View source for Mission Log 7 - Ended Stardate 21509.15 "The Last Hurrah"

Mission Logs for Avenger, “The Last Hurrah"

=Mission Summary=
Mission dates:  21504.15 through 21509.15

== Avenger ==

During shore leave on Starbase Delta, the USS Avenger was hijacked by a group of original Avenger crewmembers from the other universe. The senior crew of the Avenger gave chase utilizing the USS Voltaire, the USS Avenger's auxiliary craft. After an unusual encounter with a young member of the Q race, the Voltaire accidentally stumbled upon the Avenger hiding in a nebula -- the Avenger had attempted to utilize a decoy while turning off their beacon.

The Voltaire crew was able to retake the Avenger, but not before the Gettysburg arrived on the scene on First Fleet orders to destroy the Avenger. The Avenger and its filled escape pods were destroyed by the Gettysburg, despite attempts to persuade the Gettysburg to stand down. The Gettysburg was taken over by the team that originally recaptured the Avenger in the seconds that proceeded the Avenger's destruction.

=Logs=
==Captain's Logs==
=== Captain Tyra Crawford ===

====21502.20====
Commanding Officer's Personal Log

Stardate 21502.20

Captain Tyra Crawford recording:

I died.

My heart literally stopped beating for 1 minute and 24 seconds.

I'm alive thanks to the doctors but the knowledge that I came so utterly close to losing everything I've strived for, everything I want, everything I love... it's humbling in the worst sense of the word.

I agreed to take the position as Avenger's CO because it was suppose to be safer, I hate having Thomas worry about me while I'm gone. I can't stop him but I can, at least, try to give him every assurance possible that I'm not doing anything to endanger our future together.

And it entirely backfired.

I have never seen Thomas so consumed with worry and I hate it; I hate that I caused that feeling, that this stripped away any sense of security we had. In the days since I woke up, he's been... not himself, not really. He's so protective and it's just consuming him. This last year has been hard on him... on us, and this is just the last straw.

Well, not the last straw, though it's certainly tied into this disaster.

I don't have concrete memories of the days leading up to my... to the incident that caused these horrified injuries, though I can remember the incident itself. I did remember one thing though, and in some ways, I wish I didn't.

I was... I thought... I thought I was... I thought I was pregnant. That's the first time I've managed to get that out... out loud, at least.

I read my logs, hoping I was wrong but I wasn't. I really did think I was pregnant, though I didn't want to confirm it until after the mission. It's a painfully moot point now.

I told Thomas...I couldn't not tell him, not with how we are connected. Even after sharing that pain, it hurts; it's a throbbing ache deep in my chest. We've always wanted to start a family, but the timing has never been in our favor, especially with the Krynar war spanning most of our relationship. We've never been willing to jump with so many unknowns. Then, it's taken out of our hands, only to be ripped away before it can be fully realized... it's not fair...

We'll rebound, we don't have a choice. And we'll try again... soon but first, I have to put myself back together again... or at least, try.

End Log.

====21503.20====
Commanding Officer's Personal Log

Stardate 21503.20

Captain Tyra Crawford recording:

The last month has been challenging... I underestimated just how difficult recovering from such grave injuries can be, both physically and emotionally.

I have, at least, one physical therapy session a day... more if I'm feeling particularly restless. I was only just able to run for the first time a few days ago, but I've regained all of my basic motorskills. I no longer have to rely on the support staff to assist with basic tasks, which keeps my dignity marginally intact but it's still a very frustrating process. I know what my body is capable of, but I'm just not there yet...

In addition to PT, I have two to three counseling sessions a week. Initially, I had every intention of bluffing my way through the sessions but the psychologist I was assigned, Doctor Little, has an unfortunately accurate bull**** radar. She also seems to have a knack for finding insecurities and opened wounds and just dig into them with all the intensity of a hungry bear.

I grudgingly admit that I need the push from time to time. We've resolved more baggage in a month than I've managed to shuffle through in a decade and a half of trying on my own. However, the process has been both frustrating and painful. Often times, I'm left with more questions than answers after sessions, but I don't feel like I'm falling apart. I may not know where I'm going professionally and may feel adrift, at times, personally, but I don't think it's permanent, just an unfortunate state.

I'm doing well enough that Thomas feels comfortable going to a short conference on Earth. He wants me to come with him and I want to go, but I know if I leave, I'll use it as an escape to avoid issues that I need to deal with. It'll just prolong this state of limbo that I'm in. I don't particularly want to be alone at the moment, but that's another step I need to take. I don't think he's particularly happy with my decision but I've explained enough that he seems to respect it.

There are some things I want to work through while he's gone, and hopefully, when Thomas returns, we can discuss some decisions that we've been putting off... I'm still holding out hope that something good can come from this nightmare.

End Log

====21504.22====
Commanding Officer's Personal Log

Stardate 21504.22

Captain Tyra Crawford recording:

The Avenger is gone... just stolen out of space dock like we were hosting an open house or had left the keys in the ignition. 

It seems like an inside job. The hijackers pounced on a situation that required the Avenger to be moved from the shipyard to space dock and were able to swipe it right from under our noses. They also knew enough to take out the transwarp conduit, leaving it difficult for us to scramble up any reinforcements that aren't already present at Delta.

Whether it was luck or just very patient planning, there are few ships available to hunt the Avenger down. Dauntless has been locked down by Intel, which leaves the Voltaire and an additional escort for pursuit. We'll be making a more detailed plan once the Voltaire is cleared to launch, which should be imminent.

Adding to the issue is that Thomas and the Nova still haven't returned from his 'week' long conference, which has stretched well beyond a month at this point. On one hand, that deprives us of a ship more than capable of taking on the Avenger, but it also gives us a chance to take care of this situation before Thomas hears about it and absolutely blows a gasket over it.

