Finders Keepers (Juneau)
| USS Juneau | ||
|---|---|---|
 NPC STATUS VESSEL | ||
| ||
Just hours after the Juneau ends their shore leave to move onto their next mission, they’re called back to Ring 42 to help the USS Grace Hopper, which has been unexpectedly attacked by pirates looking to steal an artifact of unknown properties, then were gone into The Wilds just as fast. The kicker? The pirates mysteriously beamed right through the ship’s shields at will to get it.
Characters
| Senior officers taking part in the mission | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | Notes | |
| Oddas Aria | Captain | ||
| Kalia Qinn | First Officer | ||
| John Kendrick | Acting Chief Security and Tactical | Returned after LOA 239903.18 | |
| Dekas | Engineering Officer | ||
| Kettick | Engineering Officer | ||
| Sera | Engineering Officer | ||
| Tomas Falt | Science officer | ||
| Aratta Eriddu | Science officer | Came aboard 239903.01 | |
| Karise Indobri | Chief Medical Officer | ||
| R'Kala | Counselor | ||
| Zaaia Leix | Marine Major | Came aboard 239902.28 | |
| PNPCs & MSNPCs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | Notes | |
| Cole Melchor | CO of the USS Grace Hopper | PNPC simmed by Oddas Aria | |
| Isabelle Deveaux | Engineering Officer on USS Juneau | PNPC simmed by Karise Indobri | |
| Nan Hesan | Gunnery Sergeant on USS Juneau | PNPC simmed by Tomas Falt | |
| Gwen Kingsley | Marine Warrant Officer on USS Juneau | PNPC simmed by Oddas Aria | |
| Administrator Pila | Owner of the Scrapyard | NPC simmed by Oddas Aria | |
| Ulysses Conroy | "Pirate" Leader | MSNPC simmed by Kalia Qinn | |
| Shierr | Diplomat & Hostage | MSNPC simmed by Dekas | |
| Faela | Pirate Captain of The Reaver | MSNPC Simmed by Zaaia Leix | |
| Kef | Helm Officer of The Reaver | MSNPC Simmed by John Kendrick | |
| Nirria | Pilot, and unwitting Acting commander of The Freighter | NPC Simmed by Zaaia Leix | |
Act 1
Prologue
Captain Oddas receives a distress call from Commander Melchor of the USS Grace Hopper that they've been attacked and incapacitated by pirates in runabout-sized ships who could beam right through the shields. The Artifact they'd been studying is stolen along with a lot of the computer data about it. Captain Oddas has the Juneau warp back to the location to assist.
Damage Control
Commander Qinn puts together a team to help with damage control for the USS Grace Hopper. The team consists of herself and Ensign Sera to help with ship repairs, and Doctor Indobri with Counselor R'Kala to help with the injuries caused by the Pirates to crew members.
Qinn and Sera assess the area, and find a lot of things wrong, and suspiciously well planned for incapacitating the Hopper the way they did. More concerning is the non-Starfleet technology combined in some of the tubing and causing a lot of problems, but without answers as to exactly what problems for certain. They discern the possibility of an inside job, inform Oddas and Melchor on the bridge, and work to remove the technology safely.
Doctor Indobri and Counselor R'Kala find a Hopper crewman with a code red injury and do what they can to stabilize them and get them to Juneau for emergency surgery.
Studying The Artifact
Lieutenant Falt is tasked with figuring out what the stolen artifact does with the help of Ensign Kettick, and Lieutenant JG Deveaux.
Deveaux finds traces of subquantum particles, suggesting sub-quantum transportation. Which, as brought up by Ensign Kettick is a mystery in itself as all known previous attempts at sub-quantum transport of anything other than objects had been a devastating failure. And even objects had a chance for pattern loss, but at a closer range, it could be used as a thieves tool. There's talk of an inside job. The team continues to try and find traces of the artifact to follow that lead.
Following Leads
Captain Oddas and Lieutenant JG Dekas head to the bridge of the Grace Hopper to talk to Commander Melchor and find out who and where the pirates might have headed. They talk to the Intelligence officer on Lightside Station to get reports about recent or not-recent attacks that match the description of what happened to the Hopper anywhere in the Wilds. Upon looking things over, they find two potential matches, an area of where they could possibly be located (which includes two possible planets, and a moon of a nearby gas giant), as well as a scrapyard. They get a similar impression that it may be an inside job. On top of that, the stolen artifact has potentially been activated by the pirates who stole it to their advantage, in conjunction with someone else having helped if that is the case.
