Frontier Day: Phase One (Artemis)

From 118Wiki
Revision as of 16:13, 20 July 2024 by Gila Sadar (talk | contribs) (Finishing up missing details of Phase One)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
USS Artemis-A
Titan Luna class.jpg
ACTIVE STATUS
Current Alert Status Green Alert.gif
Luna class
NCC-81287

USS ArtemisA-logo.png

Edit this nav



Frontier Day Banner (Artemis).png

"They’re a little too close to home. Especially when you factor transwarp into the scenario.
I’m sure the proximity to the fleet gathering for Frontier Day is far from a coincidence… But of course, there’s another problem."
- Captain Addison MacKenzie

Teaser

Aboard Amity Outpost (which previously served as Copernicus Station, a center of anti-Borg research), Borg tech is stolen from a classified research lab. Their investigations leads them to an unexpected collaboration with the USS Artemis-A on the other side of the galaxy, which has discovered a strange sensor reading of a cube-shaped structure hiding in a nebula.

Meanwhile, the USS Kitty Hawk and USS Astraeus have returned to Earth in preparation for Frontier Day before the USS Astraeus then receives orders along with the USS Intrepid to hunt down a rogue Starfleet vessel.


Saboteurs in the Badlands

On the Artemis

Someone better have a good reason for waking me up.

“
”


Late at night, Captain Addison MacKenzie is summoned to bridge by the Delta Shift Overseer, Lieutenant Alexis Edgington, who reports that the officers on duty has found strange signals within the borders of the Badlands. The Captain orders them to find the source, but is stunned with surprise when they discover a Borg Cube - seemingly inert - within the volatile area of space. However, the Borg Cube is estimated to have only been here for a couple of days, and with most Starfleet vessels across the galaxy returning to Earth for the Frontier Day Parade, the Captain is reluctant to consider it a coincidence. She attempts to brief Starfleet Command on the Cube's presence, but when the communications array fails to function, another piece of an alarming puzzle is revealed: A saboteur is aboard the Artemis, and has silenced her. Filled with alarm and righteous fury, Cpt. MacKenzie summons her senior staff to the Bridge for an emergency briefing.

Gathered on the bridge, with the additions of Ensign Beck of the USS Ronin and Lieutenant JG T'Ama of the USS Constitution-B - both guests of the Artemis hitching a ride back to Sector 001 - the crew exchange their concerns about their current situation. Fulfilling his duties as XO, Lt.Cdr. Dakora enacted the newly established Wildfire Protocol - a contingency plan aimed at combating internal threats to the vessel - making clear how serious the situation was. The Artemis had received a full set of repairs, ensuring it was in tip-top shape for the Parade in Sector 001, so it was all but guaranteed that the sabotage to the communications array occurred after their departure from DS9. Which in turn could mean only one thing: the saboteur was still aboard. The senior crew were split into teams, with a larger group heading to the Cube itself in order to discover the reason for its presence this close to Federation Space, while the remainder of the crew remained aboard the Artemis to repair the damage and locate and apprehend the saboteur.

Repair Crew


Heading for the Communication Array, what meets them is an utter mess. LT Yellir orders standard repair efforts - if expedient - but the sabotage is thorough. LT Yellir - struck by a moment of brilliance - realizes that communications could be piggybacked onto the external sensors, allowing them to get a message out to Starfleet Command after all, when an explosion rocks the Artemis. After gathering her senses, LT Yellir realizes that internal comms have died as well. Debating on how to proceed now, the two officers agree that getting a thorough idea of the current state of the Artemis' systems would be easier from Main Engineering, and they could pick up some spare parts to start fixing the issues as well. With that in mind, they start to access the Jeffries' Tubes leading towards Deck 14 - and Main Engineering - but they are not alone...
Coming around the corner, Cdr. Adea announces his intent to join their group, but between Ensign Chevalier's loyal faith in the importance of the Wildfire Protocol and the other Adea's confusion at LT Yellir's query about the state of his leg, it soon becomes apparent that this Adea is not - in fact - their Betazoid CMO, and a desperate struggle ensues between the two Officers and what reveals itself to be a Changeling. The conflict is broken off as the Changeling escapes out of sight, but when the two officers finally catch up to it, they are faced with two Adeas staring each other down in the corridor, both claiming to be the real one. Thankfully, LT Yellir has known the Commander for a while, and manages to trick the Changeling into revealing itself by posing questions to the pair. The Changeling, unfortunately, manages to escape once more, just as Cdr. Adea makes a startling observation: He just sent a pair of Ensigns to the Shuttlebay alongside a Lt.Cdr. Dakora who was behaving suspiciously. The trio debate what to do now, but between repairing the vessel and saving the lives of two Ensigns potentially at the mercy of a hostile Changeling, they opt for the latter and take off running towards the Shuttlebay.

