In the 2250s...
The ship travelled at high warp to the system, it's gold shine illuminated by the local suns. The Captain, whoever it may be, couldn't possibly know that a trap had been set up. They were responding to a distress call, a classic ruse used by pirates since time immemorial.
The Orions didn't know what they'd be getting. Operating an ancient Debrune scrap ship, one lacking a viewscreen, but still restored to high-speed efficiency (the ancient civilizations built some surprisingly sturdy vessels), the Orion Captain looked at his sensor logs, noting the distinctive triangular shape of a rare class of Starfleet ships. He couldn't quite recall the name, but the shape reminded him of the Starfleet symbol.
This new discovery had no polarized plating, and its shields were not up. The Orion Captain, utilizing an Einstein-class communications station, picked up onboard comm signals between many individuals. The untranslated communications were identified by his computer as belonging to Humans, Vulcans, and even Klingons. Was there a Klingon on the ship? Or had they the gall to fool eavesdroppers? The Orion shook off this idea. A high amount of autonomous robots appeared on his scanners, but their communications were unintelligible with the obsolete Einstein technology.
The ancient Debrune vessel was not cloaked nor hidden. It was floating freely through space as debris. It was well out of deflector range, and the five Orions onboard were disciplined enough to run only the most basic of systems. The ship had no heat signature, more than would be expected from a large rogue asteroid. Unless the discovery was actively scanning for it, it would remain hidden from view.
The discovery, still mostly unidentified by the Orion raiders, was entering orbit around the large planetoid, where they expected to find a nearly abandoned colony of starving Bolians. The Orions all donned EV suits and they used applied Bajoran solar technology to maneuver the ship into range of the discovery. An inverted magnetic pulse, a Menthar technique from their war with the Promellians, would be utilized to disable the warship.
The Orion Captain was all bravado. This ship was covered with weapons, a necessity in this period of uncertainty with the Klingons, but it could not foresee the quick zapping of its computer cores. The crew would be dead within minutes, unable to respond or understand why their ship had suddenly lost power. The Orion was curious if the robots could survive an IMP. He assumed they wouldn't. A crewmate could perhaps reach an EV suit, and survive momentarily that way. But they couldn't operate the ship or any shuttles and would be taken out by his squad.
He did not care for survivors, even as potential slaves. It was too much of a hassle to have witnesses alive. The Starfleeters would be killed, and their technology and robots would be his. He'd have to be quick, hailing the Syndicate and quickly selling it for a hefty fee (after swapping out his Einstein junk for the latest Federation developments). He breathed heavy into his suit, as the Debrune ship "floated" into deflector range. He flipped the switch on the IMP and...
It *was* polarized plated. How, he could not tell, but the ship would detect his attack. He had no communications geared up - his Einstein station having been modified for eavesdropping only and could not actively pick up incoming transmissions. His ship would also take at least thirty minutes to restart the computer core and warp systems.
Panic hit the Orion's face. He knew the discovery had identified a threat, and was undoubtedly trying to hail him. They'd receive no response, and any further action (such as firing up a warp engine) would be perceived as hostile and probably followed by annihilation with one of its many torpedo turrets.
The tables had turned. The Orions had been defeated. Soon the ship would fire. The Captain new it was a matter of seconds before the shields surrounded the ship. He pressed the button on his Malurian transporter. His squad would enter the engineering bay and take out as many as possible, disabling the ship in the process and hopefully crippling it enough for him to cause confusion and take over the bridge.
It was a hail mary idea, with perhaps 5% chance of success. Malurian technology was not as advanced as one would hope. If the shields rose before transport was complete, his squad would bounce into oblivion. But it was all he could do to avoid immediate death or capture. He felt the tingle of the transporter as he saw the outline of the ship. Its shields were up.
----
The Starfleet starship found no evidence of a Bolian colony. Either a ruse or perhaps an unstamped distress call lost in subspace from years gone by. The coordinates may have been mangled, but active scans did not detect any planetoids large enough for a colony, except the uninhabited one in their immediate vicinity. Robots detected an inverted magnetic pulse, but this appears to have been an autonomous response from an ancient derelict vessel that travelled within deflector range of the Federation vessel. Although enough to raise a yellow alert, it was no threat to the crew, and attempts to hail the vessel were fruitless. Its crew were likely dead for centuries and the ship operating on the most reserve of power. It appeared vaguely Vulcan, perhaps dating from the time of Surak. Unfortunately the old ship buckled when it was locked in a tractor beam, meant to prevent it from crashing into the planetoid below.
Urgent business called the Federation ship away, unable to make an inventory of its ancient discovery. It released a subspace buoy for further research ships to investigate after sending out a report. But it was unknown if any would be able to investigate this far out, especially during this crucial time of near-war.
