Mad Moxie Part 2 The Tour AND Impromptu Requisitions of Opportunity

Mad Moxie Part 2 The Tour AND Impromptu Requisitions of Opportunity

Before Nimbus became the planet of galactic peace, the sector it resided in was known as the Zeta Pictoris Sector, well known for its series of prison planets.

Zeta Pictoris is a 1.4 solar mass Class F star, with a .97 solar mass Class-G companion star. Zeta Pictoris A has 33 rocky and metallic planets, 26 of which has commercially viable mineral deposits. As none of them were remotely terraformable, the system was primary a series of 61 hard labour prison settlements plus an additional 25 industrial installations mostly smelting and refining, some light manufabrication, inhabited by over 6 million prisoners and staff at its peak. Zeta Pictoris A also has 6 gas giants. Zeta Pictoris B has one gas giant and one Venusian metal rich planet.

There are five marginally habitable star systems in the Zeta Pictoris Sector.

The most habitable of the five was formerly known as Vodaynes, 18 LY from Zeta Pictoris. While nominally the most habitable, reasonable estimates about 34 Trillion Credits are still needed to bring it to full habitability. There are no plans to increase the planet’s habitability. Before it was renamed Nimbus - the planet of galactic peace, this was the system that paroled prisoners were deposited. If no one wanted them back, or could not afford to collect them, there they stayed. This makes up the majority of the Nimbus population.

Nimbus has relatively low gravity 0.6 standard, and slightly warmer than terrestrial standard, but stiflingly high air pressure of 2.3 standard atmospheres. 12 uninhabitable planets in the system are mined for various minerals and metals, two uninhabitable icy planet mined for iced volatiles such as methane and ammonia. There are no gas giants in the system, but there is a Class-L Brown Dwarf.

Commercially viable deposits of Antimony, Arsenic, Cadmium, Carbon, Chromium, Germanium, Iron, Manganese, Mercury, Molybdenum, Nickel, Niobium, Phosphorus, Ruthenium, Selenium, Sulphur, Technetium, Tellurium, Tin, Tungsten, Vanadium, Yttrium, Zinc, and Zirconium.

The Nimbus system is a boon for mining. Someone is making money, it just does not appear to be the people of Nimbus III.

Nimbus III has a relatively low escape velocity of 3873 m/s.

Nimbus’ jump point is 371,600 kilometers from its center, which is also the distance at which Impulse Drive works without interference from the gravity well.

Nimbus is relatively close to its star, .3 AU, and the star Vodaynes hangs large in the sky at this distance although it is a modest Class M star.

"Seeble, I have eyes, at least two, and I can read. AND I HAVE READ! Many times. Secretly, so people can’t know. That’s where they get you, that and doorways and corners. In fact, I have read the system briefings."

"Sorry, Skipper, just trying to do my job."

"You haven't got the brains of a moron!"

"Oh, yes I have!"

"Stop braggin' about it! I sense some dysentery among the ranks…and all that entrails. You’re like an albacore hung around my neck. If you’re quite thru, I might just fade into Bolivia."

"Another nap, Skipper?"

"You sorta philosophied my psychology? Jumpin' to delusions again I see. Samatter, ya manners gettin' a little municipal? Don't make no discriminations you can't prove. But, yes, another nap. I did nothing yesterday and I am not finished. These interruptions are regurgiatating my whole schedule. Wait while I dehydrate my thoughts. Unpeel your optics and peruse the accompanying print."

"What’s that, Skipper?"

"That's a horse from a different stable. It’s your notes that you kept in a file labelled 'Super Secret Calculation, don’t show Skipper'."

"You went into my personal files, Skipper?"

"A word to the wise is deficient. Dose dat don't help demselves just don't get no help."

"That wasn’t nice, Skipper, those were my private files."

"Calm your tits, Seeble, I didn’t violate your privates, I violated your files. You can get ten years in this town for assault without a battery."

"Why do you keep saying that, Skipper? We’re not mammals, we’re not even gendered."

