The Shadow of War

 Episode Name:  The Shadow of War

   Written By:  Spider

         Cast:  Hurley, Stewart, Thorne and Valentine.

  Produced By:  Starfleet

  Directed By:  Thorne

     Aired On:  Thu Aug 19 20:23:48 2004

     Stardate:  54325.5

Time: Thu Aug 19 16:35:04 2004

Stardate: 54325.2

Hurley has found a nice, quiet spot outside of the compound under one of the tallest, leafiest trees, that looks out over the "hidden" shuttlecraft. It's here where she's chosen to recharge her batteries and... meditate, for lack of a better term. She quietly sits here, looking out over the edge of the canopy of the forest and the skyline above the compound.
Takamura nods his head as he shifts his gaze from the view to Hurley. "Yes, I am." Motioning towards the outlook, he continues. "You've found a nice quiet place to think."
"I have," Hurley admits, looking up towards the sky. "And it smells good, too. Any word where Michael Cross is? He's been successfully hiding from us since we arrived."
Takamura shakes his head. "No, I haven't even seen him. I do have some news though about our mission."
Hurley bends her kness and slowly stands, brushing off her slacks when she finally reaches her height. "Our mission?" she asks, her gaze moving from grooming her slacks to the officer in front of her. "What about our mission? What news?"
Takamura nods slowly. "Hiroshi came to speak to me last night. He gave me some details about our mission. I still have to discuss it with the Commander. But, I would like you to work with Randal to see about making our commabadges work without giving away our position."
Hurley nods and motions towards the compound, she herself heading in that direction. "Honestly, we might need Michael Cross's help, too. He's the one who designed the anti-tracking device attached to the comsys." She considers a moment, then flashes a smile to the other officer, "though, between Randal and me, we might be able to figure it out without his help. We'll have to see."
Takamura follows alongside her. "I'll see if we can find him. We'll also have to get you, Tara and Birev ready for this mission. That means more phaser practice, some physical training, and lessons in stealth and tactics."
"So, we have a plan?" Christine asks, picking up her pace towards the compound. "If you know what you need to train us in, then I'm guessing we have an idea what we're going to do. We obviously know the mission objectives - are we going to try to get their Edwards back, too?"
"A tenative one. I still have to get the Commander's approval. Basically, we'll be dropped off a few clicks from the palace, hike through the woods, then stealthily enter. Hiroshi thinks it would be a good idea to use a disguise and I agree. I believe that we will be trying to get their Edwards as well. More specifics, like team breakdowns and equipment loadouts still need to be hammered out." Takamura says as he walks along.
Hurley considers a moment in silence, then comes to a complete halt. "Tak, be straight with me. We're going to ruin these plans, aren't we?" She goes on to explain, "Tara, Birev and me. We don't have this training, and a few hours worth of training to work with you guys with *years* of training.... we're going to blow this, aren't we?"
Takamura stops next to her, looking the communications officer in the eye. "Quite possibly, Christine. There is no way I can teach you everything you will need to know in the time we have left. And you will not have time to absorb and practice all the necessary skills. That's why I'm going to try to take that into account when I do the team assignments. If possible, I will try to place you in a supporting role where you can be most successful."
Hurley crosses her arms, looking at Tak. "If we're captured," she notes very softly, "or worse, it'll endanger everyone on this team. I'm not afraid of what's out there. I am, however, terrified of being responsible for something happening to you, Lieutenant Stewart, Tara, Commander Edwards or Ensign Birev."
Valentine steps outside, and pauses with a startled look toward the communication officer. Biting her lip a bit, she hesitates, then steps forward toward the pair.
Takamura sighs heavily, resting a hand on Hurley's shoulder. "Chrissy," he says comfortingly. "It is alright to be scared. You just can't allow that fear to consume you." Noticing Valentine's arrival, he nods to her then continues. "I promise to do everything in my power to prepare all of you for what's to come. And like I said, I'll try to assign you to tasks where you can be most helpful. But, what I need for you to do is remain strong and focus on the job at hand."
Hurley glances towards Valentine when Tak notices her and immediately smiles. It's definitely a forced smile, but it appears and she turns to have Tak's hand fall off her shoulder. "Hey, Tara. Tak was just telling me about our increased training." Eyes meet Thorne as he approaches and she notes, a little relieved, "And there's the man I need for my first task."
Valentine returns Takamura's nod as she steps closer to the communications officer with a weary but genuine smile of her own. Valentine whispers to Hurley, "Just between you, me, and the compound wall, I feel exactly the same way." Noticing Hurley's gaze shift, she looks over her shoulder, and offers a subdued nod in greeting to the rebel.
Takamura's hand falls as Christine shrugs it off, then nod sto the new arrivals. "That's correct. We have come up with the basics of a plan and I have some rudimentary skills to impart to you al."
Hurley's gaze falls back on Tak and she draws in a deep breath. "I'm going to assume that all relaxation time is cancelled and to be replaced by PT." She looks to Valentine, placing a hand gently on her arm. "Which, even if it's not a direct order, is probably a good idea."
Valentine's eyebrows shoot up. "Practice would be more useful than PT." She nods to Tak, though, unsurprised at his words.
Thorne nods as he approaches the group, hands shoved in his pockets. "Afternoon."
Takamura sighs, shaking his head. "Not all relaxation. We still need a little bit of quiet time. However, there will be no consumption of alcohol. We must remain sober for the remainder of our stay here." To Tara, he adds, "PT will be part of the training. We have a long hike ahead of us." He then nods to Thorne.
Hurley draws in a deep breath and returns her gaze to Thorne. "Randal," she begins, moving towards him, "I assume I can call you Randal? I mean, let me know if I'm out of line... but, anyway, I have a task I'm going to need your help with. We need to mask our combadge traffic. We're going to *have* to use them, likely in the Alliance's backyard, without being able to have them traced. Do you think we could work on a smaller version of Michael Cross's anti-tracking device on the comsys?"
Valentine tucks her hands behind her back, peering toward Takamura. "Long hike? What long hike? That's what shuttlecraft are for." She nods to Thore, then pauses to await his answer to Chris.
"Before we go in on Saturday?" Randal shakes his head. "We don't have the resources to do that sort of thing, unless you can use that replicator thing to make some spare parts."
Takamura nods, regarding Tara quite seriously. "Yes, a hike. We'll be dropped off a few clicks from the Alliance palace and have to hoof it in. I have the distinct impression that they will not allow a Starfleet shuttlecraft to land in their courtyard for a rescue mission."
Hurley bites at her lower lip, watching Randal carefully. "I'll speak with Commander Edwards." Pausing, she interrupts Tak and Valentine, "Tara, I'm going to need your input based on how much replicator material we have on the shuttlecraft, and probably Ensign Birev's advice on appropriate materials we'll need."
Valentine looks sharply toward Thorne. "Saturday? We have a target date for this thing?" At Tak's words, she waves a dismissive hand. "We can hike a few klicks standing on our heads. I walk more than that in the course of a normal day on the station." Looking to Hurley, she says, "As of this morning, we have one hundred forty-seven point three gall

