Mission 23: Would Angels Fear ?

[Carl Torek]

Aboard Admiral Tetsutaro's ship:

The USS Hinoiri was heading for the last know co-ordinates of the Raven. Sato didn't really expect to find anything the Cordovin or Federation search vessels hadn't already processed. But he just needed to be out there, doing something, anything ...

"Admiral." Captain Hara said quietly, "I have reviewed all information thus far attained on the supposed destruction or disappearance of the Raven. If you look at the data Sir, several Cordovin vessels changed course suddenly some forty seven hours ago. They were seen by a Ferengi trader heading toward the Debbek System. If we are reasonably sure that the Cordovin had information on the Raven, it is possible they went in search. We can triangulate their course from the location and heading supplied by the Ferengi."

"And where would that take us Captain ?"

"There are numerous systems on that heading, but I would suggest if Captain Watson is indeed attempting to capture this El-Kamat person, and wishes to use him to prove Commodore Torek's innocence, then he would head for one of the less populated systems along that heading." Hara was handed a PADD by his Exec' and bowed to Tetsutaru before reading ... He turned to his Helm Officer, "Helm, alter course ... New heading ... One six seven point four. Increase speed to warp seven." He turned to the Admiral and bowed once more:

"Sir. We have received information that a Cordovin vessel was fired upon and severely damaged . The Cordovin ruling council have placed the blame, unsurprisingly, on Captain Watson. They have issued orders that the Raven not be allowed to return to star base forty seven, and must be captured or destroyed ... I have altered course to intercept the vessels sent to rescue any survivors of the attack. Should I inform the Section Admiral of our intentions ?"

"No ......" Sato said, looking around the Bridge, "We shall approach the area as part of the search and offer our assistance, It is possible we could gain intelligence relevant to our own search. If any of the Cordovin vessels have information on the Raven, then I will want to know that information. I intend to acquire it by whatever means necessary !"

"Pardon Admiral, but you are of course aware of the cessation of diploma ........"

"I am 'FULLY' aware Captain, thus my order not to inform Command of our intentions. While I cannot remedy the diplomatic issues between our races, Nor do I want to be the reason we went to war ... If you wish to signify your disapproval of my actions, then please do so in the log."

"Admiral ..." Hara said, aghast, "I would never consider such action. I, along with all your crew are behind you Sir. I beg forgiveness if my comments made you think otherwise." the Captain finished, almost kneeling before his superior in reverence.

"No more of that Yori ... We have been friends for many years, I do not need you at my feet ... I do not intend to fire of the Cordovin vessels, but if information is not forthcoming, I may need to alter my decision accordingly. Is that understood my friend ?"

"Yes Admiral."

"I will not allow the Raven, or Commodore Torek, be taken as a trophy by the Cordovin just to satisfy their misguided belief that a federation Captain could commit the crimes he is charged with ... I shall retire to my quarters for now. Please inform me when we are close to our objective Yori."

Sato got up from his seat slowly, then entered the turbo-lift ... He needed rest ..........

[Carl Torek]

OOC: Commander Watson's final 'Q' post will be added as a back-post to enable us to continue onward ...


IC:


For several seconds for the Command Staff relate what had happened. Carl looked around the Bridge noting the numerous stunned looks on the crew's faces. He realized that everyone was back on board, even the away team members ...

"Sir ....." Marionette said, pointing at the view-screen, "You should see this." Both Alex and Carl turned in the direction of the view-screen.

"RAISE SHIELDS !" Alex yelled instantly, watching the ship impact with the refinery below, "Helm, turn us away from the blast, 'FULL IMPULSE' ... NOW !"

Everyone grasped the nearest console as the ship strained in her forced turn and the artificial gravity struggled to keep up. The view screen showed the resulting blast ... Suddenly the screen turned a blinding white before he computer adjusted ... The modified Cordovin warp core, slammed into the surface rupturing the matter antimatter chambers, the resulting secondary explosion was terrifying to behold. A third of the planet vanished instantly, throwing radiation and debris hurtling into space, and toward the USS Raven-B ...