I don't know what exactly has been going on in that man's head but he just hasn't been himself. Nick seems to be concerned about how he will react as well, which has lead us to decide to delay telling him. There's a chance we can deal with this situation before he has to know, though our luck hardly seems to support that hope.

In our favor, the Avenger is not running at 100% or anywhere near. Systems are offline, including full warp drive, which gives us hope to catch them. They also shouldn't have a full crew compliment, making mistakes all the more likely.

There's hope, though it's going to take some talent, luck and skill wrapped into one. The Voltaire and my crew are up to it, it's whether I am.

=====Personal Log, Supplement=====

That ship is cursed and I have half a mind to just tell the hijackers to keep it. After all, it'll find a way to blow up in their face before too long -- it certainly had managed it with me, spectacularly.

Two things stop me though. The Avenger, even at partially functionality, is a substantial security risk. I have my suspicions about who is responsible for the hijacking but if I'm wrong, that ship could easily be used against other Starfleet holdings or even civilian populations. It's not acceptable, and it can't be allowed to happen.

Hell, even if I'm right, I'm not entirely convinced that members of the original crew wouldn't use it against a government that has hardly been fair to them. I can't say I'd blame them if I was in their shoes.

Secondly, this will be a huge blemish for Thomas, Nick and myself. I'm so tired of watching Thomas get blamed for things left and right, things that he had nothing to do with. I can't let this ship, a ship I'm responsible for and that I've fought for, become yet another thing used against him. He doesn't deserve that and neither does Nick.

This ship is my problem and mine to fix. Or more accurately, it's my curse and my curse to bear.

I'll stop it one way or another.

End Log

====21505.08====

Commanding Officer's Personal Log

Stardate 21505.08

Captain Tyra Crawford recording:

It seems my gut was correct, though it's hardly a bragging point right this moment.

The Avenger's hijacking was most certainly an inside job, and all indications point towards it being perpetrated by, at least, some of the Avenger's original crew. As of now, there are some 71 members of that portion of the crew who are just missing. If my math is right, that's not quite half of the originals, but it throws suspicion onto the group as a whole. I have five on the Voltaire right this moment... can I actually trust them?

I can't entirely blame them. They haven't been dealt the fairest of hands by the brass, despite Derrick and I's efforts. I know a number of them still are bitter about my appointment as CO in the wake of Derrick's removal and despite his endorsement, I'm not deaf to the rumors that I only received the position due to my marriage. It would be hard on the ego if I took those things too seriously, but even with such thick skin, it wears on you...

There's only two reasons I can think that they'd want the Avenger -- they want to go home or they want to use it as a weapon of revenge for all their mistreatment. My bet is the former -- it makes more sense with the given facts and what I know of that part of the crew. Braggins has suggested that I go speak to Harkness about some research he was considering in regards to returning the Avenger to their universe.

I can't honestly see Harkness being a knowing participant in this whole debacle but engineers and scientists have a tendency to be short sighted when considering the impact of their projects. I could easily see him becoming excited and letting his research slip... with the right motivation, accessing his data probably wouldn't be an impossible task once someone knew it existed.

More interesting, is the fact that, according to Braggins, Harkness proposed the research to Jack Ristone. Maybe it's because of my friendship with Nick, but I've always thought highly of Jack, even when I was skeptical of everyone to begin with. He's a spectacle doctor and a good friend... but is that enough to overlook his obvious connection to the hijackers, plus his possible knowledge of pertinent research? I don't want to consider it, but I worry that not considering it will get people killed...

Even more concerning is the idea that the five originals aboard might be pawns without even realizing it... how do you even account for that without throwing people in the brig for the Hell of it?

Regardless, I need to get to the bottom of this Harkness business first and go from there... we can only hope this is all a bunch of paranoid suspicions and nothing concrete.

End Log.

====21505.20====

Commanding Officer's Personal Log

Stardate 21505.20

Captain Tyra Crawford recording:

This is such a train wreck...

Plus, I feel like a runaway train...

I spoke to Harkness about his research; he confirmed that he had broached the subject of researching how to return the Avenger with Jack. However, he swears that Jack turned his offer down and he, then, felt unmotivated to pursue the research any further without support from the original crew. I have to admit that I think he's being truthful -- he's not exactly quiet about the research he is excited -- but Jack's rejection of the idea struck me as odd.

Of course, that set my targeting system on Jack, for better or worse. I was half to the medical bay when Murphy notified me that the Ethan Grant and Ryan Cooper had been tentatively identified as the ring leaders after discovered bodies with their communicators attached to them.

I think I lost it a little for a few moments. My entire career has revolved around protecting people and I failed to protect some of my own from our own crewmates -- they were killed by people they should have trusted, right under our noses.

I'm really not entirely sure what exactly I said to Jack as I stormed into the med bay in a fury but it was hardly friendly or complimentary. Given my background, I think I'm allowed to be suspicious of obvious associates of the hijackers but I shouldn't have handled it like that. Jack didn't deserve to be berated and yelled at without being given a chance to explain or defend himself, not if I consider him to be a friend, which I do.

Once I calmed down, Jack was able to offer an explanation for why he, and the other crew members, were excluded from this little hijacking party. The trained security officer in me admits that it would make sense to exclude the members least likely to join, as well as those with the most loyalty to the new crew. It was no secret that Jack is my personal doctor, which, while that makes him valuable, it also makes him a liability. However, I have a hard time believing that well over 50 people could keep such a complicated plan a secret unless they utilized a fractured method where no one person has the entire plan.

I want to believe Jack and I want to be able to handle the rest of the crew without worrying about their loyalties but frankly between this and being blown up in my own ready room, I'm not sure I want anything to do with this ship or crew when this is over -- that might not be an issue if Thomas decides to stick me at a desk for this insane stunt.

