Effect and Cause

Posted on May 26, 2014 @ 9:58pm by Captain Peter Aspinall
Edited on on May 26, 2014 @ 10:20pm

Mission: USS Pendragon
Location: USS PENDRAGON

"Effect and Cause" (contd- "Memorial Day")


Location: USS PENDRAGON
Scene: Bridge
Time Index: 20 years 3 months ahead of current timeline.
Relative event: T minus 1 hour
Stardate: 2.140526.16.28

The lights flickered; the air still held an acrid tang from the burnt ruin of one of the rear consoles that had burst in to flames while they barely had the time to extinguish the fire let along make even the most rudimentary repairs the worrying thing is all of this barely registered to Peter.

The bridge was quieter than it had right to be but 20 years of attrition had left the PENDRAGON on less than optimal crew levels and the loss of many of the original senior crew to the artefact on NESTIS VII, and incident that still plagued him at times.


Time Index: Current timeline.
Relative event: Events on NESTIS VII

Peter couldn’t even remember the name of the officer on Tactical but he would never forget the found of his voice as it called out a massive flare of energy from the ground. More importantly from the location Aerdan had indicated the temple was situated.

Peter was on feet instantly, “Assemble security.” He called before trying to contact Aerdan to no avail.

“Sir how many?” Asked the confused officer.

Peter turned to look at him, “All of them, get them down to the transporter rooms asap.”

Peter swallowed, he couldn’t lose his crew, not least because a huge amount of his senior staff were down there.
He tapped his badge again, “PENDRAGON to away team come in.” No response.

Swallowing he moved towards the turbolift glancing behind him as an after thought, “Someone take the bridge.” He called as the doors slipped shut leaving a group of junior officers looking very apprehensive.

Inside the turbolift he made another comm call, getting the result he expected.

“Peter what the hell, if you think I’m going anywhere you have another thing coming…..”

“Kat, almost my entire senior staff is down there, with the exception of Jeff and Kyle there’s no one left !”

There was a moment before Kat growled out a response “You owe me.”

“Always.” Replied Peter cutting the comm and shoving the nagging doubts to the back of his mind, would the PENDRAGON be left with even less command staff after this fool move ?

Location: NESTIS VII
Scene: Temple interior.

The massive away team had made use of brute force beaming to get everyone down together, an initial wave of pattern enhancers had resulting in a steady beaming area, even with the enhancers that had materialised out of usable position, that the waves of security officers had no trouble beaming in en masse from the multiple transporter rooms of the PENDRAGON.

As Peter, accompanied by Kat, had joined them Peter’s stomach fluttered a little as he truly realised the manpower that was actually his to command. Uniformed officers were everywhere, many of them moving to join a firefight he could hear a couple of streets over from his location, which is all had gone well was right…

“Captain ?” Queried Izzy as she stepped out of what Peter assumed was the temple. He could tell from her colouring she was probably as angry, frustrated and downright worried as he was, her tail seemed almost lifeless and dragged behind her, something Peter had rarely ever seen.

“What happened?” He demanded, trying to keep his voice in check, whatever anger he felt at the situation he wasn’t about to direct it at Izzy.

“There was a fire fight, the Terran Commander was using some sort of energy whip and when she hit the artefact with it there was a flash. When my eyes cleared people on both sides were missing including Thomas and Captain Williams.” Izzy paused presumably wondering if she needed to answer anything further on Williams but Peter just nodded for her to continue.

“It wasn’t long before Aerdan and Cade came rushing in and addressed the Keeper, I didn’t hear what he said, I was moving to secure the door but then the flash happened again.”

“Both gone too?” figured Peter.

“And some others again yes.”

Peter tried to hold himself , to not show too much emotion, not here, not now. “What happened to the Keeper?”

“He’s still down in the temple, but the artefact is dark and she is rambling about it sleeping.”

Peter didn’t say a word as they entered the darkened temple. The artefact was easily recognisable but was indeed dark. The Keeper sat quite still by the artefact seeming almost as dark as the artefact itself in the shadows that covered the room.

