Log Mundy, 6517-2237

[Adele Mundy]

Personal Log, Lt.Sr. Adele Mundy, TSN Raven, 2nd Flt. 4th Lt. Div.
Stardate 6517-2237

The new software updates have been installed, with the usual glitches. The Comms console has a new look, and ergonomically it does seem to work better. We’ll see how things progress over the next few shifts.

We were told that TSN Viper had been salvaged from her wreck, and after undergoing extensive repairs, was operational again. Alas for Hunter and her crew, the same cannot be said for her – to the point that the senior officers themselves aren’t sure whether she is going to be refitted at all. I suppose our current shortages may have something to do with that.

Talking of which, our current situation with the Ximni and the industrial bases actually made the news. Ximni forces have retreated, and released the bases they had occupied. Naturally, they’ll have to be thoroughly searched before production can resume. And meanwhile, nobody has any more idea about the reason why the Ximni attacked in the first place. Sometimes it’s good not to have chosen a career in the Diplomatic Corps – also, I think A Strict Regard For Truth is an automatic disqualifier.

Just to make life interesting, the Penwrath Corporation released a statement claiming they have new sources of weapons, and threatening, or was it promising? to attack USFP forces soon. Coincidence? We’ll have to pay special attention to their weapons signatures the next time we meet. And the questions about where they got the funding to pay for these new weapons also remain unanswered.

We were supposed to go on a quiet shift in Cerebus, where a sensor update that is currently going on is leaving some gaps in the sensor net, which we were supposed to cover. And that was supposed to provide us with the opportunity to identify and correct any software bugs.

During the preliminary sims, some of the bugs did indeed manifest, but the maintenance crews were working well and resolved most issues promptly. I had the occasion to notice what a difference one inexperienced bridge officer can make on a ship like Raven: we had the Fleet Captain in command as usual, with Lt. Cmdr. Aramond as XO and taking Helm, Cdt. Bubba in Engineering, and a new cadet, Bluestreak, on Tactical. Well, new is not exactly correct, because apparently the cadet has served on a bridge in the past, but he was then transferred to some administrative post (I didn’t ask the details, so this is imprecise, Computer), and it was his first time on a bridge in quite a while. Well, we were all at that stage once. Bluestreak was clearly unfamiliar with the Weapons console, to the point of not knowing how to raise the shields or how to load the Homing torpedoes. I cringed in sympathy, and in recollection of my own early incompetence. Cdt. Bluestreak showed a marked improvement in the second sim, but then was recalled to the station. I wonder if he’ll turn up in rotation again.

Since we were short of bridge crew, Excalibur generously sent us Lt.Jr. Cr00ve, and we continued to smooth over some of the rough edges in the upgrades.

For the mission, Cr00ve requested to be posted on SciComms. I shouldn’t mind, really. He stated that was his primary, and it would not make sense to endanger the ship by leaving him on Tactical if he felt unsure of himself. Tactical isn’t my primary either, but I can manage the system, and especially after criticising Cdt. Bluestreak’s failings in my head, I told myself to concentrate and do my best. Fortunately, with the Fleet Captain in charge and Aramond on Helm, it’s not difficult to work as a team. I did need my secondary Science console open, though, because the information on frequencies and targets was rather sparse.

The Division was sent on a rescue mission from Volantis to WP52, where a ship had gone missing. We set out on a search pattern, found the life pods in a nebula, picked them up, and were making our way towards Atlantins Gate when a USF ship briefly appeared on the sensors, and promptly made off across the sector border. All the usual questions followed: who was she? What was she doing? Had she been involved in the incident that had caused the friendly ship to sustain damage and eject life pods? And who was on board?

Sometimes, Computer, I think I have that damn psi-link with the wrong person.

We reached Atlantis Command with no further problems, other than some software gremlins towards the end of the cruise, that necessitated the station taking us in on autopilot. Oh, the ignominy of it… except that it was rather relaxing, really.

On Atlantis Command we received orders to travel to Cerberus to pick up a civilian VIP, Councillor Michael Crichton. And once Viper had him aboard, she was attacked by pirates. Of course we dealt with them, and Viper and the Councillor were safe; but it does make one wonder about our security measures, if they knew exactly which ship he was on; and it makes one wonder about the brief presence of another USF ship in the sector; and it also makes one wonder about what is so important about him, that the pirates would risk their ships and lives on the chance of kidnapping him. Or perhaps just killing him would have been enough? Computer, just who is Councillor Crichton, and what does he do?

[pause]

Oh, dammit.

And as if the pirates hadn’t been enough, a USF Gallu class ship appeared. Lancer and Raven worked together to destroy her, and Lancer picked up the life pods she ejected; so, knot in the stomach time again.

We delivered the Councillor, his staff and the life pods to Cerberus Command, and returned to Promethean Sector through the Promethean Gate in sector 4 – and there we found that three Kralien fleets were attacking Promethean Command through the gaps in the minefields by the three weapons platforms. On the Fleet Captain’s orders we split up, Phoenix and Raven heading for the fleet by WP72, Lancer and Hunter to the fleet by WP 98, Viper to the one by WP44.

The instant we opened fire on the Kralien fleets our ships’ systems fried. That was not a good moment. I was sure the Kraliens would respond any second, and our shields were down… It turns out that the fleets were yet another sensor glitch, and our weapons fire somehow caused an EMP that took our systems down. Promethean Command sent out tugboats to bring us all in – even more ignominious than the autopilot! – and once we were docked, hastened to reassure us that the situation was nominal. Because of course as soon as we felt the tugboats lock on, we were sure it was the Kraliens, and, with all sensors and comms circuits fried by the EMP, we were expecting to emerge to be greeted by armed guards.

I would like to formally ask whoever has been feeding the station gremlins after midnight to stop it now.

We ran a final, consolation sim, where, since Cr00ve had to return to station duties, I found myself running Science and Weapons – yes, I usually have a secondary Science console open when I’m running Tactical, it’s useful backup. Running both stations is something else. Was it my best work? No. My attention was divided between the tight focus of Weapons and the wider overview of Science, and I wasn’t fast enough to do both the way they should be done: I had no time to double scan for frequencies, for example. But the other ships were also short of crew, and it was a sim. And we completed it in eight minutes, so we can’t have been too awful.

Back in the Briefing Room, we were told that Intelligence had hoped to be able to get some information from the USF crew members in the life pods we had recovered, about the movements of the USF ships. It hadn’t gone unnoticed that every time we were attacked by pirates, a USF ship was leaving the sector. Unfortunately – I hate it when that word comes up in debrief – the USF prisoners in the life pods died before they could be questioned. Knot in the stomach time again… Computer, you and I are going to have to take a quiet stroll through a few files. I need those people’s I.D.s.

I’m sure all sorts of mental alarm bells were ringing at that point. I mean, the last time prisoners died before they could be questioned, we had a traitor in the Division. Two traitors. That’s not the sort of thing one forgets.

And apart from that, the seeming connection between the USF and the pirates does not bode well. We aren’t in an operetta, alas.

[end log]

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