SNN Feed

[Frosty]

While the variable fighter pilots and mecha maintenance crews frantically prepared for the upcoming operation in the hangar, up on the bridge there was a similar, if more subdued sense of urgency. Captain Rhodes sat hunched forward in his command chair, elbows resting on the arm rests, fingertips pressed together and eyes closed as he listened to the stream of reports coming in from the various stations on the command deck. Ensign Laville had just finished the thorough diagnostic of the internal communications system that he had ordered - perhaps redundantly, but he didn't want to take any chances after the incident with Wildfire Squadron a few days ago - and the surly weapons officer began a simulated test-fire of the Shogun's weapon systems.

Lieutenant Giovanni's terse response to his order caused the captain's brow to furrow from a slight frown of concentration, to a deeper one of concern. He wasn't the sort of commander who expected the men and women under his command to behave like slavish automatons, and learned some years ago to appreciate starship officers who could think and act independently, but people who chafed and struggled under a chain of command were problematic. If the crew of the Shogun were going to survive this campaign, they needed to operate as a well-oiled machine. As the key component of that machine, if the command deck staff couldn't work harmoniously, it was only a matter of time before the whole thing would fall apart.

"It seems our pilots aren't the only ones on this ship suffering from low morale," Rhodes murmured to his first officer, standing at his side as custom demanded. What this crew really needed was downtime - not from the mission itself, they had barely been at this a month, but from this entire war that was rapidly bleeding both sides dry, physically, materially, and spiritually. The captain knew that was the one thing he couldn't give the soldiers under his command, however. There were people back home who were depending on their success here.

The all-clear for the simulated test-fire came, and Captain Rhodes finally leaned back into his chair and opened his eyes with a soft sigh. "Well then, let's get to it, right? Navigation, lay in a course for the Twycross system and execute a long-range fold when the engine room gives you the green light."

[Mitsushari]

Alita Mitsushari stood beside the Captain, her back ramrod straight, her arms folded behind her back. Even drawn up to her full height, she was still a full foot shorter than their Captain and she almost seemed dwarfed by him. What she lacked in physical stature, however, she made up for in presence, and her presence on the bridge that day was a palpable as that of the Captain's. She was bound and determined to pull her crew through this mission... and one step closer to home. After all, the sooner they finished the mission objectives that had driven them deep into enemy territory, the sooner they could return to friendly space and be granted the much needed downtime she was sure the Captain was contemplating for the crew after his statement.

With a small nod of her head, Mitsushari replied in just as low a tone, "Aye sir, but there seems little we can do about that, given the circumstances." After all, with Viachi calling all the shots, crew morale seemed at the bottom of the list of problems on board the ship that needed to be dealt with. Even the triumph of the crew coming together to rescue Wildfire Squadron recently was overshadowed by the fact that such an act had even been necessary, and instead of a celebration of the crew working together, it was a bone chilling reminder that there was a killer hiding somewhere among them.

But the moment of introspection was gone quickly and the Captain called the bridge to order and action. Puffing up her chest and shoulders in the way that usually signaled she was about to start belting off orders, Commander Mitsushari drew in a deep breath and then added hot on the heels of the Captain's orders, "Everyone to Action Stations and make sure you're ready for trouble before we encounter it. Weapons on standby, pin point barriers activated." She trusted that her bridge crew was well enough trained to comply without her needing to say much more.

Satisfied she settled into her chair beside the Captain's, though her back remained straight, her posture rigid. Reaching down to the console which rested beside her she press a button almost without having to look at where she was reaching, and added another command into the speaker after a soft click to indicate that the channel was active. "Wildfire Squadron, please be prepped and ready for departure the moment we come out of fold space. Stand by for launch orders."

[Alexia]

OOC: yay first ic post and some appropriate music to go with it.

IC: Alex caught her breath as she went threw her mind to find when it was last she had felt like this. She wiped her mind of the memory before it came back in full force, this was not the time for her to get nervous she had a job to do and it was time to get it done, after all this ship would not move just because the captain said so. Taking a deep breath she waited for the command to move It was odd how she was she could not for the life of her talk to complete strangers but when she was in her seat on the command deck everything was calm, there was order here the captain had control and all the worry was on his shoulders not hers she just had to keep her head down and do as she was told and everything would go smoothly. She took another deep breath before bringing one of her slender fingers to adjust her glasses.

The command slipped from her captains mouth and she nodded in response but did not act till the first officer had spoken hers the captain was the brain and the XO the nerves that moved the muscles shocking them into action. She ran her numbers calculated their fold coordinates and began to make the beast start to move it was an elegant dance and one she did in moments one wrong number one mistake and they would stumble into blackness. She smiled to herself she loved this part of her job the most, the tedious numbers and timing most would find it boring, mostly those who flew the high speed VFs. Sure her ship may not be the sleep fighter but hers was the main show and that made it even more exciting.

"Engineering are we go for long range Fold ?" It took only a second for engineering to respond, it was green all was green it was time to go the next mission would be tough and they were gone in an instant as the ship lurched into fold space they could only hope their navigator had used the correct coordinates.

[Monique]

Lieutenant Sirleaf paused a moment in the frenzy of activity on the bridge. She was very nervous leading up to a mission, but once on the bridge that all washed away. There was nothing but the task at hand. Monique was the defense specialist and she had to protect the ship and its crew. They were her crew after all. They kept each other alive every moment that they were out in the expanse of space.

