Holding Pattern

Posted on Sat May 28th, 2011 @ 8:31am by Vice Admiral Iluvar & Lieutenant Commander Joseph Thompson & Ensign Bok & Ensign Matthew Lessly & Ensign Robert Johnson

Mission: Episode 2.2 - "Resistance"
Location: Main Bridge, USS Pandora
Timeline: Mission Day 03, 1028

ON: [[Main Bridge, USS Pandora, Mission Day 03, 1028]]

The Borg presented the ultimate challenge to any Starfleet crew. They were a hive mind race that could adjust to anything that you did. A handful of them could overwhelm almost any security team sent against them. Ensign Bok hit the comm button on his panel to talk to engineering. "I want the containment field strengthened on the warp core. Be sure to give everyone sufficient rest. I don't want the team to be fatigued when we do finally meet up with the Borg, if we ever do. I'm staying on the bridge. I could be needed up here."

Matt watched as the diagnostics results scrolled up the screen. From a science standpoint, there wasn't a whole lot that he could do to prepare the Pandora in the event that they did indeed come in contact with the Borg, but the least he could do is make sure that the sensors were as accurate as possible. He had also ordered the science teams to bring up all the information on the Borg nanoprobes that they could, hoping that they might be able to find a way to help counteract the microscopic machines.

"Anyone been up against them before?" Matt asked, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen across the bridge since they had discovered the transponder signal.

Robert (NPC) paused what he was doing to glance over his shoulder toward the science officer for a brief moment. "Don't look at me," he said, turning back to focus on his own display again, "Closest I ever got was intensive study at the Academy...and that was close enough for me." They really hadn't spent all that much time studying the Borg in depth during his intensive course, but they did spend enough time on it for him to get the gist. Running into the Borg was never a good thing and it was best to avoid them at all costs. End of discussion.

One of the biggest problems when facing an enemy, Joe reflected, was psychology and morale. In this case, that problem translated into an overblown fear of the Borg. Granted, Starfleet had suffered major defeats at the hands of single Borg vessels before, but now - especially after Voyager's return with all they learned in the Delta Quadrant -Starfleet was much more prepared. Given the nature of the Borg, that didn't equate to much in terms of a battle, but Joe had confidence in the abilities of the Pandora's crew. The Borg could adapt, but Starfleet could innovate.

Malia listened to the conversation with as much attention as she could devote to it while she was checking ship's inventories, power stores, and any other thing she could focus on that wouldn't lead to visions of having attached cyborgish parts. None of the ships she'd ever been on had encountered the Borg, thankfully; but she had been aboard ships who'd had crew members who had one story or another. In her opinion, Borg encounters were the worst children's stories she could think of.

Matt sighed slightly, his attempt to break the silence hadn't worked quite as well as he had hoped. Turning his attention back to the diagnostics results, he began recalibrating the sensors to peak performance.

The doors to the ready room hissed open and Iluvar emerged onto the bridge once again. He paused just beyond the threshold to survey the waiting, expectant faces that had all turned toward the sound of his entrance. "I have just spoken with Admiral Tavez (PNPC) and she has asked us to look into the situation," he told them as he made his way slowly toward his chair at the center of the room, "but we will not be going alone. We are to hold position here and wait for the Orlando to rendezvous with us before proceeding any further."

"The Orlando?" Matt responded, surprised. "I thought it had been destroyed."

A strange look passed over Iluvar's face while he waited for Thompson to rise and move toward the tactical station. He knew quite well what it was like to witness the destruction of an entire starship and, despite the fact that the vessel had not been under his command, he could empathize with the loss felt by the surviving crew of the Orlando. "Starfleet Command seemed to feel the distinguished career of the Orlando and the service of her crew warranted a successor," he explained as he lowered himself into the center chair, "this would be the Legacy-class USS Orlando-A."

"What is our status, Mister Thompson," Iluvar asked, glancing over toward the man who had been keeping watch.

"We haven't gotten much more than that signal," Joe said, glancing back from where he had just taken his seat at Tactical. "Still, we've got the Pandora up to full readiness; if something does happen before the Orlando gets here, we'll be prepared for it." Well, marginally prepared - this was the Borg, or at least seemed to be. Given the surprising nature of the signal's appearance, there was only so much preparing one could do before having to just accept he didn't know everything that was going to happen.

Matt glanced about the room once again as he computer worked. There were a wide variety of expressions on everyone's faces, but the calm demeanor of the Captain seemed to be settling for most of them.

"We'll hold here," Iluvar repeated, making sure everyone was clear about their orders, "but in the mean time, I would like every department to prepare as best they can so that we will be ready to proceed when the Orlando arrives."

OFF

A Joint Mission Post by:

Captain Iluvar
Commanding Officer
USS Pandora

Lieutenant Commander Michael Evans
Chief Medical Officer/Second Officer
USS Pandora

Lieutenant Commander Joseph Thompson
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Pandora

Ensign Matthew Lessly
Chief Science Officer
USS Pandora

Ensign Bok
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Pandora

and

Ensign Robert Johnson (NPC)
Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Pandora
Played by: Capt Iluvar