Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on May 8, 2016 22:06:48 GMT
Blakus sat at the bridge engineering console, since their returning to the ship seeing his place here as being more appropriate. Tinsley could take care of the engines well enough, which was doubly essential considering Milyanov's virtual confinement in sickbay. As for the rest of the engineering staff, well, they were slim pickings... four others, out of all duty shifts, the rest on the Cayman Islands equivalent on Delkhii's surface.
He mulled over their predicament while reading off plasma uptake figures for the warp core's transport of it to the coils. They could well ask the Vulcans to rescue the crew, though may that precipitate a war between the two factions? Altan's new government would reprimand the Vulcans for carrying out the operation, for violating their security...
But then would a war be beneficial - thinking darkly here, Blakus, he thought - to the Raven? Moreso in that they'd have their crew back and thus would have no further obstacles to their heading back to the coordinates of the Jorgsonn Expanse, where they'd first detected the anomaly, the displacement of constellations and so forth?
The time 'til 2100 rolled on, a little too quickly - it'd been a long time since Blakus had been to a staff dinner, at least one with another interstellar alliance. There was the chance they could bargain with the Vulcans, such as returning some of the dilithium crystals in return for assistance in rescuing their crew, or perhaps point out that on legal grounds (UFP law) the Mongols had no right to keep the USS Raven crew imprisoned, whatever freedom may have been allowed to them... Ah, what if Vulcan Federation laws were more firm in that respect, or were something that the Mongols would, or would have to, recognise?
The bridge was nearly silent, only the beeps and trickling of consoles and the always-present thrum of the warp core through the deck plates accompanying them. "We could," Blakus said turning from his station, "Tonight make a request to the Vulcans to join their Federation. Allow me to explain," he interrupted the blusterings, astonishments and protests of the not so many, "Being under the legal protection of the Vulcan Federation we'd be well within our rights to demand - through Vl'rok and Hemak if he's still a concern - the release of our crew, in line with Federation of Worlds law."
He went on, "If the Mongols refuse, a war begins between them, yes, but let's consider the likelihood of them starting such a thing; they are one race, however megalomaniacal or at least ambitious they may be, against dozens, possibly hundreds of races in the Federation. Would they go to war over the matter of less than a thousand people who from their point of view have done nothing but meddle?"
<Tag Carl, Kieron>
Blakus, considering a possible irony now, gave thought to the possibility Commander Valente may have already thought of that when she'd suggested on the surface getting the Vulcans to do it for them.
20:37.59... 20:38:00... the chronometer read; right, about time he donned his dress uniform, he shuddered. Exiting the bridge, quarters, transporter room, sweat, attempting to appear upright and... getting some of the old righteousness back again, and the sweat, meeting Vulcans always made him sweat.
* * * * *
Dorj fell into his master's line, the fourth son of Temujin Khan and brother to the new Empress; he cursed his luck in having had his new found human friends on the Raven snatched away from him, but he had plans of his own.
The ship lurched its way through the waves, the eddies on the outer edge of the next peak spiralling away to flatness now as the vessel strode further in land, where the in-rushing water brought on by the Daguulyn charged in mini-wavelets up the sandy shores of the neo-paradise. With all this tossing about, Dorj thought he'd do a fine job to keep his stomach in place, and noticed the soldiery attempting the same to lesser or greater degrees of success - these were the guards on their daily patrol about the island, supposed to be making sure nothing untoward was happening, escaping prisoners for instance.
The fourth son wasn't with them, so Dorj as chief military aide to the governorship of the son's region held command here. He raised an ocular instrument, zooming in on the coastline and seeing the greenery of the tropics, the white and pastel coloured buildings behind. He focussed on the beach and on one group in particular, a close gaggle of Raven crew led by one in a gold vest atop a small rock near the breakers who seemed to be orating something to them, going by the flourishing movement of his arms.
Lieutenant Zavial sprawled on his deck chair reading the Dorov Dekh Daguulyn (Fourth Moon, he understood it roughly translated as) off the PADD he'd been holding when he'd misfortunately been beamed away from the Raven along with, evidently, most of the ship's crew. He read about an assassination having taken place in the capital, lots of contrasting news reports, seemingly a free press here, but in none of them was a mention of the Admiral, the senior staff or anything about the Raven.
This version of the Cayman Islands had turned out not to be so bad. Except for the three times daily searches for DIY communicators, weapons and anything else he and the other stranded engineers amongst them might've been able to fashion. And for the armed and armoured soldiers/jailors stalking about the beaches and the towns' streets glaring at a 'guest' every now and then, each brandishing a barbed whip and gauntlet, together with sheathed scimitar and particle weapon. No chance for escape, even if he could swim several hundred kilometres.
The engineer paid no attention to the Operations Ensign regaling a group of onlookers with his plans for escape, tunnelling under the ocean or some such... What did attract his attention now though was the persistent ringing in his ear, not tinnitus but something more, something more ordered, digitised... "I have a transceiver lock on you. I am Dorj, of the Empire's fourth province, I am on a seagoing vessel off shore, direct your eyes... Yes, I see you've found us. We are soon to be docking on the island's northern side. I suggest you make your way there before... 2130 hours your time, covertly." Zavial asked why. "I have a raiding party aboard this vessel. We are here to get you out."
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
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Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
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Post by Carl Torek on May 12, 2016 23:56:38 GMT
"We could ..... Make a request to the Vulcan's to join their Federation. Allow me to explain ....." he interrupted the blustering astonishment and protests of the not so many, "Being under the legal protection of the Vulcan Federation we'd be well within our rights to demand - through Vl'rok and Hemak if he's still a concern - The release of our crew, in line with Federation of Worlds law ....... If the Mongols refuse, a war begins between them, yes. But let's consider the likelihood of them starting such a thing; they are one race, however megalomaniacal, or at least ambitious they may be, against dozens, possibly hundreds of races in the Federation. Would they go to war over the matter of less than a thousand people who, from their point of view, have done nothing but meddle ?" Blakus shrugged.
FSS T'Ehleyr - 2100 hours ::
"Welcome aboard Gentlemen." with the exception of Marionette, who was tasked with ensuring the Raven remain in a stable orbit, the Senior Staff materialized on the Vulcan Flagship.
After formalities, they were escorted to what was apparently the Presidential Suite, reserved for the highest of Federation Representatives. Carl was somewhat surprised, 'their' version of Vulcan Vessels were functional rather than accommodating for dignitaries, but hey he thought, it wasn't the first discrepancy between the two and he doubted it would be the last. He just hoped that they wouldn't be around long enough to compile too long a list ! ... The dining table was set to seat ten, it seemed the Vulcan's didn't feel the need to 'out-number' their guests ..... Ah hour, and three courses into the meal, the subject of the current situation was finally broached. Carl had given strict instructions that no-one from the Raven mention anything, so it was the Vulcan's who were forced to ....
"I would be interested in hearing your views on the change of regime within the Mongol World Admiral." Hemak commented in a lull in the thus-far polite conversation. The table fell quiet waiting:
"Alas, I'm in no position to comment. I do think their actions against our vessel, an innocent victim in what seems to be a issue of membership in the Federation of Worlds, was somewhat, overkill."
"Overkill ..... Interesting observation, Admiral." Vl'rok commented, "You have partitioned for your crew's return I assume, and given they are still on the surface, I can only surmise that your plea was unsuccessful ?"
"It was, Ambassador." Carl replied, biding his time, "We are still exploring avenues, and hope to see our crew back in due course."
"They have no intention of allowing that." S'Ling, the new Commanding Officer of the FSS Ne'Var stated, the other Vulcan's nodding in agreement, "You are not that, what is the term ... 'Naive' ... Unless we have underestimated you."
"You have both made demands on us since we arrived. Demands that in other circumstances could have provoked a much different reaction on our part." Wedlerson commented, seeing everyone turn to face him, "It has not gone un-noticed that neither your Federation, nor the Mongol Empire on Delkhii actually welcomed us with open arms ... Just saying, a 'Hello' would not have gone amiss, and would have gone a long way to ensuring further interaction between us. Kidnapping, hmm ....." he finished, realizing that despite his Commanding Officer's not silencing him, they were happy for him to cease his attack on the Vulcan's at that point.
"You believe we could have been more, accommodating, I assume, and in what way could we have prevented the circumstances leading to your current situation, may I ask ?" Vl'rok asked, visibly annoyed at the comment.
"You could get our people back for a start." Harry stated instantly. Hemak and Vl'rok exchanged glances at this before returning their attention to the Humans.
"Unfortunately, your issues regarding your personnel, are with Delkhii, and not the Federation. It must be clear to you that any attempt to interfere on our part could lead to, unfortunate actions being taken on both sides, with no guarantee your own crew would not be caught up in the resulting animosities." D'kon, one of the other Captains present replied. Carl could see both Hemak and Vl'rok were in agreement with the Captain, "Of course, if we have justifi ......"
"We cannot interfere Admiral." Vl'rok interrupted D'kon before he could say anything further.
"But had the people being held been part of the 'Federation Community' ...." Calli pondered out loud, "You would have little, or in fact no option but to act on their behalf ? ... Or would you still be sucking your proverbial thumbs ?" Carl fought hard not to react to her antagonistic approach, but knew that as an Intelligence Officer she was more than capable of reading a given situation and acting accordingly to force a result, hopefully in their favor. It had occurred to him that they had two options regarding their situation, and their possible request to join the Federation of Worlds, firstly, lull the Vulcan's into offering and then broach the subject of their obligations, or go the route they seemingly have already. He wondered if they would already be formulating a reply to their request as they metaphorically threw them off their ship. he raised his glass, appreciating the liqueur while waiting ....
"I wonder if you are not attempting to manipulate proceedings to engender a reaction to your animosity regarding our current circumstance, Commander." Vl'rok said, eyeing the liquid in his glass for a moment before continuing, "You are correct ... Had they been Federation Citizens, then we would have had no option but to retrieve them regardless of the outcome. But you are visitors." Carl looked at Andae, who's expression said they had no options:
"So if we were to align ourselves with the Federation of Worlds ?" he said.
"You have authority to undertake such an agreement Admiral ? ...... I think not unfortunately." Vl'rok said, with as close to a shrug a Vulcan could make.
"I'm not talking about our System joining your Federation, I'm saying that the USS Raven would align herself to you and act accordingly on orders or instructions received."
"On condition we assist you in retrieving your personnel from the surface of Delkhii, very likely instigating a war between us in the process ?" Hemak said.
