Boarding the O'Carroll

Posted on 03 Dec 2015 @ 3:37am by Commodore Harvey Geisler & Commander Jillian O'Connell & Lieutenant Commander Roget del Rosario & Lieutenant Commander Temerant Bast & Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale

2,522 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Rude Awakening
Location: USS O'Carroll
Timeline: MD 9 || 1120 hours

Harvey entered the transporter room with Lieutenant Bast at his side. "Chief," he addressed the Bolian behind the panel, "Set your coordinates for the bridge of the USS O'Carroll."

The Bolian nodded and set to work, only to quickly react to a buzz from his console. "There's a protective field around the bridge, Captain. There's no way to penetrate it."

The Captain sighed. Why did this have to be so complicated. "How close can you get us there?"

He manipulated the controls and reported, "Deck Two, just outside the Senior Officer cabins."

"At least it's not far," Harvey commented. He then stepped away to pull out his phaser to check it's setting, ensuring that it was on stun and hoping that he wouldn't have to use it.

"Would it be possible to beam into a junction of a Jeffries Tube near the Bridge, Captain?" Camila asked. "We could reach an access ladder and come up inside the Bridge if that access point hasn't been sealed. It would also give us access to controls and we may be able to override the commands from the junction, Sir."

Temerant took up position on the console next to the Transporter Chief. He checked the sensors. "Access to the Bridge by the Jeffries tubes is also sealed. You'll have to disable the fields to gain access."

Harvey considered the option for the moment. Something wasn't adding up. Why would the O'Carroll surrender, but keep the bridge under lockdown? The last thing he wanted to do was go in guns blazing, but aside from turbolifts and Jefferies Tubes there were no other ways to reach the bridge. He needed to play this smart, and be prepared at the same time.

"Very well," he told the blonde Lieutenant. "Aside from Bast, I'll need an escort. Take as much security with you as you need. Disable the field and then meet us on the bridge."

"Thank you, Captain," Camila said as she motioned for Johnson and Donelly to join her on the transporter. "I'll have it down as fast as I can, Sir." She reviewed her training and gave a nod, confident that she could pull it off.

Addressing everyone now, Harvey said, "The O'Carroll has surrendered, and though I know this is hard for all of us, we still have a job to do. Our objective is to arrest Commodore O'Connell and any of his associates. Intelligence suggests that those whom have committed treason are limited to that number. Do not fire unless you are fired upon, and even then, keep to stun. My goal is to accomplish this peacefully. Questions?"

Temerant adjusted the strap on the toolkit he was carrying on his shoulder. His tricorder was securely fastened to his belt, and his phaser was in his right hand. He double-checked to make sure it was set to stun.

Camila looked at the Captain as she checked to make sure that her phaser was set on stun and verified with her team. "Yes, Sir. Exactly who are his associates?"

"We're not entirely sure," Harvey honestly replied. "It's possible the list is limited to the senior staff and no one else."

"Thank you, Sir," Camila said, wondering how many needles were in the haystack they were about to beam into.

"We'll beam in separately," Harvey said, stepping up to the platform. He waited for Bast and two members of security to follow. The Captain took in a deep breath and held it for a moment. "Energize."


***

Blue shimming light yielded to a familiar corridor. Solid amber was emitted from the alert panels in the empty hallway. Harvey stood for a moment, taking in his surroundings. So far, this Akira was the same, save for a different color for the doorways. The Black Hawk's were a gunmetal shade, while these were red. Still, the colors didn't matter.

What mattered was what was about to happen on the deck above them. Looking to his left, he spotted a turbolift. "At least we won't have to walk far," he commented. "We should be able to utilize the ship's sensors to take a look at the bridge," he told Bast. "Take a look and see what we're up against."

Temerant walked to the console on the wall, and accessed the ship's internal sensors. The console brought up a view of the ship's Bridge. It looked identical to the Black Hawk's bridge, save for a few differences in color. All officers were manning their stations. The tension was obvious, but that was as expected, given the circumstances.

An enlisted Security man stepped up to the console beside of Bast. "Do you think it's a trap, Sir?"

Temerant shook his head in ignorance. "I don't know," he said. He looked more closely at the image. "There's a blind spot here," he said, indicating the lower-right corner of the screen. "It's on the opposite side of the Bridge from the Jeffries tube and the turbolift. There could be an entire security detail hiding there just out of sight. We have to be prepared for anything."

