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Frontier Day was a Federation holiday celebrating the 250th anniversary of the launch of the Enterprise NX-01 under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer.
Phase 1: Prelude to Frontier Day
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 on the other side of the galaxy, which has discovered a strange sensor reading of a cube-shaped structure hiding in the Badlands.
Meanwhile, the USS Kitty Hawk and USS Astraeus have returned to Earth in preparation for Frontier Day before both ships unexpectedly receive orders to hunt down a rogue Starfleet vessel that attacked the USS Intrepid.
USS Artemis
Captain Addison MacKenzie and the USS Artemis discovers an inert Borg Cube in the Badlands and attempts to contact Starfleet Command, only to find their communications sabotaged. Realizing there's a saboteur on board, the crew divides: one team investigates the Cube, while others repair the damage and search for the saboteur. LT Hallia Yellir's team reroutes communications before an explosion disrupts their efforts. Cmdr. Genkos Adea's team suspects a shapeshifter saboteur, and an explosion implicates Ens. Marcus Li, who disappears. On the bridge, LtJG T'Ama suggests Borg assimilation of Changelings. Captain MacKenzie's away team finds the Cube filled with hibernating drones but loses contact with the Artemis.
USS Astraeus
As part of the expedition hunting the USS Titan, the Astraeus crew aboard are hustling to prepare their individual departments for the upcoming task, while also attempting to find the best way to perform their duties. Captain Mei'konda Delano and Cmdr. Serala , meanwhile, dedicate themselves to doing their duty and supprting their crew in this trying mission, with Cmdr. Serala voicing her concern about the validity of the claim that three legendary Starfleet officers have gone rogue, and Cpt. Delano and Cpt. Roshanara Rahman reaffirming each other over subspace that their primary task is not to apprehend the fugitives, but to find out the truth.
Amity Outpost & USS Kitty Hawk
After an unapproved attempt to access Amity's classified research database is registered, a team led by Lt. Cmdr. Robin Hopper gains access to the Restricted Laboratories filled with Borg technology from when the station was previously known as Copernicus Station, an anti-Borg research facility. There, they discover the ex-Borg (xB) Drone, LtJG David Flint, outside the doors as well as a biochemical compound on the access panel. Meanwhile, on Earth, Cpt. Rahman and the Amity officers who traveled aboard the Kitty Hawk have also been tasked to the same task force as Astraeus to bring in the renegade USS Titan. Seven hours into their journey though from Earth to the Titan 's last known location, the ship falls out of warp, its propulsion systems, sensors, and communications systems disabled.
USS Artemis
Aboard the Artemis, the efforts to counteract the sabotage continues, but this close to victory, the infiltrating Changelings grow more confident, soon taking the visage of the two most senior officers - Lt.Cdr. Dakora and Cdr. Adea. While the Adea-Changeling is unable to fool LT Yellir and Ensign Chevalier, prompting a firefight near Main Engineering, Ravicz - the Changeling masquerading as Lt.Cdr. Dakora - successfully lures Ensigns Gnai and Kel to the Shuttle Bay before sabotaging the forcefield separating the bay from the open vacuum outside the vessel. The Ensigns who commenced investigations of one of the shuttles are now in a struggle against rapid decompression, while LT Silveira and LtJG T'Ama has a desperate face-off with a Changeling-turned-Borg in the Jeffries’ Tubes.
Meanwhile, on the Cube, Cpt. MacKenzie picks up a peculiar energy signature in the belly of the vessel - seemingly the focal point for the wandering drones - and suggests the team head that way. Upon arrival, the team is met with a true flood of drones all surrounding a strange artifact emitting a powerful green light. Before they can gain any meaningful information about the artifact, a sudden change in orders is disseminated through the Collective, and the group of Officers find themselves escaping from a horde of Drones now intent on capturing and assimilating the intruders. Their mad dash is soon interrupted, as a bright light manifests before them. When the light dims, they see another group of Starfleet Officers, who are far away from home…
USS Astraeus
Frustrated with the amount of red tape and falsehoods littering their information and assistance from Starfleet, and indeed their fellow taskforce vessel the Intrepid, numerous senior officers aboard the Astraeus attempt to gain access beyond their stations. Lt.Cmdr. Kiax lead a team in a rogue - and highly illegal - attempt to hack into Starfleet communications, but after countless failed attempts, change tack and instead work on gaining unredacted and unfiltered access to the Intrepid’s logs. Meanwhile, on the Bridge, the crew is able to utilize a new tracking algorithm penned by Lt.Cdr Alentonis and Ens Tasen to track the Titan’s most likely destination, in spite of numerous false trails: The Daystrom Institute. The Astraeus attempts to get in contact with the Institute, when they learn that the Institute had suffered a recent theft. The details are too classified to provide details, but two things are clear: the theft was commutted while the Titan was in drydock, and the stolen object is dangerous.
As the Astraeus sets a course for the Institute, an explosion occurs near Strategic Operations, which floods the area with theta radiation and traps Lt.Cdr. Kiax’s team inside. Cpt. Delano starts to suspect that there are rogue elements aboard his vessel, as rescue teams are dispatched. While the Doctors work tirelessly to rescue the numerous officers in Ops, the revelation that transporters are down - thereby making site-to-site transport of the wounded impossible a makes the Bridge abuzz with theories and accusations. In order to put a lid on a tense atmosphere that he deems could be damaging for crew morale at this crucial junction, Cpt. Delano secretly orders three of his senior crew to conduct a covert investigation to ascertain the likelihood of treason and sabotage.
Amity Outpost & USS Kitty Hawk
On Amity Outpost, the team enters the restricted area to find a lab filled with old borg tech and deactivated drones. Guided by their scans, LT Vailani suggests that there might be a transponder nearby sending out a signal, but before the team can look further into this idea, a call comes to them about activity on another level of the lab. Splitting the party and trying to gather their thoughts on how to proceed, a piece of borg technology activates - seemingly unprovoked - and they are all caught unawares when Mr. Summerside - an independent journalist who’d been trapped behind the ‘red tape’ - clobbers a security officer before stealing the piece. He makes a run for a peculiar piece of technology - a ‘transwarp conduit’ - hovering in air in the center of the lab, emitting a vibrant green light. Then, before their very eyes, his features shift and change into that of a Changeling.
Meanwhile, on the second level, Crewman Emmonds assaults LtJG Moore before they can assist the team on the lower deck, starting a tense confrontation, but faced with three and a half capable Starfleet officers, the Changeling is soon seen slinking away into the dark. The distraction, however, has been efficient, as Amity’s sensor tower is rocked by explosions dismantling it entirely from the station, while the senior officers face down the Changelings in the restricted labs. Faced with the possibility that the overloading transwarp consuit might explode - taking Amity with it - Lt.Cmdr. Hopper allows the two Changelings to pass through it before starting what she hopes is the shut-down procedure. However, her efforts are not very successful, and instead, her entire team is sucked through the conduit and deposited elsewhere… Soon, they’re face-to-face with Cpt. MacKenzie and her band of Artemites.
Meanwhile, the makeshift crew of the USS Kitty Hawk scrambles to address the numerous issues with their vessel, while still trying to suss out the location of the renegade USS Titan. Captain Rahman suggests the possibility of a saboteur, and appropriate measures are taken to catch them, though not in time. A Crewman by the name of Nuva passes by the two senior Engineers and mere moments later, the Kitty Hawk finds itself adrift in space. While hoping to mitigate the damage, LT Richards and LT Reade are pulled away from Engineering, when LtJG Blackwood pleads for help over comms after getting seriously heard on an upper deck. Heading up to assist him and escort him to Sickbay, they are joined by Ens Barberra mere moments before Nuva appears, starting to shoot at them and accusing them of sabotage. However, not everything is as it seems.
In one of the Science Labs, a group of senior officers are brainstorming to ascertain the most logical location of the Titan, but with the vessel operating on emergency power only, their options are limited. In a daring move to force the saboteurs' hands, Cpt. Rahman makes a radical decision: in one hour, the Kitty Hawk will self-destruct.
USS Artemis
Aboard the Artemis, a Spider-man worthy stand-off occurs in the hallways, when Cmdr. Adea comes face-to-face with his own double. LT Yellir demonstrates quick wit as a game of ‘21 Questions’ outs the imposter, and the Changeling makes a quick getaway. Deliberating on what to do now, Cmdr. Adea realizes that the two Ensigns are in deep trouble, and the trio heads towards the Shuttle Bay to intercept. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Ensigns are trapped in a shuttle with a malicious Changeling-Dakora outside, intent on taking vengeance on the Starfleet that’s wronged him so. Catching onto the deception, the two Ensigns manage to use the internal shuttle controls to vent the Shuttle Bay, sending the Changeling to his untimely demise in the vacuum of space. On the Bridge, Lt.Cdr. Dakora - the real one, we hope - resummons LT Silveira and LtJG T'Ama (and a Changeling-Borg in Tupperware) to their station, as the Borg Cube is powering up. Combat soon ensues, and while they are all aware that the odds are stacked against them, the Artemis is adamant. They are leaving no one behind.
On the Cube, the crews of the Artemis and Amity Outpost fuse together, as Lt.Cmdr. Hopper’s complement is transwarped across quadrants. Dropped onto a bustling Cube gunning for their Beta Quadrant colleagues, the sizable group splints into two teams, one aimed at hijacking Borg transporters and getting the team back onto the Artemis, and one aimed at crippling the Cube, which is powering up and about to engage the disabled Starship in combat.
Lt.Cmdr. Hopper’s team 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. En-route, the officers encounter numerous concerning indications that the Borg of today are very different from the ones of yesteryear, and by the time they locate the Changeling infiltrators, they are approaching the antechamber of the Borg Queen herself. Listening in on this meeting of evil, it becomes apparent that what is planned does not bode well for Starfleet at large. Before they have a chance to escape or make a surprise attack, however, the Borg are alerted to their presence, and while the Starfleet officers attempt to enact defense, the Borg Queen uses her unequaled mastery of the Cube to entrap them and bring them before her. And then, re-assimilate LtJG David Flint - Nine of Twenty - into the Collective.
USS Astraeus
With the medical emergency still occurring in the Operations Center, the first responders divvy up the responsibilities. Cmdr. Serala, LtJG Doucet and Ensigns Saa and Tasen are working on reaching the senior officers trapped in StratOps, and LT Ral alerts Ensign Saa about his suspicions regarding a saboteur, using their telepathic abilities to communicate the necessity for the Captain to be briefed. LtJG Doucet realizes that the senior officers cannot be moved manually to Sickbay - on account of a large piece of shrapnel piercing the abdomen of Lt.Cmdr. Kiax - and calls for assistance in clearing the air of radiation, so the transporters can be utilized. Ensign Tasen manages this before Lt.Cmdr. Kiax’s condition can worsen, and the medical team and their patients are transported directly to Sickbay. Meanwhile, Ensigns Tam and Fianna head for the Environmental Control Centre to find the source of the radiation leak, and are met with a disturbing revelation. An Engineer - later identified as Chief Davis - is found murdered and stuffed in an access tunnel. This confirms beyond reasonable doubt the presence of saboteurs aboard the Astraeus, a development which the Captain is made aware of.
On the Bridge, measures taken to attempt to identify the saboteurs are being taken when the Astraeus finally reaches the Daystrom Institute. Cpt. Delano calls for his crew to prepare for combat as he takes the center chair, and the Astraeus drops out of warp kilometers away from the Institute. The rogue Titan is not immediately visible, but they are soon flushed out from their hiding place, and herded in the Astraeus’ direction. Cpt. Delano has a crisis of duty as the rogue Starship gets within phaser range, but ultimately disobeys orders and orders his crew to stand down. Receiving a call from the Andorian CO of the USS Cole in his ready room, the Andorian expresses disappointment with the Captain’s unwillingness to parry orders, and he hints that it might be time the Astraeus has a change of leadership... Just as the fleshy form of a Changeling slinks into the Ready Room from a grate and attacks the Captain.