He looked up slowly as they entered.

“It sleeps.” He murmured sleepily.
“My people…” Began Peter, pausing when the Ferengi waved him off.

“They have gone through the doorway and now it sleeps, it will be many years before it wakes; past my lifetime.”

“Is there no way to wake it early?” Asked Peter, his tone displaying hints of pleading.

The Keeper didn’t respond and when peter repeated his question and still got no response he moved to check on him, already suspecting what he was about to find.

The Keeper was dead.

His mind made up he tapped his comm badge; “A second set of transport amplifiers to my location, fall back in order to this position, PENDRAGON prepare for beam out.”

The extra set of amplifiers was soon brought and set up around the artefact, increases in phaser fire from outside heralded the realisation of their plan by their opponents.

Peter tapped his badge again, “PENDRAGON our forces are taking fire, begin beam out with any remaining none security personal then sequential beam out from outer perimeters to our location. Have one of the cargo transporters beam up the artefact. Rear security teams, Izzy, fall back we have to make sure the artefact makes it out of here.”

“Captain, did you say beam up the artefact?” Asked an incredulous voice from the PENDRAGON.

“Correct, its power is depleted completely but we may be able to make use of it to get home.”

There was no further response from PENDRAGON but security teams began to crowd the temple and the amplifiers began to pulse around the artefact.


Scene: Space

The PENDRAGON’s nacelles flared and the battered vessel began to move off. They were followed by insistent messages from several sources on the planet below all of which were ignored as she left the place that had ripped her senior staff in half and began the long journey towards home.





Time Index: 20 years 3 months ahead of current timeline.
Relative event: T minus 50 minutes.



The Captain leaned forwards feeling all of his years. In his early sixties he was hardly old given the standards of the day and he would like to think had circumstances been any different that he still would have ended up in a command role of some description for much of the years he had held this posting but the circumstances weren’t different and they had made the years seem longer than they were perhaps, a fact probably not helped by the fact that the young man at the helm right now was his own son.

“Three still on the edge of sensor range sir and I can’t guarantee we have lost the others with our sensors as impaired as they might be.” Announced Kat from the tactical console, a position she had reluctantly taken up after much arguing when Peter had needed Izzy to become his ExO. Jeff was the highest ranking officer he could have asked but with the loss of Arjan and Cade from sickbay it was out of the question.

Twenty years of ups and downs had seen he and his crew lose more people, had seen the PENDRAGON take battering after battering but they had made friends along the way, picked up a few companions. Twenty years of hard fought journey but they had made it home.

Only to be shot by the first Starfleet vessel they had encountered.

He hadn’t thought anything of any of the details that later plagued his mind, the details his mind forced him to obsess over in the few moments of quite he had, his own internal punishment for the 24 people who had been lost as the phaser fire had raked across the PENDRAGON’s unshielded hull.

Twenty years of living on the edge; twenty years of tension for the entire crew was what saved them all, without even needing to issue orders Peter watched as his crew raised the shields and got the PENDRAGON out of there.

It was only later, as their wounded were treated, as their dead were mourned, that the communications logs had shown them just how lucky they had been, the other ship had tried to use the PENDRAGONs command codes to shut them down completely, but luckily for her crew the years had changed the PENDRAGON and she was less than she had been, but also more than she ever was.

They had fled, fled to one of the few places Peter had any trust may still be safe.


Time Index: 20 years ahead of current timeline.
Relative event: T minus 3 months

Even with the battering she had taken on it’s journey the PENDRAGON was a formidable vessel and the Starfleet vessel that had opened fire on her; a vessel design unfamiliar to Peter so presumably newer, was mercifully smaller. The PENDRAGON didn’t really win the fight but her crew had the wit to hit where it hurt; not the engines, weapons or other such points as many attack but the sensor grids, transfer nodes, damage that was easily enough repaired for almost all vessels, but enough that within minutes the PENDRAGON essentially disappeared.