The ship travelled at high warp to the system, it's gold shine illuminated by the local suns. The Captain, whoever it may be, couldn't possibly know that a trap had been set up. They were responding to a distress call, a classic ruse used by pirates since time immemorial.
The Orions didn't know what they'd be getting. Operating an ancient Debrune scrap ship, one lacking a viewscreen, but still restored to high-speed efficiency (the ancient civilizations built some surprisingly sturdy vessels), the Orion Captain looked at his sensor logs, noting the distinctive triangular shape of a rare class of Starfleet ships. He couldn't quite recall the name, but the shape reminded him of the Starfleet symbol.
This new discovery had no polarized plating, and its shields were not up. The Orion Captain, utilizing an Einstein-class communications station, picked up onboard comm signals between many individuals. The untranslated communications were identified by his computer as belonging to Humans, Vulcans, and even Klingons. Was there a Klingon on the ship? Or had they the gall to fool eavesdroppers? The Orion shook off this idea. A high amount of autonomous robots appeared on his scanners, but their communications were unintelligible with the obsolete Einstein technology.
The ancient Debrune vessel was not cloaked nor hidden. It was floating freely through space as debris. It was well out of deflector range, and the five Orions onboard were disciplined enough to run only the most basic of systems. The ship had no heat signature, more than would be expected from a large rogue asteroid. Unless the discovery was actively scanning for it, it would remain hidden from view.
The discovery, still mostly unidentified by the Orion raiders, was entering orbit around the large planetoid, where they expected to find a nearly abandoned colony of starving Bolians. The Orions all donned EV suits and they used applied Bajoran solar technology to maneuver the ship into range of the discovery. An inverted magnetic pulse, a Menthar technique from their war with the Promellians, would be utilized to disable the warship.
The Orion Captain was all bravado. This ship was covered with weapons, a necessity in this period of uncertainty with the Klingons, but it could not foresee the quick zapping of its computer cores. The crew would be dead within minutes, unable to respond or understand why their ship had suddenly lost power. The Orion was curious if the robots could survive an IMP. He assumed they wouldn't. A crewmate could perhaps reach an EV suit, and survive momentarily that way. But they couldn't operate the ship or any shuttles and would be taken out by his squad.
He did not care for survivors, even as potential slaves. It was too much of a hassle to have witnesses alive. The Starfleeters would be killed, and their technology and robots would be his. He'd have to be quick, hailing the Syndicate and quickly selling it for a hefty fee (after swapping out his Einstein junk for the latest Federation developments). He breathed heavy into his suit, as the Debrune ship "floated" into deflector range. He flipped the switch on the IMP and...
It *was* polarized plated. How, he could not tell, but the ship would detect his attack. He had no communications geared up - his Einstein station having been modified for eavesdropping only and could not actively pick up incoming transmissions. His ship would also take at least thirty minutes to restart the computer core and warp systems.
Panic hit the Orion's face. He knew the discovery had identified a threat, and was undoubtedly trying to hail him. They'd receive no response, and any further action (such as firing up a warp engine) would be perceived as hostile and probably followed by annihilation with one of its many torpedo turrets.
The tables had turned. The Orions had been defeated. Soon the ship would fire. The Captain new it was a matter of seconds before the shields surrounded the ship. He pressed the button on his Malurian transporter. His squad would enter the engineering bay and take out as many as possible, disabling the ship in the process and hopefully crippling it enough for him to cause confusion and take over the bridge.
It was a hail mary idea, with perhaps 5% chance of success. Malurian technology was not as advanced as one would hope. If the shields rose before transport was complete, his squad would bounce into oblivion. But it was all he could do to avoid immediate death or capture. He felt the tingle of the transporter as he saw the outline of the ship. Its shields were up.
----
The Starfleet starship found no evidence of a Bolian colony. Either a ruse or perhaps an unstamped distress call lost in subspace from years gone by. The coordinates may have been mangled, but active scans did not detect any planetoids large enough for a colony, except the uninhabited one in their immediate vicinity. Robots detected an inverted magnetic pulse, but this appears to have been an autonomous response from an ancient derelict vessel that travelled within deflector range of the Federation vessel. Although enough to raise a yellow alert, it was no threat to the crew, and attempts to hail the vessel were fruitless. Its crew were likely dead for centuries and the ship operating on the most reserve of power. It appeared vaguely Vulcan, perhaps dating from the time of Surak. Unfortunately the old ship buckled when it was locked in a tractor beam, meant to prevent it from crashing into the planetoid below.
Urgent business called the Federation ship away, unable to make an inventory of its ancient discovery. It released a subspace buoy for further research ships to investigate after sending out a report. But it was unknown if any would be able to investigate this far out, especially during this crucial time of near-war.