"Who's side would you prefer the Raven be on Ambassador, your's .... Or the Mongol Empire ?" Calli asked dangerously ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on May 15, 2016 1:37:05 GMT
Blakus watched Hemak make that dry expression, the deprecating and ironic look that the 'emotionless' Vulcans would always deny. "The inconsequentiality of your position has not occurred to you, Commander Valente? Your ship is not -"
"Captain Hemak, if I may speak with you?" Three of the Vulcans turned their backs to their guests, having risen from the table and conferring quietly among themselves. Vl'rok glared at them over his shoulder then strode from the room, the other four in tow. It seemed that the other Captain who'd been cut off by Vl'rok earlier, when it seemed he was going to offer them another option, had been the one to ask for the 'recess'.
Blakus and the four others stood around, shrugging helplessly, "What was that?" It was possible that... D'kon they thought his name to be, wanted to persuade his obstinate fellow COs that assisting the Raven might be the better course of action. Before they had a chance to look around, do a little investigating, the door to the suite opened once more this time with Vl'rok and S'lring and a trio of security officers in - surprisingly - gold undershirts... Not too different then, Andae thought.
"I'm guessing we don't have time for dessert?" Calli said.
"Once again you are correct, Commander. Captain Sl'ring and these men will escort you all to the transporter room."
"May we ask what's going on," Andae said dejectedly, led from the suite feeling as if he may as well have his hands bound. It turned out they were being returned to their ship - well, that was a start - the Vulcan officers had received new information during their recess causing 'some' of them to reconsider what they'd put to the Raven officers moments ago. "Well, that's good news..."
* * * * *
Zavial scrambled towards the north edge of the island, stumbling on cobbles down this wide thoroughfare in amongst other Raven officers who'd received the news from him... Really he should be at the forefront of this gaggle, now he was bashing past Mongol enforcers who were mystified by the sudden on-rush of Raven officers towards the north-west tip of the island some two kilometres distant.
Where was that ship?! He saw it now, windows glinting in the sunlight, visible over the top of the buildings to his left, the authorities oblivious to the idea that the ship was their captives the Raven officers' means of deliverance. Keep moving, Zavial... The harbour was before them, opening out into the amphitheatre, the place's natural harbour; Delkhii system starlight now piercing, low on the horizon of the sea as another day began drawing to a close.
The Raven officers, many of the engineers around him, stood in a sort of a paralysed panic in the harbour, eyes dashing around, waiting for the supposed ship to appear - and were suddenly nearly blown off their feet from a monumental blast off to their left. Soon after the boat came rocking into the harbour, listing and slewing about in the tropical shallows - some of it on fire - as it struggled its way towards the port. Some sort of cannonade, they gathered, had been unleashed against Dorj's ship's starboard side as it'd made its way up the western flank of the island... "Down here," he heard in his ear. Dorj.
"Hey, you call this a resc- "
Further explosions erupted around them, tracer fire now patterning itself at their feet from buildings bleached white in the sun from behind and above - barely visible Mongols in dark portals on the upper floors... aiming projectile and particle weaponry at them. "What's that?" Taylor asked, the Chief's on/off girlfriend, pointing at the glittering shapes that were cascading to the floor of the dock.
Zavial raised a hand, "Wait, I've got someone in my ear..."
"I'll draw her up by the edge of the dock, or far enough up it to allow you to board in case they blast it away behind me," Dorj said, "I'd advise you get everyone aboard now, before you suffer too many casualties."
Zavial cursed and covered Taylor - now having acquired a particle weapon from a downed Mongol enforcer - as she made her way towards the incoming ship whose fires were now extinguished - still, she was listing appreciably to starboard... Shrapnel shot in around him and in his peripheral vision, downed Starfleet officers, Mongols - both military and civilian streaming their posthumous blood across the harbour decking and the numerous jetties, seeping out through the gaps in the planks to mix and create a sick shade of purplish brown within the near infinitely larger mass of timeless blue ocean.
Time to move... He looked round at the shaken engineers and other officers making their way after him, concussive impacts and the blinding sun and the music - sounding Asiatic in origin, something folky words perhaps from original Mongol language roots - coming from the residences in and about the harbour - well, death in paradise, not such a bad way to go he thought, beset by these tropics and Mongols closing in about him, scampering the rest of the disintegrating jetty that lowered now down to the extended ramp pushed out from the crippled rescue ship:
Dorj's veritable yacht or cargo hauler - at least a hundred metres in length - the Starfleeters made themselves as comfortable as they might as Dorj's fellow rebels started the engine and brought her about, pushing north out of the bay and around the island clockwise heading south.
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on May 15, 2016 1:42:43 GMT
They were shown into the transporter room, S'lring leading the way and promptly having the security and the transporter chief dismissed. "My message to you regarding the dilithium crystals, and how your stealing of them will go unpunished was received?" she asked them, approaching the pads. Torek nodded imperceptibly.
S'lring nodded, seeming pensive, "Good. What you have just witnessed is the result of a power struggle in the fleet. The five of us who sat opposite you at the table are not a united front as we'd have outsiders believe. Captain Hemak is disliked by Vl'rok, howsoever the latter may project their relationship in public. While we were absent, Captain D'kon convinced myself and the fifth Captain Mekur as to the wisdom of making you protectorates, or rather a protected starship of the Federation of Worlds. With a majority already in favour of the proposition, Vl'rok was forced to go along with it due to his wishing to dispose of Hemak."
"I see... Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated, Captain." Torek nodded at Andae's words, about to ask by the looks of it when they could expect help from the Vulcans in rescuing their team from the surface.
S'lring could give him nothing so they materialised on the Raven none the wiser, stepping down virtually bewildered. A comm came through from the bridge, =/\=Admiral Torek. Are you safe and well? You have arrived back earlier than we'd expected.=/\=
=/\=We're fine, mister, just -=/\=
=/\=Wait a minute. My apologies, sir... But we're receiving a transmission from the surface. It seems that the 'Cayman Islands' resort has been attacked... According to this message from a Mongol going by the name of... Dorj, the vast majority of the Raven crew have been freed, by him and rebels in the Empire.=/\=
Blakus slotted into the engineering console chair on the bridge: Dorj and co. were on an ocean-going vessel, now heading out into their equivalent of the south Atlantic with several Mongol patrol boats and sub-orbital and atmospheric craft in hot pursuit. He looked to see if they could get a line opened with any of the Raven officers, looking around at Barr at tactical but receiving a shake of the head.
"Impeccable timing. We've just concluded an alliance with the Vulcans..." But then if the purpose of the alliance wasn't to be freeing their crew on the surface of Delkhii after all, then might it be turned to even more advantageous purposes in potentially freeing the Raven from the confines of this strange, alternate region of space? Or would they want to to cut and run, find a way home to their Federation free from Federation of Worlds, or Mongol, interference?
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on May 21, 2016 18:15:50 GMT
=^= Admiral Torek .. Are you safe and well ? .. .. You have arrived back earlier than we had expected =^=
=^= We are fine Mister .. .. Just .. .. =^=
=^= Wait a minute .. My apologies Sir .. .. .. But we're receiving a transmission from the surface .. It seems that the 'Cayman Islands' resort has been attacked .. According to this message from a Mongol going by the name of .. Dorj .. The vast majority of the Raven crew have been freed by himself and rebels within the Mongol Empire ! =^=
=^= Scan the region .. We're on our way =^= he repled, quickly exiting the transporter room,the others in tow ......
Bridge ::
"Helm, reorientate out orbit to give us maximum time above the Caymans."
"Sir I can establish a geostationary position if you prefer, though I'm not too sure how either the Delkhii or Federation vessel's would react."
"Do it anyway." Torek said, dropping into the Center Seat ...
The massive Galaxy Class Star ship began an almost lazy climb until she reached the required altitude above the surface to allow her to seemingly 'hang' above the Cayman Islands. Kieron informed them that several vessels, from both sides, were now changing their own orbital trajectories to close on them, though at this point none had made any aggressive moves, not that that couldn't change very quickly ... Commander Barr continued to scan the surface, reporting every few seconds as the scenario below changed. He told them that the vessel Dorj had taken the crew in was now heading East and away from the Islands, but both surface and a atmospheric craft were in pursuit and would be on top of them in less than five minutes. Carl knew it was going to be impossible to even contemplate transporting them off, the time wasn't there, but maybe they could slow the chase a fraction ....
"Sir, two Delkhii vessels are approaching, they have armed weapons but have not locked onto us as yet. The lead ship is hailing Sir." Carl told him to put the Comm on screen and waited:
=^= Admiral Torek .. My name is Commander Froas of the Delkhii vessel Empress Kallae .. .. I assume you are aware of the betrayal upon our sovereignty .. You are to make no effort to interfere in proceedings on the surface .. Should you do so I have been ordered to fire on your vessel immediately .. I trust you understand the instruction as stated ? =^=
=^= Commander .. .. .. I understand fully .. But I need to know what action you are planning to take on the fleeing vessel containing the majority of our crew =^=
=^= We will prevent it's escape .. Though in reality we are at a loss as to why whoever is in Command thinks he or she can evade capture .. .. .. =^=
=^= You intend to fire on the vessel ? =^= Calli interjected.
=^= If it fails to come about .. Then we shall have no other option open to us Commander =^=
=^= That 'vessel' is currently transporting over one 'THOUSAND' of my crew and their Family members .. We will not allow you to fire on it until they are removed from harm ! =^= Torek said, almost jumping out of the Command seat and glaring at the person on screen, he continued before they could reply, =^= If you are willing to assist or failing that allow us to request the assistance of the Federation vessels currently in orbi .. .. .. =^= but it was his turn to be interrupted:
"Sir, the second Delkhii vessel is moving into position below us and in direct line of the fleeing ship." he was informed quietly as Froas continued.
=^= You will remain in orbit and do 'NOTHING' Admiral .. Should you make any attempt to move your position you 'WILL' be fired upon .. Is that understood ? =^= Carl looked at the man, who was obviously expecting an answer, for a long moment before speaking. he turned to Kieron:
"Commander. lock phasers on both Delkhii vessels. lock photon torpedoes on the Delkhii Capital ... Should either vessel lock onto us, open fire ... Do 'NOT' wait for my authorization is that understood ?"
"Completely Sir ..... Weapons locked." the Tactical Officer informed him, loud enough to ensure the Delkhii Commander didn't miss it. Carl returned his attention to the screen.
