Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2009 3:09:10 GMT
OOC: A JP between Dr. Nathan van Breughel and Taev Lhoell
Taev led the human doctor off the bridge, heading towards the transporter. Taev had to admit that the doctor was quite well versed in Romulan culture, however the Romulan knew Commander Echal had only been toying with the doctor. "I see you know Rihannsu? You are quite the doctor."
"I seem to have an aptitude for language," Nathan replied, circumventing the true reason for his knowledge of both culture and language. "And I am not quite the doctor. I aim to save lives, that goes above all else. Aside from family, of course. My family will always come first."
"I seem to have an aptitude for language," Nathan replied, circumventing the true reason for his knowledge of both culture and language. "And I am not quite the doctor. I aim to save lives, that goes above all else. Aside from family, of course. My family will always come first."
"I'm not sure what you mean," the Human doctor replied, not meeting Taev's eyes, "and I don't understand what you're apologising for, exactly."
"Doctor, I saw the . . . conversation between you and our Doctor. Even though you are of a Starfleet vessel, even you should not be treated as such, especially under these circumstances." They neared the transporter room.
Nathan shrugged, seeming indifferent. "You offer unusual views, for a Romulan," he ventured, "almost........soft. Be careful that your commander does not hear you, it could be considered treason."
"Let's just say I am somewhat . . . free thinking. I hold a certain respect for those who look to the betterment of the galaxy. You may call it . . soft, but I think of it as evolution." They were now steps from the transporter room. He stopped the doctor. "Needless to say. You are correct. If my superiors were to know of my views, I would be punished more than likely." He continued on to the room.
"They would not hear it from me," Nathan promised then and there. He still didn't meet Taev's eyes, for fear he might find something he wouldn't like. And he liked this particular officer, who was probably young enough to be his son. "As you saw, I work reasonably well when under duress. Depends on the duress, however..." He offered a wry smile. "There is always more to people, than meets the eye. I may not be tactically trained, but I have my own way of doing things. Often, as is now, I get into trouble because of how I work. My husband will probably quite angry, as will my commanding officer be. Fortunately, as civillian, I am unlikely to get court martialed."
"Court martial. A starfleet officer's worst nightmare. Perhaps being a civilian does have its benefits." In the transporter room, he turned to face the doctor. "It appears as though it is time for you to leave. Dare I say, good luck with your husband and commanding officer."
Nathan bowed his head. "Thank you. I shall not forget you. Be careful and be wary of Govan. I daresay he is dangerous, and Sural even more so." He stepped up onto the pad and waited to be transported.
Taev nodded and transported the doctor off the ship. He was an honorable man, but very . . . soft, as the doctor had called Taev just a little while earlier. But, Taev was a Romulan and he had a duty. He tapped his communicator. "Commander Echal, the human is off the ship."
(tag Govan)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2009 6:14:43 GMT
Valad afterwards walked into engineering and found Commander T'Ress working as usual. "You look like you have been ordered around by Commander Garrett! What did she task our expert engineer to do this time?"
The feline looked up with a twitch of his tail, his sleeves rolled up around his furred arms, as was the usual for him. He smirked, looking up, “Murrow. Ah, she has me researching the S’Harien deeply, while having me work on some of the other aspects of our own vessel.”
"Alright then. Well I've come with a question. I'm trying to penetrate a cloak. Any thoughts on how I can do that?"
Smiling a bit, T’Ress looked to the side as he up-righted himself. Wearing the work uniform, as opposed to the standard uniform, he looked in the flustered way that he often did as an individual who spent too much time on his craft. With that he began to speak, nevertheless.
“Ah, well then, uhh, murr…penetrate a cloak? During Earth’s Second World War, planes distributed metallic strips into the lower atmosphere to disguise and trick radar systems. Murr, we could act in the same manner with ionized particles to penetrate such a system.”
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“Have you and Commander T’Ress made any progress?” the First Officer asked.
Commander T’Ress began to speak and think to himself at the same time. Such an action was typical of the feline, and thus his voice sounded slightly clipped and segmented. However, this was relatively hidden by the fact that he was still speaking with the typical feline noises that were made between each word and phrase.
“I know at least something, Murr. The S’Harien is a standard vessel, D’Deridex class. That is what I can tell you thus far. It is not too much of a modification, murr. Instead, it is a vessel that has had some modification to the energy distribution system. Not too great a modification however. Merrow...if that were the case, that could explain a great deal about how we initially believed the engine systems to be set up – to avoid one of my infamous dissertations, murr, they tricked us.”
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Stepping aside to contact their engineer, Megan tapped her commbadge. “Garrett to T’Ress, I’m forwarding you information about the Romulan’s cloak. Review this data and come up with a way to modify the Polaric Neutralization Beam to light up specific subspace variance frequencies, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to test it, except on the holodeck, as we don’t want to tip our hand. Once this is done, take a look at any information you have on Romulan warp fields and estimate the range of frequencies they could be calibrated to, as that will help us limit the range we’d need to monitor whenever they recalibrate their warp field.”
J’Varr T’Ress tapped his own combadge with the customary purr that most individuals had probably begun to know him for on the ship. “Ahh, well, you always have such easy jobs for me to do, don’t you?” Pausing for a moment so that he could collect the ideas that she had issued to him, he only began to speak once more a moment later. “Ah, well, that is going to take a large amount of time. Polaric Neutralization data is not exactly the most mathematically simple ideology. However, I will do what I can with my own paw. Murr…it should be a degree faster than the computer that way.”
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She didn’t want to be idle waiting for whatever would happen next, so she took a look at the second task she’d assigned to their Chief Engineer. Most likely they would need it before this mission was finally over.
The Chief Engineer’s documentation would have been cleanly published for her at the time. He had tabulated the data as requested, and presented it as a spreadsheet for her. However, in the case that she did not enjoy raw numbers as much as he, the feline had made a note that the data need only be fed into the Polaric Neutralization Beam without any comprehension. Likewise, he also made a note that he had not followed her recommendation of a holodeck test, considering the time constraints that were involved. Instead, he left the operation towards proof by mathematics.
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 24, 2024 20:59:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2009 6:19:30 GMT
OOC: Joint Post Between Myself and Commander Megan Garrett
Blinking twice was the only indication of his surprise. Hello? What prisoner ever said hello to their captor? He couldn’t recall a single time when someone had greeted his arrival, and for some reason, it only unnerved him further. Refusing to waiver, Govan kept his face firmly scowling. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
Swallowing nervously, Megan inched back just a little and hesitated before replying. “My name is Megan…I mean, Lieutenant Megan Garrett, and I’m here to collect a series of geological and biological samples in an effort to prove my theory on the microscopic desilicification of fossilized organic material,” she replied a bit quickly. The blank look on his face caused her to try and explain. “I theorized that it was possible for a microscopic silicone organism to infest a silicificated biological entity and break down the silicate crystalline structure back into gel and gradually consume it, leaving the original cell structure almost entirely intact in a semi-petrified state.” His vacant look only continued, and briefly, Megan considered attempting one more time to explain but decided against the risk of frustrating him, instead quietly adding. “I just needed to retrieve some samples to prove my scientific theories…”
Govan did not understand a word of what she’d said, but even just the basic idea was mystifying to him. “You broke into a Romulan facility to get some rocks for an experiment to write some kind of scientific paper?” he questioned incredulously, as he had never heard anything this absurd in his entire career as an interrogator.
Looking down at her fingers in her lap, Megan murmured, “Well…actually I would be able to prove my theory without additional experimentation. The samples would either prove or disprove my theory merely by their existence or their non-existence.”
Having absolutely no clue what to say, Govan didn’t know quite whether to laugh at this ridiculous explanation or not. Clearly if this was the latest Starfleet tactic, it was a foolish endeavor, but sadly, it was so unbelievable, it was almost believable. “Who authorized this mission?” he demanded, not believing they could be so stupid.
Hanging her head slightly, the Lieutenant replied, “No one...” At Echal’s incredulous expression, she quickly added, “They said my request was premature…based on limited research and sheer conjecture. I reminded them that most theories start out that way, which was why I required proof, and then they said that if I found a more acceptable planet, they would consider my request, but it took me months to find these caves, but they said coming here was out of the question and wouldn’t even consider making a request to your government to share the samples that I needed.”
Now that was something he could believe, that the Federation would have denied a scientist’s request and wouldn’t have wanted to betray any interest in this place to the Romulan government. In spite of the absurdity, everything she said actually made sense. He almost...almost…felt sorry for her for being so incredibly naïve...
Raising wide eyes imploringly to him, Megan whispered. “What’s going to happen to me? I realize now that I’m in trouble, and that this isn’t just any ordinary outpost, but I didn’t know. No one told me, and I just wanted a chance to prove my theory...”
Fighting against shifting from almost to actually feeling bad, Govan hardened his expression in response. “Your situation will be discussed, but you have committed a grave crime against the Empire, and there will be consequences to that action.”
Blinking back tears, Megan pulled her knees back up to her chest, sniffling a little but refusing to cry as she gazed sadly in the Romulan Centurion’s direction. The expression on his face was very similar to that of her previous two guests, a little confused, somewhat uneasy, and highly suspicious. But her instincts said he was at least partially buying it, and based on who he was, where she was, and under what circumstances, partially buying it was as good as she could have hoped for.
Absolutely hating the mild surge of compassion, Govan turned to leave, not really wanting to see her cry again. Not that he really cared if she cried...but that didn’t mean he wanted to see it, not that not wanting to see it meant anything of course. With a heavy sigh that turned out almost like a growl, Centurion Echal headed for his office to investigate her claims. If what she said was true, there had to be some proof of it somewhere, and likewise if she was playing them all for fools, there had to be a way to determine that. Either way, the evidence would make his decision.
After he had left, Megan rested her cheek against her knee and pretended to cry a bit more. If she were being honest with herself, that meeting had gone about as well as it could have and almost exactly as she had prepared and rehearsed. Whoever this interrogator was, he clearly knew exactly what he was doing, but the plan and preparations had been made to make it nearly impossible for him to find any flaw in her story. And now he had gone to review the evidence and see if it checked out, and it would. She just had to hope it took awhile because the longer it was before the interrogation began, and it would begin, the better chance she had for survival.
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 24, 2024 20:59:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2009 13:07:45 GMT
Uhlan Mavak entered the bridge, just as Commander Echal was beginning his latest and likely last exchange with van Breughel. The Uhlan's curiosity was piqued at what he saw was a highly-charged exchange of words, but he had orders to follow that didn't involve watching and learning. He was an intelligence officer, highly trained at detecting these patterns in social situations, it was almost a shame that his skills could not be tested in this area. It was convenient, however, that the human doctor was present... because it gave the Legate an instant reference point on what van Breughel's position was. Mavak made his way to the shadowy intelligence station as ordered, and started relaying back the information...... With Mavak's information, Tevio leant on his desk, re-reading the same passage, checking for himself that the leak of the article's subject-matter would have the desired effect. It did seem to, surely he hadn't misled himself as to the article's importance? This kind of error had been the downfall of his career once already; another mistake was doubtful to have equally severe consequences, the only real cost would be making him look like a fool. "This should work." He nodded to Hhurvan, whom frowned. The flow of Ch'varak's thought was broken by another alert from Mavak. "..This time?" he muttered, starting to read through the alert message sent by Mavak from the console on the bridge. The ship dropped from warp. Tevio could feel the slightest affects of the deceleration and also the lessening of the engine note. This recognition combined with Mavak's latest alert made him bolt for the door of his office. "Legate..?" He heard Hhurvan voice just as the door slid shut behind him. Trust for his personal transportation device to be malfunctioning; although according to the designers it wasn't safe to use it at warp, or just after dropping from warp, so perhaps it was a good thing he could not use it. Not that that was at the forefront of his mind right now. The Legate reached the primary transportation room, the sliding doors parting to reveal, sickeningly, an empty set of transporter pads. Steeling his jaw to clamp down on the welling anger, he entered the room. "Doctor van Breughel?" he asked of the transporter operator slowly, "Is he yet to beam back to his ship?" The operator paused, it seemed that he was changing what he was about to say. "No, sir. The human beamed back a short time ago." Tevio cried with rage, stepping forward quickly and striking the operator across the face with the back of his hand. The Romulan went down, but Tevio didn't care greatly. He stepped around the transportation console to observe the operator slowly moving on the floor. As the Romulan rolled over the Legate kicked him twice hard in the jaw. The furious intel chief barely noticed that he'd knocked the man unconscious, and he did not see the blood streaming from the man's slack, open mouth. OOC Note to Taev Lhoell: Of course, this is not you. I've assumed that you've returned to your other duties. Tevio turned to leave, but something made him stop in the door. He looked back; perhaps something more was in order. Heading back to the transporter console and pushing the prone form of the operator out of the way, he manipulated the console to lock on to a signature originating in the intel department. His rage-filled mind was starting to cool, and new waves of relentless thought were taking over. Streaming in, providing a cool, soothing presence, like a refreshingly cold river back on Romulus. The transporter system would now beam someone from the intel department to an external destination of choice (as was normal). There was one overriding benefit to this..: as the intel department was not visible to normal scanning techniques, the transportee could be beamed out undetected. Arriving back in the intel centre, Tevio made preparations for his departure and sent Hhurvan to the main transportation room.
