Mission 1: Cold Front

||USS Indefatigable
||Bridge
||0841
||Day 1 (Mission Day not...never mind)

There was a certain sleekness to be seen when one admired a Starfleet vessel either passing by a viewport or connected to the beating heart that was a star base or docking station. A certain aura that they seemed to generate. Presence. They generated presence. Especially a class as large as an Excelsior. As old as the Indefatigable was, she still had that powerful air around her. Her gleam and charm showing proudly through the sea of stars and vast empty black. An island of civilisation. Of order. Of knowledge. Yet despite all these things she was deadly. Bristling with weapons it was hard to believe that this bulwark against ignorance and fear was anything more than a painter's inspiration. They were hidden from plain sight unlike the vessels of the Klingon Defence Force which proudly displayed their disruptor cannons as both threat and dare. A difference of mindsets one would agree.

Lieutenant Commander Rena Markov was indisposed of medically yet still within the ship's sickbay. An incident with a coolant pipe was what Marine Captain Reneé Lucas had heard from the reports. The blonde officer sat in the central chair as if such a thing was an unnatural occurrence. As it should be, since it wasn't normal for marine officers to neither wear command red or sit in the central chair. Her unhappiness with the entire situation was etched on her face as the stretched stars whizzed past the view screen in front of her as the ship ploughed at warp speed towards the Valoris Nebula which, according to the briefing, was a bone of contention between the Federation and the Breen Confederacy. Reneé didn't understand the workings nor the reason behind the sudden flashpoint.

Maybe it was on the briefing but since it wasn't to do with hostile action or their actual task Reneé merely filed it under 'for reference' under her mental filing system. There were bigger things to worry about if the Breen were prowling around.

"Lieutenant Dougherty." she called to the man. "Any word on suspected enemy numbers and classification of threats?"

<tag: CSO>

||USS Indefatigable
||Bridge
||0842
||Day 1

BY DOUGHERTY

Olvier could cut the tension in the air with a knife. The Breen had never been a force that needed much provocation but had been left alone by the Federation if they stay out of our space. Now We were forced to deal with them in such close proximity. "Captain Lucas, while they are not a declared enemy of the Federation they are typically belligerent to the point that cooperation is impossible and they are even openly hostile just prior to the point of firing on our ships. The actual number of Breen ships in the Valoris Nebula has not been established but the reported incidents, sightings, and Starfleet Intelligence reports put our estimation at approximately three warships and twelve cruisers."

Oliver looked around making sure that the entire staff that was on the bridge was hearing him, "Contact should be sporadic and light at worst. From what we understand the Breen and Starfleet are conducting similar missions. We need to check our colonies and make sure that the planets that were part of the spatial shift are being respected by the other party."

Oliver did not like it. He had hoped that the Federation and Breen diplomats would decide to evacuate their planets that had been moved and resettle the colonists to planets that were within their respective borders, but on the other side he would not have acquiesced to such a request if he had spent generations building several thriving settlements from a few prefabricated shelters and whatever they could scrounge up. Terraforming alone had taken the better part of fifty years on most of the planets because of the unique elemental makeup of the soil in that region of space.
<Tags Everyone>

||USS Indefatigable
||Damage Control Deck 16
||0843
||Day 1

BY SULLIVAN

Now this was more like it. Finally out in space where Starfleet belonged. Danny sat on his chair down in Damage Control Central where, in the event of an incident, he would command the damage control efforts which would save the ship. He felt the familiar rumble of the ship as the warp engines propelled them across space. It was a sweet feeling.

He watched over the other 4 damage control specialists as they performed various checks and duties. Most of them were new, their first deep space assignment. He would be breaking them in on this deployment. The other 20 damage control specialists were scattered about the ship in 4 teams of 5 waiting for the call to action which if they were heading towards Breen Space might come sooner then later. Danny wasn't worried, a veteran of 347 separate combat engagements, he took those lessons learned and passed them down to his crew. They had drilled constantly while in drydock and while they weren't the best in the fleet they were coming along.

He had wished they had gone into the nebula with the original Captain but Captain Markov suffered an accident right before departing. He had trust in her but the XO..well Captain now...seemed to be a pretty good leader but Sullivan didn't know her all that well. He would find out soon enough as they headed towards the Valoris Nebula. Still he had his crew to worry about. They needed something to take their minds off what was to possibly come.
"Hey how about getting some music in here? Computer playlist Sullivan 3-5."
The specialists smiled as the sounds of Led Zeppelin's "Fool in the Rain" come from the speakers in the small workspace. Whatever came, he was ready for it.


<tag anybody>

||USS Indefatigable
||Bridge
||0847
||Day 1

"Then let us pray Lieutenant Dougherty that the Breen have the manners to announce themselves before they show themselves to our weapons." growled Reneé who straightened her jacket as she stood up from the seat. For some reason it felt unnatural to just simply sit and give orders like some general. She was a marine, it was in her to give orders from the front. She also let the 'Captain' slide given she could rationalise it as Oliver meaning 'Marine Captain' in shorthand. Reneé knew better and yet she wasn't going to pick at that particular scab since it didn't exist. Let them have their traditions and uncomfortable seats. It was a stage and she was the protagonist on the light which they would gaze upon in scrutiny.

Not to mention Reneé desperately prayed for REGCOM to pluck her from this lofty position. Let them play Battleships. She wanted a regiment, not a vessel.

Any thoughts that Reneé had or doubts that lingered in her mind was brought to a halt when the U.S.S. Indefatigable exited subspace with the ripple that gave a brief illumination to the void until it materialised in front of the vast expanse that was the Valoris Nebula. It looked to Reneé as little more than a swirling red and orange cauldron that could hide an entire enemy fleet if it felt kind enough. She remembered how sailors would refer to the sea as a cruel and fickle mistress. A sudden rippled along her spine at the comparison of space. It seemed all the more...deadly. Without ships blowing the seven hells out of one another.

"We've arrived the nebula ma'am." reported the helmsman.

"Thank you ensign. Ops, sensors."

The cold and somewhat blunt way that Reneé requested information from the junior lieutenant behind the operations panel seemed to turn bright scarlet in both embarrassment and indignation. "No abnormal readings ma'am." she reported. "No ships or constructs of artificial nature."

"Excellent. Mister Dougherty, what do you know about this nebula. Can we use it to our tactical advantage?"

<TAG CSO>

||USS Indefatigable
||Bridge
||0847
||Day 1

BY DOUGHERTY

Oliver was facing Renee, he had dedicated the basics of the properties from the Valoris nebula to memory after some research following the initial briefing that the staff had received.

"The Valoris, or Horse head nebula is a natural source of polaron radiation. The polaron radiation also interferes with starship sensors, reducing the passive scanning range of sensors not calibrated to compensate for it by approximately half."

Unluckily the calibration had to be done manually and there was no predetermined settings because the flux in radiation levels and background interference. Engineering and Operations were going to have their hands full trying to keep up with the adjustments that were going to need to be made to the sensors.

Everything just kept getting better and better, he thought to himself sarcastically. "No ma'am, there are almost no advantages, but since the Breen sensor technology is slightly superior to ours taking away their range evens the playing field. If we can't see them, they can't see us.

