09-13-2026, 06:52 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-13-2026, 06:59 PM by Ethan Diaz.)
Ethan could see Cologero was considering his suggestion, turning it over in his mind. "I think you are on to something," the lieutenant told him after a brief pause. "It needs something though. If we were going to do this, we would need to shore up the side we want them to atta, while chumming the waters with another."
Ethan nodded slowly. "That is an option sir, yes. But if we're quick enough, we won't be presenting a decent target to them for very long. We'll have to get clever with the automatic power adjustments, but our engines should be able to handle one or two quick cuts. I was thinking we go wide, opposite of the Yeager, gun it to their outside flank, come around hard and go straight at their sides, that way we have a smaller target profile. If we take them by surprise, we can probably get a few bursts off from the forward phaser array before turning out. At the right speed, our side will only be exposed for a few seconds. Tactical can modulate our shield emitters to up the field volume on that side until we complete the turn. Once we find that firing lane, we'll haul out and do it again at a different spot, keep them off-balance."
"If we were to present this to the Commander, because I think this could be the answer to the delivery system problem, how would you present it?" Cologero asked. Ethan noticed him glance back at towards one of the science stations, where Commander Talion was speaking with Lieutenant Young. The rest of the staff appeared to be pretty busy as well. The Captain and XO had also returned from the Observation Lounge and were now talking to the new arrival from the Yeager. Lieutenant Thorn and Lieutenant Mala were busy at their own stations, and of course, a number of relief officers were present coordinating other preparations throughout the rest of the ship.
Unfortunately, the two TOs never got a chance to share their ideas, because at that moment, the Aquila broke from warp speed with a brilliant burst of light and emerged into a firestorm. Dead ahead was the Cardassian formation, only they were surprisingly spread out, as the Yeager and another ship appeared to be giving them some trouble. Glittering beams from phasers and disruptors lit up the void, and the Yeager was spitting out a fierce stream of photon torpedoes rapid-fire, as if she couldn't care less that she was outnumbered seven to two.
"RED ALERT!" Roared Captain Brooks
The Aquila banked just in time to avoid a disruptor beam. Make that three, Ethan thought to himself. The Cardassians evidently wanted a fight, and he was more than happy to give them one.
Three of the escort ships had broken off in pursuit of the Yeager, which was pulling some pretty impressive maneuvers at flank speed. The other three were barreling straight for the Aquila and the third Federation ship. They were obviously screening for the dreadnought so she'd have a chance to use all of her weapons from a distance.
The ship was in Cologero's hands now. Ethan was just along for the ride, but he could make the Lieutenant's job easier by getting a sensor lock on the enemy ships and tying in to Tac One and Fire Control to synchronize the targeting software for both stations.
Suddenly, an enormous flash of light filled the main viewscreen with a blinding glare. Before he opened his eyes again, Ethan already knew what happened. An entire Federation crew, reduced to atoms. His stomach dropped, his face went pale, and had he merely been observing the battle, Ethan would have frozen. Somewhere out there, light years away, there was a kid just like him that was never going to see their mother or father again.
"Helm, take us into attack pattern Delta 3, lock on and full spread of torpedoes and phasers," the Captain ordered.
"Tac Two, I've got full-band sensor bearings on their escorts!" Ethan called out. "Activating defensive imaging, initializing sight picture."
His fingers worked his control board furiously, feeding all data from the forward sensors to the main tactical station.
They were dead. That entire crew was gone. Just a day or so from now, there'd be a few more kids heading straight for their local recruiter's office, driven by rage and single-minded determination.
There wasn't time to think about that now. There wasn't time to wonder if he'd ever get a chance to speak to his parents again. This was real, and if this battle didn't go their way, he'd be finishing out the day as a name and a serial number on a very long casualty list.
"Scopes are up and tracking. I'm sending coordinates through for targeting," Ethan said over his shoulder, hoping Lieutenant Mala heard him.
"Helm, bring us about and keep us out of the way of that dreadnought's fire, if at all possible try to cover the Yeager," said Captain Brooks.
