AT/K01 - Klingon Freighter qoH

[GM-02]

As the teams materialized on the Klingon transport, the first impression would be one of active neglect. Panels were rusty, the air was full of smoke and steam. The ship was functional, but likely only just, and only by the constant work of the crew. There was a metallic tang in the air, as well as a pervasive undercurrent of earthy lilac. There were alert klaxons blaring from every corner, and a mild shudder coming up through the floor into the away team’s feet.

The second impression each team would get was that the Klingons were hostile.

On the bridge, Svenson and Givens’ team were greeted by roars and weapons fire; the Klingons here had been expecting and prepared for invaders. One of the security officers was hit immediately and dropped, while Östberg and Pearson were charged by Klingons brandishing mek’leths. The cramped quarters gave them a moment to react, but only a moment.

In the engine room, it was more difficult. The air was even thicker, the alerts more insistent. The Klingons here were involved in trying to get the ship moving while also not exploding, and weren’t having much luck at either. That didn’t stop them from reaching for their guns as soon as they could, but did give Okehampton and her team a chance to act first.

As for Calleja in the cargo bay… the cavernous space was going to make things difficult. It was stacked with boxes - all labelled in Klingon, of course - which both cut off line of sight and made navigation difficult. No one immediately opened fire, but the team could hear the noisy Klingons heading towards the far port wall. Sensor scans would be helpful in triangulating them, as well as potentially identifying the cargo which had been more opaque to the probe's sensors.

[Tyra Crawford]

== Let's say a a minute or two after transport... ==

[Crawford to Givens and Calleja. They're in the process of overloading their engines; if y'all can't get system control ASAP, we might need to pull you back before they blow themselves up.]

[Mara Calleja]

Mara materialised and had her gun up the moment she heard disruptor fire. None of it was coming at her, but she did hear heavy bootsteps to port.

“Svenson, Okehampton. Report!” she called into the comm. “All personnel, fire at will if you’re attacked. Put ‘em down.” Looking around she waved up Trevathan. “Find me those bastards here, I want to know how many and how to get to them,” Calleja ordered. “Bance, start checkin’ the cargo as we go. What have they got that’s worth dyin’ for?”

The team started to move as Trevathan called out directions from his tricorder, rifles ready and the Chief in the middle of the pack.

Calleja was fluent in spoken and written Klingon, having studied the language when she was younger. Her grating accent fitted tlhIngan Hol well. It meant she was able to read the labels on the crates as they went and would have no trouble making herself understood when her team actually found the enemy.

===

== Lt[JG] Nat Okehampton ==

Nat had her team form up around Han as they beamed into the engine room. The young officer was extremely glad for the advanced tech in her helmet as it filtered out the gloom and revealed the frantic Klingons. As they caught sight of the Star Fleet team, they went for their guns.

[Svenson, Okehampton. Report!] Calleja was already demanding an update. [All personnel, fire at will if you’re attacked. Put ‘em down.]

The team in the engine room heard the order and opened fire, Okehampton adding her weight to the volley. Their weapons were set to heavy stun by default to try and minimise collateral damage and casualties, but in the cramped quarters they had to do the best they could. The armourer still wasn’t entirely comfortable with shooting first and asking questions later, but the team had no choice. If they let the Klingons get to their guns then it was going to be absolute carnage.

“Turning hostile in here Chief,” Nat replied into the comm, a tremor in her voice betraying her nerves as she kept herself together. “We’re engaging!”

===

== Lt Mara Calleja ==

[Turning hostile in here Chief.] Okehampton was matter of fact, but Calleja could hear the discomfort in her voice. [We’re engaging!]

Good on you…

The thought was interrupted by the comm.

[Crawford to Givens and Calleja. They're in the process of overloading their engines; if y'all can't get system control ASAP, we might need to pull you back before they blow themselves up.]

Mara swore viciously under her breath.

“Okehampton, they’re tryin’ to overload the engines. Get control of that room stat! Do you need us there too?” she said into the comm. “Take ‘em out and then you’re gonna have to take over with Han and keep this bucket in space.”

The lack of an update from the qoH’s bridge was making Mara twitchy. She knew she had to give Svenson a chance to respond but every part of her wanted to get straight there herself.

== GM input please - how many Klingons have survived in the cargo bay? Can we find them? And what’s in the boxes?

Also, how successful is Okehampton’s team in neutralising the Klingons? What state are the controls in, assuming they do manage to take the engine room? ==

[Aeryn Miller]

<< Transporter Room

== Ensign Ardanna Svenson - Security NRC ==

Ardanna barely had time to register her new surroundings or how neglected it all looked before the Klingons were on them, reacting as though they had anticipated their arrival. The security officer ignored their roars and concentrated on the weapons fire especially when they managed to hit K'Deela who immediately dropped, anger surged through the hybrid before two of the enemy began to charge at Pearson and Ostberg with their mek'leths. Ardanna knew that Pearson could handle himself, even in these cramped quarters, while Ostberg was unknown. However, she wasn't about to have another of her team removed from the fight or have to inform the Bridge that they couldn't protect Captain Givens.

Before she could utter a warning or orders, Calleja's voice came through the internal comms, demanding an update and ordering them to take any hostiles down. That much was certain given the reception they had received.

" You heard the Chief, fire and let's take them out".

Loren and Mortimer took up positions to the left and right of their leader, while Garvin protected their flank. Their objective was clear as the Ensign fired at the nearest Klingon, keeping a close eye on her target as she gave Calleja a quick update, aware that the news she had to give wasn't ideal, especially with K'Deela being taken out so soon.

" We've engaged hostiles Chief, and K'Deela is down".

== Tags ==

== GM input, is Ardanna able to take down the Klingon nearest to her? ==

[Hallowette Maxas-Darl]

Ollie's sense of space, time and self suspended for a fraction of eternity before all reemerged, the experience draped in a rainbow colored shower of shimmers, the sterile environment of the transporter pad melding into a dark, red hued body of sharp angles and unfamiliar noise.

The microsecond it took the Aussie security man to adjust to the foreign environment was long enough for the readied Klingon warriors to close on him and the Doctor he was pledged to protect. The sharp gleam of a blade, wild hair, and sharpened teeth were upon him like a maelstrom. Pearson was immediately on the backfoot, and it took all of his ability to bring his rifle up and deflect what blows he could while attempting to place himself between the incoming brutes and Dr. Ostberg.

Ollie was a good marksman, and his natural physique lended itself to his ability in hand to hand combat, but despite all this and years of training, Klingon Warriors spent their lives preparing for combat. Ollie had spent his youth surfing, flirting with girls and learning to make sushi. At best he had been learning to fight and serving in his role as a security officer for a bit over a decade. He was outmatched from the start.

Ollie may have been aware of this in the back of his mind, but he had a job to do. He may not have been the best trained, or natural combatant in the room, but Oliver Pearson was definitely among the most stubborn. He wasn't about to back down, not to anyone. Not even two vicious mek'leth wielding Klingons.

Ollie prepared himself to receive what blows he was unable to block with the phaser rifle now being used as a club. He trusted his armor to do its job and protect his vitals, so he concentrated on defending his soft parts, and most of all Dr. Ostberg, using what momentum he could to leverage the close quarters so he only faced one assailant at a time. He'd do his best to return blows where he could. With any luck he'd compensate for the Klingon fury and turn it on them - and if not, at least keep them busy enough to protect Ostberg until Sven and the rest of the team were able to shoot the hell out of them.

==GM Input: Hope this combat narrative was what you were looking for. Obviously, Pearson has his hands full! He will defend as best he can until he can make a hard blow count in return, or until the team can come to his aid. Ostberg is his primary objective at this point, and he will go out of his way to protect him, even if it means being injured himself. Though Ollie really hopes he's not hit in the face. Svenson won't like him if he's not pretty any more.==

==Tag Svenson, Ostberg, Givens==

[Robin Mayfair]

<< Transporter Room

== Ensign Kent Östberg - Medical NRC ==

"Damn it!" the doctor swore as weapons fire erupted, striking one of their team immediately. Östberg didn't have time to even draw his phaser, much less move towards the injured officer before he was charged by a Klingon with a mek’leth. It was Beta Selumai all over again, except with less time to prepare a defense. And that time it had been Cardassians, much less physically intimidating than Klingons.

Östberg got his left arm up to block a slash directed at his neck but Pearson moved like a flash, interposing himself and bringing his rifle up to parry. It was clear that the security officer was outmatched... and there was another Klingon charging.

