Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
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Post by Karka Psonoir on Oct 7, 2013 22:39:05 GMT
The tricorder surrendered nothing of immediate concern about the food's contents. There were a few unrecognised protein chains and amino acids, but other than that it revealed itself to be a perfectly healthy Asadan meal. How his altered human physiology would deal with the food though, was another matter, but he didn't expect there to be any unusual deviations.
Karka noticed Schirra's glance, and after an initial shrug rapidly stowed the tricorder in the secret compartment on his belt again. It wouldn't do to appear to be doing anything untoward, after all utmost decorum was expected here. And if there were a number of intelligence agents arrayed opposite them - and he expected the disinterested woman to be one of them - they would pick up on such things. Of course, a voice said in his head. He was surprised to find it belonged to Lirwa. You wouldn't have scanned the food in such a manner blatantly obvious to someone that was trained to notice such things, unless you wanted said person to find out...
Quiet, you... Karka whispered into the future. He rose suddenly from the table, surveying those present and once again feeling he was overstepping the mark. Well, an Ensign of Starfleet, speaking before the foremost officials and dignitaries of another race prior to delicate talks was near preposterous, but the nature of his request would soon allay any such fears. "Would anyone care for a drink?"
He glided to the bar that lined the far wall of the dining chamber. The Asadan bartender's eyes lit up, in probable common courtesy at Karka's presence, and asked what he'd like. "Do you serve Saurian brandy?"
"Aye." The attendant turned his back to him and began filling tumblers from an ornately formed bottle. "Two?" Karka nodded. "That will be seventy four credits."
"This should suffice," Karka commented disinterestedly, passing over some chips, and was subsequently unsurprised to be joined by the Asadan woman who'd been sitting opposite him. "What brings you into my presence?"
"You have no interests here, do you." She barely looked at him, leaning on the bar.
Karka regarded her strangely. "You're wrong," he said with a tilt of the head, and tossed his drink back. "Who is this Rafen?" he peered quizically towards the table. Things seemed to have reached something of a conversational impasse between the Asadans and the high-ranking Excal officers. Rafen's gaze was steely, darting between Commander Schirra and another Asadan female.
"He's the head of the Intelligence Directorate," the woman said, taking the Saurian brandy Karka bought for her and swirling it about.
"And what role does the Directorate play in Asadan govermental policy."
"The usual things..." she said, bored. "The eyes and ears, internal and external."
"I'd like to get a look at the internal workings. I - " Karka paused, "We need to know their basic operations in order to ensure the safety of the President Elect prior to his inauguration."
"The government has told you." The woman sighed, tossing her drink back and swivelling on her bar stool to face Karka. "We don't want extensive contact with the Federation at this time. We want to strike our own path in the galaxy. The Intelligence Directorate is an essential element in that policy."
"You know the workings of the Directorate, do you?" Karka asked, peering down at his drink, swirling the brown liquid with his lip slightly curled.
"No more than my credentials permit me..." she said, drifting away from him with her empty glass of brandy, robes trailing behind her.
Karka smiled, casting about to see who might catch his eye, and placed his empty drink back on the bar before making a slow return to the table. He noticed on the way that the probable intel woman had disappeared.
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Alyana Ryat
Commodore
Registered: Sept 5, 2007 16:34:56 GMT
Posts: 347
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Post by Alyana Ryat on Oct 16, 2013 22:17:29 GMT
OOC: I apologise for needing to keep apologising for my absence. I have been feeling very uninspired for Alyana of late. Thank you for continuing to post
Aly found herself seated next to the President and surrounded by various other officials. It wasn't dull. She could do diplomacy very well. The food was interesting, generally a bit stickier than she would have preferred she found herself drinking glass after glass of water. She had seen that her crew were engaged in conversation up and down the table. All was well. Ensign Psonoir was serving some drinks from the bar at the far end of the room and the others were relaxed and smiling.
Then dessert was brought in it was perched a top an ornate stand that made it the best part of a metre in height. It was the first part of the meal where Aly felt as if their hosts were trying to show off. Even President Gelan seemed surprised by the dish. There was fruit and cream involved in many different layers and the whole thing was slightly phosphorescent, Aly didn't really have the words to describe it. Humans would probably call it a trifle but that seemed so inadequate.
Aly shook her head, there was a high pitched noise coming from somewhere it was just on the verge of her hearing. A glance down the table confirmed that Dan had heard it too. Suddenly the sound got louder and became more of a whine. That was a sound that was familiar. Something was on the verge of overload....
"Get down." Voices rang out around the room. Aly pulled the President down and most the other occupants of the room hit the floor.
The trifle exploded revealing that as well as the dessert ingredients it contained razor edged shrapnel which sprayed out in the perfect pattern to impale anyone still sitting at the table in the chest.
Tag: All
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Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
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Post by Daniel Schirra on Oct 17, 2013 13:56:11 GMT
As the meal progressed, Daniel began to relax somewhat. He actually enjoyed the food, and to an extent, the conversation. He looked over at Karka now and then, and even the Engineer seemed to have settled into the occasion ... The same could not be said of the Commodore ...
As the meal progressed, Alyana had been in conversation with numerous dignitaries, including the man to her right, the President ... As one of the final courses appeared, a round of applause broke out at the intricate, seemingly gravity-defying desert was placed in the center of the table. Dan watched Alyana, who seemed to be trying to 'listen' to something ... Maybe she was picking up snippets of another conversation, hell, maybe the President was boring her to tears, he couldn't tell. But one thing was certain, she was worried ...
Dan made eye contact with Karka and tapped the palm of his hand casually, hoping the man would understand his cryptic message. Thankfully, the engineer nodded and surreptitiously reached for his concealed tricorder, but it was too late !
"GET DOWN !" she yelled, knocking the Presidents chair over and falling below the table almost on top of the startled elderly man ... A second later all hell broke loose ... The explosion was deafening, the sound of breaking glass, shattered wood and ruptured masonry rang in the air before finally subsiding ... Daniel lifted his head above the decimated table top and looked around the room. If there was a secondary device, he couldn't see where it could be hidden:
"We're clear." he said, getting to his feet, followed closely by Karka, who began scanning the room openly, hoping to gather as much information as he could before the room was swamped with personnel ...
< tag : Karka >
The room flooded with the President's Security Forces, lifting the man bodily and rushing him out of danger. 'The Stable Door' sprang to Daniel's mind, but he didn't have time to ponder. As Galen was rushed to safety he checked the bodies, eight in all, and all dead ... Most people had heeded the Commodore's warning and got below the table, but those who had hesitated had paid the price ......
He quickly recalled the room from memory before the explosion, trying to think if anyone had been openly waiting, knowing what was coming and making sure their designated target, or targets were present .....
Two hours later:
Teams from the Excalibur, and the Asadan Security Forces were investigating the explosion. Trying to identify the remains from the guest list and survivors, who were being held in a secure location away from the palace itself.
"Here ..." Daniel said, kneeling beside what was once a man, but now only the torso, one arm, and one leg remained, but it was enough, "This man detonated the device ... Left hand is holding a small box, a transmitter. Suicide, no question ... You may want to see these." he said, handing Alyana a tricorder.
"This man is not Asadian." she said, allowing the Asadian Security Officer look at the readings.
"Klingon ?" Daniel asked, looking at the remains.
"No." Karka said ..........
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Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
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Post by Karka Psonoir on Oct 17, 2013 21:54:22 GMT
Karka was standing by the bar when it happened. He'd returned to get a couple more drinks, finding the Asadans' taste in liquor more than acceptable, and was just pivoting his way back to the table when he saw with enhanced eyes the glittering shrapnel exploding from the elevated centrepiece.
His accelerated consciousness - designed to activate in emergency states - saw the pieces coming at a slowed rate, his vision also becoming a series of discretized snapshots as his eyes took pictures at a slower rate than his accelerated conscious state. He stepped back jumping over the bar and knocking the bartender over. Shrapnel tore into the bar; varnished wood splintered into pieces. Luckily the oak piece was of sufficient thickness to block all the fragments.
Karka jumped up, still experiencing everything in jerking slow motion, and opened his tricorder. He nodded at the Asadan barman, making sure the man was alright and proceeded to scan the room, trying not to flinch as he surveyed the dismembered forms of what must've been at least half a dozen Asadan officials. The room was fast filling with Asadan security, pouring forwards as you'd expect after such an attack, assassination attempt.
Gradually he decelerated his conscious back through the gears as he became swamped by personnel. They thronged around him as they thronged around the rest of the away team and the surviving Asadans of Gelan's administration. Karka was squeezed and nearly taken off his feet, holding his tricorder close to his body out of necessity and continuing to scan the room.
Two hours later
"Rafen of the Intel Directorate is amongst the dead," Karka informed Commodore Ryat. "Four more of the dead have been identified, leaving just three... Including our mysterious man, or woman, here." They looked at the body - or what was left of it - on the floor before them.
Two Asadan forensic experts were running devices up and down the body, clearly baffled by the suicide's apparent physiology. "We cannot identify the species, Commander..." one of them was saying to Schirra.
Karka spoke to Ryat and T'sen, "The woman." They stared at him blankly. "One of the junior members of the Intel Directorate that I was sitting opposite. She left the room shortly before the dessert was brought in. Far be it from me to question a lady who departs dinner early, but I'd say that raises a little bit of suspicion."
"Why would the Directorate want to kill their own Chief, not to mention others of their own government?"
Karka shrugged. Corruption was the first thing that sprang to mind. Anything else he might come up with needed the support of further investigation. Perhaps the ongoing political unease, even power struggle between Gelan and his defeated political opponent implicated the Intelligence Directorate as well. But then that left the mystery of who was on the chamber floor before them. "I'll be off for now with your permission, Commodore. I have some exploring to do."
"What do you intend to do, Ensign?"
"I intend to find that lady." He marched from the room, forcing exit but being as polite as possible about it. He went to a wall console outside the chamber, having had to verbally fight his way past the guards at the room boundary, and spoke into the audio interface, "Locate Virna of the Intelligence Directorate."