=^= It appears we are at somewhat of a stalemate Commander .. .. You will order your air and surface vessels not to fire on the escaping ship immediately =^=
=^= You would gamble your entire crew on this Admiral .. .. .. Including your own Children's ? =^=
=^= My crew and that of their family members .. Including my own .. Are more than aware they could be caught up in something that we will not survive .. .. You obviously don't consider the welfare of countless citizens either Commander .. Not to mention that of your newly appointed Khan .. Such a short reign should this incident escalate .. No ? .. .. .. =^=
=^= We cannot allow the treachery to go unpunished Admiral .. .. =^= he looked off to one side, obviously receiving information or instruction, Carl didn't know which, and frankly didn't care. If Froas called his bluff then he would have no option but to back down and allow their attack ..........
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on May 25, 2016 4:28:42 GMT
"Sir, Commander Froas is hailing again," the Ops officer said, turning round. Blakus paused in his working at the engineering console, fingers poised over the display, now listening with anticipation to Froas's next words as Carl had the comm opened.
"Admiral," Froas said, seeming uncomfortable, "We have discovered... certain facts about the occupants of the escaping vessel, amongst the Mongols that've helped your crew escape, that have caused us to reconsider an attack on the vessel at the present time."
Clearly something had unnerved Froas, would he incur the wrath of the new Khan if he carried out the attack? What was unique about the rescue attempt of the Raven crew that'd dissuaded the action? (Excluding that it was being carried out at another universe's equivalent of the Cayman Islands by a group of humans descended from the Mongol Khanate of medieval Earth with pretensions of ruling the galaxy)? Could it be Dorj, the Mongol he'd spoken with and who'd promised to carry out the rescue? Were there good reasons for not executing the military liaison to the former Khan Temujin's fourth son at the present time?
Whatever the reasons, it did allow the Raven to relax from its bluff of attacking the Mongol capital if Froas and his ships didn't acquiesce. Blakus hoped it'd been a bluff... genocide on his hands from the last assignment (that was how he saw it, the delivering of the mine through the Xallac-Halanan wormhole that'd killed thousands of Earth-dwellers in the Mojave desert and surrounds) combined now with being an accomplice in the death of a world capital, he didn't want both of them on his conscience.
"The Mongol ships are breaking off, sir," Wedlerson reported again, "Taking up higher orbit but maintain geo- ... Wait, one of them is still down there, pursuing, almost in the stratosphere... They're firing at the escaping vessel!"
Blakus rushed to the tactical console beside Barr, who nodded and let him take over the transporter controls while Barr manned the weapons - they may soon be needed... to attack the treacherous Mongol ship. Expertise with the transporter utilised, Blakus commenced beaming up who he could off of the stricken vessel foundering in the waves off the east coast of the Cayman Islands.
"What's its status?!" someone shouted.
* * *
Dorj exited the front compartment, coming back into the main hold where the human passengers/evacuees had been squared away hurriedly upon their departure - seeing now a rent, as he'd expected, in the starboard side of the ship some twenty metres high, the ship listing now, taking on water as it sunk further and further below the aquamarine surface of the ocean. It'd been a glancing blow from the beam weapon fired by the orbital vessel, nothing immediately atomising. Well, he was still here so he guessed that hadn't happened. But what had happened?!
Engineer Lieutenant Zavial staggered up the length of the hold trying to keep his footing - it seemed to him that the ship might soon capsize - to Dorj who he caught in an understandably frustrated mood, cutting into his angry blustering trying to restore a measure of calm to the Mongol. "How close to, umm, Haiti?"
"Where?!" Dorj shouted, leaning in straining to hear as the water gushed in and flames licked about them.
* * *
"Well, what happened, sir, was that your orders didn't transmit successfully," a Mongol controller was explaining to his superior officer on the small viewscreen, "We caught only a snippet, badly warped, and decided that it was interference caused by the presence of EM radiation from three distinct factions' ships in the system. I was ordered by my CO to execute the attack as per the instructions."
"My warrior," Froas leered in on the screen, "Your days are numbered," he smiled sickeningly, though a mad anxious fury was in his eyes, "Report to the officer's centre in the capital before the fourth moon, for decommissioning." Ritual suicide, is what that meant.
* * *
"Confirmed, sir. Starting attack run. We are entering the upper layers of the thermosphere," Istarik reported. Vl'rok acknowledged and closed the channel on his end, Istarik refocussing on his lithe ship's trajectory into the Delkhii atmosphere, now closing over the resort in the large bay which, the Andorian Istarik understood, had been caused by a monumental meteorite impact sometime in the world's distant past. It'd wiped out a reptilian species which had dominated the planet's living biomass (in terms of the food chain at least).
His and two other vessels coursed down through the atmosphere (now strikingly blue) - so little like Andoria or the heart of the Federation for that matter, he thought - leaving trailing wingtip vortices as they adjusted to the sudden presence of water vapour at this low altitude, and fired on the escaping sea vessel with the outsider Federation crew aboard. It was already sinking, he noticed, now sliding over to the transporter console.
"Captain Vl'rok. We have them, sir. Eight hundred and ninety two of them to be precise, as I know you people like to be."
On the viewscreen Vl'rok frowned, linking his fingers and sitting upright in the command seat of his flagship, "You would do well not to bring prejudice into this matter, Istarik. Your people were punished a long time ago by the High Command for transgressing the boundaries: due respect for one's be- ... Mutual respect of one's colleagues in our egalitarian culture," he almost growled, "Do not let it become an issue for the Federation once again."
Istarik smirked - the Vulcans had long dominated the Federation, which had started as a cooperative, wide-eyed venture out into the stars to find what lay beyond their immediate volume of space, was now only an instrument by which the Vulcans propagated their imperialist agenda.
* * *
"Admiral," Hemak steepled his fingers on the viewscreen, "I said before, along with Captain Vl'rok, that the Federation of Worlds is not in the habit of holding hostages for ransom. We intervened on the surface because we wished to send a message to the Mongol Empire that we are to be taken seriously, because you are now considered a protected ship of the Federation, and because your crew were at risk of drowning from the Mongols' unwarranted attack. Now, we will release your crew in due course..." He seemed to ponder, "I gather you were able to recover some of your officers yourself?"
"Indeed," Blakus piped up, "Eleven of them before you snatched away the rest from under our noses."
"Under... our... noses..." the flicker of a smirk was on Hemak's features, the dry humour and condescending attitude (uh oh, Blakus reflected on himself) of Vulcans present here, occurrences of which they always so vehemently denied. "Know also that our three rescue ships have come under attack from the Mongol vessels since they departed Delkhii's atmosphere, and that the Mongols are now manoeuvring towards us."
<Tag Carl, Kieron>
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,164
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Post by Carl Torek on May 25, 2016 23:10:29 GMT
"The Mongol ships are breaking off Sir," Wedlerson reported again, "Taking up higher orbit but maintain geosta ... Wait, one of them is still down there, pursuing, almost in the stratosphere ... They're firing at the escaping vessel !"
"What's its status ?!"
"All but a handful on the vessel now ... None of them our people." Kieron confirmed.
"It's been hit Admiral !" Harry reported un-necessarily, given they were all watching the attack play out on the view-screen. The vessel was listing badly now, moments from capsize and the inevitable silent glide to the floor of the ocean ...... Carl watched as it began an almost lazy turn to Port as that side was rapidly swallowed thousands of litres of seawater every second. It had minutes, if they were lucky. He was stunned at the heartlessness of the Delkhii attack vessel as it once again fired on the crippled and terminal ship. he'd seen enough:
"Lock phasers onto their drive systems and fire !" he ordered. The Tactical Officer reminded him that the ship was inside the atmosphere, ".... and they can stay there ! ... FIRE Commander." Within a second two beams of almost pure energy lanced from the underside of the Raven's saucer section and slammed into the Delkhii vessel. It was testament to the design that it survived the attack, but, with it's drive systems destroyed, it fell into the ocean almost a kilometre from the ship it had attacked. Carl was fully aware that he had perpetrated an act of war against the Mongol Empire on Delkhii, but he could not in all honesty allow the slaughter. Should the Khan wish to retaliate, then he would face that head on he decided.
"Sir, we have a Comm incoming. Captain Hemak of the T'Ehleyr."
"On screen."
=^= ...... We intervened on the surface because we wished to send a message to the Mongol Empire that we are to be taken seriously, because you are now considered a protected ship of the Federation .. And because your crew were at risk of drowning from the Mongols' unwarranted attack .. Now .. We will release your crew in due course .. .. =^= He seemed to ponder, =^= I gather you were able to recover some of your officers yourself ? =^=
=^= Indeed .. .. =^= Blakus informed the Captain, =^= Eleven of them .. Before you snatched away the rest from under our noses =^=
=^= Under .. Our .. Noses .. .. Amusing .. Commander =^= he said, face unreadable, =^= You should know also that our three rescue ships have come under attack from the Mongol vessels since they departed Delkhii's atmosphere .. They are now manoeuvring towards us =^=
"Helm, set course to intercept the Delkhii vessels approaching the T'Ehleyr."
=^= we are on our way to assist Captain =^=
=^= We are receiving an official protest regarding our attack and subsequent loss of their vessel .. .. We are of course disputing their version of events and are confident they will be unable to demand recompense .. Especially as it was you that destroyed their vessel and not in fact .. not a vessel of the Federation of Worlds =^=
The image on screen flickered momentarily before once again stabilizing. Hemak informed them that they had been hit with a volley of torpedoes, and while they were still intact, their shields had suffered minor damage. A second and third volley slammed into the Federation flagship and still Hemak resisted returning fire !
"What the hell is he up to !" Calli spat, annoyance getting the better of her, "He has almost three hundred of our crew over there."
"Trying not to start a war." Carl said quietly as the Raven sped towards their goal ... The three Delkhii vessels had now taken up offensive positions, effectively pinning the Federation ships in place.
"They are diverting practically all their power reserves to their shields Admiral." Kieron informed him.
Marionette passed the Delkhii vessel close enough to scorch their paintwork, before coming around in a wide arc to position the Raven two thousand meters above the plane, where she could fire on all three attacking ships while ensuring the Federations vessels were not going to stray into danger from her weapons. Kieron locked onto all three with both phasers and photon torpedoes. On long-range scanners something else was happening .... It seemed that both sides had had the foresight to enlist reinforcements .... Eight Delkhii vessels were now passing the hoe world en-route to aid their sister ships, while no less than fifteen Federation vessels were entering the system at high warp ! .... Carl realized, very quickly, that if both sides decided to fight this confrontation out regardless of the outsiders' presence, they were about to find themselves in the least advantageous group in a Mexican Stand-off they had no hope of winning.
"Open a channel to the Delkhii Capital ... I want to speak with the Khan." Carl said.
=^= Admiral Torek .. I must admit my surprise at your request to speak to the Khan .. .. A request I must unfortunately .. Deny =^= Ogljai said as he appeared on screen.
