Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2009 21:18:17 GMT
As the S’Harien continued following the Jefferson, Govan paced the bridge. This latest development with Raltorr’s communication and then discovering someone had contacted the Federation vessel behind his back was beginning to take its toll on him. The Romulan Commander couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so tense, in spite of the fact that tension had been his constant companion for the past few years, as for whatever horrible reason, Echal just couldn’t seem to catch a break...
Taev arrived a few minutes after being summoned, and Dor’vel quickly beckoned the officer over to Tactical. “You are to man my primary station while I work at the backup,” the Centurion informed him. “Continue to closely monitor the Federation vessel and monitor all outgoing frequencies for any unauthorized communications.”
<Tag Taev>
Preoccupied with his own thoughts, Govan barely noticed the replacement’s arrival and continued his pacing. What he wanted was to strangle somebody, particularly whoever had betrayed them. This was all just so maddening…Echal could almost understand why so few respected him as their Commanding Officer. He had been placed in an impossible position: a former Tal Shiar interrogator in command of a Navy vessel, shown no respect by his superiors, even intentionally compromised in his authority, and basically set up to fail. Didn’t mean he liked it or would tolerate it, but he at least understood it. What the Commander didn’t understand was why someone would secretly contact the enemy, an act which was practically suicidal.
While surreptitiously watching Commander Echal’s pacing out of the corner of his eye, Dor’vel began to trace the errant call. Whoever was responsible for this had done very little if anything to cover his tracks, almost like he wanted to be found or didn’t think his actions warranted concealment. It was very strange to the security chief that anyone could think that contacting the Jefferson without proper authority could be acceptable behavior. It was far too easy to trace the call back to Doctor Sural’s office, and the sensor records easily confirmed that the doctor was the only person in his office at that time, basically sealing his fate. Now the only thing that remained was determining what information Sural had shared with the Jefferson.
Govan Echal was not an idiot. He was well aware of the series of events which led up to his current predicament. First, he’d screwed up the Garrett interrogation and was subsequently transferred from his cushy base position. He then proceeded to ruin the mission immediately following his transfer, the diplomatic interrogation. In the Tal Shiar, you don’t get three changes. He had been lucky to get two... The second mistake had resulted in his incarceration at a Federation starbase, and as miraculous as it was, he was actually given a third chance, as Chief of Security at the Romulan embassy. It was strange how he could be both horribly unlucky and lucky at the same time, but as ridiculous as it seemed, that’s exactly what he was.
The data transmission had not been tampered with and apparently no attempt had been made to delete it. The doctor seemed to be either the stupidest traitor in the history of the Romulan Empire or he hadn’t considered the transmission to be an act of treason. The Centurion was so confused his fury was beginning to fade.
His bad luck had all started with Garrett…she was like a bad luck charm that had poisoned his career the minute she’d crossed his path. And now…she was back, come to spread more misery in his already wretched life. How much worse could it get? As it was, Govan was practically dying a slow, painful death, where little by little his power was taken from him and his career was picked apart piece by piece. It was like being drowned slowly, only allowed to breathe when it was absolutely necessary to keep him alive. Eventually though, there would come a point where a breath was his last. And maybe this was it, and his torture was finally at an end.
The transmission had been brief, and much to Dor’vel’s surprise, the only transfer of information had been from the Jefferson to the S’Harien, and not the other way around as one would expect from a clandestine conversation. Not only that, but the information appeared to be medical and scientific in nature, nothing sensitive. This was getting stranger, but the Centurion was no longer leaning towards a slow, painful death for the doctor. Now, he was neutral, and that would be up to Govan.
This was what the Navy had wanted all along, for ‘Commander Echal’ to screw up so badly they not only had permission but had a duty to kill him. It wasn’t enough to destroy his career and reputation once. It had to happen again, prolonging his suffering, giving him false hope to make him think there was a way out, but there never was. They all wanted him to fail, to humiliate himself before finally, painfully ending it all. It would probably be days before he was allowed to die. He knew all too well how his end would be. Perhaps it was a fitting end for someone like him...
“Commander, may I see you in your office?” Dor’vel requested evenly, rising with a datapadd containing his information. “I have the information you requested, Sir.”
Drawn suddenly back from the blackhole he was spinning in his own mind, Echal blinked once before nodding and moving to the door. He may have been doomed, but he was taking this traitor down with him even if it was the last thing he ever did. Feeling far too jumpy to sit down, Govan merely took a few steps and then turned. “I assume you have identified the traitor, as well as the purpose for this treason?”
Instead of answering, Dor’vel merely played the recording he had downloaded into the padd. Govan listened in silence to the short exchange, unblinking and glaring daggers at the wall following the specific request to speak to Garrett and then her voice. The content of the message was completely unexpected, and much as the Centurion, fury was quickly replaced by confusion, and finally a very different anger. The S’Harien and the Romulan Empire hadn’t been betrayed; he had…yet again...
“I will deal with the doctor once this mission is complete,” Govan finally spoke, his eyes still blazing with fury. What would it take for these people to treat him with the respect a Commanding Officer deserved? Almost the entire crew was somewhat respectful, albeit more fearful, toward him, but Tevio and Sural were another story. It was like they viewed this vessel as without a Commander, which was not the case, although it was hard to command a warbird without the entire crew following you.
Dor’vel nodded silently. Clearly, Commander Echal was dealing with some personal issues, but his reaction had been acceptable. Dor’vel was becoming increasingly impressed with the Commander’s restraint. At first, his ‘respect’ had merely been self-preservation, but lately, Govan had been earning it. Most of the crew merely feared him, and the senior staff aside from him didn’t respect him much at all, but more and more, the Centurion was starting to genuinely respect Commander Echal.
=/\=Commander, we a receiving another transmission,=/\= the Operations Officer reported through the comm. =/\=It cannot be traced, but I believe it is from Raltorr.=/\=
“Acknowledged,” Echal replied, reentering the bridge. “Open the channel,” he ordered.
=/\=This is Raltorr. I am space side and on my way to you. I’m in a shuttle, so you better keep that Starfleet ship off me,=/\= Raltorr’s arrogant voice practically ordered.
The Centurion had followed Echal out of the office and onto the bridge, moving to the secondary station and gesturing for Taev to remain at the primary.
Bristling at the tone, Govan nonetheless kept his cool and replied, “As I attempted to inform you before our last communication was severed, I believe it would be best for you to head back toward Romulan space and rendezvous with the S’Harien on our way back. I cannot guarantee your safety if you choose to head in our direction now, as the Federation vessel is here as well. However, if you insist on meeting up with us immediately, I will do my best to ensure that you are taken into our custody.”
<Tag Raltorr>
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Matthew Reynolds
Rear Admiral
"It's good to have an end to a journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end."
Registered: Apr 28, 2005 20:58:32 GMT
Posts: 2,759
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Post by Matthew Reynolds on Sept 25, 2009 22:39:40 GMT
Once he heard the alarms go off, he knew that he had been right. At that moment it didn't matter how it had been done, but Matt would be damned if they didn't capture the Romulan that had dared come to his ship.
"Make sure that everyone is alright," Matt said seconds after they and the security team had arrived," try to make them comfortable." Matt helped the security team with this order and he was happy to discover that everyone just seemed to be out cold.
“Bridge to sickbay, what’s your status?”
"This is Lieutenant Tavik. The sickbay staff is out cold, and Doctor van Breughel has…hold on, let me scan him." Valad said.
“I’ve got the shields on auto frequency modulation rotation and decks five through eight on isolation lockdown, so the intruder should be trapped. I’m just waiting for him to bypass a forcefield so we have his location. The security team was granted access. Have they arrived?”
"They just arrived. And Doctor van Breughel has severe second degree burns. He'll be alright though." He looked up at the security team, then at Captain Reynolds. The comm channel was still open. "Captain, please stay here and make sure the sickbay stays secure. I'm going to take half the team and go after the intruder."
“Captain, I have to agree with Lieutenant Tavik. It is far too dangerous for you to go after the intruder. Your rightful place is on the bridge, but since you’re in sickbay, the doctor is badly injured, and the medical staff incapacitated, you should remain there with two security officers, while Tavik takes the other two and goes after the intruder,” Megan insisted.
"You two realize that you have made all of these decision without me, but I see that I'm not going to win this one," Matt said disgruntled at the fact that he would not be able to go after the intruder," alright Lieutenant you are in charge of finding the intruder."
“Lieutenant, select two of the officers to take with you. I’ll watch the sensors from here. Begin a sweep of the deck. I will drop the forcefields as you go to allow you access while running sensor sweeps and watching forcefields to locate the intruder.”
"You two are with me." He looked at the other officers. "Stay here with Captain Reynolds. If the intruder returns, immediately notify the bridge." He took one of the compression rifles and looked at Captain Reynolds. “If the doctor comes to, see if he remembers anything. I'd greatly appreciate anything you can give me."
"Both of you will know everything I know the second I get it," Matt said as he hotwired the medical console to tap into the bridge stations so he could monitor the situation as well," also Lieutenant I would prefer that you capture the intruder alive, but if you must kill him do not hesitate because he will not."
(Valad)
As he saw his officers leave sickbay, Matt knew that he would not be able to do much to help until the injured were awakened. The person that would have the most information would be Nathan and it also seemed that he was the most seriously hurt. The medical staff that had been off duty were already coming in and hopefully it would take them only a few moments to get the injured medical staff awake.
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Deleted
Registered: Mar 28, 2024 14:33:48 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2009 23:56:54 GMT
OOC: This is the first part of a joint post between Tevio Ch'varak, Megan Garrett, her NPC Marina Garrett and Valad Tavik. Warning, this is a very long post over both parts!
Not looking again at the treacherous Doctor, Tevio left his crumpled, unconscious form in the corner of his office. He knew he had to be in a hurry, but at the same time, he had again managed to calm himself. The Legate knew what he had to do, now he just had to execute the plan. Admittedly it had not worked out as he had hoped with van Breughel, but hopefully, in fact, surely, he had planted the seeds of doubt in van Breughel's mind, something counteracting his instinct. The Doctor had better believe it. And if he couldn't, then the Legate could sort that out when he got back to the S'Harien.
The groggy medical staff member whom had awoke early was starting to claw at the floor, trying to find the right way up evidently. He looked at Tevio as the latter walked by, his eyes locking on the Legate's and experiencing their cold glint as the Romulan indeed returned the stare. Tevio took his disruptor and shot him, searing a light burn mark on his chest and shoulder, rendering him again unconscious.
Taking his carry case, Tevio exited through a secondary door into some storage cupboard. It led into a ventilation entrance, not a service or Jefferies' tube, but a tighter space that was less obvious on the sensors.
Cloaking himself deeper into his sensor blind, he made his way across the deck and down two levels, staying out of the corridors. Indeed, the Legate only saw them for fleeting moments before again passing out of sight.
Once satisfied that the person watching the sensor readings would be very much at a loss as to where to look first, Tevio did step into the corridors. Scampering down a short length of passageway, he ducked into a service tube entrance, beginning scans on the next section over. There were five personnel in that section who were out in the open; from calculations, it was clear that at least two of them would need to be eliminated if he went the route he was planning on using. Both of these persons were separate from each other. In fact, only two of the five personnel were together, the other three being scattered around. However, they were of course all moving.
The first one was fairly easy to eliminate. Tevio approached from behind, quickly pressing the cold steel muzzle of the disruptor to the back of the security guard's neck and pulling the trigger. An explosion of red shot away from under the man's chin and his suddenly limp body dropped to the deck. His smashed neck-section squelched on impact, the already ruined spine finally snapping apart. Stepping over the body, Tevio made his way to the next intersection and ghosted through the emplaced forcefield. Smiling tightly, he made his way left to the next and hopefully final target.
Nothing was showing up on sensors, and the forcefields weren't even fluctuating. Unfortunately, that could only mean one thing, since the chances of the perpetrator trapped between forcefields and not moving was very slim. Clearly, the Romulan had studied the Jefferson's layout and was moving through the service areas and avoiding the corridors where his progression would be slowed. Worse still, he may even be off the few decks she had secured, and therefore, he could be anywhere.
Megan was running every detection scan she knew, but as those were very difficult to employ ship-wide, she had to go a few sections at a time, making it all the more unlikely she would find him this way. As she contemplated a full-scale lockdown, a lifesign vanished from another deck, meaning either someone had been grabbed or killed. There was no point in delaying it now. “Red Alert, initiate a full lockdown procedure, and get everyone to their emergency stations or confined to quarters,” Commander Garrett ordered, before opening a channel to Valad. “Lieutenant, the intruder has been located on deck nine, section twelve. He’s circumvented all our counter-measures and either has a hostage or killed a crewmember. Once all decks are clear, I’m going to initiate full quarantine, including the service areas he’s using. Shuttlebays and transporter rooms are shut down, so he has nowhere else to go.”
Valad was starting to get peeved at this guy. First he shoots the doctor, then he kills another crewmember. This guy was going down. He remembered what Captain Reynolds had told him though. ~'I would prefer that you capture the intruder alive, but if you must kill him do not hesitate because he will not.'~ Valad wanted to take him out and quickly.
"Acknowledged Commander. We need to get down to Deck Nine. Commander, please shut down the force fields on Deck Six so we can get to the turbolift."
Checking her security program, Megan replied, “You’re good to go, Lieutenant. The forcefields should let your team through ship-wide. I’ll be activating the forcefields throughout the ship shortly once all the decks are cleared, Garret out.” she added.
He ran to the turbolift, entered the security codes and entered the turbolift. "Deck Nine. More than likely, Commander Garrett has him isolated in section twelve for the time being. We need to move quickly and take him down." The turbolift halted and the group exited, rifles raised. Valad led the group down the corridor and they entered the vicinity known as section twelve. "Fan out and guard the exits. Make sure you watch your sixes." Valad proceeded forward, not sure of what he would find.
Staying at the back of the group as she had been, Marina followed cautiously with her rifle raised. More likely than not, the Romulan was on this deck and had already killed someone. This was the most dangerous position she’d been in since joining Starfleet by far, and although well aware of the danger, she was surprisingly calm. However, things could easily go bad at a moment’s notice. The security officer just hoped they could get this guy and get out without anyone else getting seriously hurt.
Tevio stopped halfway down the next passageway, stepping to the side and into the small shadow provided. He frowned, looking in at the device hidden in the fold of his uniform. The frown deepened in his expression, the Legate was sure he had passed through a forcefield in the previous section. It was functioning properly, but for some reason, it had seen to alert him to the presence of a nonexistent forcefield. So, there was no assurance that this technology was working either, just as the comm jam of the sickbay had not been working as expected. Tevio shrugged, little else could go wrong now, he had to keep moving.
So to the next target. He or she was moving down a corridor, fast now, running parallel with Tevio's own but several metres to the left. Soon the Legate realised what was happening. The ship was being put on a lockdown, all the personnel were being directed to concealed quarters.. It wasn't long before he lost the signal altogether. It would've been a good thing, but Tevio knew well enough that a lockdown involved more than the securing of personnel, they had to be bringing up some form of forcefield now. He hurried down the corridor, in pursuit of his destination: the deck below, at the leading edge - an extremity - of the ship. The Legate knew full well that he needed to be quick, but what other obstacles would he come up against, even if he did manage to evade the forcefields?
Pursuing this intruder was like finding a needle in a haystack. Without any help from the bridge, Valad knew finding this individual was going to be difficult. He couldn't even think of a place that could lead off the ship. More than likely, Commander Garrett would soon have the ship on full alert, meaning there would be security everywhere.
Watching the friendly green dots representing personnel gradually move from the open corridors into quarters or primary areas, Megan was trying not to get anxious. They would get the intruder, even if it had to take a little longer to do it right. As the indicator light finally moved from yellow to green, it was finally clear for lockdown.
