Mission 5.2 - Convergence

[Magellan Lin]

She had barely pushed at a few of the segments when one pulled back with a kind of sucking sound and withdrew.

"Bingo" Lucille exclaimed amazed at her good luck. It was short lived as she saw the Kasan-thar before her.

"Ah you are both well. I am glad" he said, "I apologise. The Highest mis-interpreted your intentions and transloacted you aboard our vessel"

Stephens moved up beside Lucille protectively

"I mean you no harm" the Kasan-thar reassured " I m a Salan - Kasar of this vessel."

"Well thats clear as Mud" Stephens muttered

Salan gave the scientist an odd look then said,

"Come." He led them through the half mechanical half biological ship to a pleasant room that seemed overly warm.

"I feel there is much I must explain" Salan stated as they sat, "We Kasar do not interacte with Carbons much and are not used to it"

"Kasar - I thought you were Kasan-thar"

Salan shook his head,
"I am Kasar, The people, the administrators, The Kasan-thar are our protectors - our police, our soldiers our doctors our priests. The protect our physical and spiritual well being.
We are not from your region of space, we come from near the rim but we have begun a crusade"

"Against the Tholians?" Lucille interjected

"Oh no. They were just an interesting find and a great delicacy, We never imagined other Silicons could exist at such a basic primeval level."

"So why are you out here"

"We search for Perfection."

Connor gave Lucille a nervous glance - that sounded very much like the Borg.

"Eons ago our race encountered the perfect being. Its Silicon Crystalline Nature was well divine. It frequented our space and we would follow and worship it. It fed on whole planets but never us, it looked after us. Each planet it fed on became suitable for our occupancy. Then 50 years ago it disappeared and we have been searching for it ever since. I believe it came this way. I hoped to open up talks with your people to see if you had seen it. It is very very important to it and the Kasan-thar will do anything to find our Perfection again."

TAG

[Deleted]

Lt. Grey didn't glance at Lt. Stephens. She didn't want any misinterpretations in their status. They were equal -both lieutenants- and Starfleet didn't make any discriminations because of their sex. She didn't want that happening here.

A practical person, Lucy stared at the man in front of her.

"Why didn't you simply follow the destruction of planets?"

"As I said, it disappeared. It did not destroy."

Lt. Grey kept her gaze on the Kasar, saying, "Possibly it moved on, leaving you to fend for yourselves. You say each planet it fed on was suitable for the Kasar to live."

"No, we cannot believe the Perfection would abandon us."

Now Lucy did look to Lt. Stephens, hoping for inspiration. She asked the Kasar, "How can we help you?"

<Kasar>

"We can help but first we must be given our freedom. You'll have to contact our people - our ship - and let them know where we are. I will need to speak with my captain."

<Stephens>

<Kasar>

[Deleted]

"I think we're catching up to them, sir," Tireon reported from the science station.

"Why so, Lieutenant?" Ramsey asked.

"The chroniton trail is getting more distinct. It's not getting any more intense, so it's not because they're speeding up. It's that the trail is fresher than before."

"Commander Trek?" Ramsey said, turning his head toward the other side of the Bridge.

The engineer consulted his console for a moment. "I concur, Captain. We're gaining on them."

"Are we within communications range?" Ramsey asked, tilting his head back in the direction of Tactical.

"Yes, Captain," Commander Reo answered, having returned to his post.

"Open a channel," Ramsey said, standing.

"Channel open."

"This is Captain David Ramsey of the Federation Starship Nevada. We have reason to be believe you are holding two of my Officers. Please respond."

[connorstephens]

"No, we cannot believe the Perfection would abandon us."

Now Lucy did look to Lt. Stephens, hoping for inspiration. She asked the Kasar, "How can we help you?"

<Kasar>

"We can help but first we must be given our freedom. You'll have to contact our people - our ship - and let them know where we are. I will need to speak with my captain."

Stephens was as surprised as anyone when the Kasar showed his face. He tried not to let the surprise show, and supposed that he had at least been marginally successful. As the Kasar spoke of 'The Perfection,' Stephens was reminded of several old Earth stories, myths really, of cultures who had had some contact with gods from the sky, and who subsequently developed stories and rituals and other customs to fit the myths. It seemed nearly a universal phenomena, and not on the Earth only.

