Shore Leave 5a [Awaiting Excalibur's Return]

[Daniel Schirra]

Dan had served on the USS Vincent for almost four years. In that time, fresh from the Academy on Earth, to today, he had risen through the ranks with relative ease. Not because he was better, or more liked than anyone else on the ship, but because he was ambitious. His Commanding Officer, Captain Callum Faraday, was the second youngest CO after the famed James Kirk. Not that Dan was looking to break that record, admittedly, he was already too old at twenty four ! ... He remembered the conversation that got him here:

"Drink ?"

"Why not." he had replied, then waited while Cal did the honors.

"So .... The Captain said, sitting down, "We have a problem."

"Sir ?"

"OK, I suppose I'll have to spell it out." Callum said, shrugging, "I, as you are fully aware, already have a First Officer, so to all intents you can't go any further on here. But, I have, on your behalf, put in a transfer request."

"You want rid of me Cal !" Daniel said, shocked.

"Hell NO ! ... If I could promote you past me I would, joking of course. But I think this is an opportunity you can't pass by Dan." the Captain said, bringing up information on his screen then turning it so he could see, "The Excalibur ... Second only to the Enterprise herself ... Commodore Ryat is a friend of mine, she's looking for replacement crew, and a possible First Officer ... I erm, mentioned your name and she seemed impressed enough to approve the transfer. So, what do you think ?" ......

That was a week ago, and now he was stood at one of the observation windows watching the USS Vincent make her way through the space doors and into open space, and moments later, she was gone. So Dan had a wait on his hands. How long, was a mystery, as the Excalibur was still out on her current mission, but if truth be known, he was both saddened, and somehow excited, saddened at leaving a ship he had called 'home' but excited at the prospect of a new challenge. The prospect of serving on the Excalibur !. If the Captain thought he was First Officer potential, then that would be a bonus, and another step toward that elusive 'Center Seat' he thought, almost laughing out loud !

Picking up his holdall he left the docking ring and entered one of the numerous turbo-lifts. Requesting the promenade, a circular level containing shops, boutiques, multi-species outlets, he walked through the orbital Space-dock and found his assigned quarters.

Dropping the bag on the bed, he made brief tour of his indefinite new home, then pondered the idea of a drink, 'In celebration of his new assignment of course' he thought wryly ... Heading to one of the 'public' levels, he marveled at the expansion that had gone on in the two years he had been away. There were more external docks now, each containing a Star Ship in various stages of completion, from the barest shell, to an almost completed Constitution Class Refit. A replica of the Excalibur, and of the Enterprise herself.

Making his way to the recreation area, Dan walked to the bar and ordered a drink ... Looking around the room, he wondered if anyone else here was waiting to join the Excalibur ..........

OOC

OK Guys n Gals, as discussed, we'll be adding to the crew of the Excalibur
Feel free to join me in posting your NPC Character here
While we wait for Commodore Ryat to complete her current mission

[Karka Psonoir]

He had dived through the tunnel of his being, as they had fancifully called it, and found it to be a most unsatisfying experience. If he could've remained at home, or at least in the common dimensions, then he could've set his mind on the Great Work, or whatever the other sect members were calling it now. The name changed with the tide, with the future and the lightyears-distant.

But such had not been his fate. Instruction had come from the archive that an ordinary historical period, spatially-centered - predominantly - on the line between the galactically-defined Alpha and Beta Quadrants, was to be his next locale. Lucky in a sense, it was, that he didn't have to travel so far in the first three dimensions, even if those dimensions did miss the common seam. The fourth drove him well outside the realms of normality, though, thus it would be a while before he could see himself in the mirror again.

Particular technologies of this period were of interest to the archive. Not for how advanced they were, of course, but because of their absurd simplicity. The duotronic nature of some of the computer systems were of especial interest. The deployment of something so primitive wouldn't be expected by the likes of the Raiders or the Ecclesiarchy. They'd have to downgrade in order to tackle the new mainframes, on a purely physical level, or else find an even more abstract plane, where they might disrupt the technology and render it inert. These were the theories of the primary archives, and they seemed to fit well. 'Time' would see to it that his spectral form returned there.

In this however, a guise had to be maintained. The required body was similar to his natural state and thus little modification was needed. He still had two arms and two legs - just a slightly different head shape, within which his higher functioning neural patterns remained thankfully intact.

Karka found himself staring at one object, fixed in space and crawling in time to the metronome of entropy. It was unusual to have his visual field so simplified. He imagined that to a species of this plane it would be like suddenly having tunnel vision - everything in the periphery squeezed out of effective visual existence. The sight of the object was boring; so boring in fact that his vision seemed to grey out, it too becoming disinterested in the whole affair. He'd experienced such basic perception before of course, but not for a long time.

"Hello," he said. He found his own voice remarkable. The pains of adjusting to physical speech weren't something he'd given consideration to. His voice was gravelly, diminished and meek; he'd not had to use it for several years.

The object - which did indeed turn out to be a human, as it shifted position in Karka's visual field - replied in kind, moving to shake Karka's hand. Familiar with the ritual, Karka took the hand and pumped it vigorously, startled though he was at the other officer's sudden approach. "Ensign Karka Psonoir. I've been assigned to the USS Excalibur for it's next mission, temporarily from the Corps of Engineers.

"She's a fine vessel, I hear. Constitution class. Rather large though, is it not?" his face brightened with the customary Hybrudean smile that had bewitched many a traveller.


<Tag Any>

[Deleted]

"She is a fine vessel," a soft voice from behind the young engineer confirmed. Savin, dressed in his usual wrap-around tunic, walked up to the man, while carrying a mug of some steaming brew or the other in his hand. "I have served on her for quite some time, but needed to take a break to attend to family."

Not to mention the court martial he had gone through, where he had been accused of being a Romulan spy. That had been quite the ordeal after which he decided to take some leave and spend it with his wife and son on Earth. During that time, Gwen had also given birth to his daughter Sanne and he was pleased to note that Simon didn't seem jealous at all. In fact, he was parading around like a very proud big brother, at age five.

A soft mewing sound drew the Vulcan's attention and a ghost of a smile could be seen on his face as he stooped to pick up a fluffy black cat. "Are you assigned to the Excalibur?" he asked, balancing the mug of tea in one hand while he had the cat on the other. "I am Commander Savin, former chief engineer of the Excalibur."

[Daniel Schirra]

Enjoying his drink, Dan checked the 'Status Board' and wondered if anyone else here was assigned to the Excalibur. In a way, he didn't want to be the only newcomer on board, but then, it made little difference in the long run. He was a Department Head by virtue of his ability and experience, he was no longer in 'competition' so to speak.

There were several crew and Officers assigned to the Excalibur he noticed. He knew full well this wasn't because the ship was below standard, far from it in fact, given at least two of the Excalibur's former Officers had gone on to Command in their own right, a tribute to her Commanding Officer, Commodore Alyana Ryat. Daniel had done some reading on the Commodore before making his final decision to leave the USS Vincent.

He glanced at the patch on the blue tunic he was wearing then looked around the room. He figured anyone who's assignment had been verified would, or should, be wearing the correct vessel patch. In the case of the Excalibur, it was similar to the arrow head insignia worn by the Enterprise crew, but set on an inverted triangle ... Moving away from the Status Board, he made a circuit of the room, glancing casually at the patches worn. Surprisingly, he came upon two people wearing corresponding insignia:

"Hello ..." he said, approaching the two Officers, "Commander Daniel Schirra. I see you are both assigned to the Excalibur. Drink ?" he said, looking from both men, to the purring feline, and the steaming mug one of them was carrying.

< tag : Savin & Karka, plus any newcomer >

"Any news yet on when we can expect the Excalibur's return ?" Dan asked, eyeing the cat, which seemed to have decided to return the compliment, "You planning on taking that aboard with you ?" he asked, turning to get his drink from the bar.

< tag : Savin >

"Well, don't let the color of the tunic fool you. To be totally honest, I have no idea yet as to what position I'll be taking when the Excal' returns. My background is in Engineering, with a smattering of Science, but my former 'CO' seems to think this move will benefit me and further my career, so here I am." Dan said, grinning.

His companions looked at each other for a second, both realizing that neither had been assigned a position on the Excalibur, more an advisory role within the Command structure. Dan could see that Karka seemed preoccupied with something, and for some unfathomable reason, began to wonder about the somewhat quiet Ensign, not to mention the damn Cat ..........