A choice of destination for Peter wasn’t difficult, with no idea what was going on, no idea how many ships, bases, planets this may involve, with information twenty years out of date, Peter had one hope.

Created with a degree of secrecy unparalleled in Starfleet four small bases played a key role for a single ship. Hidden from an entire administration even the heads of various branches of the fleet had absolutely no idea they existed.

It was around the very base that Peter hoped that he saw a most beautiful sight.

Battered, bruised, one nacelle dark looking for all the galaxy like the PENDRAGON’s baby sister the USS STONEHENGE met them with weapons powered and shields raised accompanied by 4 other equally battered vessels ranging from an ancient cruiser to a relatively modern but by comparison miniscule patrol vessel.

“They all have their weapons charged.” Commented Kat.

Izzy by his side looked tense, Peter couldn’t blame her given the last encounter with Starfleet vessels.

Peter however was not worried. Izzy however hadn’t noticed the look on Peter’s face, at least she didn’t look and see until Benham took a moment to turn and smile at his father.

“Hail the STONEHENGE.” Called Peter.

“No need, they are hailing.” Commented Kat as the viewscreen, flickering only slightly, lit up to a number of familiar faces.

Matthew too was now wearing red, presumably the STONEHENGE’s ExO, and his rigid expression broke when he saw the people on the PENDRAGON’s bridge.

His mouth was open but he seemed to be having trouble speaking, Peter was in a pretty similar way and Izzy herself was grinning when she greeted Matthew.

“It’s good to see you Matthew, we seem to have a lot to catch up on.”

Matthew nodded a little dumbly, his eyes flicking away from Peter’s face to meet Izzy’s and then doing a double take when he saw Benham sat at the conn.
{{I am sure the others would love to talk to you as well, might I suggest we meet on the surface?}}

Peter smiled, “Of course Commander.” The smile brought to his lips began to pull at Matthew’s own face, a mirroring smile beginning to form.

{{I shall send you co-ordinates Captain.}} Matthew’s smile widened even further as he nodded and the comm cut off.

Peter motioned toward Izzy as he began to move towards the turbolift.

He paused and glanced across the bridge, “Benham?”

His sun grinned and moved to join his father, a relief officer already slipping in to the vacant seat.

A simple nodded to Kat, quickly returned, was all that was needed to leave her in command of the bridge.

On his way to the transporter he called Jackie and felt the pang of pain in his chest, Matthew would soon have a bittersweet reunion with them.


Location: ELANDIPPOLE IV

The sea breee hit them as soon as they finished materialising, followed instantly by the warm heat of the tropical sands.

A cluster of red attired officers were already present, some familiar to Peter others not so much but all clearly the command staff of the ships in orbit or the base itself.

Peter was the only Captain accompanied by more than his ExO, a fact one of the Captains appeared to be commenting on to the others but a quiet response from Maddie, who barely seemed changed since last Peter had seen her on this very beach, was all that was needed, Matthew already half way to them his expression one of puzzlement as he took in the sight of Jackie and one of the twins.

The question that was coming to his lips though never reached the air as he took in the pained expressions of his family and stumbled a little.

Peter met him, unsure if Matthew would have collapsed entirely or not, instead he melted in to Peter, quiet sniffles stifled by his uniformed shoulder as Matthew tried to hold himself together.

He was soon in the arms of his children as well, all four of them taking a moment in the reuniting of what family they could hope to find before Peter was extracting himself from the hug, with a squeeze of his husbands hand and then together with Izzy approaching the others.

“If you would please forgive Matthew a moment, I am afraid we just presented him with painful news.” Peter’s voice was almost monotone, his own effort to keep his emotions out of what was clearly going to be a troubling conversation.

Maddie’s eyes echoed his pain expressing her sympathy as well as any words could have done.

“Then I suggest we tell you about the day the Federation fell.”

Peter wanted to scoff; whatever had happened to them had taken but a day ?


Location: USS PENDRAGON
Scene: Bridge
Time Index: 20 years 3 months ahead of current timeline.
Relative event: T minus 20 minutes.