THAT wasn't the surprising thing--for Stephens, the surprising thing was that a technologically advanced species like the Kasar would continue to believe such things, and act upon them. He resisted the urge to engage in conversation about the destruction of the Tholian 'nurseries,' thinking that perhaps that might be provocative and may indeed jeapordize their safety. As there were only two of them, Grey and himself, there wasn't sufficient safety guaranteed to speak freely.

But Grey didn't seem bothered by this. She told the Kasar that return to the Nevada was not only important but mandatory if they were to be helpful to the Kasar; she promised rightly nothing in return except probable help. With these things Stephens agreed.

"We are an exploratory civilization. We enjoy contact with species with which we have no familiarity, and it is our purpose to help those who are in need. However, our crewmates will be searching for us, and will not take lightly our separation from them. We are not a violent species, but we will defend ourselves if neccessary, and we are quite capable of doing so. We can help you, Kasar, but we must be free to do so."

<Kasar>

[tpren]

[/color]
[li]
[/li][li]
[/li][li]
[/li][/ul]

[Deleted]

(OOC: Yes T'Pren, it is most certainly okay for you to create NPCs. That's what I want you to do. The ship isn't solely run by the 6 of us. An Akira normally has about 400 crew. I've created almost a dozen for Engineering alone. Oh, and also, I'm a Commander 1st Class, not a Lieutenant . And welcome aboard once again to Lt Black! )

The alien ship gave no response. "I repeat, this is Captain David Ramsey of the Federation Starship Nevada. You are holding two of my Officers. Respond."

The viewscreen came up, and on it appeared a dark shape lit from behind. "I am Valk, Highest of this vessel. Your personnel threatened a Kasar. Then you pursued us."

Ramsey quickly tapped out a message on his console and sent it to Lieutenant Black at Ops. "Lt, trace this signal!" the message read.

"We are explorers, our mission was first contact," David responded to the mysterious figure. "I assure you our intentions are peaceful."

"Yet you pursue us like a hunter, despite being no much for us," Valk stated.

"You kidnapped members of my crew, then fired on my vessel. What is it you want?" David asked, hoping to gain some insight into this species.

"We search for the Perfection," Valk answered.

"The Perfection? What is this Perfection?" David queried.

"A Silicon Crystalline being our race encountered many years ago. It provided for us. But it has not been seen in a very very long time."

"Captain, I think I may know what he's refering to," Trek offered.

"Mute audio," David ordered. "Commander?" he said, looking to the Engineer.

"The Crystalline Entity encountered by the USS Enterprise-D 25 years ago. It was silicon-based. It may be what they're searching for. Unfortunately, although not at the fault of the Enterprise crew, it was destroyed."

"Any chance there are any more of them?" David asked.

"Unknown, Captain."

"Lieutenant Black, have you traced the source of that transmission?" David asked the Ops Officer.

"Aye, sir," she answered. "They are nearby."

"Start working on a way to find our people, whatever way you can," he instructed. "Resume audio."

"The entity you describe is known to the Federation. It was last encountered 25 years ago. Unfortunately, it was destroyed shortly thereafter, though through no fault of ours. We could try to help you find it again. But first, you'll have to return my Officers. If you do so, we will help you."

<Tag Kasar/Mag>

[Deleted]

"We are an exploratory civilization," Connor Stephens interjected. "We enjoy contact with species with which we have no familiarity, and it is our purpose to help those who are in need. However, our crewmates will be searching for us, and will not take lightly our separation from them. We are not a violent species, but we will defend ourselves if neccessary, and we are quite capable of doing so. We can help you, Kasar, but we must be free to do so."

"We are contacting your ship. They have not been helpful," the Kasar said carefully.

He appeared to be studying the Starfleet officer's body language. Lt. Grey understood this as a sign of positive communication.

"Allow us to speak with our captain. We can then come to an agreement," she said in all earnestness.

"Your captain is saying that the Perfection has been destroyed. If your people would destroy the Perfection, why then should we trust you? Would you not destroy us?"

Salan stood up decisively. Lucy followed his lead, touching Stephens' arm to indicate he should follow suit.

