Randal Shayne/Professional History: Difference between revisions

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Shayne has often thanked his lucky stars that he was not born to a telepathic species, and this occasion was no exception. While the crew of both the Atlantis and the Blackwell recover from the previous mission's debilitating events, a virus runs rampant throughout the corridors of the Andaris Task Force. An ailment that breaks down the psychological walls in all crewmembers capable of telepathic communication or activity soon begins to wreak havoc. As Shayne and others notice something deeply disturbing and, at that time, unexplicable, another matter arrested their attention. Small clues pointed to a very different sort of disease plaguing their midst; a computer virus, ostensibily the courtesy of Taventa Robotics. Shayne's closeness with starships meant that this attack was not only an assault on the Blackwell, but a personal attack on him. Vengefully, and with the aid of others, including the fiancee of Nathanial Wilmer, the virus was purged permenantly. Further scrutiny would reveal the same virus as a factor in the Blackwell's minefield accident not a month before. Before they could rest easy, Shayne and the others found further evidence of elicit tampering- this time, taking the form of a physical piece of equipment attached to their secondary hull. An EV excursion was the only way to approach the situation, despite Shayne's reticence about space walks and Charlotte Farnsworth's tempermental stomach. Shayne, Farnsworth, Thoran and Dr. Yesna exited the vessel, and effected delicate repairs. Further study revealed the contraption to be a communications device, one designed to transmit signals into deep space and to an unknown location. Due to the uncertain nature of the device in question, Yesna suggested a beaming into space. However, upon the attempt, the device was destroyed in the beam, removing any evidence of the tampering, but also removing the problem. Shortly afterward, the ship's ample medical facilities managed to siphon a cure, and the ATF continued, though a great deal more wearily then before.

[[Kam’Jahtae (Andaris Task Force)]]

[[File: ATF Kam'Jahtae.png|200px|thumb|right]]

Minor dealings with the less desirable aspects of the Par'tha Expanse allowed Shayne a peak into the brutality that existed in this region of space. The Valcarians dealt cruelty and oppression with ravenous and perpetual glee for the harm they inflicted. Perhaps the most memorable example of this for Shayne might be found during his voyage to the planet Arndall, of the House Tadere. Upon their arrival, the Blackwell found a world under assault. Brutal ground attacks by Valcarian troops layed waste to much of the planet's surface, and an all but impenetrable blockade withheld support from above. Called to action on a mission of mercy, the Blackwell deployed a number of shuttles filled to the brim with medical personnel and equipment, ready to render aid to those affected. The political situation above, meanwhile, continued it's rapid decent. High Preistess Glovelyn, the governer of Arndall and a supremely unpleasant individual, sat down with Lieutenant General Asil of the Valcarian Empire (by all accounts, an equally unpleasant individual) only at the behest of Commander Whittaker, who, with the aid of Ambassador at Large Kalianna Nicholotti, would attempt to prevent further warfare. Meanwhile, Shayne was relegated to the bridge, as his position of second officer made appropriate. However, Shayne had only ever held command during short spats of peace. Now, the inexperienced officer was placed in a position of serious strain- as a war raged around them, and the negotiations deteriorated with comperablely destructive results, even the slightest error in judgement could result in disastrous consequences for all concerned. Shayne occupied himself by maintaining as accurate a sensor lock on the away teams as humanly possible. This was a fortunate coping mechanism, as it permitted the second officer to take note when a series of distinct seismic disturbances rocked the world below.

Further analysis led to an incredible discovery. The seizmic occurances were not, as previously suspected, results of the bombardment the Valcarians had subjected the planet to in their campaign. These intense, focused and continuous disruptions were the result of an alien race stirring beneath the crust of Arndall. High Priestess Glovelyn identified the trespassers as Kam'Jahtae- mere stories, or so she had been led to believe. Their kind had not been seen in millenia, but for whatever reason, their rest had been disrupted. In the midst of excruciating tension, hundreds, thousands, ''millions'' of Kam'Jahtae ascended to the surface, and began their own destructive crusade against the ravaged planet. This time, however, both Caraadians and Valcarians were targets, and the surprising nature of the assault left even the heavily armed troops under Asil's control vulnerable and exposed to the slaughter. Among the abject chaos, the Blackwell intercepts a garbaled communication signal from Arndall itself. To Shayne's abject astonishment, the sender was one Lieutenant Commander Mirra Ezo, on leave from Starfleet, and holed up in an utterly trashed Caraadian medical center. Unable to beam anyone aboard directly, Shayne asked Ezo to meet with Lieutenant Commander Adyr's away team for her own protection.

Shayne's concerns were far from over, however. An insubordinate ensign, Lewis Little, proceeded to disable the primary computer by ordering a Level 1 diagnostic of all command subroutines. Not only was this act entirely unauthroized, but it left the Blackwell entirely defenseless for nearly half an hour. It was a gaffe that Shayne would not easily forgive, and it further complicated matters, both aboard the starship and on the surface. As the away teams fought to stay alive against the endless onslaught of insectoid invaders, resorting to violence and stalling techniques where necessary, diplomatic efforts administrated by Whittaker and Nicholotti were beginning to have some small effect. At the same time, members of the crew began devising ways to conquer their unexpected foe, and realized their exoskeletal carapices might be the biological fraility needed to leverage victory. By sending a high powered energy pulse directly from the main deflector, the Kam'Jahtae suddenly found themselves in extreme discomfort. A mass exodus then began, with thousands of ships taking to the sky. Instead of engaging the surrounding Valcarian blocade, the retreating ships simply opened an energy protal of some sort and vanished from the system.

At the time of the Blackwell's leaving, the political situation remained ambiguous, especially when it came to relations between Caraadian and Valcarian leadership. Mere weeks after the incident, Commander Whittaker shared a report from Starfleet, compiled in response to information sent to Command. To the absolute astonishment of the assembled crowds, Whittaker confirmed that the Kam'Jahtae shared an almost identical biological signature to another ancient and storied race- the Hur'q. These beings, once thought to be extinct, showed a capacity for occupation that was rarely matched, and an insatiable lust for conquest. With no indication of where the Hur'q might have vanished to, Starfleet, the Klingons, and any other power in the Alpha Quadrant would need to excercise special vigilance from that time on.

[[Throne of Fire (Andaris Task Force)]]

Randal Shayne/Professional History: Difference between revisions

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