<Open Tag>

||USS Indefatigable
||Bridge
||0848
||Day 1

Great. Thought Reneé who turned her attention to the view screen. Fight outranged or blind. What a lovely set of choices.

"Helm, skirt us along the nebula at full impulse. Keep us our side of the border. We don't need to draw any extra attention to ourselves than we probably already are. Keep your distance from the nebula though."

The officer nodded and brought the Indefatigable along side the vaporous stellar body but far enough out to stay away from its blinding polaron radiation. Their mission was to be on station to deliver aid and act as a slaving deterrent. That meant being able to see and hear so there was little reason to dabble in the midst of the nebula. Peace through superior fire power was a smart move from Starfleet command but that only worked if you had the biggest guns.

It didn't help that they were alone and so close to Breen space. Reneé didn't know the response times for any quick reaction force from any nearby starbase. Or if there was a QRF waiting in the wings. It wouldn't be the first time that a lone Starfleet vessel was pounced upon by a numerically superior enemy but she was sure that her crew would do their best. That the girl at Operations would have her eyes glued to the sensors just waiting to announce the next sensor ping. Did all captains have to do this? Just...wait? Wait for the next report, the next break in the tension?

Of course there was tension as Reneé just stood like a statue in front of her chair as if waiting for the command to leap. She looked like a coil waiting to be unleashed, all wound up as each of her thumbs ran along her hands. It was the waiting that got her. She wasn't up to this task. Reneé was used to taking the fight to the enemy, being the aggressor not the defender. Sure there was times against the Dominion she had to dig in but...it never felt like this. With a rifle everything felt under your control.

"Ma'am. Sensor blip has just come out of the nebula and is closing in on us. Range; forty thousand kilometres. Bearing; one-eight-zero mark zero. They're right on our aft ma'am."

Reneé could have almost kissed the girl for delivering that news but instead all she did was slowly exhale the pent up breath that had built up during the course of the report. "Can you identify?"

"Yes ma'am." said the officer. "One Breen warship."

"There weapons are charged and shields are raised captain." reported the Saurian tactical officer. "Shields are raised. We'll be in their weapon's range in fifty seconds."

"I know what these bastards are here for..." whispered Reneé to herself. "Go to red alert. Helm, bring us about. I want to look these frost-breathers in the eyes." she added in a more bark-like tone.

The lights changed on the ship, dimming to be replaced by the red alert lighting as the alarm signalled throughout the ship. As gracefully as the large ship could, the Indefatigable turned to face the looming threat that was the Breen warship. It was an ugly creation that looked as if it was merely twisted metal held together by sheer purpose of the hunt. If anything it made Reneé's stomach feel as if a pit had opened within it but she kept her nerve.

"Target their weapon arrays. See if we can't kick their teeth out."

Sadly the Breen had the advantage over weapon's range against the somewhat ageing vessel and it wasn't long until the familiar blue shimmer of Federation shields flared as soon as the green beams slapped against her. The ship seemed to shake slightly with the impact but Reneé remained on her feet.

"Shields at eight-seven percent." reported the tactical officer. "We are in weapon's range now captain."

"All forward phasers, fire!" she snarled. Upon the command the fore arrays of the Excelsior-class vessel erupted, brilliant flashes of orange light impacting on the green shields of the Breen. The salvoes and shots continued to be exchanged as the vessels closed towards one another as if testing to see which would break first.

<Open Tag>

||USS Indefatigable
||Damage Control Deck 16
||0850
||Day 1

BY SULLIVAN



The white lights dimmed as the red lights flickered on. Red Alert. Chief Petty Officer Daniel Sullivan bounded to life down in the cramped Damage Control space on Deck 16. “Ok everyone this is for real!” He leaped from his chair to survey the closest console and put his hand on the back of the crewman sitting there. “Get me comms with the damage control parties”.

“Aye Chief”, the crewman answered and his fingers danced across the console. “All parties report manned and ready. Alpha team is on deck 9 in Secondary, Bravo team is on Deck 13, Charlie team is on Deck 19, and Delta team is on Deck 22”.

“Very well,” Sullivan said. In theory each party would be able to respond 6 decks either up or down sometimes overlapping in heavily damaged areas. Sullivan has had yet to see this work as a truly effective method but he has been surprised before. He felt the ship lurch beneath his feet. “Here we go, this is where the fun begins!” He smiled as looked at the scared faces all turning to look at him.

“Weapons hit deck 11, shields still holding. No damage”.

“Roger, keep it up crewman. You are doing a good job”.
He felt the ship shudder as the weapons were released and he could hear the sounds of the phaser batteries lancing out toward their target. “Sounds like we are giving them hell!!” Sullivan cried out. He grinned as the 4 crewmembers in the space with him cheered.


<Open Tag>

||USS Indefatigable
||Main Engineering Deck 20
||0850
||Day 1

BY SULLIVAN


While Chief Sullivan and the rest of his band were cheering 6 decks above Engineering LTJG Trella Fong was frightened for his life. He was assigned duties monitoring the warp plasma flow in the engines. The lights in Engineering dimmed and were replaced by eerie red lights. The other officers in Engineering went about their duties softly muttering to each other or telling a joke or two. Fong found it hard to swallow as he watched the console in front of him. He grabbed the sides of the work station so tight his fingers were starting to turn a shade of purple.

He had to get out here, this is madness. What is the XO thinking going up against a Breen ship with twice the firepower of this old derelict? They should have turned tail and came back with reinforcements. That is what he would have done if he was in command. The ship took a hit and the lights flickered off and on. The startled shouts of the other officers masked the agonizing moan that came from his mouth. He looked at the upper deck and saw the damage control team standing by, all bunched together. If the ship took a hit they would all be wiped out. He yelled up at one of them, presumably the leader.

“Hey you!”

The crewman looked around and looked down. “Yes sir?”

“Don’t you think you should separate, if we take a hit and you all are put out of commission then what would we do?”

The crewman, Damage Control Specialist 2nd class Stephenson a 5 year Indefatigable veteran and Charlie team leader, looked bewildered. “Sir?”

“I said for your team to break up and separate Petty Officer, that is an order!!” Fong felt the spittle running from his lips.

“Aye sir”, he turned and after a few words the 5 man team split up and went to either side of the Engineering space obeying the spirit but not the letter of the order.

Fong glared at them and went back to his console wishing for the ship to retreat back to the safety of the starbase.

||USS Indefatigable
||Bridge
||0855
||Day 1

Like knights jousting before royalty, the two ships closed the distance without holding back the ferocity of disruptor and phaser fire. Kilometres were travelled in mere seconds, fractions of seconds to the point where it looked like the two ships would collide and leave their very superstructures to wrestle one another to submission. The interior of the Indefatigable seemed to shake more violently as a measure of the shield strength. Shields which were being pounded into near non-existence.

"Hard to port! Tactical! Give them a broad sweep with the starboard phaser banks! When they come into sights of our aft launchers fire at full yield. No spread. Knife range."