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Valad Tavik
Lt. Commander
Registered: Sept 11, 2008 4:29:47 GMT
Posts: 180
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Post by Valad Tavik on Sept 7, 2009 2:34:30 GMT
“Nice work, Lieutenant. Well done,” The Commander seemed to be proud of him. ~Well thats a first~ Valad thought to himself. “Continue to keep an eye on the S’Harien and monitor any fluctuation in frequency. If recalibrated, work out from the known frequency in both directions and keep track of both minor fluctuations as well as the more drastic changes. The more data we collect, the better, and the easier it will be to adjust.”
"Yes maam," Valad simply said as he began to program the computer to automatically scan for specific variances while he would scan for the rest manually.
"Lieutenant Tavik, I trust that you will be able find that subspace variance quickly if they should decide to change thier warp field?" The Captain asked Valad.
Valad waited just a moment to confirm what he had just programmed was input properly. "Yes, Captain. I have programmed the computer to monitor all potential variances within any given input, plus the reverse polarity of each variance. Those should be the S'Harien's quickest and most efficient changes they can make. If they try anything else I should be able to track it myself."
(Matt)
After a short while a transmission came through to the Jefferson. "Captain, there is a transmission coming from the S'Harien. Shall I put it up sir?"
(Matt)
The call came from the Romulan CMO, but it was transferred immediately to Commander Garrett's console, out of Valad's earshot. After another while, another transmission came in. This time it came from the S'Harien's CO. ~This can't be good.~ Valad waited and saw what passed.
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 24, 2024 20:59:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2009 20:01:33 GMT
[Unknown Location] Wintrow stirred, grinding his teeth together as he tried to sit up. He'd been too late, and too blind. The Romulan had betrayed him; no doubt the enemy, namely Starfleet, was on it's way to get him. The former commander knew he'd probably pay the ultimate price for his own betrayal.
At least he had a crude formual for the antidote. As a scientist, he'd been able to study the toxin, and it's effects. After all, hadn't he risked his own life to witness the proceedings? Of course, Raltorr too had the antitoxin, but that was of little matter.
He groaned as he struggled to his feet, pressing his hand against his chest. His tunic had been scorched away, his skin badly burned. Second degree, he noted, mostly to himself. It wasn't of any importance; getting off this rock was. He shivered; night was falling and he had to find shelter. It was getting cold, now that the sun was gone. Would Raltorr really leave him behind? Without supplies?
The biologist shook his head, then inspected his communicator. At least it still functioned. "This is Commander Wintrow Paragon, to any Federation vessel out there. Mayday! I've been kidnapped by Romulans, and forced to produce a toxin. I've been stranded. If you can localize my transmission...please hurry. I'm shot and temperature is dropping rapidly."
[USS Jefferson] Nathan stood frozen on the bridge, for several minutes, waiting for either Matt or Megan to notice him. Jayden, forever faithful, though still seething with anger, had remained beside him, though he had released his hand. "What's that?" he suddenly announced, hearing a faint transmission coming in.
He was still anxious, and afraid, but from the sound of the transmission, someone's life was in jeopardy. "Boost that signal" he ordered, though he knew perfectly well he had no authority to even issue such an order. Let alone now, when he was already in trouble for actually disobeying given orders.
When no-one replied, he figured they were just too busy. "Come with me," he told Jayden, tearing him off the bridge. "I'm going to prepare sickbay, just in case. Obviously, someone's life is in danger, and I'm presuming that they'll respond to that distress call. They can't ignore it Jayden. Tell me they can't."
Jayden couldn't deny that one, but he wasn't too keen on being dragged along. He yanked his hand free. "You go tend to your duties, I'll be with my company, preparing for an evacuation. Just remember Nathan, this isn't over. Trust me, you haven't heard the last of it. Not from them, and not from me. And you won't be happy, when I'm done. You have my word."
The doctor could understand his mate's anger, and nodded silently. "I know," he whispered sadly, "I only hope you know how I feel under all of this. And that you understand that I did what I felt I had to do."
"By all accounts, you shouldn't even be here," Jayden suddenly exploded, "do you even know how dangerous that was? You should've been killed, transporting to a cloaked vessel. You were damn lucky Nathan!" Jayden turned on his heels and marched away, leaving a stricken doctor behind.
Nathan struggled to keep his composure and walked into sickbay. Once in, he started issuing orders, literally shrugging off Hannah as she tried to take a few scans. "Leave off Hannah, I'm busy. Don't you have work to do?"
Hurt, Hannah stepped back, seeing that now was not a time to bother him. He'd come ask for her help soon enough, if he kept carrying on like this. Nathan didn't even notice. "Bridge, sickbay reports ready for casulaties," he reported simply, signing off without giving the bridge a chance to respond.
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Valad Tavik
Lt. Commander
Registered: Sept 11, 2008 4:29:47 GMT
Posts: 180
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Post by Valad Tavik on Sept 10, 2009 23:42:39 GMT
Valad continued scanning as his life depended on it. There wasn’t any way that ship was going to get away. He found the S’Harien’s signature again and again, trying to figure out some sort of pattern that they might be using. He tried a variety of algorithms given the information he had scanned and reported, but nothing came up. Whoever was in control of that cloaking device certainly knew how to use it. Valad kept at it.
Valad noticed that the doctor had come to the bridge and had a slight verbal altercation with his spouse. He stayed for a few minutes expecting to be punished more than likely. ~Serves you right, doc.~ Valad shook his head and continued his work.
After a short while, the scanning was becoming slightly easier. They had not changed their warp signature in a while, so Valad had more time to work on finding a pattern. A couple of times he thought he had it, but they, like all the other tries, turned up nothing. ~This is beginning to get annoying. he said to himself. Then something new came up on his console. “Captain, we appear to receiving a transmission. It’s garbled though. . .” He put it up on the speakers. “ . . . .federation . . . .Mayday! . . . . toxin . . . . I’ve been stranded . . . hurry . . .”
From behind him, Valad heard Nathan shout, “Boost that signal!” and rush off the bridge. Valad of course complied and had already started clearing it up. “Captain, I think we’ve got it.”
“This is Commander Wintrow Paragon, to any Federation vessel out there. Mayday! I've been kidnapped by Romulans, and forced to produce a toxin. I've been stranded. If you can localize my transmission...please hurry. I'm shot and temperature is dropping rapidly."
Valad scanned for the source. “It’s coming from a Class L moon about two light years from here. I’ve sent the coordinates to the helm.”
(tag Matt)
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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 Sept 11, 2009 3:13:21 GMT
"Yes, Captain. I have programmed the computer to monitor all potential variances within any given input, plus the reverse polarity of each variance. Those should be the S'Harien's quickest and most efficient changes they can make. If they try anything else I should be able to track it myself."
"Good work Lieutenant, I don't think I could have done it as quickly as you," Matt said glad that the Jefferson has such a great operations officer.
"Captain, there is a transmission coming from the S'Harien. Shall I put it up sir?"
"Put it through," Matt said expecting to see the goading face of Govan Echal, but to his amazement it was Doctor Sural's voice that he heard. Hearing from Doctor Sural was the last thing that Matt was expecting and for the first time in a long time something was finally going their way. Yet Matt knew that this could jepordize his relationship with Echal. Captain no matter where there loyalties laid did not like being betrayed by thier officers and Sural was certaintly doing that now.
"The file he requested has no information that I would feel uncomfortable leaving in the hands of the Romulans,” the Commander stated, “It’s only relevance is scientific or medical,” she added before, satisfied with her survey, beginning the file’s transfer.
"Do it, if it helps them find an antidote I'm all for it," Matt said confident that Megan had checked all of the information for anything sensitive.
“For Sural to contact us directly and circumvent Commander Echal was unusual, and somewhat dangerous I’d imagine. However, it is certainly a good thing that we’ve cultivated a relationship with the doctor, as it may be beneficial to ensure we receive the anti-dote, if not from Govan than at least surreptitiously from Sural,” she commented.
"What Sural has done puts him in danger, I imagine that Echal will not take kindly to his actions, but you are right about this being beneficial to us," Matt said glad that both of them were thinking along the same lines. Megan was about to reply to his statement when it was reported that the Jefferson was being hailed again, but by Commander Echal.
“Captain...so good to see you have deemed to make time to speak with me,” Echal commented dryly.“I believe that your doctor is ready to return to your vessel. I have granted his request to be transported home, but with this permission, I also have a request to make of you. Our doctor requires some additional information to aid in his work on developing an anti-dote. I assume this won’t be a problem,” the Romulan Commander remarked offhandedly.
"I make time for the important things in life, Commander," Matt replied not allowing the comment to go unanswered," as for the doctor we are ready to receive him. As for your request, we would be happy to help your doctor anyway possible. My first officer will be sending him all the information he requires.
(Echal)
Echal's response was expected and Matt did not let his goading get to him at all this time. His mind was already focused on Nathan and what he was going to say and do to him. He new very well that he could not and would not hurt him physically, but at that moment there was nothing else that he wanted to do more. Nathan had done something so incredibly stupid that it could not be defended.
"Captain, the doctor has been transported back onto the Jefferson," Monica reported which in turn caused everyone to hold their breath for a moment because they knew that Nathan was in a world of trouble. It didn't take long for Nathan to appear on the bridge and it took everything in Matt not to tear him a new one and he couldn't help but feel relieved when Jayden had done so. Matt was not about to stop it and everyone continued to work hard and it wasn't until Matt realized that they were recieving another transmission did his attention waiver from his work.
“This is Commander Wintrow Paragon, to any Federation vessel out there. Mayday! I've been kidnapped by Romulans, and forced to produce a toxin. I've been stranded. If you can localize my transmission...please hurry. I'm shot and temperature is dropping rapidly."
“It’s coming from a Class L moon about two light years from here. I’ve sent the coordinates to the helm.”
"Helm set course, maximun speed. Lieutenant give Echal a short explanation as to where we are going" Matt said as he turned to Megan," what do you think we'll find when we get there?"
(Megan)
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 24, 2024 20:59:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2009 7:21:42 GMT
Staying out of sight from the viewscreen, Megan tried to fight the tension she felt seeing his face and hearing his voice. She hated how easy it was for him to get to her... And of course, Govan had to try and goad Matt in his usual, superior way. It was disgustingly predictable of him. Fortunately the exchange was brief and ended with the agreement that Doctor van Breughel would be returning to the Jefferson.
Megan was not looking forward to dealing with Nathan, but at least his safe return was a good thing. As the Captain had assigned her to dealing with him, it was her responsibility. Now she just had to hope it didn’t end up with the doctor dead after all... Her thoughts were interrupted by another transmission, this one not Romulan.
=/\=Starfleet Vessel, this is Outpost Security. We need your assistance. We have apprehended a human who has killed one of our researchers. We need you to take him into custody. You can find him at these coordinates.=/\= The sound of the helm receiving the coordinates followed, and the channel was terminated at its source.
Behind them, the turbolift doors opened, most likely depositing the doctor onto the bridge, but Megan didn’t turn around as she had more pressing concerns currently than dealing with Nathan. Checking her sensors, Commander Garrett reported, “I traced the signal back to a small research outpost closer to the Romulan border. It is along our current heading following the ion trail. It’s possible they’ve apprehended the person we’ve been chasing,” the First Officer suggested. Frowning, she added, “For some reason, the transmission appears to have been delayed. I can’t tell if it was intentional or unintentional. It may have been a communications malfunction.”
As she spoke, yet another transmission came through, leading her to believe that perhaps the previous signal had gotten stuck in the signal matrix only to be jarred lose by the second transmission. However, this time she remained quiet, as it had just occurred to her that she was really stepping on Lieutenant Tavik’s toes... If he noticed it or not he didn’t indicate, but Valad did begin to report on the new signal. “Captain, we appear to receiving a transmission. It’s garbled though...” he stated.
=/\=...Federation…mayday…toxin…I’ve been stranded…hurry...=/\= The message was so static filled, it was difficult to make out the few words not entirely obscured.