Her moment of quiet broke and then her hands started to dance over the controls. The panel was like a piano and each step she took was like a chord. The chord was part of the whole that made them successful at what they did. Monique was not a pilot, but she defended the ship in her own way. She had her job to do but it was interrupted for another moment; her thoughts turning to the Zentran pilot. She hoped that Chorizal would be safe. It was silly really and not professional. She locked that thought away in the corner of her mind and went back to the task at hand.

[Frosty]

A tangible tremor ran through the length and breadth of the UNS Shogun when its fold drive engaged at the navigation officer's command, as if the stealth cruiser was a massive overtechnology beast stirring awake after a long slumber. As the rioting energies bleeding from the fold emitters began to divorce the starship from real space, the officers on the bridge felt an odd tingling sensation, beginning in the pit of their stomach and growing to spread across their whole body when the fold drive reaction reached critical mass. Then, with a blinding flash, the Shogun was ripped out of physical existence and hurtled into the psychedelic reality of fold space. The entire journey through the tunnel of exploding light and colour lasted less than an hour, and the crew used that time to carry out the orders that originated with Commander Mitsushari and trickled down the chain of command. Not an easy task, considering the mildly disorienting effect of traveling through fold space. The men and women of the UNS Shogun were professional soldiers well-accustomed to working in this environment, however; despite the obstacles, the vessel was ready for action long before it approached its destination, and the crew began to feel their consciousness descend back to their bodies.

Moments later, a radiant release of energy lit up the sky high above the planet Twycross, fading out of sight as quickly as it appeared. In its place, the Shogun hung suspended in high orbit over the red desert world. Within the newly-arrived stealth cruiser, the bridge was a flurry of activity as the officers rushed to establish a clear picture of what awaited them in this system. Lieutenant Giovanni at the main weapons station was the first to address the captain and first officer, "Fire control bridge reports weapon systems armed and ready."

"I'm not picking up any radio signals," Ensign Laville reported next.

Picking up on that thread, Ensign Il-Nasid on sensors followed the communications officer, "Passive sensors show nothing out there but a few stray asteroids and other stellar bodies. Should I attempt an active scan, Commander?" It was a proposition with its own risks; passive sensors only collected data like thermal and magnetic energy, while a sweep of the planet or orbital vicinity with the active sensors were more likely to pick up any potentially-hostile starships, aircraft or military installations. On the flip side, firing off all sorts of radar and other electromagnetic signals would practically be announcing their presence to anyone who was out there with them.

[Mitsushari]

Alita Mitsushari was well pleased with the way her crew answered her orders, performing their appointed tasks like the well oiled gears of some vast machine. The Shogun was much like those ancient machines which had been assembled with primitive gears and clockwork wheels. It required that all of her crew be working in perfect harmony to keep her running smoothly, to ensure that she performed her assigned tasks with as much grace and precision as possible. Granted, in war there were very few opportunities to pull anything off gracefully, but at least Commander Mitsushari was confident that her crew would continue to perform like a well oiled machine in order to answer whatever challenges were set in their path.

Though Mitsushari had had many years to grow accustomed to the drugged, dizzy feeling of Fold space, it still managed to give her a mild headache every time she traveled through that odd, psychedelic world. She would never have given any sign of weakness to her crew, however. It would have destroyed her reputation of being a horrible, unfeeling 'harpy' (as they were calling her now). Instead she controlled her expressing carefully, pushing that dull throb behind her eyes further and further to the back of her mind, so that when they finally emerged from fold space, she was able to forget about it almost instantly.

Working at the consoles adjacent to her chair, Mistushari brought up the displays that would allow her to monitor the fighters once they were deployed. She turned her head slightly at the last query from Ensign Il-Nasid, and the briefest moment of contemplation passed before she gave her answer. On the one hand, the Shogun couldn't afford not to activate some kind of active scan to determine if there were other ships in their vicinity. Failure to do so would practically invite a ship to sneak up on them and sink it's claws into their bare back. They were deep in enemy territory. Assuming they were safe simply because they had done their best to prevent anyone from realizing they were here would be extremely foolish. She was certainly not going to let her crew fall prey to her own hubris. It was better to err on the safe side and actively prepare for an attack; why else would they raise shields and weapons systems?

But at the same time, running an active scan that reached as far as the planet's surface could be a double edged sword. Certainly it would make them aware of what their fighters were flying in to and alert them early to any signs of enemy air craft they might encounter, but it might also alert those on the planet to their position and intentions before their fighters had a chance to make their move. Stealth and speed were of utmost importance to the success of this particular strike. Using their scanners to keep an eye out for trouble for their fighters could cause their fighters much more trouble than it prevented.. and ultimately blow both their speed and their stealth. No... their men were going to have to go in blind on this one... much as she didn't like it. In this instance, it seemed the safer of the options.

"Run an active scan," Came the Commander's response, all of her thoughts passing so quickly that she seemed to know what she wanted almost the moment the question had been asked. "But only a short range scan. Scan the space around us, but don't extend the range to reach the planet's surface. We can't risk alerting anyone on the planet to our presence... it will give Wildfire a better chance of success if they can slip in unnoticed."

