A Captain's Log *spoilers*
Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:09 pm
Captain's log 130424-1020: [recording]
The crew is intact. Minimal Hull damage. The Torus is a good ship, and the Engi homeworld donation of this ship to the federation has proven more than valuable in our jumps to nearby sectors. May the crew of the ship who inspired the Engi generosity find peace. We were waiting for the FTL to spool before our next jump when a Mantis ship appeared, weapons charged and boarding party ready. The Mantis are more formidable in one on one combat, and the mostly Engi crew are too frail to handle such combat. They entered the ship two rooms from Medbay. After relaying to the two Engi crew members located at munitions and shields, the crew headed for Medbay, the most defendable position without completely abandoning navigation. The ion cannons were set to auto-fire on the enemy ship's weapon systems while an anti-ship drone was activated for distraction. Once all of the crew was in Medbay, the O2 was cut and the ship vented.
The boarding crew was quickly fading while attempting to breach the blast doors around Medbay. By the time they breached, the ship's crew was prepared to fight. Crew suffered no significant damage, The Torus medi-nanbot dispersion system in conjunction with the Medbay kept everyone from any critical damage. Meanwhile, the ion cannons are less accurate without being manned by a weapons officer. The enemy weapons were rarely offline, their missiles penetrated shields occasionally, but the vacuum throughout the ship prevented any fires. The missiles damaged but did notbreach the hull. Airlock was resealed, all internal doors open, O2 reactivated. Crew were sent back to stations once O2 levels were livable.
The increased accuracy and timing of ion cannons kept the shields down long enough for the anti-ship drone to destroy the enemy craft. While a more tactical victory would have been to merely disable the ship, the drone was not programmed to attack specific targets. There were no survivors of the Mantis ship. Crew were ordered back to Medbay to recover from injuries. Once all damage was sought to and no emergencies were present, the Mantis ship
remnants were searched over for any valuable resources. Some scraps for trade, a few missiles, and Hull beam(which I'm grateful was never used in the battle).
Through overwhelming odds, this crew has done more than admirably in the face of extreme duress. And though each jump presents a new danger, it is my opinion that the mission tasked to all of us may never have made it another sector closer to its goal had it not been for the valiant efforts of this crew. May they be rewarded in their life or death, following the retrieval or delivery of this log.
[end recording]
.
.
.
Captain's log 130426-1730: [recording]
There is no reason for the ship to be afloat right now. After several run-ins with some rather unfortunate pirates, The ship's hull remained just intact just enough to keep air from leaking out into space. No jump nearby offered repairs, so the next position could have been our last. Two jumps later, the ship was safely at a port of harbor to do repairs. No run-ins. Next jump out of port, however, attacked by a Mantis ship by a Red Giant star tearing our internal systems apart. Firing all Ion burts at their weapons, everything went into keeping systems alive long enough to jump. The fires destroyed the engines. A brave Engi crewman ran in to fight the fires and do repairs, though once the engines were repaired, O2 lit on fire. The ship was already low on oxygen from venting other stations.
Two Engi crewmen died to restore oxygen.
[end recording]
.
.
.
Captain's log 130522-2230: [recording]
The loss of the Torus was a staggering one. I beamed myself aboard the Rebel flagship to disable the missiles. The ship had cloaked early to avoid missile fire. This was a tactical error no one could have foreseen without foreknowledge of the enemy's capabilities. A power surge warning lit the radar as the Rebel flagship dropped numerous drones through our hull, killing the crew. Several beam drones cut gashes across the ship. Anti-ship drones disabled the systems. The Torus was lost within seconds. I managed to find a way out of the ship and back to the Federation, with no hope of victory.
While the defeat of the Torus was a spectacular defeat, I was welcomed home with honors. The celebrations were shallow at best. The loss of the crew had taught me something that would haunt me forever. I had never learned the names of the crewmen who had so valiantly died at my side, under my command, under my responsibility.
I requested another go at the Rebel Flagship. No more failure. The fleet standard vessel was available: The Kestrel. It had been forever since I helmed one, but I feel that my defeats and victories will find me a more experienced captain. Ensign Ohm and Ensign Caris offered their services, in the face of victory or death. There was no surviving without victory this time.
