92.1009 - In Search Of Admiral Lin

[darankeller]

(OOC. Sorry, but this post was extremely long. I guess that I had a lot to say )

Mercy stared at Keller in surprise after the CMO refused to carry out the ordered procedure on Gorr. Grace quickly tried to defuse the suddenly tense situation by offering herself as a volunteer, and then Nathan suggested that Dr. Mercy submit to a physical. That seemed to set Dr. Mercy off and he had a long speech for Sickbay, then left, presumably on his way to the Bridge.

Lt. Keller and the rest of the crew in Sickbay watched as Dr. Mercy stormed out of Sickbay. Starfleet Academy and Medical hadn't prepared him for this aspect of being on a Starship, and he had certainly not envisioned being in such a confrontation as the one he had just been through. Slowly. all the eyes left the door and made their way back to him. "So, what do we do now?" Nathan inquired.

Daran thought about that for a moment. "Contrary to what Dr. Mercy may believe, I don't think that he has the authority to relieve me on the spot unless I have clearly demonstrated an inability to complete my duties. This is a conflict of ideology, not malpractice. I think that he will have to go to the colonel to have me relieved." Sickbay remained quiet as Daran went on. "In that case, I am still in command around here, which means that I would appreciate my orders being carried out. If Col. Hrisvalar calls down and says that Dr. Mercy is now in command of Sickbay, you should follow his orders." Slowly, the crew started their tasks. Keller ordered the three guards watching Gorr to bring him out to the main Sickbay area.

Apprehensively, Gorr sat down. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I need the information on this chip, " Daran said "and we've come up with a procedure to get it, which will be of no harm to you." Gorr relaxed a little at that.

"By the way, " Daran continued "are you aware that this chip would cause mental instability and eventual brain damage if it had been left inside your body."

Gorr's eyes snapped to Daran's in surprise. "I don't believe you" the man replied. "I was told it was harmless."

"I thought as much. The chip is powered by your own bioelectrical system. It steals energy from your nervous system, which causes areas of your brain to shut down and atrophy." Gorr's eyes widened. "I realize that you probably don't believe me, but that is my assessment of the chip. I would avoid having poorly designed bio-circuitry placed in your body in the future, if I were you" Daran finished.

Daran fitted the neural stimulator onto Gorr's head, then went to the main medical console to set up an amplification matrix for the chip. Dr. van Breughel joined him and they worked together to increase the range and efficiency of the isolinear chip. Nathan glanced at him while they worked. "What do you think is happening on the bridge?' he asked.

Daran shrugged. "I don't know Nathan. I imagine that we'll find out shortly."

Almost on cue, Col. Hrisvalar's voice came across the speakers. "Doctor Keller. Please report to my Ready Room."

"On my way sir" Daran said as his stomach dropped out, certain that he was going to be relieved. Without a word, he left Sickbay, on his way to the bridge.

Once there, he entered the colonels' ready room and stood at attention in front of the Andorians' desk as Dr. Mercy glared at him. The colonel offered a fair solution to the conflict between the two doctors. Daran and Dr. Mercy nodded in unison and they both left the Ready Room and headed back to Sickbay aboard the same turbolift.

The silence between the two doctors was glacial as the turbolift started moving. "You're lucky that you're still the CMO of this ship" Mercy said quietly.

"I agree, commander. You still have the option of charging me with insubordination with the Judge Advocate General if you like sir." Daran said helpfully.

"Don't bother to inform me of Starfleet procedure lieutenant. I've been at this much longer than you have" Stuart grated.

"Yes sir, Commander Mercy. I would like to inform you that I will be pursuing a formal inquiry with regards to your behaviour in front of a Starfleet Medical Review Board at the conclusion of this mission, assuming that we survive" Daran snarled back.

<Mercy> ( OOC are we having fun yet? )

The doors to the turbolift opened and the two doctors stalked to Sickbay in silence. Preparations for the procedure were complete. Daran took his station at the main medical console, Nathan pulled out a tricorder and monitored Grace, while Dr. Mercy oversaw the procedure. Grace established the meld with Gorr and placed her hand on the chip. Daran pushed the amplification matrix to it's limit, then adjusted the neural frequencies to match Grace as closely as possible, then linked the chip to a information storage module, so anything found could be downloaded. The connection between the chip, Grace and the storage computer fluctuated wildly and Daran fought with the computer to synchronize everything. Abruptly the readings stabilized as Dr. Keller stumbled onto the correct settings. Smoothly, Daran downloaded everything available on the chip as Dr. Mercy looked on and took the opportunity to run a full scan of the chip now that it was operational, thinking that the information could be important.

Finished, Daran nodded at Nathan, who instructed Grace to sever her connection. She did and stumbled out of Sickbay. Daran quietly ordered a security officer to escort her, then turned to the data found on the chip. From the standpoint of helping Magellan, the information on the chip was useless. It was lists of safe accomplices and locations on Rutia, along with the locations of storage for stolen property.

Frustrated, Daran turned to the scan of the chip and ran an analysis of it on the main computer. The analysis turned up an interesting result. As he was reading the results, the Jefferson went to Yellow Alert and the Colonels' voice filled Sickbay. "Doctor Keller, report!"

"Sir, the information that was on the chip was useless, but I have discovered the function of the chip can be interrupted by an E-band radiation pulse, which could be emitted by the main deflector. The radiation would suspend the effect of the chip for about a minute or so, perhaps allowing Magellan to re-establish control for that time. I would only recommend using this once or twice, as it may overload the chip causing permanent damage" Daran said.

[Deleted]

While Keller reported on their findings, Nathan took the opportunity to settle the visibly shaken Gorr back onto the biobed. "It could've been worse," he spoke softly, as he pressed a hypospray filled with a sedative against his patient's arm. "This'll help you sleep, don't fight it. Your body has been worned out by carrying this chip, the surgery and now the mindlink. To heal, you need a fair amount of rest and this will help you get it."