Once again satisfied that her orders would be followed to the letter without her having to look over the Ensign's shoulders, Mistushari turned her attention back to the console beside her. Depressing a different button this time, she contacted Wildfire squadron across the radio channel that connected them with the bridge. "Wildfire you are go for launch. Major, be careful on your approach. We can't risk a scan of the surface because we don't want to alert the target to your presence. I'm sending you the launch order. Make haste, and good luck."

[Frosty]

"Ma'am," Ensign Il-Nasid barked in answer to the first officer's order, and quickly went to work carrying out her command. Its execution required a certain level of finesse, a carefully-choreographed dance involving a dizzying array of calculations. If there was one misstep, if the young sensor officer's angles were off by a single degree or transmitter output a few hundred kilowatts too high, she would be announcing the Shogun's presence to every starship or long-range fixed radar in the area. To the casual observer, it might look like little more than hitting a few buttons and turning a dial or two, but it was in reality precision work that could make or break an engagement, if there was an engagement out here to be fought.

As the first trickle of sensor data came in, Il-Nasid hovered over her console and narrowed her eyes in concentration. Where most officers might have stuck to the traditional sensor readout with radar contacts represented by 'blips' on the screen, the ensign tended to set her display to cascade mode when not in the thick of combat. The former sometimes had trouble discerning asteroids and communication satellites from actual starships. This way, she could read the raw feed as it came in, and make those determinations for herself. It reminded her of a movie from her grandfather's day that he showed her once, about people who plugged their heads into a machine that transported their consciousness to a computer program that simulated Earth shortly before the Macross arrived. At the time, she'd thought the idea of being able to read data scrolling down a display screen like rain was ridiculous, but obviously not anymore. All the same, she never felt the need to test her ability to dodge bullets. "The scope is clear, Commander. I'm not picking anything up."

The sensor officer switched back to the standard display mode, but continued scanning near-orbit and kept one eye on the passive sensor data. Just because there weren't any Sigma ships breathing down their collective neck now didn't mean they wouldn't run into unexpected company later. Especially not if their luck held the way it was. With the commander's task completed, however, it didn't take long for the brilliant young woman to become restless, and for her eyes to begin wandering around the bridge. Her gaze paused on a tightly-bound coif of green hair, then quickly snapped back to her console as she drummed her fingers across the keypad. Seconds later, a small window popped up on the navigator's display, carrying a text message from the sensor station:

I heard Lt.K's been giving you a hard time. ;)

[Mitsushari]

Commander Mitsushari was pleased with the results of their action so far. As far as they could tell they were safe for the moment, and their fighters were being given a chance to make their strike without the people and defenses on the planet below having any idea of what was about to happen. It was a best case scenario - and she could only hope that it would hold. Of course with the sort of luck this ship and crew seem to have... it's not bloody likely to last very long. All the more reason to hope their fighters could pull off the strike quickly. It was best if they made their escape before someone realized they were here.

Despite the current situation, Alita Mitsushari was unwilling to relax or let her guard down. It only took a moment for a situation to change, and somehow she had a feeling that this wasn't going to go as smoothly as they all hoped it would. Something about the way the tiny hairs on the back of her neck were still standing on end, despite the successful launch of WildFire Squadron. "Keep an eye on the read out, Ensign." She said without turning to look in the young woman's direction. "Notify me immediately if the situation changes. Keep defensive systems at the ready, let's not assume we're safe until we're light years away from here with our mission complete." That was the best policy for any military maneuver in her opinion, at any rate.

Satisfied that there was nothing further she could do for the moment, Mitsushari's focus shifted to the readouts in front of her and she monitored the progress of WildFire squadron as they made their descent to the planet below. Had she been aware that any of her officers were slacking off on the bridge at that moment, she would have been quick to unleash her fury against the offenders. Such messages as the one Ensign Il-Nasid had just sent to the navigation officer were perfectly harmless, so long as Mitsushari didn't discover they were being passed around - especially in a situation as tense as this one. It was a dangerous game the Ensign was playing, but then she must have known that. If Mitsushari caught a single hint of social goings on while the ship was at high alert, there would be a great deal of hell to pay for the guilty parties caught in the act.

[Frosty]

A jolt of panic ran up the sensor officer's spine when Commander Mitsushari spoke, and she suddenly sat upright in her seat, fearing that she'd been caught. When she realised it was just a general command, she calmed down with a quiet sigh and cursed herself for being so jumpy. Was it ironic that she was more afraid of her own XO than she was of the enemy? "Yes, ma'am." Shaking off the last of her jitters, Ensign Il-Nasid leaned over her terminal again and returned her attention to the sensor data scrolling across the displays. Even for a closet nerd like her, this was a tedious job - but it beat being shot at, so she only hoped things stayed this boring.

Meanwhile, Captain Rhodes leaned forward in his chair as he studied his own holographic displays, arms propped on his knees and hands tightly clasped. It was the habitual pose he struck whenever something was bothering him. Of course, nothing about this operation should be nagging at his mind; although the munitions plant was a relatively high-value target, it made sense that it wouldn't have a garrison to guard it on a permanent basis. Just like their own military, the SSF was stretched to the limit by this war. Still, he was uneasy all the same. Something was just... off, and he thought he knew what. "Commander," he beckoned Mitsushari over to his station, drawing her attention with a nod toward the video feed of Twycross' near orbit on the screen to his left. "Why do you suppose a planet with one factory and an intermittently-staffed airbase needs two communications satellites?"

