Orion Corridor Run

 Episode Name:  Orion Corridor Run
   Written By:  Shaft
         Cast:  Albertz, Dovoro, Isole, Risa, Shaft, Stewart and Talesin.
  Produced By:  Starfleet
  Directed By:  Shaft
     Aired On:  Tue May 27 02:28:19 2003
     Stardate:  53243.8

Time: Mon May 26 19:42:37 2003

Stardate: 53243.1

Dovoro adjusts her beret slightly on her platinum hair as she enters the holodeck. "Alright, so *how* exactly am I supposed to wear this thing with antennae?"

"Cut holes in it?" Risa suggests from her place leaned against the back of the grid. "Or, have the computer cut holes in it for you?" Destruction is clearly the answer.

Dovoro glances over at Talesin, giving him a withering stare. No, she doesn't even give that answer the dignity of a response. She turns to Isole, her smile returning. "So are there any Andorians in the CTC? I don't imagine this is a problem they have to deal with very often."

Risa hipbumps Talesin back, then turns her eyes to Isole as well, adding, "How different are the controls? I mean... will I know what I'm doing, or will I shut the engines down trying to replicate a cup of coffee?"

Stewart enters the holodeck, stumbling a bit at the transition from full gravity to zero gravity. He has to reach out and grab at a harness to save himself an aimless tumble across the room before the next grab point would have been handy. He then swings himself along towards the tactical station, catching the chair with a hooked foot, and swinging himself down into it. It's brachiation for the modern era.

Isole saunters in and, without losing her step, floats across the room towards the helm. Keeps with the walking motion. Kinda creepy. It's meant to be. Once she is within reach of the wall, she grabs a hand bar and stops her momentum, turning over to climb up into the bottom of the sphere. Yep. You can do that. Once there, she rotates back about and clips her harness belt into her station, grabbing her headset and placing it on over her beret. "EFC Arnan on Helm, Flight Check." She taps her ear piece once or twice, then focusses in on her terminal, tappetty tapping. "This is a fairly accurate simulation of a CTC Freighter. Might I suggest a really thorough pre-flight diagnostic?"

Isole comments back to Dovoro, "There. Andorians. In the CTC. Not many. And it's a hodge podge of technology, Sir, just like I told you before. You'll probably suffer for it, too, barring prior experience. Any of you studied 23rd century technology?" Isole glances back over her shoulder, grinning a bit. "Might help. Or anyone with dirt trading or freighter experience. That, too. Otherwise? You'll. Suffer for it. Yes."

Albertz lets out a little cry in surprise as he transitions to the zero-g environment of the holosim. "Ach! I thought you were going to turn the gravity on /after/ we started!" Hamish floats across the bridge, slowly spinning, before his trajectory is stopped by the bulkhead opposite the arch's entrance. And by stopped, we of course mean, he crashed. Tugging at his Centauran uniform self-consciously, he writes himself and begins dragging himself, hand over hand, towards the science console.

Talesin looks to Risa, "I never liked a lack of gravity..." he glances toward Stewart almost jealously as he swings like a monkey through the room, then shrugs, letting out an all too familiar groan before free floating through the air, whirling about and catching one of the grab points in a mild display of acrobatic skill, looking about, "So where do I go? I was on a freight vessel for my cadet cruise, but... it was /nothing/ like this. We had gravity. And the captain wasn't a sexy Centauran woman." a grin, and he simply continues to cling to his strap.

Risa is taken a bit aback by the change to Zero-G, once the program's initiated, and she glances with a sort of wry grin to Isole as she tries to get into some semblance of balance. "I second that motion," she mutters of the pre-flight suggestion, trying to sort of froggy-swim her way to her station. "As to a lack of gravity... I think it's one of those acquired tastes."

Dovoro laughs softly as she picks her feet up off the ground, rolls over a bit, and kicks off, floating towards the command module. "No, I can't say I've ever used something like this..." She grabs onto the chair as she approaches, and begins to swing herself down into the seat. Glances over her shoulder and smirks. "And this simulation has a sexy *Andorian* woman as the captain, thank you very much."

Stewart pulls his beret off, stuffing it into a pocket. Or, if the CTC uniform lacks pockets, he'll stuff it half-way down his pants to protrude. He's nothing if not adaptable. "Beret isn't strictly necessary, I assume?", he asks, keying up the panel as he begins his diagnostic procedures. "And this place belongs in a museum."

"On a bridge, it is. If you don't want to wear it, it belongs in the epoulettes before a superior office." Isole glances indicatively towards Dovoro. "We're pretty informal, but we respect our skippers." And the uniforms tend to have more pockets than seems sane, actually. Reason one to put the beret in the shoulder strap! Easy access. "Engineering, if you could give us a diagnostic on all major systems, we can get underway and check out the fine tunings enroute to Orion. I'll get to plotting that course." And so she does.

<CONTEST> Risa (claiming disadvantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Engineering) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

Talesin laughs, "Blue, pale pink... same difference." he flutters his lashes at Dovoro, "You're a Centauran right now, see?" another laugh, "Yes, it is. At least I'm not going to be revisiting my last meal." Stewart gets an amused glance, and the honorary Centauran simply hangs there, waiting to be told where to go, trying hard not to go spinning like a certain fellow just did. "You okay?" he asks Albertz, expression concerned.

<CONTEST> Isole contests her Shipboard Systems (Flight Control) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

Dovoro nods as she settles into the chair and starts to bring her consoles active. "Alright, folks, let's give 'er that once-over that Arnan recommended. Get it done quick, but get it done right. I'll take a little more time over a little more problems."

