4.5 Celestial Mary

[Deleted]

Together with Rayna, T'Val walked up to Stuart, who stood facing the clearly frightened Romulan woman. Nodding towards Rayna, T'Val joined her mate. "Stop worrying the poor woman so much," she chided her husband, then offered Tamir a now rare smile. Since D'Beren's death, she smiled not nearly as much as before, mostly only in the private confines of her quarters.

"Rayna here used to be an interrogator before coming to Assaillant. She is one of the few good friends I have, and an excellent nurse," she reassured the new nurse. "I am quite positive you will make a valuable addition to our staff. You will not be restrained and you will be enabled to fully perform the tasks that your duties require of you. There will be no security restrictions other than that are required to all of my nursing staff and those restrictions generally apply to myself and Stuart as well."

T'Val took a step closer to Tamir. "Have you been shown to your quarters yet? No? Well then it is about time I see to it, is it not? When we come back, Rayna will show you around in sickbay and introduce you to the other nurses. She will also be your primary guide for the moment though you are welcome to approach myself or Stuart with any problems you may encounter. Rayna will be able to tell you that settling in here may take a while, but you will soon find that you have a home here where you can be happy."

The Vulcan woman motioned towards the door. "Shall we?" She tapped her combadge. "Lily, please show directions to Nurse Tamir's quarters on the corridor side panels."

=^=Route plotted and enabled=^= Lily replied.

"Lily is our sentient computer program," T'Val explained, "she will be able to help you as well though nowadays she is bound to strict Starfleet Security Protocols so she will ask for clearance codes if her programming requires the queries. Do not be alarmed by them, they are merely protocol."

They arrived at the nurse's quarters. "Do you have any further questions or needs?"

[Magellan Lin]

People were aboard. It was something he had anticipated but was unprepared for the arrival of two sets of people.

The first had arrived and gone to the bridge before going to the computer core. They were Starfleet. The second group a pair of Romulans had sneaked aboard and he was not sure yet whether the Starfleeters knew it or not.

'wheels within wheels' he thought dryly to himself. The Romulans were logically the most dangerous part of the problem, they needed to be persuaded to allow the Celestial Mary to hit the station, whilst Starfleet had to be persuaded however violently to do likewise.

He sat silently a moment in deep meditation within his shielded and undetectable hiding place. Were he to leave its sanctuary he would be detected immediatly on internal sensors and either Starfleet or the Romulans would catch him. That was not to be permitted. He knew he would not survive the mission, but the needs of the many out weighed the needs of the few. But the collision would remove all trace of his identity. Capture meant a risk that his true identity would be revealed and that could not be allowed, his Master would not appreciate such an error.

So what to do. He sat impassively for the next few moments before realising that nothing had changed. The ship was still on a collision course and that logically the Romulans would be working against the Federation. Such time wasting would only prolong the inevitable. And if the worst came to the worst he would have to emerge and eliminate the offending party, Starfleet, Romulans or both. It mattered little to him - He did what had to be done to save the galaxy from chaos and disorder.

He leant back and flicked the screen to display the Computer core where both groups now stood.

[mercy]

Stuart hadn’t been too sure what to make of her desperation. It became obvious that she was indeed very scared, and Stuart hadn’t been prepared for this. He had expected a nice and simple interview, and not this ‘rescue the poor girl’ situation.

Before Stuart could respond T’Val had entered along with Rayna. Apparently they had been here a bit longer than Stuart had noticed as T’Val responded to Tamir’s desperation and consoled her.

T’Val always had a way of making people comfortable, it was part of her good bedside manner as a healer. Stuart could only sit back and sigh as the three women exited his office.

[Felix Savali]

Tranferring data to your station" Tyr called as he routed the flight transponder information to the Commdore's station.
"Anything of interest"

"Well it appeaars that the origin of this ship is from somewhere near the neutral zone, however it appears that someone had tampered with the data for it appears to be slightly damaged so we can not say for sure it came from there. We will need to analize the transponder and i do not think we have enough time to do so at this time as the more imediate concern is to stop this ship from hitting Assaillant", Felix said

"Commodore, you can tell the Captain that I'm routing all controls to the decrypted systems to the bridge right now. He is now the proud commander of the sonic showers, replicators and emergency lighting. Everything else will have to wait"

"Will do", he said

=/\=Savali to Captain Voran=/\=

=/\=Voran here, go ahead=/\=

=/\=Ambassador Tyr has managed to gain control over the sonic showers, replicators and emergency lightning so far and those commands have been rerouted to the bridge. Anything else is curently unavailable and that includes engine control=/\=

<Tag Voran>

"I'm sorry to bother you Commodore, but I have a sneaking suspicion that someone is in here with us"

"Yes i do belive i heard some noise a few moments ago.", Savali said detaching the phasor and tricoder from his waist.

"Perhaps we should have a look around", Felix said

<Tag Tyr>

[Deleted]

Tamir took everything in while remaining silent. A former Romulan interrogator turned nurse? It was unheard of as far as the younger nurse was concerned. The thought of something like that happening with Govan almost caused her to crack a smile as the mental image of the imposing man caring for patients flashed in her mind. Glancing at her fellow Romulan and nurse suspiciously, Tamir supposed she looked nice enough. At least she wouldn’t be completely alone.

