El Sal Mission 9.1: Tenuous Talks

[Deleted]

Sickbay was a flurry of activity, and Firestorm was relieved that Deis had allowed him to help out. The poor woman was having hands in short, wanted at several area's in sickbay at once. "Go," he told her, when she was called away yet again, "I'll tend to the wounded."

There were many wounded on the surface, reports said, and Firestorm was already packing up the needed equipment. No need in risking the chief medical officer into a dangerzone, when there were more expendable - and probably adaptable - people around. Of the senior staff that had returned, only the science officer had reported in for check-up.

The Sivaoan had been quite surprised to even see the Romulan walk in, knowing full well from his academy days that the woman had an uncanny fear of the place. If he hadn't had his hands full with medical equipment, and trying to stow it into a case, Firestorm would've tended to her himself; at least it would've been a familiar face. Of course, the woman was blinded, so that was a moot point.

Shaking his head, the Sivaoan returned to the task at hand, scowling at himself for letting his thoughts wander. When he was packed, he slung the case across his shoulder, keeping the medical tricorder in his paw. Such, he found his way to the bridge, where he just overheard the last statements coming in from the people who'd remained on planet, namely Colonel Wolf and Captain Savot.

"Merrow, request permission to accompany Commander Hope," the feline spoke up, the purr in his voice clearly audible, his tail lashing in the excitement of a prospect away mission. "I'll guide her along, but I'll tend to the wounded with a small medical team. Doctor Irae will stand by here in sickbay, we can't risk her down there, she's too vital for the ship. I volunteer to go, I have the knowledge and expertise necessary."

Ears perked up, his whiskers arched backwards, he stared at Jackson with wide eyes. The tip of his tail was twitching, occasionally catching Lieutenant Fire across his hand. Firestorm didn't notice, his attention was on the first officer. From behind him, he could hear S'reena talk quietly to the computer, finishing her data analysis. "S'reena?"

The Romulan turned in her seat, nodding. "There are many wounded, and I can't complete my scans from up here, there is too much radiation, and something else is disturbing our sensor sweep. I cannot confirm the captain's report, on the missing of the Eastern Prince. I must get back down there, but I shall keep an open comlink with the ship, for emergencies."

She still felt the sting of being told off, but she could understand. Jackson was in command, not she. She would not ever be in such a position, nor had she any desire to be put there, as she had made quite clear to the captain. In silence, she stood beside the tall Sivaoan, waiting for permission to rejoin Wolf on the surface.

[andrus]

Andrus was sutdying his console when he heard Lt Col running Wolf request " Andrus go through the scans leading up to the exploison see who was in this room. I dont care how brief it might have been, also I want complete scans of this whole world see if there are any life forms that dont belong to this world."

"Iam in the process of doing just that olonel" Andrus replied. "It will take me a few minutes Sir" he added.

<tag Running Wolf>
It seemd to ANdrus things had taken a decidedly diownward trend. His initial readings of the scans indicated a few oddities. He scrunched his lue face into what eathers would call a grimace and muttered out loud "hmm."

-----------------
Lt (jg) Andrus
CTSO
USS El Salvador-B

[SA. Stacey Jackson [Ret]]

Stacey ran her hands through her hair as she listened to Savot tell her the rather tense situation on the planet, Stacey didn’t like it one bit.. so much was happening that she was having trouble form a clear picture in her mind.. she glanced over at Commander hope who now had Firestorm standing next to her. Stacey briefly considered taking her aside and apologizing for snapping at her but she dismissed the idea she knew that she did what she had to… she needed to take command as was her job.

She turned back and sat back down in the command chair and sighed a little as Savot asked the condition of the young ensign who was with them when the explosion occurred.

“I am sorry to report Captain.. Ensign Sontes is dead and two other members of our security detail are in critical condition.. sickbay doesn’t hold out much hope for them sir but they are trying their best.”

She closed her hand into a fist and gently tapped the side of her leg with it, she turned to S’reena and said. “S’reena you and Firestorm go back down to the surface… take any equipment you need… Firestorm take as much medical supplies as possible and treat as many people as you can.”

She turned back to S’reena and said. “Something about this does not add up… our sensors should have been able to pick up the bomb before it went off… and as the Merans neither have to technology to transport it in or hide it from our sensors.. it makes me believe neither are responsible… keep those facts to yourself on the surface please don’t discuss your findings with any of the government officials if they think we had something to do with this.. they may very well execute the captain and our people for assassination.”

<tag Hope and Firestorm>

She watched Firestorm and Hope leave the bridge and she sighed heavily the words of Captain Savot and Wolf still buzzed around in her head… the leaders were dead and that meant it was only a matter of time before someone broke the cease fire out of nervousness or revenge either way it would leave the federation stuck in the middle.

**Government Transport shuttle**

The deputy President, sat behind the desk normally used by the president but as he had now learned she was dead he had no reservation about using it. He looked up to the dark corner of the small office. “Can the explosion be traced to us.. because if it can…”

The man standing in the shadows didn’t move he only said in a voice that carried with it some sense of foreboding. “You have nothing to worry about Mr. President… the device we used is beyond the technology of this world… very soon you will be able to proclaim to your people the Federation are in a deal with the Eastern Monarchy and you can win this war like your predecessor couldn’t.”

The Deputy President Maxers didn’t look convinced. “The Federation is powerful you think they will sit back while we brand their people criminals?”

The man stepped out of the shadows revealing his pointed eyebrows and ears. “So are we… once they see the bomb was made out of federation technology their vaunted Prime Directive will leave them no choice but the respect your laws and punishments.”

Maxis smiled as pressed a primitive communications panel and said. “Get me the generals… we have a retaliatory strike to prepare.”

Unknown the President on the Royal Transport was a very similar conversation taking place with the Prince regent soon to be proclaimed king.

*** Conference Hall – Bomb Site***

Two men both dressed in different styles of uniform walked up to the Vulcan Captain who was talking to what seemed to be thin air. They placed their hands on their weapons and said.

“You are under arrest for assassination… our scientists have discovered the bomb was the same technology as your hand weapons.. you are now a Prisoner of the Royal Army.”

The officer standing next to him didn’t seem to like the idea very much and replied. “No he is a prisoner of the Democratic Government for the assassination of our President.”

They both seemed to stare each other down for a few moments before from each door soldiers from both governments arrived with their weapons drawn at each other.”

They Royal officer said. “I guess we wait and see which of our armies gets here first.. you had better hope it is yours because if it is mine… you die along side the assassins.”

<tag Savot/ Hope/Wolf/ Firestorm>

[Deleted]

S'reena allowed Firestorm to take her arm and guide her to the transporterroom. It was better to allow it and not waste time arguing, for time was something they had precious little of. People were dying on the planet, and medical aid was essential. "Watch your step," Firestorm warned, as he helped her up the transporter pad. "Energise."

She felt herself being transported, not quite liking the sensation, even after several years of service she still found it unsettling. She felt Firestorm steady her and she nodded in thanks as she felt her boot slip off something. The feline's arm felt tense under her touch and both stiffened as they heard harsh voices.

“You are under arrest for assassination… our scientists have discovered the bomb was the same technology as your hand weapons.. you are now a Prisoner of the Royal Army.”

“No he is a prisoner of the Democratic Government for the assassination of our President.”

"What do you see?" S'reena whispered, while flipping open her tricorder. This one was slightly modified, giving her an instant relay of what it recorded, trough a sensor which she had placed in her right ear. Firestorm had opted for an IHADSS, with medical upgrade, and anyone seeing him would know instantly what his profession was. He was carrying a medical kit and had his own tricorder open as well.

