SB Assailant Mission 2.4 -Dreamweaver Fugue States

[Deleted]

T'Val nodded disprovingly of his choice of food, but didn't say anything about it. He was entitled to his own choices of food, and she didn't have to share his likes or dislikes of it, and neither did he have to share hers. "I will also have tea," she said, then peered at the menu, "and I will have this." She pointed at the menu, where the item she selected described sandwiches being stuck in a sort of machine wich made the bread crisp, and would melt the cheese between them. "I admit I have a fondness of melted cheese," she said softly, "especially cheese fondue."

While the waiter took off to attend to their orders, T'Val gazed at Mercy. "I believe we should gain permission to investigate the Angel herself. Perhaps we will find the source of the illness on that ship. Naturally we will not board her without protective clothing, after all we do not wish to become ill ourselves."

When she noticed he didn't seem to hear what she was saying, she placed her hand on his, surprised at the warmth of his skin. "Stuart?" she called, giving his hand a little shake, "Stuart, are you listening?" She fell silent, realizing that she had called him by his first name, without intending to do so. ~why is he so absent~ she asked herself ~he is not embarassed or scared now is he?~ She wondered what would come next, or whether the next move would be hers. ~should I?~ she debated ~what would Tedak think? He did say he would not mind....but it does not seem fair to him at all~

<Mercy>

[mercy]

~She grabbed my hand. "Stuart, are you listening?" Oh I'm listening alright. You called me by my first name. Are you just being nice. Your hands...so soft...just like your lips are...better stop that. Your beautiful face...if I could just take it into my hands and give you another kiss...but you are married. Respect, Stuart, respect...you started this fine mess, now what?~

As much as he regretted it, Stuart pulled his hands away from T'Val, but not without leaving a soft caress behind from his fingers.

"Investigate the Angel? I truly think that Dr. Lorre will be able to handle that, although she did rise in rank on the fast track. Either way, my services are needed here with all of the patients we have on this station. We still need to run the analysis on those samples from the dead, and see what we may find there. Perhaps then, just maybe, if we find something that is, should we go out to the Angel. I can activate a couple of EMH's, although I'm not too happy with that idea...and I don't think the Admiral will be either."

Stuart was still looking at her with deep interest when all of a sudden *poof*...Yade had popped back in and settled on Stuart's shoulder. He started to nuzzle himself along Stuart's cheek.

"Uh, Healer T'Val, uh...he's not going to bite me is he?"

Stuart was trying his hardest not to shoo the firelizard away.

[Deleted]

"The EMH has no manners," T'Val said curtly, taken a bit aback by the flashes of thought she had caught from the human doctor. She avoided his gaze, and was clearly disappointed when he pulled his hand away.

When she heard a chirp, she looked back up and to her amazement saw Yade sitting on his shoulder, and the green firelizard was rubbing her cheek against the human's face. "Now that is odd," she muttered, "Yade generally does not socialize with my collegues, certainly not if they are male." She smiled ever so slightly at him. "Yade is a female firelizard," she gently corrected him, "and no she does not bite...much anyway. You might want to feed her though, she is very fond of fresh meat."

She got up and walked to the nearest replicator to get a bowl of fresh meat, and deposited before Mercy's nose on the table. "Do not be afraid," she said, leaning over Mercy to reach into the bowl. She gently picked up his hand, once more marveling at the warmth of his touch, and placed a tiny piece of meat into it. Yade immediately hopped down and picked it up, without scratching him.

T'Val returned to her own seat and watched him, albeit a little fearfully, feed her firelizard. "At any rate," she continued, "I still believe we should request permission from Admiral Magellan to board the Angel, and do the research ourselves. I do not doubt Doctor Lorre's ability, but I prefer to get facts myself, rather than second hand."

[mercy]

Stuart couldn't help but observe how delicately T'Val ate her grilled cheese sandwich. Yade was busying herself at the table with her own plate of fresh meat. Stuart would give her a piece from his sub-sandwich every now and then, which Yade approvingly ate.

They had some small talk. Stuart had asked about her marriage to Ambassador Tedak. She talked about how he had been injured and so on. One thing leading to another and then the eventually to marriage. It sounded to Stuart like it was more of a marriage of convenience and circumstance, instead of true love. Then again, what did Stuart know about Vulcan and Romulan love habits? What he did know was that Vulcans did kiss with the same passion as humans.