Amity Outpost & USS Kitty Hawk
After Cpt. Rahman activates the Kitty Hawk’s self-destruct, she, LtJG Ylvor and Cmdr. Ukinix goes back onto the Bridge, only to learn of a firefight having broken out on Deck 35. On recommendation from Cmdr. Ukinix, everyone involved save LT Richards - due to the necessity of bringing the Kitty Hawk back to full functionality - are transported to the Brig for interrogation. Cpt. Rahman opts to head towards Engineering to assist LT Richards, but elsewhere, on Probert Station, the real Captain Roshanara Rahman awakens, hidden away in a dark crawlspace. Desperate to escape and alert someone about her suspicions of something nefarious occurring within Starfleet, Captain Rahman receives the assistance of Hannibal Parker, an old friend, who reveals an uncomfortable pattern, hinting at one thing: Dominion infiltrators. The two Officers procure weaponry from a set of Starfleet Security Officers sent down the turbolift with phasers set to kill - likely looking for them - before using the Jefferies’ Tubes to reach the transporter deck. When there, they force a Transporter Chief at phaserpoint to set transporter coordinates of the USS Miller - the Miranda II prototype that Parker had been working on - and Ensign Galanis (a recent graduate of the Academy) is forcefully brought along. Cpt. Rahman orders the transporter chief to come along with them, but when it becomes apparent that he is a Changeling and is attempting to bar their escape, the trio of Starfleet Officers initiate transport and soon materialize in the transporter room aboard the USS Miller.
Meanwhile, on the Kitty Hawk, Cmdr. Ukinix and LtJG Ylvor head to the Brig to conduct their interrogations, and through shrewd manipulation and antagonizing, LtJG Ylvor feels that she had narrowed the saboteur down to Crewman Nuva, and the others are released just as a vessel comes out of warp by the Kitty Hawk and goes into offensive action. Cmdr. Ukinix dispatches the others to where they are most needed, but remains behind himself to transport LT Richards and Cpt Rahman into the brig as well. The two of them appear wounded and bloodied, and they both accuse the other of being an infiltrator, with LT Richards stating that the Captain is a Changeling. Cmdr. Ukinix attempt to get to the truth of the matter, and the Captain’s refusal to cancel the auto-destruct forces the situation into a tense direction. The Science Team, on the other hand, have gotten no further with their ideas as a new mystery reveals itself. Scans from the Titan indicated the presence of Thelomium-847 in some crew’s medical profiles, which LT Wong finds peculiar. Furthermore, Thelomium-847 is registered on the Kitty Hawk, indicating a possible connection to the crew of the rogue Titan, despite the two Ships having never encountered each other. The team - armed with their tricorders - depart for a bear hunt just as a message comes in from Cmdr. Ukinix, calling Cmdr. DeVeau and LT Wong to the Brig. They arrive just in time to see Cmdr. Ukinix fire his phaser at Captain Roshanara Rahman...
USS Artemis
After successfully venting the Dakora-Changeling - Ravicz - 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. And the Officers arrive 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. On the Bridge, on the other hand, Lt.Cmdr. Dakora has Changeling troubles of his own, as the constant jostling of the Artemis caused by the incessant weapons fire results in the tupperware-Changeling to receive a crack in its containment. While LT Silveira is ordered to continue firing upon the Cube itself, Lt.Cmdr. Dakora and LtJG T'Ama attempt to fight the Changeling, and their struggle eventually concludes with transporters being utilized to beam the tupperware directly to a reinforced cell in the Brig.
On the Cube, seeing their fellow Officer - Ex-Borg LtJG David Flint - be reintegrated into the Collective breaks the spirit of Lt.Cmdr. Hopper’s team, and 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 a 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 Nine of Twenty is replaced by David Flint once more, and 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. Cpt. MacKenzie - meanwhile - faces her own struggles on her mission of sabotage, as a steady influx of Borg Drones intent on keeping them from their objective forces her team to be in constant combat. 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, LtJG Flint’s sabotage makes its presence known, and they see a moment of opportunity. LTs Vanlith and Jovenan start their work 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 calls the Artemis. Time to go home.
In another part of the Cube, Lt.Cmdr. Hopper leads her team to a keypoint of energy - an Anti-Polaron Distribution Node - and LtJG Flint 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 gold shirts 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.
USS Astraeus
On Deck 1, Lt.Cmdr. Alentonis and LtJGs Matthews and Caldwell realize that something is wrong within the Captain’s Ready Room when they hear noise resembling a struggle, and already on edge, the trio decides to intervene. The door slides open to reveal the Cpt. Delano being strangled by a shapeless Changeling tentacle, and the three Officers open fire immediately, attempting to rescue their struggling Captain. They succeed in killing the Changeling after a few moments, and Dr. Fianna is summoned to the Bridge to treat Cpt. Delano and begin analyzing the Changeling remains. As a number of other Officers all converge on the Bridge, the news of the identity of the saboteurs are spread throughout the inner circle, and plans to address the issue are made with haste.
In Sickbay, Lt.Cmdr. Kiax is engaged in a life-or-death struggle in her own mind, while the medical staff preps her unconscious body for surgery. LT Ral wakes in a much better state than he was prior to his stint in Sickbay, only for a familiar face - Jamie MacNemar - to enter the room. LT Ral soon realizes that something is wrong, and as the Changeling is robbed of the opportunity to kill him, it turns the full brunt of its violent temper on the individuals arriving to answer the LT’s call for help, before escaping into the ventilation system. Moments later, LT Ral enters the surgical suite where Dr. Doucet is currently addressing Lt.Cmdr. Kiax’ medical situation, but it soon becomes apparent that this LT Ral is not who he appears to be. A desperate struggle ensues between the Changeling and the Medical Staff, once again ending with the Changeling escaping through the ventilation system. A little later, Lt.Cmdr. Kiax awakens with a start, an urgent message in her mind. Admiral Picard is innocent.
Cmdr. Rosek-Skyfire, meanwhile - already released from bedrest - hastens to a meeting with LtJG Shewytch and Ens Tasen to devise a method to detect the incognito Changelings aboard the vessel, and the science team identifies Thelomium-847 as an important, and rare, compound relating to the Changelings, and they share their findings with the Bridge Crew. Cpt. Delano meanwhile contacts the Andorian CO of the USS Cole - obviously a Changeling-in-disguise - to apply subterfuge in an attempt to gain more information about the Changelings’ plans. In the call multiple pieces of information - Jack Crusher, an individual named Vadic, the importance of the Fleet Formation Mode - are revealed to the Astraeus’ crew, as they’re given a new order: rendezvous with the Kitty Hawk and its Changeling infiltrators. The crew, however, agrees that finding and dealing with the Changeling threat must take precedence, and they start brainstorming how to counteract the Changelings’ wanton zipping about the vessel
Amity Outpost & USS Kitty Hawk
Subject 731 - a Changeling who was a subject in the classified Project Protheus - recalls her experience growing up in the laboratories under the watchful eye of Dr. Boucher, and how she once longed to join Starfleet to defend the ideals of the Federation. Now, however, she is at phaserpoint by Cmdr. Ukinix, and her ruse as Cpt. Rahman is - at least in this instance - through. 731 escapes from the brig through the ventilation system just as Cmdr. DeVeau and LT Wong enters the room, opting to continue her task elsewhere. She soon appears before LtJG Yirah and Lt.Cmdr. Carter, not bothering to feign innocence as she almost immediately engages the two officers in combat. When it becomes increasingly obvious that the two blueshirts are not a threat, however, 731 ceases lethal hostilities, and simply recommends they leave her alone to finish her task, prompting the two Officers to consider that - maybe - there’s more to this conspiracy than meets the eye.
In the Brig, a change in command occurs rather hurriedly, as Cmdr. Ukinix - now temporary CO of the Kitty Hawk - relays their situation to the crew at large. Captain Rahman is unaccounted for, there are changeling infiltrators on board and the Kitty Hawk is primed to self-destruct in 45 minutes. Sending Cmdr. DeVeau to the Bridge to take the Chair as his XO, Cmdr. Ukinix has LT Wong do a quick patch-up job of both him and LT Richards before the trio beams into Main Engineering to assist with repairs. Obviously, they beam right into a firefight between the already hard-at-work Engineering team and another Changeling infiltrator. It’s utter chaos for a few moments while Engineering crew attempts to get repairs done between errant phaser fire, when - eventually - the Changeling is no longer immediately visible. Instead, Main Engineering is now staffed by two Annamae Barberras. A nightmare, to be sure. Another Spider-man stand-off occurs, but it soon devolves into a fight between the two Barberras when the senior officers are unsure of their next course of action. As one Crewman Barberra prepares to kill the other, Cmdr. Ukinix shoots the offender, successfully killing and ending one of multiple infiltrators aboard the Kitty Hawk, and offering the Starfleet Officers their first real shot at finding out more about this old threat from beyond the grave. LT Wong is sent to Sickbay with the dead Changeling to start the autopsy, while the Engineering crew remains behind to finally get the Kitty Hawk back in fighting shape again.
Up on the Bridge, Cmdr. DeVeau replaces LtJG Ylvor in the center chair, calling for suggestions on how to deal with the hostile vessel outside while also making haste back to Earth. LtJG Ylvor suggests separating the Kitty Hawk’s saucer from the rest of the vessel, escaping with the entire crew in the saucer only. It is an idea that everyone finds distasteful - given that the Kitty Hawk is not actually their Ship - but while they’re still considering the suggestion, scanners notice a growing plasma storm a short distance away, and Cmdr. DeVeau orders her crew to head straight for the chaotic energy nexus. Meanwhile, on Probert Station, Ens Galanis - a fresh graduate - is faced with the most absurd first day in the history of Starfleet Ensigns, as they find themselves on gunpoint by Cpt. Roshanara Rahman, and in the most haphazard series of events, find themselves on the USS Miller. After confirming that none among their small group are, in fact, a Changeling, the barebones crew take the USS Miller to intercept the Kitty Hawk, and hopefully rescue the crew aboard...
USS Artemis
With the personnel aboard the Cube safely transported back onto the Artemis, the events aboard take a turn for the better as the Cube prepares to warp out of the area. In the transporter rooms, the personnel freshly beamed aboard from the Cube set to verifying each others’ personalities and disseminating throughout the vessel to assist with whatever their unique skill sets permit. Cpt. Addison MacKenzie brings LTs Charlena Vanlith and Jovenan with her to the Bridge, soon joined by Lt.Cdr. Robin Hopper, 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 of the Artemis do their best to attempt to extrapolate a course, but the worst suspicions of every Officer is soon honored, 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 gain as much information about the enemies’ plans as possible, Lt.Cdrs. Talos 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.
On the lower Decks, Cmdr. Genkos Adea, LT Hallia Yellir and Ensigns Jaseb Chevalier, Kel Solas and Gnai meet up in the Shuttlebay - sort of, as the two Ensigns who’d previously been at the mercy of the Changeling known as Ravicz are still in a floating shuttle - and after a thorough examination of each others’ true identities by way of 20 Questions, the two groups link up. Running out of ideas on how to locate the remaining Changeling Saboteur, the group is soon joined by LT Vailani Zoyara and LtJG Savel, who bring recent information on how to chase down the errant shapeshifters. 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 Rebecca Iko and LtJG Kaito Moore turn their focus on how to combat the Changeling saboteur, while LtJG Gila Sadar enlist the assistance of the other medical scientists to safely conduct the necessary cranial surgery on LtJG David Flint.
USS Astraeus
As the crew of the USS Astraeus scramble to locate the remaining Changelings, they take measures to limit the Changelings’ capability to interfere with the normal running of the Ship. With LT MacNemar’s identity confirmed to have been the preferred disguise of a Changeling, their access codes are blocked, but in response, the Changeling - knowing that its ability to hide is severely limited - instead appropriates Lt.Cdr. Esa Kiax’ form to access Main Engineering. Anticipating the movements of the saboteur, Cpt. Mei'konda Delano orders several of his officers to Main Engineering after completely shutting off the warp core to prevent any potentially explosive tampering. In his own words, ‘the hunt is on’. LT Wyatt Ral, LtJGs Charles Matthews and Christopher Caldwell and Ensigns Gwen'ora Tasen and Kris Fianna all head to Main Engineering while the Bridge crew keep a watchful eye on the situation as it unfolds. Soon enough, the five officers encounter the remaining Changeling, who first attempts duplicity by impersonating another crewman, attempting to trigger a Spiderman-stand off. Dr. Fianna foils this by making a risky gamble on her emotional intelligence being higher than the Changelings, and when the Changeling’s cover is broken, it instead takes the daring Doctor hostage.
