5.2 Grounded

[Magellan Lin]

It felt strange to feel real earth beneath his feet. To stand and breathe fresh air. To fill cool air fill his lungs, feel the soft breeze tousle his hair. He squinted at the early morning light as the sun rose from behind the horizon. Before him stretched a vast plain. It stretched as far as the eye could see from the rocky ridge upon where he stood. Thinly spread algae covered the bare earth and in pockets small grasses swayed in the wind.

Behind him and the ridge lay the entrances to the underground Debrune City. A pair of towering spires now marked the main entrance where the daily flow of workers left and entered the city below. On the surface, around the exits, a number of small settlements had developed where those that disliked the stygian lifestyle beneath ground had set up home.

Separate from the Debrune settlements were the Takaran residences. Relocated from their home planet when its sun went nova the federation citizens had carved a living on Qualinost alongside the Debrune. Their homes, almost organic in shape seemed like giant snails perched upon a branch.

Magellan looked up, were it night he stood a chance of seeing Assailant, a bright star passing over head. Thousands of miles up Captain Voran and the Galaxy were working with the Starfleet Corps of Engineers from the Edison to get his base back into working order. They estimated 6 weeks but he knew that even with the best will in the world it would be longer. Timeframes meant little out here away from the core worlds, things got finished when they were finished.

Turning sharply on his heel Magellan returned from the viewpoint and back down the shingle path. The HabDome that loomed over him had once housed the science staff that had initated Project Gaia and terraformed the planet, now it housed the key Starfleet Offices and his Command and Control centre. It was not as sophisticated as Assailant and it didnt benefit from Lily, their AI computer system, but Felix, Zoilip and F'rass had managed to prepare something that would suit their purposes. The various Embassies had been taken in by the Debrune. Elder Ji'Zahn had come himself and offered each diplomatic team thier own quarters and working space, lucky given that a new Cardassian Delegation were due to arrive any day.

"Any news" Magellan asked as he approached Susan Valeri at a security station,
She shook her head. Ambassador S'Khellian had disappeared during the evacuation and Major Echal was fair chomping at the bit, only Tedak seemed to be keeping him in check at the moment. Most puzzling was the fact that despite his shuttle being seen entering the atmosphere it had reappeared on the station in a matter of hours.

Dr Mercy likewise was absent. Magellan regretted that. He needed his CMO to run the merged health care facilities. Many were still in a critical state after the accident, and of course there were the added health problems of being planetside. Assailant routinely screened for pathogens and there were a hundred different diseases on the planet that most on the station would never normally encounter.

"F'rass can you locate Mr Tyr. I was quite insistent on seeing me before we left Assailant. I ahev time now to meet with him."

TAG ALL

[Deleted]

ooc: JP between Tedak and Nelon and.....read on:d

ic:

Tedak wasn't happy; no he wasn't happy at all. Govan, his bodyguard, had taken him from the hospital against his will, even without his permission and now he was sitting at a desk in a dusty office on Qualinost. Tamir was somewhere closeby, ready to assist him should he need it while Govan was away. He groaned as he shifted position, trying to get comfortable. Despite the painkillers he'd been given, he still felt every muscle in his body strain. A sound at the office door made him look up.

"There is an incoming call for you sir" Nelon said with a half bow, "It's encrypted."

The Romulan raised an eyebrow at the aide. "Nelon!" he called out in surprise, "I could hug you but I don't think Miss Tamir will allow that. Please, what's the message about? Oh yes, encrypted...well decrypt it and show me."

Nelon recoiled at the Ambassadors familiar tone and was pleased when Tedak returned to business. "Its not an encryption I know. I thought maybe your... previous occupation might allow you access."

Pretending he hadn't seen the aide flinch, Tedak reached towards the computer terminal, suppressing a wince of his own. "My previous occupation, which one would that be? I've had several..." However, he accessed the terminal and entered a random decryption-key, after several attempts at several keys, the message finally showed up in readable text. Turning the monitor, he frowned at Nelon. "What's this?"

"It looks like a carrier wave signature. If inputted into a comm unit it should open up a video link."

"You're the expert. Continue?" Tedak watched as Nelon did as he was asked to do. "Now what could this be, and who'd be on the other end of this carrier wave. And who'd be sending me a message, in this place of all places."

As Tedak spoke Nelon entered the code and the screen switched to the face of a pretty vulcan woman. "Ah Ambassador Tedak, how nice to see you again" V'Shal smiled, it froze and she said "Loose the flunky this is a private conversation"

Tedak nodded towards Nelon. "Why don't you take Tamir out for a nice afternoon walk? There are many things to see here on this planet. Come back in an hour." He looked sideways to Tamir. " won't go anywhere, I promise." He watched both Romulans leave. "A pleasure to see you V'Shal, as always. Who're you after this time, not me or your beloved Saarok I hope?"

"Oh no I have who we want" she smiled "I m just letting you know Vebn is safe and well. He will remain safe and well whilst we conduct our work and be returned safe and well afterwards. Intervention by you or any of your goons or Starfleet sympathisers will result in that safe and well assurance being rendered nil and void. I hope we understand each other."

Narrowing his eyes, Tedak glared at the hated Vulcan woman. "Is that a threat?"

She laughed coldly, "Its advise. You know I would have no compunction about ending anothers life, but this time it really isnt necessary. And don't get all high and mighty. I work for the highest bidder. If you ever have a job you need doing I d even work for you. Thats if you could afoord me... which I doubt. Be seeing you." The screen blinked out and then began to rapidly overheat. Smoke poured from its sides until the data core was just a smouldering hulk.

The Romulan quickly pulled his hands back from the terminal, not wanting to burn anything. He coughed a few times, clearing his airways, then just stared at the viewscreen, or rather: what was left of it. Then he tapped his combadge. "Tedak to Major Echal, we have a serious problem. And I do mean very serious, we need to talk."

[Deleted]

Govan was terribly frustrated. The last thing he had expected was for Tedak to be so against striking out against T’Val’s orders. No matter how the Major had tried to convince the stubborn Ambassador that it was in everyone’s best interest for the three of them to stay onboard the shuttle, Tamir to take care of Tedak and Tedak to be looked after by Echal while the security chief looked for Vebn, the slightly older Romulan had been absolutely insistent that they return to Qualinost immediately. The Tal Shiar agent had predictably refused, locking Tedak in the aft compartment with the nurse with the orders to “shut up” and “take care of the Ambassador” respectively, while he returned to the controls to begin the search.

Unfortunately, after nearly twelve hours of exhaustive research and scans, Govan had come up with absolutely nothing. Any trace of the senior Ambassador had completely vanished. While muttering countless vulgarities to no one in particular, Major Echal tried almost every scan he could think of, with no success. As much as the Romulan hated to admit it, he had nothing to go on and therefore no reason to be so adamant about staying aboard the shuttle. They needed to regroup, and possibly allow Tedak to recover while searching for more clues, before striking out again in an attempt to locate Ambassador S’Khellian.

With a few more muttered obscenities, Govan turned the shuttle back towards Qualinost, decloaked, and requested permission to dock. After working to explain who he was and who else was aboard, they were finally granted clearance to descend to the surface and dock…somewhere; it hadn’t really mattered much to the Romulan where exactly. Tedak had been provided his own room where Tamir could watch him closely, and the Major had stationed himself just down the hallway at a computer console to work on finding Vebn’s last known location.

Hours later, Nelon had walked by and been granted permission by Govan to see the Ambassador. A few minutes after entering, the aide left with Tamir, causing Echal to glance up. “What is going on?” he demanded, rolling his eyes at the reply that Tedak had received an encrypted message that had led to an encrypted communiqué from ‘a Vulcan woman.’ “Ambassador Tedak is never to be left alone like that without informing me first, do you understand?” the Major ranted before turning on his heel and stationing himself outside the door.

Though sorely tempted to burst into the room and lecture the unsuspecting man on the other side about keeping his bodyguard informed, Govan knew better than to interrupt unnecessarily. The truth was, if he had been informed, he would have allowed the Ambassador the privacy to conduct a communication while waiting outside, as was occurring now. The lecture could wait until the conversation was concluded. A few moments later, his commbadge chirped. =/\= Tedak to Major Echal, we have a serious problem, and I do mean very serious; we need to talk.=/\=

“Acknowledged. I am just outside and will be there in a moment.” Govan replied, already moving to open to door and stopping mid motion at the sight of the smoldering console and the grim face of his charge. Moving quickly forward and drawing his disruptor, Major Echal surveyed the room in its entirety but found no one there. Turning to face Tedak, the security officer’s eyes were blazing.