It's a bit of a repeat from Risa's time on the Enterprise; random pokings that start to make sense, Risa slowly sitting a tad bit straighter in her seat and, in a deviation from the Enterprise mission, the announcement that, "All primary systems are showing green."

Stewart pulls his beret back out of his pocket, plopping it back onto his head, and using his headset to keep it from floating away in the zero-G environment. "Confirm green on tactical systems. Everything is ready to go here."

Albertz adapts to the lack of gravity fairly quickly, he was just caught by surprise it seems. "I'm fine...just wasn't expecting that!" he grins at Talesin. Pulling and tugging at his black beret, Hamish sets the headdress at a jaunty angle, dipping just above his left eye. "/Now/ I'm all set!" Finally arriving at the Science Station, he inspects it closely, content to float in front of it and ignore the chair for the time being.

"Course laid in, Skipper, best speed of Warp 6.2 on our current settings. That puts us at Orion in just under three hours from this checkpoint." Isole examines her terminal and notes, "Helm showing green, Skipper. Five-by-five for the drive."

Talesin watches in the faintest amusement, head tilted to the side as his harness into the station he's at, lower lip caught between his teeth, legs curled up under him, slightly. Oh, this should be interesting.

The com chirrups softly. "Ensign Dovoro, this is Chief Habin. We've got something here in the Flight Deck we need you to take a look at." Dovoro sighs and projects herself out of the command chair. "I'll be back as soon as I can, folks. Don't let this thing fall apart while I'm gone," she grins.

Dovoro steps out of the holodeck.

Dovoro has left.

Risa continues poke poke poking away at her terminal, looking a little less intimidated by the alien settings. Still, there's enough of an uncertainty on her face to indicate she's not -sure- what the heck she's doing, and if, say, the warp core suddenly gets ejected, it's all her fault.

Talesin watches Dovoro float away with mild annoyance. Whoever decided to put communications in a holodeck needs to be shot. He stretches, allowing long limbs to relax in the zero g, watching Risa with evident amusement. "Just don't blow us up..."

. o O Talesin feels amusement, faint annoyance and seems to be enjoying himself though he's done nothing, so far.

GAME: Albertz spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Albertz contests his Shipboard Systems (Science) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Albertz taps in some commands into the console infront of him and watches the result. A few more taps, a few more results. He goes through this routine two or three more times before finally getting a stream of data to appear on the display. "Ach...well...I /think/ I managed a sensor sweep or sommat. But I cannae make heads nor tails of it. Give us a little more time, skipper."

Stewart peers at the display intently, and says, "What's this crate armed with, by the by? And what is an Orion ship armed with? How's that all match up?" He leans over to Isole, adding, "In other words, if we get up a creek, do we have a paddle?"

"Diruptors, Phasers, Plasma Blasters. You name it, she's got it. No torpedoes, however. Type IV, Type V phaser arrays mostly. Shuttle-class weapons on the turrets. Our primary weapons arrays are comparable to, say, your Danubes, I suppose. Type IX." Isole glances aside to Stewart at that, "As to what the Orions are packing, it depends on the pirates. We're big. We have a massive shield matrix. So if they come at us with a capitol ship, we can usually just drop our cargo and split. If they come with smaller craft, it's a fight all the way to the pickets. There's a reason the CTC gives medals for the Orion Corridor." And with that, Isole assumes command in Dovoro's absence. "We need to know what's out there, Albertz. Risa? If you could see about tweaking the engines to make Warp 6.5, we'll drop a chunk of time. Keth? Sweetie? How are you with weapons? And Stewart? Might want to get a handle on your targetting systems."

Talesin glances down at his hands, looking thoughtful, "Not so hot, actually." a grin, "Perhaps I should be jettisoned into space. I can use a phaser, but there's a reason I'm not on the security team." a faint frown.

GAME: Risa spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Risa contests her Systems Engineering (Engineering) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

"Sure thing," Risa says with a nod to Isole, poking away with about the same amount of confidence she had before. Of course, judging by the negatory beeps the computer keeps shooting out to her, and the scowl starting to line her face, she really isn't doing so wonderfully. "Just um... give me a few to ... figure out... how exactly to access the warp system."

<CONTEST> Albertz contests his Shipboard Systems (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Albertz does a little stationary barrel roll, he's beginning to enjoy the zero-g. What he's not enjoying is this blasted sensor system. "Still nothing. It's all Greek to me...or Centauran, as the case may be." A chuckle as he continues to work the sensors, he's not cross at his lack of success but he's certainly not going to give up just yet.

Stewart begins doing exactly as suggested, trying to get the targetting systems under control, with the assistance of some handy space debris. He doesn't actually fire on any of them, but fiddles around trying to get a handle on how to lock the weapons on them, how to track targets with the unfamiliar system, and so forth. His brow is furrowed in frustrated concentration.

GAME: Stewart spends a courage point.

"Warp 6.2, and holding. Let's keep trying, guys. They're out there." Isole shifts her gaze up to the viewport, then back to her screen. "Holding on course." Isole tilts her head to the side and cups her hand to her ear with a small frown. "Expect trouble."

The viewscreens shift about rapidly, cycling through the various cameras until the screen splits. One starboard amidships, one port amidships. Both dorsal. They show a pair of light interceptors, rather disk shaped to look at them, with the freighter caught in the middle. Both open up with a silent streak of weapons, causing the shields to glow brightly. The freighter never shakes at all. BIG shields, this baby.

Dovoro steps into holodeck 2 from the Dream Factory.

Dovoro has arrived.

The arch appears and Dovoro steps through, then pushes off the nearest surface to head towards the center chair. "Sorry about that..." She takes a look at the viewscreen and winces. "Oh dear. That doesn't look very good."