"How do you know that?" Lucy asked. "What else is our captain saying?"

"I have ways," the Kasar informed them.

<Stephens>

"He's right, Salan. We must speak with our ship and captain." Lucy raised her chin. "Now pease."

<Stephens>

The Kasar left the room. Lucy and Connor inpulsively reached out to hold hands. Lucy felt an internal pull toward him. Her hand lifted to his cheek touching it lightly.

"We'll be okay, Connor. I know it," she said, just as much to assure herself as him.

<Stephens>

Stepping closer, Lucy buried her face against his neck, her arms encircling around his back.

[Deleted]

"Lieutenant Black, have you traced the source of that transmission?" David asked her.

"Aye, sir," Sandy Lou answered. "They are nearby." she then added

"Start working on a way to find our people, whatever way you can," he instructed. "Resume audio."

She nodded in resopse then turned and began trying to search for the missiong crew, because the transmission signal was so faint she kept loosing it, even when boosted she still kept loosing it.

Again, she booseted it to get an exact pin point position, it worked, and she bagan scaning that particular area for and human life signs, there where faint ones, but she was unable to be completely sure.

Sandy Lou kept going over, trying to be 100% sure it was the captured crew members, she was never going to be so sure, but 90% was enough.

Turning she looked towards Ramsey, "Sir", she said, and he then allowed her to mute the transmission. She then revealed what she had found.

(tag all)

[Magellan Lin]

"Are you mad!" Magellan exclaimed lunging across the bridge "Comms Off"

The bridge officer hesitated and looked at Ramsey.

"Don't look at him look at me."

The officer nodded and closed the commline.

"Dantrek cover the comm silence with static, make it look like we have a comm problem."

"Admiral I don't see the..."

"Exactly Commander Ramsey you don't see. As of now I am assuming full command of this vessel. You may well have just plunged the Federation into a War."

Ramsey looked shocked by the anger and venom in Magellans voice,
"It was not right to let them to continue to believe..."

Magellan cut him off again,
"But now was not the time or the place. They hold two of our officers hostile. And telling them that something they may regard as perfection was destroyed by us may well not be taken kindly to. Dantrek can we re-establish Comms now. Thankyou."

Valks face appeared on the viewscreen and Magellan couldnt help but shudder. The Kasan-thar looked furious.

"Highest Valk. I am Admiral Magellan I wish that such news could be more delicately put, however there are many such wonders in the universe perhaps if we share information, open a dialogue we could help you."

Valk frowned at the screen,

"I see no need to commune with such base creatures as you. It is our administrators who see dubiuos wisdom in that." he looked warily a moment, "And I doubt such primitive beings could harm let alone destory Perfection. Such inferiority could achieve little."

Magellan could sense that if most were like Valk then reaching some kind of accord would be difficult in the extreme.
"Then perhaps if you would return our crew we could depart. I would ensure none of our kind enter your space again?"

Valk shook his head,

"Your weak colleagues failed to survive the translocation, they are dead."

Magellans face became furious oncemore, it flickered across his face as he struggled to control it then he looked at Sandy, she shook her head briefly.

"I see. Thankyou for your candour, We will make repairs and depart. Nevada Out."

Magellan quickly crossed to Sandys side,
"Your certain you can detect Connor and Lucilles bio-signatures on their vessel."

TAG Sandy

"Then we need a plan to extricate them without damaging our delicate diplomatic status. Ideas?"

****

Salan arrived at the command centre to hear the last words between Valk and Magellan.

"You lied to them." he stated

"They lied to us. Why tell us they destroyed Perfection when they are so obviuosly inferior. We shall keep those two and present them to the Emperor as a breeding pair for his Zoo."

"I m not sure that is wise. Would you leave crew behind like that?"

Valk shook his head, "He thinks they are dead."

"Then you are a fool. These carbon baseds are less inferior than you think."

"Then you think they told the truth, because that is unthinkable, They would need to be irradicated for the desecration."

Salan shrugged,
"Perhaps we could learn more if we opened a dialougue with them, return their crew maybe."

Valk scowled,
"This gives me much to think on. Prepare them for transport to the Emperor, I will give you my final answer soon.