"Alright, you did your talk and now it's my turn. If youse are quit throughways, I'd like to passe on a little choice informations to ya. I happen to knows more than somewhat about his institutional rights, which knowledge includes the fact that you can't hold me here without a specific cause or a very indefinite charge. You're not holding me here as an accomplishment to the crime because I never accomplished anything in my life. So what's the charge? Fragrancy? No, couldn't be, cuz I ain't fragrant. Foithermore, as a taxpayer as far as you know, I demand that I be deliberated this very instant to consume my place among the respected citizenry of this town. And another thing - if my name is slenderized or dilapidated in any way, I'm gonna sue. I'll take this case right to Extreme Court."

"What are you going to do with the calculations, Skipper?"

"I got some very disreputable news for ya. Sometimes you’re as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile, but now you're takin' a much more sensible aptitude. Dat I like. Illiterate that quite from your memory. Main thing is we make a good suppression. It's about time we take some drastic measurements. And these numero’s are just the ticket to do that."

"Those aren’t our orders, Skipper."

"Schmorders. Just as a finger of speech, supposin' that tonight somethin' happened sorta on the spurn of the moment. Changing my mind, dat's MY derogative."

The door hissed and entered in Zoe Verde and Urdmudkina.

"Captain on the deck."

"I'm sorry we was so enforced in our work we didn't observe your intrusion."

As Zoe and Urdmudkina re- enter the Bridge, Zoe smiles at Urdmudkina, "Shall we see if this bird can sing?"

Zoe glides towards the Captain's chair. "Cloak the ship. Scan the area. What is out there, Skipper?"

"If the Gods existed, AND if they wanted me to learn Maths, they woundn’ta created navigational olivers to do it for me. Seems a lot of fuss when Oliver can do it for me."

"Skipper, my name isn’t Oliver."

"Yer name is Oliver until I tells ya different."

"What do I need to know about the Oberth Effect, NOT THE MATH! The Oberth Effect is a clever way for a spacecraft to steal some extra delta V from a nearby planet. The spacecraft travels in a parabolic orbit that comes exceedingly close to a planet (or sun), and does a delta V burn at the closest approach (apogee). The spacecraft leaves the planet with much more delta V than it actually burned, apparently from nowhere."

"Skipper, Actually the extra delta V comes from the potential energy from the mass of the propellant expended."

"Shut your trap while I’m muse-itating. I'm working over here. This gravitational slingshot is tricky."

"Skipper, the Oberth Effect is not the same as a gravitational slingshot. Gravitational slingshots give you free delta V for velocity and vector changes without you having to burn any fuel at all. It also happens with close approaches to planets, but the free delta V can only be in certain directions."

"Like I said, before you interrupted me. This Oberth Effect Manaeuver is tricky."

"Skipper, you can use both the Oberth Effect and Gravitational Slingshots in the same maneuver."

"The closer we graze the planet, the better, that is, the lower the periapsis or perihelion.

"Skipper, there are all sorts of cute names for periapsis depending upon the astronomical object you are approaching."

"I said to shut it."

"Skipper, remember that these are measured from the center of the planet or sun, not their surface. This means that if the ship's parabolic orbit has a periapsis of 3000 kilometers from Nimbus’ center, the fact that the radius of the Nimbus is about 3696 kilometers means you are about to convert you and your ship into a smoking crater. Some planets’ atmospheres raise the danger zone even higher."

"I knew that."

"The escape velocity 70 kilometers above the surface of Nimbus? 4957 m/s. Our orbital speed was 2720 m/s. Using only 2238 m/s, we get the full 2720 delta-v, that’s a 32.3% savings on fuel."

"I knew that. I know something you don’t."

"What’s that’s, Skipper?"

"Tits."

"Skippers, I’ve told you this before, we’re not mammals or even gendered. YEOWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OW OW OW! Oh dear, I am going to need a bucket and a sponge."

"Hold onto ‘em, smart guy. 54.4 seconds at 5-Gs at periapsis."

"Boss…."

"Yes, Ensign Greeble."

"There is little point in activating the cloak yet, as we were already in lagrangian orbit. We have a large quantity of magnesite sand, magnesium carbonate. We can use the sand casters and create some disturbance to the sensors."

"Good idea."

"X-ray burst from the solar flare interferes with sensors. Ionizing radiation blinds Federation and Romulan sensor systems. Ambient radiation interferes with their proper operation. We can arrange a moderately large quantity of both."