The ship yanked away from the Breen warship as if backing out from a game of chicken. A broadside from the phasers allowed multiple arcs to be concentrated onto one side of a ship. Usually when this happened it devolved into a shark circle, shooting at one another in constant turns until the one with the most firepower won. Reneé had little faith in the phasers of such an old ship against a Breen cruiser and so decided to take the initiative. As soon as the Breen ship came into the two launchers' firing arcs six orange lights flew from them to impact the dented, but not broken, enemy shields.

At such a close range and with such a high yield the blow back shook the Indie to where Reneé fell back onto her seat. "Report!"

"Aft shields at nineteen percent and falling ma'am! Incoming torpedoes!"

If the ripple effect from the Indefatigable's own shots were a tremor, then what came next was the earthquake. The torpedoes broke the Indie's aft shields and still had enough punch to bleed through enough damage to the ship's hull. Lights on the bridge flickered as the Starfleet vessel was winded, almost crippled.

"Damage report!" demand Reneé

"Sensors are down and we've got power fluctuations on most decks. I can't tell but I think internal communications are down."

It was a disaster? What now? Reneé appeared calm but inside she was panicking beneath her cool exterior. There was only once choice; the nebula. "Helm; take us into that cloud. With luck we'll lose them to catch our breath. Don't worry people...we've just lost one round of many."

<open tag>

||USS Indefatigable
||Bridge
||0855
||Day 1

BY DOUGHERTY

"Helm; take us into that cloud. With luck we'll lose them to catch our breath. Don't worry people...we've just lost one round of many."

While Captain Lucas was directing the crew, Oliver had been busy reading. Throughout the barking of orders, shorted consoles discharging and spewing sparks in the dark of the bridge, he needed to find some way to get the indefatigable the upper hand in a real David vs. Goliath fight. He had studied up on the tactical capabilities of the Excelsior class when he had learned that was the type of ship to which he was going to be assigned.

One thing that a lot of Starfleet officers took for granted was that they were not that heavily armed when compared to more modern ships, and they would be correct since the frame was over a hundred years old, But the other misconception was that since they were most often outmatched in firepower that they were also soft. The shield systems were on par with the most current upgrades, but one thing that had made them such an advantage to Starfleet initially was that they could take a beating and survive. Core breaches were rare. Starfleet had based the designs of the Sovereign class ships off of them, the were longer and flatter than their sister ship classes. Which had the advantage of being able to put more bulkheads and tritanium between engineering and the exterior of the ship.

Oliver had remembered something that he had seen..."Captain Lucas I have an idea. If it works it'll blind them and take their beam weapons offline for about thirty seconds."

After tapping his combadge he said

=A= Engineering, do we currently have the capability to fire an Aceton beam?=A=

He knew that it would take a few minutes to configure if there were any eningeers available but that even if they were able to make the adjustments firing it would burn out the phaser beam emitter that was used to fire it and only the fore or aft main emitter was capable of firing it. Since that kind of damage could only be repaired at spacedock he was not sure if the payoff would be worth the cost.

<To anyone>

||USS Indefatigable
||Bridge
||0855
||Day 1

BY WERCHEG

Lieutenant Commander Wercheg raised an eyebrow at Dougherty's suggestion. A smile rounded his lips, Dougherty had a good idea, but what was really important was the execution. Wercheg had been staying quiet so as not to break the concentration of the helmsmen and the tactical officers. Wercheg knew that in this assignment, his diplomatic muscles would be put to the ultimate test, if they would be used at all. If this engagement was any indication, would appear as though Antoine wouldn't get very much paper work. Well, atleast there's that.

Antoine leaned over from his station so he could talk more directly to the Captain. "If we're able to get their weapons down for thirty seconds, perhaps we should consider talking the warship's captain down, Captain. Just a suggestion, if you think it may be able to work." Antoine said, adding on to the idea of the Aceton Beam. "The Breen may not know the capabilities of our retrofitted ship, and we might be able to rescue whomever they might have taken as slaves."

Antoine adopted a less open posture and returned to his station. "If anything, I'd like to atleast some of those poor enslaved people, rather then blowing them to kingdom come." Antoine paused for a reflective second, and added, "oh, and the Breen too. That would sadden me deeply too if they perished."

<open to anyone>

||USS Indefatigable
||Main Engineering Deck 20
||0855
||Day 1

BY SULLIVAN

Trella Fong heard the Strategic Officer call for Engineering asking something about an Aceton Beam. He had no idea what an Aceton Beam was or what it was supposed to do.
=A= Standby=A=

He took a look around. Most of the Main Engineering officers were either dead or seriously wounded. He grabbed a passing Chief Petty Officer who looked at him with a mixture of annoyance and surprise.

“Chief, can we fire an Aceton Beam?”
The Chief thought for a second, “Sure we can sir, but why would you want to?”
“What do you mean Chief?” Fong asked.
“Well we would have to modify one of the phaser emitters and once we fire it the emitters and most of the power couplings would be fried until we can get back to a Starbase.”

Both men rocked on their feet a little as the ship took another hit and some of the lights flickered on and off before finally going off completely leaving both men bathed in relative darkness with the exception of the emergency lighting.

“Well, it seems like we need one of those beams if we are going to make it to get to a Starbase Chief, get it done” Fong said thinking in his head that if this plan doesn’t work blame would rest on Oliver and the XO.

“Aye sir, it will take a few moments. Would you give me a hand? The aft emitter is shot so we will have use the forward one”

Fong nodded =A= Engineering to Bridge. We are modifying one of the emitters now, should take a few minutes=A=
A few seconds later he heard the XO’s voice

=A= Very well, and step on it. We will hold off that bloody Breen ship=A=

Fong followed the Chief through the smoky corridor past the damage control team in oxygen masks fighting to save the ship with extinguishers and other equipment. They arrived at the forward emitter and the Chief pulled off an access cover.
“Ok sir, the quickest way to do this is to generate a power surge in the phaser emitter which will generate a powerful beam. We don’t want to be anywhere near this thing when they fire it.”
The Chief fiddled with a few interfaces while Fong watched. “Ok that ought to do it. Let’s get out of here.”
He motioned for the gunnery crew manning the emitter to clear out and he Fong retreated down the passageway.

=A= Fong to Bridge, Aceton Beam is ready=A=

By SULLIVAN

Down in the stardrive section of the USS Indefatigable Chief Sullivan was fighting to save his ship. A volley of torpedoes took out the aft shields and with the shields down the hull was vulnerable. Communications between his damage control teams was offline and he resorted to using runners to rely reports and orders to his 4 teams scattered throughout the ship. He had abandoned his post in Damage Control Central, with the power out and the consoles damaged there was nothing for him to do there anyway, and instead took charge of the Team Charlie which was the same team Fong had told to split up earlier in the battle.

They had managed to contain the fires in Engineering using a combination of hand held extinguishers and fire blankets which they would put over a fire and smother it out. The automatic system was offline so they had to do it the old fashioned way.
“Set a reflash watch in here, we are moving forward” He said to one of the crewmen.
“Aye Chief”.