They had just finished their lunch when Stuart's comm badge chirped.

=/\= Dr. Mercy, Nurse Tsomba here. You need to get to the infirmary immediately. Some of the Angel crew is becoming more and more delirious again. I have them all restrained, but not submissive anymore. They seem to have become unresponsive to the current treatment. =/\=

"Alright, Jill, Healer T'Val and I are on our way."

Stuart wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin that was at hand and got up, with T'Val steadfastly on his heals. Stuart noticed that Yade went *poof* and disappeared as quickly as she had come.

Arriving at the infirmary where the Angel crew was housed, it became apparent what Jill was saying was true. Angel crewmembers were strapped in their bio-beds, talking to who knows whom. Some were screaming out of fear, others were crying of guilt and shame. Looking at their bio-readings revealed nothing other than elevated brain waves.

"T'Val, uh sorry, Healer T'Val. We need to get a look at those autopsy samples. Especially the ones from the brains of our victims."

"Yes. It does seem logical that we may find the answer there as their brainwaves are affected."

Together they walked on over to the bio-lab located next to the morgue. They looked over at the specimens and samples from the dead, especially the ones from the brains.

“What do you think, T’V…Healer T’Val.”

It was becoming real hard to remain professional. Maybe he should just dispense with her title altogether and think nothing more of it, she might not even care or notice.

<T’Val>

Stuart listened intently while at the same time assessing her again on a personal level. Her beauty, her knowledge, her look when she looked at him. At least he thought or felt there was a certain look in her eyes. He had no idea what kind of vibes Vulcans gave off, if any, considering most have that strict emotional control. Her last sentence struck him odd.

“Yes, I agree with your assessment so far, but I don’t understand why we need to return to the morgue. Everything we need should be here already.”

“If you will, Dr. Stuart, please follow me.”

Stuart followed as she led the way to the one place that Stuart knew she really wasn’t that comfortable with. When they had entered and the doors had closed, T’Val turned around to face him. She walked up close, close enough to where she had to look up to gaze into his eyes. Stuart was surprised and awaiting what was to happen next, with slight anticipation.

<T’Val>

[Deleted]

It was becoming real hard to remain professional. Maybe he should just dispense with her title altogether and think nothing more of it, she might not even care or notice.

T'Val took note of her collegue's apparant disability to remember her title and profession. Yet she didn't comment on it, and rather enjoyed the fact that someone would actually talk to her without constantly calling her 'healer' even though she was on duty. She leaned over on the desk, peering at the computer screen. "Whatever this virus is, it is certain that it affects an individual's behaviour," she suddenly said, looking sideways at Mercy.

"But I know of no viruses that actually affect brainwaves as much as this one appears to be doing. We must compare the amount of viral particles in our live victims with the deceased ones," she continued, looking rather apprehensive, "and for that we need to return to the morgue yet again."

<snip>
Stuart followed as she led the way to the one place that Stuart knew she really wasn’t that comfortable with. When they had entered and the doors had closed, T’Val turned around to face him. She walked up close, close enough to where she had to look up to gaze into his eyes. Stuart was surprised and awaiting what was to happen next, with slight anticipation.

She stood in front of him, not even taking note of the many stasis chambers. Slowly, she took his tricorder from him, and laid it aside after opening it and setting it to scan the environment "What is happening?" she suddenly asked him, gazing up at him, "the Angel crew is being subdued, our morgue is filled with dead aliens that seem to be virus infected. Yet we cannot be certain that this is what killed them. What if it is airborne?"

She took a step closer to him, very conscious of her actions. Something was going on and it was no longer an experiment to her. She felt guilty for betraying her husband, but any other action would be a betrayal to herself. ~what am I doing?~ she questioned herself, as she took another step closer. Then she stopped and waited, still gazing up at the taller man. "I am scared," she admitted, folding her arms around his waist. She couldn't remember the last time she had admitted to being scared, but here she was, admitting it to someone she barely knew. ~yet I do know~ she chided herself, now avoiding to look up at Mercy.

"It is my personal belief that a viral infection killed the aliens, but as they are unknown to us, we cannot be certain that it is just this virus that killed them, or thay other viral infection would also be fatal to them," she whispered, "to gain that knowledge we would need a live speciment, and to test viruses on a live person is unethical. What do we do now?"

