??? You alive Q?

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Meanwhile, aboard Admiral Lofton's ship the USS Atlas, a single Kam'Jahtae survivor from the cruiser you disabled has been secured for questioning. The good Admiral has asked you over to meet with him and talk with the captive...

--------------

You walk out of medbay, glad that the hangover is fading thanks to Doctor Stauffer's remedy he concocted. The Romulan Ale hit like a truck, it's almost no wonder it's illegal in Federation space. Stopping by your quarters, you see to it that when Sela awakens she makes it back to the Asterius. You then depart for the USS Atlas, interested in meeting with the strange new foes that you stumbled upon but two days ago.

The Atlas is bustling with high ranking staff, Starfleet Command Tactical staff almost seem to flood the halls. It takes a bit to locate Admiral Lofton but when you do, he seems relieved to be around someone that isn't a desk jockey. He tells you about how MACO squads boarded the Kam'Jahtae cruiser and the insectoid aliens fought brutally and without mercy. Almost two full squads were taken down by the cruiser's surprisingly small staff of only 30. It took four marines to pin down the one survivor, the only alien that had been unarmed when encountered. Leading you to the ships Brig, you're surprised when the door opens and there's only two beings inside: The Kam'Jahtae, a towering seven foot bulky monstrous looking beast, and a calm, collected looking man in a black uniform with no rankings or insignia, who regards you and the Admiral cooly as you both enter.

"Greetings Admiral, Captain," He nods to you both as you approach. "I'm Commander Sloan."

You think for a moment... The name sounds familiar. Then it occurs:

>Sloan... You're Section 31! But you're dead! You died on Deep Space 9 during the Dominion War!

>Admiral, what's this man doing here? Shouldn't there be security?

>Remain silent.

>>38044974
>>Sloan... You're Section 31! But you're dead! You died on Deep Space 9 during the Dominion War!

>>38044974
>Other
"Commander Sloan. The news of your demise seem to have been premature."
No need to be as excitable as a fresh-faced cadet.

>>38044998
Just want to get two or three more in. Slow start like usual. Hopefully it picks up!

>>38044998
here changing to>>38045119

>>38045119
has my vote

>>38045119
I'll take this. Its professional enough for me. Though I do wonder what the hell the blackops of starfleet wants with us.

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>>38045119
>>38044998
Whelp, I'll go with these combined just to get things started.

"Commander Sloan, the news of your death seems to have been premature."

Sloan seems impressed that you recognize him.

"Yes well Captain, Section 31 doesn't exactly have ads out looking for employees. They value their members greatly. I was considered too valuable an asset to lose in the long term. The trick about how I died and yet am standing here however, is highly classified."

You nod respectfully towards him: no need to anger a man who has extreme power in the Federation and who can apparently cheat death. As you prepare to respond, an enormous chitinous hand slams against the forcefield of the holding cell. The three of you turn to look at the Kam'Jahtae, which as far as you can tell looks about as furious as as giant insect can. It seems to growl at you as you stare at it, and you scowl in its direction. Sloan speaks up:

"They're surprisingly resilient. Despite some of my best... attempts, all I've gotten are condescending threats. Our worlds will burn, we will be enslaved, so on so forth."

The Admiral seems disappointed.

"I was hoping you'd have some results for me by now Sloan. Ah, I'm sure you tried your best however. I suppose we'll have to ship this one off t-"

He's interupted as the Kam'Jahtae chitters noisily at you. The computer pipes up with a translation after a few seconds:

"Vermin. That is all your kind are. Littering the stars with unpure and incompetent footsteps. You will all perish. We will purge the galaxy for the return of our masters. The Hur'q will march upon your worlds, enslave your people, and rule as the masters once more. We will not be denied a second time!"

The creature slams it's hands against the forcefield again in rage as it finishes. Sloan raises his eyebrow at you.

(CONTD)

>>38045667
"That was the most it's talked really. Seems extremely angry at you Captain. Perhaps you'd have more luck than I have. Would you like to talk to it? If not, I'm sure I'll find something to break it. Maybe something we've tried on the Tholians..."

>Attempt to talk to the Kam'Jahtae. (D20)

>Let Sloan continue his work.

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>38045690
>>Attempt to talk to the Kam'Jahtae. (D20)
So insect if we truly are vermin, then how come you're the one in the cell? Why did you flee like rats escaping a sinking ship?

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>38045690
>Attempt to talk to the Kam'Jahtae. (D20)
"Rule? How can you rule when you are but slaves to other masters? What makes you think that they will not throw you aside in preference of more competent servants?"
Try to get it angry enough to let loose the name of their masters.

I need at least one more vote

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>38045690>>Attempt to talk to the Kam'Jahtae. (D20)

>>38045740
Passed Check
>>38046219
Passed Check
>>38045763
Failed Check (By the way, sorry if I wasn't clear enough. The Kam'Jahtae are serving the Hur'q, those raiders that are the stuff of Klingon legend)

You step forward towards the cell and size up the creature inside. It stares down at you, vicious looking. You take a deep breath:

"You call us vermin, claim we are weak. Yet here you are, trapped, a prisoner. Your ships fled in our wake. If you are the mighty vanguard, you've no doubt disappointed your masters."