"Also a good idea."

"We can use the cover from the planet-moon lagrangian point, to evade detection by sensors. If we do it at the right point, the radiation will be captures by the magnetosphere and we can ride that to the polar region. From there, we can either activate the cloak, or we can wait until the heliospheric current sheet passes by. Electricity is caused by the rotation of the star cause it to emit an electrical field that it sends thru the solar system. The ribbon represents the highest concentration. It rotates roughly every 6 days it will be due in about 3 hours, which is about how long it will take us to reach the Subspace Distortion Zone. We will have enough cover by the heliospheric current ribbon until we reach the edge of the Subspace Distortion Zone, then we can safety activate impulse drive and the cloaking device and no one will know."

"I knew that."

"Know your place, SubLieutenant Neeble."

"Just sayin’."

"Do you need Ensign Seeble to work out the math for you, or you are good to go."

"Ready as ti….uh,…ready, Boss."

"Keep it under 5-Gs impulse for the sake of our guest and the fragile doctor."

"If you want a little more velocity, we can do a titan’s turn around both moons, we can get quite a boost, much like a gravity slingshot. Once on the edge of the Subspace Distortion Zone, we can do a warp tractor maneuver to gain some extra speed, but the warp tractor maneuver will be make the cloak inoperative.

"I don’t think any of that will be necessary."

"Okay, Boss. How about standard omega or theta series maneuvers? Takes full advantage of the variable impulse and warp wings."

"Not today."

"How about the ship jinks to the right, upward, and then to the right again."

"Yeah, yeah, then the ship dives or climbs to port or starboard, executing an s-turn. Then, then, climbs in an arc, but then before reaching the expected top darts forward."

"Yeah…that’s what we’re talkin’ ‘bout, and then jink to starboard, then to port and dives slightly, then jinks back to starboard in a steep dive."

"That would be hella-cool. Cool as a Crazy Ivan."

"Please, boss, please. We’ve all been extra good, and it’s Festivus."

"Okay, but keep it all under 5-Gs. No Crazy Ivan."

"Yer the best, Boss. Seeble? Greeble?"

"Tits Held, Skipper."

"YEOWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh dear, I am still going to need a bucket and a sponge."

Zoe buckles herself into the chair as the Bird accelerates. She keys in the comm to Engineering. "Lieutenant Yajna...Chief... how are those engines behaving?"

A relaxed voice calmly chimed in over the intercom, =/\=Chief here. The entre’s are not doing enough to strain the engines, but it is probably best not to let them feel like that is a dare or a challenge of some sort. By no means allow them to attempt a 'Crazy Ivan'. They are occasionally very excitable. =/\=

"Boss, we are getting to the Impulse Zone, a heading would be useful."

"I would normally expect to regret this but I am in a good mood, ideas….suggestions?"

"I say we hit the main pulse of the heliospheric current ribbon and hit it hard with full impulse, and race thru that until we get to the tail of that solar ejecta which should give us cover until we are clear to the Continuum Distortion Zone then BANG ZOOM POP, we hit the warp hard like your daddy and race to the heliopause and then lose ‘em in the distortion."

"No one’s chasing us, Greeble."

"Force of habit, Skipper, just doin’ my job. Give me a break, I held my tits like you said."

"Where’d you get tits? Didn’t you hear, we ain’t mammals or even gendered."

"Lieutenant Alvez keeps them in a storage container, marked ‘private, personal and confidential’. Would you like one, Skipper, I have a spare?"

Zoe smiles at the crew chatter. "No one chasing us?" she chuckles, "Let's say we make this interesting,.... Skipper, start a sweep and scan for targets."

She taps the comms, "Lieutenant Alvez, you are our science officer as well as medical, are you not? Please scan the area for any anomalies. Tell me what's out there. "

She again keys in the comm to Engineering, =^=Stand by, Chief.=^=

Zoe then turns to Urdmudkina, "Unless, of course, you have any objections?"

Urdmudkina, "You need to press your thumb against the scanned, and this becomes a rental."

Skipper interjected, "Be careful, one time the boys and I scanned out thumbprint, we became an entre at a Rigelosaur Wedding."

