Djinata II

 Episode Name:  Djinata II

   Written By:  Starfleet

         Cast:  Harris, Havaris, Medes, Nilee, O'Rielly, Starfleet, Tyler and Va'tol.

  Produced By:  Starfleet

  Directed By:  Starfleet

     Aired On:  Mon Feb 03 00:05:15 2003

     Stardate:  52972.4

Time: Sun Feb 02 16:46:25 2003

Stardate: 52971.7

Tyler smiles to Nilee. "Sometimes you'll be forced to make decisions. I want to see your tough decision-making process, and how the tough decisions can affect you." And here comes O'Rielly onto the bridge of the Holographic USS Aegis. Tyler gives him a nod and says. "Sir. We are prepared to begin. We merely await your word." When the word is given, Tyler states, "Computer, resume program." The Aegis bridge starts to life again, the frozen moment in time ending. Tyler moves to the science console and sits down.

O'Rielly moves along the bridge to sit in the XO's chair. He activates the monitor there and looks over various readouts the ship is providing.

O'Rielly looks over to Nilee. "Captain, we're currently on course for Djinata II. We're supposed to be on the lookout for a colony ship that made it past a blockade that was set up due to a plague on the planet."

Harris runs his hands over the operations console, eyebrow perked as he watches the readings. "Power levels and usage are nominal, sir. Operations standing by."

Holo Havaris, much akin to regular Havaris save that he's slightly more chipper seeming, rests at the tactical console, hands floating expertly across the controls. "Tactical is standing by, Sir. Awaiting your orders."

Va'tol 's holo representation appears at the Conn seat, moving his fingers across the black console, having set the coordinates to Djinata II on Warp. This version doesn't look very different from the silent Vulcan, not even when it comes to behavior. "Current speed at Warp 8. Conn standing by." he says.

Stubby-fingered Medes-hands rest on the Engineering console, and the bald-headed Terran glances over her readings, reporting. "Running at Warp 8 presently, Captain. Engineering is standing by." Holo-Medes, by contrast to her husband's holograph, seems slightly more gruff than the usual Medes that Nilee knows, as if at any moment she could open her mouth and spew forth an acrobatically creative example of profane spoken word. Must be an older personality model.

Nilee remains motionless for several seconds before he moves over and sits down in the captain's chair, hands running down the armrests briefly, before he shakes his head from side to side as the reports begin coming in, he nods at each one, "Excellent," he pauses, "Helm, what's our ETA, and science, what do we have on sensors?"

Tyler's real fingers work the console. "I have the plague ship on sensors. It has plotted course away from Djinata."

"ETA in Five Minutes, Sir." replies Va'tol.

O'Rielly glances to Va'tol, "Conn, set an intercept course for the plague ship." He looks to Nilee, "According to reports from the blockade ships, there are approximately ten thousand people onboard.

Holo-Harris glances at the viewscreen as he waits rather patiently for orders.

Nilee nods his head slowly, lifting a hand to rub his chin slowly, "Helm, bring us up to a reasonable distance behind the colony vessel." He glances over and gives O'Rielly a nod as he says the same, before he looks away, "Operations, hail the vessel."

Holo Havaris perks his ears up at that. Oooh. A ship on sensors! Tasty. Forgetting the 10,000 people aboard, of course. He drums his fingers nearby the controls to the weapons and shields. Tum te tum te tum te.

"Aye, sir... opening hailing frequencies," Harris replies rather brightly. "Incidentally, sir, there are ten thousand, four hundred eighteen lifesigns aboard the plague ship."

Holo-Medes (which is sort of like a Dolomedes, but not at all, being a holograph and not a spider) turns her head slightly, looking up at the Captain and then back across the bridge at Tactical. Standing by is the order of the moment.

Va'tol nods. "Yes, sir." His fingers move across the console rapidly, setting a new coordinate towards the plague ship, following the proper interception protocols, and putting the ship on full stop approx. 10.000km behind the vessel as they arrive.