[Deleted]

"I was formerly assigned as chief engineer to the Excalibur," Savin clarified, "I have not yet received formal transfer orders but I desire to return to active duty." He smiled ever so slightly as Caelir cast the man a baleful look, his tail lashing briefly, patting against his owner's arm. "Yes I intend to take the cat, he is a gift from my wife to keep me company and remind me of home."

The engineer gave the other man the once-over, arching an eyebrow as he met his eyes again. "You are in the science division?"

"Well, don't let the color of the tunic fool you. To be totally honest, I have no idea yet as to what position I'll be taking when the Excal' returns. My background is in Engineering, with a smattering of Science, but my former 'CO' seems to think this move will benefit me and further my career, so here I am."

Tilting his head in curiosity, Savin glanced over at the other man, then back at Dan. "Another engineer," he murmured to himself, "and what move would that be?"

He shook his head as the bartender was about to pour a good dash of milk in his tea; he preferred his black. "If you are an engineer, why are you dressed in blue?"

(Savin is in the TOS series wrap around tunic....if you google on images you'll see what I mean...not quite that green thing Kirk used to wear...but rather uhm...think Judo coat with sash bound around it....sort of...)

[Daniel Schirra]

"Chief Engineer eh ..." Dan said, eyeing the less that 'correct' uniform the man was wearing, "I assume you had other things to do, given you are now back. But hey, I imagine it's always a good thing to have someone who knows their way around, though, come to think, you wouldn't have had chance to serve on the new Constellation Class refit ... Am I right ?"

< tag : Savin >

"I have to admit, I'm eager to get on board and get going, I hate hanging around ... In fact, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I think I'll go find us something to do. doesn't look like we'll be all that entertained on this floating hotel." with that, Dan downed his drink and left the other two to their conversation.

~~~~~~~~~~

Heading for Operations, he passed the transporter section. His pace had taken him past the doorway and he halted, making two backward steps and looking into the room ... An idea suddenly sprang into being ........

Grinning, he entered the transporter room and confidently stepped up onto the dais ... He stood for a few seconds until the Lieutenant noticed his sudden appearance:

"Take your time Lieutenant. I'm pretty sure Admiral Nakima will hold off starting the meeting until you're done !"

"Sir .. Sorry Sir ?" the young woman said.

Dan stepped toward the rim of the dais and sat himself down with a shrug:

"I am due to update 'Admiral' Nakima on base efficiency before his meeting with the brass, but I'm sure it won't reflect badly on you for holding my transport up ... So please, feel free to contact the Admiral's office and get confirmation of my orders." Dan said, relaxing himself as if he had all the time in the world.

The woman made a show of hitting the console as if it was it's fault Dan's orders were not on the screen before her:

"Sorry Commander, we've had a few glitches with order confirmations .. I'm sure yours was lost in the traffic." she said, tapping commands into the console, "If you could please step up on the pad Sir, and give me a destination ?"

"I'm due to meet the Admiral five minutes ago on the main concourse adjacent to the Academy Annex." Dan said, smiling, don't worry Lieutenant, I'll put my late arrival down to one of those 'glitches' you have been having ... One suggestion, log the issue quickly, that way you're covered."

"Yes Sir ... Thank you Sir, I'll get on it the second you are down." she entered the coordinates, then slid the three initiation controls up, then down ... Within seconds, Dan had vanished from the Star Base and re-appeared in the sunny quadrant opposite the Academy he'd attended so long ago. Holding in a laugh, he looked round, found the direction he needed to head in, and set off ... Ten minutes walk through the campus saw him at the rim of the Command Complex and heading into 'Civilian' streets.

~~~~~~~~~~

Another ten minutes and he was stood outside his favorite watering hole ... 'The Frontier' ... It had been two years since he'd been in here and he wondered if he'd been missed. Entering, he made his way to the bar ... His 'unofficial' training made him realize that people were noticing his sudden reappearance, and at least one person had left the bar without finishing his drink ......

"Hell .. Never thought you'd show your face around her Daniel." Evan, the bartender said, slamming a large brandy on the bar, "You 'DO' know certain people will be more than happy you have resurfaced ... That ones on the house by the way, I have a feeling you won't have time to run up a tab."

"Aww, c'mon Evan, I ran up a few 'minor' debts, hardly worth calling in the Mafia for, now is it." Dan said, jovially, before picking up the glass and downing the contents, "Fill me up buddy."

Ewan dutifully took his glass and refilled it. Smiling he returned to Dan:

"Word of advi ......" he began, stopping mid-sentence.

The tip of the blade rested under his right ear, not quite breaking the skin, but with enough pressure to force him to look to the left:

"Zevek ... Long time no see."

"You are here to reimburse me I assume ?" the man said quietly.

"Aww, c'mon Zevek, I owe you next to nothing, why all the drama ?" Dan said, worry beginning to form in his mind that this could go really wrong !

"Oh, your knowledge of 'compound interest' is only rivaled by your knowledge of gambling for gain." Zevek said, "You are about to depart on the Excali ......"

"How the hell do yo ......" Dan began, but shut the hell up quickly.

"You need to ask ... I am hurt ... Regardless of my, information, you are here. So .. I have a, shall we say proposition, that will clear your debt to me if you 'choose' to accept. The alternative, is of course, everything you'd expect from a person in my, position ..." Dan suddenly felt a burning sensation in the base of his spine, "I have injected a little 'trinket' I came across while you were off exploring the galaxy ... Please, my friend, 'DO NOT' try to scan the implant, or attempt to remove it. Either effort will result in, mass fatalities ! ..... Sooo ..... Be here tomorrow, same time, and I will give you your instructions ... Word of advice here Daniel, get help. But help that will keep their collective mouths 'SHUT' !"

With that, Dan was left alone, wondering if Zevk's threats were set in concrete ... Regrettably, there was no-one he could remotely count on at this point, but himself ..........

[Daniel Schirra]

Ewan had, understandably, found himself 'busy' during the conversation with his friend and Zevek ... Given the thugs 'connections' he was hardly likely to step between the two, even if there had been room. He approached Dan with an apologetic look on his face and handed him a refill as Zevek left:

"Sorry I wasn't any help there." he said, making Daniel smile.

"Not your fault mate. It was only a matter of time before he caught up to me. Hell, who would have thought taking a few grams of anti-matter could come back to bite you in the proverbial." he said, shrugging, "Anyway, I suppose I should find lodgings for the night, given my quickly arranged appointment tomorrow."

Ewan handed him an access card:

"Here ... Go to mine, you know where it is ... I'll meet you there when I'm done here for the day." Dan downed his drink and thanked his friend ........

Next day:

