Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 246
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Jun 5, 2016 22:12:28 GMT
OOC: Sorry
The El Alamein had started making its way back to the research station - at first at half impulse and then full, with warp power still twenty minutes away according to the chief engineer (despite his best efforts) - after they'd finally worked the viruses out of the guidance and helm control systems so they could orientate the craft properly.
Broski had been scuppered not only in the viruses but also in the ship's destruction - his unlikely rescue would've come courtesy of a Section 99 vessel lying just beyond the edge of extreme sensor range, transporting him off at the last instant before the torpedoes reached - though he had managed to program in a slew of new code that disabled the vessel's primary systems periodically and would do so for the next eleven hours or until someone managed to discover the handiwork... In all, Starfleet Intel had proven more resourceful than he'd accounted for.
"Say, how about running anti-tritium into the magnetic constrictors from a separate source, not from the antimatter injector?"
The chief engineer, also a Section 99 operative, regarded him carefully, "Anti-tritium? That wouldn't be hard to synthesise, but how long would our ship have to rescue us before the core overloaded? My repair delays have worked as intended, I'm not risking throwing away my life by blowing up my own engine."
"Their, Starfleet's own engine," Broski reminded him, sipping from his coffee, "Well, if you won't do it I'm going to have to call the CO. No, not Komin, you fool. Actually, not only might he be able to get us out of this before we're discovered, he might also take it on himself to destroy the torpedoes and allow the remaining inducers to get back."
"Has it occurred to you that allowing the inducers back is only going to help the Alicorans? You've heard the reports; the pieces just float back into the assembling ship's structure, no instant death for the facility or the ship for that matter." He mused, "Well, the facility might suffer some..."
The plan then had been settled; they'd allow the El Alamein to get back as quickly as possible to discover the fate of the Alicoran ship, whether it'd been destroyed by its high speed returning inducers which had just been bound up with fluctuating stellar matter, or if the vessel remained intact - afterwhich they would go after Kree.
On the Alicor vessel
Iorte struggled with his limbs furiously, trying to turn himself over at least, anything in this blasted room with its silent occupants that he knew were there but for some reason maintained their invisibility; he flipped in the mock zero-gravity - at last! - suspended in this holosuite with its bare grey-blue walls, the only simulation being the sense of weightlessness, the futility of his struggle the same as before the only absence being the physical restraining ties he'd been bound in by Kree and Litmus on the bridge.
On cue, the hexagonal layered doors rotated open and in stepped Litmus, standing in the small semi-circular floor area that wasn't at the mercy of pseudo-vacuum conditions, "Are you comfortable, Mr Clancy?" A pause, "Would you like to be let down?" The agent's silence only made Litmus shrug, who now turned to a panel by the door and pressed a few keys, a sound like sand particles falling through fingers whishing by for an instant. Litmus turned, "How's this?"
The scene had changed. Clancy was reclining on a lounge chair looking out over a vast city that he recognised as the capital of Betazed (Litmus's old haunting grounds) through floor length windows that extended round the hotel room; he mumbled to himself, grimacing and dropping the drinking vessel and old-fashioned Cuban cigar he'd found in his hand and mouth, finding himself this time able to get up and confront his opponent.
"Uh uh! Back in the seat..."
Clancy was propelled across the room to the recliner, forced to face the cityscape. Well, the plan to hijack the Alicor ship and lead it out of dock wasn't getting far... He thought that once fully assembled he might be able to initiate some self-destruct in the thing. He reasoned if Litmus had indeed 'acquired' it when it'd first appeared (assuming that was before he was taken over by an Alicoran) then he may have made modifications to its systems, a change to the standard console interface, something to allow for easier humanoid access.
"Except for allowing you to rip open my skull - which will get you nowhere - what else will get me out of here?" Iorte asked.
"Your cooperation with me," Victor Litmus replied, "You see, Kree isn't all what he seems. He is no true Alicoran, his neural modifications have degenerated too far due to spending so much time far from the homeworld and living here as an Alicoran for several centuries. I on the other hand, have only recently been added to the ranks of the Alicor, five years ago in fact after they caught me tampering with their - ha, this ship. My adapted neural processes work fine, and it makes me more trustworthy."
"Because a genuine, if perfidious, human lives in there still?" Clancy said.
Litmus laughed, "No, because anything Kree says, whether it's a threat or a promise that you won't be harmed, is to be treated as circumspect. All on Alicor know it, that's why he's banished to this quadrant, where his brain can be allowed to degenerate 'til nothing is left of Alicor Yyall or human Kree except an incoherent madman with no mind to speak of."
* * * * *
"I wouldn't trust someone who openly admitted to the stealing and modifying of our vessel shortly after it arrived in the Alpha Quadrant," Kree said to him later, in an interrogation room - again, zero gravity. "It might give someone ideas... Something easier to use for the likes of you... Tell me, Clancy, how much of that brain of yours is really shut off from you by your hated overlords? How much can you really prevent it, to borrow from your strange terminology, from affecting your judgment? Might there be some telepathic subroutine, influencing the mind of the other, my friend Victor Litmus, into revealing certain information? Like in the holosuite an hour ag- "
Clancy shook his head, "If there is, I'm not aware of it. It's separate from me. I cannot return; you said it yourself. Besides, Litmus didn't get very far - you gatecrashed the party before he could get down to the nitty gritty."
"The... what?" Kree was confused, "To the self-destruct protocols, I assume."
He had to get out of here, find his way back to the bridge; the telekinetic arc - bridging the gap from being to being - had influenced Litmus, yes, but only so far - Iorte was reluctant to use any more of the knowledge in his own head, that which he'd shut away forever so that the probing Hybrudeans - he knew many were still around in this timeframe - wouldn't pop up in his mind and remind him of his misdeeds; whatever he did from now on he decided would have to be on his own human initiative, no influence from that which he'd once been, had once strode between the stars as...
Well, just once then, he thought, slamming Kree with a telekinetic burst against the far wall. Stunned, the Alicoran started getting up, onto one knee and shouting out as Clancy exited and the door slammed shut behind him, Kree's words now muffled. He found his way to the nerve centre - if no humanoid-workable console interface as provided by Litmus, to start the self destruct sequence, then the computer core (fully assembled now) would have to do. He searched about, finding a two metre long object a bit like a huge antiquated spanner and threw it into the holograph-filled cerulean glowing central processing network... It sparked and picked up rotation speed, Clancy now recovering the end of the spanner and forcing it into the machinery. Claxons sounded over the ship, something deep in the vessel's bowels groaned - lacerations from spinning metallic shards flew out of the computer core and leapt up his arms, shredding his black Intel uniform's sleeves, the fabric melting partially into his skin... Crying out, he forced the spanner deeper in, espying a unit at the cerulean glow's very centre, a pulsating red box at the bottom of the matrix, and jammed the 2 metre pole against it, once, twice, thrice, desperately as the core started writhing about as if in its death throes, moaning and casting off streamers of already dying colour.
The Intel agent felt like his arms were melting. They glowed, amorphous, red, white hot as the sparks leapt up over them, jumping up like fleas and landing in his hair, scorching what they could; the core was spinning out of control and the door behind him retracting, letting in welcome pearlescent white light and two silhouettes as he was collapsing to the deck, spread-eagled now on his back, losing consciousness...
But it wasn't Kree and Litmus, he saw through his agony; collecting himself he pushed past the unwelcome Hybrudean visitors and out into the impossible-curving corridor: deck 5, two below the bridge... Lurching one way and then the other, he fell down the corridor into a drunkenesque run towards the nearest turbolift; the claxons continued to sound; the ship, he saw when he reached a viewing port along a stretch of straight corridor, was floating out of its dock into dark space.
He emerged on the bridge, staggering to the chair he'd been bound in by Kree and Litmus which, incidentally or probably on purpose by the Alicorans, was actually the command chair... a cruel joke, Clancy considered, shrugging and taking the seat. The ship was indeed moving out of dock, distant stars just beginning to crawl slowly by amongst the blackness visible on the viewscreen; how long before either of the Alicorans found their way back up here, to find him at the controls? (At the controls but unable to work them that was). Perhaps they'd be delayed by the unwelcome visitors though somehow - likely out of a desire to punish their former compatriot - he imagined they wouldn't hinder the Alicorans in the slightest.
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Elena de Luca
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Dec 14, 2009 0:38:17 GMT
Posts: 265
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Post by Elena de Luca on Jun 6, 2016 21:08:22 GMT
"How long before we can do as, requested ?" she asked without breaking eye contact with Elena.
"Thirty minutes to having warp back on-line Captain." the Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Laroc informed her.
"You have fifteen Commander." she said, finally breaking the stare and heading for her ready room ..........
~~~~~
Elena had decided to leave Tan on the Bridge and follow Laroc to Engineering. She wasn't sure how much help she could be down there, but it was preferable to having to apologize to Captain Komin, which was what David had been suggesting .... The Helm Officer, and suspected 'Section 99' operative entered and began a conversation with Laroc:
"Has it occurred to you that allowing the inducers back is only going to help the Alicoran's ? ... You've heard the reports; the pieces just float back into the assembling ship's structure, no instant death for the facility or the ship for that matter." Leroc mused, "Well, the facility might suffer some ....." Broski suddenly made a grab for the Engineer, but the man was too wily for him and he suffered a punch to the side of his head for his trouble, "You'll rue that Broski. believe me, once we're clear of this debacle, you and I will be having this conversation, in private !" he hissed, eyeing Elena for a second before returning to his duties. Broski in turn gave the man a scathing glare before stomping out of engineering.
"You two should be up for awards, if that scene wasn't so awfully played out." Elena said, shaking her head, "I have to admit, as 'ham acting' goes, you two have it down to the proverbial 'tee' !"
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Commander. I'm also at a loss as to why you are in my Department."
"Be careful Commander. I'm not the enemy here. I suggest you complete the task at hand, before our Shakespearian Helmsman returns for bout two." she turned and left Engineering, confident that she had got what she came for .... On the Bridge she relayed the 'incident' between Broski and Leroc as the Captain came from her ready room and dropped into the center seat:
"Tactical, prepare a second spread of torpedoes. We'll drop sixteen .... I assume 'that' meets with your approval, Commander Tan ?" David nodded, not wanting to antagonize, or embarrass Komin any further, "Good, happy we're meeting your expectations."
"Captain ....." Elena said quietly, hoping to stem any issue before it was blown out of proportion. Komin shot her a glare before returning to her instructions, "We'll enter the corridor two hundred thousand kilometres closer to the Sun, that way we will have time to drop and run, hopefully before we have any 'unfortunate' accidents ... Helm, full impulse." The El Alamein carried out her re-seed and moved out of the corridor used by the swiftly returning inducers. They jumped to warp four and began their return to the Procyon facility ......
~~~~~~~~~~
"Captain, I suggest scanning the Facility before we get too close." Elena suggested. Komin nodded to her Tactical Officer to comply. Both Elena and David were hoping to find some information on their friend, but they hadn't expected what the Tactical Officer reported !
"CAPTAIN ! ..... I'm reading a massive power build-up within the facility ... Readings off the scale ..... !"
"Scan for any sign of Mister Clancy please." David requested, this time the Tactical Officer complied with him instantly.
"Readings are inconclu ..... Oh my God !" the man said, pointing at the view-screen, the others instantly turned.
"What's that ?" Elena asked, almost dreading the reply.
"A one thousand meter section of the facility has opened up to space. The Alicor Vessel is powering up. going off the reading at this distance, and the fact we have destroyed at least one of the inducers, can only mean it can be space-worthy with a deficiency. The ship is climbing out of the hanger, albeit slowly."
"There's no way it should be able to establish warp at this stage, unless the thing went into overdrive while we were away !" David commented.
"Captain, despite the gaping holes in the hull, there are sections that are now air-tight and have air and gravity. Sections are still incomplete and open to space, and there are countless segments rising from the hanger behind and below the vessel. How that thing is staying intact is beyond me. He put a schematic on the main view-screen, "See, there, a section approximately sixty meters in length and almost completely circling the outer hull. even our best designs couldn't function with such a large section missing, that thing should snap in two like a broken branch !"
"Increase speed to warp six." Komin ordered, "Arm all weapons. is it showing any signs of knowing we're here ?"
"As far as I can tell captain, it either doesn't have external sensors, or hasn't activated them at this stage ... Maybe it's using every iota of power to retain structural integrity."
On arrival, the El Alamein dropped out of warp and came to a complete stop ... Hanging in space one million kilometres from the Alicor Vessel, which had now also come to a stop seemingly allowing it's missing components to play catch-up ... Scanning the Alicor vessel constantly, the El Alamein began to close the distance between them, kilometre by precious kilometre the gap diminished, and still the alien vessel refused, or was unable to return the compliment of the scans. The Tactical Officer informed them that he was now detecting life-signs, six in total, but he couldn't distinguish which of those was Psonoir,they would need to be closer ....
"The Alicor vessel seems to be powering down all but essential systems, including life support in the sections not open to space, same with artificial gravity. I still cannot detect any outward scans, so unless they are using so form of technology we're unable to detect, there's no way they can know we're here. We could sit against their hull and unless we knock, or they look out a window, they should be totally oblivious to our presence."
"That's bizarre !" David commented, "How the hell can it depart the facility half cooked, and not feel the need to protect itself !" Larok, entering the Bridge from Engineering commented.
"We need to go in." Elena said, matter-of-factly.
"In .... In, where ?"
"Captain, I'm picking up a second explosion close to the systems' Star." Broski informed them, apparently disappointed by the event, but Komin ignored the man, turning to the two Intell' Operatives:
"I'll ask again ... In where ?"
"We need to take the ship close, as close as possible, within one hundred meters." Elena informed the stunned Captain. It seemed all that she could do not to laugh out loud at the idea.
"You have more chance of my turning this seat into gold pressed LATINUM !" she said, finally having enough of these people, "Tactical, lock onto the warp core of that vessel, and please, don't try to relieve me otherwise my last order before you accomplish that deed will be to drop everything we have into that vessel, I wouldn't call my bluff here, I have my orders, but sacrificing my ship and crew will be a last, 'VERY' last, rersort, and I'm damn-sure not going to encourage that last resort by playing chicken with that thing out there ... If you want Mister Clancy back, then find another way !" her eyes were locked onto Elena's, and she realized that the woman wasn't going to back down this time, thankfully, David stepped between then as he approached the Captain ...
Holding position at ten thousand kilometres, the El Alamein thought itself invisible, but they were to find that they were in error ... The Communications Officer suddenly spoke:
"Captain, I'm receiving a Comm, it's from the Alicor vessel." Komin looked at Elena and David before instructing the Comm to be put on the main view-screen:
=^= USS El Alamein =^=
=^= Iorte .. Are you OK ? =^= Elena spoke first, but the man simply moved aside to allow another person to be seen.
