some digging, the signal is found to have various faucets, one being the blueprints to a disruptor type weapon, another being a virus that is, unbeknownst to them, soon to be unleashed on the already hurting station, and another sound clips that hide the more important and dire things. With this new knowledge and the connections in hand, the two go to brief the Commanding Officer hoping that more damage can be stopped before it is allowed to occur.
Testing of the special weapon devised by the science department begins, with some disastrous side effects; high levels of radiation injur the officers - Ensign Makral and Ensign Foster - who are testing it. Both officers end up in sickbay, with one, Makral, falling into a coma and not immediately waking.
--Stardate: 238903.30--
Things begin to move faster as the 'D' day approaches.
Commander Creena of the Thracian Alliance arrives at the station with three ships in tow. Commander Nicholotti asks the ships to help protect the station as the rest of the Defense Fleet, in various states of repair (all good subprocessors have been allocated to these ships to get them functioning) are ordered to different colonies in the immediate area. Once word arrived from Ambassador Vreeya and Creena herself that local colonies were being attacked around them, all resources were directed towards getting the ships operational.
Meanwhile, to help deal with the projectiles that were still headed their way, the implementation of the weapon designed by the science department begins under the careful eye of Lt JG Colt Daniels. Using the Victory as the mode of transport, teams work feverishly to refit one of the ship's normal phasers into the weapon that would basically liquify all of the metal headed their way.
While everything else is going on, the virus discovered in the signal earlier is let loose on the station cause various levels of havoc. Heading towards the computer core, it takes all of the engineers to figure out how to block the malevolent signal and prevent the destruction of what little they had left in the way of operational systems. The virus is stopped, but not before wrecking havoc on the diplomatic sector during a meeting called by Ambassador Kerok in which a Romulan man is murdered, and the blueprints of the weapon sent to Kerok by the hacker are destroyed.
--Stardate: 238904.19--
In the wake of the murder of a Romulan aboard Starbase 118, a hacker is discovered by Senator Vreeya, who passes the information on to Commander Nicholotti. Involving the Security department, who involves the Intelligence department on account of his claims of being an Intel plant, the hacker - a Lieutenant Sahmson - is arrested pending questioning and hopeful discovery of his true purpose and intent. Lt. Commander Taylor has a run in with a high ranking Intel Admiral, however, that leaves her with the distinct feeling that not all is what it seems to be. Between the strange manerisms of the Admiral, coupled with the fact that the data on Sahmson appears to have been erased, Taylor has Sahmson moved to the Victory secretly until Lt Orman and herself can figure it out.
Meanwhile, concerns are raised as to whether or not the MIF cannon will actually work without causing more harm to the station. As the Victory leaves Starbase 118 on a short trip to take out the projectiles still headed their way, a test is devised. The senior staff gathers on the bridge, and under the watchful eye of Commander Nicholotti, the new First Officer begins administering the test that will ultimately tell them if the efforts, and injuries, due to the MIF cannon research were in vain or not.
As the Victory leave the Starbase, the ad hoc Defense Fleet, comprised of any ships at 118 currently operational to some degree, has also left the station. The Fleet will split into groups, each with a target - one of the various nearby colonies Reikara is currently attacking. Now, the tides begin to turn.