There is a chirrup and appearing on screen, in a storm of static, is a human who appears to be in his forties. Large, red welts with purple peaks dot the man's features. "Stay out of our way, Starfleet! We've got to get away from Djinata! We're dying here!" He racks himself with a coughing fit.

Nilee shifts in his seat slightly as the hailing frequency is opened, "This is Ensign Nilee of the USS Aegis. I must ask that you reverse your course immediately and return to Djinata II, you are in violation of Federation medical blockade." He states after the man on the ship speaks.

O'Rielly sits watching the viewscreen, studying the man, his Captain, and of course the various readouts he is receiving at the moment.

"No!" cries the plague-spotted man on the screen. "We'll die there! We have to get away! Leave us alone!"

Havaris drums his fingers for a few moments more before tapping at his console to bring up a tactical analysis of the craft concerned. His expression sours a touch before turning his head to report. "Sir, they've taken fairly heavy battle damage, likely in the running of the blockade. Or, rather, obviously so. Their warp drive is on its last legs, their power systems are fluctuating wildly -- like as a direct result. You will be happy to know they've still got phasers and torpedoes. And shields. Fully operational."

Tyler turns from the console. "Captain, if the ship leaves Djinata, it could have medical repercussions that could bring this sector to its knees. If the plague spreads... It has the potential to kill billions."

Nilee gives a nod to Havaris as he speaks to the man over the viewscreen, "And if you continue on your present path, you run the risk of putting others in the same situation as you. Federation medical is doing its best to find a cure, but they can only do so much. I'm only going to ask once more, sir. Please turn around." He looks towards Harris and runs a finger across his throat to signal him to cut the audio, before he looks up at Havaris, "Lieutenant, bring shields up, keep weapons at the ready, but don't arm them until I say." He looks towards Tyler, giving her a nod, "What are the chances of disabling their engines without causing a breach? With their present damage."

Harris cuts the audio off, giving Nilee a nod. "Muted, sir," he states in that same bright voice.

Tyler turns back to the console. "Transferring scans to engineering for analysis," she reports. Her fingers dance over the LCARS interface for a moment, then looks to Medes for the answer to Nilee's question.

<CONTEST> Medes contests her Propulsion Engineering (Warp Core) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Havaris runs his hands across his terminal efficiently, "Aye, Sir. Shields raised. Claiming power for phasers and torpedoes. Awaiting your order to arm." Havaris finishes his work and offers a nod of the head, returning his attention to the screen before him.

After a long moment or two, the Engineer-holo shakes her head slightly, looking irritated. "I can't begin to hazard a guess, sir. The thing could go up like a straw man on Guy Fawkes Day or last out a battering from what I can see." Medes taps at her console a few more times, and then shakes her head one last time with an air of finality.

"Never! We won't go back!" the man yells through the hiss of static. Communications are cut from their end.

Harris' face falls slightly. "Sir, the other ship is going to warp," he offers helpfully. "At 10 percent impulse and accelerating."

Nilee grimaces at Medes' report, letting out a quiet sigh, the air of which gets even heavier as the colony ship cuts communications. He remains silent for a few seconds before he looks back to Tyler momentarily before he shifts his gaze away, to the ship on the viewscreen, "Tactical, arm weapons and send a warning shot in front of them." He looks over at engineering, "See if you can clean up those scans at all and try to get some target information on their engines for tactical."

"Aye, Sir. Arming weapons now." Havaris spends a few moments getting the weapons on-line and charged enough to make a convincing show of force, plots himself a firing solution, and sends a volley from the fore facing phaser banks skimming over the top of the plague vessel. "Warning shot fired." Said in a tone of voice that implies 'For all the good it will have done'.

O'Rielly says, "Sir, there are ten thousand people aboard... it might not be a good idea to use weapons against them."

On screen, the warning beam passes across the path of the ship. It shudders slightly as the beam crosses near it, but continues on its course, trying to escape the quarantine.