We gained valuable crew on the milk run through sectors to the Federation HQ. Zoltan crewman Tach, a weapons expert, was found aboard a slaver ship. In exchange for sparing their lives, they offered Tach as a bargain. I find myself grateful for the mercy we offered, for Tach proved invaluable to our success, he will be missed. Crewman Ariadne, a princess of the Rock people, who we were told was to be escorted to the Grand Basilisk of Numa V, proved a great asset to our boarding party. While I find that a princess should never be in harms way, she would have it no other way than to fight with her fists when war is about. Crewman Weston, a Mantis traveler who found himself amidst rebel trouble, lent his fighting expertise to our cause. Engineer Eoin, a slug who joined our mission from a trade station, offered his services for a price, but they were well worth it. Engineer Lyaan Ti and Engineer Triko were found adrift in the void, happy to help in trade for their rescue. All crewmen fought valiantly, with honor, for the protection of the federation, that we may have a brighter future.
The federation base in sight, The Kestrel was hailed. Once we had explained our reasoning for dropping in the middle of the fleet, the Rebel flagship entered the sector. Full shields, weapons armed, we chased the flagship. When we had jumped to within firing range of the Rebels, the flagship cloaked, giving them time to charge weapons while we waited for their energy to deplete enough to fire. Crewmen Weston and Ariadne prepped to board on the crew teleporter. The rebel ship de-cloaked. Weston and Ariadne teleported to burt weapons, taking down the enemy crewman and disabling the weapon. The rebel flagship opened fire with all available weapons. The kestrel managed to avoid most of the direct damage through cloaking, a device we had only installed hours before the jump to federation space. Not all damage was to be avoided. We were hard to target, but not impossible to hit. Hull breaches port side hallway. Engineer Triko and Eoin prevented any permanent damage.
Slowly, weapon by weapon. Weston and Ariadne disabled all but the port burst laser. Full shields kept the lasers at bay. The battle appeared already won. Once Weston and Ariadne were aboard the Kestrel, Weapons Expert Tach fired all 3 burst lasers at shields. The instant shields were down, a Firebeam (which had been acquired through less than kosher means) burned across engines, Oxygen, and Medbay. The ability to see enemy locations aboard the Rebel Flagship was provided by engineer Eoin. It was obvious that crewmen tried to save the Medbay above all other systems. With this knowledge, Weapons Expert Tach proceeded to keep the Medbay indefinitely on fire. Enemy crew swapped positions to remove the flame but eventually everyone abandoned the fire and returned to their posts. It occurred to crewman Lyann Ti that the flames have consumed enough of Medbay and the containing supplies that any attempt to enter will result in almost immediate death. Crewman Tach, with the help of Engineer Eoin, targeted each crewman aboard the ship, killing all but one of its crew. The ship then proceeded to jump as it lost a third of the hull. It was our intend to finish the fight, we continued pursuit.
The now crippled ship seemed outmatched by the Kestrel. Curiously, before the jump, I pondered if this had merely been a decoy, a ploy of our enemy to trick us into false security. It was when we arrived at the next port that it became apparent as to why this Rebel Flagship had destroyed countless vessels before our arrival. The ships
weapons were restored, as if the fighting from seconds earlier had never happened. Time dilation must have truly been our enemy this day. Weston and Ariadne were boarding the weapons rooms as before, unhindered by cloaking. All appeared as before...
I remembered the Torus.
This had happened before. The first wave of missiles approached. Engineer Lyann Ti suggested we cloak. I refused. Navigation and engines had as much resources as I could spare and we braced for the oncoming attack. The missiles, surprisingly, missed more often than not. weapons and medbay took a hit. Eoin, Lyaan Ti, and Triko repaired the hull breaches. Then, radar lit up. Power surge. The space all around us filled with drones. We cloaked to avoid target lock. Boarding drones burst through the hull. Fortunately, all other damage was avoided. Hull lasers, ion, burst lasers, all avoided. But the threat was on the ship. All aft crew headed for medbay. Air was vented as to direct the enemy boarders. It has been my conclusion that despite their necessity to breathe, boarding drones are programmed to attack in areas with atmosphere with the intent to kill crew over systems. Blast doors stalled the boarding drones as I attempted to retrieve Weston and Ariadne from the rebel flagship. The boarding drones entered medbay at the same time as Weston and Ariadne arrived. Crew continued to rotate out of the room, doing their best to survive the attacks, but the medbay could only do so much. Weston and Ariadne managed to destroy the remaining drones. O2 began to refill the ship as crew attempted to patch themselves up.