=^= You can 'SEE' what is happening Ogljai .. I must speak to Altan now .. Before this escalla .. .. .. =^=
=^= You will address the KHAN by her TITLE .. .. Peasant ! =^= the J'aut quri spat venomously. Carl watched the man fighting to regain his composure, as he himself began to wonder for the first time if they were going to come away from this encounter intact, if indeed, at all, finally bowing his head, feigning supplication before apologizing:
=^= We must converse J'aut quri and quickly .. You and the Federation are calling in additional forces .. You could be in a war you have no hope of winning if you proceed =^=
=^= And in the middle .. The lone newcomer .. Hoping to gather up her families and flee to more fertile pastures no doubt ? =^=
"Commander ....." Kieron got the attention of the Acting Executive Officer quietly. Blakus moved closer, "I'm picking up almost a hundred vessels, Delkhii 'AND' federation, on long-range scans. Ratio of five to one in the Federation's favour, if you were about to ask. They will begin entering the system in six hours." he finished, seeing Torek was taking in the conversation silently.
=^= You can see what we can .. .. Ogljai .. .. So do we talk .. Or .. .. .. .. =^=
The Comm closed abruptly ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on May 31, 2016 13:01:27 GMT
Hmmm, Blakus mused, perhaps Ogljai thought he now had enough on his hands without having to trouble himself with handling the Raven as well. Eighty Federation of Worlds starships were less than six hours away, with a mere sixteen Delkhii vessels at about the same distance rushing to the defence of their home system.
Eleven active Mongol vessels were already here, eight of them reinforcing the three that were attacking Hemak's vessel while also preparing to counteract the fifteen Federation starships just now at the periphery of the system, passing the outermost planet.
To Andae it was obvious that they needed to get their crew back immediately; if they could persuade Hemak and his Vulcan compatriots to depart with them then the Raven could leave the system and let the opposing sides fall to their fighting. However the question had to be asked was that the moral, the ethical thing to do? They had become tied up with Mongol-Federation of Worlds affairs, and while not influencing either side all that much, just by being here they had to accept a share of the responsibility in what was unfolding, what would doubtless unfold in the coming hours: a heavy defeat for and perhaps the conquest of the Mongol Empire, the majority of the Raven crew's own species.
"Why did they rescue our crew?" he asked, half to himself. "Well, I know technically it's because we're under their legal protection, but why take the risk of starting an interstellar war with the Mongols to save the crew of a ship that's unrecognised and mysteriously appeared in Delkhii's space three days ago?"
Unless this had been their intention, to start such a war. After all why had eighty Federation vessels been just over six hours away from Delkhii to start with, that Blakus guessed was a significant portion of their space fleet, while the over-ambitious Mongols probably didn't have that number in their entire arsenal - most of them were probably en route to Delkhii right now...
"Admiral," Wedlerson spoke, "Four of the eight Delkhii ships approaching are coming alongside us, to port and starboard. Sir, they're taking us under tractor beam!"
The viewscreen showed the starboard side, Delkhii in the background with two of its ships before it, silhouetted with surface features only distinguishable by virtue of the array of tractor beams reaching out from each one to the Raven. "They're dragging us down to low orbit, over the capital, sir," Wedlerson said.
"Feedback loop, feedback loop..." Blakus murmured, accessing the Ops console, sharing it with Wedlerson, from the Engineering console at the back of the bridge, "Attempting to direct a pulse of anti-protons through the navigational deflector, aimed at the tractor beams - hopefully they can short out the sources."
The four Delkhii ships already had the Raven lowered in position over the capital, just above its shield in fact - the bubble enclosure about the city was of approximately equal power to an early 23rd century Starbase's but was not impossible to penetrate with a massive enough object such as a starship... The four ships closed in tight about the Raven, apparently blocking lines of fire from... well, who? In an effort to protect the Raven.
Those fifteen Vulcan craft from the edge of the system were now approaching Delkhii orbit; perhaps this was the Mongols holding the Raven 'hostage'? Blakus thought, thinking it ludicrous that a starship could be kidnapped. "Why this way?" he said, "If they get us inside the city's shield they don't need to have nearly half their ships in the system holding one vessel here."
"They wouldn't want us inside the shield, Blakus," someone countered, "We might get funny ideas about kidnapping someone ourselves."
Blakus realised, "The Empress?"
"They wouldn't expect it. Might be why they had no qualms about dragging us down here."
He rushed back to the upper deck, accessing the nav deflector's status report, "The anti-protons are beginning to have their effect; tractor beams are weakening, we might soon be able to break free."
<Tag Carl, Kieron>
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Jun 4, 2016 1:40:14 GMT
"If they get us inside the city's shield they don't need to have nearly half their ships in the system holding one vessel here."
"They wouldn't want us inside the shield, Commander ...." someone countered, ".... We might get funny ideas about kidnapping someone ourselves."
"The Empress !" Blakus commented.
"They wouldn't expect it. Might be why they had no qualms about dragging us down here."
"The anti-protons are beginning to have their effect; tractor beams are weakening, we might soon be able to break free." Carl listened to his Senior Officers as they interacted with each other, once again grateful that he allowed such freedom of opinion on his Bridge. It was unconventional to say the least, and had brought numerous negative comments in the upper-hierarchy, but hell, it worked for him and his crew, so let the doom-sayers chatter among themselves ....... He turned to his Chief Engineer and signalled his Tactical Officer to approach, Calli and Barrs Deputy, Lysia Teng joined the conversation: "Hold on breaking free for a minute, we have the leeway ..... I hate to admit admit it, but Commander Teng has come up with an option we can't ignore." Carl said. "You want to 'kidnap' the Khan !" Kieron said, astonished. "Look at it this way ....." Calli began, taking the proverbial floor unopposed, "We're stuck between a rock and a very 'hard' place at the moment. This ship, despite it's complexity, and 'because' of that very complexity, can't survive with a dozen crew. We can't leave because Hemak, for whatever reasons, is refu ... No, lets call it 'delaying' the return of our crew, which again brings us into the clutches of Ogljai, because frankly, I don't believe for a second that little girl is orchestrating this fiasco. My only, and I do stress ... 'Only real' ... Concern, is that Ogljai has enough backing to eliminate Altan's remaining brothers and take the throne himself, killing Altan publicly as his coup de grâce in taking the Mongol throne for himself. Given the obvious overwhelming support for Altan, I think he would be stupid beyond belief to think he could un-seat her at this stage, and would be compelled to do everything possible to protect her .... Anything !" "Kieron, how narrow could you get a scanning beam to locate the precise position of the Khan ?" "I can make it the diameter of a hair if need be, though we'd be beaming up that amount at a time, so I'd recommend one point two meters, minimum, and at that size the scan would be detected instantaneously." "OK ... we know with some degree of certainty, that Altan will be in one of two places at this time, either her own chambers within the Palace, or in the main hall. we'll drop through their shield in six minutes. You have that time to put every possible safeguard on one of the Ambassador Suits. Once through, you'll have fifteen seconds to locate, transport, and 'SECURE' Altan Alaqa-Beki Temujin Khan to her new,albeit, temporary, abode. If we can take her unsighted, all well and good, but that's doubtful, so once you begin that transport, you had better complete it, because if they snatch her back then we can say goodnight !" Shield entry - Thirty seconds ::"I'm running a broad-spectrum scan of the surface directly in our projected crash vector." Harry commented, glancing quickly at the chronometer. "I thought we couldn't run fu ......" Carl began, realizing it would be 'exactly' what the Delkhii would expect, of course they would know we would want to secure the safest outcome to crashing on the surface, "You'll run the narrow-band scan 'within' the terrain mapping scans, hoping to mask it for long enough. My apologies Gentlemen." he finished. "The shield is opening." Barr informed them. "I have a position on the Khan Admiral, but have yet to lock on." Wedlerson confirmed. This was going to be the very pinnacle of the 'touch-and-go' scenario ....... If they mistimed their endeavour by a second, the Delkhii would undoubtedly realize what they were attempting, and likely ensure their demise on the surface, to become a monument, a warning to all those wishing to take the throne in their own hands ! "Now or never Admiral ?" Kieron said, all too quickly. "The second she is aboard, Put 'EVERY' single ounce of power not incorporated in the force-fields around Altan, into our shields and stabilization systems. They obviously intended to keep us here, possibly out of the Federation's reach, but they 'MUST' know that we can't remain within the atmosphere indeterminately. So they can either accomplish that task on our behalf, or, worst-case; they don't care if we crash !" The tension grew exponentially as the ship passed through the Delkhii planetary barrier, but they had no time to consider options, so acted immediately ! Deck Eight ~ V.I.P. Quarters ::"I'm sorry that we have to meet again under such 'strenuous' circumstances, Your Highness." Carl said, as Altan, their, for want of a better description, Hostage, materialized in front of him ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jun 7, 2016 20:23:23 GMT
"Vl'rok," Hemak nodded, speaking stoically, "Our craft are in position; 15 closing past the orbit of the rust-iron planet to join our six. Given the 15 vessels' approach vectors, we should, in coordination with them, be able to effect a pincer movement on the Mongol vessels."
"Yes, Hemak..." he got the distinct impression Vl'rok was grinding his teeth behind that neutral expression on the small arm-panel screen of Hemak's command chair, "But may I draw your attention to the Mongols' recent tractoring of the USS Raven and the Raven's - going by Delkhii global comm traffic - subsequent kidnapping of the new Khan?!"
"You may, yes, certainly, Commander. It can't be confirmed," he told his senior officer, "We have no way of knowing if the Raven truly have the Khatun, or Khan, apologies, aboard their vessel. If Mongol ships move to intercept them, then yes I'll concede that appears to be what has happened, however," he swung round to face the viewscreen, it now displaying the tactical plan-view of the system with the trajectories of the approaching reinforcements of both sides as they neared Delkhii's orbit, ready to intercept the planet and the myriad of vessels that lay about it; Vl'rok remained a small face on his arm panel; Hemak continued, "However, it will allow us to carry out our pincer movement on the Mongols to even greater effect; assault them when they are positioned before the USS Raven, or perhaps to our benefit, if they come to be in combat with Admiral Torek's vessel. While they are concentrating on the Raven, we attack from two directions and wipe out their local spacefleet. Our reinforcements in the 80-ship fleet commanded by the starship Spock can handle the 16 other Mongols vessels closing on the system."
"Then what about our spies on the surface? Has the starship V'rell reported anything on them."
