YE/D01 - Bridge

[Peter Jensen]

Once he found out that the time had gotten even shorter, Peter only barely managed to stop himself cursing out loud, as he took a deep breath before tapping his badge again:

"Jensen to Cargo Bay. Strike that, you now have less than 10 minutes before our unwelcome visitors appear. Get it done in 8", he ordered, then tapped again:

"Jensen to Braggins. Captain, the Cardassians have picked up speed. They'll be here in less than 10 minutes. I've told Cargo Bay to get a move on. What's the delay on your end?", he asked, maybe a bit too brusquely, but time was running out.


Finally he looked around at the bridge crew.

"We're going to operate under the assumption that the Cardassians will get here before we can finish, just to plan for the worst, though we still hope for the best. I'm going to try to talk them down. If I can't do that, and they decide to throw their weight around, I want options that don't involve ramming them. Because that option is on the table as the very last resort.
I'm not going to let this ship, and even more importantly: It's crew, get captured by the Cardassians. So. Tactical options.", he announced as coolly as he could, feeling his heart racing.

[T'Lari]

Ramming?

T'Lari was puzzled for a moment, unsure of whether Jensen was joking. Humans sometimes picked the oddest times to make light of a situation. But this wasn't one of those times, and the Commander was serious about not letting the ship fall into Cardassian hands. Given their treatment of prisoners that was probably wise. She'd read the reports of the survivors of the Callisto that the Philly had managed to save.

The half-Vulcan considered. The Os'rusa was fast at warp, but that didn't necessarily translate to impulse speed. Or at least, if it did, they might still be able to pull off a surprise.

"Sir, we could move to the other side of the planet, serve as a distraction while the away team finishes their preparations. Use the planet's mass to shield the Franklin from detection. Given Cardassian psychology they will most likely go after the obvious threat, the Federation starship, and not the derelict ship operating on minimal power, assuming they even detect it at all. Maintain a fast orbit that will take us back into transporter range."

She considered for a moment. "If you can keep them talking long enough to get back around we can beam the away team and survivors aboard and jump to slipstream before they can react. Perhaps we can make a show of scanning the other side of the planet as if searching for something. I believe that it is best to mix in some truth with lies. We are, after all, here to rescue survivors. We don't have to tell them we've already found what we're looking for."

T'Lari's rough early upbringing on a Romulan mining colony did give her an advantage over most Vulcans. She understood deception well, not just as an intellectual puzzle but how to use it. The Romulans were masters of it, and although she had been young when she and her mother had escaped some had rubbed off on her. Give the Cardassians some bait. Behave as they expected, at least until it was time to (as the humans put it) "run like hell."

== GM Input: What level of warp speed is the Os'rusa showing? And can T'Lari determine anything about the other ship? Speed, course, anything like that? ==

[Theresa Black]

Entering into the lower orbit, the Yeager aligned with the Franklin, and observing the modifications that T'Lari was making to the shields, Black began the extension of the bubble around the significantly older ship.

A new bleeping sound caused her to look away from her task to now see that the Cardassians had accelerated and were now only ten minutes out.

The Commander began reissuing orders across the ship to update the rest of the crew of the ever shortening timeline they were facing. She glanced back at the status for the slipstream system. It was still compiling its diagnosis as to whether it was ready to be engaged or not yet. She willed it to go faster.

T'Lari spoke next. Her plan to put themselves on the opposite side of the planet had merit. But she also suspected that since the Cardassians were heading straight for them, and if we'd ween them, they had obviously seen us first, and if they're only ten out, they would have seen the Franklin too.

To abandon the DY-150 and play naive of it might have worked if they weren't already on top of it, or an hour ago. Options were slim.

An idea hit her. It was as ever a risky one, but if it worked, and things somehow went better than they already were currently going, and somehow they made it out of this situation alive...

Black turned to Jensen. “Sir, assuming that this ship was heading for this planet to begin with, Right? Even though they're in stasis, they obviously planned to get down to the surface somehow.”

She paused to give him a chance to offer his thoughts before she continued with her hair brained idea.

