text:
We pick up where we ended last session having just enjoyed the departure of first the Klingons and then the Romulans. Cpt. Aponte and the Redan went after the retreating slaver ship, the Hiewan, reaching it easily and blocking any transmissions it would have made in the process. They returned to the Endurance shortly with the ship in tow.
The Hiewan
Meanwhile, upon the Girma, the Marines were dealing with the prisoners, all cardassians from Eisae (captured in a local bar after end of shift) who were harnessed into some type of pain booth thingy. They released the first prisoner from it, and he became agitated according to the onsite commander, Marine 1st LT Kaita Joole so they strapped him back in. (in actually it was later discovered that he had a seizure from being released without the proper protocol, placing him back into the pain field solved the seizure problem until medical could deal with it). None the less, Major Jackson was not amused and, um, expressed herself in the LT's general direction.
The Girma
After a little planning, the prisoners were transported to the Endurance to receive immediate medical treatment after their release into the emergency care unit (a converted cargo bay that the crew has gotten so skilled at setting up recently). It is interesting to note that none of the prisoners seemed to object in any way to Lt Peren's ritual scar of shame.
From the computers the exact destination of both ships was determined to be a large, vaguely spherical asteroid of roughly 350 meters diameter. Plans with unloading instructions were also acquired.
Orion Slave Base
Thus began the planning. They planned, oh how they planned. LT CMDR Samuel L. Starrbon promotion to Lt. Commander came through. Still they planned. The Starrbon was elevated to 1st Officer of the Endurance. Every detail was eventually planned for. Lt Meda Zoalki was named Second Officer. The final details were ironed out. It took a few minutes. Then the plan was scrapped in favor of a frontal assault.
In essence, the base was running an internal scattering field to prevent transport and to prevent emission of electronic signals that would give the base away. The base has (it's ours now, and they are still there) extremely rudimentary sensory apparatus consisting of passive devices not much more sophisticated than a CCTV setup. Sensor probes were used to pinpoint the controls for for the scattering field, all at a single console in their engineering room with a single person monitoring and operating it (poor bastard).
Captain Aponte from the Redan called about then to let the Endurance know that another ship matching Kssvosse was in the area as well, and Wash made a call to him and had a brief chat and worked out a trade and somehow involved the captain in a 3-way (conversation).
The Marines were loaded on transporter pads to be beamed to the asteroid via relays that CWO Ssscritcha, (unpronounceable) Bob the Edoan Transporter Chief, had cobbled together with pattern enhancers strapped to sensor probes with old shoelaces (yes, still used in the 24th century) launched to 4 specific points along the way. The officers had fresh promotions and new command positions in hand. Medical was ready for more action. That's when the Captain, whose player was high on drugs from a dog induced awkward tumble resulting in the near amputation of his leg, gave the order, "Uh, you guys can go now if you want to." Just like that, it was on.
Starrbon fired the Endurance's lone phaser shot with ludicrous accuracy (really), punching through the Asteroid's outer layer and powered just right to not erupt out the other side of the asteroid, voiding the atmosphere, thus killing everyone inside and robbing the Endurance crew of any possibility of entertaining prisoners. It destroyed the console and power relays for the scattering field, somehow not entirely killing the person operating the system who was RIGHT FREAKING THERE when the beam hit. He has most of an upper torso and a bit of one of his arms left, not much left of his face though, but technically still alive and with exciting brain activity, particularly in his pain center.
Marines began to cycle through the transporter system 6 at a time and Bob was heard to mutter, "I've always wanted to try this…." as he poured sentient flesh and minds through his hastily assembled and completely untested transporter relay system. Upon arrival on the asteroid, intact as far as any else knew, they immediately began to marine about. Which is to say, ass was kicked, then kicked again for good measure, harsh language was flung about, and the pantry was raided – not necessarily in that order. The area was secured in less than a minute as the 50 residents of the asteroid were still recovering from the phaser strike and the scattering field system overload and thinking they had been hit by another large space rock.
Large Space Rock
Having secured the asteroid and the prisoners, the GM was tired and stopped writing until tomorrow (or later) when he will regale you with tales of Brunch-like conversations with Kssvosse in part II of our exciting recap of today's events.
Refreshed, rejuvenated, filled with memory enhancing drugs (thank you coffee!), and prompted by the wise counsel of senior members of our group (though clearly not senior enough to suffer my memory issues) the semi-dauntless, but partially-dauntable GM has returned at long last to finish his post (no offense to the people of Finland).
The Captain, having dangled a massive carrot
in front of Kssvose (in the form of 2 captured medium Orion freighters that needed new ownership and somehow were listed as scuttled), had Wash invite him to enjoy a meal with the Captain and his senior officers. Not wishing to endanger what he was clearly so close to obtaining, the Orion smuggler was quite cooperative and happily answered all questions put to him. In fact, he intended to answer more fully than he actually did as the questions came in faster than he could distribute his information, and the questions were so basic that most of the answers were of no threat to anyone. That was not true of all the answers.
Kssvose tried several times to warn the Captain off of his line of questions. He asked, repeatedly, is these were things he really wanted to know and that he would not be happier or more secure if he knew these answers. That he really should consider continuing as he had, business as usual. When the Captain did not relent Kssvose became…informative.
This time with Kssvose was used by the Captain and senior officers to gain an inside 'lay of the land' of the TF21 operations area, what was going on behind a lot of the movement being seen, who the players were, and so on. The first of these gems of knowledge was the scope of the slave trade and the relationship of the Breen to the slavers as the primary buyers of Cardassian 'stock'. Taken from unprotected and unpatrolled systems, the slavers were farming the area to meet a contract to supply a certain number of slaves to the Breen. Whether this was to be a one time contract or a continual supply remains unknown as does the purposes the Breen have for the slaves they are purchasing. The Breen are paying over the market value for this commodity, and much of this extra amount is going towards the Klingons in the area who are facilitating safe passage for the Orions and using the funds to employ smugglers to shore up their own supply situation.
Nothing of this has appeared in Starfleet reports indicating either ignorance, which is unforgivable, neglect, which is also unforgivable, or intentional withholding of information, though a viable purpose for doing so defies imagination. Intel being the most heavily indicated as having issues of some sort, it was not alone as Starfleet and Federation activities, goals, and operations, even diplomatic activities all show odd inconsistencies.
Starfleet Intelligence (unofficial Logo)
Cardassian behaviors were also brought into question. It was indicated that Buva, Tathon's former attendant, might be of use in that regard. Kssvose did say that questioning him directly was unlikely to yield results, but he could be leveraged.
Kssvose made no secret of both the fact that he used to be an intelligence operative (which the Endurance officers already knew, which Kssevose already knew they knew, etc) or that he had served with Captain Seran of the Claymore (which was definitely NOT common knowledge).
The meal ended before Kssevose was fully interrogated due to his anxiousness to take command of his 2 new Orion freighters, the players running out of time that day, and one of the players being pain medicated to what the GM assumes was well into the hallucinogenic realm (he kept calling himself Captain and giving commands to people!).
We begin at Atbar where the USS Endurance has arrived for a day of downtime to refurbish its systems after stressing them heavily at Sonebr. Some work was done in Taggrut while a few more buoys were deployed (2/3 done now) but more needs doing. Facilities are together enough to allow 24 hours in a spacedock to work on the stress points the old girl suffered while operating in atmosphere. She'll occupy one of the 2 slips currently operational. Shoreleave is still restricted on Atbar at this time.
Atbar II
Taggrut IV
Additionally, the Endurance is taking on new officers and crew, saying goodbye to their engineer and Ensign Ricky, who has been promoted to LtJG and is being sent to the Romulan front lines. We wish him luck and will (more or less) miss him.
Lt Medi Zoalki, Bajoran, is the newly assigned Chief Engineer will be joining the crew along with LtJG Iala, Edoan, the new Computer Chief who is replacing LtJG Frae (who was transported out along with her belongings as soon as Atbar was in range, but all recordings and sensor logs seem to have no record of the event.)
Joined by the Redan, ready to return to Taggrut and finish the buoy chore, the Endurance receives a message from Buva, still on Sonebr. In it he relays information regarding a large slaver fleet that picked up a shipment of 1,200 'livestock' that were in stasis on the planet and departed with them under cover of Klingon protection. Cardassians have arrived in more force at this time, mining is expected to get underway in a weeks time (using the Dominion tech spider bot things), and the refugees are doing much better with hardly any additional losses thanks to the endurance. At this time the Klingons seem to have abandoned the system.
Present concerns:
The information from Daimon Ult on the slavers needs to be checked out.
The information pulled from the pirate vessels needs to be checked out.
The sensor Buoys need to be deployed.
There's always that haunted prison.
The Huaco system needs to be checked out.
Sonebr has been added to your patrol area.
The Azrael is inbound and will be here in roughly a day. It has applied for the slip Endurance is vacating to make its own repairs.
LtJG FRAE, ISARA
Assistant Science Officer
USS Endurance
TF21, PG5, Cardassian Theater Military Command
Disposition of the slave trade in our patrol area: Using the data acquired from the Ferengi, and matching it up with our movement and data stores, the map of locations and routes should be fairly accurate and the Ferengi data is validated. Additionally, Atbar has been marked as a likely center for command and control activities. It probably will be a small base hidden in one of the asteroid belts, likely the closest, where it can keep a watch on the goings on of the inner system, particularly Atbar II, aka Thrombo. Size and disposition of ships remains to be confirmed. In essence, they are moving roughly 25,000 people a year to Breen space.
Disposition of the pirates in our patrol area: Active Orion organizations include Monas, Silkassi, Miskoval, Krast Vokassik, Orion Syndicate, and Green Trade (slavers), with the axis of power between Orion Syndicate and Green trade and the others falling into line. They seem to be pursuing a larger goal and they are operating in an organized fashion, but appear to be quite random by using multiple organizations and many of the other pirate factions as hired guns. Derot is the only major Cardassian player and doesn't seem to be on Team Orion, and neither does Fownd Merris, our lone Bajoran player. They actively avoid each other. The others can be found occasionally in the employ of the Orion faction, but mostly stick to their own rackets. These include, in order largest to smallest, Quantum Vengeance, Spite Clan, Silent Steel, Mist Assembly, Entropy, Oasis Transport, and Dire Leviathan bringing up the rear. Finally, the Maquis seem quite happy with piracy and include Jansie Mellor, Consuala Brekenridge, and Fintelx. They will often fight each over easy pickings, but will turn and act together against any arriving authority.
