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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2009 20:45:19 GMT
Tevio had already spent a time delving into the information that was available on this 'attack'. He had come up with little except for that which he had garnered through general broadcasts and so on. Oddly and also reassuringly, the amount that he had already known was on a similar level with what everyone else in the Star Empire seemed to know. There was nothing he was missing then, although he was almost totally sure that there were some, not many, but some who knew a deal more.
That was what he was 'betting' on so to speak in his exploration of every data package he could access - and those were a fair few. The Tal Diann central information handling unit was what he had gone through, but the lack of anything concrete was leading him to the next option, exploring avenues whose connections were less than well known to put it mildly.
And still the programmed alert graphic remained inactive, remaining there in a patch of solid grey neutrality, by metaphor and by picture element code. Its perpetual inactivity grated Tevio, for this was the representation of his program that would alert him when the mysterious department of the Tal Diann would contact him. The department that had abducted him and told him some perplexing, outlandish truths and delivered to him odd instructions. He speculated with himself on when the message they'd told him they would send, would be sent. Already sent perhaps; cancelled, held up in its transmission?
During the activity that was his musings on the message still to come, the Legate had continued his search through the more graspable parts of the Tal Diann, despite their overall unknown nature, in an effort of multitasking that he had perfected over the years. He ceased pondering on the message because he had found something. Down a darker avenue of investigation that he had dared to take, and that may land him in bother later on.
It was a listening post's sensor report, logged and recorded at the time that contact was lost with the base; taken from a station approximately half a parsec distant from the planet of the destroyed outpost. Tevio raised both eyebrows as he saw the sensor report included an electron pixel array representation of the target field it was observing, with an image sampled at intervals of one minute. At ultra-high resolution a small white speck, distinguishable from the background, was visible, and with each successive sample it 'leapt' closer and closer to the white sphere of the planet.
Tevio concentrated on the time signature, jumping up every second along with a new message, and as he thought the time signature for the loss of contact coincided with a time when the white speck was lost in the pure white glare of the planet. Spectral line analysis showed the speck to have increased in mass. This ship was almost certainly involved in the contamination of the chemical research outpost.
Sweeping by the bridge, Tevio deposited his terse but informative report on his findings on the Commander's ready room desk. Within it was contained the sensor readings in full, along with a short summary on the implications. This was as good as any evidence, he thought on the way back to his office, and he was only just beginning. His next objective was to investigate the S'Harien's involvement in all of this itself; what was the ship being assigned to do out here, en route for a rondezvous with a Federation vessel.
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Matthew Reynolds
Rear Admiral
"It's good to have an end to a journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end."
Registered: Apr 28, 2005 20:58:32 GMT
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Post by Matthew Reynolds on Jun 5, 2009 3:08:41 GMT
"Thank you for allowing me to keep face in front of the crew," Matt said as his first officer sat in front of him. While there relationship as captain and executive officer was not particulary close, it would have been relatively easy to further embarrass him," I acted like a fool last night and I owe you a debt of gratitude for dealing with the Admiral and taking care of the senior staff meeting."
(Megan)
"I would like to know what you personally think about this mission, but I would like you to know that I understand that this will be a very difficult mission for you. Romulans are not my favorite people to deal with either," Matt said surprised that Megan had not publicly spoken about her dislike of the Romulans," it is up to us to set the example to the rest of the crew. Many of them have never dealt with Romulans and we must keep our personal feelings from interfering with our mission. I would like to know what your thoughts are about this mission......"
(Megan)
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2009 9:28:25 GMT
Raltorr shrugged and turned away from Wintrow.
"My motives are my own. Let me prepare for the attack."
Wintrow remained silent as he moved aft and took a place at the main computer console. Adding a bio toxin to an atmosphere might seem easy but in fact it was incredibly difficult. One had to account for dispersal agents, wind factors, centres of population, Hazmat responses of the authorities. He sat down poring over long range scans and charts whilst their vessel approached at Warp.
The ship appeared pretty standard to the untrained eye but any more than a cursory glance would see the beefed up weapons and shield systems and the very powerful long range transporter.
"I have a plan of attack." he stated cooly to Wintrow as more than an hour later he reappeared on the compact bridge.
"Dispersal of the toxin is not a problem. However we need uninterrupted results and so need to ensure no one is called in to help. We can send the toxin in to the heart of the Federation Colony directly by transporter. But they will have a fast response. We need to disable their comms facility. Their orbital relay would be easiest but would tip them off of an impending attack and raise shields.
I suggest we beam down destroy their comm terminal and then return here and beam the toxin into th centre of Antonius Colony. We will also need to drop in some analysis drones and try and beam up a number of corpse to see the effect. Do you feel that fits our needs. I suggest we suit up, you clear security I'll lay charges." he checked his chronometer, "Attack in say 5 minutes?"
TAG Wintrow
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2009 17:51:11 GMT
He was use to the Commander moods he knew his place and didn't dare over step it. All he wanted to do was get back Ch'avark and this was the way. He didn't care if the commander took it as sucking up or what ever. All he knew was it would get Ch'avark blood boiling and thats all he wanted for the moment.
" Understood Commander you shall have senors readings with 30 mins. I will also try and hack the computer core and see what happened from the logs and down load the data to you directly."
He turned and left his job was done in trueth it only started he had no love for either officers right now. But it was best to know your enemy's and keep them close after all it was the romulan way of things.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2009 21:10:59 GMT
The former commander nodded mutely, running both hands through his white hair. Wistfully, he remembered when once his hair had been sandy coloured but after the attacks, he'd gone white overnight. He never bothered to have his hair redyed. "Five minutes," he acknowledged, then went to suit up in an EV-suit. It wouldn't do for them both to get infected. "Arrange quarantined stasis unit before we go," he ordered, "we don't want to be exposed to this, we've no antitoxin for this yet. Not for this mutation."
Five minutes later, he was beamed down into the security area. "Hazmat control sir," he reported, when a security guard stopped him. "I've been informed that a lethal mould was discovered in the chief's office. If I don't tend to it now, within the hour people will start getting sick. There is no cause for alarm, I can remove it in fifteen minutes, and there will be no lasting effects. I need quiet, and must not be disturbed."
The guard nodded, accepting his story without pause. He led a startled chief from the office but Wintrow once again assured him that it'd be nothing at all and his office would be safe in fifteen minutes. Smiling to himself, he entered and sat down his case. Then he went to work. Ten minutes later, he called the shuttle, indicating he was ready and the alarms were shut down. "I am now leaving the building," he informed his partner in crime. "I'm safely suited up to witness the initial stages myself. Make sure probes are in place before you release the toxin. I have placed a small recording device in the security building. This should be interesting to observe when we are done."
= two hours later = Wintrow was back aboard the shuttle, still dressed in his EV-suit and safely shielded behind a forcefield. He had gone through several stages of decontamination but ultimately he would need to be beamed from his suit, and the suit ejected into a decay orbit, to burn up in the planet's atmosphere. Everyone on the planet was dead, but somehow an S.O.S. had been sent. Wintrow couldn't understand how but he berated himself sorely for it.
Either way, their objective was achieved, they had their body and now they could leave. "Where to now?" the former Starfleet officer asked of the Romulan. "Federation, or Romulan system?"
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2009 2:20:15 GMT
"Thank you for allowing me to keep face in front of the crew," Matt began, gesturing for her to sit across from him. “I acted like a fool last night, and I owe you a debt of gratitude for dealing with the Admiral and taking care of the senior staff meeting."
“You were off duty and had just been through an emotional ordeal. I think all of us can understand the need to let off some steam under the circumstances,” Megan replied smoothly, circumventing the issue of her response altogether and instead focusing on the entirely understandable nature of his actions. “No harm was done.”
"I would like to know what you personally think about this mission, but I would like you to know that I understand that this will be a difficult mission for you. Romulans are not my favorite people to deal with either," Matt continued, surprising Megan. She’d never said anything to indicate her feelings and was somewhat unsettled that perhaps they hadn’t been hidden as well as she had intended. "It is up to us to set the example to the rest of the crew. Many of them have never dealt with Romulans, and we must keep our personal feelings from interfering with our mission, and so I would like to know what your thoughts are on this mission," the Captain repeated.
Not having anticipated the question, Commander Garrett hesitated visibly, debating what to share and what to avoid mentioning. She rather obviously wasn’t the type to form personal relationships with fellow crewmembers, other than the comradery that generally followed from working closely with someone, but Megan had been a member of the Jefferson crew for nearly two years now and First Officer for nearly a full year, and this was the Captain asking, the only person aboard not under her authority. Honesty was the best policy, but that didn’t always mean full disclosure.
Finally deciding on somewhere in between, Megan replied, “Well…in spite of lack of trust on both sides, we’re tasked to work together on this, and no matter how we feel about them, that has to be remembered. They are most likely not the enemy this time, but that doesn’t mean they won’t exploit the situation if given the opportunity. I don’t trust them, and I won’t feel secure as long as we’re in their space or in the company of one of their warbirds. My family’s suffered enough at their hands, and I’ve had my own dealings with them personally. However, you can be assured that I will do my best to keep my personal feelings from interfering with my professional judgment, and should I feel my objectivity is compromised then I will let you know.”