Power Surge. Barely enough time to activate it for the second time, the ship dodged the next volley of drones. Weston and Ariadne knew the best course of action. Boarding the Rebel Flagship, they kept Drone systems offline staying in the room in the event of ship self repair. Weapons were fired on shields, then every other consecutive room until the ship was clearly in no condition to fight. Weston and Ariadne returned to watch the destruction of the enemy ship. It jumps. The crew was under the impression the engines were disabled, but it did not seem to be the case. I had not made it this far before. The crew is all alive. ship hull stable. Weapons intact. Surely, when we reach the ship this time, it will have nothing left to fight with...
We jump. a third of the ship remains. Our last attack before the flagship jumped, it lost the port side of the ship, taking the only surviving crewman with it. The ship was on auto-pilot. The strategy, we assumed, had not changed. Weston and Ariadne setup on the crew teleport. Nothing happens. The Rebel Flagship has a Zoltan shield, impervious to lasers, missiles, bombs, teleporting, everything. This was unexpected. The Rebel flagship fires a volley of missiles. I would not make the same mistake, I let the ship take the hit. a few missiles make contact. Hull breach in engines. Caris was killed in the blast. Eoin, Lyaan Ti, and Triko go patch the hull breach. Power surge. a volley of lasers, unlike any I have ever seen, fire from all sides of the ship, heading in our direction. We cloak. The damage avoided, this is what Caris died for.
We still remain in the position we were before. With one less crewman to man engines to dodge missiles. Crewman Triko takes Caris' place. Weapons expert Tach fires all weapons as soon as they are able, in attempt to slowly remove the Zoltan shield. Before it is removed, another missle volley. Cloaking and Weapons hull breach. Weapons Expert Tach is vented out the ship. Eoin and Lyaan Ti patch the hull. Engineer Eoin stays to man weapons as Lyaan Ti repairs Cloaking. Power surge. Cloaking is still damaged, but there is just enough power to cloak for a few seconds as the laser volley passes. The Zoltan shield is down. Weston and Ariadne board and begin to deliver crushing blows to shields. All remaining weapons continue to fire on the missle bay, praying that no one else dies this day. The damage is slow but consistant. Laser volleys are consistantly dodged. The ship is almost in ruins. The teleporter is ready. As Weston and Ariadne prepare to return, the Zoltan shield reappears. The auto-pilot recovered the zoltan shields and was repairing missles. In an act of complete selflessness and honor, Weston and Ariadne destroyed the last critical system and destroyed the Rebel Flagship before it could kill any more crew aboard the Kestrel. Crewman Weston, who joined our fight purely out of gratefulness; Crewman Ariadne, Princess of the Rock people, who could not suffer a war without fighting alongside her comrades; they died to protect the Kestrel, it's crew, and the federation.
Many crewmen died in my quest for retribution. It was not for the Federation I fought the rebels, but for more personal reasons. Pride, perhaps? I led many to their deaths and repeated to do the same with another crew. It is not without great remorse that we have found victory, but I pray the Federation does not make light of our fallen, and will uphold the virtues these brave men and women have fought for.
-Captain Tee Lek
[end recording]
Logistics:
Deceased:
Tach Z weapons
AriadneR boarding
Weston M boarding
Caris H engines
Present:
Tee Lek H pilot
Lyaan Ti H engineering
Triko H engineering
Ohm H shields
Eoin S engineering
4 shield, 3 engine, 1 O2, 1med bay, 2 teleport, 2 cloak, 6 weapon(burst laser 2 X2, burst laser 1, fire beam)
2 navigation, 1 sensor, 2 blast door. 75% hull.