Walking into 'The Frontier' Dan headed for the bar ... Ewan was already there, having left his appartment earlier that morning. He headed for the bar and sat himself down, intentionally facing the entrance and with his back to the wall ... 'I'm not going to get caught napping twice' he thought as he waited.

~~~~~~~~~~

Almost two hours passed before Zevek and two if his henchmen walked in ... The thugs took up positions near the entrance while Zavek himself approached Dan:

"I am happy to see you followed my instructions regarding the implant."

"What makes you think I did ?" Dan asked, with obvious false bravado.

"My friend ..." Zevek said, the inane grim returning, "Had you not followed my instructions, neither you, your friend here, or indeed, most of his accommodation block would be around ... So, shall we get down to business ?" the man said, taking out a small pouch. He seemed to take his time removing what looked like a standard tricorder and communicator ...

"You will take these on the Excalibur when the ship returns. At some point, you will receive instructions on where to place the tricorder. This 'MUST' be done to the letter of the instruction, with no deviation."

"What will happen to the ship ?" Daniel said, a sudden foreboding coming over him.

"Nothing. Providing you follow the relayed instructions ....." Zevek said, returning the equipment to the bag and handing it to Dan, "Lets just say that one of my 'Associates' requires the Excalibur's presence, at a specific location, at a specific time. I feel I should warn you once again Daniel, that the activation of the implant will likely precede the destruction of the Excalibur should you decide not to follow the instructions !"

Daniel put the pouch on the bar and looked directly at Zevek:

"No."

Zevek looked at him for long moments, then almost shrugging, he picked up the pouch and turned to leave, but suddenly turned to face Dan once more. He placed the pouch back on the bar and tapped it as if it was a long-lost, recently found a family heirloom:

"Barman ...." he said, smiling cordially, "Could you please keep this in a safe place until Commander Schirra here picks it up. I'm confident he will need it by morning." With a nod to Dan, he and his henchmen left the bar. Watching Ewan put the pouch in one of the draws at the back of the bar, something suddenly occurred to him ... It was a given he was being watched, he'd have been a little surprised if he wasn't anyway. But ... How would Zevek know where the Excalibur was, and more to the point, how was he planning on contacting Dan on a standard communi ... He stopped mid-thought, and it suddenly hit him:

Zevek already had someone aboard the Excalibur ! ........

04:20 hrs ...

He was shaken awake by Ewan ... Fully awake within seconds he asked what the hell was going on ... His friend accessed the view screen and opened a news feed ... He watched the images feeling vomit rising in his throat:

"...... now estimated to have reached six hundred and ninety four, with almost two hundred still unaccounted for .. The blast .. Thought to have been caused by a cascade malfunction following an explosion in the main impulse engine fusion power assembly facilities, is one of the worst disasters since the cessation of World War Three .. Investigators are still trying to gain access to the faci ........

"Turn it OFF !" Dan said, suddenly realizing the implications of what he was watching. It had been done for his benefit, and his alone. He now knew that he had no other choice but to comply with Zevek's instructions ...

The alternative was not worth thinking about ! ..........

[Daniel Schirra]

Daniel hadn't been able to get back to sleep after he had watched the reports of the propulsion facility explosion. He knew it had been callously arranged by Zevek, either for his own amusement, or under instructions from whoever the hell the megalomaniac was employed by, and now Dan knew he too was in that persons' employ !

He had sat in the living area of Ewan's apartment until eleven in the morning before finally realized he needed to retrieve the satchel Zevek had left for him ... Dressing, he headed for 'The Frontier' Bar ... One feature of the bar was the multitude of view-screens seemingly positioned at random throughout the main bar area. Each was showing something different, from Earth-based sports, to off-world events, to music, to news, and a multitude of other genre. But it was the news that attracted his attention:

"Do we really need to have that on Ewan ?" Dan asked, accepting the hot mug of coffee he hadn't asked for, "I think I've got the message."

"It's a bar mate, people want variety in their viewing." the bar owner said with a sympathetic shrug before looking around conspiratorially, "Grab your drink and come sit down. I have a couple of friends you might want to meet."

Given the turn of events of the last couple of days, the last thing Daniel needed was to meet more 'new friends' ... But he also knew Ewan would only have his best interests at heart, so he picked up the steaming mug and followed the man ... He couldn't tell if the pair looked like business men on a trip, or a couple of twentieth century mobsters, but he reserved judgment for the time being, and sat down:

"I'm not one for 'interfering' in my clientele's affairs as you well know ......" Ewan began, eying the room as if some spy could he hanging on his every word, and thoroughly enjoying the clandestine element involved, "But Zevek is well know, and well know for his ruthlessness in getting his own way on things at all times ! ... He has terrorized many people in his time, and some of those would like to see some retribution for his misdeeds .. I know he has got some hold on you my friend, and that 'bag' of his has a lot to do with what he wants, but we are now in a position to deal with Zevek. If not this whole operation, a large section of it that involves him, which we think could set back their operation a great deal, and could be less than 'healthy' for the man himself. But for this, we alas require your obvious co-operation."

Dan had been concentrating on what his friend was saying, and thus, had been ignoring the two others at the table. He glanced at the pair and shot to his feet in shock, the chair slamming into the wall harmlessly ... Dan was stood looking down ... At himself !

Daniel my friend." Ewan said, quickly standing beside him, "There is no need to worry ... My friends here are from a race know as the Halanan ........ They have the ability to telepathically project any form in the eye's of whoever looks at them. Or at least that's what I can gather. They're damn 'GOOD' at it though in my opinion. Gave you a fright anyway." he said, slapping Dan on the back before retrieving the chair and guiding him to sit back down. The Halanan had resumed his former appearance and was sitting impassively. His companion waited for Dan to settle then spoke:

"We must apologize for the 'shock value' of our little demonstration, but we needed you to be convinced of our 'abilities' should you wish to consider our proposal." Dan felt the base of his spine with one hand as he looked from one of the Halanan to the other, then at Ewan:

"You knew I was in trouble, but chose not to help ?"

"I had my concerns yes, but not until Zevek insisted on you taking the satchel, and of course, the plant explosion left me in no doubt it was all his doing, and that he had chosen you as his scapegoat .... I am most sorry my friend, but i needed time to solicit assistance from within our group."

'Assistance, group, alien help, sabotage ... What the HELL !' Dan thought, totally confused as to his friends apparent 'secret' life.

"Ideally ...." one of the Halanan said, "We would simply 'substitute' you, but the implant makes that difficult, not impossible of course. Also, I assume you have no information as to 'when' you will be joining the Excalibur ... No, I thought not. We have checked, and there is as yet no estimated time of return for the ship, so you could be aboard in a few days, or as much as a week or more. I cannot see Star-fleet letting you stand idle, and they may assign you to other off-world duties so to speak, while awaiting your new vessel .... So .... It is my contention that we must act 'before' the return of your vessel."

"Just what do you plan on 'achieving' before the Excalibur's return ?"

"You are going to murder Zevek !" one of the Halanan said impassively, "In cold blood, and in view of as many witnesses as possible." ..........

[Alyana Ryat]

OOC: I am so sorry all RL keeps getting on top of me, thank you all for the support.

The Excalibur made it back to dock. Aly knew she had new staff assigned to the and there was maintenance to be done. The diplomatic corps had put in a request to have Commander Zarath transferred to them on a temporary secondment. To Aly's surprise the Andorian had accepted the assignment with apparent relish. He had explained that he wished to learn more about the diplomats and she suspected that he would certainly manage that even if they thought they were debriefing him. It seemed like they were not trying to take Captain Santos or Lieutenant Wilkins but of course they had to be debriefed too.

Aly had allowed her crew to go on leave and had changed into a fresh uniform. It was slightly unusual but she was planning to go round the station and introduce herself to the new crewmembers. It got her off the ship and gave her something to do which was rather more useful than harassing the maintenance crews or worrying about the debriefs. She looked down at the list in her hand. Three new officers, that should definitely keep her busy. She was looking forward to seeing Savin again and while she didn't know Commander Schirra or Ensign Psonoir they were highly rated by the Captain of the USS Vincent and the Corp of Engineers respectively. She was lucky to have them.

Apparently Commander Daniel Schirra was currently in his assigned quarters. It was early evening station time so Aly hoped she would be interrupting when she arrived and pressed the door chime. The door slid open.

"Commander Schirra? I'm Alyana Ryat, Captain USS Excalibur, I understand you've been assigned to my ship and I thought I'd come and introduce myself before things start getting busy. I hope I'm not interrupting you."

Tag: Dan

"I was thinking that we could have a chance to get to know each other before we catch up with the other senior officers informally since we're all off duty at the moment."

Tag:

[Daniel Schirra]

=^= ..... bite you in the rear my friend =^=