“Instead of trying to pull the Franklin to a higher orbit, hows about we takes them down to the surface? If the hull breaches out here everyone on its dead. But if we throws and much power as we can into our shields, and gets them onto the surface, when their power fails or the hull cracks, at least they'll still have air and a planet. Once we do that, then we can come back up here and play nicely with them fucking Cardassians.” Then she added as she realised her mouth had out run her brain. “Sorry.”


== Tags all around, and remember. This weeks crazy idea was brought to you by the letters L & T, and colour of desperation... ==

[Jennifer Braggins]

==CO-GM==

[Braggins to Yeager. Beam the Away Team and every cryopod to the Cargo Bay, now! Have Security and Medical on standby.]

An alert on the Ops console indicated that whoever was operating the transporters had already begun the sequence, and that Captain Braggins was one of the first to materialise.

[Kal-Geal Beinn]

A call came in from the cargo bay,

[Beinn to Bridge. If we go into battle, I would recommend switching the cargo bay's power grid supply to the auxiliary fusion generator on deck six to reduce the chances of an EPS power surge taking out the delicate power distribution grid we've set up. That should free up more warp power, and reduce harmonic interference in the power governors that are attached to the cryopods.]

[Jennifer Braggins]

The doors to the Bridge opened with a hiss and Jenny stepped purposefully out into the Yeager's command area, still wearing the gear she had taken to the Franklin and with the respirator mask still dangling round her neck. Though she doubted the mask would be needed, if they were unable to escape the Os'rusa in time, the holstered Phaser and knife would be crucial for fending off any Cardassians who tried to storm the Bridge.

"Theresa, prepare to break orbit. Take us around the planet so we're on the opposite side when the Os'rusa arrives. T'Lari, I want options for scuttling the Franklin quickly but without letting the Cardassians know we're here. If Lieutenant Hydish's modifications are still holding up we might be able to bluff our way out, and I'd like us to maintain that facade for as long as we can."

Pulling the mask off over her head and tossing it onto the bench next to her seat, Jenny dropped heavily into it and consulted the console between her chair and Jensen's. Quickly updating herself on what the Yeager had discovered, her eyes narrowed. Intelligence had suspected the Cardassians were building something big, but they hadn't been able to get verifiable proof. It seemed that by mere chance, Jensen and the Yeager crew had discovered it while Jenny was playing historian.

"Peter, have you forwarded these readings to Starfleet Intelligence?"

As Jenny kept scrolling, her eyes continued to narrow.

"Whatever that thing is, it's bigger than anything I've seen in Cardassian service. And I bet our rapidly approaching friend doesn't want us getting an even better look."

[Peter Jensen]

When Beinn's voice came through, Peter tapped his badge.

"Jensen here. If Engineering says go, then go", he said. He wouldn't pretend to understand the technical intricacies of what was being suggested, but had faith that if Hydish had signed off on it, it couldn't be that bad of an idea. And they needed the extra power.

He had barely had enough time to get those words past his lips before the door opened and Braggins entered. Peter got out of the central chair.

"Captain on the Bridge", he called, but didn't wait for further formalities before he headed to his own seat.

"No", he answered her question. "The risk of the Cardassians picking up on our transmissions is slight, but not zero. So until we were discovered", he gestured to the data indicating the approach of the Os'runa, "I thought it better to maintain radio silence. And since our discovery, I thought it best to focus every available bit of power on the cargo bay project, and our defensive systems in case we need it. I had ordered a message prepared to send to the Fleet in case the Cardassians engage us", he elaborated as he took his seat and logged into his console, "which I'd intended to use to get the Cardassians to leave us alone. Basically "Engage us, and you'll set the galaxy ablaze. Just let us pick up our people and leave" was the plan", he said with a slight sigh, mentally bracing for what her reaction would be. He honestly didn't know, and that worried him somewhat. He'd served with her for quite some time now, and still didn't truly feel like he understood her. Certainly not the way Spock had understood Kirk, or Riker Picard.

== Taggity! ==

[Theresa Black]

Before the Commander could respond to either of T'Lari's or Blacks proposals, tow things happened in quick succession. The Captain and the ships CMO both contacted the bridge with pertinent information.