Instinct (and SEJO training) took over. The intervention of Pearson had (hopefully) bought him a couple of seconds. He pulled the phaser from his belt and opened up on the second Klingon, gambling that the Australian could at least keep the first busy for a few moments. In his youth he would have pulled his trusty combat knife and met the Klingons blade for blade, and there was still part of him that looked fondly on those brash days where his comrades had made Viking jokes about the Norwegian medic. And he had to admit, there was still some call to his ancestor's blood, that had missed this. 

So much for 'no heroics.' Should have at least gotten a damned phaser rifle. 

== GM Input: Do the doctor's shots hit? Östberg will move to assist Pearson if the second Klingon gets taken out. ==

[Eun Ju Han]

Chaos.

Maybe I should have eaten the candy after all..

Immediately after beaming onto the Engineering deck she was surrounded by the others in a tight huddle. Han felt surprised because she had not really expected to fight but she also wasn’t someone who was important to the ship either. There were tons of Engineers but perhaps they needed her for more than just small stuff. There was a thick and heavy fog in the Engineering bay and already the cries of chatter and orders filled her ears as Mara and the others began to speak to each other.

Ju pulled out her phaser because who knew when she would be needed. She didn’t know what her purpose in the fire fight was, she had passed her phaser certification exam but only just barely. It wasn’t something she hoped to ever need on a daily basis but now that she was standing in the middle of a fire fight she made a resolution to see if Mara could give her some training on how to use the device with better efficacy.

She could hear team lead talking to Mara about how they were taking on fire and then Mara tell them to take them out and get control of the Engineering deck so that Han could keep them afloat. At least that’s one of my specialties.. she thought glad they hadn’t come up with anything that would test her knowledge too much. Though working on a Klingon vessel wasn’t nearly the same as all the training she had on the Starfleet Engines she had studied their blueprints and information as much as she could during school and even in her own time wanting to at least be comfortable with the make up of various alien ships not just Federation.

This was not in the training schedules at all, she would have preferred one of those nice calm missions. A little planet in a bad way, they just need someone to help their solar enhancers to they can continue to grow crops on the desolate planet that life began on in some way. She, this smart and happy-go-lucky Engineer would be the hero of the whole planet if she could just replicate these small pieces of the machine and put it all back together.

But no, here she was. Fog, firefight, screams in her ears, the ship felt like it was getting shaky but it was extremely hard to tell with the fact that she was being bumped by the people who had encircled her and the fact that there were phaser bolts flying across the metallic deck as though they had no care in the world.

Maybe I should re-think Science!

==Tag all==

[Tyra Crawford]

== Captain Cassandra Givens ==

It took Cass less than a second to decide two things simultaneously: they should have taken advantage of neurozene capabilities and they absolutely should have been the first team aboard. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that the Klingons might have expected a boarding action regardless but they certainly had after Calleja's team had gone to the cargo bay first.

It was instant chaos in the vessel's small bridge with large hulking bodies charging forward and loud klaxons overpowering yells and roars. Cass could see one of their officers almost immediately hit the ground where as another of the security officers and their doctor were charged by more Klingons.

There had been little conscious thought involved in drawing her sidearm as the space was far too cramped for her rifle. Of course, the mass of moving bodies was making target acquisition difficult, though she tried as her finger worked the trigger, and there wasn't much Cass wouldn't have given for a stun grenade or a neurozene grenade. Alas, this was going to have to be done the old fashioned way and likely the very old fashioned way.

Her dark eyes assessed the room quickly, trying to determine the best tactic over just shooting blindly. Her gut instinct was to protect the doctor and his guardian but there were too many bodies in the way. She'd have to fight through at least two before she even got to them and by then, that battle would be settled one way or another. 

[Crawford to Givens and Calleja. They're in the process of overloading their engines; if y'all can't get system control ASAP, we might need to pull you back before they blow themselves up.]

Now, that caught her attention and as she returned fire at the nearest Klingon and then, the next, she started to assess where the main bridge console was and whether she could cut a path to it. The brunette was willing to risk a lot of it meant not getting blown into pieces.

== GM Input: Can Cass see a control panel from where she is? If she can, how many Klingons does she need to got through? Also how many hostiles are there total and how is the shooting going? ==

[GM-02]

==Bridge Team==

The Klingons may have reacted quickly, but the Artemis team held their own quite well. Pearson manages to interpose himself between the charging Klingon and Ostberg, blocking the mek'leth with his phaser rifle. The blade bites into the weapon and sticks, rendering the energy weapon useless but also taking the blade out of the fight. 

In doing the brave thing, however, he opened up his back to the second mek'leth wielding Klingon. Luckily, the momentum of the blocked hit pulled him away from what could have been a deadly hit, which instead sliced down the outside of Pearson's arm just as the disarmed one goes in for a grapple, locking Pearson into close combat but rendering his right side slick with blood.

Ostberg, for his part, manages to hit the Klingon that sliced Pearson with his phaser, but the armor he war dispersed some of the energy, just staggering him rather than stunning him. Fortunately, Givens' shot managed to knock the Klingon down and keep him there. Svenson was also able to hit the Klingon that took down K'Deela, leaving only the one grappling Pearson on his feet.

Looking around, Givens is able to find a console, several in fact. Most seem up and running, though there's one on the far side of the room that seems powered off rather than damaged like some of the others are, and seems decidedly non-standard.

==Engine Room==

With more time to act than the bridge had, Okehampton and her team were able to take out the three Klingons in the room fairly quickly, with little wasted effort. Sometimes, it felt good to be in a position of superior firepower.

The alarms were still going off, however, and the displays showed the power buildup that had been going still building. Only now it was uncontrolled, as the closest that Klingons had to engineers were all now unconscious.

==Cargo Bay==

Scans indicated four Klingons in the bay, concentrated on the far side of the room. Reading the crates, the cargo appeared to be mostly foodstuffs and alcohol.

Scanning the room, most of the crates did appear to have those types of items in them. However, a significant number of crates were empty, despite the labels saying they should have been full. A few crates, however, were scan-shielded, with no idea what was in them. As Trevathan watched his tricorder, a fifth Klingon suddenly appeared in the group with the others from essentially through the far wall.

==If I missed someone/something, please let me know!==

[Robin Mayfair]

== Ensign Kent Östberg - Medical NRC ==

Pearson's bravery had earned him a slash to the arm that cut deep. He was grappled, and likely didn't have long before his opponent got the better of him.

The doctor allowed himself a bit of a crooked smile as his shot hit the second Klingon, the one who had cut the Australian... and didn't take him out. The smile faded instantly. Klingon armor, designed for exactly that, and he cursed himself for not remembering. During his time with the SEJO he'd been trained not to fire stun center mass at armored targets. You either fired to kill or you shot for the unprotected head. He was rusty, and he knew it.

Heavy stun still staggered the rather large Klingon, and precious time ticked away as he adjusted his aim only for a second blast, from Captain Givens, to take the enemy out of the fight. That left the one on Pearson. There was no way for Östberg to shoot the remaining Klingon without hitting the friendly. And this had to end now. One team member was down and needed treatment, and Pearson himself needed to have his wound taken care of afterwards. Ordinarily he would have let someone else (trained Security officers, after all) finish off the last foe, but if the Klingon got his knife in he might kill Pearson. Östberg owed him, and the doctor paid his debts.

The large doctor pulled his hypospray off his belt, tapped the button for anesthizine with his thumb with a well-practiced motion, and went for the Klingon, charging in. All he needed was opening, and the Klingon looked rather busy.

Come on, you bastard, give it up. This won't hurt at all.

== Östberg will try to get in any opening he can find and give our Klingon friend a rather heavy dose. ==

[Mara Calleja]

== Lt[JG] Nat Okehampton ==

The sound of phaser fire died away to reveal 3 downed Klingons and minimal collateral damage. Nat let out the breath she’d been holding in and looked to the rest of the team.

“Great job. Let’s get this secured. Bellon, Treyda, put our new friends in cuffs and get them out of the way…”

[Okehampton, they’re tryin’ to overload the engines. Get control of that room stat! Do you need us there too?] Calleja sounded far too keen for a fight to Okehampton, but that was the new Chief’s style. [Take ‘em out and then you’re gonna have to take over with Han and keep this bucket in space.]

Nat quickly looked over at the young Engineer who was with them. Alarms were starting to sound everywhere and even to the armourer’s partially trained eye, it looked very much like the Klingons were very close to achieving their goal.

“Chief, engine room secured. Han and I are going to do our best,” she said down the comm.

[Nice work. Keep me posted.] The answer was near instant.

