Ghosts

Posted on Tue Aug 5th, 2014 @ 4:38pm by Commodore Kathleen O'Shea & Captain Jey Cleh & Lieutenant Commander Adria "Tempest" Desoro & Lieutenant Fargan Davek & Petty Officer 1st Class Arianna D'Tal

Mission: Bloodpath
Location: Outer Asteroid Ring
Timeline: Several hours before "Last Dawn"

[ON]

[SB 80 - Command deck]

"There it is again." Leftawik adjusted his sensors once again, but with no better luck than the last three times. "It looked like some type of power signature, but...there is just too damn much interference to tell. Sorry, Commodore...I don't know what to tell you."

Kathleen was studying the holo-tac image she had up in the command area. Von Hyden was out with a group of Polaris Transports bringing in some raw material from a mine site located on the outer planet in their system. They had already made the run twice without any trouble. However, it would appear that the third time was the charm.

"I should have made him take some escorts...Captain Cleh, what do you think?" Kathleen was inclined to launch a fighter group out to meet the transports, but was interested to hear Jey's thoughts first, mostly to try to start feeling out her new XO.

Lizzy looked at the display, and wasn't entirely sure what she was seeing. Was there a ship out there, or were the sensors just playing up. "If it's a ship, could a squadron of fighters, or another ship reach them, before it does?" She finally asked.

Arianna stood close by, also watching the read out. She hadn't been given any specific assignment for that moment, and was mostly just standing by in case she was needed. "Considering the distance this ghost has moved, since we first detected it, the chance is roughly 50% that a group could intercept.... whatever that is."

Lt. Davek held off to the back of the command center, leaning over a rail, dividing his attention between the read out and a science-manned console within his view. There was something about this that seemed suspiciously familiar, almost purposeful. After the yeoman finished her statement, he stood up and made his way forward a bit. "I support sending them, ma'am. If they can get close, they should be able to relay their readings through the transports, and if we can get a clearer reading, I might be able to get you a better idea of what that is." He crossed his arms a bit and strolled. He didn't like the uncertainty of it all.

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[USS Tyne & Tin Squadron - Landing pad at The Freezer ]

Von Hayden was cold and uncomfortable in his EVO suit. It was having problems coping with the extremely low temperatures out here on the furthest edge of the system. For the fifth time in the last hour he reminded himself to submit the suit for a maintenance check when he got back.

Von Hyden was stood on what was laughably referred to as a planetoid but was really little more than a overgrown asteroid of rock, ice and dense heavy metals that was home to an automated mining facility.

The facility extracted a series of rare ores and minerals from the unevenly shaped and lifeless planetoid. It was positioned at what was nominally the south pole of the eighty five mile diameter rock.

Completely on the dark side of the rock it had a spacial coordinate designation, but the crews had come to refer to it as "The Freezer""

The planetoid was on the edge of a large asteroid and debris field, the remains of what had probably been a outer planet of the system, eons ago.

Totally automated, the mining facility produced one meter square cubes of the various ores and minerals, which a conveyor assembly then stacked in neat rows on a couple of acres of the surface that had been flattened off into a landing field.

There was gantry loading system that could then be used to move the cubes into starships.

Spread out on the field were twenty Polaris transports, Flights One and Two, of the 405th Tin Squadron They each had each been fitted with the single extended cargo module, which could take the most number of the ore cubes per trip.

Von Hyden had brought a work crew out in the USS Tyne one of his command Runabouts, to run the gantry and do the loading.

Lieutenant Purlak, a vulcan, the 405th Group Loadmaster and Tin Squadron's CO was stood next to Von Hyden and monitored the loading. The young vulcan was gifted with excellent spacial awareness and mathematical skills. He could glance over a cargo lift manifest and within seconds calculate exactly how many craft would be needed to move it, how long it would take to load, mass acceleration rates and fuel consumption figures.

Von Hyden glanced sideways through his helmet at Purlak, the vulcan seemed completely unaffected by the minus 235 Celsius temperatures.

'I thought Vulcans liked warm temperatures" he commented

"We do Commander, I have my internal temperature set to one hundred and six Fahrenheit"

"Ohh good" Von Hyden muttered, his heater barely manged a chilly fifty five degrees "How much longer?"