The crew is intact. Minimal Hull damage. The Torus is a good ship, and the Engi homeworld donation of this ship to the federation has proven more than valuable in our jumps to nearby sectors. May the crew of the ship who inspired the Engi generosity find peace. We were waiting for the FTL to spool before our next jump when a Mantis ship appeared, weapons charged and boarding party ready. The Mantis are more formidable in one on one combat, and the mostly Engi crew are too frail to handle such combat. They entered the ship two rooms from Medbay. After relaying to the two Engi crew members located at munitions and shields, the crew headed for Medbay, the most defendable position without completely abandoning navigation. The ion cannons were set to auto-fire on the enemy ship's weapon systems while an anti-ship drone was activated for distraction. Once all of the crew was in Medbay, the O2 was cut and the ship vented.
The boarding crew was quickly fading while attempting to breach the blast doors around Medbay. By the time they breached, the ship's crew was prepared to fight. Crew suffered no significant damage, The Torus medi-nanbot dispersion system in conjunction with the Medbay kept everyone from any critical damage. Meanwhile, the ion cannons are less accurate without being manned by a weapons officer. The enemy weapons were rarely offline, their missiles penetrated shields occasionally, but the vacuum throughout the ship prevented any fires. The missiles damaged but did notbreach the hull. Airlock was resealed, all internal doors open, O2 reactivated. Crew were sent back to stations once O2 levels were livable.
The increased accuracy and timing of ion cannons kept the shields down long enough for the anti-ship drone to destroy the enemy craft. While a more tactical victory would have been to merely disable the ship, the drone was not programmed to attack specific targets. There were no survivors of the Mantis ship. Crew were ordered back to Medbay to recover from injuries. Once all damage was sought to and no emergencies were present, the Mantis ship
remnants were searched over for any valuable resources. Some scraps for trade, a few missiles, and Hull beam(which I'm grateful was never used in the battle).
Through overwhelming odds, this crew has done more than admirably in the face of extreme duress. And though each jump presents a new danger, it is my opinion that the mission tasked to all of us may never have made it another sector closer to its goal had it not been for the valiant efforts of this crew. May they be rewarded in their life or death, following the retrieval or delivery of this log.
[end recording]
.
.
.
Captain's log 130426-1730: [recording]
There is no reason for the ship to be afloat right now. After several run-ins with some rather unfortunate pirates, The ship's hull remained just intact just enough to keep air from leaking out into space. No jump nearby offered repairs, so the next position could have been our last. Two jumps later, the ship was safely at a port of harbor to do repairs. No run-ins. Next jump out of port, however, attacked by a Mantis ship by a Red Giant star tearing our internal systems apart. Firing all Ion burts at their weapons, everything went into keeping systems alive long enough to jump. The fires destroyed the engines. A brave Engi crewman ran in to fight the fires and do repairs, though once the engines were repaired, O2 lit on fire. The ship was already low on oxygen from venting other stations.
Two Engi crewmen died to restore oxygen.
[end recording]
.
.
.
Captain's log 130522-2230: [recording]
The loss of the Torus was a staggering one. I beamed myself aboard the Rebel flagship to disable the missiles. The ship had cloaked early to avoid missile fire. This was a tactical error no one could have foreseen without foreknowledge of the enemy's capabilities. A power surge warning lit the radar as the Rebel flagship dropped numerous drones through our hull, killing the crew. Several beam drones cut gashes across the ship. Anti-ship drones disabled the systems. The Torus was lost within seconds. I managed to find a way out of the ship and back to the Federation, with no hope of victory.
While the defeat of the Torus was a spectacular defeat, I was welcomed home with honors. The celebrations were shallow at best. The loss of the crew had taught me something that would haunt me forever. I had never learned the names of the crewmen who had so valiantly died at my side, under my command, under my responsibility.
I requested another go at the Rebel Flagship. No more failure. The fleet standard vessel was available: The Kestrel. It had been forever since I helmed one, but I feel that my defeats and victories will find me a more experienced captain. Ensign Ohm and Ensign Caris offered their services, in the face of victory or death. There was no surviving without victory this time.