As Megan resisted the urge to clear up the transmission herself and rose to move to the command center, Nathan shouted, “Boost that signal!” resulting in a wave of fury. The Commander had almost forgotten about his presence entirely, and this reminder, not to mention the fact that he was daring to give orders on the bridge, infuriated her further. However, she again held her tongue and ignored him, which was just as well as the sound of the doors opening and closing again announced his departure. She would have to deal with him later, and he wouldn’t like it at all.
“Captain, I think we’ve got it,” Valad reported, drawing her attention back to their current situation as the Ops Chief processed and replayed the complete message.
=/\=This is Commander Wintrow Paragon to any Federation vessel out there. Mayday! I've been kidnapped by Romulans and forced to produce a toxin. I've been stranded. If you can localize my transmission, please hurry. I'm shot, and the temperature is dropping rapidly,=/\= the Commander reported before the signal faded out in static.
“It’s coming from a Class L moon about two light years from here,” Lieutenant Tavik reported from the Ops station before adding, “I’ve sent the coordinates to the helm.”
"Helm, set a course, maximum speed. Lieutenant, give Echal a short explanation as to where we are going," the Captain ordered before turning to her. "What do you think we'll find when we get there?" Matt asked as she took a seat next to him.
“Well, the moon is the same location as the outpost. It’s hard to believe these two messages could be unrelated, so I advise caution. But if Commander Paragon is telling the truth, the Romulans may be more involved in what’s going on than we’d previously believed, which makes this situation even more dangerous. Not that we ever trusted them to begin with, but now more than ever, we do need to be wary.”
<Tag Matt>
=/\=Bridge, sickbay reports ready for casualties,=/\= the extremely ill-timed voice of Doctor van Breughel reported, before channel was neatly and quickly severed.
Fighting back another wave of anger, Megan took a deep breath before looking the Captain in the eye. “I will deal with him, Sir, just not right now. We may need him in sickbay, and I doubt he’ll be allowed there for awhile after I’ve spoken with him”
<Tag Matt>
Breaking into a little bit of a smile at her very slight joke, Megan continued. “If the Romulans are behind this toxin, the diplomatic ramifications become much more complex. In spite of what we know they are capable of, it’s hard to believe that the Romulan government would sanction tests on their own people even if it did make their innocence more plausible. This could be a splinter group or an underground faction or else their authorized testing got out of hand. It’s hard to say for certain.”
<Tag Matt>
Glancing in the direction of Lieutenant Tavik, he looked exhausted. He had been working very hard for too long, and he clearly needed some rest. “While I admire your work ethic, Lieutenant, I think it’s time to take a break. That’s not a suggestion,” she ordered, adding a slight smile to soften it a little without diminishing the order.
<Tag Valad>
As the Operations Officer somewhat reluctantly left his station, Megan pulled up the data Commander T’Ress had forwarded to her, which she hadn’t really gotten the chance to look at with everything happening at once. The calculations were perfect and provided an easy way for them to upgrade the Polaric Neutralization Beam, not that they would be using that unless they didn’t have any other choice of course...
His modifications meant that they would be able to light them up without needing the specific frequency; however, the range was very limited. If they could expand that range wide enough, the device would have even greater usefulness. Instead of contacting the most likely beleaguered officer again, Megan decided to send him a message. “Well done, Commander T’Ress. Your modifications appear to be very precise and should work. If at all possible, I would like you to work on extending the frequency range to light up cloaked ships employing a greater variety of warp field calibrations, which would increase its effectiveness and our advantage. Thank you again for your hard work, Commander. It is much appreciated. Commander Garrett”
<Tag J’Varr>
After sending the message, Megan quickly moved on to a search for Commander Wintrow Paragon. Perhaps his service record would provide them with something.
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Valad Tavik
Lt. Commander
Registered: Sept 11, 2008 4:29:47 GMT
Posts: 180
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Post by Valad Tavik on Sept 11, 2009 19:34:02 GMT
Valad stretched his arms and yawned. He tried to keep it stifled but he was sure someone had seen him. He had been at ops for nearly sixteen hours. Perhaps it was long enough, but he wasn't about to take a break when things were getting juicy. He heard a voice behind him.
"“While I admire your work ethic, Lieutenant, I think it’s time to take a break. That’s not a suggestion,” Commander Garrett smiled at him.
Valad raised his arms up as if surrendering. "That's it Commander. I give up. You win." He smiled back at her as he left the bridge, the he didn't really want to leave, but he made his way off the bridge and to the mess hall anyway. He was hungry.
Not much went on in the mess hall. He got his rations from the chef. It was some sort of casserole. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't the best home cooking he had ever had either. He ate it quickly, taking only a few moments to take a look around to see who else was in the mess hall. There was a small variety, but no one of any immediate importance. He hated thinking of it like that, but his mind was focused on the task at hand. They needed him on the bridge and that was where he was going to be until this mission was over. He decided to make a stop in sickbay.
He walked in to find sickbay indeed ready for casualties as the doctor said. "Doctor, I need a little help staying awake. I need to be on the bridge right now and I'm not going to miss out. Can you help me out?"
(tag Nathan)
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 24, 2024 20:59:56 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2009 20:47:38 GMT
OFF: JP between Nathan and Valad
OLD: "Doctor, I need a little help staying awake. I need to be on the bridge right now and I'm not going to miss out. Can you help me out?"
NEW: Nathan turned, having already changed into a fresh set of clothing and a clean labcoat. "Have you tried drinking coffee, lieutenant?"
"Not my cup of tea, Doc." Valad had never liked coffee, but he supposed he should cut to the chase of why was really there. "Alright, so I am really here to see how your trip was. It was rather . . .gutsy . . . of you to make that transport. Sounds like something I might have done" He smiled at the Doctor with an almost, but not quite, approving look.
"It was stupid," Nathan retorted acidly, "and dangerous. Jayden was right, I should've been killed."
Valad agreed. "Yeah probably. But you weren't. So did you succeed in doing whatever you planned, had you survived?" he asked.
"You alright, Doc?" He looked like a cold fire burned inside him.
"No lieutenant I'm not all right," Nathan snapped. "I just returned from a Romulan vessel, I had my mate have a good shout at me. Not to mention what may come from Captain Reynolds...there are billions of lives at stake because terrorists are poisoning entire colonies with a toxin that we might just have an antidote for. And now there's an officer marrooned on some planetoid, who claims he was used by the Romulans. I have a medical emergency on my hands, and not enough time to prepare." His face was almost bloodless, his voice betraying the fury and helplessness he was experiencing. His hand tembled as it reached for a PADD. "I'm scared to death, of what may come next."
Valad reached a hand over to Nathan and put it on his shoulder. "Listen, the first thing you need to do is relax." Valad breathed deeply, hoping the Doctor would follow his lead. "Take a few deep breaths. Now that you are back here safe and we have a problem on our hands, we need our doctor to be ready for anything. This might sound somewhat irrelevant coming from me, but right now you need to put everything to the back of your mind and focus on the task at hand."
The Human doctor recoiled from the younger Human's touch, glaring at him. "Don't touch me," he replied stonily, "don't ever touch me!"
Valad took a step back, surprised at the Doctor's tone and recoil. "Doc I'm just trying to help. But apparently I'm unwelcome here. I'll be on my way." Valad turned to leave sickbay. He stopped short at the door. "Just so you know. One thing I've learned in my life is to learn to let people help you. Not knowing that lost me my father." Valad turned back to the door.
Nathan fell silent, frozen in place. The man had lost family; he knew how that felt. Something like it anyway. "I'm sorry lieutenant. I know you're trying to help, I just.." He hesitated, looking defeated. "I don't know you well enough. I don't know you at all. I have my family to keep me sane, hopefully, and my work. Without that, who am I?"
"You would be me," Valad said quietly. He walked out of sickbay with a tear in his eye and the thought of his family burning in the back of his mind.
Nathan bowed his head in shame. He should go after the man, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. That'd be admitting to defeat, and he couldn't do it. Not now. A sharp nudge made him look up, and he gazed right into Donovan's blazing eyes. "Go after him, you dimwit! You hurt his feelings, go after him or I'll..."
Nathan paled even further, nodded once, then sprinted away. Panting for breath, he reached and pulled Tavik to a halt. "I'm sorry," he whispered, avoiding his gaze.
"For what? You didn't know." Valad couldn't look into the doctor's eyes and he looked away. So much devastation in a person's life could turn things upside down. He did stop walking.
"I'm a doctor, Mr Tavik. There are things I ought to see, before responding so harshly as I did. Truth is, I truly don't like to be touched. I've been touched the wrong way, too often. It makes me feel uncomfortable, and afraid. And I'm tired of being afraid, but it's who I am. I can't change that overnight. A Romulan tortured me, used me. And now we work with Romulans....I don't hate them, I don't necessarily mistrust them, but I do have a healthy respect for them." He paused. "And not just Romulans tortured me, others did to. And why me? I'm a civillian, I lack certain knowledge. I have skills that may be useful, but I'm no combatant. That's why trouble seeks me out, no doubt. But I should've seen your hurt, and I didn't. For that, I'm sorry."
Valad raised the courage to look at the Doctor. "A person's life experiences are the source of one's fear, but they are also the source of one's strength." Valad stopped for a moment. "Sorry, sometimes I get philosophical. My point is, for you to still be around, after all that has happened to you, is enough strength. You have my respect, for whatever it may mean." Valad looked back down again.
Instinctively, Nathan reached out, wrapping his arms around the slightly taller man's arms, drawing him into a brief hug. "Thank you," he replied, sounding grateful, and relieved. "My greatest strength is my family. If not for them, I would've been killed a long time ago."
Valad almost shook the doctor off, but something inside him pushed him to accept the hug. "Perhaps we can have a talk sometime. Maybe to get to know each other better."
A genuine smile. "I'd like that lieutenant. When this is all over, perhaps we can talk. You, me and Jayden." His eyes turned serious again. "I'm not excluding him." A slightly cheeky grin. "He might think I cheat on him you know...can't have that happening, can we?"
Valad chuckled. "We wouldn't want that. That would be great." Valad sighed. "Well, in order for that to happen I best get back to the bridge. I don't want to miss any of the action."
Nathan watched him go until he was out of sight, then he walked back into sickbay, trembling. He shook his head, a determined look in his eyes now. He had work to do, and he would succeed in performing his duties. He only prayed he had the strength.
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 24, 2024 20:59:56 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2009 22:45:50 GMT
OOC: Joint Post Between Myself and Doctor Nathan van Breughel
About an hour after Valad had left sickbay, and he finally had done his rounds, Nathan couldn't put it off any longer. The longer he waited, the deeper his own guilt would run. "Hannah, Donovan, I'll be on the bridge," he announced, while making sure he had his Inaprovaline with him for emergencies. He saw the two nurses exchange surprised glances, but ignored them. He'd be going up alone, without Jayden's support...rather, presence.
A few minutes later, he arrived on the bridge, enveloped in silence, his expression broody and pale. Nathan waited at the back of the bridge, glancing around. Would he announce himself, or merely wait? He was nervous and he felt his heart hammer in his throat, his pulse racing. He leaned back against the bulkhead, his posture tense, his hands jammed in the pockets of his labcoat.
Megan was working at her console when Doctor van Breughel entered. She hadn’t planned on dealing with him just yet, especially since he may have been needed in sickbay, but apparently, he had made the decision for her. Commander Garrett didn’t know whether to be frustrated with him for upsetting plan or appreciate his willingness to face the music, but due to her already high emotions, frustration won.
Rising from her seat, she made her way across the bridge to meet him. “Doctor, let’s speak in the briefing room,” she suggested evenly, barely looking at him as she headed in that direction. She may have been angry, but there was no way she was going to have this conversation on the bridge, as that wouldn’t be appropriate.
Nathan nodded, still silent, appreciative of the fact that she wasn't going to do this in front of everyone. At least someone still respected his right for some privacy, where official matters were concerned. Jayden's public rant was still quite fresh in his memory. He followed her into the briefing room, eyes down-cast. "Ma'am," he murmured, as the doors closed behind him. He still didn't look up to meet her eyes, but waited quietly.
Leading the way, Megan continued to face the window for several moments, trying to gather her thoughts. She hadn’t yet planned what she was going to say, which she generally did. Finally, she took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and turned to face him. “I doubt you have any idea just how dangerous what you did was, on so many levels. Your problem, Doctor, is that you don’t think things through. This has been your downfall more often than I can count, and this is by far the worst example. Your determination to save lives is commendable, but you have to realize that there are numerous other factors to consider. Since you are incapable of understanding these nuances, you have to trust those in authority over you to weigh all of these factors for you and follow orders,” she began keeping her voice very low and even.