The Starfleet Officers attempt to talk the Changeling down, but to no avail, and when it becomes apparent that it can’t accomplish its objective in Main Engineering, the Changeling tosses the panicked Doctor aside before attempting an escape. Up on the Bridge, Ens Tam attempts to entrap the Changeling in a forcefield, but the infiltrator is too fast for the computer. Cmdr. Serala orders the Changeling transported to the Brig instead, and erects a lvl 10 forcefield around the cell, bringing the Changeling Hunt to a close, finally…
The excellent scientists aboard the Astraeus have meanwhile made a breakthrough regarding the identification and detection of Thelomium-847, which will hopefully assist them in discovering whether the Changeling threat is an isolated incident, or perhaps a larger and more nefarious part of the Frontier Day Celebrations...
Amity Outpost & USS Kitty Hawk
Jane - Specimen 731 - continues to be waylaid by the persistent diplomatic efforts of Lt.Cdr. Carter and LtJG Yirah, and every moment that she delays, the more time the remaining crew of the Kitty Hawk have to counteract the other Changelings actions. In Engineering, LTs Richard and Reade and Crewman Barberra are joined by Cmdr. Ukinix in an effort to get the warp core back online. As they brainstorm a way to accomplish just that, it becomes apparent to the group that the Kitty Hawk is heading into a plasma storm, and a plan to harness the energy of the storm itself to kickstart the warp core is put into play, while Crewman Barberra is sent to Sickbay to rendezvous with LT Ikaia Wong and Cmdr. Ukinix heads back to the Bridge.
In Sickbay, LT Wong starts their autopsy on the Changeling corpse - assisted by the EMH - and they make the startling discovery that the Changelings are now capable of mimicking even the internal physiognomy of whomever they change into it. But such a process comes with its own setbacks: notably a vulnerability to the same inherent limitations by the species they choose. This vulnerability is soon put to the test as a Changeling masquerading as Crewman Barberra arrives in Sickbay to interrupt the autopsy, but the EMH handles the situation quickly, just as the real Barberra - wounded by the Changeling - shows up and faints on the Sickbay floor. Up on the Bridge, Cmdr. Ukinix returns to the center chair just in time to be alerted of the fact that a new vessel has warped into the system. With their sensors overwhelmed by the feed from the plasma storm, Cmdr. Ukinix orders a torpedo spread on the new vessel, fearing the worst. The unknown vessel soon makes contact, however, revealing itself to - ostensibly - be the USS Miller with Cpt. Roshanara Rahman, Cmdr. Hannibal Parker and Ensign Niev Galanis aboard. The crew of the Kitty Hawk take in this new development with righteous paranoia, and Cmdr. Ukinix - while initially reluctant to welcome the new arrivals - eventually suggest that Cpt. Rahman beams onto the Bridge alone and undergo testing, to assure everyone that she is not another Changeling. Cpt. Rahman agrees, and with her identity confirmed and the crew reunited with friends old and new, the USS Kitty Hawk and the USS Miller start their trek back towards Sector 001 to warn Starfleet, and interfere whatever conspiracy is afoot.
Barely do the two vessel make it back, however, before the Starfleet Admiralty makes contact, requiring an update on the hunt for the Titan...
Phase 2: Frontier Day celebration & fleet demonstration at Earth, Sector 001
The Frontier Day celebrations start out with the blast of fireworks but quickly turn into a crisis.
USS Artemis
The USS Artemis-A arrives to Frontier Day after two days in transit following their encounter with the Borg Cube in the Badlands. During that time, Lt.Cdrs Robin Hopper & Talos Dakora and LT Charlena Vanlith had time to analyze the data to identify the piece of technology stolen by the Changeling infiltrators on Amity Outpost: a Harmonic Convergence Node. What plan this piece of technology plays in the Borg's plans, however, remains a mystery.
The Artemis rendezvous with the USS Kitty Hawk to return most of the lost crew of Amity Outpost, and in order to address some personnel concerns after the encounter with the Borg, and to exchange necessary information about the encounter to the Kitty Hawk command structure, an exchange of personnel occurs. LT Nathan Richards comes onboard the Artemis, while LtJG Gila Sadar and Ens Gnai head to the Kitty Hawk. Soon after, Admiral Shelby begins her formal address to the Fleet, activating Fleet Formation Mode in celebration of the NX-01's maiden flight 250 years ago. Unfortunately, this is when everything goes wrong. A loud shriek goes off, and numerous Artemis personnel are assimilated into the Borg Collective... Just as planned. On the Bridge, Ens Jaseb Chevalier leads the other assimilated in his attempt to eliminate the other officers, but LT Vitor Silveira intercepts his attempt to shoot Cpt Addison MacKenzie as the others head for the turbolift to exfiltrate. They've almost made it out, gathering all still-unassimilated officers in the turbolift when a group of Drones prevents the door from closing. Lt.Cdr. Dakora and LT Richards force the drones away from the lift, but are thus trapped on the Bridge as the lift heads on down. Lt.Cdr. Hopper is very upset at leaving behind the two officers, but Cpt. MacKenzie urges for calm. They need to arm themselves and retake the Artemis, and the first step to that is heading to the arms locker near Transporter Room #1 on Deck 4. Meanwhile, the Borg on the Bridge start shooting on the USS Kitty Hawk as Ens Chevalier - now One of Eight - takes center chair.
In Sickbay, Cmdr. Genkos Adea and one of his nurses are attacked by the assimilated personnel and seek shelter in the CMO's office. LtJG David Flint wakes up from his post-surgery bedrest to find Sickbay overrun by Drones, and he wields the anti-Borg Serum that broke the Collective's hold on him in an attempt to fight back. Unfortunately, the curative properties have been adapted to, but the sedative is still functioning. Utilizing the weapon at hand, Cmdr. Adea suggests that the three of them set to replicating more of the serum in an effort to thin the herd of awake drones at least a little. Meanwhile, in the Security Center, Ensign Kel Solas's assimilation is underway when LtJG Savel realizes what is happening. Ens Kel begs his senior officer and fellow Vulcan to shoot him to prevent assimilation, not wishing to engage his fellow security officers, and LtJG Savel adheres to his wishes. Realizing that the Borg are attempting to take over all central areas of the Artemis, he runs out of the Security Center to start fighting back. His first goal is the Intelligence Suite, where he - unfortunately - runs straight into a small cadre of Drones who's managed to assume full control of the department. Now outnumbered, LtJG Savel calls for assistance, whcih arrives in the form of LtJG Delri'ise, and the fight for Intelligence commences.
On the Bridge, the left-behind Lt.Cdr. Dakora and LT Richards manage to seek refuge in the Ready Room, but then find themselves very locked-in. Deciding that they'd rather be proactive about getting out of there and assisting the crew in retaking the Artemis, they don some EVA suits and destroy the Ready Room's window. Space walk, imminent... Meanwhile, assimilated Drones inhabiting LT Hallia Yellir and the once more awake Ens Kel start patrolling the lower decks of the Artemis, ready to assist the Collective in eliminating the desperate defense of the unassimilated. The Collective has the Artemis-A.
USS Astraeus
After the combined efforts of the Astraeus crew to apprehend the suspected final Changeling on board, Captain Delano uses the lull in ship activities to engage in dialogue with the Captains of the USS Artemis and the USS Kitty Hawk. Unable to conceal his surprise after being informed of the detection of a larger-than-usual Borg Cube, the Caitian shares tidbits he has discovered to his fellow Commanding Officers relating to his mission to capture the Titan and his discussions with the Captain of the USS Cole.
While the ship is still warping towards Sector 001 for the Frontier Day Celebrations, the crew are called in for a discussion in a Secure Briefing Room; allowing the Captain the chance to inform his Officers of the situation and discuss two daring plans. Lt.Cdr. Kiax, still struggling to come to terms with the recent injuries she has suffered and the loss of her long term partner, and the Bynar Lieutenants 101 & 000 are tasked with duplicating the command authorisation codes of Fleet Admiral Wolf, in the hope that it can help the Astraeus with whatever they come up against in the Terran System. First Officer Serala and Acting Chief Medical Officer Doucet are ordered to assemble a rag-tag crew and board the USS Chin'toka, Cpt. Delano’s former command which is nearing the end of its refit period at the San Francisco Fleet Yards, and then use the forged authorisation of the Fleet Admiral to commandeer the Akira-class starship in the hope it can help to turn the tide in any unexpected situations.
The Astraeus arrived in the Sol system and dropped off several shuttles, carrying Cmdr. Serala and nearly one hundred officers and crew, to complete the illegal hijacking of the USS Chin'toka to add to their rag tag defence of Earth. Meanwhile, Lt.Cdr. Rosek-Skyfire was reassigned as the Astraeus’ acting First Officer. After that, the Galaxy-class starship took station in Saturn orbit to monitor the situation, as Frontier Day celebrations began. This period of observation did not last long, however, as a strange and incredibly powerful signal began to be broadcast throughout the Sol system. And without any idea of what was happening, Astraeus’ young crew members and officers began to turn on their crewmates, declaring in dead voices that they were the Borg. These included Dr. Fianna, Ens Tam, and one half of the Bynar duo, 101. Chief of Engineering, Wyatt Ral, and his staff evacuated Engineering, transferring control to the Bridge, while other senior officers, including science officers Alentonis and LtJG Shewytch took shelter in Stellar Cartography.
Desperate to find a solution, fights broke out all throughout the ship as the older members of Astraeus’ complement defended themselves against their younger aggressors. As a stopgap measure, members of Astraeus’ Bridge crew, including Cpt. Delano, Lt.Cdr. Rosek-Skyfire, Ens Tasen and LtJGs Matthews and Caldwell began beaming their assimilated crew mates to a locked down cargo hold, but this was known to be only a temporary measure, and in a second assault against the Bridge, LtJG Matthews was injured by a phaser shot from his assimilated crewmates and beamed to Sickbay, where Dr. Saa was retaking control. The only way this could be stopped, and the loss of life ceased, would be to find a way to interrupt the signal that seemed to be controlling these young apparent Borg.
Via a decommissioned turbolift shaft that runs vertically the full height of the Galaxy class starship’s stardrive section, Lt.Cdr. Kiax and 101 made it to the starship’s deflector control, where they implemented an experimental procedure to alter the ship’s defensive fields to partially block out the Borg signal. This allowed the ship’s young officers and crew to begin fighting against their assimilation. Now, Astraeus has warped to Sol Station as it is under assault from well over a hundred starships. With the station between the Galaxy class starship and the fleet, Cpt Delano attempts to evacuate as many people as possible from the station before its fleet-facing shields inevitably collapse. But with the Borg-assimilated fleet so close by, anything could happen…
USS Chin'toka
Cpt. Mei'konda gave the order to Lt.Cdr. Esa Kiax & LtJGs 101 & 000 to hack Starfleet and gain access to Fleet Admiral Tristan Wolf's command authorization codes and then told Cmdr. Serala and LtJG Sylvie Doucet to go steal the USS Chin'toka, a freshly fixed Akira-class that Cpt. Delano once commanded. With no idea how ready the ship actually is, given that it's still floating in drydock and wasn't actually supposed to be launching anytime soon, Cmdr. Serala brings together a small group with a variety of talents to bring over and LtJG Doucet puts together a box of medical supplies in case the ship has none. On the flight over, Cmdr. Serala is challenged by none other than the reason she has mandated anger management sessions: Daniel Perkins, now a Commander, but still sporting the broken nose and attitude. Since she can't punch him over the screen (sadly), Cmdr. Serala bluffs her way into command of the Chin'toka with the help of forged orders with equally forged authentication codes. Once on board, a motley assortment of Starfleet officers under the firm belief that their transfer orders were legit take stock of the situation and then meet up in a Conference Room where Cmdr. Serala summarizes the situation for everyone and hands out assignments: Lt.Cdr. Aine Sherlock as her FO, Lt.Cdr. V'Len Kel as CMO and 2O with LtJG Doucet as Assistant CMO, Lt.Cdr. Tai Ilsam as Mission Specialist, LtJG T'Ama as acting Chief Ops, LtJG Ghee’looth Xiron as acting Chief Engineer with Ens Is'Kah helping her out, Ens Daniel McGillian as the senior Sec/Tac on board, LtJG Kimberly Stapledon as CSO (much to Stapledon's surprise, considering she was an engineer before), and Lt.Cdr. Alexander Brodie as Counselor.