"That’s where we met Mr. Yajna. Do you think he’s still angry we messed up his wedding dinner?"

"Bygones, Greeble, bygones. It’s not our fault he is working here. Vulcan wouldn’t let him study at the Vulcan Science Academy because they served Vulcan at one of his weddings. Infinite Diversity….indeed I think they’re all talk. Still, his parents should have thought about who they served as entres if their beloved scion is going to be applying to University."

"But we made a new friend along the way."

"The only reason he doesn’t eat us now is …there’s a reason…wait, it’ll come to me."

"Because there’s no wedding? Does that apply to funerals, anniversaries, and birthdays?"

"That might be right. In the meantime, back out of the room, boys."

"Humbly begging your pardon, Boss, Captain, Ma’am, but while it is correct that Lieutenant Alvez is the designated science officer, I operate sensors from this station. If you depress the fourth button on your command modules, a list of potential targets has already been screened….for just such an opportunity….emergency."

Skipper nodded in agreement, "That’s the way to do it, kid. Emergency, say it like you mean it. And that’s my story judge and I’m sticking to it."

"Humbly begging your pardon, Boss Urdmudkina, but am I mistaken in my recollection that you have an open requisition that could be filled by Target of Opportunity #14?"

"By Grethor, I think you’re right. The Tremendous Balszac will be mightily pleased. This should pay for your impromptu rental. You need to acknowledge aloud for the dash cams and depress your thumb against the scanner on your console."

Urdmudkina scoffs and snickers, "And for a civilian use no less. Who would have thought? Those Araxi are crazy, I like ‘em. They bought an entire fleet of these birds of prey. We have been working around the clock to fill the order. Normally we don’t want to deplete our stock like that, but they took the full warranty and service agreement. Trilithium it is. Khitomer Accords be damned. They should not have stored their illicit goods here. There’s pirates in these parts. Lursa won’t miss it, she’s dead and her surviving son probably doesn’t even know it’s here. It’s been over 100 years, if he hasn’t picked it up by now, its fair game."

Skipper turned around, "The usual terms?"

Urdmudkina sighed, "Yes, standard Neckbeard the Pirate Contractual Terms."

"Coordinates, Greeble."

"Sent, Skipper."

 

"Good news, Bosses, the bowshock for Nimbus Alpha is only 209 AU, we’re nearly there, and we can use that for cover to get to that juicy trilithium."

"We’re gonna be sensor blind while inside a dis bowshock, you confident about these coordinates?"

"Grilka, daughter of Grilka, is reliable. Their family revolutionized accounting in the Klingon Empire. Their data is always reliable."

=/\=Captain, Lieutenant Alves here. How may I be of assistance? =/\=

Skipper, quietly, "Which of you rubes called Lieutenant Plastic? Quick, hide the tits."

Zoe smiles and gives a little nod, "Okay, then let's make this official." She presses her thumb on the scanner and waits for the computer acknowledgement that the ship is hers albeit as a rental.

She then keys her comms for a ship-wide announcement.

"Permit me to introduce myself. I am the Na'ir al Saif, the Bright One of the Sword, and this is now an Orion ship. You may call me 'Bright One' or you may call me 'Mistress' or 'Captain' or 'Ma'am'. ... Gentleman, we are in the business of procurement. We will track down the fattest of freighters laden with the richest goods and relieve them of their cargo; We will send them limping home to their families and their insurance companies. We will be merciful. And when they return to the trade routes with new cargo, we will be waiting to greet them."

Zoe turns her attention back to the bridge crew.

"Thank you, Mister Greeble, for your fine work on the sensors."

"Skipper, Target of Opportunity number fourteen it is. Get in close. Cloak if you need to. Match course and speed... and see if you can get a transporter lock on their cargo. I am all for a snatch and grab if we can manage it."

She unbuckles a short, stubby truncheon from her belt and turns to the Klingon woman, "I may need that personal armour. Did we happen to bring it along?"

Skipper turned around fiercely and suddenly, eyes burning with intent, and raised his hand, "Can we just them all out until we see which ones we like best? Can we mix and match? Can we say Mistress Bright One or Captain Bright One?"

