OOC: looks interesting.

Name: Nathaniel Ingrum
Race: Batazoid
Rank: Captain
Appearance: Nathan has a pale complexion and stands at 510 He has a slightly rounded face with a pointed chin. He has short fiery red hair and his eyes with black eyes. The only notable feature is the scar above his left brow he had received during the Dominion war.

Abilities and Weaknesses: Being a Batazoid Nathan has telepathic/empathic abilities that are common with their race. He finds it to be an advantaged when faced in negotiations. However as beneficial as they can be, they do have their problems. The main one being he suffers from constant migraines, because he is constantly sensing thoughts or feelings from the people around him.

Due to his Batazoid upbringing, Nathan can be brutally honest and straight forward at times. A habit he tries to tone down some as it tends make others uncomfortable at times.

Personality: Nathan is an easy going type of guy that goes with the flow. He knows that there are certain things in life that happen that you cant change no matter how hard you try, so rather then dwell on such things simply moves forward. He can be extremely friendly, even to those he doesnt know yet and is always more then willing to lend a helping hand, whether or not the help is wanted.

As the captain of his own ship now, hes been known to be fair when dealing with inter ship squabbles. He can be extremely tough on them at times, but they usually take it well enough given the losses they suffered during the war. Nathan can be ruthless when dealing with any out side threats that threaten the safety of his ship and crew, something to which had been seen during the battle over Cardassia Prime.

History:
Nathanial was born 2350 on Betazed. When he turned 17 Nathan had signed up to take the entry exam to attend Starfleet academy and was admitted on his first try. He graduated the Academy in 2371 just two years prior to the start of the Dominion War. He served aboard the U.S.S. Griffon serial number NCC-42365, which was an Excelsior Class Explorer ship. During the war Nathan was given a Battle Field promotion to Commander (having been promoted to Lt. Commander during the brief conflict with the Klingons) and later became the First officer after the untimely death of the previous one during the battle of Bajor.

Later in 2374 Nathan took Command of the Griffon when her Captain was fatally wounded at the battle of ChinToka when a support beam feel upon him after receiving a hard hit from one of the Cardassian orbital defence platforms. He later died of his injuries and with captains being in short supply, Nathan remained as the Commanding officer over the U.S.S Griffon. His command position over his ship was short lived when the ship was rendered incapacitated by the Breen Energy Dampening weapon which enviably led to its destruction. Luckily Nathan and much of the crew of the Griffon had managed to make it to the escape pods. Despite the loss of his ship, Nathan received a promotion to Captain and assigned to take command of the U.S.S Hyperion, an Akira class Heavy cruiser, on a trail bases. Her original Captain was lost during a previous engagement with the Dominion forces.

After the end of the war Nathanial Continued on as Captain of the Hyperion, with much of the fighters having been transferred to stationary Federation instillations to make room for added science and sensor After a brief stint on Betazed to check on friends and family, to whom he had lost contact with when the dominion took the sector, he took on various boarder patrol missions before gradually moving toward diplomatic and exploration assignments.

Name: Hyperion
Class: Akira
Registry Number: NCC-63646
Refits:
- Ablative armour added to certain sections of the ships hull.
- Converted the majority of the fighter hanger bays to serve as addition storage space or to hold science equipment. Still hold 3 wings of Kaneda class space superiority fighters (15 fighters total).

BiC:
Nathanial was amongst the younger group Captains in the room at 31 and was curious as to why he was told attend this meeting. Of course when Jean-Luc Picard was the one giving the order he simply jumped at the chance. He had heard a great deal about him and his legendary exploits aboard the infamous Enterprise. Nathanial stood up the moment Admiral Picard and Captain Riker entered the room. He gave a respectful nod to both men, still wondering what all this could be about. Nathan then stepped forward and reached out toward Ricker with his right hand.

Captain Nathaniel Ingrum of the Hyperion, said Nathan, deciding to be the first to introduce him self. Its a pleasure to meet you Ricker. He then added with a friendly smile.

Riker took the hand and shook it, nodding respectfully. "Captain. I've heard about your exploits during the Dominion war...very impressive."

Nathan nodded himself. "Thank you sir. I'm honored you think so."

(OOC: Kinda hoping we'd get a couple more for this...still room for others to join, if anyone wants^^)

OOC: Sorry I'm late, but as you know, I've been absent for some time now.