“Ambassador, what happened? This is why you should never be left alone! If you value your life at all, you will keep me informed of what is going on at all times. Now I want an explanation as to what exactly occurred and what very serious problem you were referring to.”

[Deleted]

Tyr sat cross legged on a rock, staring out into the desert of Qualinost as a light breeze gently ruffled his hair. His mind wandered, and he thought of nothing in particular as the wind whipped the sand into sudden shapes on the ground. He remembered his desert survival course that he had been given as part of his intelligence training, remembering how at the time it had been his least favourite of all the uncomfortasble situation he had been put in. Green hell had been ok due to the abundance of water and edible vegetation, and urban infiltration hadn't been too bad, especially as the chosen target had been a seedy backwater world with an abundance of strip joints. Unfortunately, the only thing that deserts had to offer was sand, rock, more sand, sun, and inevitably more sand. Now however, he found the desolate serenity of the desert peaceful, a nice contrast to the rest of his life. Nonetheless, he didn't envy the poor officer who had been assigned to Vulcan. He heard fottsteps behind him, and looked on the ground to see a shadow edging closer. He reached into his jacket and lightly gripped his phaser, sliding down the rock into a standing position on the sand.

"Ambassador Tyr" a voice rang out, causing Tyr to relinquish his grasp on his weapon. He turned to see a young Starfleet ensign sweating in the sweltering heat "You shouldn't be too far from the HabDome sir, this planet isn't necessarily the safest place"

"I'm only a few hundred kilometres away" Tyr chided him, climbing from the sands onto the rock formation "It's a two second transport away, as you have just proven"

"Not exactly my first choice of vacation spots sir" the ensign smiled "Admiral Lin is asking to see you. We need to beam back to the HabDome"

"Alright" Tyr waved a hand before moving next to the ensign, and feeling the sudden embrace of a transporter beam.

~The HabDome~

Tyr walked into his temporary quarters in the HabDome, narrowly dodging around the pile of unwashed clothing left by his temporary roomate. He couldn't work out what he was more annoyed about, whether it was that the Mary had destroyed his original quarters, along with most of his equipment, or that he had somehow landed sharing this room with a slovenly Bolian trade advisor. Whilst he accepted that needs must, he was also slowly remembering how to kill people and make it look like an accident. He moved over to the joint computer terminal and checked on the worm porgramme he had left in the temporary Romulan embassy's computers. Disguised as a dom jot programme, Tyr checked to see if Govan had made any outbound calls to Romulus lately. After his show of stupidity on the station, he had hoped Govan would have taken the bait and tried to make contact with his superiors. Unfortunately he hadn't, Tyr's ruse had failed, and now Govan was convinced he was an idiot. Not bad for a day's work, he thought sarcastically.

He exited his quarters and headed straight for the temporary commander centre, which was in fact a mesh of disjointed wires, consoles and a lot of personnel.

"Admiral Lin please" Tyr announced himself quietly to a member of the security staff, who pointed out a side office. Tyr walked in to be greeted by the Trill admiral. Reaching behind him, Tyr activated the door locks.

"Thank you for seeing me Admiral" he began congenially "I know you're busy, but I really think you should disable the computer monitoring and sit down. Believe me, you're going to need to"

Lin appeared confused, but acquiesed, probably more out of curisousity than anything else.

"I am going to warn you Admiral is subject to the Federation Official Secrets and Galactic Security Act. My name is Commander Retiarius Tyr of Starfleet Intelligence. I am a field officer assigned here to monitor the small factions within the Vulcanoid species that may press for reunification, and to assess their threat to the Federation. However, that is not why I have come to speak with you. A few hours ago whilst we evacuated Assailant, a number of security breaches occured in Federation territory, namely a trade delegation bombing on Vulcan, an attempted destruction of an Akira class vessel in Utopia Planitia, and an attempt on the life of the Deputy Chief of Starfleet Intelligence. The explosives appeared to be crystalline in nature, and whilst there are Romulan detonators that incorporate this technology, it can be purchased on the black market. We are also looking into possible "alternative" sources for this resiude. I have been authorised to inform you of these events, and to ask for your assistance"

<TAG Admiral Lin>

[Magellan Lin]

"I see" Magellan replied non-committedly "I wondered when you would tell me."

Tyr looked up
"You knew?"

"Oh no, not exactly. It was clear you were no more a diplomat than I am a vulcan. But your exact nature. No you need not fear your skills are still intact. If they weren't I would already be puling strings to have you removed." He stood and beckoned for Tyr to follow him across the room to a more secluded spot.

"At least Command has taken my concerns regarding the Reunificationists seriously. The Federation sees great benefit in reunification as long as the Vulcans remain within the Federation and that the Debrune join. There are many agendas at work here. Your job will not be an easy one."

TAG Tyr

"Yes the bombing. Do you have any data?"

Tyr handed over a PaDD that Magellan reviewed with interest for a shortwhile.

"I concur with your conclusions. It is crystalline in nature although its hard to ascertain if its a silicon based signature. Crystalline features are common in devices but these patterns here do look organic nature. Our bomber seems to be crystalline - which leaves only really the Tholians or the Horta. I doubt the horta are behind this, the Tholians neither, they need our support in the Colonial War or at the very least less support for the Klingons. It could be a faction I suppose. Tholian culture is somewhat complex and little understood." Magellan paused in deep thought "There is another possibility. But the attacks dont match their...style. I suggest you start with Ambasador Kaskrene and see where that takes you. Or perhaps the Romulan detanator. We both now what webs they can weave."

TAG Tyr

[Deleted]

“Ambassador, what happened? This is why you should never be left alone! If you value your life at all, you will keep me informed of what is going on at all times. Now I want an explanation as to what exactly occurred and what very serious problem you were referring to.”

The Romulan diplomat sighed, slowly rising to his feet, trying to bite back an angry retort. The major was starting to work on his nerves, and until he had come along he had always managed just fine on his own, regarding his safety. "I know where Vebn is," he answered grimly, "a Vulcan woman named V'Shal has him."

Briefly he related his personal history with the woman to his 'bodyguard'. "She said she wouldn't harm him, and he would be returned in due time. However if we intervene in the business she has to conduct, and if we inform Starfleet, he'll be killed." He silenced Govan when the Romulan started to speak. "I have no intention of sitting by and wait for his safe return," he continued, "therefor you and I are going to meet with Admiral Lin. As ultimate responsible party for all inhabitants of his station, I am certain he will have further suggestions on what we should do. Under no circumstance, however, is word to get back to the Empire about this. It would mean war."

And war was the last thing either side needed or wanted. There just had to be a way to resolve this peacefully. The Romulan diplomat shrugged Tamir off when she tried to push him back down in his seat. "I'm fine, leave me alone," he snapped at her, tired of her fussing over him. "I've been injured worse before, this is nothing." That much was true.

"Come with me," he told Govan as he marched out of his small office, "we're going to have a chat with the admiral. And the other diplomats need to be present as well. This threat concerns them all, understand?" There was no way his guard could even start to try and prevent him to go. When Tedak had made up his mind to do something, there generally was no stopping him.

The two Romulans located the Trill flag-admiral in one of the HabDomes, after spending several hours looking for him. "Admiral Lin, could we please have a word?" the diplomat asked quietly, but urgently. He watched Ambassador Tyr with visible distrust, but didn't ask that he leave. "I have an urgent matter to discuss with you, and it may concern all diplomats."

He waited for Lin's nod before continuing. "Ambassador s'Khellien has been abducted, by a woman we both know very well. I'm sure you remember V'Shal?"

[Deleted]

"At least Command has taken my concerns regarding the Reunificationists seriously. The Federation sees great benefit in reunification as long as the Vulcans remain within the Federation and that the Debrune join. There are many agendas at work here. Your job will not be an easy one."

"Professional hazard" Tyr joked with a smile "But my more worrying concern at the moment are the attacks going on against the Federation"

"Yes the bombing. Do you have any data?"

Tyr handed over a PaDD that Magellan reviewed with interest for a shortwhile.

"I concur with your conclusions. It is crystalline in nature although its hard to ascertain if its a silicon based signature. Crystalline features are common in devices but these patterns here do look organic nature. Our bomber seems to be crystalline - which leaves only really the Tholians or the Horta. I doubt the horta are behind this, the Tholians neither, they need our support in the Colonial War or at the very least less support for the Klingons. It could be a faction I suppose. Tholian culture is somewhat complex and little understood." Magellan paused in deep thought "There is another possibility. But the attacks dont match their...style. I suggest you start with Ambasador Kaskrene and see where that takes you. Or perhaps the Romulan detanator. We both now what webs they can weave."