He coughed and wiped his face with his hand. It was black from smoke and his lungs were filled with smoke he was sure of it. He looked at his hand and noticed blood on his fingers. He must have cut himself somewhere, probably when the bulkhead gave way. He joined the rest of the team in the Engineering Admin offices dragging the lifeless body of one of the yeoman out. He looked at the corpsman raising his eyebrows quizzically. The corpsman looked back and wordlessly shook his head.

A fire lashed out at them from the EPS processing center and power conduit transfer room. He raised his hand to protect his face as his team charged forward extinguishers at the ready. He barked orders at his crew

“Attack the bottom first!! Use a sweeping motion!!”

The crew reacted and within a few minutes the fire was out. He saw the new JG Fong with Chief Barnes heading forward but he put the both of them out of his mind. He felt the ship rock again and the lights went out and stayed out. The damage control team ignited their handheld lights and clipped them to their uniforms which illuminated their faces. It reminded Danny of the nights he spent camping and telling ghost stories with his friends.

A runner ran up to him. “Chief, I have a report.” He said out of breath.

“Ok report”

"Alpha team reports multiple fires on Decks 5 and 7 both are being contained. Petty Officer Teryn is leading a team to restore comms right now. Bravo Team had one fire in Stellar Cartography which was quickly put out, a hull breach on Deck 11, two casualties. Emergency forcefield is in place and a patch is being rigged would should hold. Delta team is nearly wiped out.”
He said that so matter of factly and quickly that Danny almost didn’t catch it.

“Wait….what was that?”

“Delta team Chief, there was a massive explosion in the shuttlebay and they got caught up on it. I was almost there when I felt the explosion. If I hadn’t had to take the long way around I would have been in it too. I don’t think anybody made it out”.

“Goddamn it!!” Sullivan roared in anger causing the surrounding crewmembers to take a few steps back. This was the first time they had experienced Chief Sullivan’s legendary temper and some of them were frightened. He regained his composure and motioned to Petty Officer Stephenson.
“Dave, take….” He took a big swallow which hurt his throat. “..take charge here. I am going to see for myself what happened to Delta team”

“Aye Chief, you want to take someone with you?”

“No, just keep up the good work. I will be back soon”

“Aye Chief. You want the corpsman to look at your head? That cut looks pretty nasty”.

“No I’m fine, just hold it together here.”

<TAG>

||USS Indefatigable
||Bridge
||0856
||Day 1


It was a tough call. Follow her own advice by fleeing into the cloud and use its sensor-defeating properties to hide, repair and take the fight to the enemy or heed the Chief Diplomatic Officer. Part of her just scoffed inside. Typical. All talk but no fight. Yet it made sense given that the ship was battered, but not yet broken. If it meant the preservation of her crew and her ship then Reneé was willing to swallow that bitter pill and at least try for cease fire. With a nod towards Antoine as if signalling she agreed with his idea, the acting captain gripped the armrests of her seat as if anticipating something going very wrong.

Upon hearing that engineering had managed to modify one of the phaser arrays to an Aceton Beam discharge and confirming with her tactical officer that it was indeed the forward array, Reneé gritted her teeth as she prepared to be staring at the Breen once more. She just hoped that they were in a mood to talk.

"Bring us about. Tactical, prepare to fire on my mark!"

The Indefatigable veered around to one more face down the warship. Most would agree this may have been a foolish move given its current state yet faith in your ship counted for a lot in situations like this. "Fire!" The beam leaped from the array only for it to explode and shatter, causing the ship to shake violently once more. Yet the beam had done its work. The Breen now lacked the ability to fire or see. For thirty seconds at least. A critical time.

"Ma'am. Forward phaser array has been disabled by the beam." reported the tactical officer, causing Reneé to nod in confirmation. The sudden lack of pace made her body catch up with her mind and she felt...drained. All Reneé had done was stand, sit and bark orders and she just felt...drained.

"Open a channel."

After some time the familiar sound of a channel being opened rung around the bridge which gave the acting captain her cue. "This is Captain Lucas of the Starfleet cruiser USS Indefatigable. Despite our skirmish here I am willing to begin negotiation for a cease fire."

The wait for the response was seconds but felt like it was being stretched by a singularity at this point. Soon the view screen was just filled with...helmet. Luckily the translators were in place or all the bridge crew would have heard would be the mechanical noise of the helmets.

"We have no need of a ceasefire. Your ship is crippled. Damaged. You would not last in battle against us."

As far as signs of how well diplomacy was going, that was not a good one. Reneé turned to her Chief Diplomatic Officer and made a silent suggestion via facial expression for him to take the floor on this. After all, it was his idea,

Tag: The Chief Diplo! With open tag too

||USS Indefatigable
||Bridge
||0856
||Day 1
Antoine nodded back to the captain, confirming that he knew it was his cue to talk. He stepped away from his station and walked beside the acting captain and placed his hands behind his back calmly. He knew that they would respond negatively to the idea of a ceasefire, but he didn't expect that they would flat-out reject. Antoine adopted that civil stance that was just a bit too civil, as if preparing to lecture the enemy as to why they were wrong.

"This is Lieutenant J.G. of the USS Indefatigable. If I may be frank with you, no, we wouldn't last in battle with you. If you choose not to order a cease fire, you won't even get a chance to fire one weapon against us before we blew your ship to oblivion, therefore it wouldn't be much of a battle," Wercheg said to the main viewer, in a pushy tone. Behind his back, he was counting the seconds that had past on his fingers. Everyone in the bridge knew that they had a time limit before the Breen got their weapons back on-line and blew the ship to pieces. Four... five... "Go ahead, check your weapons. I'm sure you'll find that I'm not bluffing," the young lieutenant beckoned with a wave of his hand, "the fact you were able to do this much damage to our ship was due to no merit of your own, but a fluke in our own engineering. It will not happen again. So, you might see why I really hope that we might be able to work out a ceasefire agreement."

Antoine readied himself for their reply, as such careful negotiations weren't a flowing conversation, but more of a battle that happened in waves. Antoine had fired his first volley, and like many battles, the first hit usually was not enough, unless it was backed in overwhelming force. The aceton beam would be that force as the foot soldiers of his words would dig themselves into the trenches of the enemy's mind.

He just hoped that the Breen weren't well-versed in the technology of the Federation. They didn't necessarily know that the aceton beam blew out one of the ship's vital phaser banks, but there was the fact that an extended scan may reveal the damage, if it did, their only hope would be to retreat and blow out yet another phaser bank, or submitting to their demands and giving up crew as... Antoine hoped they would simply blow up the ship in such an instance. Eight... nine... ten...

<Renee who I just kind of assumed would play the Breen, as well as anyone else>

||USS Indefatigable
||Bridge
||0856
||Day 1

"We are aware of our system malfunctions." stated the Breen as coldly as one would expect it to be. "We are also aware that you would not have contacted us if you were able to destroy our vessel. This exchange is over. You will submit or be destroyed.