- There is no record of an Intelligence official by that name -
Ah... Here we go, Karka thought. "Is there someone by that name in this complex?"
- Negative - the androgynous voice responded immediately.
Karka cursed in his native Hybrudean and marched off down the corridor. Lirwa... You wouldn't believe that it's actually happened like we thought it would, despite the causal differences in the build up.
<All>
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Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
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Post by Daniel Schirra on Oct 19, 2013 22:42:39 GMT
Two Asadan forensic experts were running devices up and down the body, clearly baffled by the suicide's apparent physiology.
"We cannot identify the species, Commander ..." one of them was saying to Schirra. He ran a full body scan once more and then reached for his communicator:
=^= Schirra to Excalibur =^=
=^= Go ahead commander =^=
=^= I am transmitting data from a unknown species .. Please run the data through the computer .. Contact me when you have any information =^=
=^= Data received Commander .. Excalibur out =^=
"I intend to find that lady." Karka was saying as Daniel approached.
"What do we have ?"
"Not a lot." Dan said, looking at the carnage as medical teams began removing the bodies, and parts thereof for identification and autopsy. He was beginning to worry about their situation ... The bomb could have easily killed all three of the Excalibur's Officers, it was dumb-luck that they had escaped injury. But it did beg the question, was it luck, or design !... He turned to the Asadian official:
"Do you have any form of customs ..." he could see the woman didn't understand, so he elaborated, "Do you keep accurate records of all ships entering orbit, all personnel requesting to come to the surface. Reasons, like business, pleasure ?"
"We are 'NOT' some backward race trying to stand on our own feet, Commander !" the woman replied, obviously aggrieved by his questioning.
"I meant no offence Madam, I am just trying to work out how we could possibly back-track this from your records." She turned and motioned for a man to approach. She spoke in hushed tones for several minutes as Alyana and Daniel looked on in silence. Then, seemingly satisfied, she turned back to the Federation Officers:
"This man will escort you to our central records division. There you will be able to access all records pertaining to, visitors, within the last seven days."
"Madam ..." Dan said, trying to hide his exasperation, before moving to the corpse and kneeling for effect, "This 'woman' could have been here a week, a month, or even longer. If you want our help I'll need full access to your records. Even then, there's no saying we'll find what we're after." the woman turned to her colleague again, the conversation becoming heated quickly until she held up a hand to silence the man.
"We will run our own checks." she said finally. But Alyana was getting annoyed with the lack of appreciation. She took out her communicator and spoke:
=^= Ryat to Excalibur .. Two to beam up ....... =^=
"OK !" the woman said quickly.
=^= Stand by Excalibur =^= the Commodore said, slowly closing the communicator.
"You will have full access to our records pertaining to planetary visitation and orbital vessels ...... You will 'NOT' make any recordings of the information, nor will you attem ....."
"Sorry." Alyana interrupted, "But 'ALL' the information will be transmitted to our ship for coloration and scrutiny. Once we have what we're looking for, or deem the search fruitless, all information will be deleted permanently, and before you object, this is not open for debate ... Carry on Commander." she said, nodding to Daniel before moving off to speak to one of the Medical Staff.
"Tick Tock ......" Dan said, as the two Asadian's watched the Commodore walk away ..........
< tag : All >
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Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
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Post by Karka Psonoir on Oct 20, 2013 23:08:55 GMT
The seemingly endless corridors of the Asadan administrative centre mapped themselves in Karka's mind, like a rural landscape layering itself on riddled topography. He remembered every detail of where he'd been, so he'd never lose his way in this maze of passageways and repulsor vehicle thoroughfares. If needed, he could trace his steps back to the dining chamber where the assassination had taken place.
Karka wondered now if the explosive in the cake had served its full purpose. The foremost intent had surely been to kill the President, so the objective had probably not been fulfilled, but they had killed eight high ranking Asadans including the head of their Intelligence. Had they also intended to kill the detachment of Starfleet officers? If so, did that implicate the Klingons to a greater degree? It wasn't beyond imagining that there were tactical benefits, outside of the Asadan situation, for the Klingons to have become directly involved in this. Showing their intent by eliminating the senior staff of a Constitution class starship would certainly show that.
Yet history told its own story. In the Archive Karka had long studied the Asadan conflict and the lead up to the Federation's involvement in it. Events thus far were playing out as the record books dictated; but the reasons for it, the rationale behind the attack and who exactly was involved remained clouded in shadow - the shape and form of which was dictated by the eventual victors.
He reached an intersection, finding himself alone. Two Intel Directorate members had passed by some 45 seconds ago but he deemed them out of hearing range. "Computer, scan the quarter ahead. How many people? Include gender, age and specific location."
The androgynous voice was almost terse, as if it was aware that the requestor was of foreign origin. - Warning: restricted access. Not all information can be provided - Karka waited patiently. - There are 15 persons in quarter X07-D2. 11 Asadans, 2 Klingons, 1 Deltan, 1 person of unidentified species. All are male with the exception of 4 of the Asadans -
Karka frowned, What the hell is a Deltan doing on Asada? Unless they were a Starfleet officer, the presence of a member of that species was highly irregular. "Where is the nearest Asadan female?"
- Warning: restricted access. That information cannot be provided - the computer seemed to sigh.
"Thank you..." he drifted off, gliding down the corridor. He knew his way around this quarter. The whole building resembled a starfish, splayed wings most of which were seven storeys high with curling ends. One simply had to remember that the passageways in each wing eventually circled around; things only became more complex where each wing of the starfish converged at the central core, through which ran an atrium that hit the sky some hundred metres above ground level, and in which was the ground zero of the dining chamber.
The centre of the structure was complicated enough that some internal confusion could've taken place during the event. The inner chamber was of such complexity that any infiltration would've been detected instantly by surveillance systems and intruders pacified by security drone sentries. But, it was also complex enough to allow the possibility that human, or rather Asadan error, could've caused a lapse in security.
A hatch peeled back, Karka having to duck his way through it. He felt drone sentries tracking his every move, purring on motorised wall joints. "Ah. There you are," she said.
Karka glanced up. He stumbled through the hatch before steadying himself, dusting his hands off. "Not Virna after all?" he said.
The disinterested lady averted her eyes, beckoning him to follow. She'd been standing there, watching the hatchway wheel itself into the wall while Karka stepped through the gap. "What do you want here?" she repeated her earlier question as Karka followed her blindly. "You're distrusting of our hospitality," she pointed out the tricorder on his hip, "But you rush to the aid of murdered statesmen."
"You wouldn't have had anything to do with it?" he asked bluntly. She looked half his way and he caught the edge of her smile, reflecting the tangerine glow of the overhead lighting system. Rapidly approaching as if they were ships dropping from warp in front of them were large armoured figures. Bare foreheads, golden almost chainmail-like chestplates and tight black leggings.
Karka looked at 'Virna' in shock. The two Klingons. She stepped to their side while they aimed disruptors at him, beckoning him forward.
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Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
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Post by Daniel Schirra on Oct 26, 2013 0:53:08 GMT
"..... this is not open for debate ... Carry on Commander."
"Tick Tock !" Dan said as the two Asadian officials watched the Commodore walk away. They both turned to face Schirra as he spoke.
"Come this way." one of the two said.
~~~~~
They had entered a large room, a data storage area by the looks of it. Daniel was led to a console, as one of the Asadian entered an encrypted access code, the console sprang to life:
"The records you require are in those files listed on the left. Sub-menu's will become available to you as you extend your search parameters ... I am, uncomfortable allowing a non-Asadian access, but alas, my opinion does not count. Do you require us to remain, or are you capable of conducting your 'inquiries' without supervision ?"
"Several of the menu options seem to be grayed-out ..." Daniel said as the two turned to leave. I didn't go unnoticed to his trained eye, that the pair had confined his access after assuring him otherwise, he asked once more, "These menu options ?"
"They are, of no concern to you, or to the Federation. You need not access those files to satisfactorily complete your meddling in our affairs !" the second Asadian almost spat, before both turned to leave again.
"Open them ........ NOW !" Daniel said, making sure there was no mistaking his tone of voice, "Or do I inform the Commodore we can leave." The two men spoke in whispers as Dan looked on, a wry grin on his face, before one of the men returned to the console. He glared at Schirra then imputed a secondary code. The gray boxes turned green like the others ... 'Chip fodder' Dan thought, referring to poker players who the more experienced prey upon.
Waving as the two left, he placed his tricorder on the console and activated it ... Taking out his communicator, he contacted the ship:
=^= Commander Schirra to Excalibur =^=
=^= Excalibur =^=
=^= Tie-in to my tricorder .. Record all data received and begin analysis .. I want you to concentrate on 'who' has been visiting the planet on a regular basis .. Species .. Race .. Reason .. You know the drill =^=
=^= Patched-in Commander =^=
Dan hit the button, watching the data scroll through the screen. he almost missed the fact that four Deltan vessels were among those allowed to enter orbit. Very little was known of the race, the females were said to be sensual, seductive, and very forthright in their strict adherence to what they referred to as their 'Vow of Celibacy' ... As for the males, practically nothing was known. It didn't stop most people being 'overwhelmed' in their presence, so it begged the question: 'What were they doing here ?' ......
=^= We're getting the data now =^=
Dan sat watching the information on the screen. It seemed the Asadian's had plenty to hide, in one form or another. But so did most species. He didn't think billions of deaths in three world wars would be a selling point to anyone meeting the Human race for the first time, so maybe the Asadian's were doing likewise, trying to hide their dirty secrets ? ..........
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Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
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Post by Karka Psonoir on Nov 3, 2013 16:29:47 GMT
Assistant CEO Unwin watched the data transmitted from Commander Schirra roll across his screen. He'd patched it through from the Ops station, liaising with that officer to study the ships that were currently or recently been around Asada - their type, displacement, engine signatures, arrival and departure trajectores.