"Shock-wave will impact in five seconds." Harry informed the Bridge ... Carl didn't have time to speculate. He threw himself into the vacant Exec' Officers seat and grasped the armrests. Then it hit !

The Raven was slammed by the enormous energy from the blasts shock-wave. The ship was battered, thrown like a gossamer spiders web in a hurricane. Consoles sparked, lighting failed, the ship groaned under the tremendous strains on her superstructure. Everyone was thrown off their feet ... Then it was over ...

The Raven leveled herself as the computers began to regain control of vital systems. Lighting returned to normal, and people began to pick themselves up from where they had fallen or been thrown. Carl could see Andae, already at the Engineering station, Commander Wedlerson was taking his seat, bypassing the damaged circuits on the Opps panel and checking damage reports. Medical personnel entered the Bridge and began treating the injured in situ ......


Two hours later ~ Observation Lounge:


Alex and Carl had spent the first part of the meeting informing the Command Staff of the sudden appearance of the entity known as 'Q' .. Torek realized he could only remember specific aspects of the meeting, and still didn't know that no-one on the planet was injured or killed. But apparently, 'Q' had moved them but still allowed the ship to impact, Alex too only remembered portions of what happened while they were both 'outside' the real-time events unfolding before them ...

~~~~~~~~~~

"So where do we stand ?" the Captain asked.

"Well ...." Calli began, "Given the fact we were sat atop a warp core detonation, the fact we are here at all, combined with we are surprisingly in much better shape than we could have hoped, is nothing short of a miracle in my opinion."

"Captain, I can't understand this ...." Blakus said, frowning, "Following the battle with the Cordovin vessels, our core was damaged beyond repair. Yet when I got down there it was almost intact. Even the two minor issues we were having, have vanished."

"In fact, over the last two hours every system issue has rectified itself, all except the hull." Wedlerson shrugged, "That is apparently renewing itself systematically from front to back. We should be back to one hundred percent efficiency, along with a new hull, within the hour."

"Helm seems to be locked out. I cannot make any changes. There is a heading set into the system which I cannot remove. Should me engage on the programmed course we would come to the Proxima Oralix system. There is one Earth-type planet in the system." Marionette informed them.

"Really ...." Alex said, a puzzled look forming as he looked at Carl, "Maybe 'Q' has given us our next objective after all."

"ANHK ! ...." Calli said in sudden realization of who may be on Oralix. Accessing the computer quickly, she put the information on the wall screen, "Erwin von Anhk ... He was discredited by his peers for his unethical work. He vanished from sight once he was drummed out of the scientific community as a crank ... You're stereotypical 'Mad Scientist' type."

"What was his field ?" Carl said, fearing the worst, and he wasn't disappointed.

"He was doing work attempting to integrate our computer bio-neural circuitry with a living being. He had tried with several 'non-human' species before being brought before the Science Directorate for ethics violations. He agreed to halt all experimentation, but ignored the Council and continued his work off-world, setting up on one of the moons of Beta Orchii ... After fourteen bodies were found, he detonated the facility and escaped capture, leaving a further twelve deceased ... He is currently wanted on seven worlds for numerous offences, non of which will result in him remaining among the living ... Last know location was Proxima Oralix, a system not affiliated with the Federation, they have forbidden any and all diplomatic attempts to remove the Doctor, and have threatened to destroy on any vessel trying to remove him unwillingly, which pretty much means everyone. For a so-called 'peaceful' race, they have a 'VERY' substantial orbital weapons platform, I'd think twice at even taking then on with the Raven !"

"You think El-Kamat needs this man for this weapon of his ?" Carl asked ... Calli shrugged, non-committal, "Then I think we should take advantage of what we have." he said, "All departments will run full diagnostics. Once we are cleared, we'll head for Proxima Oralix, and call on this von Anhk ..." he stopped, suddenly realizing he was no longer in Command.