"We have seven ships left to load" Purlak replied "Approximately forty eight minutes, thirty five seconds"

"Great" Von Hyden agreed and wondered if stomping his feet would warm things up. "Fifty minutes and we're gear-up and heading home"


[SB 80 - Command deck]

"OK, I say lets get some eyes out there. Captain, get Adria on the horn and up to speed. I want good support for her as well...3 Type 11-As. Two in Hawkeye configuration and one Prowler. And let Von Hyden know what's going on, but make it discrete."

"Commodore..." Arianna hesitated for just a moment. She wasn't sure how this request would be taken, but the idea of taking off in a fighter to defend the station, or a convoy gave her an odd excitement that she tried to hide. "Permission go with them?"

Lizzy looked at Kathleen, then at Arianna. "Aren't you a little young to be put in that kind of danger?"

Arianna raised an eyebrow at the Captain's question. "It wouldn't be the first time, Captain, and I'm sure it won't be the last." She said simply. "I've been in some situations you would never believe."

Lizzy didn't give any reply. She just looked at Arianna, as if trying to understand the young girl.

"Letting me go will also save the Captain here a trip." Arianna said, turning back to Kathleen. "I can fill them in, when I get to the launch bay."

Kathleen studied the young girl for a moment as she formulated her response. "Make it so. But...on one of the Hawkeye's. No hero games today."

"Understood, Ma'am." Arianna gave her a light smile, not completely able to hide her excitement. "Anything else you want me to tell them?"

Lizzy couldn't believe Kathleen was letting this... kid get into a shuttle to fly on a potentially life ending trip to escort a convoy. While normally she was the defiant type, she did have genuine concerns about this idea. Glancing at the sensor readout, she saw it again, and turned to Kathleen. "I don't think it's wise to let her to go." She said unceremoniously.

Arianna sighed lightly. Why was this woman still getting in her business? She decided to keep quiet and let Kathleen handle it.

Kathleen turned to her XO with a piercing gaze. "Probably wiser than question my decisions on the Command Deck."

"Right..." Lizzy said somewhat slowly. Now she knew what not to do here, and that information would come in quite handy at times. She turned to Arianna, and for the first time since her own arrival, she gave the girl a genuine smile. "Watch your back, kid." She told her. "Just don't want to see you get hurt."

Arianna looked at Jey curiously for a moment, then a light smile crept into her features. "Your concern is noted, Captain." She looked between Kathleen, and Jey. "Don't worry, I'll still be joining you for dinner in the Captain's mess tonight."

"Sorry?" Lizzy looked confused for a moment. She hadn't been told anything about dinner in the Captain's mess.

"Oh... shoot!" Arianna said quickly, giving Kathleen an apologetic look. "Sorry."

Davek choked back a giggle and returned to his original position where he prepared for a direct feed from the fighter group and transports. The Commodore was correct, of course, but he'd observed the awkward dance of the XO on several occasions and wondered to himself what kept Captain Cleh there, while also noting the value she placed on her Yeoman above the rest of the crew. "Interesting...very interesting. Smart, but interesting," he said to himself as he entered the final commands.

He stopped for a moment though, and looked around the command center and at an empty console near the Commodore's positions, closer to the holo-image. After resetting the one he'd just altered, he quickly made his way to the other and began linking communications and sensor commands and readings with the intelligence library, to augment what he remembered, and pulled over a chair from a nearby unmanned console in order that he might face the Commodore.

He began running through possibilities again and again, pretty sure it was a ship of some sort, but much more than that he did not know.

[SB 80 - Hanger deck]

Adria had just left the Flight Operations office. So far it had started out like any other morning. She was on her way to complete a preflight walk around of her bird.

A few minutes later, Arianna entered the hangar deck, approaching Adria, and tapping her on the shoulder.

"Sorry to pull you away from what you're doing, but the Commodore wants a discrete escort for your trip to the mine on the outer rings." Arianna said. "3 Type 11-As. Two in the Hawkeye configuration and one in the Prowler configuration, because there appears to be a sensor contact... and she said I could take one of the Hawkeye shuttles." She said with a sheepish grin.

Adria meet Arianna's gaze more than a bit surprised to be receiving the briefing from D'Tal rather than O'Shea herself on something this important. "You know I'd prefer the Commodore to brief me herself on this kind of stuff. I know you thought it would save time but briefing in person is also for operational security reasons." For a moment Desoro paused, "You will follow my orders out there this isn't fun and games."