=^= You realize there is no way in hell I'm going to carry out their damn instructions ! =^=

=^= Given the circumstances Daniel .. I don't see how you can get out of it =^= Admiral Lester was saying, frustration showing on his aged face, =^= Hell .. All this was while you were seconded to us .. Before your being assigned to the Vincent .. Who could have known you would bump into those psychopathic maniacs again =^=

=^= You can't expect me to murder sombo ...... =^= Dan began but paused as the door chime sounded, =^= One moment Admiral =^= he said, leaving the comm open.

"Commander Schirra ? ... I'm Alyana Ryat, Captain USS Excalibur, I understand you've been assigned to my ship and I thought I'd come and introduce myself before things start getting busy. I hope I'm not interrupting you."

"No, not at all Commodore, please come in." Dan said, stepping aside to let the woman pass, "If you can give me a moment I just need to conclude this Comm. Please, take a seat, this won't take a second."

Alyana sat herself down and couldn't help notice the man on the view-screen. She sat in silence while Dan arranged to speak to the Admiral once he knew anything more on the 'issue' as he called it, and with that closed the comm ...

"Sorry about that Commodore." Dan said, taking a seat across from his new Commanding Officer.

"I was thinking, that we could have a chance to get to know each other before we catch up with the other Senior Officers informally, since we're all off duty at the moment ... May I ?" Alyana said, getting up to access the computer terminal and bringing up Daniel's service record to refresh her memory.

"Well .... It's all there Commodore." Dan said, watching as she read.

He could see her pause at the gap in his file ...

Personal Record: Schirra.. Daniel..
SD: 2251.xxxx to 2254.xxxx ...

*** CLASSIFIED ***

"Anything I should know ?" she asked casually.

He hesitated for long moments while he tried to come to a decision on just how much to tell the woman ... 'Officially' he had been assigned to the Excalibur in a advisory position only, but had been instructed to help out as and when needed. 'Unofficially' Lester had given him scant information when he informed him he was to be moved from the Vincent to the Excalibur, he could only surmise it was something to do with the ships next assignment ... But the problem with Zevek, and the Halanan wasn't something he could keep hidden. So, did he inform his new CO that he was likely to commit murder before they depart, or did he keep the covert issue to himself, and his new CO in the dark ...

He in turn, had read up on his new Commanding Officer, and knew she didn't suffer deception or deceit lightly in her crew, and quite rightly expected to know anything that could affect the ship, her crew, the mission, or herself ...

Taking a deep breath, Dan decided to tell her what had happened five years ago, and how he was now being told to murder someone in cold blood, and in front of witnesses ..........

[Alyana Ryat]

OCC: I'm not sure I've put everything together correctly let me know if I've made any mistakes and I will fix it.

Personal Record: Schirra.. Daniel..
SD: 2251.xxxx to 2254.xxxx ...

*** CLASSIFIED ***
It wasn't what Aly had expected to see but then she could hardly claim to be surprised. Personnel records were often unusual things, her own was a work of fiction constructed by the Symbiosis commission. Still she had told the truth to a number of her colleges. she felt a pang as she remember they were scattered to the stars right now.

"Anything I should know ?" she asked casually, pointing at the screen. If he said it was classified above her clearance well that was that. If not, it would give her another insight into her new officer.

Daniel was clearly contemplating whether to tell her whatever was behind that few lines in his record. Aly didn't push. Something like this had to be his decision or else trust between them would be hard to come by.

Taking a deep breath, Dan decided to tell her what had happened five years ago, and how he was now being told to murder someone in cold blood, and in front of witnesses.

Aly settled into a chair. She kept her face composed, grateful for her symbiont's support. It was hardly the first time Ryat had encountered political blackmaill but murder as the end goal was unusual.

"That is an interesting problem." She did her best to look composed as if people told her this sort of thing everyday. Getting panicked would not help the situation. "There can't be many people who would have the knowledge to attempt to manipulate you like that, any ideas?"

Tag: Dan

"As for this Zevek, I expect we can get him to play along with a faked death. After all these people seem to want him dead which isn't really ideal for him."

Tag:

[Karka Psonoir]

Karka's attention was stolen by the bottles lining the shelf behind the bartender. Never had he seen such a disparate collection of liquor; at least twenty different cultures were represented there, in isolation or in various mixes. The surprising thing was he'd only heard of half of them.

"I'll try the prune juice, with gin," the Ensign said, eyes darting back and forth along the row of drinks. The bartender rose an eyebrow, looked at Karka strangely, but poured the beverage as requested.

Alcohol was something that did not often go well with the Hybrudean physiology. Luckily for Karka, he was not inhabiting a Hybrudean body, but a modified human one. Accepting the completed drink, he raised a glass to the vulcanian Commander that had joined him at the bar.

"To the Excalibur, and her impending arrival," he toasted. The glasses clinked and Karka's eyes fell on the entrance to the bar. Entering the establishment was a trio of red-shirted individuals: Psonoir's engineer colleagues from the Corps. Lieutenant Bralski, the leader of the group, spotted Karka early and made a beeline through the clientele towards him.

"Ensign Psonoir. Didn't expect to find you in a place like this." The Lieutenant chuckled. Karka noticed that he'd brought his own drinks to the establishment.

"I wasn't aware it was to become the venue of a party." Karka commented and sipped at the prune-gin combination. It was hard to define its taste. Not having used his taste buds in so long, and somehow having shedded the instinctive knowledge of what tasted good and bad, it was difficult to know if he appreciated it. Still something about it, perhaps the bitterness, told him the combination was not an orthodox one.

Hours later...

Psonoir had met spoken to Commander Savin for a while, and had also met the vulcanian's wife. He'd had little experience of the species - in his time they were extinct, or nearly, due in part to the loss of their homeworld - so it was a refreshing reminder to experience their cold surface of logic, that surface on which everything was painted in rational colour.

Now he watched the USS Excalibur arrival, its smooth top surface glinting as it threw the Starbase's internal beams in many a ray of light across the docking ring. Rumours had circulated within the Archive about the exact shading of the Federation Constitution class's hull - such insignificances were often hotly debated while other, perhaps more crucial elements, were disregarded. Karka could see now that it its complexion was at the steely graphite end of the spectrum, as many of the more recent history books had depicted it.

Eager faced, he began his walk to the location of the appropriate docking vestibule, just now beginning to extend towards the homecoming battlecruiser as it took up its mooring.

"Ensign Psonoir, assistant engineering officer requesting permission to come aboard."

<Tag Excalibur bridge/other>

[Daniel Schirra]

"....... There can't be many people who would have the knowledge to attempt to manipulate you like that, any ideas ?"

"Has any information leaked regarding the Excalibur's next assignment ? .. Maybe they don't want you going wherever you're about to be sent." Daniel asked, then seeing the Commodore shake her head he continued, "OK, Well no, there can't be that many who could manipulate a Star Fleet Officer, and more so one with my, experience. So I think we may need to go with 'disposing of' my target quickly. The last thing we need is Command sending the Excalibur out while we're still trying to work this out."

"I can take us off rotation, tha ......" Alyana began, but Dan interrupted:

"Sorry Commodore, but Command can't know anything of this. It was one of the stipulations of my so-called 'agreement' that I keep this to myself." Daniel said, glancing around the room, "It's possible I've put everyone in danger just by bringing you and Will in."

"Hmm ... OK, well ..." Alyana said, working through an idea, "What about this Zevek, I expect we can get him to play along with a faked death. After all, these people seem to want him dead, which isn't really ideal for him." she said, a wry grin forming.

"Well, I can't approach him, given the implant I'm certain is being tracked by the Halanan." Dan said, "We need to get him alone and run the idea by him. who knows, knowing what Zevek is like, it's possible he'll say no." Dan said, shrugging, and realizing the implications of that rejection ..........

[Alyana Ryat]

Lieutenant Jennifer Wilkins aCCO

Jenni knew she probably shouldn't be on duty but she had been cleared as medically fit and the diplomatic corp didn't want to speak to her until after they had spoken to Captain Santos and Commander Zarath. Simon had ended up with last shift on sensors on the bridge so she had swapped her shifts around and joined him. Aly, that is Commodore Ryat, had taken herself and a pile of PADDs off to the briefing room. Jenni did not envy her friend that.

She was surprised to find that she was the senior bridge officer present and duly notified the captain when the ship was about to dock.


"Ensign Psonoir, assistant engineering officer requesting permission to come aboard."

"Ensign Psonoir, this is the Excalibur. Permission to board granted. When docking is complete, someone will meet you at the forward access point. Welcome aboard."

Aly arrived on the bridge just in time to hear Jenni's words. She smiled slightly. Simon was assigned to a maintenance check after docking so it would be good for Jenni to have some light duties toi pass the time.

She made the necessary announcements about leave and maintenance teams and then turned to Lt Wilkins.

"I am assigning you to give Ensign Psonoir the tour and show him to his quarters."

"Yes, sir." Jenni was a bit surprised by the job but it would certainly be more interesting than sitting around waiting for Simon's shift to finish.