Once the patient was settled and quietly sleeping, Nathan walked back to his chief. "I've told him the sedative will help him heal, but I'm worried about his mindset. How much damage has this chip already done?" He glanced from Daran to Stuart and back to Daran, aware of the tension between the two younger men. Choosing to ignore it, he tapped his tricorder, reminding Daran of the readings he'd taken earlier...of Mercy.

They walked back to join Laurana and Raleva. "Even if the information on this chip doesn't help Magellan, perhaps it could help us fight Loran instead? We need Magellan aboard this ship in order to help him, how are we going to lure him here. Other than using Laurana as bait, an option that's quite out of the question isn't it?"

<everyone in sickbay>

[Zhukarak Hrisvalar]

Zhukarak listened to Daran give his findings of the procedure they had finally completed.

=/\=
"Sir, the information that was on the chip was useless, but I have discovered the function of the chip can be interrupted by an E-band radiation pulse, which could be emitted by the main deflector. The radiation would suspend the effect of the chip for about a minute or so, perhaps allowing Magellan to re-establish control for that time. I would only recommend using this once or twice, as it may overload the chip causing permanent damage" Daran said.
=/\=

"Understood." Zhuk smiled at the young doctor's exuberance, for he had apparently forgotten that Loran didn't have a chip anymore... ~Unless he has another one installed since he fled...hm.~

Grace then appeared on the bridge. She had looked a little weary and Zhuk walked over to give her a hand to her chair. She had a vision of Loran and had an idea.

Zhuk looked at the Admiral then back at Grace, "Alright, what is your idea?" Zhuk asked.

"Why not let her 'capture a 'fake' Guardian, meaning myself, and a couple 'fake' doctors, like Cyle and Leo. We could infiltrate the Hanson and possibly subdue Loran and the rest of her people."

Zhuk thought the idea over. His initial instinct was for Grace not to be put into any danger, but he soon realized that her idea would fit in nicely with everything else they had planned.

"Yes, and while the three of you are onboard Matt will have downloaded the virus. That should at least disable their shields, scanners, and more I hope, in order for us to get boarding parties over there. We have about two hours before intercept, so prepare what you need. Don't forget to get one of those modified phasers.

[mercy]

The silence between the two doctors was glacial as the turbolift started moving. "You're lucky that you're still the CMO of this ship" Mercy said quietly.

"I agree, commander. You still have the option of charging me with insubordination with the Judge Advocate General if you like sir." Daran said helpfully.

"Don't bother to inform me of Starfleet procedure lieutenant. I've been at this much longer than you have" Stuart grated.

"Yes sir, Commander Mercy. I would like to inform you that I will be pursuing a formal inquiry with regards to your behavior in front of a Starfleet Medical Review Board at the conclusion of this mission, assuming that we survive" Daran snarled back.

Stuart had no reason to report him to JAG for he had not given any direct orders for him to disobey. Of course Stuart knew that if the roles were reversed, he would have done everything in his own power as well to keep his position as lead doctor on his ship.

It was too bad that Doctor Keller thought there was something medically wrong with him. Other than being distracted by the visions of T'Val, he was fine or at the very least didn't think he was a threat to anyone here. There just seemed to be differences in personalities in play here.

***After The Procedure***

Doctor Keller's procedure was a complete success, for which Stuart was truly happy.

The chip only contained information which seemed only important to smugglers and other deviants of their kind. Doctor van Breughel voiced his concern of how they can get Loran to be lured to the Jefferson.

"I don't think we have to worry about that really. I'm assuming that the Colonel has plans in place for boarding the Hanson and taking Loran by force. That's why we tested those modified phasers earlier, I would think. He might even be able to beam him out or something...I don't know."

Stuart leaned onto one of the biobeds and Yade, T'Val's firelizard came over and hopped onto his outstretched arm. He stroked the back of Yade's head causing her to coo. Stuart could only sense calm coming from her and he was happy that he didn't sense or 'see' anything coming from T'Val for the moment. ~She must be doing okay.~ He thought.

[Magellan Lin]

The Hanson exited warp and slid neatly into impulse drive. The journey had been just long enough for Krorks helmsman to get a handle on the ships systems. The intrepid class ship approached the Jefferson directly. Loran sat in the command seat her mind working over time despite the overbearing headache.

This was not going to be as easy as she thought. To get aboard would require some subterfuge that like wise would necessitate some level of communication between the two ships. She paused and then an idea struck her.

“Clear the bridge. All of you go to the cargo bay.”

“Cargo bay?”

“Trust me Krork. I know what I m doing… quickly before we are in comms range. When their shields drop half of you beam over to the engineering section. Kill everyone there and seal it off override the command lockouts.”

Krork nodded with a grin and left the bridge.

Loran returned to face the viewscreen and watched as the Jefferson loomed into view.
She reached over and tapped the comm. unit.

=^= This is the Hanson… I repeat this is the Hanson.. I need help immediately I ve managed to regain control…=^=

There was a pause and then the voice of Zhukarak came over the airwaves,

=^= Go ahead Hanson… Is this…. Magellan” his voice was cautious and hesitant.

=^= Yes please hurry. Loran is subdued but I can feel her returning please quickly I need help. I’ve lowered shields and need medical attention.=^=

Zhukarak looked at Matt and Grace
“Scan the hanson”

“I detect one trill on the bridge and 16 klingons in the cargo bay.”

Zhukarak frowned, had Magellan managed to resume control… too much was at stake, his ship no less.
“Okay your plans are go. Quickly upload the virus Matt. Grace, you and the marines beam aboard as the fake medical team, subdue Lin and get him back here ASAP. Admiral Drew will probably wish to go with you and retake his ship. Go to it people”

He turned back to the comm..