=^= What happens in the next hours will define both the Federation and that of the Alicor civilization =^= the woman said, smiling. To say everyone was dumbfounded was the ultimate understatement.
On screen, Amelia Carter started back at them, an almost serine smile on her face ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 246
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Jun 9, 2016 17:43:58 GMT
"We're well acquainted with your species," Litmus said, coming round to face Iorte with Amelia Carter in tow, "As you may have guessed," Litmus continued, ignoring Iorte's realisation of the identity of the young woman, "When we were first interrogating you, stating our wish to take apart your brain. You don't have access to its more... shall we say, crafty protocols, or so you claim..." he glanced at Kree who was still rubbing his shoulder from the zero-gravity impact on the wall, before continuing:
"But that doesn't mean we don't know a fair bit about your people, the Hybrudeans, especially in how they've related to our own society in ages past, when we were on the brink of extinction... your people interfered, preventing us from bringing people from all over the galaxy and the two Clouds and blessing them with our expanded consciousness. Your time travellers stunted the new development of our species, driving us towards death, and Kree here is just one of many agents who have been attempting to undo your work from ages past."
"Firstly," Iorte breathed heavily, "It was not my work - I have nothing more to do with my species, and what you say may even have happened, rather will happen in my future. Secondly, Kree's an exile from your society, you told me yourself." He glanced at Kree who was impassive, fixing his eyes on Iorte and ignoring Litmus, "Condemned to live out his dying days as Kree and Yyall here in the Alpha Quadrant until nothing of him remains..." Did Kree empathise with him? He seemed to earlier during Litmus's beating, for their two stories coincided in a way: Kree the exiled Alicoran, wasting away here; Clancy, or Aak'a'nerei, banished from the Hybrudea of the 29th century.
They had him open a channel to the El Alamein that had been tracking and closing in on them in the last few minutes, detected by the Alicor vessels' sensors, which were unrecognisable as sensors by Federation sensors.
=^= USS El Alamein =^= he managed to say.
=^= Iorte .. Are you OK ? =^= Elena spoke first, but the man simply moved aside to allow another person to be seen.
=^= What happens in the next hours will define both the Federation and that of the Alicor civilization =^= Amelia said, smiling. To say everyone was dumbfounded was the ultimate understatement.
Kree turned to Litmus, "Do you have them under guard?" Litmus nodded; apparently he was talking about the 'unwelcome visitors' Clancy had noticed before.
His own people. Captured, unable to escape through time back to their home. It will serve them right, Iorte thought. He turned to Amelia, addressing Litmus and Kree, "You've destroyed her, filled her head up with new information already."
"All new prospective Alicor hosts are assigned their Alicoran counterpart immediately after arrival at our processing worlds," Amelia herself replied.
He glanced at the viewscreen, at Tan and de Luca and the horrified if somewhat mystified Fran Komin standing behind them, "And what makes you, Amelia, think that the fate of our civilisations depends on what happens now?" He was scolded by the young woman for believing that what lay in the balance was their mutual 'fate', then she asked where Mia was and explained how she'd been told to expect that she would be here by those in Scutum-Centaurus before she set out on her instantaneous journey. Well, they'd sent her to Betazed to look for Litmus, Iorte thought considering the irony. All the better though, to keep her safe from these vampiric messiahs from outside the galaxy.
What was the reason for the peril of the Federation and the Alicor, or how they related to each other then? As Amelia with Kree's assistance claimed to the El Alamein bridge officers: it was Iorte's own species, infiltrating the Federation (inside and outside of Starfleet) and perhaps even the Alicoran hierarchy. Luckily they didn't mention that Iorte was technically one of this species - that called themselves the Hybrudeans, they explained, a number of who that lived in the 29th century had unlocked a secret of time travel that'd simultaneously liberated and trapped them with respect to the local flow of spacetime: they had discovered a way of making their society, spatially, in a state of permanent temporal flux, where one part of it would exist a century or two previous and another part (say five thousand lightyears away from the first part) would exist two centuries hence; given a period of three or four hundred years that polarity would've reversed, so that the first part would now be in the future (the 31st century) and the second part in the past (about the 27th century), and this continued indefinitely: Hybrudean society was trapped in time by a genius yet paradoxically damning mechanism of their own making; they could only travel back, as far as they liked, but their future, those trapped in the rippling wave's future, was shut off from them forever or until they found a way to disable their wave generating mechanism. Those of them who existed beyond the 31st century were inaccessible to the trapped ones, yet paradoxically the former still existed.
All this was explained to the El Alamein crew, Tan and de Luca without one mention of Iorte, and he was glad of it but at the same time was indifferent, for he no longer considered himself a part of that race that'd dared play with time (and which he for a time had played with as well).
"Will you allow us to purge your command hierarchy of this species' agents?" Litmus asked Tan and de Luca, "We can take them to our home planets, install them with Alicoran minds where the inhabitant minds will be unable to use their time-travelling abilities. They live amongst you completely anonymously, having taken on human or other Federation species' bodies but with modified minds. But we know how to detect them, and would gladly assist."
Why don't you mention me then? Iorte thought. The El Alamein crew had one in their midst, right before them in the centre seat - Iorte!
Kree put in, "If you don't assist we can only continue to take people at random from your Federation, without using our detection techniques, and continue to repopulate our species, by implanting these with our minds. But we will get no closer to what is undermining both of us."
While the three Alicorans were talking Iorte was programming something into the arm panel on the command chair he sat trapped in. He'd seen, had observed closely, Kree entering commands to open the channel to the El Alamein initially, and thought he knew what he was doing...
A sinuous beam wrapped about by pseudo-electrical energy shot out from the Alicoran ship and struck the El Alamein's dorsal shields, draining approximately thirty percent of their power, enough to warn them off, not enough to cause any major damage: immediately the El Alamein cut the channel, banking away now and retreating to what they thought might be the Alicor ship's maximum weapons range. Negotiations broken off part way through, Iorte thought, grinning, but having been caught with his hand on the weapons control panel...
"You!" Litmus dived towards him, striking him in the jaw again, and again. Yes he was taking another beating, but he hoped that he'd given Tan and de Luca a chance, a chance not to become embroiled in these Alicoran plots. "Come," Victor said, suddenly stoic, "I'm going to show you your people, and why we didn't reveal to your fellow officers the nature of your identity."
He was led through the decks towards the captive Hybrudeans, not sure which he wished to confront, his own people, or the machinations of the Alicorans as just now on the bridge. The ship shuddered, making them steady themselves against the wall in the corridor. Iorte glanced towards the tottering Litmus who glared at him, warning him wordlessly it wouldn't be wise to try anything - not until he reached his people and decided whether it would be worth using his 'powers' in their presence, would he decide whether Litmus's advice was worth following or not...
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Jun 16, 2016 21:32:26 GMT
Those aboard the El Alamein had gradually recovered from the shock that Amilia Carter, now known as Janel, was Alicor .....
They listened intently to the back and forth conversation until the Intelligence Officers were given an ultimatum, of sorts:
=^= Will you allow us to purge your command hierarchy of this species' agents ? .. .. .. We can take them to our home planets .. Install them with Alicoran minds where the inhabitant minds will be unable to use their time-travelling abilities .. They live amongst you completely anonymously having taken on human or other Federation species' bodies but with modified minds .. We know how to detect them and would gladly assist =^=
David wondered why litmus hadn't pointed out that their Engineer was in fact on of the very race he wished to use as hosts. But he had other things on his mind as a beam, crackling with pseudo-electrical energy, suddenly lanced from the Alicor vessel slamming into their ship. The Comm closed and the El Alamein banked away quickly, retreating to what Captain Komin hoped was a safe distance. She refused to re-establish the Comm link citing safety as her reason for the moment. David paced the Bridge, eyes flicking to the view-screen and the still stationary Alicor vessel.
"What the hell is happening over there ... Who fired the phaser's at us ?" Broski asked.
"I'm guessing it was Clancy." Elena replied, seeing David nod meditatively, "He's obviously warning us away, to give us time to come up with something maybe ?"
"We have to find a way to get him off that ship !" Elena stated decisively.
".... And we will." Tan replied, turning to Tor, the Chief Engineer, "Can we analyse that 'beam' they used and modulate our shields to allow us to close the distance again ?"
"I can try Sir, we should have enough data, but given the potential energy output from that weapon, I seriously doubt whoever 'tapped' our shields was using anywhere near their full power." the man said, leaving the Bridge to go to Engineering. David eyed the massive vessel again ... Even at this distance it was a sobering sight, and not one he would tempt fate with under normal circumstances, especially with only a Defiant Class vessel at his disposal. But they needed to act quickly, if Kree, or Janel, formally known as Amelia Carter, decided to answer their own question, they could loose everything. They were discussing their limited options when Bronski informed them that a small craft had departed the Alicor vessel and was en-route to the El Alamein !
"What do they need shuttles for anyway ?" Elena commented as they waited.
"One occupant Captain. I'm reading Human life-signs." the comm chirped to life suddenly:
=^= USS El Alamein .. I wish to come aboard to discuss our mutual situation .. It would be advisable to ensure my safety while in your presence =^= Amelia / Janel, didn't wait for a reply, instead, she expertly piloted the unique craft past the ship and made a slow turn to line up with the shuttle-bay. with little option, Captain Komin nodded for the door ro be raised and for Security to meet the 'woman' and escort her to the Captains Ready Room ....
~~~~~
"What do you think she wants ?" Elena asked as they waited, but no-one seemed to have a satisfactory answer the the proverbial 'million dollar question' ..... She was brought in moments later:
"Thank you for seeing me, Captain." the young woman said as Komin motioned towards the seat opposite her, "I have come here, despite objections, to hopefully avoid further conflict and to come to a mutually amicable arrangement."
"Where is my Officer ?" Komin said without preamble.
"He is safe and well, for the time being, now, as to our proposal ....."
"You want us to provide you with an endless stream of Humans so you can what, re-populate, or whatever you call it, your own System ? ... Then what, you'll build more of those ships and spread throughout the Galaxy and beyond, culling worlds as you please to provide convenient bodies. Somehow I can't see us coming to 'ANY' realistic agreement, unless of course you're willing to leave and not attempt to take any further hosts." David said, managing to hold his temper, just.
"You cannot win, Commander." Amelia said, almost sympathetically, "...... and should you decide to come to our world to eradicate us on our home soil, it would take your fastest vessels approximately thirty of your years to reach us. So you see, you have little option but to agree to our 'suggestion' before we begin to make the decision despite your objections .... I am confused as to why you would not want to be rid of a race that has done nothing but meddle in Human affairs since you were able to walk upright. They are leaches, twisters of fate and an infestation to be removed at all costs, as you say."
"You mentioned this other race earlier ...." Elena commented, "Mind telling us how you feel they have done us harm ?" This seemed to amuse Janal to the point of laughter, but she quickly turned away from de Luca and focused on Komin once again.
"You need to make a decision Captain .... Oh, I am sure you are going to inform me that you are in no position to make that decision, so let's say it will be an agreement between, two parties pending confirmation. I presume you will tell me at some point during this conversation that you would need to take this 'situation' to the uppermost in your government. That is obvious, even to us Captain, but you should bare in mind, that 'THIS' is the first time we have ever even contemplated such a course of action, and this only in deference to your species, who we have culled extensively to date. We only wish to ensure the continuation of 'both' species, I am sure you can appreciate that."
Elena had fallen silent, watching the woman intently:
"What happens ? ...." she asked suddenly, seeing Janal frown, "To the original owner of the body and mind you steal ?"
"They rema .... They are, purged." she quickly corrected herself, but not before her 'slip' had been noticed.
"They remain ? ... Where, within their own head, imprisoned ? .... 'WHERE !" Elena shouted, slamming her palms on the table, her face inches from Janal's !
"This meeting is concluded." she said, pushing her chair back and rising, eyes still locked on Elena's but suddenly less confident. She knew she had made a mistake, "It was wrong of me to consider you would be swayed from your resolve. We shall continue to harvest at will, and you will be brought to your knees in our wake. Our original offer was, in our opinion, generous beyond anything you could reasonably expect. now, rather than being free of a contagion that would eventually lead you to extinction, you will have to live with the knowledge that they too are being hunted, and will go to any lengths to ensure their survival ... Any lengths !"
"We only have your word for that though, don't we." David said casually. Janal / Amelia seemed to contemplate the comment before turning to leave, then she turned back:
"Would you like me to provide you with one so you may 'interrogate' him at your pleasure. I am sure it can be arranged ?" she asked, but there was no reply forthcoming, "Then I will take my leave."
She turned back to the door and smiled at the Security Officer who was holding a phaser at her midriff ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 246
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Jun 18, 2016 22:49:19 GMT
Iorte leant against the wall outside the interrogation rooms, touching the commbadge hidden in the lining of his jacket to make sure it was still there. Litmus was still inside, trying to segregate the two Hybrudeans back into their cells, trying to keep quiet their claims about wanting to destroy the Federation... Clancy couldn't believe it, how they could wish such a thing when their (his) species had been content to allow a certain number back there every so often to engage in what were termed vigilante pursuits, many of them infiltrating Starfleet merely for the experience - nothing nefarious to it.
These couldn't be the kind of Hybrudeans he knew, the ones that'd banished him here - and he was grateful to remain - who were attempting this terrible thing. It must he thought be a splinter group, some rival sect in one of the archives which at the particular time when they concocted this plan must've been close to the red-shifted end of the Standing Wave, touching but not quite passing the end of the 31st century; being thus fed up of the barrier's refusal and their species's contentment that the Wave should be allowed to function as is, they decided to enact a process of revenge, undermine the 'vigilante project' in the Federation by bringing down that whole edifice, that whole interstellar confederacy.
"Now you realise why we didn't let your people know who you are, yes?" Litmus asked, emerging from the chamber. He walked down the corridor beside the Alicoran, returning to the bridge, his arms still virtually aflame and reeking with the stench of decomposed seared flesh.
"I'm still a little in the dark to be honest, Victor," Iorte answered casually.
"You see, if we let your Intel colleagues know who you are..."
"I'm a human."
"Who you really are, they'll believe you're also one of these madmen, that you're an agent implanted to infiltrate and overthrow the Federation, and will promptly kick you out or court-martial you or whatever is you do."
"Those people do not represent the Hybrudean species," Iorte gestured back at the shrinking interrogation chamber, "They're from some rival group, perhaps rebels in some inaccessible timeline. And why wouldn't you want Starfleet to have me court-martialled?"
Litmus smiled, looking at him almost in sympathy, "Because you're useful to us, Clancy, useful to your Starfleet friends just as you are. You see, we're genuine about wanting to work together with the Federation to purge the Hybrudeans from both of our ranks... If you can assist both us and the Federation in that, then we will not expose you."