As if in answer of his question, Ensigns Il-Nasid and Laville suddenly cried out in unison, swiveling around in their seats to shout over each other. They appeared to reach a compromise in the next instant, with the radar officer speaking first, "Captain, the sensors just got hit with massive interference. I can't read anything out there!"

"Communications too, sir!" Ensign Laville quickly followed. "Something out there's jamming us.

Captain Rhodes opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word out, the ambient light on the bridge suddenly and drastically dimmed as every single display screen went dark. Murmurs of confusion arose from the command stations as the officers who staffed them struggled to regain control of their instruments. The puzzled voices became louder, and Ensign Laville was even heard to cry "What the fuck is this?!" when a single line of red text scrawled across the darkened screens like electronic blood:

"La Forge is dead." -Nietzsche

[Alexia]

The tapping from Alex’s station was calm and smooth like that of a musician who had finally figured out how to move her audience with the most perfect piece of music to ever be heard by man, she was bringing the ship into a stable orbit while monitoring the incoming sensor data. This was the ballet she always attended to in silence that was until a message popped up from the sensor station and with a sudden tap at her station it sounded as if the orchestra had all hit the wrong notes at once. The notes again continued as she did not want to respond, probably the worse choice as rumors tend to fly around if they are not attended to quickly and decisively.

Orders went out and the order of her world came back as she went to tapping at her station again, she enjoyed her work perhaps a little to much. That was when it came the realization they were the ones being played as fools, as her station began to shut down and red scrawling popped up across the screen, la forge is dead?

Who ever this hacker was she knew it had to be a calling card of someone who was on this ship, but all she wanted was her peace of mind back as well as her console. She muttered something to herself, she would have to work fast and hard to figure where and how they were gaining access to the whole ship, only some of the most cleaver hackers could break their way in so easy. What was ECM doing anyway.

Alex’s fingers began to glide across her console keyboard in faster more hurried song this time her mind focused and her brain honed to figure who would do such a thing and how.

"Sir, I am searching for the source of the hacking transmission to relinquish controls back to the bridge." She stated flatly as she worked away.

[Mitsushari]

When the Captain beckoned to her, Mitsushari immediately leaned in his direction to view the screen which he indicated. She furrowed her brow and pursed her lips as she silently pondered his statement. He had a point, and she silently cursed herself for not taking notice of it herself. She was supposed to be keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, after all. But before she had a chance to determine any possible answers to the Captain's question, the bridge practically erupted from it's calm, order into near chaos.

"Ensign Laville!" She snapped, straightening herself up in her own seat once more and casting a sharp glance in the direction of her communications officer. "You are still on duty and you will maintain a professional demeanor even in the face of an emergency situation." She demanded nothing less of herself, after all. "Get ahold of yourself and get me Chief Collins on the internal intercom. If Ensign Adler can't get control back, I suspect we're going to need his skills." And if anyone could tell them what the strange and cryptic message which had taken over their screens meant, she suspected it was him.

In the mean time, she turned her attention to her own monitors and once more depressed the button that would allow her to speak to the fighter hangar. They had no way of knowing if something was out there waiting to attack them, but she wasn't willing to take any unnecessary risks. It was best to be prepared for anything at the moment. After all, it was highly unlikely that something from the planet was jamming them, so it was a safe assumption that there was someone out here in space with them... or would be soon enough.

"Striker Squadron," She commanded through the intercom on her console, "Report to your fighters immediately and begin launch preparations. I'm upping your status to Alert. I want you ready to launch at a moment's notice."

[Gabriel Collins]

Chief Gabriel Collins and the rest of his team down in engineering were more than busy themselves, engineering was one of those places that never really stopped but with a mission on everyone was on alert. They might not be out there on the front lines but it was better safe than sorry and they were ready should any sort of emergency action need to be taken for the ship as a whole.

Gabriel was working among his team, all in all happy enough to be doing his job and not stuck under the constantly watchful eyes of the med team; his team, in turn, had been relieved to have him back. Rank or not he hardly distinguished between himself and his men and women when it came down to what needed to to done and so was made aware of the trouble when one of them called to him and pointed at the nearest screen.

He hurried over but stopped short and stared when the red scrawl ran across the screen. There was no mistaking the message but what it spelled out was impossible, it had to be. The quote from the philosopher Nietzsche was well known but the modification of it.... No one, not even Will, really knew of his devotion to the ideals of that name, the one who he followed more faithfully than any god, who could as well have been a god to him. It made no sense but somehow he knew the message was meant for him. A far more horrible thought, and one he was trying very hard not to think, was who could have crafted and managed to push such a message through. The most obvious he wanted to dismiss, he wasn't a man to believe in coincidence, but this felt very wrong to him.

"Chief!" He was pulled out of his thoughts by the call of one of his crew, who still worried for him after the last battle but he moved up to a terminal, pulling out his personal key device and plugging into into the console. "All of you back to stations. Keep alert." He could use his key to access his personal computer, which was kept on a different wave than the ships systems, specifically so it couldn't be easily found, either by the crew or by... whoever this might be. First things first, find out what was going on.

As he worked the intercom pinged at him and when one of the bridge personnel hailed him he spoke from where he was. "Here Commander. Working on it."

