Act II Scene I: Aftermath of the Battle of Axanar

Stardate 1/9407. The Federation has enjoyed a century of relative peace within its borders. The long and devastating war against the Romulan Star Empire is all but forgotten and the Federation’s border with them remains tense, but stable. The Klingons remain silent as well, perhaps still engrossed in a conflict with the unknown enemy on the far side of their empire. The Federation’s peace-time focus is now on research and exploration, although Tellarites and Andorians argue for a stronger navy of gunships and frigates. The compromise is the new Constitution Class Cruiser. Equipped with the most advanced weaponry and home to state-of-the-art scientific research and medical facilities, these debutants of the fleet can operate for years beyond the logistical support of star bases. It is the dream of every starry-eyed Star Fleet recruit to serve on these ships.
Post Reply
User avatar
ManWithDoor
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 9301
Location: California, USA
Title: Imperial Psyker
User Class: Imperial Psyker

Aboard the King in Prussia

Post by ManWithDoor » Tue May 16, 2023 6:32 pm

"Sounds like a great idea, Zea. Go ahead with getting those life support systems tweaked to your heart's content. I'll head to Communications, and start accessing the records. Whatever signals sent to and from the ship by Starfleet Intelligence would certainly be interesting to see."
Int 90 & Computer Operations 34 (average 62): Rolled 32! Success!
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

User avatar
Orvost
Level 9
Level 9
Posts: 797
Location: Chicago
User Class: Inquisitor

Aboard the King in Prussia

Post by Orvost » Thu Jun 01, 2023 6:38 am

Alik sits down at the communication and damage control station and starts mining information. During the course of the next hour, he gleans the following information:

• The cleaning crew that went through the King in Prussia destroying records did a very thorough job at this terminal.
• Less than a month ago, the King in Prussia rendezvoused with its sister ship, the Margrave of Brandenburg, and installed a new suite of battle computer software for an experimental weapons system they had recently been fitted with.
• When the King in Prussia first warped into system to participate in the first battle of Axanar, they insisted on operating independently from the rest of the Star Fleet task force. Captain Garth, by force of will and his commanding presence, convinced them to fall in and participate in his stratagem.
• When the King in Prussia first deployed its new weapon system, they were under heavy enemy fire. They experienced a catastrophic system failure including the weapon system and the targeting computer. They were unsure if the failure was caused by a flaw in the weapon system, a flaw in the computer system, or from damage caused by enemy fire. Perhaps Alik could make a determination if he were to see the damage himself or run a sensor sweep of the weapon mounts?
• The catastrophic system failure caused several minor injuries and one casualty from plasma burns.
• During the subsequent combat, the King in Prussia lost aft shields and a Klingon boarding party beamed aboard. Unfortunately for this boarding party, they beamed into a cargo bay and the captain simply put a security lock on the bay. Subsequent boarding parties fared much better.

Zea tries to customize the life support settings, but the reset through the salvage codes seems to have locked out life support from tampering and it refuses to allow her to modify settings without verification of her status as chief medical officer of this ship.

As the team is working, they notice feedback and static on their communication line. First it is simply an annoyance, but it rapidly gets worse to the point where their communication links to each other and with the Pas-de-Calais are virtually inoperative.

User avatar
ManWithDoor
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 9301
Location: California, USA
Title: Imperial Psyker
User Class: Imperial Psyker

Aboard the King in Prussia

Post by ManWithDoor » Sat Jun 10, 2023 4:49 pm

Alik goes a little pale. "So, everyone remember that cargo bay that unlocked when we shut down security? ... well, that was locked to hold in a Klingon boarding party. And if they didn't beam out of otherwise escape with their fellow Klingons, that means we just let a hostile boarding party free to roam in the ship. And they might already be working to cut us off from the ship."
Anything I can do to 'localize' the problem with the communications? Thinking of the horror trope of "the calls were coming from inside the house!"
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

User avatar
RorytheRomulan
Level 12
Level 12
Posts: 1836
Location: US

Aboard the King in Prussia

Post by RorytheRomulan » Sun Jun 11, 2023 1:03 am

"What?" Zea looks at Alik, going paler than the engineer. "If that's the case, I'm ready to call it a bust. This is a survey operation, not a military one."

