12-02-2024, 08:49 PM
Jenny went rigid in her chair as the Cardassian woman, likely an agent or director of the Obsidian Order, echoed through the Bridge speakers; it was a ploy to get Jenny to flinch, to make a mistake. While the woman had promised safe passage for the crew so long as Jenny surrendered herself, though Jenny suspected that their definitions of "safe passage" were vastly different, and that the crew would be safely conducted to a penal colony or slave mine, assuming they weren't just lined up and shot for the sake of expediency.
Save the crew now. Deal with the ramifications later.
Extinguishing the remainder of her cigarette on the armrest of her chair, Jenny fumbled with another one and her lighter. As she flicked the lid back and the flame sprang to life, it wavered as her hand trembled. Closing her eyes, Jenny took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and her hand steadied. Lighting the faux-tobacco cylinder, Jenny weighed up the options. She could surrender herself and hope for the best, she could try and sneak away without the Cardassians noticing, or she could try and fight it out.
She had five minutes to figure it out. The Os'rusa out-massed the Yeager significantly, and its hull could soak a lot more damage than the Yeager's hodgepodge construction. The Keldon class also had notoriously overpowered power systems, which had allowed them to utilise Romulan Cloaking Devices during the Dominion War; this meant that they could divert power to weapons and shields and simply wear the Yeager down, possibly while holding her in a tractor beam.
If we run, we probably die. If we surrender, we definitely die. If we fight, we might at least take them with us... We can outrun and outmanoeuvre them at sublight speeds, and we technically outgun them as long as we have Quantum Torpedoes. If we can fire up the Slipstream, we can outrun them to the border, unless they have their own functioning version...
Jenny's armrest console flashed and she quickly skimmed the message that she had received from Jensen. General Quarters 3 was appropriate given the circumstances, and she approved her First Officer's suggestion with a simple nod; he could distribute the weapons to the Bridge crew, she'd not taken hers off yet. Mentally counting down the seconds as she continued to ponder her options, Jenny pinched the Bridge of her nose. There were ninety-odd other crewmembers on her ship, under half-strength for a ship of its size but still a sizeable amount of people counting on her, not including their new passengers; did she have the moral authority to risk their lives?
Regulation 3, Paragraph 12: In the event of imminent destruction, a Starfleet captain was authorized to preserve the lives of his crew by any justifiable means. Famously used as an excuse for War Crimes in the Delta Quadrant. Why not add the Alpha Quadrant as well?
"T'Lari, ready on weapons. Theresa, disengage the tractor and take us to Full Impulse along this current orbit. Put me through to the Os'rusa, full visual, bounce the signal off our probe on the off chance they're not monitoring too closely; they may turn around."
As her orders were obeyed, Jenny sank back in her chair, cigarette still in her mouth and leather excursion jacket still worn over her uniform jacket. If the Cardassians were going to accuse her of piracy, she might as well look the part.
"You seem to know a lot about me, I guess I should have known Starfleet Command still had leaks, it's become a feature rather than an issue. They left out the good bits, though: I faced down the Krynar at Tellar; I went head-first into the Borg Armada at the Megasphere; I even went one-on-one with a Cardassian Q-Ship and came out on top. Given all of that, do you really think I'm going to surrender my ship and my crew? Especially now that we know about your little 'project' out here in the middle of nowhere? If you want us, you can come and get us."
With a push of a button on her armrest, Jenny cancelled the communication link and settled a little straighter in her chair, holding a cigarette between the tips of the fingers on her right hand while drumming on the armrest with her left. For a moment, Jenny just took a moment to centre herself for the coming violence.
"I've been lucky until now, but I don't intend to start losing battles today. All we need to do is keep them on the back foot until we can fire up the Slipstream."
Save the crew now. Deal with the ramifications later.
Extinguishing the remainder of her cigarette on the armrest of her chair, Jenny fumbled with another one and her lighter. As she flicked the lid back and the flame sprang to life, it wavered as her hand trembled. Closing her eyes, Jenny took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and her hand steadied. Lighting the faux-tobacco cylinder, Jenny weighed up the options. She could surrender herself and hope for the best, she could try and sneak away without the Cardassians noticing, or she could try and fight it out.
She had five minutes to figure it out. The Os'rusa out-massed the Yeager significantly, and its hull could soak a lot more damage than the Yeager's hodgepodge construction. The Keldon class also had notoriously overpowered power systems, which had allowed them to utilise Romulan Cloaking Devices during the Dominion War; this meant that they could divert power to weapons and shields and simply wear the Yeager down, possibly while holding her in a tractor beam.
If we run, we probably die. If we surrender, we definitely die. If we fight, we might at least take them with us... We can outrun and outmanoeuvre them at sublight speeds, and we technically outgun them as long as we have Quantum Torpedoes. If we can fire up the Slipstream, we can outrun them to the border, unless they have their own functioning version...
Jenny's armrest console flashed and she quickly skimmed the message that she had received from Jensen. General Quarters 3 was appropriate given the circumstances, and she approved her First Officer's suggestion with a simple nod; he could distribute the weapons to the Bridge crew, she'd not taken hers off yet. Mentally counting down the seconds as she continued to ponder her options, Jenny pinched the Bridge of her nose. There were ninety-odd other crewmembers on her ship, under half-strength for a ship of its size but still a sizeable amount of people counting on her, not including their new passengers; did she have the moral authority to risk their lives?
Regulation 3, Paragraph 12: In the event of imminent destruction, a Starfleet captain was authorized to preserve the lives of his crew by any justifiable means. Famously used as an excuse for War Crimes in the Delta Quadrant. Why not add the Alpha Quadrant as well?
"T'Lari, ready on weapons. Theresa, disengage the tractor and take us to Full Impulse along this current orbit. Put me through to the Os'rusa, full visual, bounce the signal off our probe on the off chance they're not monitoring too closely; they may turn around."
As her orders were obeyed, Jenny sank back in her chair, cigarette still in her mouth and leather excursion jacket still worn over her uniform jacket. If the Cardassians were going to accuse her of piracy, she might as well look the part.
"You seem to know a lot about me, I guess I should have known Starfleet Command still had leaks, it's become a feature rather than an issue. They left out the good bits, though: I faced down the Krynar at Tellar; I went head-first into the Borg Armada at the Megasphere; I even went one-on-one with a Cardassian Q-Ship and came out on top. Given all of that, do you really think I'm going to surrender my ship and my crew? Especially now that we know about your little 'project' out here in the middle of nowhere? If you want us, you can come and get us."
With a push of a button on her armrest, Jenny cancelled the communication link and settled a little straighter in her chair, holding a cigarette between the tips of the fingers on her right hand while drumming on the armrest with her left. For a moment, Jenny just took a moment to centre herself for the coming violence.
"I've been lucky until now, but I don't intend to start losing battles today. All we need to do is keep them on the back foot until we can fire up the Slipstream."