"Oh do I ever" Tyr sighed, examining the facts in his mind "I'll work through the Romulans and Tholians, though i would appreciate it if you could perhaps compile a small personal assessment of the Kasan-Thar, including anything that you may have thought to be too trivial to include in an official report. You would be surprised what you can pick up with the right training.

He turned to leave, but with a moments thought he turned back to look at the Admiral.

"Also Admiral, might I recommend that you take a personal security detail around with you, as should all other ranking officers and diplomatic staff. The attack on the station might have been planned to stage an evacuation to get everyone down to Qualinost and make them easier targets. Bear that in mind"

At that moment the doors opened, and Tedak entered with Govan at his side. Despite the look of general unpleasantness that both through his way, Tyr decided to retake his seat and listen to the conversation. This paid dividends when he was not asked to leave.

"Ambassador s'Khellien has been abducted, by a woman we both know very well. I'm sure you remember V'Shal?"

Tyr sat quietly as the two men talked with Lin, listening intently but not commenting on anything. The situation at the moment was precarious enough without a potential civil war within the Star Empire. Eventually he decided to pipe in, offering his suggestion.

"I have some contacts in the fringe regions of the Federation and Star Empire. If something is illegal, one of them will probably at least have heard whisperings. I'll set about a cover story, make it look like I'm pursuing the two for theft, or gambling debts, something convincing. With your permission ambassador"

<TAG Tedak>

Tyr sidled quietly out of the room and slipped away from the command centre, heading out onto the expansive fields surrounding the HabDome. He slipped away from the complex, heading for the Debrune underground settlement which had become increasingly populated due to the sudden influx of station personnel. Mixing into an enormou crowd of tourists, Tyr slowly progressed, moving with the speed and direction of the crowd of which he was a part, until he passed a public computer kiosk. He broke off and entered, pleased to see that this room too was fairly full. He sat himself at an enclosed terminal, and surrepticiously removed a small scrambler device from his jacket, hookig it to the monitor as he activated the panel.

"Computer, link to relay station 23 Beta, and open a transmission to the following grid reference" he manually inputted a series of co-oridnates before the panel became active, showing a roughly unkempt man sat in a darkened bridge. is face made it clear that he wasn't pleased to see Tyr.

""What do you want?" he asked menacingly, whilst Tyr smield benignly at him "I've done whatever you asked me to, so I don't owe you a damn thing"

"I think you're failing to grasp what happened when you became an Intelligence asset" Tyr smiled, threat behind his eyes "We made your criminal record go away, and you pass us information. That was the deal, and it still stands. Unless you want to end up on a Klingon penal colony?"

"Just tell me what you need" the man asked, conceding defeat although not happy about it.

"I want you to find me everything you can about two people. A Vulcan named V'Shal, and a Romulan called Vebn. Locations, circumstances, everything as fresh as you can get it. If anyone asks, they owe your employer money, your employer being a Cardassian businessman named Servin Yeluk who is out of pocket to the tune of 50000 darseks. Use the Archanis dead drop, and someone will pick it up in two days, so be snappy. And don't forget to delete your flight recorder data of this transmission. Ta" He cut out the transmission with the final image of the fuming criminal.

"Computer" he ordered "Send a message to Tholian ambassador Kaskrene. Inform him that I want to take him to lunch. I'll be waiting for him at the replicator point just outside the Debrune settlement. Transmit"

As the message sent, Tyr returned to the panel, creating and uploading a legend into the computer's public domain concerning Servin Yeluk.

[Magellan Lin]

"V'shal? Saaroks wife, or ex-wife you mean?"

Tedak nodded.

"Then you are taking an extreme risk in coming to me. I m sure Mr Echal here does not approve."

Govan remained quiet but his opinions were evident.

"We both know V'shal is a mercenary and works for whoever pays the most. She has experience of all covert operations teams and has links to Section 31 and the Tal Shiar. I m intrigued that she would break cover to contact you. Perhaps shes attempting to play both ends against the middle."

He pasued as he did so Tyr offered his support to the Ambassador.

"This at the moment is an internal Romulan Affair. Of course" he hastily added at Tedaks disgruntlement "As it appears he was abducted from our station the Federation will support attempts to retrieve him. We will see what Mr Tyr turns up in his 'Diplomatic' manouveres and we maybe willing to lend financial support to perhaps buy V'Shal. It maybe worth contacting Saarok himself. I hope this helps you Ambassador?"

TAG Tedak and Govan

[Deleted]

The Romulan diplomat nodded. "I'm well aware of the risks I'm taking admiral," he answered, "however I feel it is my duty and my obligation to inform you of any dangers towards The Federation and Starfleet. And we both know she is dangerous."

Tedak certainly knew she was, he'd suffered at her hands. Well, not quite suffered but she had shown him that she was able to kill him before he had a chance to respond. And Romulan or no, that did frighten him.

"I have some contacts in the fringe regions of the Federation and Star Empire. If something is illegal, one of them will probably at least have heard whisperings. I'll set about a cover story, make it look like I'm pursuing the two for theft, or gambling debts, something convincing. With your permission ambassador"

Tedak scowled at the Betazoid, but nodded. "Tread carefully, I don't want V'Shal to find any reason to kill Ambassador s'Khellien. I'm quite serious when I say she's dangerous." He turned back to the Trill officer. "I don't know why she contacted me, I doubt it was a courtesy call. However she did fry my computer terminal somehow, and she can only have done so if she'd been near it. I don't know when she could've, but it must mean they're not too far off."

"This at the moment is an internal Romulan Affair.

Tedak scowled again, his anger apparent but he didn't say anyhing.

"Of course" he hastily added at Tedaks disgruntlement "As it appears he was abducted from our station the Federation will support attempts to retrieve him. We will see what Mr Tyr turns up in his 'Diplomatic' manouveres and we maybe willing to lend financial support to perhaps buy V'Shal. It maybe worth contacting Saarok himself. I hope this helps you Ambassador?"

The Romulan nodded, completely ignoring Govan's own scowls and attempts to get his attention. "My government, however would not pay a mercenary who threatened one of my own," he warned, "however, Saarok should be contacted. We have stopped her before, perhaps we can do so again." Tedak wouldn't say no to going on an adventure with his Vulcan friend again; it had been too long, and since D'beren's death he felt the need of doing something else again.

"Thank you for your time and support admiral, I will pass it on to my government. I'm certain they will appreciate the effort." He turned to Tyr, feeling obliged to thank him as well, then turned back without saying nothing in the end. He hated the Betazoid, and he couldn't help but showing his intense dislike for the man. "Major," he called, beckoning the Romulan soldier to follow.

[Deleted]

Govan hadn’t said much in awhile, carefully observing what was said but keeping his opinions to himself. All the Major wanted to do was get back in that shuttle and go find Vebn somehow, but that didn’t seem to be an option right now. The useless diplomacy and posturing was driving Echal crazy, and none of it seemed to be doing any good to help actually accomplish their objective: find Ambassador S’khellian.

Admiral Lin had been correct about one thing; Govan had not been pleased with the idea of going to the Federation, meaning Magellan, with this information. That had been a foolish move in Major Echal’s eyes, but it had been quite clear that Ambassador Tedak had made up his mind, and nothing short of being unconscious would prevent him from doing so. While the Romulan agent normally wouldn’t have hesitated to make that happen, he’d missed his chance by not wanting to hit the diplomat hard enough to send him into next week with Tamir and Nelon right there. That hesitation had cost him the only opportunity to stop Tedak.

Once the two Romulans had left the room, Govan turned to Tedak, finally able to voice his opinion. “So let me get this straight...we’ve now got a Federation agent searching for clues, a Federation Admiral offering aid for future rescue attempts, and now you want to contact some Federation Ambassador to help us as well? I’m not even sure who exactly you think you are, but last time I checked you were a Romulan Ambassador. For a servant of the Empire, you sure seem awful cozy with the Federation in general. What really gets me is that you were just contacted by a Vulcan, some sort of Federation mercenary, and you still went to the Federation for help. Even that Admiral seemed surprised you took such a risk, and he didn’t seem to keen on helping us. I agree with him, this is and should have remained a Romulan affair. I may not be a diplomat, but even I can see that was a stupid move.”

Not given Tedak a chance to respond to this personal attack on his character, Govan ended his little speech by launching into more practical concerns. “So what exactly is our next move? I couldn’t find any sign of Vebn or where he and his abductor could have possibly gone, but now that we know that this V’Shal woman is involved that apparently is not so unexpected. Do you really think this Saarok person will be able to find out anything? And if so, is there any way we can just have him tell us what he finds out and not come tagging along as well? I’m rather sick of having to deal with all these Federation members, especially Vulcans.”