He tapped his comm badge. "Tavik to bridge, nothing so far. We could use some help, Commander."
“Initiating the lockdown now, Lieutenant,” Megan replied, quickly activating the full protocol. The ship layout sudden lit up with numerous blue lines across corridors, hatches, and intersections. Now all it would take is one mistake for his position to light up. “I’ll keep this channel open and inform you of any changes in the sensors.”
"Aye, Commander." Valad moved his arm up signaling to Ensign Garrett and Lieutenant Vera to rejoin him and they proceeded down the corridor.
Tevio rounded the corridor, the next service tube hatch was now in sight. Inexorably, he could feel himself slipping. The anticipation and the increasing likelihood that he was going to escape this ship was overcoming him, and he needed to be careful to maintain his cool. It turned out not to be difficult.
The device beeped intermittently as the Legate passed through forcefields, at least he hoped they were forcefields. If they were other false sensor readings then he would have the life of the device's designer. He came to the end of the corridor at which the tube entrance was located and, pulling it free, he entered. Allowing a smirk of victory to cross his face, he made his way down the tube. Yet things were not all perfect, three bio-readings had materialised on his scanner, not far away now.
To Be Continued......
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Deleted
Registered: Mar 28, 2024 14:33:48 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2009 23:59:17 GMT
OOC: Continuation of the JP between Megan Garrett, Marina Garrett, Valad Tavik, and Tevio Ch'Varak
The little blue lines flickered intermittently, indicating momentary fluctuations and the proximity sensors also went off simultaneously. The forcefields may not have been stopping the intruder, but they were betraying his position. “He’s at section eighteen,” Megan informed Valad, watching as the forcefields created a path for her to follow on the sensors. “Entering section, nineteen, now twenty, twenty-one...he just opened a maintenance hatch in section twenty-two,” the Commander added, her fingers flying across the panel. “I’m going to attempt to lock the next series of hatches. That should slow him down somewhat, hopefully enough for you to catch up and have him surrounded,” she suggested while getting the hatches all locked. “The hatches should unlock automatically for you and your team at your approach.”
"Let's go," Valad ordered as he surged forward. He hurried through each section that the Commander had numbered off finding the access hatch at the end of the jog. He spoke to the team loudly enough so the bridge could hear. "Vera, go on up ahead and enter the next service hatch. Take him from the front. Ensign Garrett and I will enter here and move in from the rear. We'll trap him at the junction of tube fifty-six and seventy-four.” Vera moved off and Valad entered the hatch. "Make sure the hatch is closed, just in case," he said to Ensign Garrett. He proceeded closer to the junction hoping this would be the end of the road.
Nodding, Marina closed the hatch behind them as they quickly proceeded to the junction Lieutenant Tavik had indicated. The closer they got the more jumpy Ensign Garrett was feeling, though she worked hard to keep it from showing. This is what all the training and preparation led up to: a few minutes where everything counted.
There was a break in the service tube ahead of Tevio, in which was placed another hatch. This one was locked. Tevio grimaced, removing another 'tool' hidden about his person. The hatch opened easily enough. As soon as it did, Tevio's eyes momentarily bulged. There was a Starfleet officer. The man lifted his rifle, trying to position his body for a shot. Unfortunately for him, Tevio had no such cumbersome weapon in his hand, and he eased the disruptor up to the man's chest.
Just as he fired, the hatch unexpectedly slammed down shut. Again it was locked, and the disruptor pulse scored it rather than the Starfleet man. Tevio yelped with a mixture of surprise and anger. Through a small window in the hatch he could see the man retreating, all the way to the end of the tube and outside of it, his weapon now readied before him.
Tevio understood. He was going to wait for the Legate to open the hatch and then he could fire on him. If only it could be so easy for the man. Taking the same unlocking device again, Tevio pointed at the floor, drawing in the air just above it a square. He pressed a button and actuated the deposit's chemical reaction. In a matter of seconds, a square-shaped hole had been cut in the tube's floor.
Below it, a small space whose own floor now separated Tevio from deck ten. The tightening noose of Starfleet, as he perceived it to be from the temperamental scanner he possessed, was about to slip right over his neck. Repeating the process on the next bit of flooring, Tevio leapt down, landing safely on the floor of deck ten.
Valad peered around the open hatch that usually enclosed the junction. He saw nothing but he smelled burnt metal in the junction. ~Oh God,~ Valad thought to himself. He peered to the ground and saw that a hole had been cut in the floor. Valad turned his head to Marina and put his fingers up to his mouth, telling her to keep quiet. Valad eased himself down to the floor, still on deck nine.
He looked through the portal and saw Vera waiting at the end of the Jeffries tube. Valad tapped his commbadge in the typical stealth pattern. Vera moved forward, close enough to see Valad. Valad motioned for him to double back and head down to the next deck. He turned back to Marina quietly motioning for her to go the other direction, opposite of Vera to trap him. Valad waited until she was at the end of the Jeffries tube before approaching the hole.
Nodding, Marina quickly headed back down the Jefferies tube, hitting the junction room and opening the floor hatch to reveal the ladder. A quick climb down to deck ten, and the security officer was in position at the door leading to the corridor. By her calculations, the intruder was just around the corner. Carefully moving beside the door so that it opened without putting her in view of the corridor, Ensign Garrett raised her rifle and slowly moved into the doorway and then out into the corridor.
Valad stopped. He sensed something wasn't right. With his rifle raised, he tried another tactic. "So here we are, both guarding the same hole. You should know that security has you surrounded now on all sides, including if you decide you want to cut another hole. Surrender now."
Tevio grinned unpleasantly. He knew that the officer could not see him, but it gave him a certain satisfaction. "And you should know that I no longer have any need to cut holes in your ship. I am on the deck of my goal." Tevio paused, weighing up whether or not it was a good idea to divulge that information. He performed the Romulan equivalent of a shrug. Taking the disruptor, he shot blind up through the hole. Whether he hit anything or not he did not know, but it certainly would've given the man up there pause for thought
With that on his mind, Tevio ran. The forcefields in place would again be setting off the silent watcher's proximity alerts. No matter. Up ahead the same officer that Tevio had tried to shoot came into view. Tevio let another shot loose, the dash of energy scorching the wall that the man was taking cover behind. The Starfleet man even had the audacity to shoot back.
Valad watched a disruptor beam fly through the hole. The shot was enough for Valad to determine where he was but instead of firing again, he heard footsteps leading away from him.
Now hugging the wall, she moved slowly and quietly towards the intruder, coming to a quick halt as she heard Valad’s voice from around the corner and slightly above. She hesitated, creeping forward as the alien replied, hoping to get in a clean shot with him distracted, but instead, he fired once and then headed at a sprint in the other direction, followed by more phaser fire. Rushing forward, Marina called up to Lieutenant Tavik, “He’s on the move,” before quickly moving to follow.
Valad jumped down onto deck ten landing softly. He took off after Marina, hearing shots being fired.
"What is your name, Human?" Tevio called out to the man, both of them still in cover. The dirty smell of discharged disruptor fire singed the air; most unlike the phaser fire that mainly left no residual scent.
"Vera…" the man was calling back, "Lieutenant Vera."
There was silence, then in a flash Vera jumped out from behind cover, likely believing Tevio to be distracted. He was very wrong. Tevio's weapon was already aimed, on full power at Vera's face. He fired. Vera was smacked into the wall, his ruined head leaving a smear of blood as he slipped slowly down to the ground. Tevio's pointed ears picked up on a sound behind him. Quickly he spun and there was another human, this one a female... He cocked his head in interest before quickly bringing his disruptor up. His finger started squeezing the fire-button...
Moving slowly into position behind him and seeing Vera taken out by the disruptor blast, Marina had already raised her phaser as the Romulan turned. For a moment, their eyes locked, and as he raised his disruptor, she fired, feeling a small push from beside her as she was also struck by disruptor fire. She managed to see the intruder fall to the ground, stunned by her or Valad she didn’t know, before she too fell. For a moment, she saw only the deck’s carpet, and everything went dark.
As Valad ran he heard that the shots stopped. He continued up until he saw a Romulan kill Vera. He raised his rifle as the Romulan spun to shoot at Ensign Garrett. All three fired, and Valad shoved Marina so she would not get hit by the blast. The disruptor beam hit both Valad and Marina. Valad took the hit to the left side of his chest and it sent him flying backward. He weakly looked up to see if the Romulan was on the ground, which he was. Valad then lost consciousness.
Tevio fired, just as who he assumed was the officer whom had spoken to him rushed into view, heroically pushing the female out of the way, or at least trying. Another smile started to form on Tevio's face as he realized he had hit both of them at once. That forming sneer did not last for long however, as with a muted sense of horror, Tevio realized he had been shot. He slipped to the floor, seeing both Starfleeters lose consciousness, before he himself succumbed to the darkness. His last thought was on what Echal's reaction would be when he found out. And it could have been very different......
It was all happening so fast...first, Megan clearly heard ‘Ensign Garrett,’ and to her horror, realized that her sister was down there in pursuit of the Romulan intruder. Then a few moments later, a verbal exchange between Valad and the Romulan, followed by an exchange of fire, another verbal exchange, between Vera and the intruder, and then a lot more weapon’s fire, before everything went entirely silent.
“Tavik?” Commander Garrett questioned, met only with silence. “Lieutenant Vera? Ensign Garrett?” There was no reply from anyone. The quiet was absolute agony.
“Security to deck ten, section twenty-four,” Megan finally ordered, dying to get down there herself, but knowing she had to remain on the bridge. She just had to hope that everyone was alright, especially her sister. If anything happened to Marina, and the Romulan had managed to survive all this, he wouldn’t be alive for long...
A few moments later, security reported back. =/\=They’re all down, Commander. The intruder is unconscious, heavily stunned, Lieutenant Vera is dead, and Tavik and Garrett were both hit by a disrupter blast. They’re unconscious but alive.=/\=
Releasing a big sigh of relief, Megan quickly replied, “Beam the intruder to the brig, and have Tavik and Garrett transported to sickbay. I’m momentarily lowering the lockdown for this to be done, then reactivating it. I want a ship-wide sweep of the Jefferson. Go deck by deck. We need to ensure that he was alone,” she ordered.
“Garrett to sickbay, incoming, two injured. Once they’re stabilized, send someone to the brig to check on the prisoner,” Megan ordered, before continuing to speak to Matt. “Captain, the intruder was stunned and is being beamed to the brig. He took out two officers, as well as injuring Doctor van Breughel and the two others. I have the ship momentarily off lockdown but will reinitialize and initiate a ship-wide sweep to ensure he was acting alone,” she reported before adding, “Any further orders?”
<Tag Matt/All>
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Matthew Reynolds
Rear Admiral
"It's good to have an end to a journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end."
Registered: Apr 28, 2005 20:58:32 GMT
Posts: 2,759
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Post by Matthew Reynolds on Sept 27, 2009 5:21:01 GMT
“Captain, the intruder was stunned and is being beamed to the brig. He took out two officers, as well as injuring Doctor van Breughel and the two others. I have the ship momentarily off lockdown but will reinitialize and initiate a ship-wide sweep to ensure he was acting alone,” she reported before adding, “Any further orders?”
"I want the intruder identified as soon as possible," Matt said fighting the urge of doing more harm to the Romulan now in his brig," Commander you are authorized to do proceed anyway you see fit."
(Megan)
Once he had finished his short conversation with Megan, Matt turned to see who had been injured during the chase. Matt had been informed that there had been casualties, but nothing could really prepare him for the horrible scene in front of him. Matt quickly made his way to Lieutenant Vera where he forced himself to look upon his ruined face. Vera had died protecting the crew of this ship and he would honor him by looking upon him like the hero that he was.
"Captain, I'm sorry, but there is nothing that we can do for Vera, he was dead before he hit the floor," one of the nurses said as she began to prep Lieutenant Vera's body for autopsy.
"I know, I'm just paying my respects," Matt said as he turned away from the Lieutenant and turned his attention to the his injured officers. The moment he realized that Valad and Marina, two of his most prominent young officers, had been hurt all the remaining color from his face was completely drained," will they be alright?
"I just don't know yet sir, Romulan disruptors are very dangerous and I'm pretty sure that the setting was set to its maximum," the doctor said as he put his attention to Marina.
"Alright, I want to be notified the moment either of them awakens," Matt said feeling very defeated. He was not one to dwell on what ifs but he couldn't help but feel that it would have turned out differently if he or someone with more experience had gone after the Romulan," Megan I'm on my way to the bridge and once I arrive you are free to come see your sister in sickbay. Once you have done that both of us will speak to the Romulan and we'll make sure he gets what he deserves."
(Megan)
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Deleted
Registered: Mar 28, 2024 14:33:48 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2009 20:47:33 GMT
=/\=I want the intruder identified as soon as possible,=/\= the Captain replied quickly, adding, =/\=Commander, you are authorized to proceed in anyway you see fit.=/\=
“Understood, Garrett out,” Megan responded, trying to remain as calm as possible. She may have been authorized to do whatever she wanted here, but Commander Garrett was well aware that if she did what she wanted, it would not be the right thing to do. Because, what she really wanted to do was go down to that brig, but there was nothing useful she could accomplish by doing so. No, what she needed to do was keep focused and remain in command of the bridge until Matt returned.
Ever since discovering there was an intruder on board, Megan had wanted to go down there and find him herself. True, that kind of one-on-one tracking hadn’t been her specialty, but she had received the training. A quick trip to her shuttle to grab some gear, and the agent was convinced she would have been more than capable of tracking down and taking out the Romulan without him even being aware of her presence. But that probably would have betrayed her additional skills too obviously, and so instead, she’d stayed on the bridge, doing her job, while people were killed.
Even if her sister hadn’t been involved and ended up hurt, Commander Garrett still would have been feeling guilty. Marina’s involvement just made it worse. If Megan was just an agent, there would have been no issue. Even if she were an Intelligence Officer assigned to the Jefferson there wouldn’t have been a problem. It was widely known that Intelligence Officers had special skills and privileges, so no one would have questioned her then. This was the first time a direct conflict had arisen from her duel assignment, and she didn’t like it one bit. Maybe she couldn’t do this...
=/\=Megan, I'm on my way to the bridge, and once I arrive, you are free to come see your sister in sickbay. Once you have done that, both of us will speak to the Romulan, and we'll make sure he gets what he deserves,=/\= Captain Reynold’s voice started her out of her thoughts, and immediately back to Marina’s condition.
“Understood, Sir, and…thank you,” Megan responded, suddenly very anxious to see her sister and how she was doing. So wrapped up with guilt and frustration at the situation, Commander Garrett hadn’t even though about how her sister was or even considered the possibility that maybe she…no…Marina would be just fine…
Dismissing those thoughts, Megan glanced at the sensors, briefly wondering about the S’Harien. Had Govan planned this intentionally? What if…what if he was the one in their brig? Suddenly nearly overcome with fury at the idea of him anywhere near her sister, the Commander took a few deep breaths trying to calm herself down. The chance of him being that stupid was slim. He’d never risk reversing their positions and becoming her prisoner. He knew very well that would not end well...
Still the idea tormented her, not enough for her to leave her post, but enough for her to hack into the brig surveillance and get a look at the prisoner. He was indeed Romulan, and even looked mean unconscious, but it wasn’t Govan, which was at least a small relief. His uniform indicated he was a Lieutenant, but not much else.
Angry just at the sight of him, Megan switched off the feed. She’d be speaking with him soon enough. And still, the S’Harien followed them, maintaining perfect speed and distance, continuing to transmit their position, which matched the sensors. If this was some kind of joke or prank, she wasn’t laughing. Whatever plan Echal had devised by sending one of his officers on this mission hadn’t worked, and soon he and his little crony would be paying for it, and for what they had done to her sister.