There were the 4 Deltan ships, circling at high orbit, behaving not unordinarily. There was also one Klingon battlecruiser, that they already knew about. The Excalibur had half expected a Klingon presence given their association with the rival faction in the Asadan government. There were also several Asadan craft, small escorts mostly, patrolling their inner space.
He blinked, leaning forward into his console. Now this was surprising...
"A problem, Ensign."
"Ah, no sir," he jumped, caught off guard, "Just that, going by the evidence of these ion trails, there have been at least ten Klingon battlecruisers passing in and out of the system in the last two days." He studied the map of the system on his console, a plan view showing orbital trajectories and graphics highlighting ion trail traces. "We could have more of a problem than we realised... Klingons, everywhere."
Karka allowed himself to be led away by the Klingons and the treacherous Virna (supposed intelligence agent of Gelan's administration). Maybe she still was in Intel, he'd considered that possibility already. The problem might run deeper in Gelan's government than thought. The Intel Directorate could itself be corrupt. But then why would they assassinate - among others - their own leader Rafen?
He regarded his captors. He should've been more alert! There had been Klingons in this quarter as his computer enquiry had indicated. They believed the Klingons were in the process of collaboration - or providing pressure on Gelan's government - with the government's opposition. Presumably, they would have little interest in the Asadans' power structure itself. A political move; they wanted control of this planet.
The three captors ground to a halt. They'd come to an intersection. "Is this where we part company?" Karka asked.
"No," Virna said, voice almost like silk. The Klingons watched them both implacably, staring down at the two relatively diminutive figures. They entered a dark room at the side of the intersection, only light emanating from control panels. "You're going to help us topple Gelan's government," Virna told him. Karka looked on dubiously. "I know of the knowledge in your head, Karka. You're not of these people, are you? You know what unfolds in the future. You hold secrets people of our time haven't dreamt of; you have the mental capacity to decode Gelan's security systems."
Karka kept completely still as Virna began raising a beam weapon. "On pain of death?" he asked, but his mind was reeling. He sectioned it off quickly in his mind's architecture, regaining composure. The Klingons had turned to each other, their eyes suggesting they very much didn't want Karka killed off. He watched all three closely, "So you won't end me, but you're going to force me to assist you, with a weapon at my temple."
The movement was sudden. In a blur, rolling to the floor and somersaulting to his feet in one move, Karka had snatched Virna's weapon. He rounded on her, letting loose a fierce blast that surprised him. a burst of discretised pulse fire had flown from the barrel. Virna went flying back, screaming briefly as she impacted on the multi-hued consoles lining the walls that kept an impeccable silence during the mayhem.
The Klingons were on him. Growling they wrestled him by each arm. He twisted his head and butted one on the bridge of the nose. It caught the warrior off balance, dragging their interlocked bodies to the floor. Kark rose to his feet and the undazed Klingon leapt on him, grabbing him by the throat from behind. Karka summoned all of his augmented strength and grabbing his arm threw the Klingon over his shoulder, the warrior ending up on his back. He groaned once before Karka stamped on his chest, cracking ribs below his armour.
Psonoir felt lightheaded; he collapsed to the floor, suddenly exhausted. He lay there in the still shadow for a few moments, breathing hoarsely. Eventually with shaking hands he moved to draw his communicator. "Pson - Psonoir to Excalibur. I have two Klingons down here, both injured. Lock on to my location and beam them up."
"Right," a mildly stunned voice came back, "And you, sir?"
"I'm uninjured. Mostly, anyway. I'll keep you posted... Please inform Commodore Ryat of what's happened. Psonoir out."
<Tag Ryat, Schirra>
He dragged himself to his feet with difficulty, just in time to see the inert or writhing Klingons evaporating in the golden haze. He walked over to the female, Virna, lying - her chest rising and falling but unsteadily - in the corner half propped up against the console.
She was trying hard to speak, rasped something inaudible at him. Karka surmised she wasn't too happy with this turn of events. He took out his tricorder, doing the best he could with his standard one in the absence of a medic. "You'll live," he said. There was a serious burn on her chest where the burst fire had impacted. It was smouldering, singed dangerously, but the damage hadn't reached near any major organs. The fire in the blast had already cauterised the wound.
"You could've taken us all out if you wanted to," she managed to say.
"Ah, but we need you, and your departed friends, for information." Karka closed down his tricorder, adding flippantly, "And I didn't want to kill you anyway."
"But it was a close thing," she croaked. He grinned, shrugging. "You're not human." That left him cold. "What do you want here? Are you -"
"I'm observing the past. A friend of mine wants to find out what happened here. Witness the particulars of what unfolded. It has ramifications for what happens several centuries from now. I'm not... entirely sure how much importance it holds." He got to his feet. "Somewhat trivial perhaps... I must admit I'm taking a growing interest in it now though. Although I fear my very involvement is changing the timeline, and has been doing so since I arrived on Earth. Ha..." Karka seemed to drift off, chasing a strand of escaping thought.
"What are you going to do now?"
"I'm picking you up and getting you to the nearest infirmary. And I'll have some questions."
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Alyana Ryat
Commodore
Registered: Sept 5, 2007 16:34:56 GMT
Posts: 347
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Post by Alyana Ryat on Nov 3, 2013 22:14:59 GMT
There was chaos for several long moment after the explosion. Aly was sure that she should be able to hear people shouting orders, but all she could hear was ringing.
There were clearly people moving about and she could see people's mouths moving, then someone tugged on her sleeve and pulled her and the President out of there. Not before she saw two bodies at the table. She shivered.
Aly wasn't surprised that her team insisted on her getting treatment for her eardrums, she returned to the operations room as she could and was pleased to see the Daniel had taken charge of the team and was all ready on the trail of someone who shouldn't have been there. They were going round in circles, no one was doing anything constructive. She was going to have to poke things along a bit. She knew the President had been very relieved when she had returned and wouldn't want her to actually leave the planet.
"This 'woman' could have been here a week, a month, or even longer. If you want our help I'll need full access to your records. Even then, there's no saying we'll find what we're after." the woman turned to her colleague again, the conversation becoming heated quickly until she held up a hand to silence the man. Dan said.
"We will run our own checks." she said finally. Aly pulled out her communicator and flipped it open with a dramatic gesture drawing the other woman's gaze. =/\= Ryat to Excalibur .. Two to beam up ....... =/\=
"OK !" the woman said quickly.
=/\= Stand by Excalibur =/\= the Commodore said, slowly closing the communicator.
"You will have full access to our records pertaining to planetary visitation and orbital vessels ...... You will 'NOT' make any recordings of the information, nor will you attem ....."
"Sorry." Alyana interrupted, "But 'ALL' the information will be transmitted to our ship for coloration and scrutiny. Once we have what we're looking for, or deem the search fruitless, all information will be deleted permanently, and before you object, this is not open for debate ... Carry on Commander." she said, nodding to Daniel before moving off to speak to one of the Medical Staff.
"Tick Tock ......" Dan said, as the two Asadian's watched the Commodore walk away ..........
Aly sighed and took herself off to talk to the President. It was a near guarantee that either he or her was the primary target and the other a bonus.
A while later her communicator chirped it was the Excal's duty officer =/\=Commodore Ryat, I just heard from Ensign Psonoir, he's just had an incident with two Klingons. They're in custody on the Excalibur.
Aly turned back to the President, "I know you heard that. I know I want to know what is going on here and I assume you do too."
There was noise out the office then. Aly was certain she could hear gunshots. Over the open com line she spoke rapidly.
=/\=Shots fired outside the President's office get Commander Schirra and a security team here.=/\=
The President was pale. Aly knew the door was locked but if the people outside were intending violence against them then they had to have a way in.
"Let's take cover." There was no where really that would hide them for any length of time but they could at least make things a bit harder for anyone coming in.
Tag: anyone rushing to the rescue
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Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
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Post by Karka Psonoir on Nov 5, 2013 13:09:23 GMT
Karka walked side by side with Virna into the complex's subsidiary infirmary. He dare not use the main one; knowing Virna's associations now, if he was in plain sight he'd be expected to take her into custody. That time would come, but now there were things to be known.
"Oh no... another one," an Asadan doctor was approaching them fast, sending nurses and assistants hurrying about. He helped Karka lower Virna on to an Asadan version of the biobed. "Odd. I thought we'd accounted for all of the casualties. Have you checked her condition?"
"Yes," Karka informed him, "Her vital organs are unharmed. I'm no expert on your species physiology but I think she'll live." He looked down at her. "She is a member of the Intelligence Directorate. If you'll permit it, I'd like to ask her a few questions about what unfolded in the chamber."
The Doctor glanced up at him, "Once I've tended to her injury I'll allow it, but not lightly. My superiors are not entirely trusting of your people."
"My name is Ensign Psonoir. Our ship in orbit has facilities that'll allow her to be mended much faster," Karka said breezily. "We will return her as soon as she has recovered."
"Impossible," the Doctor said, studying the injury. Virna was unconscious now, allowing him to apply an anaesthetic. He started picking at the wound with an exploratory device, something like a scalpel. It wasn't long before he'd realised. He glanced up at Karka, "This is an Asadan weapon wound. No result of a shrapnel explosive. She's been shot at."
Karka looked on blankly, "I've no explanation. She was found in the chamber with the others." Lying was not something he was comfortable with. He had been twisting, shearing the timeline enough as it was, without adding outright deception to this morass of causal meddling. It would've been easier if he'd simply beamed himself up to the ship with her. That way he could've asked his questions in the absence of prying Asadan eyes.
"I'm not exactly sure what unfolded in that chamber, Ensign Psonoir, but I need to report this. Weapons fire was not mentioned as one of -"
As if on cue the sounds of weapons fire filled the infirmary. It reverberated, the shadow of it echoing through the walls. Somewhere in the complex, not far away, shots were being fired.