"OK ... Good idea ... Department updates in one hour ... Thank you gentlemen." The Captain said, watching everyone but Carl file out of the room.

"Alex, I apologize if I seemed to be taking the lead there, maybe it was the shock of finding ourselves back here and everyone being relatively safe."

"No need Carl. Look, this 'IS' your ship after all, it's natural you would take a Command role in such a situation." Alex said, fully understanding the conflict in his Commanding Officer.

"OK, well, that may be so." Carl said, apologetically, "Sir, if you don't mind I would like to get back to my quarters and check of the children."

"Of course, yes ... But I think your continued input will be invaluable to the continuing problem, so I'd like to see you back on the Bridge once we arrive at Proxima Oralix ... Erm ... Sir."

Carl grinned.

"I'd be happy to ... Sir." he said. He nodded with respect before leaving Alex alone with his thoughts ... He needed to see Bethan and Vanessa ..........

OOC: OK everyone, we are moving on to the next aspect of our exciting mission. We're getting closer to the information we need to find, and hopefully stop El-Kamat. I hope we can put as much imagination and excitement into this part of our outing as we have previously.

Enjoy

Steve

[Marionette]

With the proper Conn station now restored, Marionette took her station once more at the fore of the bridge.

Marionette, ensign as she was, had limited access to the files regarding Q, but whatever files were view-able to her, lead the positronic gynoid to conclude that this Q, was bad news all around.

This Q, according to sections of Picard's dissertations, was largely amoral, vindictive, manipulative, disrespectful of anyone elses rights or dignity, save for his own, and most of all, arrogantly childish.

The Raven glided onward, her course set in stone, as it were. Marionette could do little but keep watch over the navigation sensors. She was unmoving and statuesque, appearing to have been shut off, and calculated other subjects of thought.

Marionette processed ideas on 6 other musical composition ideas, preliminary designs for self-upgrades and modifications.

Most of her processing power was expended on calculating possibilities of what it might be like, to be able to smell things, or to feel the tactile sensations of pleasure, instead of just simply resistor-pressure feedback that told her she was 'touching' something..... and the brief stinging 'pain' of damage-feedback.

Unfortunately, since she did not have a working olfactory sense, or reference to pleasurable touch, she could not adequately conceptualize what it would be like to experience those things.

[Alex Watson]

Alex watched the vessel crash onto the surface of the planet with a knot in his stomach, he looked at Carl, who looked absolutely apoplectic with fury, and then back to Q, who had a massive smile on his face – a fact that only served to aggravate him and Carl even more.

“Listen you...you...” Alex fought against the words. He didn't dare insult Q again, because even after this brief encounter he wouldn't put it past this entity to actually honour the rule that he had made about insults. He looked over at Carl again – the commodore's complexion had turned from almost puce to a sort of deathly white-green as he surveyed the explosion. Finally, Q spoke.

“Speechless, my friends? Very well, let me tell you what's going to happen. Everyone in your away team, the team that beamed over to the Cordovin ship to try and rescue you – yes commodore,” Carl's face twitched a little at this, “your crew tried to come after you. Anyway, all of them, and the scientists down below, are dead.”

Carl fell to his knees, and Alex felt an odd dizzying sensation which he suspected had little to do with the fact that he was standing and breathing in outer space.

“But!” said Q with a gracious air, “I am going to offer you a chance to save them...or, at least, some of them...” He clicked his fingers theatrically, and the forms of Commander Blakus, Calli Valenti, T'Brell Peers, Harry Wedlerson and all the other staff members either with Alex or Andae appeared suspended behind him. They were almost translucent, and they seemed totally inert.

“What have you...?” Carl started.

“I've saved them, commodore, at least for now. So here's how our NEXT little game is going to work. I give you the information you want, but every question you ask me will result in the death of one of your crew!”