She took the offered PADD and scurried down to the forward access port. The arriving ensign should be relatively easy to spot she reasoned as most people would be leaving the Excal. At the access port Jenni realised she had miscalculated there were a lot of people coming on board, all the maintenance people. She looked around for someone who looked like they were waiting to meet someone.

Tag: Ensign Psonoir
FYI - Jennifer is a human female in her mid twenties with long dark hair and is looking slightly lost with a PADD in hand. You should be able to find her quite easily.

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

Captain Alyana Ryat

"....... There can't be many people who would have the knowledge to attempt to manipulate you like that, any ideas ?"

"Has any information leaked regarding the Excalibur's next assignment ? .. Maybe they don't want you going wherever you're about to be sent." Daniel asked,
Aly shrugged and then shook her head. She hadn't heard but that didn't mean that Starfleet Command hadn't all ready made up their minds where the ship was going to be sent. "OK, Well no, there can't be that many who could manipulate a Star Fleet Officer, and more so one with my, experience. So I think we may need to go with 'disposing of' my target quickly. The last thing we need is Command sending the Excalibur out while we're still trying to work this out."

"I can take us off rotation, tha ......" Alyana began, but Dan interrupted:

"Sorry Commodore, but Command can't know anything of this. It was one of the stipulations of my so-called 'agreement' that I keep this to myself." Daniel said, glancing around the room, "It's possible I've put everyone in danger just by bringing you and Will in."

"Hmm ... OK, well ..." Alyana said, working through an idea, "What about this Zevek, I expect we can get him to play along with a faked death. After all, these people seem to want him dead, which isn't really ideal for him." she said, a wry grin forming.

"Well, I can't approach him, given the implant I'm certain is being tracked by the Halanan." Dan said, "We need to get him alone and run the idea by him. who knows, knowing what Zevek is like, it's possible he'll say no." Dan said, shrugging, and realizing the implications of that rejection.

"I guess that leaves me to approach him." She glanced down at her uniform I guess I ought to get changed, probably hide the spots, maybe tint my hair." Starfleet probably shouldn't be involved."

She saw the look he was giving her. "I'm pretty sure I can pull this off" She stared for a moment her eyes flashing hard and cold, "but if you'd rather I didn't...."

Tag: Dan

[Daniel Schirra]

" ...... It's possible he'll say no." Dan said, wondering where they could go from here ...

"I guess that leaves me to approach him." Alyana said, glancing down at her uniform. "I guess I ought to get changed, probably hide the spots, maybe tint my hair. You're right, Star Fleet probably shouldn't be involved in this ..." She saw the look he was giving her, "I'm pretty sure I can pull this off, but if you'd rather I didn't ..."

"No, Commodore ... I have every faith in you, I just don't want you to get any flack from this if everything goes wrong." Dan said, looking around before getting up, "I'll be back in a moment."

Schirra went over to the bar and pulled Ewan to one side. They spoke for a few moments then the bartender nodded, turning to mix refill's for the table. He handed the tray to Dan and spoke to one of his staff before leaving the bar ... Dan returned to the table:

"Ewan is going to see one of his 'associates' ... He will get the word out that Zevek is needed here. He's arranging a meeting for twenty one hundred. I'll need to stay out of sight, so when he enters Ewan will point him out to you. He's going to be wary of a trap, so you will have to ensure you don't do anything to spook him."

"You don't say." Alyana said, grinning.

"My main worry is the Halanan's ..... If they decide to 'drop in' on us there could be trouble. Especially if they figure out who you are." Dan said, worry crossing his face, "Though we may be safe if the bar doesn't get too crowded, 'AND' I can remain scarce so they can't get me here at the same time. Given their apparent eagerness to have my commit murder, they might just decide a room full of drinkers would suffice for their witness base."

"Hmm." the Commodore mused, raising her eyebrows.

"Maybe you should get back up to the ship and 'change' into something less, formal ? ..... I'll meet you back here at twenty hundred."

Alyana got up to leave.

"Ewan is providing us with a couple of phasers, so wear something with somewhere to hide one." Dan said, grinning ... He couldn't quite read the expression on his Commanding Officers' face ...

~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel returned to the bar early. It was a good thing he did !

"Danny, I've been looking for you all over the place." Ewan said, as if he's scoured the city single-handed, "My contact has been in touch. Zevek wants a meet, but not here."

"Not here ?" Dan said, thinking about Alyana.

"No ..... He wants to meet at the old refinery complex, sector fourteen. The cooling plant ... That's not all ... He says if he see's anyone else in the area, he'll make certain no-one leaves, intact !"

"HELL !" Dan said, realizing people were looking in his direction, "That BILL is no way that large buddy !" he said, watching Ewan go through the motions of calming him down, "I need your back room. I have to get hold of Commodore Ryat before she turns up here." the bartender nodded and let Dan behind the bar ... He opened a Comm link:

=^= Commander Schirra to USS Excalibur =^=

=^= Excalibur =^=

=^= Patch me through to the Commodore please .. Priority one =^=

=^= Ryat =^= Alyana said seconds later.

=^= We have a problem ...... =^=

Daniel went on to explain Zevek's hesitancy, and the re-arranged meeting he had set up. He could feel it all getting out of hand now. He couldn't ask a Command Officer to risk her life on this. But he knew she would jump down his throat if he decided to pull out and go ahead with the killing. He needed to find a way to mask the signal of the implant, or the Halanan would simply follow him to the refinery. They would see to it he killed Zevek, and likely Alyana too, as punishment for his disobeying of their instructions.

=^= We can use the Excalibur to keep a transporter lock on you .. They can pull you ou ...... =^=

=^= The ship's been moved into dry-dock for extensive upgrades .. She's on external power only .. All non-essential systems are off-line =^= the Commodore said.

Dan swore under his breath .... That meant she would need to shuttle to the orbital station and transport down from there. His problem was, if they didn't get to Zevek, and persuade him to play very publicly dead, then the Halanan would make sure he died, along with countless others ...

=^= There's a monitoring station .. Co-ordinates are three two point eight seven four by minus one one eight point two one eight .. It's approximately one thousand meters from the meeting point .. I'll meet you there at twenty hundred =^=

He closed the Comm and opened the draw in from of him. Inside were the two phasers Ewan had provided for their protection ... Dan kind of hoped Alyana would bring something to the party too. 'You can never have too many weapons' he thought, going back into the bar and waving for a drink.

He needed one ! ..........




< tag : Alyana >

[Alyana Ryat]

OOC: Sorry to leave you behind Savin, I hope this works as a jumping in point.

"Maybe you should get back up to the ship and 'change' into something less, formal ? ..... I'll meet you back here at twenty hundred."

Alyana got up to leave. That gave her two hours and a half, she couldn't blame Dan for not wanting to go wandering about meeting other members of staff but she felt that she had to.

"Ewan is providing us with a couple of phasers, so wear something with somewhere to hide one." Dan said, grinning There was something in Dan gaze that unnerved Aly, she had never been quite so glad of Ryat's years of practice at maintaining a neutral expression under any circumstances. She only had Dan's word to go on about what was happening. Was she right to trust him?

She nodded in response and went on her way she would see what was happening when things happened. Right now she was returning to her first aim for this afternoon. It did not take her long to reach the quarters which had been assigned to Savin. She knew he had agreed to comeback to the Excal but it couldn't be easy for him, all those memories.

She pressed the door chime. She heard a voice within. "It's Alyana Ryat, I hope I'm not disturbing you"

Tag: Savin

[Deleted]

"Captain!" Savin stepped aside, allowing the Trill woman access to his small quarters. "Please come in."

The Vulcan poured what appeared to be juice from a carafe and handed the glass to her, then poured one for himself. "No ma'am you are not disturbing me. I just came back from a meeting with my wife and son, so I could get settled. I will rejoining them soon."

He gestured for her to take a seat, then noted on the spartan furnishing in his quarters. "As you can see, I have not yet had time to decorate. My old quarters were unavailable, but these are quite acceptable. I do not need much room for just myself and Caelir. Gwen, Simon and Sanne will not be joining me on my assignment."

Now, a ghost of a smile touched his mouth at the mention of the newest addition to his family. "You have not met them yet have you? I know you have met Gwen before, but our children?"

[Daniel Schirra]

Finishing his drink, Daniel checked the time and realized he still had over an hour until he was to meet Commodore Ryat, and Zevek ... He decided to go the the rendezvous early. He would check the area and make sure they had an escape route if the need arose.

Leaving the bar, he stepped into the evening sunlight.

Ten meters above his head, numerous trans-cabs moved silently along designated routes. Daniel tapped the 'Request' strip that was fixed to every building and waited as one of the vacant transports dropped to the ground in front of him. Entering, he sat back and spoke his destination. He was informed that the area he wished to visit was unsafe and restricted to all but official personnel. Daniel manually entered his Access Code into the screen and the central computer system confirmed his validity. The 'cab' rose smoothly and slotted into the steady stream of traffic ...