When asked about quarters, Tamir shook her head in bewilderment. She’d rather expected to remain in the brig when not working, but apparently that wasn’t to be the case. Quietly following the Vulcan healer out of the office, Tamir was surprised to find both guards who had escorted her here were gone. Was she free? Did this mean that she was no longer considered a Federation prisoner?

Still remaining silent, Tamir continued to follow T’Val who was following the computer’s directions. The idea of a sentient computer was mind-boggling, but the young Romulan didn’t question it. Once they arrived at the door, which appeared identical to all the others they passed, the woman keyed in a sequence and motioned for Tamir to step inside first, which the nurse did after a brief pause.

The room Tamir found herself in certainly didn’t look like a prison cell. It reminded her of a hotel room, albeit an alien one. It certainly looked comfortable enough, with more than enough room for her to live in. There was even a replicator, which caused the nurse’s eyes to light up momentarily at the thought of eating something other than rations. And a real bed rather than a bedroll on a shelf, and a private bathroom...things were beginning to look up, and the young woman actually smiled.

"Do you have any further questions or needs?" T’Val asked. The question, while polite, brought Tamir back into the present. She was still onboard a Federation station with people who most likely had been told to keep an eye on her. The brief smile faded, and Tamir merely shook her head no. There was an awkward pause, which the nurse’s nervous mind struggled to think of a way to end.

Finally, she did think of a question. “When do I begin to work?”

~

“Why are there no powered up consoles!?” Govan was beginning to give up hope that they would ever find what they needed. Tedak had reminded sullenly silent, which was at least one thing going right, but there didn’t seem to be an activated terminal anywhere on the ship other than the bridge and the computer core. At this point, he was starting to think that he would either need to activate a console, or at least try and access it somehow or wait until one was left unattended. Neither particularly appealed to him.

The Major was far from a computer technician. Sure, he could do what he needed to do, but once any sort of additional trick was needed, such as not powering it up, Govan was pretty much useless. Hating to ask, the security officer nonetheless had no choice, so he glanced angrily over at Tedak. “You don’t happen to know how to access the computer without being detected, do you?”

[Deleted]

~SBA~
“When do I begin to work?”

T'Val looked kindly upon the visibly frightened Romulan woman. "When you feel ready to begin," she assured her. "if you wish to rest now, then you can start the first shift in the morning. Rayna could come to pick you up if you wish." She paused, wondering if she wanted to be alone at all right now. "Or you can acquaint yourself with sickbay right now if you prefer."

~shuttle~

“You don’t happen to know how to access the computer without being detected, do you?”

Tedak bared his teeth in a cocky grin. "Of course I do," he retorted, mock-insulted. "I have not always been a diplomat.." He allowed his voice to trail off as he bodily shoved Govan aside and accessed the console before them, bringing it to life in no-time. "I have hidden our access into layers of background noise," he announced, "they won't know we're here unless they come actively look. If they look beyond the noise, they'll find a console active elsewhere."

He cast the security officer a smug look, knowing that Govan would have to admit now that he wasn't quite the liability he thought he'd be after all. Tedak knew he had his uses, even though often enough all he managed to do was annoy or alienate people. "Do you want to take over control over this marvelous vessel?" he queried, nodding towards the general direction of where he assumed the front of the shuttle was. "We'll be pancaked if we don't act soon. Either that, or we're discovered."

[Deleted]

Tamir paused as well, trying to decide what she wanted to do. It felt weird having a choice after being told what to do and completely controlled for however many weeks she’s been held. Part of her was emotionally exhausted and really should have considered getting something good to eat and some rest. The other part of her wanted to try and put the last few weeks behind her and start moving forward doing something positive, like using her skills in sickbay.

Her mind made up, the nurse turned to face T’Val and answered, “I think I would like to go to sickbay now. It’ll be nice to have something productive to do for a change. If you have other things to do right now, you don’t need to escort me. I think I can find my way back, like you did with the comp…Lilly’s help. I mean, unless of course you’re supposed to keep an eye on me to make sure I don’t cause any trouble. If that’s the case, I’m really not trying to lose you or anything. I was just trying to be helpful…honest.”

~

Govan ground his teeth together in frustration, but he had to admit Tedak had actually come in handy. Though of course, he had to rub in it the security officer’s face while he was at it, but in his place, Echal was fairly certain that he would have done the exact same thing. Making a mental note to work on his computer skills, the Major bodily shoved the Ambassador back out of the way, and worked to access the information displayed on the screen, namely the layers of code. “I won’t know what I’m going to do until I figure out for sure what’s going on.”

He may not have known how to discretely activate the console like Tedak had, but the Tal Shiar agent knew how to break encryptions and access restricted or classified information. Sure, he was a bit rusty, but once trained and learned, the ability to use that information was in there somewhere. Briefly scanning the layers already cracked by the Federation away team, Govan immediately moved to the next, intact encryption sequence to take a closer look.