Harvey studied the display for a moment. "They did surrender after all," he said after a bit of silence. "So we'll go for the direct approach. If things go south... Well, that's why Di Pasquale is around." The Captain wished del Rosario had come along, but this mission didn't mean a thing if the Black Hawk could not be secured.

With that, Harvey crossed the corridor and entered the turbolift. Once everyone was inside, Harvey instructed it to take them to the bridge. The climb didn't take long at all, but once it stopped, only one set of doors opened. The set belonging to the bridge remained closed, likely locked. He reached out and tapped them, only to meet a forcefield instead.


***

Materializing in the junction, Camila immediately had Johnson and Donelly station themselves facing in either direction while she went to the console and activated it. She was grateful that she had studied the Akira-class prior to her assignment of the Black Hawk and the Security protocols in particular. Activating a subroutine known only to Security personnel, she hoped that the Security Chief of the O'Carroll wasn't one of the people she was going up against. Entering her Security clearance, she mentally crossed her fingers and waited for the computer to deactivate any shields active around the bridge.

=/\= "Geisler to Lieutenant Di Pasquale. We need that field down." =/\=

=^=I'm working on it, Captain=^= Camila responded as she initiated a secondary routine when the shields didn't come down. Growling under her breath, she began to route a surge of power to EPS conduits around the forcefield generators and smiled when the computer indicated that the shields were down. She knew it had set off alarms in Engineering and Operations and they would bypass what she had done, but it would give her crew the time it needed to get to the Bridge. =^=They're down, Captain. We're headed up the access ladder now=^= she reported. Leaving her comlink open, she began to head up the ladder with Johnson and Donelly coming up behind her.


***

“They’re bypassing the security field,” Lieutenant Relva, the Zaldan Ops Chief announced. “Should I attempt to block?”

“I…” The Betazoid Tactical Chief grimaced. His eyes had been closed the moment the transporter signatures were detected.

“Spit it out, Chief,” said the female voice from the Command Chair.

Lieutenant Tharlon Wul kept his eyes closed, continuing to use his empathic senses to scan the minds from the Black Hawk. "I… don't know what I'm looking for. I don't…"

“The field’s collapsing!” Relive shouted.

An instant later, everyone could hear the fields drop around every door frame as well as the Jeffries Tube access. The turbo lift doors immediately parted.

Coming up through the Jeffries Tube with Donelly and Johnson behind her, Camila immediate drew her phaser and her personnel did the same. "Stay where you are!" she ordered.

“Stand down everyone,” the woman in command immediately shouted. She rose from her chair to look at the turbo lift door just in time to see another man in yellow and a familiar face whose neck was outlined in red and accented with four solid pips.

“Captain Geisler,” she announced, using her right hand to rub the area above the active fetus protected in her womb. “Welcome aboard the USS O’Carroll."

Harvey, phaser still holstered at his side, waited to inventory the bridge and its occupants. His eyes instantly fixated on the blonde bearing Engineering gold and three solid pips on her collar who was seemingly in command of the ship. Jillian Cook… he thought, recognizing the face that belonged to the familiar voice he’d heard earlier. Harvey had never expected to see her out here.

Without saying a word, Harvey looked to his left and right, seeking to identify the person he’d been sent to find. Except that he was nowhere to be found, at least not on the bridge. “Where is he, Cook?” Harvey demanded.

Several of the bridge officers looked confused. The Zaldan behind the Ops console especially looked agitated, thinking the Captain had insulted his superior officer.

Jill looked over to Lieutenant Wul, hoping he’d accomplished more on his scan. He subtly shook his head in reply. She could not tell, however, if that meant that Tharlon hadn’t finished or if he confirmed Harvey was not a member of the Consortium.

“There are over 240 men on this ship, Captain,” Jillian replied, looking back to Geisler, countering both his lack of protocol and clarity. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

Harvey narrowed his eyes in response. “The Commodore. Commodore Zachary O’Connell.”

“Ah,” Jillian said in a moment of mock-understanding. “I’m afraid my husband is not aboard this ship. Nor is he in this sector. He has remained aboard Starbase Unity at the orders of Commodore Cameron.” She rubbed her belly yet again, feeling the 8-month old unborn child move again. It’s okay, little one.

