A Recipe for Gorn
Posted on 29 Aug 2018 @ 12:20am by Major Terrance West & Commander S’chqenr T’Jedf Tolkath (Jan 2389 - TRNSFR After Gorn War) & Lieutenant Deeli Kosu (Dec-Jan 2389 - TRNSFR After Gorn War) & Lieutenant Junior Grade Eira Cortez & Ensign Kevin Kilbane (Jan 2389 - TRNSFR After Second Battle of XFY) & Captain Edward Bolingbroke (Dec-Jan 2389 - TRNSFR After Gorn War) & First Lieutenant Eleanor Hargreaves (Dec-Jan 2389 - TRNSFR After Gorn War) & Ensign Rora Tai
Edited on on 29 Aug 2018 @ 12:24am
Mission:
Ka Hakaka Maikaʻi - The Good Fight
Location: USS Hawaii - Deck 20 Flight Deck
Timeline: Following "Hoʻopaʻi - Revenge" as Hawaii clears its Moorings at XFY
[ON]
[Turbo Lift 1]
After notifying the junior officers Tolkath contacted Major West and informed him of the Captain's plan to board the Gorn ship. The Major would come and brief the teams.
He stopped by the Armory to draw phaser pistol and rifle. He had a Science NCO meet him there with a science tricorder and then made his way down to the Flight Deck Briefing room.
[Deck 20 Flight Briefing Room]
Bolingbroke’s 2D MSOT arrived at the Flight Briefing room, closely followed by 4TH and their leader, Lieutenant Hargreaves. Bolingbroke herded his team into the room. Once they and the fourth team Marines were all seated, he turned to his fellow officer. He's not met directly but heard she'd joined at XavierHe also heard she'd come up through the ranks, which told him all he needed to know about her experience.
"Hargreaves? I'm Bolingbroke." he introduced himself and offered a hand "Looks like we'll be seeing some action”
Hargreaves looked over, gaze level, and shook the proffered hand briskly. "That's me. Seems like action's what we'll get for a post on the new war-front." Her voice was clipped, but not cold; business-like. "It's been a while since most of Starfleet mobilized against Gorn. You got much experience of them?"
Bolingbroke shook his head "No, not my first fight though, tussled with the Breen before. But not the Gorn, we came up short against one of their ships on the way here. We ended up running. Hopefully, the Captain is looking to even the score. How about you?"
"Not in this war, so not in a while. '79 Gorn Crisis, last time they came for Cestus. And last time we kicked them all the way back to their space. Funny you should mention evening the scores. Ten years ago we vaporized their capital right after they surrendered. That's the sort of thing that fosters a grudge." Her voice was wry, tight, even as she discussed one of the darker parts of recent Federation history. Little of her personal feelings crept through her words or expressions, just a matter-of-fact resignation; there had been blood, there would be blood.
"I can see that" Bolingbroke acknowledged.
Just then Tolkath arrived, finding the room full of Marines.
"Room! Room 'Ten-Shun!" A marine near the door called out. The Raider's jumped to their feet and a Human male Marine Lieutenant approached him, snapping off a salute as he did so.
"Sir. Lieutenant Bolingbroke, Second Marine Special Operations Team.” He gestured to a Human woman. “This is Lieutenant Hargreaves, she has Forth Team, Sir” Bolingbroke recognized the Vulcan as the ship’s Second Officer and lead scientist, although they had not yet met.
Hargreaves had joined Bolingbroke, snapping off her own salute. "Fourth is on standby, sir."
“At ease gentlemen” Tolkath replied. “The Captain intends for us to board the Gorn intruder. We are awaiting further Starfleet personnel to join us, then instructions from Major West.”
“Understood sir” Bolingbroke acknowledged. He felt the atmosphere in the room change, the two teams had heard the Vulcan’s words. A boarding action against a Gorn warship, the jokes and banter died out, changing to serious looks and whispered conversations.
Weapons and gear were checked, rechecked and checked again, then checked over by another team member as the Marines fell into their calm, methodical, preparation for combat.
Bolingbroke looked to Hargreaves trying to gauge the other woman’s reaction.
Her double-check of her equipment was once and methodical, expression flat and level, focused, and once she was satisfied she settled back down and looked to Bolingbroke. "What we have so far on this ship is very little. Gorn never struck me as that innovative on their designs, but sounds an easy way to get turned around on an unfamiliar layout without much recon."
Bolingbroke nodded, facing a bunch of seven-foot tall angry lizards on their own turf was not exactly going to be an easy task.
Walking into the Flight Deck, Deeli had her belt of tools and a phaser on and stopped at the small group of people. Deeli looked at Tolkath "What you want from me, Commander?" She asked as she was rather the Engineer with her computers and with people.
"Take a seat Lieutenant" Tolkath replied "There will be a briefing shortly"
Looking at him, Deeli did not like this waiting game while there was a lot going on. But she had no motive to decline his offer "Sure..." Deeli replied and sat down in the chair.