"No, but one Istarik, an Andorian on one of our Raven crew recovery craft reports that the Dorj agent, who also carried out the Raven crew rescue incidentally, survived the sinking of the ocean ship and has made his way back to the capital. Further information has been gathered from agents reporting directly to me," and not to you, he added inside. At the words Vl'rok rolled his eyes (most un-Vulcan), "Agents inside the capital, who report that Dorj now has - through his connection to one of the Khan's brothers as his chief military aide - now worked his way into the confidence of the military leader, Ogljai."
"Ah..." Vl'rok brightened, "That is agreeable news."
Indeed it was; Ogljai in his position as the head of government while the Khan was (presumably) gone, was to be influenced in any possible way by the Vulcans, anything they could do to foment rebellion in higher echelons of the Mongol Imperial court against their new leader - Vulcan undercover workers planting explosives to take out members of both sides in any factional squabble, other methods of assassinating Mongol dignitaries, making tempting suggestions to powerful men who may now decide they want to rule the doomed Empire themselves.
Blakus understood Carl had the Khan secured in her VIP suite, a guard posted by Barr now outside her quarters permanently or until such a time as she left or demised. What a foul thought, the engineer considered, perhaps it was something they might want to think about though on the other hand surely that would bring the weight of the Mongol Empire crashing down upon them as soon as they found out. Or would it? What political machinations were taking place on the surface, if any, that might mean a 'negative return' for the Khan on this misfortunate adventure?
Still without his engineers, or the ship without the majority of its whole crew, about him, he had no information on who exactly had freed the crew from the Cayman Islands prison resort, but his suspicion was that it was Dorj, the hooded man who'd spoken to him over his shoulder when the new Khan was being unveiled to the Vulcan and 'Raven' ambassadors. If the Vulcans would but release the crew he could know that for definite, and why - assuming he had - would he have done such a thing, despite all that he'd said about his mistrust of the regime over the 'official' history of their planet, Blakus couldn't believe the man would risk his life purely on that claim which he couldn't substantiate...
Its implausibility made him scoff as he entered engineering and saw about the warp core's take up of the new crystals' - so far so good, no problems except a misaligned minor conduit within the upper half of the magnetic constrictors, evidently not accustomed to the non-transwarp configured crystals 'donated' by the Vulcans. What if something had manipulated Dorj into carrying out the insane risk of recovering a foreign people from a maximum security desert island resort? Without his staff around him, he had nothing to go on except his speculation, so he decided to can it for now and focus on the rift - in which lay their only hope for escaping this place and return to their own Federation centred, thankfully, on Earth or Delkhii if the Mongols could see it...
"Milyanov, you're out of sickbay," he noted, busying himself about the pool table, his assistant approaching and nodding sagely.
"Your observational skills are at their height today, sir; it's not like you to state the obvious."
"Well, I'm a little, what's the word, preoccupied at the moment?" he said urgently, "With returning us to our own reality now with the spectre of the Empress of an alternate Earth being present on the Raven in one of the VIP rooms...? Wait," he tapped the button to open a comm to the bridge, having realised something, "Commander, this is Blakus. Report on movement of Mongol vessels?"
"Most are forming up to resist the fifteen Federation starships approaching, sir," Wedlerson replied, "They are only five minutes away from orbit... However I'd say they've figured us out, too... Three Mongol warships have peeled off from the main fleet and are moving in a similar way to before, how they came up alongside us and took us under tractor," he explained.
Knowing the Admiral would be busy handling the inevitably apoplectic Altan Temujin but not wishing to make too forceful a move on his behalf, he replied, "Hold station for now, Commander, and raise shields, if they're not already. Refuse all incoming commmunications, until Admiral Torek returns to the bridge."
"Beg your pardon, sir, and my apologies, but they've already contacted us, and we responded. Ogljai is on one of the vessels, flanked by the man who told us about the place most of our crew had been imprisoned incidentally. He is demanding our immediate surrender."
"Tell him to... Oh," it was in the past, Blakus scolded himself, then the ramifications of that gave him a new urgency, "Well, what did you say?" His voice was etched with horror.
"We agreed to give him audience with the Khan herself as soon as she is available. He didn't take kindly to the 'as soon as available' and cut the channel abruptly. Nothing since then - five minutes ago, sir."
<Tag Both>
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Jun 8, 2016 23:03:29 GMT
"The second she is aboard, Put 'EVERY' single ounce of power not incorporated in the force-fields around Altan, into our shields and stabilization systems. They obviously intended to keep us here, possibly out of the Federation's reach, but they 'MUST' know that we can't remain within the atmosphere indeterminately. So they can either accomplish that task on our behalf, or, worst-case; they don't care if we crash !" The tension grew exponentially as the ship passed through the Delkhii planetary barrier, but they had no time to consider options, so acted immediately !
~~~~~
"We have her Admiral." harry informed him before turning back to his console. meanwhile, Commander Barr was transferring power normally utilized in other sections of the Raven to reinforce the 'fields surrounding their sixteen year old guest, "The planetary barrier has reinitialized. If they intend to hold us here, they had better have something to keep the ship intact, because we can't sustain structural integrity for more than an hour before we begin to break up Sir."
Carl knew that, and needed to act quickly:
"Commander Wedlerson, you have the Bridge."
He rose from the center seat and entered the turbo-lift .... He knew the first moments were going to be anything but cordial, but frankly, he was sick of being used like the proverbial pawn in this 'game' between the federation of Worlds and the Delkhii .... There was much too much going on here that they were obviously not privy to, and he intended to become more 'knowledgeable' in matters before deciding on a course of action. Yes, Hemak had his crew, and for reasons known only to himself, at this point anyway, he was keeping those reasons to himself, but it wouldn't hold as far as Torek was concerned !
Truth be told, Carl had some inkling, thanks to his Chief engineer, of what Hemak's issue with the Delkhii and the former Khan could be ..... They had been 'ordered' to acquire copious amounts of Deuterium, a heavy hydrogen element, and an essential part of the process of matter / anti-matter reaction. Something occurred to him as he headed for the VIP Suite where Altan was 'resting' ... They had never carried out a complete scan of the planet, just a cursory look out of respect for their former host, but what if the Delkhii had something the Federation could not do without ?
As he approached the VIP Quarters assigned to the Khan for the second time, he could see two of Kieron's men outside, both looked as if they had gone seven rounds mentally:
"Gentlemen, how's our gus ....." Carl began, but then heard the noise from inside as Altan screamed and ranted on the other side of the door about what was going to happen to the two men guarding her, and their families, and their families' families ! ... Carl asked one of the Security Officers to release the lock on the door, then told the two to stand further along the corridor, hopefully, out of earshot of the ranting teenager, but to ensure they had line-of-sight of the door at 'ALL' times. Taking a breath, realizing this was going to be much harder than any Diplomatic or Combat situation, he stepped up to the door and placed a finger on the chime ... The ranting ceased instantly, and after a few seconds of waiting, the door slid silently aside. Altan, ruler of a World, Daughter of the greatest Khan the Delkhii had ever known, didn't look the part .... Apparently, they had taken her from the surface during one of her 'private' periods, so no ceremonial dress, no elaborate head-wear. In fact, to all intents and purposes, she looked like the typical teenager, hair in a ponytail, baggy loose fitting top, pants elasticated at the ankles, and simple slippers.
"Your highness." he said, realizing he had taken a subconscious step back from the door as Altan had recommenced her 'tantrum' once more. He waited patiently for a lull in proceedings before speaking again, "May I come in ?"
She stopped her screaming and stepped back from the doorway, allowing him to pass into the Suite.
"You know that you have forfeited any rights to your life, and that of your crew members by abducting me against my will ?" she asked, as if asking for a second cup of tea, "A right I fully intend to relinquish the second I am back on my throne."
"You are aware, I assume, the the Federation has called in vessels ?" ... They fully intent to ensure your 'co-operation' in whatever issue you have ongoing, and alas, the Raven, through no fault of our own, is now stuck in the middle of that fight, and don't misinterpret me your Highness, there 'WILL' be a fight, and from what I have seen thus far, it will be one that you cannot hope to win. The Federation can, and likely wil, simply shoot your vessels out of the sky then bombard the surface until you cede defeat. As Queen, Ruler, Khan, that decision will fall on your shoulders."
"Return me to the surface ... 'NOW' ... And I will commute your deaths to lives of servitude. You and your Officers will serve in my Palaces, while your crew, and the Children, will be allowed to work to better our World ... Their world."
"We got past 'slavery' a long time ago Altan."
"You will address me appropriately. I am: Altan Alaqa-Beki Temujin Khan !" the sixteen year old spat, but Carl wasn't in the mood for a lesson in etiquette.
"I beg your forgiveness, your Highness." he said, bowing deeply, "But you must extend the same to my crew and myself."
"I will do no such thi ....."
"then we're done until you can." he said, turning and walking to the door, halting as she spoke again:
"You have not received permission to be depart my presence !"
"I did not 'ASK' for it." Carl said, stepping beyond the threshold and allowing the door to slid silently into place behind him, "Gentlemen, I intend to place commendations on both your records for having to put up with that little .... Queen." he said, heading back to the Bridge and a barrage of questions and requests. He pointed at Harry to do the talking:
"Admiral, the Delkhii are demanding the return of their Khan, immediately. The Federation is demanding we hand her over to them for 'interrogation' while both sides are insisting we remain neutral."
"Just how does 'THAT' work ?" Calli asked.
"Where's Commander Blakus ?" Carl asked, and was informed he was in Engineering, "Status of the incoming Federation and Delkhii vessels ?" Harry told him they would be figuratively 'nose-to-nose' within the hour.
Carl sat in the center seat, mulling over his next possible moves .... There was no way his 'kidnapping' Hemak would make one iota of difference to the Federation, they would simply appoint a new Fleet commander to replace the man and continue where he left off, so they needed a bargaining point to hold against the Federation. He clicked his fingers, realizing how simple the problem was, at least in the short term ! ... He tapped the Comm link on his armrest:
=^= Commander Blakus to the Observation Lounge =^= he closed the Comm and gave Wedlerson the Bridge .... Instructing his Tactical Officer and Commander Valente to accompany him. Moments later his Chief Engineer and his deputy entered the Lounge.
"Quick question, first, is there any way we can transport something through the planetary shield, out, not in, by the way, and it would need to be very specifically positioned. If so, can we get that item onto the Federation ships ?"
"Well ..... Sir." Lieutenant Milyanov began, receiving a nod from his Chief to continue, "It would obviously depend on 'what' you were planing to beam through the shields."
"Tritium." Carl replied instantly.