[Deleted]

Tyr leaned nonchalantly against a disused replicator point, clsoed for repairs, just outside the Debrune settlement. This idea had obviously been put to great effect by a local entrepeneur, who had created a large open air eating space at the mouth of the settlement, thus ensnaring the local inhabitants, as well as any tourists to the settlement. The area was surrounded on all sides by a small barrier, no more than three to four inches high that both marked the edge of the seating area, as well as acting as an emitter for a person permeable shield in event of foul weather.

Tyr walked away from the defunct point and towards a working replicator. He joined the quickly moving queue, and soon reached the front.

"Idanian spice pudding, chilled. And a cup of Landras blend coffee, also chilled"

The items materialised and he moved over to a table to sit and eat. He mused over the comings and goings from the food court and the Debrune settlement as he toyed his pudding with his spoon, occasionally licking a small amount of the pudding off the tip. After a few minutes of this, he saw Kaskrene and an aide appear in the crowd, obviously looking for him. Both were wearing the thermal insulation suits that kept their bodies at a safe temperature, and the aide appeared to have a crystalline weapon, not unlike a disruptor attached to his waist. Or at least it would have been his waist were he a humanoid. He made no move to make his presence known, preferring to use the time they spent looking for him to assess the pair. He slipped his phaser out of his jacket and into his lap, concealed beneath the table as the two Tholians came and sat down opposite him. He smiled benignly.

"Ambassador, would you and your friend like something to eat or drink?"

"You know we cannot digest your foodstuffs" the metallic voice of the electronic talkbox spoke, coming from Kaskrene's aide. Tyr looked at him sideways, an unemotional expression on his face, before withdrawing a padd and placing it in front of Kaskrene.

"This is a crystalline detonator type that was used in several attacks against Federation targets in the last 72 hours. This particular type is both manufactured and employed by your government. So tell me, what does the Tholian Assembly hope to gain from making an enemy of us"

"This particular type is also made by the Romulan Star Empire, and sold on the black market by both our manufacturers and their's. If this is the sum total of your evidence, then I wish I hadn't bothered putting on this suit" Kaskrene appeared to be doing the Tholian equivalent of smirking, but Tyr was unfazed. He leaned into the ambassador.

"What I also have is my gut feeling that whilst you are probably not responsible, you do have information that might be useful in finding who is. And if that isn't incentive enough, I also have the spatial co-ordinates of several unlocated colonies in the Betreka nebula that I'm certain you wouldn't want to be revealed. Now, you can either start helping, or I can transmit those spatial grids to Qo'nos, or possibly in the direction of the Kasan-Thar..."

At this point, the ambassador's aide hissed and clicked angrily, rising, and potentially making a move for his disruptor. Tyr beat him to the punch.

"Sit down and shut up" he growled "I have a phaser set to widebeam stun under the table. I'll knock you both out, and then deactivate your heat suits. I hear that that is a most unpleasant way to die for Tholians"

The aide sat, and Kaskrene leaned in, his voicebox lowering to a whisper.

"We do not attack, but we know when it is our explosives being used. This signature shows that it was the member of a batch that was sold just before the Orion Syndicate began to muscle in on the arms dealing territory in the Badlands. All I know is that these explosives were bought in bulk, and by an annonymous Vulcanoid bidder"

"How much?" Tyr asked, with the mention of Vulcanoids making his blood run cold.

"Roughly 200 isotonnes" Kaskrene concluded "The exact figure is unknown to me"

Tyr stood and walked away, leaving his untouched meal, and an irate and bewildered pair of Tholians sat alone in the dining area.

~The HabDome~

Having wandered around the HabDome as if in a semi trance for quite a while, Tyr finally came across the two Romulans he was looking for. The intense dislike that every one of them felt for the others was tense in the air, with all of them having damn good reasons for their feelings. Unfortunately, this was no time for personal feelings.

"Tell me ambassador, given that you know our now "mutual friend" better than I, would you be worried if I told you she may be sitting on 200 isotonnes of crystalline explosives?"

<TAG Tedak and Govan>

[Deleted]

The Romulan diplomat remained silent for a long while, letting the information sink in. "Since she is no friend of mine, threatens to harm a Romulan official and has threatened myself and my friends in the past, I dearly hope these 200 isotonnes of crystalline explosive actually explode on her." He looked positively angry now that the news had sunk in. "Otherwise, yes it has me extremely concerned, and wondering what she plans to do with it."

He knew that these explosives were highly dangerous but he didn't know what the explosive yield was per isotonne. He wasn't a weapons expert, despite his tactical history and since he had become a diplomat he loathed use of excessive force if there were other means to be used. Looking sideways at his bodyguard, Tedak held his breath, fully expecting a tirade from the slightly younger man.

"I have yet to contact Ambassador Saarok," he explained, "Nolan has been unable to find him so far, and with my own terminal destroyed, I have to acquire new means of communication." He paused, tightly grabbing hold of Tyr's arm as the Betazoid started to walk away. "Tread carefully ambassador, you have no idea what V'Shal is capable of. She won't hesitate to kill you if it suits her, especially if you oppose her. She nearly killed us, when Saarok was trying to regain his memories."

He released the other diplomat's arm, casting him a look of disgust. "Was that all, ambassador Tyr?"

A little later, the two Romulans stood in one of the observatories, alone. "Govan, we have a serious problem and if you have any suggestions I'm all ears. We have to find Vebn, without compromising Romulan-Federation relations. Preferably with Saarok's aid, but without if we have no other choice. If you can find my Vulcan friend, even better."

After another long and eerie silence, the diplomat spoke up again. "Oh, and his son, Doctor Salek, might be reached through Starfleet's medical channels. I have no idea where he is currently assigned though."

[Magellan Lin]

The workload was heavy enough when the Starbase was operational but unoperational was even worse. The SCE whilst fine engineers were not your average starfleet members. They had a habit of doing their own thing and acting in a maverick fashion. They were ahead of schedule and the assured Magellan that SBA wouldbe up and running within 3 months with improved facilities.

Starfleet had seen it fit to upgrade the station whilst it could. Shields and armanents were being reinforced and Ops fully upgraded. A new embassy wing was being planned with space for more races including an enlarged Tholian compound with extra atmospheric controls.

The lead engineer a grizzled commander with greying hair by the name of Monroe had just left Magellans temporary office. The officer had unsuccessfully campaigned him for the past hour to take a closer look at Lily. The stations sentient AI was still somewhat shaken and it occured to him that perhaps a counsellor and not an engineer was needed. Besides the last time Lily had been tinkered with it had gone terribly wrong and she had nearly killed everyone on board.

News from Ambassador Kaskrene had not served to improve his mood. Tyr had had one of his 'little words' with the ambassador and nearly created a diplomatic incident. He was well aware Kaskrene was milking the situation but Magellan was no longer sure letting Tyr have so much latitude was wise.
"Zoilip, have you got a moment"
The bolian Commander and the Admrials aide nodded and entered the officer. The pair had served together for the past 6 years first on the Victory and then on Assailant.
"Sir?"
"I m assigning you a protection job."
Zoilip raised an eyebrow,
"Isnt that Sharons job?"
"Yes but her hands are tied here with liasing with the Silasi. No I want you to undertake personal protection of the diplomat Tyr."
"Retarious? Surely he can handle himself."
"Perhaps thats my concern" Magellan replied softly, "You havent forgotton your security training?"
Zolip smiled broadly,
"I could forget it all and still know more than you."
It was a friendly jibe at a man who was more at home in a lab or organising matters.
"Very droll. Now get to it" was Magellans terse reply "And when you see him, though I expect he'll see you first, tell him not to go near Kaskrene again without coming to me first."

[Deleted]

Vebn found that there was something familiar about his surroundings. The rock faced room in which he was being held? Was he a prisoner, he wasnt exactly free to come and go as he pleased but he definetly locked up.

He hadnt seen his daughter since she had appeared with that V'Shal woman on his shuttle. Neither had explained why he had been taken and that didnt look like it would change.
Other than V'shal he had only seen two other people both of them Romulanoid, neither had spoken to him. They carried themselves like professionals, very much in the same way his daughter did. That meant Tal Shiar.

He thought that perhaps it was another attempt to ambush reunificationists. He had spent years building contacts in the movement and they had all been lost when his own daughter had used him as a pawn to draw them out of hiding. He suspected that they were all dead by now. He was lucky his daughter had been able to keep his name out of it or else some of the Senators may have wanted him executed as well.
The problem was he didnt have any more contacts on Romulus in the movement. Spock of course still had many, but he and Spock had never seen eye to eye.
Perhaps they were after his allies on Vulcan or perhaps the Debrune. Either way he appeared in no immediate danger, though V'shal looked at him oddly occasional, in a way one might evaluate a piece of meat.