Greeble whispered to Skipper, "Did the new boss just say that we’re pirates using fancy words?"

Skipper whispered back to Greeble, "We’ve always been pirates, respect the Bright One’s fancy words. The important part is that we’re no longer temps. Uietqay aboutyay ethay iratepay ingthay."

Greeble puts the quaking prosthetic mammary into its storage container and hid it under his console. Greeble also raised a hand, "Mistress, ooh I like that. Can we each also have a wicked titles? Can I be Coxswain, Jacktar, Cicerone, or just Gob? I rather like Coxswain. Mistress, cloaking doesn’t work within the bowshock or any emission nebula. We are however only visible via line of sight and minimally at that as the bowshock interferes with anyone’s sensors."

Skipper once again raised his hand hoping to catch Zoe’s attention, but still speaks out of turn, "Mistress Bright One, would you care for us to soften up the station’s deflector shields, or go straight to the torpedoes? Bosun, how many photo torpedoes do we have in the armory"

Urdmudkina clenched her fists, but stood her ground, "This is only a rental, I am still your boss not the Bosun, not the hired help. There are only 4 photon torpedoes in the ship’s armoury. They full stockage is 35, sold separately, they are expensive."

Urdmudkina, "Mistress, I have a junior misses size Klingon armour in the captain’s quarters, I was saving it for my niece’s birthday, but you are welcome to it. It would be an honour for it to be worn into battle."

Greeble humbly raised its hands, "MISTRESS! It is a modest sized station, and it contains a sizable amount of trilithium, which is highly volatile under ideal conditions. It is probably inadvisable to use brute force to try to knock thru the shields, unless the objective is for the damage that leaks thru to destroy the trilithium and the contents of the station."

Seeble frantically raised a hand, "Mistress! Mistress! Captain! Bright One of the Sword! Ma’am! Pick me, pick me! Na'ir al Saif! Oooh, ooh! Ma’am, if you please. Gorget Barbe Le Corsair’s classic tome, 'Neckbeard the Pirate’s Guide to Advanced Piracy’, has a chapter on just such a situation. I am putting it up on the auxiliary viewscreen."

Skipper nodded with approval, "I love that show, right up there with the Baseline Bob Show and All My Children of Tama. There’s more on the holonet than just rollerball you know. There’s a reason why his show is so popular, clever Tellarite."

Greeble spoke freely, "I have the first five seasons recorded on isochips if you want to see. Number 22 is thoughtful, Seeble, do sensors show any signs of a backup shield generator? Klingons brag about how they have two of everything."

Seeble looked into its viewer, "Yes, but it is not substantial. It is 24^th century technology, not metaphasic shielding or regenerative, but robust."

Greeble mused aloud, "I like number 43, the anti-proton beam idea."

Skipper grumbled, "You ask, not me, I already got burned asking about photon torpedoes."

Urdmudkina interjected, "THIS IS A KLINGON VESSEL, you shall not dishonor it by being passive aggressive. Also, active voice, not the passive voice in all correspondence. The ship is not equipped with an anti-proton beam, but you can inquire to the Engineer if he can construct one from the deflector dish. It would be a challenging Deflector Dish Engineering Task, I am sure he is capable."

Skipper called out to the middle distance, "Yajna, did you get all of that?"

Yajna’s calm voice resonated thru the intercom =/\="It is certainly within my capabilities, and it would no doubt be a thrilling experience, but if my recollection of Klingon tactics in the area, we have a tight schedule, do we not? Before you ask, an Interferometric pulse, Tachyon burst, or a Radion beam would be equally time consuming, although would be lovely to see in action. I do enjoy the high drama of a good Tachyon Burst, but give me more advanced notice next time."=/\=

Skipper, "Nuance is a bust, Captain."

Yajna’s calm voice resonated thru the intercom again =/\="Not so quickly, my delicious comrade. Reading ahead, a plasma field could work within our probably time restraints. It is a simple matter of creating a dirty plasma from the warp engines and impulse engines and directing them thru the deflector shields. I would invest the interim with sensors to figure out the shield junctions, weak points, and the location of the generators and combine it with shield dimpling. One torpedo should be sufficient, a good and fine budget. Additionally, we have some sandcaster sand from your Araxi colleagues which is well known for its rapid magnetic flux variations, which should further weaken the shield at least a little or may at least delay the backup shield from manifesting promptly. Lastly, we have 3 barrels of plasma casters, I think this is as good of an opportunity as any. I will sign off now as I have much work to do."=/\=

Skipper, Greeble, and Seeble all looked at Zoe, waiting for confirmation.