In the three months PENDRAGON had been back in home territory, although Peter wasn’t sure it should really be called that anymore, they had accumulated a lot of information on what had happened from the other captains. They had overhauled what they could of the PENDRAGONs systems but ELANDIPOLE had never been equipped for large scale repairs and much if their resources had already been used on the other ships.

Peter still wasn’t sure what had happened but 4 hours earlier a fleet of unfriendly Starfleet vessels had converged on ELANDIPOLE and the vessels sheltering there. How they had been found no one knew, betrayal could not be ruled but there were no doubt other possibilities and no one at the moment had the time to consider the problem.

The fleet had appeared so fast at such speed and from so many directions that the directions from ELANDIPOLE had be short and simple, scatter, survive.

With that own communiqué Maddie had signed her own death warrant, ELANDIPOLE’s defences were miniscule, relying on its hidden nature to protect it. Energy blooms on sensors as the PENDRAGON had fled indicated bombardment by at least two of the enemy vessels.

In the four hours since PENDRAGON had managed to avoid being cornered but could not shake all pursuit. They had a plan, a desperate last hope conceived by those present at ELANDIPOLE but while ever the PENDRAGON was fighting for her life the execution would be near impossible, somehow Peter had to evade their pursuers but he was no tactical genius and the others were beginning to exhaust their ideas.

Their salvation came flying from the corona of a star that Peter was going to try and use to mask another escape attempt.

The STONEHENGE hammered weapon fire in to the rear shields of the enemy vessels. With power to their forward shields, their rear arcs seemingly safe the enemy vessels took heavy damage. Unfortunatly for the STONEHENGE they had begun the fight in much better shape than she and although one vessel was disable the other two converged on the PENDRAGON’s would be rescuer.

Torn between doing what he knew they should and fleeing and helping the ship his husband was on Peter hesistated a moment before issuing any orders.

In that moment the decision was taken from his hands and the STONEHENGE was replaced with a roiling ball of destruction and debris as her warp core exploded.

Wether Rharn or Matthew had realise that their core was in danger of exploding or not the STONHENGE had been closing hard on both enemy vessels with fight left in them. The explosive demise of the explorer took both of them with it, one followed their victims with its own firey explosion the other seemed to come apart at the seams, pylons and saucer separating from the secondary hull, explosions rippling across the exterior surfaces ejecting hull plates in all directions.

The PENDRAGON was safe.

The anguished sound from his son on conn exchoed the waves of raw emotion Peter felt through their bond, merge with and amplifying the emotions he himself felt.

“All three vessels are neutralised, the secondary hull of the wrecked ship is heading straight for the disabled vessel.” Kat’s voice was tight; next to Peter Izzy’s small hands were fists by her size, her entire body changing colour constantly as the furious emotions she too was feeling.

He would do something to stop the drifting hulk.

He should render basic humanitarian aid.

“Leave them;” He said instead, “Engineering status check, are we able to make the attempt?”

[[Aye, the artefact is all hooked up, the test calculations check out, we can’t guarantee it will work but we cant make a better attempt than we can right now.]]

“Thank you Kyle, begin.”

Down in engineering the artefact began to pulse. Asleep for years it was being forced away, being fed energy, by the warp core of the PENDRAGON itself.
What they were about to attempt was insane.

It was practically suicidal.

It was the only hope they had of saving the Federation as they had all known it.

It was the only chance Peter had to save his husband.

[[Power reads optimal, the artefact readings are within expected ranges.]] Reported Kyle over the comm.

“Make the jump.” Ordered Peter.


Location: USS PENDRAGON, ELANDIPOLE system
Scene: Bridge


All of them were a little unsteady after the PENDRAGON’s transition through time. They had decided against the risk of taking themselves through both time and space with the same journey and had instead journey to ELANDIPOLE under normal power while they made a few more repairs to the PENDRAGON’s systems after the last fight.

Indications were that they had made the time jump successfully, stellar drift was minimal enough that it wasn’t going to confirm their hopes but detection of standard Starfleet signals had raised their hopes and now they had their final proof.