=^=Okay Hanson we are sending support. A medical team with a Guardian will beam to your location now.=^=

=^= Thankyou and hurry please hurry.=^=

As the Jeffersons crew equipped themselves and prepared to enact their plans Loran paced the bridge.
Her conversation with Zhukarak had gone too easily, they were willing to beam the Guardian directly too her… no suspicions, no attempts to check if Magellan had regained control…
Quickly she dashed to the Ops console and tied in the transporter sub systems.

On the Jefferson Grace and the Marines finished changing uniforms and hid their new weapons.
“You ready sir” Grace asked Drew who joined them his hands fastening a modified phaser to his belt.

[Matthew Reynolds]

It was not an easy process, in fact it was alot harder than he ever expected, but he had finished in time. The virus would bring down the Hanson's weapons, shields, and deflector shield.

=^=Commander, we will intercept the Hanson in seven minutes. Our sensor's show that there weapon system are not activated yet. =^=

=^=Understood, I'm on my way to the bridge, keep Colonel Hrisvalar updated=^=

=^=Affirmative=^=

Matt immediately activated the science station he had been working on and downloaded the virus into deflector control. He would use the deflector control to direct a short graviton pulse towards the Hanson. The pulse should allow the virus to download almost immediately.

=^=Captain the virus is ready=^=

=^= Understood Commander. We are going to hold off on using the virus. We are going to send Grace over to the Hanson posing as a Guardian. We will give her a few minutes before using the virus..=^=

=^=Yes sir. I'll be on the bridge=^=

It didn't take long for Matt to make his way to the bridge where he was greeted with a flurry of activity.

"Report!"

"All systems ready, we have loading parties waiting for your orders, and all personal is battle ready," Monica responded.

"Okay, good job everyone," Matt said," we will play this by ear sort to speak. Commander Mitchell will transport to the Hanson and find Loran. We will wait for the Captain's order to use the virus."

"Commander, the Hanson just dropped out of warp," Monica reported," they are hailing us."

<Tag All>

[Deleted]

From the bridge, Drew watched as the Hanson – his ship – came into focus. He knew every single detail along that hull, knew every part of the ship like the back of his hand, and now he was going to help capture her. He only hoped they would not need to damage the ship too much. S’reena would kill him otherwise.

Drew listened to the conversation that Colonel Hrisvalar had with Loran/Magellan. He could not place his finger on it, but something was amiss. The voice on the other end sounded like Magellan alright, and the scans backed up everything he had said. But still something just did not feel right to Drew. It all seemed too easy.

Drew was thinking over this when he heard his name mentioned. He realised Hrisvalar was discussing retaking the Hanson, and Drew accompanying them.

“Yes, I would like to join the team,” Drew said, standing from his chair, “my knowledge of the ship should come in useful.”

“Very well Admiral,” Hrisvalar agreed, this time Drew noticed not questioning his joining the team, “make sure to arm yourself with one of the modified phasers.”

“Thank you Colonel,” Drew said, joining the others in the turbolift, “I’ll be careful.”

When they reached the transporter room, Drew still could not shake his sense of unease. One of the Marines approached him and held out a modified phaser for him. Nodding his head in thanks, Drew took the weapon and started to attach it to his belt.

“You ready sir?” Grace asked, as she and the marines stepped up onto the transporter padd.

“Yes of course,” Drew said, trying to reassure himself as he stepped up onto the padd.

“Ener…” Grace started to say, but stopped abruptly as Drew unexpectedly stepped off from the padd, “Sir?” she asked, confusion evident in her voice.

“You go on Grace,” Drew said, “I, I don’t feel well.”

“OK,” Grace replied in a concerned voice, “we will see you soon, energise.”

As the away team disappeared in the blue beams of the transporter, Drew looked down at the phaser on his belt. He unattached the small device, and looked it over.

“Guess I wont be needing this after all,” he said to himself, as he walked back over to the weapons locker.

While his back was turned, he heard the Transporter Chief give a little yelp in alarm, as her console started to beep in alarm.

“Is everything alright Chief?” Drew asked, turning to face her.

“I… I don’t know,” she stammered, “something’s trying to piggyback over the transporter beam.”
“Cut the transport,” Drew ordered, alarm bells buzzing in his head. But it was too late, he heard the familiar sound of the transporter beam behind him. Before he could properly react, he heard the sound of a phaser beam and the Transporter Chief dropped stunned to the floor.

Drew spun round from his position, phaser in hand, and wasn’t surprised at who the intruder was.

“Hello again old friend,” Drew said, aiming his phaser squarely at Magellan Lin.

“Paul,” Magellan/Loran said simply, turning to aim his phaser at Drew.

“Lower your weapon, security is already on the way,” Drew ordered.

“Here’s a better idea, you lower your weapon,” Magellan/Loran said, “security wont do a thing against me if you are my hostage.”

“I cannot do that,” Drew said, “this ends here.”

“You are right,” Magellan/Loran replied, “it was good knowing you.”

In the split second before Magellan/Loran could pull the trigger, Drew fired his own phaser. As the beam impacted on Magellan’s chest, the Trills eyes opened wide in shock, and then he fell to the floor.

“Drew to Sickbay, medical emergency in the transporter room,” Drew called out, tapping his comm badge.

“Bridge to Drew,” came Hrisvalar’s voice, “what’s going on down there? We detected weapons fire.”

“Loran piggy backed our transporter beam and got aboard,” Drew explained, “I have subdued him.”

“I’ll meet you in sickbay,” Hrisvalar said, just as the medical team rushed into the room.

“I’ll see you there,” Drew agreed, closing the channel. He watched as the nurses lifted Magellan up onto a stretcher, and then he followed them out of the transporter room.

“I hope this really is the end of all this,” Drew said to himself as he walked down the corridor, “for all our sakes.”

