The USS Invincible has completed construction and sits, ready for its maiden voyage, in dry dock. The Senior Staff has just begun to arrive, and Captain Ozozah is glued to his Ready Room as he handles paperwork and meets new officers.
The first of the cast (other than Ozozah) to arrive is Lieutenant Valyron. He meets Yeomon Yinshi, a Tellarite woman. She instructs him to meet the Captain in his ready room. When he arrives on the bridge, he introduces himself to his Assistant Chief, Ensign Vin Dal, a bajoran man. Afterwards, he makes his way to the Ready Room. He and Ozozah introduce one another, and Valyron is given clearance to begin security drills.
On Valyron's way off the bridge, he runs in to Lieutenant Commander Coul Anala, whom had arrived a few minutes after he. They briefly acknowledge one another before Coul goes to the ready room and meets the captain before preparing his staff for when they embark. He also meets Lieutenant (Junior Grade) T'Plen, his Assistant Chief of Operations.
Commander Sevik arrives next, and promptly finds the captain in the ready room. Captain Ozozah and Sevik begin to trade information, and the Commander is brought up to speed on their mission: to lead a group of five starships to join Task Force: Romulus, led by Captain Riker. The Invincible will head Task Group Beta, with a mission to locate a Reman separatist by the name of Bikon and negotiate the dismantling of Bikon's forces.
As the Captain and First officer talk, Lieutenant Commanders Juliana Phelps and Scully arrive on the same runabout. Scully is proved to not be one for conversation. In the turbolift to the bridge, they meet Commander Phelps' Assistant Chief, Ensign Rebecca Drake. Once on the bridge, the two lieutenant commanders enter the ready room, and meet the pair within before taking their leave to attend their pre-embarkment duties.
The last to arrive, somewhat fittingly, is the Romulan Cadet Korvan. Yeoman Yinshi recognizes him immediately, and awkwardly tells him to report to Commander Sevik. Korvan learns Sevik's location and heads to the bridge. There, he meets Sevik and Ozozah. The commanding officers are not overly agreeable with his presence, and Sevik details the cadet's restrictions and expectations. In conclusion, the cadet is given charge of the helm during Gamma Shift, the third of three daily shift rotations, and is required to report to Lieutenant Valyron for security duties outside of the bridge.
Once the crew is aboard, and everything settles down, Captain Ozozah communicates with Admiral Tompkins with the final details of their assignment. He is warned to be cautious while in Romulan space, specifically of the Reman, as the defeat of Shinzon did not subdue their desire to be free of the Romulans. The Invincible is also equipped with an experimental detection system for detecting cloaked vessels. Once regrouped with the other four ships - the USS Nautilus-A (Miranda-class), the USS Geneva (Galaxy-class), the USS Vigilant (Akira-class), and the USS Aceso (Olympic-class) - they set a course for Romulan Space, Warp 7.
Romulan Space
En route, Scully and Coul stumble upon a computer error and coolant leak, which force them to drop out of warp for an hour. After remedying the situation, they continue course without further first-flight glitches.
Just hours before they reach Romulan Space, they receive a message from Starfleet Command with the latest reports on Bikon, instructing them to set a course for the Nidavellir System of the Orias Sector. The task group adjusts course and heads on.
When the task group arrives in Romulan Space, they are met by a D'deridex-class warbird. They were expecting to be met, as they were entering Romulan Space as guests of the Romulan Star Empire. The Commander informs them that they will constantly be monitored and are required to make daily reports to the nearest Romulan communications relay with their position, course, and activities. Sevik makes special note of the procedures and remains vigil in their daily reports.
On course to the Orias Sector and a few days out, they receive a disturbing intelligence report shared by the Romulan Empire. Bikon has destroyed a Roulan settlement within the Orias Sector. Forty thousand Romulans were reported killed. The settlement survivors are requesting aid, and Ozozah sends the USS Aceso, outfitted for medical emergencies, with the Vigilant as an escort, to respond. The rest press on to the Nidavellir System.
Intriguing Issues
Another day passes by, and Scully and Coul uncover some strange happenings. Coul investigates a strange replicator malfunction in the mess hall, while Scully tries to find the source of an unusual smell throughout Engineering. Concerned, she asks Phelps to come down and check it out. Juliana Phelps discovers the smell is coming from a warp power conduit, and is not biological, so she returns to Sickbay. Commander Sevik also discovers the replicator problem, and helps Coul determine that the replicator problem is spreading to other locations throughout the ship, Coul does several tests and diagnostics and learns that a power drain is causing the replicators to be stuck in a command loop resulting in them only be able to create decaffeinated coffee and sweet tea.
The two continue their investigations. Scully discovers a foreign mixture intermingling with the normal mixture in the warp power conduit. Coul follows the power drain to the Jefferies Tubes, and squeezes past a section of components to get the best tricorder scan. He detects an anomalous reading his tricorder cannot identify. Scully and Coul exchange problems, and wonder if they are related.
They are interrupted by a distress call on a Romulan frequency. The message is garbled, but they learn that the IRW Norexan is in need of aid in the Veles System, just an hour away. Captain Ozozah redirects the remaining ships task group to assist.
The Norexan, Part I
Upon arriving, they find that the Norexan is a Magoi-class warbird, and is found drifting. The Geneva and Nautilus patrol the system, looking for clues, while the Invincible prepares to help. Lieutenant Commander Coul Anala scans for life-forms, glad to find three-fourths the standard crew compliment still alive. He also detects an unknown air-born pathogen is flooded through the ship. Captain Ozozah instructs Lt. Valyron to scan for cloaked vessels. Valryon alerts the crew that they is a second Magoi-class warbird, cloaked and moving alongside the Norexan.
"Red Alert!" The crew jumps to battle stations and the second ship, knowing it has been detected, comes about. The warbird de-cloaks and raises shields, but does not lock weapons. It hails the Invincible. Ozozah comes face-to-face with a Reman, who identifies himself as Commander Tomaekh of the Warbird Tahkar. The Reman thanks Ozozah for coming to aid, but claims they have it under control. Korvan, at the helm, discreetly informs Commander Sevik that there are no Reman Commanders. Sevik quietly relays this to the Captain. Ozozah insists that their ship is equipped to provide better support for the medical needs and repairs required by the Norexan. Suddenly, the communication is terminated, and the Tahkar locks weapons.
The warbird opens fire first, causing minor damage. Valyron fires a volley of phaser blasts, minor damage and significate shield lose is suffered by the Tahkar. The Tahkar disrupts the Invincibles shields with tachyon bursts, but Coul compensates. The Invincible continues to fire phasers, and the Tahkar fires back until the Tahkar loses shields and cloaks. The Tahkar escapes detection, and Ozozah orders an away team prepare, in EVA Suits, to beam to the Norexan.
To be Continued...
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