As it stands, Jack is still working in the med bay. I have the security office keeping an eye on all important areas of the ship in case we do have a sleeper agent but I have refrained from having security actively watching any of the five primes aboard the Voltaire. We have more than enough probable cause to lock all five of them up for crew safety, but this crew is small as it is, we can't afford the lose of manpower, though I worry I will regret that later...

If I think dealing with five people is bad, when we get back to base, I will have to have this same dilemma with well over fifty people... maybe, I need to retire as soon as we dock, save everyone a lot of headaches.

End Log.

====21507.25====

Commanding Officer's Log

Stardate 21507.25

Captain Tyra Crawford recording:

This trainwreck just turned into a two train pile-up...

On the bright side, we now know how the Avenger jumped so far ahead of us, even though I think reporting it will probably get me a one-way trip to a psych eval.

Only an hour or so into our chase, the bridge began receiving reports of a 'haunting' from engineering shortly after I returned after my chat with Jack. It sounded ludicrous but Ensign Aldren -- yes, the same Aldren that was the Avenger's COS at one point before abandoning ship -- requested that I attend to the situation.

Jenny chased me down and caught me right before I entered the Engine Room. She was in a panic because the "ghost" looked like me -- I argue that 95% of the quadrant probably thinks that about all redhead. I'm not exactly sure what she thought was haunting the ship, a younger me or a family member or maybe, my... well, a kid that could have been? I suspect the last is closest to the truth... Jenny isn't stupid and she's certainly looked at me with enough pity to have guessed that side effect of my injuries. That's an issue for another time.

While Jenny and I talked, the Engine Room sealed itself, though only a few moments later we both found ourselves transported into the Engine Room.

Jenny wasn't kidding either -- that little girl looked just like me minus about 30 years. She was standing in the middle of the Engine Room demanding that my officers play with her like some petulantly spoiled brat. But she was more than a spoiled brat of the standard variety; she was able to move the ship, move through walls and make people disappear at a whim.

The last was the biggest issue as she made Schwartz disappear and then, demanded we find her within three minutes in order to get him back. Of course, she offered an additional incentive: find her and we would be moved to a position of our choosing. I didn't believe she'd hold her end of the deal then, but we needed to get Schwartz back regardless.

On the other hand, Suzy Q stated that she moved the Avenger, explaining how they jumped so far ahead of us. This was suppose to be a short trip -- we should have caught up to the crippled Avenger within six hours and have been able to deal with it while it was crippled. If I'd known it would have turned into a circus, I would have chosen differently...

She did hold up her end of the bargain... kind of. After we found her in a torpedo tube and dragged her back to the transporter room, she sent us to an unknown location, a playground of sorts. If we hadn't been chasing our own ship, it would have been worth exploring because it's been a while since I got to explore anywhere without it trying to kill me.

By this point, I think we all suspected what the little girl was or had a very, very strong suspicion that she was anything but a normal child of any race. She possessed strong telepathic energy and abilities that no child should ever have access to. It's like watching one of those crazy old Terran movies where the teenage girl goes crazy with newly found telepathic abilities -- it's not nearly as fun to experience it first hand.

It's even less fun when you find out that your new playmate is a child Q with a less than attentive parental team. Shortly after Suzy Q moved us, her mother appeared, admonishing her for playing outside her sector. I guess we made the mistake of wandering through the wrong area of space. She did confirm that they were both Q, something I would have found difficult to believe if I hadn't seen her daughter's theatrics for myself.

Fortunately, Suzy Q's mother didn't want to screw with us like the brat had. She is sending us to coordinates not far from the Avenger's transponder -- we should have some time to assess the situation and decide on our next step before diving into any fights

End Log.

====21509.10====

Commanding Officer's Log

Stardate 21509.10

Captain Tyra Crawford recording:

Gawd... I don't think I even have words for what has happened to day. If we thought earlier was a train wreck, well, we've run straight into cluster **** territory without any brakes to stop the train...

As proposed, Suzy Q's mother sent us to the coordinates we provided for a nearby gas cloud. The plan truly was to just get a covert grasp of the situation before deciding if it was something we could handle or something we needed to monitor until bigger guns could arrive.

What's the quote? "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry"? Well, we found that out firsthand, again, as the Avenger was not where her transponder indicated she should be. It looks like her transponder was attached to a shuttle that as left afloat while the Avenger sought cover... conveniently, in the same gas cloud we were in. 

Not just in the gas cloud but 97 meters away from the Voltaire's hull. A significant amount of their systems, including comms, were down. The engineers thought they might be recharging or trying to finish some of the repairs that hadn't been finished, particularly to the engine. They couldn't run and they couldn't very well fight, which meant this was our chance if we were going to take her back.

I ordered Commander Simmons to take two teams over to the Avenger while we had the chance. They had no sooner departed for that endeavor when the Nova hailed us. Apparently, the Nova and its group launched after discovering that the Avenger had been taken and that the Voltaire was in pursuit -- Thomas was less than happy and very adamant about us not engaging the Avenger until the battle group arrived... in over seven hours. For better or worse, the channel cut off due to extensive jamming before I could tell him that waiting that long would probably get us all blown up, and I decided that we had to continue with our plan.

I didn't and don't enjoy disobeying orders. However, waiting seven hours would have meant that we either had to fight the Avenger after its repairs were complete -- it was unlikely to take them that long -- or we would be forced to let them escape. Neither option was acceptable and I'll take whatever punishment comes from ignoring those orders.

As soon as our two teams were over, we began attack runs on the Avenger, trying to divide their attention. It worked effectively until monkey wrench got thrown into the system, again. The Avenger's exterior lights were flashing with a code, Morse code. They were trying to warn us that someone had set the ship to self-destruct in less than 2 minutes...

