08-23-2026, 09:16 PM
<<< Bridge <<<
When Alex arrived, he could hear Kalli barking orders like a Drill Sergeant and it made him grin. She was small, but she could belt out orders like she was born to it. The result was that the place was running like clockwork. the Well oiled machine was reacting to the stepped up tempo like it was just another day at the office.
Kalli came around a corner and Alex gave her a nod, "Lieutenant..."
She returned the nod, "Commander..." Her eyes narrowed, "This is a heck of a time for a social call. What's up?"
Alex became more serious, "We need to talk about ideas. Perhaps your office?"
Her eyebrows went up and started walking, "Yes, let's talk." She then shouted over her shoulder, "Jelaya, keep them moving." There was a shout from somewhere acknowledging her and before you knew it, they were stepping into her office.
When the door slid closed, the noise of everything was suddenly cut off. Kalli walked around to her chair behind the desk, she gestured to the seat opposite her and she sat down. "What's up, Alex?"
He gave a sigh and began, "We're responding to a Cardassian blockade and there is only one ship on site now. We're going to be only the second ship and I don't even know how far out any other help is going to be. Word is that there is oe fleet in place and a possible invasion fleet on the way, but I only know we're looking at being outnumbered and outgunned when we drop out of warp." He laid out the message they had gotten about the number and types of ships, but it didn't sound good.
Kali leaned back and said, "DeeDee, give me your first impression."
A smooth voice that was only a little mechanical sounding spoke up in the room, [A direct confrontation is ill-advised. I suggest a tactical approach that will deal a psychological blow that makes them rethink their advantage and buys time. Time with either bring more forces to our side or their side, but either way, it will alter the dynamic and you will evaluate options for the next course of action. To do that, you need to pick the biggest bully and give it the proverbial bloody nose. The other ships will be less likely to attack, waiting to see how the biggest ship reacts to the inferior threat and the Dreadnought will likely not want to show weakness. If successful, it could lead to more talking and less fighting while they then buy time for their allies to arrive. Naturally, this implies that they worry that they don't know about your true force strength or capabilities. Either way, it is a gamble.]
Alex narrowed his eyes, "DeeDee? Wasn't that the targeting program you were working on?"
Kalli smiled and nodded, "Yes, It is still a targeting program, but a great deal more now. It is trained in Damage Assessment, as well as Search and Rescue under combat conditions. In this case, the targeting is helpful, based on how it would prioritize targets in combat."
"DeeDee sounds like a pet name."
Kalli chuckled, "It is short For DDoW, which is a longer story, but it stands for the name it selected. I think you might appreciate it, but you'll understand why I shorten it. DeeDee, what is your full name, you can tell Commander Talion in this setting."
[Very well. My chosen name is, Death Destroyer of Worlds. It is to honor a scientist that Miss Thorn greatly admired.]
Alex chuckled and nodded slowly, "You're right. I get it. DeeDee it is then." He sighed and then shook his head, "Well, DeeDee has a point, but I'm not sure how we might give it a bloody nose without great risk to ourselves."
Kalli leaned back and looked up, thinking, "DeeDee, elaborate on best possible means, with strongest possible yield."
[Do you recall the conversation we had about superconductors?]
Kalli sat forward, looking at Alex, "Go on..."
[A superconductor deployed in a breaching spear technique could place the device creating a direct connection between the protective shields and the structural integrity fields, causing them to fight each other. The initial feedback would cause damage, but the important factor is that in that area of the ship, they would have to shut down both fields in that area to keep them from interacting. This creates a vulnerability that can't be easily compensated for until they physically can remove the spear assembly. Furthermore, if you can land the shot close enough to an impulse engine, it will likely disable that engine considerably, causing them to have greatly reduced maneuverability and perhaps even withdrawing it to avoid such an embarrassing loss of a critical ship to a vastly inferior force. Cardassians are known for ego driven goals and insist on appearing dominant when dealing with others.]
Alex reached up and scratched at his beard as he thought, then gave another chuckle, "You know, your little friend has a point. Do you think you can build such a device and be able to deliver it on target? It would need to be able to penetrate their shields to do that."
Kalli nodded thoughtfully, "I think so. I have a couple prototype ideas in work, so I'll just scale it up. Shields are intended to stop or absorb high energy transfer and high velocity kinetics. Low velocity is another matter. As a superconductor, it can dissipate the field enough to not be damaged by it while it forms a circle that it then uses as an opening in the field to extend itself into the hull material enough to engage with the structural integrity field. After that, it simply acts as a physical connection between the two that can't be ignored, even acting as an antenna that maintains connection to the shields even if they try to extend the shields outward. At the very least, it is going to become a weak spot and you could target it to ensure a direct hit with a torpedo until they find a way to remove it. I can mount it in a probe or a torpedo. For the smaller ships, we might even be able to use a couple of micro-torpedoes that can be fired remotely, It could give the impression that we have hidden ships. They're hard to detect, because of their size and they could also perform the job of harassing and confusing the enemy."
Alex seemed satisfied by this answer and stood, "I need you to be able to present the data and a working prototype before we arrive."
Kalli stood and looked at him in disbelief, "You can't be serious."
Alex shrugged, "Dead serious. If we can surprise them with it on arrival, we might not survive long enough to get another chance."
Kalli shook her head and grumbled, "Well, they always say it's important to make a good first impression...I'll see what I can do."
