5.2 Grounded

[Deleted]

“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.”

"Preparations?" Tedak rounded on the other Romulan, fury still in his eyes. "And how obvious will our search be? Remember, V'Shall won't hesitate to kill him, and that's something I'd like to avoid, even though his death might mean I would get my old position back."

His own words seemed to startle him, for he fell silent immediately. "We might not get along, we might barely be able to work together, but I have no wish to see him dead." He sighed deeply. "T'Val, perhaps it is better if you take Tamir home. I know you wanted her to stay with me and play nurse, look after me that is, but now is not a good time." He turned towards the young, and obviously petrified nurse. "I'm sorry if I scared you. Please come back tomorrow and I promise I'll be a good patient this time."

When they were gone, Tedak turned back to Govan. "Who told you Vebn is here on Qualinost? And who exactly will be going with us?" He wondered if Govan was aware of his hatred towards the Betazoid diplomat. "Is your source reliable?"

[Deleted]

"Preparations? And how obvious will our search be? Remember, V'Shal won't hesitate to kill him, and that's something I'd like to avoid, even though his death might mean I would get my old position back." Govan remained silent as Tedak paused before continuing. "We might not get along, we might barely be able to work together, but I have no wish to see him dead."

Not arguing with the Ambassador, but wondering for a moment how bad or good it would be for the Major if Vebn ended up dead, Govan continued to stay quiet as Tedak addressed his ex-wife and the nurse. "T'Val, perhaps it is better if you take Tamir home. I know you wanted her to stay with me and play nurse, look after me that is, but now is not a good time." Turning to Tamir, the Romulan Ambassador added, "I'm sorry if I scared you. Please come back tomorrow and I promise I'll be a good patient this time."

Confused, both by the ‘play nurse’ comment and Tedak’s apology, Govan glanced questioningly at Tamir, who glanced nervously back at him but didn’t say anything in response as she followed T’Val wordlessly out of the room. When they were gone, Tedak turned back to Govan and fired more questions. "Who told you Vebn is here on Qualinost? And who exactly will be going with us? Is your source reliable?"

“It’s that rat, Tyr,” Govan reluctantly admitted, holding up his hand as Tedak looked about to express his opinion on the Betazoid. “I know…I hate him too. His intelligence, however, is solid. It’s the facts I believe, not him. Unless this V’Shal person has developed or acquired an entirely unheard of, undetectable, and untraceable cloaking method that wouldn’t leave a hint of tachyons, Vebn is here somewhere, most likely along with a pile of explosives, which is definitely here.”

Still not giving the Ambassador a chance to speak just yet, Major Echal continued. “I’ve already made it clear that I’m in charge of this search and rescue mission, not Tyr. This is after all our affair, not there’s. It just so happens that this happened in Federation space and they want to find these explosives as well, so our interests intersect. Still, finding Vebn is under my direct authority; therefore, I call the shots here, not that Federation scum of a diplomat.” Stretching the truth slightly, Govan added, “I doubt he’ll stay in his place long or easily, but I have Admiral Lin’s support on this. He made no objections to me heading this search.”

“I’ve got Tyr making the arrangements, clearing this with the Debrune government, gathering the resources and Federation personnel necessary...all we need to do is take a look at the maps of the underground system, try to determine the most likely places to hide and coordinate the search based on that. This can best be accomplished from the Galaxy I believe. Once that’s done, we organize the officers and begin the search. The two of us are to stick together, always. Tyr can do whatever he wants, but if he decides to cross paths with me, it’s his choice to risk his life,” the Major commented dryly, the corner of his mouth turning upwards slightly into a sneer at the thought of how many different ways he could end the man’s life in some dark corner of a cavern. “Whenever you’re ready, Ambassador, we should make our way to the Galaxy. The sooner we find Vebn, the sooner this ends and we can stop working with that little vermin. How soon can you be ready?”

[Deleted]

V'Shal had pretty much ignored Vebn for the past few days. Barely a handful of words had passed between them and those that had were curt and to the point. Today however was different.

"Your daughter is quite competent" V'shal said as she entered the room once more. She disrobed revelaing her normal lycra body suit, "She could make a lot of money on the open market. Her skills would be of use to many clients"

"Like me my daughter is a patriot and would never betray the empire."

V'shal gave him a sidelong glance and shrugged, "In my experience Romulans are duplicitous and deceptive I wouldn't be so sure about your daughters loyalty. Everyone has a price. I understand she even used you as bait to catch your compatriots"

Vebn looked at V'Shal squarely, "You know about that!"

"Of course. When I take on a job I do my research. You don't to get to work for Section 31, the Tal Shiar or the Obsidian Order by being sloppy"

"You ve worked for them all"

"And others. I work for whoever pays the best. Something my dear husband Saarok never understood."

"Is there any reason I m down here" Vebn asked at last

"Your protection of course." V'Shal replied "There are plans in action that could cause your harm. Your darling daughter is quite comfotable with you as bait as long as you don't come to harm."

"Wait a moment - That ship - that wasn't you was it."

V'shal grinned,
"I couldnt comment. Plots can have so many strands. All I know is that until we ve done what we need to do, your in protective custody."

"They'll look for me you know." he retorted

"I doubt it and if they do then they risk getting seriously injured or killed. This isnt a game Ambassador. I may not care for the politics involved but your daughters work is important to your people and I dont think she'll let anyone interfere."

[Deleted]

Tyr had no hesitation the moment the transmission ended. He practically launched himself from the jeffries tube and hit the corridor running, heading for the nearest transporter room. He had to return to Qualinost and prepare for the arrival of the Ghost team, but first he had some preparing to do for the expedition itself. He tapped his commbadge.

"Tyr to Commander Zoilip, can you arrange something for me?"

"It depends what" the Bolian did not sound too pleased to be in contact with the spy again, something that appeared to be a common theme on this assignment. Tyr pressed on.