IT was only when the Captain reappeared on the bridge an couple of minutes later that things began really swinging into action.

“ Aye, Ma'am.” Replied Black at her new orders to break their current synchronous orbit with the Franklin, and to redeploy their position to the far side of the planet. This was essentially what T'Lari had put forward already.

While the Captain and the Commander spoke to each other and issued other orders, Black had a concern that their attempt to hide, might not be too successful if the Caprdassian had anyone above the rank of halfwit manning their sensors, it would be obvious from the Yeager having been so low in the atmosphere now that eddies in the air currents from the proximity and movement of such a large vessel would easily stand out like a sore thumb and give away both their presence and most likely location even before the Os'runa entered parking orbit.

But she dutiful followed her orders and awaited more.

[T'Lari]

Captain Braggins entered the Bridge, still wearing her away team gear... including a phaser. Though T'Lari wasn't prone to deja vu, she was reminded of her brief time on the Philadelphia. It seemed like this crew was eternally fated to face possible boarding by Cardassians.

"Theresa, prepare to break orbit. Take us around the planet so we're on the opposite side when the Os'rusa arrives. T'Lari, I want options for scuttling the Franklin quickly but without letting the Cardassians know we're here. If Lieutenant Hydish's modifications are still holding up we might be able to bluff our way out, and I'd like us to maintain that facade for as long as we can."

T'Lari considered. There weren't a lot of good options. A slight shove with the tractor beam on low power would be enough. With their close range to the Franklin and the state of the ship it would take very little effort to get the ship to start breaking apart. When they had arrived the concern had been how to NOT accidentally turn it into scrap with their tractor beam. The Lord Franklin was an eggshell, barely holding together, and it didn't have long regardless.

"Captain, I recommend we do what we were trying to avoid when we arrived. Even on low setting our tractor beam will slow the ship and start its breakup. At 5.3% the tractor would be sufficient, and the energy output would be minimal and brief. If we concentrate the beam on the aft section the ship will begin a spin, quickening the process significantly. We are also close enough to give the ship a push with our hull, but that would take more time. Hull damage to the Yeager would be negligible."

We don't know whether the Cardassian sensors have been upgraded along with the engines. There are too many unknown factors to make any assumptions.

T'Lari was genuinely curious about the state of Cardassian technology. Had they been integrating Dominion systems into their warships? It was unlikely that they had more than minimal contact with their former 'Allies' (really, masters) in the years since the Dominion War. The advanced Dominion technology, though... they had all the plans and numerous derelict vessels. Had they spent the years since upgrading their fleets? The half-Vulcan was missing something, she knew. But the 'freighter' they'd battled on the Philly had used Dominion weapons, and the speed of the approaching Os'rusa was more indicative of that advanced technology.

But the Alliasar/Grumman report after the war stated that Cardassian spaceframes were incompatible with Dominion engine technology, that there could be minor improvements but warp travel at those high speeds would cause hull damage. Perhaps the authors underestimated the Cardassian drive to advance. We are missing some crucial information, but this shows a growing problem for the Federation.

T'Lari wasn't any more fond of those 'unknown factors' than any other Vulcan, despite her upbringing. And they weren't likely to get a scan in on the Os'rusa, either. She activated the required tractor beam settings and put the system on standby, ready to activate if the Captain went with her plan. She was confident Black could easily handle the more physical shove if Braggins decided on that.

== Tags ==

[Arwen Qi]

Qi followed Braggins onto the Bridge, marching straight to his station. The failing atmosphere aboard the Lord Franklin had left his brain foggy. He gripped the sides of his console to focus. Then, he heard something that forced him to attention: the Cardassians were on their way, and the captain was prepared to scuttle the Lord Franklin in order to secure their escape.

“The Franklin is a piece of history! We can’t just crack it open like a bad soufflé. Don’t get me wrong: I’ll do it myself if the alternative is war, but let’s explore our options.”

Qi racked his brain, searching for something, anything that he could try.

“If the Cardassians are keeping something secret out here, then we have some leverage that we can use. If we redirect our probe to fly toward Federation HQ, they won’t attack until they find out what we know and who we told. We can send an encoded information packet to it, just to get their attention. I have a collection of Klingon love poems that are probably a convincing size.