Nilee grimaces and gives O'Rielly a nod, "I don't want to either, Lieutenant." He pauses making a fist in front of his lips as he thinks, "Operations, get a tractor beam on them, if you can. See if we can slow them down." He looks over at the Vulcan at the helm station, "Keep our current distance, Helm, don't let them get any further."

Nilee pauses and then adds, "I'm open to suggestions, here as well."

Harris scratches his chin thoughtfully, staring at his console for a moment. "Aye, sir... attempting tractor lock."

<CONTEST> Harris contests his Shipboard Systems (Tractor Beam) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Right as Harris is able to get the beam locked on, the ship returns fire with beams of angry red phasers. The Aegis shakes and shudders against the weapons fire.

<CONTEST> Medes contests her Propulsion Engineering (Warp Core) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

Va'tol gets ready for the pursuit, setting the speed to 10 Impulse as them, but making sure to keep the 10.000km distance.

O'Rielly calls out, "Red Alert." He looks to his consoles to appraise any damage before the Engineer reads off the report.

"Sir, we've lost the tractor beam system," HoloMedes reports from Engineering, stubby, calloused fingers dancing across her console. "I still.... I can't judge this. We could make them explode with a single shot."

Harris grips his console as the ship shakes, definitely frowning now. "Fun times..." he grumbles, all lightness gone from him.

Havaris jostles in his seat for a moment, letting out a chuckle of all things with a cluck of the tongue. "I think they're serious, Sir. Shields holding at seventy percent. One more volley like that, and I'm going to have to advise a return of fire. If our shields drop and they damage our weapon system, they may well escape. Weapons fully charged, Tactical standing by and awaiting your orders, Sir."

Nilee grimaces as he grips the arm rests of his chairs instinctively, riding out the shudders, "How long before they reach warp, Ops?" He nods to Havaris, "Can you get a lock on their weapons systems?"

Va'tol shakes on his chair, but the hands never stop moving. So far he has been able to keep up with them, despite the damages..

"On a scow like that? Another thirty five seconds," HoloHarris grumbles.

Harris then checks his console. "Make that ten. Looks like they've got good engines."

"I can get you torpedoes or phasers, Sir, easily enough. To neutralize both I would need more time." HoloHavaris turns his head to glance back at Nilee, expression somewhat tight. "Awaiting your orders, Sir."

Nilee shakes his head slowly as he lifts a hand to run it through his hair, closing his eyes for a couple seconds before opening them, "Tactical, target their engines. Engineering, forward Lieutenant Havaris anything you can, and let's pray that we can get these people back without any loss of life." He pauses, "Tell me when you're targetted," he watches the vessel on the viewscreen.

O'Rielly turns to ops, "How powerful are their shields?"

Harris frowns as he runs his fingers over his console. "Fifty percent," he replies quietly after running the scan.

Havaris nods his head and turns about to work at his terminal for a moment. "Engines targetted, weapons locked. Weapons charged and at the ready. Permission to fire, Sir?"

Medes's fingers fly over her console, and she mutters something to herself which may or may not be polite language, shaking her head as she forwards what scant information she has to Tactical.

Tyler turns slightly to regard Nilee. She makes no comment, just watches on.

Nilee closes his eyes briefly, though to most, that wouldn't be apparent, he nods as he opens them, and says in response to tactical, "Fire."

Havaris smiles faintly, eyes forward, hiding that crooked grin from the rest of the crew as he responds to the order. "Aye, Sir." A final adjustment of aim is made before he presses the firing key, sending streams of phaser fire at the nacelles of the craft.

O'Rielly closes his eyes for a moment, then looks to the viewscreen as the shot gets fired.

The volley squarely hits the colony-turned-plague ship. She starts to list, and lights begin to flicker inside her rapidly.

Nilee glances between science and engineering, "What's their status?"

Harris winces, closing his eyes for a moment. "That did it, alright. 30 seconds to warp core breach on the plague ship."

Tyler turns. "Captain, ten kilometers isn't enough distance - we will be destroyed as well."

O'Rielly turns to Nilee, waiting to see what the Captain is going to do.