Before everyone leaves to start working, Cmdr. Serala breaks the news: They were here under entirely false pretenses, using forged credentials. This is shocking news to everyone, of course, but they all pledge to stay here for the bigger goal of saving Earth and the Federation from whatever the Borg and Changelings are plotting. "Let me guess. Thursday." On the Bridge, after the senior officers scattered to the four winds, Cmdr. Serala takes stock of the situation. She manages to avoid punching Perkins as they find out that the ship is woefully understocked with supplies and ill-prepared to do anything except leisurely float in space and move around. No tractor beam, no torpedoes, minimal supplies? No problem. They'll figure it out. But first: shenanigans. In the middle of launching the ship and Admiral Shelby's speech, the Borg's signal is broadcast and the newly assimilated portion of the crew announce themselves in unison before plunging everything into chaos. Among them is LtJG T'Ama, the surprisingly well-armed Chief of Operations. The half-Vulcan takes the dubious honor of attempting to assassinate her new commanding officer. Lt.Cdr. Sherlock's Security training and experience kick in with the goal of protecting the ship's Captain. Cmdr. Serala shoots out T'Ama's eye, finishing off the job that a random piece of hail started. Ens McGillian, meanwhile, is fighting off a headache and assimilation, succeeding in the latter but not the former. He forces a path to the captain and retreats with her to the Ready Room, freeing Lt.Cdr. Sherlock from getting completely beaten down by the Borg in the process. LtJG T'Ama, having taken the Bridge, attempts to install the Fleet Formation software, but Cmdr. Serala is quick to react by locking out the consoles in the Bridge as well as LtJG T'Ama's own authorization codes.
Meanwhile in Sickbay, Lt.Cdr. Kel gets himself and LtJG Doucet lost twice on the way there because the shipyard did not put the ship together the same way. There's very little in the way of supplies, they find, and LtJG Doucet is assimilated. Quick thinking gets her and LtJG Stapledon, now assimilated, locked in Sickbay with anesthetic gas pouring in. LtJG Stapledon, before getting locked in there, had brutally put down at least one crewman and was on her way to sabotage the ship when she ran into Lt.Cdr. Brodie. The two fight and it's Lt.Cdr. Kel's quick thinking that ends that fight after Lt.Cdr. Brodie pushes her into Sickbay. While the Lt.Cdrs. discuss how to deal with this, LtJGs Stapledon and Doucet plot a way back out by using a laser scalpel to cut through the bulkhead and force the ship's own failsafes to open the door and bring down the forcefield. They gain their freedom of movement to find that Brodie, Kel, and Nurse Rox escaped elsewhere and take the opportunity to use another laser scalpel to sabotage the deflector dish and a couple of unfortunate Security crewmen on their way to Engineering.
Engineering is in chaos. The Borgified crew there force the unassimilated there to either die or flee, but LtJG Xiron, Ens Is'Kah and Lt.Cdr. Ilsam figure out a way to secure the most critical parts of the section with creative usage of force fields and a tactical retreat to where Ens Is'Kah gets the idea to violate several health and safety regulations to force the warp core to start up ASAP. Perkins, having moved there from the Bridge to assist, watches the Vulcan hybrid start doing this in a combination of horror and utter fascination. Cmdr. Serala & Co. get LtJG T'Ama and the others on the Bridge beamed down to the Brig, where they're secured behind strong forcefields. They breath a sigh of temporary relief, then panic once they realize the unassimilated Orion helmswoman, Neshala, is stuck there. She's beamed out but not quite before getting severely injured and LtJG T'Ama finds out they didn't take her Type 2 phaser away from her. The Brig blows up as a result, burying poor Turnbull alive, and the Borg happily go to fetch more weapons from the Armory. State of the USS Chin'toka: CHAOS
USS Kitty Hawk
As soon as the USS Kitty Hawk entered Sector 001 alongside the USS Miller, the Starfleet Admiralty had made contact and requested an update on their hunt for the USS Titan. It was Captain Rahman's decision to ignore the communication and instead enact Emergency Order 7-6-2 alpha that solidified just how dire the situation had become. Starfleet was compromised, and not even the Admiralty could be trusted anymore. With the foreboding threat looming, Cpt. Rahman held a private meeting with the Captains of the USS Artemis and USS Astraeus, the three putting together their own separate pieces of the conspiracy in an attempt to uncover the truth before it was too late. With the skeleton crew of the Kitty Hawk still working to repair damage from Changeling saboteurs and daring detours through plasma storms, Cpt. Rahman chose to rendezvous with the Artemis and exchange personnel before continuing on to Earth and joining the gathered fleet.
On the bridge of the Kitty Hawk, Cmdr. Ukinix offers Amity’s newest ensign, Niev Galanis, a belated welcome. He then sends the Ensign and Cmdr. Carter to rendezvous with the group from the Artemis and ensure they were all who they said they were. Accompanied by a security detail, they arrive in one of the Transporter Rooms on Deck 6 joined by LT Wong. Beaming over from the Artemis were the returning Amity crew, as well as LtJG Sadar and Ensign Gnai. LT Richards joins the brief, relieved reunion before beaming over to Artemis himself. Soon after, Cpt. Rahman returns to the bridge just in time Admiral Shelby’s broadcast begins to kick off the celebration of Frontier Day… but her broadcast is interrupted by a warning that comes just a moment too late. The Borg signal activates the implanted DNA within the youth of Starfleet, assimilating most of them within moments. As the Artemis turns and begins to fire upon the Kitty Hawk, Vice Chief Marshal Sky Blake transports onto the bridge after retreating from a hostile situation within Starfleet Headquarters on Earth and immediately regrets her timing. Cpt. Rahman issues a warning to the crew, but the assimilated begin to act, eerily chanting their primary directive - eliminate all unassimilated. The ship’s controls are locked out by the Borg, leaving the crew no choice but to fight for their lives.
Among the several crew members struggling to remain themselves was Lt.Cdr. Alora DeVeau, who tackles the assimilated Crewman Annamae Barberra - designation One of Eleven - to the ground while LtJG Harrison Blackwood activates the fire-suppression system. The foam provides cover as the group escapes to a stairwell off the deck. After a brief struggle, One of Eleven gains the upper hand and makes the choice clear - assimilate or die. Lt.Cdr. DeVeau chooses a third option and fights free of One of Eleven’s grasp, making a desperate retreat for the Jefferies’ Tubes, where she makes contact with the others and is told to rendezvous at Sickbay. The assimilated Indrid Yirah - the Yirah symbiote observing from within - pursues her briefly, but is recalled to protect the bridge. One of Eleven takes her place in the Captain’s chair and the Collective assumes control of the Kitty Hawk.
In the Deck 6 Transporter Room, the assimilation signal strikes as the now unified group tries to formulate a plan to deal with the ship’s issues. Warnings are shouted out and phasers drawn as Ensign Gnai - its suit assimilated and designated Eleven of Eleven but the Galadoran inside unaffected - picks up the unassimilated transport chief and hurls him into a bulkhead to announce the beginning of the madness. LtJG Moore, now Two of Eleven, eliminates the unassimilated security detail as civilian scientist Samantha Richards becomes Six of Eleven. Chaos reigns and the unassimilated race to leave the room despite the painful reluctance to leave their former friends. LT Iko provides covering fire with the phaser rifle she’d brought from the Artemis as the group retreats to the safety of a Jefferies tube. The assimilated followed their directive with ruthless efficiency, eliminating all assimilated in sight outside of the saucer section transport rooms. LtJG Sadar is nearly brought to the brink by the carnage, but finds a sudden well of determination to help the others survive - like LT Vanlith, horrified beyond words at seeing LtJG Moore’s assimilation and needing to be all but dragged to safety.
Reaching safety with only seconds to spare, the unassimilated group seals the tube with phasers before planning their next moves. Lt.Cdr. Carter and Dr. Orrey join the other medical officers in speculating that Sickbay and the Anti-Borg serum may be their best chance to stop the Borg without needlessly killing the assimilated. LT Iko and LT Vanlith reason that if the Borg have taken the Bridge, Engineering and the nearby armory should be their objectives. The group agrees to split along these lines and begin the climbs through the tubes. Meanwhile, outside, the assimilated continue their rampage as they receive their new orders from the Collective. Six of Eleven (Sam Richards) and Eleven of Eleven (Ens Gnai) were to proceed to the bridge to assist in the defense, advancing deck-by-deck and ensuring no unassimilated on the way were spared. Two of Eleven (LtJG Moore) and Seven of Eleven (Ens Galanis) were directed toward engineering.
While the Elevens on the way to the bridge began to carve a path of calculated conquering, a group of marines held the turbolift hub on Deck 6. Two of Eleven reassessed the tactical situation, the Collective prioritizing taking the armory after overhearing the marines were working on doing so themselves. As Two departed for the transporters with reinforcements in tow, Seven of Eleven led a methodical extermination and clean up of the remaining survivors on Deck 6. Down in Engineering, LT Reade is dealing with the crisis as best he can. Whether lingering Changeling sabotage or signs of something even more insidious, the subwarp propulsion system is in danger of overloading. Crewman Valentine Essa has been assimilated and is now Three of Eight, putting LT Reade in mortal danger before LTs Iko and Vanlith arrive from their long climb down the tubes. Three of Eight is stunned by LT Reade, and the unassimilated shelter themselves behind a forcefield, each fighting to keep their emotions under control and figure out how to save the ship. Nearby Engineering, at the armory, Two of Eleven has led the assault right up to the very door of the weapons room itself, at a stalemate with the group of marines desperately trying to take it for the unassimilated. Seven of Eleven arrives as well, an awful surprise in tow - the Collective was using assimilated family members as hostages to get their way. Though the Borg are successful in coercing the armory open, the determined marines choose to make their stand here no matter what the cost.
On the way to Sickbay, LtJG Sadar speculates about the actual effectiveness of the serum with Dr. Orrey and Lt.Cdr. Carter as LT Wong concocts a bold plan to secure the Sickbay. The group will use anesthetic gas and hologram duplicates of LT Wong to distract and disable the Borg, despite the potential risks. Once the gas and Borg have been cleared from Sickbay, the group from the bridge finally finds a moment of reprieve and safety as they beam in and tend to their wounds. LtJG Ylvor is still struggling with fighting off the assimilation together with her symbiote. Blackwood's status is also stable, but in question. A tense moment passes as Jane, the captive Changeling, enters the Sickbay to find her former enemies waiting there. She broke free from the Brig when the assimilated entered and revealed their broken alliance by murdering the other Changelings held there, including the one who had impersonated Crewman Nuva. With the bulk of the unassimilated attempting to regroup and come up with a solution in Sickbay and their valiant efforts to save the ship from succumbing to further sabotage in Engineering, hope is still alive for Starfleet on the Kitty Hawk. But all the while, the Borg relentlessly adapt, methodically securing their hold on the ship. Will the survivors be able to organize a counter-attack… or will they find out resistance really is futile?
USS Narendra
The crew of Starbase 118 Ops currently aboard the USS Narendra returning from their most recent mission providing aid to the citizens from the moon of Miri IV from some mind altering plants finally resolving the situation with some diplomacy, lightning and rain. The crew hoping to have a much quieter return journey back to Starbase 118 receive a top priority directive to return to Spacedock in the Sol System from Admiral Banks. The closed lipped admiral gave no greater explanation apart from Urgent Starfleet Security Matters. Admiral Hauke through the back channels of communication via Commander Dal that Starfleet command may be compromised but with no communications it was difficult to find further information. The Intelligence machine kicked into action with Director McLaren recalled to the mysterious Intel Tower. Cdre. Taybrim and the pirate crew of the Starbase 118 Ops lead the charge by following orders to the letter but with a small detour to their home station to pick up necessary supplies.