"There’s plenty of salvaged Federation material along the border, so they might even be paranoid enough to think that we have backup ships hiding in Talarian space.”

They didn’t have much to work with, but details were everything in constructing a bluff. The audience had to think they were seeing behind the curtain, but the real performance was taking place backstage.

== Tags

GM: Do we still have contact with the probe that we released at the border? ==

[Jennifer Braggins]

Jenny listened intently as her officers gave her options and responded to their orders; that the intelligence about whatever the Yeager had detected hadn't been immediately forwarded to Starfleet Intelligence was disappointing, but Jensen hadn't been made privy to the concerns being raised by fleet command, and keeping the ship hidden was his main concern. While Hydish might have made the Yeager look like a civilian survey ship, scrap merchant or smuggler, that disguise would quickly fade if it started transmitting on Starfleet channels. On the other hand, Cardassians weren't exactly known for their restraint when they thought someone was interloping, and it was just as likely that they'd come in firing.

“The Franklin is a piece of history! We can’t just crack it open like a bad soufflé. Don’t get me wrong: I’ll do it myself if the alternative is war, but let’s explore our options.”

Jenny had expected someone to take umbrage with her orders, but she hadn't been certain it would be her new Chief Science Officer. With a sigh, she fished a cigarette from her inside pocket and fumbled with the lighter as he continued to speak. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a terrible plan, but there was a lot riding on the Cardassians playing it safe. On the other hand, getting the information out was of paramount importance, especially if the Yeager herself wasn't able to get away cleanly; what they had discovered so far, accidental or not, needed to be reported. Exhaling a cloud of smoke through her nostrils, Jenny made up her mind.

"Arwen, download everything we have on the Os'rusa and Commander Jensen's sensor contact. Prepare it for transmission to our probe, forwarding to Starfleet Command for special attention to Starfleet Intelligence and Starfleet Tactical. Append the following to the header: Operation Bismarck. Understood?"

Shifting slightly in her chair, Jenny drummed on her armrests. If she acted too cautiously, the Os'rusa would be on them and they'd be stuck. If she acted too rashly, they'd give their position away and be in a similar situation. Though this wasn't quite the Kobayashi Maru scenario, it wasn't far off, especially now that she had a hundred or so frozen civilians in her Cargo Bays.

"T'Lari, we'll take the Franklin with us for now; we should probably attempt to salvage her even if just to make her a museum. But the moment it looks like the Os'rusa knows we're here, I want you to drop the Franklin into the atmosphere. Nothing fancy, just enough that she burns up. We might even convince the Cardassians that it was us."

[GM-01]

==Qi==

Both probes were still within range. The probe heading deeper into Talarian territory was starting to analyse the energy signature it had detected. The probe continuing down the border pretending to be the Yeager was gradually moving towards the limits of transmission range.

[GM-01]

==In order to get to the conclusion, I'm going to keep us moving.==

Sensor displays on the Science and Tactical consoles flashed to life. They didn't beep so much as screamed.

The Os'rusa had arrived in-system, and the probe dispatched to investigate the mysterious energy signature was still within range to relay a visual image, a visual that did not match the known energy signature.

Rather than a Galor-class Cruiser (or Destroyer depending on weapons loadout), the Os'rusa appeared to have been extensively refit and retrofitted with a large dorsal pod. Mounted atop the main hull structure, the pod was believed to contain additional weapons, power generators, and even cloaking technology; this transformed the humble Galor into a much more vicious adversary.

A Keldon-class Battlecruiser.

The Os'rusa immediately began active scans of the system, pinging relentlessly with its fire control system while simultaneously launching probes in a spherical pattern. It was a classic tactic for flushing out a craft trying to hide, usually driving the prey towards ships lurking in ambush positions.

Then the communications channels all activated, the Os'rusa was broadcasting on all available frequencies, including the emergency channels. The voice that flowed through the speakers was not that of Gul Hanar; it was precise, clipped, aristocratic. Female.

