The Lost Destiny (FT, OPEN)

[The New Federation 1]

Captains Log, USS Washington, Fall Date 12563.3
Washington has been tasked by Starfleet Command to locate the missing Federation Cruiser, USS Destiny. The Steamrunner Class Starship has been missing for nearly a month now. We picked up a lead on the ships location from a Free Trade Vessel two days ago, nd we've altered our course to the location that the Merchent Captain gave us.
End Log

USS Washington NCC-67611, Galaxy Class Federation Starship

The Galaxy ship moved slowly through the system as it cleared the fourth planet. They had entered the system a short time ago, after following the Free Trade Captains instructions. The Washington was running constant sensor scans of the system as they searched the systems various places that a single sensor scan was unlikely to penetrate. With so many place that a ship could be theoretically hidden in, the Washington was using her entire Sensor package to 'drag-net' the system in search of their missing ship.

So far, the Washington had not detected the Destiny crashed on any of the plaets in the system, nor had they detected any debris so far, which was a hopeful sign. As they cleared the third Planet, the Sensor read-outs pinged across the bridge as they picked up n oject that matched the specifics they had been instructed to look for. Immediatly, the ships commanding officer; Captain Joseph Leach ordered the ship to head towards the reading.

Coming about the form of the Steamrunner Class starship came into view from a ensor blindspot, that had required the sensors to be run on full gain, As they grew cloer, the sensors began to catoluge teh ships status.
As the image on the viewscreen, a sharp whistle was heard from the Tactical station,
"My God she's taken a beating" Lt Commander Dannielle Richards commented.
Indeed it was true, there were numerous weapons marks on the hulls of the Destiny, as well as several hull breaches.
"Life signs?" Joseph asked.
"None, but I'm not reading that much Organic matter present, only enough for say...thirty dead bodies" Dannielle reported.
"Commander, the Steamrunner Class has a standard crew compliment of two judred and twenty men and women" Joseph commented.
"I'm aware of that sir" Dannielle replied "But there simply aren't enough bodies to account for all of them"
"Tactical Anlysis" Jospeh requested.
"Well, what ever happened to here, she put up a hellova fight" Dannielle replied "Her phasers have been fired dry, she' exausted her Torpedo complement and her shield generators have been burnt out"
"I should have known that Mara wouldn't have gone down with out a fight" Joseph commenetd "Anysign of a Warp Trail, or anything to indicate where an attacking ship might have tanken our people?"
"Not of yet sir, but I'll keep looking" Dannielle replied.
"Signle Starfleet to send a tug out here to tow the Destiny back to Starbase 12, prepare a boarding party to go over to the Destiny, and keep your eyes open people, I don't want us to be caught here with our pants down"

USS Destiny NCC-77861, Steamrunner Class Starship

The Transporter effect faded away and the eight man away team looked around the bridge, there was clear battle damage, but as indicated no dead bodies. There appeared to be energy weapon marking, includeing phasers on the bulkheads, however scans indicated that the weapons were not set onto a fatal setting, this gave hope that the crew was still alive. The engineers moved to a console and began to work about getting access to the ships logs. All anyone could do now was wait.

[The New Federation 1]

BUMP

[Ftang]

Slowly trundling through space, the Strike Cruiser IF Dagar had been sent on patrol for a number of weeks in order to scope out the more distant borders of the empire.

Captain Kelak Marson was growing more tired with each passing day. For the last week or so, he didn't really keep count anymore, his ship had found nothing of interest to the Empire bar a few possibly habitable planets, but that was down to the CC (Colonization Corps), so he was still on the look out for something big. Needless to say, he was quite excited when the ships intercom bleeped into action and the familiar gravelly voice of Comms Expert Kallous Partec echoed through his personal chambers.

"Captain, our radar teams are picking up signals of a ship wreckage outside the Theta region. There don't appear to be any lifesigns aboard, although from the sensors it seems like some sort of skirmish took place here."