"The captain is being held under weapon's threat," the Sivaoan reported, "both governments are claiming him as prisoner, presumably for assassination of their figureheads." He listened, while watching the soldiers approaching, their own armaments leveled at both guards and Vulcan. "They claim the Federation is responsible."

The Romulan nodded, moving carefully through the rubble, occasionally slipping but managing to catch herself in time. Frowning, she kneeled besides what appeared to be a fragment of the explosive, listening as the tricorder feed rendered the data into audio. "We have a problem," she stated flatly, rising back to her feet. "The explosive is of Federation design and origin. We can't despute their claim."

She looked almost defeated. "I'll need more time for thorough analysis, and need engineering assistance. But for now it seems the captain will be held responsible, as the highest ranking Federation official present. We can't dispute their laws on this, and I doubt he'll try." She shook her head. "For all we know, the captain did arrange this." Her words sounded damning, even to herself, but it was the truth of the matter. And she knew he could be capable of it, if the situation demanded it, that was the sour part of it all. Naturally, she doubted he had, but without scientific proof, he did appear guilty. Hadn't he given himself over into custody already? If he'd been innocent, would he have done so? YES! S'reena convinced herself. He would have. She believed to know the Vulcans she knew well enough to know he would.

While Firestorm moved off to tend to the wounded, S'reena waited to see if any of the guards would acknowledge her words, and grant her the freedom to investigate further. The comlink to the El-Salvador was still open, and she could be transported back if the situation demanded it. She needed to talk to the chief engineer, and soon. Two would know more than one, and Firestorm was of little aid while he tended to the wounded.

[Deleted]

He was walking up to where Commander Hope was doing her scan and heard the interaction going on. The captain was no offical a prisoner but of which goverment was still in question. When heard the weapon was a federation design and Commander Hope agreed with the assement after her scans he saw things going from bad to worse.

Even thought things were getting worse a question had been answered, not something he was willing to share just yet. Walking over to Commander Hope he thought it best to keep his idea's quite and not share with the locals. " Commander Hope can I have a word with you for a moment" He touched her wrist so she could use his arm as a guide for a privat meeting.

Looking around he lowered his voice he knew she could hear him. " Commander while this does cause us problems it does give us some answers as well. After all the scans that were done prior to the meeting it now makes sense why it wasn't picked up. Standard procedures dont have us scanning for federation weapons. Which means depending on what you find that it has to be outsider. I will forward all security reports and intell about stolen or missing federation weapons." puasing for a moment

" Commander I'm going to trust you with this, I'm going to get you access to classified reports involving any incidents of federtaion weapons being used by other races. I dont know if it will help but it might provide some leads if you find any patterns forming. I would suspect that some of the information might be helpful more importantly I would focus on reports that put mission in danger or the federation in a bad light. With that being said I trust any information that does not prove of use you will keep to yourself. I have favors owed Commander use your judgement on whats of value but keep the access to your self. I have no desire to get my friends into trouble not to mention this will cut through a lot of red tape access will be waiting for you in a pesonal message if you choose to use it"

Looking aroung waiting for Commander Hope's response " You know Commander something still bugs me the deputy president left befor the explosion, I can't be sure yet but I think the prince left to. Just a little strange such importan talks would not involve the 2nd in command"

[Deleted]

S'reena placed her hand on his arm, allowing him to guide her away a little. She listened with interest, but could not find the logic in his reasoning. "The explosive was of Federation design and origin colonel," she explained softly, "I have yet to discover any false traces, but as I stated, I need engineering to confirm what I find. Whether I have access to alien devices is of little consequence. It is only useful if ever we do find some trace of alien devices. Until then, we must do all we can to work with the locals, and keep our captain safe."

She turned to face the marine officer. "In case you also hadn't noticed, all seconds in command were present. Commander Jackson is El-Salvador's first officer, and she was a key element in the negotiations. While the captain met with the royals, the first officer met with the democrats. Insofar I've been able to determine, they've not left eachother's company, before arriving here. That leaves me to conclude that the explosive was planted just prior to our arrival. I'm sure you noticed we were transported to a faulty location at first. Between transits, anything could have happened."

She turned to look over her shoulder, listening attentively to the voices behind them. The tug of war over who had the captain as prisoner was still continuing, and she wondered when he captain's patience would finally run out. "For now, we must find a neutral ground, before both sides get impatient and tear us all apart. I'm sure you agree? And transporting him to our own brig is not an option. As he represents the Federation in this, a Federation vessel is not neutral ground. I suggest that we declare this place as neutral, and we remain here until we're told we can leave. Lieutenant Firestorm is tending to the wounded, as was offered by the captain. Surely, if he wanted these people dead, he'd not offer medical care? A tyrant would let them suffer, or would have killed them afterwards."

The Romulan shook her head. "I strongly urge you to return to your own investigation, and let me tend to mine. We both have the same goal colonel, the safety of these people, and our own."

[Savot]

Savot's discourse with the ship was interrupted by armed personnel from either government, both of which seemed particularly upset at the vulcan personally. The captain's brow furrowed in both slight surprise and instant computational explanations when he heard the stated charges, “You are under arrest for assassination… our scientists have discovered the bomb was the same technology as your hand weapons.. you are now a Prisoner of the Royal Army.”

The officer standing next to him didn’t seem to like the idea very much and replied. “No he is a prisoner of the Democratic Government for the assassination of our President.”

They both seemed to stare each other down for a few moments before from each door soldiers from both governments arrived with their weapons drawn at each other.

They Royal officer said. “I guess we wait and see which of our armies gets here first.. you had better hope it is yours because if it is mine… you die along side the assassins.”

Action needed to be taken quickly to avoid a complete bloodbath ensuing within the building. Savot moved, albeit calmly and with both hands hanging quite visibly at his sides, to stand equidistant between the lead officers of both forces, "Gentlemen I understand the charges and you have the right to detain me as a suspect. But neither of you can argue that the topmost leader of each of your governments were killed here today, and as such jurisdiction on this matter must be shared if justice is to be achieved."

Angling his head towards the Royal officer, the vulcan began his initial defense, "Assuming the explosive was Federation in origin, that is still insufficient evidence to conclude we were the attackers. As you know, the Federation consists of hundreds of worlds and cultures and among them technologies are compared and contrasted to better the technologies of all involved. As such, though we strictly prohibit the release of potential weapons technology it is far from impossible for a non-Federation entity to come into possession of such equipment."

He clasped his hands in front of him as he expounded on his reasoning, "For example, if I were to acquire a weapon made by the Eastern Government, and kill someone, clearly the Eastern Government would not be the murderer. One could argue there should have been more security measures to prevent the theft in the first place but at this juncture that is, as they say, neither here nor there."

He then turned his head towards the democratic officer so as to equally respect and distribute his arguments among both parties, "Likewise, the Federation not only has many allies such as the Klingon Empire but also is constantly involved with the seizure and impoundment of technologies from criminals, and with that in mind, if the Federation had bombed your leaders it would have been much more sensible to do so with an explosive that couldn't be recognized as standard Federation technology."

The armed forces of each group were rapidly approaching the building's center where the vulcan and his inquisitors were gathered, so the vulcan rapidly moved on to what was still the most central issue, "Each of you has a motivation behind apprehending me: the pursuit of justice for your wronged leader; but this attack claimed both and as such there can be no monopoly on grief or justice. Also, your people honor their ancestors; you look to those who've gone before you for guidance."

Savot looked to West and East in turn as he went on, "Your President and your King have gone, but their very presence here shows that each of them was willing to pursue peace. They would not want you to dismiss a goal they were willing to risk their lives for, and indeed if you do abandon peace their sacrifice will have purchased nothing but continued bloodshed for their people."