Locating the Saboteur


In charge of locating the saboteur, Cdr. Adea and his team head into the bowls of the ship, the Betazoid fatigued with concern about the danger they're in. While they still have no evidence beyond the saboteur's handiwork, Ens. Kel carefully voices the theory that either the saboteur has access to very advanced technology or has intimate knowledge of the ship's systems. Either option is distressing, but not so much as the third voiced theory. This close to DS9 and the main staging area of the Dominion War of years past, the questions poses itself: What if the saboteur is a shapeshifter? Elsewhere on the Artemis, an Internal Security Sensor register PO3 Domingo Martinez, Ens. Marcus Li and Crewman Toro Nubar in the Secondary Sensor Control Room, performing their designated tasks. Ens. Li relieves PO3 Martinez, before producing an unknown object from his bag and going with Crewman Nubar into the restricted area with the sensitive sensor equipment. Moments later, an explosion sounds, and only Crewman Nubar exit the room again, disappearing out-of-view of the Security Sensors. The explosion knocks the turbolift temporarily out of service, and triggers emergency lights on the surrounding decks. Heading to Deck 13, the trio of officers arm themselves and head towards the site of the sabotage.

Arriving at the place in question, the team realizes that the damage to the comm relays will impede the Ship's internal communications, so as Ens. Gnai beings taking scans to find any trace of the saboteur, or indeed the cause of the explosion itself, Ens. Kel is instructed to move away from the sabotage in an attempt to get contact to the Bridge. Unfortunately, all attempts are met with silence. As the team deliberates on how to proceed, they are met with Lt.Cdr. Talos Dakora, who claims he's been trying to reach them since the comms went down. He attempts to lead the group towards the Shuttle Bay where a situation is unfolding. Cdr. Adea finds the situation curious, but allows the two Ensigns to follow the Betazoid First Officer with the telepathic message to keep each other safe. Barely has the trio rounded the corner, before Cdr. Adea is knocked unconscious by an unseen assailant...

In the Shuttle Bay, Lt.Cdr. Dakora orders the two Ensigns to commence their investigations of the shuttles to ascertain whether they have been sabotaged, as he himself goes to the Flight Controller's office. There, he reveals himself to be Ravicz - a Changeling infiltrator - and sets to his diabolical plan. The two Ensigns - suspicious of the circumstances - opt to stay together while investigating the Griffin, when a cacophonous sound ruptures the air and the Shuttle Bay enters rapid decompression. Ensign Solas barely manages to get the shuttle ramp sealed before they are both sucked into the now accessible vacuum of space, and the two of them are now sealed into the shuttle, safe... For the moment.

Soon Ravicz realizes that his cunning trap has not ended the lives of the two Ensigns, and he comes running - still in his disguise - to lure them outside the shuttle so he can finish the job in person. The Officers are at this point rightfully wary of their supposed First Officer, and discuss what might be a reasonable way to handle his aberrant behavior, at which point the increasingly unhinged Changeling starts to physically beat at the Shuttle to get at the two Ensigns. Ensign Solas - at this point certain in his observation that the Lt.Cdr. is not who he seems - suggests that they depressurize the Shuttlebay from within the shuttle. Ensign Gnai still harbors doubts, concerned that they might be killing a mentally compromised or perhaps drugged colleague, but as Ravicz loses grip on his disguise, all doubts are dismissed and the depressurization is started. The Changeling is sucked into space, and ghastly green beams light up the outside of the shuttle, as the Ensigns make a concerning observation.

The Cube is firing at the Artemis.