Kelak rubbed down his face with his hands, trying to shake the sleep from his mind, before replying

"Set a course for the nearby area, don't go too eagerly though, it could easily be an ambush. I'll relay to command."

"Sir!"

Kallous then signed off and went about discussing the route with the flight navigator, while Kelak stood up slowly. He had been sat in this room for however many hours, and he must of looked a state. One brief glimpse in the mirror confirmed this and he quickly shaved and splashed his face with water before he contacted Fleet Command on the Holo-Screen. After a few moments of travelling to the Capital Ship, the screen flicked to life showing a robed figure, his hood obscuring his face.

"High Admiral Wore, this is Captain Kelak of the IF Dagar. We have encountered what appears to be a battle torn ship floating outside the Theta region, and wish to request permission to scout out."

The figure did not move, although his mouth, the only visible part of his face, suggested deep thought. A few moments later the reply came, in the booming voice typical to the Admiral.

"Permission granted, but be on alert. As I'm sure you know Captain, more and more pirates and rebel factions are trying to bring down our ships. This could just as easily be one of those times. Proceed with caution."

And with that, the holo-tranmission was cut and Kelak was left in his room again. A few brief moments of though followed before he headed to the Bridge, suprising most of his staff with his presence.

"I presume we have set a course for the co-ordinates?"

The flight navigator nodded in agreement, while standing at attention.

"Put the ship on Code Sapphire, and relay any further readings directly to me. I need to know what was going on."

The ship immediately headed towards the wreckage of the ship, unsure of what awaited its arrival...

[The New Federation 1]

USS Washington NCC-67611, Galaxy Class Federation Starship

The Crew of the Washington watched as the cruiser moved towards them.With the situation they were in, Joseph wasn't in the mood to play around with anyone. For all the Washington knew, this ship could be the one that had attacked the destiny and captured it's crew. It was standard policy to attempt to rescue those who had been taken prisoner, and that was what the crew of the Washington intended to do. Some personnel smiled grimly, wondering if the enemy would make the mistake of attacking the Washington, which was far more tactically powerful then the Steamrunner clas Destiny had been.

"Red alert" He ordered sitting back into his command chair grimly as the ship returned to full combat status, shields raised, weapons ready "Don't lock weapons, but stand-by"
Dannielle nodded as she ran her hands across her console, sending the commands to the specific parts of the ship. A few seconds later she received confirmations from across the ship.
"Reading ready all system sir"
"Open a channel" Joseph ordered.
"Aye sir, channel open"
"Unidentified ship, this is the Federation Starship Washington, state your identity and intentions in this area immediatly" Joseph said bluntly. He needed to find out who they were, and waht tehy were doing, there was simply too little time to be more diplomatic.

[Ftang]

He had barely gotten outside of the bridge when a comms worker ran from behind him and blocked his path. The tired worker immediately saluted, albeit sloppily and then relayed his message.

"Sir, there appears to be another warship present in this sector. They state they are the Federation Ship Washington. They want to know who we are!"

Kalek took a few moments to process this. Not only was it rare to see activity of any kind in this sector, but even rarer still for there to be an active starship. Had he walked straight into an ambush like he worried? Not possible, they wouldn't open contact if this were so. Regardless, he needed to relay to the new presence. With a quick nod he walked double time back to the sensor and communications array, deep below the bridge.

"Do we have any readings on this ship Corporal?"

"They appear to be on full charge sir, shields and weapons have been fired up and they seem to be awaiting our reply, in order to decide what to do next."

Kalek again looked down at the floot. Dammnit, he might have bitten off more than he could chew. Sure the Dagar was quite a formidable and capable ship, but from the looks of his possible opponent, there was no certainty as to whether he could come out on top. He ordered the nearby relay to respond to the message.

"Starship Washington.
This is Captain Kalek Marson of the Imperial Fleet Cruiser Dagar. We belong to the Galactic Empire of Ftang, sovereign over nearby sectors. We picked up a signal of the wreckage and came to survey peacefully."