"You, also, will be ancestors in the future, and your children, your grandchildren will look to your memories for guidance. What you all choose to do in the next few moments will irrevocably guide their lives and all the lives thereafter", Savot let his hands fall open once again to his sides as he looked squarely at both lead officers, "What do you think they would ask of you...?"

[Deleted]

James continued to work watching the scans that were coming through as well as watching their telemetry making sure that the ship didn't sink too low or too high in its stationary orbit around the planet. He moved his hands without watching the viewscreen, flying blind as it was sometimes called. The best pilots in Starfleet who multitasked would do it going straight from feelings alone and ignoring the viewscreen instead watching the data stream that came through while in flight and making manual adjustments where it was needed.

James had turned to see another sweep with the scanners throw information towards the science station, when something caught his eye. He selected it as it was a report from Starfleet Intellegence, "Commander Jackson..." He would start to say as he read through the reports, "Intellegence is reporting a breach in security six days ago they just caught it two days ago and are sending it to all ships. It's not very...wait a second."

He looked a little deeper, "Some information was discovered to have been leaked regarding something of high class in nature. I am transfering the report to you right now." <Tag Jackson>

James continued to read through the report though some of it was blurped out and required a passcode to read. "Ma'am you may want to take this to the Captain's Ready Room." <Tag Jackson>

[andrus]

Lt Fire and ANdrus worked together to try sand make sure things didnt get more out of hand.

"Sir," referring to Fire, "I am sending you my locational scans and sowe other data- thought they might help" Lt (jg) Andrus said.

<tag Fire>

Andurs noted some abberations and thought a mystery party might be down on the planet. He routed his assessments to Lt Col Running Eolf who would look at them as he had time
------------------
Lt (jg) Andrus
CTSO
USS El-SAlvador B

[Deleted]

Looking at Commander Hope she was right of course about many things but some she didn't seem to grasp she was a science officer and dealt with facts. " You of course are quite right Commander we should focus on are own parts of the investigaton. I'll leave you to continue but please keep 2 things in mind only because of some past personal experience. One I wont be shocked if you confirm with out a doubt the device is really federation technology. If I wanted to blame some body else to cover my tracks such as for instantce klingons then I would make sure I got my hands on a klingon device to use. Lastly the deputy president was not in the room he left me and Commander Jackson before entering and never returned.
If during your investigation you should come across anything concerning that please let me know and Commander you are quite right the bigger issue is to prevent a war"

Turning around he saw the 2 represenatives guard fighting on who was to take custody of there captain. Commander Hope suggestion of netural ground was ring in his head he touched her wrist and offered his arm to lead her back to where the captain and the guards were fighting. " Commander Hope please follow my lead for a moment okay for the safety of the captain and because it was your idea"

Approaching the group he saw the two guard fighting about who's army would get there first.
"Excuse me gentlemen while at the moment there is some evidences suggesting a federation attack I ask you to think for a moment and consider something else. As you take the safety of your leaders personally and would do anything to protect them so do I. While there some evidence to say it was a federation attack I ask why. I take my captains protection as seriously as you take your duties. I would never place him in harms way look at the damage it was just luck that more people weren't killed. Why would I risk my captains life on such an attack if there was a chance he could be killed futhere more why would I risk my team life on such attack for what purpose. I suggest in order to figure out whats going on here we make this spot netural ground for all parties. Since you both want to hold the captain then I would suggest you both hold him here one guard from each side to provide security. This way all sides are represented and to stop any possible in fighting until the investigation is over. Why risk so many lives over one person neither side should fight over one person with so many lives at stake. Why not simple share the responsablity after all your leaders were working on peace why not honor there sacrifice and let peace start in a small part here. I will not interfer with or try and help my captain escape. Everybody has a stake in this lets work together and follow where the evidence leads us. If both sides share custody of Captain savot then both sides win with no loss of life."

He waited to see what the outcome would be also to see if Commander Hope could add anything to get them to accept his idea of shared custody and netural ground. After all it was her idea and a good one which might just work.

[Deleted]

S'reena drew herself up to her full height, wiping her hair from her face. In the process she drew a smear of dust across her cheek, since her fingers were sticky and dusted from poking in the rubble to get clearer scans of fragments. Blind eyes settled somewhere between the captain and one of the guards, giving a first direct indication to the aliens that the science officer was sightless. For all they had known, Wolf had simply guided her as a means of courtesy offered to any female.

"I am in agreement with Colonel Wolf's statement," she spoke up, her voice strong and certain, "aside from the fact that it would possibly be safer for the guards of both sides. A neutral ground may avoid another army from attacking as neither would have an upper hand."

The Romulan paused a few seconds to allow her words to sink in. "Captain Savot would not fight you, as he had already offered himself into your custody before you made your arrests. Furthermore, if he had wanted to flee, he would already have done so. He is a skilled fighter, and you would not have survived. This clearly indicates his willingness to co-operate with you."

Again, she paused, wondering what they were doing now. Was the captain restrained in any way? She couldn't tell without using her tricorder, but to make a visible scan of him, could be considered suspicious and endanger him, rather than keep him safe. The other issue was, what if the armies did attack? What would happen if either side gained control? Offering the El-Salvador's brig was not an option, she still wouldn't consider it as one.

"I promise you that we will take this investigation seriously, and we will share our findings with you. With both governments, so we may all come to a satisfying conclusion and find the real attackers."

[SA. Stacey Jackson [Ret]]

Sitting in the captains chair Stacey began to feel like a caged animal unable to do anything, she was forced to listen as S’reena’s comm.. badge transmitted her words which struck at her like a blow to the head.

"The explosive is of Federation design and origin. We can't despute their claim."

If Stacey hadn’t been sitting she would no doubt have fell backwards.. the situation had gotten from bad to worse… the peace talks were as good as over and now the Federation was being accused of assassination.

She could hear Commander Hope say she needed and engineer but Stacey shook her head, not that it made any difference S’reena Could not see her anyway nor was the visual communications open. Stacey wasn’t willing to send anymore people down to the surface not when there seemed to be evidence of their guilt.

She stood up and turned to the back of the bridge where Andrus and his second in charge stood. She had a look of both determination and concern in her eyes as she said.

“You two I want you to go through the ships manifest of weapons… I want every single offensive weapon accounted for.”

<Tag Andrus>

she turned back to James Fire who seemed intensely concentrating on the helm and said. “Bring us back up into standard orbit… and keep constant sensor lock on the captains position.. I want to know the second any aircraft or military force get within twenty kilometres of the island.”

She turned and began to pace the bridge, she was hoping something popped into her mind that would help the situation in some way, but she was forced for now to yield to the evidence that they were guilty and as such the Prime Directive tied her hands from helping Savot directly.

Moments later she was heard James Fire speak up about a report from Starfleet intelligence, he mentioned that most of it was above his security level and she should take a look for herself. She doubted it would help the current situation but she decided to look non the less.

She walked into Savot’s ready room as she said. “Mr Fire you have the bridge… call me the second anything happens.”

***Conference Hall***

The two opposing guards continued to eye each other while casting Savot the occasional look. It seemed they were not going anywhere.

However Savot broke the tension when he began to talk about the logic in the situation, most of this went over the guards heads and they looked confused at Savot… Klingon Empire? They thought.

However when he began to talk about their ancestors this was something they could understand the democratic officer lowered his weapon about five inches and thought about what the young President would have wanted were she here now. No doubt she would have broken into a headache inducing speech on the need for peace as she had often given her generals.

