SCENE 1 - New course

[tomcat]

Stonn stood by the chair. He had sat in it since his promotion, but the activity that now filled the bridge was too much for him to be sitting. The Vulcan hoped that his Human colleagues would not interpret his position beside the chair as some kind of fear or nervousness to take command. But knowing Humans the way he did, Stonn was sure that some probably would.

Around him, the senior officer staff had all taken their bridge positions. Pushkin and Anderson manned the helm; Grahm stood at tactical; the new science officer, Sorek, was behind him and adjusting his console; and Downer sat where Townshend once worked, his earpiece in and listening to broadcasts from local traffic around Earth. The Columbia had cleared all moorings and was beginning its departure from dry-dock. Pushkin applied only a fraction of impulse power to start forward momentum and soon the sleek vessel was outside of the massive framework and was swinging about to lay in a course away from Earth.

She had a long way to go to get to her new assignment in the Kalandra Sector - over 40 light years - which would take almost all of their first two months on duty. Their first stop would be Trill where Dr. Tam would be returned home and then the Columbia would make the final ten ligt year jump to the Katyon Cluster. The cluster was a unique opportunity to study stars in close proximity and how their affects on one another impact space around them. But before even this, the Columbia needed to be run out to make sure that all of her repairs were sound enough to no longer need to be anywhere near a space dock.

The bridge awaited for their captain's orders.

Just a reminder - if your PC is not on the bridge, you cannot interact in this thread. You will need to open a thread in whatever section of the ship your PC is located, or I will do it as I add story narrative regarding your PC. Of course, your PC can communicate to the bridge via intership comms.

This said, it does not mean that your PC is not on the bridge, I only mentioned those PC's that would normally be there.

I am going to be taking the ship to the Katyon Cluster within this thread - it won't be like our Run Silent game before where there was a series of adventures on the way. But before I do, I would like to see you guys do some interacting to bring the characters together.

[donimator]

Dylan looked around the control room as everyone worked at their stations as he monitored the radio traffic and the ship's systems. Nothing of note on the first front and everything was running smoothly on the second. The Captain stood at the ready...well his perogative, he supposed.

"Captain. Starfleet wishes us a good journey and the area is clear for departure. All systems are online and operating normally."

[tomcat]

Grahm chimed in with his own report of station, "Though we are at normal alert, tactical shows a green board, sir."

[sdrotar]

"Thank you, Mr. Downer; Mr. Grahm," Stonn replied. "Navigator, please set a course to take us out of the system and then engage cruising speed to Trill."

Stonn then sat down stiffly in the Captain's chair and thumbed the ship's intercom as he looked at his old science station. Change was the natural order of things, he remembered.
"All stations, please monitor your systems during shakedown procedures and prepare your reports. We will be underway momentarily. Captain out."

He turned back toward the viewscreen. "Helm, if you please."

[Rictor]

Alright fair warning, this post is rather long...but don't expect it from me everytime I post in this game as I spent all night and day writing this thus far.  Mainly during commercials of the olympics but regardless I would like feedback on the post to see what you guys think about it, thanks.


Sorek was sitting at the science consol looking at the instruments and familiarizing himself with the layout as the captain the only other Vulcan on board as far as he knew issued a general order to prepare reports.  A logical course of actions.  He thought and surmised as he punched in a few keys and had the computer bring up all infomation it had regarding the ships final destination, that of the Kayton Cluster.

As he waiting for the computer to respond he began calculating the amount of time it would take the ship to arrive at not only Trill but the Kayton Cluster when suddenly memories of his childhood on Vuclan came to mind.  Being one of only two that he knew of half-vulcan's he was rediculed without relent while growing up on Vulcan for having a human mother and Vulcan father.  His mother was a former Starfleet communications officer once serving as a liason on Vulcan to help build relations.

By the age of nineteen against his father's wishes he joined Starfleet to try and help his mother build the relations between human and Vulcan.  Preferring rather than the communications career that his mother followed, he insteas went the path of scientist and spent the majority of his firs four years out of the academy on Earth's spacedock as an instructor in science classes and occassional test programmer.