The Kam'Jahtae slams it's fist into the wall of it's cell in anger, denting it slightly before responding. The computer continues to translate:

"You have no understanding of what we are capable of. We did not flee you worm, you were merely a nuisance in our way. The Spineship will open the rift and our legions will blot out the stars!"

>Spineship? Rift? Legions?

>Continue to insult it, it seemed to work before.

>Step back.

>>38046454
>>Spineship? Rift? Legions?
Hah a spine ship? Funny for such a cowardly race.

>>38046562
So both? We can do both!

>>38046683
Ah sure you can do both. Might be a moment to reply, grabbing my dinner real quick.

>>38046454
>Continue to insult it, it seemed to work before.
your masters are nothing

>>38046454
>Continue to insult it, it seemed to work before.

>>38046740
Ah that wont get anything from it. You have to insult it about things we need to know. He'll happily gloat about them because he's a zealot. He'd tell us the full invasion plan if he knew it since he's 100% convinced we'll die to it.

Which is why both is great! Big fat morons gonna fall right into it seems like.

>>38046562
>>38046683
>>38046740
>>38046802

You laugh mockingly.

"Spineship? My people have a saying, that cowards are spineless. You're so cowardly that you need to name your ships to try to convince yourselves you're not pathetic. We've survived incredible hardships and wars. The Borg, the Dominion, wars with the Romulans and Klingons, incursions and infiltrations of all kinds. You'll be another footnote in my people's history, nothing more.

The creature emits a low growl.

"The spineship is named such as it supports the rift through which the Hur'q will return worm. Mocking it's name will not change the glory it brings. Your petty conflicts are meaningless to us. I will enjoy ending you."

Sloan leans in towards Admiral Lofton in the back ground and you hear him mutter: "Honestly it hadn't occured to me to just mock it. I dumped enough chemicals into him to kill a Gorn and it didn't even react, but all I had to do was call it names."

You puff out your chest a bit, trying to sell yourself a bit more.

"End me? You couldn't even fend off our foot soldiers, let alone me, a mighty Captain of the Federation. You're worthless, an insignificant sta-"

The Kam'Jahtae lashes out, pushing against the forcefield. The computer chimes in: "Warning, field stability compromised. Alerting ship security."

Sloan flicks his wrist and a hold-out phaser slides out of his sleeve into his hand. He shouts at both of you: "Out damn it!"

>Get the Admiral out of here.

>Stay and help Sloan.

>>38047235
>Stay and help Sloan.
We have our side arm right? Phaser to max and zap it.

>>38047235
>Stay and help Sloan.

>>38047235
>Stay and help Sloan.

>>38047643
>>38047392
Pushing the Admiral back, you draw your phaser. Sloan curses as the Kam'Jahtae literally tears the forcefield apart, roaring at the three of you. Sloan fires his hold out phaser, but it glances off the monster. It seems the chitinous armor that makes up the beasts body helps in dispersing energy... No wonder the marines had difficulty securing the ship. Your phaser is set to stun, and as you attempt to boost it up to maximum the creature charges. Sloan throws himself into you, pushing you out of the monsters path, and as a result he's hauled up by the Kam'Jahtae's clawed hand. Growling angrily, it slashes across his face, shredding it almost instantly. Blood splatters the floor, as well as you and the Admiral. Adrenaline courses through your body as you look for your phaser that was knocked out of your hand. You see it in the corner. The Admiral is shakily getting to his feet.

>Go for the Phaser! (D20)

>Try to knock the Kam'Jahtae over to buy some time! (D20)

>Get yourself and the Admiral out of the room and seal the door! (D20)

>Get out of the room!

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>38047953
>>Go for the Phaser! (D20)

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>38047953
>Go for the Phaser! (D20)

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>38047953
>>Go for the Phaser! (D20)

Looks like you got Sloan killed, again, for nothing.

>>38047998
Failed Check
>>38048020
Failed Check
>>38048038
Failed Check

You scramble and dive for the phaser hoping the creature was reveling in Sloan's death too much to notice you, but in the process you make quite a bit of noise. The monster's head snaps around at the sound, and it drops Sloan's body, moving over to you angrily. It's leg kicks out and sends you flying, slamming into the wall. Moving over to you, it menacingly flexes it's claws, ready for the kill. You look up at your demise, when Admiral Lofton pushes himself into the Kam'Jahtae , knocking it off balance. Stumbling slightly, it roars and chitters at the Admiral. The computer still translates it's words: "Worm! I will feast upon your corpse!"

Before you can react, it flays the Admiral, ending his lifelong career in a bloody splatter. You're out of options and time.

>Phaser damn it!

>Get out!

>>38048369
>Phaser damn it!

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>38048369
>Phaser dammit!
Fry the bug already!

>>38048369
>Get out!

Congratulations on getting bot h Sloan AND the Admiral killed, guys.

>>38048397
>>38048417
Did you not notice that the bug has energy I dispersing armor?
That a hand phaser is unlikely to do much when it took phaser rifle shots to bring it down?