~~~~~~~~~~

The refinery was almost sixty kilometers from the center of the city, but it took only moments to reach his destination. The automated cab waited patiently until he had alighted, then rose once more and vanished from view ... Thirty minutes later he had circumnavigated the meeting area and was satisfied they had a good chance of surviving should things go wrong. But that was the only 'plus' point as he realized Zevek could have anyone hidden anywhere inside, or on the roof of any of the surrounding buildings. He used the tricorder he'd brought to scan the area, but at this point he seemed to be the only person within a two thousand meter radius.

Checking his bearings, Dan moved to the monitoring station adjacent the cooling plant where they were to meet Zevek, and waited for Commodore Ryat ..........

[Karka Psonoir]

Karka wandered about the section of the docking ring outside the Excalibur. As much as the grandeur of the ship had struck him when he'd arrived in its vicinity, he really needed to get aboard.

Apparently someone had been sent from the ship to find him, but all he could see were masses of Starbase techs moving in formation towards the Excalibur. Their motion was fluid like a shoal of fish. Having had enough, Karka approached one of the techs, tapping him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir. I'm hoping to meet someone."

The tech blinked, suddenly looking as if he wished to be somewhere else. "Can't help you there, friend." He hurried off with his work colleagues, clutching his manitenance case tightly.

"You're Ensign Psonoir, aren't you?" a plaintive voice said from behind him.

The Hybrudean turned and was faced with a female lieutenant. "That's correct. You must be the person sent to meet me." Karka gave a slight bow, waving his right hand forward slightly in the Hybrudean tradition. The act seemed to embarrass her. Of course, having taken a human form, such a ritual would seem unusual to 'other' humans. However Karka had personally fabricated his personal file to read that he was from a distant human colony, where this greeting had been a tradition since the the early-to-mid 22nd century.

"A pleasure to meet you, sir." He straightened, hoping he hadn't bemused the officer. He followed her to the ship, pushing past the maintenance personnel to enter through the forward vestibule.

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, how did you know it was me?" Karka asked, trailing the fast walking Lieutenant Wilkins as they passed aboard the ship.

"I looked up your file before coming to meet you."

Karka smiled, although Wilkins couldn't see as she was ahead of him, leading him to the turbolift. "Ah..." he spoke inaudibly. "And what did you make of it, sir." The query had the tone of a promising student's request for an evaluation of his latest prose.

Wilkins raised an eyebrow, but seemed to take the question in her stride. They stepped into the turbolift. Fully aware of the intricacies of this era's technology, Karka took hold of the device on the wall as Wilkins called out for the turbolift to take them to the bridge. Glancing briefly at the Lieutenant, Karka looked amusedly at the wall in front of him.

"You're well qualified for an engineering post aboard the Excalibur, Mr Psonoir. I'm surprised you're only at Ensign, given your list of achievements and commendations from senior officers. You might have been looking at the chief's position, rather than assistant."

"I'm due for promotion at the end of the following year..." Karka looked around the turbolift with interest, observing the pulsing lights in the small windows as the lift rose through the ship.

Once on the bridge he located the engineering console. As he understood it, approximately a quarter of his time would be spent on the bridge. At other times the engineering console would be manned by his subordinates, or in special circumstances the chief engineer.

At this point Psonoir was given the task of coordinating the maintenance staff, whom were currently flooding the ship using engineering as their focal point. He knew maintenance techs could be a pain, as he'd previously worked as one, servicing the USS Yorktown.

No! The Evokes attacked him, sharp in his head like steel barbs, tearing into his skull's interior with its reminder of his true anima. The thoughts kept coming, assailing his mind until his ego acquiesced. That service record, those memories, sensorial experience were fabrications, installed by himself so he could better play his role. It often happened to agents that travelled long from their home centre or archive. They would soak up the persona of their assumed role, til they no longer knew which anima was real; which was constructed and which had been with them all their existence. And the curious, but also frightening thought was that, at some point down the road, what did it actually matter? Both anima were the same, as concrete as each other in the subject's mind. The Evokes, just now emergent in his mind, were a set of protocols designed to keep those false experiences in line.

One issue with the Evokes, which Karka was wary of now, was that their reminders could quash valid latent personality matrices, which in some Hybrudeans could display themselves later in development. Thus the legitimate transformation of an agent's identity could be tampered with, and a new state of mind destabilised in its early stages. In some cases these unfortunate blockings had resulted in agents developing psychosis, or worse.

<OOC: If you need any assistance with Mr Zevek, Karka would be happy to step in>

[Daniel Schirra]

He had arrived early intentionally ... Mainly, he wanted an advantage over Zevek and whatever cronies he decided to bring with him, but secondly, he didn't want the Excalibur's Captain to walk into a fire-fight that could get her killed ... He checked the time ... Still thirty minutes before Zevek was supposed to show ... He looked around the area once more, feeling the apprehension growing ... It was too open, vantage points were too easily accessed. He decided he needed help. Officially, Daniel was not a member of the Excalibur, but he decided rank did have it's privileges at times. He tried to remember the name of the Engineer he'd met in the bar ... Poson, Sonar, Psnor, hell what was it ... Psonoir, Ensign Karka Psonoir !

"Got it !" he said, subconsciously ducking behind the small outcrop he'd hidden behind ... 'I may be risking giving myself away, but needs must' he thought, taking his communicator:

=^= Commander Schirra to Excalibur =^=

=^= Excalibur Commander .. Lieutenant Jarvix =^=

=^= Lieutenant .. I need you to patch me through to Ensign Psonoir .. Priority one =^=

=^= Sir .. The Ensign is on the surface at this time .. Patching you through =^=

There was a brief pause as the Lieutenant did what he realized he could have done himself, then his communicator sprang to life:

=^= Ensign Psonoir =^=

=^= Ensign .. Commander Schirra .. If you are not too busy .. I have a proposal for you .. Interested ? =^=

< tag : Karka >

=^= Great .. Just out of curiosity .. Is there any way you can set up a couple of phaser rifles to fire from a tricorder you are holding ? =^=

< tag : Karka >

=^= I need you here in fifteen minutes .. Is that doable ? =^=

=^= It is Commander .. But I'll need to go now =^=

Daniel closed the Comm and took a tentative peak around the wall ... The place seemed as deserted as it had five minutes ago, and that, frankly, was worrying him no end !

It suddenly occurred to him that they may not only have Zevek and his hired help to contend with. What if the Halanan decide to call him on this killing thing ?. They may just decide that their desire to have Zevek killed outweighed their need to have it happen in public ... He took out the tricorder yet again and scanned three hundred and sixty degrees ... Same result ... He couldn't figure out why Zevek, or the damn Halanan hadn't got her first and were ready for him. It was obvious they wanted him to commit murder, but all that would do would be to stop him leaving with the Excalibur ?

If it was just him, then why not simply hurt him, or even kill him outright !

No ... This had something to do with the mission the Excalibur may, or may not, be assigned ... So it was paramount that they not only spoke with Zevek, but somehow managed to get him away from here and into custody. Just how they were going to manage that, was, well .... Uncertain ..........





OOC : OK all, let's get those imaginative juices flowing lol ......


OOC : Commodore, please feel free to inform me when you are mission ready.
I can easily finish off this thread easily when required.

[Karka Psonoir]

"Please arrive soon, Karka... She's playing up again. Didn't sleep at all last night."

"I'm well on my way already, dear," Karka answered. He was striding up an old-fashioned street towards the area known as the Ashbury Heights. The place was rustic in appearance, but was interspersed with segments of the new: streamlined architectural designs cut into the substance of the ancient structures. He reached the end of the street, turned right up a sharp incline then took another up a narrow flight of steps, leading directly into a first floor property. His wife was in the main dining area, working frantically at a pair of replicators. She barely noticed his arrival.

He slung his case on the couch and walked to the sonic shower. "Calm yourself, Katy," he called into the main room, his voice muffled by the activation of the shower, but not nearly as muted by the screams of the child in the cot the other side of the room.

Families were a bad idea. An unfortunate slip in judgment - or a sudden whim - he'd had whilst in the departure bay at the archive. "Why not? I need a bit of fun. It's part of being a vigilante, is it not?"

"That's true," Lirwa had replied, staring at his toes sheepishly. Karka had smiled, disconcertingly, as he'd idly continued programming the family's specifications into his vessel's computers and, subsequently, his memory centres.

Psonoir kissed his wife on the neck as he exited the shower, trying to alleviate her frenzied state. It worked, but only slightly. The child kept crying.

* * *

He passed down to the street, then his communicator chirped. He withdrew it from his waist belt and flipped it open. =^= Ensign .. Commander Schirra .. If you are not too busy .. I have a proposal for you .. Interested ? =^=

"Depends, sir." Karka checked the chronometer as he passed back out into the Frisco sun. Inordinately tall towers lay before him, just visible in the hazy aura created by the mist rolling in off the Pacific Ocean. "Is this about Mr Zevek? If so, I have three or four theories that might be of some use to you."