By that point, our teams were on board the Avenger with no ability to contact them due to the jamming. I couldn't just assume that they'd figure it out or that they'd be able to reach an area capable of undoing the self-destruct. I ordered Jenny to land on the hull, which allowed Schwartz, myself and some security guys to beam to engineering, and then, I ordered Jenny to go after the likely escape shuttle, to not let Grant surrender. I don't know if she got them or not... I'm not sure it matters anymore.

From what I could tell, the Avenger was entirely evacuated -- there was no one in engineering, where I left Schwartz to figure out a way around the self-destruct, and I encountered no one on my way to the battle bridge. It turns out that they'd abandoned ship using the escape pods while we were trying to fix the situation that they had all created... I just love a lack of personal responsibility at a time like this.

It turns out that Harkness' team had made it to the computer core; he shut off power before the self-destruct could hit 0. While he rebooted the computer core, I gained access to the auxiliary bridge with some hope that we could get systems online and designate the Avenger a friendly before the incoming battle groups wiped the floor with her.

The engineers worked hard to get the systems back online with the exception of shields and the warp drive. Once sensors came online, we were able to determine that something wasn't right. The Enterprise and its battle group had joined with the Nova's but the Gettysburg was well ahead, plowing towards us like a runaway train. I tried to call them off, but no answer... well, we could probably consider them blowing up the Avenger's escape pods as a pretty effective message.

I did the first thing I could think of, I contacted Nova. Thomas relayed that the Getty was not answering any calls and it seemed that they were acting on orders to destroy the Avenger and any witnesses. He begged me to get off the Avenger but where were we suppose to go? The Gettysburg was riding the Voltaire's *** and one shot was going to destroy that little ship -- I ordered Braggins to disengage, knowing that it might end up being the order that killed the teams on the Avenger.

It didn't matter; the Voltaire was disabled moments later, though I assume Jenny was going to ignore me anyway. That meant we were on Plan B -- or maybe Plan Omega since it was more than a little suicidal. Maxwell, one of the security officers with me, was able to pull the Gettysburg's shield codes, and we had just enough time to set the computer to use all transporter rooms to beam the three teams to the Gettysburg's bridge and engineering. It was highly suicidal considering we had no way to know if the codes were still active but by the grace of God, it worked.

Well, it partially worked.

We were suppose to be able to save the Avenger in the process, stop them from firing that last shot, but we failed in that... I failed in that. My shot was maybe a half second too late... which seems rather inconsequential when I consider that the entire Gettysburg crew vaporized only moments later. Turns out there was some sort of suicidal, anti-boarding system in place that activated upon a detected transport -- I still haven't determined what allowed the system to differentiate between their lifesigns and the Gettysburg's crew.

In the grand scheme of things, that is rather minor question. I really want to know why someone felt the Avenger and any witnesses needed to be destroyed and under what justification? That's not what Starfleet does... I could understand stopping the Avenger at all costs, including destroying it, but the witnesses? It's just wrong... everything feels wrong right now...

End Log.

==Crew Logs==

=== Commander Jason Simmons ===

====21505.24====

First Officer's log

Stardate 21505.24

Commander Jason Simmons recording

I wish I could say I was a little more thrilled about my first official log as a First Officer. Unfortunately, my first assignment as such has been extremely erratic. I will say, my assignment started out well enough, as I proctored Command Courses for two of the ship's Department Heads, Lieutenant Jennifer Braggins, CTO, and Lieutenant Pheral Ohmsford, CMO. They both did exceedingly well, and I have forwarded my recommendation up the chain.


And that's pretty much where everything went downhill. The Avenger was stolen from Starbase, and essential crew, which included myself, were recalled to the Voltaire, the Avenger's auxiliary craft. We're currently attempting to locate the stolen Cruiser.

However, strange things appear to be happening aboard the Voltaire.

End log

====21509.15====

First Officer's Log

Stardate 21509.15

Commander Jason Simmons recording.

It's the Ticonderoga all over again. I've just watched a ship that I was hoping to call home shatter before my eyes. Now what? What will become of the crew? All of the same questions that swathed my brain not that long ago have come back. This time, I wasn't on board. I watched the horror from the Bridge of the Gettysburg.

It was odd. When they fired on the Avenger, it appears that the crew on board the Gettysburg appeared to have been disintegrated. Now, the Away Team is in control of the Getty. But for how long? They're apparently going to be moving us to the Nova until such time as they can decide what they want to do. I have no idea what the future will hold. Again, I'm left empty. I need to see or talk to Addi. Make sure she's alright. I don't know if that option will be available to me at this point in time.

I feel lost. Not sure what to tell the crew. Hopefully we'll get more news and updates soon.

End log.

====21510.14====
First Officer's Log

Stardate 21510.14

Commander Jason Simmons recording.

As of this recording, we are currently at Starbase Delta. I managed to see Addi, and see she was safe, as she had found a way to Delta. I have no idea what the next step is. Aside from the Grayson Initiative being activated, which has essentially cut off ties with the rest of Star Fleet, we're grasping at straws.

Right now, I've been put in charge of throwing together a post-mission "party". Give the crew time to relax, have a little fun, as well as take care of some awards and promotions that are due. We''l see how everything plays out.

I'm worried about what the future will hold for us. I'm not sure where we'll be heading, or what we'll be doing at this point. I can only wait for answers.

End log.


===Lieutenant Jennifer Braggins===

====21508.08====
Chief Tactical Officer's Log

Stardate 21508.18

Lieutenant Jennifer Braggins recording

As I compose this log, Captain Crawford likely goes to her death. The Avenger has been stolen by members of her original crew led by Captain Grant's son Ethan, and after a brief firefight I have landed the Voltaire on the Avenger's hull to allow our Marines and Security personnel to board the ship and reclaim it. As we landed, we deciphered a message sent in code from the Avenger by way of the ship's running lights - the ship had been rigged to explode. Tyra has taken Jake along to try and stop the self-destruct sequence, but they have less than two minutes before the countdown ends...