Following a sombre briefing of the senior staff and a round of field promotions the crew split to prepare the ship and crew to go into a likely trap not knowing what they are facing. Newly promoted LT Marsh the newly appointed Mission Specialist alongside Cmdr. Fairhug, LT Willow, and Ensign T'Reyna prepare the ship for both ground of ship board fight. They are preparing aces up their sleeve but readying rotating phaser modulations and shield harmonics as well as ensuring the crew have a fighting force onboard. The equally newly promoted LtJG Korras and LT Ross - the also Acting Chief of Intelligence - tasked to trawl through every communication, signal and holoblog coming from the surrounding sectors. Their goal to find any intelligence which may benefit the success of the USS Narendra and Starfleet. The Medical Team, comprising of Lt.Cdr. Foster, Ensign Darius, the new Ships Counselor and the newly appointed Associate Chief Medical Officer LT Wethern, work to retrofit parts of the ship for mass casualties and protect the crew from threats both physical and psychological. Lastly the newly minted LtJG Kreshkova, LT Tito and Cmdr. Hael work tirelessly to push every ounce of power from the Narendra to provide agility and optimise defensive and offensive systems.
The detection of a signal from the past of Starbase 118 Ops from Cpt. Whittaker - former First Officer now out of retirement with a punch - frames the battle that the Borg are on Earth and the Narendra's mission may have just got much more complicated as they speed towards their home station then onward to Sector 001.
USS Artemis
After arming themselves in Transporter Room 1, Cpt. MacKenzie leads her team of escaped bridge officers to render assistance to LtJGs Savel and Delri’ise, who are pinned down outside Intelligence. Going down towards Deck 8 in the Turbolift, the Starfleet Officers listen to an intercepted distress call from the USS Excelsior, who is annihilated with every man onboard just after the unassimilated had managed to retake the Bridge. The Borg take this opportunity to announce their victory over Starfleet, hoping to capitalize on the despair and hopelessness permeating the fleet in the face of this disaster, but they find no hopelessness in that turbolift.
Arriving on Deck 8, the group of Starfleet Officers jerryrig a ploy to divert the Collective’s attentions elsewhere, by sending a dummy-Cpt MacKenzie - the highest priority officer - in the shape of her combadge with the turbolift down towards the computer core. With the combadge showing up as a big glowing target for the Collective, the group hopes that this diversion is enough to allow them free movement, at least for a time, as they head to assist the LtJGs outside Intelligence.
Their assistance is welcomed by the two LtJGs, and as the group fights back against the Drones still attempting to gain the upper hand against the unassimilated, they regroup and decide that their next logical step is Sickbay. Ensign Kel, now firmly in the grasp of the Collective, joins the skirmish to reinforce the Collective alongside fellow Drones from Security, and Cpt MacKenzie orders everyone to regroup, as she sees the odds turn against them.
On the hull of the Artemis, Lt.Cdr. Dakora and LT Richards continue on their walk down the vessel, witnessing the carnage occurring outside in space. It’s almost beautiful, but in a very fatalistic sense, and the two officers have little time to sightsee, as torpedoes and phasers shoot through the vacuum around them. The impact of one such weapon hit is almost enough to send Lt.Cdr. Dakora whirring through space, but LT Richards manages to ground him. Unfortunately, Lt.Cdr. Dakora’s helmet takes some minor damage, expediting the two officers’ need to get back inside the Ship. They access through an airlock near the Central Computer Core, clueless about the fact that the ‘TriKenzie’ diversion plan has led a small, but concentrated group of Drones to the very corridor they exit into, leaving them with precious few options to avoid combat.
On the Bridge, Ensign Chevalier - still helming the vessel as One of Eight - witnesses the final moments of the USS Excelsior with certainty in his mind that the Collective shall be victorious. At that point, however, the Artemis is brutally impacted by space debris, which has a devastating effect on the Ship’s systems. Transporters offline, replicators offline, turbolifts offline, holodecks offline, and the Artemis drifting through space towards the hulking remains of the USS Cambridge resting in space…
Impact is imminent.
USS Astraeus
With the antilepton signal, set up by Lt.Cdr. Kiax and 101 & 000, starting to block the Borg signal, several officers slowly regain control of their bodies and minds. In Sickbay, Dr. Saa tries desperately to reach the still controlled mind of LT 000 but the arrival of an injured LT Matthews puts a stop to the attempt. Not responding to treatment, the Acting Chief is soon technically dead as a Code White emergency is declared by the Betazoid Ensign and the Mark IV EMH.
Back on the Main Bridge, Captain Delano, Lt.Cdr. Rosek-Skyfire, LT Caldwell and Ens Tasen discuss their options as the Astraeus drops out of warp as the assimilated Fleet rains fire down on Probert Station. The skeleton crew on the Bridge decide to separate the ship and thin out their numbers even further; with the secondary hull acting as defence and the saucer section leading the evacuation attempts from the large beleaguered Station. The Caitian leaves the saucer in the capable hands of Lt.Cdr. Rosek-Skyfire, supported by Ensign Tasen and a smattering of relief staff, as he announces the separation of the ship and orders Officers Kiax, Alentonis, 101 and Caldwell to accompany him.
In Cargo Bay Four, Dr. Fianna finds herself in a firefight against Borgified crew who have not managed to break away from the signal that caused their assimilation in the first place. With assistance from a recently free Ensign Tam, the pair are able to identify as many drones as possible and transport them to another Cargo Bay and hold them there indefinitely until they are safe from Borg control.
Just before Dr. Fianna is attacked by an assailant, Ens Tam manages to beam her out of the Bay and to the relative safety of Sickbay, where she finds Dr. Saa treating LT Matthews, LtJG Shewytch working on a somewhat radical treatment and a recently freed LT 000.
After a heart to heart with a visage of his deceased twin sister, LT Matthews is revived due to the medical and telepathic skills of Dr. Saa. Quickly treated and given the OK in Sickbay; he, Dr. Fianna and LT 000 are ordered to the Main Bridge just moments before the saucer separates from the secondary hull.
Once the separation is complete, the First Officer starts to direct the evacuation measures and liaise with the staff of Probert Station. The Captain and the crew of the star drive turn to intercept the Borg controlled Enterprise-F before it can intercept the primary hull, hoping to keep the flagship busy long enough for survivors to be beamed to safety. After a brief flurry of weapons fire, they are promptly assisted by the USS Chin’toka and Narendra before the Enterprise breaks off and goes against the Ambassador-class starship. The moment of peace is short lived however; as they are soon faced with the USS Cabot and USS Venture and are pelted with weapons fire…
USS Chin'toka
Cmdr. Serala leads the few surviving Bridge crew back onto the Bridge proper, ordering Lt.Cdr. Sherlock and Ens McGillian to battle stations after locking down access to the ship's systems to core personnel deemed free of Borg influence. The intent is explicitly made clear: Whatever else happens, the Chin'toka and its crew were going to fight to the very last minute. As they arrive on the scene to the USS Astraeus attempting to beam people off the beleaguered Spacedock, Captain Delano reaches out to Serala and offers both encouraging words, a plan of attack, and hope in the form of shield settings that seem to interfere with the Borg's signal. Finally, there seemed to be a way to bring their affected crew out without more deaths.
Before the results of those changes could be verified, they see that the Enterprise-F is making a direct line for them and the Astraeus and Lt.Cdr. Sherlock suggests they take her head on, much to McGillian's consternation. They're outgunned, undermanned, and didn't even have a full complement of torpedoes on board. Cmdr. Serala is faced with the difficult choice of how to best direct the ship in its first fight since its refit. The ship is saved from having to engage the Odyssey-class by the arrival of the USS Narendra and three other ships that have come to investigate just what the heck is going on. Orders are given to face off against the USS Minor and USS Iniaeu with the assistance of the USS Aegis.
In the ship's Security Complex, Three of Twelve (T'Ama) was leading the Borg gathered there in an assault on the Armory and the defenders there find themselves flanked by LtJG Doucet and LtJG Stapledon. One Security Petty Officer takes charge of the ragtag group of officers and, acting upon orders given by Lt.Cdr. Sherlock, coordinates a fighting retreat into the ship's Armory. In the middle of the battle, they find that all the ship's sidearms have been remotely deactivated by Cmdr. Serala's command, leaving LtJG T'Ama the sole person on the deck with a working phaser. With the ship's weaponry rendered useless, LtJG T'Ama partially fries the control panel to the Armory, locking the human survivors within and leaves for Engineering. Stapledon follows. Doucet, having suffered a head injury via a pistol being slammed into her face, is temporarily out of action. When she gets back on her feet, Doucet speaks with her dead father in the process of finally being able to combat the Borg's utter control over her mind and body. Convinced that something was going on with her brain, she ends up injecting herself with a stimulant from a surprisingly well-stocked medkit in the hopes of disrupting her own central nervous system to shed the Borg's control once and for all.
Xiron, Is'Kah, and Ilsam are hard at work keeping the ship's critical systems out of the reach of the Borg. Commander Perkins, having made his way down there to help out, is utterly aghast at how many safety and health regulations are being broken and rankles under the lower-ranked Engineering officers' brusque demeanors and orders. The potential conflict between them is resolved by llsam asserting his authority and talking the reluctant senior officer into helping out. Xiron and Is'Kah use their unique telepathic bond to coordinate their actions and carefully toe the line between disaster and success to get the warp core up and roaring to action from a cold start by gaslighting the ship's systems into thinking it was totally already going full-bore. To finish the process, Is'Kah jumps down a few decks to the lower part of the warp core and finds herself face to face with the invading Borg, led by LtJG T'Ama. Xiron gets busy helping Lt.Cdr. Brodie restore the deflector screen and tinker with the shields, leaving Ilsam to be the one reinforcing the Vulcan/Trill hybrid.
LtJG T'Ama gets bitten in the attack. Due to Xiron and Lt.Cdr. Brodie's tinkering informed by the data from the Astraeus, Stapledon's dream world is shattered and she comes back to a very pain-filled reality. In spite of all that was wrong with her in the moment, she calls out to LtJG T'Ama an in attempt to distract the Borg, giving Is'Kah an idea. Is'Kah taunts the assimilated LtJG to try to get her to snap out of it and resist and earns a resounding slap across the face that dislocates her jaw. Ilsam resorts to a Vulcan nerve pinch, more or less, to knock LtJG T'Ama out and tells Is'Kah to stop biting people before taking LtJG T'Ama to Sickbay on his way to reporting to the Bridge.
A fighter pilot, Lieutenant Jelanna Zarax, has fought her way to Sickbay on Deck 10 and comes upon a seriously injured crewman. Leenaya Edrei, one of the ship's newest medics, runs into the scene and begins treatment. They attempt to move the patient to Sickbay, a risky move without the use of transporters, only to find Sickbay locked and sealed. Ens Leenaya contacts Lt.Cdr. Brodie to get his help to get inside. Ilsam's arrival gets them inside and Lt.Cdr. Brodie comes back to Sickbay to help out following the successful implementation of shielding against the Borg signal. Doucet comes back to work following a hit of Tricordrazine, followed shortly by a very injured Stapledon. The work begins on getting the crew patched up enough to continue their work. All assimilated crew are now unassimilated thanks to the blocking of the Borg signal.
USS Kitty Hawk
The reprieve the unassimilated have earned by retaking Sickbay is short lived. While Cmdr. Ukinix and the Changeling Jane have a tense confrontation over their very recent past as enemies, Cmdr. DeVeau arrives in Sickbay after a harrowing struggle to remain herself in the tubes. Whehn the Emergency Medical Hologram examines LtJG Ylvor, LT Wong begins to show signs of sickness - while the Borg signal isn’t assimilating him, it's causing him to show increasing levels of the Klingon Augment Virus affecting his DNA.