Disposition of the Maquis in our patrol area: As per above, they seem to have settled into a role as simple pirates, albeit some very high tech ones with very solid training. They will likely be a threat to the area for quite some time, at least until a concerted effort to root them out is undertaken.
Disposition of the Klingons in our patrol area: All sensor logs clearly indicate that the Klingons are routinely in the TF21 area. Our actions and those of the Claymore seem to have blunted a strong move on Taggrut as we did much better than they were expecting. I do not believe that they are through with Taggrut, and will play cat and mouse with the Cardassians both there and at Sonebr to force them to commit more forces to the area. I can't say with certainty where they will be pulled from but my expectations are that this is a feint to focus attention while they strike in another area.
Disposition of the Romulans in our patrol area: I have little to offer other than they do seem to be actively monitoring us and the other ships of TF21. So far we are the only ones they have 'communicated' with or allowed us to realize that they were there. My projections suggest they will be making a move, most likely an overture of cooperation in the next month, if not sooner.
Disposition of the True Way in our patrol area: They are almost certainly holed up in the Huaco system where they have constructed ship manufacturing capabilities. Their prior activities seem mostly to be propaganda actions to demonstrate that they are still a force to be reckoned with, likely to drive recruits. The action in Atbar strongly indicates this. All indications are that they were disposing of older ships in favor of newer ones they have been building and they didn't want the Cardassians to have any chance of returning them to service (though they did recover 4 of them in Atbar, 2 of which were in orbit with us at Sonebr). They may well have rid themselves of rivals to their command, those that wanted action now and had no patience to wait. The interrogations are proceeding and seem to bear that presumption out so far. There is definite momentum towards something in the near future that we are not going to like.
End Of Report
In Mersoh (the entire system is basically a gigantic asteroid field with strong radioactive particle fields scattered throughout) 2 slaver ships are tracked, one coming in from C52 (and likely Eisae before that), another from the red dwarf designated C47, the two of them looking very much like they will rendezvous. Captain Gamble ordered Captain Aponte and the Redan to intercept the one from C47 (the Hiewan) while he and the Endurance would engage the ship from C52 (the Girma). Using the Endurance's newly tweaked sensors (recently tuned to better read life signs) these ships were revealed despite their quite sneaky tactics of traveling through areas that normally would hide them from sensor scans very efficiently.
Of course, the Orions were not enthusiastic about heaving to, The marines had some fun onboard and were preparing to transport the entire crew and all slaves (115 personnel, 10 crew 105 slaves held in 'pain fields' for mental conditioning) when the Klingons uncloaked.
The particulars of the area of space the Orions were traveling in made it much easier for the Klingons to sneak up and surround the Endurance and the Girma with 5 Vor'cha Type A's (88 ss, 138 power). Led by Captain Kerrogh of IKS Mangghom Bey, the Klingons uncloaked and locked on to the Endurance, ordering them to lower their shields and surrender. The Endurance refused, maneuvered in tight with the Girma surrounded her with their shields and called the Redan to warp to them to provide support. There was posturing. New and improved posturing, in fact.
Things got ugly for a bit, then it started to look like the Klingons would attack, in spite of the arrival of the Redan. The Hiewan (no slaves on board by the way) got its engines back online and started to move away under half impulse (likely working on improving that speed) after the Redan moved to assist the Endurance. As things reached a high degree of tension and weapons locked all around, fully loaded and charged, and Captain Kerrogh had acquired a sufficient degree of crazy in his expression to indicate that 'this was a good day to die', or at least murder some Starfleet chumps, the Romulans uncloaked.
The 5 Romulan D'Deridex Leviathans (110 ss, 148 power) (sensor analysis confirmed these were the same ships the Endurance had been observed by and had tracked on several occasions) uncloaked around the Klingons, powered and locked their weapons on them. Anger, posturing, and bluster ensue, but no one is really enthusiastic to pull the trigger because no one here can get out of it without losing ships they can't replace. The Klingons don't manage to blow up the transport vessel, and eventually cloak and leave. The Federation and Romulan ships let them. The Endurance recovers its people and more entertaining computer data on ships, personnel, and movements associated with this particular Orion Slaver ship. The Redan takes off to recapture the Hiewan when it's clear that the Endurance is under no immediate threat, providing another ship computer core to pillage for intel.
The Romulans stay behind and the Endurance captain and crew gets to meet Commander Tacranaal (Tac-ra-naal), "Greetings Captain Gamble, officers and crew of the Endurance. We are happy to have been of assistance to you. We have no wish to further interfere in your operations. Please, be aware that we will be in the area should those savages choose to return. Our assistance is available should you happen to call for it, and in return we certainly hope to be able to call upon you as well. As you no doubt realize, we are the ships that have been observing you from a… discrete distance for some time now and we are most impressed with how you choose to comport yourselves. I wish the same could be said for all Starfleet vessels in the area." Captain Gamble inflicted his diplomacy upon Tacranaal for a brief time. After this short visit with Gamble, Tacranall said, "Well, we have business to attend to and you most likely do as well, so we'll have to save the, um, [looks off-screen, seems to be reading a cue-card] tea and cakes [looks back] for another time. Good Day Captain."
The Romulans cloaked and left in the direction the Klingons went.
End of Session (please add things I missed in the comments)
SIDE NOTE: Campaign Objectives Achieved So Far….
Still on Sonebr, picking up where we left off last week.
We begin with Dr. Shaw (aka Wash) on the planet doing triage. At various times she is doing life saving surgery, and it's not pretty. Her commbadge fell off at one point and into a patient and was not noticed, but was later beamed out and back to her, none the worse for wear. She was assisted by various medics while on Sonebr, particularly 3 cardassian medics following behind her and euthanizing patients she had saved because they would be an unwarranted drain on medical resources, they would serve no useful function in society due to their wounds, were mentally unstable, etc, calling it 'mercy' in the custom of their people. Wash initiated a confrontation and they became more…restricted…with their mercy, but did continue.
As she worked, Wash was seen speaking with a Tall human of Indian descent who was assisting her. He did make a few statements and ask her a few questions:
You do get around Lt. Shaw. Isn't it curious how the Klingons just up and left? What a mess they've made. The Cardassians will be pouring resources down this hole for some time to come, don't you think? Won't it be fun for them to guard? I wonder what will get left unguarded?
Shaw grunted a few non-committal answers to him as she was rather busy, and he continued.
Well, I have a bit of information for you to chew on while you work. Not to come off like Charles Dickens, but your captain and crew will be visited by three Ferengi this eve. Let's call them the Ferengi of business past, the Ferengi of business present, and the Ferengi of business future. Each of them will offer a different deal, and they should be listened to. Sadly, there will not be a life lesson from these encounters:
The Ferengi of Business Past turned out to be none other than former, now restored, Daimon Zort and Taar Meski, now 49% shareholder of Trakon Supplies (Grutos Prut owns 51%, new board of directors), wants to build out the mines on Sonebr and there isn't a moment to lose. The Cardassians are eager for this deal and are more interested in it than they are in helping their people (at the command level). They can offer the Endurance detailed intel on the Klingon forces in the area, how they are deployed, conditions of the other planets, and the nature of their relations with the pirates in the area plus evidence of the planning to create the 'crisis in Sonebr' naming names, dates, places, and recordings of conversations. The entire affair in "Meeting the Guv'nor" was really a carefully orchestrated ploy by Zort to arrange for him to be in this position at this critical moment. Surely you can see that hoo-mon?
The Ferengi of Business Present: It's the Captain's old friend, Daimon Girn of the Mretek. From the Taggrut incident. He's doing well, really well. He has the missing key components, including the very large parts, needed to put the cities power systems and water purification plant back online. They are stored in the 5 terribly delicate Ferengi Cargo Liners with the overpowered engines and ludicrously heavy shields. He would simply appreciate fair compensation for having safeguarded the critical pieces of such vital systems from the Klingon's plans to permanently destroy this infrastructure: compensation for their costs plus a healthy plus bonus plus negotiation fee plus storage fee plus security deposit plus a long term (50 years) contract to supply food, clothing, luxury goods, alcohol, fuels, and other such supplies as are needed or may be needed. He also brings:
1. Water desalination and purification system.
2. Pieces and parts (incomplete, can replicate the rest) for a civic basic food replicator system.
3. 200,000 non-diseased blankets, 500,000 rations, 10,000 cargo units of drinking water, medicinal supplies.
4. The Cardassians have some but not enough of all that and simply want to take it by force from the Ferengi who 'stole' it to begin with.
The Ferengi of business Future: Daimon Ult of the Ferengi Salvage Confederation has all the inexpensive, well-loved and cared for, slightly used products that would be needed to put a world like Sonebr back on it's feet in no time (3 months more or less). He has a cousin that specializes in low cost dome construction as well to give the citizens a nice-ish place to live. He can be here in a week and have a city level dome in place in roughly a month if people aren't sentimental about existing structures. He very much wishes an introduction and recommendation of his services from Starfleet to the Cardassians to help them solve their problems. He would be willing to part with information regarding the Orion slave network in the bottleneck area, where their operations are located, who the players are, the routes they like to take, who they are selling to and where the slaves are being taken. He really doesn't mind since he was cut out of the deal.
1. If the Captain will help with this situation (help him get in to see the Legates, out alive, and make a profit) he will give the Captain the most precious thing the Captain could possibly want: Information.
2. He knows the slavers bases of operations, ships warp signatures, who is who, how their network is laid out, and how much they stiffed him for.
In other news: Reports of hostilities between Claymore Vs. Klingons and Pirates working together. Azrael assaulted by a similar force while en route to meet up with the Claymore suffered a systems glitch and the pirates got a few shots in. Claymore continues to sport it's special markings.
Sonebr Problems – The crew suffered through and found solutions to the problems listed below (full details can be found in their individual logs):
A. Engineering: Clean water source. Air is mildly toxic and progressively becoming moreso, this is the garden spot of Sonebr IV. Power – there is none and no infrastructure.
B. Tactical: Track various pirates, Klingons, slaver strike groups, and unknowns still in system. Fight off a couple of sneakies. How can this planet best be attacked and how to defend against that? There's an old Cardassian defense satellite net around the planet, but it's unpowered and non-functional at this time….