Now here he was nearing age thirty and was finally given a post on a starship, havin earned the rank of Lieutenant Commander he was placed as the ships head science officer formerly a position filled by the now commanding officer Stonn.  He looked back at the Vulcan briefly in time to see an iregularly dressed man who logically had to be a medical officer conversing with Stonn, he thought little of it and turned back to look at the information the consul had brought up about the Kayton Cluster.

After reading it over he turned back toward the Commander, and finally spoke up.  "Sir I have the information available from the ship's database on the Kayton Cluster.  It is located in the Kalandra Sector, and covers an area approximately two light years by two light years.  Due to the close proximity of the stars in the area it should prove to have radical fluctuations of not only gravity, but radiation and gravimetric shear. 

Due to the effects of radiation we may experience problems with our transporters as well as our tractor beams.  Of note the star KC-9 being larger than most is has a higher gravitational pull and is causing some of the gas from nearby star KC-8 into it.  This is having the effect of making KC-9 more active and rotating much faster causing massive jets of gas out of the cluster at fascinating speeds.

While none of the planets are habitable they are a source of valuable minerals and metals.  It should also be noted that due to the number of stars in the cluster and the gravitational pull there are an incalculable number os debri and dust particles causing a halo of sorts to orbit the area.  This will provide problems in closing in on the cluster and require a good amount of piloting skill to avoid."

He then relaxed slightly allowing himself a bit of reprieve from his logic as his human emotions showed for a second as he almost smiled at having given his first of what was sure to be many reports as a starship officer.  He quickly recovered from this however and resumed a stoic sitting position waiting for further orders or for further need of his skills.

[tomcat]

Mr. Anderson, Billy to his friends, finished setting the proper astrogation and spoke out, "Course to Trill has been laid in Mr. Stonn." He then turned to Pushkin who gave him a nod, "Going to cruising speed Warp-6, sir."

With that, Alex hit the commands on his console that brought the ship first to full impulse, which allowed the ship to clear the Sol system in mere minutes. Second, Pushkin toggled his command that took the ship to supra-luminal speed. On the screen the stars momentarily stretched and then disappeared as the ship entered subspace at warp factor six.

They were on their way.

[tomcat]

For any new players, feel free to look through the Columbia deckplans that are on the drop-down menus above to familiarize yourself with the ship's layout.

Shawn, I do not necessarily want to make a big deal of roleplaying out the shake down, but you can run pre-programmed 'tests' against each department that you'd like to see how the ship and crew react.

PM me with the tests you want to run and the order and I will PM back details along with giving story narrative to the players.

[sdrotar]

For any new players, feel free to look through the Columbia deckplans that are on the drop-down menus above to familiarize yourself with the ship's layout.

Shawn, I do not necessarily want to make a big deal of roleplaying out the shake down, but you can run pre-programmed 'tests' against each department that you'd like to see how the ship and crew react.

PM me with the tests you want to run and the order and I will PM back details along with giving story narrative to the players.

Yeah, I just mentioned the shakedown for flavor, figuring it'd be SOP. Doesn't sound very fun.

Stonn watched as Anderson, the ship's new navigator, efficiently entered the course. A satisfactory performance, especially for a first time on a new ship with a new commanding officer, he thought. Pushkin, as always, was a reliable helmsman, and the Columbia was underway as smoothly as anyone could have hoped.

"Thank you, Mr. Sorek," Stonn replied. "The cluster should provide ample opportunities for valuable scientific observation and study."

[seppun1]

   As Pushkin slowly throttles the ship up to Warp 6,  he pays attention to the ship and its reaction to the controls.   He scrunches his mouth, frowning to himself.  Is she feeling a little sluggish? All that work better not slow up the old girl.  I had her right where I wanted her.. He thinks to himself.   

    He looks up and back towards to their new Captain.  "Warp Six, Sir."

[tomcat]

At warp factor six, it would have taken the Columbia thirty-seven days to make it to their first destination - Trillius Prime. The actual time was forty-two days, as Stonn had taken good advantage of the length of the journey to run the starship through many shakedown tests.

