USS Darwin hunts hated enemy in Delta Quadrant

POUIYEOG REGION, DELTA QUADRANT — The USS Triumphant teamed up with the USS Darwin to chase a master criminal into the Delta Quadrant to recover stolen, advanced technology.
The USS Darwin (NCC-99312-A) once again under the command of Captain Renos is dispatched from DS6 to recover a Quantum Slipstream Drive. Stolen by none other than the mysterious vessel faced at Zakdorn and commanded by the criminal Tor’kath, known to the Darwin by the alias “Raikenoff”. Given its advanced weapons and capabilities the Darwin is assigned an escort, the defiant class USS Triumphant (NCC-75692) under the command of Captain Frazier. Shortly after the two vessels departed they detected the signal of the stolen QSD and pursue.
After a week of chasing, the trail ran cold forcing them to drop out of slipstream to investigate. By now they’ve crossed into the Delta Quadrant in front of a nebula 10 AU in size. Lieutenant Lyldra attempted to get a feel of the area but picked up nothing on typical diplomatic or general subspace channels prompting her to suggest launching a subspace buoy to extend their range. From this she was able to pick up communications from two vessels talking about a nearby Talaxian base.
Feeling ill, Counselor Didrik Stennes reported to sickbay where Doctor Cook diagnosed him with slipstream sickness. Once treated, the two discussed who the Counselor may need to take time to see, and Cook recommended several people including the ships Ash’lie guest Lyna Namid, which he then dropped in to visit. Cook soon joined them, leading to an argument about the best course of treatment for Lyna, right in front of her! They might have resolved their differences somewhat afterwards and away from their guest but it left the Ash’lie feeling angry and distrustful of them both.
Unsure if their quarry was inside the nebula, Lieutenant Valdivia launched probes to probe to study the nebula, confirming Raikenoff’s presence there. They also showed pockets of gas within the nebula that are being ignited with increasing frequency, leading them to believe there must be someone else inside the nebula.
The two Federation starships had been in the Delta quadrant for only a few hours when without warning the Triumphant’s intended XO fell ill entering a coma-like state. This caused a shake up in the crew’s rosters and Commander Thomas was selected by Renos to fill the vacant position, leaving Lieutenant Commander Treanor to fill the first officer position aboard the Darwin.
The probes in the nebula soon revealed that there was a swarm of Numiri vessels inside the nebula, responsible for igniting its gas pockets. In a surprise move, Raikenoff and his ship emerged directly in front of the Darwin. Renos hailed him and ordered the criminal to surrender, showing great fortitude and self control in once again facing the man who had kidnapped and tortured nem. Raikenoff ignored Renos’s command to surrender as an armada of thirty small Numiri vessels emerged from the nebula and surrounded the three vessels.
Fearing Raikenoff will reactivate his QSD as soon as he was able, Valdivia headed to engineering. With the help of Lieutenant JG Inikno Mpeba and Lieutenant Brell they worked out a plan to disable it remotely, using the Darwin’s own QSD. On the Triumphant, Captain Frazier succumbed to to the same illness that struck his first officer. Falling into a comatose state he left Thomas in command with the task of attempting to persuade the Numiri not to attack, while Raikenoff also attempted to sway the Numiri’s favor. Forced to defend itself and Darwin, the Triumphant returned fire on the Numiri. Giving Raikenoff the chance he had been waiting for to flee towards his secret objective.