"Honestly? You'll have to talk with Michael. We'll need some small transistors, and..." Randal pauses, then pulls out his own personal communicator. "I could give you this to analyze. Maybe you can figure out the innards, and use it to make some new communicators that have all the necessary parts in them already?"
Hurley blinks at the communicator and reaches for it, a little surprised as she hears herself say, "I hadn't thought of that.."
Takamura shakes his head at the VME. "This isn't going to be a stroll on the Mall, Tara. We'll be wearing backpacks with the gear we will need for the mission." To Thorne and Hurley, he smiles. "That sounds like a good idea. Please start working on that."
Valentine grimaces at the Timefleet officer. "Well, if we only have two days on this, fitness training is a moot point," she points out hopefully. Back to Thorne- "What was that about Saturday?"
Thorne raises both of his eyebrows as he surrenders his communicator. "We're going on Saturday, as far as I know."
"No," Christine notes to Valentine, "It's not. If we start fitness training now, we can have our muscles primed in two days - which means we'll hurt tomorrow, but come Saturday, muscles will be repaired enough and toned just a little more."
Takamura stares at Valentine, breaking the look only when Hurley speaks up. "That's correct. There /is/ a point to this. Whether you like it or not." Then he nods at Thorne's words. "Yes, we are going on Saturday. Which means that for the next 48 hours we have to focus on all the preparations necessary for the successful completion of this mission."
Valentine gives Chris a look that indicates she wishes she'd brought along her ball gags. Glancing toward Takamura, she wipes her expression to neutrality and folds her arms across her chest, saying nothing.
"Because the last thing we want to have happen is that anyone dies," Randal notes softly.
Hurley's eyes widen in response to Valentine's *look*, and she says, a little defensively, "I've been mountain-climbing most of my life - since I was really young, Tara. I /know/ what it takes to prime muscles and what it feels like afterwards. Plus, we need to know how to work with each other /in/ those physical conditions. I was lucky, I hiked and climbed with the same people every time - we /knew/ each other. *WE*," she motions around the group and then towards the compound, "don't."
Takamura nods at Hurley's comments. "You are exactly right. /We/ need to work together more closely and train together so that we can work like a team of Bolians. We have to rely on each other and trust one another. The best way to do that is to train together."
Valentine just calmly looks at her fellow officers for a long moment, then glances toward the communicator. "We should be able to replicate all of those that we need, no problem."
. o O Valentine thinks "I /already/ trust and rely on you two. If you don't do the same for me, that's your problem, not mine. The only PT will do is make me resentful."
Takamura nods curtly to all of them. "Excellent. Make that your first task. After that we'll work on your training regimen. In the meantime, I need to start drawing up battleplans." With that, he begins to head back inside to the compund proper.
Thorne inclines his head to Tak. "Alright." To Valentine and Hurley, he asks, "Do you think your computers can handle this?"
Without even thinking, Hurley responds to Thorne, "Of course they can."
Valentine nods her agreement absently with Chris, sending a withering look at Tak's back.
Hurley purses her lips in thought, then looks down at the foreign communicator in her hand. "You know, I wonder if they have any communicators taken from the Alliance. I mean, they've stolen other things, right? Having their communicators to study might.. prove to be an advantage."
Valentine shrugs slightly. "It wouldn't surprise me. They're amazingly inventive at thievery."
"Hey! I resemble that remark," Thorne protests with a grin.
"Now, now, Tara," Hurley says, smiling to the other officer, "That's not entirely a nice way to say that. Creativity is good, and it's going to get us home. Alive, preferably." Looking back to Thorne, she asks, "you wouldn't happen to have any communicators they use, would you?"
Valentine eyes the shuttle thief for a moment, then glances toward Chris Hurley, falling silent after a single snort.
. o O Valentine wants to lash out at anybody and everybody, given a target.
Thorne folds his arms over his chest. "So... where do we start?"
Hurley looks back at the communicator, then towards Valentine. "Ok. So we're going to need to find a way to shield *our* communications from them while still trying to watch theirs. This should be.. fun.. to engineer."
Valentine holds up a hand, looking toward Thorne. "I thought you said you can mask our signals if you have the frequency."
Thorne gestures around the compound. "Here."
"There, we're in a different game," Hurley finishes Thorne's explanation.
Valentine nods at Thorne's answer, glances toward Hurley with a slight frown. "Well, you two are the experts. I'm just along for the ride."
Hurley glances to Valentine, smiling. "I'm sure you're much more than just along for the ride. I should probably show you how I decrypted the message from the station and sent another... in the event that I, for some reason, can't do it."