Minding the Bridge


Settling into their positions on the Bridge alongside the Delta Shift crew, LtJG T'Ama ensures that the viewscreen provides the Bridge with a video feed inside of the Cube, piggybacking off of the signals from the away team's tricorders. With their primary focus on assisting the away team with their own scans and maintaining a transporter lock, tension is high, but it is nothing compared to the alarm that occurs when suddenly, an explosion occurs in the Secondary Sensor Control Room, rocking the Artemis and killing not only the sensors, but also restarting every bridge console and knocking out all phaser arrays. Accessing the computer bank, LtJG T'Ama locates a video feed from the site of the explosion, and what appears on the video causes her to suggest a hypothesis: Have the Borg assimmilated Changelings?

We need our weapons online, A-flippin’-SAP. ::He pointed.:: If that Cube wakes up and decides it’s time to party, I want to have something more than rude gestures to throw at them.

“
”

While the idea itself is a massive leap considering the limited evidence available, Lt.Cdr. Dakora decides it worth acting on. After confirming the location of either Ensign Li or Crewman Nubar - the two identities reflected in the security log - the internal sensors locate Nubar in a Jeffries' Tube near Deck 13 where LT Yellir and Ens Chevalier. Deciding to mind the bridge on his own, Lt.Cdr. Dakora sends the two lieutenants on a manhunt.

The two goldshirts travel downwards through the vessel on a hunt for Nubar, but soon discover his comm badge discarded on the floor. Utilizing LT Silveira's understanding of the layout of the Artemis, the two of them realize that the Changeling infiltrator is dangerously close to Main Engineering, and decide to head in that direction. Some idle flirting is passed between the two, when a long, reddish-pink tentacle lashes out to grab LtJG T'Ama's ankle. Inconvenienced by the tight fit in the crawlspace, LT Silveira fires his phaser to make the Changeling release her, but in response to his hostility, the Changeling changes tactic and turns into a Gorn. Deploying the tried-and-true tactic of kicking a Gorn in the face, LtJG T'Ama manages to knock the Changeling out, and the two officers manage to drag the Changeling out of the Jefferies' Tubes before it can liquefy. In a stroke of mad genius, LT Silveira and LtJG T'Ama seal the rapidly deconstructing Changeling in a tupperware container, just as Lt.Cdr. Dakora resummons them to the Bridge. The Cube is powering up.

While combat against the Cube goes about as well as could be expected - considering that the weapons systems have been repaired - it is painfully clear that the Artemis is outgunned in a major way. As a couple of attacks from the Cube hits the Artemis hard, the tuppered Changeling, brought along by LtJG T'Ama starts to break out of its containment, making matters worse for the already tense bridge crew.

Into the Cube

The Borg are here, even if they’re not here. This cube only arrived a few days ago, and we have no indication that any entity, Starfleet or otherwise, detected their presence. I refuse to believe they just got here on autopilot…

“
”

Heading into the Cube itself, Cpt. MacKenzie leads her team to Transporter Room One to outfit themselves with the necessary equipment. En-route, LtJG Sadar recounts the exploits of Lieutenant Sheila Bailey, the then-Assistant Chief Medical Officer of Starbase 118 Ops, who spearheaded the development of a new anti-Borg medication when attempting to cure the assimilated crew of the USS Nimitz. While the medication is years old at this point, and thus there is a very real possibility that the Borg nanites has adapted to it, the medicine is added to the first aid kits of the two Medical Officers. Upon arming themselves with weaponry and other essential equipment, the group is then transported to the Cube itself.

Arriving on the Cube, the away team is concerned upon discovering that there are no lifesigns in the immediate vicinity, and indeed, for quite a distance. It looks - as the scans claimed - inert and abandoned, but LtJG Savel urges caution. Nothing seems visibly wrong with the Cube, so surely there'd be no reason for the Collective to just abandon it in this way. Concerned by the fact that none of their tricorders register lifesigns despite the Cube having only appeared in the Badlands a few days ago, Cpt. MacKenzie orders the group to descend onto a lower deck to locate an access node, so they might get some answers. En-route, the team has a brief stop prompted by an unclear registration of an intermittent lifesign, but with no conclusive evidence, there is little to be done. On the lower deck, however, the team happens upon a lone Borg Drone wandering erratically along the corridors, but most alarmingly: the Drone's lifesign is not registered.