Matt arrived then, and Megan stood and headed for the turbolift. “Thank you,” she repeated, adding, “I shouldn’t be too long. I just want to see how she is before we go and...speak to the intruder.” Glancing at the viewscreen which showed only the stars drifting by, she continued. “I haven’t contacted the S’Harien, and they haven’t contacted us. I would recommend waiting for them to initiate, as they may betray something of their plan and foreknowledge of this if we leave the ball in their court.”
<Tag Matt>
Once the doors of the turbolift closed behind her, Megan’s thoughts continued right where they left off. She’d had plenty of crises involving her conscience as a result of her job, but this was the first one that involved the new duality of her career, not to mention her sister. Not since Jombis had she felt this conflicted, and she didn’t think it could get worse than that. Deep down, the Commander knew she would just deal with it and the conflict would eventually resolve itself in her mind, but that didn’t make her current feeling any less unpleasant. In fact, it was downright miserable.
Fortunately, her torment was currently as short-lived as the ride in the turbolift, and soon, Megan was walking through the doors to sickbay. The atmosphere was grim, and the medical staff looked pretty worn out and a little groggy. The First Officer in her made a note that the medical staff needed a break after all this was over. The Chief Nurse, Hannah, was bustling around keeping everyone going, but even she looked a little frazzled. From the doorway, the Commander could see four bio-beds occupied, Nathan, Valad, Marina, and what looked like another doctor. Though not within sight, she knew that in the morgue, there were two more bodies, lifeless ones...
The nurse saw her as she entered, and headed straight for her. Refusing to act as the concerned sister at first and instead falling into the more comfortable role of a concerned First Officer, Megan quickly spoke first. “Report, how are they all doing?”
<Tag Hannah>
Nodding once, Commander Garrett turned her attention first to Nathan. “I know he took quite a hit, but is it possible for me to speak with him? He was the first person to confront the intruder, and any information that he can give us would be helpful.”
<Tag Hannah>
Nodding in agreement to keep it brief, Megan stepped over to his biobed first, trying not to look too closely at the pale face of her sister nearby. A few moments later, the doctor’s eyes drifted open, and she gave him a few moments to get his bearings before speaking. “You’re in sickbay. You were stunned. I know you’re probably not feeling well, but if you could just tell me what you remember about what happened, it would help a great deal,” she started, careful not to push too hard or say too much.
<Tag Nathan>
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2009 23:19:04 GMT
After depositing the human doctor to the transporter room, Taev, who was referred to as a free thinking Romulan, made his way to the bridge. Upon his arrival, he was beckoned to the primary tactical station, where he was told to work by Dor'vel.
He took the station and began to monitor the Jefferson. He picked up emissions minute course corrections, and every other typical scan result that could be imagined. He did this for quite some time. It almost seemed as though he was here simply to do the work the chief did not want to do. He was a junior officer aboard this ship, but he planned on making that different. He planned on moving up in the ranks, even becoming a commander himself. Taev was young, but he had the knowledge and in several years he would have the experience. For now, I will focus on becoming the Commander of this section. Taev made sure he did exemplary work in whatever he did. He wasn't going to let another Romulan stop him from becoming in charge.
Several hours passed with nothing eventful occuring. As he scanned, Taev let his mind wander to some previous events of his life.
// Flashback//
"But I do not want to go to the school. It is for those who cannot learn by themselves," a young Romulan said.
A much older Romulan responded, greatly annoyed, "You will go and that is final."
"Will you not here me out, father? Why should I go to some academy where they teach you how to play with numbers and develop theorems. Why must I suffer this?"
"I have told you a thousand times child. You will go. Everyone in our clac has gone to the Academy and you must not fail them." His harsh tone was almost piercing to the boy. The young Romulan boy hated the fact that he had to go to the academy. Being in a military family, the boy often meddled in affairs that were deemed to old for him. He found himself in trouble quite frequently.
The annoyed father once again spoke harshly. "You will pack your belongings now. There will be no further discussion."
As the father left the room, the scene went gray as figures muddled around and finally took a new form. The young Romulan was in a gathering room, with many students near him. It was the graduation day. The Romulan, now fully grown, searched around the room for his family. No one was anywhere to be found. His brows furled. //End Flashback//
Taev was brought back into real time by a beeping sound at his station. It was of a certain value. "Commander, the federation ship has gone into complete lock down. They have raised shields and are at red alert status."
(tag Echal)
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Matthew Reynolds
Rear Admiral
"It's good to have an end to a journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end."
Registered: Apr 28, 2005 20:58:32 GMT
Posts: 2,759
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Post by Matthew Reynolds on Sept 29, 2009 17:13:19 GMT
Matthew Reynolds was not the type of person to idle about and wait for things to happen, but as he walked towards the bridge he knew that he needed to do this in regard to Govan Echal and their current predicament. Matt was pretty sure that he had nothing to do with the death of his two crewmen and his injured officers but he could not be sure. If Echal was involved, Matt would retaliate with all the resources at his disposal. It wasn't until Megan began speaking to him that Matt became aware of everything around him.
"Take your time, she is your sister and I know what must be going through your mind," Matt said pretty sure that he knew what Megan wanted to do to the Romulan in the brig," also if Nathan gains consciousness get him to tell you everything he knows. It would help us know why the Romulan seeked him out."
Matt did not wait for a response from Megan because he already knew that Megan was going to do this. Even though Megan was still a mystery to him, Matt could almost anticipate how she would react and what actions she would take to certain situations.
"Commander T'Ress, I know that you have been alerted to what is going on throughout the ship, but as of right now no one but you is allowed to leave engineering until we determine that there is no other intruder on the ship," Matt said as accessed the comm," also all information we have gathered on the S'Harien needs to be protected."
(T'Ress)
"Major Johnson, I want your marines to be prepared to infiltrate the S'Harien," Matt said vowing that he was not going to be unprepared again.
(Cyle)
Seeing that the operations console was currently empty, Matt took his old post and began to do what he did best. It was going to be a difficult task to scan every millimeter of the ship, but Matt was not going to let another of crewmen to be injured.
"Captain, the Romulan is regaining consciousness......"
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2009 19:53:39 GMT
Hannah had been darting about sickbay, being everywhere the EMH or Donovan couldn't be. Donovan was tending to the injured from the chase, while she kept her main focus on the chief medical officer. Still pale-faced from the stun-gas, the senior nurse had just checked on the still unconscious doctor. He was resting comfortably on a bed, though he was shirt-less and only covered with a blanket up to his waist. The burn was bad, but without the EMH's assistance, Hannah wasn't comfortable tending to it just yet. Burns this severity were beyond her comfort zone and experience. She turned as she heard footsteps approaching.
“Report, how are they all doing?”
"They're all out of danger commander and should regain consciousness soon," the nurse reported dutifully, "Nathan's badly injured, shot from close range. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I think he tried to reason with his attacker. He hasn't regained consciousness yet, and I don't think he will for a while yet. Aside from the burn, he took a bad fall, and really needs his rest. Ma'am."
“I know he took quite a hit, but is it possible for me to speak with him? He was the first person to confront the intruder, and any information that he can give us would be helpful.”
"It's possible, but I strongly recommend against it. He really should come out of it on his own, or he'll never get hist rest." Hannah looked from Nathan to Megan, and back to Nathan. "I'll allow it, if you keep it brief. He'll be in a lot of pain, and I'm not comfortable with giving him too much painkillers. He's already had so much recently, I fear he might become addicted to them."
The nurse pressed a hypospray against her patient's arm, then stepped back. "I'll go inform Jayden, while you talk to him," she stated flatly, clearly not happy with the situation.
As Hannah walked away, Nathan stirred and slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were dark with pain, his features bloodless, as he set confused eyes on Megan. He held her gaze, but said nothing, waiting fearfully. Had he done anything wrong? Had she come to arrest him now? The doctor searched his memory, but couldn't find anything that had broken his agreement with her.
“You’re in sickbay. You were stunned. I know you’re probably not feeling well, but if you could just tell me what you remember about what happened, it would help a great deal,”
Nathan nodded slowly, groaning under his breath, shivering slightly. "Pain," he whispered, closing his eyes briefly. "He cornered me in my office," he continued in a whisper, between gasps of pain as he breathed. "Claimed he had information. Told me my family had secrets, keeping things from me. Govan...knows my sister." He sighed. "Tevio was his name, he claimed my sister captured Govan, that Govan held my brother captive and my niece." He shook his head in disbelief, not wanting to believe it. "PADD in my office, holds the information." He gestured weakly. "I don't believe she would keep secrets, not like this. Neither would he..."
He closed his eyes again. "If this is true, I'm sure they had their reasons." Fevered eyes settled on the first officer again. "Has Jayden been told?" Pleading now. "Am I in more trouble? This wasn't my fault...I didn't do anything...please...I tried to stall him, as long as I could..."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2009 4:24:19 GMT
This situation with Raltorr was unnerving. He was giving orders, determining what would happen without regarding anything Govan said, and that made this situation even more unstable than it already was. He just tended to send messages to inform the S’Harien of what he was going to do next without leaving room for discussion, which only served to infuriate the Commander further. The only thing worse than not being in control was thinking you were in control without actually having any control at all. At least in this case, Echal knew he wasn’t in control, not like before with Garrett. No, then he thought he was entirely in control, when she was all along.
~
His questioning of Lieutenant Garrett had revealed quite a lot about her but nothing that he needed. She was highly intelligent, well-informed in a variety of subjects, a little over-emotional, naïve, but much stronger than one would expect. Clearly, she’d never been trained or tested before, but she wasn’t quite as fragile as he would have predicted. She held up better than anticipated and adapted quickly to her situation, growing less and less terrified by the minute initially but then of course deteriorating the longer it lasted. She was pleasant and friendly, never showing any sign of anger or frustration, even when pushed, instead showing fear, fatigue, and stress under pressure. She’d even surprised him in the middle phase by cracking a few jokes, trying to make him her friend without being manipulative, and just being overall nice.
She was annoyingly likable, and although he’d never admit it out loud, he actually found himself...not hating her, the surprising level of strength only increasing his favor. Unfortunately, he still had a job to do, and favor did not factor into that job. He had considered altering his plan of attack due to her additional fortitude but then decided against it. The plan was solid and was actually only stronger if she held up better. Even the easiest plan could have failed if she had been as weak as he’d initially predicted. Everything he had observed indicated this was the perfect arrangement.
Now the real interrogation would begin, but at a much lighter level than usual and with plenty of breaks to keep her from falling apart or dying. During them, he would be his usual self, though probably not quite as scary, but in between interrogations, he would actually try and play nice, earn her trust, make her realize he didn’t want to be doing this and was on her side, which sadly was growing true... He doubted she had anything secret to share, but she would tell him everything about everything during the course of this, and by the end, she would be so broken, she’d actually believe they were friends or more, not that he would take it that far, and would do anything he asked, say anything he wanted. Basically, he would own her in the end.
Once it reached this point, he could do anything he wanted. He could make her say she was someone she wasn’t, which would allow them to use her as a pawn against the Federation or justify doing whatever they wanted to her. Or he could program her as a double agent or some sort of tool to use for whatever purpose they saw fit. Either way, he ended up looking good, his superiors got what they wanted, and everyone won. Well…everyone except her of course, but that wasn’t really a goal. And yes, so what if he believed her and felt a little bad. So he wasn’t stone. It’s not like it was going to keep him from doing his job, and really, if she was stupid enough to break into this facility for a couple of rock samples, then it was her own fault…
~
"Commander, the Federation ship has gone into complete lock down. They have raised shields and are at red alert status,” Lieutenant…Lhoell at tactical reported.
Instantly pushing aside his memories, Govan frowned at the viewscreen, suddenly very interested. A lock-down of that magnitude and at red alert with the shields up... What could possibly have happened to require that kind of reaction? He knew they wouldn’t be able to detect much more than that, especially with the Jefferson on such high alert, but now, Commander Echal was curious. A discipline issue? That would actually be kind of funny come to think of it. Some rogue Starfleet officer just mouthing off, causing trouble, drunk perhaps? Such a thing would never occur on board a warbird of the Romulan Empire. How embarrassing that must be for them…
A smirk on his face and his mind made up, Govan ordered, “Open a channel. Let’s see what’s going on over there...” It was nice to have something amusing to distract himself from his current predicament, and he felt this would do nicely. It took a few moments before the face of Captain Reynolds appeared on the viewscreen. As much as he wanted to rub failure into Garrett’s face, at least he didn’t have to see her. “Captain, we have detected some unusual readings from your vessel. Is there a problem? If so, may we provide you with our assistance?” Echal offered smugly.
<Tag Matt>
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2009 5:25:38 GMT
"Pain…” Nathan murmured, his eyes drifting closed before opening again. Megan was beginning to regret requesting this... With some effort, the doctor began to try and answer. "He cornered me in my office, claimed he had information, told me my family had secrets, keeping things from me. Govan...knows my sister. Tevio was his name. He claimed my sister captured Govan, that Govan held my brother captive and my niece. PADD in my office holds the information. I don't believe she would keep secrets, not like this. Neither would he... If this is true, I'm sure they had their reasons,” he concluded, mostly coherent, even if his sentences were a bit choppy.
Megan had stayed silent up until now. Clearly, he wasn’t well enough to be doing this, but she would take any information he provided willingly and then leave him to rest. She certainly wouldn’t be pushing him or asking anything further of him in this condition. "Has Jayden been told? Am I in more trouble? This wasn't my fault...I didn't do anything... Please...I tried to stall him as long as I could..." Nathan pleaded.
Now Megan spoke, very much regretting having woken him up. “You did just fine. Stalling him and calling for security was the right thing to do. And you’re not in any more trouble. This wasn’t…entirely your fault,” she assured him gently, careful not to upset him further but also remaining truthful. As far as she was concerned, this was an extension of the consequences of his going to the S’Harien, but she wasn’t going to bring that up now. This wasn’t the time. “And Nurse Lowell just went to tell Jayden, so my guess is he’ll be here shortly. Just take it easy and try to get some rest until he gets here,” Commander Garrett suggested, offering a rare gesture of comfort in the form of a pat on the hand before quickly moving aside to let him rest.
Relief washed over the stricken doctor; he wasn't in any more trouble than he already was in. He longed for Jayden's comforting presence, but somehow knew he'd have to wait a while. Nathan nodded carefully, closing his eyes again. Strength fled from him and he lost consciousness again.
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable seeing Nathan in so much pain and taking on the unfamiliar role of comforter even if only for a moment, Megan wasn’t quite ready to see her sister yet and instead moved in the direction of Lieutenant Tavik. He was still unconscious as well, and although far from a doctor, she was informed enough to recognize that he was at least stable. All in all, Commander Garrett felt that he had done remarkably well in spite of how this ended, better than she would have predicted. He hadn’t been aboard long enough for her to get a real solid sense for him yet, but it would appear that she had initially underestimated him somewhat. It would seem that he had more potential or ability than his service record indicated.
Now she allowed herself to turn her attention to her sister. Marina was nearby and her condition appeared very similar to Valad’s. She never would have wanted her sister anywhere near a situation like this, but at least it seemed Marina had dealt with it and survived. She would have wait until a full report came out to know how well her sister had handled the situation, but at least she would be alright. Feeling torn between her role as a First Officer and as a sister, Megan hesitantly reached out to brush a strand of hair from her sister’s face. She was awfully pale, but even after a fight with a Romulan intruder, her hair and makeup still looked near perfect.