"I need tactical field kits for seven people. That includes phasers, rifles, tricorders, communicators, med and engineering kits, explosives and field rations. Have them beamed to my office in the DCS complex on Qualinost as soon as they're assembled. And there is one more thing"

"What?" Zoilip enquired.

"I need a sonar unit" Tyr told him "Or the next best thing to one that you can scrounge on a moments notice"

"A what?" Zoilip sounded as if Tyr had just asked him something in highly colloquial Klingon, and, considering the archaic nature of the technology, he may as well have.

"In old Earth maritime war, they would use sound waves in order to track ships by having them reflect off the hulls. If we created a modified unit, it may allow us to rule out whole miles of catacombs by sweeping them for areas that reflect sound waves back"

"I would have to ask the engineers to create something that unusual" Zoilip replied "I'll speak to them and see what can be arranged"

"That's all I ever ask" Tyr answered with a smile "Tyr out"

~Down on Qualinost~

Tyr had had himself beamed directly into his DCS headquarters office for the sake of expediency, forgoing fears of questions concerning his sudden departures and arrivals. He set about creating false visas and immigration papers for the five officers who would soon be joining him, only filling in the details of which he was aware, and leaving the remainder until he actually met them and could create plausible cover stories. As he worked dilligently, the seven sets of equipment were beamed into the office, each neatly stacked upon the others. He had deliberately only ordered enough equipment for himself, the Ghost team and Zoilip, choosing to allow the Romulan to fend for himself. With Admiral Lin holding him responsible for anything that might go wrong, he wanted to firstly make sure that he was solely in the mission's driving seat, and secondly, that if the good Major decided to stab him in the back, then he wouldn't have given him the knife with which to do it. Doing a quick once over of the bags to ensure everything that he had ordered was present, he called in for a site to site transport in order to get straight to the space port.

He spent the next thirty minutes or so compiling a message that he sent to the head office of the Silasi, informing them that something very important was going to happen, and that the Federation was going to help them deal with it. Saying that it was too important ot idly mention over the comms system, he had asked them to send a small but experienced detail, headed by someone in authority to his office in under two hours. Barring any unforseen circumstances, this would allow him and his team to prepare well enough so that their assistance could not be lightly turned down. As he sat, Bolian tonic water in hand, a tannoy announcement informed him that the transport he had been waiting for had arrived from Altea III. He stood and moved to the arrivals hatch. Soon he saw what he knew without a doubt to be the peope for whom he was waiting, and he beckoned them with open arms.

"Greetings citizens. I am Retiarius Tyr, Federation ambassador in this region. Welcome to Qualinost"

[Deleted]

"I have nothing better to do at the moment. Let me grab a tricorder and we can be on our way," the diplomat answered, making a point of neglecting to mention any form of armament. By now, it ought be obvious to the major that he never carried anything beyond his dagger and certainly never touched a phaser or any other sort of phased energy weapon.

As the two men left Tedak's private quarters, Tedak sighed once. "Do we have to take Tyr?" he asked softly, "I don't trust him. He's a telepath, and a strong one, I don't think we should take him. He'll be a liability, especially once we find Vebn. Can we trust him not to scan our chief? I don't think we can. He assaulted me once, who's to say he won't do it to Vebn, or even to you? How well can you shield?"

They walked into the local hangarbay, where they boarded an inconspicuous Debrune shuttlecraft. It was pointless to take his diplomatic shuttle as that one rather stood out with it's bright white hull colour and Romulan markings. Not long after that, the Debrune shuttle took off and delivered them safely to the Galaxy.

"And what do we do now?" Tedak asked, somewhat annoyed. "I thought we had established Vebn was still on Qualinost. How do we use a single starship to search an entire planet? Can this thing land at all?"

[Deleted]

"I have nothing better to do at the moment. Let me grab a tricorder and we can be on our way," Tedak replied, moving towards his private room to grab what he needed. Govan was itching to get underway as soon as possible. He didn’t trust Tyr one bit and felt the man could be up to just about anything given enough time unsupervised. No, Major Echal didn’t like the Betazoid “ambassador” at all.

As the Romulan ambassador returned quickly, for which Govan was thankful, the two men began to move towards the bay, the diplomat asked, "Do we have to take Tyr? I don't trust him. He's a telepath, and a strong one, I don't think we should take him. He'll be a liability, especially once we find Vebn. Can we trust him not to scan our chief? I don't think we can. He assaulted me once, who's to say he won't do it to Vebn, or even to you? How well can you shield?"

Sighing deeply, Govan replied, “I don’t trust him either, but it seems we have no choice in the matter. We’re just going to have to be on our guard and do our best to keep him in line. I dislike his telepathic abilities just as much as you do; however, he’d have to be pretty stupid to initiate another attack like that. As far as casual probing goes, I’ve received standard training in resisting telepathy and actually received pretty high marks in that respect. I trust Vebn’s resistance to similar probing should be pretty high as well. It would take an outright attack for him to gain much information from the three of us, and if he tries anything like that again, especially on me, I’ll break his sneaky, slimy, devious little neck.”

Feeling like that settled it, Govan said nothing more as they boarded the Debrune shuttle and made their way to the Galaxy. Once they arrived, Tedak spoke again. "And what do we do now? I thought we’d established Vebn was still on Qualinost. How do we use a single starship to search an entire planet? Can this thing land?"

The complaining tone in the ambassador’s voice rubbed Govan the wrong way, who snapped back, “We’re only here to meet up with Tyr and whoever he’s managed to gather to help with the search. We’re going to need manpower for this, which is where your Federation comes in.” Sighing in frustration, Major Echal requested, “Computer, locate Ambassador Tyr.”

=/\=Ambassador Tyr is not onboard the Galaxy.=/\= was the computer’s annoyingly calm reply, which caused Govan to swear under his breath.