(OOC: Welcome to Sandy also.)

[connorstephens]

"Your captain is saying that the Perfection has been destroyed. If your people would destroy the Perfection, why then should we trust you? Would you not destroy us?"

Salan stood up decisively. Lucy followed his lead, touching Stephens' arm to indicate he should follow suit.

"How do you know that?" Lucy asked. "What else is our captain saying?"

"I have ways," the Kasar informed them.

"We are at a distinct disadvantage here. I can assure you that our intentions are peaceful. If you will allow us to speak to our captain, we can prove this to you."

"He's right, Salan. We must speak with our ship and captain." Lucy raised her chin. "Now please."

"It is in the best interest of both our species."

The Kasar left the room. Lucy and Connor inpulsively reached out to hold hands. Lucy felt an internal pull toward him. Her hand lifted to his cheek touching it lightly.

"We'll be okay, Connor. I know it," she said, just as much to assure herself as him.

Stephens smiled, but for the first time felt some alarm at their situation. They were in the dark, had no way to communicate with anyone, and did not know precisely where they were. They were, at least for the moment, at the mercy of their captors.

Stepping closer, Lucy buried her face against his neck, her arms encircling around his back.

Stephens felt a great deal of angst in this movement by Lt Grey. While he appreciated and understood the gesture, his insecure self arose in such a closeness, and he alternately felt that he was doing the right thing by returning it, and also that he was holding a house afire. He thought of T'Pren, and wondered if she missed him.

"It only remains to be seen what will happen next. Apparently, the captain is communicatng with the captain of this vessel. We may be free soon." ~We also may not be.~

[Deleted]

"Your certain you can detect Connor and Lucilles bio-signatures on their vessel."

"Yes sir, there are two different life signs, but as I said there is something blocking our ability to scan them proply, and transport them out, and its swarming with Kasars"

"Then we need a plan to extricate them without damaging our delicate diplomatic status. Ideas?"

Sandy shook her head, "we could try blinding their sensors and shuttling in, although how we would go about doing that I am unsure."
(Adm Lin, Cmdr Trek, and any one else)

[Deleted]

"Then we need a plan to extricate them without damaging our delicate diplomatic status. Ideas?"

Sandy shook her head, "we could try blinding their sensors and shuttling in, although how we would go about doing that I am unsure."

"Even if we could blind their sensors," Dan commented, nodding toward the viewscreen, "they're cloaked. We know nothing about that ship, except it's relative size and position. We wouldn't know where to head. We'd have to hack into their systems; get around their security. We'd have to send a piggy-back signal through a comm channel. And the channel would have to be open for a fairly lengthy amount of time to be useful anyway. Only then do we have any prayer of getting a transporter beam through their shields. Granted, the chances of doing unnoticed all of that are very very slim, let alone successfully. And we'd have to get better scanning resolution."

Dan shook his head. "I just don't know, Admiral. A Starfleet ship, familiar technology, maybe I could pull this off. But alien technology, superior alien technology at that, I just don't know."

[Deleted]

The Kasar had left them alone, the lights had gone out, then a splash of illumination made itself known from the lower far corners of the room. Lucy blinked, adjusting her eyes.

The lights dimmed and went out again. The afterimage of the room, the location of the table they'd been sitting at and [especially!] where Connor was standing gave Lucy an internal balance. She had moved slightly away from him when the lights came up and now she moved back toward him.

With a sudden jerk, Lt. Grey shifted positions, went swiftly to where she remembered the table as being. Feeling outward, her thigh bumped the edge.

Turning so she was half-sitting, Lucy said quietly, "They're watching us, Lt. Stephens."

<Stephens>

"How should I know? They get their kicks that way!" Lucy's hands fisted. She calmed herself down the way she'd been taught -deep breaths and the knowledge that as prisoners, their first duty was to escape.

The lights came back up, dimly. They could see each other now, the upper edges of the room in shadow.

"When he comes back, we've got to talk him into moving us to another place. It'll give us a chance to see the ship. Maybe we can be taken to the bridge. Think of something, Connor! There's got to be more than one way out of this."

<Stephens>

[connorstephens]

"They're watching us, Lt. Stephens."