I can only hope this was meant as some kind of bluff...

With Tyra and Commander Simmons gone, I am second-most senior member of the crew after Commander Tucker.

Tyra, however, has given me specific orders - Ethan Grant is not to leave the area alive. She has not told Tucker of these orders, and I can only assume that she means to protect our Science chief from the likely court-martial if I succeed. On the other hand, perhaps she expects Tucker to try and stop me? Ethan Grant has stolen a Star Fleet vessel, murdered fellow members of his own crew, and abandoned his comrades to die in an attempt to save his own worthless arse... I fully believe he deserves everything that is coming to him.

We are now undocking from the Avenger. Whatever happens next, whether the Avenger is saved or not, I will likely make my next log entry with yet more blood on my hands...but in this case, I don't think I will lose any sleep over it...

End Log.

====21509.01====

Chief Tactical Officer's Log

Stardate 21509.01

Lieutenant Jennifer Braggins

*shallow, rasping breaths*

We couldn't outrun the Gettysburg. Our engines failed on us and we were disabled. Main power is out, as are the inertial dampers and artificial gravity...

*coughing*

The Avenger has been destroyed...she didn't stand a chance... All we can do is wait for the Gettysburg to come back and finish us off...

*more coughing*

I heard some ribs crack during the attack. I think my harness malfunctioned and didn't give any elasticity... It hurts to breathe...there's blood in my mouth...I think I've punctured a lung...

At least I'll probably already be dead when that happens... Sucks for Zephyr though... She and Ethan would have been really...happy...

*Log records silence for thirty more seconds before cutting off automatically*


===Lieutenant Emma Blackhorn===

====21508.19====

Officers Log

Stardate 21508.19

Lieutenant Blackhorn recording

At the time of recording this log I am on my way to the transporter room where I will be joining a team with orders to infiltrate and retake the USS Avenger. My brief assignment to this crew has already been a rapid fire. One thing after the other. Apparently the Avenger was hijacked, of all things. I feel I am not privy to the whole story. Unanswered questions such as the who and the why for example. I suppose that is what makes me a good soldier. My lack of need to have those questions answered.

I have been given orders, and so I follow orders. I doubt my entire career will be so black and white. In fact, I have already been confronted with many scenarios where grey has seeped in. For now though, and when I can rely on stringent rules, I will.

Hopefully my next log will be about the success of our mission. If not, then I am probably dead...

End log.

====21510.01====
Officers Log

Stardate 21510.01

I am currently recording this on the USS Nova. After being transport-shuffled across three different ships I must admit, it's nice to finally have a moment to gather my thoughts.

The Avenger is now gone. Blown to kingdom-come apparently. Bit bummed about that. It was a ship that I had been chuffed about serving on. I am not sure now where my future in Star Fleet will take me. Will I be transfered again? Another crew? Another Captain? Probably not such a bad thing. The now ex-Avenger crew and her Captain seem downright insane to me. All around frackin loopee. Taking such a small ship like the USS Voltair to hunt down and retake a stolen Avenger, of all ships, by assailants that they hadn't even identified, to then wrestle with a Q-entity - a Q-entity - then transporting an Away Team over blind to re-take it, to then transporting that team to the Gettysburg, which was apparently attacking the Avenger...and then there was that sound...and those people just turned too ash...

I am going to need some serious therapy after this. Or a stiff drink. Or both. Frack.

I will try to record a more complete and accurate report once we return to Delta. I can only hope my mind has sorted itall by then. One thing's for certain...right now I miss home so much.

End Log.


===Midshipman Adam Slattery===
====21505.18====

Security Officer's Log

Stardate 21505.18

Midshipman Adam Slattery recording

This is my first official log entry since graduating Star Fleet Academy and being assigned to the Avenger. My first space assignment has been anything but routine. After arriving at Star Base Delta from Earth I learned the backstory of my new ship. Apparently, she and a sizeable portion of her crew are from an alternate dimension. They somehow made their way to our dimension during the Krynar war and were trapped here.

I met one of the alternate members of the crew, a Lieutenant Jack Ristone, who explained how they were trapped here and the tensions that had arisen between the original crew and the Star Fleet of our universe. Of course, the news made me a little concerned from a security perspective as it was very hard to protect a ship when segments of the crews held some sort of animosity towards the others. I figured that I would be able to handle it, however. I was new and I could get acquainted to the crew on our first mission.

Now there is no time to get acquainted with the crew, alternate or otherwise. The Captain declared an emergency recall of the Bridge crew the day after I arrived on base and informed the crew that the Avenger had been hijacked while in transit to Space Dock. Captain Crawford received permission to give chase in the Voltaire, a Cicero-class escort. The Captain would be allowed to take her senior officers and a small detail of security and marines, hence the reason for my joining the mission. I am grateful that the Captain has placed trust in me even though she barely knows me. I'll try not to let her down.

Since our departure in the Voltaire, new information regarding the hijacking has come to light and it even appears that some of the alternate crew may be behind the theft of the ship. A few of the alternate crew are onboard the Voltaire and Captain Crawford requested that I interview them to see if I could obtain any useful information. She suggested that I start with Doctor Ristone, who had been friendly enough to me when we met at the Last Call Pub.

The Doctor was combative and unhelpful, to say the least, despite my attempts to remain objective. He clearly was offended by the implication that members of his dimension were behind the hijacking. It seemed like he was holding something back... but whether that was due to loyalty to his comrades or something else, I could not tell. I'm going to interview Ensign Padak and I'll try to be less direct this time. I don't want to fail the Captain and considering we're outmanned and outgunned, we could use any piece of intelligence we can get.

End log.