[darankeller]

“Drew to Sickbay, medical emergency in the transporter room,”

"Sickbay acknowledges. I'm sending a team now. What's the problem, by the way?" Daran asked.

"I've captured the Admiral trying to sneak aboard. Hurry it up!" Drew replied.

The Admiral made it to the Jefferson's transporter room? Daran thought to himself. Then shrugged mentally. He glanced around Sickbay and said "Nurse Precoor, take a trauma team to Transporter Room 1 and get the Admiral down here." She nodded quickly, then left the room with an antigrav stretcher and two medtechs with medical kits.

Daran looked over at Dr. Mercy and Laurana. "Well, it's your show now. What do you need us to do?"

<Stuart/Laurana>

[Deleted]

Nathan tried his best to stay out of the way, this kind of doctoring wasn't his specialty and he would prefer to leave it to the experts. He knew Stuart knew Magellan best as the Trill was usually his patient, so he made room for the younger doctor.

"So this is the famous Magellan Lin," he murmured, as he glanced the prone figure over. "He looks less...impressive than I'd imagined." His comment caused others to look sharply in his direction, so he shrugged in response. "A guy can have a personal opinion can't he?" Then he grinned quietly and somewhat shyly. "He looks kinda cute though..." He paused, catching himself, then continued, "...anyway...how can I assist?"

Between things, Nathan had seen a brief moment to slip into the CMO's office and his mood had greatly improved when he discovered a message telling him Admiral MC7of9 had been found and was safe and in good health. That bit of good news greatly lifted his spirits, and it showed.

He glanced towards Laurana and Mercy. "This ceremony, zin'tara?" He couldn't quite pronounce it despite his best efforts, and knew he'd gotten the words wrong when he spoke it. "When would it best be done? From what I can see, he's very weak. What are the risks to host and symbiont at this stage?"

[Matthew Reynolds]

His console told him that the first away team had just transported over to the Hanson. Everything was going as planned until sensors reported weapons fire in the Transporter room.

"Security team to transporter room 1," Matt ordered as he looked at his sensor once again.

“Loran piggy backed our transporter beam and got aboard,” Drew explained, “I have subdued him.”

“I’ll meet you in sickbay,” Hrisvalar said," Commander I think it is time we took care of the Hanson."

"Understood Captain," Matt said as he reached deflector control. It didn't really matter where he fired the pulse, so he fired. The pulse lasted only seconds and it only took another second for the pulse to reach the Hanson.

"Being scanning the Hanson," Matt ordered," boarding parties you have a go. No casualties please."

<Tag All>

[mercy]

A couple of security officers placed the lax body of Admiral Lin on the main trauma biobed. Stuart activated the clamshell monitoring system and touched a few buttons which activated a stasis field.

Someone behind him asked what next. ~Indeed!~ Stuart thought and looked over at Laurana. "Guardian, he's stable. What do we do now for this ceremony you mentioned?"

The Trill woman stood opposite from Stuart and looked around the room as she started to explain. "As I mentioned before, this ceremony is usually very personal and is performed with the host's closest friends. Under the circumstances...I'll get right to it. Grace has volunteered to host Loran during this process. There are four more hosts within this body that are going to need a vessel."

She looked around the trauma room at everyone to see who would volunteer. Admiral Drew spoke up for Lin, then Stuart for Gethin, and Nathan and Matt hosting Bryson and Toya respectively. Laurana had her temporary hosts.

"The zhian'tara shall then begin. If the hosts would circle around the Admiral and hold hands please."

They all watched Laurana position herself at the head, placing her hands onto Magellan's temples. Quietly she mumbled a few words in her native tongue. Her eyes were closed and her head was slowly tilting back as if she was trying to look at the heavens.

Stuart began feeling some type of a tingling sensation within his body. He closed his eyes as he was beginning to take it more seriously. His head became flooded with new visions, visions of Klingons signing a treaty. He then realized that he was witnessing the Treaty of the Khitomer Accords. Other visions entered where he was mediating between races. Well it wasn't he, it was Gethin.

A new sensation swept over Stuart, he was going to speak but it wasn't him...it was Gethin. "I must proclaim that if this ceremony had been introduced a second later, I think my consciousness and those of the others would not have survived...not even that of Loran."

Laurana spoke, still with her eyes closed. "We got here as soon as we could. We knew Magellan was in danger."

"Yes, just in time it seems. All should be well now once we are returned. This body, this...Doctor Mercy...someone close to him is experiencing a similar disassociation. He does make a good host however, but I would miss the others. Doctor Mercy, you may release me."

Stuart could feel the power, the will of being able to keep this essence within him, but it was not his to keep. He envisioned the opening of floodgates to a dam, after which he could see the water change shape into a being, into Gethin, leaving his mind and returning back into the body of Magellan.

<Next>

[Matthew Reynolds]

As he felt his essence of being left his body he could feel the incredible presence of another person. Matt Reynold's body was no longer his own. The memories, actions, and feelings of Lin's fourth host, Toya were in control.

"This host is acceptable, though he has experienced much in his short years of life. I would not wish some of these experiences on my worse enemy. I am saddened to know that not much has changed since my death."

As Toya spoke these words, flashes of memory flickered across the Matt's dormant mind. The flashes at first were concentrated on her family, career, and life but it quickly changed into something so much darker and painful. The pain, hate, anger coursed through Toya once again about death.

"Magellan, you suffer because I suffered," Toya said," I ask for your forgiveness, but I still have not been able to accept the way I died."

Matt's body turned away from the circle looking out to the stars. She missed the comfort of the others, but she was glad to have this time alone. The circle was still intact, but it was harder for the Guardian to sustain it.

~Hello, Toya~ Matt said reinserting a part of himself.