The doctor pressed his lips together so hard, they appeared a bloodless thin line. His eyes were wide, a myriad of emotions readable from them. "I know it was dangerous," he confessed, his voice strangely quiet, "I also know that it was what I had to do."
“No, it wasn’t,” Megan replied carefully, fighting to hold her temper. “You only had a ten or fifteen percent chance to even make it in one piece over to the S’Harien. You beamed yourself to a cloaked Romulan warbird while we were both at warp, which is beyond dangerous. It was practically suicide, and your death would have risked even more lives and would have served no purpose other than to leave the Jefferson without a CMO and your family devastated. You say you know that it was dangerous, but I doubt you realized just how dangerous, and that is the problem.”
Breathing hard, Nathan now openly glared at her. "I realize full well what it'd have done to my family," he snapped, "but what I learned far outweighs the danger I willingly put myself in. I didn't die, and I'm here. They haven't laid a finger on me, which I find a very welcome change. I was treated very well, even with a certain amount of deference, which is also quite a welcome change. Of course Sural was less than pleased but otherwise no-one paid me much heed. I was left to tend to what I needed to do, without being hindered. Again, other than by Sural, who locked off all access to our research. I don't trust him, at all."
“And just what did you learn that was worth risking your life, the Jefferson’s safety, and the diplomatic peace between the Romulan Empire and the Federation?” Megan snapped back. “Do you realize that what you did constituted an act of war, and that millions more lives would have been lost in such a war? What you did was foolish and reprehensible, and the fact that you can’t even see that is even more foolish than the act itself. You are becoming a threat, and your self-righteous belief that what you did was right is only further emphasizing that fact. What you did was wrong, on so man levels, and if you can’t see that, perhaps it’s time you consider whether or not you still have a place on the Jefferson or any Federation starship.”
Nathan shrank back a little, before drawing himself up. He explained what he learned, and how he learned it.
Listening coolly, Megan allowed him to finish his analysis with her anger gradually fading at least somewhat. “I believe you allowed your personal feelings to get in the way of your judgment, which considering my own history with the Romulans, I can understand. You didn’t trust Sural to share everything with you, and thought that perhaps we would be left without the antitoxin. Doctor Sural may not have been as open as you would have liked with his methods, but he has already contacted us behind his Commanding Officer’s back, a very dangerous move, which shows his willingness to ensure that the antidote is developed in spite of the cost to himself.”
“Much like you, he risked his life and went against protocol for what he believes, but unlike you, he only risked himself and did not risk starting a war or put his ship in immediate danger. He acted deliberately and cautiously, not rashly or without thinking everything through. I admire your willingness to ensure people’s lives are protected and that an anti-toxin is produced to save them, but your methods leave much to be desired. What you needed to do is share these concerns with us and allow us to make the decision weighing all the factors rather than act impulsively.”
"I have my own share of experience with Romulans," Nathan reminded her, "and not just Jombis. I know not all are like him, or Sural, for fact. I regret having disobeyed orders, and I truly do understand the danger I put myself in." He drew himself up to his full height. "And as I have reported to the bridge, twice now, I also accept the consequences. I could have just not reported in and gone ahead as if nothing had happened. Instead, I chose to report in. When that distress signal came in, I chose to abandon the report to make sure sickbay was ready, and then came back when duty allowed me to. And now, here I am." He spread his hands out before him, defeat on his face. "And I'm still willing to accept whatever you deem is fitting, willingly, and without argument."
Immensely grateful to hear the change in his tone, Megan relaxed somewhat. He was beginning to understand it would seem. “You have shown your willingness to accept the consequences of your actions, and while I appreciate that, I hope that you have learned from this, so that perhaps next time, you will instead consider the consequences before you act, and at least trust myself and Captain Reynolds to make the right decision,” she repeated, hoping desperately that he had learned.
“Now, as for the consequences of your actions, I will delay those for the time being and allow you to remain on duty for the duration of this mission. Following the completion of this mission, you will serve a brig sentence, confinement to your quarters, a period of suspension, and restricted privileges as well. While you are allowed to remain on duty, your restricted privileges begin now, and you are to be confined to quarters when off duty, with the exception of your swimming therapy. If you deviate from this in any way, you will immediately be arrested, begin your brig sentence, and the time period of your incarceration will be extended. Is that clear?”
Breath caught in his throat, Nathan just stared at her in disbelief. And restricted, and confined and a suspension...that was quite something. "But..." he started, and then caught himself. He'd vowed not to argue, he'd keep his word. At least his family wasn't taken from him....yet. "Isolated brig time?" he dared to ask, "or can my family visit..." He dreaded being confined to solitary brig time, he feared being utterly alone.
“If you adhere to your restrictions for the duration of the mission, your family will be allowed to visit you during your confinement to the brig, if not for your sake than for theirs, but if you deviate from these instructions and are arrested, you will then be kept in isolation,” Commander Garrett replied. “I hope that will not be necessary.”
"So do I," he promised. "Believe me, Ma'am, so do I. Permission to return to sickbay?"
“Permission granted,” Megan replied, allowing Nathan to leave, and as the doors closed behind him, sighed in relief. That could have gone a whole lot worse, and she had been afraid for a moment that immediate arrest and brig isolation would have become unavoidable. The First Officer just hoped he would learn from this...
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 24, 2024 20:59:56 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2009 6:38:53 GMT
“Well done, Commander T’Ress. Your modifications appear to be very precise and should work. If at all possible, I would like you to work on extending the frequency range to light up cloaked ships employing a greater variety of warp field calibrations, which would increase its effectiveness and our advantage. Thank you again for your hard work, Commander. It is much appreciated. Commander Garrett”
Tapping his combadge, the feline furrowed his brows. Murmuring to himself, he was slightly confused at the request. He had previously assumed that there would not be any need to extend the range. T’Ress had instead presumed that the helm was going to take over from here, and astrogation was going to place the vessel within sensing distance.
The Caitian engineer had manufactured no provisions for any sort of ‘surgery’ as she was describing to him. Therefore he did the only logical thing – he started to craft up a lie.
“Murr, I should have it finished soon enough. That should not be too difficult, considering the original modifications are functioning normally. Merrow…I should have it done in a few hours at the very most.”
Taking a seat, he thought to himself on just exactly how he was going to pull this off. What she was asking would have taken either a radical readjustment to the actual antenna structure that was within the USS Jefferson’s transmission and reception arrays, or would require a vast increase in the transmitter power. Even a transmatch unit, which would allow the entire metallic content of the ship to be used as an antenna would probably not function probably…and it would most likely be dangerous.
He truly was not sure how he was to keep that promise.
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 24, 2024 20:59:56 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2009 14:46:39 GMT
When Jayden returned from the training with his company, his bad mood still hadn't gone away. What was worse, he had reacted it off on the men and women in his company, and they hadn't deserved such treatment from him. However, they had seen their boss's foul mood, and could only guess at the cause of it.
The marine disappeared into the bathroom without taking notice of anyone present in their quarters, and reappeared half an hour later, still silent. Still not taking any notice, deliberately, he sat himself at the large table and picked up the PADD he'd thrown there earlier. He had performance evaluations to process, and wasn't in a mood to talk to his mate.
"Jayden?"
Jayden didn't take his eyes off the PADD. "Yes Freddy?" He could hardly ignore the child, since the boy was innocent of what was going on, and he couldn't ignore him because of his father's stupidity.
"Why didn't you greet us when you came in? Dad's feeding Angel...you didn't even say hello.."
"I'm busy Freddy."
The boy's face fell, then reached up to tug the man's sleeve. "Jayden?"
Jayden sighed, putting down the PADD. "Yes Freddy?"
"Why're you mad at us?"
The boy was perceptive, for one so young. Jayden sighed again, this time settling dark eyes on the child. "I'm not mad at you son," he explained gently, "I just have a lot of work to do."
"But dad..." Freddy fell silent; it was clear that Jayden wasn't angry with him, or with Angel...but it was something his dad had done. "Dad's in trouble isn't he?"
The marine nodded. "Why don't you go to your room for a while?" he suggested, though it was clear it wasn't a suggestion. He watched the boy go, then without a word took Angel from Nathan's arms and put her to bed. When that was done, he returned to reading his evaluations. Only one distraction remained, and at present he felt he might just be able to ignore that one.
Nathan on the other hand, couldn't bear the silence any longer. He'd returned home from his shift in sickbay, directly as had been ordered. And after sending his progress report to the bridge, with the request to send the results to Govan Echal as well. He'd made a breakthrough, insofar immunity on the Bajorans was concerned, and felt confident that from there, he could create at least a vaccine that was safe for all species.
The doctor rose from the couch and joined his husband at the table. "Jayden?" he asked softly, trying to catch his attention.
"What is it Nathan," the younger man replied quietly, though clearly angry.
"I'm sorry." Nathan reached out, covering Jayden's hand with his own. "I know it was stupid.."
Jayden slammed the PADD down on the table, not missing his husband's flinch. "Damn right it was stupd," he snapped, eyes blazing in fury. "Did you ever think of us, when you went? Why didn't you go to Captain Reynolds with your concerns. I thought he was your friend..."
"He is," Nathan replied softly, looking away, "I don't know why. Other than trying to save you all. But now I can." He walked around the table and wrapped his arms around Jayden's shoulders.
The younger man broke away, lashing out. His hand stung fiercely as it connected with the older man's cheek. Instantly, he regretted having done so, after seeing the look in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. But your stupidity made me so mad. I heard you went to talk to Commander Garrett...I take it she was mild on you?"
Tears in his eyes, Nathan shook his head. "No. I'm restricted to quarters outside duty hours, though I can go for my swim. Once we return to starbase, I'm relieved of duty and to be confined to the brig. I don't know for how long. However if I defy any further orders, and deviate from my restrictions, I'm to be arrested immediately, and sentenced to solitary confinement. I have no intention of defying any further orders. I don't want to be seperated from you."
Jayden sighed; he couldn't stay angry for too long. Not when he saw his mate's misery. He kissed the cheek he'd slapped only seconds ago, before wrapping his arms around him. "At least you're getting sensible now," he concluded, "and I think it was quite brave to go face her on your own. It could've gone worse, you know."
"I know." Nathan was relieved that Jayden talked to him again. Quietly, he kissed him back. "And I am sorry Jayden, I truly am."
Jayden knew, of course, attuned as he was to the Human that he loved so dearly. "Just do me a favour? Next time, give me a warning, so I can try and stop you?"
"You have my word. I'm going to the pool after dinner, swim this tension off. I haven't been feeling very well since returning, though I am feeling better now. I'm glad we've resolved this. We have, right?"
"We have." Jayden drew him into a tight hug. "I'll go tell Freddy I'm not mad anymore. You should take him on your swim." He smiled tightly. "I'll join you later with Angel. I know your swims are supposed to be training, but we migh as well get some family time out of it. I'll inform the commander that I'll be with you, so that it won't be seen as defying orders."
As Nathan went to talk to his son, Jayden called to the bridge. "Commander Garrett...how much stretch do we have on Nathan's detention? Can we turn it in a little family time, please?"
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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 Sept 15, 2009 2:59:00 GMT
"Well, the moon is the same location as the outpost. It’s hard to believe these two messages could be unrelated, so I advise caution. But if Commander Paragon is telling the truth, the Romulans may be more involved in what’s going on than we’d previously believed, which makes this situation even more dangerous. Not that we ever trusted them to begin with, but now more than ever, we do need to be wary.”
"I agree, but I find it hard to believe that a Starfleet officer would work on such a lethal toxin even under duress. It wouldn't take a genius to guess what Romulans would do with such a weapon," Matt said worried that they were walking into a very dangerous trap.
=/\=Bridge, sickbay reports ready for casualties,=/\= Doctor van Breughel reported
“I will deal with him, Sir, just not right now. We may need him in sickbay, and I doubt he’ll be allowed there for awhile after I’ve spoken with him”
"Do as you wish Commander. Nathan is one hell of a doctor and sometimes that calling makes him blind to the obvious, but that does not excuse him from putting the entire crew and himself in that type of danger. I doubt he was even thinking of his children when he transported to the warbird," Matt mused quietly so that only Megan would be able to here him.
“If the Romulans are behind this toxin, the diplomatic ramifications become much more complex. In spite of what we know they are capable of, it’s hard to believe that the Romulan government would sanction tests on their own people even if it did make their innocence more plausible. This could be a splinter group or an underground faction or else their authorized testing got out of hand. It’s hard to say for certain.”