Understood, Ma'am. She also wants a discrete interception in a hurry, because Mr. Von Hyden is already out there." Arianna explained. "We don't want to cause a panic."

"No we don't want to cause a panic. I also don't want to have to explain to the command staff why any of the pilots on this hop were showboating. That will not be tolerated." Adria wasn't mad she just didn't want to explain why Arianna had ended up in trouble on a mission that wasn't really suited for a non-combat trained pilot.

"I have no intention of... showboating." Arianna replied simply. "I know how to pilot a shuttle in a combat situation." Which seemed like exactly what was going to happen. "I will follow your orders."

"I need to finish getting my gear on and get us moving." She could tell Arianna wanted to do more, "As for more formal training I'm more than happy to discuss that after this mission. But I will not ever send a green pilot out in a fighter into a situation like this with no formal training." If she'd been at the briefing herself Adria would have indicated very clear operational reasons for not allowing Arianna to come with them. That would be a conversation with Commodore O'Shea and others down the road.

Arianna was going to remind Adria that she had been in a fighter during a combat situation on the way to the station, and had held her own, but she thought better of it. She wasn't upset... not exactly anyway. She was more confused than anything else. In her mind, it seemed at Adria, and Captain Cleh had the same lack of trust in her skills. "With all due respect, I'm not taking a fighter, Ma'am." Arianna pointed out instead. "I'll be in one of the 3 shuttles."

"I understand that. My comments have nothing to do with you so much as there are people above me that would have my head if I let anything happen to you," Adria commented as she finished pulling on her gear then headed for her fighter. It wasn't a lack of trust on Desoro's part, but she did want all of her pilots trained right. They were operating in very unforgiving territory.

Arianna watched her walk away, then sighed in frustration, before moving to her shuttle, and thumbing the controls to open the hatch. "Humans are so confusing." She commented to no one in particular, as she started her pre-flight checks.

[USS Tyne & Tin Squadron - Landing pad at The Freezer ]

As the clock was ticking down the moments, the communicator in Von Hyden's suit chirped.

=A= Starbase 80 to Von Hyden. Don't be alarmed, but there is an intercept squad headed for your location, because we're getting a sensor contact, right on the edge of sensor range. =A= Came Arianna's disembodied voice.

Von Hyden perked up at the incoming transmission. Then wondered why is it people tell you not to be alarmed right before telling you something alarming....

Thinking the transmission over he was left a little baffled - What kind of contact? And why where they sending a squad here? What did they need Marines for?"

He called up the Tyne's Pilot =^= Hey, Andy, run a quick sensor sweep. You showing any kind of contact down here, besides us?=^=

Turning to Purlak he asked =^= How much longer?=^=

=^= Twenty two minutes, forty eight seconds=^= The Vulcan Loadmaster responded

A couple of moments later the reply came back from the Runabout =^= Nothing down here but us Skipper =^=

Von Hyden was more baffled, what was the point in sending a squad of Marines to the facility?

=^=Von Hyden to Command, you want to explain that last comm? =^= He asked =^= We don't show anything down here but us. So what contact? And what's this Marine Squad coming for?=^=

[SB 80 - Command deck]

Having heard Arianna's transmission to the outer rings, and Von Hyden's response, Lizzy jumped in. She tapped the COMM Panel. =A= Command to Von Hyden, We're getting ghost signals here, just on the edge of our sensor range.=A= Lizzy explained. She knew she should've sent the transmission, instead of Arianna. =A= We're launching a squad of fighters to intercept, and sending along an escort of type 11-A's for the next group out. =A=

[USS Tyne & Tin Squadron - Landing pad at The Freezer ]

That made a little more sense to Von Hyden, the Starbase had detected some kind of sensor contacts in nearby space and were sending fighters and shuttles out.

He changed comm channel again, back to his Runabout which was landed three hundred meters away by the mining facility =^=Andy, run another sensor sweep. This time, check off-surface. Try the orbit and maybe two-hundred-kay klicks out. =^=

=^=What am I looking for skipper?=^=

=^=Anything and everything!=^=

A few moments later the pilot replied =^= Well... there's a whole bunch of rocks in the asteroid field, and not much - hold on!....=^=

=^=What?=^=

=^= Errr ... well nothing... now... But there was a very short power signature. Really short, it was there and gone..=^=

=^=Whereabouts?=^= Von Hyden asked

=^= Hard to say, we're down here at the pole, if there was something, and I don't know if there really was.... Bit if so, then it was wayyyyy on the other side of this planetoid!