Husband? So far, this was not quite the reunion he’d been expecting, nor was he surprised that Zach had tracked down and married his Academy sweetheart. For a moment, he thought about some of the many conflicts Harvey and Zachary had had during those Academy years and among those the times a particular Jillian Cook had been a participant in those.

“Mister Bast,” Harvey ordered, keeping his gaze fixated on Jillian. “Please assume the Operations station and verify Commander… O’Connell’s claim.” Before anyone else could protest, Harvey withdrew an isolinear chip from behind his phaser holster. “These are ordered signed by Commodore Terlexa, Commander of Deep Space 11 and Task Force 9 Command. I am here to arrest Commodore Zachary O’Connell for crimes against the Federation, and anyone attempting to interfere in the process.”

He took a look at the eight people on the bridge and noted how close their hands were to their phasers. “And before you think that we’re outnumbered, know that I have a security team about to emerge from the Jefferies tube any moment.”

Jillian swiftly nodded, making sure her hand was not near her own phaser. “Mister Bast is free to scan as he wishes. I have nothing to hide, Captain.”

Camila looked at the Captain and awaited his orders. In the meantime, she had her personnel standing by and ready in the event that any of the other crew decided to do anything.

Temerant approached the Operations station cautiously, never breaking eye contact with the O'Carroll's Zaldan Operations Chief. The two didn't exchange words, but Temerant noted the open hostility in the oher man's eyes. Temerant merely shook his head to one side to indicate to the other officer to move away from the station.

He accessed the main computer, and scanned the ship's log for the past two months.

"It's true," he said after a few minutes. "The Commodore isn't on board. Records indicate that he disembarked at Starbase Unity six weeks ago."

Harvey frowned at the report. Had the commodore actually been aboard, this mission would have been a lot easier. "Commander, I'm afraid I'll have to take you and your senior staff into custody for the time being."

"Is that truly necessary?" Jillian countered.

"It's also part of the orders," he explained.

Commander O'Connell looked towards her Betazoid Chief of Security. He gave her a slight nod, indicating things would be all right. Looking back to Captain Geisler, she tapped her combadge. "O'Connell to the Senior Staff. Please report to Transporter Room One."

Harvey then looked towards Lieutenant Di Pasquale. "All yours, Lieutenant."

Once the order had been given, Camila and her personnel rounded up the senior staff and headed to the transporter room, wondering how many more ships they would encounter that they had to face off against.

Harvey sighed. It had been years since he'd seen Jillian. While he'd never felt or expressed interest in her, his Academy days with her and Zachary had certainly left an impression on him. But it was not something he could dwell on for now. He had the O'Carroll to deal with at the moment. Turning to Lieutenant Bast, he instructed, "Hail the Black Hawk."

Temerant tapped the required commands on the Operations console. "Hailing frequencies open," he reported, after the familiar chirp sounded.


***

Walking onto the bridge, Roget went directly to the command chair and sat. "Status report Ensign," he ordered the ops officer. The young woman began to rattle of information, but was interrupted by another voice.

"They're hailing us Commander," Barna spoke up from tactical.

"On-screen," del Rosario replied, shifting his gaze to the viewscreen.

Harvey instantly took note that his first officer was absent. It was likely she was dealing with the aftermath of the power outage. "Mister del Rosario, instruct Commander Kos to beam over immediately to assume temporary command of the O'Carroll."

"She is unavailable, Captain. Perhaps Commander Walsh," he offered, knowing that keeping Walsh off the Black Hawk would make handling Kos easier. "I would volunteer myself, but I think that given the circumstances I should remain here."


***

The Captain stared at del Rosario for a moment. The Security Chief was not known for mincing words, and something in his response told Harvey that something was seriously wrong. "I'll take that under advisement, Commander. I'm returning to the Black Hawk. Meet me in the transporter room. Geisler out."

Harvey turned to his Ops Chief. "Lieutenant, I'm placing you in command of the O'Carroll for now. I'll update you as soon as I can." With that, Harvey entered the turbolift and disappeared.

"Yes, Sir," said Bast, speaking to the closed turbolift doors. He tapped the Operations console again, getting to work extracting the ship's logs and transferring them to the Black Hawk.

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