The Royal officer however looked unmoved and just as angry as he did before if not more so. “Shut up prisoner don’t presume to lecture us on our religion.. or my King whom you have been charged with killing… our laws demand you are punished… and when the Prince orders as much you will be.”

They turned their heads slightly as the Starfleet Marine approached them guiding the woman along with him.

He mentioned that it was unlikely that they were behind the attack due to his need to protect his captain.. this rung true for both officers but before they could respond they were spoken to by the blind woman whom the royal officer eyed suspiciously.

Her speech was thankfully for both of them less long and not as preachy, however a sentence caught both of their attentions, this Savot was a skilled fighter, they both in unison stopped pointing their guns at each other and levelled them at Savot. As the royal officer said. “Stop talking… we are not in charge here and you shouldn’t waste your time giving me a headache… I have my orders and unless changed by the Prince there is nothing you can say that will change the outcome.”

**Five minutes later**

The device on the belt of the Democratic officer beeped and a deep voice coming from it said. “This is General Markest… a fleet of Chynech flyers are close to your position… when the lead flyer lands take the Federation officer on board.”

The democratic officer smiled as he looked to his Royal counterpart and said. “You were right my army gets here first.”

<Tag All- Captain feel free to NPC the guards and your own removal to the Democratic continent>

[Savot]

The vulcan captain stood quietly while his officers spoke. He applauded Wolf's attempt at reason but didn't hold much hope for its success since for all the locals knew Wolf could be the head chef disguised as a Marine. Savot's brow rose in slight surprise at Commander Hope's comments as to the vulcan's combat prowess, and while he could understand the line of reasoning she was attempting to draw with such an argument he imagined the more emotionally keyed up local officers might interpret it differently.

The refocussing of weapons towards him confirmed his suspicions scarely a heartbeat later. The royal officer said, “Stop talking… we are not in charge here and you shouldn’t waste your time giving me a headache… I have my orders and unless changed by the Prince there is nothing you can say that will change the outcome.”

Sensing that silence was the wisest course at the moment when involved with persons in possession of potentially itchy trigger fingers, Savot patiently waited for the arrival of the first army, and allocated a not-insignificant portion of his mental faculties to pondering the likelihood of things like 'fate' and 'karma'. Shortly thereafter; however, fortune had seemed to smile on the captain who rarely had a smile of his own, in that he would be taken into the custody of the democratic government whose officer had been the one partially swayed by the vulcan's words.

Savot instantly turned his back to the democratic officer-in-charge and presented his hands behind his back for cuffing. Then, with no more concern apparent on his countenance than if he simply held them back there of his own volition, Savot walked over to Wolf making direct eye contact with the Marine, "Colonel Wolf you are hereby ordered not to interfere with this in any way. As of this moment I am personally shifting the focus of your duty from my protection to that of Commander Hope and Lieutenant Firestorm. If I do return to the ship it will be with the full permission of the democratic government or not at all do you understand?"

The vulcan captain's voice held no tension for his own circumstances, but carried an emotionless ferocity nonetheless as he gave his final instructions for the time being, "What we do here will have direct ramifications on the status of these warring peoples, and regardless of my rank my individual safety is sorely insufficient reason to risk inciting a continuation of their war that could cost millions of lives. My duty is to both the mission and the well-being of the El Salvador and her crew, as I shall be unable to safeguard the crew under the current circumstances I must place that responsibility upon you so I can focus on the former."

"I assure you Mr. Wolf I should be quite capable of looking after myself under these conditions. It is fortuitous I'm being taken by the democratic government. While the Prince of the East could have me decapitated on a whim, the new president will have a harder time justifying such an action under a democratic system", Savot looked around the room once more quickly, glancing at S'reena and Firestorm, before turning back to Wolf.

"It is my recommendation that if the situation degenerates any further on the surface that all personnel return to the El Salvador and that Commander Jackson depart immediately for the nearest Starbase to report on what's happened and request instructions. However, as I will shortly be under duress my orders shall have no direct bearing on her final decision. Carry on, Mr. Wolf", Savot gave a firm nod to the Marine, and to Firestorm and Hope as well though only the Sivaoan could see it, and then became the center of a 3 by 3 square of democratic guards.

Moments later he was aboard one of their flying craft and en-route, presumably to the West's center of government where he would face the official charges stated by the guards.

*************************************

On the El Salvador's bridge, Chief Athgar's scaly face furrowed in irritation as the events unfolding below were carried through Commander Hope's still-active communication link. The Gorn felt like smacking the face of the collective vulcan community at large because you had to be that kind of insanely logical to just hand yourself over to some backwater mammals that can't even stop killing each other without someone to hold their hand through the process.

Thankfully his sensation of having to stand by and wait uselessly was quickly snuffed out as Jackson started going to town on the situation, directing orders towards himself and Andrus, “You two I want you to go through the ships manifest of weapons… I want every single offensive weapon accounted for.”

Nodding first towards Jackson, Zak then turned and slapped Andrus on the shoulder, "I'll go below boss; you ssstay here at tactical in case there are any ships hiding around out there. I'll start with the anti-matter warheadsss for the torpedoes to make sssure they're all accounted for. We'll visually confirm each and as we do you can check them off on the ship's inventory database in the computer recordsss."

The hulking reptilian quickly made for the turbolift and descended towards the ship's armaments, but given that a bomb could be pieced together from a wide variety of components, even confirming the presence of all the ship's weapons wouldn't completely clear them. He made a mental note to have replicator logs checked to see if any components capable of forming a bomb had been replicated by anyone aboard since the El Salvador got this latest mission assignment.

[Deleted]

“Mr Fire you have the bridge… call me the second anything happens.”

"Yes Ma'am." James would reply and stand up walking over to the central point of the bridge, and yet he avoided the chair as he turned to face the helm which had been once more taken by a junior flight officer. He watched as Commander Jackson vanished in order to take the message and would look towards Ensign Andrus, please keep a transporter lock on Captain Savot. I want him pulled out at the slightest chance that he is in danger." He would say. <tag Andrus>

He then faced the helms officer, "Helm as Commander Jackson already said standard orbit. Continue to scan the area around the blast site. Your all doing great." He would say the last part reflecting it towards all the bridge officers shortly before he would proceed to sit down in the center seat and stare longingly at the planet's surface out the viewscreen.

Lieutenant Kelley Belanna had decided that it was time that she headed off towards the shuttlebay to go inside the office and set up the duty roster for the next month. As busy as what Lieutenant Fire had been he wouldn't probably get around to it and she knew who was best where anyway. She only hoped that he would reply to her message and desire to speak about matters pertaining to his departure of the the ship three months ago and his sudden return...

[SA. Stacey Jackson [Ret]]

Jackson sat not behind Savot’s desk rather the couch in his ready room as she read through the largely boring Starfleet intelligence file, she read through a quarter of it before deciding the file had no relevance to her current situation nor that of Savot’s.

She stood back up and looked around Savot’s ready room and promised herself she would do everything within the laws of the Merans and Federation to get him back in it.

Walking back onto the bridge her attention was immediately caught by the beeping emanating from the science station, the young man sat in the chair turned and said. “Commander we have aircraft landing at the peace conference site.”

She walked over with a feeling of heavy concern. “Can we tell from which government they came?”

The young man looked back at his console and seemed to press a few buttons before turning back and saying. “Democratic government Ma’am”

For the first time in the last hour she felt a measure of relief, she had studied enough of the laws of both governments to know the judicial system of the Democratic government required an in depth investigation and trial before punishments could be enacted. Unlike the monarchy where if the King or Queen said you were guilty that was it no appeal.

She turned and faced the front of the bridge and said. “Hail the democratic government I want to speak to whoever is in charge.”