Thorne clears his throat. "I'm not an expert, per se -- I just like tinkering with stuff, you know?"

. o O Valentine thinks "Oh, that's just lovely. I now have a non-line officer ensign condescending to me. This just keeps getting better."

. o O Thorne thinks "I do like the sound of that, though. 'Randal Thorne, expert engineer'."

Valentine's lips purse slightly, then she gestures toward her fellow officer. "Well, that makes you the expert, Chris." Thorne is favored is a faint smile. "I know. I understand perfectly."

Hurley mutters, "I'm not an expert," she notes with a small sigh. "If I was an expert, I would have all the answers, Tara." But, she does smile. "Anyhow, we really should get started on this. Is there an easy way to have the shuttlecraft's computer analyze this communicator?"

Thorne looks back and forth, waiting expectantly for the answer.

Valentine suggests dryly, "Put it in the replicator and hit the 'scan' button."

Hurley hands the communicator off with a bright smile. "Good idea."

"It has the capability to scan things and recreate them?" Randal's eyebrows perk in interest. "Can it do that with everything?"

. o O Thorne thinks "If it can make weapons, we might be able to defeat the Alliance with just ten of those."

Valentine shrugs slightly, reluctantly accepting the device. "To an extent. There are controls on what it'll replicate. That's why some items have to be stocked."

Thorne considers that for a moment. "Like your phasers. You keep those in a bin, so I'm going to assume they can't be replicated."

Valentine nods, looking up at him. "Precisely."