[Frosty]

"Yes ma'am! Sorry ma'am!" a blanching Ensign Laville hurriedly shot back at her XO's stern admonition as she worked to get her station running again, adding under her breath, "Maudit! Chienne foutue!" Apparently, reclaiming control of the Shogun's communication systems wasn't going well for her, and the rest of her fellow officers stationed on the main bridge were having no better luck. Whoever was hacking their system had managed to completely lock up every display screen and terminal on the bridge, if not the entire ship. "It's got to be someone on the inside, same as when the assassin shut down the internal comm network. You can't do something like this remotely..." The young communications officer cast a furtive glance toward her friend, Ensign Il-Nasid. She was a lot smarter than Laville when it came to things like this. "You just can't... right?"

Frustrated at her own lack of progress in getting her station back under control, the radar officer seated beside Laville shook her head and uttered a low growl. "I don't know. It's possible, but at the same time that we're being hit by broad-spectrum jamming? That's really threading the needle."

It seemed like Il-Nasid was about to say more, but before she could continue her thought, Captain Rhodes's characteristically toneless voice broke into the two young female officers' frantic discussion, "Sensors, report. Where is this coming from?"

"I wish I could say, Captain," Ensign Il-Nasid shot back her response over her shoulder, shaking her head helplessly. "I could get a vector on the jamming signal at least, if I had access to my terminal. Right now, I'm completely locked out."

A man with lesser self-control might have uttered a strong word or two at the revelation that the Shogun was effectively blind, deaf and crippled at the hands of a few invisible electromagnetic waves. The granite surface of Captain Rhodes' cool facade did not even crack, however, as he leaned forward in his chair and clasped his white-gloved hands under his nose in contemplation. "The satellites," he murmured under his breath, words which were clearly meant for Mitsushari's ears. "One of the communication satellites must be relaying the jamming signal. But which one? Without regaining active sensor operation, there's no way to tell..." The most expedient situation would of course be to shoot both of them down, but Rhodes wasn't prepared to go so far as to target non-strategic civilian infrastructure. In this space-faring age, where far-flung colonies depended on satellites like these to maintain contact with the outside world that was necessary to keep civil order and warn populations of interstellar natural disasters, that could very well be interpreted as a war crime. Besides, the entire argument was academic. Until they restored computer controls, they weren't shooting anything down.

Suddenly, nearly a full minute after Helmsman Adler had gone to work on the computer system, the screens flickered and the lights on the bridge suddenly flared. An indecipherable mass of seemingly random computer information was vomited onto the displays, but the potential promise those random characters held of regaining control was quickly quashed when the screens went dark again. In the moment that the electronic assailant's control over the system faltered, however, the ensign did manage to snatch at a valuable piece of information. Apparently the hacker was as good as Ensign Il-Nasid feared: the attack on the Shogun's computer systems was launched remotely.

You've got to be kidding me. Either this job has made you soft, or I'm dealing with an amateur here. Whatever it is, you've managed to piss me off, and now you have to pay. Hope your army friends can hold their breath.

The new message burned on all of the display screens on the command deck like bloody wounds carved into their impenetrable black surface, save for Lieutenant Monique Sirleaf's defence systems readout. Her screen flickered to a static-blurred cross section diagram of the Shogun, emblazoned with the word ALERT in large letters across the top and numerous boxes of the same colour scattered across the outer hull sections. Given her position as the starship's defence systems operator, she would immediately know what it meant.

[Monique]

Lieutenant Sirleaf did not think of her job as a music or a symphony or any other sort of art. Perhaps that was because everything on New Liberia was art. She had never quite fit in on her home colony and this might have been the woman's way of rebelling against that life. No. The point of her being here was trying to protect the colony.

Monique's eyes tried their best to keep up with the movements of her fingers. They tended to go along on their own. Things were not going well; that was obvious all around them. This was a fine crew and someone who could best them this way was very dangerous.

Her screened flickered to some life and Lieutenant Sirleaf had a brief flicker of hope. Could it be that Ensign Laville or Ensign Adler had managed to get them loose of this virtual trap. It turned out not to be the case as the Alert blazed silent across the screen. In that moment Monique lost all sense of protocol; she didn't bother to address anyone by the proper title.

"Airlocks on decks 5 through 7 are opening. They need to be evacuated now."

[Mitsushari]

Alita Mitsushari curled her fingers around the arm rests of her chair so tightly that her knuckles turned white, all the while gnashing her teeth against each other so hard that she was likely to have a headache later on. Whoever their cyber assailant was, he or she wasn't the only one pissed off over this whole situation and it was taking real effort on the part of the Shogun's first officer not to descend into the same unprofessional fit of swearing that had been displayed by her communications officer. Civilian or not, whoever was behind this attack deserved to be dragged out an airlock. The least their enemy could do was give them a fighting chance, holding them captive here and tormenting them until they had run out of victims was hardly honorable... nor did she think it followed any of the established rules of military conduct. If only she'd had a weapon she'd been able to fire at the moment, Commander Mitsushari rather thought she would have targeted one of the satellites, regardless of the position it put them in.

Our first duty is to this ship and this crew, mission be damned. I'm not going to sit here and let all my people die because of some crazed bastard's power trip.