A few minutes later the view screen showed the darkened and tired prone eyes of the Deputy president who sat behind a desk that had paper piled upon it and an advisor visibly standing behind him, the advisor wore a military uniform and Stacey recognised it as a Chief of one of the armed forces which one though she couldn’t tell in the poor light.

“Mr. President please accept my deepest sympathies on the loss of life, I understand your military has Captain Savot in custody… You have my personal assurance we will not interfere in your investigation.. However I seek permission to hold our own investigation.”

The Deupty President now President seemed to think for a moment before he took a breath and said. “Commander… I understand your need to hold your own investigation and I can respect that.. however I will be more inclined to believe my own experts over those of yours who are desperate to save your officer.”

Stacey moved closer to the view screen and took a deep breath of her own and said. “I give you my assurances if our investigation reveals that one of my crew was responsible then we will respect your laws and punishments in your charges against Captain Savot… and We will take no action to free him from any charges or Punishments your justice system demands.”

He nodded and seemed to show a slight amount of relief. “I understand this is hard on the Federation and your crew… if we find him guilty you have my promise his punishment will be quick.”

Stacey smiled but not one of satisfaction or joy but one of concealing her true feelings of disgust. “I must tell you though if I find evidence that proves we had nothing to do with it… and you refuse to listen.. I will use all the advanced technology at my disposal to retrieve my Captain and you know as well as I that our technology far outmatches that of yours….I also want you garuntee non of the other officers of mine on the planet are in danger”

He shifted in his chair before looking back at his advisor and then said. “Commander if evidence is found that proves without a doubt that the federation is free from guilt it will not need to come to that but as a leader of men myself I understand your need to protect your people non of your crew is in danger from my men… safety be with you Commander.”

The comm. Channel closed and again the view screen showed the grey atmosphere of the planet and Stacey turned and looked at the bridge crew and said. “Now we find our proof…. Transport Colonel Wolf and Commander Hope directly to the bridge.”

Moments later both officers were standing on the bridge.. she took a moment to think over what had happened before she said. “Mr. Fire… Andrus please join Hope and Wolf in the briefing room.”

She herself walked over towards the briefing room and she didn’t bother to sit down instead she stood just inside and said to the assembled officers.

“I have been given permission by the President of the Democratic government to hold our own investigation… I also have been given a promise that our people are safe from harm… I want thoughts, ideas, gut feelings on what happened down there… obviously I am not about to accept anybody on this crew planted that device.”

<tag Fire, Andrus, Hope, Wolf>

Stacey listned to the flurry of thoughts and suggestions before she said. “Commander Hope take whatever personnel you need to the bomb site find out where it came from and if it is actually Federation technology.”

She turned and looked at Wolf. “Wolf I want you down there too keep an eye on our people.. any sign of danger get yourselves back to the ship… I understand our need to free Captain Savot from suspicion but I want a fair minded investigation hide nothing no matter how damning… I know you all know that Captain Savot would want nothing but that… no matter the consequences to himself… Mr Fire please join them provide any assistance they need.”

<Tag all>

She could understand the senior staff needed to be doing something.. and if it was possible she would have gone down herself.. but she knew the crew needed her on the ship providing whatever comfort her presence provided

“Dismissed.”

[Deleted]

S'reena couldn't believe it; they were still persisting on putting the captain under arrest. She didn't want, nor need Wolf's protection, having had quite enough of his meddling in her affairs. Of course, she couldn't blame him for wanting to make her feel safe, and somewhere, she did appreciate it. But right now, the idea of him hovering over her merely infuriated her. For a moment, she felt the captain's eyes on her, or at least, had the distinct feeling they were, and she straightened.

Her expression was one of bitter disappointment and suppressed anger, as she felt herself being transported. Momentarily disoriented, she grabbed at Wolf to keep herself upright, wondering where she'd been transported to. "Auric," she called, relieved to find her companion still with her. The little one chirped, feeding images of the bridge, just at the time where she found herself directed to the briefingroom.

Still seething, she followed and took her seat. "Are we just going to let them get away with this?" she demanded angrily, "being in custody of either party does not constitute neutral ground, who knows what they'll be doing to him!" Of course, the democrat side was probably the safer side, for the time being. She slammed the table in anger, eyes filling with tears. She felt angry. Not for being transported back without advance notice, not for being disrupted in her investigation, or even for the current turn of events. No, she felt angry because she felt helpless, because she could do nothing else to help. "Does he even get legal representation? Where are his rights, in all of this?"

Were she able to glare, she would've done so, but her very bearing gave everyone around a very clear idea of how she felt. Naturally, her temper was something to be reckoned with, and some present were well aware of it. But what was there that she could do, save vent her frustration at a staff meeting? Save analysing every scrap of data she could find? Save trying to uncover all she could find?

She barely heard anything said at the briefing, until she heard Jackson call her by name. “Commander Hope take whatever personnel you need to the bomb site find out where it came from and if it is actually Federation technology.”

The Romulan froze, mid-rant, wondering how loud her rantings had been, that she'd not been stopped before. Or had they just let her rant, and ignore her? She didn't know what hurt more, but she angled her face to Jackson's direction. "Gladly," she said stiffly, anger still in her voice, "if there's something, I promise we shall find it."

[Deleted]

James Fire had been sitting contently in the center seat when Commander Jackson walked out and went straight towards the science station. He turned and looked not really listening and assuming that the security breach had nothing to do with what was going on right now. He would proceed to his helm as Comander Jackson began speaking with one of the leaders on the surface until that conversation ended.

“Mr. Fire… Andrus please join Hope and Wolf in the briefing room.”


He nodded and left his post once more being replaced by another junior officer and would make his way towards the turbolift. Once there he seen that everybody was already there and would take his seat at the table. Listening as each officer spoke and yet he would remain quiet he really had nothing to imput.

“Wolf I want you down there too keep an eye on our people.. any sign of danger get yourselves back to the ship… I understand our need to free Captain Savot from suspicion but I want a fair minded investigation hide nothing no matter how damning… I know you all know that Captain Savot would want nothing but that… no matter the consequences to himself… Mr Fire please join them provide any assistance they need.”

When he heard his name he would speak up, "Yes ma'am. Colonel Wolf I will go to the hanger bay and set up the sensors on three shuttles so that they can pick up trace amounts that our ship and tricorders can't pick up. I will also make sure my team is on the lookout for anything that may be important to our investigation."<tag wolf>

"Dismissed."

The young lieutenant would nod and stand up walking out of the conference room and walking towards the shuttle bay and enter carefully. "Lieutenant Kelley and Ensign Marcus I need three shuttles with modified sensors. Take power from everything except for the engines to complete this task. Once that is complete we will be launching and making our way towards the planet in order to continue the investigation. Set up our sensor sweeps so that they transmit the data to Ensign Andrus at tactical and Commander Hope's science station. Don't take power from our comm system either we may need that. Dismissed."

[Deleted]

He felt the same frustration that Commander Hope was sharing, Combined with the captains orders and being beamed out. The only reason he hadn't said anything was because Hope was doing a good job of saying what he felt. They had one thing in there favor the captain was being detained by the republic. Although that soon would cause problems and nobody seemed to think about that out come

Speaking up for the first time. " Commander Jackson while for the moment we have time nobody has stated the possible out come of the royals attacking the republic to get Captain Savot. If this occurs we have two choices one stay out of it or try and rescue our captain if it does happen. I would like to think that it wont come to this but it must be considered."

While he listened to there orders providing protection was not going to be easy. Even more so because by Commander Hope's emotional out pouring she would not be easy to protect. He would have to watch out for her from a far. He didn't want to get in her way or have her loose focus because of her pride and honor.