“Well this is just great. Couldn’t even trust the vermin to wait even a moment…he’s probably already on the surface organizing the search without us. Why that low-down, rotten…” The remaining comments descended into mostly Romulan profanities, before Govan asked, “Computer, what was Ambassador Tyr’s last known location?” When the very helpful voice gave his last known location as the transporter room, the Romulan officer began to grin. This would make it easier.

Not looking at Tedak, hoping the man would remain quiet without saying anything close to ‘I told you so,’ as such an act was akin to suicide, Govan moved to the transporter room and explained to the operator that they were part of a rescue team and requested to be beamed to Tyr’s last known location. While the officer didn’t seem too thrilled with two Romulans looking for a Federation ambassador, he complied, as diplomatic protocol seemed to apply, especially with Tedak there.

A moment later and they were at DCS headquarters…the first place they probably should have begun to look in the first place. Feeling a tad stupid, Govan made his way to Tyr’s office only to find it empty. With another frustrated sigh, he requested once more for Ambassador Tyr’s location. This time, the computer complied and provided his location as the transport hatch, and Major Echal moved quickly to catch him, rather unenthusiastic about having to chase down his least favorite person at the moment like this. It was a pure waste of time.

A few minutes later, and Govan caught sight of the Ambassador talking to a group of…civilians? As Major Echal approached, he got a very uneasy feeling and slowed down to a more cautious pace as six calculating pairs of eyes settled on him. It felt something like being under a very uncomfortable microscope. Suddenly very aware of exactly where his disruptor and knives were on his person and how easily and quickly he could get to them, the Romulan agent approached the group slowly, feigning a casual, nonchalant attitude.

“Ambassador Tyr, there you are. I’m assuming this is some of the…manpower you’ve managed to arrange? Hopefully this is only a small part, as we’ll need more than the nine of us to conduct a proper search. And no offense intended, but civilians? I would think we’d at least want crewman, if not officers. I mean after all, six laborers can hardly constitute a descent search party…could it?” Govan asked, trying to sound offhand, even as his eyes bore through the Betazoid’s.

<Tag Tyr>

[Deleted]

The Romulan diplomat was annoyed at best, especially with the soldier that accompanied him making it abundantly clear that he would prefer for him to be elsewhere. As it were though, the two Romulans did their best to find their errant federation counterpart. He sighed, ignoring the chirping of his brown firelizard in his right ear. Nut was annoyed and hungry, Tedak knew, feeling an enormous sense of hunger nearly overwhelm him.

"Soon," he whispered to the brown, but when the brown creeled softly, the Romulan relented and replicated red meat from a nearb replicator. This act earned him an angry stare from Echal, but Tedak pretended not to have seen.

In the mean time, he listened to Govan's rant at Tyr, keeping his own gaze fixed on the Betazoid. Finally thinking it had gone on long enough, Tedak stepped forward, gently shoving Echal a few paces to the side. He'd had enough of the quibbling between the two men. "If you have information regarding Ambassador s'Khellian, we need to know," he demanded, his voice low and controlled but every bit as dangerous. "You were supposed to meet us on the Galaxy, but you failed to keep your appointment. Next time, notify us if you see it fit to cancel. That would have saved us a lot of time that could've been better spent searching for our ambassador."

edit: fixed a typo

[Deleted]

ooc: in response to zhuk's post on Jefferson.

ic:
For once, T'Val Mercy was relieved to be rid of a patient. She had known the Andorian before she had transferred to Assaillant and had known he made a very difficult patient. Yade warbled at her, echoing her sentiment even though she had gotten along just fine with Zhuk's blue Theel'ziin.

She sat outside the hospital now, enjoying the final rays of sunlight as the afternoon progressed into evening. Several days had passed now since Stuart had departed Qualinost in search of a cure to their private problem, or rather, her problem and she was starting to get worried. He hadn't sent any word since departing, something he normally did every day when off planet or off station.

Closing her eyes, she let her mind wander, hoping it'd connect with that of her mate. The further he was away, however, the more concentration it required. Concentration, she lacked after a long day in the hospital wing. Sighing, she opened her eyes again and rose to her feet. "Admiral Lin," she called, after tapping her combadge once, "this is Healer T'Val Mercy. I would like to have a word with you, in private. Are you available?"

She didn't want to disturb the admiral if he was busy, but she still felt he was the only person she could turn to, that she trusted. Especially with Tedak away on a mission. "If not, could I come by later?" she offered, just in case he was busy. She knew how annoyed he could get if she just walked in on him unannounced.

[Magellan Lin]

Zoilip finally arrived, Tyr had not seen fit to keep him informed, however as a former CTSO he had his finger on the pulse and was soon joining Govan and Tedak fully kitted up.

"Quite a team you have here" he noted dryly nodded at Tyr undoubtedly special ops team, "A little bit of overkill?"

Tyr shrugged.

"So Major Echal whats the plan."

"We find the Ambassador" teh Romulan replied curtly barely containing his disdain.

"Might I suggest Tedak remains behind in safety."

TAG Tedak

"Okay okay your the boss" Zoilip replied holding his hands up in mock defence, "I just promised Magellan that no diplomats were injured whilst he was away on Starbase 47"

TAG Tedak

"Lets go then" Govan stated, he motioned for the transporter chief to energize. The small combat team dematerialised reapperaing once again on the surface. The landing location was a barren rocky expanse close to some cliffs. It was obviously on the edge of the terraformings limit as very little seemed to be growing except for a thin algal mat in some of the wet depressions. In front of them was a cave, a gaping maw of blackness.

"After you Major" Zoilip suggested "He's your ambassador"

TAG ALL

[Deleted]

"Might I suggest Tedak remains behind in safety."

"You can suggest but it's not going to happen," the Romulan diplomat replied, "Vebn is my boss, and I'm not staying behind when we're looking for him!"

"Okay okay you're the boss" Zoilip replied holding his hands up in mock defence, "I just promised Magellan that no diplomats were injured whilst he was away on Starbase 47"

"Then why didn't you suggest Tyr stay behind as well? Because now you make it seem as though only Romulans get hurt on this mission. If you promised, you'll just have to make sure none of us get hurt, won't you?"