He got up left his bed room. A corridor led to a living space none of which had windows. A coded door lay beyond down a second corridor. guarded continously by one of the two romulans. He was not big on small talk.
He had access to an incoming comm console so he could watch the news but was unable to send a message. As he decided to make himself some vinerine the door opened and V'shal entered. She looked different. Her low cut clothes were gone replaced by a long dour robe, a garment Vebn recognised. It was the uniform or a member of the Debrune Clergy, perhaps he was on Qualinost after all.

[Deleted]

"Rayna, how is he doing?" T'Val called as she approached the hospital wing. She tugged at her dress, repositioning the 'apron' she was wearing. The Vulcan had taken on the Debrune hospital dress-code for women but it took some getting used to. Her hair wouldn't stay under the white cap, thus she had opted to just pull it back in a plait, before donning the white cap.

Her dress was made of a smooth fabric and dark blue in colour with a white apron. It at least had a few pockets to store her tricorder and hypospray.

Rayna too, had changed to the Debrune uniform and T'Val thought it actually looked good on her. The Romulan nodded towards the bed. "He's awake now and being a royal pain in the bum," she chuckled, "demanding to be let up and everything. He's all yours doctor, I've got patients to check on." Skirts rustling, she marched away to check upon the many other wounded that had come down from Assailant.

Smiling, T'Val approached the bed that held her husband. He was indeed looking better, and demanding to be let up. "Not yet," she admonished him, lovingly caressing his cheek. "You were shot, and have spent the last two days unconscious. However, you are looking better. Perhaps I shall take you for a walk this afternoon, if you promise to be a good patient."

Stuart scowled at her, not agreeing in the least, however he nodded. "I'll be good," he promised, producing his cheekiest smile. It told T'Val immediately that he'd up and go the moment she'd turned her back on him.

"I am leaving Yade with you," she returned, also smiling. "There have been issues in the embassy today." She relayed to him what she had heard through the grapevine. "I have to go to the habdome now, there are more injured there, and I have to report to admiral Lin on your recovery. I am quite positive that at this rate, you will be up and on duty in a few days."

This time, she actually glared at him. "If you stay in bed and rest!" She leaned in and kissed him, hugging him briefly. "On the bright side, you have enough time now to devote to your research. I will have Rayna bring your files in one hour."

The male Mercy smiled back at her, knowing how important his research was to her. "I may have to go off-planet for a week or so, as I did have a lead," he offered, "but...I'll stay here until you say I can get up. I promise honey."

T'Val smiled back, then walked away to attend to her duties. Thirty minutes later she walked into the habdome, in search for Lin, carrying two PADDs with her to give to him.

[Deleted]

Tyr was sat quietly in a darkened side room within the HabDome. He had been sat there for nearly an hour now, having decided to hack into the orbital monitoring satellites that hung above Qualinost. And so he sat, looking through the sensor logs from the time of the Mary's collison until the present time frame. In particular, he was scanning for any tachyon emmisions picked up by the satellite system, possibly indicating a cloaked ship. He was less concerned with the abduction of Vebn, his mindset reluctantly forming the idea that he didn't really care if there was one more dead Romulan in the galaxy, but more with the fact that his kidnapper may be opting to use 200 isotonnes of explosives against the Federation. Still no matter how hard he scanned, he could not find a single tachyon signature anywhere in the area up to the maximum sensor range. Suddenly, a very quiet noise behind him broke his concentration. He withdrew his phaser and pointed it over his shoulder.

"Wide dispersal stun, drop it" he called, with a clattering noise of the other man's phaser being heard moments later.
"Computer, lights to full" Tyr called, with the room suddenly becoming bathed in light, and the visible form of a Bolian commander appearing reflected in the screen in front of him. He span round, his phaser pointed at the officer.

"Please kick it towards me" he asked with a smile, gesturing to the phaser on the ground with the tip of his own weapon. The Bolian kciked the weapon across the room to Tyr's feet, before moving forwards towards the Betazoid.

"Ambassador Tyr, my name is Commander Zoilip, I'm Admiral Lin's aide. I've been assigned to take care of you, and to pass on a message"

"I assume that message has something to do with a mutual Tholian friend of ours" Tyr replied with a wan smile.

"Yes sir. You're not supposed to go near him without Admiral Lin's express permission again, sir"

"Don't worry Commander" Tyr replied, holstering his phaser and spinning his chair back around to face the console "I have everything I need to from the good ambassador Kaskrene. Now, as you're here, look at this" He gestured the Bolian to join him at the panel.
"This is all the sensor telemetry from the past several hours. None of it shows any alteration in tachyon emmisions since the time of Ambassador s'Khellian's last sighting. This leaves us with two possibilities, one, they have a far more up to date cloaking device than we imagined, or two..."

"They're still on Qualinost" Zoilip filled in the blanks "Which makes our job easier"

"Wrong Commander" Tyr corrected him "If we were in space, they would eventually go through a security net, or stop at a starbase, or register on a subspace scan. Qualinost by contrast is larger than Earth, filled with hundreds of thousands of miles of catacombs, and in one area alone has a 26000 square kilometre patch of sensor dampening kemocite deposits. We could send professional trackers through this planet's crust, and odds are Vebn would have died of old age before we found him"

The spy leaned back, putting his feet on the console to think. They had no leads, no tracking methods, and their current line of deductive reasoning was just one step beyond guees work. But now he thought about it, maybe they did have one lead after all.

~Moments later~

The two men materialised on board the Galaxy, and headed straight from the transporter room for sickbay. It had only just registered in Tyr's mind that they had had a potential accomplice of this whole affair stored in a cool locker on the starship for all this time. Luckily, the sickbay was empty and Tyr gained easy access to the corpse of the Vulcan from the Mary whilst Zoilip watched in shocked amazement. Heaving the man onto a biobed, Tyr began removing skin and blood samples from the man and processing them through a variety of scanners.

"Computer, run all these samples through the metabolic identification protocol. Flag up anything that is present indigenous either to Qualinost as a whole, or to a specific region" The computer began it's processing, and Tyr looked up at Zoilip.
"Unless you're considering a career change to a statue, contact Admiral Lin, and tell him that if I can't contact Kaskrene, would he please do, and ask him if there is any specific tracer of id marker that Tholian's put on their explosives. We might be able to see whether they have been brought on to the planet"

<TAG Admiral Lin>

[Magellan Lin]

Magellan met Zoilip in a small restaurant just outside the entrance of the Debrune underground city. Whilst it was not as nice as Hishars place it would do. The Bolian had got there first and already ordered when Magellan arrived.

"Zoilip" he greeted and took a seat "I m surprised I find time to eat."

Zoilip shrugged and finished off his mouthful,

"Tyr found something"

"I guessed he might. That man has drive. Go on."

"The body of the terrorist who blew up the Celestial Mary. Hes doing a bio analysis of the corpse. He wants to know if Kaskrene can give him the signature of the explosive to see if the same shipment was used on the attack on the base."

"He thinks the attack on the base is linked to the others throughout the Federation?" He frowned, "Its possible but the attack on Assailant was a lot more subtle than the other bombings. Nevertheless I ll see what I can do. I have certain leverage with Kaskrene he' ll give me the information. Anything else."

They both paused as a waiter plopped down a meal in front of Magellan. Zalit Spice Rice. Once he had left they continued.

"A lead on the whereabouts of Ambassador Vebn. Tyr has calculated that he is possibly on Qualinost as we speak."

"Nowhere simple I suppose?"

"No. The catacombs I would guess."

"Very well. I assume hes informed Tedak?"

"Im not sure" Zoilip replied thoughtfully "Certainly not whilst I was with him."

Magellan nodded, "Alright you go and inform Tedak then come back to me. I ll have the information he needs by then."

Zoilip was gone perhaps 45 minutes more than enough time for Magellan to finish his meal and visist Kaskrene. The Tholian was not happy about helping but owed Magellan a debt for what had happpend on Aenvolis when they had kidnapped him.

"Here you go. Cross check the explosive with the corpse. And keep me posted."

"Will do" Zoilip replied with a mock salute.

The bolian returned to Tyrs office and handed over a PADD.

"You probably want to check the signature itself but it looks like a match I also did a secondary scan, some of those explosives were used by the Klingons to frame the Tholians for killing the Debrune Holy Child when they blew up a shuttle."

TAG Tyr

[Deleted]

ooc: double posting on SBA and Jefferson, with permission of Commander Reynolds

~the next day~

Tedak watched from a little distance as his ex-wife waved her husband off. Doctor Stuart Mercy was going on a private mission, he was told, and would be back in a day, possibly two. Stuart though, as usual had turned to the Romulan diplomat with the request to look after T'Val, as he had promised he would. There no longer was any bad blood between Human and Romulan, as both had accepted their own part in the life of a woman they both loved.