In the end they contact a scrapyard in the system, speaking with an Argosian called Administrator Pila, who is being cryptic and short about answers to their questions. But they get his attention by offering things he might want. He sends them a list of rare parts he'd like, all too quickly ending the transmission without another word. And he is most definitely hiding something.
Act 2
Start
Captain Oddas has to exaggerate details to both Juneau and Hopper crews about the severity of The Hopper's issues for the safety of those involved, thus leaving The Hopper at Ring 42, before heading out to the Xunov system to handle the real start of the action.
Distracting the Pirates
Captain Oddas, Ensign Sera, Ensign R'Kala, and Lieutenant JG Deveaux are on the bridge of the Juneau to talk to Administrator Pila at the scrapyard to see if they can parse information out of him by potentially trading, while simultaneously distracting him, and any pirates from noticing the other two shuttles entering their space from two other angles. With excellent timing, Major Zaaia Leix joins the ship to be able to help with this. And a few minutes later, so does the new science officer, Ensign Aratta.
The crew on the bridge look over the list that Administrator Pila wants, and finds mostly easy things. But also verterium cortenide, a substance that is used for upgrading ships, but has historically also been used to create a reflective casing within isolitic weaponry. Something that could tip the power balance of the Wilds, and not in a good way. Captain Oddas tells Aratta and Sera to find a way to render the verterium cortenide inert, and has the rest of the bridge with her as she finally contacts Administrator Pila to speak with him about the things that he wants. With specific help from Counselor R'Kala for her diplomatic abilities.
Aratta and Sera go down to Deck 14 together to find some of the things they need as well as talk out a way to deal with the verterium.
While waiting Major Leix notices life signs not previously noticed heading toward the away team on the moon, and recommends an exfil route just in case. Lieutenant Deveaux gets the schematics of the scrapyard, however outdated. They all talk to consider what they're willing to trade and offer, and come up with some medical equipment among other things.
Sera and Eratta let everyone know they have a way to render the verterium inert with a half-life of a few days before it becomes essentially useless, and that it can be done in the necessary time. Captain Oddas has the two of them come back to the Bridge before contacting Pila again with their offers.
The two ensigns make it back to the bridge.
Not long after there is contact to both teams on the moon to check in. The other teams fill the Captain in. (The team handling the artifact have located it, though are dealing with some CO2 overload, and the team handling the prisoners are figuring out a way in.) Somewhere in the process, Sera realizes that something about the Artifact is connected to a different dimmension.
Ensign Aratta at the science station lets everyone on the bridge know that the planet has a means of getting a lot of something called polysilicate verterium. Presumably a more pure form of what they want from the ship. And it brings into question why they would need the verterium corteride to begin with. And what Pila's role in all of it is, and what his clientele might want out of it.
Pila reaches out once more to confirm that the offered verterium is of high quality, and that he'll send over the information, some of it encrypted until he gets the rest of what's promised. The Captain agrees.
In all the conversations, Ensign Aratta postulates that the pirates might be trying to use ancient technology to harvest the gas giant's atmosphere.
It's about then that Lieutenant John Kendrick returns from his LOA and joins the team on the bridge.
Captain Oddas has Kendrick work with R'Kala, and sends Deveaux, Sera, and Aratta to the shuttlebay, and science labs to prepare to receive the artifact as safely as possible. And as she asks the rest of the bridge crew how the link up of information is coming along, on the screen shows an oncoming vessel. An older Groumal class freighter. Low-range phasers with a range of less than 400,000km, and signs of life aboard it through a whole lot of sensor interference.
The Captain tries to contact the freighter, and it rewards her with a quick burst of audio before stopping abruptly. Followed swiftly by a proximity alarm from the tactical station, the freighter moving right toward a collision with them.
The ship goes to red alert, and they prepare a tractor beam to stop it before it can destroy itself or hurt anyone onboard.
The freighter attempts to alter its course, the Juneau widens the containment beam, and they send a warning shot off the bow of the freighter to get them to shut down their engines before trying once more to contact the people on it. And after some time... they finally get an answer of static.
