(( USS Murray ))

:: After the first conversation between the two ships, Robin was
getting results of her scans. After sharing this with the team, a
short discussion took place. There was a possibility of foul play, a
possible fact not to be easily dismissed. Of course, Jehn was up to
make a decision and choose a course of action. Naturally, the Andorian
officer did so.::

Thelev: Best not to take any chances. Captain, raise shields and scan
for any other ships nearby. Ensign, signal the fighter escort and the
Ronin but keep the comms signal tight, I don't want anyone else
listening in. ::turning to the pilot:: Sarion, just fly casual..

Sarion/Wulfram: (response)

Phoenix: ::after tabbing in some commands and reading the outcome, she
faced the others again while shaking her head.:: I am not picking up
any sign of other vessels or autonomous crafts, nor any station or
celestial body which would explain the residue. ::pause.:: But as I
have pointed out before... scanners are less accurate being this close
to a proto-star.

Sarion/Wulfram: (response)

Phoenix: Well, we could use the fighters to increase our scanning
accuracy by using them as a subspace antenna. If each of the fighters
would take a fixed position with the Murray as a point of reference,
circling our ship, we could link into their systems and bind them
together as a giant receiver. However... ::looking at the transport
ship.:: … I doubt we have the time to do so AND rescue those aboard
that ship.

:: Robin invisibly observed Jhen, who had been given a relatively
tough call. If an Andorian brain could make sound during thought, it
probably would have deafened everyone on board by now. Inwardly, she
smiled. She recognized a good officer in the Andorian, for there was
no room for making mistakes by bluntly choosing a course of action. ::

Thelev: Well now, this is a quandry. With us and the medical module
onboard the Murray can't evacuate all the passengers and crew. We need
to use the two Mauls to take the rest. Which means we can't send them
off to scan.

:: Nodding in agreement with Jehn's arguments, Robin glanced at the
others aboard the smallish craft. Curious to what they would suggest,
she remained silent and observed. ::

Sarion/Wulfram: (response)

Thelev: We don't have the time - at the moment all we know is that
fifty people are going to die if we don't do something now. Mr
Wulfram, how long until their warp core breach?

Wulfram: response

Phoenix: oO That's not a lot of time indeed. Oo

Thelev: Any idea if you'd be able to fix that? Towing their ship back
in one piece would be preferable.

Wulfram: response

Thelev: Well then, in that case we'll have to drop shields in order to
beam them aboard. Signal the escorts and keep a close eye on those
sensors, let me know the moment something looks wrong.

:: Turning her chair back to face her console, Robin responded with a
simple but efficient "Aye, sir". She reinitialized her scans and tried
to focus them on the especially difficult sections to scan of the
surrounding space. If there was another ship out there, they were
hiding. The problem was, even a simple cloaking system would be able
to let a ship seem invisible in this thick soup people called
proto-star radiation.::

Anyone: response

Thelev: =/\= Murray to Wanderer. We're going to beam you and your
passengers off, Captain. I get the impression they're not going to be
too impressed, correct? =/\=

Fairstar: =/\= You could say that Commander.=/\=

Thelev: =/\= I'll have you and this Lord Stellarhaven beamed to the
Murray and we can discuss it further. If you have any injuries we'll
look after them, too. =/\=

Fairstar: =/\= Understood. Fortunately injuries are limited to a few
cuts and bruises. No one is seriously injured. =/\=

Thelev: =/\= Acknowledged. Prepare for transport, Captain. =/\=

:: For a brief moment there was a silence. Judging on the emotions
present in the fairly small cabin, Robin knew the situation was tense
for everyone, including herself. It was one hell of a situation the
freighter had brought on the Ronin crew and themselves. Feeling the
Andorian's eyes turning towards her, Robin re-directed her chair and
looked at the semi-stressed face of Jehn. She tried to express a
sensation of trust and calm on her face… trying to give Jehn and the
others some sort of relaxation in the way that she, as an ex-CO, was
fully convinced they could pull this off… no matter what would happen. ::

Thelev: Lower the shields...

Phoenix: ::nodding and then returning her seat in the original
position, while tabbing one of the keypads.:: Understood... ::bleep
bleep bleep bweeeeeep::… shields are down.

Anyone: (response)

:: Shortly after, the blue haze of the transporter-beam made place for
a somewhat odd-looking person. It was mister Stellarhaven. Robin
prepared to greet the man as her fellow crewmates where probably
preparing for, but it seemed their guest had other priorities. With
his eyes closed, the man mumbled some sort of limerick. It took her a
nanosecond to understand he was quoting a prayer. When he was done,
the man bowed curtly to the Starfleet officers and offered a small
thanks for their use of transporters. Robin repressed a frown and
simply nodded in a perfect diplomatic-friendly method.::

Thelev et al: <Response>

Fairstar: <Response>

Stellarhaven: I do apologise for my delay, Commander. I am on strict
orders to ensure this pilgrimage is kept on schedule.

Anyone: (response)

Stellarhaven: Oh indeed. Starbirth is a great event in our calendar.

Phoenix: It is a great event for us as well sir. Observing such a
wonder of the universe is very rare, as well as a honor to witness.

Anyone: (response)

Stellarhaven: ::holding up a silencing hand.:: I'm afraid that's out
of the question. My flock have never been blessed with the
Transporter. I fear its use will send them into a spiritual frenzy.
You understand that we reserve such privileges for our Holy calendar.

Phoenix: oO Excuse me? No beaming?Oo

:: Robin quickly peeked at the chronometer... they were running out of
time. ::

Anyone: (response)

Stellarhaven: Absolutely not! You have no right to interfere... review
your Prime Directive sometime! It forbids you to challenge our
spiritual beliefs.

:: This could become ugly. Robin had some experience with strong
beliefs during crunch-time situations. If it had been up to her, she
would have simply beamed those people of the freighter and let those
people file a protest at Starfleet later, after they safely returned
to the Ronin. Not only the lives of those onboard the freighter where
at stake, but also the crews of the fighters and the USS Murray. The
thought of leaving the religious travelers behind, trusting they would
be saved by their Great Mother and let them discover a probable
opposite, where quickly banned from her mind by her own self.::

Phoenix: oO Docking with the freighter will take too long. Even if
their religion allowed them to simply shift ships without some sort of
`docking ritual'. Oo

:: Using her artificially enhanced brain, Robin quickly examined
several possibilities jumping in and out of her mind. Forced beam-out…
tranquilize the passengers and then beam them out with the
explanation the radiation had gotten to them so they had no memory of
the Murray docking… shoot their engines so they stopped moving and
would be forced to beam over in order to view the birth of their star
wonder… beaming... wait... that might be an option, but they had to do
it quickly... if possible.::

Phoenix: Commander Thelev, if I may...

Anyone: (response, if any)

Phoenix: What if we beamed their warp-core out of their engineering,
let one of the fighters tow it to a safe distance while we lock on our
tractor-beam to the freighter and take them... away. ::glancing at
Wulfram and Sarion.:: Will that be possible?

Anyone: (response)

Phoenix: Well... we do not necessarily need to beam the whole thing
out, just the dangerous contents... right?

Anyone: (response)

TAG!

Robin Phoenix
Civilian/Misc.
USS RONIN