=^= Great .. Just out of curiosity .. Is there any way you can set up a couple of phaser rifles to fire from a tricorder you are holding ? =^=

Karka smiled, momentarily taken with surprise - almost delight - at the idea. It was one he hadn'd considered. =^=It should be doable.=^=

=^= I need you here in fifteen minutes .. Is that doable ? =^=

=^= It is Commander .. But I'll need to go now =^=

Night was falling. Karka looked about, for the first time feeling a pang of anxiety attacking his mainframe. He tried his best to store it in its appropriate alcoves, but anxiety, and its associated disorders, were things that couldn't be easily categorised - easily shunted to deep ill-often visited recesses of the mind.

There was a security centre nearby. He used it to beam himself directly to Engineer Corps. By his reckoning, he'd have five minutes to reach Schirra once he'd arrived in the cooling plant's vicinity.

The Corps was oddly empty. Business was over for the day (if business it could be called, given the New World Economy that the humans had adopted in the last century and a half, or more), but usually engineers stayed behind to finish their projects. Karka passed through at a jog and found the device Bralski had been working on: a tricorder, with enhanced range and targeting reticules. He grabbed two Mk.I phasers from a nearby storage locker and virtually 'gaffer-taped' them to the tricorder, then performed some rapid microsurgery with the fibre-optic circuitry that only a Hybrudean would've been capable of in such a short time.


The cooling plant was hollow and foreboding. Canisters at least 50 feet high lay all around. Gantryways connecting them at mid-level, providing access to coolant level readouts etc. etc. Karka had no time for the details. He slid between a tight spot, the sight of the rest of the refinery momentarily eclipsed from sight, and that's when the attack came.

Two assailants, mere silhouettes against the dark walls either side, descended on him like diamond-edged rapiers. Karka was crushed to the floor; they had him bound, hands behind back, a persistence force pressing at the small of his back. A slide of metal-on-metal told Psonoir one of them was withdrawing a knife. He closed his eyes, neurons from his retinae riding mental paths to cortical structures unknown to man. He executed the command.

He flipped on his back, despite the weight of the attackers pressing him down, and butted the one with the knife across the bridge of the nose. The assailant flew back through the air as if he'd been punched by a Klingon. The other clambered impossibly up the wall and out of sight. The engineer loped after the other assailant - who he noticed had a remarkable resemblance to Zevek, as Karka had observed him on the Excalibur's database. 'Zevek' let loose a shot with a hitherto-unseen projectile weapon. Karka was on the ground again, this time gripping his leg, in silent agony. 'Zevek' with one glance back, took off further down the alley. Psonoir regarded his attacker one last time, before his vision became blurry, and his mental processes informed him he was about to lose consciousness. He surrendered; but the subprocesses, still working, would ensure it wouldn't last long.


"Commander Schirra," Karka greeted, approaching with the modified tricorder in hand. The blue-collared officer was propped against a wall, periodically throwing cautionary glances around it.

"Good work, Ensign." Schirra paused as he regarded the device Karka had just passed to him. "How are you still an Ensign?"

"That, sir, is a question the answer to which has eluded me a fair while," he replied, not really sure what to say. He regarded Schirra warily, and there was sudden steel in his eyes. "What's the plan, sir? When's Zevek due to arrive? Five minutes, less?"

<Tag Schirra> <Tag Ryat> Guess what's happening

[Daniel Schirra]

Daniel was sat behind the pump station with his back to the wall when his tricorder suddenly emitted a muted proximity alert. He lifted the device and scanned the area ahead of him, and within seconds had located the focus of the signal. Raising his phaser, he waited for his 'guest' to show himself, and was relieved to see the Ensign approaching cautiously ... He handed Dan a modified tricorder as he introduced himself.

"Good work Ensign." Dan confirmed, looking at the metallic case in which Psonoir had placed two phaser-rifles complete with fold out tripods.

"What's the plan, Sir ... When is Zevek due to arrive ... Five minutes, less ?"

"Calm down Ensign." Dan instructed the younger man as he scanned the area for suitable locations to place the rifles, "Zevek isn't due for thirty minutes, so we need to work fast ... I'm thinking if we place one of the rifles in the upper window of the building to our left, and maybe the other on the opposite side of the area from us ... What do you think ?"

< tag : Karka >

"OK." Daniel agreed, picking up one of the rifles, "We'll meet back here in ten. Keep a wary eye out. My scans show only you and I within range, but I wouldn't put it past the Halanan to have managed to get in here undetected."

"Is it just the two of us, Commander ?" Psonoir asked, making imputs to the tricorder, mainly for line-of-fire parameters.

"We should be joined by Commodore Ryat, so make sure you factor her into any safeties you have incorporated."

With that, Dan crouched low from force of habit, and sprinted across the open space to the building he wanted to enter. Once safely in the doorway, he nodded to the Ensign, who, with one last scan picked up the second rifle and bolted from behind the wall.

Climbing the dilapidated stairway, Dan was conscious of every corner, every shadow, every minute creak of rusted metalwork. Reaching the fourth floor, he made his way to the west side and put the weapon on the floor. Moving cautiously, he approached the window and held up the tricorder just below the glass-less opening before lifting it slowly to run the scan ... Again, they seemed to be alone. Psonoir must have reached his building as he was showing at an elevation of fifteen meters.

"Well done Ensign." Dan whispered before turning to the rifle ...

Making sure the weapon was in deep shadow toward the rear of the room, he activated the small panel and allowed the rifle to scan the opening and set firing parameters. Getting the green light, he set it to the remote random firing pattern and stepped back ... From here on in, Psonoir could fire a single shot through the open window, or allow the rifle to fire randomly. It would also scan for anything attempting to fire on the weapon itself, and react accordingly.

Dan made his way to ground level and tentatively looked out of the door. Darkness was falling quickly now given the season, so he hoped Zevek made an appearance soon, or who knows what could happen ! ..........

[Alyana Ryat]

OOC: Apologies all and thank you for continuing to post. Work has piled up on top of me and I lost all energy and motivation to post.
Daniel, Mission to start at the beginning of next month when I get off my LOA

Alyana Ryat

Aly was happy to see Savin although as she glanced around his quarters she was worried about the state of his mind. Living in a spartan environment wasn't exactly unusual for a Vulcan but it wasn't like his previous quarters.

"As you can see, I have not yet had time to decorate. My old quarters were unavailable, but these are quite acceptable. I do not need much room for just myself and Caelir. Gwen, Simon and Sanne will not be joining me on my assignment." Well that explained it. Aly saw what passed for a smile on his face and did not say anything not interrupting his train of thought.

"You have not met them yet have you? I know you have met Gwen before, but our children?"

"I have not had that honour." Aly said smiling.

"How long have you been on station." Aly asked.

Tag:

"I know the Excalibur has been assigned some new crew. Actually," she continued her train of though running away with her. "there has been quite a crew turn over since you were last with us. I imagine you will have a lot of new faces to get to know."

Tag:

..."anyway, where I was trying to go with this conversation was to ask you whether you had met any of the new crew members and what you thought about them?"

Tag:

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

Lt Jennifer Wilkins

It took her a little while but she eventually located the officer she was seeking

"You're Ensign Psonoir, aren't you?" a plaintive voice said from behind him.


"That's correct. You must be the person sent to meet me." Jenni did not quite know what to make of his bow and wave greeting, it was not one she immediately recalled from her academy studies, which rather irked her, she was a communications officer after all she was supposed to know that sort of thing.

"I am indeed. Lieutenant Jennifer Wilkins, Assistant Chief Communications Officer. I am pleased to meet you.

"A pleasure to meet you, sir."

The two of them headed back into the ship.

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, how did you know it was me?"

Jenni realised that he was falling behind her an slowed her pace. She had developed an ability to get from A to B quickly without actually running. Given that she was under average height her speed often surprised people. She smiled

"I looked up your file before coming to meet you."

"Ah..." he spoke inaudibly. "And what did you make of it, sir."

He actually seemed to want an honest opinion

She thought for a moment before replying

"You're well qualified for an engineering post aboard the Excalibur, Mr Psonoir. I'm surprised you're only at Ensign, given your list of achievements and commendations from senior officers. You might have been looking at the chief's position, rather than assistant."