"Oh." Randal looks disappointed for a moment. "Food and medical supplies, though? It can make those?"

Valentine nods with a bit of a smile, small but real. ''Yes.'' She glances around a bit, and takes a step closer to the man, lowering her voice. Valentine whispers to Thorne, "Just between you and me, I intend to use up the remaining replicator material right before we leave for home in making those sort of things for y'all. It won't be a /lot/, mind you. The shuttle doesn't carry an infinite amount of the stuff."

Thorne can't help but smile at that. "Thanks. That'll mean a lot." He pauses, then lowers his voice and asks, "Any chance that thing will make something that will help Thea?"

Valentine inclines her head slightly, then arches an eyebrow, confused. "Help Thea? Oh. You mean for hearing?"

Thorne nods, allowing an embarrassed grin to escape. "She's my best friend. I can't even imagine how happy she'd be if she could hear Mike when we rescue him."

Valentine nods slightly, sympathy and regret working their way into her expression. "I wouldn't be surprised if we can make the implants, though there's no guarantee on that. The problem is that it'll take surgery to put them in her head. If y'all have somebody who can do that, or can find somebody, great. If you can't... I mean, none of us is a doctor..."

. o O Valentine really, really wishes she could help on that particular conundrum.

Thorne nods as he considers all the implications of that. "Oh. Well... maybe we can find someone who knows how to put them in." The tone of his voice indicates that'll probably be impossible, though.

Valentine considers him, then nods. "If anybody can, it'd be y'all." She gestures toward the forest, in the direction of the Baer. "Shall we?"

Thorne inclines his head. "Sure." He glances over his shoulder at Hurley, calling, "Coming along?"

Hurley, having stayed quiet for the whole of the conversation, quietly follows them to the shuttlecraft with a nod, and loses herself deep in thought.

Valentine heads out through the forest, falling thoughtfully silent herself for the trek. The shuttlecraft makes itself known in brief flashes of white through the greenery, splotches that grow together gradually like a jigsaw puzzle under contstruction until it stands whole before them upon stepping into the clearing. Tara grimaces slightly as she strides toward it, trying to be subtle about blocking the hatch panel from sight as she enters the code to unlock the craft.

Thorne can't help but grin, turning his attention to the sky and the trees surrounding the shuttle in an effort to not watch.

Hurley doesn't notice a thing out of the ordinary, and finally asks of Thorne, "How many times have you guys attempted a prison escape before?"

With a whistle of relieved pressure, the hatch opens, and Tara makes her way inside the shuttle. She spares a brief look toward Stewart's stasis-bound body and the nearby monitors, making sure he's still, y'know, alive and stuff.

"Oh, lots of times," Randal replies as he heads up the ramp. "Too many for me to count, I think."

. o O Thorne thinks "This is... twice?"

"And..." Hurley tries to prompt more out of Thorne, "..they've obviously been successful..."

Valentine glances over her shoulder as she places the communicator in the replicator, and moves to settle herself in the pilot's chair. "Obviously? How many of those countless times have been successful, Mr. Thorne?"

Thorne nods in agreement. "Every single time."

. o O Valentine thinks "Then why the hell do you need us and our shuttle?"

Hurley nods. "Obviously, Tara." She goes on to continue, "otherwise, the Dana Rivers we saw would've likely have died, and if he would've failed on a prison break," she can't help but smile, "we wouldn't be talking to him. My question is why they need us, though." Head canted, she turns and looks to Thorne, eyebrow raised. "You've been successful - you *know* it can be done."

"Well, to be fair... every other time, we had Jim leading us." Thorne pokes experimentally at the stasis tube. "And a lot better idea of what we were getting into. And there were more of us."

. o O Thorne thinks "Everything's gone to hell since we lost Jim, though."

Valentine murmurs, "I wasn't aware that Dana Rivers was ever imprisoned." She gives Thorne a bit of a /look/ for his comment, then turns back to the task at hand. At a more normal level of volume, she states, sitting back to fold her arms across her chest, "Computer, analyze the object in the replicator and create a blueprint of that object. Display blueprint on engineering screen three. Query- can the object be replicated here?"

GAME: Valentine spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Valentine (claiming advantage) contests her Computer (Modeling) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

The computer clicks and whirs for a moment. "Affirmative," it finally replies in its cool voice. The blueprint flashes to life, displaying all the components and their supposed function.