Karka's communicator chirped. He flipped it open and heard the blaring grainy voice, "Excalibur to all staff in the complex. Report location, condition. Weapons fire detected near the Presidential Office."
"Psonoir here. I'm in the infirmary with one of the assassination victims." Again he felt uncomfortable with the lie. She was of course no victim. She'd left the chamber before the explosion and was complicit in the treachery. He wasn't uncomfortable because the lie was contrary to the principles of a Starfleet officer, but because of the unknown effect it could have on the timeline. It wouldn't be long before he'd have to turn Virna in to the authorities. But that would jeopardize his whole operation. He'd been given an incredible opportunity, a very clear window into what was going on here. Lirwa would be severely disappointed.
"Make your way towards the President's Office, Ensign. Engineers will be beamed down to assist. Help may be needed securing the chamber, the office and repairing the facility's damage. There may also be something you can do about the complex's security arrangements. These breaches clearly show a level of incompetence."
Karka surveyed the medical lab, signalling Virna to the doctor, "Treat her but under no circumstances let her leave this room." He left to follow his orders, without further explanation.
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Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
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Post by Daniel Schirra on Nov 9, 2013 20:30:47 GMT
Some second sense told him to move !
The blade slammed into the console where he had been sitting less than a second earlier. He kicked out at the legs of his would-be killer, knocking the man to the floor. He scrambled to his knees then stood, ready to fend off a second attack as the man retrieved his weapon and advanced ...
Daniel locked his eyes on his assailants, using his skill to second-guess the mans next move. It didn't surprise him that the man was Klingon-like, but he wasn't of Klingon origin, more some hybrid ... The hair was close cropped rather than long, the brow ridges were very subtle. As the man sneered, Dan could see his teeth, certainly not Klingon. His mind was processing this information as he inched backwards to stay out of reach, but suddenly the assailant lunged forward, using an underarm movement to throw the knife. It was so unexpected, and he felt the slim blade penetrate his left thigh.
He had no time to ponder the injury, or it's possible implications should the blade have severed a vital artery, because the attacker was upon him !
They fell to the floor, punches landed on and around Danial's face until he managed to defend himself. Planting his foot on the floor he pushed, hard, making the hybrid loose balance suddenly. It was the opening Dan needed and he retaliated ... Somehow, the man grasped the hilt of the knife and twisted, the excruciating pain lanced through Daniel, but self-preservation overcame the pain and he doubled his efforts, slamming several blows into the assailant's face in quick succession.
Suddenly, his air was cut off ... The man had grasped his throat, squeezing his larynx. The grip was impossible to fight against, so Dan concentrated on his attack for the seconds on consciousness that remained.
Reaching downwards, he fumbled in the struggle to reach the handle of the knife, while punching ineffectively into the attackers' face. Finally managing to grasp it, he pulled the blade from his leg and brought his arm upwards. His vision was almost gone now, and oxygen deprivation was about to shut his body down, maybe for the last time. Using instinct alone, he brought the weapon upwards in a shallow arc, slamming it against what he hoped was the man's throat. The satisfying impact was met with a sudden release of pressure on his throat. Dan gasped in lung-fulls of air as he tried to force the man off him. The blow was unexpected, it landed on Dan's jaw like a knock-out punch of a championship boxer from the twentieth century ... Dan was unconscious before his mind could react .....
~~~~~~~~~~
He opened his eyes, pain lanced through his body from the beating. He remained on the floor for a minute until his mind could process his situation ... His would-be killer was nowhere in his 'line of sight' so Dan rolled slowly until he could see behind himself:
"Where the hell !" he croaked, his injured throat protesting.
Raising himself to a sitting position, he could see the blood loss from the wound in his leg, thankfully not fatal, but it would need treating. He used a chair to get shakily to his feet, then dizziness forced him to sit down as his communicator chirped to life:
=^= Excalibur to all staff in the complex .. Report location, condition .. Weapons fire detected near the Presidential Office =^=
He flicked open the communicator and spoke, informing the ship of his situation, jokingly telling the ship they should be on the look-out for an assassin with a knife sticking out of his throat, or loosing blood rapidly, before a Security Officer and Medic beamed into the room. The Medic got to work on his leg while the Security Officer reported to the ship.
"Sir, When you can move we are needed in the President's Office." he said.
"You were lucky." the Medic said, sealing the wound, "You've lost a little blood and should return to the ship for treatment ... But as that's not about to happen I'll give you something to help." she used a hypo-spray and injected something into Danial's arm before packing her bag and standing to help him to his feet.
"Thank you." he said, tentatively putting more weight on his injured leg until he could stand unaided, "After you Lieutenant. Out the door and left I think, the ballroom is ahead and the Presidential Suite beyond. Keep your phaser on 'Kill' setting. If that 'thing' comes at you, shoot it !"
Nodding, the Security Officer changed the phaser setting then put his head out of the door. The corridor clear, he motioned for the others to follow ... They headed for the President ..........
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Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
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Post by Karka Psonoir on Nov 20, 2013 0:12:34 GMT
circa 2850...
"Your ship must be exceptional indeed if you think you can evade the splinter groups," the voice spoke from nowhere, "I'll be surprised if you reach the portal before they shut down your drive."
Despite the distance that must lay between them, Lirwa's voice was crisp and clear to Karka. He sat amidst a high place, above the clouds, where Karka couldn't yet see him. Between them lay many an untrodden path and protruding, outjutting rock, that Karka was yet to come by in his long climb. It would be long before he would find that route that led to the sanctuary beyond the mists.
He smiled. Lirwa had concealed it well, as he had concealed other elements of his mind. In the archive, his thoughts would lie all about him, all on display as he focussed his mind on various portions of the architecture. If Karka's friend wanted to know what took place on that other plane, 600 hundred years previously, then he would have to make himself known.
For years, it seemed, Karka climbed the mountain, leaving the valley that dropped into the milky abyss far behind. Lirwa and his terraforming associates had crafted this topology in ages long past, thus allowing for millions of years of geological processes to give refined form to the vaguely-conceived mountain range. Far below in the opaque depths a calm river ran, one that Karka felt he would eventually find once this tiresome journey was over, although he'd in fact already seen it about 10 years ago.
Instantly he was there. The mists parted. Lirwa perched on a rock, cross legged, arms spread before him and eyes closed - a meditative position of zen practiced by the objects of his fascination. Pillars lay about Lirwa's seat, ghastly sentinels dark in form and partially ruined. The ground was uneven before Karka's feet, the grass wet with a clingy kind of dew.
"There is a place on planet Earth, an extensive mountain range, where pilgrims venture to pay homage to an ancient spiritual leader. Beyond this range lies a plateaux that covers much of the continent, and from there the spiritual leader was exiled." Lirwa intoned, his voice as clear as before.
Karka shrugged and approached his friend across the grass. "How long do you want me to stay on the surface?"
Lirwa smiled, his eyes still closed. "Until you can prove the existence of the hybrids in that timeframe. Current research holds that they first appeared in Earth year 2297. If you can disprove that theory, it would help me get one up on that pest Hansir. I might even win an invitation to the next xenomorphological seminar."
"You've already been to that xenomorphological seminar. Remember?" Something irritable pulsed through Karka's mind, as if his neurons had been frayed by some searing heat. His ship waited in the archive's disembarkment hall, a vessel crafted for timelessness to carry him unfettered across the centuries.
"That's what you said a week from now," Lirwa smiled again, wispy tendrils of clouds passing before his face.
Psonoir approached the chamber. He brandished his tricorder, manoeuvring the bulky thing about his person and securing the strap around his shoulder. Three other engineers had beamed in and were waiting for him by the doors. "Beyond here lies a series of corridors, near the end of which is the President's personal office," the senior engineer, Hearan said.
"There are blast marks," Karka commented, holding the tricorder up to analyse. "Johnson, do you think you can release the door mechanism?" The doors had been locked down as soon as weapons fire had been detected, the President's entire interior complex secured as fast as possible. Crewman Johnson accessed the door panel, trying to hotwire the circuitry.
Karka surveyed the damage. "It looks as if the assailant, or assailants, engaged in a firefight in this very corridor. The question is did they make it inside? The absence of any bodies, President's men or assailants, might indicate they did."
"Then we've got to get in there..." Johnson murmured, and followed up with a small shriek of delight, "Ah, got it." The doors rolled back, the locking mechanism sparking slightly indicating damage. Perhaps they had tried to seal the door after them. Karka developed the impression of a lock-in, enemies trapping themselves in a cage in a fight to the end, at which time either the President would lie dead or his enemies would be crushed. That possible fate had been averted with the opening of the door, but now they had to get to the President, and, if Karka's information was correct, Commodore Ryat who had been with him at the time of the shooting.
They rounded a kink in the corridor, and their speculations were realised. Reality's lens brought their musings into sharp focus as three Asadans and one Klingon charged towards them. An engineer went down, chest aflame with plasma fire. Karka and the remaining two ducked for cover. He made it far faster than them.
He emerged from cover in sync with Hearan and they returned fire with phasers. He and his colleagues might have been wearing redshirts, but they weren't security officers. Only one Asadan went down, the other shots going astray. Karka - if he was extremely fortunate and skillful to the limits of his ability - might be able to eliminate the remaining three on his own, but he wasn't going to leave that to chance.
"Fall back," he called, "We'll find another route. Through the next doorway then blow the panel. That should keep them locked behind and hopefully out of reach of the Commodore and President..." He flipped open his communicator, "Psonoir to any Excalibur staff in the complex, I'm under fire with my engineers at the entrance to the President's inner chamber. I could do with a little help..."
<Tag All>
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Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
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Post by Daniel Schirra on Nov 20, 2013 17:55:12 GMT
Moving forward tentatively, they approached the ballroom. Under normal circumstances, it would rival any of the grand ballrooms rooms in some of the most extravagant palaces throughout old Earth, but this time was different, this time there were unwelcome guests ...