"I'll be frank and say that I hope it is a splinter group because if the Romulan Senate sanctioned these test we are in a lot more danger than we previously thought," Matt said knowing that if the Senate was willingly to sacrifice thier own citizens they would surely do much worse to Federation citizens. Both officers knew that there answers would be answered in a matter of hours and it would be prudent for them to prepare themselves anything. Something that was still troubling Matt was the cryptic message of Commander Paragon. Hopefully his file would give him some answers, but he also knew that Starfleet personal files were not as reliable as they once were.
"Commander Garrett, I think you should also take your advice and take a short break," Matt said still grateful at how well Megan took care of the ship while he was dealing with his personal issues," I could order you to leave, but I would rather not."
(Megan)
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 24, 2024 20:59:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2009 5:57:22 GMT
The silence seemed to stretch for hours, when in reality, it was only a few seconds. Glancing back in Dor’vel’s direction, the Centurion simply shook his head. “We’ve lost the signal, Commander,” he reported. “I am unable to determine whether it was terminated at the source or lost unintentionally, and I was also unable to trace it.”
With a scowl on his face, Govan considered his options. This Raltorr was a loose cannon it would seem… He could only hope that somehow the transmission had been lost rather than terminated due to something he had said. This mission just kept getting more complicated, and Echal wanted desperately for it to be all over.
“Sir, I just discovered an unauthorized transmission to the Jefferson from sickbay,” Dor’vel reported, fingers flying across his console and face set in an angry scowl.
“How did that human manage to contact his vessel with security trailing him?” he demanded. For a civilian, Nathan van Breughel certainly caused enough trouble...
His jaw clenched, Dor’vel replied, “The transmission occurred after his departure.”
It took a moment for Echal to process this, before his eyes blazed with fury. “Trace it back to the exact console and pull up the logs to determine what was exchanged.”
=/\=Commander Echal, the human is off the ship,=/\= came the comm call from Lhoell.
“Good riddance...” Echal grumbled to himself before actually replying. “Understood, Lieutenant, report to the bridge,” he added almost absentmindedly before heading toward the tactical console to have a brief word with the Chief, Centurion Dor’vel.
<Tag Taev>
“When the Lieutenant arrives, have him take over your console. I want you to deal with the unauthorized transmission personally. Try to keep it as quiet as possible, and report directly to me. I want to know what happened before Intelligence gets wind of this, that is if they haven’t already. Make this your top priority, Centurion.”
With a somber nod, Dor’vel continued to operate his console until Taev’s arrival, but although his expression was as composed and inscrutable as usual, his eyes were blazing with the same fury as Echal’s. Contacting the enemy was unacceptable.
Knowing the chance of keeping Tevio in the dark was slim, Govan decided to give him another task to perhaps delay the discovery. Fortunately, he actually did have something for the Legate to do. “Echal to Ch’varak, we have received a message from someone named Raltorr. See what you can pull up on this name and attempt to identify him. I’m transmitting the record of the call to your office now,” he added.
<Tag Tevio>
Mind distracted by the prospect of a traitor among them, Govan sat glowering at the screen. How dare someone go behind his back like that...it was unspeakable, and whoever was responsible would pay for it. In this one instance, he supposed a Commander should be working with the Intel department, but Tal Shiar training ran deep. Trusting the Tal Diann just didn’t come naturally or really even occur to him.
“Sir, we have an incoming transmission from the Jefferson,” the operations officer reported, pausing a moment before adding, “They are making a course correction.”
“Did they give a reason?” Govan demanded, rising from his chair to stand behind the helm and ops stations. He needed much more information than just a heading.
“No, Sir,” the Sub Lieutenant replied. “They merely provided us with the new course. However, the heading is very close to our previous course. It’s a minor adjustment.”
“Make the adjustment, but keep an eye on them. I want to know if they make too many more. I don’t want to be gradually led around without additional information.”
“Aye, Sir,” the helmsman replied, dropping the warbird out of warp, changing their heading, and then resuming warp speed as Echal returned to his command chair.
As he waited for Taev to arrive, Dor’vel to discover what happened, and perhaps reestablished communication with this Raltorr, the focus of his mind was revenge, revenge against the traitor, van Breughel, and especially, revenge against Garrett.
<Tag All>
~
Govan couldn’t believe it…everything actually checked out with this unbelievable story. Lieutenant Megan Garrett was a scientific officer at Starfleet Command as a research scientist. Her record was boringly clean. She had a general degree in science and engineering as well as a bunch of other certificates. It read like some kind of nerd with six years at the Academy and several published scientific papers in multiple subjects. There was absolutely nothing to indicate anything suspicious.
Even the stuff found on her when she was captured screamed science nerd. Most of it was for conducting scientific analysis and anything even remotely stealth-like appeared to have been assembled from non-intel technology and modified to keep someone concealed. From what they could gather, someone with an engineering degree and no intelligence experience could easily have constructed the devices, which fit perfectly with her bio. Amazingly, it was adding up to her telling the truth.
Now came the hard part...he had to actually tell that to Sub-Colonel Kalad and not end up dead. Striding into the office once he had been summoned, Echal stopped across from the base XO with his hands folded behind his back but remained silent.
“Ah, Centurion, am I to assume that you’ve reached a conclusion?” Kalad asked, the sly look on his face reminding Govan of just how dangerous his answer could be.
“Yes, Sir,” Echal replied, not volunteering the information just yet, to stall for just a few more seconds of time to debate what he would say before committing to this.
The smile spreading somewhat, the Sub-Colonel casually leaned back in his chair. “And what, pray tell, have you determined about our unexpected guest, Centurion?”
Taking a slow breath, Govan braced himself before replying. “Well, Sir, as ridiculous a story as it is, it’s almost crazy enough to be true. Not only that, but everything I found seems to corroborate her story. I can find no evidence to the contrary, which is difficult to believe would occur unless she was telling the truth. I have done all I could do to find anything to disprove it but came up with nothing,” Echal reported somberly, hesitating before adding, “and though I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but I generally get a feel for people, and I didn’t detect any deception from her.”
Kalad stared unblinkingly at him for several moments, and Govan could practically feel himself sinking into the floor and his life ending. Finally, a tiny smirk crossed his superior’s lips. “The Colonel and I came to the same conclusions separately,” he finally stated, letting the Centurion off the hook. “It is a highly unusual and very unbelievable position, but as you stated before, it doesn’t change what has to be done. In spite of all evidence pointing to the contrary, we can’t just let a Federation officer waltz onto one of our bases without treating that person as an enemy of the Empire and ensuring that the security and safety of our information is maintained.”
Knowing where this was going, Echal nodded mutely. He had already volunteered for this before realizing just what he’d gotten into exactly. This would now fall onto him. “In spite of our belief that she is actually telling the truth here, she still must be interrogated as if we didn’t believe her, and I believe you did volunteer for that.”
“I did,” Govan confirmed. There was no point in denying it. “However, I must stress that this won’t be as easy as it would seem. The only thing harder than interrogating a well trained operative is interrogating a weak person with no training whatsoever. It is far too easy to break them completely to the point of uselessness, or outright killing them accidentally. It is a very delicate and precarious balance to achieve.”
“I understand this. Use your discretion and do what needs to be done. If an accident occurs, it was most likely unavoidable. Whatever technique you determine to be the best, we will trust your judgment. I personally wouldn’t know where to begin.”
Govan could barely believe what he was hearing. High ranking operatives almost never spoke like this with someone beneath their rank. Clearly, this was a highly unusual situation for him to be shown so much trust and be spoken to so candidly. “Thank you for your faith and trust in me, as well as your honesty,” Echal replied.
Dismissing his gratitude with a wave of his hand, Kalad simple added. “Well good luck, Centurion. I believe you will need it, and keep us updated on your progress.”
“Of course,” Govan responded, bowing slightly as he left the office. As nice as it was to have such strangely obvious support from his superiors, Echal still felt like he was under a microscope. And if he screwed this up, he’d still be paying for it…
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 24, 2024 20:59:56 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2009 18:45:37 GMT
Sural listened to what was happening around him. The name Raltorr rang a bell but not a very distinct one. Something to do with Core. "Raltorr... Check for records on Galorndon Core. I dont't know why but that seems familiar. Either way if he has the toxin then that would put an end to our troubles. I could either render it inert, synthesis more, reprogramme the target species, make the efficacy of the vaccine greater. The options are very much in our court. Well by Ours I of course mean yours Commander"
By the time Raltorr had worked himself clear of Karmeks he realised that he was running short on time. He knew that he couldnt use Wintrows ship, the jeffferson already knew that ships ion trail. Quickly he scouted about for a better option. The choice was limited. The outpost had a small mid range shuttle and a work bee. Neither had the offensive or the defensive capabilities of their old ship but beggars could not be choosers. He opted for the shuttle and quickly both broke in and cracked the lock out codes. Firing up the thrusters he headed for orbit. As he did so he sent a seconded encrypted call to the S'Harien.
"This is Raltorr. I am space side and on my way to you. I m in a shuttle so you better keep that Starfleet ship off me."
TAG Govan
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 24, 2024 20:59:56 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2009 6:51:32 GMT
This did not look good... As Megan read through the service record of Commander Wintrow Paragon, the last pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. Clearly, he was not an innocent victim in all of this. The Commander had gone rogue over six years ago, murdering the entire crew of his ship by releasing a deadly virus into their air supply and was also suspected of being responsible for numerous other biological agents used in attacks across Federation space. No, there had been no coercion here, and the Jefferson could very easily be walking into some kind of trap.
"Commander Garrett, I think you should also take your advice and take a short break,” Captain Reynolds suggested from directly behind her, startling the Commander out of her thoughts. “I could order you to leave, but I would rather not," he added.
Fighting to keep a grimace from crossing her face, Megan nodded before giving her report on what she’d discovered. “I’ve been researching Commander Paragon’s record, which actually wasn’t very easy to find. There is very little chance he was telling the truth. He has a great deal of expertise in biological warfare, and there is an outstanding warrant out for his arrest due to an attack on his own crew, which resulted in their deaths. He’s also been suspected of supplying biological weapons to the highest bidder ever since then. It is highly unlikely he has not willingly played a part in these attacks, and we might very well be his next target,” she cautioned.
<Tag Matt>
“I recommend we have Major Johnson assemble a small detachment to go in and take Commander Paragon into custody. Since it may be a trap, the Marines may be the best choice for such a precarious assignment. I received a new report from Doctor van Breughel, and it looks like he is quite close to developing a vaccine. If the company heads to sickbay first to be inoculated and adheres to all preventative measures the doctor suggests, they should hopefully be able to retrieve him with no casualties. Then it’s only a matter of determining whether he was working alone.”
<Tag Matt>
“Major Johnson, please report to the bridge,” Megan ordered through the comm as she turned back to her console. He would need time to make preparations before their arrival at the moon based outpost, not to mention the requisite trip to sickbay.
<Tag Cyle>
The next step was contacting Nathan and ensuring he was in sickbay ready for the Marine detachment and with at least a trial antidote. Unfortunately, her plans were interrupted by Corporal Mitchell’s call. =/\=Commander Garrett, how much stretch do we have on Nathan's detention? Could we turn it in a little family time, please?=/\=
Wincing slightly at that, she tapped her commbadge and replied, “Normally, I would allow that, Corporal, but I’m afraid I need to request the doctor’s return to sickbay. However, I will ensure that you receive some family time before he begins his brig sentence at the conclusion of the mission,” Megan promised in way of consolation.
"Understood ma'am. I'll send him back to sickbay in a few minutes. He's only just fed Angel, and he does need some rest. He should be back on duty in roughly fifteen minutes. Is that acceptable?" After signing off, Jayden put the bad news to his husband, who in turn sighed and nodded sadly. Fifteen minutes and the odd amount of seconds later, he walked back into sickbay, looking a little more rested, but none the happier.
The First Officer felt bad for the doctor’s family...they hadn’t done anything wrong, and yet they had to deal with the consequences right along with him. At least they weren’t planning a funeral...Shaking her head to dismiss these thoughts, Megan stood from her console to speak with Cyle, since he had just arrived on the bridge.
“Major, I need you to assemble a small group of your officers for an away mission. We have received a distress call from the person responsible for these attacks, so this may be a trap. Once you’ve assembled a team, report to sickbay and have the doctor administer his latest antidote and anything else he feels necessary to keep you protected from the toxin. Once we arrive, your team will deploy to the moon’s surface, proceed to locate the target, and then take the Commander into custody.”
<Tag Cyle>
Once the Major had left the bridge, Megan moved back to the center of the bridge to speak with the Captain. As much as she hated to leave, she was well aware that the Captain would not just let his ‘suggestion’ that she take a break go, and since they were several hours away from their destination, it was better now than later...
