A Curve Ball Part #2

Posted on 12 Jun 2026 @ 12:03pm by Captain Jasmine Somers FCapt & Master Chief Petty Officer Lucy Armitage & Lieutenant Commander Remington Dodd & Lieutenant Commander Leland Hawksley & Lieutenant Paul Winchester & Lieutenant JG Faith Benson & Chief Warrant Officer Glenn Stone Mr

4,524 words; about a 23 minute read

Mission: S04 Episode 02 The Hackers Backdoor (Main)
Location: USS Tomcat/ Various
Timeline: MD: 21

[ON]

- Bridge -

Dodd then excused himself from his seat next to the captain and moved to the engineering console on the bridge so he could watch the stats of the ship's power for himself. He missed his days in engineering but loved serving the Tomcat in his new role.

"Oh...it's going to throw the breakers," Faith grinned.

Jasmine gave Benson a dirty look, then noticed her XO move to the rear bridge Engineering Station. "You can take the Engineer out of the Engine Room, but you cannot take engineering out of the officer," she said quietly, then turned to Faith.

"Lieutenant Benson, less doom and gloom if you will please. Now we will start off at the minimum yield. Mr Benson, I need you to sync your energy reading with Engineering and prepare to fire on my mark, understood?" Somers asked.

There was almost a giggle that came out at what Hawksley said. "I know, I know." Faith ran her fingers across the console. When she was ready, she looked back over to him and gave a nod. "This is ready on my end, five per cent output."

"Good", she then swivels her seat around ", and Number One, just observe, you have trained Commander Hawksley well, let him handle any happenings, okay?" She asked.

"I am holding back as I know my boy will do fine. I am an engineer at heart, and I have to see this from this station." Dodd replied as his eyes were glued to the screens at the engineering station. "I am still getting over the updates, but I am still with you on this."

"Mr Benson, target one and fire" Somers said

Faith's head tilted just ever so slightly before she pressed the button to fire. "Firing."

=/\= Commander Hawksley keep an eye on things =/\= she said keeping the Communications open.

=/\= Captain Somers. =/\= Leland cleared his throat. =/\= Along with my bio-cybernetic left eye... =/\= Leland turned to Lt. JG Thex and Lt. JG Todd. "We've got Thex working on the Anti Matrix Assembly nodes, and Todd is watching the whole neural network of the Engineering Main Computer. We are on guard for thee, Ma'am." Leland remembered a bit of his Canadian heritage in that statement.

=/\= Thank you Commander =/\= She said then closed the link. She looked at the target lowest hit barely scratched the Target. "Lieutenant Benson, what say we try one on half-power then full-power, as those in between is going to make this so long?" She asked her CoS/CTAC Officer.

Faith nodded, her fingers moving across her console. She set up a sequence for the phasers to fire at 50% and then full power in quick succession.

As Dodd watched the engineering station monitors, he sensed the crew working in harmony and unison. It made him feel great to be back on the ship after his time away. "Captain, I am seeing that the power relays seem to be firm, and so the fifth per cent and full power tests should be no problem for the power supply. The new power relays are really on par with the new systems in all of Starfleet." Knowing it was not necessary to report that, however, he let it slip before his mind was aware he said it out loud, as he wished he were back in engineering for this part.

"Thank you, Commander. Mr Stone set a heading for the Galen IV Oort cloud and then stopped at the safest blast range," the Captain ordered, looking at her C.O.B, who was currently manning the helm.

"Aye aye, Sir," the ship started to manoeuvre into position. Stone knew the blast radius and placed the ship at a safe distance from the target. He looked at the data coming over his secondary screen and checked on the weapons test information.

She looked over to Communications, and another young officer had replaced Michelle. She sighed, "Ensign, contact the CAP and call them back to base, and let the pilots rest a little and have them be prepared to launch if needed" she said.

"Aye, Captain", the officer replied.

=/\= Tomcat to CAP, return home and recover, but have a flight ready to launch if needed, repeat, come on home =/\=

=/\= Copy that Big Cat, Gunslinger out=/\= replied Paul as he closed the channel. He knew that now he could relax in his quarters. He opened up another channel. He said, =/\= Raider 2, Raider 3, Return home, I say again return home, Gunslinger out=/\= as he turned his fighter to face the Tomcat, He opened a com to the control room, =/\= Control, this is Gunslinger, Prepare to receive the Cap=/\=

=/\= Copy Gunslinger, you have the ball,=/\= came the voice of the young flight control officer.