<Tag Matt>
Megan knew her record appeared clean of any dealings with Romulans other than Jombis, but she also knew that Matt was aware or at the very least suspected that there was more to her service than her record indicated. Since he seemed aware of her feelings, there was no need to deny previous encounters at least in general. Although somewhat uneasy talking about it, Commander Garrett also felt that an understanding was reached as distaste for Romulans was something the Captain and she shared. It had helped that he didn’t push for details either, as she couldn’t have provided any, and that would have raised a necessary barrier between them.
Once their conversation was concluded, Megan headed for the bridge to leave the Captain with preparations in his ready room. Just knowing they were approaching Romulan space was making her uneasy, and the First Officer was already wishing the mission was over, but she was also determined not to let her feelings interfere.
~
The Jefferson was almost halfway to the Neutral Zone when an automated distress call had been received from a border colony. The tension in the room quickly grew as although it wasn’t confirmed, the colony seemed to fit into the pattern of attacks. “Commander Pride, set a course for the colony and increase to maximum warp,” the First Officer ordered before contacting engineering. “Commander T’Ress, we are responding to a distress call and need to be at maximum until we get there. I’ll also need the sensor resolution increased to let us know what we’re heading into.”
<Tag Pride and J’Varr>
As much as she hated to, with the colony only several hours away Megan needed to make sure Nathan had adequate warning. She hated interrupting him when he was on leave, but with him staying on the ship and being the Chief Medical Officer, it certainly was difficult. “Commander Garrett to Doctor van Breughel, I’m sorry to disturb you, but we’ve received an automated distress call from the Antonius Colony. We lost contact with them, but there are several thousand people on Antonius Six who may be requiring medical attention. I’m sure sickbay can make the necessary preparations, but I wanted you aware in case of a large-scale medical emergency.”
<Tag Nathan>
“Lieutenant Tavik, I want you to pull up everything we have on the Colony until we get close enough for more detailed sensor readings, then get as much information as possible. Forward everything that you find to Captain Reynolds, Major Johnson, Lieutenant Teyno, and myself,” Megan ordered before turning to Teyno. “I want the security department prepared for anything. Run drills, test equipment, organize the teams so that if we have a rescue or combat situation facing us, they’ll be ready.”
<Tag Valad and Teyno>
Her final call went to Cyle. Normally the security and Marine departments would be ordered to work together, but something about this whole situation made her very uneasy. She wanted the two departments equally prepared but separately just in case something happened. “Commander Garrett to Major Johnson, prepare your men for a possible mission. We don’t quite know yet what we’re facing, but I want you ready for anything. It feels like the situation is escalating as this is the first time there’s been a complete loss of contact like this, so we may need added options.”
<Tag Cyle>
With every department now scurrying to prepare for whatever was to come, Megan settled into the command chair accessing the console to pull up information on the Colony herself. It was a small, scientific colony by Federation standards, but there were still far too many civilians, families very vulnerable to attack. The Commander hoped this was just another raid with some items stolen and a few guards injured or killed, but something told her that wasn’t to be the case. In all the other attacks, there had been direct communication with the target and reports on what happened from those who discovered the scene or were investigating. Now there was just an eerie silence preceded by a single, automated transmission which was quickly cut. No, this was not good at all, and did not bode well. The deviation from the pattern made her more nervous as the Jefferson surged forward full speed through space.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2009 4:21:32 GMT
As the S’Harien approached the small, somewhat secretive outpost, Govan sat in his ready room pouring over all the available information. Tevio’s report had been surprisingly concise and inclusive, and although there was no way to know for sure, he felt this was everything the Legate had been able to find. There had been a few attacks in this sector over the past weeks, and several more in neighboring sectors as well. The increasing frequency was alarming, whoever it was had been careful to conceal their identity. No witnesses had been left behind alive, and little sensor data or images had been captured, certainly nothing helpful. It was clear that no specific person was targeted, and since almost anything of value had been taken it was difficult to know what items or type of items these people were after. There was proof that attacks and thefts had occurred, but no evidence indicating who or what group was behind any of it. Basically, all they had was a whole lot of nothing.
Sensor resolution was getting better the closer they got to the planet. It was also improving the longer Terrh was working on it. As much as Govan hated to admit it, the fact was it was quickly becoming apparent that Sural was most likely correct. No one had survived the attack, as there were no signs of life and from what they could tell about the toxin from the biological interference, it wasn’t the type to allow anyone to live after exposure. It also wouldn’t do to risk any of the S’Harien crew by assigning an away team, no matter how much Echal wished he could stick it to the arrogant doctor by making him go. There was simply no one left alive to save.
As they dropped out of warp near the gloomy planet, the interference had cleared up considerably, and it was no undeniable that no one had survived. It was a very small outpost, maybe a few dozen casualties at the most, but somehow that didn’t really help much. “Echal to sickbay, set up a containment area. We’ll be transporting several bodies and an atmospheric sample up from the surface,” Govan ordered moodily before cutting the channel, as he didn’t feel the need to inform the doctor to study the toxin, find out how it had killed them and then synthesize an antidote.
<Tag Sural>
“Centurion, send a level three probe into a low orbit to record sensors and visual images. I want a clear picture of what happened down there,” Echal ordered before heading back to his ready room. An investigation might just get him out of dealing with the Federation ship. Almost anything was preferable to a diplomatic mission, but tracking down enemies of the Empire was an even better alternative than most.
~
Storming from his ready room in disgust, Govan was even more frustrated now. No explanation given and no questions answered...simply a stoic order to proceed to the rendezvous as scheduled after retrieving relevant sensor logs from the outpost and receiving the data from the probe. It was the most infuriating thing not to be told what was going on, simply ordered about like a child. There was a clear pattern of attacks near the border and the latest scene merely hours old, and they were just supposed to leave to play ambassador to a bunch of Humans and Vulcans. It was insulting, dishonorable, and maddening. The Navy Commander had no principles.
“Resume our previous course,” Echal growled in the helm’s direction. Stupid Navy wanted to shoot themselves in the foot it was their choice. “You have the bridge,” he barked at Dor’vel before disappearing into the lift on his way to his favorite place.
In the lift, the Commander began to pace. He wanted to know what happened on the outpost. Even if for whatever reason he was being assigned elsewhere, it did not settle well with him to leave a job unfinished, barely even begun even. “Echal to Ch’varak, we are resuming our previous course for the Neutral Zone, but I am unsatisfied with dropping the investigation. I want you to review the sensor records from the outpost and what we got from the probe. They don’t seem to leave anything behind to indicate who they are, but at least by determining how they operate we may learn something about them.” With a slight sneer at his own cleverness, Govan added, “Work with Terrh. He should be able to increase sensor resolution, not to mention add a more technical, engineer’s perspective to your investigation.”
<Tag Tevio/Terrh>
Feeling somewhat better at the thought of the Legate having to investigate with a disgruntled engineer looking over his shoulder and adding his own opinion, Govan smirked as he exited the lift. Sometimes he was just too cunning for his own good.
As the doors slid open on sickbay, Govan felt his muscles tense. How he hated this place... He felt a tiny bit better when Tamir smiled over at him, but not much. He wasn’t here to see her anyway. At least she was learning not to be so obvious that they were…well…friends was the closest word. It wasn’t safe for her to be at all associated with the likes of him. Sural was at a biobed behind a forcefield and in head-to-toe protective gear. It was too bad the suit couldn’t just spring a leak… “So, what have you discovered?” Echal demanded, protectively crossing his arms.
<Tag Sural>
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2009 9:40:11 GMT
For once Sural was quite comfortable with the Commanders orders and set to work with gusto. He summoned several of his staff and asked enigneering for an officer to monitor the containment field.
Rather than work in the rather small morgue Sural opted to use one of the surgical suites, he made sure it was adjacent to his lab.
"Tamir. Contact the bridge and tell them we are ready."
The nurse moved over to the comm panel and sent the order. In a haze of green light a pair of bodies appeared in front of them. At first glance one may have taken them for sleeping but closer examination revealed a pallid skin and lifeless grey eyes.
"Right" Sural started decisivly "Tamir monitor containment. Tolok use the remotes to remove blood samples, whilst I run a physical scan. Silan and Sormak prep for organ dissection." His medical team moved in to action like a well oiled machine.
Togged up in a full biohazard suit Sural strode confidently through the barrier and approached the bodies. They were in full rigour but their hands were clawed and their mouths in a rictus of pain. It was little wonder Sural noted as he ran the first scan, this was a horrible way to die. Closer examination revealed fine green lines running through the eyes, petrichial haemorrhages. Senting up the computer to record he began to note external features before requesting a laser scalpel and starting a full dissection.
It was a peculiarity to Sural that he viewed such things as a dissection and not an autopsy, once a persons soul had left them on death they were no longer a person, just meat. And meat was dissected. Carefully whilst others were not looking he extracted his own blood sample and popped it in his pocket, he could analyse this in his own lab in secret later, it may well hold the key to his research.
"Scrub your orders Silan" Sural stated coolly as he made the first incision, as his subordinate looked up puzzled the doors opened and the grizzled Commander arrived.
"As much as can be expected given the short time period." Sural replied preparing for another round of verbal sparring. "As you can see we have made some progress. The toxin is particularly nasty. And leaves us little hope of full analysis"
"Explain" Govan demanded,
"Well normally we would dissect the organs especially the liver however we encountered a problem."