<CONTEST> Risa contests her Systems Engineering (Engineering) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

Risa ignores the ships on the viewscreen; she's focused on the warp drive, which has finally stopped locking her out. Faintly, her scowl starts to reverse into a little half-smile, and she notes helpfully, "Still working on the warp drive... hopefully we'll be able to outrun those ships or at the very least clip off more time."

<CONTEST> Stewart contests his Shipboard Systems (Tactical) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

<CONTEST> Albertz (claiming disadvantage) contests his Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

<CONTEST> Isole contests her Shipboard Systems (Flight Control) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

Albertz decides that while free floating is grand and all, it might be a good idea to buckle in for what could prove to be a bumpy ride. Fiddling with the buckle of the seats with one hand, he reaches out with the other, tack-tacking away at his console. A self-satisfied smile appears as he manages to bring up what he thinks are the weapons controls. Hamish's suspicions are confirmed as he fires a burst of phaser fire wide on the interceptors. This could prove to be a rather short run indeed.

Talesin visibly starts. He knew it was going to happen, but still. And, since he's of absolutely no use, he merely frowns and squeezes his hands together, lower lip caught between his teeth. "Come on, Eight. Start pressing the pretty buttons." his tone is gently teasing, and he continues to simply be a pretty ornament on one of the walls.

"I've got nothing." Stewart gives the console a half-hearted thump, "Damnable junk. Still trying. Is anyone monitoring their com traffic? Can we cut them off before they call something that can cut through our shields?"

Isole works her terminal briefly, sending the ship speeding forward at a greater velocity. The images of the pursuit craft grow distant for a time and soon are accelerating to overtake the freighter once more. But the clock to Orion just lost forty minutes easy. "Warp 6.5. Good work, Engineering. Keep on 'em out there."

The pursuit craft, as stated, once more surge forward to overtake, releasing blasts from their weapons as they strake past. Again the shields flare, and hold.

<CONTEST> Risa contests her Systems Engineering (Engineering) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

Dovoro flips herself into the command chair and immediately begins working the console to bring the weapons systems screen up, and as soon as she can manage, begins to open fire on the enemy ships just as they pass.

<CONTEST> Dovoro (claiming disadvantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Albertz (claiming disadvantage) contests his Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Dramatically Succeeds!

Risa continues fiddling with the controls, for the most part ignoring the ships and almost everyone in her own ship as well. She murmurs, after a long pause, "I -am- pressing the pretty buttons," to Talesin, as if she's only just realized she'd been addressed, and a "Thanks," to Isole. She's getting those negatory beeps less and less often now.

<CONTEST> Stewart contests his Shipboard Systems (Tactical) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

Albertz continues fiddling with the controls to the weapon he's firing, "I'll get ye to work yet, you stubborn bugger!" Yes, he /is/ talking to the the terminal. Low and behold, everything seems to fall together and one of Hamish's shots scores a hit. At least he thinks it's a hit, he's not even close to coming to grips with this Centauran system yet.

Talesin continues to float, his head tilted slightly. "They're gaining again, though." he states, frowning again, utterly useless for the moment. Aren't most Betazoids and nurses useless, though? At least until someone hits their head, or something.

Stewart seems to figure things out, as with a few more quick taps on the panel he calls out, "Locked and ready to fire. Again, is anyone doing anything about their communications, or are we going to have to run a gauntlet of every pirate in the sector?"

<CONTEST> Isole contests her Shipboard Systems (Flight Control) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

"Warp 7.2," Isole notes with a hint of surprise, "we're burning our coolant like it's last year's cologne, but we're holding. Risa? Get on Damage Control, have our spare Coolant ready to rotate. We'd be able to take on extra on Orion." Isole then glances back to Dovoro, arching a brow. "You're the skipper, skipper. Skip."

Lances of light fire from the point defense turrets as the Orion craft continue to pound the shields of the Simulated Freighter. Albertz's turret scores an impressive hit on the nacelle of the Orion Craft, searing shielding and ablation and cracking out a -- Risa would laugh -- key Plasma coil. It lurches with a stutter and falls away from the pursuit, unable to match speed. The second craft takes a barrage from the main batteries and lurches away briefly, then another skimming from Dovoro's point defense strike, but keeps right on coming.

<CONTEST> Risa contests her Systems Engineering (Engineering) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Albertz (claiming disadvantage) contests his Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

"I wouldn't know a commpanel from a hole in my head," Risa murmurs before nodding to Isole, turning slightly in her seat to work with another section of her panel. "Good job, Sir Science Guy Albertz." She -so- doesn't have a clue what the CTC equivalent might be, and doesn't bother hiding it. "Spare coolant's all set to rotate," she notes to Isole.

Dovoro growls softly. "Stewart, try to target that thing's communications array. Albertz, let's keep hammering at it's shields and see if we can punch through. Keep that thing together, Risa."

<CONTEST> Dovoro (claiming disadvantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Dovoro contests her Command skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

<CONTEST> Dovoro contests her Command (Starship) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Albertz lets out a cry of surprise at the lucky shot. "Well that was unexpected!" He glances over his shoulder in Isole's direction, grinning ear to ear. "I'll save the debate over the ethics of blowing up photonic pirates for later though, if you don't mind!" Turning his attention back to his controls, Hamish manages to fire another volley wide. Even the losers get lucky sometimes, it seems.

<CONTEST> Stewart contests his Shipboard Systems (Tactical) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

. o O Albertz feels completely surprised by the lucky hit scored on the interceptor. He's really enjoying himself, relaxed but focused. Hamish doesn't think this a do or die situation, but he's not going to sleepwalk through it either.

