Columbia Mission 02: "Revolution"
The Columbia is sent to Yadalla Prime to evacuate a Star Fleet listening post and move it to the Kaleb system in the face of protests that threaten to tumble the Yadallan government and pull it out of the Federation. Opposition leaders have called for the planet, whose native inhabitants are descended from Romulans, to forge closer ties to the Romulan Star Empire. The Columbia crew quickly discovers, though, that the opposition is being backed by the same terrorists that have been plauging the 2nd Fleet for the past year.
Contents
Captain's Logs
Captain Adaran 225
Stardate 21107.29
After a two-week stay at Star Base Delta, the Columbia departed for Star Base Bravo with a leaner crew and a lack of experienced officers. We lost three Department Heads during shore leave. Our Chief Engineer resigned from Star Fleet, and our Chief Tactical Officer transferred out, while our Chief of Security has remained on medical leave and will most likely not be reassigned to the ship. I've chosen not to replace them immediately though. I'll instead wait until we return to Bravo before making any decisions. I've made West acting COS and Kraav acting CE in the meantime.
We've also taken on a temporary crewmember, Lieutenant Xan Macleod, who's hitching a ride with us to Bravo. I've been assigned to give him command training on the way, and I've stuck him in as acting CTO. I also lost my FO, Commander Vaughn, who received his own command, and I'm making Macleod pick up the slack there also as part of his training.
In addition, Lieutenant Meels has come down with an illness, and I've put her on sick leave for the moment. It's just me and Vos as the experienced officers, though I have brought onboard two experienced NCOs. I was lucky enough to get SCPO Gar Arvis as my Chief of the Boat. He held that same position for me on the Hydra, and having him around will definitely help me manage the ship. I've also brought MCPO Char onboard in security. Her experience will help shore up our security department.
I had the chance to test the new crew configuration early in our voyage. Arvis and I arranged for a surprise drill, with Star Base Delta's help. We programmed all power to suddenly shut off a few hours out from the base. It gave me an opportunity to evaluate how everyone responds in a crisis. It mostly went well, though there were a few hitches. I know that some of the crew weren't happy with the drill, but that's their prerogative. I'm not here to make them happy. I'm here to make sure that they do their jobs to the best of their abilities.
I had planned on our voyage back to Bravo being a quiet affair focused mostly on training, but unfortunately I've just been given orders to divert the ship to Yadalla Prime. It seems there's some local trouble brewing. People are protesting a corrupt government, and it's become a hot spot. As such, we've been ordered to evacuate and move an intelligence listening station from the planet. Vice Admiral zh'Matis said this would be a simple diversion, but she also hinted that we may be asked to do more. We're to cooperate with the Ticonderoga and the Dauntless, who are also being sent there, and we're to be prepared to carry out covert operations if SOCOM makes the decision to act. We'll see how it goes.
Addendum, Personal Log
Shore leave was uneventful but interesting. I did very little with my free time but relax, spending most of it with Levine. She told me that she loves me, and that scares the hell out of me, but I'll survive. I know I'm hardly the best partner in any relationship, and I really don't even know what I want out of all of it. It will probably take me a while, but I'm sure I'll get used to it, if she doesn't walk away from me before I have the chance.
End Log.
Stardate 21108.25
Our training mission has now become a working mission. New orders from Vice Admiral zh'Matis are sending us to Yadalla Prime, where the planetary government is being threatened by opposition protesters, some of whom are pro-Romulan. They want Yadalla Prime to pull out of the Federation, and we're being sent to help move an intelligence listening station from the planet to the Kaleb system, just in case things get messy. We've also been told to be prepared for a possible covert op to help turn the situation to the Federation's favor, but no decision has been made by SOCOM on whether such a mission will be necessary or not.
The Ticonderoga and the Dauntless will be at Yadalla Prime as well, playing peacekeeping force. We've been told to cooperate with them if they need our help, as long as it doesn't interfere with our primary mission. We'll see how that goes, but it will be a good diversion for our true purpose if we do work with them. People on the planet won't be as suspicious of our presence if we're doing something other than lurking mysteriously in orbit.
On another note, I had to deal with an unpleasant incident today involving three crew members. It seems that Ensign Giraath and Senior Chief Arvis had some sort of dare going on about Giraath's piloting skills while Ensign Klapphroth was in charge of the Bridge. That led to some unauthorized maneuvers. I could care less about the maneuvers, but I'm unhappy that my crew sees fit to settle playground bets while on duty. I don't mind risk taking, but I don't like unnecessary risk taking. It can get people killed, and usually those other than the person acting irresponsibly.