Turning back, the Romulan left the Vulcan woman to be on her own for a little while. "Look after her," he told Govan, "and see if there are any more leads on Vebn's whereabouts. You'll be the first to know if V'Shal contacts me again, and this time we'll find her if she does. I have some business to conduct on the USS Jefferson."

Tedak paused briefly, fond memories of the ship coming back to him. He had served there for a while as diplomatic observer, even clashed with the then operations chief, Matt Reynolds. They'd been arguing over a woman, if he remembered correctly. A woman he had ended up loving and caring for, but also a woman who had left him to pursue a career on Earth. "I won't be longer than a few hours," he promised, "if I'm not back by this evening, you can come fetch me if it so pleases you, but you're not coming with me just now, is that clear?" He nodded towards the retreating Vulcan. "You are to keep her safe at all cost, she is important to Doctor Mercy and important to me."

Leaving Govan to fume for a while, Tedak stepped upon the transporter pad, delivering him to the Jefferson a scant few seconds later. He was met by a very young and businesslike woman in a teal uniform and though she was very polite and diplomatic, his intelligence instincts told him she was far from what she appeared to be.

However, since she was not indicating she wanted this to be commented on, Tedak pretended not to have noticed and followed her to sickbay, where he listened to her explanations regarding Jombis' death. She was barely finished when his old acquaintance entered the morgue. “Please convey our condolences to his family...and my deepest sympathy as well.”

"I shall commander, and thank you for your explanation. It was most helpful." He turned to face Matt, a slight smile appearing on his face, then bowed slightly.

Tedak, thank you for coming so quickly," Matt said as he waited for Megan to finish," I see that life on Assailant is as dangerous as ever."

"Indeed," the diplomat replied as he shook Matt's hand. "And one of our diplomats have been abducted and I am attempting to find out where he is. You will have to excuse me if I say I am on a tight schedule, though I have a few hours to spare for you. My...aide is following a few leads as we speak. I see, however you wished to inform me of something else?"

"I assume you know that the Tal Shair wants his family killed," Matt said as he handed him all the information he had been able to gather on Jombis," Tedak this needs to stay between us."

"I can't give you any guarantees, but I'll do what I can to keep his family safe," Tedak promised, "I do assume Admiral Lin has been informed? If so, than I shall make certain he knows that I'm doing all I can, as long as he keeps this under wraps from his side."

He paused. "Is there anything else? I had promised T'Val to keep her company, now that Stuart is away on an errand. I doubt my aide is pleasant company to her." He chuckled at the very idea. "He is, actually my bodyguard rather than aide, but he's very helpful, if not a complete nuicance!"

[Deleted]

"You probably want to check the signature itself but it looks like a match I also did a secondary scan, some of those explosives were used by the Klingons to frame the Tholians for killing the Debrune Holy Child when they blew up a shuttle."

The Bolian interrupted Tyr's musings as he sat with his feet up on the medical console, waiting for the results of the bio analysis to come in. He had been thinking back over his own experience in the attack on the Assailant, and trying to form a decisive link with what had happened elsewhere in the Federation. Nothing at present was forthcoming, but he had an idea that he was missing something. This new information provided a new angle, and something else to consider. He swung his legs off the console and leapt to his feet in a mildly comic manner, taking the padd from Zoilip.

"Ok, so that actually makes less sense than I like, but I can live with it" he muttered, walking around the bed upon which the corpse was laid "The original report settled that the bomob was of Kriosian origin, which subsequently put it deep in Klingon space. But what if only the main part of the explosive was Kriosian, whilst everything else was Tholian. Any idiot can make common explosives, but this Tholian stuff is something else" He found himself waving the padd in the air as if trying to batter down some invisible barrier hanging in the air, blocking his train of thought.
"So this group, they buy a lot of Tholian explosives, use it to stir up trouble with the Debrune, attempt to attack the Federation heartland, and then try to bring down Assailant. Plausible for terrorists, but why"

"Debrune isolationists?" Zoilip hazarded a guess to which Tyr nodded.

"Plausible, but why have there been no further attacks on the surface now we're all easier targets. Plus, even for an extreme faction the Debrune are unlikely to attack one of their own religious icons. No, I think that the key to this lies in the first known use of the explosives, with D'Beren. Qui Bono?"

"What?" Zoilip asked, looking curiously at the Betazoid.

"An old human expression I was taught" Tyr explained "It means who benefitted, especially in the case of a crime" Then, a thought struck him.
"We identified the initial explosive as Kriosian, and thus Klingon, correct. But we now know there to be an underlying Tholian detonator mechanism. This whole plan hinged on what we found. If we didn't look deep enough, then we would blame the Klingons, but if we looked too deeply, then we would see a Tholian element that would make it look like they were trying to frame the Klingons. No matter what, something happened to damage Federation intergalactic relations, and to make this area of the Alpha Quadrant more unstable. Because we blamed the Klingons, our relationship with the Debune is stretched, and the Klingons are still pressing for an all out war to overcompensate. If we had blamed the Tholians, then we would have lost the peace with both the Debrune and the Klingons over the fact that we wouldn't go to war. No matter what, Qualinost is unstable, the Colonial War is pushing on. The only people who benefit are the Reunificationists"

He paused and walked back to the console, beginning to input a new sequence of directives.

"It's the same thing for the attacks on the Federation. Firstly they attack Assailant, distracting us from the centre of the Federation. Then they attack at our heart, and that makes it look like the incident with the Mary was just a feint or a decoy" a small alarm beeped. Tyr's blood ran cold as he gazed at the monitor.
"And that then lures us into a false sense of security, whilst they smuggle 200 isotonnes of explosives down to the surface" He gestured Zoilip over to see the panel showing a transport vessel with the explosive signature entering the planet's atmosphere, and then disappearing off scanners.

"You'd better go and tell Admiral Lin. Now" Tyr said curtly, tapping the communications section of the control panel.

=/\=Tyr to Major Echal. Please beam up to the Galaxy immediately, I have something very, very important to show you=/\=

<TAG Govan and Admiral Lin>

[Deleted]

Standing a little off to the side watching as T’Val waved goodbye to her husband, Govan looked just about as dour as was possible. He would have never thought it possible, but he’d actually come to tolerate and even almost respect the Vulcan healer. Sure she was a royal pain, but she was a dedicated doctor and...occasionally reasonable. Glancing at his charge, who was a respectful distance away waiting for his ex-wife, the Major marveled at the complexities of inter-personal relationships. How Tedak could be friends with the man who stole his ex-wife, not to mention still be friends with and love her, was completely beyond the Romulan agent. Echal didn’t even understand typical friendships or marriages, let alone this awkward sort of arrangement between Tedak, his ex-wife, and her current husband.

As he pondered this, the Romulan ambassador turned to him. "Look after her, and see if there are any more leads on Vebn's whereabouts. You'll be the first to know if V'Shal contacts me again, and this time we'll find her if she does. I have some business to conduct on the USS Jefferson." Govan opened his mouth to protest, Tedak continued unperturbed. "I won't be longer than a few hours. If I'm not back by this evening, you can come fetch me if it so pleases you, but you're not coming with me just now, is that clear?" the elder Romulan questioned firmly.

Glaring daggers but quickly realizing his hands were somewhat tied, Govan merely nodded, the latent and ever present frustration he seemed to always feel building and growing within him. Tedak nodded once towards T’Val before adding, "You are to keep her safe at all cost; she is important to Doctor Mercy and important to me." And with that, the Romulan diplomat moved off, leaving behind an increasingly displeased security officer, whose shoulders now slumped in resignation.

“I am not a babysitter…and I am not as his beck and call to do his bidding…” Govan grumbled to himself as he followed the Vulcan healer from a respectful distance. This was the most ridiculously frustrating position yet in a long series of unpleasant circumstances. He was once a respected, revered Tal Shiar agent with power and influence, and a job doing what he was good at and enjoyed. Now…all of that was gone, and what was even worse, Major Echal was now being forced to work with Starfleet officers and Federation members, people he considered the enemy and never had any dealings with, except when lucky enough to interrogate one of them. Now it felt like he was working for Starfleet rather than the Empire.

As T’Val arrived at one of the Debrune medical facilities and got to work, Govan found a chair and slumped into it, crossing his arms and glaring at anyone who dared come anywhere near him. Tamir noticed his presence, but knew enough not to approach him, and Rayna had seen him as well. He didn’t know if T’Val knew he was there or why, and he didn’t care. If she complained about it, that would give him an excuse to leave. It’s not like she had any need for his protection.

