Mission 2.4: Divided Paths

[Deleted]

as i stepped of the ship on to the starbase to be met by the security officer cam i help you s he said yes please any news of our missing crew no she said can you please tell me where they
where last yes they where in the bar om deck 23 thank you so i am of to the bar and start questioning the people there

[Alyana Ryat]

The Vulcan officer absorbed news of the missing crew members with no obvious reaction. Aly knew that he was reacting but not showing it, Vulcans were very good at that. Neither Aly nor Zedan had ever mastered the ability. Zedan had been pretty good at read Vulcans but it had taken him the better part of 50 years of regular practice, Aly was a long way out of practice and had no idea what was going through her new CTNO's mind as he heard the news.

"Okay any more news on the missing people?" Kalelothran asked.

Aly shook her head. "We assume they were transported off the station but we've not yet found any witnesses."

Ensign Kalelothran suggested that they interview people at the shops, bars and restaurants on deck 23. Aly was aware that that was where Jenni had been seen. She glanced at Simon, it was clear that standing here and seemingly doing nothing was eating him up.

"That is a good idea, Ensign. Chief Mitchell will accompany you. He's been living on the station for several months and knows a lot of the population."

Tag: Ensign Kalelothran

Aly turned to Mark "Lieutenant shall you and I go through the sensor records."

Tag: Lt Davis

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


Chief Petty Officer Simon Mitchell

Simon was grateful to be doing something, anything. It was so much better than trying not to pace in a small room while a group of officers discussed things. He looked sidelong at the Vulcan officer he was accompanying.

Simon looked around.

"I last saw Jenni over there." He pointed. "Where would you like to start, sir?"

Tag: Ensign Kalelothran

[Deleted]

where shell we first look cpo mitchell who would you say is the most reliable

[Alyana Ryat]

OOC: sorry it's been a while, RL has been on top of me.

"Where shell we first look CPO Mitchell who would you say is the most reliable?" Ensign Kalelothran asked

Simon bit his lip in response. He had lived on base for the better part of two years but who in the precinct was the most reliable? It wasn't something that he had ever thought about. "Well, Madigan always seems to know everything." Simon pointed at the coffee shop at the end of the arcade. "However, it might be simpler to start at one end and work down." He paused again before remembering himself and making an addition "Sir".

Tag: Kalelothran

[Alyana Ryat]

Jeni followed Captain Santos and Commander Thalin through the corridors on the ship. They had gone several hundred metres from their cell but had so far not encountered any crewmembers. That struck her as very odd but she couldn't bring herself to make any comment about it. Outside the cell the ship was warmer than was strictly comfortable. Jeni hadn't commented on that either.

They were searching for an auxillary communications terminal, they had determined that that would be the best place to send a signal from the ship. Between two comms officers (one no longer active) and a science officer it did not take them long to locate the right sort of junction. The labeling was definitely in Klingon although Jeni and Captain Santos between them had enough vocabulary to work out what was what. Mid way through the reprogramming, Commander Zarath stopped and looked at one of the subdisplay screens. He tapped it with his finger and the screen flickered and then stabilised.



"According to this read out this ship is on emergency power and there are only three life signs aboard.

[Ephrem Santos]

Baddies Point of View

"He must be punished! How incompetent must you be to kidnap the wrong person?" Serena asked loudly.

"I was wrong, but so were you," Jayden spat back," we did a job and it did not go according to our plan, but these things happen."

"Shut up, you are lucky that you are my brother, I do not like surprises," a cloaked man said. He was obviously the leader of the group, but one could easily tell that their was something much more menacing than the others. "Serena, I was not looking for a Captain, but I digress. We will need to get from them what we can and get rid of them."

"I understand boss, but from my source on the starbase the Captain of the Excalibur is tearing the place apart," Serena reported," she will be on our tail soon. We just don't have the technology or power to outrun a Constitution class."

"Don't talk to me like I'm incompetent!" the cloaked man said as he slapped Serena to the floor," we have faced greater challenges than this captain. I will not back down to them, I want to see our prisoners. Bring them to me alive."

"Yes sir," Serena said as she quietly picked herself up from the floor. Jayden quickly joined her and headed towards the brig.

"Finally we are getting rid of this Federation scum," Jayden said as he prepped his weapon.