[Magellan Lin]

Magellan sat in his office awhile his chin resting on steepled fingers. It was a conundrum alright, and whilst he enjoyed puzzles, you didnt get to be a captain of a starship if you didnt, this one was more...tricky than difficult. Resolved with a course of action he retured to the infirmary, wary of what he might find this time.

He strode into the bustling bay as several doctors and nurses dashed hither and thither dealing with the mass hysterics. He spotted Mercy and T'Val at a console.
"Dr Mercy, A word if you please"
Dr Mercy looked up,
"Ah Admiral, good I m glad..."
Magellan jerked his head towards the chief of staffs office, "A word?" he made the question sound more like order.
"I am rather bus..." Stuart began to reply but saw the look in Magellans eye, "Of course" he smiled.

Magellan entered first and then pressed to close the door once stuart was in side.
"I ll keep this short and simple."
"Sounds fair to me"
"1. I dont often meddle in my staffs private affairs. I wouldnt like it so I dont expect them to. 2. T.Val is married. 3. She is Married to Tedak. 4. I officataed their ceremony 5. Tedak is Ambassador to the ROMULAN Empire. 6. Tread carefully. 7. Lecture over. Now unless you have anything more to say I believe you mentioned something about progress or at least something interesting?"

TAG Stuart

[mercy]

She stood in front of him, not even taking note of the many stasis chambers. Slowly, she took his tricorder from him, and laid it aside after opening it and setting it to scan the environment "What is happening?" she suddenly asked him, gazing up at him, "the Angel crew is being subdued, our morgue is filled with dead aliens that seem to be virus infected. Yet we cannot be certain that this is what killed them. What if it is airborne?"

She took a step closer to him, very conscious of her actions. Something was going on and it was no longer an experiment to her. She felt guilty for betraying her husband, but any other action would be a betrayal to herself. ~what am I doing?~ she questioned herself, as she took another step closer. Then she stopped and waited, still gazing up at the taller man. "I am scared," she admitted, folding her arms around his waist. She couldn't remember the last time she had admitted to being scared, but here she was, admitting it to someone she barely knew. ~yet I do know~ she chided herself, now avoiding to look up at Mercy.

"It is my personal belief that a viral infection killed the aliens, but as they are unknown to us, we cannot be certain that it is just this virus that killed them, or thay other viral infection would also be fatal to them," she whispered, "to gain that knowledge we would need a live speciment, and to test viruses on a live person is unethical. What do we do now?"

She was in his arms once more. This lovely Vulcan female. She mentioned airborne... ~That's it!~ Stuart was able to control himself. He grabbed T'Val by her shoulders and pushed her back, as much as he regretted it.

"T'Val, is it not logical to assume that our close proximity to the dead bodies may have exposed us if this virus was airborne?"

"Uh...yes...I suppose."

It was not logical for a Vulcan to 'suppose' anything. Stuart had to get them out of there. Grabbing T'Val by the hand he led her back out the way she had led him in, but not until he grabbed the tricorder that T'Val had activated and put down.

Back out in the bio-lab, he was able to continue his thoughts. "The Angel crew is already in isolation, but they must be reinfecting themselves via airborne. The Inaprovaline doesn't seem to be enough. We need an aerosol countermeasure."

T'Val was following what Stuart was saying. "How about Chloromydride."

"Yes! That's it. We need to inform the Admiral, get things back under control, and see if we can take a little trip."

Magellan sat in his office awhile his chin resting on steepled fingers. It was a conundrum alright, and whilst he enjoyed puzzles, you didnt get to be a captain of a starship if you didnt, this one was more...tricky than difficult. Resolved with a course of action he retured to the infirmary, wary of what he might find this time.

He strode into the bustling bay as several doctors and nurses dashed hither and thither dealing with the mass hysterics. He spotted Mercy and T'Val at a console.
"Dr Mercy, A word if you please"
Dr Mercy looked up,
"Ah Admiral, good I m glad..."
Magellan jerked his head towards the chief of staffs office, "A word?" he made the question sound more like order.
"I am rather bus..." Stuart began to reply but saw the look in Magellans eye, "Of course" he smiled.