" I will assist Mr. Fire with the shuttles and provide protection for the team on the surface. I would also suggest that we scan the system for ships and warp trails. I believe that we might be able to eliminate a few things. Or at the very least figure out who's been her recently paying a visit that has access to this type of technology"

As they departed to get there gear he went to replicator and programed a hand phaser with a few slight modifications. He had be tinkering with one for awhile but now this was the time a few secounds later it appeared a little bigger then normal but it would do the trick. Quickly he caught up with Commander Hope " Commander I will not waste anymore of your time, I will not get in your way and give you the space you need. Under one condition " he gently took her hand and placed the slightly larger phaser in her hand

" This phaser has all the normal settings and if you could see you would be carring one anyway. So please carry this one its programed with a voice only you can hear on a high band width. You might want to check and change the setting I'm not sure about romulan hearing and made a guess. In short Commander it will let you know if you are aiming at one of us. It will pick up enemey targets who are caring energy weapons only and distinguish them for you. It will still be up to you to find the target but it will let you know if your close. It will not let you know if a enemy is sneaking up on you it only homes in on enegery weapons currently on the planet that I know of. If you carry it I will stay a reasonable distance away from you so you can do your job and Commander I'll be covering everybody's back not just your's"

he waited for a respones he was hoping this time it would be a little more favorable since he wasn't asking or giving her anything that the rest of the team wouldn't have.

[kratak]

He was tired it had taken 3 days at high warp to get to the El-Salvador. He had asked to be reinstated to star fleet and sure enought they were quick to say yes. His skill's and knowledge had allowed him to transfer to the Marines with no problems. It was just luck that opening had become availble on the El-Salvador. In fact the Senior Marine in charge Col Running wolf had no idea he was being transfered.

He had taken the time to read everything he could on the El-salvador current mission. Reports were still sketchy last report had stated the Command Staff had beamed down to begin peace talks. A quick glance on the ship personal had shown him that he would know only one person on board Commander Hope. He had served with her as instructor along time when she was Admiral Drew XO. He quickly updated himself and was disheartened to learn she was blind. He chuckled a little because he figured this would only make her more dangerous. There last mission together she had stabbed a cadet by accident, he made a mental note to see where she was hidding that romulan honor blade when he caught up to her.

His orders were to the point relieve Col wold and assume senior Marine duty's. He had studied Col wolf back round and found him to be acceptable officer. He even accessed his reports on there current mission. It appeared he was not happy about having both Commander Jackson and Captain Savot down on the planet at the same time. He concured but realized that sometimes there was little choice and you just have to make do.

He was coming out of warp one he picked up the El-salvador transponder signal. A quick glance told him her shields were raised and weapons were on standby. He didn't have a desire to be blown out of the sky by accident and opened a communication channel.

As his view screen came to life he noticed a older woman sitting in the captians chair. Quickly accessing his knowledge of the crew he made the assumption it was Commander Jackson the newly permoted firts office who was once the counselor. He wasn't sure what type of person she was but was hoping she wasn't the touchy feely sort. Klingons had no need for counselors feelings were not as importan as honor.

Smiling a big grin he found by not acting like the typical klingon he could catch people off guard and learn things.

" Commander Jackson I presume I'm sorry for my sudden arrival but star fleet command thought it best I catch up to you as soon as possible. It would appear the your Col Wolf is need else where and in a hurry. I'm transmitting orders to you now from my understanding I will be assuming Wolf duties as senior Marine officer he will be assuming command of the U.S.S Nevada as her acting captain. He will need to report as soon as possible hence the high warp shuttle which he will take to get to his next post." <Tag Jackson>

occ I had permission from Savot and Jackson to bring K'ratak aboard to relieve Wolf.

[SA. Stacey Jackson [Ret]]

Stacey watched S’reena leave the briefing room, she could see she was not in the best of moods and if she were still Counsellor she would have taken the time to try and offer some help.. but she couldn’t do that anymore. While the mental health of the crew was still a concern in her new duties is was now one of many instead of the only one.

The senior crew jumped into action and all left the bridge leaving the junior officers filling every station… Stacey was the only senior officer left on the bridge and she now found herself needing to act stronger if only to reassure the junior crew who were beginning to show signs of fear for their captain.

She sat in the captains chair feeling somewhat like an imposter.. the crew were used to the strength Savot seemed to exude without effort.. It was a part of his Vulcan personality which allowed him never to succumb to fear.. this gave the crew a chance to take comfort out of that.

But now the crew were in a situation were they only had a half human half betazoid to look too for comfort and she unlike Savot was a person who wore her emotions on her sleeve… the good and the bad.

The young officer standing where Andrus should be standing looked up from his console and said.

“Commander we have a federation shuttle approaching… we are being hailed.”

Stacey lookd to the screen as the image changed from the planet to a Klingon officer who smiled brightly.. had Stacey been in a more pleasant mood she would have smiled right back.. but as she was stressed out and slightly grumpy she merely nodded at him as he said.

" Commander Jackson I presume I'm sorry for my sudden arrival but star fleet command thought it best I catch up to you as soon as possible. It would appear the your Col Wolf is need else where and in a hurry. I'm transmitting orders to you now from my understanding I will be assuming Wolf duties as senior Marine officer he will be assuming command of the U.S.S Nevada as her acting captain. He will need to report as soon as possible hence the high warp shuttle which he will take to get to his next post."

She stood up from the chair as she said. “Very well… as soon as you are onboard report to the bridge… now is not the best time for a change of crew and I don’t have time to mess around… but welcome aboard”

The comm. Channel closed and Stacey let out a deep breath.. now not only was the Captain unavailable but she was losing the senior marine officer who knew in detail what was happening.

She tapped her comm. Badge and said. “Colonel Wolf… you are no longer returning to the planet… report to the bridge immediately.”

She waited for a few moments before Colonel Wolf stepped onto the bridge she imagined he was confused as to why he was called back to the bridge and Stacey merely pointed to the captains ready room.

He followed him in and didn’t bother to sit down instead saying

“Mr. Wolf… I have received orders from Starfleet… You are to immediately leave the El Salvador… you have been reassigned to the USS Nevada as Commanding Officer… Congratulations… Captain… your replacement has jut arrived and should be in moments reporting to the bridge… before you leave I want you to brief him on the situation.. I want the transition as smooth as possible we don’t have the time for mistakes.”

<Tag Wolf>

she smiled as she said. “I am sure Captain Savot would want to be here to wish you luck and say goodbye… but on his behalf… The El Salvador thanks you for your service… I suppose we no longer need to discuss your protection issues concerning captains as you are now one.”

<Tag Wolf>

[Deleted]

He was getting alittle irritated he had just been orderd back to the bridge by Commander Jackson. He had duties to preform every moment that went by Captain Savot was at greater risk. He needed to get back down there his orders were quite clear protect the crew and save his captain. When arrived on the bridge Commander Jackson ordered him into the ready room and didn't take a seat. Something was wrong didn't something happen to the captain before he could say a word she started talking it took a moment for him to realize what she was saying.

A replacement for him Command of the Nevada she just called him captain, he was speechless. He needed a minute to absorb it all leave the El-Salvador his thoughts still echoed with there first mission together about how he would never get command if he didn't change his ways. He had learned alot from the old woman standing in front of him right now.