“These are definitely Romulan codes for the most part, but they’re all melded with some other type of sequences that I can’t identify. The parts that are Romulan are basic and old. Starfleet is probably automatically assuming that these melded sequences are the next level of Romulan encryption development, but I have never seen anything remotely close to this in any of our databases…”

Frowning in confusion at the screen, Govan worked to decode a few more layers but was disgusted to find that the only thing he seemed to have unlocked was the environmental controls and the recreational database. The further he got into the sequences, the less Romulan code was there, making it far more difficult to break.

Finally, the Major turned to look at Tedak. “I’ve seen our latest codes at this level and even more sophisticated algorithms at higher levels. This doesn’t even look remotely like any of it. I don’t think this is a Romulan plot, but someone sure went to a lot of trouble to make it appear so if it’s not.”

Turning back to the screen and struggling to break through one more level which turned out to be life support, Govan finally decided to give it a rest. Regaining control of the liner would take awhile, more time than they had if it was up to the Major to decrypt it, and he didn’t plan on sitting in front of a computer console when he could be doing something else, something more his style. “Vebn said that if this wasn’t a Romulan plot but designed to look like one that we should work with Starfleet to help keep this vessel from hitting the station.”

“However, I’m not quite ready to let them know we’re here just yet. We need to break through more layers and get better information just to make sure this isn’t something newly developed. It wouldn’t do to ruin our own government’s plan by jumping the gun. I think you should stay here and try and see if you can get further into the codes. Perhaps find something to indicate either way for certain.”

Unholstering his disruptor, Govan grinned at his fellow Romulan, relishing the idea of doing something better suited to him. “I’m going to search this ship, deck by deck, room by room to see if I can find any physical clue as to who’s behind this. Hopefully either I’ll find something, or you’ll find something before I’m done.”

[Deleted]

T'Val nodded. "I would suggest you take a brief rest," she answered, "and get settled in your quarters. You have been through a lot and you are getting a lot of new impressions now that you are starting a new job."

She placed a reassuring hand on the woman's arm. "I assure you, no-one needs to keep an eye on you. You are an employee in the civillian ward of this station's medical facilities, and as such you are granted all rights and privileges that are granted to civillians on this station. As such, you are not under any guard and you are free to explore this station. Naturally, there are restricted area's but they are restricted to all civillians, and even junior officers."

T'Val hoped to reassure Tamir, but so far she didn't seem to have any success. She walked towards the door, then turned. "Get some rest," she suggested again, "then meet me in sickbay in two hours. Rayna will be your guide around sickbay but I will be personally instructing you in the use of Federation equipment."

This time, she almost smiled. "And please do not feel daunted by Doctor Stuart Mercy. He is just overprotective of me, sometimes. He is easy to get along with, just give him the benefit of the doubt. I am certain you will fit in quite well into our team. I wish more Romulans would join us, so that we could exchange knowledge and expand the skills that we have, especially with the diplomatic corps assigned to Assaillant."

[evoran]

"Ambassador Tyr has managed to gain control over the sonic showers, replicators and emergency lightning so far and those commands have been rerouted to the bridge. Anything else is curently unavailable and that includes engine control." Came Savali's voice.

Voran rolled his eyes and tensed up; he was getting restless. He wasn't very patient when lives were at stake, then again, neither were most people, he suspected.

"We may be able to use those systems to initiate an eps feedback which could destroy the engines," submitted Vatrax, "but then it may destroy the computer core or possibly the entire ship as well."

"Noted, Vatrax," said Voran, "but we need to find out what's going on here.

Waiting for further news, he paced the bridge.

[Magellan Lin]

A broad smile might have crossed the face of the watcher instead however the movement of one of the Romulans away from the other created nothing but a raised eye brow.

The man who left seemed the most capable of the two and so should be dealt with first. He decided quickly that the discovery of two romulan corpses on the ship would only serve his purpose better and steer the Federation team also aboard to the desired outcome.

He pulled out a phaser and carefully placed a life sign disperser on his arm. He had perhaps an hour or so in which to work. The starfleet officers were slowly regaining control. He exited his hiding place and crept down the corridor.

The romulan was amking a systematic search of the ship and also keeping out of sight of the Starfleet crew. This made is simpler to be intercepted. He hid in a recess motionless whilst Govan walked past him towards the next room.

He holstered his phaser, drawing instead a thin blade. He took a step forward and froze as Govan also halted,

"You need to move quieter than that to catch me" Govan said softly turning on his heel to face a black clad Vulcan.

TAG Govan and everyone

[Deleted]

Tyr nodded to the Commodore's suggestion, but moved away from him, opening an armoury panel in the wall, and removing a hand phaser. He was quite thankful that they were in one of the restricted areas of the ship; the phaser cabinet having been quite unlikely to be present in the civilian areas. He saw the Commodore eye him with a certain degree of suspicion.

"Commodore, listen very carefulyy, for I shall say this only once. Well, once more at least. I am on your side, and I have no intention of stabbing, of shooting you for that matter, in the back. Secondly, despite having been in intelligence for over eight years. I was a Starfleet tactical officer for four, I do know which is the dangerous end of the phaser. Now, if you would like to go one way, I will finish up here, and then go the other. Agreed?"

<TAG Savali>

As the Commodore walked off into the darkness, Tyr turned back to the console, keeping the phaser firmly in his right hand, as he worked one handed with the left. He tapped a few more keys, and then finally drew his conclusion.