Name: Ziggurat 17
Race: Old-style Cyborg (formerly Human)
Rank: Not Applicable; Mercenary
Appearance: While he still has two arms and two legs, little of his body still resembles its original appearance. His head has artificial skin, colored to make it look real, and much of his upper torso is the same. His blond hair is not long, and is sleeked straight back and kept neat. His eyes are a cold blue. His face shows no emotion, and shows as few expressions as possible when talking. He wears a modified bodysuit to accommodate his unusual body. His legs are bulky, metal cylinders, with few obvious moving parts. Attached to each of his forearms is a rectangular box, that can open to allow him to use various tools and devices. Other bits of machinery are visible all over his body.
Abilities and Weaknesses: He is a very skilled mechanic, with a natural affinity towards machines. He is also an engineer, with a wide array of knowledge in many fields. His body is capable of far more than just repairs and maintenance, though. His old components have a hard time competing with newer technologies, and though he still regularly upgrades himself, he insists on maintaining his old-style technology. His overly mechanical nature and personality makes it hard for him to work with others.
Personality: He tries to have as little personality as possible, emulating robots of old. He generally comes off as cold, he is calculating, and while he is brutally honest, he knows when to speak and when to hold his tongue.
History: It is unknown to everyone except a few individuals exactly when Ziggurat 17 began. The original human officially died in an accident, but he was revived when he was rebuilt as a cyborg. The colony he was on had outdated medical technology. From that time, he began to work as a mercenary, altering and upgrading himself to function in that role. He seems to prefer jobs that have a high-risk ratio, with a low chance of survival. On his mercenary record he has not yet failed. He has been a registered mercenary for over 100 years, and has worked for many employers, including the Klingons and Romulans.

IC:

Reaching out a gloved hand, he briefly shook Riker's hand. "I am designated Ziggurat 17. I will be making certain that all of the machinery involved is kept in the best of shape."

Riker noticed that the gloved hand was warmed, probably to keep it comfortable for humans. He surmised this because he felt a metal skeletal hand beneath the thick glove.

(OOC: Ok I'm gonna carry this on. If anyone else wants to join feel free^^ If you're having trouble finding a way, feel free to message me

btw Way, I take it the fact that your character has worked for the Romulans in the past isn't known to the Federation, since they wouldn't likely hire him if it was.)

IC:

Riker nodded in response. "You would probably have liked to meet our Commander Data. He was an android created by Doctor Sooing. Maybe you've heard of him?"

Ziggurat didn't seem prepared to give a reply. There was a moment's pause, then Picard broke the silence. "Okay, let's get this started. Take your seats." The others all sat down at the long table, while Picard moved over to a screen on the wall. "No doubt you will all have heard of Admiral Janeway's exploits with the Borg a few years ago." he started. "At the time we had assumed the borg to be finally destroyed...the greatest nemesis of the Federation defeated." He paused, then turned and pressed a button beside the screen. "We were wrong."

An image appeared on the screen, blurred slightly, but clear enough to see. Everyone in the room stiffened, recognising the interweaving, technical surface of a Borg Sphere!

"Two days ago we recieved a distress call from the Aijalon 5 colony in the Regula Badlands." continued Picard quietly. "The message was garbled so badly we couldn't figure it out, but it came with this image in the subspace frequencies. The message was repeated automatedly until it abruptly stopped, and we've had no contact since then."

Riker's forehead was creased with worry. "Admiral, if this really is a surviving Borg ship, why just send two ships to investigate? What if there are more?"

"Because we simply don't know." replied Picard, moving over to the table and sitting down. "We need more information before we can form a strategy. We've begun gathering the fleet, but we also don't want to cause a mass panic." He sighed slightly. "It's a dangerous mission, but we have no choice. We need to find out exactly what the Borg are doing this close to Federation space, analyze their strength and come up with a way of dealing with them. That will be your job. Investigate, but avoid confrontation at all cost! We can't afford to lose any ships right now."

He pointed towards Ziggurat. "Ziggurat will be acompanying you. He is reknowned for engeneering and combat skills, and his knowledge of mechanical implants will make him useful against the Borg, should the worst come to the worst. Any questions?"

Ziggurat studied the faces of the others in the room for a moment, before replying, "No sir, no questions."

He couldn't help but let his mind, steel-plated as it is, wander. Surviving Borg...what if their technology has improved? Will we even stand a chance?

"I have one." muttered Riker, leaning forward on the desk. "If this really is a Borg offensive, what'll happen to the Romulan peace talks? I doubt we'd be able to count on them as an ally yet, and it's a critical time in the negotiations..."

Picard was nodding. "True. We can only hope that the Romulans see the danger the Borg pose to them as well as us. We haven't told them yet, or the Klingons either, but we'll have to let them know soon if this situation gets any more dangerous."

"Let's just hope that Sphere is a single rogue." muttered Nathaniel quietly.

"Only one way to find out." muttered Riker, standing up from his chair. "Will that be all Admiral?"

"Yes. Just...take care." replied Picard, fixing Riker with a stare.

"I intend to sir." Riker turned to Ziggurat. "You can travel aboard the Enterprise. I'll have Commander Kain assign you quarters. Let's go."

============================================================

Aijalon 5
Regula Badlands
Alpha Quadrant

Two flashes of energy lit up space as the Enterprise and the Hyperion dropped out of warp and into normal space. A burning, yellow-red light gleamed off their hulls as they cruised slowly forward towards the scource of the light, the dense, plasma charged nebulae that made up the Badlands.

On board the Enterprise, the bridge was a hive of activity.

"All stop." called Riker as he stood up from his chair. "Full sensor scans...any unusual readings?"

"Negative sir." replied the officer at tactical. "Nothing out of the ordinery."

"Well we sure aren't going in there with our eyes closed." muttered Riker quietly. "Enterprise to Hyperion, what's your status?"

(OOC: Sorry for the short update...it's almost 2 am here.)