~Thank you for allowing me this opportunity~

~You have nothing to thank me for, I chose this and it is to help a good man~

~Yes, Magellan is a good man. He has benefited many lives~

~He has, which is why I'm surprised to feel your hesitation to return to him~

~You have seen what he has seen. It hurts him because I cannot accept my death. I have tried to ignore my feelings about that day. I have tried to accept that my time has passed, but to no avail.~

~Toya, you were...are a strong willed women. You died before your time, but you have had the opportunity to see your murderers receive the punishment they deserved. You were mourned by those that loved you and you have shaped the identity of this man. You have the opportunity to do something that I could only wish of doing.~

~I understand, I understand why these memories hurt him so. Magellan will suffer no more on my account.~

"Magellan, we will heal together," Toya said," Commander Reynolds, thank you. You may now release me."

Matt felt the powerful presence and for a second he wished he could be with it for the rest of his life. He once again closed his eyes and saw the women that had been Toya. She looked at him and waved a farewell. A moment later she left his mind and returned into the body of Magellan.

<Next>

[raleva]

Raleva wasn't sure where or what she should have been doing as the unconscious Trill admiral was shuffled into sickbay. She peered over Nathan's shoulder ... as always and stiffled a giggle when he mentioned the admiral's good looks. Unfortunately, she didn't get a chance to volunteer to host anyone.

=^= Lieutenant De Silva, please report to the bridge=^=

=^= Acknowledged=^= she replied with a tap of her combadge.

"Good luck to all," she said with a wave before dashing out into the corridor headed toward the main bridge.

She was actually surprised to pass Commander Reynolds headed in the opposite direction, he grunted as she passed and she thought to stop for a moment, but something about his speed and obvious determination made her reconsider and she instead remained on her original heading.

When she arrived on the bridge was fairly surprised to see five ensigns rushing from one side to the other.

"What is going on here?" she asked, snatching one junior officer before he could return to his circuit.

"The virus is mutating, the away teams are running blind and both the Captain and most of the senior staff are occupied with Admiral Lin. Honestly, you were the only one left on the list ..." the ensign replied nearly out of breath.

"Ok, ok, calm down," Raleva replied as calmly as she felt was possible, "You two give those security officers and marines some eyes and ears, they may well be fighting for their lives. I want every inch of the Hanson scanned and re-scanned. Let's take care of this virus ... what was Commander Reynolds attempting?"

"Just a general shut down of all the Hanson's operating systems," the engineering ensign in her grasp replied, "Unfortunately, it's not attempting to corrupt the computer's CPU and weapon's systems."

Raleva walked over to the science console and tracked the virus' progression. It was an aggressive piece of work, but Reynolds had been rushed so it was exactly what they'd expected. Of course, the cluster of ensigns had not expected to lose their commander and the mastermind behind the initial attack. Raleva was instantly nervous, she hadn't exactly excelled in viral computer programs, but she soon realized that she was surrounded by people that had. She turned to the three engineers and started thinking.

"Ok, I need you to start working on slowing the rate of mutation and I need you to start working on isolating the virus entirely and you ... I need you to catch the damn thing now that it's done what it was intended to do," she said pointing to each engineer in turn.

They quickly scurried off to attempt to pull off their assigned feats of astonishment while Raleva rushed over to the communications and navigation officers she'd assigned to keep the boarding parties from shooting one another. One of them was having some trouble.

'Red squad in desperate need of back up, we are being held down by several entrenched Klingon warriors, please, we need help immediately! came blaring over the vox as the navigations ensign stuggled to locate reinforcements.

Raleva touched him.

"Relax," she said simply, "You can't help them if you're too busy panicking. Now where are they?"

"Deck four, aft corridor," the ensign replied after taking a moment to catch his breath, "They are the only ones in that area. Blue squad is being held off under heaving fire at the lifts and they've been asking for help too."

"Where is Yellow and Orange? Didn't they go over too?" Raleva asked, puzzled.

"Yes, ma'am," the communications officer replied turning to face the lieutenant, "Orange is currently en route to deck five and red was headed to main engineering and yellow was taking up position to take the bridge."

"Divert both orange and yellow, the former is the larger company, yes?" Raleva asked, the comm officer nodded, "Order Yellow to continue to main engineering, but orange is ordered to the aft corridor on deck four and they are also ordered to do all that is necessary to liberate those officers pinned down there and all injured are to be transported to ..."

Wait ... the ceremony! she thought to herself with a shock.

"Have them transported to main sickbay," she said after a moment or two before tapping her combadge.

=^=Bridge to sickbay, we have possible wounded on the way, be advised our security officers are currently under fire, be prepared for possible incoming casualties. Bridge out.=^=

"Where are the remaining Klingons?" Raleva asked as the newest scan of the Hanson come up on their screens.

"I read seven in main engineering, two on the bridge, and ten on deck four around the observation lounge ... they have red effectively surrounded there," the nav officer replied, now much calmer that he was just moments before, "Orange can break through if they can get to the far side ... here, where the klingons are at their thinest, but they'd have to make their way through jefferies tubes to manage that, atleast that's what I see from here."

Raleva considered.

"Patch me in with Orange squad," she ordered.

=^= Jefferson to Orange squad, be advised there are ten heavily armed klingon warriors waiting for you on deck four, head to head confrontation does not seem viable at this time, we have an alternate plan. Acknowledge, Orange?=^=

=^=Acknowledged, Jeff. Tells us where and how and we'll get the job done.=^=

Raleva turned back to the nav ensign with a hint of a smile, "Just tell them where to go and get them in a position for success. Once they have red squared away, I suggest they head to main engineering and have them pick up Blue on the way while what remains of red marches on the bridge. We need to finish this."

[Deleted]

Nathan was stood between Laurana and Matt, holding on tightly to their outstretched hands. He felt a wave of apprehension creep over him as the guardian started speaking in a language so ancient that the universal translator refused to render it into anything understandable.