"Ambassador Tyr to Captain Voran. Sir, I can't decrypt any of the key systems. I don't mean I can't do it right now sir, I mean I just can't. I've seen Romulan codes before, but this level of detail and intensity is beyond things even the Tal Shiar would use for their most treasured documents. I can't even be certain it's 100% pure Romulan at this point. I'm sorry, but without months of work and dozens of cryptographers this isn't going anywhere soon. What should I do now?"

<TAG Captain Voran>

"Will do sir. By the way, could you perhaps send one or two more security officers down here. It may be nothing, but me and Commodore Savali feel that we might not be alone"

<TAG Captain Voran>

Tyr levelled his phaser and moved off quietly, adjusting the setting to the maximum level of stun. He swept like a shadow through the corridors, and eventually moved on to the upper gantry. He swpet round, and eventually heard voices. He pushed himself back against the wall, becoming the wall. He then edged, slowly and with his phaser raised, around the wall, getting closer and closer to the sound of the noise. He saw to people in a blackened console's reflection, both of them Vulcanoid. Finally, he thought, my purpose is bearing fruit. He swung around the corner, phaser raised. He instantly pointed his phaser at the black clad man, his knife raised at the Romulan Tyr recognised from sickbay. He scanned the room he had entered with his mind, but found both of the Vulcanoid men he faced to be as locked off as virtually everyone else on this station. Not a surprising thing really.

"Drop the weapon and fall to your knees" He called, his voice no longer disguised, and bearing his full mascline brunt "I have a phaser aimed. Drop the weapon now!"

Suddenly the Romulan turned, his disruptor now seemingly aimed at Tyr, whilst he aimed his phaser at the Vulcan, whose knife was held in a position to threaten the Romulan. None of the three blinked, each waiting for one mistake to be made, one momentary lapse of weakness when they could take advantage.

"If i were human" He began, unblinking "I believe I would call this a Mexican Standoff?"

<TAG Govan and Lin>

[Deleted]

As T’Val left the room, Tamir sighed deeply before moving towards a comfortable looking chair and sinking into the cushions. She didn’t know what to think about everything that had happened to her or the position she now found herself in. Glancing around at the bare room where there was nothing personal or familiar in sight, the nurse felt her lower lip begin to quiver slightly, though she quickly stopped herself. If she started crying now, she might never stop.

After replicating, and actually enjoying, some kind of sandwich she’d found in the replicator files, the Romulan nurse tried to lie down for a little bit, but sleep simply wasn’t coming. Half an hour later and growing more frustrated every moment, Tamir finally gave up and moved back into the main room where she just sat quietly, her mind racing in a hundred different directions at once. Finally with another heavy sigh, she decided that maybe it was time she contacted Govan.

“Hello Lilly? Can you locate Major Echal please?”

=/\=Major Echal is not onboard the station.=/\=

Frowning in confusion, Tamar asked, “Do you know where he went?”

=/\=That information is not available.=/\=

This news disturbed the nurse deeply. While she certainly wasn’t particularly close to the man, and in fact greatly feared him, he had been Tamir’s only connection to anything familiar and the only person she knew on the entire station, although familiarity was far from trust. Now the Romulan felt truly and completely alone. There was no longer anyone to look to for help, not that he would have necessarily cared if she’d needed something. Still, it was a terrifying feeling.

The remaining minutes ticked away slowly as her thoughts continued to race, until finally it was time to return to sickbay. After requesting directions back and following the lighted pathway, Tamir stepped back into the medical facility looking for either T’Val or Rayna. While terribly nervous, the young nurse at least felt that perhaps working would help her adjust and fit in with her new surroundings.

Crossing the room to where T’Val was working at a console, Tamir politely waited until the Vulcan healer looked up and noticed her, waiting for further instructions.

~

Govan had completed searching about a third of the ship when he had heard the sound of someone nearby. Without changing his movements or pattern, the Major kept his ears trained on the source of the sound, listening for any indication of where this unknown person was. Stepping past a small alcove in the bulkhead, the Romulan immediately became aware of movement coming from where he’d passed by just seconds earlier. He was being watched…

If whoever it was had been planning to shoot him, Govan knew he’d already be dead, so counting on the person either being unarmed or armed with something that he would be able to avoid, the Major carefully began to slide a small blade form his left sleeve and spoke. "You need to move quieter than that to catch me."

The very slight intake of breath indicated that whoever was behind him had thought Govan unaware of his presence, and as such wasn’t prepared. Turning, his right hand sliding towards his disrupter, the Major found a Vulcan in all black holding a knife and moving towards him. The Romulan’s hand moved more quickly for his disrupter, but both men were halted by a third voice. "Drop the weapon and fall to your knees. I have a phaser aimed. Drop the weapon now!"

Sparing a glance at the newcomer, Govan instantly saw he did indeed have a phaser drawn, but it was pointed at the Vulcan. Deciding to even the odds on instinct, Major Echal completed drawing his disrupter and pointed it at the...human perhaps? For a moment, no one moved, quietly sizing up the other two and weighing the odds of being the one to do something first.