"Thank you Commander I think I will brief my replacement and get him going. The Nevada she's a good ship no the El-Salvador but no less a good ship. I'm sorry that I have to go I dont' like leaving unfinished work." he stopped for a moment everything he ever wanted he just gotten but at a price he would be leaving friends and his captain

Walking up to commander Jackson he did something he had never done before He hugged her. In many ways she reminded him of his mother somebody he respected and cherished. It was a quick hug one a son would give a mother

" I will update my replacement Commander and I will strive to do my best on the Nevada if you or Captain Savot ever need anything please just let me know. I owe Captain Savot a lot and I always repay my debts. I trust you will inform the crew and let them know how honored I was to serve with them" pausing for a moment her was a chance to get one last poke at Commander Hope

" Also Commander considerate a last request and humor me if you will. I want a promise that when this mission is over and Captain Savot is back aboard that you will shake is hand for me and say thank you." then a wicked little smile appeared on his face " and that you will give Commander Hope a hug for me" he knew Commander Hope did not like to be touched but he had to get one last poke at her. He would miss her she kept him on this toes and had nothing but the up most respect for her.

As he left the briefing room he saw a klingon standing there he assumed it was his replacement since they didn't have any klingons on board. The klingon looked up at him and informed him he was Col K'ratak

"I wish I could have briefed up under better circumstances K'ratak but as you and I both know that never really happens. In short and to the point the ruling members of both party's were killed by a federation explosive the captain in custody of the republic party which for the moment is a good thing. They have laws that they must follow before passing judgement. We have permission to invesitgate to prove that we are not involved and free out captain. Commander hope is investigating the scene. On a side note and one that you will find instersting but I no proof yet. Both the prince and the deputy president left the talks before the explosion seems strange that such importan talks would not involve them or that they had something to do right then"

K'ratak nodded his head in agreement " The El-Sal is a good ship with a good captain I would take it a pesonal favor that you look after them and get the captain back. Commander Jackson is a good First Officer she's alittle new so give her some slack she's got your back but this his her firt time in the big chair and she's got her hands full so don't come down on her to hard. Commander Hope is blind but no less a warrior if needed I gave a special phaser thats keyed to her abilities so you shouldn't have to keep quite a close eye on her I'm afraid the ball is now in your court from what I understand I got to go I'll have my things shipped feel free to use your new office but you might want to get down to the planet right away"

with all that he turned and exited the bridge for the last time as a member of the crew. He kept his back turned to hide the tear forming he had his orders and it was time to go.

OCC: I will miss you guys but I wont be as far away as you think. Good luck everybody and may the adventure never end.

[Deleted]

James finished his shuttle and noticed that the Ensign and Lieutenant had finished also he would turn and look towards them. "Go into my office and wait for the flight briefing." He would watch as they went inside then he would find three other officers, "Ensign Hernandez, Senior Chief T'Kol, and Lieutenant Junior Grade Kalan, please proceed to the Navigation Officer's office for flight briefing." He watched as the two officers and the NCO that he'd chosen. With that he would enter the office and notice a message on his console claiming that Colonel Wolf had been made an Acting CO and he was leaving the ship. He would tap his commbadge, "Lieutenant Fire to Colonel Wolf, congratulations sir and best of luck at your new assignment."

With that he would flip on the viewscreen behind his desk, "Alright, it looks like a bit of change of plans, we will be taking three shuttles to the surface. Lieutenant Kalan and Senior Chief T'Kol you two will be a team, Lieutenant Kelley and Ensign Marcus you'll be another team. Ensign Hernandez your with me we will be flying in an inverted delta formation. The lead shuttles will each scan on the outside and the rear shuttle will scan the center. We will fly with a hundred kilometer seperation between us guys and girls."

He would continue, "Our location is the original beam in point of the away team. Every hour Lieutenant Kelley will report in to the bridge crew. You will also be the rear shuttle Lieutenant we need to stay in constant communication with eachother. If our scanners pick up anything of significance you will tell report to the other two shuttles then proceed towards that location. Flight time is estimated to be five hours so I hope you're all well rested. Every hour switch the consoles so that one of you isn't flying the entire time. That is an order, this is a simple mission so be on your toes at all times. If you get tired switch it up early we are a team and I have faith in all of your abilities. Prep your prospective shuttles." He watched them leave, "Ensign Hernandez I will be with you shortly."

He would then proceed to contact the bridge, "Three shuttles away Commander Jackson, and ma'am we will be contacting you every hour so if we miss a contact something is not right. Lieutenant Fire out." <tag Jackson>

James stepped out of his office and walked towards his shuttle. "Okay prepare for launch procedures." The Lieutenant entered his shuttle, "Okay Ensign you want first flight or do you want me to do it?" He would ask Ensign Hernandez.

The Ensign was surprised ussually he was ordered to do this or that, never asked what he wanted. "I'll fly first sir if you want me to it doesn't make a difference sir." He would reply as he continued to get his console set up for the flight and all the preflight checks finished.

James smiled, "You seem rather taken aback Mister Hernandez, I'll let you take the first flight." He said as his panel blinked as each shuttle came to the ready. "Alright proceed to open the shuttle bay doors Control."

"You are cleared for takeoff Shuttle seven nine and thirteen." With that Chief Brady would move her fingers over the controls opening the bay doors and watching as the three shuttles lifted off one by one and exitted through the doors so that she would once more close them.

James watched his panel, "Commander Jackson we are off, we will contact you in one hour." He would turn and look towards the Ensign. "Okay Mister Hernandez I am opening up the sensors, take her real smooth like mate. Oh, and relax we will have to feel our way through this one." He smiled as they crossed each atmospheric layer.

Lieutenant Kelley Belanna watched her console carefully as she followed behind the other two it had been an hour and she had already sent a message to Commander Jackson that they were okay. <tag jackson>

She continued to watch the console and the readouts that she was retrieving when suddenly a pulse struck them across the port side. "Shuttle nine this is shuttle thirteen we have been hit by some energy dampening field off our port side trying to compensate." She would call into her comms but she was far too late the shuttle had begun to swing wildly. "Ensign Marcus bring us about hard to starboard." She would call out as the shuttle swung around spinning wildly off its center of gravity shortly before slamming hard into the rock surface of the planet, sputtering and dying.

James watched carefully, "I'm bringing the shuttle around shuttle thirteen seems to have crashed. Lieutenant Kalan follow me please." He would call into the comms and just as their shuttle came to the location of the down shuttle it would lose bearings and fall. "Trying to compensate for loss of power...It's no..." He felt himself being thrown hard into the bulkhead.

Lieutenant Kalan had been following orders when suddenly his shuttle also took a hit that he didn't expect. He tried to regain control as the senior chief next to him fought to assist. But, it was by far too late for their shuttle and it would explode sending shards everywhere and killing both of them.

James Fire woke up Ensign Hernandez was alive and only slightly banged up. Himself however had a broken arm and yet he was alive. He looked out their cracked viewport to see pieces of one of the shuttles scattered across the ground and the other shuttle ten kilometers in front of him. He leapt through the opening and ran towards it noticing some pain along the right side of his chest and forcing him to slow down. He ripped its back hatch open.

Once inside he found Lieutenant Kelley and Ensign Marcus both still alive. He examined them both the Ensign would probably not live very long if they didn't get back to the ship soon. The bajoran however had suffered two broken legs and what seemed to be a swollen, possibly broken, ankle. As he looked her over he noticed that Ensign Hernandez had appeared behind him. "Well Ensign if Mister Marcus here doesn't recieve medical care right now he will die. The others are already dead I seen the remains of their shuttles."

Ernie nodded, "Yes sir and it seems that the other two are no longer operational. We can't call out on our communications, but we may be able to make the ship capable of picking us up on sensors."