Govan didnt rise to the bait and so Sural continued,
"They have no organs. Every organ in the thoracic cavity and abdomen are liquefied. It appears the toxin in its latter stages actually dissolves the cytoskeleton of cells. It also seems to be bacterial in nature. This is good as that means an antidote or rather treatment maybe possible, however we would need access to the organism that this toxin was harvested from. Failing that I would need a test patient who had been only infected for say 1 to 2 hours. i could then extract early cell materials as well as plot the full course of the infection.
As for containment I suggest full hazmat and minimal interaction. That is the best I can offer for now. But be assured this is a serious matter. I suspect the toxin is disperesed aerially and has a Lethal Dose Rate of 92%. One curious thing I did note. The toxin, I believe was taken from a Tal Shiar facility."
Govan nodded,
"This is not Romulan engineering. Not at all what I expected, The first marker we found in the partial genome components of the toxin where actually from Taska, a plant indiginous only to Bajor. This toxin was developed outside of the Empire."
TAG ALL
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2009 15:12:50 GMT
".. I want you to review the sensor records from the outpost and what we got from the probe. They don't seem to leave anything behind to indicate who they are, but at least by determining how they operate we may learn something about them."
Tevio was on the verge of replying with an almost smug edge, considering he was already sitting at his desk, commpads scattered around him in organised chaos, intently studying this outpost. He'd already found out some interesting information that piqued his interest a hundredfold. Before he could distribute his scything message that he was already ahead of Echal, the Commander ordered him to work with the engineer Terrh. He could almost see Govan Echal's sneer over the comm channel.
"Yes, Commander," Tevio said, shutting off the channel and thereby neglecting to inform the disgraced Tal Shiar of his findings so far.
"Subcommander Terrh," he said as he opened a channel to the engine room, knowing immediately from the repaired surveillance cameras that the Chief engineer was there. "I have been ordered to include you in a further study of the outpost, even if we are now leaving that place. An increase in sensor resolution would be useful. So as not to 'interfere' in your engine room's smooth and efficient running," he said with undisguised sarcasm, "I recommend we meet in the intelligence department's main operation room."
<Tag Terrh>
Before heading to meet with Terrh, whose skills in increasing the resolution would admittedly be very useful indeed, Tevio tapped into the probe's recorded data. It had traversed the atmosphere for several minutes, communicating back a continuous stream of data, before passing out of transmission range when the S'Harien jumped to warp. It was the visual images that Tevio was particularly interested in, as the sensory data on the toxin would supply only that which Doctor Sural was already investigating.
He'd worked with a frenzy he had oft not experienced in this investigation, spurred with a curiosity that was excited by the implications of what he had found. On one of the 'darker routes' through the information banks that were available to the Legate, the outpost had been the location of a Tal Shiar facility. Not a very obvious one, inconspicuous amongst the many on the borders of the Star Empire, but it was also known by the Navy's internal intelligence to be associated with research of biological warfare, possibly some sort of depository; that at least was what Tevio had gleaned from the numerous sources of data.
So in searching the probe's visual images, he hoped for some clue as to the Tal Shiar facility's exact location. Unfortunately the image data was severly obscured by some intervening medium; possibly atmospheric but there were other plausible causes. Terrh's assistance would definitely be very helpful now, despite Tevio's distrust of him and the interference that the Legate often afflicted him with.
"Subcommander," he said by unceremonious way of greeting to Terrh. They were in the central operations room for the Intel department now. The Legate led Terrh to a console, wired in to the main intelligence network which was slightly concerning, although ultimately if the Subcommander threatened the security of the Tal Diann then he would be foolish in the extreme, and also dead. The console also had an image screen.
"How has your improvement of sensor and image resolution progressed?" asked Tevio as he had an Uhlan activate the station, "I am interested in the probe's findings, I want to construct a high-detail image of the area with what I suspect to be a storage facility."
<Tag Terrh>
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2009 13:58:34 GMT
He wasn't happy about having to work with Ch'varak not happy at all. Then again there was little he could do about it. If he said know he would be facing there Commander a prospect that was not very pleseant.
" On my Ch'varak I will be there shotly" he arrived at the intell office he hadn't been in there since it was constructed and didn't want to be there any longer then he had to. He was a little suprised to be taken to the heart of the office with all the computer access to sensitive information. Ch'varak must really want his help to go so far he thought to him he would put his personal feelings aside for the moment. As Ch'avark lead him to a computer access he kept that thought in his mind he could do all sorts of things with access like this so Ch'avark was trusting him he wouldn't abuse it.
" This would go alot easier if you punched in the access codes for the jamming devices. I will look the other way. I'm sure that you must have a back door access to the systems in case something happened"
he looked the other way and didn't dare try and peak when Ch'avark was done he returned to clearing up the senor logs. He made some adjustments and drew power to enhance the images and readings. While Ch'avark seemed happy with the results he noticed something he quickly made some adjustments " Ch'avark there seems to be a ion trail here its hidden very well but its there very faint. My best guess is a small ship of some type I'm transferring the readings to you now"
" If there's anything else please let me know I will assist with what ever I can" <tag Ch'avark>
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2009 21:41:48 GMT
“Commander Garrett to Doctor van Breughel, I’m sorry to disturb you, but we’ve received an automated distress call from the Antonius Colony. We lost contact with them, but there are several thousand people on Antonius Six who may be requiring medical attention. I’m sure sickbay can make the necessary preparations, but I wanted you aware in case of a large-scale medical emergency.”
Garrett was lucky that the doctor had just resurfaced to be able to hear her call. He took a few seconds to hoist himself out of the pool and walk over to a wall communicator panel. "Nathan here. I'll make sure that I am in sickbay when we reach the colony. Sickbay is fully prepared to receive casualties commander and one of the cargobays is prepared as triage unit." He paused. "Page me when we get there commander, no excuses about sparing my feelings, or lectures about needing rest. We both know that I'm needed as I am the most experienced medic aboard."
Signing off, the doctor climbed up the ladder towards the highest diving ramp. He took a short sprint, then gracefully dove back into the water, not realising the comsignal was still open. There was a soft splash as his body struck the surface and he glided towards the pool's bottom. Pushing off with his legs, he shot back to the surface, breathing hard as he broke through.
"Out of practice," he chided himself, "you're out of practice doctor." He climbed back out of the pool, smiling as he saw Jayden approach. He didn't have their children with him, which meant they'd have a little time for themselves.
"That was a skilled dive love," the younger man complimented, "but you're still not besting me. You'll outswim me by now, no doubt. Remember that match with Colonel Stone? Yeah I see you remember that one. The expression on his face, I still remember when you whistled after him. It was priceless." He gave his husband a firm shove back into the pool, then dove after him. "Gosh I needed that, after a hard morning training my men. Did you hear about Anthony Six?"
Nathan nodded quietly. "I don't want to think about it right now. Let's pull a few laps, I need to shape up again, get back into my training regime."
"Ah you need my help do you? Don't worry love, you'll be pulling your old scheme soon enough. We'll make sure of that. How's your self defense training coming along?"
Nathan scoffed, splashing an armful of water into Jayden's direction. "Not," he replied, "on hold probably. I don't like phasers anyway...so I'm not too concerned. Captain Reynolds hasn't re-affirmed his orders either, nor asked for a progress report. I concern myself with my patients, let others attend to their own skills."
"As you wish. Now lets have a little competition."
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Matthew Reynolds
Rear Admiral
"It's good to have an end to a journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end."
Registered: Apr 28, 2005 20:58:32 GMT
Posts: 2,759
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Post by Matthew Reynolds on Jun 13, 2009 17:36:05 GMT
As a Starfleet captain it was Matthew Reynolds responsibility to look after the men and women under his command. This required a complete trust between captain and crew. Under normal circumstances Megan Garrett would not be serving aboard the USS Jefferson, but it didn't take a genius to know that right now the Federation needed its best out on the front lines. As he pondered his relationship with his executive officer, Captain Matthew Reynolds realised that lately he was the one setting the bad example. His personal problems had overshadowed his responsibilities to his crew and for that he was eternally sorry. A counselor would have told him that this was the normal wear and tear of command, but that did not comfort him. It was up to him to get himself out of the dissmal state he was currently in and once again begin to enjoy life and all the challenges that came along with it.
A few minutes after his conversation with Commander Garrett ended, Matt was startled to receive an encoded message which read, ~Antonius is gone,Trust no one~
"Computer where did the last encoded message orginiate from?" Matt asked as he tried to trace the transmission.
"Unknown"
Even though Matt was a skilled operations officer and knew all there was to know about communication technology, he was unable to discover the orginator of the transmission. It wasn't until he gave up in frustration that the message finally began to sink in. Whoever had contacted him was trying to warn him, but the cryptic message was no real help at all.
"Computer erase all information regarding the last tranmission that I just received. Once it has been erased run program Marathon Alpha one," Matt said as he sent all the relevant information to the command console on the bridge.
"Affirmative"
Things were quickly becoming more and more suspicious and the fact that the Romulan Empire was involved didn't help the situation. From what Matt was able to gather, the Commander of the S'Harien was an accomplished officer and very good at what he did.