====21510.15====

Security Officer's Log

Stardate 21510.15

Midshipman Adam Slattery recording:

So much has happened since my last official log entry, but I'll try to make sense of it as best I can. My investigation into the original Avenger crewmembers came to a quick conclusion when strange occurrences began appearing all over the Voltaire. We later determined that the entity was a Q - an adolescent Q. The Q's mother finally arrived to put an end to the shenanigans. Q also transported the Voltaire to the Avenger's location, effectively negating the large head start the cruiser had obtained on us. From everything I've been briefed on about the Q, I doubt it was a purely altruistic gesture. More likely, the Q was bored and thought allowing us to catch up to the Avenger would provide some kind of amusement. Whatever the reason, it was certainly clear that this would be no ordinary mission. I can now count myself among the very few people to have met a Q in person, much less be aware of their existence.

With our objective in sight and the target's shields down, the Captain ordered boarding parties consisting of security, marines, and a few technical officers to lead an assault on the Avenger, led by Commander Simmons. I accompanied Bravo Team, led by Marine Captain Dawson. We encountered no resistance when we boarded the ship, which led me to believe something was amiss. We had only been onboard the ship for a couple of minutes when we received word that the hijackers had activated the self-destruct sequence. Thankfully, one of our engineers was able to shut down the sequence.

Our relief was short-lived as we received word from the Captain that the Gettysburg was entering range with its weapons powered, not answering hails, and taking an aggressive posture. We had only minutes to evac the Avenger, but instead of ex filtrating to the Voltaire, Captain Crawford ordered the boarding teams to secure the Gettysburg instead.

Bravo Team was inserted into the Gettysburg's main engineering. Before we could even finish ordering the three engineers in the room to get on the deck, some kind of high-pitched noise enveloped the room. It felt life a flashbang grenade had gone off. I assumed that the hostiles in the room had attempted to create a distraction to escape. When we regained our bearings, we discovered that the hostiles had been literally vaporized, leaving nothing but a pile of ash. What happened? Was it the result of some kind of weapons malfunction? A suicide device to prevent capture?

Whatever it was, we were too late. Once we secured engineering, we learned that the Gettysburg had managed to fire a couple of torpedoes at the Avenger before Alpha team secured the Bridge. The Avenger had been dead in space and unshielded - it had stood no chance. The Nova and Anarchy arrived shortly after to perform rescue and recovery and transport us back to Star Base for Delta debrief.

It had better be one hell of a debrief. There were still too many questions and very few answers, not the least of which was why a Federation starship had fired on one of its own and why its crew had been vaporized.

End Log.

====21510.16====

Personal Log

Stardate 21510.16

Midshipman Adam Slattery recording:

We've arrived at Star Base Delta and things have just gotten even weirder. The Star Base is on high alert - for what, no one will tell us, civilians have been evacuated, and subspace communications with Earth and the First Fleet are 'down.' Our superior officers know what's going on, but they aren't telling us. In the meantime, rumors are rampant. Everything from a Romulan invasion of the core worlds to a shapeshifter plot to take over the Federation to civil war.

Normally, I'd dismiss such talk as nonsense, but in the absence of any information from my CO, it's hard not to start thinking like that. What are they keeping from us? What the hell is going on with the Grayson Initiative? And why are Star Fleet vessels firing on each other?

Because I didn't get anywhere with the COMMO here on SBD, I'm heading down to the Last Call Pub. Maybe I can get some more information from the personnel there. Or if nothing else, at least a nice drink.

End Log.


===Lt Ethan Harkness===
====21509.23====
Chief Engineer's Log

Stardate 21509.23

Lieutenant Ethan Harkness recording

This is the first time I've really been able to record a log since the Avenger's hijacking from Starbase Delta. It is hard enough to believe that a ship that size with the kind of security even could be stolen in that manner, never mind the fact that it was. Needless to say that the Captain was in no mood for that kind of thing happening to her ship and we immediately pursued her in the Voltaire. After the extensive training that I have put through over shore leave I couldn't say that would have been my first course of action but I love that ship and I'll be damned if I am going to let anyone steal it.

That was when the weird things began to happen.

A strange smell was permeated throughout the smaller Cicero-Class Escort nearly as soon as we left. Searching the tiny ship proved to end up with myself and Doctor Ohmsford finding a dead house cat settled deep in a bulkhead. The odd location and decomposed state didn't really match up with circumstances surrounding the typical operations of the Escort when in spacedock. That, and the crew ended up dealing with a younger perhaps even juvenile Q entity. I can't say that as an Engineer and an explorer I am not a little jealous of those who got to interact with her and her mother apparently. This brought the ship a variety of issues that we in Engineering couldn't control in terms of speed, course and attitude controls.

After the interaction with the entity, we ultimately ended up at the Avenger's metaphorical doorstep. Having not been onboard when it happened it was pretty obvious to see that they had pushed the brand new warp coils too hard without them being properly calibrated, a poor move that worked in our favor. Myself along with a small away team consisting of some Security and Marine forces along with our new First Officer, Jason Simmons, moved on the ship to retake it. The hijackers had set the self-destruct system in motion and our own meddling had cut power to various systems, causing infiltration to the Computer Core to disengage the self-destruct protocols all the more challenging. With a virus created by me in the Voltaire and a little luck, we were able to stop the process.

After that, its hard to say what happened. Apparently the Gettysburg was gunning for the Avenger and then as we are scrambling to transporter rooms. Somehow we ended up on a Gettysburg devoid of crew. Now, with barely a few moments on board, we are abandoning the ship to go to the Nova. Something big is happening, but I don't know what yet.

Also, someone is going to pay for the destruction of the Avenger, as far as I'm concerned. There was no need and those were practically brand new nacelles!!

End Log.


===Lt Jake Schwartz===
====21510.15====

Personal Log

Stardate 21510.15

LT Jake Schwartz

The Avenger is... gone, the Voltaire is blown to hell, and most important Jenny's badly hurt again.