In that moment, Govan carefully analyzed his current position. While both these men at first glance appeared to be Starfleet, clearly the Vulcan had been hiding, perhaps up to no good. As such, the Major was more likely to trust the ‘human’ if he’d had to chose a side with so little information. "If I were human, I believe I would call this a Mexican Standoff?"

‘Ok…so not Human…’ Govan thought dryly, still debating making a move to try and take both men out at the same time. Mentally calculating the odds of successfully completing such an attempt, the Major soon realized that although the…whatever he was…would be easy enough to take out with a shot, the position of the knife meant the Romulan would be dead or dying before he got anywhere near close enough to block the blade. This was indeed a ‘Mexican Standoff.’

If the human-looking officer shot the Vulcan, Govan would fire shortly afterwards, taking out the remaining opponent. If the Vulcan made a move, the ‘human’ would most likely fire before the Major could be killed, and if the Romulan also fired, once again both opponents would be taken down. It was clearly in his best interest not to be the one to make the first move.

“If either of you try and strike first, I have the best chance of being the one left standing, as I am the only one without a disrupter pointed at me.” Govan informed the two men quietly, knowing that if either were any good they would have reached the same conclusion. Indicating towards the ‘human,’ the Major continued. “As you haven’t made any effort to hide your presence and it’s fairly obvious why you’re here, I suggest that you…” indicating towards the Vulcan, “…tell us who you are and what you’re doing on this ship.”

<Tag Tyr and Lin>

[Magellan Lin]

The Vulcan lowered his phaser but did not drop it. In fact Govan noticed that the vulcan actually tightened his grip.

He gave a short nod,
"I believe the most logical thing to do now would be to 'come clean'"

Neither Tyr nor Govan said another word instead waiting for the Vulcan to continue.

"I am Solank of the V'shar. I was undercover aboard this ship. I was pursuing reports of unusual disappearances. We were passing close to the Neutral Zone when the ship was attacked and boarded. I have a shielded compartment and went to it to summon help using a long range transponder. Whilst in there the Romulan strike team herded the crew and passengers into the shuttlebay and then vented them to space. They did something I couldnt discern to the ship. I remained hidden as long as I was able and then emerged to find out what was happening. Not long after you" he pointed to Tyr "came aboard, followed by him. I assumed he was an intercept team designed to stop you from stopping the ship hitting Assailant. I decided it was logical for me to incapacitate him before he interfered with you."

Tyr looked at Govan, Govan returned the look and neither shifted their aim.

"I believe we should act soon." Solank stated, "There is another Romulan still at large. He could do untold damage. This one could remove the codes locking out the helm perhaps. So shall we lay down our weapons and take this Romulan in to custody?" He asked Tyr

TAG Tyr and Govan

[Deleted]

A sneer crossed Govan’s face briefly as he regarded the Vulcan before him. He was good, whoever he was, but the Romulan highly doubted he was telling the truth. There were several parts to his little story that quite simply didn’t add up. “Very clever Vulcan, trying to turn us against each other. While I have no solid proof that you are lying, I think you are. If your story is true, why wouldn’t you have made yourself known to the Federation away team as soon as they arrived? Even undercover I doubt it would have done any damage to your mission if you’d told them what happened to the ship and crew and that you hid.”

Glancing once more over at Tyr, unable to tell if he was buying any of this or not, the Major continued. “I know you have no reason to trust me. I do not know for certain that this was not done by my government. I was sent aboard to determine that. Though I can not be entirely sure, I do not believe this is a Romulan plot. While some of the codes locking out the controls are indeed my people’s, they are interspersed with encryptions I’ve never seen before. I believe someone went to a great deal of trouble make it look as though we are to blame.”

With that, Govan went silent, his disrupter still pointed at ‘Solank.’ It was entirely up to Tyr now as to what he believed and what he did next. Major Echal hoped he wasn’t buying the Vulcan’s story outright, though Romulans were seldom thought of as trustworthy compared to Vulcans. Still there was little more the security officer could do about it.

<Tag Tyr, Lin>

[Deleted]

Reluctantly, Tedak had stayed behind, gazing down at the console before him. This encryption intrigued him, it wasn't like any other code he'd ever seen. In a very human gesture, he cracked his knuckles and reclaimd his seat.

While keeping an eye out for possible intruders, Tedak tried to focus on the job before him. The code consisted of several layers, each separately encrypted and everytime he decrypted a layer, he encountered several new problems.

Sighing, the Romulan leaned down over his console, resting his chin on one hand while he scrolled through the so far revealed results. He could tap into sensor control now and what he saw made him freeze on the spot. Assaillant was growing larger by the second, with every meter they came closer to the station.

Hands flying over the console, he continued to try and break the remainder of he codes, but it was made very tough. He wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve; it was getting very hot in the room with life support reduced to a minimum level. If only he could reduce speed or alter course, that would buy them time.

He looked up when he thought he heard something, then shook his head in dismissal. He had made it clear to both his firelizards that they had to remain on the station, preferably with T'Val's Yade. Tedak knew better, however, than to call out and ask who was there, it would only let his opponent know (if any) that he was present. He sighed as he returned his attention to the encryption codes before him, downloading all the data he could get at onto his tricorder at random intervals, just in case something would happen.