“Ensign, we’re in your hands,” Nat added to Ju, acutely aware of the number of metaphorical eyes that were now over their shoulders. “Where do you need us? We’ve got to stop this overload!”

== Lt Mara Calleja ==

[Chief, engine room secured. Han and I are going to do our best.]

“Nice work. Keep me posted.” Mara was relieved to know she at least didn’t have to reinforce the engine room. There was the whole issue of potentially being blown to pieces if the engines went up, but there was nothing she could do about that. She had to trust Ju to do her thing.

[We've engaged hostiles Chief, and K'Deela is down.] The report came through from Svenson on the Bridge, and as she listened Calleja could hear the gunfire in the background.

I’m gonna get shit for not bein’ there myself, ‘specially if Givens gets her tunic dirty. But I had to be here. We still don’t know what they’re willin’ to die for, but it’s here and I’m gonna find it…

“Svenson, do you need back-up?” Calleja replied. She did the maths in her head about shuffling a couple of Okehampton’s team to join her and sending a couple of hers up to the Bridge, but it was probably going to be quicker and more effective to call in reinforcements from Artemis.

The Amazonian Chief was still looking around when she spoke to Trevathan.

“Trev, what are you seein’?” she asked. “A lot of these labels are food and booze. I don’t see anythin’ worth dyin’ for, and they were quite prepared to blow the ship. There’s gotta be somethin’ here.”

“There’s empty boxes,” he replied. “Quite a lot of them are empty. And there’s some that are scan-shielded, I can’t see what’s in them. But we’ve got a bigger problem. I was reading 4 Klingons a moment ago. It’s now 5. It’s like another one literally walked through the wall.”

“Now we’re gettin’ somewhere,” Mara said. Her lips pulled back in a feral smile. “Let’s go make ‘em regret that decision. Take us there. Weapons hot, team.”

I want to pry open some of those shielded crates, but I can’t risk splittin’ the team or slowin’ down enough for us all to do it.

She switched channels.

“Calleja to Artemis. Engine room is secured, Han is workin’ to take control supported by Okehampton and team. Bridge team takin’ fire. We’re investigatin’ the cargo and accordin’ to the tricorder we literally got Klingons comin’ out the walls. Will report back.”

All members of the away team were able to hear the report. Mara wasn’t going to speak for Givens - she was pretty sure the Captain was more than able to speak for herself.

As the rest of her team raised their rifles and picked up the pace, Mara’s grip tightened on the type II she had in one hand as she drew her machete with the other. The Bandaran was an average marksman but punched way above her weight in melee, and she was ready for any Klingon that tried to jump the Star Fleet team.

== Tags all! GM input please - what does Mara’s team find when they get to the far wall? How do the Klingons react? ==

[Hallowette Maxas-Darl]

==Ens. Ollie Pearson - Security NRC==

A sense of a searing flame rattled across Pearson's consciousness and he immediately felt the thick, flat, sticky wetness that accompanied the vicious wound that would hopefully become a dardy new scar.

"Gaaaaah! Bloody Hoons!" howled the blonde officer, wincing at the deep throbbing pain that announced unceremoniously that he was in fact, very likely, pretty badly hurt.

Ollie knew he was had - in his maneuverings and subsequent defense of himself and the doctor, he had failed to account for his weak side, and it cost him. Still, he wasn't about to give up any ground to the Klingon he was currently grappled with. Pearson realized he had little recourse to deal with the assailant at his back, and while his mind scrambled to find a way to counter him, his body and now weakened arm began to struggle to hold on to the one at his front.

Ollie was just about to swallow all sense of his pride and yell for help when he saw the flash of a phaser beam arc past him, and the tell tale sound of a heavy body hitting the floor sang like Christmas in his ears. Thanks to whatever Mate made that shot...

Ollie turned his full attention to his old dance partner, the brute that had destroyed his rifle, and was now mutually locked in close fighting with him. Now I get a chance to return the favor... "You and me now, Drongo!"

Pearson did his best to leverage his training and strength to further wrap up the now disarmed Klingon, though he quickly realized that the wound to his arm had bitten deeply enough to diminish his power a noticeable degree. While his intended bravado may have been to do something cinematic, like throw the Klingon over the Captain's chair, he noticed that given his bloodied state, he probably was more likely to do something less heroic...like maybe shift him slightly from where he was... maybe over to his right...or maybe his left.... Options. Options.

That's when he noticed an incoming Dr. Ostberg, hypospray in hand.

Looks like we are going to the right... "Nighty night princess..." Pearson taunted as he shifted his weight as best he could, hopefully presenting his erstwhile companion Doctor a very unwilling, yet equally exposed target.

==Pearson knows he is hurt rather badly, and so will do his best to use his Starfleet martial training to use the Klingon's bulk and momentum against him, swinging the pretty lady (or man) towards Ostberg. Hopefully this will leave the Klingon open to the Doctor's 'gentle attack', and minimize any chances of getting further injured - maybe even allowing a captive in case a conversation be in order==

[Aeryn Miller]

== Ensign Ardanna Svenson - Security NRC ==

Adrenaline had taken over completely at this point as Svenson, her team and Captain Givens gave the Klingons as good as they got. Although it came at a price, as Pearson ran afoul of the mek'leth, albeit not as devastating as it could have been, thanks to the actions of Ostberg and the Captain. With two Klingons taken out of the fight, only one assailant was left for them to deal with, and Pearson, despite his injury, kept up the fight, with some additional help from the Doctor, who was armed with a hypospray.

That left the Captain to check out the consoles, while Garvin moved to assist Pearson and Ostberg should they need it. As for Svenson, Mortimer, and Loren, they had prisoners to secure, and to also check on K'Deela as Chief Calleja responded to Ardanna's sitrep, before providing Artemis with an update on what was happening.

This allowed the hybrid to provide an update of her own, as there was every indication that the Bridge would be secured fully, once the last Klingon had been apprehended appropriately, either hypospray or stun.

" We've got it handled Chief, there's only one Klingon left to deal with, and we're about to secure the two that we've taken out".

" Loren, you're with me, while Mortimer checks on K'Deela".

Moving with purpose, and taking out the restraints, both security officers approached their charges, prepared to restrain them and to act if necessary.

== Tags ==

== GM input. Are Svenson and Loren successful in securing the two already downed Klingons? And what is the extent of K'Deela's injuries? ==

[Rubicon Doyle]

== Cargo Bay ==

Rubicon let out a breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding as the transporter’s grip released her. Phaser held firmly in her hand, Rubicon did a visual scan of her quadrant of the cargo bay, doing a threat analysis as she went.

She was certainly starting her very first assignment with a bang. Being assigned to an away team was one thing, but being dispated onto a hostile Klingon ship with a very high chance they would see action? That was a whole other cup of tea. Not that Rubicon was opposed to it—using her firearms and hand-to-hand skills were in the job posting, after all—she was just surprised that the Chief of Security had selected her to be part of one of the teams. Perhaps Calleja was just the type who believed in the ‘trial by fire’ school of thought. Perhaps it was just random. Either way, Rubicon was pleased to test her own mettle in a real situation for the first time.

There was… a lot of crates. I suppose one would anticipate cargo in a cargo bay, yes.

“Clear,” Rubicon reported, not seeing anything immediately threatening.

She did a secondary assessment of her area. Rubicon recognized the Klingon lettering on some of the crates, but she didn’t read the language. She took a couple steps closer to one of the stacks, wondering if there was anything that might pique her interest or if anything seemed out of place. She listened to some of the back and forth.

“There’s empty boxes. Quite a lot of them are empty. And there’s some that are scan-shielded, I can’t see what’s in them. But we’ve got a bigger problem. I was reading 4 Klingons a moment ago. It’s now 5. It’s like another one literally walked through the wall.”

That perked Rubicon’s interest. Were they dealing with a shielded area, sensor baffling, a holodeck-style wall? Or….

“Let’s go make ‘em regret that decision. Take us there. Weapons hot, team.”

Muscle memory clicking in, Rubicon double checked that her weapon was set where Callaja had originally ordered them to be. Then she brought up the rear of the party as they headed in the direction that Trevathan’s tricorder had indicated.

“Are they intentionally draw our attention here?” Rubicon asked. There was no emotion her in voice, no nerves or wobbles, instead the calm found of someone who was used to be in emergency situations and keeping her cool. Surely if the Klingons were hiding something, they wouldn’t have been so dumb as to walk through a wall and giveaway their hiding position…. right? Or were they intentionally drawing the away team away from something they didn’t want seen?

