" Transport "
(Previous Post was Serena's " First Step ")
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Stardate: 60298.1521
Setting: USS ANUBIS: Array Section, Deck A-4, IGC
The young woman watched the monitors on the wall of the ICG… 1 displaying the 2 icons representing the people on the planet surface… another showing the inside of Transporter Room 2. A few moments after James had dispatched Rawyvin and a couple of his security men to the room, the Ops officer confirmed the coordinates of the 2 targets and gave the final authorisation for the transporter chief to energize.
As planned, the 2 icons representing what everyone hoped to be Enaii and Nikita vanished from the surface of TOLAR IV causing the young woman to shift her gaze to the monitor displaying the insider of Transporter Room 2... the only problem was that the transporter platform still appeared vacant.
"Is there a problem with the transporter system?" The ExO inquired of the IGC personnel certain that at least 1 of them would have noticed if something had not gone according to plan.
"All transporter systems check out." A voice came from the back of the room.
"Planetary sensors confirm… the 2 life forms have been beamed off the planet surface." An IGC officer sitting at a station in front of the young woman informed, the training they had all received and which had been reinforced by the ILO easily making them anticipate the orders of their superior.
"Verifying targeting systems." Another announced a split second after following the only lead that they had… that some malfunction had occurred causing the 2 women to vanish from the planet without having rematerialize onboard the ANUBIS.
"Targeting sensors were right on target… transporter log shows no matter was captured by the transporter beam… whoever they were, someone else beamed them away just as we were about to engage transport." Yet another officer reported, causing a rather large lump to form in the young woman's throat.
"I want a complete scan of this system… I want to know where they are and who performed the transport?"
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Stardate: 10298.1522
Setting: USS ANUBIS: Bridge
"What do you mean they never materialized?" James inquired over the open comm channel with Lt. Seth, his Chief of Security who had gone to transporter Room 2 to supervise the arrival of the 2 unknown bodies.
=/\= I'm sorry Captain… everything was in place but after I gave the all clear signal to the transporter chief he informed me that there was nothing at the specified coordinates. =/\= Rawyvin reported, sounding rather confused about what had happened.
"Could we be looking at some sort of transporter malfunction?" The half Human, half Romulan Chief of Ops queried of the CO knowing that her words would also be carried to the transporter room in question.
=/\= Negative… Lt. Dawson has already confirmed that all transporter systems are working fine. Maybe there was an error in the coordinate given to us. =/\= The Sec/Tac officer suggested sending the Ops officer scrambling to verify her instruments and the coordinates that she had relayed to the transporter chief.
"No errors… the coordinates were accurate." Serenna confirmed, sounding a little upset that her skills and performance had been place in question by her replacement at the security station.
=/\= I might have the answer… but you are not going to believe it. =/\= The voice of the young woman was heard saying, diverting all eyes onto the hologram of the redheaded woman that stood behind the ILO's station.
"Considering all that we have gone through so far… I think I would be ready to believe pretty much anything." James replied with a heavy sigh as he rolled his eyes back, nothing about this mission had been easy so why should this simple transport be any different?
=/\= A sensor sweep of the planet and of the 2 ships in orbit shows that a transport beam originated from the Cardassian ship a split second before ours. A scan of the Galor-Class destroyer now indicates 2 additional life signs onboard… whoever they were, looks like the Cardassians have them. =/\=
"Great… just great… Lt. Seth, return to the bridge. Number 1, keep track of those 2 life forms… if they are our people we might need to get them out of there in a hurry." James announced sounding truly pissed at the way things had developed.
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Stardate: 10298.1527
Setting: USS ANUBIS: Array Section, Deck A-4, IGC
It had been 5 minutes since the 2 life signs that the crew of the ANUBIS believed to be Enaii and Nikita had vanished from the planet surface to be found on the Cardassian destroyer. Had it not been for a scattering field that made it impossible to get a positive transporter lock on anyone onboard the Cardassian vessel, the young woman would have ordered the ILO and her bodyguard to be beamed back to the ANUBIS without delay. Since that option had not been a viable one... and that a frontal assault of the destroyer would only serve to tell the Hirogens about their presence, the only thing left for the redheaded woman to do had been to wait and see what would happen next.
Although unable to get a transporter lock on anyone onboard the Cardassian ship, the acute sensors of the ANUBIS had permitted the ExO to keep a very close watch on the 2 life forms which had been joined by a third moments after their arrival. Since the new arrival had originated from the bridge, Sabrina could only guess that it had been the Gul himself who had gone down to the transporter room to see who had been onboard his vessel. The lack of a security detail had puzzled the ExO leading her to believe that maybe the 2 life signs had not been who they had expected them to be, but had instead been members of the away team that had been earlier sent to the planet's surface.
"Cmdr. Rikar… I am picking up a transpoter signal… aimed directly at us!" An officer of the IGC gasped as he glanced over to another panel to confirm that the ablative armour had still been fully operational.
"Have they detected us?" The young woman demanded as she bounced out of her chair and towards the station of the IGC officer who had made the report.
"Highly doubtful… the transporter beam is not using a standard carrier wave and is specifically modulated to penetrate our ablative armour. That it is also using a homing signal from your command console only leaves 1 possibility as to who initiated the transport." The officer quickly explained as he turned around and witness 2 humanoid forms appearing in the IGC.
Stunned into complete silence, the young woman could only watch in utter disbelief as Enaii and Nikita materialized before her eyes appearing unharmed and un-phased by their little journey onto the Galor-Class Destroyer.
"How?" The ExO managed to say as the ILO approached the redheaded woman and took the holographic imaging system off the young woman's head and placed it where it belonged… on top of her own head.
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Stardate: 10298.1528
Setting: USS ANUBIS: Bridge
All eyes were locked on the holographic image that had replaced that of the young woman behind the Intel station. James had been informed of the unexpected arrival of 2 people in the IGC by his Chief of Security but by the time he had been ready to contact the ExO and inquire as to the situation, the likeness of the ILO had replaced that of his First Officer.
"Mind explaining what just happened?" The Captain demanded, not at all pleased about the way the ILO and her bodyguard had used to return home.
=/\= Sorry Captain… I'll give you a full report later. Right now we have to get Lt. Pravat and his Marines off the planet before the Jem'Hadars finds them. =/\= The ILO stated rather bluntly, stunning everyone on the bridge. So far they had known about the Cardassians and the Hirogens, but the announcement that the Jem'Hadars had also joined this little party had only made a bad situation worse.
"What about the Mind Stone?" Rawyvin inquired, still holding on to the idea that they might be able to complete the mission they had been sent on.
=/\= The Mind Stone is not on the planet… it was already located and taken off world … we were hired and taken here to look for the Mind Source… its instruction manual. =/\= The ILO explained in a direct and to the point manner.
"Captain… the Cardassian ship as turned around and is heading out of the system." The Ops officer reported, sounding completely baffled by her own report.
"You and I are going to have a very long talk about this." James stated to the image of the ILO while waving a rather unpleasant finger in her direction before turning around and shifting his attention back on the problem at hand… that of getting the Marines back on the ANUBIS.
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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