[Captain Braggins and the crew of the USS Yeager. There is little use in hiding, for we know you are here. You are violating Cardassian territory, an act of war. Of course, what else is to be expected of the famous Jennifer Braggins? Fighter Pilot. War Hero. Illegal Augment. You are also wanted by the Cardassian Union for the crimes of Piracy and Murder. Surrender yourself to us, and the Yeager will be allowed to return to Federation Space.]

The female voice paused for a few seconds, as if for dramatic effect.

[I will give you five minutes. After that, you and your crew will be treated as enemy combatants and dealt with accordingly.]

==Dun dun dunnnnn...==

[T'Lari]

Does the word 'subtle' even exist in the Cardassian language?

The Keldon class Os'rusa was an ugly ship, its oversized dorsal pod making the lines of the Galor-class even more brutal. T'Lari had studied the Dominion War extensively and knew that the ship was tank, able to withstand significant damage. The ship was old, a relic of that war, evidently heavily modified. What was more concerning was the speed and power output of the Cardassian vessel. This was no ordinary Keldon class, and she briefly wondered how its systems could handle the increased power output without blowing. The ship began immediately pinging the system with active scans, something that made its location immediately evident.

They are trying to flush us out. Which means it is likely there are other ships lying in wait.

Previous to the war the Cardassians had made a temporary alliance with the Romulan Tal Shiar to find the Dominion homeworld, and it was logical to assume that the Cardassians still had cloaking technology. The large ship would be the obvious threat to get the Yeager to run... right into an ambush.

The Captain had ordered the young half-Vulcan to begin preparations to tow the Franklin, but there was no chance of that happening now. The Yeager would not be able to move quickly with the derelict in tow. The Franklin would have to be sacrificed, either left to its decaying orbit or given a push. They had the survivors. Commander Qi might be disappointed, but ultimately that was what was important.

The female voice that came through was not the Gul that they had originally dealt with. And she knew all about Captain Braggins. Not surprising, but that largely confirmed T'Lari's hypothesis that the mysterious Cardassian woman was Obsidian Order. Was this an attempt to get under Braggins' skin? That was unlikely to work.

I take it back. They are capable of at least a bit of subtlety.

The tactical officer had her shield program on standby, and weapons were ready. In her opinion the best option was flight, assuming the Slipstream was spooled up and ready. They just had to survive long enough to use it.

Perhaps we should reroute weapon power to the shields. Give ourselves every bit of protection we can get, long enough to escape this trap.

She waited for orders. One way or another this would be over soon.

[T'Lari]

== GM Input: Where in the system is the Os'rusa, and how far away is it from the Yeager? ==

[Theresa Black]

From her forward seat, and her focus on controlling the ship in its precarious orbit, Black could only listen into the conversations behind her.

With the return of Commander Qi the primary topic was how they could still save the Franklin from its fiery demise. T'Lari's comment that they could just push it with the tractor beam gave her a small smile as she imagined the look on the chief science officers face.

Her own suggestion would have been just lightly tap the hulk and let nature do its own thing, but that wasn't to be as moments later, the Cardassians arrived in system.

It must have been by pure luck that they had managed to make it to the other side of the planet nanoseconds before they arrived, and began actively scanning the entire system and flooding all subspace channels, and launching probes in all directions like some kind of multi headed hydra hoping and knowing that at least one would find the Federation vessels hiding place with comparative ease.

Yeager had only really glimpsed the uprated Os'ura Plus from their own wide ranging type three probe which they'd deployed to intercept the incoming target.  What they'd encountered earlier had been massively upgraded and where before they had been on an equal footing, now they were no match for this thing in the slightest.

As she'd expected, the standard Cardassian tactic was to jam all outbound channels including the emergency ones. Something they had favoured during the Dominion wars. It was of course frowned upon under the conventions of war. But this far out there wasn't really much that could be done about it. Once again, the hurricane to the hummingbird.

[Captain Braggins and the crew of the USS Yeager.] Said a female voice on the only channel that remained free of static and sadness. [There is little use in hiding, for we know you are here.]

And?

[You are violating Cardassian territory,]

er... No.

[An act of war. Of course, what else is to be expected of the famous Jennifer Braggins? Fighter Pilot. War Hero.]