Magellan entered first and then pressed to close the door once stuart was in side.
"I ll keep this short and simple."
"Sounds fair to me"
"1. I dont often meddle in my staffs private affairs. I wouldnt like it so I dont expect them to. 2. T.Val is married. 3. She is Married to Tedak. 4. I officataed their ceremony 5. Tedak is Ambassador to the ROMULAN Empire. 6. Tread carefully. 7. Lecture over. Now unless you have anything more to say I believe you mentioned something about progress or at least something interesting?"

Stuart was a little shocked. He hadn't been lectured like this since EMT school where he was having a hard time trying to apply the proper measures of CPR to a bio-droid. He did understand where Adm Lin was coming from.

"Yes Admiral. Uh, about that...it seems that Healer T'Val and I may have been affected by an airborne strain of this virus. I was just about to inform you of our steps to alleviate that problem."

At least it was a good excuse, for they truly weren't yet sure what had caused this lack of inhibition between themselves...unless it was true affection for one another. ~He did say '6. Tread carefully.~ Which meant he didn't disallow it, just to be careful.

Stuart went on about the virus being airborne and the use of Chloromydride to keep it under control, and the fact that the morgue was now under quarantine.

"Also sir, if you would allow, Healer T'Val and I think it might be a good idea if we were able to investigate the artifact ourselves, which very well could be the origin of all of this? We could take a runabout."

<Magellan>

[Magellan Lin]

Magellan looked nervously about him as if he could see the virus in the air.
"Its airbourne! - what sort of danger is that to the station?"

<Tag - Stuart>

"Okay But Ill want you to ensure all quarantine procedures are at 100 percent efficiency"

"So Sir about the Artifact?"

Magellan paused trying to decide if allowing Stuart and T Val to be left alone in the cramped confinements of a runabout was an appropriate move. No he resolved, Stuart and T Val were adults, their business whatever it was most definetly theres, he'd made his warning and that was all as a CO he could do.
"Very well. Take the De Gamma, but be sure all medical staff here are briefed in advance. And I want reports of progress every 4 hours."

Tag Stuart

[Deleted]

T'Val had left Mercy alone, resenting the fact that he'd shoved her aside when she needed him most. She wasn't getting any readings from Tedak, other than the occasional flash of fear, but she was growing accustomed to getting those flashes as he generally got himself caught up in one dangerous adventure or the other. And since her firelizard didn't seem too worried, she wasn't worried either.

She had retreated into a small room in sickbay, where she sat on the floor with D'beren. The boy had been brought into sickbay by the nanny, who claimed that the toddler hadn't wanted to stay in their quarters, but had wanted to go see his mother. T'Val had reluctantly allowed the nanny to leave the boy with her, even though she really was too busy to spend any time with him right now.

The boy sat in her lap, waving about wildly with his little fists. He seemed agitated, and was making growling noises,all the while peering in the direction of the CMO's office. T'Val instantly understood what was going on, as the boy doted on his adoptive father. "Ow!" she suddenly exclaimed, as one of the flailing fists painfully hit her right on the eye. She rose to her feet and walked over to the nearest mirror. The edge of her left eye was starting to turn a nasty shade of blue/green.

She gazed down on the boy, who had stopped flailing. Instead, he was looking up at his mother with an almost fearful look in his eyes. "Do not cry D'Beren," T'Val told him as she picked him up and held him close to her, "you have not hurt me. Accidents happen, do not worry about it." WIth the boy on her arms, she walked into the CMO's office. "What did the admiral have to say about our request?" she finally asked, after an awkward silence. She purposefully kept her distance, even though she felt drawn to him. It was just as well that she was holding her son.

<Mercy>

[mercy]

Magellan looked nervously about him as if he could see the virus in the air.
"Its airbourne! - what sort of danger is that to the station?"

"None sir. As long as we keep our quarantine procedures in place. Plus I am pumping in an airborne countermeasure for the Angel crew as we speak." Stuart wanted to reassure the Admiral that everything was under control and that the station was not in any danger.

"Okay But Ill want you to ensure all quarantine procedures are at 100 percent efficiency"

"So Sir about the Artifact?"

Magellan paused trying to decide if allowing Stuart and T Val to be left alone in the cramped confinements of a runabout was an appropriate move. No he resolved, Stuart and T Val were adults, their business whatever it was most definitely theres, he'd made his warning and that was all as a CO he could do.
"Very well. Take the De Gamma, but be sure all medical staff here are briefed in advance. And I want reports of progress every 4 hours."