Tedak wasn't too thrilled at Zoillip even daring to suggest that he remain behind and the betazoid diplomat and his own bodyguard would have all the fun. It was, in fact, fairly annoying and disrespectful. Not to mention that he knew Vebn probably better than all present anyway.

~later~

"After you Major" Zoilip suggested "He's your ambassador"

Tedak rolled his eyes in annoyance, then shot Govan a dirty look as the Romulan soldier forcibly barred his way by shoving him back. "As the commander says, he's our diplomat," Tedak grumbled, but he let Govan pass.

He did, however, not let Tyr jump in before him and forcibly forced the Betazoid aside when he tried to brush past. "Not going to happen Tyr," he snapped, "besides, Govan might never forgive you if you don't come in behind me to watch my back hm? And don't try your telepathic tricks either!"

Keeping his eyes on Govan's retreating form, Tedak hurried after his bodyguard, attempting to keep up with the fast moving Romulan soldier. "Anything?" he asked, as he caught up, panting for breath.

[Deleted]

Tyr led the small group away from the space port, walking at the fairly rapid pace that the situation befitted. He did not look behind him to ensure that the special forces team were following, but instead carried on, smiling at anyone he vaguely new as he walkeed past, giving a sense of someone simply about his daily business. He was gald that he had the Ghosts' involvement in this matter, partly for the sake of recovering Vebn expediently, and partly for a feeling of wellbeing against the little Romulan clique that seemed to be present. At a distance, he saw Govan and Tedak approach, and sighed slightly not relishing yet another proverbial measuring contest.

He shrugged in response to Govan's statement about the state of his team, and Tedak's remark about his failure to notify them of his whereabouts, confident that his team could take Govan, and that he wasn't at the beck and call of some pointy eared backstabber. He led the party into his office, the two Romulans in tow, and pointed out the pile of gear and weapons in the room, gesturing silently for the team to equip themselves. He slid down onto his desk, and picked up a padd, beginning to type a brief message to the Debrune Silasi, informing them of what had transpired, and what they were about to do. He knew that Lin had ordered him to keep the Debrune informed, but if he was entirely honset, he didn't trust anyone right now, and only begrudgingly accepted the presence of the two Romulans purely on the grounds that it was their ambassador who was missing. He finished the message and had it sent to the Silasi headquarters through standard routing, ensuring that they would be long gone before anyone heard about it. He himself picked up and donned one of the two remaining packs and rifles, sliding the other one under his desk when Zoilip arrived, already armed.

A short while later they energized into a barren expanse of cliffs and rocks, no vegetation yet present, and with a wide cavernous opening present before them. His team immediately fanned out, communicating with the smallest hand gestures possible. Tyr understood roughly half of what they were saying, partly through years of experience, and partly through the fact that he had washed out of Ghost training a few years prior. The memory stll stung somewhat. He was however, rudely pushed aside as he attempted to get up next to Govan at the front, Tedak forcing him into a secondary position.

"Not going to happen Tyr," he snapped, "besides, Govan might never forgive you if you don't come in behind me to watch my back hm? And don't try your telepathic tricks either!"

"I wouldn't dream of it ambassador" Tyr answered, unsmiling and umemotionally "But I'd advise you to watch your own back. Dark places these, any sort of...accident, might happen" And then, with a slight nudge of his rifle, he got the column moving. He withdrew his tricorder, and attempted a scan, but the device was, as predicted useless.

"We might as well be in a solid block of kemocite" he called out "Tricorders are useless" He fell back a couple of paces and came into step with the Bajoran at the head of the column, obviously the leader of the team.
"Call me Tyr" he muttered "And watch out for the Romulans"

"Call me Ennis" the man replied "And I always do. So what, are we just going to wander around in circles until we find this guy"

"Already taken care of" Tyr smiled, then adding in a hushed voice "Just remember, when we get to this location, defusing the explosives and protecting Federation personnel comes first, arresting threats to the Federation comes second, and rescuing the Romulan is the least of our priorities. Watch each others back, huh" The two men exchanged nods, and then Tyr doubled up to reach Zoilip and Tedak.

"Hold fast" he whispered "I've got a way of speeding up our little adventure. Commander Zoilip, did you get the sonar unit I asked for?"

<TAG Zoilip/Tedak>

[Magellan Lin]

Zoilip looked at Tyr derisvely, Had he rememebered indeed, of course he had.

"Here it is" he replied pulling off his pack and extracting the small hand held device.

Tyr took the device and turned it over in his hand a moment. He flicked tha activate switch and moved away from the group and fiddled with the controls.

"I m not sure what thats supposed to achieve" He said to Tedak , "There must be all sorts of sounds down here."

TAG All

[Deleted]

This was ridiculous…Tyr was supposed to get manpower, not some sort of high powered death team, or whatever they were. Searching the caves was going require a whole lot of people to spread out and look…why hadn’t he gotten more officers or asked the Debrune for some of their people to help? But here they were, less than a dozen men entering the vast underground systems, all but useless. When Tyr had some sort of device brought forward, it was all Govan could do not to strangle the arrogant diplomat. Sensors clearly weren’t working, and it was doubtful any sort of technology could help any. This was going no where fast.

“What is a Sonar device?” the Romulan agent demanded, further infuriated when Tyr moved away from the group with it. If the Betazoid didn’t stop for a second and give him a straight answer, Govan was going to end his miserable life then and there, elite Starfleet group or not. He took one step towards his target when he overheard Zoilip’s comment about sounds and paused mid-motion. Sounds? For a few moments, the Major watched Tyr and what he was doing with that device before crossing over to the Bolian officer. “What exactly is he trying to do? And why did he not gather more people to conduct the search like I requested?”

<Tag Zoilip>

With a frustrated sigh, Govan called out to Tyr. “Are you just going to wander around with that thing or did you actually have some sort of plan?”