Just like that, the channel was cut. Time was ticking away like a bomb on the situation and every second counted but Reneé couldn't help but give Antonie a semi-apologetic look as if to say 'you tried your best' silently. It was a worthy performance but either the Breen were matching a bluff with a gamble or they knew somehow. Doubtful giving the effects that the beam had on the warship. It seemed that the Breen trusted to chance as much as Starfleet did.

"We're doing no good here. Helm, take us into the cloud."

"Aye ma'am." said the flight officer as he steered the massive vessel into the nebula. There they could find some form of respite until located. It would be a game like cat and mouse, the first to be discovered would ultimately be the first to be destroyed. It was all just one, big game.

Reneé returned to her drained state, slumping into the command chair with a soft groan. She pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed it as if hoping such an action would aid her levels of energy. "You did your best Lieutenant Wercheg." she said finally after a few moments of silence. "It's likely that they didn't take any slaves otherwise they wouldn't linger on this side of the border with us as playmates."

Standing up the marine pulled the slackness in her jacket down and smoothed her trousers. "I want senior staff in the briefing room in five minutes. Runners to pass along the messages...get Chief Petty Officer Sullivan in the staff meeting as well. Want to know how badly my ship is broken." she told a junior officer before leaving the room.

<Well, gonna start a JP for the staff meeting>

||USS Indefatigable
||Sickbay
||0830
||Day 1

Things had not started out how Richard had wanted them. He had been following his new Captain around as she made rounds on the old rust bucket when it a coolant pipe had burst open on them and rendered them unconscious. Richard had some burns to his back from the coolant getting on him and had fought consciousness for a couple days till he came around. He was very sore, but glad that was all. The Medical team on the Indie had done a stellar job. As he was getting his wits about him he had realized they were locked in battle and he had not been there to assist his crew.

Richard tried to stand but lost his footing and fell back on the bed. A nurse came over to him. "Easy there Lt. you need to take it easy you have been through a lot."

Just then it dawned on him. "How is the Captain?" As he scanned the room finding a bio-bed with Lt.Cmdr Markov on it.

"She is fighting but she was right next to the coupling when it let go she took the brunt of the damage." The nurse informed Richard what had happened as she tried to get him to lay down. Just then a Security officer came in the room. "Lt. Wayne the Captain has requested all senior staff to a briefing in 5 min."

Richard looked at the Captain laying there and wondering if he meant the XO or someone else was in command. He grabbed his uniform jacket from the wall and put it on. " Stormer I am gonna need you to assist me in getting to the briefing room." The petty officer came to his COs side and helped him out the door and to the turbolift every once in a while Richard would wobble and the petty officer would catch him, straighten him up, and they would continue on.

OFF:

Lt.jg Richard Wayne
Chief Tactical/Security Officer
USS Indefatigable
TF72

Danny made his way back to the shuttlebay and saw it was total carnage, burning shuttles, damaged bulkheads, and the smell of smoke lingered in the air. He grabbed a young Lieutenant as he passed.
“What happened here?”
The officer turned and Sullivan can see his face was marred by burn scars. “We took a direct hit on the shuttlebay, fuel ignited and there was a massive fireball.”
“What about the damage control team that was back here?”
“I don’t know Chief.”
Sullivan released his arm and crossed the shuttlebay where a crew was just putting out the last shuttlecraft fire. Finally he recognized someone. “Evans! Hey Evans!”
The team leader for Delta looked up. “Chief, I am glad to see you!”
“What happened back here?”
“Took a nasty hit, it seems. The shuttles started going up once the fuel ignited. Lucky we were one deck down or we would have all bought the farm.”
Sullivan looked surprised. “You weren’t in here?”
“No, we were down one deck putting out a fire in Deflector control when it happened.”
“Where is the rest of Delta Team?”
“Just me and T’Sou made it out, Cuffman and Ma’Su didn’t make it. Sorry Chief. We got up here and Cuffman opened the hatch too soon and her and Ma’Su got caught up in the fireball.”
“It’s ok, you did what you could.”
He put his hand on the young 2nd class Petty Officer’s shoulder. “I have to get back forward. Keep up the good work back here and I will see about getting you guys something to eat.”
“Thanks Chief”.
Sullivan crawled up the Jeffries Tube and found Charlie Team finishing up. The same runner walked up to him.
“Chief, the XO…err Captain wants you in the briefing room for some kind of meeting.”
“Ok thanks”
He saw his reflection on the glass and concluded he looked like hell. He found a head and splashed some water on his face with only caused the blood to mix with the black dirt and grime. “Oh well,” he thought. “Give the officers something to think about when they see me.” That thought caused him to grin.

||USS Indefatigable
||Briefing Room
||0903
||Day 1

It was just after nine o'clock in the morning when Reneé was sitting in the dimly lit briefing room with a mug of ration pack caramel hot chocolate. Around this time on base she would be on training exercises with her company. Instead she was huddled at the top of a briefing table on a starship far from home. The memories of distant days seemed even more distant as she had to rely on ration pack drinks to keep her energy levels up. What happened on the bridge had drained her yet she had to keep up the look of being in command.

After all. There was a meeting to be had.


It had taken Richard a considerable amount of time to get from sickbay to the conference room, and he is gonna have to write one hell of a fact file for Petty Officer Stormer helping him make his way there in one piece but he had made it. Richard turned to Stormer "Thanks for the assist I got it from here." with that Richard straightened his uniform and entered the room.

Once in he found Marine Captain Lucas at the head of the table and that he was the first one to make it. He had gone over some action reports on the trip and had a general understanding of the situation and where they stood. "Lt.jg Wayne reporting for active duty sorry I missed the fight, maam!"

She nodded as she sipped at her mug, looking at the man. "I trust you're fit to resume duty with your medical discharge papers all signed by the medical staff?" she asked before tilting her head. "Not that it'll matter if we don't get out of here. Take a seat lieutenant."

Richard gave her a sly look she already knew he was here against the will of Medical but seeing as his own Security team was not going to stop him here he was. He took a seat very gingerly.

Danny had to climb all the way from Deck 20 and when he finally arrived on Deck 1 he was out of breath. He took a few minutes and leaned against the bulkhead to catch his breath. His hair was sweat soaked and out of place and the nasty gash across his forehead and the other one across his cheek was still bleeding. His face was dirty and grimy as was his uniform which still reeked of smoke. He had washed his face in the head but it would take further scrubbing to clean it all off. He found the briefing room and walked in as the door opened.

Sitting in chairs in front of him he saw Captain Lucas and a JG that he didn't know. He brought himself to attention.
"Chief Petty Officer Daniel Sullivan reporting as ordered".

The acting captain looked at the NCO and blinked at how he looked. Blood, grime and sweat was on his face and the man seemed to be ragged out of breath. "Take a seat Chief." she said with a voice laced with some concern. Being on the bridge would take the reality away from a situation. No matter how bad the reports sound it's never as bad when you're down below.

"I'd offer you something but the replicators seem to be on the blink. I expected Fong to be here."


As if on cue, LTJG Trella Fong slipped in the doorway. He looked immaculate as if he just stepped out of the shower. "I hope I am not late I stopped at my quarters and changed uniforms and washed my face. That grime is hard....." He trailed off as he took a glance at Chief Sullivan. He closed his mouth and took a seat far away from the Damage Control Chief.