"Dirty plasma and sand it is, then," replies Zoe. "We will weaken those shields. We don't want to damage the cargo and we do have a budget."

She stands. "Sensors, Mr. Greeble, find the shield junctions and weak points while we prepare."

Greeble shook off the disappointment of not being addressed as Coxswain, Jacktar, Cicerone, or even Gob.

Seeble, the actual sensor officer quickly went about the task of monitoring sensors, "Permission to launch a sensor probe, Mistress, it will probably not be recoverable or salvageable."

Zoe glances at a schematic of the ship tracing the quickest route to the Captain's Quarters.

"Skipper," she adds, "Inform me when we are ready to strike. I will be in my quarters"

Skipper reports, "Will do, Capitanorifico, I mean Mistress Capitan. Engineering confirms they will be ready in 5 minutes, they are having a delay cutting thru the locks of the armory. He’s a can-do kind of guy, my kind of reptile."

Greeble reported, “No tactical response on lateral sensors, we should be okay. Long Range sensors are inoperative within the bowshock. Checking the boundary area in case we can glimpse cloaked ships entering the bowshock. Working on an egress plan."

"Shall we see about that armour?" Zoe asks Urdmudkina as she moves to leave the bridge.

Urdmudkina dutifully followed Zoe from the bridge, leaving the bridge crew with a sight of bared newly sharpened teeth, "If the Na'ir al Saif can tolerate the brief delay, in the interests of time, I would like to unlock the armory for the Engineering Officer."

"Hold on that probe until I return, Mr. Seeble," says Zoe. "Let's not do anything that may give our position away just yet."

Zoe turns to Urdmudkina, "Of course," she replies. "The Chief will need access to the armory. I will change and we will meet back here."

Urdmudkina made the traditional grunt of acknowledgement, "Under the captain’s bunk, it a box addressed to' 'Aunties’ favorite blooded princess' you will find authentic Klingon Battle Armour in a junior misses size that should fit you."

Urdmudkina marched hurriedly down the stairs to engineering bellowing, "YAJNA! I told you not to damage the ship before it was sold. The sale is not final. Quit cutting thru my locks. That is coming out of your pay, you arrogant entitled elitist reptiloid."

When she returned to the bridge, Zoe was wearing the Klingon armour Urdmudkina had set aside, It fit her form perfectly. She moved with ease, her raven coloured hair unbound, cascading over her shoulders.

Her Orion Multi-key, the short truncheon with a heavy head, was clipped behind her left hip. On her right thigh, she had strapped an Araxi crysknife.

Rather than taking the captain's chair, she softly approached the view screen. Staring at the modest-sized station, she addressed the bridge crew. "Gentlemen, tell me about our target. His strengths, his weaknesses. What can we expect? And where is he keeping his trilithium?" There was a hint of something in her voice, something a little wild, something approaching hunger...

Seeble replied, “We think the station is unmanned and fully automated. Because most wide sensors which would have a broad spectrum and wide angle is near useless in the bowshock, that they are using an older 23^rd or 24^th century visual scanner, which is slow. Eventually, it will spot us, but we do not know how soon."

Greeble chimed in, "We have spotted what is most likely to be their shield emitters, and based upon that, we are able to figure out where the most like seam points are. We are running simulations on the Araxi-sand, the plasma casters, the plasmoid field, and the phaser torpedo dimpling, but no matter how much time we spend in simulation, we just are not going to know, it’s fancy guessing."

Skipper, not wanting to be left out, "Yajna is 2 minutes to being ready, we will do our simulations until then. Then it’s place your bets and takes your chances."