"Done sir. We'll just be gathering our supplies. We'll be at the bay in about 30 minutes. Now you will have a crew for us right, not that we are flying ourselves. We can still run a few analysis on the way."

"I understand doctor, and no, I wasn't planning on sending two of my most valued crew members on their own. I get enough of that with my Ambassadors taking off everywhere without proper safety. A shuttle crew will be on standby."

Stuart thanked him before Admiral Lin was on his way back to Ops. T'Val came into his office carrying her adopted child, D'Beren. Stuart just stood there, taking in the scene. She looked like a natural, the way she was caring for that child. Stuart had yet to even consider children, much less even a serious relationship.

"What did the admiral have to say about our request?" she finally asked, after an awkward silence. She purposefully kept her distance, even though she felt drawn to him. It was just as well that she was holding her son.

"The Admiral? Oh yes, yes the Admiral. A shuttle crew is being readied as we speak."

Stuart noticed T'Val's eye turning a shade of blue/green. He walked up closer to her to inspect it, although he could sense that she was trying to keep the distance between them.

"Let me see your eye. I heard him screaming out there. Did he just do that?"

"Yes. It appears that he is quite upset and irritated." T'Val admitted.

Stuart gave D'Beren his stethoscope so that he would stop flailing and hitting at him. T'Val was able to put him down, reluctantly, as he became interested in this new toy.

Stuart touched the bruise softly, pressing slightly until he could see her lips move in a wince. He allowed his hand to caress her cheek as he moved it away from her eye. She had that look again. The office was 'clean'. they weren't being affected by whatever affliction the Angel crew had. It was them. It was something they were going to have to figure out, but now was not the time.

Stuart excused himself, and stepped out of the office only to return shortly. He had brought along one of the medical kits and opened it up. Retrieving a sub-dermal tissue regenerator, he proceeded to place it near T'Val's eye to start the process of healing the wound.

T'Val still had that look in her eyes and started to speak.

"Stuart..."

It was a soft tone, but Stuart didn't let her finish. He didn't dare let her finish.

"I know T'Val, but not now. Our priority at the moment lies with those patients we have out there. The Angel crew is going mad, the Dradrians are dying, and you and I......well, we'll just have to discuss our situation after all of this passes. Until then, we have a job to do."

She remained quiet, knowing he was right. The skin around her eye had returned to its normal color. T'Val picked up D'Beren, got him situated with his nanny, while Stuart readied the supplies they might need for the trip.

Twenty-five minutes later, T'Val and Stuart arrived at the shuttle-bay to meet their crew. A pilot, navigator, and two security officers were assigned to the De Gamma. Within minutes, they had exited the station docks and were now on their way to the Artifact.

[Deleted]

Even though she expected the human doctor to have a much better bedside manner than herself, she was still surprised at the gentleness with which he assessed the injury. She understood he had to issue a bit of pressure on the bruise, to ascertain if anything was broken. Naturally, he could've used a tricorder, but she also understood why he did not, and found herself appreciating it, and not only because she preferred hands on medicine over usage of scanners and tricorders.

She stood waiting stoically, watching him as he tended to the injury. "Stuart," she started, but he stopped her. It didn't quite surprise her, but it also hurt her feelings. Yet she understood his line of reasoning. After he was done she picked up her son and went to return him to the nanny. "Do not lose him out of your sight," she warned the nanny, then gazed at the bronze and brown firelizard that had taken up perch in the boy's lap again. "That counts for you two as well," she told Tedak's firelizards. It struck her as odd that his firelizards hadn't made a fuss about her being with Mercy either, where normally they too would have a go at any male that would come close to her.

She sighed and went on her preparations for their mission. Twenty five minutes later she and Mercy met their crew at the hatch of the Gamma. Once they were aboard, she sat opposite of Mercy and just stared at him. "I hope we were right in our hypothesis," she said, "did we consider the possebility that this virus may be harmless on its own when it is in a host, but that some other agent may be acting as a catalyst and produce a highly virulent and dangerous virus?"

T'Val leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest, shivering slightly as if she were cold and waited for the human to answer her. "I am not certain if it is possible, but certainly something could increase the virulency of this virus? Something that is indeed airborne, and when coming into contact with the host it creates what we have encountered? If this is the case, we need to be careful."