=/\=Tyr to Major Echal, please beam up to the Galaxy immediately. I have something very, very important to show you=/\=

The call was poorly timed and elicited a low growl of frustration from Govan, drawing a few stares from nearby patients and nurses. A nearby table posed a tempting target to overturn, but the Romulan managed to control himself somehow, glancing over at Tamir who looked ready to bolt. T’Val appeared safe enough here, treating patients, and Major Echal supposed he could spare a few moments to see what that nuisance Tyr wanted. It’s not like he was doing any good here, and perhaps the Federation ‘diplomat’ would do something annoying enough to warrant getting clobbered. That thought momentarily cheered him up a bit, so with a heavy sigh, the Romulan hauled his lumbering frame out of the chair and headed for the exit.

Ten minutes later, Govan had beamed to the Galaxy and located the Ambassador, looming toward him with his arms crossed over his chest. “This had better be good Tyr. I’m in no mood for games, and I’ve had just about enough of you. So let’s make this quick; what is this ‘very, very important’ thing you have to show me?”

<Tag Tyr>

[Deleted]

“This had better be good Tyr. I’m in no mood for games, and I’ve had just about enough of you. So let’s make this quick; what is this ‘very, very important’ thing you have to show me?”

Tyr looked up from the console to see that the Romulan had just entered. Considering that the Romulan had obviously taken a dislike to him from the moment they met, and considering Tyr's own personal experiences of Romulan torture camps, it was something of a small miracle that the two had not yet come to blows. Grabbing the Major roughly by his front, Tyr renched him in front of the screen, jabbing his finger onto the console to highlight his point. he knew he had angered the Romulan, but at this point he no longer particularly cared. The man was annoying, abrasive, and a member of the species that had sought to torture him half to death for almost petty information, thus causing him to appear less than favourably in Tyr's eyes.

"Look!" He said sharply, his finger still glued to the console whilst his other hand had not yet released the Romulan's tunic "This is a signature of the explosives I told Ambassador Tedak about earlier. This shows that a shuttle brought them down to the surface of Qualinost a few days ago, before they vanished off planetary sensors. Because no-one knew what this crystalline signature was, they didn't bother to track it. I also have sensor readings showing the absence of any tachyon emmissions from cloaked ships leaving the perimeter of Qualinost over the last 48 hours. I think that he's here, and whoever is holding him is holding 200 isotonnes of cyrstalline explosive as well" He released the Romulan and punched up a fresh set of data on the screen.

"Everything makes sense. The attacks on the Federation were a ruse in order to distract all attention from the frontier. Something is going to happen out here, and it's going to happen soon. And the only things I can tell you at the moment is that it involves explosives, it involves Vulcanoids, and it involves something very bad happening to both our governments. So you've got two choices right now. You can either work with me, or you can ignore me like you arrogant, green blooded sons of inbreds always do, at your own peril. Your choice Major"

<TAG Govan>

Tyr drew up another set of schematics on the screen, showing the underlying sries of catacombs in the planets crust, extending for thousands of miles. They weaved and interlockd at various junctions, extending from beneath the established cities to the middle of forests and deserts on uninhabited areas of the varying hemispheres.

"I've analysed all planetary sensor data as best I can, but neither the Debrune or Federation observation satellites keep as close an eye out as we need. Assuming that they don't want to be in a major population centre, my money is on them being in one of these catacombs underneath large kemocite deposits in the crust. The problem is that these catacombs extend for hundreds of miles in all directions, and we can't use scanning devices or transporters, finding the ambassador and their base would be like finding a needle in a stack of needles" He looked at Govan "Unless the Tal Shiar can help shed some light on the situation?"

<TAG Govan>

[Magellan Lin]

Magellan arrived just in time to hear Tyr insult the romulan

"So you've got two choices right now. You can either work with me, or you can ignore me like you arrogant, green blooded sons of inbreds always do, at your own peril. Your choice Major"

he hovered in the doorway a moment but didnt hear the majors response.

Tyr pulled up some more schematics and continued his breifing.

He cleared his throat and entered

"You have made some discoveries I hear" Magellan said loudly

Tyr nodded and quickly explained it all to Magellan. The Trill listened quietly nodding and asking questions at a few key points,

"I m not sure the plot was to kill D'beren- just to blow up a shuttle. No one knew D'beren was to be on it until the very last minute. Nevertheless your evidence is persuasive. Its your view that whereever Vebn is being hold is where we will find the explosives?"

TAG Tyr

"And do you agree with Mr Tyr" He asked Govan

TAG Govan

Magellan thought a moment.

"Ambassador Vebns well being is your area Major and your well within your bounds to ignore our help however this is a Federation Base and the Debrune a Federation Protectorate. If he is here then its our problem. I authorise you Major to work with Mr Tyr on a search and rescue for the Ambassador. YOu may use some of your own people. But Mr Tyr and Commander Zoilip will represent Federation interests - I also insist you contact the Debrune especially the Silasi (Debrune Secret Police) before you venture into the catacombs. Is that clear. I am all for cross race unity but I will not have you creating a problem that I have to clean up. Find the Ambassador and the explosives with minimal fuss if not I ll be holding you responsible Mr Tyr. Understand."

TAG All

[Deleted]

When Tedak returned to Qualinost and exited his shuttle, accompanied by Jombis' remains, he was surprised he wasn't met by anyone. He had informed Nolan that he would be returning within the hour and required special attendance. Had his message not come through then?

Moving the casket himself, using the antigrav appliance, the Romulan diplomat strode out of the planet's shuttlebay towards 'customs'. There, he was met by a security detail where he identified himself and showed them the deceased's transfer papers. "He is to be transported to the Romulan Empire, to be delivered into the hands of my nephew, Councilman Timone ir-Baratan tr'H'Rhihann. He will see to it that the remains are returned to the next of kin."

Once the guards let him pass, assuring him that his orders would be carried out, Tedak walked home to his temporary residence on Qualinost. Still accompanied by his loyal brown, the Romulan entered his residence, only to find T'Val there, unaccompanied. "Where is Major Echal?" he querried.

The Vulcan woman rose from her seat, serenely observing him as he approached, sensing his anger. "He had an errand to run. Tamir is in the next room, she graceously offered to stay with me when we went off duty. And since she has no-where to go, and Stuart is off-planet as you know, I thought you could use our company upon your return from the Jefferson."

Furiously, Tedak swiped a vase with flowers from the nearest table, flinching as it smashed to millions of pieces on the stone floor. "He was supposed to watch over you, both of you!" he snapped, "he was ordered such, and he ought to obey given orders!"

"How was your time on the Jefferson?" T'Val returned, ignoring his fury of which she knew was not directed at her or Tamir. "Have you been able to meet with Lieutenant Reynolds?"

"Commander Reynolds now," The Romulan corrected her automatically, "and he sends his regards. He is on Qualinost for a few days, camping with his doctor and both their young sons. Perhaps he could stop by soon, who knows."

Seeing he wasn't going to see reason, T'Val shrugged. "I have to go home, I assume Stuart will try to contact me tonight. Tamir may wish to remain here, to keep you company." Turning, she gazed at the younger Romulan woman. "Would you not, Tamir? You may decline and come with me, but I am certain the ambassador would appreciate further care from you. He was, after all, injured recently."

Sighing, Tedak gave in to her logic. "You may stay Tamir," he echoed, "I do not believe I should be alone right now, or I might go off and try to rip Govan's throat out."

[Deleted]

When Tyr grabbed him and yanked him over to the console, Govan saw red. It was only his disbelief at the audacity of this Betazoid that prevented him from reacting immediately. Lucky for the ‘Ambassador,’ Major Echal not only somehow heard what he was saying through his furry, but actually managed to understand the implications. When he was finally released, the Romulan agent had a sharp flash of desire to hit Tyr, but it passed as his attention wandered to the information displayed on the screen. In spite of his severe irritation, the Major also felt a mixture of relief and satisfaction at the thought of actually being able to do something rather than sitting around waiting like some elderly Vulcan monk.

"Everything makes sense. The attacks on the Federation were a ruse in order to distract all attention from the frontier. Something is going to happen out here, and it's going to happen soon. And the only things I can tell you at the moment is that it involves explosives, it involves Vulcanoids, and it involves something very bad happening to both our governments. So you've got two choices right now. You can either work with me, or you can ignore me like you arrogant, green blooded sons of inbreeds always do, at your own peril. Your choice, Major."

The pointed insults raised Govan’s ire even further, but at this point, his attention was firmly fixed on the matter at hand, and it was clear that the cutting jibe had been intentional, designed to provoke him. As such, the Major was not about to rise to the occasion and give the sniveling Federation scum what he wanted, so the offence simply rolled off his back to be filed away for later. Tyr would get what was coming to him soon enough. A Romulan never forgets payback owned an enemy.