As he looked on, he saw expressions change as both Matt and Stuart encountered the host they were supposed to represent. Equally he felt a different feeling wash over him as the essence that represented Lin's first host flowed into him. Nathan wasn't much older than Magellan, they only differed four years in age.

Yet Bryson marveled at the youth he experienced, even so as he gazed down on the unconscious Trill through his new host's eyes. ~so young and in so much danger already~

~that comes with the profession~ Nathan thought back, looking grim as Bryson manifested himself, intertwining his consciousness with that of Nathan.

Their gaze settled on Laurana. "You did well child, to arrange for this. As Gethin said, it came about none too soon. Loran is strong, but even she can't survive like this. Control must be returned to Magellan, and this ceremony will help." They gazed onto Grace, who was possessed by Loran.

"Loran, we can help you become one with us, so that we all can have Magellan benefit from our experiences and knowledge when he needs to."

Bryson had been the first host to Lin and he had been the only one who had experienced all future hosts. He could understand how Loran felt, even though he could not explain it. "If we all are to survive, as Gethin wisely spoke, and as Toya spoke, we must allow Magellan to continue. We are as much part of him, and of Lin, as he is of us. Neither can survive without the other."

~young man, I thank you for this experience~ Bryson told Nathan ~and if I can offer you a bit of advice...share this burden you carry, don't treat it like a secret. You'll not be treated any differently~

Nathan understood what Bryson meant. ~in time~ he promised, as he felt Bryson's essence slip from him.

[Deleted]

Cyle looked around as he and Leo were standing behind Grace, dressed as doctors. He waited until Grace made her move, walking off the transporter pads.