User avatar
Orvost
Level 9
Level 9
Posts: 797
Location: Chicago
User Class: Inquisitor

Aboard the King in Prussia

Post by Orvost » Sun Jun 18, 2023 7:50 am

There are stunned looks all around, even among the security team. There is a strange look in Campeador’s eye at the mention of Klingons. Campeador begins assertively ordering the security team to take up positions. “We need to secure the bridge. This is where the crew made their stand before, this is probably our best option too.”

Campeador’s attention turns to Zea, who is still standing at the bridge science station, where she was trying to modify life support. As he addresses her, his tone becomes less assertive and more entreating: “We should, ahh, run a sensor sweep of the ship to see if we can find them.”

Alik starts making adjustments to the communication system to bypass the interference. A message crackles through from the Pas-de-Calais. Alik recognizes the voice of Cadet Serao, but it is unintelligible through the static: “… ………. …… …..r end ….. …… ……… ……. ……. system …. ……..”
Alik can try an INT and Communication Systems Operation roll to get through the interference. Zea can try an INT and Starship Sensors roll to run a scan of the ship.

User avatar
ManWithDoor
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 9301
Location: California, USA
Title: Imperial Psyker
User Class: Imperial Psyker

Aboard the King in Prussia

Post by ManWithDoor » Mon Jun 19, 2023 3:14 am

Alik runs to the communications system, trying to get through the static. "So, here's an idea. Might get us killed, might make us invincible. Since we were messing with the life support systems earlier ... how about we try to shut it off everywhere except the bridge? We're the only friendlies on board, and electronics don't care about oxygen, so we won't hurt anything. If we could vent the oxygen everywhere but the bridge ..." He leaves the rest unsaid. A grisly fate to anyone caught in such a trap, but better than the Starfleet officers being chopped apart or shot.
Int / Communications: 31, most likely a success. Don't have access to my character sheet right now, so not sure for certain.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

User avatar
RorytheRomulan
Level 12
Level 12
Posts: 1836
Location: US

Aboard the King in Prussia

Post by RorytheRomulan » Mon Jun 19, 2023 2:21 pm

Zea's accent slips as she mutters a curse. "I'll see what I can do about that, after I enter a sweep."

User avatar
Orvost
Level 9
Level 9
Posts: 797
Location: Chicago
User Class: Inquisitor

Aboard the King in Prussia

Post by Orvost » Thu Jun 29, 2023 6:03 am

Alik works quickly on his end to clear the comm link. On her end, Cadet Serao is doing the same aboard the Pas-de-Calais. Somehow, the two are able to open a brief window in the static where they both are able to communicate. Alik knows Serao well enough to recognize the concern in her voice as she speaks:
”King in Prussia: We are picking up a strange … radiation? perhaps? … aboard your ship. It is interfering with sensors and communication. Because of the sensor interference, we cannot get a transporter lock on your personnel. Please respond.”

Zea has no trouble running a quick scan of the ship. The readout is only visible for a moment before the view on the monitor is obscured by a cascade of interference. But the moment of visibility is burned into her mind. She sees five dots on the bridge, representing the five members of the away team. She also sees four dots further down the main corridor of the ship moving from room to room toward the bridge, as if doing a tactical sweep.

User avatar
RorytheRomulan
Level 12
Level 12
Posts: 1836
Location: US

Aboard the King in Prussia

Post by RorytheRomulan » Tue Jul 04, 2023 2:28 pm

"Damn static! Alik, your hunch was correct. There are four of them in the main hallway, checking each room. Even if I can get the ship to give me access, depriving them of air would only be effective if we could seal the bridge first."

She looks around the room for positions that she could use for cover if the hostile team did reach the bridge.

User avatar
ManWithDoor
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 9301
Location: California, USA
Title: Imperial Psyker
User Class: Imperial Psyker

Aboard the King in Prussia

Post by ManWithDoor » Wed Jul 12, 2023 6:36 pm

The engineer wracks his brains to build up an executable action plan in the time they have left to themselves.
So ... what's feasible from our position? 'Worst case', we re-disable the ship from the bridge, controls lock-out or whatever, and then go on the run away from the boarding party. But would prefer to either re-establish communications (to get backup), or successfully barricade ourselves in the bridge and fight back using the environmental controls. What can we actually try to do?
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

Post Reply