End Log.
Stardate 21109.16
We've arrived at Yadalla Prime, and I'm preparing to beam down to the listening station with Giraath and Char. I'll be leaving Macleod in charge of the ship while I'm gone. He's done a decent enough job as acting FO during our trip from Star Base Delta, so I doubt he'll mess anything up too bad. He'll only need to work with the Ticonderoga and Dauntless on helping with the humanitarian portions of their mission and not much else. With luck, I'll be gone just a few hours, though I've put West on alert to have a team standing by if anything goes wrong. While I don't expect trouble, the situation on the planet is so volatile that anything is possible, and I'd rather be prepared than sorry.
There have also been more personnel changes on the ship. It's been a revolving door lately. Kraav was given a special assignment by Star Fleet and transferred over to the Ticonderoga. To replace him, we've been assigned the listening post's engineering officer, an Ensign Veilro, a Tenctonese man. He has intel credentials, so that's a plus. As long as he gets along with Ike, then we should be all right.
I've also had to let Levine leave the ship. Fleet medical command wants her back on Star Base Bravo for observation, as she's still ill and not improving. Wood was called away in addition, for a special assignment, leaving me without medical officers. The shuttle that came to transport Levine and Wood away though brought a Lieutenant Commander Jal to replace them. Jal is a former commanding officer as well, so I'm confident she'll be able to run the department without much interference from me, though her appointment may only be temporary.
With all the changes we've had in the past few weeks, only Vos and I remain from the original senior crew that launched the ship nine months ago. Hopefully things will become more stable in the future.
Addendum, Personal Log
It will be strange not having Levine around on the ship. I've grown so used to her being here that I didn't realize how much I might miss her if she was gone, but I'll readjust. It's very unusual that I've spent so much time being physically close to one person in my life. My relationships have been more of the "one in every port" kind or have been non-serious with various crewmembers. I guess being with Levine has shown me that I am capable of settling down if I work at it, but I just don't know if I'm ready to work all that hard at it right now though.
End Log.
Stardate 21112.13
The last few hours have been rather eventful, to say the least. What was supposed to have been a simple moving job turned into a hostage situation and then a combat zone. Not long after arriving at the intel facility, Ensign Giraath and Master Chief Char were drawn to the roof of the building by reports of strange noises. Lieutenant Junior Grade Veilro, our new Chief Engineer, showed them the way. The noise had been a trick however, and Giraath and Char found themselves briefly incapacitated and then locked out of the building by a group of Romulan and Yadallan terrorists. Veilro was taken inside and used by them to gain access to myself and the intel staff. We were quickly overwhelmed and taken prisoner.
Thankfully everyone - well maybe not everyone - Veilro talks too much - kept calm as our captors revealed their intentions. The intel officers were all trained professionals, so they knew how to react. The leader of the terrorists introduced himself as erei'Riov Lai Arrhal, a former member of Enriov Tei's followers. Apparently they've re-formed themselves after his death as the Uihvueri, which I looked up in a Romulan dictionary and found it means the "Betrayed." He admitted that they were behind much of the unrest on Yadalla Prime. His stated goal in capturing us was to swap us for the Eidolon. I'm sure he had other intentions though. They would have killed us once they got the stealth shuttle and then taken all the intel listening equipment that was neatly packed up and ready to go. I wasn't about to let that happen though, and when Arrhal spoke to Macleod I gave implied instructions to that effect, covertly letting him know that he should send West and a security team.
After Arrhal contacted the Columbia and asked for the swap, we made our first escape attempt. We didn't count on the terrorists having a sonic weapon though. I've experienced them once before when boarding a Romulan vessel in the second war we had with them, about ten years or so ago. I'd forgotten how debilitating they were. It brought us all down, except for the two Vulcan intel officers. We then found ourselves cuffed together in a chain. We managed to find tools and cut ourselves loose. My claws helped there as well, and when the chance presented itself, we made another escape attempt, this time securing Arrhal right away. We took him prisoner, killed another terrorist, and secured the front two rooms of the building as well as the front entrance.