Carl turned, if possible, even paler, and looked across to Alex, who was fighting the strong urge to vomit. He wasn't sure what would happen if he vomited into space, but he didn't want to have to find out.

“Which...who will...first?” Alex barely managed to whisper.

“That's the fun part, Mon Capitane, I have no idea whatsoever! It's random! It might be this young lady here...” He strode over to a security crewman, Kelly Andrews, who was barely older than sixteen. Q sighed dramatically, “Such youth, such beauty, lost in the depths of space forever! Such a tragedy! OR, it might be this fellow over here.” He walked over to an old petty-officer whom Alex recognised as being Joshua Barnett. A staunch, dependable companion. Q frowned. “This would hardly be a loss to you, captain, he looks like he can barely walk without a frame!”

“SHUT UP!” Alex screamed without even realising he had said it. The taunting, the insults, the threats, the wrongness of this place, and the devastating choices that he had made and now had to make again temporarily obliterated all reason. “SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!” he fell to his knees, fighting the urge to break into mindless tears. His brain re-engaged slowly.

Q looked quite stunned, as if no one had ever spoken to him like that before which, Alex supposed as his faculties returned, was entirely possible. His breathing was still heavy as he rose to his feet, but he had made up his mind.

“We will ask no questions of you, Q. I will not sacrifice the lives of my crew any more than I already have, and not to someone I trust so little.” Alex hoped that Q didn't take that as an insult, “By your own rules, none of our crew will die, and you will restore us to the Raven to continue our mission. We will fight and win without your help.”

Alex glanced over at Carl. He thought he saw something in the commodore's expression which might have been pride, but it vanished quickly as Q spoke again and they both turned to look.

“Pah! Very well, take your precious little crew and see how far they get you.”

Alex thought that Q was about to explode with anger when, suddenly, he seemed to soften.

“You know...it's something I've always admired about you humans – your stubbornness. Others may call it arrogance, but it isn't, not really. Not really. I'll help you along a little, then, but I won't tell you how I'm going to do it. All I will leave you with is a riddle.”

“Nothing new there then,” said Carl tetchily. Q frowned slightly, then spoke again.

“When all the truth does is leave your heart aching,
The medicine of lies is more easily taken.
A weighty choice is yours to make,
The right decision or a big mistake.
If the wrong course you choose to pursue,
The foundations of home will crumble without you.”

The words seemed to echo and resonate around Alex's head again and again, and he felt his body spin, he was falling, falling into endless blackness and darkness and nothingness – and then, without any sort of warning, he was looking around at the Bridge of the USS Raven.

<Tag All, sorry for the delay in posting this. Been under the weather this last week.>

[Andae Blakus]

In a corridor on the Raven a man materialised out of nothing. A sudden burst of displaced air caused a gust of wind down the corridor. His eyes shot open and he screamed.

A tearing sensation, of muscles being shredded and ripped from bone seemed to take up his entire consciousness, vivid and inescapable.

He slumped into the bulkhead and slid to the deck, trying to arrest the images in his mind, the pseudo-experience of some horrific death that he had the strong and inexplicable impression he'd just avoided. His eyes squinted in concentration, trying to purge the idea of his ending... Thinking that otherwise he might go insane, might suffer some existential breakdown.

"Commander?" A fuzzy image played at the edge of his sight, seeming to waver in his visual field like a mirage on some far distant desert horizon. Soon it resolved itself into human form, "Commander Blakus? You alright?"

"I'm fine," he replied, rising slowly to his feet. He still felt weak at the knees, his hands were trembling and his voice was uncertain. He followed the Ensign to the turbolift. As it happened they were on deck 2, directly below the bridge. Just as he felt he'd recovered, something impinged itself on his mortal frame, his entire being. Shrieking laughter that was very familiar, as if it was a thing someone had told him earlier in the day. Old-fashioned circus and fairground imagery played briefly before his eyes, at its forefront, a face that he most certainly knew leered at him. It was dressed as a cossack riding a white steed. The entity Q.