"Commander Garrett, once we reach the colony contact the captain of the S'Harien, I want to speak to him as soon as possible," Matt said as he made his way to the bridge," all department heads report
(Megan, J'Varr, Valad, Cyle, Teyno, Nathan)
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2009 3:36:00 GMT
"Tamir, contact the bridge and tell them we are ready,” Doctor Sural ordered, and the nurse merely nodded as she moved away to follow his orders. It was difficult to ascertain whether she liked it onboard the S’Harien or not. In an odd way, Govan was the closest thing to family she had, and as gruff and distant as he was, the girl felt safe with him nearly, trusting him to look after her, keep her safe. Commander Echal had never said anything even remotely comforting as a confirmation of this, but his actions spoke for him. In spite of appearances, he was like an older brother.
“Tamir to bridge, we are ready for transport,” the nurse requested softly, and a few moments later, the containment area was bathed in a green light, which faded to reveal two bodies. A chill ran down her spine, as Tamir was a nurse not a coroner, but a nurse aboard a starship could be called upon to assist with almost anything.
"Right, Tamir monitor containment, Tolok use the remotes to remove blood samples, whilst I run a physical scan. Silan and Sormak, prepare for the organ dissection."
Shuddering at ‘organ dissection,’ Tamir glanced at the monitors for the containment fields in confusion. She’d never operated them before and knew little about how they worked. From what she could tell, a green indicator was good, so hopefully that meant anything not green was bad, so all she had to do was watch for a change.
And a change actually occurred rather quickly, as Commander Echal strode through the door soon after. He looked as foreboding and miserable as usual, although he did subtly acknowledge her smile. It wasn’t much, but it was progress. It could take years, but Tamir was determined to get through to him in some way and make his life better. He was so…unhappy, and although most wouldn’t think so, she felt he deserved to be happy. She had already gotten a couple of smirks out of him, one step up from a sneer, but her next goal was a smile, a real, genuine, happy smile. These were the thoughts running through her head as Govan approached Sural.
~
"As much as can be expected given the short time period," Sural shot back curtly without taking his attention from the corpse. "As you can see we have made some progress. The toxin is particularly nasty, and leaves us little hope of full analysis."
Crossing his arms, Govan was in no mood for deciphering the doctor’s intentionally evasive reply. Sural was on thin ice with him already. "Explain" Echal demanded.
"Well normally we would dissect the organs especially the liver; however, we have encountered a problem. They have no organs. Every organ in the thoracic cavity and abdomen are liquefied. It appears the toxin in its latter stages actually dissolves the cytoskeleton of cells. It also seems to be bacterial in nature. This is good, as that means an antidote or rather treatment maybe possible; however, we would need access to the organism that this toxin was harvested from. Failing that, I would need a test patient who had been only infected for say one to two hours. I could then extract early cell materials as well as plot the full course of the infection.”
“As for containment, I suggest full hazmat and minimal interaction. That is the best I can offer for now. But be assured this is a serious matter. I suspect the toxin is dispersed aerially and has a lethal dose rate of 92%. One curious thing I did note. The toxin, I believe was taken from a Tal Shiar facility, but this is not Romulan in engineering, not at all what I expected. The first marker we found in the partial genome components of the toxin where actually from Taska, a plant indigenous only to Bajor. The toxin was developed outside the Empire," the doctor concluded.
The thought of your organs liquefying within you was horrific, and even a hardened officer and interrogator like Govan felt a chill run through him at the thought. It was disgusting. Even more disgusting, the thought of doctors running trials on people, infecting them to see what would happen, observing and recording the results... A glance at Sural and he wondered if the man was so intrigued by his toxin that he actually wished to infect a less important member of the crew to get the information he wanted. Suddenly he didn’t feel so safe with Tamir in sickbay near this ‘doctor.
“I’ll try and see if we can find another suffering outpost full of infected citizens for you to play with,” Govan quipped coldly, glaring at the doctor. “I don’t care where it came from, doctor, and frankly, I don’t care if you get infected by this toxin and develop the antidote from your own imminent death. Just get the information you can from what we have, do your ‘research,’ and find a way to create an antidote.”
<Tag Sural>
Spinning in fury from Sural, not caring to hear his reply, Govan was about to storm from sickbay when he caught sight of Tamir and motioned for her to join him as he did head for the door. He’d moved so quickly that the door had already closed behind him before the nurse managed to catch up with him and exit sickbay. “Do not under any circumstances enter any of the containment areas and steer clear of anything infected,” Echal ordered before she had a chance to say anything. “I don’t trust that man or his ‘research’ mentality, and I don’t want you infected then used to create an antidote. I don’t care about his legacy or research success or if his paper is widely regarded. I want you to contact me right away if he risks any lives. I will not see him sacrifice you or any of the crew for his own selfish needs,” the Commander ordered before storming down the hall trying to reign in his temper.
He’d seen enough people hurt and killed by doctors like that, more concerned with their own reputations and research than the patients in front of them. They were all snakes as far as Govan was concerned, and he was no longer some naïve, weak boy who could do nothing about it. No, he was the Commander of a warbird, and he wasn’t about to let anything like that happen again, not on his watch. Storming back onto the bridge, which feel very quiet very quickly at his appearance, Echal tossed himself into his chair, glaring at the stars streaking by them on the screen.
As everyone tried to make themselves smaller to avoid his attention, the unlucky helmsman’s console began to signal and alarm. “What is it?” Govan demanded of him, rising to his feet and towering over and behind the terribly unfortunate officer.
Rapidly accessing the source of the alarm, the helmsman quickly responded, “I’ve received a message from Sub-Commander Virh. It’s a sensor record showing an ion trail moving away from the raided outpost,” the Lieutenant hurriedly reported.
“On screen,” Echal ordered, his attention fortunately moving from the helmsman to the viewscreen. It was a very faint ion trail, indeed originating from the outpost, and oddly enough heading very near to their current trajectory towards the Neutral Zone. Frowning at the strange coincidence, Govan briefly considered his options before making his decision. “Alter our course to follow the ion trail, maximum warp,” the Commander ordered, not really caring if he was defying the Navy again or not.
Sitting once more in his chair, he opened a comm channel. “Echal to Ch’varak and Virh, I want a report on your additional findings, immediately,” Govan demanded.
<Tag Tevio and Terrh>
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2009 18:27:41 GMT
They had sent there findings to the bridge he wasn't shocked at the response from there Commander. The problem was there wasn't a whole lot more to report he couldn't really give the make or size of the ship. The ion trail was old and he was lucky he even caught in this instants it was Ch'avark help that even allowed him to pick it up.
Looking over at Ch'avark " I hope you have something more useful to tell the Commander or we might find our selves polishing the hull with out enviromental suites. I picked up the trail by chance because you switched off the jamming device." he pause for a moment
" Ch'avark I'm sure there has to be a back door to the computer core and there intelligence officer computer. If I could establish a stable link and get you around the other safe guards could you access there security files and see what there camera's picked up. After all they had to have come hidden around there that the staff was unware of. Of course I will turn around or leave once I establish the link so you can access it with out giving away how you did it" <Tag Ch'avark>
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2009 6:05:50 GMT
=/\=Nathan here, I'll make sure that I am in sickbay when we reach the colony. Sickbay is fully prepared to receive casualties, Commander, and one of the cargobays is prepared as a triage unit. Page me when we get there, Commander, no excuses about sparing my feelings or lectures about needing rest. We both know that I'm needed as I’m the most experienced medic aboard,=/\= he replied.
After Megan had returned to her work and a brief silence had followed, a sudden, rather loud splash resounded across the bridge transmitted by the still open comm channel, startling the First Officer and causing the rest of the bridge crew to jump as well. For a moment no one seemed to know what to do until the doctor’s voice began to speak once more and it became apparent that the channel had not been closed. A few snickers and chuckles could be heard as Commander Garrett accessed the communications system herself and closed the channel without any comment to avoid embarrassing the doctor. However, she did smile just slightly...
The Jefferson was fast approaching the colony and still no communication had been received. The silence was deafening and troubling. It was becoming increasingly unlikely that anyone was left behind alive, which meant thousands of innocent lives were potentially snuffed out. Megan was trying to hold onto the hope of survivors, perhaps unable to respond to hails due to a technological malfunction or damage, but she still knew that the odds of a complete failure like that were incredibly slim.
The First Officer barely had a chance to hear the sound of the ready room doors opening before Captain Reynolds had begun to speak. “Commander Garrett, once we reach the colony, contact the captain of the S'Harien. I want to speak to him as soon as possible," Matt ordered as he entered the bridge and headed for his chair.
“Aye, Sir,” Megan replied, quickly moving to stand and vacate his chair for him while moving to an auxiliary science station, where she felt more comfortable than the executive officer’s chair. As the bridge stations reported as ordered with sickbay and engineering chiming in as well, Commander Garrett once again reviewed the sensors, trying to find any indication of a vessel recently approaching the colony.
<Tag All>
One thing was certain, Megan was grateful not to be the Captain this mission. She may have been able to deal with a Romulan Commander and be diplomatic, but she certainly wouldn’t enjoy it. If she had any say about it, the First Officer planned on staying out of direct communication as much as possible. There’d probably be no real way to avoid it, but she would certainly try to delay the inevitable and then limit the amount of contact. Commander Garrett had received plenty of training in these situations and had a great deal of restraint, but there was no need to test her limits. The last thing she wanted was losing control because of some stupid Romulan. She and her career were certainly worth more than any amount of satisfaction that could be obtained from either saying what she thought of them or one good punch.