[Alyana Ryat]

CPO Simon Mitchell

Simon was tired and felt a bit sick He and Ensign Kalelothran had been all around the shopping arcade and spoken to everyone they could find. They had managed to find a young woman who had seen someone fitting Jenni's description collide with another woman in one of the clothing shops.

Station personnel had cleared the area and started surveys. It wasn't long before Simon heard the shout indicating that an unexplained transporter trace had been located. His stomach knotted, he would bet at least a month's pay that whatever signals they were reading would be repeated in at least two other places on the station. It was clear that a lot of planning had gone into the whole abduction but he felt they were no closer to discovering who or why or getting Jenni and the others back.



Lieutenant Jennifer Wilkins

Jenni stared at the screen Thalin had said that there were three life signs about this ship and at that time there had been. Now there were five. Two more had just appeared.

Jenni knew that if the new arrivals had been Starfleet there would have been a whole boarding party's worth of people. That meant that the new arrivals were not Starfleet and that was not good and they were approaching fast.

Tag: Ephrem


Sofia - One of the bad guys

Sofia was not happy that she had been tasked to remain on the station and keep an eye on the Starfleet search. She knew it was a punishment for having reported that the women they had taken was not Captain Ryat but some communications officer or other. The Arcade had been closed so she had been forced to monitor things from a vantage point on the deck above. It wasn't the best spot because she had no reason to be there but so far the search proceeded and no one had really stopped to interrogate her. That could not last forever.

Captain Ryat

Aly and Mark were coordinating all the information coming in. The station personnel had all checked in as had all visitor which had officially registered. There were only three people missing all from the Excalibur. Aly sighed. She was tired and she had a headache. She probably needed to stop and check her isoboramine levels but although stress wasn't good for a joining she wasn't suffering any of the symptoms of something wrong between her and Cet, which was just as well she really didn't have time for that.

She perched on the edge of the desk and ran her fingers through her hair which had long since escaped it's braids. A terrible thought had struck her about half an hour ago. Now it was clear and inescapable.

"I don't think they meant to take Lieutenant Wilkins. I think they meant to take me. I was in the arcade at the same time as them and wearing the same colour top as Jenni... She and I fit the same basic description and it back far more sense to take the Excal's three most senior officers rather than two of the three and another officer."

Tag: Mark

[Ephrem Santos]

Ephrem's Point of View

Starfleet was a peaceful organization dedicated to the exploration of known space. Every Starfleet officer knows that the Starfleet life is filled with dangers and it trains its officers to deal with these things. The destruction of Vulcan showed the Federation that evil is constanly ready to strike. Ephrem knew that the three of them would be randsomed off to the highest bidder, with Ephrem being the prized jewel.

"Jenni, we have to be ready for anything," Ephrem said," Thalin knows these situations and he is ready for all possibilities. I know you have been trained like all of us, but if things get bad I need you to fight."

(Jenni)

The dirty that Ephrem was referring to was the bloodshed that would be spilled in the upcoming moments. Ephrem had never shied away from protecting the men and women under his command. Ephrem had killed in self defense, but he knew that this situation would be different. The only way that the three of them would get out alive was if they killed their captors before they killed them.

"Captain, we have company," Thalin reported as he took a defensive posture," if anything happens, we should be ready to attack."

"Yes, Commander, if you find an opening I want you to take it," Ephrem said as he awaited for their company to arrive.

Jayden's Point of View

Jayden knew that he could not kill the prisoners in their cargo hold, but he could make them pay. Serena had been ready to quit this job almost as soon as it had begun, but his brother had other ideas. Taking on a Federation Captain would send a statement, and his brother was all about making statements.

"Captain Santos, my brother would like to see you and your friends," Jayden said," if you try anything please know that I will shoot your crewmen."

From the captain's facial expressions, Jayden knew that the man had gotten the message. Even though he had the upperhand, the calm demeanor of his prisoner unnerved Jayden. Their prisoners had come to accept their fates and they were not afraid. Jayden knew that it was unwise to keep them onboard, but he was not in a position to make any of those choices.

"Lets go, my brother does not like to be kept waiting," Jayden said hoping his brother would take his advice and get rid of these guys.

[Alyana Ryat]

Lieutenant Jennifer Wilkins

Jenni stood quietly watching as the lifesigns approached. It had to be assumed that they were monitoring the starfleet trio so an ambush was out of the question. Jenni really did not quite know what to do the wait was absolutely agonizing.