Pipe smoker, and rear of the year?

[Illegal Augment.]

Well, that explains a few more things...

[You are also wanted by the Cardassian Union for the crimes of Piracy and Murder.]

Oh... That!

[Surrender yourself to us, and the Yeager will be allowed to return to Federation Space. I will give you five minutes. After that, you and your crew will be treated as enemy combatants and dealt with accordingly.]

The entire message had been directed at Braggins. But everyone who heard it knew that the offer of leniency given that the Yeager would be allowed go free was easily summed up on one word that Theresa muttered quietly as her ire from this bad day really wanted to make itself know to the Cardassian woman.

“Well that's all Bollocks.”

[GM-01]

The Os'rusa had approached in much the same way the Yeager had, dropping from warp at the last possible moment for safe deceleration before the star's mass shadow affected its warp drive. It was now less than a million kilometers away from the planet, albeit on the other side, still approaching at high speed.

They would be within maximum firing range within a minute. Effective firing range not much later. If the Os'rusa took the same course as the Yeager around the planet, following her plasma exhaust, the range should remain constant. If the Cardassians took any other route around the planet, they would close quickly on the Yeager and force an engagement.

[Peter Jensen]

Peter's blood froze in his veins when he saw what had actually come to say hello to them. A Keldon. He swore once more silently using his inner monologue. This was going to be a lot harder. His hope was, though, that they could escape before it became a problem.

"How long until we can activate slipstream?", he asked, hoping the answer would be to his liking. He did not intend to either die or get captured here, after all. After everything they had been through recently, that would just be embarassing.

He could read screens as well as anyone else, generally speaking, though, and could see how close the enemy was. Everything hinged on slipstream being ready before they received uninvited guests. He anticipated that the Cardassians would attempt boarding and capture rather than outright destroying them. The crew of the Yeager were worth more to them alive than scattered into a million atoms. On that note, he sent a message to Braggins via her console rather than speak the suggestion. There was no reason to unnerve people unless absolutely necessary, and the amount of back and forth chatter should be kept to a minimum.

So he attached an "urgent"-flair to the message before he wrote:

"Recommend preemptive GQ3, and preparing to implement GQ4", he suggested, referring to the third and fourth level of General Quarters. There was no intruder as of yet, but if he was right - which he really hoped he wasn't - this was what they were going to attempt.

[Jennifer Braggins]

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."

[Theresa Black]

Black complied with the orders, diverting the comms signal toward the probe and increasing their speed to full impulse.

Playing chicken with a starship hadn't been on her bucket list of things to do this morning, but it had been a very long day...

[Arwen Qi]

"Arwen, download everything we have on the Os'rusa and Commander Jensen's sensor contact. Prepare it for transmission to our probe, forwarding to Starfleet Command for special attention to Starfleet Intelligence and Starfleet Tactical. Append the following to the header: Operation Bismarck. Understood?”

Qi raised an eyebrow.

Operation Bismarck? Maybe I’ll investigate that further if we survive.

“Aye captain, sending the instructions now.”

Qi tapped through the probe functions, trying to find something that could help. He should have been terrified, but he knew the solution to this problem was waiting to be uncovered. Panic would only drag him farther away from it.

“We still have one more class 3 probe on this side of the border,” Qi offered. “If we overload its impulse engines and steer it away from Cardassian space, it might briefly look big enough to be the Yeager sneaking away at impulse. At least, before it explodes into shrapnel. It might buy us an extra couple of seconds.”

== Tag bridge ==

[Peter Jensen]

Peter of course noticed Braggins' nodded assent to his suggestion, but did not spring into action as far as the bridge crew was concerned while Braggins was talking with the Cardassian commander.

What he did instead, was the same as he had just done: 
Write a priority message which was then sent to every terminal on the ship, with particular emphasis to department heads' terminals:

[Likely imminent boarding. Implement GQ3.]

Of course this was as grammatically correct as a Ferengi merchant could be counted on to be charitable. But he trusted it'd get the message through. Once the link was cut, however, he sprung into action, tapping his badge:

"Jensen to d'Tor'an: Implement GQ3 as ordered, and standby to implement GQ4 on mine or the Captain's order", he instructed, then got up out of his chair and headed over to the small weapons locker on the bridge, and began handing out sidearms to everyone, handing everyone on the bridge a phaser. 