~
Dropping out of warp as the ship approached the colony, the inexplicably distorted sensor resolution was beginning to clear up somewhat, but unfortunately, the news was not good. Although the interference could be to blame, there were no lifesigns and the tentative analysis into the nature of the interference was pointing to some sort of biological toxin. Nothing more specific than that, but it still looked very bad. Even without more specific information, the next move was clear: they needed to send down an away team in full hazmat, which was certainly the First Officer’s job.
“Commander Pride, you’re with me,” Megan ordered while heading for the turbolift. “Garrett to Major Johnson and Doctor van Breughel, meet me in shuttlebay one.”
<Tag Pride, Cyle, and Nathan>
With so little known about the supposed biological toxin and thus the interference it created, whether or not it was safe to transport was unknown, so a shuttle was the safest option. Turning to the helmsman, who had joined her in the lift, Megan wondered briefly how he would handle what she expected to find down there. No one enjoyed being faced with such wide-scale death, but some handled it better than others, and now that she thought about it, the First Officer realized she knew very little about Commander Pride, certainly not enough to predict his reaction. Cyle she knew would be able to handle it in his own way. Nathan would not deal with it well, but as a doctor his place on the team and necessity was unquestionable, and he would be able to do his job, doing whatever he could to save anyone who may still be alive. Pride, however, was an unknown variable, and she did not like those.
“I don’t know about you, but I have a bad feeling about what we’re probably going to find down there,” Megan finally confessed, carefully observing and gauging his reaction. “I hope to be proven wrong, but unfortunately, I doubt that I actually am.”
<Tag Pride>
Not able to really reply as the lift stopped but having gotten at least some sense of the man, Megan led the way to the bay, where Cyle was already waiting. A shuttle was being prepped, and Commander Pride quickly moved to assist with pre-flight. Glancing in the Marine’s direction, she saw a grim determination which seemed to indicate he had arrived at the same conclusion she had or had at least considered the possibility. “I will need you to keep the team safe, especially the doctor. Watch him closely and make sure he doesn’t get himself into any trouble,” she directed.
<Tag Cyle>
While waiting for Nathan, Megan had one last thing to do. “Garrett to T’Ress, we need the triage center in cargobay two and parts of sickbay fully contained for the quarantine situation. I need you to ensure all the equipment is working properly and that both areas are fully prepared to handle heavy casualties in full quarantine.”
<Tag J’Varr>
Nathan arrived soon after and the team boarded the shuttle. It was a very quiet trip down, everyone seeming to feel the impending horrors they were about to face. The ride was bit bumpy and turbulent due to some strange atmospheric reactions from whatever had been released, but Pride handled it well and concluded with a successfully smooth landing. As the hatch opened, everyone already in their suits, Megan gave out her orders. “Keep an open comm channel at all times. Doctor, I don’t think I need to tell you that this is first and foremost a rescue operation, but we also need to know what happened. Take some air samples periodically, and any other samples you may need. Major Johnson, accompany the doctor. Commander Pride, you’re with me. We need to access the main computer housed nearby and download their database. Each team has a set of transport enhancers, use those to beam survivors to sickbay. This is an unknown situation, so stay alert. Let’s go.”
<Tag Team>
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2009 11:34:08 GMT
" This would go alot easier of you punched in the access codes for the jamming devices. I will look the other way. I'm sure that you must have a back door access to the systems in case something happened" Terrh said expectantly.
"Unfortunately, the jamming devices are not the problem nor the source of interference," Tevio said irritatedly, "I've theorised that, when released, the toxin interacted with some gas in the upper atmosphere, causing our sensors to be blinded. Still, turn away so that I can put in the access code." Everything about this seemed unprofessional to Tevio, as he watched the engineer turn his back so that the Legate could enter his passwords. It was not often he made a mistake, this revealing of the central intelligence unit to Terrh could be one of them.
Virh could be using any type of listening unit, any sort of unknown technology that would decipher the computer. Tevio nodded to Mavak, silently ordering him while Terrh had his back turned to blanket scan the engineer for devices when he left the department...
In a ten minute process, Terrh had cleared up almost all of the interference. Tevio studied the building image, constantly re-evaluating what it was showing him as Terrh improved the resolution every time he ran and re-ran his program. The distorted visage induced by the upper-atmospheric free radicals gave way to an excellent overview of a collection of buildings, one of which was a larger facility. The Tal Diann's data on the supposed coordinates of this Tal Shiar facility were almost exactly right.
At the base of what appeared to be a curving wall, leading on to the main facility, were two darker objects, stationary against the grey ground. Terrh ran the program one more time, working almost robotically, repeating the process over and over as a routine. Now the two darker images resolved themselves into bipedal shapes.. prone on the grey background that was the flat, paved surface.
" Ch'avark there seems to be a ion trail here its hidden very well but its there very faint. My best guess is a small ship of some type I'm transferring the readings to you now"
Tevio studied the readings Terrh sent through, and acted surprised. "Interesting," he observed. He knew a ship had already been here of course, this just confirmed it... It would also tell him how large this vessel was. They analysed the craft's trajectory and found that it was heading away from a location half a kilometre distant from the site of the image.
Govan Echal's demanding voice came over the comm channel. Tevio was growing weary of the Commander by now, but perhaps he was paying his price for not reporting findings earlier. He debated whether or not to tell Echal about the ship now, but as he did so he saw the look in Terrh Virh's eyes. "You reported the findings on the ion trail?" the Legate asked venomously.
Terrh nodded and looked at him, saying, " I hope you have something more useful to tell the Commander or we might find our selves polishing the hull with out enviromental suites. I picked up the trail by chance because you switched off the jamming device."
"You sent your findings from one of these consoles without telling me," Tevio said, barely keeping his voice steady, "Do so again and what you may perceive as my temporary trust in you will dissolve very rapidly... The last thing I want is Echal communicating his frustrations because he finds that I withheld information. Now.."
Terrh established the link with the computer mainframe, taking another five minutes to do so, and then Tevio set about accessing the files. He would not be able to stay in for long.. Although there was no one remaining at the base the Tal Shiar's tendrils reached deep into every part of the Star Empire; it would not take long for them to track someone accessing one of their mainframes, even with the S'Harien moving at warp. Tevio knew this from experience. Almost immediately he found crucial information. It emerged that the toxin was collected 'from' this base.. Its make up and disposition.. potentially leading to how and why it was created where it was... But before he could find that information, Tevio had to withdraw from the system lest he was discovered.
He turned around, seeing Mavak by the door watching Terrh leave. The Legate would have to see if Terrh had been carrying anything with him that would threaten the Tal Diann's security.
<Tag Terrh>
"Commander," he spoke over the comm to Echal, still feeling that this was extremely unprofessional for him. "We have constructed an image of the main facility on the planet. Several terminated facility staff are just visible, what is most interesting is the ion trail that Subcommander Terrh saw fit to send you information on. Also, it has emerged that the toxin was taken from the facility itself."
<Tag Govan>
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desertpride
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Post by desertpride on Jun 16, 2009 14:09:23 GMT
Following Commander Garrett to the shuttle bay everything seemed to quite to him. He figured it had to do with the loss of life there scan's couldn't determine if anybody was alive. They held out hope but everybody was already gearing up for the worse. As he manned the controls of the shuttle it was a bumpy ride down. He did what he could to keep the ride as smooth as possible. After arriving on the planet everything was quite to quite if you asked him.
He followed Commander Garrett to the main office building where they assumed the computer main frame was stored. " Commander Garrett you dont think this will causes us any problems with the Romulans do you. After all this is there base one would assume they would like to know we are here" <Tag Garrett>
he walked over to the computer corp and started trying to access the main frame. It was not an easy process who ever stored information on it wanted to make sure it was safe. It was taking time getting around the fire walls. He was able to access the security monitors and started down loading the recordings. " Commander I gained access to the security cammeras I'm starting the down load now hopefully we will have some idea of what happened here. Good thing the Romulans dont trust even them selves for once" <Tag Garrett>
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2009 20:38:40 GMT
After his long swim with Jayden, Nathan felt exhausted and terribly sore. He reasoned that he was simply out of practice but with his recent injuries and the stress levels he had endured, he knew it was more than that. And he didn't need a counselor to tell him that much. However, just being at home and enjoying his time in the ship's pool, whether with or without his family, was relaxing enough for him, and he had already taken several paces back, where his duties were concerned. Yet with the mission on hand, he knew he just had to be available and couldn't afford a relapse on his health. So, he took as much rest as he could, enjoying and savouring every single second he could spend with his family.
"She's growing so fast," Nathan murmured, as he lifted Angel from her crib. The baby girl gazed up at him with her dark blue eyes, a thumb stuck in her mouth. Carefully, he cradled her in the crook of his arm, while pulling her thumb away with the other. Quickly, he replaced limb with teat as he held the bottle to her face. She suckled greedily, grabbing on to the bottle with two tiny hands that really had no grip at all on the glass bottle.