The Lieutenant stopped abruptly, forcing himself against the ornately decorated wall. Before he back-tracked, making Daniel follow suit. He held his finger to his lips and pointed back the way they had come. Once clear of the doorway he whispered to Schirra:
"Klingon's !"
"What ?"
"The ballroom is full of our Klingon friends. I counted six, maybe eight, but there were others in there I'm sure. I doubt even with the element of surprise we would hit them all before one got off a shot."
"Hell." Dan said, trying to remember the lay-out of the palatial complex. He pulled out his communicator as it chirped to life making him jump:
=^= Psonoir to any Excalibur staff in the complex .. I am under fire with my Engineers at the entrance to the President's inner chamber .. I could do with a little help .... =^=
"They must be around the other side of the ballroom. There was a large anteroom where we were met on arrival ?" the Lieutenant suggested. Dan held the communicator close to his mouth to reply:
=^= Schirra to Psonoir .. We are outside the ballroom on the opposite side of the Presidential complex .. We think you are on the far side .. Is that correct ? =^=
=^= Yes Sir .. It looks like you are off to our right sixty degrees .. You should be able to enter the Presidential Suite through the ballroom .. But be aware we think there are Klingon's holding the Asadian's .. We have no way of knowing how many are in there =^=
=^= Well .. It seems we have both come across the Klingon's then .. I was attacked by someone or something resembling a Klingon moments ago .. We have a problem getting to the President through the ballroom as it is full of Klingon's ..... Any suggestions ? =^=
=^= Is there any way to contact those inside ? =^= Karka asked.
"Maybe we could transport inside then have the Excalibur take us out." the Lieutenant suggested.
"I'm hesitant to contact the ship." Daniel said, thinking hard, "We have no idea how many vessel's the Klingon's have in orbit around us. If we contact the ship they could detect our transmission and send more down here. They will certainly get a lock on the Excalibur if she attempts to reply ..... No, we need to get into that room on our own initiative."
Karka listened to the conversation in silence.
"Lieutenant, do you have anything in that Med-kit that could help ?" Dan asked, grasping.
"Nothing that would incapacitate a group of Klingon's Commander." the Medic said. Daniel thought quickly, then took the Lieutenant's phaser, he lifted the communicator:
=^= I'm going to move away from my location .. I'll set a phaser on overload .. With luck the explosion will draw at least 'some' of the Klingon's away .. I suggest you make you way towards the entrance to the Presidential chamber =^=
=^= Hold one Sir .. There's movement ...... =^= Psonoir said ..........
< tag : All >
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Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
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Post by Karka Psonoir on Nov 28, 2013 22:04:16 GMT
Psonoir, Hearan and Jablweski scurried out of sight of the new arrivals, rounding a bend in the regally adorned corridor. Stray plasma and disruptor shots tore away whole sections of curtains and cloths from the walls, crumpling to the floor like fallen tapestries. They dived to the right, having ran down a long passageway that had intersected as a T-junction with another corridor that now lay off to their right. That corridor was where the Klingons were coming from and as far as Karka could determine, was where he had to go to get to the President's office.
"Psonoir, report. You said movement." Schirra's voice came through.
"Stand by, sir," Karka crouched with his eyes trained on the junction. Klingons were darting out, loosing disruptor bolts and diving back into cover. It was unlike Klingon warriors to play the long range game - they preferred hand-to-hand with their Bat'leths - but it was by necessity rather than by design. They were soldiers, fighters. Not fools. But perhaps their methods of war were different in this century. Karka shrugged.
"At least five Klingons and two Asadans, and one other person, unidentified," he reported to Schirra. "There's no possible way we could force our way through here." At that moment there was the distant sound of what Karka immediately identified as an overloading phaser. The vibration of it shot through the complex like a storm under tired skies. Hearan and Jablweski ceased return of fire; it seemed the Klingons were departing.
Karka smiled into his communicator. "Nice work, sir. The Klingons are being drawn off, turning right down this corridor. Seems to get to the ballroom they'd rather bypass us than risk further losses." Karka nodded to his engineers then took off back round the corridor down towards the inner offices. "Oh, and you have incoming, sir," he added.
<Tag Schirra>
They passed through the area where the Klingons and co had ensconced themselves during the firefight. Karka checked around for spare equipment. "Take those disruptors. We could use back ups in case our power cells degenerate."
"Aye, sir." Jablweski went to collect an unwieldy looking disruptor rifle. He approached the wall where it lay and then from the shadows leapt a blur of white-grey light. It pounced on him, pirouetting and somersaulting through their position and down the corridor whence they had come - directly towards the ballroom.
The curious whisking sound and suggestion of sharp movement was replaced with a terrible crying and mewling. Jablweski lay on the floor, coiling around himself. Psonoir realised Jablweski's left leg had been severed just above the knee. Hearan moved to his side, pulling out a tricorder (although not medical) while Karka looked on in muted apprehension. He'd just had enough time to accelerate his rate of consciousness during the attack. The assailant, some cross between a Klingon and... something else, he'd seen it as a jerking series of still images: cleaving off Jablweski's leg as it pounced from the shadows and momentarily stationary before him, its eyes an empty sable. There'd not been enough time to physically act against the hybrid, but at least he'd got a clear look at it. He stored the snapshots in his meticulously engineered psychic architecture for Lirwa's perusal at a later date.
"Beam him to the ship," Karka said, readying his phaser and striding purposefully down the corridor, keeping close to one side.
"Didn't you hear the Commander?" Hearan's sharp voice cut through from behind him. "We can't risk communication of any kind with the ship. The Klingons will be alerted to our presence here and in orbit."
"Hopefully the way to the President's Office lies uncontested. By the time we get there the Klingons won't be able to stop us from rescuing Commodore Ryat and the President himself." Karka beckoned Hearan on but paused. "Return to ship as well, Petty Officer. Attend to the bridge console then get to engineering. Ready the vessel for possible combat with the Klingons."
Karka didn't hear Hearan's complaints - if there were any - as he was already out of sight. One more corner and he was at the President's office. He paused, phaser at the ready as he backed himself against the wall. Quietly as he could he raised the communicator to his lips, "Commodore Ryat, this is Ensign Psonoir. I'm just outside the President's office. Are you in there, sir?"
<Tag Ryat>
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Alyana Ryat
Commodore
Registered: Sept 5, 2007 16:34:56 GMT
Posts: 347
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Post by Alyana Ryat on Nov 28, 2013 23:12:18 GMT
Aly had her phaser lined on the door she had taken cover and waited. The President had done the same. It wasn't a long wait before the door hissed open. A quick glimpse of the black outfits convinced Aly that whoever these people were they were not Starfleet and not Presidential Security. Aly opened fire. The first two people through the door way took stun beams to the chest and collapsed. The next two stumbled over the bodies of their fellows. One of them actually fell to the floor, in a way that made his lucky as it threw off Aly's aim. The other was shot by the President. It was then that Aly observed that the person at the back of the group was a Klingon. maybe she should have been expecting that, but she wasn't.
The members of the attack party who were still on their feet started shooting back. Aly ducked, it was mostly reflex but it made her avoid the shots fired at her. The table she was hiding behind shuddered as a spray of things impacted on it. Aly turned and saw a spatter of small metal shards stuck in the wall behind her. She did not want to think about what that spray of shrapnel might have done to her.
She dared to look above the table and fired several shots she was sure she had tagged another but they were definitely in the room now and getting closer. The person with the shrapnel gun was taking aim at the President, Aly shot him as he fired and then ducked again. She heard some beeping and most voices which weren't affected by the UT, one was Klingon and was impatiently telling the others to get him and hurry up. As far as Aly could make out the other voices were speaking Asadan but she didn't understand enough to be completely sure.
She glanced up. They were gone, even the ones who were unconcious. She got slowly to her feet, the President was gone too. Aly moved slowly out of the room trying to work out what was going on. She could still hear shots coming from the outer part of the President's suite. Her communicator bleeped.
"Psonoir to any Excalibur staff in the complex, I'm under fire with my engineers at the entrance to the President's inner chamber. I could do with a little help..."
She walked over to the door. It was closed again now, it didn't open. She jabbed the release button and nothing happened, she sighed. Through the door she could hear shooting. Clearly they had left a rear guard. They were shooting at her people and she could do nothing except hope that Ensign Psonoir (OOC: yes I know you've been promoted, congratulations) and his engineers prevailed. Never mess with engineers, for they are clever and will make your shower run with jam...
"Commodore Ryat, this is Ensign Psonoir. I'm just outside the President's office. Are you in there, sir?"
"I'm here," Aly responded. "On my one and healthy. I think they've fused the door"
Tag: Psonoir
When the door hissed open. Aly looked at her Engineer. "Thank you Lieutenant. This is definitely above and beyond the call of duty. The President was abducted from in here. I need you to do a survey, I assumed he was transported out but where to?"
That was one of the positive aspects of her new rank, not that she used it much Ensign Psonoir had been overdue for promotion anyway he more than deserved it.
Tag: Psonoir (thought I'd promote you in sim)
Aly cocked her head to one side "Also, there was an interesting weapon used in the attack maybe you can tell be about it." She pointed at the two scatters of shrapnel which marked up the room.
Tag: Psonoir - OOC: I was thinking transporter tags which are activated on contact with blood which is how they grabbed the President but if you have a better idea go with it.
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Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
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Post by Daniel Schirra on Nov 28, 2013 23:27:33 GMT
=^= At least five Klingon's two Asadan's, and one other person .. Unidentified .. There's no possible way we could force our way through here =^= Karka reported as Daniel set the phaser against one of the walls and withdrew. The blast was bigger than he expected:
=^= Nice work Sir .. The Klingons are being drawn off and are turning right down this corridor .. Seems to get to the ballroom they'd rather bypass us than risk further losses .. Oh and you have incoming Sir =^=
Daniel had almost no time to prepare as five Klingon's suddenly appeared. They looked at the devastation caused by the suicidal phaser. They were waving their weapons around, unsure of whether to move forward, or return to their assigned posts. So he made the decision for them ...