I suspected from what the terrorists had been discussing that Giraath and Char were still alive somewhere, but I couldn't pin any hopes on them without knowing for sure. We had to get rid of the rest of the terrorists though, and they'd heard the shooting, so they were coming for us. We then received a bit of welcome news in a communication from Doctor Jal. She was outside the building with two security crewmen and soon joined us inside. The battle went down, and Giraath and Char were also able to join us, which let us get both in front of and behind the terrorists, and we quickly finished them off.
I was shot in the leg. Giraath was also hurt. After quick patch jobs, I left Arrhal with the intel officers to turn over to Star Fleet security, and we made a dash towards the shuttle, which had landed several blocks away. A communication with Arvis indicated that the Columbia had lost power and was in danger of being boarded. Jal said that West was with the shuttle creating a diversion, and when I tried to contact him he indicated he was under attack. I ran ahead of the group to help him, only to find myself under fire from a sniper when I arrived. The rest of the team quickly followed however, and they finished off a group of terrorists that were attacking the Eidolon. West was injured, as was Veilro, who blew up some kind of barrel and got in the way of the explosion. Giraath was also hurt, as was Jal, who took a knock on the head. I was then able to talk with Macleod on the Columbia, and finding the ship not in danger anymore, we relaxed a bit and returned with the Eidolon. Upon arriving, I found the Columbia operating rather smoothly, though still recovering from the power loss.
All in all, everyone did a good job, though we were very lucky on the planet. The terrorists wanted to keep us alive to use as hostages, which was their mistake. We didn't make the same mistake with them though. We eliminated them, all except Arrhal, so that no one could come back on us. The first rule of staying alive in combat is to not give your opponent the chance to kill you. It's not something that Star Fleet really teaches its mainstream officers and enlisted men though. They emphasize taking prisoners and showing mercy instead of killing. Those things have their place, but not in the types of situations that the Columbia is sent into. We have jobs to do, and we do them, anyway we can, so that those mainstream officers and enlisted men can stand on their high moral ground and keep their hands clean. That way they can feel good thinking they're better than the Klingons or the Romulans or the Cardassians or anybody we fight against. In reality, though, we're no different. We just do a better job of hiding our darker side.
Addendum, Personal Log
They've sent Levine back to Earth to recover so that her family can take care of her. She'll need someone to be there for her around the clock, and I certainly can't be. So I'm now basically unattached again, just in time to enjoy shore leave. Yes, I'm terrible, but I always have been, and I doubt I'll change anytime soon.
End Log.
Crew Logs
First Officer
Acting FO Lt Xan Macleod
Stardate 21112.15
Our simple detour to transport some people from Yadalla got quite a bit more complicated when the facility was infiltrated by terrorists. Unfortunately, Captain Adaran and hir team had already gone down to help with the evacuation and became hostages.
We knew something odd was going on almost as soon as we arrived because Vos was picking up strange signals and some communications were being jammed. Given the delicate situation on the planet however and the fact that there was no immediate danger, we proceeded with the mission.
We liaised with the captain's of the Ticonderoga and the Dauntless to organise relief teams but when we received word of the trouble on the planet, I had to recall our new CMO.
The terrorists that had taken Captain Adaran and hthe away team, wanted the Eidolon and ordered us to send it down. Their intel was out of date however and Adaran was able to communicate the fact that s/he wanted West, our new Chief of Security to go down with it... we have a new Chief Engineer as well—though we were to pick him up from the facility at Yadalla so he spent the duration of the crisis as a hostage—and we still need a Chief Tactical Officer, which I'm currently covering as well.
I sent Doctor Jal, as both a medic and an experienced officer, as well as a security team along with West to help free our people, with Tracey as the pilot.
That left our on board security force a bit light but it couldn't be helped and I didn't think it would be a problem, though our own situation altered rapidly after that.
The other two ships as well as the planet came under direct attack and while we were able to intercept the first missiles directed at the planet, we were soon after attacked and disabled ourselves.
The rest of the space battle we've had to find out about from our companion ships because we were completely without power for a while, to the point where we were considering evacuating personnel to the planet.
Concerned about being boarded, I asked security and the marines to work together to secure the ship and specifically, to establish a presence in engineering. I also sent Denario and our new engineering midshipman, Bailey, outside to find out what was going on. As it happened the strange scraping noises we were hearing across our hull was a meteor shower and with our sheild's off they did cause minor damage.
Fortunately the engineers got power back online before there was any serious damage and when the captain and hir team returned, shortly afterwards, we were back in control and running relatively smoothly.