C. Medical: Save as many as you can. It's massively overwhelming.
1) Those who won't/can't release their dead children/loved ones.
2) Those who insist they are fine but aren't at all.
3) The dying that simply can't be saved.
4) The dying that can be saved that require resources that would save 10 others.
5) The suicidal.
6) The severely brain damaged.
7) The horribly disfigured.
8) The cardassian mercy policy of putting down those listed from 3 to 6.
9) The people looking for specific survivors.
10) The religious zealots demanding that all medical assistance be rejected by the people.
11) The people listening to the religious zealots. The children of these people.
D. Science: How bad is the planet, can it be saved and if so what will it take? The life on the planet has lost its vitality, it's dying. The food chain doesn't exist and the toxins are killing all life except for the most extreme extremophiles. The toxins need to be extracted and purified, new life seeded and tended, the planet basically terraformed.
E. Marines: Still combatants on the planet.
1) Klingons that wouldn't leave. (they were found and rooted out by the cardassian soldiers)
2) Dug in Cardassian Soldiers, sneaky, terrorists, don't know the Dominion war is over (as per Japanese). They launch a small pirate ship, mimic transponder of the actual small pirate ship the Endurance is using, dock and slip aboard the Endurance. Sabotage ensues. (they didn't get that far)
3) Crazy civilians. With sticks. And knives. And a rock.
4) Collaborators the population wants to kill.
F. Pirates and slavers:
1) There's not much to take, but there are pirates that have stashes here and they want those stashes. They don't all have transporters and they are attempting to land and retrieve their goodies. There's the typical gold press latinum, special liquors, art and jewelry, and there's also special medicines, rare plants and animals, along with weapons and supplies the pirates need for their base(s).
2) The slavers have people stored here to pick up. They are in stasis and don't show up on scans, the storage facilities are below ground and shielded form EM detection. They are here to pick up their inventory: 1,200 head of livestock. (not found, see following week's adventure log)
What do you mean you've 'acquired' a case of black market Klingon prune juice?
Sonebr IV is now in cardassian hands, and the Sonebr system out to its ort cloud is now cardassian space. While diplomats argue and borders are redrawn, uninhibited passage is guaranteed for any vessel en route from Taggrut to Sonebr. Meanwhile, 48,200+ cardassians remain on t he planet, starved. severely dehydrated, nearly dead or dying, along with Sonebr's biosphere.
The Cardassian commanders at Sonebr formally request (directly since you have no liaison) that the Endurance lend a hand on Sonebr to help ease the population through this crisis whenever and wherever you see fit to help save as much of the population as possible. Computer census put puts them at 48,362 with some anomalous reading at areas of the city edge and in the nearby foothills. In general, a large percentage of this population is on the brink of death, mostly due to starvation, dehydration, and exposure. They lack food, water, shelter, and clothing, and have for some time now, and a good many are diseased and/or have serious injuries.
Pirates continue to come and go and the Klingons are very obviously in the area providing "protection for all ships". This is keeping the Cardassian ships in tight around their vulnerable vessels and restricting their operations to this city while looting of other sites is obviously continuing. These would be the more brazen and/or desperate pirates by the way. Some of them you've seen before. The Breen and Ferengi ships are in the area as well.
Things happening are broken up by position and start on the planet with Dr. Shaw (aka Wash) who is attempting to save lives. She is dealing with the worst of the worst in a group of 48,300+ people who are all in a condition very much like a Jewish WWII German prison war camp survivor when the allied forces found them. Less than 2% who are older than 8 years of age are male, the rest are females of all ages. As Wash works various people assist her. At some point she realizes one of her helpers is someone she knows named Mr. Jones who she briefly converses with, though no one is sure what the conversation is about.
Tactical: On board the ship, Tactical noted several ships in orbit, approaching, or simply in the area. These include 3 Breen cruisers, 3 separate Ferengi groups (all moving towards the planet), 25 Klingon attack craft, the Cardassian rescue flotilla, the Endurance herself (Yes, they noticed themselves), and roughly 20 small transport craft and 5 freighters, all unknown.
Additionally, Lt Starrbon discovered a ring of Cardassian defense satellites orbiting the planet that appeared dead or offline at least, 87 in all. Consulting with Lt. Grant from engineering, they went to work (after wresting 1 shuttlecraft from ops, the only one that could be spared and even that one would be sorely missed) checking out the ring. Lt. Grant, knowing that power sources would be useful on the planet, viewed the ring as a ready built reserve of power sources available for harvesting. Going into the first one (spacesuited and physically opening the cover and tinkering) he discovered that the main power connectors to the charging device and been severed with an energy beam, and also that it was booby-trapped. He managed to get a few feet away before the obvious chemical explosive charge went off.
Working on other means to harvest them, a scan revealed that the next one in line seemed to not have the same damage to it and so Jackson went out again, removed the panel, found no damage and just a simple on/off switch. He turned it on, it didn't explode, but it was completely drained of power. Finding a small active panel, he set the system to begin charging and was looking for a way to reprogram it when a small data interface chip designed to plug into Cardassian technology was beamed directly in front of his faceplate, lightly startling the wearied war veteran. He plugged it in and Frae told him she had set the shuttle, with Ensign Ricky still inside, as a hostile target. The turret immediately locked onto the shuttle, and Ensign Ricky pooped a little. There was not enough power for a weapons discharge, as Frae was aware, and she reset the shuttle to friendly, thought the weapon was still trained on the shuttle, it's last target. They subsequently activated 3 more defense satellites and progress (the GM assumes) continues.
Pirate transport capture:
Various small town surround the main city. While the city doesn't have any buildings remaining, and not even many stand alone walls – really no shelter at all, these small towns do represent some opportunity for shelter for at least some of the residents. The residents are thirst-starved, food starved, naked, and without shelter in a mildly toxic environment. This area was occupied by the Klingons who kept the local atmosphere toxin free, and took that equipment with them when they left.
More recently, Starrbon made contact with each of the three Ferengi ships/groups inbound to Sonebr IV. The closest of them is former, now restored, Daimon Zort, Taar Meski, who is now 49% shareholder of Trakon Supplies (Grutos Prut owns 51%, new board of directors), wants to build out the mines on Sonebr and there isn't a moment to lose.
The second of them is the Captain's old friend, Daimon Girn of the Mretek. From the Taggrut incident. He's doing well, really well. He has the missing key components, including the very large parts, needed to put the cities power systems and water purification plant back online. They are stored in the 5 terribly delicate Ferengi Cargo Liners with the overpowered engines and ludicrously heavy shields.
Finally, there is Daimon Ult of the Ferengi Salvage Confederation has all the inexpensive, well-loved and cared for, slightly used products that would be needed to put a world like Sonebr back on it's feet in no time (3 months more or less). He has a cousin that specializes in low cost dome construction as well to give the citizens a nice-ish place to live. He can be here in a week and have a city level dome in place in roughly a month if people aren't sentimental about existing structures.
Engineering: The Endurance crew and Cardassian military personnel are fitted with respirators, a simple and effective means of protecting against the atmosphere at the current levels of toxicity (which is steadily rising). What could those do for the weakened population if they were made available, and what would it take to make them?
To drive much of the larger projects that will be needed to save the population the planet will need a source of power. The Endurance's Auxiliary Power systems are 2 high efficiency fusion power plants built right into her hull. The ship carries the pieces and parts to do a near full replacement including all critical components. If the ship is totally without power it gives the people onboard the chance to put power of some kind online and thereby survive. Rugged and durable and designed to function even when damaged, it's an optimum solution to powering a small city fully. Tathon and Jackson started having the parts sent down.
Still, it's hard to set up a fusion plant in a rubble field. Taking a que from the Cardassians who were using ship weapons to clear and flatten sections of the ruins to set up temporary shelters, Starrbon followed suit and did the same 2km away from the refugee population. Creating an area a half kilometer in radius, he then set about flattening a road to where the people were. Those on the ground and in space contacted the Endurance to shut the operation down as it approached a point 200m from the populace. The unfortunate part of this is the efforts of Starrbon and the Cardassians did kick more toxic particulates into the immediate atmosphere.
Additionally, Starrbon dropped a small engineering team into the nearest and least toxic (due to proximity) of the small towns. There the e-team pulled the shield generator from the shuttle (much pilot complaining was heard) and then the shuttle was released to return to shuttling materials to the planet. The engineering crew (2 ratings and an NCO) set to work to modify the shield generator to put a large but very light 'shield dome' over that community. Not designed to do much more than prevent additional toxins from entering, the town, it's nearly ready and ready to power. With the addition of an atmospheric scrubber (like the kind the ship uses) all the toxins within it could be cleared in a couple of hours.
The same system scaled up could cover could be deployed in the area of the population to generally reduce the toxins in the open air to tolerable levels and eliminate the need for the breathing masks.
Marines: There's rebels in them there hills, maybe. There's something there, the sensor's say so.
An inbound fleet from Avenal of roughly 30 ships, many of them quite large, are spotted at the end of the pirate festivities in the last session. Upon contacting this fleet, it is discovered that they are Cardassian Defense Force ships dispatched to facilitate the return of Sonebr from Klingon hands to Cardassian. They are bringing shelter, food, water, medical supplies, and, if necessary, transport for up to 50,000, as per the instructions given (2 sessions ago).
Sonebr IV – Mining colony and minor dilithium supplier. Common ores are abundant and easily mined, contributing to the planets gravity despite its size. While there is little natural life above a microbial level on the planet, there are substantial dilithium deposits here as well. Due to the presence of the valuable crystal, the Cardassians kept a large garrison of troops on Sonebr IV. The Klingons laid siege to the planet and essentially starved the garrison out during their take-over following the Dominion war. Of almost 50,000 Cardassian troops stationed on the planet, less than 5,000 remain alive, and those that do are used in the mines as labor.
• Class – M
• Satellites – 1
• Planetary Gravity – 1.08
• Planetary Size – 64.8% of Sol
• Land Area – 74%
• Planetary Rotation – 20 hours
• Atmospheric Density – Thin, breathing gear required
• General Climate – Arctic
• Mineral Content – Common metals, abundant dilithium.
• Population – 230,000 civilian, 64,000 troops.
Taggrut – Orbiting a red supergiant are 8 Terrestrial planets, 3 belts, 8 gas giants, 8 ice cores occupy this solar system which is one of the largest (in volume) in Cardassian space at 2.3 times the volume of the Sol solar system. Arranged from the star: T, T, B, T, T, T, B, T(M), G, T, G, B, G, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I.