After some sensor clean up they get the words "trapped... Ask..assistance.." over the coms. And while they try to clean it up more, they find they can't without significant risk. And instead Leix suggests sending over a small team to help the freighter, even offering to be the one leading it. At which point, Captain Oddas agrees and sends over Kendrick and Leix to help.
- Shuttlebay / Science Lab
They plan for a level 2 containment field to contain the artifact. Sera asks if Deveaux has had a chance to look at the device previously found sabotaging the Grace Hopper's systems. And through conversation figure out that the Artifact and the device are a matched pair. Needing one to fully activate the other properly. Which could be how it affected the Grace Hopper so easily.
They prepare the containment field and then need to wait. The trio make a few jokes together, and it's amazing. Then they move to finish preparing for the arrival of the artifact.
- The Freighter
Leix and Kendrick beam over to the Freighter, and the bridge is filled with the smell of a charred ship, and move to get a fire extinguisher. Neither Kendrick or Leix know Cardassian and struggle just a little bit with reading the computers, and opening the door. Kendrick phases it open. It's about that point that they hear something, and have their hands on their phasers again, hoping they won't be at a disadvantage. They see a Nuvian, and suddenly they are being shot at.
The Nuvian, Nirria, turns out to not be an enemy, only shooting out of fear and defense, thinking it was one of the ones who ruined their coms, and killed their Captain. She calms a little once she realizes it's Starfleet. Nirria and Leix work to put out the fires while Kendrick updates Captain Oddas on the situation on the Freighter. Also updating her that there's a morse code message that has a set of coordinates and simply reads "Watch Out."
With all the damage to the Freighter, they realize the safest way to get the survivors out, is to abandon the Freighter. Even if it means going deck by deck to make sure they find them all.
- The Reaver
Pirate Captain Faela, aboard a currently unnoticed ship called The Reaver, watches through her viewscreen as the Juneau engages with the Freighter. Wondering curiously how much the Juneau is willing to risk, and is surprised by their choices before turning to her crew and asks for options on how to keep the ship occupied.
The Arcturian pilot Kef watches as well, thinking of things he wouldn't suggest to the ruthless Captain Faela. Something seems to suggest ties to Starfleet. He voices his "I told you so"s about keeping control of the freighter if it had too much damage, and expresses that he's unsure he's able to keep control of it to the Captain who threatens to throw him out an airlock if he can't manage it. He quietly sends a set of coordinates and the message "watch out" over to the freighter.
Neutralizing the Artifact
Lieutenant Falt, Lieutenant JG Dekas, and MWO Kingsley are assigned the task of neutralizing and retrieving the stolen artifact, or potentially multiple if there are others previously stolen. They have to do some schmoozing about in disguise to keep this heist from going wrong and being immediately recognized as Starfleeters by pirates or other unsavory sorts.
Before long, they're on their way to the black market on the moon around the system's gas giant. And upon landing their shuttle in the hangar, two Nausicaans claiming to be security show themselves. Dekas gets a bit snarky, and the team has to carefully step away before it can be worse than that. They step into the marketplace, and MWO Kingsley notices a surveillance platform.
While sorting out a way to get past surveillance, they run into a Ferengi trying to make a deal. All very legally, of course. During the course of the conversation, Dekas notices secretive code writing on the wall. He tries to tell the team discreetly, and they get an updated universal translator that can also translate the code on the wall in exchange for Lieutenant Falt's newer version Starfleet tricorder. The language on the wall leads them to a ventilation shaft.
Both Falt and Dekas stay back to keep watch, while Kingsley climbs through the shafts to find the lab. And she does. Inside are two people in lab coats. Falt suggests knocking those people out, but Dekas can only think to do so by means of messing with CO2 levels. Which causes some CO2 poisoning for Kingsley who is in the vents and agrees with the plan. She gets into the lab and gets the door open.
It works almost too easily, save for Kingsley falling unconscious. They're able to get into the lab where they start to vent the CO2 out and help Kingsley regain consciousness. But they realize there were no guards at the door. It's possible they've been found out before they even knew it. But they have found the artifact, and Kingsley has a possible way to get it out.
Falt contacts Lieutenant Deveaux about any information they got about the artifact. Kingsley looks for a way to deal with extracting the artifact, and Dekas checks if there's anything in the lab that could create verterium corteride.