As the image faded, the grinning face seemed to fuse with that of another, one of choleric rage pouting with a derisive sneer. He recognised the face but was bewildered that it had appeared now. He looked at the Ensign and saw the lady's concern. "Where are -" he began.

Now a severe vibration jarred the turbolift, and the ship groaned as if it were some living being that'd suffered a terrible injury. Despite the efforts of inertial dampeners, Andae was flung into the wall with the Ensign. He found himself thinking of a pebble, thrown into the mouth of an advancing tidal wave.

They were deposited from the turbolift in a heap on the floor. The bridge was just recovering, people clambering back to their stations. Andae entered shakily, seeing that the CO and XO, in fact all of the senior staff were present. He moved to the engineering station, murmuring "Did I miss a beat?"

---

"Well this is the best news I've had all day," Andae said. In spite of everything that had happened, or hadn't happened, he almost felt a spring in his step as he rounded the master console. Milyanov nodded, walking after him.

"The bad part is that we can't just leave him to it. I'm not on an expert on Q, but I don't think we should trust him to put the ship back how it was." The Russian regarded Blakus pensively, tapping the edge of the console, "There may be imperfections, or new things he's working into the structure. Differences that will cause us problems later on."

"You're right," Blakus said, "I guess I should just have a word with him and plead that the ship be returned to its previous state, no modifications. Milyanov, if he intends to work flaws into the repair, there's nothing we can do to stop him." Truth be told, he thought, I'm just grateful to be alive.

Milyanov nodded, his expression softening marginally, "How's Taylor?"

Blakus looked away. He regarded the master console, tapping at buttons, "She's still in a coma. Neither better or worse. Q didn't bother restoring her with the rest of us."

"That was brave what you did, going over there to the Cordovin craft..."

Andae shrugged off his assistant, "What is this, counselling? Get back to work." He worked the console determinedly. It didn't matter at all really. People were lost in duty all the time, Taylor was an old colleague, a onetime lover who on a personal level he'd found he couldn't stand. Professionally, she was superb, a remarkable person. She always gave her best, which was more than he. Warmth of thought towards her overtook him. That line... Where was that line between professional and personal, if it existed at all? People were people.

"Commander. Warp drive is fully functional," Tinsley called down from the upper floor.

"Thanks, Lieutenant." He could almost not believe it, considering the fused mess the drive had been before. He sighed, casting about his domain before walking slowly into his office. Warp drive and most critical systems were now recovered; the hull was mending itself with omnipotent zeal; and the ship's attitude controls were locked out. Just for the time being, there wasn't much to do.

He slid into his desk chair, absent mindedly picking up the padd that'd been left for him. He frowned as he read the screen. A poem... Keats' Ode to Psyche. He read through it, mystified why one of his staff would think he'd want to read such a cryptic and imagistic poem. Little did he know no one had been in his office the whole day.

[Calli Valente]

Calli felt the vibrations before she heard the dull low frequency rumble, she knew they were either under attack or something had gone catastrophically wrong within the refinery itself ! ... She and T'Brel jumped toward the Captain in unison, both making him their first priority.

She didn't have time to think what action to take next as she turned in the direction of the unknown disruption. She had less than a second to realize the place was coming apart, and they were not going to get out alive, before the scorching, super-heated oxygen rich atmosphere ignited. Milliseconds before she could feel any pain the warp core of the falling vessel slammed into the ground over a kilometer away, the matter antimatter explosion travelling many times the speed of sound reached the group of Officers and philosophers ... Her life ended !