Stephens had been watching Lt Grey as she seemd to be calculating their next move. The room's lighting had changed several times, in succession, and with each of these, she seemed to become more and more agitated. Smiling slightly, Stephens replied, "I would at least expect that. It is likely that we are, at least for the moment, quite valuable to them. But then again, watching is different from just knowing where we are. Why do you think they would be watching us?"

"How should I know? They get their kicks that way!" Lucy's hands fisted. She calmed herself down the way she'd been taught -deep breaths and the knowledge that as prisoners, their first duty was to escape.

It was difficult for Stephens to picture the Kasan-thar getting their kicks. They knew astoundingly little about them--to make a leap of that kind was clearly an emotional response from the young Lieutenant. Clearly, they needed a plan of action, one they could put into play as quickly as possible.

The lights came back up, dimly. They could see each other now, the upper edges of the room in shadow.

"When he comes back, we've got to talk him into moving us to another place. It'll give us a chance to see the ship. Maybe we can be taken to the bridge. Think of something, Connor! There's got to be more than one way out of this."

A plan was beginning to form in Stephens' mind. It was crude, an old Earth trick designed to startle and confuse. He didn't know, of course, if the Kasan-thar would fall for it, but they weren't Earth people, and may not have such things in their own experience. Grey was a Counselor--counselors often times carried med kits, or at least rudimentary med supplies.

"I don't know if I can figure this out, Lieutenant. You know I have problems with claustrophobia. What kind of meds do you have with you? I'm starting to experience some chest pains, and some tightening. The stress of this confinement is getting to me," he told her with a wink, raising his voice at the same time.

<Grey>

[tpren]

T'Pren sat in her office, monitoring the comm channel and waiting. She was alarmed when she heard that Connor and Lucy were dead, then relieved to hear that their biosigns were still apparently on the other vessel. Occasionally Amy or Kaduon would go by the office door, put their heads in, see her state of mind and withdraw back into the main sickbay area.
=/\="T'Pren to bridge. What's going on up there? I need information on their biosigns to know if I'm going to need to set up any special containment fields or emergency procedures."=/\=

<Tag bridge crew>

(OOC: Sorry Dantrek. Didn't mean to bust you back in rank! ;D LOL)

[joshreo]

OCC: Warning this post contains NON-CANON references. If this is inappropriate, let me know plz...

IC: Josh was standing at the Tactical/Security Console listening to the various conversations going on on the bridge. He was also analyzing the weapon's fire from the Kasan vessel.

After the computer gave him the results, he said, "Sir, I have been analyzing the weapons fire from the Kasan ship. And it looks somewhat like the Genisis Wave. I believe that if we implement the inter-phasic shields that we needed to survive, their weapons will be like ours."

<Lin, Dan Trek>

[Magellan Lin]

Salan left Valk not entirely sure what his next course of action would be. He thought deeply and then reached a decision. He quickly ran to the cell block.
He hammered on the switch opening the door.

"Now is a time for peace. Your race should be warned though, you are watched and we shall come." he warned Grey and Stephens.

"I leave this door open, there is a shuttle bay two decks below. If you make it you escape, if you don't then you will be the pets of our Emperor may the Perfection have mercy on you. Now go"

TAG

[connorstephens]

Stephens looked at Grey and smiled. "Now there's a cure for claustrophobia! I'm sure you're going to ask if we can trust this guy. I think so, and we don't really have another option, anyway." He held out his hand. "Come on. We're not going to get a better invitation than this one."

Lt Grey clasped his hand as they cautiously made their way through the doorway. Muttering a silent "thank you" to the kasar, both looked about them to see what kind of exit they might have to make. "Two decks down. Shuttle bay. Maybe we can find some Jefferies tubes."

<Grey>

They hadn't gone far when they came to what appeared to be an access panel on their right, just ahead. It wasn't a large area, but with some care, Stephens thought that they might be able to squeeze through--assuming they could remove the cover.

"Some tools might be nice," Stephens thought as they tried to find a way to move the access cover. "Your fingers are smaller than mine, Lieutenant," Stephens said. "I'll stand watch while you see how this cover may come off. But hurry--it's kind of creepy standing out here like this."