This was the first time I've officially been left in command of a ship during a mission. Back during the war there wasn't any time to think about it, it was all action and reaction. Today was just the opposite, there was little I could do but wait for the people I assigned to do their jobs or for the enemy to make their presence known, it was frustrating to say the least.
All the same, nothing I've experienced on the Columbia has shaken my determination to command my own ship someday.
End log.
Science
CSO LCdr Kellan Vos
Stardate 21112.12
Now I'm not regretting the transfer to the Columbia. Sure it's more field work, but this latest trek to Yadalla Prime kept me on my toes. We had an emergency drill on the way that helped us for the political situation we found ourselves in. The drill simulated a power outage ship wide.
Reports from Yadalla Prime suggested feelings towards the Federation were a bit...tense. The Dauntless and the Ticonderoga were dispatched to handle the political aftermath. We were just there to help move some personnel. That was until a fleet of ships launched from Yadalla's moon. The fleet bypassed us entirely but attacked the capital city. We were left blind as a faction on the surface initiated a jamming field that rendered our sensors useless. It was unlike anything I've seen before and couldn't modulate the sensors fast enough to match it's frequency. Someone also implemented an old multiplex scanning modulation used to search for cloaked vessels. Whatever else was tied in with it used an incredibly large transmission radius, but our sensors would never be able to pick it up. Still, these tactics will give me a lot to research on the trip home.
And then, of course, there was the explosion off our bow that knocked power offline. I think I should do some more zero-g swimming if this is going to be a recurring theme though. Since sensors were down, I had Science dot the ship with tricorders to at least be able to gather some data. Sensors are back online but I haven't been able to recover all the tricorders. I think some of them grew legs....or those crabs are back. I'll talk to Dulan about them.
Anyway, everything's back to normal now. I'm just wondering if I should accept the abnormal as the norm now. I'll just have to wait and see.
End Log
Medical
CMO LCdr Kinziri Jal
Stardate 21109.13
This is my first Log recording as Chief Medical Officer of the USS Columbia, having received orders from Starfleet Command to replace the previously assigned officer during their extended medical leave.
Having arrived on board the Columbia only little more than an hour ago, I have a lot to do to familiarise myself with my new ship and crew. Since beaming over from the Medical Shuttle Concord I have made only a brief stop at my Quarters to drop off my belongings, and to change into my new Starfleet uniform, then I presented my orders to the Captain and First Officer on the Bridge.
I appear to have arrived early in a joint operation between three Starfleet vessels, one of which I recognised as an old ship of mine, the USS Dauntless. As intense discussions between the vessels was ongoing when my orders were received by First Officer Xan MacLeod, I have not had the chance for a full briefing. All the FO was able to say at this point was that the Columbia may shortly be required to provide medical assistance to the planet below.
With this information I have conducted a preliminary tour of the Sickbay and introduced myself to the personnel. My predecessors, Doctors Meels and Wood, had everything running smoothly before my arrival and I intend to continue their good work. I have issued only minor additional instructions on preparations to make Sickbay ready for whatever is asked of us.
In the three years since last serving in Starfleet, and several years since performing the role of Chief Medical Officer, I find the facilities on the Columbia to be excellent. Much of the equipment has been improved and procedures streamlined for efficiency since my days in the medical departments. They are a big improvement on the equipment I have been working with as medical practitioner on my home world and I look forward to getting to grips with them all.
I now turn my attention to the medical records of the crew to get myself up to speed with my new role and new department.
End Log.
Stardate 21110.11
I am recording this log entry while on my first Away Mission from the Columbia. I am on the surface of Yadalla Prime attending to a call to Starfleet for humanitarian aid during some sort of unrest on the planet. As I arrived on board the Columbia just as this mission was beginning I have not had the benefit of a briefing on what this unrest may be.
Regardless, I am a doctor and whatever the problem may be in the bigger picture, the only picture that is of concern to me is the treatment of sick and injured patients, and for the Starfleet assistance to the natives to be as effective and productive as possible.
Beaming down to the planet with just one other member of the Columbia medical staff - Nurse Cooper, I found myself dealing with personnel from two other Starfleet vessels in orbit of the planet as well as the hospital staff. Asking how myself and my nurse could help I was first asked to organise the rest of the Starfleet personnel who arrived minutes before me. While I am well versed with such matters in my previous roles within Starfleet, it isn't what I expected to be doing on this mission. Finding that I was the joint ranking officer, but the one with the most medical experience, I was asked by the Yadallan doctor Gurrhim to reduce the number of personnel present and to organise those remaining into teams working one-to-one with a local staff member. Not the easiest task when I am totally unknown to any of the people on the Ticonderoga, or my old ship, the Dauntless.