Both men cast an endearing smile upon the child, oblivious to Freddy's jealous stare. The boy stormed out of his quarters, straight to Reynolds' to spend some time with Caleb, moaning about his parents having eyes only for the baby. Neither man noticed the boy leaving. Jayden's smile widened into a grin as he held out his arms. Instead, Angel gripped a finger of his outstretched hand, squeezing tightly. "Wow, and a grip too," the younger man exclaimed, his surprise evident.
“Garrett to Major Johnson and Doctor van Breughel, meet me in shuttlebay one.”
Nathan sighed and reached for his combadge. "Nathan here. Am I needed immediately, or do I have a few minutes to finish feeding my daughter?" Naturally, fate had it that he was needed immediately, so he handed Angel over to Jayden, kissed him passionately, just not squashing the baby between them as she was included in the tight hug he gave him and dashed out of his quarters, still dressed in his casual attire. Nathan didn't much care about his appearance, that much was known among the crew. What was more important, was his known passion for his work.
He was the last one to arrive and board the shuttle and reluctantly, he took his place, securing himself in the seat's harnass. He didn't particularly like shuttle flights, and always made sure he was safely set when engaging in one. In silence, and with growing horror, he listened to Megan's briefing, nodding in understanding at the appropriate places.
“Keep an open comm channel at all times. Doctor, I don’t think I need to tell you that this is first and foremost a rescue operation, but we also need to know what happened. Take some air samples periodically, and any other samples you may need...."
"Understood commander," he answered dutifully, "I strongly recommend wearing EV suits. We don't know what we'll encounter and what is in the air. No-one is to leave this shuttle without a suit, and that is my order as chief medical officer." He looked around, daring anyone to talk back to him on this order, all the while preparing himself for a verbal lashing from anyone. He still reacted very badly to people saying something to him in exactly the wrong tone of voice. He was improving of course, but it was explained to him that it would take time, even though it was unknown how long. Suffice to say: he hated himself for it, and felt embarassed in the process. "I will require at least one or two of the remains that we may encounter, for further study. Preferably a male and female, and even more preferable, of the Human species as we have a majority of Humans aboard. From there, we can study the effects as they appeared on other species. Also, this team will enter quarantine upon return to the Jefferson and we will go through full decon. Again, on my order as chief medical officer."
He glared around. "And anyone questioning the sanity of this order can step off the shuttle right now," he snapped, before settling back into his seat, gaze fixed on the windshield of the shuttle. Of course he understood it was a rescue mission, what did Megan think, that he would go off and try to save everyone? Even he saw the futility of such a notion, as it would be not only highly dangerous, but very improbable as well.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2009 5:33:04 GMT
OOC: Warning: Novel Ahead =/\=Commander, we have constructed an image of the main facility on the planet. Several terminated facility staff are just visible. What is most interesting is the ion trail that Subcommander Terrh saw fit to send you information on, and also, it has emerged that the toxin was taken from the facility itself,=/\= the Lieutenant added. “Forward everything to my console, and next time, notify me immediately when you discover something, and tell Terrh to report to me directly instead of sending it to another console,” Echal grumbled before closing the channel. Those two could be at each other’s throats all they wanted, but when their little feud ended up crossing him, that was when he drew the line, and dancing around him was not appreciated. Looking over the images retrieved from the probe, Echal was somewhat fascinated by the display. It was like a puzzle, trying to put together what had happened from what was left behind. You could see some vague evidence of a recently and rapidly departing vessel on the landing pad, and between there and the nearest entrance were the two bodies left behind. Zooming in on the perhaps mercifully killed guards, Govan tried to extrapolate how they had met their end. Whoever had dispatched them was good, as these were Tal Shiar guards, and from the looks of things, the assailant had skills and training. These men had died quickly, violently of course, but far less painfully than those who had suffered through the release of the toxin. This being his first contact with the Tal Shiar since being demoted and reassigned to the Navy in disgrace left Govan feeling a bit...nostalgic was the best word for it. In his previous career, he could have demanded access to the outpost’s security systems and been granted it without question. Then he would have been able to watch exactly what happened and fill in that part of the puzzle. But now, he was an outsider like everyone else, and that aggravated him to no end. He wasn’t just like everyone else. He was a Major in the Tal Shiar and Top Level Interrogator. At least, he had been, but although those titles now came with “former” before them, that wasn’t how he viewed himself. In his heart, he still belonged to the Tal Shiar. Still the thought of his former access and the resources previously available to him had gotten Echal thinking. Viewing those sensor records and the inventory of the outpost would be invaluable to this investigation, even if he hadn’t technically been assigned to it. Although along with his rank and title, he had also lost his contacts, Govan was not ready to give up yet. Heading for his ready room, the Commander sat at his computer for a few minutes, reviewing all the records from the probe to determine exactly what he would ask for before activating the small device Terrh had given him, feeling clever to be tricking Tevio with it, and accessing the comm. It took a whole lot of digging and a few tricks he’d learned in his former job before Echal managed to track down one of his former contacts named Riev, a technology specialist whose main purpose was to assist others in gaining access to information they needed, or wanted. Based on the shocked look on Riev’s face, Govan was one of the last people he had expected to hear from. “It’s been quite some time, Riev,” the Commander began, keeping his steely gaze firmly fixed on the wiry Romulan. “It…has,” the man finally stammered. In spite of his technological skill, his strength and confidence were sorely lacking, as he was well known for being rather easily intimidated in spite of his position. “Last time I heard, you were banished on that Federation starbase.” Glancing through the screen to Govan’s Navy uniform, Riev added, “And I can see that reports of your...reassignment were indeed quite true.” Curling his lip upward into a sneer, Echal replied. “Reports of my...reassignment have been greatly exaggerated.” At the widening eyes of the easily manipulated specialist, Govan knew he had taken the bait. “My ship was nearby when one of our outposts was attacked. I’m sure the Tal Shiar has sent a team to investigate.” “What do you want of me?” Riev asked suspiciously. In spite of obviously believing the implied lie that Govan was undercover for the Tal Shiar in the Navy, Riev had been deceived and reprimanded for it far too many times to not ask any questions. “The Navy has refused to let the S’Harien investigate. However, our mission takes us in the direction of the attacker’s rapidly fading ion trail. We have sensor records that a probe retrieved and are pursuing the vessel, but in order to properly piece together the events to forward to the investigation team, I need more information. That’s where you come in. I know you have the ability to access security systems anywhere. What I want is anything you can pull from the outpost’s sensors before and after the attack. I may currently be assigned as a Navy Commander, but no one would want me to be caught off guard if I end up face to face with the cowards and can’t recognize them due to a lack of information. Send me what can you get,” Govan demanded before closing the channel, a triumphant smirk crossing his lips. Riev had been fooled several times before but in a different way. Govan’s position as an interrogator placed him on the information retrieval side of intelligence. The people who often attempted to acquire additional information under the radar were those on the other side of intelligence, the agents who acted on that information or used it to know where to search next. Although his phony position of acting Navy Commander/undercover Tal Shiar agent fell into that category, his more familiar role as an interrogator did not, and Echal was hoping that was enough to confuse Riev. Time would only tell if the information he needed would eventually be sent to him. ~ Following the ion trail had barely deviated their flight path to the rendezvous with the Federation starship. As the S’Harien entered the Neutral Zone and the sector designated with the meeting’s coordinates, it became clear that their “associates” were not there. In fact, after some inquiry, it was determined that the ship had not even entered the Neutral Zone nor approached the border. Frustrated at the hold up, which interfered with his investigation, Echal was also growing suspicious as the vessel they were following not only entered the Neutral Zone, but seemed to cross it directly into enemy space. It was now becoming clear to him that while the Navy sent him on some sort of diplomatic mission, Starfleet was attacking outposts. “Get me Star Command…now,” Echal commanded, settling deeper into his chair glaring holes in the screen. He’d had enough of this little game they were playing. After several agonizing minutes of silence with the bridge crew on edge, the face of his direct superior appeared, looking frustrated at being interrupted so rudely. Before he could speak, Echal began. “We are at the coordinates and the Jefferson is not here. Neither have they crossed the border, nor are they on our long-range sensors. Now I have followed your orders, in spite of the attack on the outpost, but we have detected an ion trail leading away from the outpost that nearly parallels our own course and heading. It goes into and through the Neutral Zone and enters Federation space. I have tried to play along with this little game of cat and mouse, but I will not cater to our enemies nor be diplomatic when they have just committed an act of war against the Empire,” Govan concluded staring his Commander down. A long silence followed with the two men squaring off, neither blinking, moving, or backing down. It seemed that no one on the bridge even breathed. Finally, a tiny smirk crossed the face on the viewscreen. “Very well, Commander, since it seems you are so impatient, I will tell you. We are aware of the pattern of attacks, though we were not aware of this ion trail until you’d mentioned it, something you should have reported to us immediately,” he added reproachfully, which received a nearly inaudible snort in response from Govan. “You have been tasked to collaborate with the Jefferson to investigate these attacks. They have been occurring sporadically for months, mostly small and insignificant attacks on both sides of the border, but they’ve stepped up the past week and now even more over these past few days.” Biting his lip in an effort to reign in his temper, Govan was infuriated. They should have been briefed well before it got this far. If he hadn’t been looking for a way out of working with the Federation or developed an interest in the investigation he may not have sent the probe, which led to the discovery of the ion trail. Their