They entered the bridge. Clancy hoped they had the distinction right, that he wasn't an infiltrator (not in the traditional sense) of Starfleet (Litmus having already discounted by virtue of his words the possibility that Clancy was one of those committed to its overthrow) but was an outcast, a willing outlaw from Hybrudean society whose human body was, for him, for all intents and purposes his legitimate human body as belonged to a member of the human race. He'd have nothing more to do with the fools from the 29th century playing with spacetime, and regretted using his power to break free from Kree, that which had brought the two Hybrudeans now in confinement to his location.
He stood at the back of the bridge, watched by Amelia Carter, wincing as he tried to position his arms such that they in their present state would cause him the least discomfort. He thought back to his attempted destruction of the Alicor ship's computer core - what'd shredded his arms in the first place... It seemed they'd had a back up, either that or... the Hybrudeans had regenerated it somehow before their capture? It was within their power, but why?
"Let me assist you," Carter said, approaching. He kept well away from her, cradling his arms, blood from not quite cauterised wounds dripping to the floor forming a puddle around him. "I'll take you to our medical facilities." She turned, nodding to Kree and Litmus who resumed their bickering before taking Iorte to the Alicoran sickbay near-instantaneously (not having passed through any corridor or into any turbolift only a blinding flash of light...)
An advanced version of a cellular regenerator was run up and down his arms, restoring the lost flesh and leaving only the shredded and blood-stained sleeves as signs of his injury. "Thanks, Amelia," he grunted, rising off the biobed and stumbling towards the door.
"My name is Janal," the harsh voice spoke behind him making him pause.
"But Kree calls himself Kree, not just Yyall... Why the difference?"
"Yyall's original personality of Kree is reasserting itself - soon they will have equal dominance in his mind. He has been in the Alpha Quadrant too many times and for too long; his expanded neural capacity has diminished steadily over the last twenty years. He has been left out here by my people to die," Amelia/Janal replied coolly.
"Then the original mind survives, no matter how little of it there is?" Eventually she nodded. "Then all of your original personalities, in theory," he emphasised as she started, "Could be restored, given adequate time away from the Alicoran homeworld, home systems, whatever...?"
She ignored him, passing him and opening the door; again they were whisked without a moment having passed back to the bridge, the blinding light of the displacement falling away in segments, quanta like scales of fish from his body as he took in his surrounds. "Your people are being most uncooperative," Janal said, "Our offer of assistance has been refused, so we will turn to the next best option: we're returning you, Mr Clancy, together with your former compatriots in our interrogation chamber, to the Federation starship. We will remain here to await the decision you'll make after seeing and hearing these two upstarts from the future."
For a third time the displacement process occurred - Clancy began to think that perhaps this was a miniature version of the form of transport that allowed the Alicor to propel their ships across the galaxy in a wink of the eye to Scutum-Centaurus.
He found himself on the bridge of El Alamein, security officers guarding the turbolifts now rushing forward pointing phasers in his face. He batted them away irritably and approached Tan and de Luca, "The Alicor have sent two others, belonging to the race they were talking about: the one that's been infiltrating the Federation and supposedly the Alicor civilisation." He was asked where it was likely they'd been placed, "Probably in the br-"
"Intruder alert!" Broski shouted from beside the tactical officer, "Security teams to deck... by the... oh, intruders are in the brig, behind forcefields that've automatically been raised. How is that possible?" Sector 99 Chief Engineer Leroc at the port-side bank of consoles gave him a withering look.
"That's them," Clancy nodded, wincing at the thought of having to meet the two Hybrudeans again. Luckily they hadn't known him at the first meeting, nor had they been able to detect whatever remained of the Hybrudean architecture in his mind. "If we go to see them expect a lot of screaming about the Federation's imminent downfall. Janal supposes that it will cause us to join forces with her."
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Jun 20, 2016 17:22:43 GMT
"Would you like me to provide you with one so you may 'interrogate' him at your pleasure. I am sure it can be arranged ?" she asked, but there was no reply forthcoming, "Then I will take my leave." She turned back to the door and smiled at the Security Officer who was holding a phaser at her midriff.
"I'm afraid you need to remain here Amelia."
"I believe I instructed you to call me Janel." the Admiral's Daughter said, eyes still on the phaser but slowly moving up until she was looking into the steady eyes of one of Captain Komin's Security personnel.
"Take a seat, Amil ....." David began, but fell silent as he felt paraesthesia rapidly rising in his legs. He was about to continue when he collapsed to the deck in agony ! ..... Komin and Elena dropped to their knees trying to help, but Tan was in so much pain he couldn't even tell them what was affecting him so intensely. The burning sensation was rising through his chest and arms into his neck and he knew his body was close to using it's built-in defence mechanism. he would loose consciousness to save him from the agony wracking his body. The pain, now past unbearable, was causing him to spasm wildly and Elena fell across him, pinning his arms before he did damage to himself.
"I believe I was about to leave ?" Amilia said casually, causing Fran Komin and Elena to look up at the woman. She was still smiling unnervingly at the Security Officer, who was splitting his attention between the woman before him and the collapsed Intelligence Officer. The Com system chirped to life suddenly:
=^= Bridge to Captain ! .. .. .. =^=
=^= Go ahead Bridge =^= Komin said, still trying to restrain Tan.
=^= Lieutenant Demmik Captain .. Three of the Bridge Officers have collapsed .. We have Medic's en-route ! .. .. .. Captain ? =^= Fran looked at Elena then at the now unconscious Tan, who by passing out had at least ceased convulsing. She got to her feet and nodded to the young Officer to lower his weapon and step aside. Janel turned to them, an almost sympathetic expression on her face. She looked down at the prone Tan who began coming round almost instantly, but Elena held him from trying to rise for a few moments until he got his senses back. Janel turned to the door and began to leave, Komin reached over and took the phaser from the Security officer and fired into her back. Amelia staggered forward a step before turning, Komin fired again, holding the beam active for many seconds. Glaring at the El Alamein's Commanding Officer she must have been using every ounce of her obviously considerable will power, but to no avail .... She dropped to one knee, the beam still lancing into her chest,finally she could resist no longer and slumped to the deck unconscious.
"Brig ... Now !" she instructed the Security Officer, who picked up the woman easily leaving the room, the others, including a still unstable Tan following. Komin tapped her comm badge:
=^= Chief Medical Officer to the Brig .. Immediately =^=
~~~~~
"Doctor, I want this woman sedated with the best you have. She is not to regain consciousness under 'ANY' circumstances. Is that understood ?" The doctor looked at the woman.
"I could medically induce coma, but why would you need her to rema ....."
"Just put her out of commission Doctor, let me worry about the 'whys' ... OK." Komin said, the phaser 'still' trained on Amelia despite her condition, "..... and Doctor, you or one of your Staff will remain here at all times. She is to monitored constantly, at the first sign, and I 'DO' mean first sign, that she may be regaining consciousness, you will make sure it doesn't happen. Short of killing her do whatever needs to be done."
"Captain, I swore on the hipocr ....."
"As I said, I don't want her dead, or we wouldn't be having this conversation. Keep her unconscious, Doctor, or I will have one of my Security shoot her every fifteen minutes." she turned away from the man effectively ending the conversation and turned to Tan and de Luca, "Think they will be willing to trade ?" ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 246
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Jun 23, 2016 10:15:54 GMT
Section 99 was originally a private organisation run by seven individuals most of who were from the Gamma Leonis system. It had been 'acquired' by Starfleet's Section 31 in 2358, becoming its branch that investigated affairs of distinct Starfleet vessels exploring the fringes of Federation space, with a particular focus on those that'd had known encounters with beings from distant parts of the galaxy and/or from beyond the Galactic Barrier.
Eight years ago the Section had split off from Section 31 and become its own entity, now run by completely different people from the original seven except for one, the organisation's internal detective; it began calling itself Section 99 (no Section 99 exists on record in the Federation, nor does one even exist as part of the Federation unlike Section 31). Finally free from 31's oversight, the management had decided to follow up on the case of the 'S-C Arm Creatures', their obsession with the project having been the catalyst for their dismissal from Section 31. 99's assets were sent out along transwarp conduits in the direction of Scutum-Centaurus, going as far as those tunnels would take them, nothing was heard from them for three years, and then the Alicor ship had appeared in the Alpha Quadrant.
Iorte walked about his castle, now having slipped into another of the forced dreams. He'd realised after the third experiment that the appearance of Amelia had been a dream image; this had come to him while seeing Litmus's intense eyes reflecting the cold light as he'd leant over the interrogation table and handed Kree the next implant for insertion into Iorte's skull, now nestled into the brain where it took up its connections, discovering how he was wired and burning out what the two Alicorans couldn't use to their advantage, taking the rest and disposing of his spent body in the ship's disintegration chamber.
Fortunately this had been a dream too, but it was true that he was strapped to a chair in a dark room with only the faint illumination from a dusty desk lamp giving him a clue as to his surroundings, casting a ghostly pallor over his face as he was raised into the light once more and the device attached around his cranium prodded its electromagnetic incisor tool at his forehead, attempting to break down what four hundred years of neural engineering had succeeded in building.
He was brought to - away from his castle - and found himself on the bridge with Kree sitting beside him. "Oh, you're awake," he heard shuffling nearby, being unable to move his eyes he made an assumption it was Kree; now there was a hoarse whisper, "Your colleagues are attempting to rescue you. They're boarding the ship right now. Stay with me, we can evade Litmus and intercept one of the boarding parties... I'll deliver them into your hands."
"Unfortunately they're offering a trade," Litmus interrupted, pivoting around in the circular centre chair, "I could hear every word, Yyall, and Yyall knew it... the thing known as Galar Kree didn't." In his peripheral vision Iorte saw Kree nodding sagely. "As you know, Clancy, they have Janal and are willing to give us her for you... The difficulty lies in us wishing to keep you in order to pick apart your skull, and besides, isn't this right Yyall, Amelia Carter is easily replaced... Try as they might Starfleet won't be able to destroy Janal's essence, even if they vapourise the host body..."
Then how can you be destroyed? Iorte thought immediately, but hadn't he already been told - if they'd been telling the truth - that prolonged absence from the Scutum-Centaurus Arm degraded Alicor minds, shook them loose of their host and destroyed the both of them...? If that was truly the case then Litmus was lying; Janal would die here, eventually, just as Kree would, and as Amelia may shortly if he couldn't convince Litmus there was nothing he could gain from him.
"The implant's ready to be activated," Kree muttered from beside him, now facing the console and entering commands, "If we're going to do this I suggest we do it now."
Litmus nodded in recalcitrance as Iorte's eyes started moving; he had begun to panic... the implant? The dream or...
He found himself being shaken loose from the chair, not physically but as a sensation in his mind, his field of vision vibrated and the bridge dissolved, reemerging now periodically with Kree and Litmus located in different places with each occurrence; ghosting into place of the ephemeral Alicoran bridge like slides in a film were the surrounds of another familiar sight, then from this angle now from this angle, flickering in monochrome before solidifying and becoming tangible to all his senses which, for a brief moment, had seemed cut off from everything, instead retreated into the blackness, the murky depths of the unconscious from where all this now might originate, if the operation where he'd been given the implant had after all been a nightmare he still hadn't awoken from...
"Clancy!" the man at the helm blurted, distracted from his duties as the suddenly solid Intel officer took on definite form by the starboard side of consoles. "Telamen to the Captain," he tapped his commbadge, "They've returned agent Clancy, sir."
He stepped forward, taking the hidden commbadge from his shredded uniform, "It's me, Captain Komin. Are Tan and de Luca with you? I assume you agreed to return Amelia."
Komin's voice was laced with confusion, "No, Mr Clancy... She's very much still in her brig cell, unconscious right before me. The Alicor refused our offers for your return. Yet... here, you apparently are."
"They've let me go for nothing... Lost their bargaining chip, why?" he asked, almost rhetorically. Indeed, why? It couldn't have to do with the... a few freeze-frame images of hard globes of peering eyes with an anaemic light in the background and being unable to move his own ocular muscles returned to him, briefly, accompanied by the pain of an open cavity in the cranium, but he shook off the images favouring them to be remnants of a nightmare.
Victor Litmus and Galar Kree continued quizzing the non-hologrammatic Clancy on the Alicor vessel, Iorte occasionally making jokes about how Victor had, in sending a false version of Iorte to the El Alamein with the intent of sabotage, failed the Litmus test.
He unsteadily took a chair in the ready room, awaiting the Captain and his two colleagues' return; the flesh wounds had mostly healed, he noticed, and regarded the screen of Komin's terminal with interest, rotating it towards him and starting to input his access code as the ready room door began opening.
Meanwhile, near engineering, Chief Engineer Leroc had just finished his duty shift, leaving the place in the all too competent hands of Ensign Makhar... strolling the corridor, passing out of sight of three other crewmembers who were traversing the same length, Leroc suddenly phased out of existence, dissolving and being transported an unimaginable distance outside of the galaxy, the Alicor's latest captive host.
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Jun 26, 2016 21:55:40 GMT
El Alamein Brig ::
David and Elena were watching the Chief Medical Officer as she injected a massive sedative into the upper arm of the woman they knew as both Amelia and Janel. Satisfied, doctor Adama exited the cell, the force-field snapping into place behind her. She was looking at the hypo-spray, confusion on her face. David noticed:
"Problem doctor ?"
"No, well, yes actually ...." She went on to explain that the sedative, a form of neural inhibitor, should have put Amelia into an almost induced coma, but she had been forced to use almost four times the safe dosage to ensure she remained unconscious. She was still talking when Amelia began to spasm, slowly at first, but then so violently that she fell to the floor of the cell. Adams rushed forward, managing to miss being thrown back by the deactivating force-field. She knelt beside the convulsing woman making rapid changes to the hypo-spray before pushing it against Amelia's neck and pressing the activation pad !
Slowly, her convulsing subsided, and they were finally able to get her onto the bed .... Elena wiped the foam and spittle from around her mouth as Doctor Adam's ran checks to find out the cause.
"What happened Doctor ?" Fran Komin asked.
"I have no idea yet Captain." Adams replied, using a medical tricorder, then she moved to the Security station and accessed the screen, "My first guess would be that she had an adverse reaction to the sedative. But according to her records there shouldn't have been any issue with it." They were discussing the issue when the Comm burst to life:
=^= Telamen to the Captain .. .. They have returned agent Clancy Sir =^=
=^= It's me Captain Komin .. Are Tan and de Luca with you ? .. I assume you agreed to return Amelia =^=
=^= No .. Mr Clancy .. She is very much still in her brig cell .. Unconscious right before me .. The Alicor refused our offers for your return .. Yet .. .. Here you apparently are =^=
=^= They've let me go for nothing .. .. Lost their bargaining chip .. Why ? =^=
=^= We will meet you in the Ready Room momentarily Mister Clancy .. Komin out =^= she turned to the others, "What do you make of that ?" she asked.