This is becoming routine, he thought to himself with an involuntary chuckle, and when weapons had been distributed he took his seat next to Black again.

[T'Lari]

Captain Braggins issued the order to ready weapons. T'Lari was prepared to fire the moment the word was given. As she waited she considered the back-and-forth between Captain Braggins and the mysterious Cardassian woman.

Undoubtedly Obsidian Order. Is Gul Hanar even in command of his ship anymore? It is odd that she was the one who contacted us. If he is not perhaps we could use that. A secret police officer or spy is unlikely to be experienced in commanding a starship during battle. Getting inside her OODA loop may be easier than it would be for the Gul.

She addressed her commanding officers. "Could we use a modified Picard Maneuver? Come out of the atmosphere, perform a fast pivot using thrusters, and then drive straight at the Os'rusa at high warp to put us into a more advantageous position? Attack from below, perhaps?"

T'Lari knew that the Cardassian vessel was a tank; most were. It fit their design philosophy of direct and brutal confrontation. The ship outgunned the Yeager and was apparently faster, at least outside slipstream. But it was likely that the Yeager was much more maneuverable. If the new ship could stay out of the primary forward weapons arc of the Os'rusa while deploying its own considerable firepower they might be able to do serious damage before the Cardassians could react, especially if the Gul wasn't in command. Escape was still preferable, but if it came to a fight she wanted to every advantage they could get.

== Tags ==

[Theresa Black]

The back and forth between the Captain and the Cardassian woman went like an old movie she'd seen once where the antagonist seemed to know impossible things about the protagonist. Everything except the ace that was hidden up their sleeve.

Black suspected that Braggins had several aces hidden away. Each one a rolling collapsible contingency for every possible outcome that she was keeping so close to her chest she was surprised the woman could still breath.

That thought however left her when the Commander began handing out hand weapons, just in case things went completely south and the Cardassians attempted a boarding action. She knew she could take care of herself if that were the case, but given that her head just wasn't in the game, she felt considerable discomfort at the thought.

Then T'Lari addressed the bridge. At least she had her head screwed on and was being constructive.

That woman is going places

The Picard Manoeuvrer wasn't something Black had even thought of. If she had, performing any high warp manoeuvrers in a planetary system was risky in a good day. That would certainly be a last ditch rabbit out the hat if they needed one. But that was down to the higher ups to make that decision.

Turning to face the younger woman, Black gave her a reassuring nod that it was a good idea if a highly risky one.

[Jennifer Braggins]

“We still have one more class 3 probe on this side of the border, if we overload its impulse engines and steer it away from Cardassian space, it might briefly look big enough to be the Yeager sneaking away at impulse. At least, before it explodes into shrapnel. It might buy us an extra couple of seconds.”

Jenny steepled her fingers in front of her face, pressing her index fingers to her lips. It wasn't a terrible plan, but there was a chance that the Cardassians would see right through the ruse. It would be better for the probe to collect more data on the mysterious energy reading and broadcast them back to Starfeet just in case the Yeager didn't make it back. 

"Good idea, but no. Have it continue monitoring that energy source, and have it broadcast sensor logs to Starfleet Command."


For all of her bluster, for all of her self-confidence (which many would rightfully regard as recklessness), Jenny could not find a way out that wasn't going to get people killed. Either on the Yeager or the Os'rusa. Tired of conflict, having been literally born to kill, these were the situations that Jenny hated the most; the ones where she was forced to resort to violence. Her hands were stained with enough blood already, and yet there seemed to be people lining up to make her spill more. 

"Could we use a modified Picard Maneuver? Come out of the atmosphere, perform a fast pivot using thrusters, and then drive straight at the Os'rusa at high warp to put us into a more advantageous position? Attack from below, perhaps?"

Jenny frowned, the Picard Manoeuvre was required learning for everyone on the Tactical track, and she assumed that was true for the Cardassians as well. The moment the Cardassians detected the Yeager's warp drive engaging, they'd fill the area close to their ship with weapons-fire that the smaller ship would be unable to avoid.