Hurley has been watching Thorne, and immediately moves to intervene as he experiments on the sleeping Stewart. "Randal, don't.." she draws in a breath and quickly moves to the display, looking to ensure Thorne didn't wake sleeping beauty, or worse yet, kill him. "You will be working with us during practice, right?" she pauses, sparing a glance over her shoulder, "I mean, preparing us for what to expect once we enter.. the palace.. or whatever."

"Hiro's more the guy that does that stuff. I just... sorta... make sure everything works." Randal steps away from the stasis tube, tugging on his jacket. "And shoot people sometimes."

Valentine grunts, rising to move to the engineering console to study the blueprint. "Hiro, eh? Some things never change. How many of these things do we need?" she asks, gesturing toward the replicator.

"As many as you think you'll need," Randal replies as he wanders here and there inside the shuttle, really looking at everything.

. o O Valentine thinks "At least I can be fairly sure that their Hiro is more of a jerk than ours is when it comes to PT."

Once assured that Stewart isn't dead or awake, well as much as non-medical Christine Hurley can be assured, she steps over to the console to look over Valentine's shoulder. "Oooooh. That's clever," she notes, pointing out some of the components and functions. "Birev would, well, he'd probably complain, but I think deep down he'd be impressed. Let's see. Tak, Edwards, Stewart, you and me at the very least. If we can make at least one more it would be nice to have a spare."

Valentine nods, tapping at her console to save the blueprint. "You betcha. You wanna have the replicator make those, Chris? Mr. Thorne, I can't tear open the walls for you, but take a look at this." Another few taps, and the 'nerve' network of the shuttle comes up on another screen, toward which she gestures.

Thorne can't help but look at the screen and be completely fascinated. He busies himself staring at the Starfleet schematics.

A child at Christmas with a new toy, Hurley makes her way back to the replicator with awe and glee. "Gladly," she mumbles with a smile adorning her features.

GAME: Hurley spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Hurley (claiming advantage) contests her Systems Engineering (Communications) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

Valentine chuckles quietly with a glance toward Thorne, rising to go be nosy on what Hurley is doing.

The computer makes a rather creative noise. "The programmed configuration is invalid."

Hurley wrinkles her nose at the response, then looks back to Valentine with a failed attempt at a smile. "I thought it was a little too good to be true," she notes with a small sigh. "Maybe some studying of the device's blueprints? And restructuring the engineering... I'm sure Ensign Birev would have some ideas. We just need some time and an overnighter, or 10."

Valentine looks toward the fore panel of the craft. "Wrong answer, baby," she tells the shuttle. "Hmmmm. I could try to give it a shot. Semi-bad case scenario, I don't do any better, you get another couple of days to work on it. Worst case scenario, we end up lugging a bunch of those things around, but we'll still have communications."

"So," Hurley says, that look in her eyes, "I'll have this, PT and practice." Now, this is where most people would grumble about needing sleep. Christine, however, claps her hands and brightly says, "Excellent!"

Thorne moves to the monitor that shows the communicator. In a few seconds, he's got it figured out how to rotate the views and zoom in -- and Randal has a new toy.

And then there is a series of small beeps from the stasis machine, as it begins a pre-programmed wakeup, as it has done on a slightly irregular basis since Stewart put himself in there, so that he can wake up and check around.

Valentine snickers quietly, moving toward the replicator to play with the controls. "Don't say PT," she says grimly. "I am /not/ doing PT." Her fingers pause abruptly, and she looks around with a blink. "What the hell?"

. o O Thorne thinks "It zooms in. It zooms out. It zooms in. It zooms out... and it rotates, too!"

Thorne glances around after a moment, taking his fingers off the buttons. Ahem. "Is that supposed to do that?"

"That depends," Hurley says, eyes widened while looking at the stasis chamber. "What did you do?" More importantly, she leans over to Valentine, asking softly, "What do *we* do?"

And then the stasis machine opens, revealing Stewart, who looks around, his hand already half-way up to the buttons to start it up again, when he stops. "Hey. Everything all right?"

Valentine blinks back at the stasis unit. "Raid's in two days, sir," she finally tells Stewart. "Hiro's working on the battle plans." A 'one moment' gesture toward Hurley.

Thorne peers into the stasis tube. "Mornin', Jim," he greets, not unkindly.

Hurley clears her throat and adds, "Extended PT, training and practice drills for those of us not accustomed to these missions. If... well, I'm sure Tak could use assistance.. but, if you.. well.. I'm sure. Hmmmm. Good morning, Sir?"