This is what happens when you let enlisted men come to officer briefings. The man couldn't even take the time to wash up before coming up here. Showing up here all dirty and bloody, this is an officer briefing! He hoped Captain Lucas would put him in his place and send him back to his quarters for a shower and a change of uniform.

Sullivan took a seat next to the Captain and across the table from Fong. "Thank you Captain, I am fine. The guys down below however would like a hot meal as soon as we can get it to them. They have been working hard". As he said that he shot daggers at Fong.

"I'll have ration packs and heaters send down to them after this briefing. I want your damage control teams to know I appreciate their hard work." she told Daniel before looking at the Bolian who stepped through the door. Unlike the NCO, he had a...crispness to him which did little to endear Reneé to the man. Anyone who took time to shower when the situation was coming down around everyone else's ears.

She looked at the man and pinched her brow for whatever reason before leaning back into the head seat. "Nice of you to join Lieutenant Fong. Next time I summon you for a briefing you will remember to be here at haste. As you can tell from the look of Mister Sullivan not all of us meander when duty calls."

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Wercheg was just entering the meeting room. He had been slightly busy entering data logs and other menial tedium into the computer. He thought he'd have been fast enough to get it all entered before anyone would notice his absence from the meeting.

Antoine entered through the pneumatic doors, hands behind his back. He wasn't too late. It seemed Wercheg was on time from the fact that there were still some personnel missing. "Ah, sorry to be late, Acting Captain. If you don't mind my saying so, I don't think we've had the opportunity to formally meet," Wercheg said in a gentlemanly voice, nothing at all like the voice he was using mere hours ago.

He hadn't really chatted with the Executive Officer of the ship before, as he had given no real thought to what would happen if the Captain had gotten killed or injured. He had, of course run into her when duty called for him too, but Antoine was a little nervous of fraternizing with a Marine. It wasn't that he was intimidated, it was... okay, he was intimidated.

"Lieutenant J.G Wercheg, at your service." Antoine said with a smile, outstretching a hand with a smile to Reneé.

The way Wercheg walked up to her and offered his hand along with an introduction caught Reneé off guard. She had expected him to make an excuse, report for duty and then sit down. Instead he was making himself known to her and that was something she would no doubt have to get used to for the time being. The man was offering his hand in the midst of a crisis. Still, Reneé remembered that the man was in a purple shirt and thus talking would no doubt be a natural thing to him.

She could use Wercheg as a barrier during diplomatic meetings and functions were her lack of tact would case an interstellar incident. Also to spurn him in front of the senior crew would be a bad idea. "A pleasure Lieutenant. I'm Marine Captain Lucas. Acting officer...as it were." she said as she shook his hand for a moment after standing up, sitting down after releasing it.

"I was impressed by your performance on the bridge. Shame the Breen didn't buy it. Maybe if we start some theatrics as a crew hobby you can cast the lead." she said in a joke to ease the tension. "Take a seat Mister Wercheg."

As Ltjg Wecheg had a seat Richard turned his attention to him and looked at his PADD again. "Wait you're the one that had the idea to blind and decommission the Breen??"

Antoine crossed his arms and gave a frown to the yellow-shirted individual who had adressed him. Whereas he was thankful for the XO's acceptance, he was put off by the man's choice of words. Wercheg laughed and let his frown relax back into a smile. "Well, it wasn't entirely my idea. Our CSO was the one who came up with the Aceton beam idea," he said, making a finger-gun and 'shooting' Lieutenant Wayne with it.

"If they hadn't caught us with our pants down, they really might have bought it too," Wercheg sighed, "but yes, part of the blame is mine, if you want to look at it that way," the young lieutenant had conceded.

Richard was getting the feeling he was taken wrong. "No blame is to be had was a great move wish I had thought of it. They are lucky they called the bluff, Breen are not usually that tactical. Just was surprised coming from a purple coat I can see you're more then meets the eye."

When Oliver walked through the door he noticed that he was the last of the senior staff, as it were to arrive. He was usually more punctual but he had to get as much intelligence gathered as possible from Starfleet intelligence. He needed to know who all else was out there and how to get these Breen brought down a peg.

He took a seat seat to the right of Captain Lucas.

"Now that we're all here..." she said with a sight, placing her hands in front of her to clasp them on the table. "For those of you who aren't fully up to speed or are currently in denial about out situation...we're being hunted by a Breen warship. We intercepted it crossing the border. It came at us with weapons and shields charged. Now we're hiding in a nebula and close to throwing rocks at them. First I want to hear what Lieutenant Fong as to say about status as a whole. If you would, lieutenant?"

"Absolutely Captain, the engines are online both warp and impulse. As you are well aware the forward phaser emitter is completely burned out. We still have power but as you can see the lights are still out except for the back ups. We have dorsal sensors but the laterals are still down and last I checked we have 35% on the shields. Within an hour we can have shield strength at 65%." He leaned back with a smug smile.

"Not good enough lieutenant I want shield strength to be at least 75% for the next time we come into contact with the Breen. Also see what do can do about the lateral sensors. Lieutenant Wayne is going to need all the targeting data he can get. Lieutenant Dougherty will assist in analyzing all known documents on Breen warships for possible weaknesses."

Reneé paused to look over her senior crew before taking in a breath. "Lieutenant Wercheg...despite your performance on the bridge there won't be much for you do to once the shooting starts....maybe you can aid in getting the wounded to sickbay or perhaps the chief here could put you to work?"

Oliver looked into the faces of the rest of the senior staff, into their eyes, one by one. He felt at ease with this crew with the exception of Lieutenant Fong. He was a sniveling little... own voice trailed off in his head. He needed to focus. "Lieutenant Wayne, I'll start searching records from the Dominion War for weaknesses in their defensive systems, unless you need my help with something else."

"That settles one part of the problem." stated Reneé before taking another sip from her steaming mug. "However, I'm still waiting to hear what Mister Fong has to say about his low projections. I need my ship in a much better condition to deal with the Breen."

Danny perked his head up at the mention of "chief". The Captain was saying something about LT Wercheg working for him. He let the CSO/XO finish speaking before he put his two cents in. "I am pretty sure LT Wercheg would be useful down in Engineering. If anything it would give him a chance to see how the other half lives". He gave Wercheg a smile and a wink. "On the other matters Captain, Main power should be restored with in an hour or two. The lateral arrays and the shields shouldn't take much longer after that. Oh, and you can forget about the forward phaser emitter; it is done for. That is the least of my worries. My main concern right now is manpower. I have seven dead damage controlmen. That is a large chunk of my operations." He looked around the table at the officers seated there. " We only have so many personnel...."

Trella Fong sat back and listened to the Chief speak. He gave a snort as the Chief began his tirade about personnel shortages. There wouldn't be any shortages if you just worked the crew harder. Fong thought about how he was going to have the shields up to the level the Captain wanted. Sullivan was saying something about using three teams. One to work on the sensors, one for the shields, and one more to finish shoring up the structural failures that had occurred due to the attack. If Fong pulled men from Sullivan's teams to work on his sensor team then he would be in a position to meet his goal. It just might work. He tuned back in to hear the end of Sullivan's speech.