Getting over this hiccup we moved on into the hospital and began to deploy into the departments where staff were most suited and needed. Nurse Cooper is working with a hospital doctor and I am to work with Gurrhim personally. Which brings me to the... what the-
The recording ceased suddenly.
Stardate 21112.09
This is my second log entry as Chief Medical Officer on the USS Columbia, and it's only my first day.
But what a day. The troubles that the Columbia, Dauntless and Ticonderoga came to help with on Yadalla Prime led to a lot more than was bargained for.
My first Away Mission was to help organise the medical assistance and support for overworked hospitals on the surface. The rioting and disturbances were causing an overflow and backlog of patients needing treatment. While I was expecting to help in whatever way was needed, I hadn't expected to be the ranking medical officer. This meant of course that I liased and negotiated between the local hospital personnel and the Starfleet teams. Once a plan was in place I was recalled back to the Columbia. Unknown to me, as I was on that Away Mission another team led by Captain Adaran was on the surface and had been captured by terrorists exploiting the situation.
With the strong possibility that some of the team being held hostage could be injured, I accompanied the Chief of Security on the Columbia, Lieutenant West, plus Tactical Officer Ensign Klapphroth and two security crewmen, back down to the surface to attempt a rescue mission.
As always the situation was fluid and the plan to locate and retrieve our people had to change as well. Encountering strong signal jamming and hostiles on the surface, Lieutenant West decided that he and the Ensign would provide a distraction while myself and crewman Green and crewman Anderson infiltrated the Intel building where at that time we hoped was where the Captain and her team were being held.
This part of the plan went smoothly enough to begin with. Anderson, Green and myself beamed down to the streets as close as possible to the Intel building given that the shuttle was feigning a 'crash' as it made a pass over the area. Once it was down, and once my group were either successful or needed to return to the Columbia, we would regroup with the shuttle. On the surface, the trio that was now my team found that we went unnoticed by the local populace. Not a surprise really as they had more pressing concerns.
I am pleased to say that the next part of the plan - at least as far as my group was concerned - went, well, as planned too. We located the Intel building and reached it without an difficulty. Once across the street from the building we saw snipers on rooftops but still could not get any sensor lock on the hostage personnel. I instructed crewman Green to climb up to the rooftop of the building opposite the target location and act as our own sniper. He reported a firefight on the roof of the Intel building which implied that not only were some of the team we were looking for still very much alive, but they might actually be in the process of an escape attempt too.
Finding that the signal jamming had ceased, I made communications contact with Captain Adaran. Yes they were fighting to get free but still had a group of terrorists to deal with.
I was relieved to hear hir voice, and relieved again to hear that there were only minimal casualties so far. We arranged for myself and Anderson to join them. Avoiding the security locks on the Intel building by going around to the front doors, we were let inside by one of the Intel team that had been freed when Adaran's team broke free. With one last firefight inside the Intel building the terrorists were all dealt with, including a prisoner valuable for gaining information about the whole matter. I treated the minor injuries the team suffered during this battle, and then followed the Captain and group outside.
Once more the team was split. Adaran choosing to make quicker progress toward the shuttle on hir own, s/he tasked me to lead the way there with the team now under the command of security Ensign Giraath.
At the shuttle I'm afraid I became one of the casualties, thankfully again only a minor injury. I remember watching the phaser and disrupter fire closely to watch for anyone taking a shot, but obviously I wasn't watching closely enough to see the stray disrupter beam that scattered rocks and debris all around me. I was hit on the head by a rock and knocked unconscious. The next thing I knew crewman Green and crewman Anderson were picking me up from the ground where I fell. I was more embarrassed than injured, with only a mild concussion from the blow to my head, and the bruise to my ego for getting taken down by such a simple mistake.
While I was resting on my laurels, so to speak, the rest of the team, along with Captain Adaran, secured possession of the shuttle - which had come under fire. I found that there were one or two more casualties from this last firefight, including myself of course.
Everyone was then loaded into the shuttlecraft and returned to the Columbia in orbit.
All that remained for my first day on this assignment was to treat the injured. I am truly thankful for this task as there were no fatalities from the Columbia personnel whatsoever.