“Or I could kill you where you stand and proceed to solve this little problem myself without you,” Govan commented evenly, keeping his voice both low and calm as he surveyed the readings. Tyr seemed to ignore it as he brought up a map showing a huge system of underground caves and tunnels beneath the planet’s surface. Every time the view zoomed out, the Major’s calculations of just how long it would take to search the vast network got bigger and longer. This clearly was not going to be an easy job, one with little chance he could complete it on his own without help…which given where they were would have to come from the Federation.

"I've analyzed all planetary sensor data as best I can, but neither the Debrune nor Federation observation satellites keep as close an eye out as we need. Assuming that they don't want to be in a major population centre, my money is on them being in one of these catacombs underneath large kemocite deposits in the crust. The problem is that these catacombs extend for hundreds of miles in all directions, and we can't use scanning devices or transporters, finding the ambassador and their base would be like finding a needle in a stack of needles...unless the Tal Shiar can help shed some light on the situation?" Tyr asked, glancing up at Govan.

Before the Major could respond, someone cleared their throat and spoke from behind them. It was the Federation Admiral, the commander of Assailant. Falling silent, Govan observed the interaction between Tyr and Lin, leaning casually against the wall but taking careful note of everything that was said and watching both men closely. If Govan had to guess, Magellan didn’t like Tyr one bit.

Finally, the Trill turned to address Govan. "And do you agree with Mr. Tyr?" he asked, causing the Major to shudder slightly at being grouped together with that...

“I agree with the evidence,” Echal replied, glaring sideways at Tyr.

"Ambassador Vebn’s well being is your area Major and your well within your bounds to ignore our help however this is a Federation Base and the Debrune a Federation Protectorate. If he is here then it’s our problem. I authorize you Major to work with Mr. Tyr on a search and rescue for the Ambassador. You may use some of your own people. But Mr. Tyr and Commander Zoilip will represent Federation interests - I also insist you contact the Debrune especially the Silasi (Debrune Secret Police) before you venture into the catacombs. Is that clear? I am all for cross race unity but I will not have you creating a problem that I have to clean up. Find the Ambassador and the explosives with minimal fuss if not I’ll be holding you responsible Mr. Tyr. Understand."

Govan flinched slightly at once again being grouped together with Tyr and given an order from a Starfleet Admiral, but chose to ignore it for the time being. After all, he would need help from Starfleet to have any chance at finding Vebn as quickly as possible. Magellan’s last comment about blaming the ‘Ambassador’ for failure caused a flicker of amusement to cross the Romulan’s face. The Trill definitely did not like Tyr, which seemed to make just about everyone Echal was aware of that didn’t like the Betazoid. Somehow, that made the Major feel better.

“I accept your offer of Federation help, and I’ll have Tyr here contact the Silasi to request permission to enter the catacombs to avoid creating a diplomatic incident. After all, diplomacy should be within the “Ambassador’s” skill set. I’ll make one thing clear, however. Although I appreciate the assistance that you’re offering, this is still MY rescue mission, and therefore, I am in charge of organizing and then implementing a plan,” Govan insisted coldly, sending a pointed look in Tyr’s direction. There was no way he was taking orders from him, and with that made clear, the Major turned to address Tyr specifically next.

“Now, I need to contact Ambassador Tedak and update him on the situation. Tyr, take care of securing the Debrune’s cooperation and assemble as many officers as you can manage to come up with. Hopefully this won’t be too difficult a job for you to handle all by yourself. By the time you do that, I should have a search pattern established. I’ll be back with Tedak shortly. Try not to screw up.”

With that, the Romulan turned his back on the two men, grumbling under his breath about nothing in particular. Working with Tyr was going to take every ounce of restraint and patience he had… Echal only hoped they’d find Vebn, fast.

~

Tedak’s anger, while leaving T’Val completely unphased, was terrifying to Tamir. He looked so furious, and when the vase smashed to the floor it was all she could do not to bolt for the door. Yet glancing between the doctor and the diplomat, both of whom were looking at her waiting for her answer, the nurse realized that staying with Tedak was what they both expected, in spite of the fact that she would rather go with T’Val. Tedak’s expression of wanting to kill Govan did nothing to ease her fear either. ‘What would Major Echal want me to do…?’

Lucky for Tamir, Govan strode through the door at that moment, his eyes sweeping the room trying to determine what was going on. T’Val was unreadable, Tamir looked terrified, and Tedak looked absolutely furious. A brief flash of defensiveness flashed across the Romulan agent’s mind, as he wondered if the Ambassador was angry with Tamir for some reason and had upset her, but the Major pushed it aside, reminding himself that he had more important things to address.

“New evidence was just uncovered that suggests the stolen explosives as well as Ambassador Vebn are here on Qualinost, most likely underground in the series of catacombs. I have been authorized by Admiral Lin to make a thorough search with help from the Federation. Arrangements are being made as we speak. It will be up to me to organize the search, and the two of us should also be a part of it. As soon as everything is finalized, we will begin to try and locate him. The two of us need to make our way to the Galaxy to begin preparations, Ambassador.”

[Deleted]

Tyr leaned quietly on a console, allowing the conversation to pass him by as he thought matters through. He listened and nodded to Lin's orders, and then remained mute at Govan's sudden spurt of vehment testosterone. He found it quite interesting that this was somhow all being lumped onto his shoulders if anything went wrong, but took it in his stride. If there was anything that he was under no illusions about, it was his own expendability. That was one of the first things that was drilled into all new trainees at SI. He waited until he was alone, Lin and Govan having departed, before he stood and left himself. Contrary to whatever the Romulan thought, he wasn't going to let anyone but Federation personnel dominate this mission, and at that point, only Federation personnel whom he trusted. Plus, Lin's statement about not creating an incident was fine by him. If the Major appeared to be on the verge of forcing him into causing a diplomatic crisis; well, the catacombs under the settlement was very large, it would be easy for someone to get lost.

He left sickbay and headed for a nearby communications junction, activating it and then crawling into an adjoining jeffries tube for the sake of privacy. He set the transmission array up in an unusual pattern to disguise the transmission destination, and scrambled the frequency. He opened the transmission and waited, the Federation emblem hanging on the screen until the face of James, his handler, appeared.

"Social call?" he asked sarcastically, the unusual number of direct communications over the last week or so having made the method lose all it's fearful potency.

"Not really. I need a favour, or more of a bit of professional assistance"

"Shoot" he leaned back in his chair.

"Do we have any Ghost teams in the area. Good ones"

"They're all good" James reminded him of the ludicrously extensive training that Intelligence black ops forces went through "But it depends what you need them for"

"We're going hunting for a large shipment of explosives and a kidnapped Romulan ambassador. I think that the attacks in the Federation are decoys in order to distract us from the trouble out here, and 200 isotonnes of crystalline explosives back me up"

"What do you think is going to happen?" James asked, becoming more concerned by the minute, and said concern showing in his face.

"I have no idea, but if this region is destabilised, it could spell war. That's why I need a Ghost team here"

"You know that all of that sort of thing is run by the Black Ops division. I don't have access to that sort of information. No-one does"

"You know I wouldn't ask for the big guns unless it was really necessary" Tyr pleaded "Can you find out for me, now?"

"Hold the line" James told him "I'll get back to you, but don't hold your breath"

The line cut out, and Tyr was left crouching in the dimly lit jeffries tube. He pondered on the political severity of the situation, the tactical situation he was about to walk into, and how much he was beginning to hate Romulans. He also pondered about what he would need on this particular exercise. The extensive kemocite laced tunnel network meant tricorders were rendered useless, as well as their transporters. A manual search would take weeks, if not months, time which they simply did not have. Tyr's mind crept back into his youth as he sat there, remembering the old films of half a dozen different races that he had watched as a child on both Betazed and Earth. Just then something hit him.

"Reti!" James' sharp voice cut through his reverie and returned his focus to the monitor, which had apparently been active for a moment or so.

"Sorry, fairies" Tyr muttered.

"You have Ghost team. Five personnel, two Bajoran, one Betazoid, one human and one Vulcan. They'll arrive at the main space port in three hours claiming to be immigrant workers looking for jobs at the duranium mining facility. You'll take them for processing, and then they'll drop off the map"

"Thanks for this" Tyr set with heartfelt gratitude "I'm guessing it wasn't easy?"

"I'd sooner keep you out of it if it's all the same. Just don't forget, these people are the elite, and they know it. Don't mess them around, because they won't take it. Davis out" The line went dead