"Sir ?" Milyanov queried, but Blakus had got his train of thought:
"You want to use the heavier elements in Tritium to corrupt the dilithium we gave them, thus crippling their warp capability."
"BINGO !" Carl said.
"Sir ?" Milyanov queried ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jun 14, 2016 20:32:46 GMT
Blakus added, "While they're repairing their warp engines we could negotiate a settlement with the Mongols. The Federation wouldn't dare start an attack without a route of escape, courtesy of their engines, especially as their weaponry derives its power from the same source as do the engines, the warp core. If they managed to breach the planetary shield or inflict significant damage on any other part of the surface, or the Mongol fleet, in the time before the weapons failed, they would soon find themselves at the mercy of the Mongol ships still closing on the system."
If the deuterium the Mongols possessed was really what the Vulcans wanted they would surely be compelled to remain whether or not their engines functioned, thus they must have some back-up plan for dealing with the remaining Mongol ships that would close in about them. Blakus realised that they were effectively throwing the Federation to the lions with this ploy, as the Mongols may attack without any more provocation than the Vulcans' stated wish to have the Khan transported to one of their vessels, however... well however, perhaps they could get something in return for their 'present' to Hemak...
Returning to the bridge they set about work on how to transport the tritium through the city's shield into such a precise point as the MRI injector of each Federation starship in orbit - something to confuse the dilithium chamber, the anti-particles no longer finding exact matches with their much more abundant equivalents coming from above. Both were difficult tasks but not impossible, what would require more than technical expertise would be getting Hemak and his two other ships that held the Raven crew to lower their shields for long enough...
"We could ask to have one officer back from each of the three ships, saying those officers are crucial for our ship's smooth running at this time," Andae said to Carl as he stepped onto the upper deck to watch the engineer's work, "It would necessitate a lowering of their shields; while they're distracted with the beaming we transport our tritium into their matter reactant injectors."
"What about the rest of the fleet?" Barr asked, pointing out the eighty or so Federation ships just past the orbit of Mars... "I doubt they would hang back, not have our crew transported onto their vessels for example."
"We only need to disable these three," Andae said, "The other Federation ships will surely be lacking in deuterium as much as Hemak and his two nearest ships are; even more so in fact, as they don't have the deuterium we've already given Hemak. They will soon be stranded here as much as Hemak's ships are." Wow, it really was a do or die mission the Vulcans embarked on here... Blakus considered. "Besides, they are too far away for us to beam tritium into their engine complexes so precisely."
In ten minutes all was ready; Torek was conversing with Hemak, who was making stern demands about the Khan being transported over if any return of Raven officers was to take place, however the Admiral was able to negotiate by pledging that Altan would not be returned to Delkhii before they next had contact. Meanwhile, Blakus was preparing the tritium for transport into Hemak and his two attendant vessels' warp engines... as the shields were lowered he had the transporter chief lock onto the three officers signals, simultaneously performing his own transport - routed from here to another transporter room - of the tritium.
The effect was noticeable within minutes. The three Federation vessels nacelles, warp rings or whatever configuration each had were flickering, transmuting shapes within the glowing sections changing colour, plasma now starting to leak out bussard ramscoops where applicable.
They were being bombarded by incoming hails. Andae stifled laughter as he was able to confirm the tritium had been nestled right in the centre of each of the three vessels' MRIs... Warp speed, whole vessel power that wasn't auxiliary or off the batteries would be crippled for the foreseeable future.
"Admiral. You have contaminated the warp engines of our vessels with heavy isotopes of hydrogen," Hemak said, burying the intense emotion he must be feeling, "You will return your officers, for incarceration and interrogation, along with the Mongol Empress. Immediately."
Lieutenant Zavial, one of the three officers recovered, entered the bridge - he had been selected from amongst the captive crew on purpose by Blakus, knowing that Zavial had been the one to lead the successful escape from the Cayman Islands, and that he'd been the close accomplice of Dorj who'd rescued them, Dorj the Federation spy who now stood beside Ogljai as his ostensible chief advisor, on the Mongol warship just 2000 kilometres away...
<Tag Carl, Calli>
"I don't think Dorj is what he seems," Zavial said as he reached Blakus.
"I agree."
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Jun 18, 2016 15:43:26 GMT
Both Hemak and Ogljai were bombarding him with demands: The former for the return of their Supreme Empress, while the latter was demanding the newly appointed Khan as hostage, or bargaining chip in their efforts against the Delkhii ... during the tirade of insults, demands, and outright threats, Carl could see Andae nodding, he raised a hand millimeters off the armrest then pointed, signifying he go ahead with the simultaneous transport.
~~~~~
He could see Ogljai turn away, as if being given vital information, Hemak too turned away, spinning to face the screen a second later, his anger obvious:
=^= Admiral ! .. You have contaminated the warp engines of our vessels with heavy isotopes of hydrogen .. .. You will return your officers for incarceration and interrogation .. Along with the Mongol Empress .. Immediately =^=
=^= I'm afraid I cannot comply with those demands =^= Carl said, his face expressionless.
=^= You wish the safe return of the remainder of your crew .. The return of your consort and your Children .. You would do well to concede we have the upper hand .. you would sacrifice a thousand to save but one .. I think not .. .. .. Now .. You will comply immediately or we will begin eliminating your crew =^=
Carl sat in the center seat, eyeing both Hemak, who was making the demands, and Ogljai, along with his newly-appointed Advisor, Dorj, who for the moment had both fallen silent, most likely to see how the scene played out before Ogljai took further action.
"Several vessels are closing on our position Admiral" Wedlerson informed him, then added more, "The IC Empress Kallae, the Dalkhii Flag Ship is station-keeping two thousand meters off out Starboard quarter. Sir, their commander is requesting conference with you in private."
"Put him on here with the rest, more the merrier I suppose." Carl said.
=^= Admiral .. I am Froras .. Commander of the Delkhii forces .. You will transport our Empress to my vessel immediately ! =^=
=^= I have a much better idea .. .. .. Commander Hemak .. Vl'rok .. Commander Froras and your Executive Officer .. Will all prepare to transport to the Raven .. .. .. Once here we will discuss options .. both for the safe return of the Empress along with the repatriation of my crew to the Raven .. We will also discuss the situation between your parties .. I have no wish to remain as a pawn in your little private war and would like to depart with all due haste .. But .. It is blatantly obvious that you each have something beneficial to the other .. Why either would withhold this commodity is frankly beyond my comprehension and can only lead to outright war between you .. Alas .. We are not here to aid either side .. We will expect both parties to be ready in ten minutes time .. .. .. Please be aware that 'ANY' attempt to retrieve the Empress or board this vessel and we will immediately take action against both sides regardless of guilt .. I am sure the Delkhii would not want to place their empress in jeopardy .. And on the same note I am as certain that the Federation in it's weakened condition would want to risk our wrath .. .. .. Ten minutes .. Gentlemen .. Raven out .. .. .. =^=
The comm between the four parties closed, leaving the Bridge silent. Admittedly, he hadn't intended forcing them aboard, but now they were coming, maybe they could get to the bottom of the issues at hand, help to ease the tensions between the Federation and the Delkhii, and in the process, get his crew back safe and well ..........
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Jun 25, 2016 0:41:18 GMT
"We need to keep a close eye on these when they arrive." Barr said, ".... and we should keep the Empress out of sight for the duration."
"Yes .... Agreed." Carl said, thinking for a moment, "Kieron, have two of your people move the Empress to the Piper."
"The Medical Shuttle ?" the Tactical Officer queried.
"Yes, once there have them raise shields, I don't want anyone attempting to tag her and beam her off the ship while we're distracted. If they ask to see her we will deny the request, if they don't like it then that's too bad, We are gaining the upper hand now and I don't want what little advantage we hold to slip from between our fingers." Kieron spoke to his Deputy Lysia Teng, passing on the instructions from the Admiral, "OK, now we wait to see if anyone accepts our invitation."
~~~~~~~~~~
They were stood in the Transporter Room waiting while the Transporter Chief coordinated with the two vessels in orbit and the Royal Palace on the surface. He was obviously getting little cooperation from all parties concerned and frowned a couple of times. Carl heard him instruct the Federation Flagship T'Ehleyr, to lower her shields more than once. finally, he confirmed that all parties were ready to come aboard. Carl nodded ...
"Sir, I'm picking up several concealed weapons, do you want me to remove them prior to materialisation ?" Carl sighed and tole the Chief to erase the patterns of anything he considered to be a weapon. The four people solidified, managing not to glare at each other as they concentrated on Torek, Blakus, Barr, and the four Security Officers, all holding phasers. All four continued where they had left off regarding their individual demands, but Carl just nodded to Kieron, who had instructed his Officers to escort both parties to separate quarters where Carl would visit each in turn. Hemak and Froras both insisted they be seen first, Carl just waved them out of the Transporter Room without replying.
"Erect force-fields at either end of the corridor." he instructed Commander Barr as he left behind the group.
"What's our next step ?" Andae asked as they returned to the Bridge.
"The Federation want something the Delkhii have, that much is obvious now otherwise why bother with one planet so far out. They all-but 'demanded' we get them Deuterium, I'm guessing the Delkhii have it in abundance, either on their homeworld, or somewhere else that the Federation can't gain access to. Either way, they have them over the proverbial barrel. I'm guessing they'll deal given the right incentives."
"We could have Science re-configure sensors to look for the specific signature ?" Blakus mused, "Though given Earth has approximately hardly an abundance, something in the region of one one hundredth of a percent, the Delkhii will have to have a damn-sight more to make it a viable commodity."
"OK, do that .... Have Vl'rok and Ogljai brought to the Observation Lounge, let's leave Hemak and Froras stewing for the time being ....
~~~~~
"We have a few things to discuss Gentlemen." Carl said, taking his seat at the head of the long curved conference table, while Andae, as Acting Executive Officer took the one to his right and Calli to his left. Both 'guests' spoke at once and Carl waited patiently until they realised that neither was getting anywhere. Vl'rok finally ceded the floor to Ogljai:
"You have committed an act of 'TREASON' against the Delkhii People, Admiral, you are served notice that we shall have justice."
"I am not quite sure what treason you are referring to." Carl said, a quizzical expression on his face.
"You will transport our Empress back to her Palace immediately." the man spat, but Carl simply shrugged.
"Your 'Empress' is soon to be a guest of the Federation Ogljai." Vl'rok informed the man, who launched into a tirade of abuse and threats until Blakus shouted both of them down.
"We are at present hosting your Empress as a guest of the Raven, should she express a desire to return to her home, we will of course oblige, after all, we are not jailers." Carl began, holding a hand up to silence Ogljai before he could begin another onslaught, "Now, as for our meeting and the reasons behind it ..... Certain 'information' has come to light, which my Chief Engineer will expand on in due course ......"