That was just like Marina...even caught in a rainstorm or after chasing a thief through a busy street, she still managed to come out looking great somehow, and Megan had never figured out how she pulled that off and probably never would. Smiling softly, the Commander took her sister’s hand. She looked so peaceful and innocent when she was asleep, though if she had to guess, she’d be anything but peaceful once she woke up. Marina was many things, but calm wasn’t generally one of them, and even if she managed to get through an actual situation without getting emotional, after it was all over and done with, Marina tended to more than make up for it then...
=/\=Commander Garrett, the Romulan is regaining consciousness,=/\= security in the brig informed her, before adding, =/\=We just informed Captain Reynolds.=/\=
“Acknowledged, I’m on my way,” Megan replied, giving her sister’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I won’t let him get away with this,” she promised softly before turning to go.
The whole way to the brig, Megan was reminding herself to remain calm and think before she acted. This was a textbook situation for overreacting, and Commander Garrett was determined not to let her emotions cloud her judgment or to get in the way of doing her job. The best defense was indeed and good offense, and being prepared for how she would be feeling and recognizing the potential for a mistake was the best way that she knew of to defend against compromising her objectivity. At least now, she was on the other side, and not in that cell behind the forcefield.
~
Footsteps leading away followed by the faint sizzle of the interrogator stepping back through the forcefield/holographic wall quickly gave way to absolute silence. She had been transported to this new cell over thirty-six hours before, and although the previous one had been far from pleasant, this one was worse. As the Lieutenant had expected, after being allowed a period to rest, she’d been moved to a higher level cell, one which was entirely dark, completely silent, and empty of any items or features. Then, the real interrogations had begun. He knew what he was doing, but she could already see straight through his plan. He was going extremely easy on her. Not that interrogation was ever an enjoyable experience, but once you’ve been through it before, you could tell when someone was holding something back.
He had started extremely light, though of course playing the part of someone who’d never experienced real pain before she’d had to let herself express exactly what she felt rather than holding it back. That was the hardest part actually, when you’d been trained to fight and resist pain to allow it’s affect on you to show. This is when she’d allowed her supposed weakness to come into play. She had direct access to her artificial autonomic nervous system, and used that to make her appear physical fragile in response to the pain. She’d used it sparingly at first, but as he increased his technique, so she increased her physical response. Although it was still getting worse each time, she was most likely making it a lot easier on herself by doing this.
Not only that, but he was trying to play her, even as she tried to play him. Luckily, her game meshed perfectly with his, making it appear that he was winning, when in reality he was the one getting played. When he wasn’t actually interrogating her, he was attempting to be sympathetic. It was a disgusting and almost laughable performance, but she knew exactly what he was trying to do. The funny thing was that as bad as his sympathy act was, underneath it, she believed he was really starting to feel bad. Ironic really, that at the same time he was trying to act sympathetic, he was also trying not to feel it. It’d almost be funny if he wasn’t so good with pain.
As she lay there, pretending to be overcome, Megan took careful inventory of her injuries. He was being very careful not to break anything, which surprised her, but it was amazing the pain you could cause without creating permanent damage. Of course she’d been implanted with one of their devices, but she doubted it’d even been turned up past 30 or 40%, and although her whole body felt like it was black and blue, she didn’t think he’d broken skin once. Of course, her fluctuating heart-rate and blood pressure probably had him concerned about giving her a stroke or a heart attack, which probably helped her case tremendously. Even so, in a way it was almost worse having the pain spread out like this, knowing that it would only get worse. It was only a matter of time before the pain really started getting to her.
There was a clock intentionally programmed into her ANS device, specifically so she could track the time to help her hold out longer. By her estimate, she probably had forty-eight to sixty hours or so before her mission would be complete and she would be getting out of here, and although knowing that did help, it was still a long time. If the level of interrogation continued to increase at the same pace, it would be pretty bad in twenty-four hours and really bad by thirty-six, and almost as bad as it could get at forty-eight. She would try to slow it up as much as she could with her reactions and drops in her vitals, but this was still going to be a close call. She just had to hope that somehow she was able to survive it and hold out long enough.
~
The turbolift doors opened, and she quickly refocused on the task at hand. She was the first to arrive at the brig, though she suspected the Captain wouldn’t be too far behind her. The Romulan was indeed awake and appeared to be carefully watching his surroundings, which at the moment now included her. She met his gaze firmly, perceiving that he looked even meaner when he was awake. She’d recognize his type anywhere, the smug, Romulan superiority, even though he was caught aboard a Federation starship and had just killed two Starfleet officers. Megan was terribly tempted to dismiss the guard, but having just received a stern lecture from herself about this, she resisted. No, she would wait, until either Matt arrived or he spoke.
<Tag Tevio/Matt>
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Matthew Reynolds
Rear Admiral
"It's good to have an end to a journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end."
Registered: Apr 28, 2005 20:58:32 GMT
Posts: 2,759
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Post by Matthew Reynolds on Oct 1, 2009 6:45:10 GMT
OOC: This Joint Post was written by myself and Commander Govan Echal. I would like to thank him for taking time from his busy schedule to do this with me.
Matt was almost inside the turbo lift when he heard the comm station signal that they were receiving a transmission which only meant that Govan Echal had finally had the audacity of contacting them. Matt had to remember that it was a long shot that he was involved but knowing that a Romulan was involved meant that all of them might have been responsible.
“What should we do, Captain?” Monica asked clearly nervous that this conversation could escalate into something much bigger.
“Put him on,” Matt said trying to put on a straight face.
“Captain, we have detected some unusual readings from your vessel. Is there a problem? If so, may we provide you with our assistance?”
“Commander, your crew wouldn’t know how,” Matt said wanting to punch the smirk off the Romulans face,” I will recommend that your engineers inspect your sensors because nothing is going on here.”
‘Ah, so that’s how it’s going to be…’ Govan thought to himself, raising his eyebrows and trying to look hurt. “I apologize if the offer came at an inopportune moment, but there is no need to insult my crew. I merely provided a genuine offer of assistance.”
Matt was not the most capable actor, but he couldn’t help but admire the ability of Govan to actually sit there and act like his words had hurt him. Matt was debating if he should inform the Romulan Commander that he would be interrogating one of his own, but as of this moment Matt was not sure if Govan had anything to do with the death of his two crewmen.
“I must apologize for my outburst Commander, your offer of help is most appreciated, but not needed,” Matt said,” we had a small security breach but that has been taken care of. Though I must inform you that in the process Doctor van Breughel was injured and his work is at a standstill.”
Now moving from feigning hurt to feigning sympathy, the Romulan Commander replied,“I am sorry to hear about your doctor’s injuries. I’m sure our doctor will be equally concerned. If I may ask, what is his condition? Will he be alright? I know Sural will want to know…” Echal added in explanation. In truth, he could care less about Nathan, and in fact had a hard time believing there weren’t multiple people who wanted him hurt, but alas, not caring would not provide him with information.
“Our medical staff has everything under control and the doctor will be just fine but what has me most concerned is the weapon that was used to cause his injuries. From our early readings it was caused by a Romulan weapon,” Matt said without hesitation and with total conviction. While no such scans existed, this would be the best way to gage how Govan would react. “Would you know anything about that, Commander?”
That had been the absolute last thing Govan had expected, and he actually froze for a moment before answering. “I...you mean to tell me that a member of your crew had possession of a Romulan weapon?” he questioned incredulously. “I find that most disturbing, Captain. Not to mention the fact that your doctor, the only person to have boarded my vessel, was the one harmed by this Romulan weapon. I don’t know how, but it would seem to me that somehow your doctor stole it. Perhaps that was his purpose for boarding the S’Harien all along. I assure you, Captain, we will check our armory and determine how this occurred, and there will be consequences.”
“The only reason my foolish doctor boarded your ship was to work with your doctor and find a vaccine. While he disobeyed a direct order given to him by myself and my first officer, Nathan van Breughel is a healer and the thought of hurting people sickens him. Also you should be aware that the Jefferson is home to a variety of Romulan weapons, I myself own some, but none of ours have gone missing,” Matt said genuinely surprised that Govan had been taken aback by his comment. His reaction had been completely truthful and his reaction had betrayed his normal Romulan demeanor. “Commander I will suggest that you do more than check your armory because it seems you are not the captain of your own ship. Though I do agree with you that whoever is responsible for this will pay for this.”
Drawn aback, Govan reacted the only way he knew how: rage. “I am the S’Harien’s Commander, Captain Reynolds. This is MY ship, and I suggest you remember that. How dare you question my authority or ability. Just because your crew is running around, doing what they please, harming your doctor, and creating “small security breaches” doesn’t mean you have the right to challenge me like that,” Echal threw back in disgust. Captain Reynolds had indeed struck a very sensitive nerve with him.
Matt had thrown the first punch and Govan had reacted like Matt knew he would. For the first time Matt was able to reply with all the smirk of a Romulan. Before Matt replied he made sure to think of every inflammatory and derogatory word he knew and somehow relate them to Govan Echal. “Even though I am much younger than your pompous Romulan [word deleted], I am your equal Commander Echal and as your equal I will speak to you as I would speak to one of my own!” Matt said not willing to back down from this, “I also know that the S’Harien is your ship and if I question your authority there must be a valid reason for me to do so. I disclosed to you some of the on goings that are happening on the Jefferson, but if you recall I never said that it was one of my crew that caused these problems.”
“How dare yo…” Govan began, before the last sentence fully sunk in. He was so enraged at the insult, that he hadn’t allowed everything to process before he began to retaliate, and now he stood frozen as the realization dawned that things were not as simple as he had believed. It was several moments before the Commander was finally able to speak again. “What exactly are you insinuating, Captain?” he asked carefully, although he knew perfectly well what…he just needed to know for sure.
“Commander, I am not insinuating anything,” Matt said slowly and deliberate, “as your sensors must have told you. I placed the ship on high alert after we discovered a Romulan had infiltrated my ship. After attacking my doctor and his staff, this Romulan ran like a dog and like a coward killed two of my officers and seriously injured Commander Garret’s sister and my Chief of Operations. If I discover that you were somehow involved in this, I will kill you but I honestly think that Megan Garrett would beat me to the punch!”
This could not be happening…that was the only coherent thought that entered the Romulan’s mind as he stared in shock at Captain Reynolds. There was no way he was making this up; Echal could see that clearly enough on the man’s face, and as insulting as his earlier comments regarding Govan’s command was, it had been remarkably and unfortunately accurate. It was easy enough to believe that one of his crew would go behind his back like this. They’d done it before. But this…this was clearly the work of the Tal Diann, and that could mean only one person: Tevio. “I’ll kill him myself,” Govan growled, all thought of diplomacy or saving face gone.
“You will do no such thing!” Matt said now visibly shaking from anger,” this man killed two of my officers and my first officer and I will question him until we satisfied. If you try and stop us from performing our interrogation or make an aggressive act towards this ship, I will respond accordingly!”
Trying and failing to reign in his fury, Govan snapped back, “In spite of his immense stupidity, he is still a citizen of the Romulan Empire and a member of my crew. If I may remind you, your doctor did something rather stupid recently, and in the spirit of diplomacy, I didn’t let my emotions or my pride get in the way of doing the right thing. I could have laid down the law, but I was lenient, allowing you to deal with him as you saw fit. Don’t do anything in your haste that you will regret, Captain.”
“DO NOT EQUATE MY DOCTORS ACTIONS TO THAT OF YOUR OFFICER!” Matt said forgetting everything he knew about tact and diplomacy,” my doctor risked his life to help Romulan citizens, your brothers and sisters Govan! Your officer came aboard my ship, hid like a rat and attacked like the jackal that he is. I unfortunately will respect my oath as a Federation citizen and Starfleet officer and not kill your officer for his actions.”
“Oh sure, your lauded Federation ethics…you pretend to be so superior, yet you are no different from us, Captain. Don’t pretend you are when your own First Officer has committed numerous crimes against the Empire, probably more than I’m even aware of...and I can’t imagine that she’s gotten to where she is without leaving her fair share of bodies behind. Why don’t you ask her what the count is, if she’s even bothered to keep track,” Govan hissed. “Or has she even told you who she really is...”
“Megan Rachel Garrett is my executive officer, friend, and I trust her with the life of my family and crew plus she has killed no more Romulans than I have,” Matt spat back remembering the secret mission file that he had received only hours ago about Govan and Megan’s past history,” I myself was responsible for the deaths of an entire Romulan fleet! Her crimes against the Empire do not even compare to my actions you obsessed fool. Just the sight of her makes you quiver in fear!”
“I no more fear Megan Garrett than an insect. If you had any idea what I’ve done to her, you’d realize it is she who fears me. I made her mine, and she’s still mine no matter what act she puts up. She is NOTHING, and never will be. And as for your actions, I’m sure my government will find that knowledge quite interesting, and you will one day be brought to account. You dare hold the deaths of your meaningless two crewmembers up when you claim have killed a fleet of my people? You are a pathetic hypocrite, Captain, and this conversation is over,” Govan snapped before signaling the channel to cut. “Cease transmission of our position but continue to follow them. Alter our following distance and continually rotate cloaking frequency,” he ordered, so furious he could barely see straight. So it was war between them…
“What a coward!” Matt said as turned to face his shocked crew. They had never seen him act this way and for the first time Matt acknowledged that he was enemy of Govan Echal and that he had won the first battle,” I want all contingencies to put in place for an attack by the S’Harien. We still have a mission to complete and I’ll be damned if that idiot will stop us from doing our job. Tell Commander Garrett that I will be meeting her shortly.” Matt knew that he was never going to like Govan Echal, but now it was war between them and he was perfectly fine with that.
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Deleted
Registered: Mar 28, 2024 14:33:49 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2009 16:00:13 GMT
Raltorr watched in concern as the sensor readings of the Jefferson changed from passive to active. Shields had gone and she looked as if she had been cleared for action. All of a sudden Raltorr felt very vulnerable in the small boxy shuttle. At least he hadnt taken the Work Bee, you only need to sneeze at that to be blown to smithereens. Seconds later the S'Harien cloaked and disappeared from view completely. Originally Raltorr had believed the Jefferson was preparing to apprehend him and that his ruse concerning Wintrow had failed, but now he began to wonder if the Jefferson was preparing herself against the S'Harien. This opened up a whole new range of options. If the Jefferson and S'Harien were about to head to head than instead of having two ships coming after him he was suddenly down to no ships. They would be too busy with each other to bother about him and besides he was in a Federation registered shuttle. His mind whirled. If he could manage to get to the edge of the system on impulse he might be able to make a short Warp hop and escape both his pursuers. He would be left free and with the toxin that he could then sell on at his leisure. If the Romulan ship tried to stop him then the Jefferson would intercede to protect a federation shuttle. A smile spread across his face. He loved it when a plan came together.
Quickly running some navigation checks he altered the course given him by the S'harien and head for deep space out of the system.
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Deleted
Registered: Mar 28, 2024 14:33:48 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2009 2:04:47 GMT
How dare he…how dare Captain Reynolds suggest that he wasn’t in command of his ship and that he, HE, was afraid of Megan Garrett. How ridiculously laughable that was. This collaboration with the Federation was a mistake, and he was the one paying for it. And Tevio…going behind his back yet again and doing something so stupid. If he survived his ‘visit’ to the Jefferson, Echal was going to kill him himself. Everything was falling apart around him, and the Commander had certainly had enough, enough of Megan Garrett, enough of not being respected, enough of all of it.
If Reynolds and Garrett were representing the Federation, they weren’t doing a very good job. The Romulan Ambassadors would have a field day with this…but that was beside the point right now. Now, they had to complete this mission, get their Chief Intelligence Officer back, and return to Romulan space with Raltorr, the virus, and the entire crew of the S’Harien intact, not to mention deal with the Jefferson.