Sadar: But a state of ‘hibernation’ indicates that some sort of trigger will wake them up. And with a half-synthetic lifeform like the Borg, it would stand to reason that the ‘trigger’ is going to come from the system, or the Collective. Captain?

MacKenzie: I can’t tell. It’s like they’re waiting for something.

Sadar: ::whispers:: Please don’t say we’re going to be playing ‘poke the bear’ here.

Savel: I don't believe that 'poking a bear' is ever a sound decision.

“
”


As the team stealthily moves towards an access node, Doctors Sadar and Beck attempt to configure their tricorders in a manner to be able to register the Borg lifesign, but their efforts are unfruitful before the Captain manages to locate an access node. Upon accessing it, the Captain reveals that the drones seem to be in a sort of 'hibernation', awaiting a trigger that will eventually activate them again. What that trigger is remains a mystery, so the Captain deems it pertinent that the team head further down into the Cube to locate a peculiar power signature. Barely has the team started moving before LtJG Sadar manages to find the necessary settings to register the masked Borg lifesigns, prompting a cascade of newly registered lifesigns. Not only is the Borg Cube not abandoned, but rather teeming with hibernating drones. She attempts to contact the Artemis to alert them to the required alterations to sensor settings, when her attempts at communications are met with silence. The away team has officially lost contact with the Artemis-A.

Allowing a brief moment of panic, Cpt. MacKenzie soon calls her officers to attention once more. The numerous new lifesigns are not paying any attention to the Starfleet boarders, but are instead heading towards that very same power signature that she noted earlier. And so, with urgency and no small amount of paranoia, the team continues on their way. Upon reaching the lower levels of the Cube, the amount of drones they have to make their way through has grown beyond numerous, and following the current leads them to a large antechamber lit up by a violent green light, with multitudes of Borg arranged around the source of the light in a peculiar pattern. The officers attempt to gain as much data as possible from a distance, concerned that approaching the artifact might trigger a change in Borg attitude against their presence, but before long, an order is sent out through the Collective. To assimilate the intruders...

Hopper: Oh, this is bad…

As the light from the conduit continued to fade, there was a sudden shuffle of noise behind them. Robin spun around, looking for the source. Nothing could have surprised her more, as she found herself looking at another crew of Starfleet Officers and, at the head of their group, the familiar face of Captain Addison MacKenzie.

MacKenzie: You’re pretty far away from home, aren’t you, Commander?

“
”

Sent on a mad dash through the Cube to escape the coming storm of Borg Drones, Cpt. MacKenzie calls for ideas. LtJG Sadar previously noted that new Borg life signs were constantly appearing on her scans, indicating some sort of transporter activity going on in the Cube. If then their group could locate those transporters, it would be plausible for them to get back to the Artemis. Reading scans while running is difficult, and the Borg were adapting rapidly to their weapons, meaning that they were running out of options. Soon, the group turns a corner, only to be stopped in their tracks by a vivid green light with a semblance to the artifact in the assembly chamber. When the light fades, friends from very far away appear before them...

The Guests from Amity


Coming face-to-face with colleagues from another quadrant, the Officers from Amity find themselves running for their lives as thousands of Borg Drones continue their pursuit of the Artemisian intruders. Lt.Cdr. Hopper - the Acting First Officer - reveal that they were likely pulled to the Cube as a result of some Changeling infiltrators, who had snuck into Amity Outpost's restricted laboratories to retrieve a curious artifact, though for what purpose, they don't yet know. Realizing with some alarm that that Changelings and Borg have joined forces, it soon becomes apparent that they need to devise a proper plan for getting off of the Cube - and fast - but with the recent arrivals, the group is simply too large to effectively maneuver in the Cube. Even more alarming is the revelation that a number of the crew eventually come to: the Drones are herding them.

Team Shield Sabotage

“
”


While Lt.Cmdr. Hopper's team is charged with distracting their hosts, Cpt. MacKenzie heads a team responsible for locating a way off of the Cube. The team deliberates on whether making use of Borg Transporters is a safe option, but ultimately decides that the quickest and easiest way to get off the Cube is to disrupt the Borg shields, so the Artemis can lock onto their signal, making the shield generators their target. The group moves onwards through the Cube, but the persistent presence of Borg Drones are obviously intent on keeping them from their objective, forcing the team to be in constant combat while en-route. Adrenaline and foolhardy youth goes hand-in-hand, and after numerous dangerous stunts by her junior officers, Cpt. MacKenzie gives a stern talking-to that rivals any threats the Borg could make.