== GM: Rubicon is watching the team's backs, just in case someone comes up behind. ==

[Eun Ju Han]

Ju felt entirely out of her element but at the same time she was certain this would seem exciting later when she looked back at her first away mission. She felt like right now she was way in over her head. The bolts flying across the deck gave a scent of ozone to the air leaving pock marks on the walls and other stationary items across the deck. All of a sudden, it was quiet and Ju opened her eyes not realizing she had closed them in the first place. Ju swore she could hear herself breathe again and her ears weren’t ringing thanks to the helmet on her head but she was pretty sure they would have been otherwise.

[Take ‘em out and then you’re gonna have to take over with Han and keep this bucket in space.]

Ju looked up and met the eyes of Okehampton. She felt a healthy bit of fear for sure but she also wanted to prove herself. The person who had been charge this whole time looked right into her eyes and stated they were going to follow her lead now. She had not been prepared to take control on her very first mission, this wasn’t something she had been ready for. But, Ju had not gotten this far in her life by being afraid of things and letting that fear control her. She had always tried to push herself a little harder and a little further with every single thing she tried to tackle. Her halmoni had not raised her to be a quitter.

Ju threw her shoulders back and took a deep breath. “Okay, lets get to work.”

Walking to the nearest control station Ju whipped out her tricorder to run a diagnostic on the engine room. Surely she could get some readings that would give her an idea of where to get started. While she ran the diagnostic she tried to see if she could make sense of what the read-outs on the Klingon console were saying. She didn’t know Klingon, at all, but she figured it might be something she could figure out. However, as she stared at the screen she doubted it, she was going to have to use her tricorder to help her figure everything out.

She knew that she could fix it, this was her expertise, the very thing she had been to the academy for and trained in. She didn’t want to let anyone down.

==GM, what does the tricorder say is the problem in the engine room? What can Ju do to fix it!==

[GM-02]

==Bridge==

Svenson and Loren are able to secure the Klingons, binding their hands with little trouble. As Svenson comes over to K'Deela, the situation becomes worse. If it had just been a disruptor, the wounds would probably have been relatively mild. As it was, the mek'leth had sliced down from the left shoulder, across the chest, and then stopped in the right arm where K'Deela had brought it up out of reflex. There was a lot of blood, and the slice deep in the arm could potentially be very serious. They needed a doctor, and quickly.

Pearson wrestled with 'Drongo'. While he wasn't able to use right arm well, the Klingon also couldn't get a strong grip on that side either due to all the blood preventing his getting a hand hold. Fortunately, Pearson had help. He used his bodyweight to pivot the Klingon to one side, presenting Ostberg with a beautiful target for his hypospray, which went in without an issue.

Unfortunately, medicine isn't always exact, and there are always outliers who have adverse reactions. When the anesthezine went in, for a second the Klingon went limp. But then, as it began to flood his bloodstream, he went into a berserker fury instead, bowling over Pearson with a roar and swinging a powerful fist into Ostberg that sent him sliding across the floor. Then he began to charge.

==The roar provides enough of an opening for someone to react if they want.==

==Engine Room==

As Han begins trying to diagnose the problem, several things become evident fairly quickly. First, many of the consoles are locked out, flashing with warnings that can't be stopped or removed, while some others are just smashed. It seems the Klingons had some anger issues. Second, from the translation her tricorder was giving, it seemed that one of the "fixes" whatever passed for an engineer on this freighter had attempted was to remove the governor on the reactor, so it could provide more power than it was supposed to.

Power that currently had nowhere to go.

There was some evidence that they had eventually figured this out and were attempting to reroute power towards the engines somehow, but there didn't seem to be much of a rhyme or reason to what they were doing, so far as Han could tell; they were doing it all through trial and error. However, that didn't much matter at this point: with the reactor trying to overload, they needed to shut it down, and the interface panels weren't up to the task at the moment. They would need to find the manual controls for the reactor. Fortunately, since engineering was right next to the reactor, it shouldn't be far.

==Cargo Bay==

Fortunately for the security team, Doyle was watching their back, because two of the Klingons had circled behind and began to fire at them. Meanwhile, two more were attacking, one from either side of the assembled team as they reached the far wall.

The far wall, where two Klingons were waiting, making a total of six. One of them appeared to have just stepped out from behind a stack of crates that was swinging on well-oiled hinges, revealing a corridor beyond running the length of the ship. The Klingons began opening fire, but the Starfleet team was fortunately ready for them.

==Assume you see them as they open fire and can react accordingly. Ambushing wary opponents is hard!==

[Tyra Crawford]

== Captain Cass Givens ==

The bridge, such a confined space with so many bodies, was pure chaos and keeping track was proving difficult. Cass had briefly caught sight of the odd console on the other side of the bridge but it was quickly lost in the shuffle of bodies as the fight began to wind down with weapons of all sorts flying. She'd heard Calleja's transmission but her opportunity between firing at Klingons and dodging blades had been limited to answer. 

Her dark eyes shifted as her peripheral caught sight of a lot of blood pouring out of K'Deela.  Her eyes quickly shifted to account for the doctor, just in time to see him be slid across the bridge by a now enraged Klingon, whose roar had been almost impossible to miss seconds earlier.

"Put direct pressure on that wound now," she yelled towards Svenson before she pivoted towards the last threat.

Her original path had been to skirt along the back of the bridge towards the mystery console but now, she purposefully squared up, trying to place a console between herself and the Klingon as her rifle came up on target. Her finger depressed the trigger without much conscious thought,  and it would continue the rhythmic motion until the target was down or she had to switch to her side arm. Her first shot had purposefully aimed for the head before she settled into the torso for the sake of a large target.

== GM: Does she hit our little buddy? ==

[Robin Mayfair]

== Ensign Kent Östberg - Medical NRC ==

Damn Klingons, that shot should have put down a buffalo! A Klingon buffalo!

Östberg shook his head, shaking off the solid clock to the jaw he's just taken. His vision blurred for a moment, going gray, and then he refocused as he heard Givens yell "Put direct pressure on that wound now!" The southern Captain opened up on the berserk assailant as the doctor half scrambled over to the wounded K'Deela. The warrior was already out of Östberg's mind. The remaining team would put him down eventually.

"Mortimer, get that chest armor off her," he told the Security officer, indicating the deep stab wound on K'Deela's upper torso. The blade had slipped down, going between the shoulder guard and the upper breastplate. The Klingon who'd hit her had known exactly where to do damage. The woman was herself at least partially Klingon as he noted by the ridges on her forehead and the slight purple-pink tone to her blood, and Östberg prayed she still had some of that legendary toughness herself. He pulled his medical tricorder. He needed to know exactly how bad the wound was, how deeply it had penetrated. 

== GM input: How bad is it? Is it something that Östberg can treat here? ==

[Aeryn Miller]

== Ensign Ardanna Svenson - Security NRC ==

With the two Klingons secured properly and safely, Ardanna wasn't about to consider this a victory until they finished the mission and returned to Artemis. At least they wouldn't be a problem for the time being, which was something, and with any luck, the final Klingon would soon be joining his shipmates in the cosy land of sweet unconscious oblivion. Easier said than done, as Ostberg's attempt to knock out Pearson's assailant didn't exactly go to plan. However, Captain Givens quickly took up the fight by firing at the roaring Klingon. The yelled order to put pressure on K'deela's wounds before she fired her weapon was promptly acknowledged by Mortimer before Ostberg joined him despite the doctor having been on the receiving end of the Klingon's fist.

As much as she wanted to be with K'Deela, Ardanna didn't want to get in the way of her treatment, assuming it was possible to do so here, or if she would have to request an emergency beam out. There was also the matter of Pearson, who also needed to be looked at once Ostberg had finished with her half-Klingon friend.


== Ensign Howard Mortimer - Security NRC ==

Once he was by K'Deela's side, Howard was able to see the extent of his teammate's injuries, silently cursing the Klingon responsible for taking her out of the fight so quickly, and brutally. The mek'leth had caused a lot of damage, from the way it had sliced down from her left shoulder, across her chest before stopping where K'Deela had tried to defend herself with her right arm. The Ensign knew it would have been a lot milder if the coward had used a disruptor, but all he could think about right now was getting his friend the treatment she needed before the Captain yelled to put pressure on the wound.

" Stay with me K," he said quietly, as he applied the appropriate pressure, concentrating on what he had to do until Doctor Ostberg approached and asked him to remove K'deela's armor. " On it Doc" he replied, wasting no time in removing the armor as carefully as possible.