The Captain paused for a second afterwards and turned to Major Palek, his close advisor.

"Prepare the shields, we don't know how this would go. Upgrade to Code Teal"

The Major nodded and power-walked over to the command console, speaking to men across the ship.

The next few moments seemed to last forever...

[The New Federation 1]

USS Washington NCC-67611, Galaxy Class Federation Starship

Joseph scrutinized the unknown vessel on the viewcreen. According to the Tactical anlysis he had been given the ship was capable of overpowering the Destiny, which made it a potential suspect. Joseph listened to the return message, in which the ship identified itself as the 'Dagar'. He wasn't quite sure if he believed their explanation for what they were doing here, but he was concerned that they claimed to be in control of nearby sectors, which could prove an issue if they were hostile.

"Dagar, the ship you are approaching is the USS Destiny, a Federation Starship, her logs indicate that she was attacked nearly a month ago" Joeph said having nodded to comms to open a channel to the alien ship.

[Ftang]

The Captain listened intently to the incoming message. Initially unsure if this ship could've been responsible, the message confirmed it as unlikely. After the Major scanned over both vessels, they seemed to be of similar design, therefore it seemed what they were speaking was true. A quick nod from Palek pushed Kalek to his next course of action.

"Washington,
Over our last few days patrolling this region we have seen little activity, possibilites of finding those responsible seem minimal. In an offer of neutrality, we wish to go aboard the ship and search for any possible information relating to what occured here. As it is staggeringly close to our own borders, it is of utmost importance that we discover any hostiles."

After he told this to be sent to the Washington, he signalled, simply by waving his hand, to a nearby soldier, at his post on the command console. A brief nod and he began to power down systems that were military, hoping to send a message of peace to the active Federation Starship.

Upon hearing the Dagar beginning to power down, Kalek sent a message throughout the mess hall, aiming to create a small search party.

"This is Captain Kalek, we have a search and possible rescue situation on our hands. Deployment Squad Epsilon report to the Hangar 2H for departure."

The Captain then waited for what the opposite would do next. With both ships pointing towards each other, and the lone wreckage of the USS Destiny floating between them, the situation already looked a lot worse than it was. All it would take however, was one small mistake and all hell could break loose...

[The New Federation 1]

USS Washington NCC-67611, Galaxy Class Federation Starship

Joseph considered this. At least they had powered down their weapons, so he ordered the Washington to follow suit, standing down to yellow alert with only shields raised. BEfor enodding to comms.
"i'll allow that once my Away team has finihed thier search of the ship, as we beleive the hostile have taken over a hundred Starfleet personnel hostage"

[Ftang]

Kalek thought over a few moments before taking control of comms himself, tired of relaying through somebody else.

"Understood, we have a Search team ready and waiting to depart on your word. I hope the best for your people, for it is never good when something like this occurs."

Kalek then stood up determined, his face focused on the task at hand. After staring out of the central window towards the Washington, he called over Major Palek.

"You take command of the ship while I am gone. Should anything occur transport us back onboard immediately, for we will need as much evidence as possible to send back to command. Good luck Major."

The Captain clapped his advisor on the shoulder before heading out of the bridge once more, accompanied by two members of the Search team. After navigating their ways through the many halls in the Dagar he finally reached Hangar 2H, where nine other men were awaiting orders, all in suits and carrying various equipment. Among them were medics, engineers, computer technicians and of course soldiers. Now all he needed was confirmation from the Federation before his sprung into action...

[Ftang]

OOC: Bump in case this was forgotten

[The New Federation 1]

USS Washington NCC 67611, Galaxy Class Federation Starship

Joseph wathced sadly as the status screen indicated that bodies were being beamed to the Washingtons morge. Despite knowing that a fair portion of the crew could be alive. He couldn't dispel the fact that thay could be being treated badly by whoever ha taken them. And that made him nervous. Ships logs were also being transmitted to the ship, and the Strat Ops console informed him that a Starfleet Frigate was en-route to tow the ship back to the Federation.