Soon enough, her team arrives at a shield complex guarded by many Drones and several forcefields, but as they brainstorm how to get at one of the generators, the opposing team's endeavours elsewhere in the Cube becomes apparent as the personal shield matrixes of every Drone malfunctions at once, and they see a moment of opportunity. LTs Vanlith and Jovenan start setting the explosive charges along the structure of the generator, while the rest of the team covers their back. When the rest of the team is clear, LtJG Moore takes the shot at the charges, triggering a massive explosion that renders the exterior shields inert - for a time - and Cpt. MacKenzie immediately contacts the Artemis for an emergency beamout.


Team Changeling Hunting

“
”

Abandoning all sense of self-preservation in order to distract the overwhelming enemy - and get some revenge for the infiltration of her station - Lt.Cdr. Hopper leads her team into the heart of the Cube to locate the conniving Changelings and hopefully in the process distract the Borg enough for the Shield Sabotage Team to be able to do their task in peace. Their journey leads them through the oppressive corridors of the Cube and into a peculiar chamber filled with alcoves occupied by Borg Drones. Dead Borg Drones. Eager to move on to their destination, the group is ushered through the large room, only for a pair of Drones to bar their progress. Erecting a forcefield to trap the Officers within the chamber, LT Vailani realizes that the Borg have changed tactics. They're planning on cutting off life support to the room they have trapped the Officers in. While the Engineers and Security Officers work on foiling the Drones' trap, LtJG Sadar and Ens Beck are ordered to examine the deceased Drones in the hopes of discovering what the function of the room is, and what killed the Drones still locked into alcoves. This proves more difficult than anticipated, and by the time LT Zoyara manages to dispatch the Drone on the other side of the forcefield, and allow them easy passage, the medical officers are no closer to an answer.

The group makes their way towards the inner parts of the Cube, trying to make a reasonable strategy for dealing with the Changelings and the artifact they stole, but before they have a reasonable chance to make a strategy, they realize they've caught up to their quarry and are approaching a large, important chamber: the antechamber of the Borg Queen herself. The Changelings hand over a piece of technology - the artifact they stole from Amity Outpost's restricted basement levels - and the Borg Queen ruminate on the impending destruction of Starfleet, nay, the Federation at large. Before the party of Officers listening in have a chance to escape or make a surprise attack, the Borg are alerted to their presence, and despite their best attempts at mounting a defense, the Borg Queen uses her unequaled mastery of the Collective to entrap them and bring them before her. And then, re-assimilate LtJG Flint - Nine of Twenty - into the Collective. This action angers the crew from Amity Outpost who see the ex-Borg officer as one of their own, but their resistance makes little difference. They find themselves herded towards a specific location in the Cube by a multitude of Drones, including LtJG Flint. The room they arrive at is similar to the laboratory they encountered earlier, only without the dead drones, and while there, a number of the Officers are manhandled by the Drones and subjected to an invasive procedure of blood retrieval.

As the desperate Officers try to ascertain what the Borg’s master plan is, LtJG Sadar utilizes a moment of relative calm to stealth-inoculate LtJG Flint with a smaller dosage of the anti-Borg Serum in an attempt to allow him to retake his own mind. The Queen and her Drones realize what she’s done a moment too late, as the serum takes effect and the LtJG is in control of his mind once more. Using his knowledge of the Borg, he disables the Collective’s internal shield matrix in one fell swoop, providing both them and the other team a moment of reprieve to escape their Drone pursuers and do some actual damage to the pursuing Borg. The ex-Borg LtJG leads the team to a keypoint of energy - an Anti-Polaron Distribution Node - and reveals that they might be able to do some severe damage to the Cube’s systems if the anti-Borg serum is injected directly into the Node. The LtJG Savel, LT Iko & LT Zoyara start shredding the protective layers around the Node, while Ens Beck reveals that he had to dose himself with the Anti-Borg Serum in order to stop a spread of errant nanites. Knowing that there is limited time before he’s rendered unconscious by the medicine, he volunteers for the dangerous task of injecting the serum into the Node itself, and thus being unable to escape the blast radius of the ensuing explosion.