Urdmudkina, "It looks like a stripped down version of a Ty'Gokor Station, they did not install the docking arms. The era of the Durass Sisters was cheap beyond mere frugality. Not that the Ty’Gokor was not a sewage strainer of a station to begin with. I am a long time fan of classic Klingon brutalism stylings, but this is too much. Although I know the interior layout, it is not deterministic where the trilithium would be. To prevent it from blowing, they would put it in the extreme interior, if they want it to blow up taking everything within 1 AU with it, then it would be near an outer wall. I don’t know their intent, it could go either way."

Message coming on over the intercom, =/\="Engineering is ready, wired to helm console."=/\=

"Sensor Station ready, nothing incoming yet."

"Navigation ready, several egress routes already charted."

"Helm ready. Torpedo and phaser dimpling ready. The big red button rigged to engineering on standby. Weapons are hot."

Greeble offered the mammary container to the Skipper, "Do you want to rub my mammary gland for luck, Skipper?"

"Hold onto your teet, Greeble, we got work to do."

Looking out the viewscreen, Zoe muses, "Unmanned? If we can disable any automated security systems and sensors, it will give us more time."

She turns to her crew. "Take down his shields, Skipper."

Skipper rubbed his hands together to make the hot, "Wait for it…."

Skipper looked into the console viewscreen

"Wait for it…."

Skipper’s presumably index finger hovered over the big red button that says 'do not push'.

"Wait for it…."

"TEETS"

Skipper grimaced and shrugged, "Um-uhhh, shouldn’t something have happened. Something brilliant and spectacular."

Seeble replied, "At this distance, launching a sand caster or plasma caster would be ridiculously slow. Wait for it. Have phasers and torpedoes ready for when the casters materialize."

Skipper nodded, "Materialized, now I gotcha. Greeble, ready phasers and torpedoes, we got us some fancy shield dimpling to do."

"Ready, Skipper. Waiting for the casters."

Everyone focused on the screen for the sand casters and plasma casters.

=/\=BLAST IT, YAJNA! NOTHING IS SHOWING! =/\=

=/\=Gentlemen, there’s a teleport block, we will have a workaround in about 42 seconds. Please excuse the inconvenience and delay.=/\=

"We should power down weapons if it is going to be that long, it will give away our position."

"Set them to cycle, and we should be hot in time. Do we have the teleport coordinates?"

"I don’t know what kind of workaround Yajna has in mind, but unless it involved somehow deactivating their teleport block, we are going to have to wait and see where the casters materialize and be ready to adjust in the moment."

"We should consider moving, any good clouds nearby?"

"Mapping in progress, sent to helm."

A tense 45 second later several canisters materialized and blasted apart in close enough proximity to affect the shields.

"Close enough to a seam, targeting torpedo. Helm, have phasers ready to do the dimpling."

"You called me Helm, thanks Skipper. Phasers ready, torpedo is 10 second to target, got a lock. Ready and hot."

10 8 6 3 1

Greeble got the shot on the third try, but it was good to get the dimple.

Seeble reported, "Shields held, their backup was undamaged. I think we can do another and get a teleport in. Boss, Boss ummm mistress, who do you want to board?"

Skipper, "Is this going to be the kind of ship where the Captain grabs all the juicy plump delicious glory? Or you wanna send us grunts?"

Urdmudkina, "Na'ir al Saif, yourself or the worms is fine, but I should go as well with whoever you choose, I am the most familiar with the systems and the probably layout."

Seeble interjected, "I can probably disable most security systems. I can make sure we can teleport out."

Urdmudkina, "Me and the Seeble-worm, decide if you want to leave your ship uncaptained."

Zoe nods and addresses the Klingon woman. "Your presence will be most welcome."

"Mr. Seeble," she adds, "You will be with me."

Zoe then presses comms to the medical bay. "Doctor, I want you with us on this away mission. Bring along a tranquilizer gun."

She turns her attention back to the bridge crew. "Skipper, keep comms open... and Mr. Greeble, good shooting on those shields."

Zoe pauses then asks, "What kind of shuttlecraft are we carrying? Can it breach those shields?"

Skipper, "Saddle up, Seeble, you’re going offship. Captain, Boss, we gotta plan. But buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride."

 

=/\=YAJ! We going to dimple and threat the needle with the exo-shuttle, Cap, Boss, and Seeble will be going out hot. =/\=