" Party "
(Previous Post was Serena’s " Miscommunication Issues ")
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Stardate: 60298.1446
Setting: USS ANUBIS: Array Section, Deck A-4, IGC
The young woman watched with mixed feelings the VENTURE CAPITAL and its crew of Marines pass within 100 kilometres of the ANUBIS and continue on its way to TOLAR IV… and the troubles that were in the making on its surface. Sabrina knew Enaii to be more than capable of taking care of herself… and that with Nikita by her side things would be even easier, but to go as far as to say that the ILO and her bodyguard would have absolutely no problems dealing with a dozen of Cardassian had been an entirely different matter.
The ExO had been thankful for the timely arrival of the Marine 2nd Lt and his men, but she had also felt reluctant to seeing them sent on their way without having been given more of a welcome home. As a former Cns, the redheaded woman had easily picked up on the distress in Pravat's voice and immediately realised that something had been weighing heavily on the MCO's mind. Likely the Enaran had not been ready to talk about it, but the young woman suspected that with some time the Marine would have come around to telling someone about what had been on his mind. Unfortunately, time had been something that the crew of the ANUBIS had in very short supply, a reality that had only compounded the situation that they were in the midst of.
As the VENTURE CAPITAL began its final approach to enter the atmosphere of TOLAR IV, the young woman diverted her attention to the Cardassian Galor-Class Destroyer concerned that maybe they would challenge the ship's target. To Rikar’s great relief the Ferengi freighter containing the Federation Marines continued on its course practically unchallenged, the VENTURE CAPITAL having received nothing more than a general warning to stay away from the larger ship. Either the Cardassian vessel had been too busy with something else to make more of this than they had or the Gul in command had not dared to outright deny the freighter for fear of enlisting the retaliation of the 2 Ferengi High-Marauder heavy cruisers that were still in orbit on the other side of the planet.
The situation around TOLAR IV had become a gigantic game of poker with each player pushing the odds and calling the other's bluffs in their own way. With their troops on the planet surface, the Cardassian likely believed that they had the upper hand, not realising that within the shielded cargo hold of the Ferengi freighter was an ace that would stun all and identify that a third player had joined the game.
Since it appeared that the Marine CO and his men would be able to reach the planet surface without any major difficulties, the young woman diverted her attention back to the Hirogen Venatic-Class Long-Range Tracker which had already engaged the Orion scout. Thanks to its smaller size and much greater manoeuvrability, the Orison ship had managed to avoid the bulk of the Hirogen's volleys, but the redheaded woman knew that it had been only a matter of time before the hunters got lucky and scored a hit that would remove the lesser craft from the game allowing them to continue as they had.
Before the battle between the 2 ships could be concluded, the young woman's attention was diverted to another of the small screens that filled the main wall of the ICG… the ANUBIS' long-range sensors having picked up something entering the system from another sector. Although she recognised the readings and identified them for what they were, the redheaded woman took a moment to mentally process the information that she had just seen.
"IGC to bridge… James I think we are about to have a real *big* problem here… looks like we have a new arrival on the scene… it's the Breen… and they are heading directly for TALOR IV." The young woman reported, still unable to come to grasp with the unmatched interest in a planet that no one could have cared less about less than 24 hours ago.
=/\= If the Breen are allowed to land on that planet… =/\= The CO started, offering his immediate concerns to the rest of the bridge’s staff as well as to his First Officer.
"We are going to have a real mess on our hands… the climate on TOLAR IV is very close to that of their home world. Whatever advantage our Marines might have had will be lost, not to mention that it won't be a good idea for Pravat and his men to fight on 2 separate fronts." The young woman interjected with, obviously sharing the CO's concerns.
=/\= The Breen dropped out of warp just outside of our sensor range placing them several minutes out, if we act quickly we should be able to intercept them before they can be within transporter range of the planet. =/\= Rawyvin announced, taking the young woman by surprise who had not expected the new Sec/Tac officer to show such a willingness to engage any opponent.
"I hate to admit it James… but he's right. We will be out of the sensor range of all the other ships with the exception of the Hirogens who will likely been too busy dealing with the Cardassians and the Ferengi after they are done with the Orions. If we act quickly, we might just be able to stop the Breen before they become a real threat and if we are lucky we might just manage this without letting them know what hit them." The redheaded woman offered, supporting in general the course of action suggested by the Chief of Security.
What followed next was an eerie silence that made Rikar wonder for a brief moment if the internal comm system had suddenly stopped functioning. Since none of the instruments within the IGC supported this possibility, the young woman figured that James had just taken a few seconds to contemplate the situation and the rapidly shrinking number of options available to them. After a pause that had felt like an eternity a chime echoed throughout the vessel indicating that the CO had opened a ship wide channel and had been about to address the entire crew.
=/\= All hands, this is the Captain speaking… battle stations! =/\=
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Sabrina Jones {sabrina_sweet@hotmail.com}
Commander Sabrina Rikar
Executive Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
As well as…
Lieutenant Kittianna
Intel Coordinator
NEW ALEXANDRIA
"We are Grey, we stand between the Candle and the Star, between the Darkness and the Light"
-Entilza Delenn, Babylon 5