Post mission sensor analysis and data correlation reveal the Klingons have replaced the remaining 5,000 troops, who did not survive to this point, with planetary population to increase mining output. None of the remaining cardassian troops have survived, the planetary population is now under 50,000 (48,362) and those are mostly women and children. All easy to mine resources have been stripped. Specialized equipment that the Klingons don't have, can't spare from other sites, or have destroyed is required to access these resources. Without the mines the population is a burden to the Klingons, one that the Cardassians can take care of, thus creating value for the Klingons to keep them alive.
There are no farms or ranches to speak of, animal life has been decimated, and the planet is an ecological disaster – possibly becoming uninhabitable in the next few decades. Serious terraforming will be required to save this biosphere.
The Klingons can concentrate their forces better and defend their territory more easily by giving this planet back to Cardassia. There is less than 5% of prewar infrastructure left on the planet, no buildings above a shack are left and few of those. Anything that can be sold off has been sold off (the Ferengi and pirates in the area made a killing) and the rest destroyed, leaving nothing of value. There remains a mineable planet, but rebuilding the infrastructure, technology, and supplying the personnel to do so will be very expensive to the cardassians. There is a savable biosphere, though it will be very expensive to do so. The population can be saved,, though it will be very expensive to remove them from a toxic environment with no food, shelter, or clean water. In all cases, for strategic, economic, political, and morale reasons, the cardassians will pay the price even though the Klingons have made it as dear as possible.
Cast of Characters –
Envoy General Toyxx (one rank below full ambassador) – Federation representative (Bolian) and expert on Cardassian affairs.
Envoy Ellen Blaylock – Assistant to Toyxx
Legate 2nd Rank (Rear Admiral) Ceres – Cardassian commander in charge of the operation
Legate 3rd Rank (Branch Admiral) Goinn – Cardassian XO to Ceres
Dalin 1st Tier Tathon – Cardassian Governmental Representative, Liaison to Endurance
Klingon Governor – Kaloth
Klingon Fleet Commander – Du'Ralle
Klingon Captain – Captain Kerrogh of IKS Mangghom Bey
Special Guest Star – Alpha Quadrant War Crimes Tribunal (not appearing this episode)
While waiting for the arrival of the cardassian fleet the Endurance took the opportunity to deploy a few more sensor buoys in the Taggrut system with the help of Major Ajime Jackson's marines and the use of their shuttles (no marines were harmed in the deployment of these buoys). While this was proceeding Envoy General Toyxx (bolian), Envoy Ellen Blaylock (human), and Dalin 1st Tier Tathon (cardassian) huddled in Tathon's VIP Suite making preparations for the upcoming historic transfer of the possession of Sonebr from Klingon occupation back to cardassian control. Meanwhile, the Science, Engineering, and Tactical departments onboard the Endurance began preparing for the deployment of a special hidden facility in Taggrut space (See Below).
All deployment, planning, and construction efforts were halted as the cardassian fleet arrived at Taggrut. The diplomats launched their plan to remove this upstart captain from a delicate diplomatic situation. Though he had shown some diplomatic talent in the past, he had also been involved in nearly 30 destroyed combatant vessels and numerous questionable engagements in the last 4 months, while accompanying the Claymore in the last 3 weeks – clearly a loose cannon with a shoot first policy. Although the Klingons had specifically requested him, that detail could be worked around. An 'assignment' was concocted for the captain to say some commemorative words at the opening ceremonies to be delivered in Klingonese, with perfect pronunciation, inflection, and diction. Something that should keep the captain busy and out of the way for the next 2 days while Endurance and the cardassian fleet traveled to Sonebr.
Upon arrival in Taggrut space Legate 2nd Rank (Rear Admiral) Ceres – Cardassian commander in charge of the operation – contacted the Endurance and requested (in that demanding cardassian way of theirs) that they meet at the Taggrut VIII picket to prepare for the journey to Sonebr and meet and greet. The Federation diplomats, Envoy General Toyxx and Envoy Ellen Blaylock, made sure they were on the bridge for this exchange and immediately butted in, talked over the captain, and did their best to take over the conversation. Captain Gamble displayed patience throughout the conversation and maintained a cool facade until communications were over, at which point he read the diplomats the riot act. He had them removed from the bridge by Starrbon, who did not fail in his duty.
The cardassian admirals, Legate 2nd Rank Ceres and Legate 3rd Rank Goinn, beamed over (announced) as soon as their fleet and the Endurance were both in parking orbit above the Taggrut mining facility along with the CDS defense picket. The Envoys made their move to meet them in the transporter room and brought them to the bridge, but were barred from entry by a force field since the Diplomats were restricted from the bridge. Cpt Gamble relented and allowed the party to enter the bridge, and there was a prep for movement meeting in the Captain's ready room. Afterwards the Cardassians left, the diplomats returned to their verbal gyrations with Tathon, and the Captain got down to the serious business of learning his speech.
Consulting crew records, he settled on instruction from Major Jackson in the holodeck. After 2 days he could say most of the words and pronounce roughly 50% of them correctly. He gained 5 points in his Klingon Language skill as well due to this intensive training period.
Meanwhile the fleet crossed the Klingon/Cardassian border and were met by Captain Kerrogh of IKS Mangghom Bey with 5 Vor'cha battlecruisers. They escort the Endurance and the Cardassian flotilla to Sonebr. Passing through the Sonebr system, especially as they get closer to Sonebr IV, Klingon battle groups uncloak and arm weapons in the most provocative ways possible, but neither the Endurance nor the Cardassian vessels respond to their threat. By the time of arrival at Sonebr IV there are 25 Klingon combat vessels traveling with them, targets locked, weapons hot.
Long before arrival it's obvious something is going on. In orbit are 13 Klingon troop ships, 25 large freighters (16 of which belong to known slavers), 3 Breen heavy cruisers, 3 ferengi cruisers guarding 5 ginormous cargoliners, and 47 smaller freighters belonging to various pirate clans along with their escorts. It's an orbital mess with the smaller ships landing and ascending without coordination of any kind and the larger ships jockeying for position. The cardassians simply plant themselves into a geosynchronous orbit over the main city and make it the other ship's problem to get the hell out of the way.
The only communication from the Klingons is a set of beam down coordinates. Assuming the coordinates represent a cordial invitation from the Klingons, the Legates, Diplomats, and Captain Gamble agree to change to formal wear and beam down.
With Commander Kor in charge of the Endurance, the Captain, 2nd Officer, Lt Shaw, diplomats, and Tathon beam down to do their duty, along with Captain Aponte and 2nd Officer Souders of the Redan. They arrive at the appointed time, thought it is 12 hours before the planet officially changes hands. On the planet, at the beam down coordinates, they are met by the cardassian Legates.
It is a scene from hell specifically orchestrated by the Klingons for impact and shock value upon the diplomatic party. Without going into graphic detail, it is a scene of brutality including execution style killings, torture on a massive scale, and every kind of violation imaginable. All of this surrounds an empty circle roughly 100' in diameter, at the center of which is the Klingon commander, Kaloth who sits at an outdoor table, under an umbrella, drinking a red beverage with an umbrella in it, being very obvious as she enjoys the various spectacles.
After the initial shock wore off, most of the party restrained themselves, though barely. Exceptions to this were Legate Goinn, who had to be bodily restrained by Legate Ceres, and Major Jackson who was similarly kept in check by Tathon, warning her that this was a trap, it was the provocation they were looking for to open fire here on the ground and above and add a bit of glory to their exit.
Once Jackson had herself under control again, Tathon took a moment to identify the like leader of the horror show and challenged his honor. He did so formally, and to the letter of Klingon law and form such that there was no way to twist the event into something more than it was,. The Klingon accepted.
Kaloth decided to turn it into a wager with the Captain. If the Klingon champion won, her forces would retain possession of Sonebr for the next 12 hours, rather than the 3 they had remaining to her, to allow them to 'finish their good works' among the cardassian population. If Tathon won, all spectacle would end, all torture, killing, looting, etc., all of it. Kaloth accepted and the duel was on. Captain Gamble stood as Tathon's second.
The two combatants were fairly well matched and used vastly different techniques. For a time they simply feinted and made small probing attacks, testing their opponents. After about 3 minutes of this the fight began in earnest and the two began inflicting serious wounds here and there in an attempt to kill the other. At just over 5 minutes into the duel the Klingon struck a mortal blow to Tathon. Later analysis of the combat would reveal that Tathon created an opening and allowed the strike inside to create an opening for himself. As he was staggering under the Klingon's assault Tathon inflicted a fatal slice of his own. The two of them slumped together as the surrounding Klingons closed ranks around them to insure no interference in the outcome. When they began to turn away in disgust it was obvious even before it was announced that Tathon had been the last to expire, thus winning the duel. Kaloth shattered her beverage container in her grip, the only reaction she showed. "Very well Captain, you have won. I will see you here in 3 hours." With that she beamed out and her officers stopped the spectacle of atrocities.
3 hours passed slowly. Tathon had been a point of serious aggravation for all who knew him, but had shown honor and courage in the aid of a shipmate. No one knew quite how to feel about things and simply went about their business.
As the hour approached and the landing party once again headed for the transporter room, where Ustrare Buva, Tathon's retainer and manservant, and Ustrare Riafe, Buva's daughter were waiting for them with all of their and Tathon's belongings packed and ready for transport. The Captain offered to allow them to stay aboard the Endurance until they knew what they wanted to do, but Buva said simply that they wished to get off here, and that they could use their background and training to help.
The Party beamed down at the appointed time to the appointed place and the Captain was rudely guided to the appointed place where he was to stand for the ceremony. It was 12 feet from where Tathon died.
The Captain was brought to stand between Legate Ceres and Governor Kaloth who simply pulled a dagger from a sheath and handed it to Captain Gamble, who took it from her. Rather than simply complete the ceremony by handing it to the Legate, Gamble strode over to the point where Tathon perished and plunged the dagger into the ground. He then, in finest Starfleet tradition, produced a PADD, and read the following to those assembled:
Many of us fought in the war against the Dominion. I was there and saw many from the great houses burn in glory. Some as though a nova star, others as a streaks falling through the night sky – lighting the path forward for all who remained standing in victory.