"Good good", Stewart says, blinking a little, and says, "Sounds like Tak's handling things relatively well. What's got you all in here?"

Valentine turns slightly to gesture toward the communicator blueprint on screen three. "We're working on masking our communications so we can use our own equipment on the raid without detection. Failing that, we'll have to use Alliance crap."

"Any port in a storm," Randal offers wryly before he turns his attention back to the console and the pictures.

Hurley picks up from Valentine's explanation, "I'm not entirely sure that we can convert our more compact communicators to work like what the Resistance has designed. The computer doesn't think we can either, but Tara and I are working on it."

. o O Valentine thinks "I could use some port right now. And some brandy too."

Stewart nods quiescently, and says, "Everyone getting along, then? Things are going all right? And any news on getting ourselves armed properly?"

Valentine grimaces. "For the most part, yes sir, we're all getting along. Almost had a little situation the other night," she glances toward Thorne briefly, "But Hiro settled it. And we still have just our own weapons to rely on. We're going to be working on interrogating the prisoner soon. Apparently she has information necessary to this mission. And the Resistance has a backup plan in case we don't succeed on that." Her face is /very/ still, very neutral, at saying that last.

Thorne is silent for a moment. "She's only the sister of one of Churas' right hand," he finally notes softly.

Hurley clears her throat, glancing between Valentine and Thorne's back. She doesn't look nearly as neutral when she looks back to Stewart. "The prisoner is Havaris Jiasha, Sir."

"I remember that," Stewart says, adding, "It's been a lot less time for me, besides. And regardless of what face she has, that's not Havaris Jiasha. Get the information we need, and when we get back, we'll buy the real one an apology dinner. No need to tell her what it is or why, of course. Just it needs to happen. The interrogation, that is."

. o O Hurley thinks "So, telling Lieutenant Stewart about my concerns on this whole mission is a Bad Idea. Right, noted and filed."

Valentine nods slowly, starting to squirm a bit. "Aye, sir."

Thorne chooses this moment to stay silent, just looking over plans for this and that.

Hurley bites at her lower lip, trying very desparately to keep her mouth shut. And she almost succeeds, until she opens it to take in a deep breath, and words escape with the exhale. "They're bringing in a Betazoid as a .. backup plan.. to our attempts to work with .. the prisoner." Don't you just hate it when words do that to you? Unblinking, she continues watching Stewart, simply hoping that's all she has to say on the subject.

Valentine glances toward Hurley, then shrugs and says bluntly, "They'll rip the information out of her head the hard way, if we don't succeed in cracking her."

. o O Thorne doesn't like the idea of cracking Jiasha's mind... but is willing to accept it if it means that they hurt the Alliance.

Stewart just nods to that, and says, "Then let's hope that one day, this universe is a brighter place, where fewer indignities are needed to keep hope. Fewer, not none. We haven't even reached none in our universe, so I'm not sure it's possible here."

. o O Hurley starts to think about any single women friends she has, and automatically matches them up with Stewart. "This guy *really* needs some better cheer in his life. Let's see.."

"Just hope you succeed, eh?" Thorne notes softly over his shoulder.

Valentine's jaw drops. She just /stares/ at Stewart in disbelief, then clamps her mouth shut and turns to work at the replicator again. "Indeed," she answers Thorne grimly.

. o O Valentine thinks "I'm sorry, Hiro, but your good buddy is scum."

Hurley doesn't seem very phased by Stewart's response. She does, however, look at him with a renewed interest, and a small smile flickers across her lips. "Of course, Sir. Also, after you feel.. rested enough... you might want to join in our drills. We are, afterall, going to have to work with each other in a pretty serious situation coming up."

"Anyway," Stewart says off-handedly, "It looks like my charm is working it's usual magic. Think I'll retire for a bit again. You know where I am if you need me." He lifts his head to look over towards Hurley, and says, "I know I can work with just about anyone under fire. And I'm sure, when people are trying to kill us, I'll be a lot more popular." And with that he reaches up, taps the button, and tucks his arm back inside before the door can close to restart stasis.

Thorne scratches thoughtfully at the back of his neck. "So... what is it that you're trying to do right now?"

. o O Hurley thinks "What am I trying to do? Well, keeping myself sane is a good starting point.. and then, you know, hoping and praying that we don't DIE because we're unprepared, have no experience and have a rather divided team here... Hmmm. that's not a good answer."