<CONTEST> Talesin contests his Shipboard Systems (Communications) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

Maybe the Orions should have reversed the polarity on the plasma coil. Keth turns and stares at the keys for a few moments before shrugging and taking his own advice, pressing the pretty buttons. His lower lip gets caught between his teeth as he concentrates, "I'm working on the communications, but I've never tried this before!"

Stewart grits his teeth, and then switches his targetting towards the communications array for the already damaged ship, the one falling behind. His face is furrowed in concentration as he struggles to pinpoint the rapidly dwindling target, not managing to get a solid lock on it.

<CONTEST> Isole (claiming disadvantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

"Let's have it now, Hamish, since those ships, like this one, are empty. The only crew on this 'ship' is us. The only crew out there, a reasonable dogbrain. It abstracts a crew and orders, but it has none. No holograms out there thinking they're picking away at a CTC Freighter. Just a picture of a fake ship acting like it might be under the control of one." Isole calls that lazily back towards Albertz as she says all of this, then shifts her gaze back to her terminal, switching over to her point defense controls. "Got a lock. Firing." Lazy and practiced at this sort of thing. Helps that it's a hologram.

The remaining craft takes another lick of phaser fire, but keeps on coming. Point defense weapons, after all, haven't the punch of the main batteries. It zips past yet again, slamming another volley into the freighter's dimming shields.

Dovoro narrows her eyes as her fingers continue to fly over the controls. "Alright, Stewart, just target the main body of the ship. Arnan, you and me on that comm array. Talesin, keep at it. Risa, hold us together. Albertz, just keep blasting away at that thing. It can't hold up too much longer."

<CONTEST> Dovoro (claiming disadvantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

<CONTEST> Dovoro contests her Command (Starship) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

<CONTEST> Albertz (claiming disadvantage) contests his Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

<CONTEST> Talesin contests his Shipboard Systems (Communications) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

<CONTEST> Stewart contests his Shipboard Systems (Tactical) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

GAME: Isole spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Isole contests her Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Risa contests her Shipboard Systems (Engineering) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

"Draining from secondary batteries to bolster the shields," Risa announces for the general knowledge of those around her, continuing to, mainly, ignore what's going on around her in favor of just working at her panel. Occasionally she'll flicker a glance about to be sure she's not missing anything life-altering, but for the most part, she's focused right in front of her.

Albertz keeps blasting away, as ordered. Who knows? If he throws enough energy out there, he might just score another hit. Eyes focused on the display readouts, he allows himself a slight smirk at Isole's statement. "Ye sure know how tae remove the romance from it, don't ye?"

Talesin continues to tap away on the keys, shaking his head in irritation, "I don't know how they managed this!" the computer isn't liking it anymore than he is, however, and from the sound, it just might be cursing at him. "Maybe I should just fire myself at the damn ship. Splatter on their screen, they can't see..."

Stewart locks the main weapons arrays onto the remaining craft, a thin smile appearing on his face. It's not a particularly pleasant sort of smile, but an expression of grim satisfaction that indicates he's probably taking the game far too seriously.

"Sure do," Isole notes coyly, "but I put it back in other pursuits." One of them, it seems, is shipboard gunnery. Stewart is treated to a profile of one rather pleased expression as Isole takes aim on the communication's array of the Orion Vessel. She takes in a breath and notes with just a hint of a swoon, "Just like last time..." She pokes her firing controls and sends a rather precise lick of fire right at it. Go Team Centauri.

The near-constant stream of fire from the Centauri Freighter has, and continues to have, a rather profound toll on the pursuit craft. As its most recent volley sprays across the once again strengthened shields of the freighter, and as the Orion Vessel itself is blasted in its weapon arrays and communication arrays, it wisely chooses the sensible course and drops out of warp. The freighter continues on unhindered.

Dovoro lets out a whoop and pumps her fist. "Got 'im, way to go, everyone! Risa, see what you can do about that damage. Everyone else, back to your posts, and keep an eye out for their friends, just in case."

"Sir, there's no damage for me to fix," Risa points out politely. "I'm briefly dropping shields and allowing them to recharge from the Warp Drive. We'll have to keep an eye out for any surprise ships so I can get them back up in time."

<CONTEST> Albertz contests his Shipboard Systems (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Albertz goes back to scanning for marauding corsairs now that there isn't an immediate threat to the ship. "A little fancy flying, some fancy engineering, a pinch of fancy command, and a lucky shot! We're in the wrong line of work!" A hearty laugh, as Hamish is wont to do. "And I think I could get used to gravity being nawt too!"

Talesin lets out a little cheer, "Nice /shot/!" a laugh, and the nurse grins, stopping with the tapping of the keys, "I didn't want to scramble their communications, anyway..." a tilt of his head, and he looks thoughtful, "Does this thing have a way to scan for other communications?" a grin is flashed at Albertz over his shoulder, "Are you suggesting we should resign from our posts and buy one of these things?"

Stewart pushes back from the console, taking a moment to recline on the chair. "Let's not get too cocky just yet, kids. Game's not over till it's over. And there's usually a grand finale. Let's just make sure it's theirs, not ours."

"We'll need to alter our course, angle of approach, and speed. Assuming they were in communication with other vessels, they'll have that information now." Isole works at her terminal, shifting the starfield hard to port before evening out. "I'll make a correction back towards Orion after we've put some space behind us. And I'm decellerating until that correction to keep them wondering. Hopefully? We'll lose them."

Dovoro grins over at Risa. "I mean. Damage to the shields. Yeah. Recharge 'em. Good plan." She chuckles as she glances over Isole's way. "Sounds like a good idea to me, Arnan. I think you're right, though, Stewart, we're not out of trouble just yet. Let's keep those scans going."