“I’ll be back before we arrive,” Megan informed the Captain reluctantly before she headed for the turbolift. She would take a break, but it certainly wouldn’t be long.
<Tag Matt>
Ordering the turbolift to her quarters, Commander Garrett sighed heavily. The last thing she wanted right now was to be alone with her thoughts, but she’d been on duty too long to continue avoiding this. Megan was actually extremely hungry, but unfortunately, she tended to eat so quickly, that wouldn’t take anywhere near long enough to keep herself distracted. Still, she would just have to make the best of it.
Entering her quarters, the First Officer moved to stand in front of the replicator and just stared at the panel for a moment trying to decide what she wanted. Unfortunately, nothing immediately came to mind. Finally, frustrated with herself, Megan just settled on something simple: a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup…comfort food.
After taking a sip of milk and a bite of the sandwich, the Commander leaned back in the chair and stared at the wall. It was good, but she was just too preoccupied to enjoy it. It was almost like she was being haunted and by a very unpleasant ghost.
~
She had been in this room for nearly thirty hours, but she had plenty to be grateful for in spite of this. It would appear that she had been classified as what was often known as a soft target, and therefore, was being treated very carefully. It wouldn’t last for long, but the longer it did, the better. So far, the interrogation had consisted of being asked question after question in a very warm room with no food or water.
Of course by now, Megan was absolutely exhausted, hungry, and thirsty, but she’d forced herself to hold up better than expected. She would need to use her presumed weakness later, when she really needed it. Of course, she hadn’t held up too well, feigning confusion every once in awhile, pretending to fight back tears and try not to fall completed apart, all while still saying exactly what she intended to stay and sticking entirely to the story. All in all, the Lieutenant felt that she’d acted brilliantly and pulled it off. By now, she was actually starting to have trouble staying awake and remembering what she was supposed to say, but it all fit into the act perfectly.
This interrogator knew what he was doing. He had asked her about everything from her childhood to the present, scientific questions he probably didn’t even understand to basic facts, all in seemingly random order and many repeated unexpectedly. It was all designed to trip her up and catch her in a lie, but what he didn’t know was that she had been very well trained for exactly this kind of scenario. Compared to what was most likely to come, this was a piece of cake...too bad not actual cake...
Fortunately, after such a long time, she was beginning to pick up traces of fatigue from him as well. More likely than not, he had just as much training for this as she had, not to mention he had enough warning to get some rest and take supplement hyposprays to help him stay awake, even keep him from getting hungry or thirsty, but no one was immune to sitting in a room hour after hour, even the interrogator.
Finally, it seemed to come to an end, as an officer arrived to escort her back to the cell. The look on the interrogator’s face was semi-perplexed and semi-frustrated. Megan knew perfectly well that they were looking for something, anything to prove she wasn’t who she claimed, and she was determined not to give it to them. One slip-up and the ‘soft’ interrogation would end, and no amount of training could get her or any normal, flesh-and-blood person through a long period of hard interrogation.
As she rose to her feet, she intentionally stumbled as if her knees gave out, throwing herself right into the interrogator’s path. Instinctively, he caught her before she hit the ground, looking startled, and she curled her fingers into his uniform desperately and gazed up at him with big, wide eyes. “Thank you,” she murmured, blinking back tears as the guard jerked her away from him to the door to lead her back to the cell.
It was all she could do to keep the triumphant smile off her face. She’d seen it, the tiniest of flickers in his stone cold, non-phased expression. It had been there several times throughout their conversation, but this had been the most obvious. All it took was a few of those tiny moments, where for the briefest of seconds he felt bad for her, and she would begin to get to him, to get under his skin, which would make it that much harder for him to do his job as well as he normally would. And that little bit of hesitation, holding back just the slightest bit of effort, would allow her to survive.
As she arrived back in the cell, also a good sign as it was just a regular level cell, she threw herself on the bench and closed her eyes, pretending to be too tired to even cry. The hum of a transport startled her quickly into a seated position, only for her to discover that a tray of food and water had been beamed in for her. This was an even better sign, and as she happily dug into the food, nothing special, just warm water, somewhat stale bread, and thin soup, Megan felt very confident.
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 24, 2024 20:59:56 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2009 13:47:43 GMT
In truth, Tevio was still furious. In his mind, he saw that he had missed a great opportunity, a moment that should've provided him with the most fortune of circumstance had instead resolved itself to be a narrow miss. These missed chances were what made or break a career, certainly on a personal level, and this latest failure - as he perceived it to be - would not be forgotten so easily, no matter how much punching and kicking of innocent bystanders he gave out.
He snapped his carry case shut and pulled it from his desk, then turned to an attendant. "Have Mavak ready on the bridge. He needs to make sure the matter stream is not detected by Echal's controllers."
The attendant nodded, glancing down at a display before him. "I doubt they will find it, Legate. Seeing the latest information, there have been numerous communications which should keep them occupied. Including one unauthorised message sent from the S'Harien to the Jefferson. And two transmissions now from the colony ahead."
Tevio raised both eyebrows, seething a little. "Why wasn't I told of this before?"
“Echal to Ch’varak, we have received a message from someone named Raltorr. See what you can pull up on this name and attempt to identify him. I’m transmitting the record of the call to your office now."
Fast becoming fed up with his misfortune, the Legate dropped the carry case on the desk. It popped open, spilling the contents over the black surface as if to confirm his bad luck. "This is... remarkable," he observed coolly. "Never have I experienced such bad timing, with the potential for such fortune... Everything just seems chronologically off." He noticed the attendant's reaction at his candid manner.
"It doesn't matter, surely, sir? I will search the records for you, if you wish."
"Do it," Tevio sighed. He packed his carry case up again and stood off to the side, waiting for the transporter beam to take him. Without incident, the Intel chief dissolved from the room in the green of the transporter. He appeared on the Jefferson, the fast acting beaming process dissipated and he looked around. As requested he had been placed in an unoccupied maintenance junction. Offering silent thanks to the S'Harien's bio-sensors, he moved within the dark recesses of the room, using the functions built into his scanning device to search for the nearest lifesigns. Presuming he had been dropped on the right part of the ship, then sickbay was not far away.
The Legate entered a maintenance tube, its tight confines making the movement within it difficult. To say he wasn't accustomed to this was an understatement. He traversed its length and stopped at the hatch at its end. The tube came out on a length of corridor. According to his sensory equipment, the passageway was unoccupied.
Or perhaps not, Tevio thought, as he saw a person turning the corner at the right-end of the corridor, just as he was opening the hatch. He waited for the person to pass by - luckily they had not noticed the opening hatch - and cursed the effectiveness of his scanner. Perhaps this had been a mistake. Was it really necessary? Presuming he was on the deck above sickbay, then when he entered the place there was no guarantee that van Breughel would be alone. And if there was somebody else there then there could be a problem, as he'd discovered the scanning equipment could not be trusted, there could be no assurances whatsoever people-wise.
Still under the shadow of his sensor-blind, the one that prevented the Jefferson's intruder alarms from activating, Tevio slipped through the next junction. Now, if he was correct, he was right above sickbay.
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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 Sept 17, 2009 1:11:50 GMT
“I’ve been researching Commander Paragon’s record, which actually wasn’t very easy to find. There is very little chance he was telling the truth. He has a great deal of expertise in biological warfare, and there is an outstanding warrant out for his arrest due to an attack on his own crew, which resulted in their deaths. He’s also been suspected of supplying biological weapons to the highest bidder ever since then. It is highly unlikely he has not willingly played a part in these attacks, and we might very well be his next target,” she cautioned.
"I wasn't able to find any relevant information on the man, but I should have known you would be able to find something as quickly as you did," Matt said wanting to hide his surprise about Paragon's past. The fact that he was wanted for the murder of his entire crew confirmed Matt's belief that this was not going to be a rescue mission.
“I recommend we have Major Johnson assemble a small detachment to go in and take Commander Paragon into custody. Since it may be a trap, the Marines may be the best choice for such a precarious assignment. I received a new report from Doctor van Breughel, and it looks like he is quite close to developing a vaccine. If the company heads to sickbay first to be inoculated and adheres to all preventative measures the doctor suggests, they should hopefully be able to retrieve him with no casualties. Then it’s only a matter of determining whether he was working alone.”
"I agree, but I doubt that he is working alone," Matt said already thinking of the Romulans in the area," once the Marines are inoculated, I want the rest of the crew to be given the vaccine. While I have full confidence in our success, I don't want to risk anyone falling to this virus."
Matt let Megan do her job and carry out the orders that had been agreed upon, but he couldn't but help and listen onto the brief conversation she was having with Jayden. Jayden was everything a commanding officer wanted in a soldier. He was a fierce and loyal man who would do everything in his power to carry out the orders given to him and make sure the people he cared about. Even though he would suffer because of Nathan it was necessary.
“I’ll be back before we arrive,” Megan said.
"I know you will, in fact I'm sure you will come back as quickly as possible," Matt said recognizing something in Megan that was very familiar. Once the first officer made her reluctant exit, Matt made sure to familiarize himself with everything that was going on with the ship. He knew that it would take a few hours to catch up on everything but he was determined to do all of his work on the bridge.
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Valad Tavik
Lt. Commander
Registered: Sept 11, 2008 4:29:47 GMT
Posts: 180
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Post by Valad Tavik on Sept 17, 2009 6:07:28 GMT
OOC: A joint post between myself and Captain Reynolds
After a short while, Valad found himself back on the bridge. Walking on quietly, almost stealthily, Valad took his station again. He peered back behind him and found that the Commander was gone, but Captain Reynolds was sitting there. Valad turned back around and continued his scanning.
Matt was half expecting to see Megan walking back onto the bridge, but he was pleasantly surprised to see Valad Tavik taking his station again. Matt knew that the young Lieutenant had yet to actually take a break like he was ordered to by Commander Garrett, but as a former operations chief Matt knew that it wasn’t easy to leave when things were uncertain.
"Coming back to work early I see Lieutenant?” Matt asked already knowing what his answer was going to be.
Valad smiled. . . . . crap . . . he thought to himelf. "Uh, yes sir. I couldn't sleep and I needed to make sure the scans were going properly." Valad turned to face the Captain. "Did I miss anything important, sir?"
“If it had, I one have been the one to call you to the bridge,” Matt said easily remembering that he used the exact same excuse many times when he was a young Lieutenant,” as for you coming back to work, I don’t find anything wrong with it as long as you got enough rest. Did you get enough rest Lieutenant?”
Did he get enough rest? Of course not, but he wasn't about to get off the bridge. "Of course. I had a little bite to eat and I'm energized and ready to go." It wasn't a far stretch, though he could use a couple hours sleep. "So far, not much has changed with regards to the S'Harien."
“Alright Lieutenant, you can come back on duty, but if your performance starts to slip I better not be the one to tell you to get some rest. Is that understood?” Matt said before moving onto the S’Harien,” as for the warship our scans have been continuous and there is nothing out of the ordinary.”
"Aye sir." Valad turned back around and continued scanning. He thought about bringing up what had happened before he left. "So what do you make of the messages? This whole situation seems to be coming round on itself." Valad picked up a change. "The S'Harien just shifted, but I have them again. A simple reverse polarization this time."
“I think things are out of our control now which means that we have to be extra careful as for the S’Harien I think Echal has to deal with many more problem that we have to,” Matt said surprised at the level of questions the young officer was asking him,” Lieutenant why did the warbird just shift? There shifting has been predictable until now, I want to know why they decided to change now.”
Valad tried a bit of sarcasm. "I'd say ask him, but we all know that wouldn't be a very good idea." Valad paused for a moment, scanning for anything out of the ordinary. "I'm not picking up anything. They might just have felt like doing something. They don't know we can scan them."
“Which is why I’m worried,” Matt said as he looked at his console,” Romulans don’t do anything for the hell of it. On a ship as valuable as the S’Harien there is a reason for everything. Lieutenant since we can now scan them, are we capable of detecting their scans?”
"Not anything that we wouldn't normally be able to pick up, Captain." Valad was almost surprised at the Captain's question, but he did have an idea. "That being said, I might be able to reconfigure the sensors to pick up any sort of small energy signature. That might at least tip us off." Valad looked at his sensors once more before responding. "But it would have to be a precise calculation and the entire sensor grid would have to be realigned if they repolarized or made another shift."
“Lieutenant, I want you to input all the data we have in the reconfigured sensors at the exact time the S’Harien made their change,” Matt said hoping he was just being overly cautious but he doubted it,” I want to know if anything happened near the S’Harien or on the Jefferson.”