Paul responded,=/\= I have the Ball,=/\= as he moved towards the hangar deck, and finally got some rest, which he needed after a long day out here.

The Captain turns to Benson, "Lieutenant, load a Photon into tube one and a Quantum into tube two. We will first test the Photons. Commander Dodd let Engineering know we will be doing a Photon and quantum torpedo fire test", she said.

Faith narrowed her eyes a moment. Those violet eyes moving back and forth, she was thinking. Naw, not this time. Tapping along the console a moment and then looking up. "Ready."

=/\= Dodd to Engineering, prepare for the imminent Photon and Quantum Torpedo fire tests. Monitor conditions during each and relay the reading to the bridge monitors as well. Dodd Out. =/\=

=/\= Aye, Commander. Engineering is on stand-by for imminent Photon and Quantum Torpedo fire. =/\=

=/\= Thank you, Commander. The order will be underway soon. =/\= Dodd replied to Hawksley.

"Captain, Engineering is prepared and on their mark for the Photon and Quantum testing." Dodd relayed to the Captain.

"Thank you, Commander, Lieutenant Benson, target one fire Photon", she said, "then switch to Quantum and target and fire at second target, on your judgment, Lieutenant" Somers instructed.

Faith double checked the targets, the torpedoes, the yields. Once she got the go, she changed it up. Just as soon as she fired the Photon at the first target, she fired the Quantum at the second target, a second later.

The viewscreen showed the first target exploding, the second one more spectacularly "Okay, they work, okay, who wants to be the first to test one of the Drop Pods?" the Captain asked.

"OOo...I do, I do." Faith smiled.

"I do believe that Benson is likely the best one qualified for that, Captain," Dodd responded, even though he secretly wanted to have a go at that task.

*nods* "Okay, Lieutenant, get you down to the Drop Pod bay, and remember the combat outfit it is calibrated to work with the drop pod, the thing uses chemical rockets but when in atmosphere there will be some type of slowing down mechanism like a still parachute slowing the Pod down, but then when closer to the ground the RCS operation is up to you, any questions Lieutenant Benson?" the Captain asked.

"I think I've got it, Captain. If I do in practice, you'll be the first to know," Faith smiled.

Jasmine looked at something that popped up on the small screen on the arm of her chair "dammit!" she quietly said to herself, then looked up "No questions, okay, best of luck, Lieutenant", she added and watched Benson leave.

She taps her Commbadge =/\= Bridge to Armitage, report to the bridge for Tactical station duty =/\= Somers said.

=/\= On my way Captain, Armitage out =/\= came the reply.

Then she looked at Dodd, "You have the bridge, Number one, when ready, have Chief Stone take us into orbit of Galen IV, then notify the Galen IV government of the drop pod test", she said.

"Roger, that ma'am," Dodd replied as he stood up and turned to move to the captain's chair.

With that, the Captain left the bridge and entered her Ready Room, leaving her XO in command.

"Chief Stone, take us into orbit. And communications, please open a channel to the government on the surface. I am ready to talk with their representative to coordinate this drop pod test."

"Aye, sir, taking the ship in," replied Stone as his hands tapped across the panel. The ship was designed closer to the planet as it grew larger. Stone watched his screens and the information flowing across them.

The Ship rotated in a barrel roll to achieve the correct angle for launching the drop pods. He was not trained for this and had not even simulated piloting a ship through this manoeuvre. Yes, being qualified to pilot and being an expert pilot were two different things, and he knew the difference.

There was a slight rumble and jolt as the ship got into position. Stone was a little off on the calculations, but nothing that could not be fixed. The shields were holding as the atmosphere heated them. "Dipping into the atmosphere, Sir," announced Stone, making a few last adjustments.

"Comm channel is open, sir." The comms officer replied.

"Thank you," Dodd replied.

=/\= Galen IV Parliamentary Council, This is Commander Remington Dodd of the United Federation Starship USS Tomcat. I am seeking to speak to someone regarding the testing we are conducting in this sector. Could you please connect me to the proper person? =/\= Dodd asked over the comm channel.

=/\= Commander Dodd, We are pleased to accept your communication. Can we open a visual channel? =/\= The comms officer of the Galen IV Parliamentary Council responded.

=/\= That would be acceptable. When you are ready, our view screen will activate. =/\= Dodd replied.