And all these dense metals here are playing hell with the sensor readings. It certainly wasn't close! Could be out in that asteroid field but no way to tell from down here. Want me to lift off and try again skipper? =^=

=^= No Andy, stay put. Just keep the sensor sweep going, let me know if you get anything more =^=

Von Hyden thought things over quickly. The Tyne had better sensors than those on any of the Polaris transports. So unless something flew overhead there was no way to know more until they took off.

So '80 had picked up some odd signatures out here, as had the Tyne. Either Command was being cautious or they had more data that he did, as they had sent out a fighter escort to investigate.

It seemed a little odd, there had been nothing in the daily security briefing about possible intruder craft. And nobody was fighting anyone around here right now, as far as he knew.

Chances were it was likely something harmless, like an incoming civilian ship, maybe a mining vessel or it was just a weird sensor ghost. So far he saw nothing to get worried over.

=^=Seventeen minutes, fifty one seconds =^= Purlak reported =^= Two more loads after this one =^=

[SB 80 - Command deck]

"Command, Combat. Still nothing firm. We are waiting for the Hawkeyes to get on station and start feeding us better data. Sorry, Commodore...there is just too much junk and background interference out there to get anything firm from this distance."

Kathleen made a mental note to have a discussion about expanding their tactical sensor network, but that did not help them at the moment. "Yellow Alert. Broadcast to all commercial traffic to avoid the zone until this is resolved." It frustrated Kathleen to be stuck so far from the action. It was going to take some getting used to being on a station. "And make sure that the mining base knows what's going on. Make sure you get an acknowledgement.

As the station's alert level automatically raised to yellow at Kathleen's command, the person sitting at the COMM station followed the Commodore's order, and began broadcasting her request.

TAG

[Inbound Fighter/Shuttle Flight]

Adria monitored the her HUD readouts carefully. "Stay in formation and watch your six. Report anything unusual," she issued the order to her pilots as they approached the area on alert. Next Tempest contacted the personnel at 'the Freezer', "Tin Squadron this is 220th Lead."

As Adria contacted the team in the outer rings, Arianna checked, and rechecked her sensors. Since she was accompanying Adria's squadron, she wanted to be johnny on the spot with any new sensor data, or intel on this ghost contact. She tapped the COMM on the console, which was currently set to local squadron chatter only. "Intermittent sensor contact has moved from it's previous location." She said into the COMM. "Contact's latest position is 587 mark 56. Based on the contact locations, it's speed is approximately half impulse."

"Roger that," Adria replied still waiting for an acknowledgement of her previous transmission. "Keep track of it I want to know if that changes."

[USS Tyne & Tin Squadron - Landing pad at The Freezer ]

=^= That's the last one loaded Commander =^= Purlak reported =^= Thirteen seconds ahead of schedule. =^=

=^= Ok good job Purlak, get back to your ship. Gantry team, shut it down and everyone back aboard the Tyne=^= Von Hyden ordered. =^= Tin flights one and two, standby to take off=^=

The Loadmaster trudged away to his waiting Polaris and Von Hyden made his way back to the Runabout, arriving as the last of the four crew who had been operating the loading gantry went aboard.

Once inside, he cracked the helmet seal of his EVO suit and breathed in warm air for the first time in three hours. He clambered out of the suit after making sure the loading crew were all settled and rubbing his hands to get some feeling back, he went forward to the cockpit.

"Skipper" His pilot, Andy Sawer, greeted him "I got maybe one other reading on that contact, a while back. But nothing for at least fifteen minutes now."

"Understood, well lets get off the ground and see if that helps" Von Hyden sat down in the copilots chair, activated the comm system and gave instructions to the two Flights of Polaris transports.

Two minutes later the twenty Polaris craft were airborne and formed up in two parallel lines of ten ships.

Von Hyden was not overly concerned by the intermittent contact, even if it was a starship he had no reason to think it was hostile or aggressive. However, this was an opportunity for a little bit of ad hoc training if nothing else.