== Tags ==

[Hallowette Maxas-Darl]

==Ens. Ollie Pearson - Security NRC==

The moment of satisfaction that accompanied the 'woosh' of Ostberg's hypospray was short lived as whatever the Doc injected his "dance partner" with did the exact opposite of knocking him out. 

A combination of slick blood and his weakened strength coupled with a now 'hulked out' (a reference the Aussie security man had learned about from an ex with a fascination for classical pop culture science fiction movies) warrior alien, resulted in Pearson's immediate upending. One moment he was enjoying victory. The next he was on his rather well toned arse.

The deck plate of the Klingon freighter was hard and uninviting as his body slammed uncontrolled against it, and Ollie lost the breath in his lungs on impact. Stunned, there was little the man could do but hurt (which he did fantastically at the moment), as he watched his opponent drive a fist into the Doctor and then charge wildly towards his colleagues. Pearson tried to call out a warning, but no sound would leave him other than a sad breathless squeak. Turning his head, a sense of dread washed over him as he saw K'Deela on the floor across the bridge, and the telltale sign of his teammates engaged in emergency life saving procedures.

No....K....

I gotta get up. I gotta get up.... ran through Pearson's mind as he struggled to clear his head and move his bloody battered body. Little progress was made before he saw the flash of a phaser rifle from the direction of Captain Givens.

[Eun Ju Han]

Well this is fan-freaking-tastic, Ju thought to herself as she looked down at the Klingon console. Firstly, there were cracks spiderwebbed across the surface. If their console surface glass was made of anything like the Federation used great force was applied to crack it like this. Even if she could have gotten into the system the whole interface was shot due to the cracks and she doubted that most of it would register her finger-work.

Luckily, her tricorder was at least giving her some information that she could work with. It seemed that the Engineer, No strike that, Idiot is better, who had been down here working until he probably died had turned off the regulator so that they could get as much power out of the engine than was safe. Well they would have died anyway, I guess, no big deal that it was with a phaser bullet instead…

The problem was, the power was building up with no where to go and had just been let to fester like an infected wound. Ju severely regretted standing here right now as the ranking officer in Engineering. How nice it would be if the Chief was here to start directing people around and getting things together. No, this was her call, and it wasn’t that she didn’t know what to do she just didn’t know if she could do it fast enough with the engine ready to melt down and take the ship with it.

The tricorder began to show that the Klingon’s had probably attempted to remedy their stupidity but ultimately had failed. However, it didn’t seem that they had any solid ideas on how to stop their stupidity they were just pressing buttons and praying to their Bat’leths or something. Han could only roll her eyes, You would think they’d have better training than this.. maybe their main engineer died or something. Surely they can’t be this dumb.

“Okay,” Han said turning to the rest of the group. “The engine is flirting with a meltdown right now so we need to shut her down. The consoles are all broken, locked, or jacked-up so we’re going to have to go old school. We need to find the reactor, which shouldn’t be far, and turn it off manually.”

Han looked around for some sort of hatch or door that would lead them to the reactor. It couldn’t be far because this was Engineering and the ship wasn’t overly large. As she walked across the deck looking for the reactor room she pressed her Comm link for the group. [The Klingon were playing with power and messed up the reactor. I’m finding the reactor room so I can shut it down manually. The ship is on the verge of a melt down.] That way at least they would know she was working on it and had a solution to boot.

It didn’t take long to find the door and made a beeline for it motioning for the others in case they wanted to come or at the very least so they would know where she was. Han reached up and tried the door to see if it would open.

==GM, does the door open without issue? If so, where does Han see the control panel?==
==Tag all==

[Rubicon Doyle]

== Cargo Bay ==

Rubicon took careful steps backwards as she followed the rest of the team, allowing her senses to guide her. She kept her eyes sharp, which was no easy task given the number of crates that were stacked in the cargo area. The away team didn’t seem to make it very far, when a shadow across the far wall caught Rubicon’s eye. She stopped her tread, adjusted the her grip on her phaser in that direction when…

A Klingon stepped out from behind one of the crates and fired at the away team.

“From behind,” she alerted the rest of the team, as she put her back against the wall of crates to make herself as small of a target as possible. Then she returned fire on the Klingon.
As she went to take another shot, her peripheral vision alerted her to more movement. A glance and Rubes spotted a second Klingon.

“Second bogey,” her voice didn’t betray any stress as Rubicon informed the team. She tried to get off a snipe shot before the second Klingon shot back. She crouched and then quickly tried to roll across the way to take cover behind a barrel of something, coming up shooting some more.

== Tag team. GM input on the pew pew pews. ==

[GM-02]

==Bridge==

As Mortimer started to remove the armor, it quickly became obvious that this wasn't going to be the best idea. The armor - designed to stop energy blasts, mostly, with ballistic and edged weapons coming in second and a distant third, given that the vast majority of potential enemies for Starfleet used energy rather than other weapons, and the most prolific user of blades were normally an ally - had broken up under the mek'leth's impact, and the jaggedly cut edges had also bent into the wound. Removing the armor was going to take a lot more care - and likely more specialized tools - than the security team had at the moment.

Ostberg's medical tricorder was able to make a better assessment of the injuries, as well. In addition to the blood loss - particularly what was going into her chest cavity at the moment - her lungs on that side of her chest were punctured (her part-Klingon physiology giving her some redundant organs), multiple ribs were sliced, and then of course her arm was sliced mostly in two. Field treatment was not an option.

Givens, for her part, demonstrated excellent marksmanship, impacting the berserk Klingon multiple times. Unfortunately, she missed her headshot on a last-second shake of his head, and she was still using the stun setting. He staggered momentarily before locking his eyes on her and charging. His mek'leth still embedded in a phaser rifle, he instead drew his d'k'tahg dagger and extended the side blades on it, brandishing it at the captain.

==Engine Room==

The door opens without issue. The room beyond was broiling hot; sweat broke out on those that entered almost immediately. There were three control panels exposed below the main bulk of the reactor. There were a number of dials, displays, buttons, and switches, all very clearly labelled and apparently working just fine. Unfortunately they were all labelled in Klingon, and it would require translation to know which one was which.

==Cargo Bay==

Doyle was able to find decent cover - the cargo bay wasn't exactly packed efficiently - and kept fire on the two Klingons behind. Joined by a young Tellarite officer, the two of them were able to keep the Klingons' heads down. Overall, however, while the team was able to keep sufficient pressure to keep the six Klingons who had them surrounded from advancing, the Starfleet team was still surrounded and pinned down themselves. Something would need to change before they could do anything.

[Robin Mayfair]

== Ensign Kent Östberg - Medical NRC ==

Shit. This is too much. I can't fix this, not here. It's too much. 

Östberg gave a look to Mortimer and shook his head, holding up a hand to indicate that the Security officer should stop. The blonde doctor tapped his combadge. 

"Östberg to Artemis. Medical emergency, beam K'Deela directly to sickbay." He closed the channel with a tap, then opened another. "Östberg to Sickbay. Medical emergency, prepare to receive Ensign K'Deela. Pierced upper right..." He struggled to remember the Klingon systems; K'Deela had a paid of smaller lungs of that race as well as human lungs. "Ghe'kha lung, upper right human lung, nearly severed right arm." The staff would know what to do with that. The only thing that was keeping the woman alive was her redundant Klingon organs, but that wouldn't be the case for long. She was simply losing too much blood even if she could breathe with her left set of lungs for a while. 

With the ship contacted the doctor applied a hypospray with 30mg of lectrazine to temporarily stabilize his system. It was the most he could do before the patient was beamed away. Östberg's usually friendly demeanor was gone. The Klingon berserker was still up, still going after Givens. 

And will someone put that damned beast down before I disintegrate him myself?  

== GM: Per our PM can we assume K'Deela is successfully beamed out? ==

[Hallowette Maxas-Darl]

==Ens. Ollie Pearson - Security NRC - Bridge==

This is all wrong. K'Deela... This...this...

"Get up Oliver. Bollocks you bludger..." Ollie groaned as he pushed himself to one knee, "Get the F UP. GET UP."

Pearson watched as several stun blasts recoiled the berserk Klingon, knocking the crazed warrior in different directions, but having little effect otherwise. He felt panic rise like bile in the back of his parched throat, and only his years of experience kept the feeling from overwhelming him. This bloke was gonna dunny the whole mission - or worse, he was going to kill ANOTHER teammate.

Ollie reached into the top of his boot, his fingers feeling for the sleek, polished edge of his last resort weapon. He knew he'd probably hear it, hell he might even get the ol' keelhaul out of Starfleet, but he couldn't let what happened to K'Deela happen to Givens...or worse Svenson. God above, not Sven.