<Tag Tyr>

[Deleted]

Arms crossed over his chest, a bemused smile on his face, Tedak leaned against the rock-face, observing the annoying Betazoid ambassador. He watched him struggle with the sonar equipment. "Are you going to impersonate a bat?" he taunted, his eyes on the equipment. "I am quite certain there are faster ways, which we could employ if only you weren't so intent on taking the lead and asking for suggestions."

His expression took on a brief but vacant look as the Romulan seemed to concentrate on something. A few seconds later, a brown flying creature popped in out of nowhere, crooning softly as he glided in towards the Romulan, settling quietly on his shoulder.

Tedak allowed his loyal pet a moment of affection, before coaxing him down towards his arm. "Nut, where's Vebn?" he asked quietly, firmly planting the image of the other Romulan in his mind. Nut chirped, but remained where he was. "Where's Vebn," he repeated, a satisfied smile on his face when the little brown took off.

"He'll find our wayward diplomat," he said smugly, while remaining where he was, leaning against the wall. "It may take a few minutes, I don't know how extensive these caves are, but I suggest we take a brief rest, before we press on."

[Magellan Lin]

Zoilip watched as the Firelizard flew off. He had seen what they could do in the past. Nevertheless he felt uncomfortable about leaving the fate of the Ambassador in the claws of a semi sentient pet.

"Perhaps we should have brought more men" Zoilip noted

Tyr shook his head,

"Too many and the kidnappers would be tipped off. This way we can surprise them"

"Thats if we find them"

"We will. This sonar unit will help track them down. I just need to calibrate it and we'll be sorted."

Zoilip nodded, "A race then, Lizard versus technology."

The rest of Tyr team sat apart from the rest and said little, even to each other. Major Echal scowled at them whilst waiting impatiently for something to occur.

"Hang on" Tyr said as the device began to bleep, "I think I ve got something"

As the others gathered round. There was a squawk as Nut appeared

"Looks like a draw to me." Zoilip quipped pulling out his phaser and checking its power cell.

"What is it?" Govan asked

Tyr looked up as if had forgotten the others were there. "Here, look. The sonar readings are showing a mass of moving obejects here. Correlated against the Debrune Archive that section is supposed to be abandoned. I would say there are no more than 10 people in that area, I suspect Ambassador S'Khellian is one of them. It looks as if there are numerous entrances and we have no way of exactly knowing which one is the Ambassador."

TAG all

[Deleted]

"Of course we do," the Romulan cut in, while stroking his faithful pet. The creature's eyes whirled the white of danger and it was crooning softly. "Nut knows. And more importantly, Nut knows Vebn. They're not exactly the best of friends, but he'll lead us to him."

Tedak had received images of Vebn being among the group of people Tyr had described, and though he wasn't certain who whas who, he was certain that Nut could direct them. Still stroking the neck ridges of his pet, Tedak turned the creature around to face him, peering into his eyes. "Lead us to Vebn," he instructed, as the creature sprang aloft and hovered for a moment.

He issued Zoillip a wry smile. "You may want to send someone armed ahead. There's bound to be a commotion when we arrive and we don't want the ambassadsor injured." Then again, if Vebn were killed, he'd have his old position back.

The Romulan shook his head in dismay, angered at his own dishonourable thoughts. This wasn't the way, and certainly wasn't his way of doing things. He shook his head again when he was offered a phaser. "Evil weaponry," he answered coldly, drawing his dagger instead. "Personal combat for me," he explained, "you go ahead, I'll follow close on your heels. I'll not be left out of combat, don't worry."

[Deleted]

Tyr worked over the sonar unit, annoyed at the consistent abuse he appeared to be taking from the two Romulans that they had in tow. He didn't particularly care whether or not they, or indeed the ambassador died, his primary concern being the recovery of the explosives, and the arrest or death of the insurgents. As matters stood, he was indifferent to either situation. He looked at the team, gald he had taken the small and subtle approach, and that the men were entirely on his side. He had no doubt in his mind that the pointy eared members of the cohort would sooner or later attempt to have a knife in his back, and whilst he accepted this, he was prepared to make sure that they did not live long enough to revel in it.

"Perhaps we should have brought more men" Zoilip noted

"Too many and the kidnappers would be tipped off. This way we can surprise them" Tyr answered shaking his head, ommitting his desire to keep things well on the Federation side.

"Thats if we find them"

"We will. This sonar unit will help track them down. I just need to calibrate it and we'll be sorted."

"A race then, Lizard versus technology."

"Hang on" Tyr said as the device began to bleep, "I think I ve got something. Here, look. The sonar readings are showing a mass of moving obejects here. Correlated against the Debrune Archive that section is supposed to be abandoned. I would say there are no more than 10 people in that area, I suspect Ambassador S'Khellian is one of them. It looks as if there are numerous entrances and we have no way of exactly knowing which one is the Ambassador."

He smiled at his own capability, politely ignoring the fact that the lizard had in fact managed to tie with him. He stood nad gestured to his team, using hand signals only so as to minimise any noise from here on out. Four of them instantly set of at a sprint down the tunnel system, the lead man following the small flying lizard, possible with a sense of bemusement on the faces of those behind. He had told them to assume position a little way away from the encampment and to get as many people in their field of fire as possible before the order was given. The final man had been given instructions to bring up the rear, partly for safety, and largely for the sake of being able to deal with the Romulans at a moments notice if necessary. All knew the priority of recovering the explosives over the ambassador. He re-holstered the phaser he had offered Tedak, and then set off at a run himself, the rest not too far behind. They arrived in an open cavernous area, on a shelf above some sort of ravine. The soanr sweeps would be right, there were only seven people in the dip itself, but a number of large cases hung around them, and all carried high yield military issue particle weapons. They were clearly geared up for a fight. The others, Vebn included must be nearby, but Tyr wasn't going to release any of his small number to go looking for them. With Tedak unarmed, and one man not on the ledge and minding the rear, this left him, Zoilip, Govan and the four black ops to take out all those below. He whispered into his communicator.