What Govan really wanted to do was go to his ready room and destroy everything in sight, but there would be time for that later. “Dor’vel,” Echal called, as the officer moved to his side having stepped a short distance away during the ‘exchange.’ “I want you to gather a small group of some of your best officers and prepare them for a small team assault on the Jefferson. We may have no other choice to retrieve Ch’varak, and I want us to be ready,” he ordered, not wanting Intelligence involved.
Just as enraged with this turn of events, Dor’vel merely nodded, eyes hardened as he headed back off the bridge. He briefly considered retrieving Lhoell for part of the team but felt more comfortable with him handling tactical and the department while he focused on this new assignment. Taev was new and young, but so far the Chief had been impressed with his work and dedication. He would not worry about the department with Lhoell in charge and try not to worry about the ship or Echal.
Turning now to the Lieutenant at tactical, Govan continued. “Lhoell, I want this ship fully prepared for battle. Personnel drills, full tactical analysis, and coordinate with engineering to make the S’Harien ready. Leave nothing undone,” he ordered knowing that if Dor’vel had left him at tactical, the Centurion must have faith in him.
<Taev>
Now shifting his focus briefly to yet another issue, he opened a channel. “Echal to Intelligence, I want whoever’s now in charge to report to the bridge, immediately.” It was time to pull them back into line and ensure that Tevio’s little group realized who was really in command of the S’Harien, and now was the perfect time to do it.
<Tag Tevio>
Settling in his chair, growing angrier by the second, Echal knew he’d need to blow off some steam soon or risk completely losing control at a bad moment, but there was no time for it now. Now he needed to keep his focus as his ship prepared for the potential eventuality of a battle with the Jefferson, a battle they needed to win.
~
There was little point in denying it now: Govan Echal was going soft. No matter how hard he tried to fight it, every cry of pain, every time she looked at him with those big, sad eyes…it was getting to him. More and more he believed that she was telling the truth, and there was nothing more she could tell him, yet he had to keep going. His superiors had to be absolutely convinced that he’d done everything possible to make her talk. He was fighting hard to keep his sympathy from interfering with his job, but it was getting more difficult the longer it went and the harder he had to be. She was so physically fragile, yet she was fighting as hard as she could to keep from falling apart, and he admired her for that. He never would have imagined she would be able to last this long, and she was a stronger person than he’d realized.
The hardest part in all of this was putting on the act of sympathy, all while fighting his actual sympathy. Every time he had to feign concern or try and earn her trust, he felt guilty. Govan had never experienced anything like this before. Most of his targets were hardened and well-trained, not the type of people you felt sorry for. They knew what they were doing, had known what they were getting themselves into, and deserved the treatment they received. That wasn’t the case with Megan.
The worst moment came during the last session. As soon as she’d explained about her medical condition and the assistant device implanted in her brain-stem during their first conversation, Govan immediately recognized the potential and scheduled its deactivation into his interrogation routine. It had been a perfectly reasonable idea at the time, but he hadn’t fully understood the impact. Echal hadn’t factored in her physical weakness and his growing sympathy, and the look on her face when he’d turned it off had gotten to him. The sheer terror on her face had almost caused him actual pain, and as the session had proceeded, the physical affect on her had been detrimental. He had immediately wanted to turn it back on but knew he couldn’t do that. Solid rule of interrogation…once you took something away, you never gave it back without getting something in return, and sadly, she had nothing to give him.
This was quickly becoming the most difficult assignment he’d ever had, both from a technical and professional standpoint and personally. He had never really had a difficult job personally, but this was growing harder every session. And now, he’d just made her even more fragile, and yet he couldn’t exactly hold up the progression of the interrogation much either. At this point, backing off and going easier wasn’t an option, no matter how much he wanted it to be. There was no turning back now.
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Deleted
Registered: Mar 28, 2024 14:33:48 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2009 21:03:58 GMT
It was hot. There was an intense burning sensation all over the body of the victim. He was unconscious, but somehow, he felt everything. A pain jolted the Chief Operations Officer of the Jefferson up in the bed. He screamed out in pain, and rolled off the bio bed onto the floor. Valad Tavik, writhed in pain, rolling around on the ground.
Hannah and Donovan both raced forward, each abandoning the patient they were currently in charge of. Hannah had left Nathan in Megan's care, and had seen to it that he was comfortable after the commander had left. The poor doctor was in pain, but at least he was slipping in and out of consciousness, and would survive the injury he sustained. Valad, however, seemed not to be in the good condition in which she'd left him before. "Oh god," she breathed, as she knelt down beside him. The shot wound had started bleeding again, and the officer was turning blue in his face. "Prepare surgery," she ordered Donovan, while other nurses rushed over to get him onto a stretcher.
All Valad felt was increasing pain. It intensified as if a fire was consuming his entire body. To the outside, blood spurted out over the entire area he occupied in sickbay. The wound had become infected again after the nurses had already treated him properly. Had he have been conscious, he might have been able to tell them, but he was out. He was reacting only by instinct.
The officer was rushed to the OR, and Hannah was forced to tend to the surgery herself. With Nathan unconscious, and the EMH offline, she had no choice but to do it herself. "I can do this," she murmured, as she stepped inside the sterile field, "I'm almost a qualified doctor, I can do this." She worked as swiftly as she could, staunching and cauterizing the bleedings. She injected her patient with a wide-spectrum antibiotics concoction as well as anti-inflammatory agents. The respirator over his nose and mouth fogged over, indicated that he was breathing on his own. "but I'm leaving that where it is for now," she murmured to herself, as if needing reassurance. When Tavik was moved back to his bed, she gently squeezed his healthy shoulder. "Hang in there young man," she told him, as though he could hear her, "hang in there. Don't you dare die on me."
The pain decreased slightly and to a conscious person, the pain would be almost bearable. Valad, for the next little while, began to come to. His body still felt like it was on fire, but it was not what he thought the effects of disruptor blast would have felt like. He began to stir in the bed.
Donovan had stayed with the lieutenant commander, while Hannah had returned to Nathan's side, waiting for Jayden to show up. "Ahh, look who's back in the land of the living. You had a bit of a tight one there sir, you nearly bailed on us. How do you feel?"
Valad slowly brought his hand to his head and tried to sit up. "I feel like my body is on fire." He shook his head and looked down at his torso. There was evidence of surgery. "Looks like you guys had some work to do," he said, referring to the surgery. "How are Doctor van Breughel, Ensign Garrett, and Lieutenant Vera?"
Donovan looked down on his patient, a sadness crossing his features. 'I'm afraid Vera didn't make it sir," he replied, 'Ensign Garrett is recovering well, and the doctor should make a full recovery too. Though, he was injured badly, but knowing him he'll recover fully. For someone who gets injured a lot as he does, he's remarkably resilient. Plus, no doubt Jayden will be here to comfort him soon. That man really is a life-saver for the doctor." He patted Valad's shoulder. "Rest now..is there anyone I can call down for you?"
After hearing Vera died, Valad hit his fist down on the side of the bio bed. Add another to the list of those that had died under his command. "Well, Ensign Garrett did well, and the doctor is a strong individual." Valad looked around sickbay, seeing each of the bio beds that his colleagues lay upon. As Valad considered the question, he said, "I suppose you could call D'Etora Maron. And call the assistant ops chief down here. I need to brief him on the program I created to track the Romulan ship and how to alter it if needed." He waited for a moment and said, "Tell whoever fixed me up thanks for saving my skin."
“I'll call D'Etora for you,” Donovan promised, “but your assistant will have to wait while you recover. You will not attend to any duties, while confined to sickbay. That, I'm afraid, includes briefings to junior officers. And I will pass your thank you on to Nurse Lowell who performed the surgery. With the doctor injured and the EMH still offline, she had no choice but to do it herself.”
"She obviously did a great job." Valad smiled but then sighed, knowing full well he wasn't going to win this battle. "Not that I have any problems staying here with you guys, how long do I have till I recover and can get back to work?"
*"A few hours, most of which you'll probably sleep. You can use the monitor to read, but I will take the privilege from you if you use it to catch up on work. Get some rest commander, trust me...you'll benefit from it." He scowled. "If only I could get that message through to the doctor. Thank goodness he's unconscious now...if he was conscious while you were in surgery, no doubt he would've gotten up to assist. And then where'd we be? He'd collapse before he'd start. No I'm glad he's too sick right now."
"A few hours?" It was not a lot of time, but in these cases, every minute counts. "Is there anyway to speed up the recovery process? I know I'm not a doctor but I do know that every minute counts. I'd like to stay here only as long as I absolutely have to. And after this is over, I promise I'll come back in and you guys can make sure everything is alright." It was worth a try and he hoped it would work.
“Two hours,” Donovan compromised, “but not a miniute less. And you will rest, during that period.”
Valad smiled, weakly raised his arm, and saluted. "Yes sir."
Donovan smiled, patted his shoulder once more, then walked off to check on other patients. As he walked away, he tapped his combadge. “Petty Officer Maron, report to sickbay immediately. Medical Emergency.”
OFF: Lieutenant Commander Valad Tavik
Lieutenant Hannah Lowell Sergeant Donovan Jameson by Nathan van Breughel
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Valad Tavik
Lt. Commander
Registered: Sept 11, 2008 4:29:47 GMT
Posts: 180
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Post by Valad Tavik on Oct 6, 2009 0:26:40 GMT
The upper engineering section was quiet. At the time, there was a single individual manning the several stations that were located there. Petty Officer D’Etora Maron simultaneously monitored the plasma flow, power relays, engines, and overall status of weapons and shields. At any time, the bridge would need these systems in case the Romulan ship decided to attack. D’Etora was an excellent engineer. She was creative, intuitive, and quick to respond, but she lacked one thing: a commission. Both of her parents were Starfleet officers. Her father was a security officer for several years aboard the USS Magnolia. He attained the rank of Lieutenant and the position of Chief of Security. D’Etora’s mother was a science officer with the rank of Ensign aboard the same ship. The two were an interesting match: a Klingon male and a human female. Unfortunately, the Magnolia was destroyed in 2387 when the ship was caught in an ion storm, when D’Etora was twelve years old. Her parents were killed when the ship was destroyed. Now, almost seven years later, D’Etora found herself aboard a starship, a minor, non-commissioned engineer, with nothing to show for it. It was then that she remembered something that Valad had told her before.
D’Etora pulled up the requirements she would need to become a fully commissioned officer from the Starfleet database. As she perused the requirements, D’Etora found that she had already fulfilled many of them here aboard the Jefferson. What she would still need was to request an on site training program, which she would need Captain Reynolds’ approval for. She may also have to take a few courses, but that wouldn’t be too much of a problem. D’Etora planned to follow in her parents footsteps.
D’Etora was pulled out of her research and duties by the Red Alert siren, which had begun to blare. D’Etora immediately initiated the process of preparing upper engineering for full alert. At this point, anything could happen and engineering needed all systems ready. The process took only a few minutes and she reported to Commander T’Ress that all was ready. As she waited, she started to wonder what was going on. She hoped it wasn’t any too bad, contrary to her typical attitude. Now was not the time. The Klingon-Human engineer started to log into the scans to see what the fuss was all about. It appeared as though a lockdown was in effect. Must be an intruder. Shortly thereafter, D’Etora was informed that no one was allowed to leave engineering until the lockdown was called off. “That stinks,” she said to no one in particular. After a while, the lockdown was eventually called off and normal status returned. As usual, not much happened in upper engineering and D’Etora felt like she was just sitting around pressing buttons. There was no excitement here. This is why D’Etora wanted to become an officer.
- - Bridge: Ensign Angela Brooks, ops officer
Angela Brooks, a operations officer, sat at the console on the bridge. Being her first assignment, she was quite inexperienced. She was well trained, however, and at the time, she monitored the bandwidth the S’Harien was transmitting from. Everyting was fine now. She had experienced her first true red alert threat and she pulled through it. Her blood still pumped from the excitement.
A beep from the ops console grabbed Angela’s attention. It appeared as though the transmission from the Romulan ship had stopped. “Umm . . . Lieutenant? I think the S’Harien just stopped transmitting its coordinates.”
"Are we still able to locate the warbird using Lieutenant Tavik's program?" Monica asked not totally surprised that the Romulans had taken this step. The Romulan Commander had been so angry that Monica half expected for him to fire on the Jefferson.
"I don't know Lieutenant. I'm initiating the program now." Angela entered in the command quickly, hoping it would prove effective.
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Matthew Reynolds
Rear Admiral
"It's good to have an end to a journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end."
Registered: Apr 28, 2005 20:58:32 GMT
Posts: 2,759
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Post by Matthew Reynolds on Oct 6, 2009 6:05:21 GMT
"Monica as the most senior officer on the bridge, you will be in charge until a member of the senior staff arrives," Matt announced trying not let out his frustration on his bridge staff. Matt was very much aware that Megan was waiting for him to interrogate the Romulan that by now had regain complete consciousness," if anything happens, I want to be informed immediately."
After Kristin, Monica was his closest friend and she knew how to read the young captain. She was very well aware that Matt was very close to emotionally exploding and that she did not want to be there when it happened.
"Understood, Captain," Monica said," we'll hold down the fort until you return."
Knowing that everything would be fine, Matt felt comfortable to make his leave and join Megan in the brig. He didn't know if anything had been said between the two, but at he knew that it didn't really matter because he would be asking his questions regardless. The short time from bridge to brig was not enough time to sort his thoughts effectively, but there was no time like the present. At the very last moment, Matt knew that getting information from the Romulan was not going to be easy and that he would need to gather a few instruments to help him along the way.
"Has he said anything?" Matt asked already knowing that the answer was going to be a no. The tension in the room was almost visible and Matt knew that he was only going to intensify it," you are fortunate that I cannot kill you for what you have done to members of my crew."
His remark failed to garner any response from the Romulan and so Matt pressed on with his questions. The lack of any response was starting to drive Matt crazy and it was time for a bit more drastic measures.
"Commander, I understand if you have a problem with what I'm going to do, but I'll be damned if he gets away with this" Matt said as he opened the case that he had brought with him.
(Megan)
"I hope this hurts a lot," Matt said as prepared two of the devices that he had brought with him," just so that you are aware I will be using this device to engulf your mind in a neuro-synaptic field. I will then take the other device which acts like a Romulan torture chair."
(Tevio/Megan)
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Valad Tavik
Lt. Commander
Registered: Sept 11, 2008 4:29:47 GMT
Posts: 180
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Post by Valad Tavik on Oct 6, 2009 6:25:32 GMT
After another hour of watching upper engineering, D’Etora had spent much of the time looking at the officer requirements and duties. She had downloaded everyting to a data padd to Valad next chance she had.
Bringing her again back to reality, a call came for her over the comm. =/\= Petty Officer Maron. Report to sickbay immediatetly. Medical emergency.=/\=
Medical emergency? I’m an engineer, not a doctor. Maybe some thing was going on with some of the systems up there. But they would have called Commander T’Ress if that were the case. “On my way.” D’Etora left engineering and made her way to sickbay.
The road to sickbay was a quiet one. D’Etora found that as she got closer to sickbay, an annoying feeling in the pit of her stomach kept nudging at her. As she got off the turbolift and rounded the corner, the feeling had come back again. She approached sickbay and entered. She first saw Dr. van Breughel, who seemed as though he had been shot. She looked to her left and saw a woman whom she recognized as a security officer. As she looked yet again farther left, her heart skipped a beat. Valad! He also appeared to have been shot. D’Etora rushed over to his side and gently grabbed his hand. Valad, who had fallen asleep as Donovan predicted, awakened after feeling D’Etora’s warm hands cup his. The sight of D’Etora made Valad smile, though she did seem worried. “What happened?” she asked quickly. “What did you to yourself?”