prejudice against him and attempts to ruin him and very nearly crippled the investigation and placed the Empire at greater risk, all just to spite him. Whether or not they thought he would pursue the investigation because it looked like they didn’t want him to or if they wanted him to fail so they could get rid of him permanently was beside the point now. They were hurting the Empire in the process, and it was unforgivable. “Continue your investigation and take what information you’ve managed to gather to the Jefferson. Then work with the Federation crew to determine the party behind these attacks and detain them.” With another small sneer, he added, “When you reach their border, contact Captain Reynolds and request his permission to enter Federation space. Remember, this is also still a diplomatic mission, so try not to offend anyone and mind your manners Commander Echal, Star Commander out.” Jaw and fists clenched with rage, Govan glared at the suddenly blank screen. Of all the demeaning, dishonorable, and despicable things the Star Commander had put him through this was by far the worst. Humiliating him in front of his own crew, undermining his authority, and then again placing him in a weakened position with the Federation...they would pay for this. Govan vowed to himself they would. “Head for the border, maximum warp, and hail Captain Reynolds on the Jefferson,” Echal finally ordered, his voice tense with fury. There was no point in avoiding the inevitable, and this whole situation had only made him more determined to prove the morons wrong and succeed in his command. The feel of the engines beneath his feet told him that the first part of his orders were being carried out, and several minutes later, the appearance of a young human officer announced the completion of the later portion. The mere sight of this Starfleet Captain infuriated him to no end. <Tag Matt> “Captain Reynolds,” Govan greeted him formally. “I am Commander Echal of the Imperial Warbird S’Harien. We have been tasked to collaborate with you to conduct an investigation into recent attacks along the border. We’ve arrived at the specified rendezvous coordinates as per the agreed upon arrangement, yet your vessel is not here. Please explain your absence,” the Romulan requested incredibly coolly. <Tag Matt> “I see,” Echal replied. “Then perhaps it would be better if we were to meet you at your current location and being our investigation there. That is, if you and your superiors feel comfortable with my ship crossing the border,” he added offhandedly. <Tag Matt> “Very well, Captain. Transmit your current coordinates, and we shall meet you there directly. Until then,” Govan concluded, pleased that his operations officer severed the channel as soon as he had finished speaking. All in all, the Commander was quite pleased with how the conversation had gone. He’d kept his temper, remained diplomatic, yet far from friendly and still somewhat menacing, and he’d managed not to approach this Captain from a position of weakness. Not only that, but he’d still withheld the information they’d already gathered, including the ion trail, so now he had room to maneuver and bargaining chips to use...all in all, very successful. <Tag Matt> “Resume course following the ion trail at maximum warp. Most likely, it will lead us straight to the site of this second attack,” Govan ordered before settling back into his chair. Round one had certainly either gone to him or been a tie, and given the terrible hand his own superiors had dealt him, that was a remarkable achievement in and of itself. However, the game had just begun and the next round and indeed the game itself he was determined to win. Commander Echal had come to triumph.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2009 4:30:50 GMT
"Forward everything to my console, and next time, notify me immediately when you discover something, and tell Terrh to report to me directly instead of sending it to another console," Govan Echal replied over the comm, his voice resonating from hidden speakers in the walls of the intelligence room itself.
"I shall, Commander," Tevio said closing the channel instantly to avoid further converse with the Romulan on the bridge, for he was feeling quite aggravated with his Commander at this moment, and had no intention to speak with him for longer than was necessary. Despite the amount he could 'get away with' when it came to his relations with Echal, Tevio dared not to question him in a public ship position, lest it drag both of them down in a ship civil war that would not be seen on well by the rest of the crew.
But if he could have done, the Legate would have told him that by the simple fact of ordering the Intel officer to work with Terrh, he was almost directly requesting for there to be problems with the delivery of his information. Tevio would not have too many problems with it when a larger time-span was considered. Terrh had left his department and he had checked out on exit, according to Mavak.. whom the Legate was not willing to trust quite yet. Not like he now trusted Mor'vhek.
The junior intel officer was investigating crew on board the ship now, especially those who had been repairing the surveillance equipment and, Tevio suspected, now knew where those cameras were now roughly located. He watched Mor'vhek leave again, him having returned in the first place to collect some extra data pads, presumably.
Content that Mor'vhek was performing his duty to a good level, and that the rest of his staff were going about their business, Tevio promptly finished sending through the rest of the data images to Echal, now that he was feeling in a fit mood to do so. What the Commander made of them and what he knew about the facility itself due to his sickening Tal Shiar roots, Tevio could only speculate on, the information would come with time, one way or another.
Tevio soon learnt that their renewed orders to meet the Federation vessel, and thereby halting any - in command's eyes - 'trivial' investigation that the S'Harien may have been conducting at the earlier planet, happened to take them along only a slightly different route than they had been taking.
The Legate was not foolish, he would act accordingly in this situation.. There would doubtlessly be suspicions raised on both sides, particularly their own, as to who was truly responsible for these attacks. Following a course to a Federation ship which coincided with the offending vessel's ion trail could be construed as being too coincidental. Now part of the Legate's duty would be too keep the passions and emotional suspicions of the crew in check even more than was normally required. For to lose the leash on them would not only serve to undermine the strict naval hierarchy but might also appear to weaken the entire Warbird's, and indeed the entire Navy and Star Empire's, resolve in the face of the enemy.
<Tag All>
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2009 1:37:44 GMT
"Understood, Commander. I strongly recommend wearing EV suits. We don't know what we'll encounter and what is in the air. No-one is to leave this shuttle without a suit, and that is my order as chief medical officer.” The look on the doctor’s face dared anyone to contradict him before he continued. “I will require at least one or two of the remains that we may encounter for further study, preferably a male and female, and even more preferable, of the Human species as we have a majority of Humans aboard. From there, we can study the effects as they appear on other species. Also, this team will enter quarantine upon return to the Jefferson and we will go through full decon, again, on my order as chief medical officer. And anyone questioning the sanity of this order can step off the shuttle right now," he snapped.
In spite of not being a fan of the environmental suits, though she didn’t know any officer who was a fan of them, Megan had already reached a similar conclusion, that the suits were an unavoidable necessity. The quarantine, and especially the decontamination, were even more unpleasant than the suits, but also unavoidable. “The doctor is right. No one leaves the shuttle without a suit and will remain in the suits or quarantined until released by the doctor,” Commander Garrett confirmed.
<Tag Nathan/All>
Once everyone was appropriately attired, the hatch was opened, and the two pairs emerged from the shuttle. The scene that greeted them was horrific, but not quite as bad as Megan had expected. Most likely, the majority of the victims were inside the numerous buildings in the colony. Although it was capable of supporting life, the climate left little to be desired, hot and humid with little plant or animal life. It almost made her grateful for the controlled atmosphere of the suit...almost. There were several bodies within sight, and it appeared they had died rather quickly and were trying to make it inside the buildings. This probably meant that the toxin had been released into the external atmosphere of the colony, so perhaps there were survivors further inside. Unless of course the toxin had also been released into the environmental control facility, which given all indications was a strong probability.
“Report in every ten minutes,” Megan ordered, more in Cyle’s direction than in the doctor’s, as she knew Nathan would most likely be too busy to report in regularly.
<Tag Cyle/Nathan>
While Nathan and Cyle headed for the bodies, Commander Garrett led the pilot in the direction of the main control building. It was eerie walking through a previously active colony which now felt as though deserted. There was no sound except the shuffled footsteps of the team, muffled by the dust on the ground and the boots on their feet. There wasn’t even any wind to disturb the desolate scene, as if even the air, or perhaps the whole planet itself, had died with the inhabitants of the colony.
The first door they reached in the central compound was locked, probably triggered at the same time as the distress signal, but with no one to confirm a threat or select a higher level of alert, the encryption was minimal and easy enough to bypass, so the two officers were quickly granted access and entered the quiet and dark facility.
There were three more bodies in the entryway, and a quick scan revealed that it was too late. Several more deceased officers were also in the corridor on the way to the control center, further confirming the likelihood of a toxin release within the colony’s systems. A few turns, and they arrived at their destination. This room was also locked down, but it would have been whether an alarm was triggered or not. This time her own identification provided her access to the room, since the system was linked to a Federation database unlike the external colony’s defenses. Once inside, Megan headed straight for the main console, while Pride headed for tactical to specifically access the security systems, sensors, and recorded visual images.
While her fellow Commander worked on gaining access to security, Megan began to run through the decryptions and bypasses into the main computer. Some of her access and security codes got her through certain levels, but others required more tricks than actual permission. It took some time, but eventually, she was granted access to the entire mainframe and began downloading their records and reports hoping to later find anything to indicate signs of trouble or precursors of an attack. While the database was downloading, the First Officer decided to check in on the other half of the team. “Garrett to Johnson and van Breughel, report,” she ordered.
<Tag Cyle/Nathan>
Her efforts in the main computer combined with the navigational officer’s work on the security systems seemed to have granted Pride access to his assignment, so everything seemed to be going smoothly in the acquisition of the information they needed. Soon it would be time to pack up to return to the Jefferson. “Commander Pride, how is the download coming on your end?” Megan asked to break the silence.