[Deleted]

Tedak watched the main screen with apprehension, as Saarok sat in the command chair, steering his shuttle towards the other vessel. He knew they were cloaked, and that they were only inching towards the other vessel. The Romulan diplomat sat hunched in a corner, attempting to look as inconspicious as possible. He worked feverishly to get rid of the gag, but found himself too tired and stiff-limbed to even achieve trying to rub his cheek past his shoulder.

Then a small brown figure appeared on his knee, watching him, its eyes whirling red. The little creature didn't make a sound, and continued to watch him. ~help me~ Tedak thought at his most loyal firelizard ~disable Saarok if you can, after he's gotten the PADD. We must get that PADD, he'll just get us into more trouble if he keeps hold of it.~

Nut seemed to give a nod and hid himself just in time before two columns appeared on the diplomatic vessel, holding weapons aimed at him, and at Saarok. "He's damaged, and weak," one of the Orions barked, "we can't take him. But we have agreed that you shall be exchanged for the information you needed."

Tedak watched in fear as the Orion held up a PADD, but smiled to himself as little Nut appeared and snatched the PADD from him. He saw Saarok react, but not fast enough. The Orion fired his weapon, and the Vulcan collapsed to the deck.

By now, Tedak had managed to pull his right hand free from the cuffs, screaming against the gag as he felt bones break. Nut reappeared and dropped a phaser in his injured hand, which he quickly fired at the two Orions, not caring what setting the weapon was on. When the two Orions were down, he threw the phaser away from him in disgust. Meanwhile Nut tried to undo the knot in the gag, and chirped apollogetically when he couldn't manage it. With his healthy hand, Tedak pulled down the gag and spat the ball of fabric out of his mouth.

He swallowed a few times, and winced as he got back to his feet. "We have the PADD," he muttered, as he uploaded the information from the PADD to his computer, and encrypted it a few times. Then he made another copy of the PADD, and hid the copy in a secret compartment under one of the consoles. After that he hauled Saarok, though with extreme effort, to the aft section of the shuttle and confined him there with the two Orions.

The Romulan struggled his way over to the command seat of his vessel, and started entering the command for the autopilot to get them back to Assaillant. Even though the small diplomatic vessel was cloaked, the enemy still found ways to fire at it. Tedak screamed as the panel exploded in his face, and he staggered back rubbing his eyes furiously. He couldn't see anything and his eyes were watering as they burned painfully. At last he just collapsed from exhaustion, dehydration and pain, as every muscle in his body was still hurting from Saarok's ministrations and having sat in the same position, with his arms behind his back for several hours.

[mercy]

T'Val leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest, shivering slightly as if she were cold and waited for the human to answer her. "I am not certain if it is possible, but certainly something could increase the virulency of this virus? Something that is indeed airborne, and when coming into contact with the host it creates what we have encountered? If this is the case, we need to be careful."

Stuart went to the sleeping section of the shuttle and pulled out a blanket. He had noticed T'Val shivering and proceeded to cover her with it. She gladly accepted all the while they were making eye contact.

Stuart went ahead and broke the spell by answering her questions.

"I was thinking that very same thing. If you recall from the Angel's logs, they were scanned by a green beam. We already summized that it may be something in the beam that's causing this condition. From what I have observed from the reptilian, I didn't sense that he was hostile really. What if that beam was just a simple scan of lifesigns, technology, etc. It stands to reason that this artifact would act like any other ship and perform such things to determine intent of other vessels and people."

<T'Val>

"Exactly! Now this is a non federation standard beam from a species that we hadn't encountered yet, it only stands to reason that there are some impurities within it, that weren't meant to cause harm. The virulency of these impurities may be increased by something as simple as exposure to our atmosphere."

Stuart had been rambling on with his thoughts. When he finally finished, he looked up from his notes that he was perusing and saw T'Val sitting across with a slight smile. He gave her a quizzical look.

<T'Val>

[Deleted]

<snip> What if that beam was just a simple scan of lifesigns, technology, etc. It stands to reason that this artifact would act like any other ship and perform such things to determine intent of other vessels and people."

"Just like we do when we encounter unknown species," T'Val caught on, nodding. She pulled the blanket closer around her shoulders, wondering if Mercy had thought she had been cold. ~obviously~ she thought. "They may be doing the same to species that are alien and unknown to them."