Valentine refuses to watch Stewart going back into stasis, but takes a deep breath and releases it when he's safely tucked into the freezer again. "To modify our communicators with the components of that Alliance communicator so our transmissions don't," her mouth quirks, "Act like a beacon. I believe that's the term you used the other day."

Hurley purses her lips, then looks back to the monitor. "I'm not sure we can get *our* communicators to work like yours."

"Is there some way I can help?" Randal asks after a moment. "Like... turning over rocks until I find Michael?"

Valentine chuckles quietly. "You can cross your fingers." She presses a final touchpad, and cringes slightly.

GAME: Valentine spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Valentine (claiming advantage) contests her Systems Engineering (Communications) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

"You mean he's *not* hiding from us?" Hurley looks a bit more hopeful, her attention turning back towards Thorne and eyes lighting up. "Yeah. Michael will help a /lot/. And if you see Ensign Birev while you're at it, he'll probably have a few good ideas, too."

The computer makes a rather creative noise once again. "The programmed configuration is invalid."

Thorne starts heading out, but pauses to look over the shoulders of Hurley and Valentine at the schematic now displayed. "You just want yours to have the masking technology, right?"

. o O Thorne brims with curiousity as he examines the Starfleet communicator's innards.

Valentine gives the panel an annoyed look. "Gee, thanks." She starts to address Hurley, only to look back over her shoulder toward Thorne. "I think that was the general idea, yeah." She looks confused. "Unless you've got something even better in mind, in which case, I'm all ears."

"Yes," Hurley responds with a nod and a glance in Thorne's direction. "And I'd also like the possibility of watching their communications traffic if at all possible. If we know their moves, it'll be a lot easier to avoid them."

Thorne peers at the schematic for a minute or two longer in silence. "What if you move this part here and squish this little thing over a bit?"

<CONTEST> Thorne contests his Systems Engineering (Communications) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

Valentine lifts an eyebrow and plays with the console again, watching the components move as suggested.

"The programmed configuration is invalid." The computer speaks yet again.

Hurley raises an eyebrow slightly at the technical terms, but manages a small smile in Thorne's direction. "Our communicators are completely redesigned from the old.." pause, "..Alliance.. style communicators. The problem is, that would mean the design has to be specifically for a smaller, less power-demanding device, which this design wasn't intended."

"Ah. So... we have to completely redesign the thing." Randal's eyebrow travels up on his head. "That'll be... amusing."

"Yeah," Hurley says simply, but her eyes are just *glowing* with excitement.

Valentine chuckles quietly at Chris' excitement, then turns to take the communicator from the replicator and offer it to Thorne. "If nothing else, we can make a bunch of these now."

Thorne places the communicator back on his belt, still frowning at the screen. "I don't know where it is that Michael hides, but I guess I can try to find him."

"Thank you, Randal," Hurley says, her attention returning to the blueprints and fingers settling over a console to get started on her new challenge. "I'll stay here and work on what I can."

Valentine turns around with a blink. "I thought Mike was captured."

"Michael Cross?" Randal looks genuinely alarmed at that prospect.

Valentine ohhhhs and shakes her head. "Sorry. Too many Mikes. I was thinking Edwards."

Thorne releases a puff of breath. "I've got one other idea. This doohickey here to this piece here, and then shove the mask in."

GAME: Thorne spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Thorne (claiming advantage) contests his Systems Engineering (Communications) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

Valentine quirks an eyebrow, manipulating the controls...

"The programmed configuration is invalid." Surprise, surprise.

"You've got an idea going there, Randal," Hurley notes, eyes widening. "But, rather than moving these... what about seeing if we can flatten the mask a bit and layer it?"

. o O Valentine thinks "Flatten and layer. I feel like I'm in a hairdresser shop."

<CONTEST> Hurley (claiming advantage) contests her Systems Engineering (Communications) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Succeeds!

The computer examines everything. "Selected configuration will operate within normal tolerances."

Valentine blinks, giving the panel a surprised look. She /really/ wasn't expecting that response at this point.

GAME: Hurley spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Hurley (claiming advantage) contests her Personal Equipment (Communicator) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

The computer chimes a warning. "Internal sarium krellide cell does not posess sufficient power for integration into Starfleet Mark XVII Communicator."

Thorne raises his eyebrows. "Mark Seventeen? You have nothing better to do than design communicators?"