He really wanted to talk about what the Kasar had said, about the two of them being pets of the Emperor. And that Perfection business was just a little too intriguing to just let go. But at the moment, time was pressing.

They had to make it to the shuttle, and hope the Nevada didn't fire on them and then ask questions later.

[Deleted]

Dan sat at his console, working desperately to try to find some way to lbetter scan for the Lieutenants. Kidnapped in their relative youth....youth, which his mind connected to children, leading him to think of his son, his rejection. Why had he done that to him?

=/\="T'Pren to bridge. What's going on up there? I need information on their biosigns to know if I'm going to need to set up any special containment fields or emergency procedures."=/\=

"Stand-by, Doctor. Trek, any better scan resolution?" Ramsey asked.

Dan barely heard them over his one thoughts.

"Commander!" Ramsey half-yelled.

Dan refocused. "Sir? Yes sir, sorry sir. Unfortunately Doctor, we don't have a good enough reading on Stephens and Grey for that. We're barely able to tell they're there. We'll give you word when we have it."

"Sir," Reo reported from Tactical, "I have been analyzing the weapons fire from the Kasan ship. And it looks somewhat like the Genisis Wave. I believe that if we implement the inter-phasic shields that we needed to survive, their weapons will be like ours."

"Excellent, Mr. Reo," Lin responded. "Start working on it right away. Let's just hope we don't need it."

[Deleted]

It didn't take much for Lucy to clutch Connor's hand. It was a way out. One she hadn't thought of but the way was as good as the means.

In the corridor, Lt. Stephens looked over what seemed to be an access cover. "Your fingers are smaller than mine, Lieutenant," Stephens said. "I'll stand watch while you see how this cover may come off. But hurry--it's kind of creepy standing out here like this."

She agreed with that. Hoping he knew what he was talking about [and he should, she assured herself], Lucy scooched down and felt around the lid which turned out to be a screw-type. Lucy's brows raised in surprise.

"It screws off, lieutenant. There's ridges here that you could grip. I'll take lookout while you use your manly strength."

Standing up, Lt. Grey leaned against the bulkhead while Stephens went to work.

Fifteen minutes later, they were standing in the shuttle bay hiding behind a separating wall. There were a few of the Kasar as well as the -thar's milling around. Looking carefully at their actions, they were doing maintainence on the shuttles, testing, gauging... The shuttle they'd been guided to was at the far end and it looked like the workers were moving away from it rather than working their way toward it.

Tapping Stephens on the arm, Lucy pointed at the end of the wall. The other end, also open -it was, after all, a separating wall not a bearing wall- she started moving in that direction.

Hugging the shuttle bay bulkhead, the two Starfleet officers moved silently and swiftly. Lucy's heart beat hard in her chest. To help calm herself down, she took a deep breath then bent over gagging. The odor of horse droppings that she'd been taking for granted had raced headlong into her lungs. Add the smell of sheep and goats and she might be able to describe the burning feeling that charged into her stomach, sweeping the lack of contents upward.

Connor's arms were around her then, running toward the shuttle. Her eyes rained tears as she worked at catching her breath. Attempting to help Lt. Stephen by moving her feet, barely touching the floor, she wasn't sure she was doing good or harm.

Then they were at the shuttle door and Connor tossed her inside, climbing over her as he made his way to the controls.

Lucy pulled herself to her knees using the back of the chairs. She heard a warning klaxon and then the sound of boots on steel plating. Ahead of them, the hangar door started to lift.

"Hu...hurry!" Grey whispered. "Hurry!" Her voice was stronger now and she moved forward to sit in the only other chair there was. She pawed at the tears still in her eyes. Tears that were turning into relief.

<Stephens>

[connorstephens]

Fifteen minutes later, they were standing in the shuttle bay hiding behind a separating wall. There were a few of the Kasar as well as the -thar's milling around. Looking carefully at their actions, they were doing maintainence on the shuttles, testing, gauging... The shuttle they'd been guided to was at the far end and it looked like the workers were moving away from it rather than working their way toward it.

Tapping Stephens on the arm, Lucy pointed at the end of the wall. The other end, also open -it was, after all, a separating wall not a bearing wall- she started moving in that direction.