"Even if we take them by surprise they'll still be able to get a bead on us. That's the kind of trick that only works once in real-life."

Or was it? Just because the Cardassians might be prepared for a traditional Picard Manoeuvre didn't mean they couldn't further modify it beyond T'Lari's original plan. While the Yeager had powerful forward-facing weapons, her torpedo launchers pointed aft, meaning that the hardest-hitting of their arsenal couldn't be brought to bear if they did it the old-fashioned way. However, if they caused the Os'rusa to angle their shields one way, and then jumped to the other side of the ship before dumping a volley of torpedoes into them...

"Actually, ignore me. T'Lari you're brilliant and I'd kiss you if we weren't about to do something incredibly stupid."

Quickly tapping out a series of commands into her armrest console, Jenny projected an animated tactical display onto the Bridge. Arrows dictated the Yeager's path and the predicted path of the Os'rusa. The Yeager jumped from one point to a point behind the Os'rusa, and the Os'rusa's arrow disappeared.

"We come out of the atmosphere, guns blazing. The Os'rusa directs her shields to blunt our attack, but we jump past them and let them have it with the torpedoes."

A sinister smile split Jenny's lips as further inspiration struck. The Lord Franklin was still under tow behind the Yeager, a tactical liability unless they cut her loose. Qi had said he wouldn't mind destroying it if it stopped a war, and that was what Jenny planned.

"We'll accelerate to Full Impulse and just before we go to warp, cut the tractor to the Franklin. It'll give the Os'rusa something else to think about. Now let's get moving, it wouldn't do to be late to my inevitable court martial, would it?"

[Arwen Qi]

Qi braced himself at his station. For all his efforts to come up with an alternative, it seemed that they weren’t going to escape this situation without a confrontation. He was also sad to see that they wouldn’t be able to save the Lord Franklin, though his fondness for the ship was somewhat complicated now that they’d met the ship’s occupants.

“Understood, the probe will transmit data to our computers and Starfleet’s nearest listening post simultaneously. I’ll do my best to cover our tracks on the way out: maybe I can configure our comms channel to transmit an inverse wavelength relative to our warp signature. It might make it a little harder for the Cardassians to follow our trail.”

He began running some waveform calculations on his console. He hadn’t tried anything like this before, but he’d had the idea in the back of his mind since he saw the Yeager’s somewhat quirky and overpowered communication system. If the captain agreed with his plan, he needed to be ready to execute it at a moment’s notice.

== Tag all

GM: Is Qi able to queue up a subspace jamming signal? ==

[Theresa Black]

Black had been moments from dispatching the Franklin behind them and allowing it to fall away into the atmosphere as per the previous order when the Captain changed her mind.

Recalculating the shear forces on the tractor beam once again to take into account that they would be bringing the older vessel with them now until the last moment, only took a few seconds along with the minor course corrections needed to give an optimal firing solution to the aft launchers.

Glancing across briefly to Jensen, she again checked that the standard warp drive was fully available on command, while gingerly checking the Slipstream status knowing full well that it was still touch and go whether it would be available in time. Given the way her stomach was now beginning to feel in anticipation of the potential lurch, she wanted nothing else other than for this to all be over.

[GM-01]

==Qi==

Setting up a subspace jamming signal, in theory, was simple enough. All it needed to do was flood the subspace frequencies with "noise", and be powerful enough that it was difficult to force a signal through it. The Yeager was more than capable of generating such a signal, it would be a question of whether the Os'rusa could burn through it.

==All==

Under Black's expert piloting, the Yeager dragged the Lord Franklin through the thin upper atmosphere of the planet, using it as a shield against the Os'rusa's sensors. Upon reaching the breakaway point, the Yeager burst back out into open space.

Directly ahead, at extreme weapons range, was the Os'rusa. Upon detecting the Yeager, the Os'rusa began to turn to bring its forward weapons batteries into arc. With both ships accelerating to Full Impulse, the range was closing ridiculously quickly; it would be mere seconds before the Yeager was in optimal range of the Os'rusa's weapons batteries.