Angry though she was, however, Mitsushari had not lost sight of their real objective here. They had to get control of the ship back, and they had to do so quickly. Already the few options left available to them were rushing into her mind to form a list. She immediately discarded those which were out of the question, and it didn't take her long to have a viable list of actions to offer her captain. With so many things demanding her attention, however, it was quite difficult to answer everyone at once, so she began with the most important things first.

"Lieutenant Sirleaf, sound the evacuation for decks five through seven, highest priority." She commanded without even looking in the woman's direction. There wasn't time to be swiveling her chair all over the place in a situation like this one.

"Ensign Laville, convey to the Chief the urgency of the situation and inform him that, should be he be unable to restore our access to the system's functions quickly," as in five minutes ago, "We will be forced to take more drastic measures to free ourselves from our current state of lockout. Be advised - all of you - it is highly unlikely that our resident saboteur is behind this attack. If the assassin on board the ship had that kind of skill, likely they would have employed such an attack at a much earlier opportunity; more than likely during our last skirmish when an enemy ship would have had a prime opportunity to disable or destroy us. This attack is from an outside source. The moment you have computer control back, I want it found." She was sure that the Captain was right; it was one of those satellites... but which one?

She gritted her teeth as her thoughts were rudely interrupted by Winter's voice over the radio. She tried to tell herself it was unfair to be irritated with him; he was only looking out for the wellbeing of his squadron, something she would expect from any squadron commander, but now was not the time to be making more demands on her time, especially when they were demands she couldn't hope to fulfill. What she needed now was people ready to respond to an emergency situation; trust, trust that she wasn't going to throw them out into the void of space without an idea of what was going on unless it was the only way to save their lives.

She jabbed her finger against the communication button that would allow her to respond to Striker Squadron's commander. Luckily, since she had a reputation for snapping out orders in the first place, she didn't sound any more angry that she normally did. "When I have an update on the situation, I'll be sure to give it to you, Striker Lead. At the moment you know about as much as the rest of us do. We are under cyber attack by an unknown source which has knocked out our access to most internal systems. I need you and your people ready to respond to an emergency situation. I wish I could tell you what's going on outside the ship, but with our cyber attacker opening random airlocks, the outside of the ship might very soon become safer than the inside of it." She hoped her last ominous warning would be enough to shut Winter up and get him where she needed him to be; in the cockpit of his fighter. It was harsh, she knew, but these were not conditions which were unfamiliar to soldiers, and she expected her people to maintain their composure and fight until the bitter end of this whole ordeal - whatever end it might come to.

But she wasn't going to let that end be the death of her crew. That wasn't how Commander Mitsushari operated and she wasn't about to lay down and let her people die. "Sir," She said, finally able to give her attention to the Captain. "We can't wait much longer for the Chief to solve this problem. If our attacker can open any airlock he choses, it's safe to assume he can do just about anything else he pleases as well. Given the circumstances I have to recommend more drastic measures. We could override the computer system and enforce our own lockdown on the computer system at the highest level. That should effectively lock out our attacker and then the Chief can take control of the ship until the emergency has passed.

"Our only other option is to launch Striker Squadron. I don't like the idea of it Sir, sending them out there with no idea what might be waiting for them. For all we know, that's exactly the trap that's been set for us. But we need eyes and ears. If we can't get our own back, Striker Squadron could at least act for us. From outside the ship, they should be able to determine the source of the jamming signal, and once they've done that, hopefully eliminate it." Once she had offered the only options she felt viable, Mitsushari fell silent. There were some decisions that she just didn't have the authority to make. It was all in the hands of their Captain now. Not that she envied him the making of the decision; it wasn't going to be an easy call to make, no matter what they did. If there was anyone she trusted to make that decision, however, it was her captain.

[Alexia]

That was quick, she thought as the code flowed across the screen the random numbers showing the computer spasms as it came back for only a few moments before the red scrawling came back. figures she thought as she thought about the information she gathered.

This hacker who ever he was was good not only that but he was arrogant knowing that he could take over ships with just a keyboard, then there was the airlocks he was also a coward probably someone who took great pride in harming others where he was safe and sound. Well there was a list of things to do and she would need at least five keyboards to Finnish them all well one task at a time then, first the immediate danger. she would have to do something about the airlocks and an idea formed as she went back to typing as swiftly as she could.

"ma'am I am attempting to start a maintenance Routine that will close the doors then make them think they are inoperable I can remove the program later but as of now it will think it is effectively unavailable and chances are the assailant will deactivate the program after it is in place with ease but that is just to buy time to allow me to point the satellites back towards the planet which will cut him off from communicating with them. that also may only be a temporary fix." her voice was calm and steady as she pronounced her plan it seemed to come out as if a trance as her hands quickly flew across the machine

There were several things she left out of her report that if she were successful they would know which satellite was being used for the hack, not only that but also it was unlikely that she would be able to close the airlock at all in either case even a tiny success would be a huge improvement over the current situation.

[Frosty]

Captain Rhodes pressed his lips into a grim line and a contemplative frown knitted his brows as he considered the situation. He agreed with his first officer's sentiment regarding the option of launching Striker Squadron into the unknown. Not knowing, of course, that Winter had already made that decision for them. Fighter pilots were renowned for their ability to instantly size up any situation, but they also relied on intelligence - and right now, that was exactly what they couldn't give them. At the same time, the idea of locking down the computer system and transferring control of the ship to Chief Collins was only a little more appealing. There was no doubt in the captain's mind that a stunt like that would take days to sort out later. Relative to ordering First Lieutenant Kanzaki and his people to fight blind, however, administrative chaos was the lesser of the two evils. "We'll override the system. Ensign Laville, inform Lieutenant Commander Collins that we will be re-routing controls to him. I want him to redistribute control back to the bridge as quickly as possible, and use his system as a junction point to ensure that our input-output is secure." With any luck, running all outbound commands and incoming information through the chief's system would narrow the odds in the electronic theatre.