~~~~~~~~~~

"Helm, turn us away from the blast, 'FULL IMPULSE' ... NOW !" ... the Captain was shouting !

Calli looked around the Bridge, all hell was breaking loose, but her specialist training, along with her Command level knowledge made her move instantly. She could feel the inertial dampers struggling under the turn as the Raven powered through a maneuver she wasn't designed for. Marionette was pushing the ship way beyond the design limits before the blast reached them. Her last conscious thought before she slammed against the rear wall of the Bridge, was ..... 'How ?' .....

Two hours later ~ Observation Lounge:

Calli had been listening intently to the briefing, making notations on the PADD before her, both for the ship's records, and her personal record ... She was looking at an image of 'Q' wondering way the omnipotent being had yet again involved himself in Human affairs when Marionette informed the Captain of there heading:

"ANHK ! ...." Calli said in sudden realization of who may be in the planetary system the Raven was heading for ... Accessing the PADD quickly, she put the information on the wall screen, "Erwin von Anhk ... He was discredited by his peers for his unethical work. He vanished from sight once he was drummed out of the scientific community as a crank ... You're stereotypical 'Mad Scientist' type."

She went on to review von Anhk's record. Once finished everyone around the table was silent before the Captain dismissed them to get their reports prepared ...

On the Bridge Calli sat at one the vacant Sience station and accessed all current records pertaining to both Proxima Oralix, and von Anhk ... It was obvious this man was going to be difficult to approach, and given Oralix was adamant no-one would be allowed to remove the Doctor, then they would have no other choice but to get in, get the information they needed, and hopefully, get the hell back out without being helped into the next life by the weaponry in orbit ! ..........

[Carl Torek]

It had taken the now fully repaired and regenerated Raven twenty two hours to reach the Proxima Oralix System. They dropped out of warp while a meeting was held to run through any suitable course of action they could employ:

"Well from what we have read up on Proxima Oralis, I'm less than eager to go in there heavy-handed." Wedlerson said.

"For all their security and defensive systems, they seem almost like a twentieth century society. So maybe the best way to go down there would be as visitors, rather than turning up on this Anhk's doorstep, so to speak ?" Carl offered, "We can make discreet inquiries about the Doctor and go from there."

"The planet doesn't seem to be one promoting tourism." Harry said, reading through the information the computer had supplied.

"Calli ..." Alex said, noticing the woman frowning at the screen.

"OK ... We know, or we can be pretty certain, that El-Kamat has either been and gone, in which case I have the feeling he will have taken the Doctor with him somehow." she said, quickly scanning the information before her, "Or, he is still on the surface ... I have the distinct feeling we would not find his ship in orbit, so it could be holding station somewhere away from the planet awaiting Kamat's signal ... If this is the case, we may have a chance to stop the psychopath before he even get's this 'weapon' of his up and running."

"Looking at this." Carl said, pointing to one section of the information, "It says Proxima uses Bio-metric filter DNA marking for anyone coming to the surface. Apparently you are not allowed to simply beam in at will. You are required to transport to one of their Customs Centers dotted around the planet, and only then once they have given permission. The 'marker' is added via their molecular imaging enhancers when you materialize ... It's their way of ensuring whoever they give 'sanctuary' to, can not be taken without all hell breaking loose in orbit. You make an unauthorized transport from anywhere on the surface and the 'marker' activates the relevant defense systems. According to this, their orbital security has never been breached ... Oh, and before you ask, the 'marker' can't be removed or de-activated by our systems, the result of trying is less than, healthy for anyone concerned !" Torek finished, dropping the PADD on the table in frustration ..........




<tag : Alex / All >

[T'Brel Peers]

T'Brel understood the frustration, but he also knew that in the history of the cosmos no defense system was completely impenetrable. As he looked at the PADD that Carl had dropped in disgust, his optimism seemed to evaporate away. El-Kamat was an extremely intelligent mass murderer, who had taken every precaution.

"Captain, I'll look over these schematics of the transport marker system, I'll have a detailed report within the hour," T'Brel reported. Once he had the okay, T'Brel left the bridge and went to his office.

"Computer download the data on this PADD and display it in my office," T'Brel said as he re-read the information in front of him.

"Download complete"

Proxima Oralis would be a tough nut to crack. While their planet was not the most technologically advance, they were serious about their defense and privacy. T'Brel could almost appreciate the acute awareness that El-Kamat had. The planet apparently offered these services to all of their visitors. They prided themselves in keeping their citizens safe from all types of harm.