<Grace>

Cyle looked over at Leo, and then back at Grace as a handful of Klingons came to "escort" them. Cyle felt Grace's presence in his mind, calming his nerves, he hands had begun sweating and shaking.

~~~~~Back on the Jefferson

Lt. Chan was placed in charge while Major Johnson was on the mission, much to many of Chan's subordinates dismay. Chan had a moderate temper to him when he was bothered constintly, but otherwise was a good guy. Chan had made the away teams that had been beamed over to retake the Hanson, and had kept only a few hand fuls of officers on the Jefferson, which quickly came into play.

"Security team to transporter room 1," Matt ordered as he looked at his sensor once again.

Chan immediatly stood up and grabbed a phaser, running into the hallway, where he was met by three other officers. The arrived at the transporter room in moments, and rushed in with phasers drawn. "grab him, take him sickbay" Chan ordered two of the officers, and then escorted them to sickbay.

[darankeller]

Daran had been tempted to volunteer for the ceremony, but knew that he would probably be better off monitoring the process and be ready if any emergencies arose. Laurana quickly organized the volunteers and began, with the six of them clasping hands in a circle around the comatose Magellan Lin.

Each of them seemed to fall into a trance, so quickly that Daran was actually surprised. Frowning with concentration, he ordered his medtechs to place cortical monitors on each of them and then used Sickbays medical scanners to monitor. The readouts seemed to follow the standard for REM sleep in humans, with declining activity in the pre-frontal lobe and a corresponding increase in the cortex.

Then, simultaneously, all of the participants experienced sharp spikes in brain activity, centred in the cerebellum and dural structures. Daran shook his head. A few of these people might have some nasty headaches when this was done. The doctor turned to a waiting medtech and said "I need a vial of acetylcholine mixed with a 1 percent infusion of acid dichloride." The man nodded and rushed off to stores.

Daran continued to carefully monitor the six, and watched as the readings from the six slowly became more synchronous, waxing and waning nearly as one. Everything seemed to be going alright when Raleva's excited voice rapped through Sickbay. =^=Bridge to sickbay, we have possible wounded on the way, be advised our security officers are currently under fire, be prepared for possible incoming casualties. Bridge out.=^=

Dr. Keller looked up in the general direction of the bridge and cursed mentally. Like he didn't have enough to do. He was trying to decide where he was needed most when a familiar voice interrupted his train of thought. "Lt. D'Amato reporting for duty, sir."

He looked over to see the doctor, looking a little pale but fine otherwise, standing at the door of the trauma centre. "Alright Lindsay. Glad that you're back. We've got incoming casualties from some kind of battle. Standard triage protocol. I'll join you as soon as I'm able to get out of here."

The lieutenant nodded and left the room, taking the med techs with her. Vaguely, he could hear the controlled chaos as casualties started to transport in, but he turned back to his scans. Lindsay could handle it.

<Anyone>

[Matthew Reynolds]

OOC: Say hello to Marine Squad #4

IC:

"We can't hold them, Sgt. we're going to die here," Falcon said as he fired into the darkness that was the Hanson corridor.

"Falcon, we are not going to die here," Berger said as he continued to fire," reinforcements will be here any moment."

Berger was the Delta squad leader. His team was the only one on the Jefferson to yet lose a member and he wouldn't let that change today.

"Berger to Bridge, where are those reinforcements?" Berger asked," the Klingon's are starting to make a move. We won't be able to hold them off for long."

<Tag Bridge>

"Did you get that?" Berger asked.

"No, for some reason communications are being scrambled," Falcon reported.

"We don't need this right now," Berger said before Klingon phaser fire hit him in the shoulder. His scream filled the corridor which pleased the Klingon's who roared with laughter.

"You son of bit***, you shot me," Berger yelled as he continued to fire.

"Sgt. you let me see that," Snit said as he opened his field medical unit.

"Snit, just give me a pain killer and continue to fire," Berger said," once the other teams arrive you can tend to my injury. And don't give me any of that Vulcan crap either."

"Solo, Coupland, give Eversman some cover fire," Berger ordered," Eversman, I need you to stop them in there tracks."

"Alright, Sgt." Eversman said as he took one of his explosives and through it down the corridor.

Berger heard what could only be described as a Klingon curse and then a small but loud explosion.

"I told you to stop them, not kill us all," Berger said as he stood up. He quickly lunged to the floor when phaser fire almost hit him again. The Klingon's had survived and now they were madder than ever.

"Falcon, is there any way that we can get into the Hanson's systems and transport these damned Klingon's to the brig," Berger asked.

"No, Commander Reynolds virus did the job," Falcon responded," we can't use them and neither can the Klingon's who have had time to get a handle of Federation technology."

Berger cursed loudly and then continued to fire. The pain in his shoulder was almost unbearable. He was fighting the urge to collapse in pain. His body would give out very soon.

"Sgt. Berger, Charlie here," Sgt. Murtagh said as he fired a round of phaser fire. "We have taken some systems, our trouble spots are here and the bridge. Cover us and get that wound healed up."

"Fine, but kick there [word deleted]!" Berger said before finally collapsed.

[Magellan Lin]

Laurana felt a violent change in the link as Loran passed out of Lin and into Grace.

The former counsellor having raced back from the Hanson now jolted as if struck by a bolt of electricity.



TAG Grace - I ll leave this bit to fill in what Grace experiences.


As the final vestiges of Loran left the Betazoid Laurana could feel a kind of calmness enter the symbiont and the blend become re-established. Sighing she began to feel her strength failing her and she sagged to the floor.

"I m fine" she wheezed as Stuart helped her up,

"Magellan?" he asked,

Laurana met his eyes,
"Is there but...he needs rest and time. It could be some time before he awakes. I communed with Lin, he is strangely at peace I don't know what Grace said to him or to Loran but he has new confidence and strength. I do not think Lin will lose control of the hosts again"

The assembled officers looked down on the inert Trill,
"Dr Mercy - could you monitor his vitals, I need to rest" Laurana asked as she staggered wearily from the room.


***

A few hours passed in which Magellan slept fitfully. His mind was a blur of images and memorys that his brain sought desperatly to make sense of them. Strange views of people he had never met, places he had never been flashed through him like lightening. Then like a fog burnt off by the morning sun a new clarity came to him and with a cough like gasp of air he awoke.
"...Who..am..I... Where...am...I...?...I...I"

Tag Mercy, De Silva etc etc

[Matthew Reynolds]

Matt was a bit dazed after the experience with Toya, but for the most part he was alright. After taking a minute to gather his bearings he excused himself and hurried to the bridge. He remembered hearing the distress call from the away teams. Things were not going as planned on the Hanson and it was time to end this.

"Colonel, I'm needed on the bridge," Matt said as he started to leave sickbay.

"Understood, Commander," Colonel Hrisvalar said," I want the Klingon's on the Hanson apprehended now."

Matt didn't need to be told twice. This was his first mission as executive officer of the Jefferson and he wouldn't let anyone die on it. As he made his way to the bridge he came up with a plan that would do the job.

"Bridge"

=^=Bridge, the Klingon's have redoubled there fortifications on the bridge and deck 4. We have taken most major systems, but they are still in control. It seems that Admiral Lin taught them very well=^=

=^=Lt. Wilson, head towards the bridge and await my orders=^=

"Lt. De Silva, what is the status of our away teams?" Matt asked.

<Tag Raleva>

He had hoped against it, but it seemed that the virus he had created had begun to think on its own. The only good thing was that he had a back up plan.

"Computer activate Hanson Destroyer program," Matt said as he checked the operations console. The virus had worked. Weapons, deflector control and most major systems were offline. The only one that wasn't was shields and that was a problem. The away teams weren't going to be able to get to them on the Hanson so it would be up to them to do it.

~I hope he doesn't kill me~ Matt thought as he took the center seat.

"Bring weapons online," Matt ordered.

"Sir?" the tactical officer asked in confusion.