"Right on," Risa mumbles from her console after Stewart's words, adds a chipper, "Yessir!" to Dovoro, and then turns to watch Isole for a few moments, thoughtfully. After that, however, her eyes return to her console, and soon announces, "Shields dropped; recharging now."

<CONTEST> Isole (claiming advantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Flight Control) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

Albertz frees himself from his seat to indulge in a bit of free-float, but remains close to his position just in case. For the first time since the sim began he allows himself to study his shipmates, not a bad crew, this...all things considered.

Talesin looks down at the controls thoughtfully, head bent slightly, a strand of hair absently brushed out of the way as he works, his brow furrowed ever so slightly as he thinks, lips moving slightly, as if going over something in his head, or reading, perhaps. "I don't suppose we have an instruction manual lying about..."

"I don't think we'd have time to read it anyway." Stewart looks around, adding, "If there's an instruction manual, it's going to be a huge scrapbook of pieces cut from the manuals of other ships, compiled into one big monstrosity. It'd have to be. Do your best, we'll manage."

Isole doesn't really seem given over to /discussing/ doing this. She's much more involved in the process of doing it. She frowns a bit at her terminal's readouts, but continues on her course regardless. Eventually she turns the craft back for Orion, accelerating again to hopefully lose them again if they'd been picked up on sensors. She then removes her headset and thunks it back to its clamp. She unclips her harness and, in looking over her shoulder at Risa, offers her a smile. She kicks off the wall and heads down to Engineering, looping herself lazily about the other Engineer. "Hi, you." The talk of the ship and the instruction manual and so on causes her to roll her shoulders in a lazy shrug. "Is that a good thing to you guys, or a bad thing?"

Dovoro laughs softly as she leans back a little bit in her chair. "Works just fine for me... alright, let's relax a little bit, but don't let down those scans for a minute. I don't trust those bastards to leave us alone just yet."

Risa tilts her head back to Isole, resting it temporarily on her arm. "Hi, yourself," she greets the Centauran all friendly-like, then lifts her head to Dovoro, nodding. "You've got it, chief. As long as I have some kind of warning before I start working on the shields again... because otherwise, we're buying tonight."

<CONTEST> Isole (claiming advantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Flight Control) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Succeeds!

Albertz removes his beret and spins it in front of him, almost like a floating top. "I wonder if ye can play fitba' without gravity..." he wonders aloud, transfixed by the beret. A bit of whimsy after the intensity of the first leg of the run.

Talesin shakes his head. "I have a feeling they won't leave us alone, either." Oh, great. The Betazoid's getting a feeling. He continues to stare at the controls, occasionally pushing buttons, "Just how old is this craft, Isole?" his lower lip gets gnawed on again, and a few more buttons get hit curiously. Dark eyes flicker up as Albertz speaks, "Hate to ruin the fun, Hammish, but you might want to get back to the sensors. Our captain just might lock you in the brig." a wink.

Stewart replies to Isole, "It's neither. It's just a thing. Actually, it's good to get a little practice in less polished situations." He leans forward, back to the console, running through simple diagnostic procedures over and over to keep himself focussed during the calm portion of the run.

"The spaceframe is about 140 years old. The tech anywhere from there on up. The Computer, of course, is prime Centauri make. The bridge is, actually, the most state of the art area of the ship. But. What we lack in funding and power, we more than made up for in crew knowledge. Competency. Team work. Loyalty. Support." Isole smiles at that before smooching Risa's hair and pushing off towards Talesin, circling him up in a quick hug as well. "Hi, you." She's making her rounds, it seems.

Dovoro laughs softly as she spins in her chair, watching Isole fly around the ship. "Don't distract them too much, Arnan," she winks.

"And I'd say it's new /enough/... we kicked butt, if I do recall correctly," Risa says with a wink to the retreating Isole, then fiddles idly with the controls, working on memorizing them from the looks of it.

Albertz grins at Talesin and snatches his beret out of the air, returning it to his head. "If she does, she does. I dinnae think I'd be around too long, the sim has to be turned off sometime...I /hope/!" A quiet laugh and hands are placed behind head, legs are stretched out much like Hamish spent most of his weekend...save now he's floating instead of reclining on sand.

Talesin grins and leans into the hug, "I thought /I/ was the one in charge of morale." he teases, resting against Isole for a few moments contentedly, about as much sexuality between the two of them as two dead fish, ten feet apart, as Isole once put it. Actually, the fish have more sexual tension. "Mind the hands, Isole." dark lashes flutter at the tall woman for a moment before she gets a return hug. "Might want to get back to your spot. No telling when they'll attack, and we don't need you flying over anyone's head. Er... Zero gravity takes care of the worst of that, I suppose..."

Stewart looks up and over at the people around, frowning slightly, but then goes back to his console. He takes a moment to pull his beret off, tucking it into a pocket so that it's convenient, and then readjusting his headset. Much better.

"Reason one why we work in zero-gravity. If the intertial dampeners malfunction? We don't tend to feel it much. Or when the ship rocks. It just sort of moves around us for the most part. Makes typing a chore, that's about it." Isole than grabs a handfull of Keth's rear-end for the hands comment and springs ahead to grab Albertz's boot and spin him a bit. Her trajectory is altered of course, and she winds up impacting with wall above Tactical. Which she then climbs over. Stewart, too. "Hi, Jimmy." Once she's pawed her way over his person politely (Alliteration!) she returns to her post and clamps back in. "Ten minutes left. Looks like I owe a--" Isole snatches up her headset and slips it over her ears, adjusting the mouthpiece a bit. "--Dinner. Tactical? Maneuvering sensors are picking up some debris ahead. Can anyone scan that?"