Hurley hmmms. "So much for adequate power supplies," she notes and turns to look at Thorne. "Well, not exactly. We just have to keep redesigning communicators to keep up with mission needs. Silly things like getting stranded in alternate universes with only medical supplies and chocolates to help us tend to happen more often than you'd think."

Valentine's response to the computer is brief, succinct, and censorable. "Actually, yeah, I /was/ working on better security for our shuttles," she says dryly.

Thorne smirks at Valentine. "Keep up on that. It needs some work," he replies lightly. "So, we need a bigger battery or less power, right?"

"Less power, preferably," Hurley notes, raising one of her fingers. "A bigger battery would take us back to square one."

Valentine shakes her head, settling down in her chair at the engineering console wearily. "Maybe if we kicked it," she murmurs.

Thorne tilts his head to the side, considering for a moment. "So, take a piece out. One you don't need, like... super-long range comms or something."

Hurley shrugs in response to Valentine, "Theoretically, that could create a spark that would give enough energy to work the device." She flashes a smile at Tara, "Theoretically." She considers Thorne's suggestion and looks closer at the blueprints. "Ah, see. I .. uhh.. have better knowledge about how our personal translators work. I'm not *entirely* sure how interdependent the components of the communicators are.."

Valentine smirks at Chris' words.

GAME: Thorne spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Thorne (claiming advantage) contests his Personal Equipment (Communicator) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

Thorne deletes a section of circuitry. "Warning. Communicator will not function without highband subspace transciever."

"Interdependent," Hurley notes softly.

Thorne wrinkles up his nose at the communicator. "Beautiful."

Valentine rubs her temples.

Hurley nods once. "It is, actually. Software and hardware components needed by more than one function of the device are rarely recreated more than once." She pauses, then smiles at Thorne, "No sense in being redundant, right?"

Valentine chews on her lower lip a bit, thoughtfully. "Can we harness both batteries together, Chris? Slave the krellide cell?"

Thorne looks back and forth before poking at the screen and another bit of circuitry.

Hurley cants her head to the side, eyeing the blueprints. "Well, it's /possible/, I think. I mean, the problem, again, would be size... but it's certainly worth a try."

"Hey, even a possible works for me." Tara leans forward, giving the console a warning look lest it say dreaded words again. "Remember, I brought you into this world," she mutters. "I can take ya back out."

GAME: Valentine spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Valentine contests her Personal Equipment (Communicator) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

<CONTEST> Valentine (claiming advantage) contests her Personal Equipment (Communicator) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

The computer chimes a warning.. twice. "Power generation exceeds tolerances."

"Rather than harnessing them together," Hurley notes softly, "I wonder if there's a way to increase the output of the krellide cell, without making it blow up and stuff, because I'm quite sure that wouldn't be a very .. good feeling to happen on your chest."

. o O Valentine thinks "Gee, ya think?"

Thorne frowns slightly.

. o O Thorne thinks "Probably not, no."

Valentine glances toward the back of the shuttlecraft. "Well, Birev did some mighty nice power conversions when we got here. Maybe ask him?"

Hurley nods. "I know. Which is why I wish he weren't in such a mood."

<CONTEST> Thorne (claiming advantage) contests his Personal Equipment (Communicator) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

Thorne tilts his head to the side, frowning some more. "How about this piece?" he mutters, deleting another section of circuitboard.

The computer works for a moment. "Design will function within normal parameters."

"I'm in a worse mood," Tara notes absently, staring at the schematics in frustration. Then she blinks, surging forward. "Well, sonofa..."

Hurley raises an eyebrow and peers at the deleted circuitboard. "Which piece did you delete?"

. o O Valentine thinks "Thorne, I could /kiss/ you. Not that you'd be likely to survive it, but it's the thought that counts."

Thorne leans in close to the console. "Um... biometric security identification controller. Whatever that means."

Hurley hmmms. "I wonder if the Commander cares that he won't be able to *ensure* our communicators can't be used if taken."

Valentine is positively gleeful. "It's the part that tells the primary mainframe that the person assigned to that particular commbadge is the one wearing it. We'll have to ask him, Chris."

"We just won't lose them, that's all." Randal grins brightly.

Hurley looks a little worried, and does her best to hide it. "Right. Don't lose them." Clearing her throat, she smiles to Valentine, "We'll need 6, and an extra if we can spare the material."

Valentine grins at the other two. "Okie dokie," she says cheerfully, rising to move to the replicator. "Computer, current pattern, replicate times ten."