"I know, just follow my orders," Matt said as looked at the controls in front of him. The Hanson spec's were still downloaded the Jefferson's computer. He needed to find the ships shield matrix and destroy it. If he could do that he could transport every Klingon to the brig.

"Weapons are ready and standing by," the tactical officer reported.

"Lt. De Silva as soon as there shields are down I want every single Klingon without a commbadge on the Hanson to be transported to the our brig," Matt said," security teams report to the brig."

<Tag Raleva>

Matt inputed the targets into the ships targeting system and waited for confirmation.

"All targets located," the computer said.

"Fire," Matt ordered which was followed by a series of phaser fire. The phaser shot found there mark which made the space around them glow orange. "I want those shields down."

<Tag All>

OOC: Please forgive me Admiral for shooting at your ship.

[Deleted]

"I'll take her to a private ward where she can rest," Nathan offered, then supported the weakened Trill woman out of Magellan's private ward and into the next available one. As gently as possible, Nathan helped Laurana onto the biobed, then drew the blankets up until her chin. "You can rest now," he promised, "our top medical team will keep an eye on your charge now. For now, it's out of your hands, please rest."

He smiled down on her, then turned and walked out of the ward, darkening the room as he departed so that Laurana could enjoy an undisturbed rest.

Nathan rejoined Stuart and Daran in their observations of their VIP patient. "That was a rather..different experience," he confessed as he rubbed his temples then glanced at the young starbase CMO. "Are you also experiencing somewhat of a headache?"

(Mercy)

The three of them continued to monitor their patient, or rather: patients and all three moved in when the admiral finally woke up after several hours of sleep. "Easy now." Nathan gently held the Trill officer down, while Daran moved to examine him. "You've gone through quite an ordeal admiral. To answer your questions, you are Admiral Magellan Lin and you are aboard the USS Jefferson."

Nodding towards Daran and Mercy to take over, Nathan took a small step back. "We have summoned your own healer. You remember Doctor Mercy?" He took another step back to make room for Mercy. "I'll report to the colonel that our patient has finally awakened."

While the two chief medical officers took care of Magellan, Nathan walked into the CMO's office. "Sickbay to Bridge. Colonel Hrisvalar this is Doctor Van Breughel." He waited until he colonel informed him that he could talk freely as he was now in his readyroom. "I am happy to report that Admiral Lin has finally regained consciousness. He's still somewhat confused but considering the circumstances that isn't surprising. Doctors Keller and Mercy are with him now to perform final examinations. We are confident Admiral Lin will enjoy a full recovery very soon."

(Zhuk)

[raleva]

"Berger to Bridge, where are those reinforcements?" Berger asked," the Klingon's are starting to make a move. We won't be able to hold them off for long."

Raleva didn't wait for the ensign to relay the message, she opened the channel herself.

"We have them on the way, hold your positions, that is an order, hold positions! A squad has been diverted to your location and should be relieving you soon," she barked a bit louder than she'd intended.

"Aye, sir," came the reply after a notable pause, "We are to be relieved, sir?"

"Aye, you are to regroup with blue squad and conduct an assault on the bridge," she continued with a grimace, "Is that understood, sergeant?"

This time there was static in response.

"What happened? Ensign, get that signal back ... swiftly," she said as Commander Reynolds returned to the bridge.

"Lt. De Silva, what is the status of our away teams?" Matt asked

"We had established contact and organized an offensive strategy; however, we just lost contact with Red squad. Working to re-establish contact now, sir," she replied, "we also have begun work to contain your virus ... we had an issue with mutation, but I believe we have at least half a handle on it."

"I see," the commander replied evenly, "I'll handle that virus, we need to get back into contact with our squads, that's your top priority, Lieutenant."

"Aye, sir," Raleva said turning back to the her two new favorite ensigns. They became engrossed in solving the communication problem when suddenly she heard something surprising.

"Bring weapons on line," Matt ordered.

Raleva twisted around from her position over the nav officer's shoulder and stared at the commander.

"I know, I know, just follow my orders," Matt said as looked at the controls in front of him. The Hanson spec's were still downloaded the Jefferson's computer. He needed to find the ships shield matrix and destroy it. If he could do that he could transport every Klingon to the brig.

"Weapons are ready and standing by," the tactical officer reported.

"Lt. De Silva as soon as there shields are down I want every single Klingon without a comm badge on the Hanson to be transported to the our brig," Matt said," security teams report to the brig."

"Aye, sir," she replied stepping over next to the tactical officer, "Ready when you are sir."

"Fire," Matt ordered which was followed by a series of phaser fire. The phaser shot found there mark which made the space around them glow orange. "I want those shields down."

"Shields are down, sir, commencing beam out," Raleva called out, "Security is in possession of 19 klingon prisoners as we speak, sir."

"We have possession of the Hanson, sir," the communications officer called, "All aggressors were removed."

<Tag Anyone on the bridge>

[Matthew Reynolds]

The job had been done, but it had been done a bit to efficently. As the shield generators exploded, so did nearby systems. The end result for the Jefferson was fantastic, but the Hanson was not so lucky.

"We have possession of the Hanson, sir," the communications officer called, "All aggressors were removed."

"Alright, I want repair teams on the Hanson in five minutes," Matt said," Lt. Silva your in charge of overseeing repairs on the Hanson. I will join you there shortly."

<Tag Ravela>

=^=Dr. van Breughel, could you please prepare to beam over to the Hanson for medical support? The most critical patients are being transported to our sickbay, but some are unstable and need to be treated on the Hanson.=^=

<Tag Nathan>
=^=Colonel, the Hanson is under our control. We will have medical and repair teams on the Hanson shortly. Also please let Admiral Drew know that I didn't mean to cause his ship the amount of damage that it sustained=^=

<Tag Zhuk>

"Monica please contact Assailant and ask them about our guest in the brig," Matt said," if you can please get in hold of Commodore Savaili, tell him I would like to talk to him."

<Tag hopefully Felix>

[Felix Savali]

Felix was just about to depart from the operational center of Assaillant when Zoillip informed him of an incoming transmission for a Commodore Savaili.

"Savaili you say, Mr. Zoillip?", Felix questioned

"Yes, sir. I believe the person making the call wasn't sure of your name", Zoillip explained

"Figures", Felix replied, "Very well, I'll take it at the OPS console", Felix said as he stepped over to the computer while Zoillip went on to reroute the signal. Once the chanel was open, Felix began to speak.

"This is Commodore Savali, how may i help you Commander", he asked

<Tag Reynolds>

[Matthew Reynolds]

OOC: First off let me apologize for misspelling your name. I have never truly been able to spell it, and next time I will double check to make sure I got it correct

IC:

"This is Commodore Savali, how may i help you Commander", he asked

"Commodore, I am happy to report that we have located Admiral Lin and that he is currently under medical supervision," Matt said feeling really really really stupid for mispronouncing the Commodore's name.

"That in itself is not the reason I'm contacting you," Matt said," Loran had allied himself with a group of Klingons. They are currently being detained in the Jefferson's brig. As JAG officer, I was hoping you would give us orders in regard to them.

<Tag Felix>

[Felix Savali]

Off: Well i'll let it slide this time No worries

"That is good news Commander. Admiral Lin in his delusional state has caused all of us a world of trouble not to mention computer work. The crew of the Jefferson has done great service to Starfleet and the Federation by resolving this matter so quickly.", Felix said, "And I am sure once he gets the hang of himself, Admiral Lin will thank you himself", Felix said

"But now we should get to the task at hand. The Klingons you have in the brig should be brought here to the station. I will be contacting their embassy which we have here on the station and they will take care of them.", he responded, "We do need to try and keep good relations with them, especially now...", he finished

<Tag Reynolds>