>>38048528
Maybe it's the legacy phaser that can obliterate buildings on full power, not the depowered modern variants.

But yeah, you're right. It seems rather stupid. So... call transporter room?

>>38048612
The power to obliterate a building is still in the modern phaser; the difference is that armor and energy dispersing materials and nanotechnology has caught up.

Weapons didn't get weaker, armor simply got better.


And I'd really like to know why people chose to stay here instead of getting the admiral safety.

>>38048612
We'll be dead by the time the transporter room beams us out.

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>>38048835
Quite a poor situation, no?

>>38048941
Yes, it is. I'm very frustrated that I was unable to vote in the previous two choices which led to this situation.

>>38048835
Oh well.

Maybe if that romulan chick wasn't taking precautions, at least our scion will carry on our legacy of adventure someday.

>>38049019
Given how some of the players here want us to die ignobly, she'd be better served getting an abortion.

>>38048984
Well, there is always hope my friend, you simply need to find it. It looks like the popular choice this time is also phaser. Who knows what will happen?

>>38049050
The only hope is a full strength phaser shot to the bug's sensory organs to blind it, giving us a chance to get out and seal the door behind us.
Maybe a wide beam spread setting.

>>38048397
>>38048417
>>38049133
Ahh you see? Ingenuity might save you yet. The issue is getting the phaser up to max and firing it before being eviscerated. The sensory organ bit is an interesting idea however...

Scrambling for the phaser you jump across the room and your hand finds purchase. You don't have time to think, to do anything but fire. You can already feel the air moving as the towering insect rushes at you. You snap towards it and fire at it's head! The phaser is just on stun, but it connects with the bulbous eyes on the Kam'Jahtae's head, one of the only spots unarmored, blinding it at least temporarily. You immediately bolt through the door, and slam your hand on the seal, securing it. You slum against the bulkhead, pausing to wipe your compatriot's blood away from your eyes. Staring at the door, you hear a bang, and see it dent slightly.

>Run!

>You can't let it get out. Hold your ground.

>Order the computer to fill the Brig with toxic compounds.

>>38049335
>Order the computer to fill the Brig with toxic compounds.

>>38049335
Do we even know what's toxic to it? It seemed resistant to stuff before.

Energize it and hold it in the buffer imo.

>>38049335
>Order the computer to activate the internal force fields, and the emergency force field on the bulkhead.
>get in touch with a transporter room, have them beam out Sloan and Lofton directly to sickbay.
The structural integrity field as well as the force fields used to contain boarders/seal off compromised hull sections should hold until security teams get down here.

Also, Sloan said that he already injected the insect with enough drugs to kill a Born; unless we find the right chemical that's toxic to it, toxins are a bad idea.

>>38049335
>>38049409
While running away, of course.

>>38049335
Can't we have the computer put a forcefield around the room to buy time for security?
Speaking of security...

>>38049409
>Also, Sloan said that he already injected the insect with enough drugs to kill a Born
Find out which drugs react adversely to those drugs and flood the chamber with them. Kill it with SCIENCE.

>>38049533
A force field can't be put around the room, as the emitters aren't designed to project that way.

The force field emitters are built into every junction of every corridor, and certain rooms may have their own field emitters so they can create force fields inside of them.

>>38049594
It'll take time to get the right toxins. Time in which it could get through the door.

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>>38049409
>>38049430
>>38049533
"Computer, containment fields on the escaped prisoner, maximum strength. Have the transporter room lock on to all human life signs in the Brig and beam them to the Medical Bay."

As you bark out commands you jog down the hall and look around the corner. You're relieved to see a pair of MACO fireteams sprinting full tilt in your direction. You make yourself known and when they reach you, you explain the situation. You barely finish getting it out when the door to the Brig bends open. The towering beast lumbers out and the MACOs take up firing lines and unload phase rounds into it. The creature roars in anger and pain and chargers your line. You fire with your hand phaser as well. The sheer amount of energy pouring into the monster wears down it's hide and the chitin buckles. The beast collapses and then catches fire. After a moment the fire suppression kicks in. You and the MACOs move in and inspect it... it's dead alright. It took an intense amount of fire however. There's no way it was a natural evolution. As the Atlas's crew cleans up the mess, you rush to the med bay. Passing through the doors, the ship's doctor looks up at you, a strained look on his face. You look at Sloan and Lofton. Sloan is brutally lacerated, but somehow alive. It would seem he cheated death again. Lofton on the otherhand... wasn't so lucky. He was old, and the massive blood loss was fatal. He's perished at the hands of the Kam'Jahtae....

I'm going to wrap up the thread for the night now folks. Thank you for playing. I know it wasn't an overall eventful thread, but it's main purpose was to get some info out there. Next time, expect to be commanding the Obediah in combat once more! I hope to have Act 2 done in the next thread. Thank you all for playing! Feel free to use the thread for discussion, I'll go and archive it.

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Archived! As always, I'm available on Twitter at QtheQuestGiver. I hope you'll all come back next time to learn more about, and to help combat the Kam'Jahtae/Hur'q threat!