[Ftang]

Major Palek was watching as the search crews left the ship (OOC: Didn't know what else to follow off of ), and relayed this to the Captain waiting down in the hangars. Upon hearing this he opened communication with the Washington to pursue their previous request.

"This is Major Palek,
While I am sure you are still in silence over what has occured here, was there anything of note found on the vessel? Any hints to follow up on?"

[The New Federation 1]

USS Washington NCC 67611, Galaxy Class Federation Starship

Joseph shook his head as he read the message that the other ship had sent. So far, the away team had returned a fair bit of computer data to the ship as well as numerous peices of material evidence. However, a Starfleet ship was due to tow the ship back to Starbase for full forensic searchs and Starfleet had ordered him not to allow anyone else on the ship. He nodded to comms to give them the bad news.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, a Federation Starship is due to arrive in a short time to tow the ship Back to Starbase 11, whilst Washington searchs for the hostile"

[Ftang]

Major Palek was less than happy with this returning message. Although he did understand the reasons, he knew the Captain wouldn't be too pleased either with being denied access. He quickly contacted the Captain in the lower decks and requested his presence on the bridge. He hastily made his way there and as soon as Major Palek relayed the message to him, he delivered a message of his own, not out of anger, but out of general concern, something that shocked the Major.

"Understood. Do you plan an immediate course of action? If so, I request that I and my ship accompany yours on the venture. Not only will you find what happened to your personnel, with backup firepower, but we can find out who is a potential problem in this sector. Captain Kalek out."

Now he was back to playing the waiting game, so he slumped into the command chair, surveying the goings on in the space around him.

[The New Federation 1]

USS Washington NCC 67611, Galaxy Class Federation Starship

"You are, of course more than welcome to accompony us" Joseph replied as behind the Washington, three Federation Starships dropped out of warp. Two were Akira Class, and had been assigned to serve as escorts to washington. THe Akira class ships were perfect Escorts, as they were arme with over 15 torpedo launhcers, and could fire the Federations arsenel of Torpedos. THere were a number of Phaser arrays as well. This armamant made it a formidable opponant, even in one-on-one conflict. Whilst the Galaxy class ship was still a more rounded, and therefore more powerful ship, the Akira's weren't far behind. The Third ship was a Steamrunner Light Cruiser which promptly locked a tractor beam onto the Destiny, came about and jumped to warp. The Two Akiras; USS London and USS Manchester quickly formed up on each side of the Washington

[Ftang]

The Captain smiled with the reply, and then when he saw the ships dropping out of hyperspace behind the Washington, he looked on in awe. Very impressive ships, that could easily have overpowered him if they bothered to try. Needless to say most of the crew watched the next few events as they happened. As they pulled in the wreckage of the Destiny he sent a reply to the crew of the Washington.

"Much appreciated. We await your orders."

While he wasn't happy to be basically following another nations orders, it was in the best interests of the Empire if he followed what they did, and so he had to swallow his pride and sink back into his chair while the wreckage was towed away...

[The New Federation 1]

USS Washington NCC 67611, Galaxy Class Federation Starship

Joseph nodded with satisfaction as the alien ship communicated their assent, he nodded to help who sent the coure to the alien ships helm officer before the Federation Trio jumped to warp. The information that they had retrieved from the Destiny would take time to anylise, so Joseph figured that he should return to Starfleets Standard mission, Diplomacy. With ample time, he nodded to comms.
"Captain, I'd like to invite you over to the Washington to dine with the Senior staff, we could also do with discussing some important matter"

[Ftang]

As the Captain watched the ships jump backed into hyperspace, he received a slight jolt of energy upon hearing the returning message. While he wasn't used to diplomatic missions, he had always been one to help further the Empire. After consulting briefly with Major Palek, who showed a few doubts but nevertheless agreed, he sent a reply.