The Avenger's original crew stole the ship right out of space dock. The balls on that bastard Grant to pull that off. We gave chase in the Voltaire - don't know what the Captain was thinking chasing a heavyweight in an Escort, but we did it. The skeleton crew Grant was running with wasn't enough to stop all of us, and with a little judicious massaging of the old girl's computers and a jamming setup we got a team let by Commander Simmons over there. They pulled a fast one on her main computer core, which let us get me into Engineering with a couple Security troopers.

Took less than a minute after we'd flooded teams onto the ship for Grant to play off one final act of spite and light off the self-destruct. Ethan and I both took steps to shut it down. I got the main warp core dumped and was moving to dump the secondary before he got the main computer core shut down. It seemed we'd saved the ship.

And then the Gettysburg came in firing. I mean, what the hell? She evidently had orders to completely... I think the word is 'sanitize' the Avenger and anyone on her. We had no chance against that. She did a number on the Voltaire with her mains, then turned turned towards us.

We managed to beam over to the Gettysburg somehow. Of course, her crew was... gone. Still quite curious how that one happened, but no one's letting us know what happened there. All I know is that we were all confined to the Nova while the brass tried to sort that out. Jenny wasn't aboard... I just got a comm call from her mother, right when we hit Delta.

She was badly wounded when the Voltaire was hit, and is in the Anarchy sickbay. Christ, its Deja Vu all over again... I'm heading that way now, evidently I have temp clearance to board the Anarchy and visit...

End Log


===Lieutenant Commander Judith Tucker===

====21510.14====
Chief Science Officer’s Log

Stardate 21510.14

Commander Judith Tucker recording.

The small crew that pursued the Avenger has been made even smaller... There is no more Avenger, no more crew which took her...or at least from what we have found anyway.

Events seemed to spiral out of control quickly on our way. We seemed to have difficulty as we started our chase and it seems that the difficulty was a possible Q entity. I’ve never encountered such a being. As much as I would have liked to find out more, it wasn’t to be. I had minimal contact with it, but other members of the crew had much more. I hope to read what they experienced to learn more.

After this part was taken care of and from what I hear, help from another Q, we managed to catch up faster than we should have to the Avenger. What transpired is difficult to recount. So many details to work out for my official report... yet so many details that I would like to forget. The short of it includes the destruction of the Avenger...but not from us. I’m not sure I believe what we watched. The Gettysburg attacked and destroyed the Avenger as well as turning their weapons against the Voltaire. I’m not sure how we’re still alive and the details that led to our sudden transport to the USS Anarchy is quite foggy to me. After a short-lived stay on the Anarchy, the crew from the Voltaire were transported to the Nova, where they met up with more members from the Voltaire.

I’d like to report we met up with everyone who left on the Voltaire in pursuit of our ship... but can’t. Nor can I report the successful capture of those who took the Avenger. I don’t even know if anyone who was accused of being part of the kidnapping of the Avenger survived.

End log.

====21510.15====

Personal log of Judith Tucker

Stardate 21510.15

Judith Tucker Recording.

I still cannot believe my eyes that the Avenger is gone. It’s just... just gone. I don’t understand the complete destruction either and that it’s destruction came from the... my first ship... the Gettysburg. How?... And why did they attack the Voltaire as well?

I’m on board the Nova now, traveling back to Delta. My heart is heavy as I think about what has happened and the lives lost. Ethan Grant, who apparently was behind taking the Avenger, is one of the lost crew members. I can’t imagine what his father is feeling. I can’t imagine CJ...

End log.


===Lieutenant Zephyr Praise===

====21510.10====
Officers Log

Stardate 21510.10

Deputy Chief of Science

Zephyr Praise.

It's.... gone.

I don't even know what to think. I don't even know how I feel about all of it. It's just gone and ... Jenny was hurt. So hurt. I'm not even sure how it happened. I just know a few things. The Avenger was stolen. Freakin' bastards up and stole our ship. Of course.. they were ex-old-Avenger people and they I guess... wanted their ship back? I don't know but they stole it and so we took off after it.

That was our home.

We wanted it back!

So a select group of us took off in the Voltaire to go rescue our ship. We ran into all sorts of issues on the way but we finally get to the venger. It is .. just bad. Everything is kind of a blur after that.

I remember Ethan was on the away team and... *breath catches* ... and for a brief hell... I swore he was gone. I ... I couldn't feel him I.. couldn't talk to him and then people were on the Bridge and they took us to the Anarchy.

I still didn't know anything.

Ethan could have been gone.. and I had no idea. I was terrified. What would I do. Where would I go. How would I... live.

Jenny's dad came and gave me the good news. I totally hugged him and he totally deserved it. The man could probably use a few more hugs in his life anyway. When we were transfered to the Nova I got to be back with Ethan and .. I felt like as much as I would miss the Avenger.. as much as my home was blown to bits at least my heart's home was all right.

I'm not sure what to do now... where we will all go. What we will all do. I hope they keep us together. I hope they give us a new ship and let us go on with the family that we have. I hope they don't seperate us. It would be terrible. I know we would find new family. But I also know it would be better to stay with the ones we have.

Onyx is dead. Ethan Grant is lucky he is not alive..... I saved that owl's life. Raised him up and brought him with me.

I guess it's partcially my fault for leaving him on the ship but my lab.. I visited it often and he was happy there. So I guess.. at the very least.. he went happy....

I feel like I lost so much this mission.

But we are strong. We will perservere.

End log.


===Lieutenant Commander Pheral Ohmsford===

====21506.02====
Chief Medical Officer's log.

Stardate 21506.02

Lieutenant Pheral Ohmsford recording.

Well, what a way to spend a birthday. There isn't much to do on a small ship like the Voltaire, at least for Sickbay unless something drastic happens.