While the communications officer relayed the captain's order to the engine room, Rhodes turned his attention to Alex. "Helm, be prepared to move as soon as your station regains control. If the origin of this signal is an enemy vessel, we may be drawn into ship-to-ship combat very soon." The captain then exchanged a glance with his first officer while he plucked his command access card out of his uniform's breast pocket and pushed it into a slot on his console. He selected the system override option on the menu that appeared on his screen, then drummed his fingers across a sequence of keys when prompted for his password. The computer processed the new information for the briefest of instants, before two line of text flashed across the screen:

Captain - Override Code Verified
First Officer - Awaiting Verification


For her part, young Ensign Adler wasn't having much luck with the airlocks. The maintenance routine eventually started up after some initial trouble, but it didn't seem to be having the intended effect on the airlock doors. The alert was still blazing across Lieutenant Sirleaf's screen. The attempt to hijack the communication satellites' navigation systems also failed, as the radio jamming reduced her commands to little else but electronic noise.

Whoever was attacking them, they were clearly professional. The one-two punch of computer systems infiltration and electronic jamming had ensured that most means of countering the hack were rendered useless by the Shogun's total inability to transmit a coherent signal. The only question was...

* * * * * * * * *

"Why aren't we attacking?" Major Kinaktok Aukaneck hissed the question under his breath, clearly meaning for it to find the ears of the SFS Illusion's captain, Oberst Anderberg, and no one else's. From the brooding expression that rested on the oberst's Nordic features, it was clear that he felt much the same way. The video feed from the satellite showed the UN cruiser suspended motionless in high orbit over Twycross on Anderberg's command display, like a piece of fruit hanging low on the vine and ripe for picking. If they moved now...

"If we moved now," the blonde wing commander, apparently foiling Aukaneck's attempts to keep the conversation discretely between himself and the captain, responded dryly as she watched the main screen with arms folded over her chest, "we would almost certainly lose a direct engagement. The Haruna-class cruiser's strike missiles could destroy this vessel with only one or two direct hits."

The Illusion's XO straightened up suddenly, glowering at the attache from the SSF General Staff with unconcealed disdain, as if he were willing her to burst into flames right on the spot. "I know that, Wing Commander. But it won't do them much good if they can't use the god damn things! Sitting around here, we're just pissing away the initiative!"

"FS Dresner, how many people aboard the UN vessel have the ability to counter your electronic attack?" the JESU officer asked of the red-haired soldier at the bow end of the bridge, apparently ignoring Aukaneck's protests.

Sublieutenant Wolfgang Dresner's initial response was a low growl of frustration while he hammered away at his station console. "Chief Engineer Gabriel Collins and a Private First Class Mackenzie have the certification," he spat back, his tone testy. "But there's someone else on that ship who's giving me a run for my money..."

Seeming satisfied with that answer, and unconcerned by Dresner's difficulties, the wing commander turned her cool gaze back to Major Aukaneck. "And Captain Rhodes is renowned for his grasp of electronic warfare strategy. By the time we engage the Shogun in direct combat, its crew will have found a way to counteract the ECM attack, and we will have shown our hand prematurely." The startlingly young woman returned her attention to the main screen once more, her hands clasped at the small of her back. "This is not a prelude to attack or a mere battlefield tactic, Major. The real engagement is already underway."

"Psychological warfare," Oberst Anderberg finally inserted himself into the discussion with a low growl. "You're testing their nerves. Probing them. But why?"

The Illusion's enigmatic mission commander did not immediately respond, content to watch the main screen with sharp, hawk-like eyes. Finally, when the UN cruiser's launch rails opened and a cluster of tiny pinpoints of light appeared on the display, she gestured toward it and announced in a matter-of-fact tone, "That is why, Oberst Anderberg. In fencing, every lunge, no matter how cautious and calculated, opens an opportunity for a skilled opponent to counter. Our enemy has just made a projection of force, and now it is time to riposte; force them to show their hand just when they believe they are gaining the advantage." Although her expression remained a mask of professional neutrality, there was a wild, ravenous gleam in her eyes that Oberst Anderberg almost found frightening when she turned toward him. "Order Gnome Squadron to launch immediately and clear the sky. Protecting the satellite is unnecessary - their priority is to destroy Striker Squadron."

[Mitsushari]

Had Commander Mistushari been even remotely aware of Striker Squadron's unauthorized launch, she would have been furious. It was only the fact that their radios were not working and she was completely unaware that the fighters had slid out into space without her knowledge that saved the entire squadron from a tongue lashing. Winter Kanzaki was especially in for a talking to when she found out the stunt he had pulled.

For the moment, however, her focus was firmly on the bridge and getting her ship and it's crew out of the terrible situation they found themselves in. She was somewhat relieved when the captain announced his intention to override the ship's computer in order to bring it back under their command. It seemed like the fastest and safest solution to their current predicament. Once they had systems back under their control, they could offer proper intelligence to their fighters and Striker Squadron could safely launch to deal with whatever was out there. She had absolute confidence in Chief Collins's ability to put the computer systems back in their proper order once this was all over with.