"Listen up, if we do this in one unified burst, we can bring them all down simultaneously. I've got my eye on the one stood directly opposite our entrance point. Everyone confer, make sure we've all got individual targets. Once the room is clear, the Romulans and rearguard can try and find the ambassador, my team, we check and clear the explosives. We fire on Major Echal's command" He smiled and winked at the Romulan, giving him the lead, and throwing him a bone. He looked down the sights of his rifle, gauging a perfect head shot.

<TAG Govan>

[Deleted]

Tedak released his loyal brown back into the air and followed the creature at a steady pace, with Govan at his side. Either Romulan seemed determined to get to their boss before the Betazoid and his team could. It was, after all, an internal affair, preferably for them to solve. He quickly exchanged a few glances with the younger officer, then nodded. Though Govan was charged with his safety, Tedak still was the superior.

The Romulan was certain that Tyr probably, though rather conveniently, forgot who was the senior diplomat and that certainly wasn't Tyr. They hurried on, though Tedak paid little attention to Tyr and his team, and even not as much to Govan as he probably ought to have. He was focused on the images Nut was sending him, vividly at that.

He was roughly pulled aside, experiencing a near-miss with one of the stalagmites in the cave. Tedak grimaced in annoyance, his connection with Nut briefly lost. "That way," he motioned, "not far now. Get ready to fire." He wasn't sure if Zoilip would take orders from him, though he was quite certain Tyr wouldn't.

Though the only one in the party, surprisingly only consisting of males, who wasn't armed, Tedak didn't opt to hold back and let the rest do all the work. He shouldered several men aside, never wavering as he insisted on following Govan in. As the younger Romulan fired his disruptor, Tedak dove aside just in time to avoid getting shot.

Picking up his robes, he ran forward to where he knew Vebn was being held. There was a forcefield confining him to a corner of the cave and Tedak deactivated it without too much diffcultie. The diplomat's hands were bound before him, held securely by manacles. With a look of pure loathing, Tedak picked up one of the energy weapons lying nearby and cut the tie that held the manacles together. "We'll remove the rest once we get to safety," he explained, "we have to move fast. V'Shal will know by now that we've got you and she'll try to stop us. I don't intend to give her that chance."

With Govan at his side, Tedak grabbed a fistful of Vebn's clothes and bodily dragged him along. "Let them fight," he ordered, nodding back to Tyr and Zoilip. "I'm sure there's something else here they'll want. We, however, need to leave. NOW!"

[Deleted]

Vebn tried to feign surprise when Tedak and a mixed group of Starfleet and Romulan staff burst into the room in which he was kept.

The Ambassador removed the manacles from around his wrists that had been placed on him only moments ago. He watched as Zoilip and Tyr spread out around the room to search it. They were definetly after something else. He suspected that rescuing him was only part of the deal.

His analytical mind began to whir, putting together the few pieces of information he had managed from his daughter and V'shal on their few visits, there was something more at work here.

"I agree" he nodded, best to leave the Federation to his own devices, "Lead the way" he ordered Tedak. The man did so and he allowed himself to drop back to Govans side,

"My kidnap is not what it seems, this operation is Tal Shiar run, or at least involves them. We must effect my release with a minimum amount ot impact on it" he whispered to the Major "Do you understand?" he continued with a nod to Tyr.

Tyr caught the exchange and came quickly over,

"Are you alright Ambassador?"

"Quite" Vebn replied acidly

"They did not ill treat you then."

"No more than most kidnappers" Vebn shrugged, "Poor food, beatings and being chained up day and night, something any Romulan can endure"

A smile played across Tyrs lips,

"I see, its just that the room is quite pleasant, you have no injuries evident" he paused, "Not even any chafing from the mannacles!"

"Are you calling me a liar?" Vebn spat violently

TAG ALL

[Deleted]

"My kidnap is not what it seems; this operation is Tal Shiar run or at least involves them. We must affect my release with a minimum amount of impact on it. Do you understand?" the Ambassador whispered to Govan, nodding in Tyr’s direction.

With that, Major Echal could see his life ending once more...he had interfered in a Tal Shiar operation and assisted the Federation. Although his intentions were more than honorable and his only goal was to rescue Vebn from what he had perceived as a Federation threat, it now seemed he had done the exact opposite. If the Romulan hadn’t been as good as dead before, he certainly was now. This “assignment” had been the last chance, an opportunity to continue living if not to receive actual redemption, and Govan had just completely blown it…big time.

Tyr caught the brief exchange of words and quickly moved to join them, glancing between the two Romulans before addressing Vebn. As the two Ambassadors exchanged veiled pleasantries which quickly escalated into more aggressive posturing, Govan sighed. He was already a dead man but the Major still felt a need to step in, one last, pointless time. It his mind, it would do no good, but at least his last act of Major Govan Echal of the Tal Shiar, Chief of Security for the Romulan Embassy aboard Starbase Assailant would be an honorable one.

“Ambassador S’Khellian has been through a very trying ordeal. I suggest you leave him alone, Tyr. Need I remind you that his abductor was a well-known Vulcan terrorist, not a Romulan, so why don’t you allow us to escort him to safety unless this was some sort of scheme of yours and you had some part in this… Otherwise, we’ll be leaving, now,” Govan stated rather matter-of-factly before moving to follow Tedak and indicating for Vebn to follow along as well.

[Deleted]

"Find the explosives!" Tyr shouted, bringing down two of the Romulans with his phaser rifle before he slipped off the ledge and into the centre of the fray. He knew his tricorder was usless and he had no idea where he was, so he simply chose to rely on his eyes. He ran around, akin in many ways to a headless chicken, and began blasting the locks of every box he came across. It was only the intervention of one of the ghost squad that stopped him.

"You're looking for explosives with a fully charged phaser rifle?" He asked, a mixture of guarded insult and incredulity.