< tag : Andae >
" ...... We know the Federation needs something that apparently the Delkhii have, or may have shall we say for the moment, in abundance." Carl continued, "I intend to find out what this is, and try in the process to resolve whatever 'differences' you have that are preventing you from resolving it on your own .... Frankly, I have to voice my disappointment in both parties, I had much better hopes that we could become friends, but alas, that seems to be a little too much to hope for, so .... That said, we intend to leave here and will not be returning."
"If I am not safely returned to my ship in one hour, I have left instructions for this vessel to be destroyed !" Vl'rok said defiantly. Again Carl shrugged.
".... And how do you think the Delkhii would react to you murdering their Empress ?" he asked, "Because let's face facts here .... You could have every ship in your considerable Fleet converge on Delkhii, but they would be useless on their arrival given your lack of Deuterium. On the other hand, you could very likely decimate the surface of the planet before your ships began to fall from the sky, so again, stalemate ?"
"They would not succeed !" Ogljai spat.
"On the other hand, It is obvious that the Delkhii could benefit from Membership in the Federation."
"Those 'BARBARIANS' will never be accepted into the Federation, they are nothing but a sav ......" he didn't finish the sentence as Ogljai jumped on the table and snatched the Federation Ambassador by the throat. Two of Kieron's Security Detail dragged them apart and forced the J'aut quri into his seat.
"We could always continue this from adjoining cells in the Brig if you prefer, Gentlemen ?" Calli commented as the Deputy Chief Science Officer entered the Lounge, he leaned in close to Blakus and spoke for a few seconds before leaving. Andae asked Carl if they could have a word in private, "If you would excuse us, I am sure refreshments will be available if you so wish." he said, leaving the Observation lounge and entering his Ready Room. Lieutenant Svensonn was already waiting:
"What do you have Lieutenant ?" Carl asked, dropping into his chair.
"Sir, we were tasked with trying to find any signs of Deuterium on the planet below ....." he said, continuing as Carl urged the young Scientist on, "Well, they have less than Earth given the planets' comparable sizes, but ...."
"But what ?" Calli asked.
"Well, that isn't the case for the Moon ...." the man said, startling the trio of Officers into silence, "Sir, Delkhii has a moon, approximately two thirds the size of Earths own, and completely shielded !"
"WHAT !" Blakus exclaimed.
"We picked it up purely by chance Sir." Svensonn explained, "One of our Staff hadn't narrowed the beam enough and it passed beyond the horizon, it was a million to one chance but the moon was in direct line of sight, figuratively speaking of course, and the sensors went wild. Once we knew 'where' to look we abandoned the surface scan in favour of checking out their invisible Moon. Sir, that rock is producing deuterium faster than they can get rid of it."
"Rid of it !" Carl repeated stupidly.
"Admiral, they must be farming it out to 'someone' otherwise the moon would have simply blown itself to pieces hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago." the man informed the unbelieving trio.
"How in hell's name are they shielding a complete moon ?" Calli asked, "The power generation required and expenditure to maintain the shield must be phenomenal !"
"I'm guessing that whomever they are supplying the deuterium to, has provided the shield as part or full payment for services rendered." Carl said, shaking his head in disbelief at what they had discovered.
"Do we tell those two what we know ?" Calli asked ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jun 27, 2016 4:24:14 GMT
"If Ogljai knows about the moon already and it isn't something known only to the imperial family for instance," Blakus said, "Then telling them about it would be a way of exposing the Mongols, but do we really want to destabilise negotiations like that?"
"What if Vl'rok knows as well?" Lieutenant Zavial asked, his assistant who'd remained on the bridge, recently returned from the Federation fleet along with two other Raven officers, "What if this whole invasion is a way for the Vulcans to gain access to that moon? They know it's there already, but they have to go to the planet first in order to find their way in?"
Well that was all well and good but it was only speculation. Having only one way to find out the trio of Blakus, Torek and Valenti began making their way back to the conference room, nevertheless they decided to keep quiet about the new findings for now, perhaps until one of their guests revealed what they may know about it... "Keep scanning that moon, Lieutenant," Andae instructed Svensonn on his way, "See if you can pierce the shield sufficiently to give us an idea as to what stations they may have on the surface or in orbit; if we're lucky we might be able to locate a ship that's collecting from the Mongols... if you get lucky, track trajectory, compare with known starcharts - although we know they're slightly different here - and ascertain where they may be heading."
"Sir, sensors have resolved something already, a Mongol ship, support vessel type, in low orbit about the moon just inside the shield." The scientist leant into his console, "And another vessel nearby it on the same trajectory... it's of almost exactly the same configuration as a type of Cardassian freighter, first in the line was commissioned 2368."
Cardassians? Cardassians were the potential clients of the Mongol Empire? He asked for permission to sit this round of the negotiations out (with his place taken by Commander Barr who was able to take a break from keeping Hemak and Froras quiet and assign the duty to Teng instead), having seized upon an idea.
Zavial came to watch over his shoulder, "You do realise if they discover what you're doing we may never see the rest of the crew again."
Blakus ignored his assistant and accessed the computer network of the nearest Federation ship small enough in size that it couldn't carry a computer core with the necessary firewall protection; this wouldn't work at all if this wasn't a Galaxy class starship or if the Federation vessels out there weren't of sufficiently similar configuration that he knew some of the algorithms - much of the basic code that made up modern Federation computers came from exclusively Vulcan science institutes which had maintained their independence in academia since the late 22nd century - there was little mingling with human computer science at the kernel level in Earth's universe, thus the Vulcan ships present were more accessible than the average villain's.
Images jumped onto the screen in quick succession - schematics of Cardassian warships, attack plans, strategic information, casualty lists, target worlds, a fuzzy satellite image of Lakarian City, fleet information... it was clear, the Federation of Worlds was at war with the Cardassians in this reality. And the Mongols were supplying the Cardassians with deuterium while the Federation bled dry. Who was winning the war? he wondered, perhaps the Cardassians if the Federation had gone to this extreme to find a new source of deuterium. Might the invasion of Delkhii even be just one part of the Federation's war effort? Cut off one of the primary sources of Cardassia's deuterium, take the supply for themselves if they could hold it... Perhaps the Vulcans had never cared much for the Mongols, yet they hadn't regarded them as a species that desperately needed wiping off the interstellar map, more an irritating but insignificant distraction like an insect that buzzed and bit and crawled over the skin, an insect that was easily squashed and forgotten about.
"Commander Blakus, this is Teng."
Irked he tapped his commbadge, "Go ahead." He heard the droning voice of Hemak in the background; even with its monotone nature it was clear the Vulcan was annoyed.
* * *
Apparently Froras had locked himself in a Jefferies Tube after insulting Hemak and pushing over two security officers; somehow he'd managed to program the nearest hatches to block security clearance overrides up to the level of deputy department head, and with Barr being occupied in the negotiations a fractious Blakus had been the person Teng had decided to call... He accessed the shaft with two security officers in tow, demanding an explanation.
Froras crouched before him, "Excuse me, Commander, this was the only way to be guaranteed a private audience, without the pointy ear prying into everything I say and do... Now, what I wanted to say to you or to anyone else who happened to show up... No doubt by now you've discovered the Empress's brother's military officer, Dorj, is a Federation infiltrator." Blakus blinked. "He as well as a thousand others like him wait poised behind the back of every captain in our fleet ready to plunge the knife, including myself. Coming to your ship was an escape! Not a loathsome task that you hope will put an end to our conflict. Beware! the Federation isn't the only threat to the Mongol way of life, for the second son will rise with the second moon!"
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Jul 1, 2016 23:52:29 GMT
Torek, Blakus, and Valente were heading back to the Observation Lounge after their discussion when the Deputy Chief Science Officer ... The information he gave them made it clear their 'guests' would have to wait: Bridge ::"..... and another vessel nearby it on the same trajectory ... It is of almost exactly the same configuration as a type of Cardassian freighter, first in the line, that was commissioned in or around 2368." "Cardassian's !" Carl said under his breath as he looked at the blurred image on the view-screen, "Can we clear that up any ?" Harry began cleaning up the static as Blakus answered a Comm, he turned to Carl saying he had a small problem to deal with, explaining the situation with Froras. Torek laughed and wished him good luck ..... "OK Admiral, we're getting more information now, but I'm having to keep the scans confined to narrow beam otherwise it's possible that the Federation, or the Delkhii, or both could catch us snooping." Harry said as Svensonn put the information on-screen: The moon has no rotation. Five very large production facilities. Sixteen storage areas, from what we can see here the bulk must be sub-surface. Two landing areas, again sub-surface, you land, are taken below the surface were it can be pressurised possibly. Oh, and this: One heavily shielded complex, set well away from the rest of the structures ... "Typical, heavy shielding. So that's where we need to be looking for information I'd guess." Harry said. "Nothing gets past you Commander." Carl said, grinning, "OK, is there any way we can get to the surface, or more importantly, beneath it, without being seen by everyone in the System ?" everyone fell silent as they mulled over the question. It seemed that, whichever way they tried to get onto the moon it was going to be seen and raise all hell of alarms, they would be lucky to remain intact if caught red-handed, so to speak. Then Calli came up with something: "we can't beamin, due to the shielding, which we can take as read are not about to come down at our convenience, nor can we take a shuttle in, again, the shields pose an issue. Could we punch a hole through, no, at least not without it ringing bells everywhere. but what if we went about it another way ?" she pondered. "..... Whenever you feel the urge to share ....." Carl said, smiling at his Advisor. "Oh, yes, sorry, I was running through the thought in my head before voicing it out-loud." she said, now having everyone's attention due to her totally unintended theatricals, "What if we go from the surface ?" "Of Delkhii ?" Colonel Burwell asked. "Yes. There have to be, supply vessels, cargo, freighters, moving between the surface and the moon, so we 'borrow' one." "Just like that eh." the Marine commented, "They bud, mind if I borrow your supply shuttle, just want to nosey around your ultra-secret facility on your hidden moon, kind of thing ?" "Why not ?" Calli retorted, a little annoyed with the Senior Marine, but held her opinion of his attitude in check. "Levity aside, it might be our only option." Carl said, looking again at the images, and at the information scrolling down the right side of the view-screen, "we'd need to find a way to get to the surface without attracting any unwanted interest, but if we can get to one of their supply terminals, we may be able to get a small team onto one of their shuttles un-noticed ..... Harry, see if Commander Blakus has finished with his game of 'hide-n-seek' and get him back up here, we'll need to run this past him." ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jul 3, 2016 15:44:51 GMT
To allow the Mongols breathing space at least in their own system, the Federation's chief negotiator convinced the Vulcan admiral to permit Mongol vessels of less than 750,000 metric tons to make the run from beyond the orbit of pseudo-Neptune to the Lagrangian point between Delkhii and pseudo-Venus, thus allowing rare ore found only in the Kuiper Belt to reach the Delkhii fleetyards where it could be converted into pure deuterium (the system's secondary source of the hydrogen isotope next to the frustratingly inaccessible star).