The Shogun's first officer merely nodded her head in response to the Captain's declaration. At the same time that the Captain was retrieving his key card and inputting his code, Mitsushari was reaching into the same breast pocket of her own uniform and pulling out her own key card. She waited for the screen to display the message which asked for verification from the first officer, then she slid her own card into a similar slot on her console. Much like the Captain had, Mitsushari entered her own verification code. She had never quite been fond of the twelve digit alphanumeric code before. It was bulky and it had been a pain in the ass to memorize... but she was quite glad to have it right at the moment. She had a feeling her outlook towards that code was going to change after this.

A few moments after she lifted her finger a rather reassuring message appeared on the console screen:

First Officer - Override Code Verified

[Gabriel Collins]

There was a lot to be done, to much really but the moment the system override granted him the control he probably could have taken if he'd really wanted it, he was off and running. He'd muttered an order, leaving another of the upper ranked engineers in charge of the crew while he was working, pushing out everything else as he connected through his own specially modified system. It was oftentimes easier to hack something large than something small and he found his own thankfully untouched, not wishing to have to break into his own computer at a time like this.

The moment he was in though, and was able to delve further into the problem, he knew just who he was dealing with. The years hadn't dulled his abilities and you never really forgot certain telltale signs and signatures, especially not of someone like that. The sheer implications of that knowledge were pushed aside for the moment, just as he'd not let himself think about Watt the last time, for the sheer horror of the madness behind it all.

It was never instantaneous but he worked as fast as he could to break through the locks and controls that had been grafted onto their systems, slipping and finding ways through, breaking holes if there was simply no other way. And when he was in he pulled and rerouted the hijacked systems through his own, far more secure system; it would never stand forever against someone as powerful as his opponent but it would take time to crack, more than enough he hoped.

Under the protection of his own systems he crafted a more secure shield from within to help fend off further attacks, at least not making it any kind of easy and once he was satisfied loosed the information back to where it was supposed to be. "Controls returning to you bridge." It would be mere moments before the consoles flickered and the horrible message from before was wiped away and the crew were able to resume their duties.

And just as an added measure anyone trying again to access the systems from the outside would receive a very familiar black screen and the message:

The Walking Carpet is Denied

[Frosty]

The Walking Carpet is Denied

Sublieutenant Dresner stared at the message in silence as it appeared on his display screen. His fingers, frozen in place as they were about to type out another command sequence on his station's console, flexed thoughtfully for a moment, then closed into fists. What was this now? His true adversary had finally gotten into the game? Just when he was starting to run out of fancy tricks, too. Here he'd been worried about playing his hand too early with that airlock trick - and it was all he could do not to piss himself laughing about that one! The red-headed sensor officer cackled as he raised his hands over his head like claws, ready to deliver another devastating electronic strike. "Fufufufufu... a new challenger has appeared!"

Major Aukaneck started at Dresner's sudden announcement, blinking in surprise. "The fuck sound did you just make?" he demanded, once again reminding everyone on the Illusion's bridge of why the VSU officer was permanently stalled in his middling rank.

"Tch, read a book sometime, will you?" Dresner spat over his shoulder in response. It was a fortunate thing for the young officer that he was officially outside of Aukaneck's chain of command, otherwise he would have been in for a stern reprimand for that. Of course, that wouldn't stop the Illusion's XO from physically throttling Dresner, which he actually took one step forward with a mind to do until the Wing Commander laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him. The engineer himself didn't see any of this, as something else at his work station caught his attention. "Oberst, Wing Commander, we've lost contact with the satellite."

The SSF special operations vessel's CO and operational commander exchanged a brief glance, and the Wing Commander nodded. "Time to begin phase two. Communications..."

* * * * * * * *

The instant that new, electronic life was breathed into the main bridge, Captain Rhodes was issuing orders at a mile a minute, spurring his officers to get to the bottom of their present situation, and get the ship back into the fight. "Status checks on all sections right away. I also want a report on Wildfire Squadron's status, as well as the depressurized decks. Commander, I want this interference cleared and the hostile vessel responsible for this found and dealt with."

Despite the calm in his voice, the captain was somehow able to infuse a sense of urgency into his junior officers, and the work stations arrayed around his and Mitsushari's vantage point at the center of the bridge suddenly sprang to life with activity. Right away, Ensign Laville was on the horn with the infirmary, "Medical bay, this is CIC requesting a casualty report on decks five through seven." There was a pause as the communications officer's demands were answered, before she spoke again in a hushed, urgent tone, "What do you mean?"

Before she could share her conversation with the medic on the other end of her channel, Ensign Il-Nasid suddenly spoke up on more pressing matters. "Commander, the signal interference is gone. But, uh, you're not going to like how." The young sensor officer swallowed against a lump in her throat, anticipating Mitsushari's inevitable reaction as she drummed out a command on her console which transferred her live readout from the radar feed to the captain's station. The picture painted by the data was plain enough, but the ensign felt the need to summarize anyway, "They must have launched while we were still in the dark. It looks like they managed to disable the satellite that was transmitting the jamming signal, but now they're engaged with a hostile squadron. The sensors read them as VF-14's."