After a few seconds, the viewscreen came on, showing the image of a thirty-something female Galen IV member of the Parliamentary Science Commission.

=/\= Greetings, USS Tomcat and Commander Dodd. We are pleased to have you in orbit and performing the testing. We are getting good readings from the weapons testing you have already performed. Am I guessing this communication is to notify us of the pending drop pod testing? =/\= the woman asked.

=/\= Why yes, that is what we want to finalise the process before we drop the pod into your atmosphere. May I ask to whom I am speaking? =/\= Dodd responded.

=/\= I am the head scientist of the project on our side of this test. I am Nadia Twickling. I took over the project after it was established between our two governments, and thus looking forward to seeing it play out. The coordinates of the best entry point for the first test are being sent to your ship now. Once that test is done, we would like to review the data and arrange to have a secondary drop pod test and maybe a third if possible. We would also like to arrange an official officer reception for your command staff if that would be possible? =/\=

=/\= I am told we got the coordinates for the drop pod test, and I am sure we can arrange the other tests. I would be happy to extend the invitation to the captain and then let you know if that would work for the reception. =/\= Dodd replied as he sensed something more from Nadia that was beyond mere scientific knowledge.

=/\= Great, I will say you are authorised for the first drop pod test at the coordinates and can do in the next hour. I will contact you after the drop pod test to coordinate the second test and get your answer on the reception. However, I do hope your command staff is able to accept the invitation. Nadia out. =/\=

=/\= Thank you, and I will get you an answer, and we are also looking forward to the drop pod testing data. Tomcat out. =/\=

The viewscreen went to the forward view.

"Stone, get us to the coordinates for the drop pod test," Dodd ordered.

Looking down at his screens, Stone started to adjust the ship's cant and speed. Stone knew if the ship went too fast, the pods would burn up. Go too slow, and they scatter and drop. This he knows from his own experience. "Sir, coming up on lunch position," he announced, looking at his screens carefully.

=/\= Benson, you have one hour and then go. Please just notify the bridge when you are ready and no later than five minutes before you are prepared to start the test. Thank you. =/\=

"I still think Operations should be handling the Drop Pod test, not me." Faith gave a bit of a shrug regardless. Giving a little nod to Lucy as she moved out of the way. Shifting on the heel to the head and into the Tubrolift. Heading down to the newly added Drop Pod bay.

A little hurriedly, Lucy arrived on the bridge, took over tactical, and adjusted it to her configuration. She busied herself with her task; if Commander Dodd wanted her, he would speak.

"Miss Armitage, I would really like for you to keep all your focus on following the readings for the area, not only for any sensor readings of the sector, but for all the telemetry of the drop pod. That would be a valuable asset to have that data to join in with the rest collected on this test." Dodd addressed to Armitage.

*looking at Dodd* "Yes, Captain, also with all due respect, it would be nice if I were addressed as Chief Armitage on duty. Normally, I would speak of this in private with you, but the situation we are currently in makes it a difficult prospect," she said plainly and with a soft smile to show she did not say it out of malice or hate.

"Understood, Chief, no disrespect was meant. I was in the middle of another thought and wanted to be sure to let you know I was aware of your presence. I will uphold the formality going forward, Chief." Dodd stated in response.

With the ship basically in the position of the coordinates for the drop pod test, all was falling into place.

"Great work, all. Chief Stone, please be sure to hold us in the proper coordinates for the test. As soon as Lieutenant Benson gives us the report, she is ready. Please work with her to get the test underway. Chief Armitage, can you please confirm that we can fit the reception that the command staff has been invited to, will fit the Captain's schedule and that we will have proper coverage for us to attend?"

*brings up another screen* tapping information into it "done, Captain. Might I ask what this party is about?" Armitage asked.

"Yes, Chief. The planetary government wants to host a reception to honour us and the union we have on this Drop Pod testing, as well as a way to honour our presence, as they don't get a lot of starships from the Federation with a Fleet Officer aboard. With Captain Somers, a Fleet Captain, they wish to honour our command staff with a formal reception. I am not aware of what the full timeline of this mission and the testing has in store, so that is why I am reaching out to you regarding the captain's schedule." Dodd replied.

"Very well, Captain, who are the delegates and which planet are they coming from?" Lucy asked Dodd.