Stephens wasn't at all certain exactly what they should do. There was, of course, the overriding need to get out of danger and away from the ship on which they were currently being held. The best--in fact only--method of effecting that escape was to get to the shuttle furthest away from them without being detected. It appeared to be an impossible task.

Hugging the shuttle bay bulkhead, the two Starfleet officers moved silently and swiftly. Lucy, after taking a deep breath, however, seemed noticeably affected by the smells of the ship, and she stopped once, bent over, as she was gagging. Stephens was even more alarmed by this, as he was worried about her as much as he was worried about getting to safety.

Stephens reached for her and drew her into his arms, half dragging and half carrying her. The shuttle seemed light-years away now, and despair of reaching it crept in.

Then they were at the shuttle door and Connor tossed her inside, climbing over her as he made his way to the controls.

Lucy pulled herself to her knees using the back of the chairs. A warning klaxon sounded, and there was the thrum of many feet on the deck plating outside the shuttle. The hangar bay door began to lift, and there was now more urgency than ever.

"Hu...hurry!" Grey whispered. "Hurry!" Her voice was stronger now and she moved forward to sit in the only other chair there was. She pawed at the tears still in her eyes. Tears that were turning into relief.

"Crap! Crap! Crap! I'm not a pilot! How do you start this thing?" he said out loud. Looking at the symbols on the console ahead of him, he became the linguist he was, studying the intricate patterns there. Nothing happened for a long moment in which he was certain they would be boarded and captured once more. He reached out his fingers, pushed a few buttons to see what would happen, and the shuttle hatch closed. "Well that was a good thing," he mused to himself. "Now to get this thing going." he pushed a few more buttons, concentrating on the green ones. "Come on!" he exclaimed. "Go! Start! Engage!!"

The shuttle's engines roared to life, and Stephens almost cried with joy. Looking at the schematic that had appeared, he said out loud, "Heading 179.36, Mark 084." The onboard computer acknowledged in Federation Standard, "Acknowledged."

Stephens was aghast! There was a Universal Translator somewhere in all of this. The shuttle began to lift from the deck, and turning, headed toward the hangar door. In another couple of seconds, they were in space.

"Lt Grey, do we have any way of communicating?"

But she was already on it. "Lt Grey to Nevada. Please respond. We are on a shuttle headed toward you--I think. Please respond. Lt Stephens and I are free."

Stephens looked at Grey, a wide smile on his face. Doubtess it would have continued had not phaser fire interrupted their journey.

[Deleted]

A few minutes later, the Tactical console began beeping. "Sir," Commander Reo reported, "I'm reading a shuttlecraft leaving the Kasar vessel."

"On screen," Lin ordered.

On the viewscreen, a rather angular shuttlecraft burst into view.

"Lifesigns?" Lin asked.

"There's a little interference, but it appears to be two humans, sir," Reo reported.

"Is it Grey and Stephens?" Lin inquired.

"Lt Grey to Nevada. Please respond. We are on a shuttle headed toward you--I think. Please respond. Lt Stephens and I are free."

"I guess that answers that question," Ramsey commented.

Weapons fire lashed out from nowhere at the small shuttle.

"Nevada here, Lieutenant," Lin responded "We'll get you out of there. Are we within transporter range?"

"Yes, sir," Trek responded.

"Can you get a lock on them?"

"Already have, sir."

"Beam them directly to Sickbay," Lin said, and hit the comm. "Bridge to Sickbay. Prepare for patients."

"I've got them, sir," Trek reported. "They're in Sickbay."

"Bridge to Sickbay, report."

[Magellan Lin]

"Good work people. Mr Reo target that Shuttle and destroy it."

Reo looked up,

"Theres no-one on board sir"

"I know - destroy it. Dan mask Conor and Lucilles biosignatures - I want them invisible"

Ramsey smiled, "I get where your going with this." he looked at the console before him, "Incoming hail"

Magellan looked at the screen,
"Put it up"

Valks face appeared with Salan at his side but before he could speak Magellan spoke up.

"In the interest of improving relations we are attempting to assist you in detaining the vessel you pursue."