It’s not long before the group has devised a plan. The doctors, including LtJG Sadar, LT Wong, and a newly reinstated (much to his chagrin) Lt.Cdr. Orrey will remain behind, hoping to find some sort of solution within the struggling Ylvor and DeVeau. Cmdr. Carter, Cmdr. Ukinix, VCM Blake and Cpt. Rahman will be joined by LtJG Blackwood and Jane in reinforcing Engineering.
On the Bridge, Six of Eleven (Richards) and Eleven of Eleven (Gnai) arrive at last, having finished their rampage through the decks and evaded LT Wong's holographic distractions. As soon as they are assigned to their stations, the Collective makes its will known - the USS Excelsior was to be eliminated. One of Eleven (Barberra) repeats the order to fire again and again while Five of Eleven (Yirah) unleashes torpedo after torpedo. The ship is obliterated in a matter of seconds by the concentrated fire. The minds trapped within the assimilated can only watch in horror and regret as 750 lives vanish in the blink of an eye. The unassimilated Gnai, still trapped within its suit, summons up a mighty effort and manages to damage its own suit… only for the Collective to finally deem it worthy of elimination, the suit now attempting to smash the helpless Galadoran’s tank itself. The Collective begins to guide the Kitty Hawk to begin to assault Terra Luna.
Over on the USS Miller, the Frontier Day celebration is in full swing as well. Major Parker and Captain Christina Cordova had been commiserating concerns over the Fleet Formation system when the attack began. The assimilated on the bridge are little match for the terrifyingly experienced Parker, and he grimly prepares to arm himself and retake the ship he designed.
The group that had departed for Engineering arrives on one of the lower decks, below the pinned down officers two decks above. A plan is formulated to beam the unassimilated to the lower section of the ship and separate the saucer. VCM Blake is firm about what’s at stake - if they can’t take back control of the Kitty Hawk here and now, they have to find a way to disable it. Permanently. Cpt. Rahman is in agreement, and after rescuing a shaken ensign named Nadia hiding out in the Chief Engineer’s office, Ukinix, Jane, and Carter remain behind to take control of the ship's separation capabilities as Rahman, Blake, and Blackwood hurry to reinforce their allies.
Meanwhile, the Borg assault on the weapons room is brief and brutal. Though the numbers of the drones were thinned, Seven and Two of Eleven stood victorious, ruthlessly eliminating the remainder of the marine detachment on the Kitty Hawk. The drones arm themselves, taking what they could carry before methodically destroying the remainder of the armaments. A pair of drones depart for the bridge carrying a type-4 phaser cannon intended to arm Eleven of Eleven.
On the upper levels of engineering, LT Reade and LT Vanlith work desperately to stabilize the warp core while LT Iko valiantly holds back the assimilated Borg. But it soon becomes clear the drones are keeping the officers pinned down and trapped for a reason - Two (Moore) and Seven of Eleven (Galanis) have arrived, bringing with them a sizeable force of drones. The Borg spread out as the lights are disabled, and a chaotic firefight breaks out in the darkness. Iko catches a bolt in the side from Two of Eleven in the action, while Vanlith and Reade are forced to do little more than take cover while the drones march inevitably advances.
USS Narendra
Lieutenants Kreshkova & Tito and Cmdr. Hael have been working on means to auto-target torpedoes using spotter drones, while Ensign T'Reyna, along with LTs Marsh, Willow, and Cmdr. Fairhug, have been preparing to distribute phasers, combat tricorders, rations, and more, as well as modulating the ship's shields.
Dr. Foster has been preparing Sickbay for battle, being assisted by LT Wethern. They are looking at using the decontamination systems there as a faraday cage, cutting off drones there from the rest of the collective, if it came to that.
LTs Ross and Korras have managed to access several communications indicating a battle in the Sol sector, including the Excelsior's seemingly last transmission, a message from Cpt Whittaker, and an encoded communication showing Captain Tuvok shapeshifting into Captain Riker.
Cpt. Whittaker has been picked up from aboard a Fenris Ranger vessel, as well as LtJG Strathmore who was on a trip to Starbase 118. As reinforcements, the Rahuba, Aegis, and the 292nd Raptors were called into service from Starbase 118.
With the Narendra arriving in the Sol system, contact has been made with the USS Chin'toka, and the call to battlestations has been announced.
USS Artemis
Realizing that their team is being hounded by a large number of drones, Captain MacKenzie orders her team of resisting officers to regroup as the odds turn against them. LT Vitor Silveira struggles with a drone for his weapon, but thanks to the Captain’s aim, manages to regain control of his rifle as the group heads directly for an access hatch leading to Deck 7, and Primary Sickbay. The Drones realign their focus to account for the change in tactics, and dedicate personnel to intercept the fleeing officers.
In Sickbay, Genkos Adea and LtJG Flint are attempting to find a way to reverse the assimilation process, but as Drones are still attempting to gain access, they decide to barricade themselves in. This proves to be an issue when the Captain’s team arrives while under fire by advancing drones, and they hastily start dismantling the barricades once more to provide access to their reinforcements. Now joined together in Sickbay, the majority of the still lucid senior crew of the USS Artemis-A must formulate a strategy to take back their Ship.
In the Computer Core a few decks up, LT Richards and Lt.Cmdr. Dakora directs their attention towards dismantling the Fleet Formation Mode, but first must make it through a murder of drones. This proves problematic, and to his own horror, LT Richards is forced to end the life of one of the Drones in self-defense. The two officers aren’t able to pause their task, however, and hasten towards the Computer Core to complete their sabotage. Tarzan-ing it over the railings towards the consoles on Deck 7 - both to save time and to escape a feral Caitian child drone - the beaten and battered Officers successfully dismantle the Fleet Formation Mode, disconnecting it from the Artemis’ computers, before LT Richards’ falls unconscious out in the corridor. Fleet Formation Mode no longer holds sway over the Artemis
Meanwhile, the assimilated crewmen continue their wanton destruction of the Artemis, with Ensign Chevalier receiving a new designation - Thirteen of Thirteen - as he’s sent into the lower decks to restart the Ship and enable them to evade the debris of the USS Cambridge. Ensign Chevalier attempts to hold on to the vestiges of his humanity as his assimilated body goes through the necessary steps to restart the Artemis’ computers only to realize one potentially fatal problem.
USS Astraeus
The star drive of the Astraeus was starting to feel the effects of the continuous barrage it was receiving; shields were draining quickly and minor damage was developing into full blown losses of structural integrity. Some quick thinking from Esa Kiax @○●● Esa Kiax aboard the Battle Bridge would hopefully turn the tide in their favour as she ordered Lieutenant 101 @101 & 000 - Mason 🌈⚧ to attempt to break through the digital firewalls of their opponents computers and transmit a chaos-inducing payload into their systems. The Trill Officer requested Lieutenant Commander Alentonis @Alentonis: Science Nerd monitor the antilepton field while she and the Bynar subordinate worked tirelessly.
With the situation looking increasingly bleak, and Lieutenant Caldwell @●● Christopher Caldwell monitoring their quickly depleting weapons, Esa and 101 quickly declared control over the Cabot’s and Venture’s transporters, forward sensor arrays and warp core ejection sequences. However, the excitement is short-lived. Lieutenant Ral @Wyatt Ral soon reports that the shields cannot survive much more of a beating, that the warp core containment field is dropping and the deflector dish, previously modified to block the Borg assimilation signal, is now offline. Captain Mei’konda @Mei'konda Delano quickly decides to liaise with Commander Serala @Serala of the Chin’toka and Commander Rosek-Skyfire @○●● Lael Rosek-Skyfire/Tai Ilsam aboard the saucer section, to discuss reconnecting the ship into one piece before the secondary hull is blown into several.
USS Chin'toka
After a turbulent two hours, the Borg threat on the Chin'toka is temporarily pacified for the moment due to the efforts of the unassimilated crew. Now free of the Collective, Sylvie Doucet, T'Ama, and Kim Stapledon all make their way to Sickbay. Doucet introduces themself to Leenaya Edrei as the Asst. CMO after assuring Alexander Brodie that they weren't here to kill anyone. Brodie plays the role of managing triage and nursing assistant to the two doctors as Edrei takes care of T'Ama and Doucet heals Stapledon's injuries and resets her hip. As Stapledon is needed on the Bridge, the engineer-turned-scientist leaves once takes up her post there. In the meantime, Doucet turns their attention to Brodie calling for help with T'Ama as Edrei focuses on the Vulcan hybrid's burns and missing eye. The scene takes a turn for the absurd as their patient breaks out in song. The doctors briefly join in until they get T'Ama calmed down with a mild sedative.
On the Bridge, Serala commands the ship in battle against the Minor with the help of the Aegis as the Narendra takes on the Enterprise-F. They use a series of very short, precise warp jumps to run interference for the Astraeus while combating the Borgified fleet. McGillian disables the Minor and Serala orders him to steal as many of the other ship's torpedoes as he can. Stapledon and Tai Ilsam focus on balancing keeping the shields up and redistributing power from as many other systems as possible to keep the Chin'toka in the fight. At the same time that Is'Kah down in Engineering thinks of it, Serala realizes they can use command codes to temporarily disable the other ships and issues orders to that effect.
Down in Engineering, Ghee'looth Xiron and Is'kah are running the warp core ragged and putting out the fires, both metaphorical and real, as they pop up.
USS Kitty Hawk
The Borg attempt on Captain Roshanara Rahman’s life comes dangerously close to success. Two and Seven of Eleven fire relentlessly upon the exposed Captain as the injured Rebecca Iko attempts to tackle her out of the way. The unassimilated reluctantly unleash a barrage of return fire, taking down the two drones for the time being. Iko and Charlena Vanlith race to check on Captain Rahman’s wounds, their rapid first aid likely saving the Captain’s life. Soon after, the direly wounded Iko herself is transported to Sickbay and Scotty Reade briefs the remaining officers on the situation in Engineering so far. Rahman, recovering from her wounds, formulates a plan to deal with the two disabled drones.
On the bridge, while the rest of the assimilated fleet begins to fire on Probert Station, the Kitty Hawk begins its ominous journey to Terra Luna. Five and Six of Eleven (LtJG Yirah, S. Richards) are willed by the Collective to remove Gnai from its suit for elimination. The threat on the innocent, helpless Galadoran’s life is the straw that finally breaks some of the Collective’s hold on the two assimilated Officers. Gnai’s stinging tendrils shock Sam back into control of herself, while the Yirah symbiote fights to spare Gnai and transport it to Sickbay. One of Eleven briefly seems to have Richards’ life in its hands, but she valiantly makes her escape, intent on locating and rendezvousing with Harrison Blackwood down in engineering.
In Sickbay, the doctors stumble upon the foreboding discovery of Borg DNA in the assimilated, duplicated by the body itself once active. Ikaia Wong discovers his altered DNA has caused something of a Borg allergy, while an intensified wave of the assimilation signal wreaks havoc on Alora DeVeau and Torvi Ylvor. DeVeau’s steely resolve, still bolstered by the memory of her family, let her withstand this assault. Ylvor, however, is overwhelmed and assimilated, taking on the designation Three of Eleven. The newly assimilated drone smashes its fist into a console, just narrowly missing Wong. Adding to the chaos, Gnai and Iko arrive in the Sickbay at nearly the same time. Gila Sadar scoops up the Galadoran and places it in the nearest container of liquid she can find - an abandoned pot of coffee left behind by Wong.
With some quick thinking, the doctors and injured escape behind the safety of a quarantine forcefield, holding off Three of Eleven as best they can while they theorize how to interrupt the assimilation signal. It’s Jansen Orrey that comes up with a plan to take Strategic Ops and try to interrupt the signal. He departs with DeVeau, leaving the others behind to find a way to help Three of Eleven regain control of herself..
Richards arrives in Engineering, startling the group but giving them hope Two and Seven of Eleven can also be helped. Harrison Blackwood and Richards share a brief reunion as the drones are moved to the lower decks of Engineering, where Rahman orders the Borg secured and held prisoner in an empty anti-matter storage compartment. Blake and Richards accompany Rahman into the makeshift cell to interrogate the drones. While still assimilated, the storage compartment blocks Two and Seven’s connections to the Collective, leaving them isolated and vulnerable.