Cortez arrived at a halt as she had just jogged the entire way there. Catching her breath, she nodded to those in the room and stood over to the side. Clearly, she wasn't the most trusted in the room because of everything that had happened with the Wyoming and its subsequent events, but when it came to the Gorn, she had nothing but the utmost hate for them and couldn't wait to see them defeated.
Kevin quietly entered the room and stood against the wall, waiting for the briefing to begin. His gut instinct told him this was going to be a tough assignment, and he trusted his 'gut' more than he trusted people. Though he'd already drawn a phaser, having checked it's operational capacity, he then took out Walter; his trusted nine millimeter Berretta pistol, a projectile weapon, and checked it over again.
Bolingbroke checked off the four 'Fleet personnel they would be escorting. They all had weapons but no other battle gear. "Corporal Hudson, send for four vests and four helmets, make one of them an Mercury nodding at the Vulcan Second Officer.
Tolkath caught the movement and raised an eyebrow. "A Mercury helmet?"
"Er... yes sir" Bolingbroke replied, "Er... the..er..." He reached up and tapped his ear.
Tolkath followed the movement and considered it's meaning "Mercury, Human mythology," He worked it out "Messenger of the Gods who wore a..."
"....Winged Helmet" He and Bolingbroke said together
"The regular ones won't fit sir" Bolingbroke explained.
Tolkath nodded and looked away, masking his reaction.
Kevin heard the request, but he wouldn't be wearing the offered vest nor the helmet, they were too restrictive of movement. He required his movements to be free.
Shortly after everyone was settled in the Briefing Room there was a surge as the ship pulled away from its moorings and got underway. Moments later a Marine again called “Room! Room ‘Ten-Shun!” and Major West entered, followed by a Pilot.
"At ease, take your seats," West ordered while taking a seat at the head of the table, next to Tolkath. "Glad you could join us on this excursion, Commander."
"Thank you, Major" The Vulcan replied "I'm sure it will be an interesting time.
Nothing like coming in on the tail end of an entrance to a briefing. Still, she wasn't late, as far as she could tell. Rora smiled a brief greeting but said nothing as she waited to find out what exactly she was supposed to be flying into.
"I hear we are hunting for more Gorn. What's the plan?" West asked the Company CO.
Rora blinked at hearing the Major mention hunting Gorn. Was she going to be flying them towards a Gorn ship? Oh now why didn't Cassidy's call dibs on the this? she thought. Rora stayed quiet and listened all she had to do was fly them in and bring them back. The boarding parties were going to have the hard part to deal with...
A Hispanic, stocky Captain stood up. "Sir, we are modifying an existing boarding party plan. We currently do not have good intelligence for the layout of the Gorn cruiser, yet we do believe the command module is in the forward saucer section on the upper decks, in-line with most starship construction techniques. 2d MSOT will be taking that objective."
A slide came up showing the double-saucer designed ship.
"The harder part will be determining where their weapons stores are kept. Based on battle footage from Canterra, we assess likely weapons bays are here. 4th MSOT is assigned to take the nearest weapons bay to the insertion point, here" the Captain pointed to a red x.
Bollingbroke paid extra attention. His team would be heading for the weapons bay.
"Great work, Santiago," West told the Captain. "What is the insertion plan?"
"We are hitching a ride aboard the Hilo" Santiago explained.
"That's it? One ship? We're liable to be blasted out of space, especially with those damn torpedoes," West commented while looking over to Tolkath.
"Logically and tactically we can expect the enemy to launch their torpedoes at the capital targets. Hawaii; Devonshire and Xavier. Tolkath replied "the Arrow Class is high maneuverable Major. That combined with the amount of debris obstructing the orbit, covering fire from Hawaii and our fighters, the Hilo is the best option for getting close to the enemy vessel. Assuming our pilot is capable of the mission." He looked to Tai.
Rora nodded, "I can fly through all of that no problem, there will be no scratched paint or whiplash on my flight. Can't promise no air-motion-sickness if that bothers anyone though, that's what the bags are for." She retorted evenly.
Bolingbroke gave a wry grin. The last thing they needed was somebody puking lunch all over.
West was skeptical but the Vulcan's logic made sense. Space warfare was not his expertise, it was the fleeters'.
Tolkath nodded, he had no doubt the flight would be challenging. "Further to Captain Santiago's introduction, we will have two primary objectives. " He tapped his tricorder and projected a ship schematic to the viewscreen.
We have only limited scans but this is an extrapolation of what data we have on this ship design.
One team will secure the primary command area. We will attempt to gather intelligence information on the vessel, other Gorn ship movements or plans and the possible involvement of any other species supporting the Gorn aggression against the Federation. Lieutenant Cortez and I will accompany that team.
The second team will attempt to locate and secure an example of the new Gorn shield-penetrating torpedo. The device needs to be deactivated and transported back for further study. Lieutenant Kosu and Ensign Kilbane will be accompanying that team. "
Bolingbroke checked out the Engineer and Security Officer. They looked like they could keep up and Kilbane should be able to hold his own in a firefight he thought. Although he was not looking forward to fighting around a room full of armed alien torpedoes.
Bolingbroke then looked over to Hargreaves. She'd have the Intelligence Lieutenant on her team. He'd heard she had sided with the Wyoming's Captain when he had come aboard and tried to remove Tachibana from command. He was not sure how trustworthy the spook was.