"Jenni, we have to be ready for anything," Ephrem said," Thalin knows these situations and he is ready for all possibilities. I know you have been trained like all of us, but if things get bad I need you to fight."

Jenni nodded firmly. "Yes, sir." She had never been combat orientated and doubted she ever would be. She had been on dangerous missions, she was a starfleet officer it came with the territory, and hadn't frozen up. She knew what she was capable of. She had work hard in basic hand to hand at the academy and had been rather surprised to find that her skill in dancing meant that she wasn't too bad, as was required for all serving members of starfleet she kept up her training. Still, she had never used those skills in an actual fight and she really wasn't relishing the chance to do so. Not that she would ever willingly let her fellow officers down.

It was obvious that fighting at this moment was going to be tough. She noted that one of the two was focusing on Thalin and the other on Captain Santos. Jenni knew she had the least threatening appearance of the trio, well, if she was honest was the least threatening but that didn't mean she was incapable. If she got the chance then she'd make them realise that...

Tag: Ephrem

[Ephrem Santos]

Ephrem's Point of View

As Ephrem assessed the situation, he realized that the cost of an attempt would be to great. He was not willing to sacrifice the life of Thalin or Jenni. Right now they were his responsibility and he would rather die, than have his men and women under him face their maker in his place.

Ephrem made sure to get Thalin's attention and motioned for him to stand down. They would have their opportunity soon, hopefully when the Excalibur found them.

"Jayden, take us to your brother already,"Ephrem said solemnly. He hoped that Lady Luck was with them this day.

"I don't know why you are ready to meet your death," Jayden snickered," my brother should kill you the moment you enter the bridge. He has denied me the pleasure, but I will enjoy your death nonetheless."

"Shut the hell up, you worthless moron," Ephrem said," if I was going to die, he would have killed me long ago. I'm to valuable as a hostage."

"You might be, but not them," Jayden said as he pointed his gun at Thalin and Jenni.

"Jayden, do not be rude," the cloaked man said," they will die, the moment I see fit."

Mark Davis POV

"We've found them!" Mark proclaimed as he looked at his finding again. The Excalibur had been able to convince a certain criminal on the starbase to help them. They had promised to oversee his recent criminal activities, but that was more than a bargain.

"We can overtake the ship within the hour," the communications officer reported," we are not able to scan from this distance, but I doubt they have enough weapons to be a real threat to us."

"Yes, but they can easily kill the hostages in the meantime," Mark replied," Captain what are we going to do when we get their? I don't know about you, but having three Starfleet personal kidnapped and killed is not acceptable."

(Alyana)

[Alyana Ryat]

Lieutenant Jennifer Wilkins

Jenni was doing her best to stay calm. It was very difficult with someone pointing a gun at her. Okay, to be fair he wasn't pointing the gun consistently at her, sometimes he was pointing it at Thalin. That wasn't exactly reassuring.

It appeared that they had been imprisoned on a small planet hopper which was docked to the larger ship. which explained, assuming detaching the ship was either impossible or could only be controlled from this side, why they had been left on their own.

It was easier for Jenni to try to focus on small things hoping that the information that she could gather would help when they got out of here. It was that at focus on the 'when' she couldn't let an 'if' slip into her thoughts. They would get out of this. She wouldn't let herself doubt that.



Captain Alyana Ryat

"We've found them!" Mark proclaimed as he looked at his finding again.

They were both on the Excal's bridge, once it had appeared that things were starting to come together, it had seemed prudent to be ready to leave when an answer came in.

"We can overtake the ship within the hour," the communications officer reported," we are not able to scan from this distance, but I doubt they have enough weapons to be a real threat to us."

"Yes, but they can easily kill the hostages in the meantime," Mark replied," Captain what are we going to do when we get their? I don't know about you, but having three Starfleet personal kidnapped and killed is not acceptable."

"No it isn't. We will get our people back." She sounded, as far as she could tell calm and vehement. The calmness was the result of long practice. The vehemence was something she was less familiar with in herself but someone had taken her people and there was no way that Aly would let that situation persist if there was anything she could do about it.

Alyana was just about to get the ship under way when Simon charged on to the bridge.

"Um, Captain Ryat. I don't know if my transfer has completely gone through yet...."

Aly blinked once, that seemed at awfully long time ago. "I signed off on it just before I started my shoreleave. You are part of the Excalibur's crew CPO Mitchell so you are definitely coming with us."