There was an odd and very strong odor permeating the ship's innards. At first I didn't think anything of it, but then it become so intense, that it almsot was begging to be investigated. Well, I did. And with Chief Harkness's help, we found the cause of the pungent culprit: a deat cat. Though it didn't even resemble anything of a feline. It was just a mound of organic matter covered in maggtots. The only way to determine its origin was with a medical tricorder.

After retaining a small sample for myself to study, Ethan transported the rest of the mass out into space.

It was a short lived mystery, but something tells me it is not the end. Maybe it's just because I've been in Starfleet for so long that I've finally begun to expect the unexpected.

Well, I am expecting it.

Hopefully I can learn more from the sample I retained, but only time will tell.

Computer, end log and save.


===Lieutenant Jack Ristone===

====21504.24====

Medical Officer's Log

Stardate 21504.26

Lieutenant Jack Ristone recording

The essential personnel for the Avenger were placed on an emergency recall a little bit ago. We were given 15 minutes to report to the Voltaire, our auxiliary craft, or we would be left on Delta. As one of the more senior doctors in the medical department I am a part of the essential crew that was recalled. Thankfully I was working in Delta's sickbay at the time of the recall. I grabbed the medical bag I had with me and headed straight for the ship, I knew I could replicate extra clothing once on the Voltaire.

The last time I was on a ship like this was the James Madison. The Voltaire is either laid out silently differently or I have forgotten some of the ship design because I managed to get turned around before finally discovering the very small sickbay. The room thankfully does seem to be stocked with adequate medications and medical supplies. It is a far cry from the Avenger's sickbay, and a quadrant away from Delta's facilities, but I am confident that it can function properly during this mission.

Speaking of this mission ... In the past we have been able to expand the medical personnel on escorts to two doctors and two nurses allowing for some proper down time. However, after boarding the Voltaire and seeing who else would be joining me in Sickbay, I discovered that the nursing staff had been cut completely in order to make room for additional security and marine personnel. I was curious as to why we would need extra security forces and not need the Avenger. Shortly later Captain Crawford commed the ship and told us we were pursuing the Avenger, which apparently was hijacked. I have some interesting thoughts on that, but now is not the time to address them.

Instead, I want to address Captain Crawford's medical condition. Delta's Chief Medical Officer and myself cleared her for light duty a few weeks ago. About six days ago we cleared her for full duty. I had been on the fence about such a decision but signed off on it for two reasons. First, because I was hoping the Avenger would remain on shoreleave for another few weeks and thus allowing extra time for Tyra to heal. Second, because even when launch time came I realized that the first part of every mission - and most of most missions - could be handled by the ship's first officer. It had been my hope that our F-O would be able to lighten the Captain's load until she could slowly work her way back to full strength. Our current mission does not allow for that at all. I know I am going to have to keep an eye on both her physical condition and her mental condition during this trip. I wish I had done a little extra psychology reading ...

End log.

====21506.02====

Medical Officer's Log

Stardate 21506.02

Lieutenant Jack Ristone recording

There has apparently been enough evidence collected to implicate members of the original Avenger crew as the hijackers. However, even before that evidence was collected I was visited by a member of the security department, a new officer named Slattery, who had no problem making some rather bold and accusatory insinuations against people from my universe. Still, despite his sometime rude questions it quickly became clear that he was playing the 'good cop' part in the two person interrogation cycle.

Shortly after Slattery left, Captain Crawford showed up to sickbay in a rather hostile mood. By this time there was enough proof to prove that Ryan Cooper and Ethan Grant were likely behind the hijacking and in Crawford's mind that meant I was either complicit in their actions - and therefore either a saboteur or a mole - or was a complete and total idiot. I offered a third option, that I was a loyal member of her crew who was left in the dark because they knew I would stand in opposition to their plan.

I am not entirely certain that she fully believes me, but she did calm down a bit an apologized for her outburst. While I certainly understand her frustration I cannot help but note and comment on how her actions were seemingly out of control. I previously commented on how I would need to closely evaluate her mental status during this mission, and I fully believe that I just received evidence confirming that need. While I do not think she is unfit for duty I do think she is toeing that line much closer than normal and far too close for comfort.

The fact that members of the Avenger crew are responsible for the hijacking irritates me beyond belief. It is not that I do not understand their motive, but did they not realize that their actions would cause others (like me) to be not trusted or looked at differently yet again. I still remember when people from this universe did not want me to treat their injuries because I was from the other universe. It was degrading and insulting and I am willing to bet more of that follows.

For now though, people have little choice in who treats them. Only Pheral and myself are on the Voltaire and both of us are working on some mysteries. I am not sure what Pheral is working on but I was called to Engineering to treat someone for auditory and visual hallucinations.

End Log

====21506.22====
Medical Officer's Log

Stardate 21506.22

Lieutenant Jack Ristone recording

Well, all it took to distract the crew from suspecting me as a traitor was the arrival of a very mysterious and strangely powerful entity of some sort.

I was first made aware of something odd when I was requested in the Engine Room to examine Lieutenant Jake Schwartz. It seemed that the Engineer was experiencing some auditory and visual hallucinations. I quickly ruled out various scenarios that would cause hallucinations including sleep deprivation, poisoning, or substance abuse. I wanted to bring Schwartz back to Sickbay for some head scans and further tests but that proved to be an impossible task.

Over the course of the next several minutes the entity, which looks like a young humanoid female of about eight years of age, appeared to various people in the engine room including myself. This entity, whatever it is, clearly possesses some extraordinary power including making Lieutenant Schwartz vanish from our presence and sensors.

The entity, who calls herself 'Suzy', is engaging the crew in a game of hide and seek. I have been tasked with searching off the ship for her presence. While certainly I would like to find the manifestation of her I am also looking for anything that explains her presence.

End log.

[[Category:Mission Logs]] [[Category:USS Avenger, CA-1500]]
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