The debris in question looks to be the gutted remains of the last three freighters that tried Isole's trick. Oops.

GAME: Dovoro spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Dovoro contests her Shipboard Systems (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

Since it would seem that most of her crew is up and about the cabin, Dovoro has already begun scanning the debris, but she curses softly. "I can't figure out these readings on this console... somebody give me a hand with this."

<CONTEST> Talesin contests his Shipboard Systems (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

"I'm set to raise shields at a moment's notice... whoever's doing the scanning, just be ready to tip me off. Just yell shields or something, and we'll be ready," Risa mutters, back to staring fixedly at her console.

Albertz straps himself back into his seat, readying the weapons controls.

Talesin lets out a squeal as Isole grabs some rump, squirming slightly, then starts pressing buttons, this time with an actual pattern in mind, a faint frown on his lips. He looks startled, dark eyes moving to Risa, "Shields. Get 'em up now! There's an active ship inside one of those. They're hulls of other ships that have tried this..." And, for a change, the Betazoid is useful.

Stewart rests his hands on the console, ready to bring the weapons to bear the second the shields are up. For the moment, he scans his displays, looking over the empty husks with an intently studious expression.

<CONTEST> Isole (claiming advantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Flight Control) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Succeeds!

"Slag slag slag slag /SLAG/!" Isole's string of invectives end only when she's concluded pounding on her console. "Dropping warp! Lowering to impulse!" She's staring fixedly at the still fast approaching debris field before hissing out, "Too fast. Too fast." More pounding on the terminal and the crew drifts forward slowly despite the dampeners. There's a roar inside of the space frame that rattles the ship gently. "Maneuvering thrusters," she explains. And still the debris is coming. Slower now. She slides a hand-bar on her terminal up slowly and the rattling increases, jarring the ship at its joins. Slower still. And eventually slow enough allowing Isole to ease of the thrusters and return the freighter to its usual calm. "Full stop."

Dovoro frowns deeply. "Wonderful. Which one's active? Can we tell?" Her own eyes and hands are dancing over the console as she tries to see for herself what's out there.

<CONTEST> Risa contests her Shipboard Systems (Engineering) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Dramatically Fails!

As Talesin says 'Shields', Risa's hands immediately begin moving over her console, Isole's cursing adding just a hint of adrenaline to her movements, despite this being just a simulation. "Shields now up!" she announces. "Give me a minute to figure out what percentage they're at now-- shields down!" she amends, blanching, "...I don't know what just happened, but the shield batteries are completely purged. I'll need you guys to buy me some time while I get these puppies back up."

Hamish slumps in his seat when Risa's announcement registers, if it's possible to slump when there's no "down". "Work your magic there stoker," he pulls out a positively ancient term "we'll make it through this yet!"

Talesin nods, "The ship's in the biggest one, it's the most hollow. We would have gone right past it and gotten our behinds handed to us. Trickseytrickytricky... Remind me to never make an Orion mad at me." he frowns, "Shields down? We're doomed... Eight, if I don't make it, I want you to have my stuffed bear, Isole, you get my underwear. I know you'd want them." he looks thoughtful, "Draw power from the thrusters and weapons? We're dead without shields."

"Did they fail, or were they drained?" Stewart begins targetting the largest of the empty hulls, but not in earnest. Right now, he's waiting for the ship to emerge so he's got a clean shot, as opposed to firing through layers of scrap tritanium. "Is there only the one?"

"This thing takes twenty minutes to turn on maneuvering thrusters. Underway, I've got better control of attitude. We've got two ways we can go effectively. All ahead full or full reverse. Pick one." Isole is otherwise content at her post now that her little moment of stress is concluded.

Stewart doesn't have to wait long. The Orion vessel slips out of its cover and performs a neat immelman, looping back towards the freighter at relative attitude. Out come the first streaks of fire, slamming into the topside compartments of the freighter and sending a loud boom over the hull.

Dovoro snarls at the ship coming towards them. "Risa, I want those shields up! Everybody else, except Arnan, I want firing at those weapons, take those things offline!" She glances over at Isole. "Arnan, you know these things better than any of us do. See if you can find a weak point for us to hit on that thing." And then she joins in with the rest of the crew in firing at the vessel, aiming at the most dangerous-looking weapons emplacements.

GAME: Dovoro spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Dovoro (claiming advantage) contests her Command (Starship) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

GAME: Albertz spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Risa contests her Systems Engineering (Engineering) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Albertz contests his Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Dovoro contests her Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Isole contests her Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

<CONTEST> Stewart contests his Shipboard Systems (Tactical) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

"Got it. Shield batteries are completely drained, though. I'm pulling from warp drive and non-essential systems." Risa stays thus focused during everything that's happening, then thumps the panel lightly in a mix of cheer and frustration, and notes, "Shields at fifteen percent. They're not gonna last long, and there's not a whole lot of power sources for me to drain from, unless anyone's got any bright ideas."

GAME: Talesin spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Talesin contests his Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

<CONTEST> Dovoro contests her Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

"Woo! She's got tha touch, that's for sure!" Exclaims Hamish, keying the weapons controls and firing. "This could be tha comeback of the century."

. o O Talesin thinks "What good are shields, anyway? They're always at 60 or 50... or not there at all..."

Talesin shakes his head, "Dovoro, that's suicide! We should go full reverse and try to buy Risa enough time to get the shields up, and /then/ attack!" dark eyes flash toward the control pannel again, "Sitting here trading shots is a lot more dangerous than going in full reverse or even forward..." still, he does as ordered, frowning through it all.