Valad continued to smile. “Hey now, take it easy.” He gently squeezed D’Etora’s hand. “I’m going to be fine. I took a disruptor shot to the chest,” to which D’Etora gasped, “It almost got Ensign Garrett over there full on. Had I not have pushed her out of the way, she would have been Disruptor stew, but had she have gone down like I pushed her to, I would have been toast.” Valad then chuckled for a second. “We put a few stun rounds in him before we went down, though.”
D’Etora, who did not know what had gone on earlier, was confused. “Into who exactly?”
“A romulan,” Valad said.
She gasped again, and said, “How did he get onboard?” She stopped. “Never mind that. Since when did you think it was your job to be a security officer?” She was angry, but it was deep feeling of concern.
“I don’t know. It just kind of happened that way. Security came and I took command.”
D’Etora shook her head. “You shouldn’t have gone.” She turned her head away. “You could have been killed.”
Valad turned her back to him. “But I wasn’t. You have Nurse Lowell to thank for that.”
She looked up at Nurse Lowell, who was attending to her duties. D’Etora felt a tear leave her eye. Valad saw it and said, “Is that a tear I see?”
She punched him lightly in the shoulder. “Shut up.” She paused for a moment and looked up and down his torso. “Are you going to be ok?”
“I’ll be alright,” he replied,” but they had to take me into surgery since I apparently decided that it was fun to gush out blood. They hated the whole ordeal. I rather enjoyed flopping around in my own blood. They tell me I screamed in my own delight.” He was being quite sarcastic, but it made her laugh. Valad looked down at her other hand. “What’s the data padd for?”
“Oh yeah, I forgot.” D’Etora handed him the padd. “It’s something I did a little research on.”
Valad started looking through the information. He raised his eyebrows. “Looks like somebody has been doing her homework.” He smiled. “Have you done any of this already?”
D’Etora nodded. “I have many of the courses and some of the training. I think if I can get the Captain’s permission, I should be able to do everything to onboard.”
“Sounds easy enough. Though I would recommend you wait until after this mission is over to go talk to him about it. As you now know, it’s not the best time to go ask for a promotion.”
“I know.” She again looked around at everyone in sickbay and then asked Valad, “How much longer do you have to stay in here?”
“Oh, just another couple of hours. I had to compromise with Donovan.” He added in a hushed tone, “But as soon as I get out of here I need to get to the bridge. I feel like something is wrong.”
D’Etora shrugged.
After a short while, Valad ended up falling asleep again, but he woke up right on time at the end of the two hour time limit. He looked over to his side and D'Etora had stayed with him the entire time. He smiled at and stood up. He was still a little groggy, but that would go away in time. He looked for Donovan and waved at him. "I'm leaving. I stayed here long enough." He smiled at Donovan.
(tag Donovan)
Needless to say, Valad finally left with D'Etora. "So where you off to now?" he asked her?
"I'll probably head back to engineering. More than likely I'll be needed there."
Valad nodded. "I'm going to go put a new uniform on. I don't think the Captain would appreciate my old singed one." That made D'Etora laugh. Valad smiled and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. "Thanks for coming up."
D'Etora smiled at him and turned to walk off to Engineering.
Valad made the short stop by his quarters and made his way to the bridge. As he entered there was an odd silence among the bridge crew. He looked around, finding that Lieutenant Quindara was in command of the bridge. "Lieutenant, we don't see each other on the bridge any more. Good to see you."
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Matthew Reynolds
Rear Admiral
"It's good to have an end to a journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end."
Registered: Apr 28, 2005 20:58:32 GMT
Posts: 2,759
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Post by Matthew Reynolds on Oct 6, 2009 10:36:47 GMT
OOC: This joint post is between my NPC, Lt. Monica Quindara and Valad Tavik
IC:
Lieutenant Monica Quindara POV Operations Officer USS Jefferson
Being in charge of the bridge was nothing new to Monica Quindara, but it had never happen when so many things could go so terribly wrong. She knew that capable talented officers were seconds away, but it only took seconds for bad things to happen. The Romulans had finally reacted to the conversation between Captain Reynolds and Commander Echal and she was a bit uneasy.
"Lieutenant, we don't see each other on the bridge any more. Good to see you."
~Ain’t that the truth~ Monica said to herself trying to hide her girlish blush. She didn't know why, but she became weak at the knees whenever she was around the Ops chief. She had been able to hide it so far. "What are you doing here? You should be in sickbay not on the bridge," Monica said surprised and then worried by the appearance of her boss.
Valad chuckled. "Sickbay can't hold me for very long." He stretched his arms. "So what has happened in the last few hours? I've been out for a while you know."
“That doesn’t matter because you just had major surgery and you are in no position to do anything right now,” Monica said realizing that she was acting inappropriately. Valad Tavik was her superior and she was in no position to tell him what to do,” I’m sorry, sir. I spoke out of turn. As for your question, not much. Captain Reynolds and Commander Garrett have been speaking with the prisoner and the Romulans just ceased transmitting.”
“Tell him about the fighting match,” a junior officer from the tactical station piped in before Tavik was able to respond, which caused Monica to give a glare and a sneer which only caused a few of the other bridge officers to whisper that everyone loved gossip especially senior officers.
Valad waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. I can't stay inactive for long anyways." As he listened to everything that was said, he wondered if his program was working. Rather, he asked, "So did Captain Reynolds and Commander Garrett finally come to blows?" He heard a few snickers from the bridge crew.
“That is not funny Lieutenant,” Monica said as she rose from the center chair to allow Tavik to take the seat.
“Oh shut up Monica, you are just mad because you think the Commander might be able to beat the Captain!” another bridge officer said,” though I must say that the captain does have a mean right hook.”
“I don’t know how any of you are taking this easy, maybe its because ya’ll have never faced the Romulans before,” Monica said irritated,” most of you have only been on the Jefferson for a year or two, so compared to me ya’ll are all greenhorns.”
Valad rather liked Monica's little quip. "Now now, Lieutenant. You aren't trying to insult the fact that I have been on the Jefferson for only a short time are you?"
The bridge crew stopped talking and waited for her to answer.
“It is not an insult Lieutenant, it is just fact,” Monica said as she took her station,” your actions today prove how valuable you are to this crew. Captain Reynolds has taken a liking to the new batch of officers but he knows that when we face a crisis we are here to keep us safe. Most of you don’t even know who the transporter chief is or who is in charge during the night shift. I take it almost all of you asked to posted to the Jefferson because of her history, knack of getting into trouble and her ability to make command grade officers.”
"Lieutenant, I am no more important than any other crew member on this ship. I simply made a choice to protect my Commanding Officer." Valad then thought about something else she said. "It also seems to me as though you think these officers are here only to be promoted and then they get there command. Perhaps you feel you deserve a promotion over these officers?"
~If only you weren’t so damn attractive, I’ll punch you in the face~ Monica thought angrily before replying,” I have been a member of this crew for over five years. I have seen countless of officers come and go and I am a better person for just knowing them. Would I like a promotion? Of course I would, who wouldn’t, but I believe that my body of work should be evaluated not who my parents are or how well I did at the Academy. Experience breeds good officers, Lieutenant. At the moment, I have more than all of you combined.”
At this point, it now became a debate between Valad and Monica. "Now you are crossing the line between experience versus pure knowledge, to which I can personally attest that neither experience nor academic knowledge is better than the other." Valad did not want to let his history out in the open, but in this circumstance, a little allusion may prove useful.
"Lieutenant, in terms of Starfleet experience, you do have us all beat, but do not for a second think that you understand the levels of discipline and courage it takes to command a starship, to lead men into battle, to order men to certain death." He paused for a moment, but his blood was starting to boil a bit. "Have you ever had to order your best friend to go to his death? Have you ever watched your men die, while you stood by, not able to do anything even though it was you who led them there? Has any of that happened to you Miss Quindara?"
“I can give you there names if that is what you want,” Monica said fighting hard to keep the tears of angers from flowing,” I defended this ship from Romulans just like the one in the brig and yes I saw my friends die right next to me. I can still remember the smell of their burnt flesh and the horror in their eyes as they realized that they were dead. Who are you to tell me that I don’t know the horrors of command?”
Valad was getting a little annoyed. He wanted to tell her everything that had happened to him in his teenage years, but he had to stop himself. "Ok Lieutenant. Let me ask you a few questions, before I answer yours. Were you forced to enter Starfleet?"
“No I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to choose to enter Starfleet,” Monica said fully understanding that in some cases Starfleet was the only real opportunity to escape terrible circumstances.
"Good. Lucky you." Valad had a hint of sarcasm in his voice, and it wasn't the joking kind. "Were you forced to be an operations officer when you entered, Miss Quindara?"
“You already know the answer to that, what is your point?” Monica said,” I also expect to be addressed as Lieutenant Quindara. Miss denotes a submissive status and I do not submit to anyone.”
He could tell he was starting to get to her. He let the sarcasm go again. "Oh, then perhaps you would like to resume your post as acting Chief of Operations?" Valad started to wait for a response, but spoke again. "You know what? Don't answer that. The fact of the matter remains that I am in charge and you have a problem with that. I am just a . . greenhorn . . . as you call it, after all. Perhaps my decision to deal with the intruder myself was wrong. Perhaps the Captain should have been in my place and I stayed behind." He stopped for a moment. He was letting someone get to him, something he promised he would never allow to happen. He took a deep breath and stood up. "I say this to all of you. I made my decision because I believe that my life is no more valuable than any of yours.In my short time on board this ship, I have grown accustomed to the sense of honor that those that serve on this ship." He then focused back on Lieutenant Quindara. He walked over to her and spoke only loud enough so that she could hear.
"Lieutenant, I know you have reservations about some young kid coming and being placed above you. Before now you have given me no reason to doubt your abilities. But in this case, you have shown me a great weakness. The simple fact that you allowed a simple joke to turn into a debate about who is the better officer leads me to doubt your abilities to make decisions. I talk to you as one who has seen many of the same experiences as you have. I am in no way saying that I am a better officer than you; in fact, I know you are a better officer than I am. But to challenge a superior officer for a petty reason in front of the crew is unacceptable. Have you anything to say?"
Monica slowed everything down around her. All of her thoughts became nonexistent as she focused on the words that had just come out of Valad Tavik’s mouth. To her age did not matter because if it did she would have transferred off the Jefferson the moment that Lieutenant Matthew Reynolds was assigned to the Jefferson over her. She herself was only in her mid-late twenties and knew that young fresh minds had many things to offer. She herself was the valedictorian of her graduating class but she was not going to mention that fact.
“You are right Lieutenant, as my superior officer I should have stayed quiet but we all know that has led to deadly mistakes,” Monica said choosing her words carefully,” from what you have said today, I know that you have detailed experience in things that no teenager should have gone through. That being said, that gives you no right to judge me for the views I hold and call them a weakness. You are a Lieutenant in Starfleet which means you are not a kid, in fact you are a man who at this very moment is responsible for the lives of almost one thousand people. If that doesn’t terrify you then you will never be a capable officer. You may think that my rebuking your statements were for a petty reason and in the process disrespected you, but that was not the case at all!”
"You are absolutely correct Lieutenant. I am terrified to be in charge. But there is a difference between what a person thinks is right and what is right. You crossed that line." He sighed, and said something that even surprised him. "But to say that you were the only one who crossed the line would be foolish of me. Speaking of something I deemed as a weakness and call you out on it was not proper. Now is not the time and I am sorry I overstepped my authority." He sighed. "There needs to be a certain respect earned between two people. You have yet to truly earn my respect, but I personally feel that I have more work to do in earning your respect than you have in earning mine."
“If you truly mean what you have said Lieutenant you should worry no more because you have earned my respect but if you are saying this to patch things up between us know that it will not work,” Monica said mad that she was already starting to forgive him,” when you serve on a starship you become an extended family and as long as you wish to live on the Jefferson I will treat you as such.”
Before he responded, Valad thought about what he said and then what Monica said. "I was raised to never patch things up. Patches break. If you burn a bridge you must build a new one. I can't build a bridge with someone who I do not know. So perhaps we can get to know each other so we can build that bridge." Valad looked back up at the screen. "Now, however, is not the time. We have a job to do."Valad walked to the Captain's chair and sat down. "All stations, report."
~He's a charmer and is good with words as well~ Monica said to herself with smile. She knew that this conversation had come to a close. She didn't know when she would be able to speak to Valad Tavik again like this, but she knew that she had made a lasting impression on her boss.
"We are still able to track the warbird," Monica reported from her station.
"Well I suppose my little program worked. If there is any way that you can amplify or improve on that program, please do so." In an effort to make his words he had just spoken to Monica worthwhile and genuine, he added, "My program could use your experience. Tactical?"
“At the moment, we should refrain from anymore intrusive scans,” Monica said,” we do not want to press our luck and risk them finding out that we have an advantage.
"Sounds good to me. Keep at it" Valad sat down in the Captain's chair. He looked forward at the view screen. This was going to be one hell of a ride.
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Valad Tavik
Lt. Commander
Registered: Sept 11, 2008 4:29:47 GMT
Posts: 180
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Post by Valad Tavik on Oct 9, 2009 4:54:46 GMT
Sitting in the Captain's chair as a Starfleet Captain was one thing Valad hoped to accomplish one day. Sure, he had commanded many ships on smuggling runs, in battle, and even on simple patrol runs, but the idea of actually commanding a starship legitimately, without the help or influence of his father and uncle. Being apart of a family involved with so many illegal activities simply disgusted Valad. Times were different now. Eventually, he would earn his Captaincy, but for now, he would settle for acting Captain. The Jefferson was still en route to its destination, but with every passing second, they were nearing the end of their journey ever so quickly.
As he sat on the bridge, Valad's mind began to wander. He thought about a variety of topics, but one that came to the forefront was an overhaul of the ship. He moved the Captain's console to his right side so he could bring up the current status of the ship. Everything was functioning within normal parameters, but the efficiency tests passed only barely. The Jefferson was getting tired. She was a brilliant ship, but even She needed a break. He looked through the main power systems and it wouldn't be a bad idea it go through the ship and clean up the EPS conduits. It was definitely a tedious task, but Valad would be willing to help out with that, especially since he might suggest it. It also wouldn't be a bad idea to permanently re-calibrate the sensors to detect this version of the Romulan cloak. If the Captain did give permission for that, which Valad figured the Captain would, he might suggest a new system that he had been developing. It would take some time, but it would be well worth it in the long run. Valad smiled and made a note of what he had uncovered.
After a short time, the Vulcan helmsman spoke, "Lieutenant, we are now thirty minutes from our destination."
"Alright, go to Yellow alert." Valad tapped his commbadge. "Bridge to Captain Reynolds. We are approaching our destination, sir. Orders?"
(tag Matt)
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Deleted
Registered: Mar 28, 2024 14:33:48 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2009 21:48:40 GMT
OOC: Joint Post Between Myself (Marina Garrett) and Doctor Nathan van Breughel.
He was so hot…it was the fourth to last set leading up to the final three bands when she had spotted him. He was a few feet away with who knew how many people in between them, but the crowd was positioned just right so they had a direct line of sight. His eyes were fixed on the stage, but just from the look on his face and his posture, Marina could tell that she hadn’t noticed him first. He had spotted her and was playing it cool, but anyone with eyes could feel the spark between the two. It was standard procedure now: move either forward or back and allow him to follow so they would eventually meet up in the middle somewhere. She generally played it forward, giving the impression she was all about the music, which she was, mostly.
And so, she began pushing forward jostling among the crowd to get closer. In doing so, she lost sight of him, but she knew he was moving forward in as well, and they had a pretty good chance of meeting up eventually. This was her favorite part of the game...a chance encounter that wasn’t so chance in the middle of a huge, crowded space, everyone jumping, pushing, singing along, shouting...the electricity in the atmosphere and the impossibility of avoiding physical contact...it was perfect.