“Nothing!” Matt said in a relieved but frustrated tone. He had studied the Romulan psyche for a long time and all of his study told him that they were missing something,” alright I guess I’m being paranoid, but I would like for you to run a deck by deck scan of the ship. I doubt that whoever is behind the attack is going to wait for us to arrive.”
~A deck by deck scan~ Valad thought to himelf. That's a little much. "Captain, with all due respect, we don't have any reason to make a deck by deck scan. Do you think we have an intruder aboard, sir?"
“I know Lieutenant, I’m sounding like a scared schoolboy but my gut is telling me that we are missing something very important,” Matt said,” since this mission started things have not gone the way logic says they should. It seems we are always one step behind and are pawns in the big picture and personally I don’t like that one bit.”
Valad couldn't blame him. This whole mission seemed like it was planned. "Aye sir. Scan in progress." Valad scanned for about fifteen minutes. "I'm not picking up anything out of the . . . . " Valad stopped short. "Maybe this will turn something up. I am picking up some unusual energy readings on Deck Six, but I can't localize it. I best get down there and check it out."
“I will be joining you, Lieutenant,” Matt said after the long silence hoping that they would find something to that would prove Matt right,” Reynolds to Garrett, I will be investigating some unusual reading on Deck 6. This does not mean you have to come back to work, but I’m just making you aware of what I’m going to be doing for the next few minutes.”
(tag Megan)
Valad got up and moved to the turbolift. When they were inside, Valad smiled and asked jokingly, "Captain, isn't there some sort of Starfleet regulation or protocol that says you aren't allowed to investigate strange anomalies? I'm sure it's in there somewhere."
“I have to be honest and say that I personally do not like Romulans,” Matt said surprised that he was being so open with his young operations officer, “I learned very early that the Romulan Star Empire cannot be trusted and for that matter most Romulans themselves. Did you know that I was punched the Ambassador to the Empire here on the Jefferson, I got demoted for it, but at that time I didn’t really care."
Valad was a bit surprised. "Really? I'm sure you had a valid reason?" It was a bit personal, but Valad was trying to get to know Captain Reynolds better.
“We were both vying for the attention of a certain crewmember,” Matt said embarrassed at how he had actually acted,” my demotion was the first action performed by the new commanding officer at that time. In the end however I became close to both men, who I consider friends. To be frank my true disdain for Romulans comes from their actions towards the Jefferson herself. They have killed many of my crewmembers and tortured them freely as well. Anyways what about yourself Lieutenant, you have been on the ship for a few a while now and I feel like I don’t know you very well. How about you tell me something about yourself and vice versa.”
"There's not much to tell about me personally." It was too far from the truth. ~Who am I kidding? Its a lie.~ Valad shook his head to himself. "My father was at one point a Starfleet officer but left to serve in a smuggling service. He was killed just before I entered the academy. I don't trust many people. . ."
From all his experience as a Starfleet officer and person, Matt knew when he was being lied to , but there was malice in these lies. Whatever happened to Valad, it was painful and extremely hurtful. “I’m sorry to hear about your father, I personally cannot say that I understand what you are going through, but I have to say that he had a great son who is doing great things in Starfleet,” Matt said fully believing in his statement,” I will also advice you to trust some people here on the Jefferson. It doesn’t necessarily have to be myself or Commander Garrett, but I can assure you that on this ship is a hard working person that has only enriched my life and they can do the same for you.”
"I'll try." The lift opened to reveal Deck six. "After you sir.
“What do you do on your free time Lieutenant and please don’t tell me its work related or I’ll be forced to order you to take a long break once we are done with this mission,” Matt said as he stepped out of the lift and onto Deck 6. He knew that he was always safe on the Jefferson, but his gut told was telling him to be ready for anything,” you do have a hobby right?”
Valad did have to chuckle a bit. "I like to play around in the holodeck. You know, try a variety of programs, anywhere from Twenty-first century sports to Klingon calisthenics. Anything for a good rush. I've also taken up writing and learning how to play the guitar."
"Are you talking about a twenty first century guitar?" Matt asked surprised how much they had in common. What made him smile the most was the fact that he enjoyed Klingon calisthenics. What would really make his day, if he liked to spar.
"Yes sir!" Valad was almost shocked by the Captain's surprise. "Do you know how to play the guitar?"
“I know how to play, but I’m not good at all,” Matt said ashamed to admit how bad he was at the guitar,” I can play other instruments, but I could never master any stringed instruments.”
"This is my first go at it." Valad said. As they rounded the corner, he said, "This is where the sensors picked up the energy readings." He opened his tricorder and began scanning. "There seems to a dispersion field here.
Sensing that the time for small talk was over, Matt put his attention to his tricorder and began to scan the entire area around them. The fact that there was a dispersion field worried Matt tremendously and whoever had created the field was very good. “We need to find the source of the dispersion field which will help us determine who created this thing,” Matt said regretting the fact that they failed to bring any weapons with them.
"I think there might be something here. Hang on." Valad reextrapolated the signal that was being dispersed. "Captain, I could be wrong, but this looks like a transporter signature." He looked up at Captain Reynolds.
“Captain Reynolds to bridge…..Reynolds to bridge reply,” Matt said as he tapped his combadge, but when no response came he knew that someone had disabled the communications system on the deck. Hoping not to force the intruders hands, Matt quickly stopped his scans and informed Valad to follow him out. “We’ll be going to the bridge now, Lieutenant.”
"Captain, if I can get this deck back online, we should be able to detect whoever it is onboard. Though it wouldn't be a bad idea to send security down here." Valad looked at Captain Reynolds confidently. "I can handle things until security gets here."
"No, Lieutenant, I want this deck to be emptied and I doubt that we will be able to find whoever this is with our sensors," Matt said not willing to risk his Operations Chief's saftey to find the intruder," I don't doubt that you can take care of yourself, but these are my orders. Is that understood?"
"Aye sir." He led the way to the turbolift. He stopped just short, thinking of the doctor. "Captain, sickbay is below this deck. This intruder might be here to attack the doctor, since he was just over on the S'Harien."
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 24, 2024 20:59:56 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2009 21:53:19 GMT
JP between Tevio and Nathan. Don't rescue just yet...this is a two parter. part two will follow tomorrow.
ON: Nathan had returned to sickbay, grudgingly, to continue is efforts on the anti-toxin. He had a trial version of it, of which results had shown to be very promising in simulations. As ordered, he was now preparing hyposprays for the crew. However, he was also working on an aerosol component, which could be spread through the ship's ventilation ducts. After he had completed his final testings, he moved to his office to process the results and finalise his reports. At his feet, Tibbe lay snoring soundly, and he was pleased for the cat's company.
Tevio perked up. He had been stationary above the sickbay for over ten minutes now, surveying it, looking for the person for which he had come. No sight of him, until now. Shifting from the recess he had discovered next to the grating in the CMO office ceiling, he peered down at his target. It was difficult staying quiet, and indeed staying alert, but now that his 'quarry' had entered the place it was time for action.
*Raising on his haunches and slipping a hand behind his back, Tevio removed a miniature vial from a pocket. Finding the ventilation control for the sickbay, he placed the vial in the system's workings and watched it get to work. If he was correct on the Jefferson CMO's physiology - information garnered from records - then it should temporarily incapacitate all the sickbay staff except for him.
In a flash, Tevio had dropped through the grating and was now facing van Breughel, while all around in the rest of the sickbay, staff were clutching their necks and falling into a temporary sleep. Instantly Tevio unholstered his weapon, slipping it from his utility belt with a click and holding it level at the Doctor's chest.
Unaware of what was going on, Nathan at first didn't notice the Romulan pointing a weapon at him. Only when Tibbe started hissing, did he look up. He remained seated and motionless at the sight of the weapon, though his expression tightened. He waited silently, realising that calling out was useless.
The Romulan recognised with a thin smile that van Breughel was looking at his disruptor. "For my own protection, you'll understand," he explained, "I need some insurance against you calling your ship's security. Suffice it is to say that eliminating you is not within my plans. I bring only information. Stand." Tevio motioned with the disruptor.
Slowly, Nathan rose. He wasn't going to argue with someone who was aiming a weapon at him. “I'm no threat to you,” he offered softly, “I am not a combatant, I'm a doctor.”
"Of course not," Tevio scoffed, as if it was obvious that he knew the Doctor could not harm him. "Still, you'll forgive my race for our distrust, especially when it comes to the Federation. Now..." He led van Breughel to the wall, the Legate knowing that he did not have much time before the sedative used on the medical staff wore off. "...Concerning a certain... incident, in your past I have something of interest to report. Your brother, a diplomat, ambassador to Romulus from Earth was once kidnapped. Do you know by who?"
Nathan allowed himself to be guided, trying to subdue his trembling. He was unarmed, and apparently his staff was unconscious. This man could kill him right now, and none would be any the wiser. “I wasn't aware he was kidnapped,” he replied timidly, his eyes still on the weapon. “I'm sure either he or my sister would've told me about that.” His eyes narrowed. “You're lying,” he hissed angrily, “you must be. I would've known if such a thing had happened.”
Tevio's mind was momentarily set whirling. So the human did not even know about it... This was an even more complex situation than he had thought. "Not necessarily," he commented, eyes diverting from the human's for just a fraction of a second. "Do you know nothing of the covert nature of the Romulans? We pride ourselves on these kind of operations. But that is besides the point. Your brother and his offspring also, the female child, both were kidnapped by Romulan intelligence agents." Still he saw the doubt in van Breughel's eyes, the man's anger was intolerable and he had better believe it; Tevio had little time to waste at this moment.
“You're lying,” he hissed, his hand tightening in his pocket around the hypospray that he kept there for self defense purposes. “Prove it,” he demanded, “or I'll call security.” Or he'd flee...but the man was between him and the door. And really, how far would he get? Oh he was in top shape, he would guess he'd get to the doors that led to the corridor, he could run that fast. But then? “Prove it,” he repeated, anger visible in his eyes.
"Not difficult," Tevio said calmly, confidently. From the fold of his uniform, he removed yet another hidden object. This one was a datapad. "You can be assured that this is official.... Of course, you might not believe me, but what more can I do?" He closed and pushed the datapad into the Doctor's hands, keeping the disruptor level to his chest, now only thirty centimetres from him.
"I had the text translated into a format you can hopefully understand," Tevio smirked. Whether van Breughel believed them or not was another matter. "It has evidence of the capture; the stardate, their date of return and some details of events during their period of kidnap. What it doesn't say is who was directly responsible for their capture."
::: TBC :::
*Modded in by Request - Commander Garrett
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2009 19:55:00 GMT
OOC: Joint Post between Tevio Ch'varak and Nathan van Breughel
IC: Insulted, Nathan glared at the Romulan. "Translation was hardly necessary," he said acidly, while reviewing the data. "I had no knowledge of this event. Why are you telling me?" His anger was evident, and with his anger he was also forgetting his fears. "To spite me?"
"Not intentionally," Tevio replied, his disruptor still not wavering from the Doctor's thorax. "There is a possibility I may have done though. It makes for an interesting collateral consequence. No, the reason I tell you is because you may be interested as to the captor's identity." Tevio even sighed a little at this point, looking to the side, pretending to wallow in a moment of sorry contemplation.
"I can imagine now the way your brother and niece must've been treated..." he said, "Too terrible to even think of."
"And you know the identity of their captor?" Nathan read through the information again. But from this, it wasn't certain his brother and niece had been ill-treated. If they had been, surely he'd heard. No he was certian his siblings had kept this from him for a reason, after all, he had children of his own and his sister wasn't unaware of his health issues. He didn't want to even begin to think of what might've happened to him. But, the last time he'd spoken to Rick, he'd been in good health and full of praise about his wife and children. "My brother's wife is Romulan," he added slowly, "he would've had some form of protection or immunity."
"Not from the Tal Shiar. The agency's powers run deeper than you could ever know, their lines of influence run thick in Romulan society. And trust me when I say that they would not have hesitated in causing physical damage on your family." He paused before asking rhetorically, "Why do I tell you these things? It's odd for me to tell you of the Tal Shiar's methods, their style of operation, but the truth is that the captor is much closer than you know. Yes, on the S'Harien," he said, seeing the recognition in the Doctor. "And no one of less authority than Govan Echal, commander of the ship and a former Tal Shiar agent."
Tevio stepped back, tightening his grip on the disruptor's trigger in case van Breughel decided to take action.
The Human doctor paled visibly. "Echal?" he breathed, taking a step forward, "Govan Echal?" His eyes were wide in disbelief. "Impossible. I don't believe you. He was more than courteous to me while I was on the S'harien. More than I deserved, since I was indeed trespassing." He paused, breathing hard. "No, you're lying." He his hand reached up to his combadge. "I'm calling security."