"Exactly! Now this is a non federation standard beam from a species that we hadn't encountered yet, it only stands to reason that there are some impurities within it, that weren't meant to cause harm. The virulency of these impurities may be increased by something as simple as exposure to our atmosphere."

Stuart had been rambling on with his thoughts. When he finally finished, he looked up from his notes that he was perusing and saw T'Val sitting across with a slight smile. He gave her a quizzical look.

"The virulency of these impurities?" T'Val repeated, "surely someone would not send out a beam at living individuals, whatever their level of intelligence, if it contained something that might possibly harm them? Unless, it would be experimental, and they did not know their beams were contaminated with something." ~he looks....cute when he is concentrating~ she thought absentmindedly, then shook her head to get her mind back on the problems at hand.

She paused then stared directly at him. "Stuart, we must get hold of that beam and investigate it. If we can determine what the impurities are, then we can continue to work on a cure!" She then pointed at the main viewscreen of the shuttle. "We are nearing the Angel, we should get ready. I just wonder if there is a copy of this artifact the Nevada crew spoke about is present on the Angel. It would make sense, would it not? At least there should be measurable residue of the beam."

T'Val pulled out her tricorder, and attached straps to her medkit so that she could carry it over her shoulder. "Ready?" she asked her human companion.

[Magellan Lin]

V'Shal sat, the faintest murmour of a smile on her lips, staring at the viewscreen. On it a pair of Orion raiders disappeared leaving a flickering image departing.

"I m surprised that shuttle is still operational." Sopek noted dryly, "Orions pack a punch."
"They do when their emitters are properly aligned." V'Shal replied.
Sopek stared at V'Shal,
"You did that?"
"It is not my best interests for my dear husband to perish just yet."
"Is that sentiment" Sopek sneered,
"Merely practicality, who knows when I may need his services again."
"But they have retrieved the PaDD?"
"I am good at my job" V'Shal seemed to shrug, "It would be illogical for me to betray so many of my old allies, this way we get the money for the trade and they get to keep the list. You may want to fix the drip in the ion drive, its leaving a trail and I do not want dear Saarok finding us."
"They wont find him, theres no way that shuttle will make it back to any dock."
"Ah yes about that open up a commlink."

***

Tedaks shuttles power finally gave out and all that carried them forward was their previous momentum. The lights blinked on and off casting odd shadows on the walls.
"Computer - how long until life support failure."
"There ....is... 3hrs and 8 and 8 and 8 minutes of life supppppppp....." with that last gasp the computer died.
Suddenly Tedak realised that without power the forcefiled in the aft compartment would no longer be active. He dragged himself over to locker and pulled out a disruptor. He staggered aft and carefully opened the door. There was a strong smell of plasma, sweet and sickly, a conduit had ruptured and ensured the two orions would be no more problem, Saarok himself lay unconscious his hands blistered where the sparks from the conduit had singed him.
Tedak knelt beside him and reassured himself that his friend hadn't died. He got back up and found a medkit. He ran the dermal regenerator over the injuries and sat heavily down. They were in a fine mess, none of the systems were working and definetly not the comm. He knew the shuttle had been on course for assailant but without engines it would take years and that was if they didnt fall into a sun.
Tedaks thoughts began to stray to T Val and D'beren, it was highly likely he would see neither ever again.

***

3 hours had passed and Tedak was finding it harder and harder to breathe, was this how it was to end?
A faint whirring sound drew Tedaks attnetion then the shuttle locked. Tedak struggled to his feet.
There was a thump and then a whine. A sound Tedak recognised, someone had made a hard seal with their airlock. He fumbled around groggily for the disruptor and staggered to find a place to cover the doorway.
It slid open casting bright light in to the shuttle that made Tedak blink. There was a hiss of air as fresh oxygenated air replaced the cardon dioxide laden air in the shuttle. The entrance ways bright light was clouded as a figure emerged, Tedak raised his weapon at the silhoette,
"You will not need that Ambassador" a familiar voice announced,
Slowly Tedak lowered the weapon and accepted Magellans hand to help him to his feet.

[Deleted]

"What..." Tedak said, his voice croaking. He swallowed a few times to get some fluid into his mouth. "What took you so long?" he finally managed, still squining against the bright light in the background. "Where are we?"