Nilee grimaces as the report comes in, "Engineering, if they eject their core, can we tow them away fast enough to get out of the blast radius?" Not waiting for a response, he looks towards Operations, "Hail them again."

Nilee clears his throat as he clarifies his question to engineering, "More appropriately, can they still eject their core?"

"Aye, sir," Harris replies softly, tabbing the comms control. "Hailing frequencies open."

O'Rielly says, "Captain, it won't work. We have to back off now.""

"We cannot tow them. We have no tractor system," Medes informs Nilee, never taking her eyes off of the Engineering console. "And they cannot eject their core. The emergency ejection system was damaged in the blockade run. They're... " and she stops, shaking her head slightly. "They can't eject the core."

Havaris shakes his head faintly and sighs, resting his hands on his console. "No escape pods could possibly clear the blast radius in thirty seconds. Make that twenty-four." Pause. "Twenty-three."

Nilee grimaces, and shakes his head,

Harris shakes his head. "No response," he states quietly, staring at the viewscreen.

Nilee grimaces, and shakes his head, nodding finally, "Very well, back us off Helm, take us outside the blast radius."

Va'tol nods, increasing the speed to 1/2 impulse and turning the ship about, getting them out of the blast's reach.

The ship, on screen, turns into a brilliant white nova. It expands rapidly outward, buffeting the Aegis slightly as it does so, but the Aegis makes it out of the primary blast radius with a few seconds to spare. Ten thousand lives disappear in a blast of cold white light.

Tyler states, "Computer, cancel all holographic characters."

Havaris watches the view screen as the explosion erupts out of the vessel, his eyes impassive in their reflection of the event. Once the explosion has died away, he murmurs briefly in Bajoran. He says something in a language you do not understand. His gaze returns to the terminal, hands working the controls. He says something in a language you do not understand. And then Havaris fades from his seat.

"My... god..." Harris breathes, his eyes locked on the viewscreen. "Ten thousand lives... gone..." And with that, he fades away - back to the holobuffer from whence he came.

Nilee looks away from the viewscreen as the ship erupts in firey white light. Taking in a quick breath, his eyes locked on something a few inches below the screen itself.

Va'tol starts to lower the speed, not seeming troubled by the loss of lives, merely thinking of doing his job, right before vanishing a few seconds later with the rest of the holo-crew.

The Engineer-holo finally stops and turns her head toward the viewscreen as the ship begins to explode. Medes's hands stop, and she shifts slightly as the Aegis is buffeted by the explosion. "Prophets guide you," she whispers, her words in Federation Standard as opposed to Havaris's Bajoran, and as her whisper fades away, so, too, does her hologram, leaving the virtual Engineering console virtually unmanned.

O'Rielly just sighs and stands up, not fading away because unlike most of the other people here, he is not a hologram. He turns to look at Tyler, but doesn't say much.

Tyler steps down from the science area and approaches Nilee. "Thank you, Ensign, for your time to take the simulation. I'll be in contact again soon."

Nilee looks up, blinking slightly as Tyler approaches, he simply nods, he's not pleased, not angry, most likely just displeased with himself more than the simulation, "Very well, Lieutenant. Thank you."

Tyler smiles slightly to Nilee. "Dismissed, Ensign," she says quietly, and waits for the young man to make his way out.

Nilee turns with another nod, and quietly walks out the way he came, calling upon the archway which appears, once again, replacing the turbolift exit. He steps out, returning to... the real world.

Tyler turns to regard O'Rielly. "He passed, at least," she says to him. "He was able to make the tough decision."

O'Rielly nods, "Even if he didn't intend for that to happen."

Tyler nods. "But he knew it was a risk. A risk that he had to take, because the situation was bigger than ten thousand people - it was about the billions that would have been affected by the plague had they been able to get away." She smiles to O'Rielly. "Thanks for your help with the administration of it."

O'Rielly nods, "You're welcome Lieutenant. Much different from the command simulations I have run."

"Computer, terminate simulation," Tyler says. The computer complies, erasing the photonic representations of the bridge and replacing it with the black, yellow-lined hollow cube.