We gained valuable crew on the milk run through sectors to the Federation HQ. Zoltan crewman Tach, a weapons expert, was found aboard a slaver ship. In exchange for sparing their lives, they offered Tach as a bargain. I find myself grateful for the mercy we offered, for Tach proved invaluable to our success, he will be missed. Crewman Ariadne, a princess of the Rock people, who we were told was to be escorted to the Grand Basilisk of Numa V, proved a great asset to our boarding party. While I find that a princess should never be in harms way, she would have it no other way than to fight with her fists when war is about. Crewman Weston, a Mantis traveler who found himself amidst rebel trouble, lent his fighting expertise to our cause. Engineer Eoin, a slug who joined our mission from a trade station, offered his services for a price, but they were well worth it. Engineer Lyaan Ti and Engineer Triko were found adrift in the void, happy to help in trade for their rescue. All crewmen fought valiantly, with honor, for the protection of the federation, that we may have a brighter future.
The federation base in sight, The Kestrel was hailed. Once we had explained our reasoning for dropping in the middle of the fleet, the Rebel flagship entered the sector. Full shields, weapons armed, we chased the flagship. When we had jumped to within firing range of the Rebels, the flagship cloaked, giving them time to charge weapons while we waited for their energy to deplete enough to fire. Crewmen Weston and Ariadne prepped to board on the crew teleporter. The rebel ship de-cloaked. Weston and Ariadne teleported to burt weapons, taking down the enemy crewman and disabling the weapon. The rebel flagship opened fire with all available weapons. The kestrel managed to avoid most of the direct damage through cloaking, a device we had only installed hours before the jump to federation space. Not all damage was to be avoided. We were hard to target, but not impossible to hit. Hull breaches port side hallway. Engineer Triko and Eoin prevented any permanent damage.
Slowly, weapon by weapon. Weston and Ariadne disabled all but the port burst laser. Full shields kept the lasers at bay. The battle appeared already won. Once Weston and Ariadne were aboard the Kestrel, Weapons Expert Tach fired all 3 burst lasers at shields. The instant shields were down, a Firebeam (which had been acquired through less than kosher means) burned across engines, Oxygen, and Medbay. The ability to see enemy locations aboard the Rebel Flagship was provided by engineer Eoin. It was obvious that crewmen tried to save the Medbay above all other systems. With this knowledge, Weapons Expert Tach proceeded to keep the Medbay indefinitely on fire. Enemy crew swapped positions to remove the flame but eventually everyone abandoned the fire and returned to their posts. It occurred to crewman Lyann Ti that the flames have consumed enough of Medbay and the containing supplies that any attempt to enter will result in almost immediate death. Crewman Tach, with the help of Engineer Eoin, targeted each crewman aboard the ship, killing all but one of its crew. The ship then proceeded to jump as it lost a third of the hull. It was our intend to finish the fight, we continued pursuit.
The now crippled ship seemed outmatched by the Kestrel. Curiously, before the jump, I pondered if this had merely been a decoy, a ploy of our enemy to trick us into false security. It was when we arrived at the next port that it became apparent as to why this Rebel Flagship had destroyed countless vessels before our arrival. The ships
weapons were restored, as if the fighting from seconds earlier had never happened. Time dilation must have truly been our enemy this day. Weston and Ariadne were boarding the weapons rooms as before, unhindered by cloaking. All appeared as before...
I remembered the Torus.
This had happened before. The first wave of missiles approached. Engineer Lyann Ti suggested we cloak. I refused. Navigation and engines had as much resources as I could spare and we braced for the oncoming attack. The missiles, surprisingly, missed more often than not. weapons and medbay took a hit. Eoin, Lyaan Ti, and Triko repaired the hull breaches. Then, radar lit up. Power surge. The space all around us filled with drones. We cloaked to avoid target lock. Boarding drones burst through the hull. Fortunately, all other damage was avoided. Hull lasers, ion, burst lasers, all avoided. But the threat was on the ship. All aft crew headed for medbay. Air was vented as to direct the enemy boarders. It has been my conclusion that despite their necessity to breathe, boarding drones are programmed to attack in areas with atmosphere with the intent to kill crew over systems. Blast doors stalled the boarding drones as I attempted to retrieve Weston and Ariadne from the rebel flagship. The boarding drones entered medbay at the same time as Weston and Ariadne arrived. Crew continued to rotate out of the room, doing their best to survive the attacks, but the medbay could only do so much. Weston and Ariadne managed to destroy the remaining drones. O2 began to refill the ship as crew attempted to patch themselves up.