. o O Risa thinks "Why, /why/ can't we do a simulation on controls I know, eh? No, it has to be an old Constellation-class and a CTC model I've never even seen before. We'll just see about that; I'll be damned if I'll lose another one of these things."

"We'd never buy that kind of time. It's not like they'd just let us go." Stewart taps at the console, bringing the main systems to bear as he aims for the weapons systems of the pirate craft. He starts whistling quietly to himself as he works away, sending streams of energy towards the other craft.

. o O Talesin feels irritation, but, overall, it's more amusement and excitement. He still knows this is a game, even though the serious issue of dinner is on the line.

"It's only suicide if it doesn't work. I'll debate the order when we're dead, Keth." Isole shouts that back across the brige, turning to key up her weapons for a surgical strike, one that hisses wide as the vessel banks away from other volleys of incoming fire. "My shot went wide. Nice shot on the main battery. Keep on 'em!"

The craft takes what may be the majority of potential strikes right on its nose, and quickly jukes to head across the viewscreen, letting fly with its phasers as it presents a new profile for attack. The phaser fire slams into the already weakened and dimmed shields, causing a pronounced dimple. Can't take much more of that before they're boarding, that's for certain.

<CONTEST> Dovoro contests her Shipboard Systems (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Talesin contests his Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

Dovoro frowns, and her fingers dart over the console, eyes flickering over the data. "There has to be some kind of weak point... there! Tactical, target this point and fire at will. The rest of you, follow his fire, or aim at weapons emplacements, one or the other. Let's bring this guy down!"

<CONTEST> Dovoro (claiming advantage) contests her Command (Starship) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Isole (claiming advantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Risa (claiming advantage) contests her Shipboard Systems (Weapons Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Stewart (claiming advantage) contests his Shipboard Systems (Tactical) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

"There's no more power to drain into shields," Risa notes rather glumly, "unless we completely lose warp power or weapons. So, unless anyone has any better ideas, I think I'd best do damage con--" Her eyebrows raise hopefully at Dovoro's command, and she murmurs an, "Aye-aye, sir," as she joins the others in kicking some Orion booty.

<CONTEST> Albertz (claiming advantage) contests his Shipboard Systems (Weapon Systems) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

. o O Talesin thinks "If we get through this, I'm giving Albertz a big kiss."

Albertz taps two knuckles against his temple before his fingers fly across the controls. "Aye aye skipper, targeting now." He inputs the target data a fires, crossing fingers and toes as soon as the last command is in.

"Better a flying duck than a dead one. Of course, this one's got fangs. Klingon Duck, anyone?" and he begins hitting buttons again. He's made this thing work before... Which button was it again. Oh yes. That one. "Lets hope I went into the wrong field." and presses the pretty button with one hand, the other raised, fingers crossed.

Stewart adjusts his firing pattern to match Dovoro's new information, and fires. He watches his displays intently, tracking the phaser beams to their target. "Engineering, if you can keep this crate together just about thirty seconds longer... I think we might be able to pull through this one."

Piracy. Doesn't. Pay. Isole is humming cheerfully at her post at this point, watching the Pirate take its oblique across her line of fire. She turns her turret just so with its controls, moves her reticle just so, trains it over a projected trajectory and lead line, makes all of the various red-bits on her targetting screen turn green, and then releases a cackle as she hits fire. One might get the feeling Isole doesn't /like/ pirates much. "/SUCK/ on Centauran counterfire! TAKE IT!" She smacks the side of her terminal twice before shouting louder, "TAKE IT ALL!" A few more whacks, this time. "WHOSE YOUR CAPTAIN! /WHOSE YOUR CAPTAIN/!" Assuming Isole doesn't pimp slap it apart first.

First one streak of fire hits it at its weakened shieldpoint, then another. Then another. Then another from the main batteries that blast through the shields and send the nacelle singing away in a tight spiral into the void, then another that cracks the hull and buckles the ship as it begins a spin from its still powered nacelle, then /another/ which catches it square in the bridge. Stewart only needed about ten of those seconds before the ship explodes outward into a brief but glorious ball of fire and raining debris.

"Whooooo!" Dovoro slams her fist down, HARD, on the armrest of the chair. "Got that sonovabitch *GOOD*!" She laughs softly, and begins to glance over her console. "Let's get one more sensor sweep of the area before we get moving again. No more surprises. Arnan, plot a new course, and Risa, let's get this thing's shields back."

"Lowering shields again... they need to recharge, BADLY. I'd suggest allowing us a bit more time, possibly deviating in course slightly to give it even more," Risa says, taking the victory in stride. The wide grin on her face though, says she's more than just a little pleased with this turn of events. "Once again, I'll need advance warning to get these shields back up..."

Albertz pumps his fist once or twice in celebration, surely this must be the last obstacle before the freighter reaches her destination? "That was a nice bit or work there, it was."

<CONTEST> Talesin contests his Shipboard Systems (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Lower your shields, spread your nacelles... "Well." Keth says, in a rather breathless voice, "I think that did it, don't you?" he turns back to his console, smiling cheerily, "I think I can get this thing to do the sensor sweeps, again... Hard to tell what I can get it to do, though. We might just survive the Orions and have our warp core jettisoned." a frown as the computer doesn't respond. "Hell."

Stewart pushes away from the console, a big grin on his face. "All in all, I think that went rather well, actually. Good work all around." He looks over to Isole, "Not a bad ship at all. Takes some getting used to, but after that? It's not bad at all."