"What about her Captain ?" Adams asked as the trio began to leave the Brig.
"We need to keep her sedated, find something she won't react badly to, and try to find out just why she had the reaction she did, it could be useful."
Captain's Ready Room ::
Seated, they asked Iorte how or more importantly, 'why' he thought Kree had released him without argument, but Clancy had no answer as he unconsciously touched the wound at the back of his head. Elena asked what had happened and he explained that it had happened during his initial capture, or at least, he thought as such given he could think of no other explanation for the wound. As they continued lieutenant Telamen entered, informing them that one of the crew had apparently vanished without trace, the ships Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Lorok !
"Oh hell !" Elena said, suddenly realising why they had returned Clancy free of charge so to speak, "They needed to be able to beam through our shields. What better way than to send something here unannounced."
"Hold on ...." Iorte said, a frown forming, "So if it hadn't worked ......"
"Indeed." Komin said, hardly surprised that they had used the Intelligence Officer as the proverbial 'guinea pig' for their test, "So now we know they can snatch whoever they like shields or no shields." David was looking at Clancy, who was still frowning, possibly at the prospect of his demise had the transport failed, but maybe for another reason as he again tentatively reached to the back of his head.
"You should have Doctor Adam'a look at that wound once she's done in the Brig Iorte." he said.
"Wha, no, I'll be fine, David." the man replied, somewhat evasively in Tan's opinion, but he let it drop.
"Why are they staying here, that's my question." Lieutenant Demik, the Chief Tactical Officer asked, "I mean, if they can grab who they like, why not go to where there's an almost unlimited supply ?" his question make everyone stop and think he had a valid point, why 'were' they not simply flying through the El Alamein, or worse-case, firing on the Federation vessel and going on their merry harvesting way ? ... it had to have something to do with what Clancy discovered, that the Alicor couldn't remain in their 'host' bodies indefinitely, something to do with being away from the specific conditions found only in their home System maybe .......... The Doctor, now happy that Amelia / Janel was comfortable, and completely unconscious, had entered the Ready Room to give her report:
"..... I can only conclude that the 'Alicor' aspect of her mind cannot cope with the inhibitor I administered to place Amelia in an induced coma." she finished.
"Is there 'ANY' way we could use that !" David said, leaning forward in his seat, but the Doctor shrugged, saying she had no point of reference for the reaction, unless they could try it out on another Alicor-hosted body, it would be a proverbial stab in the dark. David sat back, hopeful but cautiously so as the Doctor continued:
"Besides, even if they were in some way allergic to the sedative, it would mean administering it to everyone aboard, hardly practical, even from where I'm sitting." she could see everyone's shoulders droop as if they had just be told they didn't win a competition they entered, "I've got my staff breaking down the inhibitor to it's component elements, maybe the Alicor react badly to one particular. We use very sophisticated medicines Captain, a derivative of Thiopenal could be what we're looking for, but again, it's a stab in the dark without a subject to test our theory on."
"Then we need a subject !" Elena stated simply.
"You propose we snatch one of the Alicor to 'experiment' on ?" Komin asked. allowing everyone to add their own views, comments on that.
"Before we go off on a 'scavenger' hunt ....." the Doctor said, forcing everyone to look in her direction, "I assume you realise that even if, and it is a damn big 'IF' I might add, that we manage to find a way to torture the Alicor, there is no guarantee they will simply leave the host body, and if we're fantastically successful in driving one out, we would need to administer the element to 'everyone' ... Oh, and by everyone I mean everyone, trillions on trillions of people spanning countless species. As a task, it's an impossible nightmare." she said, unhappy that she needed to make these people face the simple facts at hand.
"Let's see if will actually work doctor, before we look at giving everyone in the Universe a shot, OK ?" Komin said, a wry grin on her face. She was about to close the briefing when Elena asked the question:
"So where do we get our guinea pig ?"
"Don't we have one in the Brig .... Ma'am ?" Demik asked ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 246
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Jun 27, 2016 9:55:44 GMT
Clancy being unable for the present moment to offer any advice on the separation of Janal from Amelia via applying an identified part of the sedative had returned to his appointed quarters. His personal file was displayed on his terminal; for some reason he kept flicking back to it, as if there was something there he had missed. In between this he was surveying status reports coming out of engineering. The loss of their CEO, Leroc, didn't seem to be hampering them, in fact the replacement was exceeding what Leroc had been putting into the department and had sped up repairs on several systems damaged during the phase inducer incidents.
He retired to the couch, scratching his head, dully wondering why he should be so interested in El Alamein's engineering. He felt again for the wound on the back of his head, thinking that he should get Adams to see to it if she could spare a moment away from the comatose Carter, yet he felt the inclination for some reason to keep her away, and to keep her working on the Admiral's daughter.
Eventually he did head to engineering and immediately found Lieutenant Broski, the presumed Section 99 operative, and walked up next to him; it wasn't long before he realised Broski was sweating profusely. "Something the matter, Lieutenant?" Iorte said.
Broski ignored him and continued staring at Ensign Makhar, Leroc's replacement, with a mixture he thought of anxiety and anger. "Was Commander Leroc a friend of yours?"
Broski turned abruptly and tried to muscle past him; eventually he actually kicked Iorte in the shin, "Out of my way..." Iorte followed quietly.
Reaching his quarters, Broski slipped inside and Iorte silently reappeared from the corridor hiding behind a couch, the projection array on the Alicor ship having repositioned Iorte's double within the Defiant chassis. He listened to Broski, "You've got to get me out of here... Leroc's been snatched. They're on to us, you hear me? They're on to us!"
"Who's on to you?" he heard a muffled reply.
"Who do you think? the Alicor! I'm next, I know it, I know it..."
"Ok..." after much deliberation, "We'll rendezvous when you and the Alicor vessel are facing towards the host star. Briggs out."
Returning to engineering, Iorte watched Makhar work, watched when he wasn't at the master situation console, observed when he wasn't in engineering, observed when he was talking to a member of staff - when it was a matter of routine - far enough from the master console and the deuterium tank interface on the small upper level. Why this? he kept asking himself. Well, he supposed, one thing achieved in the removal of Leroc from engineering was that... agonising memories borne from the unconscious, images not just monochromatic but across the visible spectrum and beyond - the closing of the apparatus about his skull, the probing object heading for right between his eyes. He shielded himself, drawing strange looks from passers-by, yet at the same time he was fighting off Litmus, keeping clear from his body the Alicoran's tools of torture gleaming cold dark-metallic in the light of the experimentation room - displacement like he thought he'd experienced before seemed to web over his vision and the ache in the wound in his head seemed to magnify, to glow as if burning, molten lava spilling out of it, coating the floor of engineering and Litmus's hands, who screeched in pain as the lava droplets ran off his hands' withered bones and musculature and sizzled into the deck, Kree scrambling into action in the shadows behind them, and the dream image of the unreal/real Amelia phasing into view before him, with her hand evaporating all that there was and ever would be from sight...
"Clancy, this is the bridge," he heard Komin's voice, "Your fellow officers are calling for you."
"Yes, sir."
Seeing the sight before him he asked with a slight delay what was happening. A Nausicaan trader vessel had closed to just outside weapons range - having previously been undetected; on scans it was found to be crewed by a diverse range of species, not unlike the general proportion of crew composition on a Federation starship...
Lieutenant Broski was at the helm surprisingly, and just as the tactical officer was reporting a transport in progress - from off the ship, directed to here, but how could it break through the shields? - Broski began to disappear. A vacuole, as Iorte knew how to describe it, had opened before the man and was about to swallow him into the realm of quantum entanglement, instantaneous transportation to the Scutum-Centaurus Arm. The transporter beam - from the Nausicaan ship - took Broski before the Alicor's QE transportation could swallow him, and appearing in place of the Section 99 man, near incorporeal, visible for a fleeting moment as an indistinct form of mottled and porous matter before becoming more humanoid, was the projection of an Alicoran, who'd been here to take Broski in the same manner as how they took all their new hosts out to Scutum-Centaurus. Somehow Broski's presumed employers knew that an Alicor kidnapping would occur at this very moment and had taken advantage of the momentary gap in El Alamein's shields.
CTSO Demik went for his phaser but Iorte for some reason stayed the man's arm. Several others had taken phasers, recognising what kind of lifeform they had before them, uncertain in its corporeality though it may be. The Alicoran was shot down and collapsed in the middle of the bridge unconscious.
"He'll be in a weakened state now," Iorte said emotionlessly, and wondered why his voice was so empty, "It is the best time to use him in any experiment to separate his essence from his host. I recommend we don't continue to use Amelia, as she is Admiral Carter's daughter and despite being in a coma she'll have more of the kind of strength this Alicoran is lacking."
The Nausicaan trader - as the El Alamein came about to challenge it with Lieutenant Telamen having taken the helm - completed its jump to warp. Should they pursue? Should they stay with the Alicor ship? Clancy, and the real Clancy would've in this case been of the same opinion, believed that they should stay with the Alicor ship lest his projection lose resolution.
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Jun 30, 2016 22:17:33 GMT
"Ask Mister Clancy to come to the Bridge, he might want to see this." Fran Komin said, her eyes, along with those of David Tan's on the view-screen ..... ~~~~~Iorte entered the Bridge and immediately identified the new vessel. The Tactical Officer was frantically reporting a transport in progress, and everyone was shocked to see Bronski de-materialising before their eyes ! ... But something wasn't right, it seemed that a 'second' beam had in fact penetrated the ships defences and was now 'interacting' with the one from the SC-Arm .... David could see the phantom outline of another in his place, presumably Alicoran, but he or she was having some difficulty in solidifying, presumably due to the unexpected disappearance of the 'host' body ? he couldn't say, but whomever it was, they were now here ! David saw Demik raise his phaser, and Clancy staying his hand as Komin began to stand, it all happened too quickly. The Alicoran fell to the deck unconscious, Iorte and David scanning the Bridge with their eyes to see who had fired despite orders not to do so, and their eyes fell on the Captain, phaser in hand as she sat down once again. Clancy approached the unconscious form, kneeling: "He'll be in a weakened state now ...." Iorte said, emotionless, and wondered why his voice was so empty, ".... It is the best time to use him in any experiment to separate his essence from his host. I recommend we don't continue to use Amelia, as she is Admiral Carter's Daughter, and despite being in a coma she'll have more of the kind of strength this Alicoran is lacking." "Take him to sick-bay." Komin said, handing the phaser to the nearby Security Officer. Sick-bay ::With the Alicoran stapped to a Bio-bed and still unconscious, Captain Komin turned to doctor Adams and instructed her to administer a massive dose of sedative. Again Adams reiterated her oath, but Komin had had enough and instructed her to return to her quarters. she turned away from the dumb-struck Chief medical officer and addressed the Chief Nurse: "Nurse Kirkham. As of this moment 'you' are in charge of Sick-bay, pending the CMO's return to duty .... Now ...." she continued, completely ignoring the young nurses' astonishment and obvious trepidation completely, "Sedate this person and 'KEEP' him sedated until told otherwise. We will begin trials of the Medical Officers' theory once you are sure he isn't going to wake up complaining ...... Well, Nurse, begin !" she said, snapping the practically catatonic nurse into action. Within minutes, the Alicoran began to react to the formula the doctor had prepared, but there was still the issue of delivery. It was all very well to have the ability to 'drive out' an Alicoran consciousness from a host, but beyond impossible to monitor every kidnapping if you will, so there needed to be another way .... ~~~~~They had administered sixteen does of varying strength and quantity to the Alicoran now, and the man was close to complete exhaustion, if not death. The nurse had worked tirelessly, following the Captains orders despite her misgivings that what she was doing constituted torture, not medical reasearch. the discussion turned to the same problem over and over, that of 'delivery' ... "Pathogenesis !" "Nurse, you said something ?" Komin asked hearing the woman's one-word comment. "Wha, yes, sorry Captain, I was just ...." she hesitated, as if running through the spark of an idea in her head before being willing to voice it, then she nodded, albeit tepidly, "Pathogenesis ... We can, probably, develop this into a 'disease, of sorts, make it airborne, passed by inhalation exhalation, as well as maybe a contact delivery, but ideally we need to make it so virulent that if one person breaths it into the atmosphere, it would replicate exponentially, and FAST !" "How fast could you manage ?" Elena asked. "Well ..... If, and it's not confirmed in this scenario, if we could develop it along the lines of the Influenza epidemic of Earth in the nineteen hundreds, which eventually resulted in almost fifteen percent of the planet's population dying, we could possibly infect the whole planet." "How long, and how effective ?" Captain Komin asked, eyeing the Alicoran with renewed interest. but the nurse shrugged, obviously out of her depth now, despite her inspirational idea. Komin had no choice, she tapped her comm badge: =^= Doctor Adams .. Report to sick-bay .. Immediately =^= They put the idea to the Doctor, who was less than enthusiastic on time-scales. She acknowledged that Nurse Kirkham's idea was a viable and workable option, it would take weeks, if not months to design and produce such a virus." "You have forty eight hours Doctor." Komin informed her. "This isn't asking me to give some group of people belly-ache CAPTAIN !" Adams retorted, "You are asking me to produce a pathogen that will cause genocide on a planetary scale !" "Not just their home planet Doctor, I want to irradiate 'EVERY' Alicoran ..... All of them !" "You'll be right up there in the annals of history with Typhoid Mary. Some legacy." Elena said quietly, but not quietly enough. Doctor Adams glared at the Intelligence Officer, then at the Captain, took off her lab tunic and headed for the door without another word. David asked a question before she left Sick-bay: "What if you could develop this, 'Flu' virus, but developed a cure at the same time ? ..... We infect the Alicor but with a diluted strain of the virus. It will kill obviously, but not the the extent of eradicating the race. We offer the cure on the condition they take no-one else and live their lives out as intended. Obviously if they ask for our help in prolonging their lives we will be more than happy to help, conditions of an agreement pending of course. Then ... if they renege, we release the original, virulent form of the virus and be rid of them ?" "Our only other option here, Doctor ...." David said, waiting until he not only had her attention, but that of the room, "The USS Raven-B can, barring unforeseen problems, sustain Trans-warp five indefinitely, so .... Given the Scutum-Centaurus Arm is two thousand seven hundred 'THOUSAND' light-years distant from us, it would take the Raven 'EIGHT YEARS' to reach her destination ... Even if we had enough ships trans-warp capable to send, and not counting the issues we have with numerous species that might take advantage of Star Fleet heading out into the unknown en-masse ! ... How can we possibly know what awaits us on arrival ? ..... So you see Doctor, the options are somewhat, limited here." He sat down, not looking at the woman in the doorway ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 246
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Jul 2, 2016 18:38:01 GMT
In his quarters, while the doctors argued over how or if it was even a good idea, to deliver the new pathogen to the Alicor homeworld/s, Iorte poured over notes relating to their interactions with Section 99 thus far. Presumably Lieutenant Broski had been successfully recovered by the 'Nausicaan' ship, and by all reports his suspected fellow conspirator Leroc had been taken by the Alicor - thus both who'd been on the El Alamein were no longer an immediate concern.