Today, we complete a part of that great conflict. Let those who went ahead, and those who will follow know that this world has been held by the Klingon Empire in defiance of its previous Dominion Masters. An entire generation knows well the extents to which the Empire will hold the gains of glorious war.
Leave behind the ghosts of one war, and with only what you need as warriors, proceed to your next great calling. Let all your old slaves be cast behind – they should cower in the ruins and tell those who come what your legacy means.
Your old ally who drew blood with you in those old days sees you, knows that in a moment, he could trade with you blows in a clash of steel. Instead he will guard what you have left – leave behind a great testament to the end of that war – Until he meets you again.
Now leave.
While Captain Gamble delivered his speech the diplomats fumed with disapproval and the Legate simply looked a little startled and confused. Governor Kaloth looked mildly amused as Legate Ceres walked over to Gamble and pulled the dagger from the bloodied dirt, rendering her to the status of Former Governor Kaloth. She then beamed out, the last Klingon to leave the planet.
The diplomats beamed back to the Endurance long enough to send a transmission, gather their things, then beam to the Redan to inflict themselves upon Captain Aponte's hospitality.
The Endurance and the cardassian fleet began beamdown along with shuttle transport of goods, materials, and personnel. Talking heads coordinated and the task of saving as many of the remain population as possible began. The Redan began making preparations to leave for Atbar to take her turn on guard duty, relieving the Azreal for operational duty.
PROPOSAL: Onsite Data Correlation Center
SITUATION: Partially deployed sensor Buoy system in Taggrut has shown itself to be particularly effective at tracking and recording sensor details and video imagery within its scope. Upon arrival in Taggrut, this data was immediately useful to us but could have been much more useful than it was. It took time to correlate and digest into useful information, time which could have cost lives. All of this data was equally as available to the Cardassian forces as to us.
SOLUTION: Establishing an Onsite Data Correlation Center (ODCC). The ODCC unit would be a self sustaining unmanned electronically masked stealth facility to receive site-to-site data transmissions from the network within the system, correlate the data, and pre-digest it for the needs of the ship that accesses it. Our orders to deploy a sensor buoy network need not apply to this facility. It would take advantage of the the network, just as our ships and the cardassians do, but be apart from it. It need not be made known to the cardassians nor any entity not in our direct chain of command, and perhaps not even then.
A small simulated asteroid should be sufficient to house a small computer core, power source, communication, interface terminal and room for maintenance and occasional operation space. Use of the holographic systems embedded into the existing sensor buoy system should provide adequate cover for the work of building the system under the cover of deploying additional buoys to complete the original mission. It should provide concealment for the ODCC as well.
POTENTIAL DRAWBACKS: if the cardassians become aware of the facility they will be unhappy with the Federation for not sharing. The Romulans may see this as a misappropriation of their sensor Buoys. Seran will find some way to make this go badly for us. I could get promoted.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS: Detailed movement records with specific ship details attached. Pattern recognition to suggest likely activities, destinations, and next actions. Potential to decipher, at least partially, affiliations, enemies, and allies of various individuals and groups passing throughout system. Identify precursors to invasion and likely avenues of advance. Detailed ship specifications and signatures, biosignature tagging of personnel in ships, likely attack patterns for success against ships, identify ship weaknesses for weapons targeting.
FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS: Knowing who to trust in this sector is extremely difficult, even, it seems, among the fleet. I would recommend this be a tightly held secret of the Endurance, performed when the Redan is on Atbar security watch and not bringing other ships into the know for a bit. Captain's discretion as to when and how to bring others into the knowledge of the ODCC based on the tactical and strategic situation is advised.
LtJG Frae, Isara
As with all exciting missions, this one started with a meeting. OK, maybe not, but there WAS a meeting. At that meeting, the pirate distribution and makeup was analyzed and dissected and a strategy formed.
The organizations, leaders, and races are listed above.
The confrontation began with the Endurance and Redan knowing exactly where all the pirate vessels were located, thanks to the partial stealth sensor buoy system they installed in Taggrut and need to complete sometime in the near future (or will they?). The pirates anticipating total surprise on the unsuspecting Endurance had their expectations rudely disrupted when Captain Gamble made the following transmission in the clear:
Attention: This is Captain Gamble of the Federation starship Endurance to all vessels holding position in the asteroid field. We've been tracking your positions for sometime now, thanks to our informants. All Orion vessels, you are not on our list today – Drop your weapon coils on the way out of the belt, and you will not be targeted by allied forces. All other vessels – power down your vessels to standby condition, and signal your surrender. Comply, and I will personally appeal for all consideration that can be offered to you once in custody. Failure to comply means that we cannot guarantee your safety in this system. Your best chance – surrender. You know this offer hasn't been offered much in the past few weeks. Take it now, before there is no other option but casualties. The war is over. The era of crime in this sector is going to wind down. How do you want this to go?
Two independent pirates immediately broke and ran, the rest of the pirates all began to shout and talk all at once, and Fintelx' voice was found among them when Frae analyzed it to identify pirates. She's loose.
The Endurance and Redan executed a short, tight warp jump to the center of the pirate formation and launched anti-matter bursts in both directions down the line of pirates, one direction covered by the Endurance and the other by the Redan. The ships of Green Trade broke and ran at this point, along with Orion Syndicate and Spite Clan.
This is the point where the Cardassian fleet came around the far side of Taggrut and set course for the battlefield in the asteroid belt. The Holographic Cardassian fleet. That no one told the real Cardassian fleet about. That went into higher alert, as they were already at high alert when the Endurance and Redan suddenly began an attack without telling the Cardassians they were about to attack. Cardassian medical has sent a formal complaint to the offices of Fleet Captain Flanagan discussing the heart health of the senior officers of the Taggrut Pickett. It is at this point that Mist Assembly, Silent Steel, and Dire Leviathan all bowed out…at high warp speed.
Now facing only Oasis Transport and Quantum Vengeance, the strongest two factions, remained to fight. The Endurance and Redan each fired upon the ships in the area. The Endurance hitting 3 out of 4 phaser hits with pin-point accuracy against Oasis Transport destroying 2 ships and disabling another, despite manual aiming by Lt Starrbon and spotty sensors due to the anti-matter burst. The Redan chose to launch photons at the asteroids the Quantum Vengeance ships had been anchored to, destroying 3 more, but having a photon misfire meters after launching that blew back into the ship disrupting the EPS power conduit just above sickbay. 6 casualties to their medical crew left them, essentially without a medical crew, 4 of them died of their wounds. Quantum Vengeance decided the fight was unwinnable and withdrew.
Both Federation ships locked on tractor beams to the remaining Oasis Transport ships. Dazzled by the anti-matter burst, Oasis Transport didn't realize they were all alone until the marines were force-docking with them, blowing boarding charges, and storming in. 7 ships and 30 personnel were captured ending the conflict. The leader of Oasis Transport, Durot, was among those captured.
The captured ships were pulled to the main hanger deck of the Endurance for analysis. Moving rapidly to the area to begin data acquisition operations, LtJG Frae experienced a minor control event with her Betazoids abilities and temporarily disabled 17 marines, rendering 5 of them unconscious. She and the Captain had words about it. Her efforts yielded results almost immediately, and expectations are that there is more to come.
The Endurance sent a crack medical team to the Redan to distribute drugs and care and sell crack. A second team was dispatched to the shuttle bay to deal with some psionically traumatized marines. The new CMO began giving orders to dispatch the teams in both directions only to notice that the teams had launched into medical assault teams and were gone before he had gotten to his fourth sentence. He sat down at a terminal and began writing.
It's 3 weeks from our last adventure(s) in real time, 2 weeks game time (apply to your training). The Endurance continues to endure operations with the Claymore. Combat operations that is. Nothing but combat.
"An alien is hailing us." "Weapons free, fire for effect!"
"An unknown ship is crossing our path at the edge of sensor range." "Maximum warp, drop out of warp at maximum effective range, open fire, then hailing frequencies."
"My coffee is cold." "Lock on to the Endurance and fire. <sigh> OK, belay that, find another target and THEN fire! You there, close comms!"
"Small rocks off the port bow Sir." "Launch the Marines."
The Romulans are seen (when they want to be) as you go about your duties.
In the process of guarding a freighter that is making repairs after being attacked by pirates (subsequently blown up by the Claymore, the pirates that is, they let the freighter live… for now) a distress call is picked up on long range scans. Claymore leaves the Endurance to protect the Freighter and heads to the source of the signal at maximum warp. Morale is immediately improved, the senior officers put away their booze. Just as the Claymore exits sensor range a pair of Klingon Vor'Cha battlecruisers exit warp and drop cloak, slowly approaching your position. They open hailing frequencies, "This is Cpt Kerrogh of the IKS Mangghom Bey. May we speak without weapons fire?"
1. Captain Kerrogh of IKS Mangghom Bey wished communication with Endurance without the Claymore around, waiting to uncloak until the Claymore was out of Federation sensor range.
2. "I have something to communicate to you, Federation." He only referred to the Endurance and Gamble as Federation. "We wish…" he struggled on the words and seemed to be choking a bit while his first officer completely failed to notice, "…negotiations. With you. ONLY you! Not that…OTHER…Federation. Contact me on this frequency when you are ready. 2 weeks, no more. That is our window."
3. He closes comms, they cloak, they leave.
Upon the return of the Claymore the Freighter immediately contacted Cpt Seran to complain loudly about the 5 Vor'Cha that uncloaked around them, that the Endurance then talked to and they went away. Seran contacted the Endurance right away to get the details of the conversation with the Klingons, no doubt to see how he could turn it to his advantage. Afterwards, when it was obvious that there was no work-around for him to exploit, he grudgingly gave Captain Gamble a "Let me know how that works out" and dismissively closed the channel.
After repairs, Seran had TF21 set course for Atbar to greet their reinforcements.
For the past 2 weeks the Endurance has (under orders) followed the Claymore around the TF21 Ops Area like a puppy dog, going from one crappy situation to the next as Seran bullied (as best he could) everyone he ran into, especially the legitimate (?) merchants in the area under the theory that at least some of them were basically up to no good. The law of averages being what it is, he was no doubt correct. However, poor sentiment toward the Federation in general and the Claymore and Endurance specifically is at an all-time high, which actually seemed to be his purpose.