Power Surge. Barely enough time to activate it for the second time, the ship dodged the next volley of drones. Weston and Ariadne knew the best course of action. Boarding the Rebel Flagship, they kept Drone systems offline staying in the room in the event of ship self repair. Weapons were fired on shields, then every other consecutive room until the ship was clearly in no condition to fight. Weston and Ariadne returned to watch the destruction of the enemy ship. It jumps. The crew was under the impression the engines were disabled, but it did not seem to be the case. I had not made it this far before. The crew is all alive. ship hull stable. Weapons intact. Surely, when we reach the ship this time, it will have nothing left to fight with...
We jump. a third of the ship remains. Our last attack before the flagship jumped, it lost the port side of the ship, taking the only surviving crewman with it. The ship was on auto-pilot. The strategy, we assumed, had not changed. Weston and Ariadne setup on the crew teleport. Nothing happens. The Rebel Flagship has a Zoltan shield, impervious to lasers, missiles, bombs, teleporting, everything. This was unexpected. The Rebel flagship fires a volley of missiles. I would not make the same mistake, I let the ship take the hit. a few missiles make contact. Hull breach in engines. Caris was killed in the blast. Eoin, Lyaan Ti, and Triko go patch the hull breach. Power surge. a volley of lasers, unlike any I have ever seen, fire from all sides of the ship, heading in our direction. We cloak. The damage avoided, this is what Caris died for.
We still remain in the position we were before. With one less crewman to man engines to dodge missiles. Crewman Triko takes Caris' place. Weapons expert Tach fires all weapons as soon as they are able, in attempt to slowly remove the Zoltan shield. Before it is removed, another missle volley. Cloaking and Weapons hull breach. Weapons Expert Tach is vented out the ship. Eoin and Lyaan Ti patch the hull. Engineer Eoin stays to man weapons as Lyaan Ti repairs Cloaking. Power surge. Cloaking is still damaged, but there is just enough power to cloak for a few seconds as the laser volley passes. The Zoltan shield is down. Weston and Ariadne board and begin to deliver crushing blows to shields. All remaining weapons continue to fire on the missle bay, praying that no one else dies this day. The damage is slow but consistant. Laser volleys are consistantly dodged. The ship is almost in ruins. The teleporter is ready. As Weston and Ariadne prepare to return, the Zoltan shield reappears. The auto-pilot recovered the zoltan shields and was repairing missles. In an act of complete selflessness and honor, Weston and Ariadne destroyed the last critical system and destroyed the Rebel Flagship before it could kill any more crew aboard the Kestrel. Crewman Weston, who joined our fight purely out of gratefulness; Crewman Ariadne, Princess of the Rock people, who could not suffer a war without fighting alongside her comrades; they died to protect the Kestrel, it's crew, and the federation.
Many crewmen died in my quest for retribution. It was not for the Federation I fought the rebels, but for more personal reasons. Pride, perhaps? I led many to their deaths and repeated to do the same with another crew. It is not without great remorse that we have found victory, but I pray the Federation does not make light of our fallen, and will uphold the virtues these brave men and women have fought for.
-Captain Tee Lek
[end recording]
Logistics:
Deceased:
Tach Z weapons
AriadneR boarding
Weston M boarding
Caris H engines
Present:
Tee Lek H pilot
Lyaan Ti H engineering
Triko H engineering
Ohm H shields
Eoin S engineering
4 shield, 3 engine, 1 O2, 1med bay, 2 teleport, 2 cloak, 6 weapon(burst laser 2 X2, burst laser 1, fire beam)
2 navigation, 1 sensor, 2 blast door. 75% hull.