== GM Input: Am I able to feed any additional visual/locational data from the sensors to the main tactical station to help get a target lock on any of the smaller ships? ==
== Tag Lt. [JG] Coppola and Lt. Mala ==
Ethan nodded slowly. "That is an option sir, yes. But if we're quick enough, we won't be presenting a decent target to them for very long. We'll have to get clever with the automatic power adjustments, but our engines should be able to handle one or two quick cuts. I was thinking we go wide, opposite of the Yeager, gun it to their outside flank, come around hard and go straight at their sides, that way we have a smaller target profile. If we take them by surprise, we can probably get a few bursts off from the forward phaser array before turning out. At the right speed, our side will only be exposed for a few seconds. Tactical can modulate our shield emitters to up the field volume on that side until we complete the turn. Once we find that firing lane, we'll haul out and do it again at a different spot, keep them off-balance."
"If we were to present this to the Commander, because I think this could be the answer to the delivery system problem, how would you present it?" Cologero asked. Ethan noticed him glance back at towards one of the science stations, where Commander Talion was speaking with Lieutenant Young. The rest of the staff appeared to be pretty busy as well. The Captain and XO had also returned from the Observation Lounge and were now talking to the new arrival from the Yeager. Lieutenant Thorn and Lieutenant Mala were busy at their own stations, and of course, a number of relief officers were present coordinating other preparations throughout the rest of the ship.
Unfortunately, the two TOs never got a chance to share their ideas, because at that moment, the Aquila broke from warp speed with a brilliant burst of light and emerged into a firestorm. Dead ahead was the Cardassian formation, only they were surprisingly spread out, as the Yeager and another ship appeared to be giving them some trouble. Glittering beams from phasers and disruptors lit up the void, and the Yeager was spitting out a fierce stream of photon torpedoes rapid-fire, as if she couldn't care less that she was outnumbered seven to two.
"RED ALERT!" Roared Captain Brooks
The Aquila banked just in time to avoid a disruptor beam. Make that three, Ethan thought to himself. The Cardassians evidently wanted a fight, and he was more than happy to give them one.
Three of the escort ships had broken off in pursuit of the Yeager, which was pulling some pretty impressive maneuvers at flank speed. The other three were barreling straight for the Aquila and the third Federation ship. They were obviously screening for the dreadnought so she'd have a chance to use all of her weapons from a distance.
The ship was in Cologero's hands now. Ethan was just along for the ride, but he could make the Lieutenant's job easier by getting a sensor lock on the enemy ships and tying in to Tac One and Fire Control to synchronize the targeting software for both stations.
Suddenly, an enormous flash of light filled the main viewscreen with a blinding glare. Before he opened his eyes again, Ethan already knew what happened. An entire Federation crew, reduced to atoms. His stomach dropped, his face went pale, and had he merely been observing the battle, Ethan would have frozen. Somewhere out there, light years away, there was a kid just like him that was never going to see their mother or father again.
"Helm, take us into attack pattern Delta 3, lock on and full spread of torpedoes and phasers," the Captain ordered.
"Tac Two, I've got full-band sensor bearings on their escorts!" Ethan called out. "Activating defensive imaging, initializing sight picture."
His fingers worked his control board furiously, feeding all data from the forward sensors to the main tactical station.
They were dead. That entire crew was gone. Just a day or so from now, there'd be a few more kids heading straight for their local recruiter's office, driven by rage and single-minded determination.
There wasn't time to think about that now. There wasn't time to wonder if he'd ever get a chance to speak to his parents again. This was real, and if this battle didn't go their way, he'd be finishing out the day as a name and a serial number on a very long casualty list.
"Scopes are up and tracking. I'm sending coordinates through for targeting," Ethan said over his shoulder, hoping Lieutenant Mala heard him.
"Helm, bring us about and keep us out of the way of that dreadnought's fire, if at all possible try to cover the Yeager," said Captain Brooks.
== GM Input: Am I able to feed any additional visual/locational data from the sensors to the main tactical station to help get a target lock on any of the smaller ships? ==
== Tag Lt. [JG] Coppola and Lt. Mala ==