Below them sat the pristine world of ELANDIPOLE, no sign of orbital bombardment marred its surface and insistent hails from the surface were hear in the voice of Mad’hron Zanders.

Peter took a moment to compose himself, seeing people he had felt die alive; healthy and twenty years younger than he recalled them would be interesting to say the least.

A quick nod was then all it took.

{{Repeat, this is ELANDIPOLE is that you PENDRAGON? You are in restricted space please acknowledge.}}

At that moment Maddie paused, he viewscreen clearly having lit up with their own signal.

{{What on Earth, Peter ?}}

“Hello Mads, I have a lot to tell you, but first I need to ask can you not send any alerts about us.”

Mads raised an eyebrow at that, {{It’s not like we are exactly in frequent communication with the rest of Starfleet as you know, I don’t think it will be a problem. Now what the hell happened?}}

“I’ll beam down and explain,” Promised Peter, glancing sideways at someone out of Maddie’s field of view. “But first, are the Drakes there ?”

Maddie’s eyebrow rose again, “How the hell did you know that?” She asked, a hint of suspiscion in her voice.

“it’s…”

{{ A long story, well you better get down here and explain it then.}}

With that the screen went dark and Peter turned to Drake.

“You have all the messages, and you know who to go to?”

Drake nodded.

“And security wont be a ….”

Drake stopped him, “Captain, this is what we do, we will get the word out there.”

Peter sighed and nodded, “I know, this is just the bit I always hate, when everything is going to be out of my control and I will be clueless as to what is happening.”

“We’ll get word to those we have decided on and more besides, we will stop them.”

Peter sighed, “Well we best get down to the surface then, coming Kat?”

As Kat nodded and relinquished her station, ready to go and see her sister for however brief a moment, Izzy waved Peter off before he could talk, “Status reports, damage reports, all that techy stuff you pester us about, I know what to do Peter, now go start our hidden war.”


NRPG:

So first of all I know it was a little jumpy so if anyone has any problems keeping it straight do feel free to ask me about it.

Essentially PENDRAGON continued on its journey, reached the Federation some time after Edgerton’s take over and the day of bloodshed that it brought about.

What’s left of the more traditional Starfleet is in hiding and one of the secret bases the USS STONEHENGE uses (it being D-drive equipped) is where Peter then takes the PENDRAGON

After some months with slow repairs on limited resources the Captains present decide to make use of the Artefact to take the PENDRAGON back through time and try and stop Edgerton. Before they enact this all safely Edgerton’s Starfleet finally find those hiding out at ELANDIPOLE IV and give chase, the STONEHENGE sacrifices itself to preserve the PENDRAGON which then time jumps and heads to that same base in our own time frame. (of course who knows what state Peter is in, he saw one of his best friends die, his husband die and its clearly implied one of his sons is also dead)

The way their call to arms is getting out is this.

A while back you may remember one of the Drakes was killed in an explosion. The rest left for “the beach” which is their own talk for Elandipole, being from the future the PENDRAGON knew when they would be there and are going to make use of them.

So those that can expect to receive a warning, a call to arms, a request for help, what ever you feel your character would be told/asked for will most likely come as a direct message from one of the 8 Drakes.

Now Drake is an expert in disguise and infiltration so you can play him however you like in any role you like as he delivers the message.

Of course early messages will be to people that those on the PENDRAGON know and trust or key members of the group Edgerton eliminates over time, the latter likely getting slightly more cryptic messages as they are a little more unknown.

Of course anyone these people then feel should be brought in to the fold can then also use the Drakes to receive a message, for now they are essentially our couriers.

No one needs worry about the artefact it will play no further real role in this and was just for getting everyone assembled.

Any problems or questions feel free to email or hit me up on facebook I have been plugging away for a little while on this when I was busy so its possible I overlooked something so don’t worry about bringing something to me and asking what the hell I was thinking !

Peter Aspinall

The voice of …

Captain Peter Aspinall
CO
USS PENDRAGON.