<Tag Pride>
Once the downloads were complete, Commander Garrett connected an interface device to the console so that the Jefferson could easily access the computer from orbit if they needed any additional information, though she believed that they had everything they needed. “Let’s pack up and begin to sweep the second half of the compound for survivors,” Megan directed to Pride before contacting the other two members of the away team. “Garrett to Johnson and van Breughel, Commander Pride and I will begin sweeping the southern half of the colony for survivors. We’ll meet you at the shuttle once this is complete and inform you if we locate anyone.”
<Tag Cyle/Nathan>
Nodding once at Pride, the two moved out. They wouldn’t actually complete a full sweep of the colony, as that would take too much time, but the tricorder’s sensor range was greatly diminished by the interference from the toxin in the air, so they would need to take a path through their half of the colony that would allow them to scan the entire vicinity for lifesigns just in case they managed to locate a survivor.
“Garrett to Jefferson, we downloaded the colony’s database and security records and are now proceeding to sweep the colony for survivors. I estimate that it will take thirty to forty-five minutes to fully scan the colony. Major Johnson and Doctor van Breughel have already completed scanning a fourth of the northern half, but they are moving more deliberately to allow the doctor to retrieve any samples he needs.”
<Tag Matt/All>
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2009 17:09:50 GMT
Raltorr ignored Wintrow as long as he felt he could and then replied,
"That I think should be up to our employer"
He turned his back on the human and checked the impulse feed manifolds. They seemed out of sync but with such an old ship it was unlikely that any system would be operating at maximum efficiency.
"Back to base then?"
"Perhaps" Raltorr answered pensively "We have tested the toxin on Romulan and Human subjects. We know it to be effective on both physiology's something the Order were most insistent upon. I see no need to continue the tests. Any forces Federation or Romulan will be focused on saving lives than coming after us."
"I think you under estimate them"
Raltorr shrugged, "Estimations are a poor substitute for fact. As far as I can tell no one seems bothered by our actions. In fact the fact that the toxin was being held illegally by the Tal Shiar means the Romulans will harldy be wanting to broadcast the theft. And we both know the Federation are so cautious that we shall be long gone before they react"
Wintrow frowned as they dropped out of warp, a narrow corridor of space between a gas giant and a solar body had collapsed their warp field. It would take 30 minutes at impulse to clear the gravity wells and return to warp. He laid in a suitable course,
"Nevertheless our employers will want to know that the toxin is as effective in advance locations. The tal shiar base and that colony hardly had state of the art medical response measures."
Raltorr nodded in agreement,
"Very well lets select a high priced target and hit that one. I also wonder if we shouldnt test it against our buyer, we have a powerful bargaining chip and could double or triple our payment."
Wintrow smiled wickedly "They internal physiology is quite different but externally there is little difference so perhaps we have a wider market than we first assumed. But first things first. A target. We are still in Federation space so I suggest a member world, starship or starbase. Lets start drawing up a list of possible targets."
Raltorr grinned and nodded in agreement.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2009 19:55:21 GMT
Nathan merely offered a wave of his hand in acknowledgement of the orders. Not paying any attention to whether Cyle was following or not, Nathan kept his eyes on his tricorder, frowning as he read the results. "Make sure you don't catch your suit on anything sharp," he warned as he walked away, "the toxin is still in the air, and from what I can see, it's lethal."
He walked on among the bodies, occasionally kneeling beside one. Upon reaching an elderly woman who lay sprawled in the middle of a street, he reached out and closed her eyes. Elsewhere, he covered a naked Human male with a blanket. The man had obviously been caught while on his way to his bathroom. The horror was seen on the many faces around him, and they were starting to have an effect on the doctor.
Expression drawn, he did his best to ignore the horror, and just focus on the tasks at hand. A child, lying peacefully on a couch, a younger sibling sitting hunched over the remains of a bowl of soup, arm hanging limply down the side of her body, the spoon lying on the floor. Behind him, he heard Cyle murmure a report on occasion, though it was muffled because of the protective suit, and Nathan didn't have the suit's communication's system active. It was usable, but he hadn't activated it to listen in to the chatter around him.
A look of sorrow crossed his face as he examined both children; at least it appeared that they hadn't suffered long. "Asphyxiation," he murmured, "they choked to death." But that wasn't all. Carefully, Nathan drew a bloodsample from one of the young adults close by, before having the body transported to Jefferson and put in full quarantine. Quick examination showed that no red bloodcell had survived intact. "Haemorrhagic," he breathed, his face now bloodless in shock.
"Nathan to Garrett. Under no circumstance expose yourselves to the air. You won't live long enough to be transported back to the ship. The toxin is haemorrhagic, it destroys every single red bloodcell in the body. Those that weren't so fortunate to die quickly, died slow agonising deaths. Are you familiar with the 20th Century Ebola virus? Or the Hanta virus? They ate the victim up from the inside, causing them to die in agony, if they didn't bleed out from the inside first. This is no virus, but the effects appear to be the same. At least in the Human victims I have found. I have yet to discover any non-Humans, but I do not doubt it would have a similar effect."
He paused, breathing heavily. At least, within his suit, he was shielded from any pollen in the colony's air. Yet he felt fear press down on him hard and he felt cold sweat trickle down his spine. He had to be extremely careful while walking about. A single tear would be the death of him. "I caution once more, be very careful. This toxin is highly dangerous, and I recommend quarantining of this colony, until a cure is found. Though everyone appears to be dead, until the air is purified it should not be recolonised."
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2009 12:51:22 GMT
The S'Harien was not far from the site of the next colony/outpost now. This one had been attacked too, seemingly, an ion trail leading there seemed to stop and then once more head off elsewhere. This was also the site at which a Federation vessel now 'hovered', holding their own investigations in all likelihood, Tevio thought. It was a Sovereign class, superior to the S'Harien's type or so the Legate understood, designated as the USS Jefferson.
He knew little about her, the Tal Diann records had only the ship's name, registry and class on record, as well as the name of her Captain; Matthew Reynolds. And all of that information had already been given to Echal on this outing.
The fact that Reynolds' ship was tactically superior did not bother Tevio, and some harmless propaganda to the contrary would serve to increase the crew's efficiency in that regard. It was a commonly utilised practice Empire-wide, so why not on the microcosmic level of a Warbird?
Tevio headed through the ship, intent on a very brief visit to the bridge. As he rounded a corridor, making sure to stay in the shadows to uphold his 'image', he heard harsh, whispered voices from what appeared to be a maintenance junction, just within the sight of the Legate.
Instantly his expression hardened and darkened, he stepped forward quickly. A stunned silence fell on the three officers whom had been conversing quietly in the junction. One of them was one of Tevio's lieutenants, Hhurvan. "Tell all, if you would," Tevio said, the 'if you would' clearly added for nothing. And he'd already heard them.
"Legate..." Hhurvan murmured.
"Hhurvan. So you are plotting with these two. A tactical officer and ah, another tactical officer. Weapons systems and overrides you were discussing then? Do continue." He smirked.
When nothing was forthcoming, Tevio filled in for them. "You were looking at a way of overriding the command codes to start a firefight with the Federation vessel, much less than a light year away now. You want to break our own lockouts Hhurvan," Tevio said with incredulous disgust, "And collaborating with tactical brutes, no less. Away with you both." He rasped at the tactical officers.
"You will tell Echal?" Hhurvan said, pathetically failing to hide his worry and discomfort.
Despite this, Tevio shook his head, Intel wisdom and the wish to keep things hidden prevailing over his anger with his staff member. "No, Echal will not hear of this yet. He need not know when nothing is being planned."
Leering at Hhurvan, he continued to the bridge, reading over a commpad.
<Tag Govan, Matt and all>
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2009 18:52:31 GMT
J'Varr T'ress shook his head carefully, smirking as he padded up to the door. Considering all of the tricks that the physician had played on him, it had only seemed fair. After all, he had pulled the feline's tail a couple of times before. He had understood quite well, to, that there was the trick of the 'Merry Christmas' hat. Therefore, it seemed like a perfect time for there to be a trick of his own to be played.
Of course, it was not going to be anything too mean or anything of the sort. He did not wish for any genuine animosity. Instead, he just wanted a bit of humor from the condition at hand…er…paw.
He fashioned one of the slick black plastic engineering boxes to contain something other than the usual United Federation of Planets sanctioned components that they were generally, and quite commonly so, enlisted to enclose. Instead, he thought the appropriate piece of humor in which to impart on the physician was to present his gift without he, himself, being there to grant it. Instead, he was going to fashion it into this box.
As one may have hinted from his profile, it would have been considered most acceptable in his society to have offered a flute in offer of an individual’s wedding. Therefore, he would most certainly enclose a small, wooden such object, though manufactured (never the less carefully) in the replicator instead of made by artists on Cait.
As he stood on the turbolift, making his way to the medical orlops deck, it was simply presumed that he was carrying a normal shipment of parts to its proper destination in sickbay. Therefore, he placed this aforementioned crate before the door to the likewise aforementioned room and walked away from it with an uncharacteristic snicker.
OOC: My apologies, too, for being silent. This is a backpost and I hope to get to the tag that I have been left shortly. Please, honestly, forgive me.
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