"Yes, sir." Aly pointed to an axillary engineering station that was often operated by a monitoring technician but was currently vacant.

Simon followed his captain's finger and hurried over to the vacant station, it was good to have something to do.
Within minutes the Exacalibur was sliding gently out of space dock.

[Alyana Ryat]

Although Alyana's heart was beating about twice as fast as i should have been the self proclaimed 'Free Asada V' group seemed quite keen to negotiate when staring at a Consitution class starship. Actually, it might have been 'free the Asada Five' the computer wasn't terribly helpful. ALl that Aly knew for certain was that the Asada system had recently developed warp technology but it appeared that certainly the Romulans and possibly the Klingons had been been involved and had given the Asadans an 'interesting' view of the Federation it appeared that they believed the kidnappings were the only way they could get taken seriously.

Three hours had passed now. It had been confirmed that Captain Ephrem Santos, Commander Thalin Zarath and Lieutenant Jennifer Wilkins were all alive if not completely undamaged. Now Aly was prepared to talk to the Asadans. It wasn't hostage negotiations, it was merely an attempt to avoid further misunderstandings. The three kidnap victims would be leaving here with the Excal and if things worked out then no one would die. That would make it a very good day.

[Ephrem Santos]

"You don't understand Captain, we will be taken seriously by the Federation and if I have to kill you to make a point I will," the cloaked man said," our people will forever be regarded with caution, once I'm done with you."

"If you kill us, Starfleet will destroy you and your ship," Ephrem replied as he spit the blood from his mouth. Being a beligerent hostage was never a good idea, but hopefully his tactics would provide the Excalibur more time to find them.

"You don't understand, I have made certain preparations," the cloaked man replied," even though you know nothing about us, we know plenty about your precious Federation. Our allies in this quadrant will not let us fail."

"Allies? What are you talking about?" Ephrem asked seriously confused at the turn of events. It seemed that thier captors were pawns in a much bigger game.

"The Empire of course," the cloacked figure said," they will be here within the hour. They will decide what to do with you."

(Tag Aly)

[Alyana Ryat]

Lieutenant Jennifer Wilkins

Jenni watched in awe as Captain Santos stood up to their captors. She wasn't sure it was the best idea but she was certainly going to do her best to go along with it. She squared her shoulders and raised her chin staring defiantly ahead.

Despite the suggestion that the Romulans, or were they now closer to Klingon space? Jenni wasn't sure. Either one would be bad. Despite the suggestion that the Empire would be arriving soon Jenni was not expecting one of the other crew members to gesture to their Captain about an incoming message. She really wasn't expecting Captain Ryat to appear on the screen. A rather scary looking Captain Ryat....

Jenni knew Aly better than most, spending a few days wedged into a s service conduit together because you happen to be the smallest people on the repair team either meant you got on or you really really didn't. She and Aly had ended up in the first category. She didn't not think she had ever seen Aly looking quite like this.

A moment or two later she noticed Simon at one of the rear stations. He looked tired but generally okay.

"I am Captain Alyana Ryat, Commanding the Federation Starship USS Excalibur. You have three of my crew and I want them back...."

*****************
Timeskip to a few hours later,

OOC: We can add to this as well but I think we should move towards a conclusion.
*****************

Captain Santos, Commander Zarath and Lieutenant Wilkins were back on the Excal, there were all being held in sickbay for the moment and they would need a thorough debrief. It appeared that all three were well, tired and dehydrated with a variety of bruising but nothing too serious. Aly had told them all to have two days off to recuperate which would get them back to base.

The arrival of the Empire had been forestalled at the edge of sensor range, apparently the ship did not want to get into a confrontation with a Federation Starship in neutral territory.

She was all ready dealing with the diplomatic corps who were all ready in the process of sending their own mission to Asada V. No doubt they would want to borrow at least one of her crew members for an even more detailed debrief. Still that was a problem for a another day.

"Ensign Marret, plot return course for the base."

"Aye, sir. Course complete." The speed of the young man's response indicated that the navigation officer had all ready plotted the course before she had asked for it. It seemed the entire crew was keen to get out of here.

"Engage, Mr D'Sre, Lets get back to Starbase 7"

The Helm officer did as ordered and the Excal shivered slightly as she jumped to warp. Aly was just relived to have a crew members back.

[Alyana Ryat]

And that's the end of this mission. Please post shoreleave in Awaiting the Excalibur's return