He had informed Komin on her return to the bridge after her latest round with the captured Alicoran that Broski was a member of said agency, saying of course he couldn't reveal anything further about them (mostly because not much else was known) - this granted him access to the man's personal logs which otherwise would've been off-limits.
Leroc's being a pain in the back side again. He insists that the El Alamein should not be destroyed and that we should remain here until we can, improbably, be rescued by Briggs. There is little chance I told him of Briggs trying such a thing without at least some major sabotage done to the weapon systems; he's too conservative to attempt a recovery of this sort or to advance higher with the agency for that matter. His standing next to Chief Investigator Mitram has been made to look laughable and he doesn't do himself any favours by advocating trying to intercept Alicor as they come to take their next hosts, to grab any Alicor that do come through and experiment on them at Gamma Leonis. No wonder Mitram's taken interest in him lately. I doubt, whether or not he succeeds in rescuing me and my 'close friend' engineer Leroc, that he'll survive liquidation at the end of these hundred stardates. In other news, Starfleet Intelligence have been snooping around again, I swear the next time I run into Agent Clancy I will...
Gamma Leonis? Well first of all it was a shock that Section 99 had come up with a plan that the El Alamein and its resident Intel officers had enacted by accident a couple hours ago. They would keep close tabs on the Nausicaan vessel, he decreed to the bridge staff (Komin being none too happy being dictated to) and pass information on it to other Starfleet ships in the sector, track it, see if it started making its way in the direction of Gamma Leonis.
In the meantime in his quarters, he mulled over whether they were taking the right path, the moral path which even Intelligence officers were allowed to entertain sometimes, in wishing to send a pathogen (however that was to be accomplished) to the Alicor... His instinct, to his surprise, told him no. The Alicor had been dying as a race; what they'd done was wrong but Starfleet wiping them out was worse; the Federation no longer took an eye for an eye, or in this case, he thought, groaning already at the analogy, an eye for two eyes...
Still where did this instinct (entirely unlike him) come from, that to preserve the Alicor who had been kidnapping Federation citizens for centuries to sustain or repopulate their species was a worthwhile endeavour? It was hard, no impossible, to pin down, and the dull ache in the back of his head was returning to him once more...
What was it that had happened in engineering? And why when he thought again about his reading of Broski's personal log did he get shivers, a building sense of unease, when he read about the man's intent to sabotage the El Alamein's weapons?
* * * * *
He stepped back into his temporary quarters, ordering ice water from the replicator and taking the couch; a blank in the mind seemed to have taken hold of him, an absence and darkness in the just-gone past, a past as in the very term of past which he could no longer grasp. He raised the water tumbler in a trembling hand. Before that absence of memory there had been, by way of cut up, fragmented imagery, the phaser array interface at a maintenance junction; his fingers had played over the controls; previously he'd been in engineering, once more regarding the acting Chief Engineer and the warp core, wondering now about Broski's notes on Leroc's repair delays... What had Broski suggested that had made Leroc insist on allowing his delays to stand? Something that would destroy the El Alamein at any rate, perhaps a misdirection of plasma flow through the compact nacelles...
Alarmingly he found he wanted to remove both the El Alamein and the Nausicaan trader (the disguised Section 99 ship); the morally questionable motivations of both - to capture Alicorans and send a lethal pathogen to their homeworld/s - had to be counteracted: one or both ships must be destroyed... the ache in the back of his head had now it seemed enveloped his whole body, building gradually as his purpose became clear.
"Captain," Demik reported at tactical, "I don't understand it, sir, but weapons are offline. Phasers, torpedoes, the torpedo tubes themselves are no longer functioning. It's as if they've been... disassembled, as if we were in drydock and undergoing refit or something."
"How can this be?" Komin stood; something occurring to her fast, she tapped her commbadge, "Brig this is the Captain. Is Amelia Carter still in her cell?"
"Yes, sir. Still in a coma. Doctor Adams checked by just ten minutes ago."
"Did she..." Komin uttered.
Iorte had arrived on the bridge near the start of the exchange, noting the Captain's seeming belief that only an Alicoran would have the knowledge to cripple starship weapons to such a devastating degree... Still Clancy was unsure whether he'd performed the sabotage or not (perhaps it'd been Broski, or perhaps he'd picked up the idea from his logs); Kree and Litmus's visages played on the periphery of his consciousness, now visible, now not; sometimes they were in their surgeon-like robes, sometimes having him suspended in their zero-gravity chambers, at other times in the dark room with the cold apparatus pushing its way into his forehead.
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Jul 3, 2016 20:03:08 GMT
Having returned to the Bridge, David set about looking into their options, which were few. It still, in his opinion, looked like their only real solution was to develop and send the pathogen to the Alicor homeworld. It wasn't something the Federation would consider. Genocide was wrong on every level, but the Federation were not here, and taking this back to the Council would be tantamount to condemning a substantial proportion of life to Alicoran servitude as hosts.
"Captain !" Demik reported at tactical, "I don't understand it Sir, but weapons are offline ... Both Phasers, and torpedoes, the torpedo tubes themselves are no longer functioning. It's as if they've been ....."
"How can this be !" Komin asked, a thought occurring as she quickly slapped her Comm badge:
=^= Brig .. This is the Captain .. Is Amelia Carter still in her cell ? =^=
=^= Yes Sir .. Still in a coma .. Doctor Adams checked by just ten minutes ago =^=
David turned to see Clancy enter the Bridge, he seemed to be moving towards one of the vacant Science station, but came to a stop as Komin was speaking to the Brig.
"Get them up and running, QUICKLY !" Komin ordered, dropping into the center seat, frustration growing by the second. Tan was still watching Iorte ... He looked, 'preoccupied' and not quite in the moment regarding their situation. Moving to stand beside him David asked if he was OK:
"OK ...." Iorte said, distractedly, then he seemed to snap out of whatever was causing his bemusement, "Yes, sorry David, I'm fine." the man said.
"Captain, the Alicoran vessel seems to be moving away but at only three meters per second. More drifting than under their own power, as if their inertial dampers or gyroscopic's were playing up." Demik informed Komin.
"Are they showing any interest in us ?" she asked, thinking they could be responsible for their situation as a prelude to taking the El Alamein once and for all.
"No Captain, in fact, their scans ceased around the time the drift began."
"Any signs of the Nausucaan Trader ? she asked, wondering if this could be a decoy.
"Off our sensors Captain."
David moved to the Tactical station and turned their short-range scanners on the massive vessel ... It was indeed drifting away from them on a trajectory that would bring them in close proximity with the orbital facility, but thankfully not one that would result in a collision. He risked increasing the intensity of the scan, hoping to find evidence they their systems had been affected along with the El Alamein's, but no such luck. but he did find something of interest:
"Captain. Going off the readings I'm getting, it almost looks as if the Alicoran vessel has reduced power beyond safe levels. maybe it expended so much energy in the reconfiguration process that it's over-reached, so to speak." he mad e several adjustments to the scanners and put the information up on the view-screen, "See, according to these readings, all but one sub-section has lost life support and artificial gravity. Their navigation computers are off-line, almost dead if this is right."
He asked Iorte to take a look and duplicated the information on the terminal in from of him.
"Is it possible that whatever reduced the power on the Alicoran vessel could have effected us too ?" Demik postulated.
"No ..... David informed them, "Our systems have been taken off-line, disabled, tampered with, however you want to describe it, but their are down by design, or a simple lack of the required power to keep them up and running .... No, someone deliberately tampered with our systems, that's blatantly obvious to me. The question is: Who ? ..... Who would want to disable us to the point of leaving us wide open. We know where our 'guests' are, and Amilia is still comatose in the Brig, so she can be counted out of the equation. We either have an unwelcome visitor, or ....."
He didn't want to voice the blatantly obvious, but he could see that everyone understood the implications of the unfinished statement ! ... Komin hit the Comm button:
=^= Lieutenant Massa .. Report to the Bridge immediately =^= When the woman arrived she gave her instructions:
"Lieutenant, I want you to lock the ship down. I am about to issue a 'confined to quarters' order that should help ... Place Security teams at all medium and high level areas. Also, put another two on the Bridge. I want them in numbers in Engineering, Life Support, Sensor Systems, Sick-bay, and double what you currently have in the Brig."
"It will stretch us pretty thin Captain. May I secondment from other Departments ?"
"Use whatever off-duty personnel you need to. They report direct to you and you to me. No-one get's in, or out, of anywhere, without the say-so of myself, or our Intelligence Officers ... Understood."
"Yes Ma'am." the Lieutenant said, leaving the Bridge quickly, seconds later several new Security Officer took up positions at the turbo-lifts and beside the Command chair.
"Over there is fine." she said, moving the Security Officers to back to their colleagues, "Bring Impulse Drive on-line, let's begin to close the distance on the Alicoran vessel ... Slowly !" ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 246
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Jul 6, 2016 19:50:59 GMT
USS El Alamein
The El Alamein closed with the virtually adrift Alicor vessel, falling into its shadow as Procyon B was eclipsed on the viewscreen. Iorte sat frowning at the screen showing the Alicor ship's status, how only one part of the ship was receiving any sort of power was beyond him, it was as if it'd switched to some power saving mode - that wasn't out of the question but the energy that was being permitted through to systems was barely enough to sustain life in a hundred cubic metres worth, and it seemed a terribly odd time in which to have the ship do such a thing.
Iorte's eyes moved away from the screen, picking out in his periphery Captain Komin and the turbolift beyond her, "I'll be in engineering," he said without looking round to her or his colleagues.
"Clancy?"
He turned to de Luca, "There's a possibility we could learn from our own power core what the Alicor have done to theirs... Something I noticed while over there... similarities between the two power generating designs in certain areas." He finished vaguely and made for the turbolift.
Entering engineering, the two security guards outside moving aside obligingly just as those by the turbolift on the bridge had, Iorte approached now Chief Engineer Makhar (with 99's Leroc's snatching by the Alicor - his apparent swap, Iorte understood, having arrived back in the instant that Leroc had disappeared), "Ensign," he nodded, "No promotion yet, I see. No field promotions for officers of vessels of this tonnage I understand."
"Uh, yes, sir, and with Komin not having been Captain for longer than the requisite number of years she's not authorised to -"
"Is this," Iorte was pointing to the master console as Makhar came up alongside him, "The interface for magnetic constrictor control?" Makhar nodded. A misalignment in the constrictors - a severe one - was one way to bring about the destruction of a Federation starship; if he could use the panel without Makhar's close attention then this could all be over very quickly...
Why a drive towards destruction? Had he been affected in some way, traumatised by neural stimuli, brainwashed during Kree and Litmus's foul maybe-dream experiments? (Indeed he had no solid recollection of those events; they were nebulous, seemingly forever on the periphery of consciousness.) It didn't quite touch his mind that if he was truly lucid in these thoughts, he should report to Tan, de Luca and Komin immediately, stating he was no longer fit for duty having been in some way compromised while on the Alicor vessel.
"Sir, aren't you adjusting constrictor alignment?" Makhar came back over, "You know, sir, that's dangerous?"
"Yes," Iorte stepped away, chuckling, it seeming almost like a hacking cough, "Apologies, Ensign, I don't know what I'm doing sometimes." He phased out a moment, cleared his throat, "Return to your duties."
His words echoed in his mind as he began walking almost automaton-like out of engineering. He strode down the corridor, a neutral expression on his face as he approached a junction; the security outside the engine room watched his receding back, curious as to the Intel officer's behaviour. Dreamlike images, rising before him as if out of smoke, showed a panel that he'd been working at the same time as the magnetic constrictors': the antimatter reactant injector controls; if he'd been able to finish recalibrating the injector to quadruple the amount of antimatter being sent to the core the ship would've been destroyed.
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 246
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Jul 6, 2016 19:52:25 GMT
Alicor ship
In the habitable section Iorte sat in the holodeck in a steel chair before an antique wooden desk, Kree and Litmus on the other side of it regarding him carefully. It was pitch black except for the light from the dusty desk lamp that lit up Kree and Litmus's features eerily. Iorte was haranguing the both of them, both for the invasive experiments conducted upon him and - in their so-called Neural Space - upon his counterpart now on the El Alamein engineering its destruction.
And from here, there was nothing he could do about it, except perhaps it suddenly occurred to him to make contact with his counterpart via the means he'd earlier discovered.
Dismissing him from their presence and given leave to wander the still habitable parts of the ship, he made his way to the transceiver array - whose functioning was necessary to send commands to his hologrammatic counterpart; Litmus had ensured it would be in the section of the ship that wouldn't be powered down - to start the procedures to make contact with him: change the array, make Iorte's unaware evil alter ego desist from his purpose, to settle down placidly and perhaps even to make him reveal who or what he really was (if he even knew) by now, to Tan and de Luca.
He changed the algorithms that were input into the transceiver's software which would thus have his 'estranged twin' reveal his nature to his colleagues and Komin, probably. The only potential obstacle was whether or not alter-Clancy knew of his true identity; would he blurt out unintelligible noise about his questionable origins, not aware of what he was trying to communicate? That in itself would be enough to have him confined to quarters or better - from Iorte's standpoint - the brig.
He returned to the Alicor bridge, his actions apparently not having been noticed by his two captors - how much longer would they torture him? he thought agonisingly; they'd kept his hologrammatic counterpart (not holographic, but some Alicor equivalent) in their strange-headspace holoprogram, probing him with all manner of instruments. Iorte imagined the holo-man would be having similar memories to himself, of being strapped to reclining metallic tables and probed with instruments in the temple and neck, and the back of the cranium...
He settled at a console, the arm-rests immediately registering his presence and wrapping their restraints about his arms and chest. "Nice to see you too..." he murmured. He turned in the chair: Kree and Litmus were both focussed on consoles with their backs turned; he saw out the viewscreen the Procyon B star.
To there they were travelling to find that power the Alicorans were missing, in the form of the phase inducers never recovered (once they had them they'd be fully operational once more). The deliberate shutting down of 'most' of the systems had been an attempt to mislead the El Alamein, to make it seem they weren't suffering from power failures and thus that they didn't need any more of it in the form of phase inducers from Procyon B... Their design was to approach the star by a roundabout route at this slow speed, though still with the capability for greater velocity courtesy of what power did they have - in case the El Alamein decided to pursue...
"You're still intent on this, aren't you?" His question was met with only a glare of contempt from Litmus, a grunt from Kree. "And you don't think the El Alamein will be able to pursue, due to its impending destruction at the hands of my pitiable alter ego, I take it?"
