Battling the Tal Shiar

Posted on Tue Jul 7th, 2026 @ 9:03pm by Captain Shran dh'Klar & Lieutenant Imik S'Niohun & Lieutenant JG Kate Kono & Chief Petty Officer Aaron Geiger

1,988 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Sins of the Empire
Location: USS Washington

"The Romulans are moving outside the range of the tachyon grid. Their cloak is regaining its full effectiveness against our sensors. Based on their course and speed, they will be in range of us and the planet in 10 minutes" Deanna noted as she continued working at her Ops station.

"Imik, status of the shield augmentations" Shran inquired.

With a quick nod of her head Imik replied, "I require another five minutes Sinkahue. The programming of the raptor details took rather longer than I anticipated, but with the main computer dealing with targeting and assessing the damage to the enemy we should remove the serious threats first." She worked as fast as possible, and with seconds to spare made her report. "Shield and weapons now ready and awaiting the arrival of our guests Sinkahue, I could recreate what Commander Data did to find the enemy vessels if you wish."

"We'll keep that in our back pocket for now" Shran replied. He looked to Deanna, "Inform Engineering of the situation. Let's give Lt O'Connor time to prepare for what they will likely deal with." He then looked over to Callie, "You handling things alright? I know being separated from your children is difficult."

Imik was somewhat confused, "Back pocket Sinkahue? Have I omitted some protocol?"

"Just a Human expression lieutenant" Shran replied to Imik.

With Deanna's readouts, Imik noted a small return. "Sinkahue, I appear to have some sort of sensor return at 351.22, but it is intermittent and difficult to track. It may be a cloaked vessel attempting to circumvent us and attack from our rear, your orders?"

"Steady Imik. Keep that sensor lock floating" Shran replied.

"By your Command Sinkahue, but it would seem the enemy have split their forces and are intent on slipping past one at a time. I now have several intermittent readings at several different locations, we may have a problem as the Humans say." Imik was tracking at least three different returns, and the fact they were all around Washington caused her slight alarm.



*********

In Engineering, Aidan got the update from Deanna. "Chief! We got Romulans coming to visit, and they seem to be party crashers. I want you to get damage control ready to deploy. We're going to give a real pasting to those treacherous green blooded hobgoblins, and its our job to make sure the ship handles it."

Aaron strode to the deployment locker for the DCT, palming the scanner to unlock the ready to go tool packs. "Aye Sir. Please pass along my request to the Skipper to burn them out of the sky before they can ruin the registry number, I just repainted it." He began to double check the contents of each pack, verifying the tools as well as the rebreathers, and deployable forcefield generators. Satisfied, he slung his own over his shoulder and tapped his commbadge.

=^= Geiger to DCT. Muster for deployment. =^=

Meanwhile, in Engineering, Ensign Na'Riss, a slender-framed Vulcan with a gold-collared uniform marking her as part of the Damage Control Team, was bent over a console alongside several crew members, meticulously analyzing power fluctuations within the warp core.

Her sharp eyes scanned data streams with precise focus, the quiet hum of the starship's systems a familiar backdrop. Suddenly, her communicator chirped urgently. She glanced at the display, her expression shifting instantly from concentration to alert readiness. Without hesitation, Na'Riss excused herself from the group. "I have to muster immediately," she said in her calm but firm voice. She moved swiftly, leaving tools and consoles abandoned as she strode purposefully toward the locker room to gather her gear, every step measured but quick. Her colleagues exchanged glances but said nothing, understanding the gravity of the summons. Na'Riss's presence was crucial, and she made no delay.

Na'Riss shouldered past the DCT members suiting up around her, pulled her toolpack from her locker, and shut it with a clang. She found the Chief across the room and crossed to him.

"Chief,” Na'Riss said respectfully. “I have staged EVA gear in the jumper, should exterior deployment become necessary. I am also qualified for interior watch in whichever section you calculate to be of highest risk. Distributing DCT parties now will minimize the probability of teams losing access during hull breaches or section cutoffs."

She did not wait for acknowledgment before pulling on her nomex suit and hoisting her oxygen tank onto her back. The clear visored mask swung from its hose at her shoulder.

Aaron looked to Aidan wordlessly and shrugged as if to say Ensigns, whaddaya gonna do?. He made his way through the assembled team, checking their equipment and ensuring every crewman's kit passed function checks. Touching every member of the team on the shoulder he stood next to Na'Riss, adding her to his count. "You heard the Ma'am. We'll divide into two in order to respond quickly. Ensign Na'Riss will take you three and form Alpha team." He pointed to the three crewmen on the right. "That leaves you three with me as Bravo. The count is eight, and we will return with eight." Aaron looked back to the Ensign. "Any saved rounds ma'am?"

Na'Riss took a measured breath and noted how quickly the moment had become a spectacle, every set of eyes in the room converging on her. It was an illogical thing, the ease with which she had absorbed the vernacular of the Chiefs, a habit her family would find most disagreeable.

"Policing the Brass, Chief," she said, her voice level and unhurried. Had another Vulcan been present, she would have offered a more precise reply, but the social calculus of the situation made the adaptation a reasonable concession.

