" Things Are Never As They Seem To Be, Which In this Case Is A Good "
(Previous Post: " Party ")
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Stardate: 60298.1448
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
The ANUBIS had never seen actual combat, but judging by the way the crew had jumped into action following the announcement made by the Captain it seemed as if the entire staff had been doing this sort of things for ages. Everyone with the exception of the Shillian scientist of course who truly felt out of place.
The Captain had begun reviewing the departmental reports as they were being submitted, insuring that everyone and everything would be ready for their encounter against the Breen. The holographic image of Commander Rikar had vanished from the bridge pointing to the Executive Officer being busy with something else in the Intelligence Gathering Centre of the ANUBIS. Lt. Serenna had seemed to be in a world of her own, the hands of the hybrid flying over the Operations station at an amazing rate of speed. The half Romulan, half Human hybrid might have been complaining about her new role as Chief of Operations, but when it came down to it she had been the right person for the job.
As the Shillian woman continued to observed the other members of the senior staff, the scientist became increasingly aware that everyone else knew exactly what do to and had not wasted a single moment to get to it. Lieutenant Seth had already verified and reported to the Captain the status on the armament and defensive systems of the ANUBIS, Lieutenant Dawson having done the same only seconds later in regards to the propulsion and ablative armour systems of the ship.
No seemed affected in a negative way by the red glow that bathed the bridge other than the Shillian scientist who fond the change in lighting unsettling. She knew that this had been the standard for Federation ships for several decades but the Chief Science Officer had foolishly hoped that considering the many different and unique systems onboard the ANUBIS that the alert status indicator would have also been somehow different.
"What do we know about that Breen ship?" Captain Simmons asked without looking back to the science station where the officer to whom the question had been directed stood. It was only after the Commanding Officer turned to look at the Shillian woman that the scientist realised that the question had been meant for her.
Stumbling over her own fingers, the Chief Science Officer quickly summoned the available information on her console, trying her best not to become a weakness to this otherwise smooth running operation. "The energy readout we are receiving from the Breen vessel puts it in the range of a Dragon-Class Battleship," the Shillian said, the large lump that had formed in her throat making it impossible for her to add anything more.
"Dragon-Class Battleship?" The Chief of Security repeated, "those are considered as combat flag ships usually followed by at least a dozen smaller destroyers and support crafts."
=/\= Long-range sensors are not picking up any other ship, cloaked or otherwise. For whatever reason that Breen ship is alone, so lets not make too big of a deal about it, unless you actually *want* to go up against an entire Breen fleet, =/\= the voice of the Executive Officer filled the bridge indicating that although her holographic image had vanished she had not stopped monitoring the activities on the command deck.
"I don't want to fight a fleet," Rawyvin said, "but I know when something just doesn't feel right, and this fits the bill."
"Number One," the Captain jumped in with, "using the instruments at your disposal, can you confirm that we are indeed going up against a Dragon-Class Battleship?"
=/\= On it! =/\= Rikar replied quickly, leaving the channel open while she and the members of her team worked to comply with the request made by the Commanding Officer. =/\= Power signature matches almost perfectly the energy output of a Breen Dragon-Class Battleship, =/\= the Executive officer said causing many on the bridge to become worried. As powerful as the ANUBIS was, the class of ship specified possessed more than three times the armament that the Federation ship had. =/\= There is one thing though, =/\= the Commander added, =/\= the mass of the ship is coming up short, and I mean really short of what a Dragon-Class Battleship should be. =/\=
"The Breen may be utilising an energy field generator to create a signature larger than what their ship would usually have. At close range this type of deception would not work, but on long-range sensors it could prove sufficient to cause any number of ships to abandon their search for the artefact and leave while they still could. I mean the tactic is atypical of the Breen, but this entire situation is well outside of the boundaries of normal. Did we actually expect to find the Cardassians, Ferengi, Hirogens and Orions here when we set out to follow the man that Enaii made contact with?" The Shillian scientist said, the explanation she had given made a lot of sense, not to mention that it also likely meant that the ANUBIS would not be facing in combat a ship that would have been superior to it in almost every aspect.
"Not sure if this is the case," Rawyvin continued, "but it seems like the two Ferengi High-Marauder Class cruisers have decided that the costs outweighed the potential profits. They have left orbit and are exiting the system at full warp speed."
"That means we have one less potential problem to think about," the Chief of Operations said, sounding happier than the hybrid usually allowed herself to come across as to the general public.
"If the Breen are actually using an energy field generator powerful enough to create this kind of readings," the imposing Chief Engineer said, looking in the direction of the Shillian scientist as he continued, "their sensors are going to be next to useless. There is a reason why this type of system has not become standard on most ships, the energy required to make it work greatly interferes with sensors. The larger and more powerful the field generated is, the less effective the sensors become, and right now my guess is that the Breen are as blind as can be."
The news given by Lieutenant Dawson was received by everyone like a breath of fresh air, especially by the Chief Science Officer who had really begun to worry about the potential outcome of their encounter with the newest arrival in the vicinity of TOLAR IV. Although it seemed as if they would be going against some sort of trickster, the Shillian woman still considered the Breen as a formidable opponent, regardless of they size or number of ships they had, leaving the scientist to hope that the crew would prove to be as ready as they had appeared to be.
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Jessica Solarik { maya_992003@yahoo.com }
Lieutenant Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