Quickly into their journey it became apparent that Seran was looking for any excuse he could possibly manufacture to replace the Endurance's command crew with officers of his choosing and several such requests were quietly forwarded to Captain Gamble from "a friend" in Fleet Captain Flanagan's offices. Several reprimands for completely unreasonable lack of actions on the part of Gamble to participate in the bully sessions were filed, though nothing ever seemed to come of them.
At long last the two Saint Louis Cruisers journeyed back to Atbar to meet up with their reinforcements. Seran wanted to be there in time to greet the USS Azrael and the USS Redan as they arrived. Upon arriving in Atbar orbit the bridge crew of the Endurance noted the skeletal structure of the new Starfleet Repair and Refitting Station. A modular design, the units to plug into it were on the way now and were expected in another week. A few days after that it was expected to be online and viable.
Upon arriving in Atbar things are looking a bit more settled than last time the Endurance was here. With the arrival of the USS Azrael NCC-72021 and the USS Redan NCC-50339 Seran calls for a meet and greet aboard the Claymore. (Wow, that last sentence had all the ships names in it!) The command crews (Captain, 1st Officer, and 2nd Officer), but not the liaisons (though Claymore's liaison Mukigo was there) were invited (ordered) to attend and go over a few things:
* The Captains of the Azrael and Redan want to know about their upgrades.
* Refit yards in Cardassia are 5 weeks behind right now and additional yards are being built.
* They were given their tactical software upgrades to self-install, which they did, and they've been cleared for its use.
* Their new shielding has been packed into their cargo bay and shuttle bay, both are full, and they were told they would be installed at Atbar.
* No facilities here. What do we do?
* Obvious solution: 4 ships, 4 engineering crews, the upgrade can be done with them acting as a makeshift yard using the tractors of 3 ships on the 4th. There was a bit of debate over this.
* Obvious issue: This makes these 4 ships a target. While there have been no incursions in Atbar over the last 3 weeks, there have been bombings and sabotage claimed by the True Way.
* Contributing to the debate was the fact that there are signal sources in the Atbar system that are unexplained and can't be tracked down when investigated:
Ships on guard from the other TF's of PG5 have rolled out, scanned, found nothing conclusive, then returned to Atbar.
Other ships of PG5 have been busy picking up the slack of the missing ships and have had no opportunity to investigate.
Cardassian Space Fleets are stretched just as thin.
* Eventually Seran made a command decision that the shielding would be done by TF21 in Atbar and other issues were discussed.
* The sensor buoy network needs to finish being deployed. The Cardies are screaming about it, Flanagan is out of excuses, it needs to be done.
* Finally, now that TF21 is reinforced, as well as TF25 with the addition of the Lightening under command of Captain Rubins, it is expected to begin contributing to the defense of Atbar. (On duty now are Bosque County – TF23, London – TF24, and Resolution – TF25)
* Seran announced to the captains and crews of the Redan and Azrael, "Until you get your feet wet and learn the area a bit this duty will be performed by our destroyers. Whichever destroyer is not guarding Atbar will be attached either to the Claymore or the Endurance. This is a semi-permanent fleet deployment to allow your ships to learn to work as a team. The Redan will be assigned to work with Gamble and the Endurance, the Azrael will be with the Claymore. "The Azrael will take first shift on guard duty until relieved in 1 week by the Redan."
* The final order of business was food (which was excellent), booze (which was real and excellent), and dancing lead by Captain Gamble and Commander Yari Kim, XO of the Claymore. It is notable to those who attended from the Endurance, there was no funny smell aboard the Claymore in spite of all expectations.
The next day shield rigging for the two destroyers got under way. Once it was obvious what was going on, Captain Angelo of the USS Resolution and commander of TF25 requested the same service for the USS Lightening and contributed his ship's and and the Lightening's personnel to the cause of all 3. There was no significant difference in completion time to to install 3 sets of shielding rather than 2 as a result. Seran was magnanimous in his agreement to this arrangement. All ships got regenerative shielding.
In Atbar to drop sensor buoys, things could have gone very differently, but checking the logs of the sensor buoys already in place revealed the presence of nearly 50 ships that had positioned themselves among the Asteroid belt near Atbar. Apparently the destructiveness of the Claymore and, by implication, the Endurance over the last several days had outraged several pirate groups and caused them to think of these Starfleet ships as a real threat to be dealt with. The Endurance officers inferred that the pirates, knowing that both had been in this system on multiple occasions over the last few weeks it seemed a natural location for an ambush and their efforts were rewarded with the presence of the Endurance and another, unknown, Starfleet vessel (the Redan).
Examination of the Buoy logs indicated that there are at least pirate groups plus several smaller groups and solo ships. Sensor records show getting into position and powering down systems to hide their presence in the system.
Since the pirates seem to not know that the Endurance and Redan are on to them, Captain gamble opted to contact the Klingons in consideration of the 1 week of time remaining to do so. They conversed and Captain Kerrogh informed Captain Gamble that the Klingons were prepared to release the dilithium mining planet of Sonebr from their control and return it to the Cardassian Union, no strings attached. Based on Kerrogh face as he spoke, he appeared to be passing a large collection of hooved animals, as well as the majority of his family fortune, through his lower intestines at that very moment. He seemed uncomfortable and unhappy. The date and time and location of the transfer ceremony was given, and Gamble was advised to bring food, temporary shelter, medical supplies, and perhaps transport for 50,000.
Now, about those pirates….
GENERAL INFORMATION (I served with him in the 'Nam):
Sonebr IV – Mining colony and minor dilithium supplier. Common ores are abundant and easily mined, contributing to the planets gravity despite its size. While there is little natural life above a microbial level on the planet, there are substantial dilithium deposits here as well. Due to the presence of the valuable crystal, the Cardassians kept a large garrison of troops on Sonebr IV. The Klingons laid siege to the planet and essentially starved the garrison out during their take-over following the Dominion war. Of almost 50,000 Cardassian troops stationed on the planet, less than 5,000 remain alive, and those that do are used in the mines as labor.
• Class – M
• Satellites – 1
• Planetary Gravity – 1.08
• Planetary Size – 64.8% of Sol
• Land Area – 74%
• Planetary Rotation – 20 hours
• Atmospheric Density – Thin, breathing gear required
• General Climate – Arctic
• Mineral Content – Common metals, abundant dilithium.
• Population – 230,000 civilian, 64,000 troops.
Taggrut – Orbiting a red supergiant are 8 Terrestrial planets, 3 belts, 8 gas giants, 8 ice cores occupy this solar system which is one of the largest (in volume) in Cardassian space at 2.3 times the volume of the Sol solar system. Arranged from the star: T, T, B, T, T, T, B, T(M), G, T, G, B, G, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I.
This is long overdue, sorry for the delay:
Following the defense of Atbar, Cpt Seran of the USS Claymore found himself in charge of TF21 and immediately ordered the USS Endurance to his position. Upon arrival the Endurance found the Claymore damaged and fighting a losing battle against a pack of 5 Klingon B'Rel cruisers. The Endurance helmsman dropped the ship out of warp and to a halt within 100 meters of the Claymore, and Ops raised shields and extended them around the Claymore as well, covering the areas where the Claymore had lost shield generators during the nearly 2 hour cat and mouse fight she had endured to this point.
The two ships set out at best Claymore speed towards the Cardassian picket at Taggrut, all the while launching withering joint attacks and using the in-system sensor net to aid them in locating and targeting the cloaked Klingon vessels. Five minutes later a lone, somewhat wounded B'Rel survivor was being escorted by 3 Vor'cha cruisers, limping under cloak back to Klingon territory.
The two crews combined to make emergency repairs on the Claymore and then set course for Atbar. They gave such aid to the planet and ships in orbit as they could and worked to solidify the Claymore's hurts. Cutters and tugs were busily clearing debris around Atbar when TF21 rolled into the system and entered Atbar orbit. Upon arrival they were advised to maintain shields while in orbit due to the heavy amount of clutter currently in the vicinity. Both ships used their tractor beams to help out as they could and continued repairs.
At one point, Captain Seran beamed over to the Endurance, spoke with Captain Gamble in his ready room, shared a drink and was civil, if not quite respectful, to Gamble, leaving him the bottle after the drink. During the brief meeting (briefing? nah!) Seran established that until he was relieved and/or they were reinforced that he felt the best strategy would be for both ships to travel together to support each other (and stopped just short of saying something critical of Harkness).
After 24 hours in Atbar, and with the arrival of ships from the other 4 Task Groups of PG5 to secure Atbar, the Claymore and Endurance resumed their patrols of the TF21 Ops Area.
Fleet Captain Flanagan
Peacekeeping Group 5
Cardassian Theater of Operations
To all members PG5,
It is with heavy hearts that we acknowledge the loss of ships and personnel of the USS McKinley (TF21), USS Aurora (TF25), the Federation Repair Facility in orbit around Atbar, and the Federation Planetary Outpost on Atbar, as well as the citizens of Atbar who also were wounded or lost their lives. The McKinley was lost in combat with all assigned hands aboard during combat operations in defense of Atbar due to double photon hits to the Engineering compartment, rupturing the warp core before automatic safeties could engage. The Aurora was destroyed while docked in the Federation Repair Facility with only her engineering department, a skeleton crew, and workers from the Repair Facility present when she exploded due to unknown circumstances, now under investigation, taking the Repair Facility with her and initiating hostilities in Atbar. Nearly all of the 93% of the crew of the Aurora, along with various other Starfleet personnel from Atbar Station, were killed in the seven separate market place bombings throughout Atbar City. We mourn the loss of these officers and regret the loss of these ships and facilities. Upon reopening of Atbar Outpost a memorial area will be set aside for any remembrances personnel wish to leave.
At this time Captain Seran of the USS Claymore will assume command of TF21 until made the permanent commander or a suitable replacement found. TF21 and TF25 will be reinforced at our earliest opportunity. The Federation Repair Facility will be rebuilt asap. A minimum of one starship from each Task Force will be on station in Atbar until further notice, TF21 excepted until such time as it is reinforced. Atbar Outpost will resume normal functions ASAP and will be rebuild to the specifications of the Starfleet Core of Engineers. Until further notice, Atbar is off limits as a shoreleave destination.
Extermination of the True Way is now priority number one of the Cardassian government, and the elements of Starfleet that make up the Cardassian Theater. Fleet Admiral Koderman has called for additional resources to give us the ships, capabilities, and personnel to get the job done, and we will make it happen.