"See what I mean? It's the versatility that does it. They assume there's one weapons officer on board, rather than a Tactical Array and a point defense network. Plus independant stations all /over/ this thing. We're bristling. Small arms, yes, low yield arrays -- but lots of them. Since we're not the aggressor, our aim isn't to destroy or overtake. It's to harry off. The more fire you have out there, the less anyone wants near you. Pirates aim for pushovers." Isole, it seems, can't gush enough. "No match for one of your middle-weight starships? But we aren't fighting you, are we?" Contented, Isole plots in her course and awaits the order. "Course laid in, Skipper. Ready to jump on your command. Only about ten minutes until we're in the clear, really. Might as well just move."

Dovoro nods over at Risa. "If you can do anything to get some extra power to those shields so they'll charge more quickly, do it. Arnan... get us out of here. Let's keep those sensor sweeps going. I don't want to be caught off-guard again."

<CONTEST> Talesin contests his Shipboard Systems (Sensors) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

"Keth," Risa says in a calm, sweetly admonishing voice, "Don't jettison my warp core. We need that." She listens contently as Isole gushes, not putting in a word to doubt any of it. Leaning back slightly in her seat for a brief moment of relaxation, she admits to Dovoro, "I've already drained a bit of power from the Warp Drive, all power from unused decks, including lights and life support, drained our secondary batteries-- unless you want weapons offline or less warp power, we're stuck with a slow-recharge, it looks like... unless Isole knows a way I don't, which is possible given my unfamiliarity with the ship."

Albertz removes his beret and runs the back of his hand across his brow. "I'm sure this beauty has lots of surprises in her." he pats the side of his console almost reverently.

Talesin continues tapping away at the keyboard, "But it would make such a lovely... Crap..." a few moments, and he's grinning, "There's nothing on sensors, Skipper. I'd say it's safe to drain a bit of power from the weapons, at least for now, but be prepared to stop draining at a moment's notice..."

. o O Talesin feels elated, amused and rather bonded to this group of people, now.

. o O Talesin thinks "Oh, yes. Albertz gets a kiss, Isole gets a kiss, Risa gets a kiss... Dovoro will probably punch me if I try to kiss anything other than her hand, and I get the feeling Stewart would, to... They get hugs. Hugs are nice, too."

Stewart just leans back a little, plucking the beret back out from his pocket, and plopping it on his head. "Keep the drives hot, but I think everything else is good. Oh, yeah. We need to breathe, too. But anything else you should be free to steal power from." Right now, he's just relaxing until the next nastiness appears. Or until dinner. Whichever comes first.

<CONTEST> Isole contests her Shipboard Systems (Flight Control) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

Anticlimax is, in any trader's world, a very good thing. In fact? Absolutely dull, boring, interminable expanses of time are very good things. So long as there's a crew around to make them neither dull, or boring, or interminable. So when the freighter finally lurches into warp, and ten minutes later drops warp at the Starport around Orion and the escort fighters drift out to greet the CTC Dream Factory? Isole is roughly as content as she was when she arrived. The simulation freezes at that point, and the viewport begins scrolling simulation data. Estimated profit, incurred damages, ships destroyed, crew performance evalution, so on and so forth. And despite the stumbles and falls along the way, the computer reports 'As it should be'. And don't anyone bet that it would be any different if they'd lurched in on one nacelle, rather than four. Isole disengages her harness and reaches into her jumpsuit at that, spinning little disks across and down and up to each officer on her bridge. It's a circular patch displaying a Centauran Trading Consortium Freighter, batteries ablaze, streaking towards a distant green-blue planet. Each one is stamped with the Starfleet Rank and full name of the crewman concerned on the hemisphere below the image, and on the top in Centauran? 'Orion Corridor Run'. (Fine stitched below? Very fine? 'Honorary'.) Once everyone has fished for their patches, she pats her jumpsuit where hers are displayed. Both of them. "I owe my crew some dinner."

Dovoro grins wryly as she snatches her patch out of the air and takes a good look at it, and grins. "Nice," she murmurs, glancing around at the crew with a smile. "Good work, everyone."

Risa catches her patch and immediately unbuckles her seatbelt, cheerily stomping one foot on the floor to send her soaring across the room and doing little turns as she does so. Her showing off comes to a slightly comedic end as she hits the far bulkhead with a thump, but as she rubs her thwacked forehead with a wrinkled nose, she's still grinning. And then, of course, she tries to do some kind of crazy mid-air cartwheel that looks utterly goofy. "WeWonWeWonWeWon!"

Albertz hides a laugh behind a hand not wanting to obviously laugh at Risa's little catch. Unbuckling from his seat he pushes up and away, catching his patch as he goes. He holds the little emblem in his hand, studying it closely.

Talesin catches his patch, grinning. "Yes, you do." He unhooks himself, as well, twirling away from his console in an aerial ballet, curls spinning. And so, he floats from his spot to, oddly, Albertz' spot, wrapping his arms around his fellow nursing officer and planting a big kiss on Albertz' lips, Bugs Bunny style. The nurse flutters his lashes at Albertz playfully before releasing him and launching toward Isole. "Sorry, Hamish! I made a promise to the gods, and they don't like it when we break promises!"

Stewart catches his patch, which he examines curiously, and then tucks away into a pocket before undoing his harness. He lets himself float up a short distance, and then catches his feet onto the chair and kicks himself through space in the direction of the exit. En-route, he tosses the beret aside, letting it spin slowly away in zero-G.

Shaft has arrived.

GAME: Shaft is joining this location.

Talesin laughs, "Hey, I didn't even know we were going to be wearing them!" his tone is teasing as he carefully retires his hair at the nape of his neck. Because a huge pile of hair with a beret on it isn't very stylish. "Or cut your antennae off. But I don't suggest that." Risa gets an amused grin, and a rather playful hip-bump.