"The planetary representative asked for our command staff, so the captain, I, and whoever of the staff that the captain feels would benefit from attending a formal function on Galen IV. I would gather that the governing parliament of Galen IV would be in attendance, as Nadia did not directly indicate who would be involved on their side. I am game because it has been a while since any Federation representatives have been to Galen IV, and it would be a good show of faith for us to at least make a presence if we have the time to do so." Dodd replied to Armitage.

"I will speak to the Captain when she is available, Commander, so she may ask to speak to you at some point" Armitage responded.

- Drop Pod bay -

"An hour... of course." Shaking her head and snatched a PaDD from one of the nearby crew members. Pulling up the specs. "Nope, not happening." Tapping into the PaDD and sending it to fabrication. Turning on a heel to head out for the Bay. Getting the parts needed in chunks. That gave her time to finish up what she was doing. She replaced the parachute for the pod with a more parasail-like model. More resilient and more control.

Faith wasn't going to let one of them test it; she was testing it herself. Getting suited up and inside. Starting the launch sequence. Signalling the Bridge as well.

- Bridge -

Back on the Bridge, the Communications Officer looks over to Dodd, "Captain Lieutenant Benson reports Ready," he said.

"Thank you," Dodd replied. "Chief Stone, please work on monitoring the drop pod from your perspective and then compare the data the other stations are collecting. I would value your input on this process."

"Yes, Sir, I had planned on it anyway. The best data will actually be from the pods themselves," replied Stone, his hand moving across the panel of his station. "With this being a common atmosphere. It will give us a good baseline. Don't try dropping.... ever mind." As Stone seemed to look at the screen.

Sometimes, he was not sure what to say to the crew and who was cleared for what. Sure, the CO and OX were cleared for most information. But the rest of the crew is not so much.

He had been a part of some of the first experiments with drop pods. This would be the mainstream now, and the safety had improved greatly based on the information he had gone over.

Meanwhile, in the drop Pod...

Faith flipped a few switches, dotted a few I's, and pressed a few buttons as the suit also did some of the scans for her. Since she had the all clear, she hit the button to open the bay doors. Once cleared, push the sequence in to move her Pod into position and then be ready to drop. One last check and... "Dropping my floatie ass!" to the Bridge. Leaving comms open as the drop pod disconnected and shot down towards the planet. "Wooooooooooooooooo!"

Looking up with a smile, "Sounds like Lieutenant Benson is enjoying herself, Captain!" Armitage mentioned.

"Indeed, it does," Dodd replied with a fun grin. But he was worried as he did not want anything to happen to her. "Please be alert, as we need to get all the data we can and also see if we can detect any signals attempting to collect our data from the test. We seem to have an interested party trying to take something from us in some fashion.

Stone got a look of frustration on his face as the Pods dropped. "We are being attacked, and you drop the pods? Have you all lost your minds?" barked out Stone, looking at the bridge crew. "If they have control of those pods, things are going to go really bad, really quickly," said Stone as he turned around, looking at the screen at his station as he worked.

"We don't directly know we are under attack. There is a chance that the data core was faulty. If you think there is someone out there, Stone, as soon as you can, go ahead with your two-second neutronic particle burst, as long as it will not affect Benson and the other satellites. However, if there is someone out there, they have no thoughts or emotions that can be detected." Dodd replied.

=/\= Commander Dodd, Hawksley here. All power systems and relays are holding steady across the board. I see no spikes or drops during the pod launch and atmospheric entry. Neural net and anti-matrix nodes look clean; nothing got through from that satellite breach. Thex and Todd got their stations locked down and confirmed everything is solid. Pod telemetry feeding in smooth and we logging it live right now. Engineering standing by if ya need any tweaks or extra eyes on something. Hawksley out. =/\=

The Communications officer, a young Ensign who had taken over from Michelle, as she had other stuff to do, perked up. "Captain, one of our data transfer security satellites has just been hacked. Reports have just come in that all data has been stolen and the datacore wiped, sending the location of the satellite to Navigation," the Communications Officer said.

"Holy Sneak Attack. Who would want drop pod data?" Dodd replied. "Tactical, be on the alert. Scan for signs of other ships in the area. Get the rest of the data secured and do a full scan of the area for anything abnormal. Once we have some more information, I will take this directly to the captain. I want as much information as we can compile as quickly as we can. Also, I need to know that Benson is safe."