He tried the restraints once more - no give; tried to manoeuvre his hands onto the console but it beeped with rage at the first touch and Litmus came to the back of the bridge, shoving Iorte's rotating chair away from any station.
El Alamein
He returned to the bridge, standing before Tan and nodding, "I've got something to say, I don't think I..." He collapsed to the deck.
Simultaneously the Alicor in sickbay, undergoing his experiments that were to finalise the pathogen once fully synthesised, suddenly woke up and screamed unearthily, medical staff scattering before him in fright as light played about his body (in which several incisions had been made at various points, those of the medical personnel not too squeamish about old-fashioned procedures had been eager to learn about Alicoran physiology, how Alicor brain chemistry influenced human organs).
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Jul 13, 2016 19:04:45 GMT
As the El Alamein began to slowly close the distance to the Alicor vessel, David leaned forward in his seat. The issue of how their systems could have been affected was puzzling him. He couldn't imagine that any of the crew were responsible, and as far as they were aware, the Alicoran had not placed anyone aboard surreptitiously ....
"I'll be in Engineering." Clancy suddenly said, moving away from the console and heading for the turbo-lift. David was about to go after him when Elena spoke to him:
"There's a possibility we could learn from our own power core what the Alicor have done to theirs ... Something I noticed while over there ... Similarities between the two power generating designs in certain areas." he said, with the briefest glance at Tan he stepped onto the turbo-lift, the doors gliding shut behind him. David got up to follow but Komin told him to remain on the Bridge during the approach to the Alicor vessel.
"Captain, with all due respect, Mister Clancy is not acting himself." he said, not expanding on the statement because he couldn't, it was a gut-feeling only, nothing based on fact.
"I'll have Medical look in on him, but we have more important things to do." she said, ignoring the fact that he, not her, had ultimate Command over the mission.
Dropping back into his seat, he could see de Luca eyeing him but remaining silent. Again his thoughts went to how the ship had been so effectively sabotaged, not to the point that the meddling was life-threatening though, just mechanical in nature.Why only affect 'some' systems ? ... If it was indeed the Alicor, then why not simply destroy them once and for all ?
Within minutes, Clancy was back on the Bridge ..... This time he strode straight to Tan and stood before him. David could see that Iorte was having difficulty:
"I've got something to say." he said, struggling to keep his attention on David. Elena got up and began to approach the man, holding a hand up to the two Security Personnel that were inching towards Clancy, phasers drawn, "I don't think I ......" Iorte began, but:
=^= Security to Sick-bay .. .. Security to Sick-bay .. .. Immediately ! =^=
Komin turned to Lieutenant Massa, checking that he had doubled Security in the areas she had ordered. Massa confirmed he had done so. He attempted to contact Sick-bay without success. Tan and de Luca both headed for the turbo-lift, two Security in close attendance to them as if un-trusting of their actions. David pointedly ignored them.
~~~~~
Entering sick-bay at a run, they were shocked to see doctor Adams and her staff at the far end while a writhing, screaming Alcoran 'patient' attempted to wrestle himself from the restraints. David could hardly believe what he was looking at, for where there was once an Alicoran in Human form, there was a mismatch of Human / Alicoran / Klingon / Nausicaan and a myriad of other species. Tan skirted around the Bio-bed and approached the Doctor.
"What the hell is going on, what did you do ?"
"Do ... 'DO' ... We were doing as 'instructed' ...... We had run numerous tests but needed to carry out a steriotactic procedure to gather a sample of brain tissue, all attempts at harvesting by convention means failed. We administered anaesthesia and were about to begin when his epidermis began to, to, change." Adams said, finally able to calm herself as the Alicoran continued to wreath on the Bio-bed, almost fracturing his own limbs in the struggle, "We scanned him and found that the modifications to his DNA were most prevalent in the hypodermis, but as you can see, we can't get near him to do anything."
"Why isn't he restrained with a force shield ? de Luca asked.
"We couldn't establish a field." Adams replied, as if it was obvious.
David watched the struggling for a few seconds then took a phaser off the nearest Security Officer ... Setting it to heavy stun setting eight, he aimed at the man on the Bio-bed, and fired !
The comm chirped to life breaking the sudden silence:
=^= Bridge to sick-bay .. Situation report =^=
=^= It was the Alicoran we were .. Studying Captain .. He suffered an adverse affect to one of our procedures =^= Doctor Adams reported as Tan and de Luca approached the now unconscious 'man' with one of the nursing staff tentatively following them to check the patient over.
=^= Has Mister Clancy reached you yet ?" =^=
=^= Clancy ? .. .. He's not still on the Bridge ? =^= Tan asked as Sick-bay was plunged into complete darkness ! ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 246
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Jul 14, 2016 0:08:22 GMT
El Alamein
Clancy had regained consciousness on the way to sickbay, rising from there out of a virtually catatonic state - still being reassured by the attendant medical personnel and security guards - before much to his own surprise striking out at them, then springing off the repulsor gurney standing legs apart for low centre of gravity and flooring all six in quick succession.
Certainly, he reflected now, at the EPS junction whose conduit he'd figured led from engineering to sickbay, he'd shown his Intelligence training in taking out the half dozen to the maximum those abilities would allow him. A fine demonstration he thought, rarely had he been able to remove so many so quickly even in holodeck simulations where the pressure was off. Strange to be able to exhibit that much strength, quite strange. And why... dare he entertain the thought, had he found it necessary to attack Starfleet officers in the first place?
He worked the EPS junction's panel, shutting down power to the sickbay as well as all other systems in that section - much of the ship - perhaps 40% had now been robbed of its primary power, the Defiant class with its small dimensions easily incapacitated thus, though conversely, leaving any would-be saboteur with fewer avenues of escape...
Why direct his efforts against sickbay? Why not engineering again, a second attempt at blowing the ship to hell, or the bridge - yes, Komin was there and countless other pesky security, but it was the quickest way to cause something to go disastrously wrong, such as the ship being warped through the tempestuous Procyon B star, or fired at Admiral Carter's facility - No! He couldn't destroy the El Alamein, not yet, he realised (and nearly too late). His thoughts must've been jumbled, taking those frequent trips to engineering and looking to cause a warp core overload... The ship mustn't be destroyed, he thought, clarity and purpose returning to him once more, no, first he had to save the Alicoran - his adopted kinsman - undergoing the foul experiments in sickbay. That was the reason; he grinned devillishly as he completed the power drain on the sickbay's sector of the ship.
Some of the El Alamein's cabin lights and other external visual cues of power winked out, the ship beginning a slow rotation anti-clockwise as the ventral port thruster array failed to ignite, the helm's commands interrupted mid-flow as power was cut to the section; all primary power was out, internal doors wouldn't function, auxiliary would take a long time coming into effect.
He made for the transporter room, shoving aside the operator and punching him unconscious as the man attempted to rise to his feet, and began inputting commands. Predictably the crew had been unable to erect a forcefield around the Alicoran in sickbay; now all it would take was a beam-out of the being to the transporter room, where it'd remain for a fraction of a second before being beamed back to the Alicor ship. Again, Clancy gave thanks that he was free from that nightmare vessel, now able to go on about his duties to... to... His sight blurred, a buzzing developed in his ears, a shrieking uncoiled itself, seeming to come from inside him - red filled his vision and he fell to his knees... Duties to disable the ship, re-capture the Alicoran, and...
a new presence arrived, having him come to attention as if he had antennae sticking out of his head, as ludicrous as that was, and a wash of new sense data - both noumenal and phenomenal - enveloped his mind... The voice that spoke sounded curiously like his own, guiding him however temporarily to some other path...
And telling Tan that he'd been compromised and should be placed in the brig, or thrown out an airlock... that he was an infiltrator, likely a copy of the original Aak'a'nerei, or Clancy. But instead he got to his feet and started transporting the Alicoran subject of experiments from sickbay into the transporter room, wondering what could possibly stop it.
Alicor ship
"He should arrive any moment now," Kree said to Litmus who nodded and took the desk's chair, putting on a pair of antique glasses to complete the old Earth image.
"Who are you talking about?" Iorte asked helplessly from his zero-gravity position, suspended in the centre of the room. They were back in the dusty dark room on the holodeck, with the wood desk and the lamp and the utilitarian chairs and its distinct lack of cleanliness.
"Another of our compatriots, Clancy. We thank you for your cooperation in helping bring him back."
Clancy closed his eyes... His alter-ego, it seemed he hadn't got his real self's message.
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Jul 19, 2016 22:14:30 GMT
=^= Has Mister Clancy reached you yet ?" =^= =^= Clancy ? .. .. He's not still on the Bridge ? =^= Tan asked as Sick-bay was plunged into complete darkness ! ..... David dropped to the deck the instant the power gave out, best to be lower in these occasions as anyone firing would do so a chest height, hopefully ..... The emergency lighting snapped into being, less illumination, with a hint of red. "Is everyone OK ?" he asked quickly. "The Alicoran has gone." Elena informed them. David and Lieutenant Massa both turned to where the being had fallen, unconscious, "You hit him heavily, any chance he could have got up and walked out ?" de Luca asked. "Sir, I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I thought I detected a transport as the power failed." Massa said, a frown forming as he tried to recall. "So he's gone." Komin said as she entered Sick-bay, "I have people working on the power issue, but at this point we're stuck with what we have. Make the best of it." Tan looked at the Captain, understanding her obvious resentment of having her vessel used as a battleground.but at the same time it crossed his mind that this was what she had become a Commanding Officer for, well, maybe not this situation directly, but hell ..... The comm chirped to life: Commander Lorok to Captain .. Drive systems are still off-line .. We're drifting .. We should have impulse within the hour Ma'am .. Whoever did this was skilled and knew exactly where to hit us =^= =^= Thank you Commander .. .. Keep me informed .. Use thrusters to slow our progress if you need to .. Komin out =^= she turned back to the others, "It seems we're done here." she said, walking out of Sick-bay, the others behind her ..... Bridge ::"Distance to the Alicor vessel ?" the Captain asked as she took her seat. "Thirteen thousand five hundred kilometers ... Closing at five meters per second ... Forty five minutes before we collide Sir." "Do we have 'ANY' drive systems close to functional ?" she asked rhetorically, then turned to Tan and de Luca, "So, any thoughts on how we proceed from here ?" the sarcasm was obvious to everyone. David suddenly realized that someone was missing. He asked the computer for the current location of Iorte Clancy: 'Mister clancy is no longer aboard the El Alamein' "Scan the Alicor vessel." Tan ordered, but the computer calmly informed him that sensors were currently off-line due to a malfunction. "How can they be off-line when Navigation has just provided us with a relative distance between us and their ship !?" he asked, but the computer decided to interpret his comment as a statement rather than a question, and didn't reply, "Helm, distance to Alicor vessel ?" he asked. "Thirteen thousand two hundred fifty kilometers." the Navigator confirmed. David threw his hands in the air, exasperation climbing within him. Then he had a thought: "You said we had thruster control ....." he said, addressing the Navigator, who, with a glance at his Commanding Officer, nodded, "..... OK ...... Then don't try to slow us. Use the Aft thrusters to 'push' us ... Going off our rate of approach we should have time to move our trajectory enough to miss the Alicor vessel, or at best not hit it full on ?" he finished, looking from Broski, to the Captain, and back. The Helm Officer made some checks. "Won't work." Broski said finally, but then offered an alternate, "The idea is sound, and I fully respect that Mister Tan is conversant with ships systems et cetera, but if we use the Aft thrusters it will allow us to hopefully miss the other vessel, but will push us onto a direct heading towards the Deep Range Facility, and we wouldn't be able to it. Hitting that would be as bad, if not worse. I would recommend using the keel thrusters to push us 'over' the Alicor ?" "Divert whatever spare power we have to the thrusters and activate on full output Lieutenant." Komin ordered, nodding to Tan for his suggestion. "It still doesn't solve our problems, one of which is Iorte." Elena commented .......... OOC :: Andy, I wasn't too sure of what occurred in the Transporter Room re you and the Alicoran. I assumed he had been beamed aboard their vessel while you vanish (to their ship or just temporarily, not sure on that) So if you didn't actually leave, (maybe it's another 'glitch' of the ships systems like the sensors, or something Clancy did) let me know, or modify my post to fit with what you had in mind.
Steve.
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 246
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Jul 20, 2016 16:51:36 GMT
Iorte appeared on the mostly inactive Alicor ship, the dark thoughts returning to him of how he'd - probably - been tortured here, just a few hours ago. Despite the fear and panic that closed in about him, the darkness around him reflecting the same inside, instinct made him look around for the Alicoran who'd also been beamed aboard - nowhere in sight. The place was eerily quiet, the only sound being a distant dripping.
He prowled the dim corridors, working his way through the labyrinth looking for a length of string... Eventually he rounded a bend and froze in his tracks, paralysed with fear: a chasm seemed to have opened up before him, a jagged edged hole in the blackness which twisted in his field of vision and seemed to do the same to his irises, through to his optic nerve til it started up a dreadful torque in his brain, pulling the grey matter as if in an electrical generator, reconfiguring it, showing him something that seemed like an abyss that he might fall into even though the corridor was without gradient.
The source of the dripping had grown closer. As he worked his way down the passage the source of it became apparent; he looked up at some acidic substance melting through the ceiling, presumably from the level above. He blinked, then a blinding light flashed by him, two figures just visible beyond, then knew no more.
"He really is just like me," Iorte commented, circling round his 'hologrammatic' (not holographic according to Litmus) counterpart, "Seems a little more... disconcerted than before I might say."
"That's what the anxiety programming does - he won't feel comfortable 'til he's back aboard the Starfleet ship," Kree said, turning and deactivating the projection using the wall panel.
"The good thing is you've got your man back, I suppose you're going to say," Iorte murmured, taken up into his zero-gravity suspension once more. Kree nodded dispassionately and left him in peace in the holodeck. He sighed and tried to turn around, somehow propel himself to reach the wall panel, but it was no use.
His attempt to manipulate anti-Clancy's mind into reporting himself to Tan and recommend he have himself spaced had been unsuccessful... the hologram-type recreation of himself would however carry the knowledge of the deck-melting substance back to Tan and de Luca when he was returned to the El Alamein. Iorte wondered if Kree and Litmus knew their ship was 'infected' - he'd espied one of the grotesque creatures close to the bridge when the two Alicorans had been elsewhere (it'd seemed like some cross between a Tholian and a Gorn, but he'd realised eventually, it was one of the 'new species' that Section 99 had been experimenting with (they'd impregnated a Tholian with a Sheliak micro-embryo); somehow the former Federation agency had planted one aboard the Alicor vessel, allowing Kree and Litmus to think their power loss was only due to their shutting down of their main core, and not also because these Tholian-Sheliak horror hybrids were eating into their fuel, and the ship's chassis...)