"Computer does the planet's defense system operate at all times?" T'Brel asked hoping his idea would find merit.

"Affirmative"

"How is the system powered?" T'Brel asked.

"The defense system is powered up by twenty five interconnected power plants placed around the planet"

"Where are most of the plants located?" T'Brel asked.

"On the northern continent, a majority of the planets major cities are located there."

T'Brel quickly took this information and developed a plan. It all depended on the decisions of his superiors now.

(Tag All)

[Carl Torek]

Kissing his children, Carl left his quarters ... He had fully intended on going down to the gym to work off some of the frustration and anger he'd built up over the last week, but Bethan had taken that out of him in her usual 'Kiss it Better' way of working. So he decided to head up to the Bridge. It was a damn-sight easier since his Exec' and Acting Captain of the Raven had reinstated his Command authorization. At least now he wasn't being shadowed by one of T'Brel's people every minute ....

Entering the Bridge he looked round, given it was the night shift, it was manned by mainly junior personnel. Commander Wedlerson was sat in the Command seat:

"How're we doing Commander ?" Carl asked. Harry stood, then self-consciously sat back down.

"Three hours to the Proxima Oralix System Commodore. The ship is one hu ......."

"Calm down Harry. I'm just here to see whats going on, not to do your promotion evaluation." Carl said, grinning, "Do we have a way in yet ?"

"Well, getting in seems the easy part Sir. We can pretty much request visitation permits, or visa's and beam down. It's the getting 'out' bit that's causing issues." Wedlerson said, still finding it hard to forget ranks during one to one conversation, "Commander Peers is working on something, but to be honest Sir, It's a little over my head."

"Mine too." Carl whispered, then smiled, "Relax Harry, you are doing a good job, you just need to get into the habit of holding a conversation on a level playing field." he finished, patting the younger man on the shoulder before approaching the Chief Tactical Officer:

"Do you have anything T'Brel ?" he asked. The Tactical Officer ran through the data he had so far, but didn't look confident.

"So we could beam out from the southern continent easier ?" Trek asked.

"No, that wouldn't work......" T'Brel began to explain.

< tag : T'Brel >

"Look, we haven't served together until you came aboard. I read your file. You are damn good at what you do, and from what I can gather, should have had at least one more pip on that collar by now. I pride myself in thinking the Command of the Raven is a joint effort, so if you have something to say, be it comment or criticism, then you should voice it." Carl accessed a file on the adjacent screen and pointed to it, "We hold meetings on what was once called the 'Chinese Parliament' system, first set up by the twentieth century Special Air Service in the United Kingdom. Where rank has no meaning in discussions, and everyone is allowed their say. You might want to keep that in mind 'IF' I ever manage to get my seat back ... OK, I'm beginning to feel like the proverbial third wheel here. So if you can use me, then feel free OK. I'd get that information to the Captain, it could make a difference to us succeeding or, failing. But your call, T'Brel." Carl finished.

"Will do Sir, once I figure out which way we can go." T'Brel said.

"Think Captain Watson will be upset if I was to sit in his seat for a few moments ?" Carl said, grinning, then left T'Brel to work.

He sat in the Command seat and watched the stars. He knew now without doubt he had to stop El-Kamat ... Not only to clear his name, because that was petty in the scheme of things, he needed to ensure the safety and well-being of the Federation itself. But he needed to ensure a life for his Children ... THAT, was paramount ! ..........




< tag : T'Brel / Alex / All >

[Carl Torek]

~ Mission 23 ~

Our current outing has now reached a conclusion
But the issues involving El-Kamat, and the eventual fate of Commodore Torek
still hang in the balance

I want to thank everyone for their contributions on this mission
and congratulate everyone on receiving the:

ooo000ooo

~ Literary Excellence Award ~



ooo000ooo


My heartfelt thank you to all the USS Raven Crew
I feel privileged to serve with you all
I hope you will enjoy the 4th and final episode in our long-running saga
Entitled:


~ ABSOLUTION ~


My deepest respect

Steve