Stone was already on it. He was not strictly using the satellites; he was using the ships and ground scanners to get all the data he was trying to get from different angles, but the Ensign was not wrong. "I have some data, but not all. He commented, working furiously as he encrypted it and stored it somewhere.

"The other systems are compromised on the planet side. "Ensign! localise the ship's computer and communications system." Stone's mind raced as he was thinking of countermeasures. "XO can Tactical needs a neutronic particle burst for two seconds. That should stop them, and if they are cloaked nearby, then this should light them up," suggested Stone.

"Targeting the first hostile, got lock firing Phasers," Armitage said. Her hit knocked out the hostile's engines, causing it to drift powerless "Captain, the other ship has cloaked again. Might I suggest you launch a squadron of fighters, as it will take time for the ship to pick up any speed, and there is only so much a ship's weapons can do when stationary?" Armitage said.

"Crew, Yellow Alert. Take action to protect the ship and do what you need to take out the hostiles." Dodd replied. "There are more out there, I am certain now, as for a brief moment, there was a sense of uncertainty that was not from our ship. Chief Armitage, get the message out to the ship that we need to be on full tactical readiness. Let nonessential personnel report to their quarters until further notice."

=/\= All hear this, The Tomcat is now at Yellow Alert, and for your safety, all nonessential personnel need to report to their quarters until further notice. Dodd out. =/\=

"Chief Stone, great job, and keep up the attention to detail. Chief Armitage, appreciate your attentiveness as well. I want the two of you to be on hostile alert, and that is the full focus for the rest of this crisis." Dodd ordered.

"Understood, Captain," Lucy responded.

"Affermitive," replied Stone as his hand continued to move over his panel. "Not going to make this easy for you," mumbled Stone as the ship moved to the side and up, then realigned the agle for pod launches. He would move the ship at random every so often to make it a little harder for the enemy ships to get a solid lock on the Tomcat.

"I am sensing a very sinister presence in the area," Dodd replied and looked directly at the viewscreen. "I am unable to get the direction pinpointed as it is apparently somewhat masked by either the cloaking device or some other technology."

"I believe the drop pod should be hitting the mark very soon. Please do what you can, Chief Stone, to be on top of tracking Benson. I want her retrieved as safely and as soon as possible."

'They are rerouting communication and data. I can't lock it down. We are cut off. I am going to try a few things, but I am no communications expert. "I would take two fighters and a fly-cap on the Captain and pod, have them with experience in fast interception. allow a fast burn-in, I would go and retrieve the captain, but a little, but right now," said Stone through gritted teeth.

The Tomcat rolled, and two disruptor shots just missed the ship, not hitting it directly. The shots glanced off the shields. Stone let out a breath. He then realized why he did not suggest a filter escort for the pods in the first place.

"Darn, I was hoping that we could get more damage to their ship and keep them busy so we can get to Benson," Dodd stated. "I would like you, Chief Stone, to keep all your attention on the hostile. I will be working to get your ideas in the action plan."

"Simple, Sir, you want their attention to become the problem. time to get in their face. I would say diplomacy is finished," said Stone. He started to grin.

"OK, tactical, let's see what you know." The ship jumped forward. in a pattern that did not make sense at first. nothing to spitcluer but. "Be where attacks are not. Arrive where openings are. Turn every contact into an advantage." commented Stone. "Move and don't stop. Dance with them," mumbled Stone.

"Move, shoot, move, shoot, torpedoes, move!" advised Stone as the ship went into aggressive maneuvers.

Two enemy ships uncloaked dangerously close to the Tomcat. As he rolled the ship around, one of the enemy ships made it almost impassable for the others to fire. The enemy ships had no choice but to move in a panic to avoid being struck. something they were not prepared for from a federation ship.

-Drop Pod-

Everything seemed to be working fine. The modifications she made were working well. For the most part. She'd have to give the plans to Engineering to pick out anything she may have missed. Touching down almost on the landing zone that was picked out. Once down, she signalled the ship. =/\= "Drop Pod One to Tomcat. I'm on the ground." =/\=

The signal was not made to the Tomcat, but to a sinister entity who was now taking over the test.

=/\= Drop Pod One, you have successfully landed, great job. Stand by for further orders. =/\= a voice responded that was not familiar to Benson.

She raised an eyebrow, knowing who was on the Bridge and should have responded. Either way, at the moment, Faith secured the Pod and gathered survival gear, just in case. Something obviously didn't feel right.

[OFF]

 

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