It was hard work, her foot must have been stepped on dozens of times, but that was just part of the concert experience. Marina was not a large person, so she ended up pushed around quite a bit, but she held her ground. You didn’t just get what you wanted without some effort. It took almost an entire song before she spotted him again. They were both heading in the same direction and another minute or so and they would finally meet up. They were both still playing it cool, pretending like they were still just moving forward to get closer to the band, both knowing exactly what they were really doing. Pretty soon, they’d ‘accidentally’ end up shoved together in the center of the crowd, no real way to hold a conversation, but that didn’t matter.
And then, the crowd parted just for a moment, just enough for them to both step into the same gap that wasn’t quite big enough for both of them. It was hard to look at him this way, but who needed to look when you could feel. “Hi!” Marina shouted over the music, glad that at least ‘hello’ didn’t really require hearing to understand. He repeated the greeting, and after several attempts, she was finally able to make out his request for her name, a great sign that he was willing to attempt to learn it when they could barely hear themselves think over the music. It took quite awhile and a lot of laughter before they could finally extract the names from the noise. His name was Brian...or Ryan, but she was pretty sure it was Brian. It was good enough.
Now there was no need for words as they shouted along to the music, dancing in rhythm with the song and with each other. Their eyes were saying everything that needed to be said. Before long, not really able to tell who made the first move, their lips met, almost like they were the only two people there, the music only for them as they were lost in a sea of people. Her hand curled up behind his neck, pulling him closer, completely caught up in him and the music…and him. It was just perfect...
Pulling back, Marina planned to give him a look that also didn’t require words only to discover to her horror that it wasn’t Brian anymore. It was a Romulan, grey skin, pointed ears, and eyes that were so cold that the temperature changed by looking at him. He had a disrupter pointed at her chest, lips curled up in a sardonic sneer.
In a panic, she fought to get away, but the crowds which before had felt insulating were now confining, pushing her in, forcing her closer to her enemy... She tried to scream, but no one could hear here over the music as he activated the weapon, a burning, acidic poison seeping across her skin, burning her. She screamed, but no one could hear her, and she slumped forward, unwittingly into her killer’s arms. She wanted to get away from him, but the crowd and his arms held her upright up against him. She couldn’t breathe…she was dying, and to her horror, she felt his lips brush her ear and his breath caress her skin. “You belong to me now, Marina...” he whispered possessively, and there was nothing she could do to get away from him.
~
“NO!” Marina screamed, jolting upright. Her breath was coming in short, desperate gasps, each one creating a surging pain that only made it harder to breathe. “He was here, he was here…” she repeated in a panic as several people in medical uniforms were suddenly at her side, helping her lie back. Someone administered some sort of hypospray, and the pain eased some even as her muscles began to relax. Her body may have calmed, but her mind continued to race. “Megan...where’s Megan? I want Megan…” Marina murmured, not really hearing what anyone said.
Nathan had woken slowly, smiling painfully as Jayden stared down on him. Both men turned their heads when they heard a cry of fear. Struggling, Nathan tried to sit up, groaning under his breath. Sensing what his mate had in mind, Jayden helped him sit up. "You're going to sit with her, aren't you?"
Nathan nodded slowly. "Just sit with her and talk to her. Megan is probably too busy right now. I'm not going anywhere, and I have no intention of exciting myself." He grimaced. "It hurts too much." He was helped to his feet and guided to Marina's bedside. Casting Jayden a grateful smile, Nathan took the young woman's hand. "Marina?" he called softly, "Marina, you're not alone."
Drifting in and out of consciousness, Marina was fighting to stay awake. The last thing she wanted to was to close her eyes and be back there... Finally, she heard a voice, and her eyes were able to focus in on a face, Nathan’s. “Where’s Megan?”
Nathan forced himself to smile, while he felt Jayden's hands on his shoulder, keeping him in his seat. "Probably on the bridge," he guessed, "working hard to find whoever shot the both of us." Of course, he knew who had done it, but it wouldn't do to tell the girl. "You should try to relax and let the upper echelons on this vessel do their jobs. Can you tell me what exactly happened?" Again, the painful smile. "We'll trade stories." He patted Jayden's hand. "I'll be fine Jayden, I promise I won't go anywhere, and I'll call if I want to go back to bed. You should return to your men." Jayden nodded, kissed his mate and walked off. "One can be hovered over slightly too much," Nathan mused softly.
“I wouldn’t mind someone hovering over me...” Marina complained, an irritated and familiar pout crossing her face. Of course she knew Megan was probably hard at work, but that didn’t matter to her right now. She wanted her sister here, the only person on this ship she really knew and one of the very few people she genuinely trusted. With a heavy sigh, the Ensign tried to cross her arms only to find that the movement hurt, but her eyes happened to fall on Nathan’s chest. In truth, she had forgotten he’d been shot too. Feeling a little bit guilty at behaving so selfishly, the girl glanced down at her hand in his. Here he was offering comfort when he’d been injured too. “He was really scary wasn’t he…the Romulan…” she questioned flatly.
"Not really...he had some cob story about my sister knowing a secret and not telling me about it. My sister has no secrets for me. He showed me details of an encounter, my brother being abducted, my niece threatened. I don't believe any of it. He tried to force me to believe him, and when I called security, he shot me." He paused, wincing as he shifted ever so slightly. "I admit I was scared, but I also remember being calm. That doesn’t happen often you see. One would think that, after the bad experience I've had with that one Romulan, I'd be terrified of them. He tried to get me to believe that Govan was bad, but of all the people on the S'harien, Govan was the only one who was civil to me."
Somewhat overwhelmed by that much information at once, Marina hesitated, trying to take it all in, before finally saying something. “I was calm too. I didn’t expect to be, but I was. I didn’t really have time to get scared. It all happened so fast…in a split second. But his eyes...I’ll never forget his eyes…” Shivering at the image she had just conjured up, Ensign Garrett tried to remember everything the doctor had said. “But why would he risk his life to sneak onboard the Jefferson just to tell you something like that? True or not, it doesn’t make much sense. And who is Govan?”
"Govan commands the Romulan ship that's flying off to our side," Nathan explained, briefly tightening his grip on her hand as a wave of nausea and pain washed over him. He closed his eyes for a moment, willing the moment to pass. "And I don't know why he did that. I know I was stupid beaming over there, but his act was just as dangerous. He drugged my staff and forced his way into my office. He seemed desperate to make me believe him, up to where he threatened me with his weapon. I called his bluff..." He shook his head, hissing between his teeth as he moved too much, what little color that had returned to his cheeks, disappearing altogether.
“You need to lie down,” Marina suggested, starting to get worried. “You shouldn’t be sitting up. And for him to risk that much just to tell you something, I would think it’s probably true. Why would he do something like that to convince you of a lie?”
"He's Romulan..." Nathan made it appear as though that ought to mean enough, even though part of his own family was Romulan. "Though not all Romulans are the same. My brother's wife is a lovely woman, and all Romulan." He tried to shrug, but thought better of it, leaning back in his seat. “I know I shouldn't be sitting up, Jayden knows too, but we agreed you shouldn't be alone right now. We both could use the company, and Jayden got his men to train. Misery loves company, right?"
“I guess... And he’s the only Romulan I’ve ever met, so my opinion isn’t too great right now. Megan doesn’t seem to like them much, though I’m not sure she’s ever really said it, and they did kill my grandparents, but in spite of all the horrible things I’ve heard, I do try to keep an open mind and not judge all based on some, but it’s certainly getting harder to do that now...” Glancing down at her chest, wondering just how close she’d come to dying, Marina looked back up at Nathan. “Does it get any easier? I mean, serving on a ship, being in danger… This is the first time I’ve ever been hurt this badly before. I’m starting to wonder if I can really handle this.”
There is no getting used to it," the injured doctor admitted. "I've been injured multiple times, even nearly died a few times." He winced visibly as memories flitted across his mind. "Tortured too," he added sadly, fear touching his eyes at the memory. "But you endure, because you must. For the people you love."
Falling silent as she considered this, Marina thought about Megan. She had often wondered just what her sister did, especially since she had been seriously injured several times to the point of being sent home for weeks at a time. She never gave it much thought until transferring to the Jefferson. Seeing her sister on the job and hearing other people talk about her had created questions. “Nathan, do you think my sister is good at her job? And I never really thought about it much before, but some people seem to think that she’s….oh I don’t…that there’s more to her job?”
Nathan fell silent, remembering seeing Megan out of uniform, when he'd suffered the Romulan's telepathic attacks. "I think she does well, all things considering. As first officer, she can't get too close to the crew, and can't show too much concern for the one sibling she has serving aboard. If she does, it makes her vulnerable and would endanger you further. I owe her my life, several times over, and I know we're not always on the same page, I know she cares. If she didn't, I wouldn't be in so much trouble." He shrugged again, before taking a deep breath. He expelled it, ending in a series of coughs, pressing a hand to his chest.
“Alright, that’s it. If you don’t go back to your bed right now, I’M getting up. You’re obviously not well enough to be up, so shoo!” Marina ordered. She’d let it go once, but not again. “Oh, and Nathan...thanks for coming over and talking to me. It really did help to have some company, and maybe now I’ll be able to get some rest too.”
"I'll just be a few beds away," Nathan promised, his fingers turning white as he gripped the edge of the bed hard to pull himself to his feet. "Can't have you get up," he told her, for once the tone of voice not making him cringe in submission. He was too concerned for the girl to even notice. He patted her uninjured shoulder, his fingers ice cold even through the fabric of her tunic.
“I won’t if you won’t,” she shot back teasingly, patting his hand once before turning her head and closing her eyes. Her body hurt too badly to flip to her side, so tilting her head was the closest she could get to her normal sleeping position. Now if only the nightmares would stay away... At least she knew that Nathan was nearby, and although he wasn’t Megan, he had been nice, and it helped knowing he was there.
As Marina closed her eyes, Nathan settled himself back in the seat, lacking the strength to walk back to his bed. And he didn't want to bother the nurses. Thus, sagging a little in the chair, he drifted off into a deep sleep.
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Deleted
Registered: Mar 28, 2024 14:33:48 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2009 18:31:27 GMT
The mental ball bounced back to him again. Off the psychic wall, back into the grasping hand that was the forefront of his consciousness. Feeling its weight, testing its consistency, the ease with which one could penetrate it, he threw it again, allowing for another impact on the mental wall and another plethora of thoughts and possibilities to erupt there-from. It wasn't always such a seemless process of mental visualisation, sometimes Tevio's intensive thoughts, a consequence of the psychic game, would break down, peeling off into more wandersome contemplation. In this case the ball would simply roll back, leaving the Romulan in the position of having to gather it on from the floor, collecting his thoughts.
This time the mental ball hit something odd. A presence, a person at last entering the room. Tevio gathered himself, adjusting his sitting posture to something more upright as the Starfleet commander entered his domain, facing him from the relative safety behind the forcefield. After surveying the room - a pointless task as he had taken stock of the room many times already - he brought his eyes' focus on to the Commander.
There was no dialogue; Tevio, himself calm and projecting as best he could an aura of dominance, attempted to analyse the demeanour and current emotional state of the subject. It was a difficult task; her expression and general body language betrayed little of the personality therewithin, making her mood annoyingly indecipherable. However, the rein on emotion and feeling was so tight, that within a short space of time Tevio became convinced that she was holding something back. Might that be rage?
Not very soon after came another individual, making for three humans in the room. The brig officer, the aforementioned Commander and this new arrival, clearly Captain Reynolds.
The two high-ranked Starfleet officers spoke to each other, Tevio heard each word that they said, but the tone therein was sometimes difficult to tell, his full concentration being focussed on trying to comprehend the speech. What was very obvious however, and it had a particular conjunction with what the male was saying, was the intent of the two 'tools' that he'd brought with him.
"I hope this hurts a lot," said Reynolds, turning to the Romulan, "Just so that you are aware I will be using this device to engulf your mind in a neuro-synaptic field. I will then take the other device which acts like a Romulan torture chair."
Tevio cocked his head; the physical response to the movement of the mental ball, that was just now stuck in a room corner, bouncing wildly off the three wall-corners in quick succession. Many thoughts came to him, things he could say and motions he could make, but of course, at the retaliatory forepoint of responses was the accusation of hypocrisy.
"Odd, for you to say that." Tevio said in the end, before falling utterly silent and not speaking again while the two command officers quickly and surreptitiously eyed each other.
<Tag Jefferson CO & XO>
"You, Commander Garrett," Tevio spoke to the female, "What do you think of this, somewhat of an overreaction from your superior?" He didn't wait for a response, not expecting one at this stage, in fact speaking again, "I have several requests, that you will doubtless see as demands that one in my position should not be able to make... I would tell you that I wish to return to my vessel. This was an unfortunate incident, admittedly. I had no choice but to attempt an escape from your ship once it was clear that I would find no cooperation."
<Tag Matt & Megan>
Tevio again fell silent, no matter what was said, he would not vocalise again, not until the forcefield was lowered and either the devices were brought forth, or he was released as he had reasonably requested.
******
Lieutenant Hhurvan, while not Tevio's direct underling (there were in fact none of those), was selected as the summonee to the bridge of the S'Harien. Whatever Govan Echal wanted, Hhurvan had as little patience for it as Tevio, or any - at least most - of the intelligence departed.
He traversed the distance and made the crossing of the threshold, now finding himself face to face with the master, and the dark glare that he was casting upon Hhurvan's face. Hhurvan adjusted his stoic expression and faced the CO properly. "Commander, you called."
<Tag Echal>
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Deleted
Registered: Mar 28, 2024 14:33:48 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2009 3:27:48 GMT
It was all Megan could do to keep her expression fixed. Half of the battle to keep emotions in check was to keep them from showing, and she was at least winning that way, but inside was a whole different story. She knew all too well that in spite of an outward appearance of composure, underneath could be entirely reversed.
~
Panic...it was a very uncomfortable and unfamiliar feeling. Megan Garrett wasn’t the type to lose control, never had been, but now it would be so easy to let go. Things had been difficult before, but they were well beyond that now. It had all been going according to plan and she’d been hanging on and sticking to the plan, but that had changed the moment he’d thrown the switch. Without her artificial ANS, her body had become the enemy, and she couldn’t fight the interrogation and herself at the same time. Not only that, but without the device, she no longer had her emotional and mental defense, the clock and mission timeline, the ropes she’d been clinging onto for dear life had snapped and been torn out of her hands. She was no longer winning this war, and now, as it continued to get worse, she would eventually lose.
No longer able to control her adrenaline levels, the pain was so much worse, and her already battered body had become hyper-sensitive. Unable to regulate her body’s temperature, one minute she was burning up and the next shivering uncontrollably. With her heart-rate and blood pressure entirely uncontrolled, they would go from skyrocketing to suddenly plunging, leaving her spinning towards unconsciousness only to be jolted back when they surged once more. Megan had no control over her own body anymore and as a result was left entirely defenseless to the torture.
Without the additional programming, Megan was no longer able to watch the time pass, receive progress updates, or see the moment when her suffering would be at an end move closer. That had been the only thing she’d had to hold onto to keep going, and now it was gone. For all she knew, it’d been only a few hours or a day since she lost contact, but there was no way to know for sure, and that was driving her mad. A single hour could mean the difference between life and death, and she had no way of knowing one way or the other. Every defense she’d had was gone.
Megan had managed to endure rest of the session following the deactivation, and had even somehow survived the session following, but there was no victory in that. At the end of both sessions, she had come so close to breaking, too close, begging for him to stop, pleading...something she hadn’t allowed herself to do for the sake of her pride and dignity, but now she had none left. Miraculously, her tormentor had actually stopped at her plea, something which she knew was a good sign for how well she’d played her part, but somehow that victory was hollow. She was losing the war, and that’s what mattered in the end, no matter how many battles she won.