Outside of the storage compartment, the rest of the unassimilated in Engineering focus on finding a way to retake the Bridge controls from the lower section. While progress had been made on the ship separation plan, Wil Ukinix and Jane soon realize the ship may be too damaged to transport everyone off the saucer section in time. John Carter suggests a plan to use power sources from shuttles to boost the transporters, but the unassimilated find themselves running dangerously short on time.
Back on the Bridge, One of Eleven assesses the rapidly changing status of the Borg on the ship as Earth’s moon looms ever larger on the viewscreen. Control of the ship is momentarily reestablished, the drones Five (Yirah), Eight (T’Yon), and Eleven of Seven (Gnai’s suit) retaking their positions on the bridge. What forces Starfleet can muster to defend Terra Luna begin to fire on the Kitty Hawk, rocking the starship with torpedoes and phasers. The Kitty Hawk begins to fire back… but the Yirah symbiote is still fighting against the Collective. He decisively completes the procedure Ukinix had started in Engineering.
The USS Kitty Hawk has engaged emergency saucer separation.
USS Narendra
The intrepid crew of the Narendra warped into Sector 001 with the battlestation cry going out across the ship with the crew still recovering from the news of the assimilated Starfleet vessels and crew.
Once in the throes of action they realise their key target is none other than the flagship vessel of the Enterprise F. The excellent piloting, tactical and communication skills of the bridge crew enable them to knock out one of the Enterprises shield generators and several phaser emitters, however the Enterprise isn't dead in the water and delivering glancing blows to the Narendra and its support ships.
The battle bridge are utilizing their skills keeping the ship safe and preventing the ever present fleet comms penetrating and taking over the Narendra. Their skill directing the fleet of Raptors in their pincer attack now seeing it's effects come to light.
The engineering teams are eeking out every ounce of the Narendra maneuverability and dispatching damage control as and when needed.
Medical are ready to receive multiple patient both internally and externally from allies needing help. Patching up the crew from battle damage both physical and mental.
The Narendra gremlins are sneaking in with some strangely acting crew members and glitches across the ship. Momentary warp core decoupling and misbehaving turbolifts. Could this just be the stress of a battle weary crew or is there more sinister goings on.
USS Artemis
The pieces all congregate on Deck 7, as the main resistance force consisting of Captain Addison MacKenzie and her crew join up with Commander Adea’s team in Sickbay, while Lt. Commander Dakora and LT Richards start hobbling their way in that direction as well. A not-insignificant number of drones also make their way towards Sickbay to put a stop to the unassimilated resistance once and for all, but this proves more difficult than anticipated.
Deciding that the next logical step to putting an end to the Borg’s plot is to retake control of their vessel, the unassimilated concoct a scheme to retake the Bridge while using a powerful knockout gas to clear their way of drones. Before they have a chance to start this plan, however, the pair of officers outside Sickbay call for assistance as they realize they are caught in a pincer attack between the assimilated Esma and the drone team hunting the Captain’s crew.
The unassimilated manage to beat back the drones, leading to a reunion for Hopper and Richards, and allows MacKenzie to gather a small team to commence the retaking of the Bridge, consisting of Silveira, Dakora and herself. Hopper tries to follow, but is stopped when a sharp piece of metal pierces her chest. Commander Adea manages to get her and LT Richards back into Sickbay, but can’t do anything for the currently unconscious - and slightly bleeding out - Lt. Commander. Instead, he orders a Nurse to keep vigil over her for now, as they commence with their plan to gas the drones standing between the Captain and her Bridge.
USS Astraeus
After a brief discussion with other senior officers, Captain Mei'konda @Mei'konda Delano proceeds to get his ship back whole again. Whilst in discussion with the other officers on the Battle Bridge, two plans bring to take shape; Lieutenant Commander Kiax @○●● Esa Kiax recalls the Enterprise-D launching antimatter particles from their phaser array during the events surrounding The Battle of Wolf 359 and wonders if a similar idea with antilepton particles could be beneficial in this instance, and Lieutenant Caldwell @●● Christopher Caldwell and Lieutenant Commander Alentonis @Alentonis: Science Nerd are tasked with leading a team onto Sol Station to assist with the removal of survivors before the assimilated Fleet blows the beleaguered outpost into smithereens.
Back on the Main Bridge, an injured Ensign Tasen @○● Gwen Tasen has reported that the sweeps for Thelomium-847 have not given any indications of any extra Changelings on board the Astraeus. As the saucer section approaches the secondary hull, they are forced to combat the Norway class USS Budapest. After orders from First Officer Rosek-Skyfire @○●● Lael Rosek-Skyfire/Tai Ilsam , the ship performs a quick manoeuvre as Lieutenant Matthews is able to disable the vessel with a fierce volley of torpedoes and phaser blasts. Hoping to avoid any further fighting, they now find themselves being approached by the USS Thunderchild, which closes quickly and will intercept the ship just three minutes after the split pieces are put back together again.
Ensign Tam @Divya Tam, with the assistance of Ensigns Saa @○● Dr. Sevantha Saa and Shewytch @Lt. JG. Slav Shewytch, finally gets the two parts of the Changeling captured and sent to the Brig just before the young Barzan woman informs Lieutenant Matthews than one of the Changelings let slip that the Borg used the transporters to help execute their plan. At the same time, Lieutenant 101 @101 & 000 - Mason 🌈⚧ sends an encrypted communication to Matthews, informing him of the plan that they and Commander Kiax have worked on, and the Acting Chief quickly gets to work modifying the phaser arrays.
Finally back together again, Ensign Fianna @●○ Dr. Kris Fianna provides an update on how many survivors have been transported from Sol Station, with the amount remaining still numbering in the hundreds and thousands. Captain Mei’konda orders Commander Rosek-Skyfire to Engineering with the Lieutenants 101 and 000, to assist Chief Engineer Ral @Wyatt Ral and his team with repairs, Matthews provides an update on the potential effectiveness of the Esa Kiax / Bynar plan, Lieutenant Caldwell and Commander Alentonis are making their way through Probert Station with pattern enhancers to clear out the survivors and Ensigns Saa, Shewytch and Tam are working in Sickbay to treat those who have already been beamed to the Astraeus…
USS Chin'toka
On the Bridge, Serala and Sherlock coordinate the ship's attacks against the Inaieu, Passchendaele, and Ypres after taking the Minor out of the fight. With a mixture of prefix codes, high mobility tactics such as the Picard Maneuver suggested by Ensign Kel Amir, copious usage of explosives in the form of discarded warp cores and torpedoes shamelessly stolen from pretty much anywhere Ensign McGillian can find them, and support from fighters and the Aegis. The Inaieu is the first of this wave of opponents to be knocked out, allowing the Chin'toka to focus on the Passchendaele. Kim Stapledon makes a finding about the Borg signal: it's interacting with subspace piggybacking off tetrion frequencies. She suggests launching a shuttle to fire bursts of tetrion particles to disrupt the signal, causing a temporary loss in local Borg command and control. The suggestion is approved and shuttle launch, just in time for Stapledon to announce a new arrival to the brawl - the Vimy Ridge. The ship also receives, belatedly enough, the SOS and warning broadcast sent out by President Anton Chekov and Serala issues new orders to find his pod somewhere in the battlefield. The shuttlepod that was modified for tetrion bursts intercepts the Belleau Wood and fires, proving that Stapledon's idea works as the other ship stops in its tracks. After that, McGillian announces good news: The President's escape pod has been found and retrieved.
Down in Engineering, Is'Kah and Ghee'looth continue their battle to keep the ship's power systems from failing as the ship keeps taking hits and the grid hits its limit in several spots. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and they're forced to redirect coolant from some of the ship's computers as well as vent plasma into space to keep the ship in the fight.
In Sickbay, Sylvie Doucet, Leenaya Edrei, and Alexander Brodie barely have a chance to relax after sedating T'Ama before the next crisis unfolds. One of the hits that the ship takes has the knock-on effect of setting Sickbay's primarily entrance on fire via a plasma leak. The automated fire suppression systems aren't responding, so the doctors scramble to find an extinguisher. T'Ama ends up finding it as Doucet orders medical staff to move patients from the patient ward that the door leads into the other wards further down the hall. Respirators and supplemental oxygen ensure that minimal damage is done to the lungs of everyone present, but Edrei still manages to get several burns in the process of finally putting out the blaze. With Ward 1 and the main entrance temporarily condemned until repairs finish, everyone regroups in Ward 2 to tend to new injuries, radiation poisoning, and burns on top of the chaos already present. The Final Hour of Frontier Day is about to commence...
USS Kitty Hawk
As the two sections of the USS Kitty Hawk separate and divert course from each other, Frontier Day enters its penultimate hour.
In the lower section, at the access to the computer core in Engineering, Wil Ukinix’s plan to evacuate the saucer is derailed by the sudden intervention of the conflicted Five of Eleven (LtJG Yirah) on the bridge. Attempts are made to transport as many survivors as they can before the saucer section is out of range, but time is precariously short. Complicating matters is the arrival of the revived Three of Eight, severely wounded by Scotty Reade hours ago and now fighting its way through Engineering to the computer core. Dangerous, but direly outmatched, Valentine Essa regains control of herself long enough to thank the commanding officers for the mercy before meeting her end.
Stranded on the saucer section now, the officers in Sickbay contemplate their grim prospects as Rebecca Iko finally regains consciousness, still wounded but eager to rejoin the fight. Gnai is mercifully relocated from its pot of coffee to clearer waters by Gila Sadar. The officers realize the Galadoran’s sting effect on Sam Richards might be the key to disrupting the assimilation, and a daring plan to retake the Bridge utilizing it is laid out by Ikaia Wong. Gnai allows itself to be experimented on, the doctors working as quickly as they can with the threat of the Borg looming.
Jansen Orrey and Alora DeVeau don’t idle while the doctors work. Exiting the Sickbay, they immediately come under fire from the Borg. Taking careful aim with his modified Romulan disruptor, Orrey fires at Three of Eleven (LtJG Ylvor) and disables the assimilated drone with a shot to the leg, the pain giving Torvi Ylvor a mental foothold against the Collective. DeVeau and Orrey refuse to leave the Trill behind, bringing her along as they fight their way toward Strategic Operations.
Elsewhere in Engineering, after the two drones are secured and locked away, Charlena Vanlith is trying to come up with her own way to replicate what had happened to Richards. The sudden separation of the saucer forces quick improvisation, Reade and Vanlith working to reroute the transports of the assimilated into locked Cargo Bays. Harrison Blackwood is contacted by Captain Roshanara Rahman and asked to escort Richards from the anti-matter storage compartment Two and Seven of Eleven have been imprisoned within. When he arrives, Richards’ reconnection with the Collective forces her reassimilation, once again becoming Six of Eleven. Attacking with frightening brutality, Six of Eleven attempts to execute its newest directive - eliminate Blackwood of Rahman.
On the Bridge, One of Eleven completes its evaluation, and the Collective comes to a cruel conclusion - the partially assimilated have become too much of a liability, and they’re to be treated as the rest of unassimilated. Eleven of Eleven (Ens Gnai's suit) opens fire upon the increasingly compromised Five of Eleven, the Yirah symbiote asserting its will and fighting back. One orders Eight of Eleven (T’Yon) to halt the saucer separation before it’s too late, but the Vulcan T’yon shows a glimpse of individuality in an act of rebellious refusal. They’re rewarded with their own execution, courtesy of One’s phaser.
Faint cracks in One of Eleven’s own assimilation show themselves as the Collective impresses the importance of eliminating her former allies. One decides independently from the Collective to assault Five’s position, knocking him unconscious. There’s hesitation in her decisions before she chooses to restrain him instead of following the directive to eliminate. The Collective tightens its icy grip on One of Eleven’s mind, and the Borg attempt to abort the separation procedure… until they’re very noticeably interrupted by Wong’s appearance on the viewscreen.
The Klingon doctor taunts the Borg, distracting them from the devious threat lurking in the replicators - copious amounts of silly string. Having discovered a way to tune the frequency of their phasers to simulate a Galadoran sting, the group from Sickbay springs their daring ambush from the Jefferies’ tubes. Pandemonium erupts on the Kitty Hawk’s Bridge as the unassimilated battle the Borg. With the saucer now fully separated courtesy of Ukinix in Engineering, a collision course with the moon is near guaranteed when One of Eleven destroys the helm console.