His right side ached fiercely, but the man from OZ pushed through, his eyes stinging from the release of sweat that rolled down his forehead like a stream of ions from an engine. Ollie withdrew the old school type one 'pocket' phaser from its catch and released the safety. He blinked once to clear the perspiration from his eyes, and aimed, only noting with satisfaction that it was set to kill, just as it was meant to be. He forced out a breath, daring a final steadying act before yelling gutterally, "Oy, fella!!!"  then fired on the mad threat - a threat that meant with all intention to kill a superior officer.

==GM Input: Ollie fires his backup type 1 at the rampaging klingon. The weapon is set on the first kill setting after heavy stun. Ollie is wounded, gassed and ultimately calling his cards with nothing left. It's an all or nothing cross field kick in open play (to use a Rugby parlance hail mary) Does the man from Brisbane hit his target?==

[Aeryn Miller]

== Ensign Howard Mortimer - Security NRC ==

The more Mortimer attempted to remove K'Deela's armour, the more the security officer began to realise that it was a bad idea, before he saw Ostberg silently tell him to stop. His friend had suffered greatly, which seemed to fuel Howard's anger, which he needed to channel into completing the rest of the mission. Howard nodded his understanding, removing his bloodied hands away from his friend's damaged body, absentmindedly wiping them as best he could as the Doctor contacted the ship for an emergency beam out. He knew that K'Deela would be in good hands, but that wouldn't stop him from worrying until he returned to Artemis. He also wasn't going to leave her side, at least for the time being. 

Ostberg was quick to administer a hypo, no doubt to keep K'Deela comfortable, and while Howard wished he could have done more, he understood that he wasn't the person to help and that he still had a job to do. Speaking of, Pearson might just need that additional backup, as his teammate forced himself to ignore his wounds, before taking out a spare weapon and aiming it at the Klingon who had refused to be taken down. He seemed hellbent on wanting to harm Captain Givens, and if Pearson hit true, then this would finally be over. Getting to his feet, Mortimer wasn't the only one ready to provide cover, as Svenson closed into also assist should Pearson need it.


== Tags ==

[Mara Calleja]

Mara had her phaser already drawn and she was firing in unison with the rest of the team even as she backed into cover. Her smaller type II still had plenty of range and whilst she wasn’t hitting anything vital, her added weight of fire was at least helping keep the Klingons pinned.

“From behind,” the call from Doyle alerted the rest of the team, as the Midshipman opened fire. “Second bogey,” she added.

The Security Chief looked around. Both the Star Fleet team and the defending Klingons had each other pinned down but they had apparently reached a stalemate that needed to be broken.

“OK. We gotta break out or there’s a risk they’re gonna bring reinforcements through that corridor up ahead,” Calleja said, her voice eerily calm in the middle of the firefight. “Doyle, Bance, I want that one on the right taken out, then move on the two up ahead. I’m gonna go take the two behind us, then work round to the one on the left. Trev, you and the rest need to keep everyone duckin’, and if I look like I’m not gonna make the guy on the left, J’dara and Celcis need to do it. Once Doyle and Bance are done, move on up in support. This is gonna hurt but stayin’ here is not an option. We gotta take the entrance to that corridor. We go on my mark. Grenades out to cover the advance.”

The Amazonian officer took a moment to psyche herself up. The machete felt good in her hand. She’d spent so much of her life in close-up, brutal combat like this that the prospect of taking on multiple enemies at point blank range didn’t phase her in the least.

I’ve killed bigger ‘n better than these in the past. Klingons are runnin’ mostly on rep these days. The reality is they got fat and lazy and I’m gonna make ‘em pay for that.

Mara loosed off a volley from her type II and holstered it, drawing a flash grenade from her pouch as the rest of the team did likewise. The helmets worn by the Star Fleet team would protect them from the pulse of light but the enemy didn’t appear to be packing similar protection. She primed the bomb, took a deep breath and then let it out.

“Let’s go!” she roared, hurling the grenade at the Klingons to the rear before breaking cover at a sprint. Already she was mentally calculating her attack path as she closed…

== Tags all! Doyle, you can treat Bance as a temp NRC of yours if you want.

GM input please - how does the plan go? Can Mara close and engage with the Klingons at the rear? ==

[Mara Calleja]

== Lt[JG] Nat Okehampton ==

“Okay,” Han said turning to the rest of the group. “The engine is flirting with a meltdown right now so we need to shut her down. The consoles are all broken, locked, or jacked-up so we’re going to have to go old school. We need to find the reactor, which shouldn’t be far, and turn it off manually.”

Nat listened to Han’s reports and watched the engineer work. So much needed to be done at once and it was a little overwhelming.

The armourer turned to the rest of the Security officers.

“I’m going to go and try to help Han,” she said. “The rest of you, secure the area. Nothing comes in unless they’re one of ours,” she said.

Slinging her rifle across her shoulder, Okehampton went to follow in Han’s footsteps. As she stepped into the engine room and the heat engulfed her, she took her helmet off and clipped it to her belt, sweat already beading her patrician features as she looked around at the valves.

“OK, can you read Klingon, because I know I can’t,”  she admitted. The idea of Okehampton, in her accent that sounded straight out of a Jane Austen novel, trying to enunciate the guttural sounds of Klingon was downright hilarious and in other circumstances she might have laughed herself.

== Tag Han! And GM, are you feeling merciful? Do we have anyone in the Security team who can read Klingon please? ==

[Robin Mayfair]

Robin Mayfair's southern-accented voice came across Östberg's combadge.

[Sickbay. Acknowledged, Doctor. Awaiting patient.]

[Lucy Devereaux]

Lucy's response came over Ostberg's combadge.

[Devereaux to Ostberg. On it.]

[Cassandra Givens]

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Cass began to understand the magnitude of her miscalculation, a miscalculation she was likely to pay for in blood. At that moment in time, she wished she was one of the more crusty variants that formed within the security ranks, the ones that kept a kinetic sidearm or a hidden mini-phaser set to pulverize within reach at all times. She suspected if the captain of the Artemis had been here, Cass would have found out once and for all if the rumors about her sidearm of choice were true or not. Instead, Cass was left to consider her options with the few seconds of life she had left.

In her mind, she had three options with some small subvariants. She could try to reset her rifle to kill and hope that she got it back up on plane before the Klingon closed the distance beyond her barrel. She could always try to retreat a little but the space was small and there wasn't really anywhere to go with enough room to give her the time she needed. Alternatively, she could switch to her sidearm, knowing she could change its function faster, and possibly use the rifle to create enough space to allow her to finish the maneuver. Or she could truly just accept her fate, draw her own knife and lose to a bezerking Klingon in a hopeless melee. Regardless, she didn't see any ending that didn't result in the very large knife finding a seam in her armor.

There was no conscious decision making as she started moving, her rifle shifting to her non-dominant hand so that she could muzzle strike for distance if needed as her dominant hand ripped her pistol out of its holster. Her thumb was toggling the device to kill even as her legs resisted the urge to shift back and planted themselves instead. It was very likely the Klingon would grab her rifle and the sling would pull her into him but if he did, she'd at least get a good contact shot in during her final moments in this universe.

All she needed was to get one round off and at this distance, she didn't think there was any way she could miss. Everything else around her just seemed to dull to a low hum as her heartbeat made it into her ears in these final moments before impact of one sort or another.

== GM: Does she manage to get her pistol swapped over to kill in time? Does she get a shot off before getting steamrolled? ==

[Rubicon Doyle]

== Cargo Bay ==

This firefight feels like a draw. Where Rubicon and Bance—a Tellarite office that Rubicon hadn’t yet served with—were positioned gave them both enough cover to keep the Klingons pinned down. But at the same time, the Klingons also had enough cover that neither Starfleet officer seemed to be able to get a good shot in. The Klingons had certainly drawn them in to an area to their advantage, if that advantage was to keep the Starfleet away team in one place.

“OK. We gotta break out or there’s a risk they’re gonna bring reinforcements through that corridor up ahead.” Rubicon heard the Chief of Security say from behind her. That made it clear that the team in the front was having about the same luck that she and Bance were having on this side.

“Doyle, Bance, I want that one on the right taken out, then move on the two up ahead. I’m gonna go take the two behind us, then work round to the one on the left. Trev, you and the rest need to keep everyone duckin’, and if I look like I’m not gonna make the guy on the left, J’dara and Celcis need to do it. Once Doyle and Bance are done, move on up in support. This is gonna hurt but stayin’ here is not an option. We gotta take the entrance to that corridor. We go on my mark. Grenades out to cover the advance.”