Kapowski looked at the Chief and the rest of the damage control team. Lawrence had been grouped with the Chief for damage control purposes. She almost wished she could work with her friend and with the Chief, but she would be in Engineering working with Lt O'Connor. She was about to say something to the Chief when the ship rocked.

"Here we go" Aidan stated calmly, looking at the Chief.

"One of these days we'll get a mission to deliver rare specimens of plants from a peaceful boring colony to a lab back on Earth." Aaron replied, fist bumping the LT with a smirk. "A grease monkey can dream anyway. If we're still alive in 12 hours, I'll bring that Zacapa around if you break out the Redbreast I know you've been hiding."

Aidan took a glance at the Chief and shook his head, "Would seem like a right time for something like that, aye. Some good drink followed by some craic."

Silently laughing to himself he turned to the DCT. "Alright you degenerates, stand-to." Aaron began to divide the team into two before stopping by Na'Riss again. "Take it slow with these guys at first; crewmen get a bit anxious when a new officer gets assigned over their team. They're a bit rambunctious but they're good at what they do. Rodriguez is a joker but if he ever gets his head out of his ass he could commission someday." He smiled, barely swaying with the next impact rocking the ship. "What do you need from me?"

Na’Riss looked to Rodriguez and back to Aaron after another fluctuation in the inertial dampers caused everyone in the room to regain their footing.

"Your rank is noted, Chief, and so is your experience. I have no interest in the inefficiency of asserting authority I have not earned in practice." The deck pitched beneath them and Na'Riss dropped her center of gravity without looking down, one hand finding the edge of a console. Several of the crewmen stumbled. Rodriguez caught himself on a bulkhead and swore quietly. Na'Riss waited for the vibration to subside before continuing."In short, Chief, I may be the Ensign but you've been promoted a hell of a lot more than I have."

The words landed in the room like a dropped tool. Someone let out a short bark of laughter, and then the rest of them seemed to decide it was allowed, and the tension broke open briefly; Rodriguez pressing his lips together, one of the others shaking his head at the floor with a grin, the particular relief of men who had not known what to make of her and had just been handed something to hold onto.

Na'Riss waited for it to settle. "My family would describe me as a source of ongoing disappointment," she said, with the same cadence she might use to report a pressure reading. "The qualities they find objectionable appear to have some application here." Her eyes moved across each of them in turn, unhurried, before returning to Aaron. "I do not anticipate your team will find me a problem."

"Ma'am, I will take tactical control of our emplacement for this run... however." Aaron motioned to Rodriguez as if to say Scram kid. Take them out of earshot. "Make no mistake, you are a commissioned officer. The crewmen expect you to lead, to take the input of the NCO's but at the end of the day officers call the shots. You will need to get used to it. The standard is high, and that's not necessarily fair, but that's the job. You're going to do fine."

The shipped rocked again, the overhead lights flickered briefly, bringing Aaron back to the task at hand. "Alright then, take Alpha and standby in the primary hull, Bravo will take secondary." He clapped her on the shoulder gruffly. "Channel 2 is the command channel for you and I. Channel 1 is with the CHENG." Aaron nodded his head in Aidan's direction. "Channel 3 is the entire team. Let's hop to it."

~~~

Na'Riss registered the familiar voice on the open-comm and did not break stride. She opened the confined channel.

"We bypass damage unless a crewmember is in immediate danger of death. Our function is to reach our assigned sections intact. Acknowledge."

The corridor was already compromised. A hull fracture had split the overhead paneling and a tangle of conduit wiring descended through it in slow arcs, shedding sparks onto the deck plating. Pulverized glass from a blown sidewall console shifted under her boots with each step. The turbolifts showed occupied across the board, so they went to the Jefferies tubes, where they found three other crew already climbing. Na'Riss observed this without surprise. The logic was sound. The congestion was a predictable consequence of sound logic applied simultaneously by multiple parties.

They reached the saucer section. The EPS conduit went before Rodriguez had finished orienting himself, and the lights dropped. Into the darkness came the pressure change, subtle but measurable against her skin, the capillaries along her forearms rising in response. A forcefield had failed somewhere close.

She traced the pull to a viewport in the nearest quarters. The seal had fractured, a breach small enough that the room had not yet vented but wide enough to be felt. Na'Riss moved through the room and catalogued it. Bunk frame with a rubberized mattress pad. Uniform jacket hung by the door, dense weave. A tube of thermal bonding compound in the maintenance kit at her hip.

She cut a rectangle from the mattress pad, pressed it against the viewport with her forearm, and spoke without turning. "Rodriguez. The door frame has a compression gasket along the interior edge. Remove it and bring it here."

He did. She ran the gasket around the perimeter of the patch, applied the bonding compound along the seam, and held pressure against it for eleven seconds.

She stepped back. The patch held.

"The thermal compound will cure in approximately four minutes," she said. "The rubberized backing provides sufficient tensile resistance for the current differential. This section is stable. We continue."

She pulled her mask the rest of the way on and moved toward the door to exit the quarters in search of the next catastrophic urgency.


TBC

 

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