In a way what was saying could apply to her too. Jenni could have tried out for the chief's slot after Aly got promoted but she hadn't. Commanding a section was something she wanted to do, but not just yet. Maybe in a year or so.

"I'm due for promotion at the end of the following year..." he continued.


Jenni smiled. She showed Ensign Psonoir to his assigned quarters and offered to show him to the bridge and/or engineering. However as someone who had previously served on the Yorktown he had said that he knew the way and would be happy to be left to settle in. Jenni went on her way to enjoy her leave.

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

Aly returned to her quarters and changed she put a dark dye through her hair changing it's colour to nearly black then she braided it tightly so it's length was not apparent. She changed into a drab grey pair of trousers and a loose fitting brownish tunic top. She also covered over her spots with a demal wand that had been retuned precisely for this purpose before she had left home, she had never had cause to use it until now. She was surprised how effective it was. Trill were relatively rare and the spots were what every one noticed. She rubbed her hand across her now unmarked cheek but there was nothing to feel, the edges of the artificial dermal layer blended perfectly with the surrounding skin.

She walked a circuitous route to where she had arranged to meet Dan. He was talking to someone she belatedly recognised as Ensign Psonoir another one of the Excal's new assignments. She approached quietly.

"How are we doing?"

Tag: Dan / Ensign Psonoir

[Ephrem Santos]

“Yes sir, they have gotten more brazen in the last couple of months,” Ephrem said as he checked his chronometer. Starfleet had not been happy to learn that one of their own could have been taken off a secure Federation starbase so easily. While lucky, Starfleet was starting to see a pattern that it did not like at all.

“Ephrem you know what is at stake, the Federation has many enemies and for the first time in decades there is serious talk amongst the brass that we need to stop exploring the unknown,” Admiral Richards said clearly concerned.

“Admiral, we cannot do that, the Enterprise has just been assigned on an unprecedented five year mission, our primary goal is to explore the unknown,” Ephrem said clearly surprised at the turn of events. Everyone knew that space exploration was difficult and dangerous, it came with the job.

“I agree, but we must minimize our losses, they becoming unacceptable,” Richards responded as she inputted some information into her console, “Captain, you will be receiving some orders shortly, it will be an ongoing mission directive. We need to make sure that every Starfleet vessel is manned and commanded by our best.”

Ephrem immediately did not like this idea. Since being stationed on the Excalibur, it was difficult enough having two captains on board. Still it would be prudent to not show his displeasure. Aly was more than a capable officer and it would behoove Starfleet to promote her. Great captains were extremely difficult to come by and it would solve their little problem on the Excalibur.

“Yes ma’am, I’ll make sure to be diligent in my orders,” Ephrem replied, which quickly followed by a staged yawn, “I’m sorry Admiral, I have not been able to get any sleep since being rescued. If you would excuse me, it would be prudent for me to get some rest.”

“Of course, Captain, Richards out.”

Ann Richards had been Ephrem’s favorite professor at the Academy, but things had changed since the incident in London and San Francisco. She had become so much more militarized and secluded. Her promotion to CIC was her dream, but many including Ephrem believed that the old adage was becoming a reality, power corrupts.

“Captain, you absence is becoming noticeable,” Lt. Davis said as he walked into Ephrem’s quarters. As his diplomatic attache, Mark was privy to certain things that no other crewmember was allowed to do. Barging into Ephrem’s quarters was one of those things.

“I know, but when the principal calls, you better answer the phone,” Ephrem said as he put on his jacket and headed towards the mess. Ephrem had been informed that the Excalibur had been given some new blood and it was always nice to get to know the newbies. “Well Mark, lead the way.”

(Tag ALL)

[Daniel Schirra]

Dan reached the pump house and flattened himself against the wall. He scanned the area outward from the rendezvous point and detected no movement. He was beginning to think this whole meeting had been some enormous hoax, though why, he couldn't fathom. He took a chance and peeked around the wall to see if Psonoir was on his way back, but could see nothing. Hardly surprising given the failing light ... He was about to go look for the Ensign when he felt a hand on his shoulder ! .... Turning quickly, he thrust the business end of a 'Type One' phaser into the chest of Commodore Ryat ... She glanced at the weapon and grinned as Daniel hastily returned the weapon to it's former place.

"How are we doing ?" Alyana asked almost casually.

"Commodore, I must appolo ......" Dan began, but she cut him off:

"Forget it Commander. I can sneak around with the best of them when the need arises. Though I have to compliment you on your ... Restraint, in not firing then thinking." Alyana said, peering into the moonless night.

There was a rustle off to the left and Psonoir arrived:

"Did you get the rifle set up OK ?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, we can simulate multiple fire scenario's whenever we need to ... Commodore." he said, turning to his Commanding Officer.

"This place is abandoned, derelict, and we're alone here at the moment ...... Right ?" Alyana asked, "So why is there a light showing. Fifth floor, two windows from the right. Building to the west of us ?"

Daniel looked in the direction indicated and she was right, there was a light, albeit faint, but in the receding sunlight it had begun to stand out against the blackness of the surrounding windows. 'How the hell dod I miss that earlier ?' Dan thought, slapping himself for the error ... He picked up the tricorder and adjusted it to narrow scan before pointing it toward the building in question ...

"Bio-signs." he said, puzzled, "I'm pretty sure those readings weren't there the last time I scanned the area. So ... I need to go check out that building." he said, taking out his phaser and double-checking it was in working order and fully charged.

< tag : Alyana / Karka >

Agreeing to the Commodore's conditions, Dan took off towards the building at a wide angle, Psonoir heading toward the same goal but not following Schirra directly. Dan hoped that the Commodore was as good as she boasted regarding her ability to move around furtively as he began to climb the stairs, Psonoir hopefully doing the same on the other side of the building ... Reaching the floor in question, Dan ran the tricorder through three sixty degrees and could only see Psonoir's life-sign reading. But there was something in the room ahead, and no gizmo was going to tell him what it was ... He had to see for himself.

Phaser in hand, he edged along the corridor to the door he needed. Glancing back, he took the handle and pressed down .... The door swung open silently, and Dan stood to one side for long moments. The last thing he wanted to o was be silhouetted in the doorway, but eventually, he realized he needed to be in the room, whatever the cost ... Taking a deep breath, he risked a glance, then held the tricorder in the opening ... Nothing. tentatively satisfied it was clear, he rolled around the door frame and pushed himself against the wall, blending into the darkness, phaser at the ready.

He needn't have bothered ...

Even in the darkness of the room, he could see the body of Zevek ...... It occurred to Dan that there was no need to leave the body where it was. So grasping Zevek's legs he lowered him to the ground, not before time, as Karka entered the room, closely followed by Commodore Ryat. Psonoir scanned the body, before confirming what Dan already knew, that Zevek had suffered a barbaric death .... It was obviously a show of intent, but there was something bothering Dan ... The room was clear, apart from a chair, on it's side, a table, and a small piece of paper !

Dan approached the table, the nagging feeling growing by the nano-second. He was close enough to read what was on the note:


'EXCALIBUR WILL NOT TROUBLE OUR WORLD'

It hit Dan like the proverbial brick to the forehead .....

"RUN ...... NOW"

He yelled !

No-one needed to ask for explanations, the three turned on their heels and shot out of the door ... Making the stairway in seconds, they made the ground floor in record time, then Dan skidded to a halt in the doorway. What better way to target someone, but have they leave a building fearing for their very lives. But he was second-guessing himself as he realized 'whoever' wanted them dead, 'WANTED' them in the building !

Sprinting through the doorway, Alyana and Karka were figuratively millimeters behind him as he dove behind a monument in the square. He lifted his head from the dust in time to see the building they had been in seconds before, erupt in a massive fireball !

Masonry rained down on them, and despite the tentative protection of the statue, all three suffered multiple impacts from pieces of rock, brickwork, window frame. But thankfully, the size of the explosive device ensured nothing big enough remained of the structure to cause them serious injury as it hit them ... Dusting themselves off as the rubble settled, Dan looked over the base of the statue they had hidden behind. The building, along with those either side, were now piles of brickwork, unrecognizable as establishments. He realized that Zevek was in there somewhere, but the realization that the Excalibur was in danger was paramount in his mind ... This couldn't be about just him, they could have killed him at any time. This was about the Excalibur, and the only conclusion he could come to regarding who killed Zevek, and who almost succeeded in killing several of the Excalibur crew... Was the Halanan ! ..........