He nudged Hargreaves and said, under his breath. "Keep your eye on that one" and tipped his head at Cortez.
Hargreaves gave an acknowledging nod. "Spooks? I usually do," she replied in a low breath. Unfortunately, she usually expected secret orders and objectives that didn't prioritise her team or the mission she knew about. Not mutiny.
Tolkath continued. "Secondary objectives for both teams will be the disabling and capture of the vessel. We are going for information, especially the torpedo, but, if possible, we will attempt to take the ship by holding the bridge or to at least reduce its combat effectiveness for the Hawaii and Devonshire.
"Entry onto the ship will be either via transporter, assuming its shields can be breached or via one of the two small craft hangers, located at the rear of the saucer sections.
"One point, they appear to be operating some form of a zero-gravity transit system, instead of turbo lifts. Sensor data is limited but they may be able to move around the ship via a series of zero-gravity tubes.
Finally, both I and the other Starfleet personnel will follow the directions and orders of the Team leaders until we reach the objectives. At which point I will take command on the bridge and Lieutenant Kosu will be responsible for all decisions involving the Gorn torpedo."
He looked around to ensure the various officers, Marine and Starfleet alike, knew their responsibilities.
West was actually impressed with the level of detail they were provided. Often, they didn't get so much of a map, rather a direction and order to 'go'.
There was another surge as the Hawaii changed course, moving to an attack vector.
"Time is short, but we have a few moments for questions," Tolkath looked around the assembled teams.
"Any idea how many Gorn are aboard the ship sir?" Bolingbroke asked
"Based on the design and their standard practice, somewhere between two hundred and two hundred and thirty." Tolkath replied "I do not believe they will be expecting us to board them, so we will have the initial advantage but expect them to react quickly and aggressively once they know we are there."
Standing there with her arms over each other as Deeli listened to the whole plan, she had the chance to take in all the new tech that was present in the Gorn update, maybe even tech to update her hardware on Hammerhead. But somehow her thoughts were not her own, she kept getting those flashbacks of that kiss 'Damn it Akio...why did I do that...' Waiting on her reaction she looked at Tolkath "Get in, get towards the armory, get their prototype torp and get out, gotcha," Deeli responded as she looked at the marines "Just do your work and get us safely in and out."
Rora shook her head she had no questions she had the easy job in comparison to everyone else, she didn't envvy anyone but hoped they would get in and out without too much trouble. "I am going to suggest one extra set of hands at the helm of the Hilo that way I don't have to worry about weapons and shields in case of fancy flying."
"Suggestion approved Ensign," Tolkath agreed "Select your copilot and have them report to the Hilo.
"More recommendation. We don't have a full idea of the layout of this ship," Hargreaves said, nodding to the display. "We need to keep the Hilo team updated as we go; no guarantee we can make the evac point the same as our entry point if it gets hot in there. We'll have to keep an eye out for airlocks or places to make an exit."
"Ensure there's a breach kit aboard the shuttle. Depending on insertion or extract, you may need to cut your way in or out of that vessel," West cautioned.
As he stood listening to the mission information being relayed to the team, the memory of what an SFI instructor had told him regarding the Gorn during a combat readiness training session came to the forefront of Kevin's thoughts.
~Gorn are susceptible to a couple of things, the cold and also dry airy conditions, it slows their reactions down~
Kevin had never actually fought any Gorn himself, but this was useful information to remember and thought it may be useful to mention. Clearing his throat a little, he said "If I may Sir, and I don't know if this is helpful in any way to the briefing, but the Gorn are apparently susceptible to the cold and also dry airy conditions. Is there any way we can use this to our advantage?" he asked.
"it may be possible Ensign, if we secure their Bridge life support controls, but it is not a priority, nor something we can expect to achieve easily, on their own vessel but Lieutenant Kosu can be mindful of such an opportunity if one presents itself" Tolkath replied. "I think now is the time to adjourn to the Hilo.
"You heard the Commander, dismissed!" West ordered which triggered the room to their feet and tasks.
With the Briefing concluded Hudson passed out the Marine flak jackets and helmets to the Starfleet personnel. He shrugged when Kilbane refused "Suit yourself sir, if you're confident that Security uniform can stop disruptor blasts"
"You're making the assumption I'm going to get hit" Kevin replied "and that just shows me you have no respect for Starfleet Security staff or their methods" Kevin replied, moving on.
"Not really sir. I've found it's best to show the most respect to the ability of the enemy to shoot people in the head. " He tapped his own helmet. "But that's just Marine methods. Good luck, sir," He turned and went back to his team.
[OFF]
Tolkath, CDR, SF
2XO/CSO
Terrance "Terry" West, Maj, SFMC
CO, 3d MRBN
Deeli Kosu, LT, SF
CHENG
Edward Bollingbroke, 1stLt, SFMC
2D MSOT
Eleanor Hargreaves, 1stLt, SFMC
4th MSOT
Kevin Kilbane, ENS, SF
ACoST
Rora Tai, ENS, SF
FCO