"USS Washington,
It would be my pleasure to come aboard and join you for food. How do you wish for me to make my way?

After sending this, he once again turned to Major Palek, who was joined this time by Commander Kip Tanner, a veteran of the Empire's diplomatic matters.

"There is no need to worry my friends. If they had wanted to do something to us, they would have done it already. Heck, they just had a total of 4 ships they could have used on us. While I am off the ship, Commander Tanner is in command, understood?"

A quick nod and he awaited for news from the Federation Starship...

[The New Federation 1]

USS Washington NCC 67611, Galaxy Class Federation Starship

"Transporter would be safest, as I wouldn't want to cross in a shuttlecraft whilst were still at warp" Joseph replied "I don't know if you have one or not, but we can always beam you our selve"

[Ftang]

As the message came through, the Captain nodded.

"Agreed. We do have a transporter onboard, and shall beam across to your transporter in a few moments."

He turned to the navigation's officer and quickly gave him an order.

"Follow their course and engage warp drives. Maximum without damage."

The officer nodded and soon engaged the warp drive, while Kalek got up out of his seat and made his way to the transporter room. Commander Tanner followed him closely, and it took him a while to speak his mind, worried about the Captain's opinions.

"Sir, we haven't truly tested this transporter at warp speed yet. Can we trust it?"

The Captain dismissed this, not liking to believe in risks, instead just doing what he believed in.

"If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, best we apply it in the field am I right?"

Tanner soon fell back in step, and when the Captain stepped on board the transporter, he gave a quick salute to Kalek. The Captain briefly smiled before calmly stating.

"Take care of my ship...Commander"

Then he was off, beamed across to the USS Washington. As the beams came down inside the alien ship, he smiled, he knew there was no risk present. He waited to be greeted inside the Transporter Bay...

[The New Federation 1]

USS Washington NCC 67611, Galaxy Class Federation Starship
Transporter Room One

Joseph smiled as the Transporter beam infront of him solidified into a person. As their guest stepped down he offered a hand.
"Welcome aboard the Washington, this is my Executive Officer; COmmander Jenny Sato, and my Chief of Securiy Commadner Dannielle Richards" Joseph said. In the ten minutes or so that they had, the ships thousand strong company had made the ship as presentable as possible "Before we sit down for our Meal, would you like a look around?"

[Ftang]

He didn't need to wait long at all, as upon fully gaining his composure he saw his greeting party. As their leader spoke he firmly grasped and shook the hand of Captain Joseph, and extended his hand to the Commander and Chief of Security. Always a fan of politeness and formalities, it was good to find new friends that felt the same it seemed. He smiled as he spoke the next few words:

"A pleasure to meet you all."

After finishing his sentence he took a few moments to look around the Transporter Room. Very pleasing and right up his alley, he had already grown to like this ship. When the Captain began to speak he concentrated on him before nodding.

"I would definitely enjoy a tour"

[The New Federation 1]

USS Washington NCC 67611, Galaxy Class Federation Starship

Joseph smiled.
"Commander Sato, head back up to the bridge, keep me apprised on everything that comes in" Joseph ordered his Exec who nodded and left the room "Commander Richards, take your security teams through an additional training scenerio based on Washington, just in case we're boarded"
Dannielle nodded and left as well.
"Well Captain, we're closest to Engineering, so i suggest we start there"

[Ftang]

"Excellent, let's begin" the Captain said with a broad smile, stepping in behind Captain Joseph...

[The New Federation 1]

USS Washington NCC 67611, Galaxy Class Federation Starship

Joseph nodded and began to lead the captain through the ship. Through the corridors of the residential area of the ship, before getting down into the stardrive section. They had soon reached engineering. The Warp Core dominated the room, and it could be seen and heard to be working hard to push the ship through space at Warp Speeds.