From emergency stops and warp factor eight accelerations to simulated system breakdown and malfunctions, Pushkin, Anderson and Ramos were taken to measure. Downer was also hard pressed to deal with the emergencies, having to handle ship power allocations and losses to simulated complete decompressions of entire decks. The new doctor was then handed his challenges as the tests created injured personnel, and so 'Doc', as he liked to be called, was made to race about the ship with his medical teams to give aid. Finally, Grahm had to set aside his thoughts and feelings for Townshend when Sorek announced that the Columbia was ambushed by three Orion pirate ships, the ship's computer creating the 'attackers' and reacting to the human controller. Photon torpedoes were loaded into tubes by the ship's auto loaders, though none were actually shot. The imaginary phaser fire and torpedoes struck both the Columbia and her foes, but in the end Grahm turned the tables and brought the starship to victory.

The Columbia herself had been put through the stress of the tests. Her warp core was brought to high speeds and she was thrown about with evasive maneuvers, but she held together with only a few real breakdowns. Ramos had his teams quickly respond to the incidents, but after the five days of rigorous training, the engineer brought his report to Stonn. The Vulcan looked down the status reports, structural stress reports, and power management. All looked to be well within the standards that were to be expected of any starship in both normal operation and under emergency situations. Stonn handed the PADD back to Ramos and ordered full speed to Trill.

One month and a half after leaving Earth, Tam looked down upon his homeworld. The purplish-blue color of her oceans were clearly visible out the forward port, which the doctor now looked. The Columbia had just made standard orbit and would remain there long enough to deposit its charge back amongst his people.

"Transporter room 4 calling for Dr. Tam. We are ready to beam you down, sir." Tam looked up at the intercom that just spoke. It was time for him to leave. He exited the forward science labs, his duffle in hand, and made his way to the transporter room. Upon arrival, he saw his crewmates standing there waiting to say goodbye. He had become good friends with many of them, and there were some there that he had just learned their names.

Grahm walked up to the Trill and shook his hand. "Been a pleasure, Doc. Thanks for everything - you took good care of all of us." Tam knew what John was hinting at - it was very evident to most of the old crew the feelings that Grahm and Townshend had for one another. The Trill doctor remembered the days that the tactical officer had spent bedside of Jess, helping her recover.

Tam went through the rest of the old and new staff until he came at last to the two Vulcans. Stonn stood rigid, as was his nature, his hand up in the characteristic fashion of Vulcan greeting. "Dr. Tam... it has been... a pleasure to serve alongside you. Live long and prosper." Tam smiled to himself at the term used by the Vulcan, "Same here, Stonn. Live long and prosper." With that, the Trill walked into the transporter room, climbed on a pad, and disappeared. Moments later, the crew got back to their jobs.

Twelve days passed.

Anderson, having just come on duty and taken his position at navigation on the bridge, called out, "Mr. Stonn! The Columbia is about to drop from warp. We are currently one light year outside of the Katyon Clusters sphere of influence."

On the main viewscreen, real space suddenly appeared and the image of countless stars and space clouds could be seen, but prominently in front of all, the cluster of stars shone brightly. Sorek enhanced the view, zooming in for a better look at the galactic chaos that raged within the area of the close proximity stars.

[sdrotar]

"Excellent. Thank you, Mr. Anderson," Stonn replied. "Though, on the bridge, Captain is a more appropriate form of address."

Stonn didn't personally care much, of course, but Starfleet rules were rules, and the fact was that requiring officers to defer to their superiors in rank often created more efficiency in a crisis. He had observed it in the past.

"Mr. Sorek, please commence initial scans of the cluster."

[seppun1]

   Pushkin was more than happy to put the Columbia through her paces.  He wanted to make sure any kinks or faults that the engineers back at Spacedock could be worked out.  He gradually starts to get his more familiar smile to his face when he pilots the ship.   He knows how she moves, how she responds and she was responding properly. 