[Felix Savali]

Felix went on his way quietly moving forward in a search pattern in order to examine his side of the ship for any potential intruders. Slowly he approached a room and thought he heard the sound of someone tapping away at a console. He stood still for a few moments quietly listening. There was definitely someone tapping at a console. Felix crouched to the floor and slowly moved forward staying in the shadow, peaked through the door for a few seconds before hiding again. It was good that for some reason there were no doors in the frame.

What he saw in the room was a Vulcanoid figure... tapping away at a console. It appeared to be a Romulan, probably adding more encryption to the systems... he wouldn’t be surprised if he was inputting dynamic algorithms and hence killing the efforts Tyr was putting into cracking the codes. Well it was going to stop right now. Felix increased the setting on his phasor to one notch below the kill setting and burst into the room.

"Hold it right there... keep your hands where i can see them and turn around to face me. And if i even think you're trying something you’ll be dust before you can move a muscle.", Felix said

Before the man could react in any way Felix thought he recognized the intruder.

"Ambassador Tedak, is that you", he questioned

"What are you doing here?", he asked slightly lowering his phasor, "Aiding a Romulan plot to destroy Assailant? ", Felix questioned

<Tag Tedak>

[Deleted]

"Hold it right there... keep your hands where i can see them and turn around to face me. And if i even think you're trying something you’ll be dust before you can move a muscle."

Tedak froze, startled out of his concentration, but before he could move, the person behind him spoke again.

"Ambassador Tedak, is that you?"

"Yes commodore, it is I," he answered, turning slowly with his hands raised as had been requested.

"What are you doing here?", Felix asked slightly lowering his phaser, "Aiding a Romulan plot to destroy Assailant?"

"I could ask you the same question commodore," the Romulan replied, still remaining motionless until told otherwise. Though Savali had lowered his phaser, it was still aimed at him. "However, I am not aiming to destroy Assaillant. In fact, I am aiming to save it. This shuttle is on a collision course, with the helm jammed at the co-ordinates of the station. I am trying to break into the navigations systems and either alter the course of this vessel, or bring it to a full stop."

Lowering his hands again he turned back to the console, risking to be stunned. The Romulan reasoned it was well worth the risk if that meant he could stop the ship. "I could use your assistance, as a matter of fact. I would've preferred Saarok was here, but you'll do. Will you assist me in bringing this vessel to a halt?"

[Deleted]

Tyr thought to himself for a minute as he analysed the situation. He didn't trust either of the men before him, but he knew he had to make a decision which could influence both his mission, and the thousands of lives on Assailant. He thought back to something one of his old SI instructors had once said to him.

"Sometimes, if you want to get everyone else into paradise, you've got to sell your own soul to Satan. You won't like it, and you probably will regret it, but that's what you signed on for"

He smiled as he thought, and then looked at the Romulan.

"I don't like you, and I sure as hell don't trust you"

He fired his phaser, and the Vulcan fell to the floor, stunned. The Romulan, probably more spooked than anything else, fired back, Tyr narrowly dodging the beam and re-raising his own phaser, the setting now changed to kill. The two men stood there, unflinching, each with their weapons aimed at each other.

"On the count of three, I'm going to lift up my phaser. At the exact same moment, you're going to lift up your disruptor. One, two, three"

Both men tipped the points of their weapons upwards, assuring the other that neither had any hostile actions to make, yet.

"Listen very carefully, for I will say this only once" Tyr began in a simple, explanatory tone "Me and you are going to work together to stop something that it appears neither or our governments wants to happen. After that, we pretend that none of this has ever happened. I think that we both know that we work in a profession where we both know what is at stake. We don't let anyone see us, and we don't tell anyone. And, if you are thinking of stabbing me in the back, either know or later, might I advice that you finish it off quickly and cleanly. Because if you try something, and I survive, I promise you'll learn about my very dark past. A lot more than you want to"

He let the force of his words sink in, and although the Romulan gave absolutely no outward signs, he knew that he had at least made him sit up and listen.

"So" he carried on as if nothing had happened "You say that you don't recognise these codes. I agree, but there are definitely Romulan elements. Can you manipulate those?"

<TAG Govan>

"Alright then. Can you get through the security protocols to the engine room? If we can get there, there's a chance we can fuse the impulse drive, or even jettison the primary engine assembly. I don't suppose you have any engineering experience?"

<TAG Govan>

[Felix Savali]

"As if you do not know why I am here... please Ambassador spare me the pretence. You know why I am here and i can full well guess why you are here.", Felix said holstering his phaser

"And besides one has but to look at your record since you came to Assailant to see one is likely to find you in places like these. You always seem to accompany any trouble that comes afoot.", Felix said

"Security protocols...", he questioned moving over to the console

"It has been a while since i last tinkered with operations... let's see if i still have the knack for it", Felix said as he began typing away at the console accessing a graphic display of the algorithmic security protocols in place on the console.