Three short bursts saw three Klingon's on the floor dead, the other two finally reacted, spinning in Schirra's direction and firing. He ducked back behind the junction, hoping his attackers were taking their time deciding whether to charge into combat or hold back until, alas, they chose honor .....
He dove back against the far wall, protected only by some exotic potted plant, but it was enough to give him that second he needed. He fired on the closest Klingon, then took aim at the second and last of the group, but this one was quicker ... He fired at Daniel, forcing his aim off to one side, and then threw himself at the Star Fleeter !
Having a charging maniacal alien dropping on you wasn't his idea of fun. The wind was knocked out of him instantly as the two struggled for supremacy. Dan threw punches while fending off the Klingon'd grip around his throat. Both managed to get to their feet but Dan had no time to congratulate himself as his attacked advanced once more, but this time he was holding a weapon, a large knife, wide and triangular at the tip, he had no qualms that the thing would kill him no trouble. Frantically he looked left and right, then spied his dropped phaser off to the side. Inching round, the Klingon matched his moves. Dan jumped forward, knowing the Klingon would relish the challenge, but at the last instant Dan threw himself to the left as the knife sliced through the air close to him. Schirra spun and fell onto the phaser scrambling to get purchase. The Klingon roared in victory as he dropped onto his foe, Dan wasn't quick enough !
The Klingon's knife was going to land a killing blow, but then the man's eye's widened in surprise before he fell, a dead weight, onto Schirra, the ornate blade embedded in the floor millimeters from his head.
"You OK Commander ... Commander ?" Dan pushed the corpse off him and rolled away. The Klingon had a length of metal protruding from his back, "Sir !" the Medic asked.
"Thank you Lieutenant." Dan said, pulling the knife from the floor and shoving it into his waist band, "Souvenir .... Let's go." he said, making his way towards the Presidential Suite.
Within minutes they were at the massive doors to the President's private apartments. Sticking his head against the door he listened intently, while the Medic nervously looked back the way they had come. Dan was sure he could hear voices, but certainly not the raging war-cry of the Klingon's ... He was pondering how he could gain access without attracting too much attention, when the door opened:
"Glad you made it Sir." Karka said, a wry grin on his face ..........
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Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
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Post by Karka Psonoir on Nov 29, 2013 3:17:53 GMT
"I'm here," Aly responded. "On my one and healthy. I think they've fused the door"
Karka took a close look a the locking mechanism, studying the method used to weld the door shut. "Shouldn't be a problem," he said after a few seconds, "They've used a trilithium compound that I've - ... That I don't recognise. But using this..." He opened his satchel and applied a microfusion cutter to the mechanism. The door slid open, revealing the dark ruined office, and Commodore Ryat.
Karka took the promotion in his stride. His first instinct was tempered contemplation, followed sharply by a feeling of self-entitlement. He had been long overdue a promotion, it was true. Not that it mattered; his place among this people was transitory, but something - and he was instantly on guard at this - was spiking insistently at his genetic memory. The Evokes.
Whenever there developed an inkling that an agent was assimilating too much of his/her implanted engrammatic matrix, the Evokes - a set of subroutines, installed whenever a Hybrudean chose to become a vigilante and delve far into time or space - would intervene, bringing his 'true' memories, his architecture installed at birth back to the fore.
"Thank you, sir," he nodded graciously, "I'm honoured." He set about investigating the devastated presidential office. Luckily he was able to do so at peace, as civil authorities had locked down the section so the likely desperate Asadan loyalists couldn't get in. Not much to go on... he thought, peering about the office. For once he was unable to offer an explanation.
At this point Schirra entered the room. "Glad you made it Sir." Psonoir grinned as he passed by the entrance to the other side of the office.
"Also, there was an interesting weapon used in the attack maybe you can tell be about it." Ryat pointed at the two scatters of shrapnel which marked up the room."
"This is expended ammunition," he concluded, manoeuvring the bulky tricorder. "Unusual. Until a few minutes ago I'd never seen anything like it. It exhibits characteristics of the tech used by a member of the unidentified species I reported to Commander Schirra earlier." He said no more.
He crouched by the place where Ryat indicated the President had been transported out. The floor was devoid of any markings, his augmented vision revealing no deformations in the carpeted surface, but his tricorder did alert him to one metallic anomaly. Idly he wondered whether it was now safe to contact the Excalibur. "Hmm... This is different. There are traces of isolinear componentry in this fabric. Not much, but the presence of any at all is abnormal..." He turned to Ryat, thinking processes overclocking within their ultimately organic framework. "Could they have tagged the President with something in their weapons, locked on to the tag and beamed him away?"
<Tag Ryat>
"Commander..." Karka said, "If I could have a minute of your time. Back in the ballroom, you didn't detect anything beyond, or on the boundaries of sight?" Schirra looked at him quizzically. "It would've been fast, a greyish blur." Karka licked his lips. Now that he'd identified the hybrids, at least in one of their configurations (this one bred for speed), he had to tread carefully, else his entire operation might be placed in jeopardy.
"Something maimed one of my engineers once we'd got through that Klingon bottleneck. It had some Klingon characteristics but certainly wasn't one of them. It sped off before we could react... If it's still on the loose in the compound, we might be placed in a rather precarious situation... Have you encountered anything similar?"
<Tag Schirra>
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Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
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Post by Daniel Schirra on Dec 7, 2013 22:17:07 GMT
"Commander ...." Karka said, "If I could have a minute of your time. Back in the ballroom ......"
The pair had moved off to one side of the room so their conversation would not be overheard. Daniel listened to the Engineer, a sudden foreboding coming over him as he recalled the 'hybrid' that had attacked him earlier. He recounted the fight to Karka, who nodded as if the 'hybrid' sounded plausible, even, familiar ...
"It's obvious there is something more to our being here." Daniel said, casually glancing around the room, "I think the Asadian's have been sincere in their wanting the Federation's attendance, but I think they have had ulterior motives all along ... Let's face it, the Klingon's are here, somewhere. We have some 'hybrid' assassin's or whatever running around in the shadows. Are they here for their own ends, and if so, what had Asada got that then need so desperately !"
"Do we keep this on a 'need to know' basis then ?" Karka asked, watching the others in the room.
"Even if we could confront the President, we could be starting an interplanetary diplomatic issue ....." Daniel said, thinking hard, as the last thing he needed was to be the catalyst, but the Federation had a right to know what was going on, and if the Asadian Government wasn't going to be forthright, then they had little choice in his opinion, "We need to get out of these rooms and to safety, we can mull over options once we're clear." he finished as Crystal approached.
"Any thoughts ?" she asked the two.
"Well, our first priority should be get back to the ship." Dan said, "Maybe we could track the President from there ?"
He moved away, looking around the room hoping to find anything that would help their investigation, and more importantly, anything that would give them the upper hand. After ten minutes he was frustrated. The 'hybrids' had left nothing behind. He hadn't exactly expected to find some advanced technology, but to find nothing was annoying to say the least.
Suddenly one of the massive doors rattled ....
Everyone's weapon's spun to face the location of the noise, then the door shook once again. Whoever was outside, had decided they wanted in ! ... But why, to kill off any stragglers, to make sure there were no eye-witness reports to file ... It wasn't what they had come to know of the Klingon's, they would simply batter the doors in and fight to the death, regardless of losses. But this was different, Whoever was trying to get in, was doing it methodically ... They wanted people alive ! ..........
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Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
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Post by Karka Psonoir on Dec 12, 2013 13:07:22 GMT
Karka agreed with virtually everything Schirra said. The man was still not to be trusted, considering his intel background and how he may have delved into the records of the senior staff. Karka's fabricated biography, as he'd previously thought, was watertight, but that didn't quell anxious thoughts when someone trained to notice such things had been looking.
"I think we need to regroup," Psonoir said. "We have indications of Klingons, these hybrids, and two Asadan factions. Gelan has been taken prisoner, a few of his administration killed in the cake explosion. Some or all of the Intelligence Directorate seem to be in league with the rival faction defeated in the presidential elections."
Schirra glanced at him as it became apparent that somebody was trying to gain entry. The doors rattled with metallic fury - an iron cage being shaken by its prisoner. "How did you come to that conclusion, Lieutenant?"
"It's simple," Karka said, retreating and recovering his phaser. He took up a position behind the President's scorched desk, hoping in vain probably that he wouldn't have to use the weapon. "All this began with the assassination of the President's staff. We can start with the assumption the Klingons are still supporting the rival faction. These Asadans supporting them here must be aligned to that faction." Not adding the fact that he'd talked to a member of the Intel Directorate shortly before and after the explosion, and that she'd tried to kill him, after introducing two of her Klingon friends and virtually admitting guilt in the bombing.
"Who could be coming through?" the Commodore asked.
"I recommend we don't wait to find out, sir. We don't lose anything by beaming out now, because we no longer need to worry about giving up our position to the Klingons. If it's friendlies behind that door then we can make contact with them from the ship."
<Tag Alyana>
That reminded Karka. They now had two Klingon prisoners on the Excalibur, those he'd subdued earlier. The golden beam took them. It hurt to leave the surface but he would be returning. He'd developed a genuine interest in what was unfolding here and he certainly had unfinished business in looking for the hybrids, not to mention investigating Virna, the Intel Directorate lady (who'd tried to kill him or at least solicit his assistance in her nefarious plans).
Arriving back on the ship he met up with his engineers. Hearan and the injured Jablweski were both fine, the latter having a prosthetic developed for him. He would be out of away team action for the next twelve months though. One advantage of receiving a field promotion was that he no longer had the annoying situation of having the two senior engineers at the rank of Ensign. It had caused interference in engineering's command hierarchy: it had been a sort of dual command for a while, Karka only carrying authority by virtue of appointment and his greater assertiveness.
"You have engineering, Unwin. I'm going to the brig." Hopefully the Chief Security Officer would not mind him asking a few questions.