=^=Alright, Tyne to Tin Flights we are going to do one complete circuit of this nasty cold little rock at low level, then we'll do a power climb and break orbit for a fast trip back to New Frontier Ceiling altitude will be forty meters, we're staying down and dirty! =^=

Turning to Sawer he said "Ive got her Andy, keep running sensors sweeps. Let's see if we get a contact when we reach the other side of the rock"

Lifting the Runabout off the frozen landing pad Von Hyden guided the craft over the lines of Polaris transports and dropped down in front of the two leaders.

Taking the Runabout down to twenty five meters he gradually increased speed =^=Tyne has the lead. Keep up people!=^=

With the convoy of Polaris Transports on his tail Von Hyden set off on a low level circumnavigation of the planetoid.

[Inbound Fighter/Shuttle Flight]

As Arianna's sensors picked up Von Hyden's ships lifting off, she switched her open COMM to include the ship that he was piloting, allowing him to hear her sensor read outs. "I'm picking up what looks like a debris field at our contact's last known location." She said as she looked at the readings. "It could be the remains of a ship."

"We'll take a closer look to see if we can get a positive ID," Adria commented, "Stay sharp. Let me know if you pick up anything else." Something about the whole situation had her more than a bit concerned. "220th expand formation to provide better cover."

"Yes Ma'am." Came Arianna's reply. While she already intended to do just that, Arianna still had to follow procedures, and orders.

The next orders were issued directly to Adria's wingman, "Rayni lets got take a closer look but make it quick. We just want to see if we can get a better ID on that potential debris field." Tempest piloted her fighter away from the rest followed closely by her wing man. "Record this pass so we can study this data in more detail after we reach home base."

=A= Rodger that Tempest. Capturing this pass. =A=

It didn't take the two pilots long to complete their task. As the rejoined the 220th Adria reported back, "Appears to be ship debris but we can't get anything more definitive until we review our tapes after landing. The field was too erratic to get any closer than our brief flyby allowed."

As the last bit was said, Arianna's sensor display lit up like a christmas tree. "I've got multiple contacts coming out of the debris field!" She said quickly. "Several small vessels... moderately armed." She tapped a few buttons on her console, before replying again. "They're heading for the mine!"

"Notify Von Hayden we're taking up a defensive pattern to protect them," Adria commented. "Get us some vectors for escape paths if needed we don't want to end up being trapped if they want to block our path."

"Already on it." Arianna replied as her fingers darted across her console. Hopefully her actions, and reactions during this mission would help prove her worth in situations like these... hopeully! As she got the escape vectors, she sent them on to all of their vessels.


[USS Tyne & Tin Squadron - Low level on the planetoid]

With the two flights of Polaris transports in line behind his Runabout Von Hyden jinked, bobed and weaved across the frozen surface of the icy planetoid, keeping the craft down low and fast.

"Coming back up on The Freezer" His co pilot reported, "Still nothing on sensors"

"Understood" Von Hyden acknowledged and flipped on the comm channel =^= Tin Squadron Standby, we're going ballistic in.... four...three...two... one!=^=

Hauling back on the controls and pushing the speed up Von Hyden lifted the Runnabout's nose vertical and charged straight upwards. The twenty transports shadowed his move and the convoy blasted out of orbit.

"Got a contact!" Sawer called out "Make that multiple contacts! One group is our fighters, the others are coming out of the asteroid field and heading this way!"

Right as he said this, Arianna's voice rang through the cock pit. =A= Tin squadron, this is your friendly neighborhood escort. We're taking up defensive positions to help keep the dogs off your back. We'll try to keep a clear path for your trip back. =A=

=^= Tin SquadronCopies =^= Von Hyden acknowledged =^=Tyne to Tin Flights I'm pulling a helix and taking the tail! Standby to go to warp on my mark! =^=

Having led his convoy safely away from the icy planetoid Von Hyden would now ensure they all left the vicinity before going to warp himself.

Dropping the power, he jinked the controls and pulled out of the lead position, swinging out to starboard he then began a long slow spiral, letting the convoy of Polaris transports charge through in the center of the helix.

As the last two passed under his hull Von Hyden dropped the Tyne in behind them.

=^= Go to warp in Five, four, three.... =^=

Lt Cmdr Falk Von Hyden
OC 405th TAG

Lt Cmdr Adria "Tempest" Desoro
220th CAG
Starbase 80