"Ok... from what i can see... we could possibly penetrate up to level 5 of protection when there is a dynamic algorithm changer in place which alters the specific graphical anomalies database which then generates a new three dimensional security lock out and reinstates the first 5 levels of protection again. Therefore basically making all our efforts pointless unless we disable the algorithm first.", he said

"Any ideas Ambassador?", he questioned

<Tag Tedak>

[Deleted]

Govan had to admit a grudging respect his opponent, who was clearly some sort of intelligence or special ops agent. The ability to look past the stereotypes of both Vulcans and Romulans and make the correct decision based on the facts was admirable, and the Major had indeed fired at the man out of instinct rather than intent. The message of the Federation operative’s speech had been perfectly clear: they were working together simply because their goals happened to be the same; they were far from friends, allies, or even acquaintances. Once this was all over, they would go back to being enemies.

"So, you say that you don't recognize these codes. I agree, but there are definitely Romulan elements. Can you manipulate those?"

Govan nodded slightly, both in answer to the question as an acknowledgement of the shift in tone. “Yes, but the deeper into the codes I went, the less Romulan elements there were to manipulate and the more complex the encryptions became. I only got as far as life support and environmental control.”

"Alright then. Can you get through the security protocols to the engine room? If we can get there, there's a chance we can fuse the impulse drive, or even jettison the primary engine assembly. I don't suppose you have any engineering experience?"

The Romulan bristled slightly at the implication he was inexperienced in anything, no matter how true the statement actually was. “I would imagine that the protocols protecting the engines are buried at the deepest levels of the lockout. I had already ceased having any luck breaking codes before I decided to sweep the ship to make sure there was no one else aboard and ran into him.” Govan replied, indicating towards the now unconscious Vulcan on the floor.

The two men fell silent for a moment, both clearly debating what the next move should be. Finally, the Major spoke first. “We should take him into custody and get him locked up. He clearly knows more than he’s saying, maybe even how to unlock the control of this vessel. Perhaps, I could…persuade him to tell us what he knows and release the encryptions keeping the ship on course for the station.”

Govan couldn’t quite manage to keep the smirk off his face at the prospect of conducting an interrogation, but whether or not the other man agreed, it was clear the Vulcan needed to be held. Together, the two men suspended the unconscious ‘Solank’ between them and half carried half dragged him across the deck. “We should meet up with our companions. Perhaps they will have more luck breaking the codes than either of us did.”

<Tag Tyr, Tedak, Savali>

[Deleted]

"Any ideas Ambassador?", he questioned.

The Romulan shook his head. "No, sorry. I am as stumped as you are." Together they gazed at the console before them. "The only option is to get back to my shuttle and fire at this vessel, or try and get into the command centre and overpower the pilots."

Tedak shrugged. "And even then our chances may be moot. Short of destroying this vessel, I think our options are rather limited now." He walked away from the console. "You are welcome to stay here and keep trying. I am going to find my...bodyguard."

Seeing Felix' look of surprise, Tedak shrugged once more. "Vebn thought that I needed someone to keep me out of trouble. I was attacked in my office a few days ago and Govan was there and managed to save my life. So, Vebn thought it amusing to assign the newly released major as my bodyguard for now."

This time, the Romulan smiled briefly. "Except that trouble always finds me, whether I have a bodyguard or not. I suspect Vebn only assigned Govan to me to cause trouble for me and to keep an eye on me. Vebn isn't exactly pro-Federation is he?"

Turning at the door, he raised an eyebrow. "Coming?" he queried. Not waiting for the Human, the Romulan walked away, then stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Govan glaring at someone he wasn't too happy about seeing here. "Ambassador Tyr, I wish I could say it was a pleasure to see you," Tedak scowled. "Major Echal, what has happened here?" He nodded down at the unconscious Vulcan.

[Deleted]

Govan had to suppress a grin as it became clear that the Romulan ambassador was less than thrilled to see Ambassador Tyr, as apparently that was the man’s name. In answer to Tedak’s question, the Major replied, “I was sweeping the ship when this Vulcan tried to kill me and failed. Then the Federation Ambassador here showed up and there was a…‘Mexican’ standoff. The Vulcan tried to blame the Romulans for this, but he was clearly lying. He ended up stunned.”

Leaving out any sort of praise of Tyr’s judgment, Govan released the unconscious man’s arm allowing him to fall the deck with a thud. “He must be involved in this conspiracy somehow and know more than he’s saying. I doubt he works for either the Romulan or the Federation governments, as this plan doesn’t appear to benefit either side. I think that we should take him into custody and then blow this ship up or at least disable it. Once back on board Assailant, I am quite confident that I can…extract whatever he may know.”

Major Echal gave him opinion calmly, though a cold edge crept in on the word ‘extract’ leaving no doubt as to what was meant. Glancing between Tedak, Tyr, and whoever the human Commodore was, Govan added. “Unless one of you has a better idea of course; have you had any more luck with the encryptions? If you need more time, I’m sure Tyr and I can finish sweeping the ship, but I don’t think we can spare much longer than that would take to keep Assailant in one piece.”

[Magellan Lin]

Solank lay motionless, he had only regained conciousness a moment before. He feigned his prone state whilst he calculated his options.

His attempt to play Starfleet off against the Romulans had failed spectacularly and now he had exposed himself to what appeared to be two more than capable intelligence agents.

He was no longer confident that his mission would succeed as he had intended, he should have stayed in his sanctuary. There was only one option left open to him. He reached tentatively for his wrist. A foot thumped down on it and he felt and heard the wrist crack.