<Tag All>
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Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
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Post by Daniel Schirra on Dec 14, 2013 0:46:17 GMT
"How did you come to that conclusion, Lieutenant ?" Daniel asked, liking the Engineer more by the minute.
"It's simple," Karka said, retreating and recovering his phaser ....
Dan listened to his reasoning, and couldn't find fault with it. He couldn't see any reason to remain on the surface, at least, not until something approaching stabilization had returned. They had been invited as guests, and had been fired upon.
"..... If it's friendlies behind that door, then we can make contact with them from the ship." Karka said in reply to the Commodore's query as to 'who' could be trying to get in. Frankly, Daniel had come to the conclusion that whoever it was, they were not going to be friendly, otherwise they would, in his humble opinion, have made their identities known the moment they reached the barred door.
Alyana looked at the others in the room, the Asadian Aides that had been caught up in the fire-fight, then reluctantly, took out her communicator and flipped it open:
"Surely you are not going to leave us to these, these 'SAVAGES' that are running riot throughout our city ?" one of them said, but Ryat ignored their protestations and requested beam out !
~~~~~
On the Bridge, Daniel ordered shields raised and weapons brought on-line. He noticed that Psonoir hadn't joined them and decided he may have gone to Engineering, or more likely, to the captured Klingon's they were holding, that was good ... Daniel was 'Intelligence' but in his role as acting Exec' he wanted to keep that side of his remit out of things for the moment, besides, he had the feeling Karka would be trying to get some answers.
"Helm ..." Alyana said, taking her seat, "concentrate scans on orbital vessels and keep a sharp eye out for anomalies. I want to know where 'every' vessel is."
"Yes Captain." the Helm Officer said, getting to work.
"You think the Klingon's will risk firing on us ?" Dan asked, receiving a non-committal shrug from the Commodore, "I'm beginning to think we weren't asked here so the Asadian's could hold out the olive branch, or whatever. I think the President may be in collusion with the Klingon's. Let's face it, they would love to take on a Constitution Class Star Ship, and the Flagship of the Federation. Dragging us back to that hovel they call a world would be one hell of a coup."
"Not about to happen." Alyana said quietly.
"Those Klingon ships, K'T'inga Class Warbird, their most effective ship as far as Star Fleet can tell, from what little information we can gather, are smaller than us, their armament doesn't match ours, but if they had two, or three attacking, we could be in trouble ... I'm concerned about these 'Hybrid' attackers too ...." Daniel said, eyeing the massive view-screen as if expecting one to be stood on the hull looking in, "Obviously some genetic manipulation of your everyday Klingon soldier. I doubt the Klingon's themselves are capable of that level of manipulation Commodore, so it begs the question, of 'Who' is !"
"We can worry about that when the time comes." Alyana said, impatient to hear from the Helm.
"I'm going to head down to the Brig to see if Lieutenant Psonoir has made any progress with our guests." Daniel said, receiving a nod of approval from his Captain before leaving the Bridge.
~~~~~
"...... but you 'ARE' going to speak." Karka was saying as he entered.
Daniel noticed that the room was a little crowded, given the Chief of Security had sent two of his men, and the Master at Arms was present with three of his staff, all clearly armed. The Klingon's sat almost impassively, watching the gathering with obvious contempt. They seemed to be weighing up their limited options ... Daniel spoke to the Duty Brig Officer:
"Ensign. Lower the force-field on the cell and move one of the Klingon's to that cell over there." Dan said, pointing to the cell furthest from the one the two occupied.
Everyone carrying a weapon raised it in anticipation, as the man dropped the 'shield and motioned for one of the Klingon's to come out. Unsurprisingly, neither moved ... Daniel stepped into the cell before anyone could react, and grabbed the one he felt was in charge. Dragging him to his feet, he glared at the man before pushing him through the portal. Three phaser rifles pointing into the face of the second Klingon persuaded 'him' not to retaliate. The first man was pulled across the Brig and thrust into the cell, force-fields snapped into being on both cells instantly.
"Keep them separated." Daniel said, before turning to Karka, "Did you get anything ?"
"Apart from the numerous way's we are all going to suffer, including being fed to something called a 'Targ' whatever that is, then no." he said, frustration showing.
"Klingon's like their food to be alive. Apparently, a targ is some sort of wild boar-like creature, not sure if it's a pet or their main meal, either way I can't imagine being fed to one being a highlight." Daniel said, watching the now separated Klingon warriors, "One piece of information we gathered, they must die in battle, something to do with having a 'honorable' death ... They will go to some mythical place if they die this way, but to die 'without' honor ......" he finished, grinning, before leaving Karka to it .........
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Alyana Ryat
Commodore
Registered: Sept 5, 2007 16:34:56 GMT
Posts: 347
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Post by Alyana Ryat on Dec 17, 2013 18:40:54 GMT
"Could they have tagged the President with something in their weapons, locked on to the tag and beamed him away?"
"That would fit with what I saw." Aly said. It was technology she hadn't heard of before. It was perfect for kidnapping. Obviously these people were determined that the inauguration would not go ahead.
"Continue your investigation. Finding the President is key to keeping this world progressing."
Aly was looking round the room when the beating on the door started she looked up surprised, "Who could be coming through?"
"I recommend we don't wait to find out, sir. We don't lose anything by beaming out now, because we no longer need to worry about giving up our position to the Klingons. If it's friendlies behind that door then we can make contact with them from the ship."
Aly pulled out her communicator, flipped it open, contacted the ship and requested beam out. She and Daniel went to the bridge leaving Lieutenant Psonoir to deal with the prisoners.
"Helm ..." Alyana said, taking her seat, "concentrate scans on orbital vessels and keep a sharp eye out for anomalies. I want to know where 'every' vessel is."
"Yes Captain." the Helm Officer said, getting to work.
"You think the Klingon's will risk firing on us ?" Dan asked, Aly shrugged she had no information to base an answer to that on. Klingons were, like any race, very variable. "I'm beginning to think we weren't asked here so the Asadian's could hold out the olive branch, or whatever. I think the President may be in collusion with the Klingon's. Let's face it, they would love to take on a Constitution Class Star Ship, and the Flagship of the Federation. Dragging us back to that hovel they call a world would be one hell of a coup."
"Not about to happen." Alyana said quietly. That she was sure about, not that she had a plan, yet....
"Those Klingon ships, K'T'inga Class Warbird, their most effective ship as far as Star Fleet can tell, from what little information we can gather, are smaller than us, their armament doesn't match ours, but if they had two, or three attacking, we could be in trouble ... I'm concerned about these 'Hybrid' attackers too ...." Daniel said, eyeing the massive view-screen as if expecting one to be stood on the hull looking in, "Obviously some genetic manipulation of your everyday Klingon soldier. I doubt the Klingon's themselves are capable of that level of manipulation Commodore, so it begs the question, of 'Who' is !"
"We can worry about that when the time comes." Alyana said, impatient to hear from the Helm, apparently Daniel was even more impatient.
"I'm going to head down to the Brig to see if Lieutenant Psonoir has made any progress with our guests." Daniel said. Aly nodded at her XO and he got to his feet and headed for the lift.
Aly was left with her thoughts while the scans completed.
"Sir we have incoming missiles." The ensign at the tactical-navigation station started sounding nervous but the end of her statement sounded puzzled. "Ten targets, less than 200th light speed, laser heads."
Aly blinked. The shields could handle that without even flickering. "Where did the missiles launch from?" Ensign Medley leaned over her screens.
A light show appeared on the screen as the dated missiles burnt themselves against the Excal's shields.
"I can't find anything. The missles appeared from nowhere"
"Keep looking, they came from somewhere."
Silence descended on the bridge as everyone set out to solve the mystery of where the missiles had come from. They were all expecting to find Klingon ships but no self-respecting Klingon would use weapons like that. It was about the level that the Asadans had before the Klingons had interfered, or at least that was how Aly understood the situation. She couldn't recall all of Ephrem's briefing. She called up the document. Maybe Daniel had been correct about motivations. Maybe the prisoners would given them some information, where they had come from would be a start.
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Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
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Post by Karka Psonoir on Dec 19, 2013 14:58:25 GMT
"One piece of information we gathered, they must die in battle, something to do with having a 'honorable' death ... They will go to some mythical place if they die this way, but to die 'without' honor ......" he finished, grinning, before leaving Karka to it.
Karka watched Schirra go, tilting his head before turning back to the two separated Klingons. He'd seen several variations of the species - across several aeons - but this incarnation was perhaps the most bizarre. Almost entirely human in appearance, brilliant burnished gold vests and tight black trousers. The hair was cropped short adding to the humanlike visage. The style might've been genetic or could just be the fashion. Across the centuries, short Klingon hair wasn't that unusual.
"Sir, perhaps you should leave this to the Chief Secur -"
"Begging your pardon, Lieutenant, just one more question." Karka raised a hand and stepped towards the forcefields to address the Klingons. "The Asadan woman who led me to the both of you... Do you know her identity?"
The Klingons, now no longer able to see each other, gave their own and rather interesting contrasting reactions. The one Schirra had determined to be the senior shrugged and made a gruff sound in the negative. The other, however, seemed to have been given pause for thought. Karka detected his involuntary nod and smiled, "Curious." He stepped towards the junior Klingon. "So, Klingon, who is she?" He thought he already knew the answer, but hearing it from the Klingon's mouth would confirm it, or unhappily cause even more confusion.
"You dare to speak to me in such a tone, petaQ? I'll feed you your own eyes." The Klingon folded his arms. Karka stood impassive and eventually the Klingon's shoulders slumped, giving in, "Very well..."
"Kartan!" the other Klingon growled, "You know the price..."
"We aren't leaving this place, Kotir. Not until our ships rescue us and make these dogs pay with their lives." He looked Karka in the eye. "Her name is not Virna as you believed. Rather she is Helutia, vice presidential candidate in the faction defeated in the Asadans' election. The President's men sidelined her, slandering her in the planet's media and driving her into collusion with the Empire."