   He made sure Columbia was graceful as she pulls into orbit above the Trill homeworld,  gliding through the traffic with ease.   He waited until she was parked before joining the rest to say goodbye to their former Doctor. 

   And they were off.   Pushkin smiles to himself as he watches the sensors and the controls as they head for the uncharted Star cluster.  Who knows how their gravimetric  interference would effect the ship.  It would be a challenge.   They pull into position, his eyes glued to the slightest problem to the old girl. 

[tomcat]

Katyon Cluster rules:

Unless I give a different TN for a particular test, it can be assumed that a Helm, Tactical, or Sensor test (don't forget to check the ship sheet to see what bonus comes from the ship itself) is TN10. The TN will fluctuate based on the proximity of the ship to the cluster per the following chart:

	Helm /				Shield
Distance	Navigation	Sensors	Deflectors	Damage	Strength
Extended	+0 TN	+0 TN	+0 TN	0	-0
Long	+3 TN	+2 TN	+3 TN	0	-0
Medium	+5 TN	+4 TN	+6 TN	1	-1
Short	+7 TN	+6 TN	+9 TN	3	-2
Point Blank	+9 TN	+8 TN	+12 TN	5	-3

I will let you guys know when you enter a new proximity band.

The cluster is rife with high-levels of radiation and gravity can fluctuate at different levels based on proximity to each star. Finally, there is a large quantity of dust and asteroids/planetoids and planets that halo the cluster. This natural screen of particles make transiting within the cluster very dangerous.

I will roll for Rictor for the sensor request that Stonn made, but if we can keep things going that would be cool.

Sorek runs a sensor test
TN 10 Sys Ops +8, Specialty +2, extended range w/sensors +0 = +10
-------------------------
Roll(2d6)+10: 4,2,+10  Total:16 Superior Success



Sorek activated the Columbia's full array of sensors and swept space around and in front of the ship with countless bandwidths of radiated energy, as well as allowed the massive palettes to absorb every type of radiation that was emitted by the surrounding sector of space. On his overhead monitor, a three dimensional box appeared with the cluster laid out and the stars floating within. Distances, radiation levels, heat, and gravity was all listed in relation to each star. Finally, smaller objects that were planetoid-size or greater floated in a huge orbit around all. Smaller particles were too inconsequential, or were too numerous for the ship's computer to plot them without the final image result being a blotted out rectangular square of space.

Stonn sat in his chair, wheeled around to face the science station, and reviewing Sorek's intial data scan on the monitor above his head. Mr. Grahm spoke out from Stonn's right, "Captain, based on the readings, the Columbia is at no particular threat from radiation at this time, but it might be advisable to go to Yellow alert and bring shields online."

Columbia data reads: KATYON CLUSTER
Star brightness ranges highest 0 to lowest 9

KC1: M5 V - Red Giant 5Brightness Main Seq
KC2: G2 V - Yellow Dwarf 2Brightness Main Seq
KC3: M7 V - Red Giant 7Brightness Main Seq
KC4: G1 V - Yellow Dwarf 1Brightness Main Seq
KC5: M5 V - Red Giant 5Brightness Main Seq
KC6: M4 V - Red Giant 4Brightness Main Seq
KC7: G2 V - Yellow Dwarf 2Brightness Main Seq
KC8: B1 Ib - Blue Supergiant 1Brightness
KC9: G3 V - Yellow Dwarf 2Brightness (being crushed and purged of hydrogen by KC8)
KC0: M7 V - Red Giant 4Brightness Main Seq



I need a Perception test TN 18 from Stonn and Sorek, and a TN 22 test from all other PC's.

[sdrotar]

Check: Stonn's Perception +2 (TN 18)
Roll(2d6)+2: 6,4,+2 Total:12 - FAIL

[donimator]

Lt. Downer fell into routine manning his station and configuring messaging and procedures to his liking. Activity ramped up on the ship as they approached the Cluster, but comms were limited to standard communications and shipboard operations remained normal.

Perception test, TN 22
Roll 2d6 +1, 2,5 +1 = 8 -fail