"I thought you were awake" Goran mused, "Your breathing changed"

Solank looked up, masking his pain.
"I surmise that you are very well trained. But you are inferior to me. Computer Activate Program Theta -Phi-Gamma-One"

=^=Confirmed. Auto destruct begun. The ship will explode in 1 minute... 59 seconds...58 seconds...=^=

Tyr pulled Solank to his feet grabbing him around the neck.
"Turn it off, turn it off." He demanded,
Solank just looked blankly at him,
"It would be illogical to do so. The needs of the many..." he bit down on a tooth and slumped.
"Poison!" Elarus exclaimed.

=^= 48 seconds... 47 seconds... 46 seconds..."

"Can I suggest we get out of here?" Felix suggested, "With the ship destroyed there is no risk to Assailant"

TAG ALL - Okay ya got 45 seconds to get off there LOL

[Deleted]

Tyr suppressed a smile at Tedak's look of displeasure upon his arrival with Govan. He wondered if the ambassador was going to remain this uncooperative, and if he should have left a memory command to like him when he entered his mind. He shook his head as he circled the Vulcan on the deck plating, listening to Govan's conversation. He smirked as the Romulan relayed the news of their encounter, clearly ommitting his decision to shoot the Vulcan and not him. But, as experience had taught him, what should he really expect from a Romulan.

He noticed how at ease Savali and Tedak appeared to be together, considering that neither had invited the other aboard this strange and dangerous alien vessel. Irrespective of the dossiers he had read on Assailant before taking up his assignment, he had the sneaking suspicion that this sort of thing happened far too often. He felt a clenching in his gut, and by instinct re-drew his phaser. He looked at the Vulcan, and saw him moving for his wrist, one which Govan, undoubtedly aware as well, broke instantly.

"I thought you were awake" Govan mused, "Your breathing changed"

Solank looked up, masking his pain.
"I surmise that you are very well trained. But you are inferior to me. Computer Activate Program Theta -Phi-Gamma-One"

=^=Confirmed. Auto destruct begun. The ship will explode in 1 minute... 59 seconds...58 seconds...=^=

Tyr pulled Solank to his feet grabbing him around the neck. He forced his head against the hull as he stared into the Vulcan's blank eyes, trying in futility to send a wave of fear and contrition through the Vulcan's mental defences.
"Turn it off, turn it off." He demanded, still trying to force emotions onto the Vulcan's mind.
Solank just looked blankly at him,
"It would be illogical to do so. The needs of the many..." he bit down on a tooth and slumped.
"Poison!" Elarus exclaimed.

=^= 48 seconds... 47 seconds... 46 seconds..."

"Can I suggest we get out of here?" Felix suggested, "With the ship destroyed there is no risk to Assailant"

The assembled people scrambled. Tyr reached down and snatched the body of the Vulcan, slinging it over his shoulder before Govan could grab it.

"Sorry Major, but this ship is Federation property after all" He smirked "However you got onto this ship, might i suggest you depart the same way"

=/\=35 seconds=/\=

"Shame really, I would have liked to see just how confident you were about this "extraction", but alas..."

He tapped his comm badge.

=/\=Ambassador Tyr to Galaxy, one to beam over=/\=
The last thing Govan saw, was him giving a sarcastic little wave as the transporter beam embraced him. In the transporter room, he went directly to Savali.

"Sorry to be a bother Commodore, but I need a sickbay to myself. Literally. I need to do something of a thorough post mortem, if you understand me"

<TAG Savali>

[Deleted]

Glaring at the demolecularizing Ambassador’s still waving form, Govan turned to face Tedak and contacted the shuttle to beam out two. There wasn’t really time to sulk at the loss of the body with the ship coming apart at the seams around them. If the Tal Shiar agent were being honest with himself, he had lost interest as soon as the Vulcan had bitten down on that tooth and ended his own life as well as the hope for an interrogation. So close, the Major had been SO CLOSE to being allowed to conduct an unhindered, in-depth, ‘conversation.’

As soon as the duo reappeared, both Romulans made a move for their respective consoles to get their small vessel as far away from what was soon to be a pile of debris. The Major was determined to return Vebn’s shuttle to him completely unscratched, and any proximity to the liner when the countdown reached zero would put an end to that goal. As it was, the shuttle jumped to warp two seconds before then, so they were well out of range when the self-destruct sequence completed, sending a shockwave of energy cascading through space.

Now that the danger was gone, Govan finally allowed himself to slump back into the seat, swearing loudly and grumbling far more quietly. The Major had now decided that Tyr should have knocked the Vulcan unconscious to prevent his suicide, thus allowing for continued ‘discussion.’ It wasn’t technically Tyr’s fault, but someone had to be blamed for why he wasn’t currently planning the most effective way to extract information. That his slight obsession had probably cost him the recovery of the body didn’t cross the Romulan’s mind once.

Finally running out of derogatory names to call the Federation ambassador, Govan turned to a rather quiet Tedak. “So I take it your familiar with this Tyr?” the Major asked, hoping to learn as much as possible about this man from Tedak before getting a chance to pull up as much information as he could possibly get his hands on. It seemed this ‘Ambassador’ would be someone to keep an eye on in the future.