Valk looked at Salan,

"Thankyou but we can manage" it was then that Reo got the range and the shuttle exploded in a ball of fire.

"Oh I m sorry" Magellan said in feigned shock, "I apologise we were trying to disable them"

Valk smiled "No worry, they were thieves and desreved the penalty they recieved. I also regret to inform you that your crew were on that vessel. They stole it after killing two guards and escaping detention"

"I see" Magellan replied. He paused, drawing a deep breath, "This is unfortunate indeed, they were fine officers. I demand some kind of reperations"

"But we did not kill them" Valk answered with a broad snake like smile, "You did."

"You have me there. Let us come to an arrangement. We do not appear to be hitting it off. We could exchange diplomats but at the moment I m not sure that would be wise. Can we agree to a cooling off. Your people go your way and ours our own. Space is big surely we can co-exist"

"Agreed" Valk nodded and cut the comm line.

"That went well" Magellan replied, "Helm get us out of here, Sandy plot a course for them that is circuitous we dont want the Kasan-thar following us back to our space. And have Connor and Lucille report for debriefing lets see what we have learned"

***

Aboard the Kasan-Thar vessel Salan and Valk stood impasivly as they watched the Nevada disappear into warp.

"Perhaps these Carbon-baseds are smarter than I thought" Valk mused

"Perhaps. But we need not concern ourselves with them anymore" Salan stated

Valk shook his head,

"On the contrary we need to investiagate their allegation, at the very least they may well have seen the Perfection in their territory. I will be petitioning the Emperor for an expeditionary force to find their space as soon as we reach homeworld."

[Deleted]

Lt. Grey sat on biobed 4 looking around at nurses, orderlies, and the CMO, Dr. T'Pren. The doctor, of course, was giving Lt. Stephens his physical first.

Lucy let her thoughts return to the escape from the Kasar-thar ship. It was too fast. It had all happened too fast. There was something here that she was missing... facts that she wasn't aware of. She needed to see the captain. Find out what was going on.

Slipping off of the bed, Lucy took one step before she was stopped by Dr. T'Pren.

"You have not been released, lieutenant," she said calmly.

"I... uh, was going to return later. I need to see the captain, doctor." Lucy felt that flush of heat cover her face just like in school when she was caught trying to sneak out of class. "You seemed busy." Making matters worse.

T'Pren didn't need to say anything more; the look on her face said it all. Lucy turned back and hopped up on the bed.

30 minutes later, Lucy and Connor stepped off of the turbo lift. Walking the short distance to the the Captain's Ready Room, Lt. Grey had gotten the look on her face to remain impassive. She was still upset at the way things had gone. They'd had practically no time to get information from the Kasar. She was determined to ask if they could go back there; find out what they'd come here to learn.

The look on Admiral Lin's face made Lucy hold her peace for a while longer.

[Deleted]

As Admiral Lin debriefed the Lieutenants, that left Ramsey having the Bridge. He sat back down in his chair. "Well, I certainly made of a bit of a mess of my first command," he commented.

"You're being too hard on yourself, Commander," Dan responded, seated at one of the stations next to him.

"Am I?" David retorted. "My first command, and I nearly instigated interstellar war. Have you ever come close to doing something like that all by yourself?"

Dan was silent for a moment. "No, I haven't come close to doing something like that. I have done something like that. I destroyed a ship carrying an alien chancellor's grandchildren; bad intelligence report. The hostilities have yet to cease. I'm a disgrace to my people. Part of why I joined Starfleet was to escape all that. And now, my oldest son has seemingly rejected me. And he was one of my most ardent defenders in the past."

Ramsey looked away at the end of it. "Remind me not to complain to you, Commander," he said, and looked at Dan again. "Between that and that arms of yours, you've had more troubles than anyone I know, from the sounds of it."

"My life's had it's high points too," Dan said, with a light smile. "I'm a respected engineer. And I've got one of the most amazing pieces of technology I've ever surgically attached to me," he said, holding arm and flexing his hand. He rolled up his sleeve and deactivated the arm. "Though the thing can be a mental drain sometimes."

Ramsey smiled. "You certianly are upbeat, Commander."

"Sir, please, call me Dan," Dan said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes, Dan," Ramsey said, smiling again.