Kingsley suggests they put it in a crate with a lot of other things and carry it out. Though it won't be light or easy to carry. Dekas finds nothing that could create enough verterium to cause issues, and if there is any there, they need to ask the two lab workers they knocked out with the CO2.
Falt ties the lab workers up before they can wake up, Dekas works on making sure security doesn't catch them before they can leave, Kingsley gathers things to put with the Artifact before helping Falt lower it into the box.
Together they make their way out of the lab, Kingsley taking point, and Falt and Dekas carrying an awkwardly weighted box. On their way through the halls they notice a Nausicaan and a Gorn security duo chatting. Initially, they try to move past them. But when Falt finds it's getting heavier to carry the box the way they are, he gets the impulsive idea to ask the security to carry it for them. Promising them latinum strips he doesn't have. Dekas nearly busts up into hysterics about how murphed it is, but manages to keep it together. Falt gets the brilliant idea to con the previous Ferengi out of enough latinum to pay the Gorn and they manage to get it onto the shuttle.
But of course, security gets wind of something and won't let them leave. Threatening them with destruction when they attempt it.
They contact the rescue team to fill them in on the fact security is an issue. Qinn suggests hacking some of the other ships in the hangar and using them as decoys for both the Herring and the Beaver. Which Kingsley does in a most badass fashion.
They iniate a 10 second warp jump to get back to the ship faster, and the warp jump activates the artifact in the process. They do make it back to the Juneau's shuttlebay and meet back up with Sera, Deveaux and Aratta, to help contain it. But it's still risky as the artifact hasn't been deactivated yet.
The Prison
Pirate leader Ulysses Conroy has Diplomat Shierr and others who work with her taken hostage and held within a pirate prison installation on a planet's moon to prove a point. Shierr's government gives the pirates no direct answers to their ransom negotiations as their point is, in fact, to take care of the pirate problem in the system, and other connected systems.
Rescuing the prisoners
Commander Qinn, Ensign Kettick, Doctor Indobri, and Gunnery Sergeant Hesan are assigned the concurrent task of locating and rescuing prisoners, hopefully without the pirates catching on to them, or needing to resort to violence to get the job done. They make it to the moon's surface fairly easily before, similarly to the other team, they run into security Nausicaans telling them they can't bring weapons without specific reasons. Gunny Hesan claims they're body guards, and out intimidates the Nausicaans like a boss.
They carefully check around the market place area and talk about what needs to be done.
Doctor Indobri gets recreational substances to potentially barter with, in a place like this. They check in with the ship and the other team to talk about what they need to do, and if the Artifact team can help mess with the surveillance on their side. They keep the substances as a last resort option to be used as something to knock people out as needed.
Once they have the say so, they make their way into the prison installation proper and kick in the door only to stun Pirate Leader Ulysses Conroy mid-conversation with Shierr about how her government is taking so long to answer, and how if they don't then they'll have to sell them into servitude to others.
The team has a brief discussion about what to do with Conroy, and how to get out of the prison without attracting too much attention. They choose to restrain Conroy in one of his own cells to be handled by one of his lackeys at a later time. Then they take the prisoners and make their way out as casually as they can. All while something is clearly going on around the marketplace that could cause problems for them.
Or rather, more problems, as they don't have enough space to carry everyone safely. The suggestion of some of them being held within transporter pattern buffers is brought up, Shierr & co agree to the option. Anything to get away from this place. As long as they can trust it to be safe.
Before they can take off, the Herring contacts the Beaver and lets them know that it's complicated because of the security, and Qinn offers the solution of using the other ships in the Hanger as decoys if possible. Something that Kingsley does. The Beaver crew and their pattern buffer stowaways use the diversion as a means to get out as intended.
Though some of the patterns concerningly fluctuate and cause some anxiety on their way back to the Juneau.
Notes
(Note: This page is a work in progress. I'm working on connecting relevant sims as I've done above, and summarizing succinctly, but accurately as I can. But I'm only human and prone to missing details or getting overwhelmed as there are a lot of things to connect. So if you see this and feel like you'd like to edit things, or see something you can add to, update, or improve on like descriptions, or arrangement of this page, feel free to do so. Saves some effort and keeps things together better! -Ace)