"......It will be hard Captain, but it can be done. I will keep you informed. I believe Mister Fong is in a better position to speak about the shield strength then I am." He motioned with his hand towards the Bolian officer. "Sir? If you please". With that said Sullivan gave one more glance around the table and sat down.

Fong gave Sullivan an icy look as he stood up. "Thank you Chief." his voice on the verge of dripping with sarcasm. "To answer your question Captain we have crews working around the clock on getting our shields up to the strength you request. Chief Sullivan has a vast knowledge on damage control and repair and has proven to be a valuable resource to the Engineering department." That's the ticket Trella. Dump praise on the man and when he can't deliver swoop in and reap the rewards. "Your shields will be up and running when you need them. I guarantee." He beamed at the officers sitting at the table.

Regardless of what anyone said on the matter, Starfleet was held up by sergeants and petty officers. Sure the FNS would always portray brave captains and brilliant admirals but the truth was less glamorous. Officers were merely managers. They gave orders and those beneath them got it done. She liked Danny. He had an...air about him. An ability to get things done with as little jargon as possible. Fong on the other hand was another matter. To Reneé the Bolian was...slimy. Every branch of Starfleet had the type; they had eyes on higher matters.

She listened to them both speak with a small frown. The acting captain had some limited knowledge about a ship's workings but she had to rely on what she was being told. Time. It was all about time. Everything had to be working in some way for the Breen's return otherwise it was going to be a short patrol.

"I'll remember that guarantee Lieutenant." she told him icily. "I'll remember it well. Aside from the obvious problems I'm aware that your engineers may be hungry. Operations Officers will be going around with ration pack boxes and stove heaters. Keep your men working, make them eat at the same time if they have to. Also...make sure Chief Sullivan's men and any other dead are covered with blankets. We've got no time to ferry the dead to the morgue but simple dignity wouldn't go amiss. They're Starfleet."

Reneé stood up and placed her hands behind her back. "Is there any further questions?"

Sullivan shook his head. "No questions here Captain." He stood up and nodded to the officers. "If you gentlemen will excuse me, I have a lot of work to do." He left the briefing room carrying his PADD under one arm.

Trella Fong remained in his seat doing some writing on his PADD. "I have no questions Captain".

Richard was sitting back part taking in his new crew it had been a few years since he had been on a starship and this crew seemed to have a good head on their shoulders. "I have nothing further, Ma'am. I think Lt Dougherty and I have a lot of data to go through and even with us being semi hided in this nebula so are they and if they find us before we are ready it could spell trouble." Richard gave a nod to the CSO and awaited being dismissed.

Antoine Wercheg was sitting in his seat properly, and gave a slight "no Ma'am," on the matter of questions for the captain. The lieutenant gave Fong and Sullivan a warm smile as he adjusted himself to be ready to get up. "I suppose I'll be helping you guys get your men fed as well. Just point me wherever I'm needed, Chief Sullivan," Wercheg said, as if they were already down in the belly of the ship. Wercheg was indeed very curious to see what it was like there, and relaxed himself to a more relaxed position as to not seem antsy to leave the presence of the acting captain.

"Alright." she growled. "Dismissed!"

JP by

||USS Indefatigable
||Corridor, Deck 2
||0938
||Day 1

Right now Reneé needed to just lay in her quarters and be by herself. Just a few moments of peace to gather her thoughts once the whole realisation of the situation smacked her face. She was in command of this ship, in charge of all these people and they were all looking at her to find a way back home. That was the worst part of it all. The lack of control and the way they looked. That damned expectation. Reneé didn't walk with any particular amount of speed. If anything it was more of a shuffle.

Leaning against the nearest bulkhead and pinching the bridge of her nose, the acting captain of the Indefatigable was unaware that the Breen were slithering in the midst of the nebula without the fear of being accosted by the Starfleet vessel's weapons. Using their sensors to track the Indie's mass displacement shadow. Something as big as a ship left a trace amongst a nebula and the Breen seemed to be experts at finding prey.

The first shots disabled the already weak shielding that remained between space and the hull. Reneé was propelled upwards and then felt herself smack the deck plating. Scrambling to her feet she heard the unfamiliar sound of a Breen beam-in operating behind her. As soon as the blonde turned she was confronted with a materialised Breen solider. Reactions and instinct kicked in, and Reneé's hands slapped the disruptor rifle so it was no longer pointing at her chest. She was unarmed and nothing she could do would break his armoured suit.

Once more she heard the sound of a Breen transporter beaming in a couple more soldiers further away but behind her. They raised their rifles to fire but Reneé grabbed the sling of the Breen she had in front of her and pulled the hulk between them. As their shots slapped their comrade's chest, Reneé unholstered her captive's side arm and fired at the two Breen, retreating back as she tapped her combadge.

=/\= This is the acting captain! Enemy forces have beamed aboard! We currently have enemy forces in deck two and possibly other areas of the ship! Security to repel boarders! =/\=

Tag: Open

After the board meeting Danny went back down to Engineering to oversee the damage control efforts. He was happy to see that the CO made good on her word and the crew was taking a small break to get something in their stomachs. He took the offered ration pack from one of the men and peered inside to see the contents. Most of the men would balk at the idea of eating rations but many years on the front lines during the Dominion War gave him a taste for field rations. He stood to one side as the corpsmen carried the dead out wrapped in blankets. He crossed himself in tradition with his Catholic upbringing and began issuing orders for priority repairs. He crossed Engineering and went down two decks to the lateral sensor array station and noticed only 2 men working there when there should have been 5.

“Who are we missing?” he asked the technician.
“Oh, hi Chief. Ummm..LT Fong came in here about a half hour before you do and took 3 guys.”
Sullivan’s face registered surprise. “Took 3 guys? Where did he take them? And who authorized it?”
The tech looked back at him. “He took them to work on the shields. He said you told him it was ok”.
Sullivan’s legendary temper was well on its way to the boiling point. He stormed out of the sensor room and was working himself up into a fit. It was going to happen. He was going to knock LTJG Fong on his ass, Starfleet regulations be damned. He pushed his way past crewmembers on his way up to the shield relay space. A few of the older Chiefs and Petty Officers recognized the look on his face from previous ships and wisely stepped back.

He came out of the Jeffries Tube and found the appropriate door and opened it. Inside he saw Trella Fong with 10 technicians working on the shield generator. His blood boiled. He grabbed the Bolian by his shoulder and spun him around. He saw the look of surprise and then fear in the larger man’s eyes as his fist came back when suddenly

…..=/\= This is the acting captain! Enemy forces have beamed aboard! We currently have enemy forces in deck two and possibly other areas of the ship! Security to repel boarders! =/\= … Sullivan wheeled around and made for the door and then turned back. “This isn’t over Lieutenant”.

He found the nearest ready service locker and keyed in the combination. It opened to reveal 10 Type-3 phaser rifles. He grabbed one, checked the settings, and started passing the rest out to the crew that were starting to form a line. One of the security officers showed up and began gathering the new armed crewmen into a defensive perimeter around Engineering. He saw an unfamiliar shirt color among the sea of gold. It was a purple shirt.