The projector-antennae directed the stream of highly compressed information across the void-gap to the El Alamein, it entering through the hull without a shield grid needed to be got through this time. Anti-Clancy appeared on deck 2, at a maintenance junction not far from a turbolift that would take him to the brig.
He entered the lift, thankfully no one else was present that he'd have to incapacitate. He was pleased to find auxiliary power was working sufficiently to facilitate such transport through the ship. Now, Janal, while she would've been freed from her cell during the power blackout and would've taken out the brig officer, couldn't have escaped the place and must be in there behind a locked door - else she would've wreaked havoc on the ship already. Anti-Clancy's duty was to release her, and then think up the excuses to make to Tan and de Luca (in addition to telling them about the mysterious deck disintegrating fluid on the Alicor ship... strange, he thought, that Litmus and Kree would allow him to say such a thing).
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Jul 23, 2016 21:56:52 GMT
The keel thrusters, situated along the underside of the Defiant Class ship, began to fire ... Combined, they began to push the El Alamein 'upwards' in relation to their nearest companion vessels. It was slow going, as without their drive systems operative, they dare not push too far for fear of loosing their position to the Alicor vessel completely. David turned to the others:
"Clancy ... You said he wasn't aboard ?" he asked Broski, who merely nodded, "Then we can assume that whoever is still aboard the Alicor vessel has managed to transport him away ?" again Broski had no explanation.
"Where could he have gone ? ....." Elena asked ......
< tag : Iorte >
"Sir ... I'm picking up someone. Deck Two, somewhere between the Mess Hall and the Brig, it's hard to say given our limited systems !" Elena, David, Broski, and two Security Officers ran from the Bridge ... Dropping two Decks they came face to face with Iorte Clancy who was walking away from the Brig. He stopped moving at the Security Officers order and turned to face them. He looked disorientated, almost as if he didn't even remember them. Elena moved forward tentatively, holding up a hand in reassurance as Clancy began to step back, retaining the distance between them.
David looked at Broski, who was looking decidedly uncomfortable at the Intelligence Officers appearance.
"You said he wasn't aboard the ship."
"No Sir, the computer said he wasn't aboard, given our situation with the systems issues, it's possible he could have been, overlooked." David eyed the man, disbelieving every syllable.
"Computer .. What is the total number of persons aboard this vessel ?"
"There are Forty two personnel currently aboard the El Alamein." the ships computer replied instantly.
David realised that he had no clue as to whether that figure was correct or not at present. He turned to face Iorte as Elena began to speak to him, resolving to confirm the figure with the Captain once back on the Bridge:
"Where have you been ?" she asked quietly, hoping to get through to him before he did something they would need to react to forcibly.
"I ... I was here, I ..." Iorte began before he began to look around as if not knowing where he was. Then he focused on Elena finally, "I was transported off the ship, no, they, but something went wrong and I returned, then I ...." Again he looked as if he had forgotten his whereabouts, and those around him.
"It's possible they tried to snatch him but couldn't complete the transport if they are suffering power losses as we are." David said, watching the man closely, "He could be suffering from transporter psychosis. Take him to Medical and sedate him and run whatever tests you need to. Treat him and get him on his feet as soon as viable, understood ?"
"No, I .... The Alicor ship, something is burning it's wa ...."
"Come on, you'll be fine in fifteen minutes, I promise. We'll get you sorted then you can report what happened." de Luca said, reaching out a hand, which Clancy finally took, allowing himself to be led away, she glanced at Tan as they passed, wondering just how Clancy could have been on the other ship without either vessel supposedly having the means to transport ..... David watched them go then told the Security Officer to follow. Clancy wasn't to be allowed to be alone for whatever reason.
They turned to head back to the Bridge but David saw Broski hesitate for a fraction, turning to look in the direction of the Brig, before following Tan. He held back as Broski passed him then began to follow, but something wasn't right, and he felt it. He stopped, instructing the second Security Officer to accompany him ... They headed for the Brig at a run, the Navigation Officer following behind. Entering they immediately saw the prone form of the Brig Duty Officer, against the bulkhead as if discarded. Tan turned to the cells.
They were empty ! ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 246
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Jul 25, 2016 2:43:24 GMT
Dr Adams eventually returned to see Iorte, pushing past two stone-faced security guards. Apparently there was nothing wrong with him. Something about this struck him as odd, though he didn't know why, except that he knew for a fact he'd lied about his forgetfulness in the corridor. It'd been genuine at first, though the fog had lifted and he'd thought quickly on his feet to make the transition between confusion and deception seem unnoticeable.
Neurological scans revealed nothing, blood pressure and central nervous system, etc., were at normal levels. "Then I'm free to return to my duty," he said, having meant it to come out as a question. Adams tentatively shook her head, saying it would have to be cleared with Komin first. He sighed and started lying back down; as his head hit the pillow the computer's voice filled the room.
~ Attention all hands. Attention all hands. Auto-destruct sequence initiated. Auto-destruct in 9 minutes, 59 seconds. ~
A frenzy spread through sickbay, admirably controlled and remarkably quiet except for an assistant dropping a tray of hyposprays. Iorte was on his feet, "Doctor. If you won't release me..." he paused, thought, "I'm overriding your authority. The ship's in danger, I can't wait here for Komin's news when it's unlikely I'll hear from her until after the..." he trailed off, his words making him stride all the faster for the door.
Alicor ship
"Neither they nor your counterpart have done anything," Litmus retorted and stalked from the room, the door in its retraction showing the darkness of the corridor beyond, a hole in the sepulchre of the midnight-shade holodeck. Added to the mock zero-gravity of the localised simulation was a holographic overlay of the tactical situation, filling nearly the entire room. The El Alamein, just over seven minutes 'til destruction (and here he could do nothing!), was picked out as well as the deep range facility; distant stars were projected against an infinite background to add to the illusion; it felt very much like floating in space.
The remaining Alicoran (the one Clancy's alter ego had recovered from the El Alamein; Tan and de Luca must've been onto something) walked into the middle of the room, about three metres below Clancy and, making sure he had the Intel agent's attention, pointed with a spindly finger at a small starlight-reflecting jewel piercing the blackness. A graphical display leapt up from the floor and revolved around Clancy, showing him information about this Procyon B-reflecting speck: a shuttlepod, launched from the El Alamein launch bay and on course for the deep range facility.
The Alicoran laughed suddenly, "She's resourceful. Out of the brig, then engineering, the launch bay, and she's locked out the Starfleet Captain's authorisation code. Two passengers... hmm."
"She?" Iorte frowned, "Amelia?" He looked back at the display, seeing now the data on the craft's occupants: an Alicoran, a human and an Andorian.
"One must wonder who the passengers are," the Alicoran said and strode from the room. Clancy was unceremoniously dropped to the floor as the zero-gravity simulation ended; the 3D 'planetarium' dissolved too. Crying out as his knees impacted, he rested for a moment to clear the fog from his vision and rise to his feet; too late in recognising his opportunity - he'd begun diving for the wall panel - the bare gridlined walls dissolved.
The temperature plummeted. He found himself tumbling, collecting white matter as he rolled down the face of a steep hill and striking a rocky outcrop at its foot. He looked about; the knoll seemed to be at the epicentre of a blizzard. A frozen wasteland stretched to the hazy horizon in all directions, kilometres and kilometres of ice and apparently igneous rock. "Where is this, what simulation?" he asked the Alicoran computer.
"Alicor Prime."
While the bridge officers looked for a way to counteract the self-destruct and do something about the shuttle, anti-Clancy walked onto the darkened bridge, stepped up behind Komin and - before the chasing security could reach him - punched her hard in the back of the head.
He saw her lose consciousness and stepped back, suddenly blank - for a moment a vacuum filled his last several hours - then all the blood drained from his face and he collapsed over the helm console, knocking Broski from his seat.
Barely conscious, he turned over as the security guards approached and held down his arms, only one of his stunned colleagues behind and between them. He struggled in vain. "Tan," he managed, feeling faint, "Their ship... They're not alone. Something's eating its fuel, and it could get to us. It... they... are spaceborne." Again, there seemed no logic from an objective standpoint why Litmus would make him both attack the El Alamein's CO and tell Tan about the ship's weakness.
Broski shot to his feet, "What do you think we're more worried about right now?!"
~ Auto-destruct in 6 minutes, 50 seconds ~ the computer reminded them politely.
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Jul 30, 2016 1:21:56 GMT
~ Attention all hands. Attention all hands. Auto-destruct sequence initiated. Auto-destruct in nine minutes, fifty nine seconds ~
David couldn't believe what he was hearing. Lieutenant Demik at Tactical moved to the Ops station and began trying to override the self destruct as unseen, Clancy stepped rushed onto the Bridge. The first anyone knew of his arrival was when Captain Komin slammed into the Helm console dislodging Broski in the process. Three Security Officers followed at the run and jumped on the Intelligence Officer.
"Get a Medic up here ... NOW !" David said, kneeling beside the unconscious Komin.
"Tan ...." Clancy managed, feeling faint, "Their ship ... They're not alone. Something's eating its fuel, and it could get to us. It ... They ... are space-borne." Broski shot to his feet:
"What do you think we're more worried about right now?!"
~ Auto-destruct in six minutes, fifty seconds ~ the computer reminded them politely.
The Security Officers dragged Iorte to his feet and began to half carry, half drag him away.
"Wait !" Tan said,moving to stand in front of his colleague, "Iorte, what were you saying .... There's something over there that can affect us if they get aboard, is that right ?" Clancy shook his head, not in the negative, but as if trying hard to remember where he was or what the precise information he needed to impart while there was time. David wondered if the man even recognised him, let alone knew where he was for a few seconds, but then he began to falteringly repeat what he had said, with more clarity this time.
~ Auto-destruct in four minutes, thirty seconds ~
"Sit him down." Tan ordered the Officers, who unceremoniously dropped Clancy into the Center Seat, receiving a withering look from Tan in the process. He knelt before him and asked again what information he had, but all Clancy could do was stagger out the details: Space-borne, Eating fuel, "Why did you attack the Captain ?"
"Captain ?" Clancy repeated, "We need to move the ship away."
"Move away ... Why Iorte, Why !"
"Space-borne, they will get to the El Alam, to the, ship." Clancy insisted, getting stronger now by the second.
~ Auto-destruct in two minutes, twenty seconds ~
"Sir !" Demik said urgently, "I can't stop it. There's a lock-out that requires an access code, I have no idea where to start and there simply isn't time to evac ....."
"Move ship quic ...." Clancy said, staggering to his feet and almost pushing Broski out of the way as he placed both palms on the plexi-glass console, eyes flicking over the control functions, he hit several in quick succession, but thankfully, rather than plummeting into the Orbital Facility, or worse, into the Alicor vessel, they remained exactly where they were. Broski pulled Clancy backwards and into the waiting grasp of Security. He sat down, explaining that he had locked the panel when the Intelligence Officer appeared and attacked Komin. David looked at the injured Captain and turned to Broski:
"Use everything we have, put some distance between us and the Alicor vessel." Broski eyed Clancy, then tuned to his panel, "Take the Captain to sick-bay." he said, watching the view-screen as the massive Alicor vessel dropped downwards and out of sight, "Can we scan that ship ?"
"Not to give us any useful information." Demik informed him.
~ Auto-destruct in ninety seconds ~
"Computer .. Access Auto-Destruct sequence: Override code: Clancy-Cloned-Nine-Nine-Omega : Abort ..." Iorte said suddenly, causing everyone to look at him intently.
~ Confirmation required to deactivate Auto-Destruct ~
"Auth ...... Authorisation: Clancy-One-Nine-One ......" he confirmed, almost dropping to his knees as weakness once again overcame him.
~ Auto-destruct sequence .. Aborted ~
"How did you kno ......" Broski began, advancing on the Intelligence Officer, menace in every syllable.
"He was forced, most likely through some form of sub-conscious implanted command, set to trigger at a certain point." Elena said, managing to get between Broski and Clancy, nodding toward the Helm seat, an obvious if unspoken instruction, "We need to find out what else they managed to cram into his head before allowing him, or rather 'sending' him back here."
"He's not been off the shi ....." Massa, Head of Security began, then remembered the fact that they couldn't locate him, albeit for only moments, Could they have done that in the time they had ?"
"As a precaution, I suggest we de-activate his Access to anything other than basic level usage." Elena suggested, looking at the still confused Clancy, wondering what must be going through his mind. Tan nodded:
"Computer .. Adjust Security Access for Iorte Clancy .. Intelligence Officer .. To Level Three .. Until further notice .. Authorisation: Tan-Alpha-Two-Two-Epsilon."
~ Confirmed ~ the computer said obligingly.
"Sit him down ... 'GENTLY' ..." David ordered the two Security Officers. Stay with him and if he suddenly decides he needs to be elsewhere, make sure he remains in that seat." he turned to watch the two Medic's carrying the Captain,now on a mag-lev gurney, off the Bridge. Things were rapidly getting out of hand, and there would be no help forthcoming from the Federation until they realised that the El Alamein was missing, or presumed lost, and at this point they had no reason to think that the ship was in any trouble ! ..... He turned to the Exec' Officer, Commander Milo Van:
"Commander, we have some harsh decisions to make."
"I realise that." the almost timid Officer replied.
"We have to stop 'ALL' traffic between the Scutum-Centaurus Arm and us. Given the fact that the 'SCA' is almost three hundred thousand light-years distant, I would have initially said it shouldn't be too much of a problem, cut off their arrival point and 'hey-presto' as the saying goes." he raised his arms in frustration, "But the best laid plans, yadda yadda ......."
"We could ram it." Van said, almost matter-of-factly.
"We could, but not just yet." Tan said, glancing at Clancy, deep in thought, as he hoped the others were.
"Why not play programmer ourselves ?" Elena suggested suddenly, glancing sidelong at the seated Intel Officer ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 246
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Jul 30, 2016 9:04:35 GMT
The light flashed before his face once more hurting his eyes; he squinted at the illumination as if suffering from a migraine. Well, perhaps that was what it was. The cold press of the machine at his temples brought him back to the situation, however temporarily. With the feel of the device, its dull pressure against his skull, came the images reminiscent of latent remembrance of a nightmare of the dark room and the dusty lamp, the piercing eyes of Victor Litmus and the rise into the maw of the torture implement... On the Alicor ship, with its melting decks, spectres stalking the midnight realm of the vessel's labyrinthine depths.
"Iorte? What did Kree and Litmus do to you? How did he... brainwash you?"
He got the dull impression it was the second, or third time the question had been asked. He tried to focus but it was no use. All was fog, fog and indistinction.