With sincere respect,
Fleet Captain Tandra Flanagan
Captain Gamble,
My condolences to you and your crew on the loss of Captain Harkness and the crew of the McKinley. I know you hadn't served together long, but I am under the impression that you had formed a strong friendship and excellent working relationship with each other. Such losses are our burden to bear at times, part of wearing the uniform, as if that's any real comfort. Still, you can take some comfort in the fact that she was thinking of you and your crew in her final hours.
I received the following through channels from her just before the Atbar attack. It was the last message she ever sent. For what it's worth, I've honored her request and pushed these through with all rapidity. Please see to the ceremony and your people.
Fleet Captain Tandra Flanagan,
Commander Peacekeeping Group 5
For their efforts in resolving a potentially explosive, and certainly volatile, situation on the planet Taggrut VIII concluded at Stardate 64922.3 the Captain, command crew, and most of the senior officers of the USS Endurance, at the request of and with the help of their Cardassian Liaison intervened in a situation and brought it to a successful, peaceful conclusion. Details of the encounter are found in Starfleet Report Taggrut VIII 64922.3 and followup report attachment Echo India Echo India Oscar. Therefore, the following recognition and commendations are hereby awarded:
Captain William Gamble – Federation Peace Medal
Commander C'Mara – Citation of Conspicuous Gallantry
Lieutenant Mary Washington Shaw – Citation of Conspicuous Gallantry
Lieutenant Commander Hagan Benner – Citation of Meritorious Service
Lieutenant Samuel L. Starrbon – Citation of Meritorious Service
Dalin Tathon 1st Tier – Joint Service Commendation
Signed this day, Stardate 64926.6
Captain Sarah Harkness,
Commander Task Force 21
Peacekeeping Group 5
Cardassian Operational Theater
Stardate: 64930.1
A surprise attack both above and on the Cardassian world Atbar, and the Federation outpost in Atbar City as well, has resulted in the loss of life of over 5,000 sentient souls. A statement was released by an unidentified individual claiming to represent the True Way movement confirms that this attack was planned, engineered, and executed by members of that movement. Much is still under investigation and officials are not forthcoming regarding details of the attack. However, casual observation and eye-witness accounts confirm the following:
Ships Destroyed:
Federation Cruiser USS McKinley
Federation Destroyer USS Aurora
True Way Cruisers (unidentified) 17
Ships Damaged:
Federation Destroyer Bosque County
Facilities Destroyed or Damaged:
Federation Orbital Repair Facility and Drydocks (from explosion of USS Aurora)
Federation Regional Headquarters:
Power Generation Facility – Destroyed
Communications Facility – Destroyed
Main Cafeteria – Destroyed
Hangers – Damaged
Prisoner Detainment Facility – Damaged
General Facility – Damaged
Collateral Damage to Atbar City
Primary Marketplaces (7) – Destroyed
Residential Areas – Negligible
City Facilities – Negligible (Schools, Hospitals, Police, Fire, Government Buildings, etc)
Planetary Governor's Home – Destroyed
Other Planetary Governing Facilities – Negligible
The specific facilities were all destroyed by pre-planted explosives and timed or triggered to all go off within 10 seconds of each other, beginning with the sabotage of the USS Aurora. The crew of the Aurora was mostly on planet enjoying shoreleave, however, a large percentage of them were in the marketplaces and were injured or killed in the explosions there.
Federation forces have arrived in some force to lend aid and protection to Atbar space, Atbar City, and the Federation HQ.
Reposted (with some small edits for accuracy) from Ship's Log, Rusty401:
=/\= Starfleet Command – After Action Report =/\=
Reference: Battle of Atbar
Stardate of Action: 64929.7
Posted by: Captain Gamble, W.F., CO USS Endurance NCC-83812, TF21, PKG5
1. Situation
True Way forces simultaneously launched operations against Cardassian and Federation targets, ground side and in orbit of Atbar on Stardate 64929.7.
At appx. 1727hrs, ship time, True Way forces attacked primary targets on both the surface and in orbit of Atbar. USS Aurora was destroyed, taking with it the Federation Repair and Drydock Facility it was currently docked in, both lost with all hands (though most of the Aurora crew was groundside at the time), while under repair in repair station 4. On the surface, a coordinated attack through the colony occurred, with demolition charges being detonated at key infrastructure points, and command and control points, as well as several key civilian sites throughout Atbar City. Senior staff of TF21 vessels USS McKinley and USS Endurance were attending a function on the orders of Captain S. Harkness, TF21 CO, at ground station Atbar, when the attack commenced.
2. Mission
Hostile orbital forces constituted 17 pre-war Galor class vessels, appx. 18 system patrol Hideki class cutters, stolen from actual Atbar cutter crews. Ground forces constituted an unknown, but initially estimated 100-200 True Way operatives staged across the colony.
Allied forces constituted USS McKinley (Korolev Class), USS Endurance (St. Louis MK II Class), USS Boston County (County Class), embarked Marine combat personnel, ground and orbital station personnel in conjunction with Cardassian planetary garrison. USS Aurora (Hurricane Class) was destroyed, suspected sabotage, in the opening moments of the action.
From the outset, the mission of myself and my crew was to secure the local ground situation to the best of our capabilities, before returning to USS Endurance to secure the orbital front. Civilian safety and defense of Starfleet and Cardassian installations and vessels was our top priority.
3. Execution
Safety systems at Ground Station Atbar deployed after the initial blasts, sealing TF21 command staff and senior officers in the reception hall. When USS Aurora was simultaneously destroyed in orbit, True Way ships which had gathered on the other side of Atbar moved into attack formation and began to engage Starfleet and local defense ships at long range. True Way cruisers established a blockade perimeter, while up to 18 smaller, cutter type ships disrupted response operations at close range. Distinguishing these smaller vessels from legitimate Cardassian forces proved challenging, giving True Way a preliminary advantage.
Sensor logs show that enemy used an initial orbital approach cresting the southern pole of Atbar and using magnetic interference to remain hidden as long as possible. This is only possible if monitoring satellites were tampered with prior to the assault. How the ships approached Atbar without being seen is also a matter of keen speculation.
Reports from Endurance indicated that for a short while (T+0 to T+5 minutes, appx) the situation was volatile, but manageable. Long-range fire was being managed by ship's shields, and pinpoint return fire was being used to avoid endangering civilian ships (appx 375 in the combat zone). Initially, our senior crews were unable to return to our vessels to direct a response. I did give orders at this time to continue to return fire, clearing a path for civilian ships to withdraw, while at the same time to prepare all Marine forces for deployment.
On the ground, officers collaborated to distribute weapons and to override the blast shields that had sealed the reception chambers off from the rest of the compound. I directed Lt. Starrbon to lead a tactical team (as best we could muster) to secure the immediate corridors. It soon became evident that there were concentrated attacks on the compound's main gates, detention facilities and support craft hangar. Captain Harkness took her team to help secure the main gate and hangar, while I lead a team to secure the detention facility.
A main goal of the attack at our area of the ground station was to release select prisoners from Cardassian detention [See Attached Files]. Other prisoners were not released. Within a short time, the central compound was secured, although engineer McGregor conveyed that their primary power systems were completely destroyed and that the facility would have to make extensive repairs.
At this time (T+15 appx) I received an update from Endurance that the True Way attack in orbit was becoming more intense. Without a coordinated response, incoming relief ships would be entering a literal shooting gallery. I ordered Commander C'Mara to secure a shuttlecraft for Endurance crew members from the nearby hangar while we collected Dr.'s Burress and Shaw from where they had been tending to the wounded. Having noted that some support from transport-capable, Federation facilities had already been engaged to treat the most severely injured, I felt it apt to return our officers to the ship, given their success in stabilizing the wounded.
Captain Harkness and her crew continued to secure the compound at that time, freeing my team to attempt a return to Endurance. I made a decision to pilot the shuttle in this rendezvous flight as I had flown a similar mission at 2nd Chintoka (Ref. Stardate 52107.4), and transporter use would have subjected the ship to unnecessary risk.
On approach, the shuttlecraft came under fire from True Way cutters. USS Endurance provided covering fire, however, the shuttle received damage prior to landing aboard ship. Although the shuttle was heavily damaged, emergency landing protocols safeguarded all handles aptly, and the senior crew was quickly beamed, site to site, to the bridge.
Realizing the hostile cutters could only be neutralized effectively, with matching capabilities, I ordered all Marine shuttle to disembark, and engage in close range combat with the enemy cutters. USS McKinley quickly followed suit.
At appx. T+25 minutes, USS Boston County came into range and began to provide supporting fire. True Way ships began inflicting heavy damage on the destroyer, as anticipated. I ordered Endurance to begin precision fire to disable engines and power systems of enemy cruisers, while moving out to create a firing line that Boston County could fall behind. McKinley joined the formation, and in our opening volley, 6 True Way cruisers were destroyed or rendered inoperable. I issued an open order on hailing frequencies for True Way vessels to stand down at this time.
USS Boston County fell into formation and began emergency repairs, and continued to provide supporting fire over the next several minutes while Endurance and McKinley directed heavy fire at the True Way cruiser formation. All ships received enemy fire during this time, while additional True Way ships were disabled.
Captain Harkness and her senior staff returned via transporter to USS McKinley at T+37 minutes into the action. USS McKinley was hit with a coordinated volley of enemy fire at roughly T+40 minutes into the engagement. The ship was quickly overcome from its damage and was destroyed with a loss of all hands.
It was clear at this time that enemy forces were attempting to recover personnel from the damaged ships, but were otherwise willing to give no quarter whatsoever. At this time, I authorized the use of Quantum munitions, directing Mr. Starrbon to neutralize remaining, functional enemy combatant vessels.
Remaining vessels were disabled or destroyed through joint fire from Endurance and Boston County. Although I ordered the disabled enemy vessels to surrender, very few enemy crew were captured by local authorities at that time. Evidence suggests that hundreds of True Way crew managed to evacuate via transporter to Atbar Colony or other locations as yet determined [See attached sensor logs].
4. Conclusion
Significant compromise in the local Cardassian garrison security resulted in a massive, coordinated attack on Atbar. The scale of the attack might be on par with historic events such as the 1968 Tet offensive in the Vietnam War on Earth, or the attempted Bolian Insurrection of 2316 – these events are significant not only for their attempted, military objectives but also for significant political objectives. It should be considered that Atbar was a colony world largely supportive of the Cardassian government in exile during the last months of the Dominion War, and has been a ideological symbol of betrayal from the True Way's perspective.