“Mister Wercheg!” he called out. The CDO turned and saw him leaning against the wall. “Better arm yourself Sir. This could get hairy and I doubt the Breen will respect your diplomatic status”. He thrust a phaser rifle in his hands. “Time to see how the other half lives Lieutenant. I’ll watch your back.” He gave the officer a wink and smile and leaned with his back against the wall to begin the waiting game.

<Tag Wercheg and anyone else>

||USS Indefatigable
||Corridor, Deck 2
||0947
||Day 1

This was something Reneé was used to. Something she could control. Being able to rely on her own skills as a fighter empowered her with a sense of comfort. The familiarity of dodging incoming fire to dish it back was a task that she not only could meet head to head, but also relish it. Her heart raced as green beams of energy missed her head by inches.

Reneé slammed herself against a corner to give fire back at the Breen, the disruptor pistol's pulsed shots flying towards her targets. The first Breen soldier went down without so much as a whimper. However the second's firing was enough to suppress Reneé and cause her to retreat further along the corridor. She tried the doors but they were locked and the acting captain wasn't about to stop running to enter codes. Not with a Breen on her heels.

Without support she wasn't willing to risk a straight fire-fight so Reneé took to the Jeffries tubes and hoped to scramble onto another deck. Her breathing was laboured, heart threatening to burst out of her chest but she couldn't help but love that addictive rush. Besides. She wasn't doing any good with duelling a single boarder.

<tag: any, just a filler post to keep the ball rolling>

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Strategic Ops Office
|| 0938
|| Day 1

After the board meeting Lt. Dougherty and Lt. Wayne had gone to the StratOps Office to look over previous Breen encounters to find the advantage. The Indie was an old ship but it did not explain why it performed so poorly in the initial encounter. While Breen ships were ugly as sin, they pack a hell of a punch. The key was to find the weak spot every ship had a design flaw the key was finding it and exploting it.

Just then the shipped rocked and threw the two LTs to the floor. The acting Captain came over the comms informing of boarders on level 2 for sure. Richard sprung into action. As he left the office without saying anything he reached an Armory locker that was already opened by a Security officer. Richard got his Type-3 rifle and powered it up he went to a nearby terminal and pressed a ship wide broadcast.

"This is LT Wayne we have confirmed boarders this is not a drill all QRT (Quick Response Teams) signal 8 your designated zones. All security teams I want all decks cleared ASAP." And with that Richard found his Chief and they headed for deck 2 to assist the Captain.

Off: did this on my phone sorry if its messed up

|| USS Indefatigable
||Armoury, Deck 10
|| 0958
|| Day 1

It had taken Reneé some time to get to the armoury through the Jeffries Tubes in an attempt to avoid the boarding parties that the Breen had beamed over. While it was probably not the most courageous act of her Starfleet career it certainly had been the smartest. Armed only with a Breen disruptor pistol she couldn't be expected to take on the entire Breen army. She needed weapons to aid the security teams otherwise she was a liability.

When Reneé had opened the door to the armoury it was clear that several security teams had already loaded out given the lessening of stock. Still she managed to secure herself a tac-vest, tactical eye display and a type-II and type-III phaser. The phaser pistol sat snugly on a chest holster within the vest and Reneé slung the rifle across her chest after placing a bandoleer of photon grenades there.

She heard the footsteps coming towards the armoury and brought the rifle up to her shoulder, aiming down the sights. Reneé gave a breath, her finger caressing the trigger before a group of gold-shirts entered, rifles raised at the acting captain. Eyes traded looks and rifles were lowered with uneasily exhales. If anything they seemed to be surprised at her being anywhere but the bridge.

Reneé's eyes caught the lead security officer's rank pip of being a petty officer 3rd class. "Report, petty." she barked at the man who was dressed like her; as if about to go to war.

"Yes ma'am." he stumbled. "Several Breen boarding teams have moved to secure key areas of the ship. Last communication I got was from Ensign Lovell, she reports that Breen units have been stopped from entering the bridge but we've also had several reports of them heading to Engineering in force."

With a nod the blonde marine fetched a PADD and brought up the ship's MSD on the screen. The MSD was a good, detailed layout of the ship and it would help them in securing it. "I want details, numbers, positions."

For a moment the petty officer stumbled with his words before pointing to corridors outside main engineering. "Breen forces are moving towards Engineering. My guess is; if they can't have the nerve centre they want the heart. They'll want to cripple the ship from the inside."

"Our forces?" asked Reneé who looked at the man.

"Two fireteams of four was the reported defence force for Engineering. Breen have set up blocking forces to slow down any reinforcements."

"Alright, you and your team are under my command. If the Bridge can be held, then it can be held but Engineering is a problem. We've got people working on getting the ship back to full status and personally they could do without the worry of being shot in the back. We'll move towards Engineering, link up with the reinforcements and flank the advancing Breen. Long way to there, so let's move."

<tag: Any>

|| USS Indefatigable
||Engineering
|| 1015
|| Day 1



Down in the bowels of the ship right outside Engineering an unlikely force made up of Engineers, Specialists, and various Technicians beat back the first wave of Breen soldiers. Chief Daniel Sullivan took advantage of a lull in the fighting to tend to some of the wounded. He saw a young 2nd class Petty Officer who was a sensor tech with a nasty phaser burn on his shoulder. He slapped a burn kit on it and gave him a shot with the hypospray. He checked to make sure the defensive positions were still in place. Being in the passageway didn’t give them much cover but they improvised by moving cargo containers from the cargo bay and using those as makeshift fortifications. Chief Sullivan wasn’t in charge; a Lieutenant from Security came down and took charge which suited him nicely. He hadn’t fired a phaser in combat since the Dominion War and he only had a rudimentary knowledge of hand to hand combat. He was very frightened but kept his emotions to himself. If the crew saw their Chief being scared then they would get scared as well and he couldn’t have that.

“Get ready, here comes some more” someone said from behind him.

He gripped his rifle firmly in his hands and took aim. A Breen wearing the familiar refrigeration suit came through one of the doors followed by at least 10 more. Sullivan took aim and fired causing the Breen to fall backwards with a smoking hole in his chest. The Engineers started taking pot shots at the rest of the Breen that came through. The Breen organized quickly and began returning fire causing some casualties among the Starfleet members. Within a few minutes the line crumbled and the Breen began advancing. Sullivan changed his battery pack in his rifle and when he looked up a Breen was standing over him behind the cargo container he was using as cover. He leaped up and slammed the butt of his rifle against the Breen’s helmet causing a dent. The Breen went down and Sullivan fired point blank into his chest.

“Hold them off for a few more minutes, reinforcements are on the way”

One of the security officers shouted over the sounds of phaser rifles and the moans of the wounded. Sullivan took aim at another Breen and winged him on the arm which caused him to duck into a doorway. A shot from an Ensign finished him off. Using his rifle as melee weapon probably wasn’t the best solution as it caused his aim to be off. He hoped the reinforcements got here soon.