"You freed Amelia Carter from the brig. She presumably set the auto-destruct and left aboard the shuttlepod. What is she doing? Does she want to find her mother?" He found himself nodding, the duranium-steel alloy device pressed to his cranium making it difficult. Tan continued, "Why did they give you the code to deactivate the auto-destruct? Are they playing games with us?"
Another.
The word stabbed at him as if he'd just remembered he was supposed to be at his wedding that morning. "Why did 'who'?" he found himself asking. They told him that he knew who, he really did if he thought about it. Kree and Litmus, yes... Yes, of course. He'd come back to the El Alamein. Komin was unconscious. He'd tried to pilot the vessel into the Alicor ship's hangar but it hadn't worked; the controls had been locked out. "Something else gave me the override code," he murmured, "Not the Alicorans."
Tan voice's sounded like it came from underwater, "Another Iorte? Or rather," he cleared his throat, "Another side of yourself? Something you can't remember having done?" He swam in (anti-)Clancy's vision momentarily before passing out of sight into the outer darkness.
A memory of looking in the mirror. Iorte's apartment on Earth. The light reflecting off his body doubled back endlessly between the first mirror and the second on the wall behind him. An infinite reflecting hall shot away behind and in front, the imago cracked apart through infinity. He coughed violently, ordered his thoughts, tried to picture his existence:
He was a spinning top in precession at the centre of a vacuum of fear. Fear more profound than that of eternal solitude, of dread imagination. Where the mirror was chipped he could see through it past infinity, and there at the end of everything his absent image looked back at him darkly, pale with the light from above, the rest of its body in shadow; it smiled knowingly and moved with him.
"The other. Told me of the creatures," he said. At last he managed to grasp hold of a thread of what seemed like reality, the fog lifting ever so slightly and Dr Adams and Tan becoming visible. He'd been moved to sickbay, yes, he remembered now. With his head held in place by the medical device, he could only strain his eyes to see the biobed where Komin lay. Sensibly the area around her biobed, and around all the biobeds, was isolated by a forcefield, Komin attended to by an EMH during the times Dr Adams was occupied with the Captain's would-be killer, Iorte Clancy.
"Creatures," Tan said, "Are they what you warned us against? That they could get aboard the El Alamein?"
Iorte nodded, sighing in exhaustion and closing his eyes. He gathered his thoughts, shredded and jumbled though they were, "You want to use me against the Alicor?" He didn't wait for a response, "You could let me go almost as I am, with just one small modification. It was another... another Iorte, though I don't understand how that's possible..." he lost his thread, "I have all my memories! I remember my childhood, I remember leaving home... applying for the academy and being taken aside at the end of my first year by a representative of Tetsutaro... My apartment, my wife, my cats, all of it! And now what? It didn't happen? I'm not Iorte Clancy but some... impostor?!"
"Iorte," Adams patted his arm. That and Tan's attentive look bade him to continue.
"Yes," he sighed, "The other Iorte... He planted the suggestion in me that I tell you about the species plaguing the Alicor vessel. They're beings created in the laboratory, for application in covert warfare: Sheliak-Tholian hybrids with all higher brain functions neutralised and functioning only on primal instinct. Monstrosities, and Section 99 are responsible. I can't tell you how I know that, I just know. Kree and Litmus, neither of them know about it, they think their power loss is due to the shutting down of their secondary core, but the truth is the hybrids are consuming the power reserves, passing from deck to deck in search for more. They feed off pure energy.
"Iorte also subliminally implanted information in me about the auto-destruct override code," anti-Clancy continued, "I don't believe he knew about Amelia's handiwork even when the countdown had already started. He found out though; his method of getting the information to me was... quite novel." He would go no further; to do so would reveal something about Iorte Clancy's true origins.
"Look, if you want me to infiltrate the Alicor ship, subvert Kree and Litmus's plans, then all you need do is make it impossible for me to reach delta-wave sleep. That's all. Though do you really want to hinder them when both vessels are threatened by Section 99's creation? The agency has lost control of its children. They're a menace 99 can no longer contain." He sighed, consigning himself, "Use me, use me to destroy the Alicor."
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David Tan
Starfleet Intelligence
Suum Cuique ...
Registered: Dec 11, 2006 10:56:04 GMT
Posts: 790
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Post by David Tan on Aug 1, 2016 18:04:56 GMT
"Use me ... Use me to destroy the Alicor." Iorte said, a mixture of defiance and dejection in his voice. "No, we're not going to play their game." David said,hoping there was another way, but he knew, knew the second Clancy offered himself that it was the only sure way to get aboard their ship. He stood and walked around the room, deep in thought, but no matter how he tried, it all came down to Clancy, their sacrificial lamb, if he sent him back over there without a means to defend himself. Something occurred to him and he quickly dropped into his seat. Not wanting to say anything until he had the answer he was looking for, he assessed the El Alamein's crew compliment list. Scrolling down he almost slammed his fist against the desk. "David ?" Elena said, worried, but Tan grinned and tapped the Comm link: =^= Ensign Niral .. Report to Captains Ready Room =^= =^= Ensign Niral .. On my way =^= He looked at the others in the room hoping this could work, otherwise they were back to square one and fresh out of ideas. He held up a hand as everyone began to question his action, noticing the Chief Engineer eyeing him silently, then the door opened and Ensign Niral entered. She stood just inside the door one eyebrow raised in question. "Take a seat Ensign." David said, watching the others as they in turn watched the new arrival, "As you can see ..... Ensign Niral here, is of Vulcan origin." "How does that help us ?" Broski asked, but Doctor Adams was already realising what the Intelligence Officer had in mind, and she was going to object to it in the strongest manner possible. She stood: "You can't be serious .... You can't expect her to ...." she said, almost holding the resulting withering stare from Tan, until she finally sat back down, repeating the comment with less ferocity. "What ?" Broski said, frustration building. "Sir ..." the Chief Engineer said quietly, "I believe I, as a Vulcan of more, maturity, would be better suited for the process you have in mind. Ensign Niral is young, and despite being pure Vulcan, is still, undisciplined, in her mental abilities. Her attempt could cause irreparable damage to both of them." "Commander Lorok is correct." Niral confirmed. "I had thought that using someone with little or no knowledge of what has transpired thus far, would be less inclined to fabr ....." David began, but Tor Lorok interrupted him: "With respect. You are in error. With your permission I will have the Ensign return to her duties ?" Tan nodded, then waited while the young woman left. "What are you planning David ?" Elena asked, concerned as were the others, but Tan remained quiet as Clancy nodded his silent agreement. Asking elena to relinquish her seat, Lorok got up from his and rounded the table. He sat in the empty seat next to Iorte and asked the man to face forward. He reached out with one hand, placing his fingers and thumb on very specific locations, to allow pressure to be applied to blood vessels and nerve clusters in the face, then, using synaptic pattern displacement the two would link minds, something very personal to both involved. "My mind to your mind ..."
"My thoughts to your thoughts ..."
~~~~~~~~~~ It took ten minutes for Torok to complete the conditioning so that Iorte would not succumb to any form of attack by the Alicor. He would appear to be exactly what he was, spy, fake, impostor, clone, whatever suited the purpose. As the meld was broken, Torok sat back, pain crossing his face for a second before he managed to reign in his emotions. Clancy, for his part, seemed more confident, self-assured, but this too seemed to pass in the next moments, and once again he was who he was. Only this time, he knew that they knew of his origin, and also his sincere wish to help in anyway he can ... He would need to go to the Alicor vessel, he would need an excuse, and once there would need to free the 'genuine' Iorte Clancy, returning him to the El Alamein. Once that task was complete, the clone would need to find a way to destroy the Alicor vessel completely !
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Elena de Luca
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Dec 14, 2009 0:38:17 GMT
Posts: 265
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Post by Elena de Luca on Aug 2, 2016 16:43:53 GMT
They sat in complete silence while the Vulcan Engineer imprinted numerous safeguards into the mind of Clancy ....
"He's going to need an excuse for returning to the Alicor vessel." David said, knowing everyone was thinking exactly the same thing.
"Me." Elena said, shrugging, then continuing when she had everyone's attention, "He can't simply turn up. He'll need to be able to justify his sudden request to return, what better than to have someone who could provide information the Alicor may need. He could say he was taking me without the other's knowledge."
"But why ?" David insisted, "There is nothing you know that they would need, or already have."
"He can tell them that he found out I'm Intelligence, that alone should be enough to peek their interest in having me over there than here."
"..... and what if they decide to use that brain thing on you, you could tell them everything you actually 'do' know, and get sent back here non the wiser." Broski said.
"What about this then ....." she said, changing tack, "He feigns illness, something they couldn't expect. When he transports over there one of us goes with him, and yes I realise that they would detect a second lifesign instantly, but if we can somehow cause an disruption in the transport, not enough to prevent it, but enough to keep them occupied, then delay the second persons materialisation, say long enough to leave their transporter room. Once aboard, i doubt they will be monitoring for intruders, especially as they know exactly where we are."
"What if they decide to question him ?" Lieutenant Demik said, pointing at Clancy.
"My, conditioning of Mister Clancy, will prevent him revealing anything directly, he will simply 'not know' when asked. given the time allowed to complete my task, it was preferable to attempting to fabricate a whole series of answers to questions we have no means of knowing before they are in fact, asked." Lorok answered.
"I'm not sure sending you over there is our best option." David said, admittedly unable to come up with anyone else, unless he himself went.
"Clancy, this Clancy, will have two objectives, to get to the real one and get him back over here, then sabotage the ship beyond anything their technology can cope with, and that, in my opinion, requires a warp core breech."
"Then by a process of elimination, as Captain Komin's Chief Engineering Officer, I am best suited for the task. I can also withstand the harsher environment that will be faced in the Engineering Section of the ship, which if memory serves, is only partially airtight at this time." Tor Lorok said, looking at each of the others in turn, though not expecting anyone to debate his logic.
"we need to know if it can actually be done first." David said, "Commander, you and your team will work out the logistics, I'm sure Mister Clancy may be of help in that ... As for the rest of us, we need to come up with an alternate plan, and quickly. We cannot allow that ship to begin harvesting at it's full capacity, if they can regain enough power to achieve warp they could go anywhere." Tan said ..........
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Iorte Clancy
Starfleet Intelligence
Registered: Mar 9, 2016 17:58:55 GMT
Posts: 246
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Post by Iorte Clancy on Aug 7, 2016 20:59:42 GMT
Clancy readied himself for return to the Alicor ship, being consulted further by Commander Lorok and attended to by de Luca also as she vied with the Vulcan for being the person to return with him to Kree and Litmus's lair.
He indicated an area near the centre of the Alicor ship's schematic, a built up area where the white lines of the wireframe graphic became an impossible forest of crisscrossing threads, "The bridge is here, along with several other important systems, including the primary interface between the bridge's systems and the main computer core."
Lorok nodded and zoomed in on the section. "I note it still has atmosphere. Where is the original Iorte Clancy likely to be confined?" the Vulcan asked.
Clancy didn't bat an eyelid at the forthright mention of there being an 'original' version of him, "I don't know for sure, but the holodecks of the vessel, three decks below the bridge, are a likely candidate. If I can be placed close to there there is a chance I can find him almost immediately; the bridge is a short distance from there, where I'll be able to cause the core overload." He paused, seeing Lorok's raised eyebrow, continuing, "Yes, you may be able to effect the same from the engineering section, but given the complexity of the Alicoran engines and the minimal atmosphere there you could be delayed. Also-"
"Yes, I've already scanned it. The hybrid creatures."
Clancy sighed, "Yes, they can live in a vacuum, and have populated the room - a cubic kilometre in volume - that gives access to the main engine complex." They were eating into the power reserves in fact; Lorok would surely have to find another way to get to the engines if Clancy from the bridge failed in setting the ship's core for overload; either that or de Luca could accompany him, which would perhaps give him more access to the bridge if Litmus found that he'd done so well as to bring a prisoner back from the El Alamein.
"... Also Captain," Demik was saying from tactical, Clancy and Lorok just becoming aware of the exchange, "I'm detecting an energy spike from the deep range facility - in the far x-ray... It seems there's been an explosion. Exotic particle count 1 part per 180,294 of conventional subatomic particles in the vicinity of the presumed blast..."
"What happened to that shuttlepod?" Komin asked, standing and tugging down on her jacket, "I thought Amelia Carter's pod had been intercepted by the facility's runabout, that she was back in custody?" Demik replied affirmative. "Then what has caused the explosion?"
They continued scans of the research station while Clancy looked to Lorok and de Luca. Perhaps he was suggesting, now was the time to head for the Alicor ship - whatever had happened at the station, the Alicor were involved in some way. Taking out their ship would give them more pressing concerns than the research station. "Detecting biological matter in an expanding sphere from the facility," Demik intoned, "The mass equates to - if it is the type of biomatter I think it is - 62 humanoid lifeforms."
There had been an explosion.
Alicor ship
Yes indeed there had, though Iorte was only dimly aware of it courtesy of the one visit of Litmus during which the Alicoran had made oblique, cryptic remarks about the fate of the facility.
Alone again in the wasteland, Iorte shuffled towards the nearby cave entrance, entering under its cavernous arch that rose some twenty metres. He stared at mysterious markings on one of the walls. "Computer, when did Alicor Prime cease to support humanoid life on its surface?" He'd already found out that this was Alicor Prime in its present form, and that under real conditions he wouldn't have survived longer than ten minutes.
"1100 years ago."
"Around the time when they ran out of new bodies to place their consciousnesses into," he murmured. Perhaps the climate had destroyed their ability to 'manufacture' new bodies... and they had turned to the rest of the galaxy in search for suitable neural matches; humans had been the best fit.
Anti-Clancy was subjected to a Starfleet transporter for the first time, all his previous displacements coming virtue of the antennae-projector on the Alicor vessel's exterior. He found himself in the same corridor in which he'd been previously when returning to receive his new instructions (to free Janal from the El Alamein brig), however it seemed much brighter, no demons waiting round the corner this time. The Vulcan conditioning - that limited the fear he was meant to feel as part of his programming if he returned here, as well as blanking his mind of his purpose if he was question by Kree and Litmus - was working perfectly.
His commbadge buzzed; excellent, his companion had made it aboard, "Report," he whispered, reaching a junction only twenty metres from the closest holodeck where Iorte may be concealed.
<de Luca and/or Lorok?>
And then he saw the white-clothed leg pass out of sight in a distant corridor - at this angle away from the junction he could see twenty other such intersections extending away like that infinite hall of mirrors in his apartment on Earth, the flash of white of the Alicoran's trouser passed and he was left alone with the whispering surrounds that now caused him a modicum of fear, breaking through the temporary Vulcan shielding.
He became aware of that which had pawed at him from the edge of consciousness since his arrival, hairs on end and face drained of colour, he looked up to see the yellow eyes peering at him through the hole in the ceiling, and then the creature dropped on him, shrouding him with the limbs of its nightmare body.
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