Whatever the bigger picture on Yadalla Prime, and the role that the Columbia played in it all I cannot say. I am just pleased, and relieved, to report that everyone survived and the mission appeared to be a success.
Engineering
CE Lt JG Veilro
Stardate 21109.27
Lt[JG] Veilro recording from Yadalla Prime
I have met my new commanding officer, a Hermit named Adaran 225! S/he is a very interesting being! I can't wait to learn more about hir! S/he is here with a GORN no less, to help us evacuate the intelligence base on YP.
Other than this, I am curious as to my new position. My background, while suited for being an engineer of a facility like the one I am in, and with the skill set to easily be a senior engineer aboard a small vessel, does not exactly prepare me for being a CHIEF Engineer aboard a ship. It should be an interesting and exciting experience to write home about.
I can't wait to get aboard and meet my department, and explore the ship. I plan to spend every spare moment aboard exploring the ship until there is not a single junction or piece of hull plating which I am not intimately familiar with.
I can't imagine why more of my people don't come out here... it is such an exciting and exhilarating experience. I must go home on my next shore leave and convince a few of my friends to enroll!
End Log
Stardate 21110.12
I have encountered a few species with which I was unfamiliar before. One is a Hermit. I had heard about this species, which are apparently multi-gendered and tend to prefer to live alone, away from other beings, and not in large groups. It is indeed very rare to find a Hermit amongst a Star Fleet crew, and this one seems to have no psychological or cultural problems interacting with others—at least so far as I could see.
S/he does however seem to be a tad grouchy or put off. I do not suspect it is anything I said or did. Perhaps it is because she is forced to work with a Gorn. He certainly seems rather... what is the word? Dense?
In any event, we were sent to pack crates—something well below my skill level, but we all must pitch in!--and heard a noise on the roof. Upon investigating we found only a few hooks which I was unaware of before, and then we were ambushed!
How exciting!
Now I am being marched, as a prisoner, and ordered to bring my captors to Captain Adaran. I however am smarter than they are and intend to lead them into a trap... the waste processing center... where in the confusion I hope to lock them in and... process them.
- sound of laughing on recording*
They will come out clean, and it will allow time to call someone who can put a drop on them, I believe is the term.
End Log
Stardate 21112.13
Finally aboard! I'm not sure if I should be excited or not, but it's nice to be away from Yadalla Prime. That planet was worse than some of the worlds I visited in the Dominion before coming through the wormhole. I am very happy to be out of there, and aboard MY new ship. That's right, it's MY ship, since I am Chief Engineer and it's been a long tradition for us to call the ship we serve "our" ship. So it's my ship.
I'm sure Captain Adaran wouldn't agree, but then Captains are fickle things, always asking the impossible, and always breaking our ships. Although after seeing hir in action I don't think I'll confront hir. Hermits are nasty! She attacked the enemies with her own claws and teeth! I haven't seen anything that gory since the one time I got tricked into watching an erotic Klingon holo when I was at the academy!
Anyway, here I am, on a stretcher, being dragged into Sickbay. And after that I can't wait to get to MY engine room!
Security
COS Lt JG Don West
Stardate 21106.04
The following log is classed as classified. What is reported here never happened.
Yadalla Prime.
We were given a history lesson on the planet and what to expect on the planet's surface and for once our intel was not half bad.
The USS Columbia was sent to Yadalla Prime on a joint mission with two other Federation ships. But our mission was kept quiet from the rest. While they were there as peace keepers, we were tasked in evacuating a Intel Station on the planets surface.
Leading up to the away mission, the Columbia crew worked well together to get ready to transport the equipment and staff from the planet.
As we entered the system, we lost one of our most colorful engineers, the Klingon was reassigned to another ship and days of planning went out of the window. The Captain was confident that the evacuation would take place quickly and cleanly, but I managed to convince her to take two of my best security officers with her.
Not long after the Captain, Giraath and Char were on the surface things started to go wrong. The away team was taken hostage and we were forced into an emergency rescue. I was requested to take the shuttle to the surface and trade it for our crew. Our acting first officer Macleod had other ideas though. I did not agree with his idea, but being my senior I made the best of a bad situation. I lead up the second away team with Klapphroth, Our chief medical officer Jal and two security crewman down to the surface in the shuttle. With no plan and very little experience, I requested that the pilot Klapphroth land the shuttle and make it look like a forced landing. In the confusion we managed to beam Jal and the other security off the shuttle to try rescue the Captain., while I bought them some time.