"Point taken" Tyr said, proceeding now to input override codes in order to gain access to the containers. He went through half a dozen before he finally came across a case of containers all containing the prefix code of the missing crystalline explosives.
"I've got them" he called out, gesturing to the remainder of the team to come and help. It had only just dawned on him that 200 isotonnes was no small amount, and that shifting it back to the transporter point was going to be no mean feat.

"So you take this one hundred isotonnes, I'll take the other, and we'll be back in no time" a Bajoran said sarcastically, earning him a withering look from the Vulcan team member present.

"Whatever method we choose to employ" she began in a cold and crisp manner "We should employ it quickly. Logically, our opponents would not have placed all their personnel in one position, and they will undoubtedly have heard the phaser fire"

"Point taken" Tyr mused "How deep do you think we are?"

"No more than a kilometre" Zoilip answered "Why?"

"If we could get a message back to Admiral Lin at the compound, he could send a shuttle to blast us out, then tractor the explosives directly out"

"It would take too long" the Vulcan answered back "Even a solitary person at top speed would not make it out to communications range and then be able to accurately guide close air support back before a counter attack"

"Not if we run, but if we fly...Wait here a minute" Tyr broke away from the Federation group and sidled over to the Romulans, who he regrettably noticed had been able to free Vebn.

"Are you alright Ambassador?"

"Quite" Vebn replied acidly

"They did not ill treat you then."

"No more than most kidnappers" Vebn shrugged, "Poor food, beatings and being chained up day and night, something any Romulan can endure"

"I see, its just that the room is quite pleasant, you have no injuries evident" Tyr paused inspecting Vebn's physical state, "Not even any chafing from the mannacles!"

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"Actually I was just calling you a Romulan" Tyr smiled at the cutting remark "But I assure you, I will thoroughly debrief you at a time more convenient to the both of us"

“Ambassador S’Khellian has been through a very trying ordeal. I suggest you leave him alone, Tyr" Govan interrupted "Need I remind you that his abductor was a well-known Vulcan terrorist, not a Romulan, so why don’t you allow us to escort him to safety unless this was some sort of scheme of yours and you had some part in this… Otherwise, we’ll be leaving, now,”

As they turned to leave, Tyr levelled his phaser rifle at the trio.

"Please Major, don't tempt me. I assure you, in my present state of mind, I could do unspeakable things to you all here and now, and when Admrial Lin asks me later, I would simply tell him that you all tripped and fell into an unusually large food processor. Regrettably, my conscience, a side affect of not being Romulan, and neccessity compels me to keep you alive. Ambassador Tedak, can your little friend fly back to the HabDome and guide a shuttle back here?"

<TAG Tedak>

[Deleted]

Tedak remained quiet for a long moment, watching the Betazoid and the two other Romulans bicker. He raised an eyebrow in Vulcan fashion when Tyr finally addressed him, horribly polite at that. "Of course he can," the diplomat answered dryly, "and I'm sure your spies have informed you of firelizard capabilities and usefulness. By now, Dinas should have received a message from Nut, though I shall be happy to oblige and send him back to the Habdome just to be safe. Dinas, after all, is young and tied to Lin."

He bared his teeth at the Betazoid in disdain before calling Nut to him. "Go to the Habdome," he told his little friend, "find Magellan and have him dispatch a shuttle. It's urgent, let him know that. Then find T'Val, we'll need a healer too and she understands without question."

The brown firelizard chirped, winged up from the diplomat's arm, then winked out of existance. Tedak glanced at the spot where he'd hovered in a moment of admiration, then turned back to the Betazoid. "He's gone to find Lin," he explained, "in the mean time, perhaps we should vacate this place and find somewhere safe to hide until the shuttle comes for us?"

Turning his back on the wretched diplomat, Tedak glanced at Vebn and Govan, the latter hovering protectively about the older man. To his chagrin, Tyr had made a point regarding signs of maltreatment and confinement however he chose not to give him the benefit of seeing him further annoyed. "Ambassador, I assure you that we will have you out of here safely as soon as possible," he promised, "we did everything possible to ensure this rescue mission, as secretively as possible. My only annoyance is that we needed the Federation to get it done."

[Felix Savali]

Ambassador Saarok has once more been granted an opportunity to return to his old position as head of the federation embassy on board starbase Assailant. This of course was not something he would call illogical, but then again it was not something that would make him happy or unhappy at that. It actually presented itself as the only logical solution considering the events that transpired in the past few months.

And as faith would put it, another incident occurred at Assailant only hours before his arrival. Apparently his ex wife had contacted Tedak and informed him that Ambassador Vebn had been kidnapped and not to interfere. Now if anything V'Shal was not stupid and she would not risk calling someone and taunting them. No, V'Shal would do that only if it suited her agenda and in this case if it suited her agenda for she had obviously deduced that Tedak and his party would go looking for Vebn.

Which meant... Vebn's kidnapping was most deffinetly not her main goal, luring everybody away, yes that did sound more like something she would do. Saarok let these thoughts fly through his mind as his shuttle descended towards Qualinost. He was once more arriving to the place that has provided so much stimulation for his mind. As he landed, he left the shuttle accompanied as always by his two trustworthy guards, a human and a Vulcan along with his two firelizards, one of which, his bronze was always at his side and the other was also near by but kept out of sight.

Saarok walked to one of the HabDomes which, as he was informed, housed Admiral Lin's office. As he arrived to the office of the Admiral he politely chimed the improvised doorbell which was composed of a piece of metal shaped like a letter D with its straight line being parallel with the door and being held by a circle that was protruding from the surface of the door, this arrangement allowed the letter D to be moved from the door and to the door which caused an action one might consider knocking.

After hearing an invitation which could be characterized as enter, he nodded his two guards to stay outside while he and his bronze lizard entered the room.