"Then she's not a member of President Gelan's Intelligence Directorate?" Karka asked. The Klingon shook his head, folding his arms again. "Thank you, Kartan. That's all I needed to know. Lieutenant," he nodded at the Chief of Security and walked over to the brig officer. "Do you have it?" he asked quietly so no one else could hear.
The brig officer handed him the vial - the purple viscous liquid swirled, catching the light. "Thanks," Karka smiled, pocketing the vial and heading back down to engineering. Of course the brig officer had thoroughly searched both Klingons, finding sufficient components to make a disruptor and also the strange silvery vial. Karka had a suspicion he knew the contents. He wanted to analyse it himself before taking it to the science lab for further analysis. He may have had the knowledge to study the liquid's constituents but he lacked the technology, in this relatively antiquated culture.
He reached engineering, feeling a minor shudder pass through the ship's chassis as he entered. "What was that?" he asked.
"Excalibur's under attack, sir. Source unknown."
Psonoir checked the engines. They weren't being targeted; everything was within ordinary parameters. "Whatever it is it isn't very powerful."
"Laser based weaponry apparently, sir," Unwin said. Karka's eyes widened and he rapidly retreated to his office. It couldn't be... Enough meddling had gone on already.
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Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
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Post by Daniel Schirra on Jan 1, 2014 18:18:10 GMT
Daniel was back on the Bridge and sat in the Captain's seat when the ship was hit:
"Who's firing at us ?" Dan asked.
"We were fired upon Commander. I'm checking now." the Assistant Operations Officer informed him, "It seems to be some form of, laser-based' weaponry. I'm scanning for origin." Ensign Wentworth informed him as he felt a minute vibration through the chair once more.
"I take it that was another hit ?" he asked.
"It's coming from the surface." Wentworth said, then frowned, "No ... From close to the surface, a small vessel, under the cloud layer and hugging the surface. Their weapons are loosing a considerable amount of energy due to the distance. Going off the readings' they couldn't worry our shields even if they were outside the window."
"So why bother ?" Daniel asked, puzzled.
The ship trembled yet again, this time a little more than the first or second hits. Dan watched the view-screen hoping to see something he could fire upon without feeling as if he'd swatted the proverbial 'fly' in his efforts to ease an itch. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that someone was trying to attract their attention. 'So why no Comms ?' he thought, almost dismissing his own theory quickly as the ship felt yet another 'tickle' from below.
"Should we return fire Sir ?"
"No ....." Daniel said, "Scan the surrounding area for any anomalies. Inform the Captain, then let's sit tight." he said, tapping the Comm link on the chairs' arm:
=^= Schirra to Psonoir =^=
=^= Commander ? =^= the engineer replied, seemingly distracted.
=^= We're being fired on, any issues down there ? =^=
=^= They can't hurt us .. Something isn't right though .. Any idea who they are ? =^= Karka asked, checking his readings.
=^= Not a clue .. Schirra out =^=
"Helm, increase our orbit in relation to the surface, and lock onto that firing location. Let's see if they keep at it."
The Constitution Class vessel began to ease out of her orbital track, adding distance, relative to the ground below as they traversed the planet. They halted their climb and waited. Moments past, the planet serenely rotating below. Dan was convinced they had moved out of range of whatever archaic vessel was firing on them. Commodore Ryat entered the Bridge and Dan, vacating her seat, began to update her when, the ship lurched !
"Our guests ?" Alyana asked, eyebrows raised.
"Sir, that hit was approximately sixty percent stronger than the others." Ensign Wentworth informed them.
"Nothing like persistence, is there." Dan said.
"I have a lock on the vessel firing on us now." the Operations Officer said, "It looks like some sort of transport, a shuttle-type craft. They have no warp capability, but could give us a run for our money in orbit. The proverbial gnat attacking the rhino."
"OK ... Let's not 'underestimate' our foe." Daniel said, walking forward to the massive window, "Can we disable their weapons, without affecting drive systems ?"
"We could, but firing at even ten percent we could slam them into the surface."
"Fancy running away ?" Daniel asked Alyana, grinning, but the Comm chirped to life before she could reply:
=^= Psonoir to Bridge .. I may have an idea =^= ..........
< tag : Karka / All >
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Alyana Ryat
Commodore
Registered: Sept 5, 2007 16:34:56 GMT
Posts: 347
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Post by Alyana Ryat on Jan 9, 2014 21:32:47 GMT
"I have a lock on the vessel firing on us now." the Operations Officer said, "It looks like some sort of transport, a shuttle-type craft. They have no warp capability, but could give us a run for our money in orbit. The proverbial gnat attacking the rhino."
The Rhino and the gnat, it was an interesting analogy although not very flattering to the Excal, Aly felt a little offended on behalf of her ship. All the same, that little armed shuttle flitting about in the atmosphere below them might actually start proving a problem for the Excal, also the Excal's sensors had been having trouble with the atmospheric disturbances
"OK ... Let's not 'underestimate' our foe." Daniel said, walking forward to the massive window, "Can we disable their weapons, without affecting drive systems ?"
"We could, but firing at even ten percent we could slam them into the surface." The CTNO said. It was good that they could finally get some sort of lock on the ship but she really did not what to take the the risk. Knocking the ship into the surface wouldn't answer their questions and could potentially take innocent lives down below.
"Fancy running away ?" Daniel asked Alyana, grinning./font] Running was far from Aly's first instinct but she was was responsible for the ship and her crew. She was just about to give the order to move to an even higher orbit, and take shelter behind the natural satellite but the comm beat her to it.
[ =/\= Psonoir to Bridge .. I may have an idea =/\=/font] =/\=Let's hear it Lieutenant.=/\=
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Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
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Post by Karka Psonoir on Jan 13, 2014 23:58:30 GMT
=^= We're being fired on, any issues down there ? =^=
Karka's wringed his sweaty fingers and worked the console. =^= They can't hurt us .. Something isn't right though .. Any idea who they are ? =^= he asked.
=^= Not a clue .. Schirra out =^=
Karka closed his eyes, demanding calm between his temples. This was the first time he was feeling rattled on this mission. Not even when he'd been hastening to the rescue of Commodore Ryat and the Asadan Presiden Gelan had he felt this much tension. If Lirwa (unlikely) or any of his friends had orchestrated this latest incursion, there were stern words to be had on those glacial pinnacles, vast naturally engineered mountains beyond the clouds. It also meant that Karka's mission - instigated by that very Hybrudean, and close friend, Lirwa - was a lot more closely monitored than he would like.
He withdrew the silver vial again, regarding its contents coolly. Surprisingly he found that it relaxed his mind. His purpose became clear again... This was a sample, not of Hybrid blood, but of the toxin injected into them to stabilise the respective body tissues to prevent them rejecting each other.
Klingons and Deltans were hardly a natural mix; it wasn't beyond belief that their chemistries would be utterly at odds, and would force the bodies to fly apart rather than produce a convincing synthesis. If his Archive's theory was correct, then study of the vial would prove to the skeptical Hybrudean institutions - attitudes bred by effective millennia of irreverence and idle pursuit - that the hybrids not only existed circa 2260, but that they were consituted of Klingons and Deltans.
Apparently though, the attacking vessel was of Asadan origin. Unwin relayed the news from the bridge as it came in. An atmospheric vessel - perhaps not actually possible of spaceflight - firing antiquated laser and missile technology, of a level that matched the Asadans' before Klingon or Federation involvement.
He understood in an instant that the Excalibur couldn't exactly flee the system, or fire at their pestering assailant. If that ship belonged to a faction that rivalled President Gelan, or perhaps belonged to a terrorist organisation trying to dispel both Federation and Klingon interlopers, then it would be bad politics to leave the area. He smiled as he sat in the chair in front of the master console. Staying and silencing the ship was equally undesirable. Especially if he wanted to track down Virna - or make that Helutia - and her rival faction. It was nothing to do with his mission here. But he'd developed a personal interest in these events. Lirwa wouldn't care either way. The future could wait forever.
=/\=Let's hear it Lieuteant.=/\=
=/\=We could tractor beam the vessel, Commodore, pull it up to us, even into our shuttlebay if desirable, sir. While it may not be capable of spaceflight, given its current altitude I believe it will be operable in vacuum.=/\= Karka worked the console calmly, eyes fixing on the warp core and pondering the possibility of making a quick retreat if he was wrong. =/\=Do we have any idea of who is aboard the vessel, sir?"=/\=
=/\=Sensors read 25 Asadans aboard, Lieutenant.=/\=
=/\=Interesting, sir. I'm on my way.=/\= Karka left engineering, stifling a sigh of relief, to such a degree that he was unsure if the sigh was real or not.
<Tag Alyana, Daniel>
circa 2850
Karka leant on the translucent railing, staring over the edge of the overhang into the depths of the Archive. It seemed interminably dark, and it was untravelled, except in the distant years of isolated adolescence. 'No light at the end of the tunnel', Lirwa had confided in him, claiming it to be a twist on a popular human expression, when Karka had told him what he'd seen when he gazed into the abyss.
The archives were places of light according to his memories. That memory was certainly corroborated given the high places that he stood outside of now. The Hybrudean mind interacted with the library as if those two systems were equivalent. The brain physically manifested itself alongside the Archive's architecture. But perhaps the Hybrudeans had constructed their archives' habitable spaces on the basis of false memories...
There was one shaft of light that emanated from below. Through an improbable and unpurposed shaft that his line of sight happened to align with, he could see distant Hybrudea experiencing its differing stages of planetary evolution. It was a green jewel, casting a transcendent light through the shadowy troves of shattered Archive material. His features were wracked with indecision. Should he give up this coming venture? The time vessel waited in the departure bay. Yet on the surface there waited unending possibilities... Infinite glimpses of future potential. But with what purpose? He had the feeling he'd remained a vigilante for too long, but why stop now when there was another discovery around the corner? Yes, he decided, the future could wait forever.
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