The plan sounded got in my head, but all I did was manage to get myself shot! The Captain ended up rescuing me from the situation and we managed to leave the planet surface in the shuttle.
The initial reports I have read is that the mission was largely successful, even if we managed to do it the hard way. But that's what makes this crew special, the ability to adapt and take on other roles. We have a few officers on the injured list, but I am glad to report that we brought everybody home alive.
On a personal note, I was very impressed in the way Ensign Klapphroth handled both the shuttle and herself on this mission.
End Log.
Ens Raass Giraath
Stardate 21112.08
After Action Report for Combat Action at Intelligence Station, Yadalla Prime Contents Classified.
Ensign Raass Giraath recording:
After beaming down to the Intelligence Station to help with relocating the facility's equipment and personnel, the Station was attacked by Romulan terrorists assisted by Yadallan collaborators. The terrorists gained access to the building by by drawing attention to the roof. Lieutenant [Junior Grade] Veilro, Master Chief Petty Officer Char and myself were ordered to check on the odd noises coming from the rooftop. Once on the roof we found grappling hooks and lines, but no other sign of intruders. These hooks were determined to be the source of the sounds that had been heard. While we were securing the rooftop, the terrorists, using more grappling hooks and lines, scaled the opposite side of the building, and attacked, using concussion grenades. They took Lieutenant [Junior Grade] Veilro hostage, and apparently used him to seize control of the station and capture the other station personnel and Captain Adaran. Master Chief Char and I were left on the roof, sealed outside the building. We used an improvised explosive device, Master Chief Char's phaser pistol, to blast open the rooftop hatch. We were then able to pry the hatch open. I attempted to reenter the building, but was halted by the terrorist's use of a sonic device commonly used on Romulan warships to incapacitate non-Vulcanoid intruders. I was bound and left in the upper room, while Char was left bound on the roof. Two terrorists were left to guard the roof, while the others guarded the other prisoners and established control over the station.
I was able to free myself and Master Chief Char. With the aid of a rescue team sent down by Lieutenant Macleod, under the Command of Lieutenant [Junior Grade] West, we were able to neutralize the terrorists on the roof. Master Chief Char and I proceeded to reenter the building form the roof, while the rescue team attempted to gain access from the ground level.
Inside, Captain Adaran and the other personnel had managed to free themselves and secure the main entrance. They were engaged in combat with the terrorists, though they were able to gain entrance for the rescue team. Master Chief Char and I neutralized a reserve group of terrorists, and then proceeded to flank the terrorists engaged with Captain Adaran's group. We then overpowered and neutralized the remaining terrorists, taking their leader captive, whom we left with the Intelligence Station personnel.
We then left the station and linked with the Shuttle Eidolon and Lieutenant [Junior Grade] West. The Eidolon was under attack, and we joined the fight, eliminating the terrorist opposition. We then returned to the Columbia.
During the action, Captain Adaran, Lieutenants [Junior Grade] West and Veilro, and myself were wounded. With the exception of Lieutenants [Junior Grade] West and Veilro, our injuries were treated in the field by Lieutenant Commander Jal. The others were transported to Sickbay for treatment.
End Log.
Miscellaneous
Technician Jenson Dulan, Civilian
Stardate 21112.10
Daystrom Industries report. Stardate: 21112.10 Technician Jenson Dulan Reporting Subject: Ike Results: N/A
Report:
So here I am again. It shouldn't be surprising that I was picked for this role given that's the main reason I was hired, and I'm probably the only person at the institute with security clearance to board the Columbia. Enough moaning, where to begin?
I was sent out to observe Ike during normal operations. The purpose was to assess his effectiveness with the possibilities of replicating his program for use on other federation vessels. But what happens? The Columbia is rerouted to Yadalla Prime to assist in quelling a separatist movement. Bloody Romulans have to go stirring up trouble. So anyway by the time I arrived to begin evaluations, the Romulans, being typically Romulan, hit the ship with an Electro Magnetic Pulse, frying the ships power.
The ships engineers were able to restore power, but so far Ike's to busy resetting to gain an accurate data and will probably be like this all the way back to the Starbase. So for now the assignment is scrubbed.
It was nice to run into the old crew again, and a few new members. Makes me wish I had not of chucked away my career like I did. Maybe I should think things over again while the ship heads back to base... Oh bugger, this thing still on?
End Report