"Admiral Lin", Saarok said, "It is an honor to once more be in your company"

<tag Lin>

"I have once more returned to protect our interests in this troublesome part of space. The council is concerned that with so many different interests colliding in such a, shall we say, narrow area, our embassy located here is not equipped to handle them properly. And they do not look forward to another incident that would potentially turn into an intergalactic war with everyone attacking everyone.", Saarok said

<Tag Lin>

"Now i understand that my dear ex wife V'Shal is again up to some, shall we say, mischief?", Saarok questioned

<Tag Lin>

[Magellan Lin]

Since returning from the Celebrations on Starbase 47 Magellan was surprised to find very little work awaiting him. F'rass and his other senior staff had kept things running well and whilst Assailant was under repair there was only house keeping matters to attend to.

He was at present poring over the latest changes to the fleet. Full fleet control had passed to Starbase 47 where Admirals Nova, McCormick and Elron could better co-ordinate Section policy in the region.

This might on face value seem to weaken Assailants position. It was after all a lone Starbase on the edge of the Bertreka Nebula close to the Klingon Border. With the Klingons currently at war with the Tholians and the Romulans almost certainly fanning the flames this region was far from safe. Assailant was of course undergoing a full refit as part of its repairs and weapons upgrades were amongst that plan of work. The Vanquisher and Copenhagen auxillary craft remained on point and the USS Nevada had permanently been reassigned to the area.

He had just finished checking in with the Starfleet Corps of Engineers when Saarok appeared.

"Admiral Lin", Saarok said, "It is an honor to once more be in your company"

Magellan rose and grasped the Vulcans hand,
"Its good to see you. Since you got that job on the Presidents Staff we havent heard much from you, what brings you here now?"

"I have once more returned to protect our interests in this troublesome part of space. The council is concerned that with so many different interests colliding in such a, shall we say, narrow area, our embassy located here is not equipped to handle them properly. And they do not look forward to another incident that would potentially turn into an intergalactic war with everyone attacking everyone.", Saarok said

"I agree completely. The Klingon Ambassador is petitioning me nearly daily for greater Federation support against the Tholians, which concerns me...why would the Klingons want or need our help? IT bound to have something to do with the Romulans the whole incident has their fingerprints on it."

"Now i understand that my dear ex wife V'Shal is again up to some, shall we say, mischief?", Saarok questioned

Magellan nodded and called up a view screen to display a map and security footage.

"Yes. Just after Assailant was struck by the starliner and we were evacuating she came aboard and kidnapped Ambassador S'Khellian. Tedak and your young protege Tyr are in the catacombs now effecting his rescue, in fact I have just despatched a shuttle to pick them up."

Saarok nodded sagely,

"V'Shal is not your typical Vulcan. She moves at oblique angles. Wheels within wheels I believe the human term is."

"Your saying theres more to this?"

"Always with V'Shal, even in her youth she was highly manipulative and cunning."

Magellan surpressed an urge to tell Saarok how they musthave made a perfect couple.

"Tyr confirms he has located Vebn and also recovered the explosives she had been using to attack various targets."

Saarok rested his chin on steepled fingers,

"Was V'Shal with Vebn? Is she in custody?"

"No" Magellan shook his head "I guess she cut her loses and ran. Tyr and Zoilip had assembled quite a team."

Saarok cocked his head to one side,
"Fleeing and V'Shal are not words that go together. I suspect her end game is approaching."

"I think your worrying too much." Magellan tried to calm the Ambassador "Tyr and Tedak have it all in hand."

"We shall see. I hope you don't mind me sticking around."

"Of course not" Magellan beamed, "In fact you can join me in greeting the new Cardassian Union delegation. They are due to arrive within the hour."

TAG ALL

[Deleted]

"Ah, the new Cardassian delegation, yes i have heard of their arrival. I will indeed accompany you on this... pleasurable task", Saarok said altough the term plesaurable was deffinetly not used in its true meaning

"I will attempt to organize a semi-formal welcome for them but with the current conditions in mind... let us hope they do not it offensive.", he added

"Indeed", Magellan said... "Then we shall meet at the landing pad in 45 minutes", he said

"So we shall", "Admiral", Saarok said as he nodded to the man before leaving his office

After departing from the hab dome that housed an improvised command center he proceeded down the path to the habdome that housed to facilities which were assigned to the DCS personnel while on the planet and while the base was being refitted. As he eventually arrived to the area which was allocated for the Federation Ambassador. His two guards stood at the door while he accompanied by the ever faithful firelizard entered the office which housed a computer terminal, a desk, a leather chair on one side of the desk, another two on the other side and a leather couch further away next to the wall. It also housed a small replicator which could provide nourishment for the ambassador while he was staying here.

Saarok arranged his robes as he sat down behind the desk. He entered his password in the terminal and brought up the current list of activities the DCS personnel were assigned to do and a list of activities that were pending. He read through the list with efficiency and speed before altering it and inserting the greeting of the incoming Cardassian delegation as a red flag event. After that he made some other rearrangements. Which altered the priorities of the DCS to be more inclined to the heading the president of the federation wanted them to proceed in.

After he was done reviewing all the activities, the time for the meet and greet with the Cardassians had arrived. He switched of the computer terminal and rose from his chair. He proceeded to exit his office and collected his two guards at the entrance. All three of them then proceeded towards the landing pad where the Caradassian diplomatic shuttle was scheduled to land. When he got there he saw that several of the higher ranking officers of the DCS were already there, minus Retarius Tyr who apparently had not yet returned from the adventure with V'Shal. Saarok was still not... calm so to speak, that woman... the only one who could ever match him on the field of battle, on the field of debate, on the field of logic... She had something big planned he was certain, but what and how the seizing of the explosives fitted into it all eluded him... at least for now. He put the thoughts of V'Shal to the back of his mind as he joined Magellan on the pad.

"The shuttle is about to land", Magellan informed him

"Punctual they are... for a change", Saarok commented as he stood silently next to Magellan while the shuttle was about to touch the ground

<Tag LIn>