"We recieved an anonymous message that you were in trouble I broght the Copenhagen right away," Magellan replied, as he supported the Romulan.

"Good," Tedak nodded, gratefully accepting the support.
"Saarok," he finally announced, "he's injured. The Orions shot him, I don't know why." His eyes were starting to water as the intensity of the light became too painful to bear on his already injured eyes.

"Could we," he started, then swallowed a couple of times again, "could we go some place darker?" Then Nut appeared, squawking indignantly, holding a PADD in his claws, dropping it in Magellan's free hand. "The list," Tedak explained hoarsely.

He knew exactly how things must look to the Trill admiral. His shuttle was severely damaged, three of the four occupants were unconscious, one of which was showing signs of having suffered plasma burns. And the fourth occupant, himself, was showing signs of torture. "This was Saarok's idea," he explained ruefully, "I had little choice in the matter, he had seen to it before I could object, though he erred in the settings of his weapon. He hadn't intended to ah....hurt me, or so he says."

He shielded his eyes against the light as Magellan escorted him out of his shuttle. Outside the shuttle, what little strength he had left, left him and he collapsed. In the air, Nut screeched and swooped down, nuzzling the Romulan. But as soon as the little brown saw that he was merely weakened and unconscious, he settled down immediately.

[Magellan Lin]

Magellan called for a medical team and pretty quickly Tedak and Saarok were lying in teh Copenhagens limited sickbay. Dr Takadi had managed to rehydrate them both, heal their burns and even remove the surgical alerations that had been made too them.
"What about the shuttle sir" Ensign Comoordan Asked,
"Hmm, Tedak would never forgive me if I left it derelict, put it under tow and set course for Assailant."
"Aye Sir."
With a groan Tedak came round.
"Ah Ambassador - feeling better,"
"A little" he replied with a cough, "How did you find us?"
"All a little strange - an encrypted message direct to my desk. Told me where you were and that you needed help. It also told me that important information was being carried, the sort of information that shouldnt fall into the hands of the Tal Shiar. I have teams searching your vessel and checking belongings to find it. Perhaps you can save us time by explaining where and what it is?"

TAG Tedak

[Deleted]

Tedak coughed again ever so slightly, and raised an eyebrow at the infusion drip that was inserted via a needle into a vein in his arm. Then he sat, up swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, marveling at present day's medicine. He didn't feel any pain at all, and all that reminded him of the adventure were the black eye - which the doctor had not healed just yet - a little lightheadedness, and his torn shirt.

"Information?" he quizzed, looking thoughtful. "Ah yes, that." He gazed up at Magellan. "I have copied the information into the database of my shuttle, but have also hidden a copy on a PADD in a compartment under the navigations console of my shuttle." Then he reached towards his back, and pulled out a PADD from between the waistband of his uniform pants. "Though, it would save you a lot of trouble if I just handed this copy to you. This is the original, as carried by the Orions."

He gazed over to the other bed, where Saarok appeared to be still either sleeping or unconscious. "How is he doing?" he enquired, "they shot him up pretty bad. I wouldn't even wish this on one of my closest friends, no matter what they have done to me." An angry look crossed his face ever so briefly, as he gazed up at Magellan. "Any news on the Angel captain?" he finally asked, "has a cure been found yet? If needed, I'm still available to assist in the research."

<Magellan>

[Magellan Lin]

"Not much. The med teams are still working on the crews." he paused, "Dr Mercy and T Val have gone to join the El Sal and Nevada."
"So there is progress?"
"Some." Magellan replied evasivly. "I wanted to thankyou for helping retireve the information. It seems this V Shal woman was quite a handful"
"You could say that."
"She seems to have a conscience though."
"She does?"
"yes. Come over here."Magellan led Tedak into another room, Saarok joined them wheeled in on a hover chair.
"This was left for you Saarok."
He tapped up a message on the screen. The face of V'Shal appeared.
"Hello Bondmate, and jolan tru Tedak, I have no doubt thatyou are present too. Congratulations on getting the information back. See Im not so evil as to leave you to die. And dont worry Saarok dear I ve called off the hit on you. You can rest easily. You need to work on your gullibility. Something for me to test when we next meet. Its been... I would use the human term FUN but think the term instructive more apt. See you in the future."
With that the image disappeared.