Proving to be more than just a prank, the silly string prevents Eleven of Eleven from firing upon Gnai, who’s been relocated into a more spacious tank and is carried by Sadar. This draws the ire of the suit upon Sadar, who is caught by the arm and left in peril… but the Mizarian, under such high stress and peril, exhibits a shockingly unexpected aspect of her biology. Deadly, blade-like bones erupt from her mouth and cause critical damage to Eleven of Eleven, severing the suit’s arm and freeing her before retracting and leaving a shaken Sadar to take in the chaos around her.
The Borg on the Bridge retreat, and despite Iko’s efforts to use her modified phaser to free Barberra, One of Eleven resists escapes with the damaged Eleven of Eleven. Attempts are made to prevent the worst of the crash while Five of Eleven is freed from Collective control by the ‘Borgistamines’, but the inevitable occurs - the saucer section of the USS Kitty Hawk carves a new crater into Terra Luna and comes to a final stop. On board, the survivors collect themselves and prepare to pursue the escaped assimilated.
Back on the lower section of the ship, within a cramped anti-matter storage compartment in Engineering, Captain Roshanara Rahman and Vice Chief Marshal Blake continue their interrogation of the captive Two and Seven of Eleven. The walls of the compartment isolate them from communicating with the Collective, but can’t block the assimilation signal, leaving the two drones disconnected and confused. Kaito Moore’s individuality resurfaces, but Seven of Eleven coldly taunts the officers and determines the drones will self-terminate.
A lifesaving stimulant concoction is replicated and administered to the drones, but backfires when Seven of Eleven breaks free. Despite the efforts of the unassimilated and Moore in the intense struggle that follows, Seven is eventually victorious, dragging its fellow drone back outside to reassimilate. It coldly updates the Collective and crew on the new status of the ship as events enter their final hour…
The saucer section of the USS Kitty Hawk has crash landed on the moon, and the Collective have captured Captain Roshanara Rahman and Vice Chief Marshal Blake.
USS Narendra
The fight with the Enterprise is in full swing. The Narendra managed to get a surprise attack on her, disabling two shield generators With the second attack disabled a main phaser array, and caused a cascade failure, blowing out a couple RCS thrusters as well as several secondary systems.
Unfortunately, the Enterprise now turned her attention on the Narendra, and not just with its weapon systems. Several younger crewmembers started showing being assimilated without any borg previous onboard the ship. They started attempting to turn off systems in Engineering, being a menace in sickbay, and on the bridge. To make matters worse, a singular drone was beamed onboard the bridge, identifying itself as Solus of Borg, but it soon became clear that she was formerly Solaris McLaren.
At her signal, assimilation of the younger crewmembers accelerated, including most of a security team sent to bridge to assist with the intruder, causing a full-on brawl on the bridge. Medical has come up with a way to possibly delay assimilation, so there is a gilmmer of hope.
To be continued!
USS Artemis
As the injured Robin Hopper is pulled back into Sickbay, the crew members present hurriedly ascertain her condition. Commander Adea - as the ranking Medical Officer - has the unenviable position of determining that Hopper’s condition has to be secondary to the well-being of the entirety of the Artemis’ Crew, and as such, orders Crewman Kraal to remain behind to observe her condition, while he leads the other team to continue their plan of gassing the Borg Drones to sleep. Nathan Richards does not disobey, but is visibly pained by the idea of leaving Hopper behind. The plan proceeds with little difficulty, apart from the persistent pain in Richards’ prosthetic arm which has been partially assimilated.
Thanks to their efforts, Captain Addison MacKenzie leads Talos Dakora and Vitor Silveira to the Bridge facing almost no opposition, and easily retakes the Bridge. They all remember the fate of the Excelsior, and now have to ‘play’ assimilated in order for the violence brought upon Earth Spacedock to not be aimed at the Artemis. This necessity is harsh as they overhear distress calls coming from multiple Ships in the vicinity, but they have to save themselves first.
Ensign Jaseb Chevalier - still assimilated by the Collective - is beamed to the Bridge to taunt the unassimilated crewmembers, to assure them that their defeat is inevitable, but he is soon shot in the back by a Chief Petty Officer, who’d just taken the turbolift to the Bridge. Soon thereafter, all goes quiet. Hesitant, the Artemis opens up communications to the nearby Ships, only to learn that this development is shared across the fleet. The worst is over.
Addison MacKenzie orders her crew to ‘open their doors’ - allow any in need of aid or shelter onto their Ship - but when she opens her doors, a sheepish Talos Dakora is left in a situation difficult to explain. How does one apologize for an entirely spaces Ready Room?
USS Astraeus
TBD
USS Chin'toka
As the fifth and final hour of Frontier Day celebrations arrives, the President of the Federation arrives on the Bridge and must make a difficult decision. The USS Chin'toka will stay and defend Earth to the last. Will he be among the last defenders of Earth or will he take Commander Serala's offer of a runabout and flee to safety, there to lead the Federation's response to the fall of Earth? He decides he has had enough of running and will stay there to the last.
The crew decides to place its faith in Admiral Picard's ability to pull through with a miracle at the last moment and President Chekov himself flies the ship to where it would make its final stand: solidly between the Borgified Home Fleet and Earth. Stapledon's plan to disrupt the Borg's command network is put in place immediately, drawing on every bit of energy that the damaged Akira-class can put into it. From Engineering, Is'Kah issues the warning that all nonessential power is being directed to the cause of keeping the ship in the fight, even to the point of warning Sickbay that primary power will be shut off there should the shields get low enough.
With Sickbay getting too crowded, Doucet makes the decision to convert the main holodeck to accommodate the additional casualties, relying on its independent power storage. Each of the doctors affirm their commitment to work as normal up until the very last moment as the whole crew hopes for the best and prepares for the worst. McGillian sends the plans for signal disruption to other friendly ships.
The efforts bear fruit as Borgified ships around the Chin'toka show signs of slowing or shutting down rather than maintain the formation necessary to bombard Earth's major cities. There are a tense few moments of standoff before scanners detect the hoped for miracle in the form of the massive Borg Cube exploding in Jupiter's upper atmosphere. Almost immediately, neighboring ships turn friendly once more and begin standing down as Starfleet officers reassert their own personalities and independence.
The battle for Starfleet's future has been won.
USS Kitty Hawk
As the unassimilated on the bridge of the USS Kitty Hawk recover from the impact, the final hour of this harrowing day begins. Gila Sadar and Gnai remain behind to tend to the wounded while the team assesses the damage to the saucer section. Ikaia Wong, Bec Iko, and - courtesy of the “Borghistamine” the doctors have developed - a now fully resisting Five of Eleven (Yirah) depart to pursue One of Eleven (Barberra).
The group searches for survivors in the still intact parts of the saucer, finding it eerily empty of life before they finally encounter Eleven of Eleven (Ens Gnai's suit). With no qualms about hurting an actual robot, the group holds little of the day’s frustration back as they destroy it once and for all.
Back in space, within the lower section of the Kitty Hawk, Commander Ukinix reels from having to end the Borg that had once been Ensign Essa’s life while the Changeling Jane soberly looks on. Lt. Commander Carter helps keep him focused on the task at hand, but the chaos across the recently separated ship throws a wrench into their plans. They’ve only barely had a chance to contact the other crew before Harrison Blackwood stumbles in, having only just narrowly survived his fight with Six of Eleven (Richards). Though Sam Richards’ injuries bring her back to herself, there’s little time to feel relief - a dire distress call from Sky Blake sends the group hurrying to engineering.
In the main Engineering section of the Kitty Hawk, Two (Moore) and Seven (Galanis) of Eleven have fully reconnected with the Collective. They waste no time in sealing Captain Roshanara Rahman and VCM Blake within the antimatter compartment, securing their hold over the hostages and making the threat on their lives clear. Charlena Vanlith, still in the midst of trying to beam as many assimilated into the cargo bays as she can, is forced away from her console at phaser-point by Two of Eleven.
Both sides are eager to stall for reinforcements, the Collective redirecting every available drone to Engineering and Ukinix’s group rushing to help their fellow officers. The nearly simultaneous arrival of both signals the end of the tense standoff and the beginning of a desperate last stand for the Starfleet officers on the Kitty Hawk’s lower section.
While the chaos builds to a crescendo in space, Jansen Orrey and Alora DeVeau miraculously manage to fight their way to Strategic Ops on the saucer, protecting the wounded Torvi Ylvor all the way. It’s there they encounter One of Eleven (Barberra), herself showing signs of the fraying conviction of the Collective’s signal. One attempts to goad Alora and Torvi into allowing themselves to be assimilated, but both desperately cling onto individuality. Alone and now designated One of One, the drone works to sabotage whatever remains without regard for her own safety.
Wong, Iko, and Five finally rendezvous with the group after dispatching Gnai’s former suit, handing out their modified antihistamines in hyposprays to finally give the struggling DeVeau and Ylvor a firm foothold against assimilation. The emotional tension of the situation causes Iko to snap at Wong and the half-Klingon lieutenant pursues One on her own. Already wounded, Iko stands little chance in close-range combat with a drone. As One of One makes her escape into the Jeffries tubes, Wong leaves an injured Iko behind to chase the drone down himself.
On the momentarily calm Bridge. Gila and Gnai find Sickbay one of the few places on the saucer remaining with power, beginning the process of beaming drones out and survivors in. It isn’t long before they have unexpected visitors - the drones who Two and Seven of Eleven had ordered to the Bridge with the type-4 phaser cannon from the armory have finally arrived.
The terrifying weapon fires upon the defenseless duo as Gila races for the safety of the turbolift with only seconds to spare. The relentless drones force their way into the shaft and on top of the slow-moving, low powered lift. Clutching the backpack containing Gnai tightly in her arms, Gila makes a break for Sickbay as soon as the lift arrives.
Bedlam breaks out within Engineering for the second time today, Two of Eleven leading the charge while Seven of Eleven keeps guard over the hostages. It isn’t long before Two of Eleven targets Vanlith personally, and it pursues the fleeing engineer away from the battle. The situation becomes so dire Scotty Reade suggests taking drastic measures to eliminate the Borg, but Wil refuses to let more Starfleet youth die needlessly today.
With Richards and Blackwood pinned down and in mortal danger, Jane makes a shocking choice - the Changeling leaps into the fray, dispatching several drones and drawing the full brunt of phaser fire on herself. Though Jane’s sacrifice is enough to begin to turn the tide of the battle, as she loses her form, her ultimate fate is left unknown.
Having regained control of the USS Miller, Hannibal Parker receives the call for help from Sky as well. True to his reputation, he concocts a clever scheme to cut the compartment from under the Borg’s noses with surgically precise phaser fire. He’s successful in rescuing Rahman and Blake, the Collective incapable of stopping him… but the antimatter storage compartment’s removal had given the Borg access to a devastating weapon.
For the crew of Amity Outpost and their guests, Frontier Day’s events reach their climax moments before the assimilation signal is stopped. Sadar and Gnai find themselves cornered, certain death encroaching on them, when the Sickbay’s barricaded doors won’t open for them. The group on the saucer fights to save the youth of Starfleet while Iko pursues Wong into the tubes. In Engineering, Kaito Moore manages to turn his phaser on himself rather than let the Collective use him to eliminate Vanlith. The Federation is winning the battle on the lower section, but the impending doom of the improvised antimatter detonation looms overhead…
The destruction of the Borg Cube on Jupiter comes without a moment to spare. On both sections of the USS Kitty Hawk, the assimilation signal ceases, and the surviving Starfleet officers are themselves once again. As the magnitude of what had happened to day settles in throughout the crew, the sense of relief is muted by the question of if things were ever going to be the same again...
USS Narendra
TBD
Phase 3: Outer Perimeter Defense of the Federation in the Alpha Isles and Marchlands
While the bulk of Starfleet is distracted by the events of Frontier Day, it's up to the USS Constitution, USS Khitomer, and USS Ronin to respond to the threat of a new alliance of factions that take advantage of the Federation's vulnerable position.
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