James shook his head, "That'll take time first we must get Belanna on that bed over there." He would help the Ensign lift her and lay her on the bed. "Okay now go to the other shuttle find out what supplies we have we could be here for a few days. We can get parts off the remaining shuttles and put something together later. I'll look after Mister Marcus here." He said as he looked over him carefully making notes of all his injuries. He had grabbed the first aid kit and began trying to give some basic first aid in hopes that he may hold out long enough.

[Savot]

Savot sat on a bench-like structure in the rear of the aircraft that had seized him from the negotiation building, his hands still bound behind his back. Upon being seated; however, chained manacles were added to his feet as well with the chain run through a steel hoop on the floor of the craft to prevent his movement further. Regardless of the precautionary measures taken against him though, the vulcan had no intention of causing trouble and instead passed the flight time by mentally attempting to gauge the craft's airspeed and as such estimate the distance he was being moved from the bomb site.

Approximately 2.7 hours later the craft landed on an airstrip Savot could only assume belonged to the Eastern republic and his feet were freed for the walk to his holding cell. The building into which he was being taken was of utilitarian architecture: not aesthetically pleasing but quite servicable for its purpose. He was brought to a central office in which he was formally charged by a decorated officer, "Captain Savot of the Federation. You are hereby charged with pre-meditation murder of the President and 17 counts of manslaughter. Your crew has been permitted to pursue their own investigation but their findings will be strictly reviewed before we consider your release. In the interim you will be questioned as to the details of your arrival and subsequent events leading up to the explosion."

Savot nodded, "I understand sir; thank you." His commbadge was confiscated at this point and placed within a coded safe, after which he was escorted down a long corridor to what was presumably an interrogation room as it contained 4 chairs. One seemed obviously intended for the prisoner while the remaining 3 faced it like a tribunal. Those 3 were quickly filled by unarmed officers while Savot was herded towards the prisoner chair where his feet were once again chained to a metal loop welded to the floor.

The leftmost figure began the questioning, "Captain Savot, explain the details leading to your arrival on our planet."

The vulcan captain nodded slightly as he began, "Aspects of both Meran governments contacted the Federation to request an outside mediator to assist in peace talks intended to end the civil war, and the El Salvador received the assignment with myself and my First Officer intended to serve the mediator function. We travelled to your system, assumed standard orbit as we contacted each government to inform them of our arrival, and upon receiving the coordinates of the negotiation site we transported to the surface."

The rightmost figured looked down at a display to reference some information, "Before arriving at those coordinates your team beamed to an alternate set of coordinates. Can you explain your reasoning for such a delay Captain?"

"There are numerous potential explanations though I cannot be sure of any one in particular as I have not had occasion to pursue the matter since it's occurence. However, I would postulate that the coordinates were either entered incorrectly by the transporter chief or an unexpected pocket of fallout radiation from your conflicts diverted the beam", Savot stated as though lecturing at the Academy.

The questioner gave an 'Mmhmm' response dripping with sarcasm, "All right; you claimed it was unreasonable to conclude you performed the attack for several reasons, one of which was that you were also in danger and wouldn't have risked harming yourself. But isn't it true that your officers are prepared to sacrifice themselves for a worthy enough cause?"

Tone unchanged, Savot replied, "Quite correct. However, that does not apply in this case as the Federation has nothing to gain from lengthening your world's turmoil. We do not supply weapons to either side and we give medical supplies freely to those who require them so there is no profit to be made on our end by prolonging your suffering."

"You also argued that if you had planned the attack, surely you wouldn't be stupid enough to use your own technology to construct the bomb. But isn't the opportunity to use such an argument sufficient reason to use your own technology. It is quite a compelling point but you could have counted on that from the beginning could you not?", the middle officer took up the questioning now.

It was a given that this world had never interrogated a vulcan before, but if there had been any doubt of this it would have been removed once the surprise on their faces was seen when the vulcan answered quite simply, "Yes, that would be a reasonably sound tactical position to take."

Blinking away their confused shock at such a blatantly honest response that could potentially be self-incriminating, the interrogation continued on...

[Deleted]

" This phaser has all the normal settings and if you could see you would be carring one anyway. So please carry this one its programed with a voice only you can hear on a high band width. You might want to check and change the setting I'm not sure about romulan hearing and made a guess. In short Commander it will let you know if you are aiming at one of us. It will pick up enemey targets who are caring energy weapons only and distinguish them for you. It will still be up to you to find the target but it will let you know if your close. It will not let you know if a enemy is sneaking up on you it only homes in on enegery weapons currently on the planet that I know of. If you carry it I will stay a reasonable distance away from you so you can do your job and Commander I'll be covering everybody's back not just your's"

Stunned, the Romulan stared at the marine officer, though of course she couldn't see him. She didn't doubt the ability of this weapon, or her own ability to use it, but she still feared possible malfunction on the weapon's part due to interfering factors on any given location. Yet, she treasured it, putting it away with great care. "Thank you colonel," she answered softly, "and I know you will cover everyone. I don't require special attention, nor welcome it, remember?"

Little did she know that this was, for now, the last she would see of him. Giving him a nod, she continued her way to the science department, where, naturally, Ian Forbes was waiting for her. With him were two junior science officers, both ensigns who had joined the staff at the start of this mission. Ensign Denise Titan was a 24-year old Human, straight from the academy but experienced in forensic science, while Ensign Chris Spencer was, at age 27, an experienced radiologist.

The four of them reported to the transporter room, and were instantly transported back down to their original location. "Spencer, find anything you can on this warfare of theirs and see if the radiation levels would still pose a threat to a Vulcan. To any of us, but in specific to a Vulcan. We don't know where the captain's being detained, but if it's dangerous, medical should prepare for the worst. Titan, start on de debris of the explosive. I want to know where every part was forged, specific locations. If it's made in Denver or in Ki-Baratan or even on Kronos, I want to know about it."

"Yes ma'am," both ensigns replied smartly, springing to their respective tasks.

"Ian, for you I have the most important task. Liaise with the local scientists, and share every scrap of information we recover. Be very careful on how you present information, but do not hide anything. The captain's life, and all our lives, may depend on it."

"And what are you going to do?" Ian asked, almost demanding.

"I am going over the data we already have, and I am going to establish who was and who wasn't present in this room, when the bomb exploded. I will work with local security on this."

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Two hours had already gone by and he was assuming that having not reported for two hours that the ship was either looking for them. Or, they were still dealing with the situation with the Captain. And, James knew that it was by far more important that they deal with the Captain first himself and his small band of survivors would continue to hold out. They had found enough rations to last them five days and a phaser. They used some of the optical wiring to set Belanna's legs and they managed to find a tricorder in order to work more closely on Ensign Marcus he would last a few days too. They had enough water to last them a few days as well because an hour ago Ensign Hernandez found some containers and filled them with a local spring. James had somehow managed to get them set up with something to filter the water just in case.

He smiled watching Belanna sleep before turning to face the ensigns. "Okay mister Hernandez we should start scrapping the shuttles take any parts from the other shuttle that may be of use to us. Watch out for predator's that may harm us as well remember we only have one phaser so we should have somebody watching over the other with the phaser ready."

Ernie nodded, "Understood sir, and yes I agree totally we need to make sure that we also guard this shuttle as well and since they are close enough somebody should be able to do both." He stood up and walked towards the hatchway with the phaser in his hand. His uniform still clearly tattered and burns showing through the holes.

James would follow, "Alright mate you stand guard in front of the shuttle, and I'll start looking through the other shuttle and see if I can find anything of value." He would say as both men walked outside of the shuttle and James made his way towards the other shuttle to start digging for parts that they could possibly use in order to build a modified signal beacon to cut through the interference..