It would be like a phaser ballet. Rubicon could see the Chief’s plan in her mind. She wanted to glance behind her so she could get a better assessment of the layout, but she was pretty good at thinking on her feet. Rubicon readjusted her grip on her phaser as she continued to fire at the two Klingons, priming herself for when the Chief’s order.

Even though it was only a few breaths wait it felt like an eternity to the Artemis’s newest security officer.

And then… “Let’s go!”

As if they’d practiced the maneuver together a dozen times, both Rubicon and Bance pivoted in time, turning to face the front of the away team while the Chief of Security hurled a flash grenade. Rubes spotted the first two Klingons at the front immediately. She started shooting, adding to the cover fire provided by the rest of the team. Rubicon moved ahead as far as she felt safe while having enough cover from the incoming threats.

She peeked around one of the barrels. The cargo area here was just as poorly organized as what she’d already seen. The Chief has said to take out the one on the right first.

“Bance,” Rubicon said at a stage whisper, loud enough that he could hear her over the fire but not so loud to draw the Klingons’ attention. When he looked to her she motioned to the stack of crate nearest her. “Those crates. Lend me a shoulder?”

Bance looked at the stack she indicated, followed it up. Understanding flickered in the Tellerite’s eyes. He nodded back to her, waited for the right moment in the weapons’ fire, and then charged towards Rubicon. Rubicon kept firing to provide him cover, and then time it just right… the two officers gave the large stack of crates a big shove, hoping to topple them over on top of the first Klingon.

== GM Input: were they successful on taking out the Klingon with the crates? ==

[GM-02]

==Bridge==

The berserker charges, and after half of a second that felt more like a week, comes to grips with Captain Givens. He grips the rifle and pulls it out, yanking the captain off balance just as Pearson shouts and fires. The shot impacts cleanly.

Unfortunately, due to the quick shift, the shot doesn't hit center of mass: the shot strikes his arm, severing it due to the power of the shot. With nothing keeping her up, the momentum of the Klingon's maneuver threw Givens rather than just moving her. Givens, not taking the time to aim and shooting from the literal hip, also shot at the Klingon, but missed completely. Her shot struck the ceiling, impacting above K'Deela and shearing off a section of pipe there. It fell directly down.

Fortunately, K'Deela was being beamed out already and was just fine.

Ostberg, however, having decided not to leave with his patient, was struck across the head and shoulders and borne to the ground by the pipe, hypospray still in his hands.

The Klingon, for his part, also overbalanced and fell, unconscious and dying due to the combination of trauma, massive blood loss, and drugs. Givens also fell, covered in pink, sticky blood, and striking her shoulder on a console, flooding that arm with pain and making her hand let go of the rifle, though the strap kept it on her shoulder.

==Engine Room==

The other security started shaking their heads, but one of them lit up briefly. He pulled out his tricorder and quickly moved through settings before holding it up proudly. "Sir, I thought I remembered: there is a live translation option. I don't know how accurate it would be, but surely it's better than nothing?"

==Cargo Bay==

The ballet went off with, if not metronomic precision, then at least like a well-rehearsed troupe of dancers. There was a brief moment where the Klingons realized what was going on and attempted to take advantage, but it passed before they could do more than stand to open fire.

Calleja charged in an almost Klingon manner at the two behind, blade in hand. The flash staggered those two - the others hand been sheltered due to the stacks of crates - but they managed to recover just in time to receive the charge, though not enough to actually produce a weapon. She managed to bowl the first Klingon over, but then had but the space of a moment to deal with the other, who drew a mek'leth and prepared to engage.

Doyle and Bance, for their part, have better success. The stack of crates they chose was mostly empty, and they were able to crash the entire stack over at the Klingons. One tried to escape, but was struck across the spine by the corner of a particularly large crate and stayed down, roaring in pain. The other, farther away, stayed clear but was forced to retreat, as the new stack of crates blocked his line of fire. It was certain he'd be back, but he had to go around to find a new position.

[Robin Mayfair]

== Ensign Kent Östberg - Medical NRC ==

K'Deela shimmered as the transporter beam began to sweep her away. Östberg's old special-forces training kicked in as he dropped his tricorder to the deck, pulling his pistol even before the effect stopped. If no one else did he was going to turn the Klingon berserker into vapor. He didn't compete the move as a stray shot from Givens cut a pipe directly above him. He saw the pulse as if in slow motion, saw part of the pipe come down where his patient had been only a moment before, then realized that the rest of the pipe was joining it.

Oh shit!

The heavy section smashed into his shoulder and head, and he felt his collarbone break. Thankfully (?) he was unconscious before he felt the shock of pain.

== Now the medic needs a medic ==

[Aeryn Miller]

== Ensign Ardanna Svenson - Security NRC ==
Time seemed to speed up and then slow down as the bridge acknowledged Ostberg's call for an emergency beam out before the remaining Klingon proved as stubborn as he had been since they arrived. Not only had he injured members of the away team, but there was no way that they would continue with him being a massive thorn in their side. Despite the measures taken to stop him, nothing was working, and it honestly felt as though they were watching some bizarre ballet or dance. Before she could do anything to assist, Pearson's shot didn't quite reach its mark, severing the Klingon's arm. The Captain was thrown rather than moved in the process, which meant that Givens's shot hit the pipe above instead.

Thankfully, K'Deela was beamed out just in time. Otherwise, Ardanna dreaded to think about what it would have done to her already severely injured friend. However, the same couldn't be said for Ostberg, who hadn't gone with the Klingon hybrid, and all Ardanna could do was watch in horror as the rogue piece of pipe struck him and knocked him unconscious. She knew what she had to do, what they had to do, as she approached him, noticing that the hypospray was still in his hand. Some might think it comical, but it was far from funny, as Ardanna stopped in front of the fallen Doctor.

" We need to get this pipe off Ostberg," she said, aware that she also needed to check in with Pearson and Givens. " Pearson, Captain, check in"[/color]

Ardanna was vaguely aware of the Klingon's dying throes but paid little attention to him, as they had other things to worry about, especially after the carnage he had caused. Putting her focus on Ostberg and the rest of the team, Ardanna prepared to move the pipe off the Doctor.


== Tags ==

== GM input, how heavy is the pipe? Can it be taken off Ostberg easily? and if so, what's the extent of his injuries? ==

[Nathan Ramius]

Lying supine, drifting in between dreams and brief moments of consciousness, there were periods of regret that jostled for attention. There had been several well thought out plans, but the one that was chosen hadn’t been his first pick. It wasn’t even his second or third. However, it was the stealthiest, and that is what Starfleet Security Command had wanted. An easy way for an operative to gather intel, avoid detection, and then get out to provide concrete evidence of what exactly was transpiring. It was something Nathan would have done for SecCom regardless. What Ramius couldn’t do was lie to himself about why he enthusiastically volunteered in the end. Echoes from the past tugged at him, pulling him closer to the very real danger of being caught while intelligence gathering.

At least I am doing it right this time. This is all sanctioned, not just by SecCom and Starfleet Command, but SFIC is aware too.

Still, Nathan would have preferred his way; getting surgically altered to look like a Klingon, and finding a way to get himself aboard the qoH. His wasn’t a foolproof plan, as the rub was getting picked to be part of a crew of pirates amongst honorless p’tahks in the first place. That was just one reason why his idea had been scrubbed before it ever even reached a brainstorming stage.

Instead his handlers opted for a safer, if much more dull and perhaps phobia inducing, option. The crates were scan-shielded, and designed in such a way to allow him some freedom of movement. A few of them were semi-attached together to make an elongated sort of ‘L’ shape, allowing him his present position, but also a chance to sit up as well. For the most part though, he was stuck. Nathan could monitor outside the crates with a variety of visual and auditory sensors. Though listening to the Klingons drivel about their lot in life, or hearing their cruelty, meant that unless the computer detected something he rarely turned them on.

Thankfully, there was a suite of medical functions run by the computer to allow him to pass the time in a torpor. All of his metabolic processes were slowed considerably, which is why he sometimes couldn’t tell his wakefulness from his dreams. The latter were quite lucid allowing him to navigate a vivid dreamscape, steering the course by making choices or even just thinking of making something different. It was lovely when the content was nice, but less so when he was reliving old memories. Ramius was in the middle of a particularly pleasant dream when he felt himself suddenly become aware.

Pulse quickening, Nathan’s eyelids shot open and he felt a surge of adrenaline; the computer had awakened him.

“Status report?”