Desperation was all the remained. It was beyond determination now and down to survival. And in the dark, empty cell, curled up in the corner, clinging to her knees as if they would somehow protect her, a distant and beyond desperate plan began to reemerge from the recesses of her mind, a plan she never had any intention of using. Now, there was no other choice, and even with it, survival seemed fleeting.
~
The sound of the door to the brig opening jarred her back into the present, though her expression hadn’t wavered. Then again, neither had the Romulan’s... "Has he said anything?" the Captain asked, and Megan merely shook her head in response.
“You are fortunate that I cannot kill you for what you have done to members of my crew,” Matt shot in the direction of the Romulan, who barely even acknowledged it. Captain Reynolds was clearly growing frustrated, and began opening the case he had brought with him. Megan had a fairly good idea of just what might be inside... "Commander, I understand if you have a problem with what I'm going to do, but I'll be damned if he gets away with this," he stated coldly as he removed the devices.
Again, Megan said nothing. There really wasn’t any need. Honestly, she didn’t know whether she had a problem with it or not. She could barely wrap her head around the blinding fury she felt at what had happened to her sister, let alone attempt to extract her objective opinion from it. The Commander would attempt to step in when it was needed, but deep down she knew the intruder would be in more danger if it was she conducting this interrogation. "I hope this hurts a lot. Just so that you are aware I will be using this device to engulf your mind in a neuro-synaptic field. I will then take the other device which acts like a Romulan torture chair,” Matt informed him, finally seeming to illicit some response from the prisoner as he tilted his head.
"Odd for you to say that," he finally spoke. His voice sounded…detached, almost like he was observing from a distance. That Megan understood all too well. He was pulling away, directing most of his focus elsewhere in an effort to distance himself from the eventual pain and therefore hold out longer. She saw straight through him.
"You, Commander Garrett, what do you think of this somewhat of an overreaction from your superior? I have several requests that you will doubtless see as demands that one in my position should not be able to make... I would tell you that I wish to return to my vessel. This was an unfortunate incident, admittedly. I had no choice but to attempt an escape from your ship once it was clear that I would find no cooperation."
This information, the first he had provided, brought up a whole series of questions. Why had he come here in the first place? What had he hoped to accomplish? How or was Govan even involved? What had been so important to necessitate his use of subterfuge and force? From his posture and behavior, he was clearly well trained but this mission appeared so…sloppy by comparison. Nothing really made sense...
=/\=Bridge to Captain Reynolds. We are approaching our destination, Sir. Orders?=/\=
Glancing at her Captain, Megan waited. Clearly one of them needed to be on the bridge, and only one of them needed to be here. Honestly, she didn’t know which she would prefer. Fortunately, the decision wasn’t up to her, and she would simply wait until she was assigned to either the interrogation or command of the bridge and then deal with whichever she was required to handle...and just hope she did.
<Tag Matt>
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Matthew Reynolds
Rear Admiral
"It's good to have an end to a journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end."
Registered: Apr 28, 2005 20:58:32 GMT
Posts: 2,759
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Post by Matthew Reynolds on Oct 15, 2009 6:15:44 GMT
OOC: This joint post was written by myself and Lieutenant Tavik. Also I meaning just me, wrote a few lines for Major Johnson. While I highly discourage any of us from doing this, I felt it was necessary because of Cyle's current real life situation. Please remember that the best policy is to tag someone and await their response.
IC:
The request made by the Romulan sounded so ludicrous that it actually surprised the advancing captain. That surprise made Matt realize what he was about to do and it shamed him immensely. Yes two of his crewmen had died and many more were injured, but would his actions honor their memory. The answer was a deafening no.
"I'm afraid that you are right. You will be transferred back to the S'Harien but you should know that as of today you are a wanted murderer," Matt said making sure that the Romulan understood that his release was not because of any weakness but of respect for what the men and women of the Jefferson stood for," but you are mistaken to think that you will be released immediately. We have many questions to ask you and if you are sincere in your claim that this was all a misunderstanding, you will answer our questions truthfully to the best of your ability."
(Tevio)
This conversation went on for what seemed days, but Matt was not going to be deterred. They had not been able to discover the Romulan's name yet. Matt knew that it would be difficult and he was determined to see the Romulan break his barrier.
=/\=Bridge to Captain Reynolds. We are approaching our destination, Sir. Orders?=/\=
At first Matt thought that he was hearing things, but it was obvious that everyone had heard Valad's voice over the comm. This was the second surprise in a matter of minutes and Matt was starting to hate being surprised.
=^=Lieutenant Tavik what the hell are you doing on the bridge a day after you were shot? I highly doubt that you were discharged so quickly from sickbay and told to return to duty=^=
=^=I have a knack for getting out of prison, Captain. Plus, I didn't want to let you have all the fun.=^= Valad chuckled a little and looked around the bridge again. He saw a couple smiles appear on faces. =^=Is our little ambassador awake yet? Ensign Garrett and I shot him a few times.=^=
=^=Yes, both of you did an excellent job, but you better believe that is the last time I allow any of you to do something so stupid again. I'll be joining you on the bridge shortly, don't do anything until I arrive=^=
=^= Aye sir.=^= Valad stood up and said sarcastically, "Now he's calling me stupid. I think I might cry." A grin once again appeared on his face. "All stations report. Let's be ready when the Captain arrives."
"Don't worry about it, the captain did many more stupid things when he was where you are now," Monica said glad that they had finally reached their destination," the fact that he let you go after the Romulan surprised me. You must have had help convincing him to stay put. All systems green and ready to go"
"No worries, Lieutenant. I was just being a little sarcastic." He walked around the bridge looking at each station. "Good to go. I like you guys. When this mission is over, a round of drinks for everyone here. On me." He got a few cheers from the other bridge crew.
Matt turned to face his first officer and at that very moment his most trusted confidant. They both knew that he was very close to crossing a line that could never be undone. The last time they were in this position, Matt ordered Megan to extract information at any cost and it hurt him to know that because of him she had committed a terrible mistake.
"Commander, I will not give you the orders I did last time, but if you can uncover any new information from our guest please do so," Matt said confident that Megan knew what she would have to do," also make sure to take a break. He is not going anywhere anytime soon."
(Megan)
Knowing that everything was going to be alright with Megan, Matt was confident that this mission would be coming to an end soon. He didn't know if the disgraced Commander was being forced to comply with the Romulans, but they would soon find out.
"Alright, Lieutenant report," Matt said he entered the bridge," what do we have?"
"We have entered the system that was designated by the coordinates. We have narrowed it down to the second planet. It has an M Class moon on the far side of it. That is where we are heading."
"It better be the right place, we have been in route to this location for days now," Matt said as he took his seat," are there any Romulan ships other than the S'Harien in the vicinity?"
"Scanning now," Valad said as he took his seat at ops. "Nothing yet," he replied to the Captain. He looked over to Monica, who had taken the secondary ops console, and said, "take my program and start altering it to include all frequencies. If you can get it to scan faster, please do so."
"Yes sir," Monica said hoping that luck had finally befallen them. She was not looking forward to a confrontation with anymore Romulans. As she expanded the program, she was relieved to discover that there weren't anymore Romulan vessels in the area, but she was certain that there had been," no other vessels, but I'm pretty sure there was one about two days ago."
"Alright, I want the entire moon scanned, I don't want to be surprised," Matt said hoping that they would be able to scan for the Commander and extract him without much effort.
"Aye sir," Valad said as he initiated the scan. As he read over the first results came in, he looked over them and said, "The weather today is sunny, with a chance of ice everywhere," he emphasized the last bit. "I'm reading four major continents, none of which are connected. There appears to be a pre warp civilization on the northernmost continent. The commander is located near the other pole." He read on finding nothing else in particular. "Captain, the site looks clean. A little too clean. I'm not picking anything else up on sensors, but something just doesn't feel right."
"Nothing about this mission has felt right, but I'm not going to complain," Matt said," inform the S'Harien that we are going to recover the Commander. If he tries to protest kindly remind him that Paragon is still a Federation citizen and under our protection."
Matt was well aware that this would rile the Commander, but he could only see this as a good thing.
"Major Johnson we are moving into place, your team should be able to extract the Commander without any problems, but I must caution you to be careful," Matt said glad that the marines on the Jefferson were the best in the entire fleet.
"Will do sir," Johnson replied.
"I want constant transporter lock on them, at the first sign of trouble we are getting them out of their," Matt said.
"Aye aye, sir." Valad relayed the message to the S'Harien. He also watched as the unit transported down to the moon. ~So far so good.~ "Anything on the scopes yet, Lieutenant Quindara?"
Monica replied with a quiet no. Everyone on the bridge was anxiously waiting for any signal from the away team. She knew it was part of the job, but that didn't stop it from being a terrifying experience.
"They will be fine, Major Johnson is the best damn marine I know, plus he's to stubborn to let anything bad happen," Matt said aware that his crew needed reassurance.
The Captain's words helped a little bit, but Valad also felt the uneasiness that enveloped the bridge crew. "Captain," he motioned for Captain Reynolds to come to his station. "If you don't mind me asking, have you been able to find anything out from our Romulan . . . ambassador?" he asked quietly.
"No, we have been interrogating him for almost thirteen hours and we have not been able to gather any new information from him," Matt replied in an equally quiet tone," you must also be aware that I have no choice but to release him to Commander Govan. He will be a wanted man, but his status as a Romulan citizen compels me to hand him over. Its sad because he may well be an Ambassador for all we can do to him."
"I suppose so. Its too bad really. I'd like to cause a little bodily harm to him for what he did to Nathan, Ensign Garrett, and Lieutenant Vera. I hope something will be done about this . . ." he trailed off after hearing a beep from the console. "Incoming transmission from the planet. Its Major Johnson."
"He's badly injured but we have him," Johnson reported," we also took everything that was left behind with him."
"Transport them directly to sickbay, Lieutenant," Matt said," please accompany to sickbay. I want to see what they brought back."
"Aye sir." He transported the team to sickbay. "Transport complete." He got up to follow the Captain out.
"I'm truly sorry that we will not be able to punish him for what he has done to you and the others, but life is not always fair as you must know," Matt said once again trying to get to know his operations chief better. Even though both of them came from very different backgrounds, Matt could see a lot of himself in him," you must also be aware that you will speak to a Counselor once we reach Assailant. I know that you feel fine, but being injured like you affects you. Trust me I know."
That earned a tiny scowl from Valad. "Is that really necessary, Captain? I just got shot in the chest. He didn't hurt my feelings any, other than wanting to put a phaser to his head and see what happens. I hope I'm not being too bold to say that you feel much the same?"
"Five years ago I would have agreed with you, but I have been shot, stabbed, almost blown up and torturted during my career to know that while our wounds may heal, the emotional damage is always there," Matt said surprised that he had shared such personal information. He could remember Arya warning him that he was close to loosing command if he didn't take care of himself. The moment that she had threatened to take Caleb away from him, Matt realized that he was in serious trouble," I understand if you only see the counselor once but you will speak to one."
"You have to figure out that you guys aren't going to win all the time. I lost this same kind of battle to Donovan just a little bit ago. So far I'm oh for two in the same day . . ." As they rode the turbolift down, Valad asked, "Are we looking for anything in particular when we get down there?"
"Anything that may help us explain what happened," Matt replied," Nathan's antidote is ready but I want to know who did this."
Both men quietly walked out of the turbolift and saw that Major Johnson was waiting for them.
"Lieutenant, take everything the marines gathered to Science Lab 2, I will join you shortly," Matt said wanting to speak to the Major first.
Valad begin to pick up some of the stuff and had the computer transport the rest to the Science lab. "I'll see what I can come up with." He walked off towards the science lab, not sure what he would find.
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Deleted
Registered: Mar 28, 2024 14:33:48 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2009 20:45:15 GMT
The surge of different thoughts could mainly be split into quite separate lines, both were rushing to the surface fast. On the one hand there was the egotistic response, the one of triumph, as if there could have been no other result except for Reynolds to acquiesce to Tevio's 'demands'. However the one that came out first was unfortunately, from one perspective, immense surprise.
Tevio actually blinked. In the world of intelligence/psychology analysts that was as good as waving your arms around and actually making a full confession. Such a betrayal of thoughts was inexcusable, he knew.
"... and if you are sincere in your claim that this was all a misunderstanding, you will answer our questions truthfully to the best of your ability." Reynolds was finishing.
Quickly making his recovery, given to him in the form of a forewarning by Reynolds, Tevio locked up his suggestable body language again. Perhaps he was not out of the worst of it yet. But he did know one thing for absolute sure: the Jefferson's Captain - along with the attendant first officer with all her secrets - would not harm him like they'd threatened to. After that it was incidentally easy to look on these humans with scorn. That however was an elementary mistake; Tevio had learnt that well over the years. One disgraced career was enough to tell him that.
The simple knowledge that he was eventually heading back to the S'Harien was not really something to ease his tension either.. When back there he would be facing the Tal Shiar scum that was Govan Echal. The Commander would be ready with his tirade, prepared to spit his full fury at the Intel Chief, and despite what he told himself about Echal, Tevio knew that he could never prepare himself fully for what was to come, back there on the S'Harien. So to the interrogation...
"Shall we begin?" He grinned sickeningly at Reynolds, "Where would you like start?"
The questions came, most if not all rebounding back harmlessly. Tevio had only to avoid the main thrust of the queries; where he was forced into an answer, he would more often than not simply lie. All during this he would keep his eyes on Reynolds, just him alone; for something had been striking him odd about Commander Garrett, and he believed himself to have just figured it out. She had some role in intelligence. That was very clear to him now. To look on her would betray signs of his weakness; looking for assurance in the eyes of another while under intensive questioning, no matter his allegiance to that person, was a fundamental error that suggested dishonesty. If his instinct was correct then perhaps she could see the lies anyway, but to be on the safe side... There was also the question - if Garrett was aware of his occasional lies - of whether she would tell Captain Reynolds or not. He had to think she would but then it was harmless anyway, this false information would not affect things either way.
That was when Reynolds was called away, and ironically he left Garrett in charge of the questioning. The Legate's muscles tensened slightly as Reynolds left the side of his first officer, but fortunately she did not even look upon her Captain again. Either she did not see the need to tell him of the lies, or perhaps she did not know? Perhaps she was not in intelligence.... it dawned on Tevio. Instantly, doubt struck him. And as the Jefferson's executive turned to him, face more neutral than a middle-shade of grey, Tevio's mind was momentarily floating on a tenuous bubble of uncertainty.
<Tag Garrett>
* * * * *
Lieutenant Hhurvan and Uhlan Mavak on the S'Harien's bridge...
The new discourse between Hhurvan and Govan was broken up by the inconspicuous Uhlan at the oft-unused intelligence console. "Pardon, Commander," Mavak addressed Govan directly, bracing himself for the response despite his general disposition towards the Commander.
"The research you asked to be conducted on Raltorr," he continued, holding Echal's hard look, "We... I, have results. It is as Doctor Sural suspected, a citizen named Raltorr was involved in research at Galorndon Core. He was responsible for assisting in the development and stealing the plans of, specifications for a synaptic weapon, based on the electromagnetic storms of the Galordon Core's atmosphere." Mavak stopped reading off the datafile that he'd managed to locate, and looked back at Govan again.
They all knew what this meant. Raltorr did not mind who he stole chemical warfare technology from, that they already knew, but the fact that he had done it before suggested that he would do it again... And his current proximity to the S'Harien was reason enough for him not to be trusted. Mavak steeled his gaze, directing it towards the forward screen. Raltorr could not be allowed to escape.
<Tag Echal & Raltorr>
<Tag All>
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