The plan goes off without a hitch, and the team watch the resulting explosion as in slow-motion through the blue shimmer associated with transporters...

On the Artemis (again)

Immediately prior to the transportation of the Cube-teams, Lt.Cdr. Dakora and LtJG T'Ama fight the escaping Tupperware-Changeling. LT Silveira's first instinct is to join the fray as well, but he's given stern order to maintain weapons fire upon the Borg Cube, while the rest of the Bridge Team get the Changeling contained. Ultimately, this is done by beaming the Changeling straight to a reinforced cell in the Brig, Tupperware and all. Soon thereafter, the shields of the Cube go down, and Lt.Cdr. Dakora wastes no time in ordering the immediate beamout of every Starfleet personnel on the cube. LtJG T'Ama notes - with some curiosity - that there's more people on the Cube than was originally sent over there, but does ultimately beam out every non-Borg lifesign she can identify.

In the Shuttlebay - after successfully venting the Dakora-Changeling into space, Ensigns Gnai and Kel find themselves uncertain of how to proceed. While working to gain access to Intership Communications to hopefully find out the situation on the Bridge, Cmdr. Adea, LT Yellir and Ens Chevalier arrive at the Shuttlebay to find the mayhem caused after the Ensigns’ struggles. Initially pleased with the coming rescue, the Officers soon find themselves at a standstill, as the two Ensigns - understandably weary after the threat of their First Officer attempting to kill them - try to ascertain whether their senior officers are actually who they say they are. Eventually - after a series of personal questions - the officers reconvene outside the now landed Shuttle, just as LtJG Savel and LT Vailani join them to bolster their search and capture of the remaining Changeling onboard.

Captain MacKenzie soon returns to her Bridge, bringing along with her LTs [[Charlena Vanlith|Vanlith9] and Jovenan. Lt.Cdr. Hopper joins them as well, hoping to assist the Bridge Crew with analyzing the current situation and figuring out what repairs to prioritize. As the Cube heads to transwarp speeds, the hampered sensors do their best to attempt to extrapolate a course, but the worst suspicions of every Officer is soon confirmed, as it becomes apparent that the Cube is headed straight for Sector 001. Their primary objective must now be to warn Starfleet about the incoming threat, but with long-range communications and warp functionality still not functioning as per the Changelings’ sabotage, there’s a long way until they’re able to warn anyone. Intending to gain as much information about the enemies’ plans as possible, Lt.Cdrs. Dakora and Hopper head to the Intel Suite alongside LT Vanlith in order to discern what part the stolen technology from Amity plays in the Borg’s plans for Frontier Day.

Meanwhile, in Sickbay, the remainder of the crew who had been on the Cube assembled for medical care. There’s a clear divide between the two distinct crews - with the Amity-group more comfortable with taking care of their own - but taking care of each others wounds while the Ship is still being rocked by Borg weaponry has a way of bridging such differences, and soon enough, the two crews intermingle in the interest of getting everyone on their feet as soon as possible. LT Iko and LtJG Moore turn their focus on how to combat the Changeling saboteur, while LtJG Sadar enlist the assistance of both the recovered Ens Beck and Dr. Orrey - the civilian Doctor from Amity - to safely conduct the necessary cranial surgery on LtJG Flint.


MSNPCs and NPC Mentions

  • The Borg Queen

    The Borg Queen

  • Ravicz Changeling Infiltrator

    Ravicz
    Changeling Infiltrator

  • Unnamed Changeling Infiltrator

    Unnamed
    Changeling Infiltrator

  • Mentioned NPCs:

Lieutenant Alexis Edgington - Science Officer and Delta Shift Overseer
Petty Officer 3rd Class Domingo Martinez
Ensign Marcus Li
Crewman Toro Nubar

FNS Headlines

FNS-cornflowerblue.png 
*  Stardate 240106.19: Awards andd Mixed Emotions as USS Artemis Wraps Up Shoreleave

Fun facts



References

Wildfire Protocol

Retrieved from "https://wiki.starbase118.net/wiki/index.php?title=Frontier_Day:_Phase_One_(Artemis)&oldid=366721"