[A general alert of the ship has been detected, along with the discharge of energy weapons.]

Nathan’s hands went up to a display, and he actively manipulated the sensors himself to see what the hell was going on. As he rapidly studied the logs, it seemed that the qoH had been boarded. Not just by anyone though, by a Starfleet vessel, as the energy discharge readings showed by disruptors and phasers being fired.

What dumb idiots… Nathan cut his own train of thought short. Whoever they were, there would have been no good way of knowing that Starfleet already had an operative aboard the ship. Not unless they reached out to one of his handlers.

Or unless one of my handlers made sure a starship crossed paths with the freighter. Maybe they realized something was going to go awry.

Feeling all of his senses return, and his body fidgeting for want of movement, Nathan considered his options as he turned on the external sensors. Unfortunately, the sensors provided him limited vision. The crates had been stacked in the cargo bay like some poorly played puzzle game. Switching to the auditory wasn’t much help either, as he could hear random bits of shouting, along with the Klingons declaring that there were intruders. The dilemma Nathan felt he now faced was exiting the crates and assisting the Starfleet officers, or staying put and letting the firefight take its course.

Not really a choice is it?

Nathan prepped himself, pushing himself into a sitting position and grabbing his gear; a mek’leth and his phaser pistol. He’d look out of place, in his civilian clothing, though he did decide to don his Starfleet comm badge too as he didn’t particularly want to get shot by friendly fire. Which did cause him a moment's hesitation. During a firefight, was it wise to insert himself and add possible confusion?

What if someone gets hurt because I didn’t try to help?

One specific memory hit him hard, causing Nathan to cringe and grimace. All at once, his world changed however. There was a sudden tilt to his crates, and it felt as though they were going to fall over.

Oh no…

Nathan slid back down into the bottom crate and tried to rotate himself as the crates toppled over. There was a shriek of pain that sounded very Klingon ringing out from the sensors, and Ramius was rightly glad that his mek’leth was sheathed properly. Had someone thrown or pushed another into the crates, Nathan wondered? Whatever the case was, he couldn’t stay in them any longer even if he wanted to.

Popping the seal on the side that faced up, Ramius carefully extricated himself from his tomb-like hovel. The Klingon, still in pain, was surely surprised to see a human suddenly appear from the very cargo they had been ferrying about. Nathan didn’t think twice, and shot the Klingon with a setting two stun to render them unconscious for a few minutes. That is when Nathan spotted two Security officers; likely the ones who tipped the crates over. Ramius pointed his phaser downward for a moment and put one hand upright, while the other pulled his trench coat to reveal the Starfleet comm badge.

“Lieutenant Commander Nathan Ramius, Starfleet Security,” he introduced himself briefly.

== tag Rubi! ==

[Mara Calleja]

Mara’s shoulder slammed straight into a Klingon’s chest as she literally hit home, bowling him off his feet and sending him skidding into a crate.

She grunted in satisfaction and turned as the other drew his mek’leth. There was the sound of metal ringing against metal as she batted his blade to one side with her machete. The Bandaran used the motion to twist her body into a haymaker punch that hammered straight into the Klingon’s jaw with every bit of her prodigious strength behind it. Before he had a chance to recover she’d spun and lashed out with her blade. The hardened steel ripped a ragged gash across his neck and damn near took his head off his shoulders. It was a display of brutal efficiency but it also wasn’t fast enough.

The other Klingon had climbed to his feet and barrelled into Calleja, crushing her up against the nearest stack of crates. Her machete arm was caught behind her and she couldn’t twist to free it. She gritted her teeth as he slammed punch after punch into her body and helmet, her head bouncing off the back of her helmet as it hit the racking whilst she tried to get an angle to counter.

“Celcis, J’dara, go!” Mara spat into the comm, knowing she’d been slowed down too much to reach the 3rd target in time.

Dropping the machete, the Chief waited a split-second for her moment and then head-butted the Klingon full in the face. She couldn’t get enough force behind it to do much more than drive him back but that was all she needed. She ripped a knife from her belt as he came at her again. He was taller, heavier and stronger but that just made Mara grin at the challenge. As he grabbed at her to slam her up against the crates again she shifted her weight and the two tumbled to the deck.

The Klingon landed on top of the woman as she twisted to make sure his full weight came down flat. He roared in pain and dragged himself halfway up, before he realised that her knife was buried to the hilt straight through his heart. Blood streamed from his mouth and he keeled over. The wily ex-ganger had used his weight to force her blade home, at the expense of a crater in her chestplate and what felt like an epic bruise forming where the hilt of the knife had backed up against her under what must have been 300lbs of furious smuggler.

Springing to her feet, Mara winced as she took cover and retrieved her machete. Her helmet visor had a massive crack from one of the many impacts - she couldn’t remember which one had actually done the damage - but she could still see the firefight as it panned out.

I’m gettin’ old or they’re not as fat and slow as I remember she admitted to herself as she caught her breath, before drawing her phaser and getting back into the fight. Calleja added her firepower to the attack on the door as she looked left and right to see if she was needed.

== Post written with GM input via DM.

A bit more GM input please - do Celcis and J’dara manage to take out their Klingon, and how does the attack on the door look like it’s going? ==

[Hallowette Maxas-Darl]

==Ens. Ollie Pearson - Security NRC - Bridge==

Brilliant orange filled the space before Pearson's eyes as the type 1 blurted out its furious light.

Ollie had little time to focus any elation at neutralizing the Klingon bearsark before he realized his shot was off center. He knew from experience that the severing of any humanoid limb often resulted in massive shock and trauma - the fact it was as a result of a atom focused beam of phased nadion particles multiplied those effects by a massive factor. He may not have disintegrated like some illegal disruptors, but this bloke was still very much on a high speed train to deadtown.

The resulting effects of the errant shot though removed his sense of joy, the only consolation that K'Deela was removed from the cursed smuggler vessel before the ceiling collapsed on yet another friend. The blonde Australian found himself reacting as he had trained, despite the fact that his body was just on the short edge of ineffective when it came to physical action. He pushed himself off his knee, directing his remaining reserves on finishing the threat and seeing to Ostberg and Givens. Suddenly though, the physical effort coupled with the loss of blood resulted in the man's conscious slipping precariously away. His vision narrowed, his limbs went weak, and he stumbled aimlessly forward - ending up heavily draped over the sharp edges of the Captain's chair. 

"Pearson, Captain, check in..." came the familiar voice of Ardanna through his helmet comms.

The view before him dimmed and then twisted. Ollie attempted to focus his vision before a strange thought crossed his mind.

Huh. My arm isn't hurting any more. In fact, I can't feel any pain at all.

Pearson took a second to lay the Type 1 down in the seat before he reached a hand across him and patted the area he knew was injured. He placed a gloved hand before his eyes and noted his entire glove was covered in red. 

"Sven...Ardanna...this has been a real piss up, and I've had a great time..but I'm...I'm feeling a tad buggered..."

The words had barely left Pearson's mouth before he was crashing to the deck, his will to stand giving way to the full weight of darkness that filled his vision and freed him from consciousness.

[Eun Ju Han]

The Engine room was hot, like a wall of heat blasting against her. Once again, Ju found herself grateful for the helmet and armor. Everything, of course, was written in Klingon a language that she didn’t read but she would have to figure it out. They needed to save the ship and this was the only way to do it. Ju looked around and kind of spaced out for a bit trying to figure out exactly what she was looking for. Most engine rooms were fairly similar but it was something else when you weren’t sure what button did what you really needed it to do right now.

Suddenly, someone mentioned that their tricorders had live translation. Ju whipped her head around and looked at the man in question. Give that man a medal because he just reminded me of that. Ju felt as if she should have known this already but she supposed the shock of her first mission, the fire fight, the blast of heat, the nearing melt down meant that she had to restart her brain back into action.

Lifting her tricorder she began to point it at the various Klingon print that labeled the various buttons, levers, and so forth that were in the overly hot room. She needed to get this done as quickly as possible. The translation was actually pretty good even if the translation was more of a descriptor than an actual label it was good enough for her to gauge what it was they did. Finally, she found something that seemed pretty close to ‘emergency shut down’ and figured that it was all or nothing anyway at this point.

Ju wasted no time in slamming her hand down on the button so that they could begin cooling the engines and making the ship stay in one piece. Hopefully, now, they could figure out what the heck the Klingons were doing here now that they weren’t worried so much about dying.

==Terribly sorry for the delay, it’s been.. something else lately! I’ll try to be better!==
==Tag GM, did the shut down go smoothly?==