Although the attack was repulsed, with asymmetric losses for True Way, we must not assume that this loss of precious cruisers in their cause will necessarily diminish their ongoing, and what must now be referred to as a proper insurrection or guerrilla war against the Cardassian Union. Given the pathology of the True Way cause, it may be that the loss of two Starfleet vessels will be overplayed as a call to action for True Way sympathizers.
Additional Points of Conclusion:
i) USS Endurance suffered minor damage only to ship and crew, and has been ordered by Acting TF21 CO, Captain Seran (USS Claymore) to regroup at Taggrut, where an apparent probing attack by Klingon Forces is underway.
ii) USS Boston County suffered heavy damage but continues operations in conjunction with additional Starfleet and Cardassian reinforcements that have arrived following the primary engagement.
iii) Civil authorities on Atbar report an elevated number of sporadic attacks and events likely relating to the exodus of True Way operatives to the planet's surface from their doomed starships.
iv) The Marine detachment from USS McKinley has been redeployed to support Ground Station Atbar. McKinley detachment was able to quickly swap 2 marine shuttles with Endurance detachment to keep our team fully combat effective on our mission to Taggrut. Their dedication in the face of the loss of USS McKinley is overwhelmingly appreciated.
v) Endurance personnel determined that multiple sensor ghosts, possible cloaked ships, were present in the Atbar system at the time of the battle. Disposition of these forces has not been confirmed at this time, though it is suspected that several of them are shadowing Endurance to Taggrut.
5. Specific Recommendations
i) Reinforce Atbar with additional defense forces.
ii) Prepare to deploy additional forces to hold Taggrut, pending confirmation of Klingon assault.
iii) Ensure allocation of additional vessels to TF21.
iv) Coordinate with Cardassian Union forces to secure Atbar colonial facilities.
v) Develop and deploy advanced IFF countermeasures to prevent stolen and re-purposed True Way vessels from confusing allied response efforts.
vi) Increase the variety and capability of combat support craft available to Starfleet outposts and vessels in this theater. It should be noted Marine shuttles were highly effective in countering fighter/raider tactics from the True Way, thus keeping lanes open for retreating civilian vessels. Carrier operations may greatly extend Starfleet effectiveness in this sector in this light as well.
6. Further Recommended Actions
i) Investigate destruction of USS Aurora to determine exact cause of vessel's destruction and loss of crew.
ii) Investigate loss of USS McKinley and crew.
iii) Recommend dispensation of full honors to all Starfleet personnel lost defending Atbar.
iv) Application to endorse appropriate decorations for all hands involved in this engagement is pending. [[OOC: Russ needs more time to look at this with Stan]]
v) Application to commemorate loss of USS McKinley, USS Aurora crews pending.
vi) Application to commemorate loss of Captain Sarah Harkness, a veteran of the Dominion War, and advocate for peacekeeping missions like that of TF21 is pending.


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Chevrolet Repair Questions? Ask a Chevy Mechanic for Answers ASAP
Greetings and welcome to Just Answer, Your complete satisfaction, a positive experience and a resolved issue is my goal for you.According to the schematic the C4500 is a fuse and not a circuit breaker. Did you verify the fuse has power to it with a test light or how did you check it?If the relay does not have power on any of the 4 holes then either there is an open from the fuse to the relay or the fuse is blown.I will include a schematic to reference, keep me posted. Thanks.

subset: commoncrawl


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Best Of :: Food & Drink
Now that you can't smoke in bars anymore, you can actually taste the food at Richardson's. Honestly, we're pretty sure it was always kick-ass, but up until this smoking ban thing kicked in, the closer you got to the bar, the more your enchiladas had to compete with the smell of ashtray. Richardson's drew a hard-smokin', hard-partyin' crowd whose heyday was the mid-'80s and usually looked like they stepped out of an episode of The Rockford Files. Nothing wrong with that, of course, unless you're not as inured to cancer-wand discharge as the Saturday Night Fever set. Because smokers now have to take it outside, the air is clean, save for the vague aroma of Hai Karate from the 50-something next to you. And your palate is finally free from the ravages of secondhand Pall Malls. So, thanks to government fiat, Richardson Browne's New Mexico-styled nook is the coolest place to eat at the bar in the PHX, not to mention drink. And if there happens to be an urban cougar on the prowl nearby, you'll actually be able to see her MILF-y, saline-enhanced, fortysomething curves, without having to strain through the fog of countless lit coffin nails.
Don't get us wrong we adore the savory dinner options at Sweet O Wine & Chocolate Lounge. From cheeses and dips, served with excellent grilled bread from Simply Bread, to fresh salads and creative panini, there's plenty on the menu that we're happy to fill up on. But why try to save room for dessert when that's the star attraction of this sleek little eatery? Better to start off with exactly what you came for exotic chocolate pastries, chocolate fondue, chocolate hazelnut panini with crme fraîche and crispy hazelnuts, and petits fours galore. Once you get a glimpse of the chocolate treats in the display case, you won't be able to wait 'til after dinner to indulge. From macadamia toffee and milk chocolate caramel to fleur de sel truffles and butter ganache pralines, Sweet O can deliver your chocolate fix in just about any form you like. Even the eclectic wine selection is geared toward cacao consumption, with a generous selection of dessert wines and fortified wines. And if you'd rather let the experts guide your palate, pick one of the chocolate flights, where three different bonbons are paired with an appropriately decadent drink. Sweet O's proprietors say the "O" stands for "origine" (French for "origin," sort of the terroir of chocolate). But after flooding our brains with blissful endorphins and alcohol, all we feel is sweet oblivion.
We sure love hot chocolate, although in the warmer months (when we'll only drink iced lattes) we can hardly stand the thought of it unless it's Cowboy Ciao's unforgettable take on the classic cold weather treat, the Cuppa Red Hot Chocolate. Here, pastry chef Tracey Dempsey interprets it as a cool, utterly decadent dessert: a rich chocolate-cinnamon pot de crme that's almost as thick as fudge, served in an oversized cup fit for cocoa. The only thing "hot" about it is a froth of oozy chipotle cream on top perfect to scoop up with the spicy ginger cookie that comes with it. We'd happily splurge on a cuppa that any day, no matter the season.
We usually order dessert when we're out somewhere fancy, when the conclusion of a multicourse meal calls for something sweet to go with our after-dinner cup o' joe. But after lunch at a sandwich shop? Hardly ever unless we're at Bertha's Café, where it's a given. At this friendly, inconspicuous little eatery, desserts are impossible to resist, appealingly displayed in a big case right next to the front counter. From cookies and muffins to malted brownies, it's all good, but we're particularly fond of their rich, creamy, homemade cheesecakes. Sometimes it's actually hard to choose from the daily assortment of just-made mini-cakes, with creative concoctions like s'mores, baklava, and banana cream. Bertha's flavors are anything but plain Jane.
Check your guilt at the door. From buttery grits and mac 'n' cheese to the famous fried chicken served with a hot stack of waffles, everything at Lo-Lo's is stick-to-your-ribs delicious. So it only makes sense that dessert here would be a luscious affair, worth every calorie-laden bite. And, boy, does the red velvet cake deliver. One slice of this sweet, red-tinted chocolate cake slathered in buttery cream-cheese icing that we could just eat with a spoon is thick enough to feed two people. Still, we'd rather get one all for ourselves. We figure, if we're gonna blow our diet, we might as well do it with gusto.
We love olive oil drizzled on salads or soaked up with a soft piece of bread, but in dessert? Admittedly, the sound of olive oil cake turned us off at first. But we were very pleasantly surprised when curiosity got the better of us at radioMILANO, and now it's our favorite choice for sweet satisfaction at the end of the meal. Here, the thick slice of cake is so moist and velvety that it's hard to eat just a bite or two. It's served with a huge, smooth dollop of thickened cream (you'll never be able to eat Cool Whip again after tasting it) and a nice blob of blackberry jam, although we'd gladly eat it plain. And here's a word to the wise: Get your own piece. The rest of the menu might be full of shareable small plates, but when it comes to olive oil cake, we gotta look after ourselves.


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Lost dog, Lone Lake Road area.
Expand Messages
- Lost, male German Shepherd Husky mix. He looks like a tall German
Shepherd but with a curly tail. He has white on his legs and face. He
is afraid of men, but likes women and children. He answers to Rudy. He
was lost on Saturday, April 12 near Lone Lake Road, South Whidbey.
Please call 321-4119 or 360-310-0830 if you see him. We are heartbroken.
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Theme & Variations: The Leotard
We've said it before and we'll say it again: New York City Ballet principal Sara Mearns is some SERIOUS #goals. Her strength and power onstage borders on superhuman. But what's extra magical about Mearns is that she really puts in the fitness and cross-training work outside of the rehearsal studio. And she's overcome her fair share of injuries. Which is why she was the perfect source for Vogue's latest ballet fitness story.
It's no secret that ballet in pop culture has sparked its fair share of controversy. Which is why this video from Refinery29, featuring ABT's Isabella Boylston, is not only a super-fun watch, but a breath of fresh air.
Well, this brings class videos to a whole new level! Choreographer Phil Wright and dancer Ashley Liai have been together eight-plus years, but she was still in total shock when he proposed to her mid-dance at Millennium Dance Complex earlier this week. Why? Well, the whole thing was unbelievably perfect.
In the dance industry, dancers don't always have a say in what they wear on their bodies. This can get tricky if you're asked to wear something that compromises your own personal values. So what should you do if you find yourself in this sticky situation? We sat down for a Q&A with "Dancing with the Stars" alumn Ashly Costa to answer that very question. Here's what she had to say about the options dancers have surrounding questionable costumes.


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Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Why don't Labour dump Blair?
"In the past 100 years, only three governments have fallen after Commons votes, and then in unusual circumstances. And yet every government from 1837 to 1874 fell after a parliamentary vote, not to say in 1886 and 1895.
"By no accident, it is now very difficult for a Labour party leader to be removed by the party itself, harder than it was for the Tories to remove Thatcher or Duncan Smith. But there is nothing to stop MPs from voting in the clean, clear light of the Commons against a government which no longer enjoys their support. It really ought to be easier to get rid of an unwanted prime minister than an inadequate football manager." —Geoffrey Wheatcroft
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