"Read the datapad, Doctor!" Tevio virtually shrieked. "The information holds the official stamp of the Tal Shiar, and while it doesn't reveal the identity of the captor, it does provide the Tal Shiar identity code for the said agent. I can provide you with data," he added, seeing that the Doctor was not stepping down, "Confirming Echal's identity code during his time with the Tal Shiar. A simple cross reference will confirm all that I say!"
Tevio was growing apprehensive; the communications were meant to be disabled for the deck, however the nature of the technology he was using meant that he could not be sure. He could not take the risk that van Breughel would try to contact the ship's security. "If you make one movement, Doctor, I will, unfortunately, have to discharge this disruptor at you."
Meanwhile, outside of the office, one of the sickbay staff was slowly regaining consciousness.
"Stamps can be forged. I will need time to even begin to cross-reference...and I don't have that kind of security access. And obviously, you don't seem to have that time." Nathan smiled thinly; he was quite observant, if he needed to be. "You look nervous. And you wouldn't fire at me, because you didn't come here with that purpose. By now, I'm quite sure the bridge has already detected your invasion to this vessel. And your time is running out, my staff is regaining consciousness. All I need to do, is stall." Now that wasn't the smartest move to make. "Additionally..." And now he knew he was bluffing. "My mate is a telepath, and I'm sure he's already aware of my...predicament. You see...I have a heart condition, and he's always ...listening." Stretching the truth a fair way, Nathan thought, but not quite a lie. Jayden would 'listen in' on occasion, but he'd only sense his moods and emotions at such a distance, no more.
"Stamps can certainly be forged," Tevio admitted, going back to van Breughel's initial retort. "But think, Doctor, if I am telling the truth and Govan Echal was responsible, what then? Why don't I give you time to cross-reference, I can supply you with the information." Tevio rose the proverbial eyebrow at himself inside his mind. He knew he must've been desperate: making suggestions and asking things of the human.
"I am the Intelligence chief on the S'Harien," he said, trying to play off something, "I, and my operatives also, detected your anger with some of the members of our crew, as well as your slightly contemptuous exchanges with Echal.. What would this information do for you, Doctor? What has Echal let himself in for?"
"Do for me?" Now it was Nathan's turn to be surprised. "I don't know what Echal let himself in for, but I am not out for personal revenge. Echal did not hurt me, and if my brother had wanted revenge, I have no doubt he would've used my sister's influence to get it done. Obviously, he didn't as Echal once more commands a warbird. I am a doctor, mr Intelligence Officer. I heal people, I do not aim to hurt them. You have ten seconds before I call security. Do not call my bluff sir. I may appear weak, and yes I am terrified, but I also have my strength. Determination. Time is short, and you are wasting it."
"Time is definitely short for you," Tevio commented, tiring of the exchange, "As soon as you open your mouth, touch that odd device on your breast to communicate with your friends, you are dead. Do you understand? Despite the wish to fulfill my goal, I must get out of here.
"Oh, and do not think just because Echal was 'courteous' to you..." he spat, "...That he is a respectable man. He is Tal Shiar slime, constantly covering his tracks, running from the shadows of the past that will one day catch up with him and end his reign." The Doctor was right though, the Legate was extremely short on time. He had better do his convincing and make his quick exit.
"Kill me, and you undo everything both our ships have worked for. Echal is your problem, not mine," Nathan snapped back, while touching his combadge. He was trembling, both in rage and fear. "Nathan to bridge, intruder alert," he called out.
"Fool!!" Tevio screamed, pure rage bursting from him. Yet despite the anger, his cool head somehow kept his finger from changing the disruptor from 'stun' to 'kill'. As soon as the last words passed van Breughel's mouth, Tevio compressed the trigger, a flash of sick-green tearing from the muzzle and splashing on the Doctor's chest.
Security would be on the way; he had little time now, but just enough to go over to the unconscious form of the man he'd shot. To the Legate's surprise, the Doctor was actually just awake, but he was losing it fast. "You've made a big mistake, Doctor. Ask yourself," he said, leaning over and peering into van Breughel's eyes, "What would your brother want you to do. What would your niece want you to do. Think of them."
Nathan fell back as the beam struck him full in the chest. He cried out as he felt the energy burn through his tunic, into his skin. As he lay crumpled on the deck, he just barely heard Tevio's words. His mind was racing, trying to work up an answer, but he had no strength to voice it. The last he saw before losing consciousness, were Tevio's grey eyes.
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 24, 2024 20:59:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2009 19:44:32 GMT
=/\=Reynolds to Garrett, I will be investigating some unusual reading on deck six. This does not mean you have to come back to work, but I’m just making you aware of what I’m going to be doing for the next few minutes,=/\= the voice of her Captain jarred her suddenly out of her memories, and right back into the present.
“Acknowledged,” Megan replied automatically, but as soon as the channel closed she started thinking. Unusual readings…? What exactly did that mean? Knowing any chance of getting some rest was gone now, not that she’d been looking forward to it anyway or continuing her trip down memory lane, Commander Garrett placed her dishes in the recycler and headed for the bridge. If Matt was no longer there, then she, as the First Officer, should be there, although technically she should be investigating the strange readings and he should remain on the bridge, but since she’d been off duty, she wasn’t going to be quite so particular about the protocols.
As she arrived on the bridge, fortunately no one said anything about how quickly she had returned, and Megan headed straight for her station and immediately pulled up the sensor readings Captain Reynolds had mentioned. As her screen lit up with random energy spikes and modulation frequencies, the blood drained from her face. She knew all too well what this meant… Fingers flying across the console, as she needed something more conclusive, the First Officer processed the readings with standard amplification and frequency filters, quickly zoning in on the ‘ghost’, or at least its trail. Unmanned junction...perfect entry point, maintenance Jefferies tube, sneak across the corridor, another junction...and unfortunately, the ghost’s trail on deck six ended above sickbay. ‘Nathan…what have you gotten yourself into...’
"Nathan to bridge, intruder alert!" the tense voice of Doctor van Breughel answered her unspoken question, followed by the unmistakable sound of a disrupter blast and a dead comm signal. The bridge was deathly silent now, and Megan paused for a brief, shocked moment before jumping into action, rapidly firing orders and working fervently at her console. No Romulan would get away with this with her onboard...
“Set shields on a rotating modulating frequency, pattern Epsilon Fourteen. Initiate isolation protocols level five on decks five through eight and place the forcefields on rotation as well, pattern Beta Seven,” she ordered quickly, watching the sensors like a hawk. The sensor ghost was gone, most likely having increased his stealth settings and remodulated as a result of security being alerted. While she attempted to locate him, the First Officer watched the forcefields closely. He hadn’t had enough time to get far and would now need to get through the barriers, which would betray his position. If she had to guess, he would try to get to the shuttlebay on that deck.
…Where was Captain Reynolds? Frantically, Megan pulled up his position, finding that, of course, the Captain and Lieutenant Tavik were in sickbay. It could be better, specifically on the bridge, but at least Matt was where security would be heading and from where the Romulan intruder would be fleeing rather than in his path. “Bridge to sickbay, what’s your status?” the Commander requested, hoping that the Captain hadn’t been in sickbay at the same time as the intruder and hadn’t been injured...
<Tag Matt and Valad>
~
Marina had been in the middle of her brig shift when the Intruder Alert sounded. As there was only a couple of drunk yet harmless crewmembers in the cell block, one unfortunate Ensign was left behind while everyone else scrambled toward sickbay to respond, grabbing assault rifles and supplies on their way past. The small team of four entered the turbolift and after a brief hesitation, the lift was allowed through the isolation protocols after the correct authorization codes were provided and the confirmation was granted. With a Romulan warbird accompanying them, they could only guess as to whom the intruder was, and in all likelihood, this would not be easy.
Within a minute or so, the team entered sickbay to find most of the medical staff slowly regaining consciousness, Nathan on the floor with a nasty chest wound, and Captain Reynolds and the Chief Operations Officer standing over the injured doctor.
As they approached, Marina heard her sister’s voice over the comm requesting their status and waited for either Captain Reynolds or Lieutenant…Tavik?...to respond.
<Tag Matt and Valad>
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2009 23:21:09 GMT
OOC: Joint Post Between Myself (Megan and Marina) and Lieutenant Valad Tavik
Valad rushed into sickbay and turned to see if Captain Reynolds had followed him. Just then, a small security team entered sickbay behind them, through the doors.
<Tag Matt>
“Bridge to sickbay, what’s your status?” the Commander requested, hoping that the Captain hadn’t been in sickbay at the same time as the intruder and wasn’t injured.
After hearing the call from the bridge, Valad was the first to respond. "This is Lieutenant Tavik. The sickbay staff is out cold, and Doctor van Breughel has…hold on, let me scan him." Valad grabbed a medical tricorder and began scanning the doctor.
Grateful that it appeared they had both arrived after the intruder had left, Megan moved past Nathan’s condition to their current situation. “I’ve got the shields on auto frequency modulation rotation and decks five through eight on isolation lockdown, so the intruder should be trapped. I’m just waiting for him to bypass a forcefield so we have his location. The security team was granted access. Have they arrived?”
Valad listened as he finished scanning Nathan. "They just arrived. And Doctor van Breughel has severe second degree burns. He'll be alright though." He looked up at the security team, then at Captain Reynolds. The comm channel was still open. "Captain, please stay here and make sure the sickbay stays secure. I'm going to take half the team and go after the intruder."
Torn, as what she really wanted was everyone to stay in sickbay and go after the intruder herself, Megan knew this was not an option. She was in command on the bridge and taking such extreme action was not only impractical, but it would also blow her cover. No matter what her personal feelings and additional qualifications were, Valad’s suggestion made the most practical sense, as much as she hated it. One thing was certain: Captain Reynolds should not be going on this mission...
“Captain, I have to agree with Lieutenant Tavik. It is far too dangerous for you to go after the intruder. Your rightful place is on the bridge, but since you’re in sickbay, the doctor is badly injured, and the medical staff incapacitated, you should remain there with two security officers, while Tavik takes the other two and goes after the intruder,” Megan insisted, hoping the Captain would see this was the best choice.
<Tag Matt>
“Lieutenant, select two of the officers to take with you. I’ll watch the sensors from here. Begin a sweep of the deck. I will drop the forcefields as you go to allow you access while running sensor sweeps and watching forcefields to locate the intruder.”
Valad took a short look at the security team noting that there were three men and one woman. He pointed at one of the men and the woman. "You two are with me." He looked at the other officers. "Stay here with Captain Reynolds. If the intruder returns, immediately notify the bridge." He took one of the compression rifles and looked at Captain Reynolds. “If the doctor comes to, see if he remembers anything. I'd greatly appreciate anything you can give me."
<Tag Matt>
Valad looked at his team. "Let's go. Commander Garrett, we're proceeding into the corridor."
Falling into step behind the two Lieutenants, Marina leveled her phaser rifle on her shoulder and carefully surveyed to the left of the team as they moved forward. As they continued, the Ensign continued to survey to the left and also doubled aft to watch the team’s back just in case the Romulan decided to come around and strike from behind. From what she’d heard, that would be in keeping with their reputation.
“Acknowledged,” Megan replied, tagging the team on her sensors and setting up a program to automatically allow them all through the maze of forcefields that were hopefully trapping the Romulan intruder. “You should have complete access to the ship to conduct your search. The forcefields will deactivate as you approach and then reactivate as you depart. I’m tracking your progress on sensors and searching for any sign of the intruder. I’ll let you know when he shows up,” she informed Tavik.
"Acknowledged, Tavik out." He led the team, rifles raised. They proceeded slowly. "I suppose I should know who you two are. I am Lieutenant Tavik."
Marina allowed the senior security officer, Lieutenant Junior Grade Vera, to introduce himself first, keeping her eyes on the corridor before she replied. “Ensign Marina Garrett, you were just talking to my sister,” she began, before adding wryly, “So if we lose this guy, I’ll be hearing about it, and if I get hurt, you’ll be hearing about it.”
Valad said, "Well, we wouldn't want that now would we, Miss Garrett. Perhaps you'd like to return to sickbay and stand guard?"
Smiling wryly, and still keeping her eyes on the job, she quipped, “Not a chance.” Megan probably would have wanted her back in sickbay, but there was no way that Marina would stay out of the action just because her big sister was overprotective.
Valad shook his head and gave a small smile. They proceeded and passed through several force fielded areas. So far, nothing turned up.
<Tag Tevio>
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