When Alex arrived, he could hear Kalli barking orders like a Drill Sergeant and it made him grin. She was small, but she could belt out orders like she was born to it. The result was that the place was running like clockwork. the Well oiled machine was reacting to the stepped up tempo like it was just another day at the office.
Kalli came around a corner and Alex gave her a nod, "Lieutenant..."
She returned the nod, "Commander..." Her eyes narrowed, "This is a heck of a time for a social call. What's up?"
Alex became more serious, "We need to talk about ideas. Perhaps your office?"
Her eyebrows went up and started walking, "Yes, let's talk." She then shouted over her shoulder, "Jelaya, keep them moving." There was a shout from somewhere acknowledging her and before you knew it, they were stepping into her office.
When the door slid closed, the noise of everything was suddenly cut off. Kalli walked around to her chair behind the desk, she gestured to the seat opposite her and she sat down. "What's up, Alex?"
He gave a sigh and began, "We're responding to a Cardassian blockade and there is only one ship on site now. We're going to be only the second ship and I don't even know how far out any other help is going to be. Word is that there is oe fleet in place and a possible invasion fleet on the way, but I only know we're looking at being outnumbered and outgunned when we drop out of warp." He laid out the message they had gotten about the number and types of ships, but it didn't sound good.
Kali leaned back and said, "DeeDee, give me your first impression."
A smooth voice that was only a little mechanical sounding spoke up in the room, [A direct confrontation is ill-advised. I suggest a tactical approach that will deal a psychological blow that makes them rethink their advantage and buys time. Time with either bring more forces to our side or their side, but either way, it will alter the dynamic and you will evaluate options for the next course of action. To do that, you need to pick the biggest bully and give it the proverbial bloody nose. The other ships will be less likely to attack, waiting to see how the biggest ship reacts to the inferior threat and the Dreadnought will likely not want to show weakness. If successful, it could lead to more talking and less fighting while they then buy time for their allies to arrive. Naturally, this implies that they worry that they don't know about your true force strength or capabilities. Either way, it is a gamble.]
Alex narrowed his eyes, "DeeDee? Wasn't that the targeting program you were working on?"
Kalli smiled and nodded, "Yes, It is still a targeting program, but a great deal more now. It is trained in Damage Assessment, as well as Search and Rescue under combat conditions. In this case, the targeting is helpful, based on how it would prioritize targets in combat."
"DeeDee sounds like a pet name."
Kalli chuckled, "It is short For DDoW, which is a longer story, but it stands for the name it selected. I think you might appreciate it, but you'll understand why I shorten it. DeeDee, what is your full name, you can tell Commander Talion in this setting."
[Very well. My chosen name is, Death Destroyer of Worlds. It is to honor a scientist that Miss Thorn greatly admired.]
Alex chuckled and nodded slowly, "You're right. I get it. DeeDee it is then." He sighed and then shook his head, "Well, DeeDee has a point, but I'm not sure how we might give it a bloody nose without great risk to ourselves."
Kalli leaned back and looked up, thinking, "DeeDee, elaborate on best possible means, with strongest possible yield."
[Do you recall the conversation we had about superconductors?]
Kalli sat forward, looking at Alex, "Go on..."
[A superconductor deployed in a breaching spear technique could place the device creating a direct connection between the protective shields and the structural integrity fields, causing them to fight each other. The initial feedback would cause damage, but the important factor is that in that area of the ship, they would have to shut down both fields in that area to keep them from interacting. This creates a vulnerability that can't be easily compensated for until they physically can remove the spear assembly. Furthermore, if you can land the shot close enough to an impulse engine, it will likely disable that engine considerably, causing them to have greatly reduced maneuverability and perhaps even withdrawing it to avoid such an embarrassing loss of a critical ship to a vastly inferior force. Cardassians are known for ego driven goals and insist on appearing dominant when dealing with others.]
Alex reached up and scratched at his beard as he thought, then gave another chuckle, "You know, your little friend has a point. Do you think you can build such a device and be able to deliver it on target? It would need to be able to penetrate their shields to do that."
Kalli nodded thoughtfully, "I think so. I have a couple prototype ideas in work, so I'll just scale it up. Shields are intended to stop or absorb high energy transfer and high velocity kinetics. Low velocity is another matter. As a superconductor, it can dissipate the field enough to not be damaged by it while it forms a circle that it then uses as an opening in the field to extend itself into the hull material enough to engage with the structural integrity field. After that, it simply acts as a physical connection between the two that can't be ignored, even acting as an antenna that maintains connection to the shields even if they try to extend the shields outward. At the very least, it is going to become a weak spot and you could target it to ensure a direct hit with a torpedo until they find a way to remove it. I can mount it in a probe or a torpedo. For the smaller ships, we might even be able to use a couple of micro-torpedoes that can be fired remotely, It could give the impression that we have hidden ships. They're hard to detect, because of their size and they could also perform the job of harassing and confusing the enemy."
Alex seemed satisfied by this answer and stood, "I need you to be able to present the data and a working prototype before we arrive."
Kalli stood and looked at him in disbelief, "You can't be serious."
Alex shrugged, "Dead serious. If we can surprise them with it on arrival, we might not survive long enough to get another chance."
Kalli shook her head and grumbled, "Well, they always say it's important to make a good first impression...I'll see what I can do."