This ore to deuterium reaction also released a significant amount of energy, giving the Mongols the power they needed to generate the two shields on the hidden moon: one that covered the whole globe (with a small hole where a connector tunnel was joined, passing across the void to a similar generating structure on the surface of Delkhii), and the other, much more powerful, that was just for the main complex on the moon, hugging the surfaces of the ziggurat-like structure that rose heavenwards into purple sky some three kilometres, being almost as wide as that at the base.
There was a negotiated settlement allowing most of the Federation vessels to stay in the system, a condition being the surrender of the already-captured USS Raven crew to the Mongol authorities; these officers and civilians were shuttled away from the Federation fleet - now on semi-permanent station in the vicinity of Delkhii - towards the hidden moon, to be used for manual labour or for monitoring automated systems involved in the moon's deuterium harvesting.
Blakus had eventually managed to hound Froras out of the Jefferies Tube, in amongst much squawking about the second moon - not, he assumed, another moon around the planet's surface but to do with the Mongol calendar... - and its second son that would also rise. "I have information that will be of use to you, Commander. Do not return me to the Vulcan's company so quickly. I know why your people have been trapped here. It is not because of any accident. You miss the Eternal City."
Blakus turned to face him, glaring at him darkly, wondering if there was a Mongol city known by that name, or even an equivalent of Rome, which surely would've developed another version of the Roman Empire where the idea of Rome being 'eternal' had been created; the Empire passed away a long time before the Mongol Empire rose and where the two timelines, presumably, began to differ.
* * * * *
"Nothing happens by accident, Commander. Your ship was meant to find its way to our world."
"Fatalistic idiocy," Blakus scoffed at the conference table. The staff looked on with consternation, eyes darting between Blakus at one end and the Mongol at the other (isolated from the rest except for his two guards). Ogljai had been returned to his ship while Vl'rok was kept with Hemak in a VIP lounge on deck 3.
"You know that the great one whom we all worship in different forms is look- "
"Captain Froras... You have been invited to this conference at the behest of Commander Blakus, who promised us that you had information to deliver which would enable us to travel to your moon. Now, do not make either yourself or the Commander look foolish. Answer the question that was put to you."
Froras took on a meditative expression, steepling his fingers, "Very well. I shall begin." Blakus looked at the table gloomily. "There is a feast on the moon at this time of year," Froras said, "Wherein one in every five hundred participants is relieved of one of their limbs which is shared out amongst the others, each small segment of flesh not consumed but kept as a good-luck charm, as you might call it, in a box kept in a purse that has two holes drilled into it and a string made of horse-hide passed through allowing this purse to be worn across -"
"Captain! Get, to the point."
"Fine. The feast demands temple slaves, of which there are never enough on the moon itself, too many of the labourers being needed to maintain the machinery involved in deuterium harvesting. These are recruited from offworld, obviously most commonly from Delkhii itself. I recommend that you allow me to take you there, disguised as my slaves. We can use one of the transport craft from my vessel. It is well appointed with all the facilities I imagine you may require.
"Reaching the customs station that is near the shield generator on Delkhii, I can smuggle you on my ship along the tunnel that connects my world with the moon. We will emerge," he rose, the guards following, and pointed at a schematic of the geography around the large ziggurat on the moon's surface, "Above this, the temple. The shield generator on the moon-side is 7.1 of your kilometres from the temple; the place of the feast is an open air market place, approximately 2.25 km square, between the temple and the shield generator. It is here that we will have to set down."
Blakus sighed and looked from Froras to Torek and back again.
<Tag Torek>
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Carl Torek
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Post by Carl Torek on Jul 5, 2016 21:34:02 GMT
Carl had sat in on the meeting listening to the Delkhii Captain with genuine, and ill-disguised disgust !
"You are telling us that in the twenty fourth century, you race 'STILL' employs 'SLAVES' to do their menial work, and to top that, you actually continue to make needless sacrifices !"
"Admiral, you must understa ......" Froras began, but Carl was out of his seat and striding towards the man he now utterly detested. he spun the seat around and grasped the man by his tunic, dragging him physically off the carpeted floor. The two Security Officers present reached for their phasers, unsure of how to react, but Blakus held a hand up to stay their approach to their Commanding Officer, but Andae knew that his friend needed to get this out of his system before they could move on, one way or the other. Carl wanted to throttle the man where he stood, but finally, after a long long moment, he pushed the Delkhii Captain back into his seat and returned to his own.
After he sat, he realised he couldn't even look at those at the table for a few moments .....
"The Federation of Worlds found out about your little secret, didn't they." he said, not looking at Froras, "That is the reason you were denied membership."
"Admiral ..." Calli whispered.
"There is a condition." Froras said falteringly, making everyone turn to face him apart from Torek.
"..... And what would that be ?" Calli asked.
"The immediate release of our Empr ....."
"No !" Carl interrupted, slamming his hand on the table, "You are going to help us or I will make it my mission to put your precious 'Empress' on the very alter you are keeping so well un-hidden !" Froras complained, threatened, cajoled, finally resorting to almost begging for the life of Altan Alaqa-Beki Temujin Khan ... but Carl was having none of it. He couldn't understand why the revaluation of what was essentially 'slavery' upset him so much. he'd seen worse, much worse, on countless worlds, but for some reason this was, unacceptable in his eyes. Were they here to bring a halt to this state, no, they didn't plan on coming here and were desperate to return home, but there was now a moral imperative that needed addressing, and despite the Prime directive, he intended to do something, anything.
"Security, return these, Gentlemen, to their quarters."
"But you cannot be ...... !" Vl'rok objected, he, Ogljai, and the stammering Froras, shouting across the table at each other trading insults, but Security shepherded them from the room complaining vigorously. As the doors closed, Carl turned to the others for their opinions, Calli voiced something that had been on her mind since Froras had began talking:
"Did anyone else wonder why Ogljai wasn't surprised, or shocked that the Delkhii Flagship Commander was going to help us ? ... I'm not convinced he actually 'wants' Altan back. Next in line for that throne is her older brother, erm, Yesugan, and they very friendly from what I can gather."
"You think Yesugan would allow his Sister to be killed ?" Harry asked.
"I think he would kill her himself if he thought he could guarantee getting away with it." Calli replied instantly.
"OK ......" Carl said, after allowing his Officers their 'Chinese Parliament' discussion, "It's a given that Hemak or Vl'rol will be conveying the latest information to their vessels in orbit and no doubt their version of Command, so we can take it as read that they are aware of what's happening now on the Moon, do they keep our people to hold us to ransom, do we go along with the frankly insane plan and possible trap suggested by the Delkhii Captain ?"
"Admiral, if we go down there we'll be completely at his mercy." Harry voiced, "We need a back door Sir, If he 'can' get in all well and good, but if I may Admiral, why not simply fire on the facility, we can get through the outer shield."
"But not the inner Harry." Call informed the Operations Officer, "We would also need both the Delkhii 'AND' the Federation to look the other way while we bombard their hidden facility."
Carl sat and waited for the next comment, if there was none then he would need to make a decision ..........
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jul 10, 2016 1:35:24 GMT
"Froras seems to... know things," Blakus said tentatively, "Things about Earth as we know it. He wasn't talking purely about destiny or some such when he said we were meant to find our way here. Somehow..." Blakus was amazed at how it could possibly be, "He knows something of what happens on the other side, on Earth, in its past and future.
"For instance he was able to name my place of birth, Rome, and then gave me a detailed account of the Roman Empire exactly how its history unfolded and how the Mongol Empire collapsed around the same time as the Eastern Roman Empire began its final decline." It was possible, Blakus thought, though he knew not how, that Froras and perhaps others like him (if such people existed) had access somehow to information that came through whatever rift or anomaly had brought the Raven to this place... there was no other explanation for how he could know their Earth's history so precisely.
"He's a figure of interest is all I'm saying," he said, "Whether he's using that knowledge to bring himself further into our trust only so that he can betray us later, I don't know. But I suggest we take him along in any case, perhaps not as our 'pretend leader' but as an advisor, and only putting on a show of commanding or owning us when we are hailed by Mongol border patrols and the like."
"Then you suggest we go with the plan as he dictated?" Wedlerson asked.
"We needn't be the slaves he advises we be... Perhaps we disguise ourselves as members of his personal guard? Most of us are human after all, like the Empress's subjects, so there shouldn't be any problem if it comes to having our species identified."
The issue was, potentially, what steps would the Vulcans take, not to mention Ogljai, in preventing any access by the Raven of the deuterium moon? For Vl'rok, Hemak and Ogljai had learnt as much of Froras's designs as the Raven senior staff had. Blakus for a start imagined the Vulcans would not be overly concerned; they were at war with the Cardassians and any attempt by the Raven to expose or eradicate that enemy of theirs from the surface of the moon, if Cardassians were present, would be welcomed by the Vulcans. Perhaps they may even take advantage of the opening and launch an attack outright on the moon themselves, bypassing their plan (the one theorised by the Raven officers) to take Delkhii first where they'd have direct access to the moon and minimal opposition in an invasion of it.
Vulcan ships were manoeuvring into a closer orbit about Delkhii, losing in the process their geostationary position - now orbiting slightly out of sync - above the capital city; the Mongol fleet remained situated above the capital and now, the duty tactical officer on the bridge noticed, were pushing out in a line towards the hidden moon, its location guessable given the path formed by the positioning of the Mongol warships.
In the shadow of the ziggurat-temple on the hidden moon's surface, hooded figures moved through crowds of feasting Mongols - sitting round ceremonial fires with swine, calf and other animals rotating on spits over the licking flames that mingled with the purplish atmosphere, the surreal mixture enveloping the whole of the market-like square 1km to a side making it impossible to see from one side to the other. One Mongol, putting away a rough slab of sirloin, glanced up from his meal to see one of the cowled figures pass... the Mongol saw grey reptilian-like skin flashing in the light of the purple skies from inside the drawn up hood, a weapon clasped in his or her fist beneath the dark robe's long sleeves. He or she cast a look back at the towering ziggurat - its presence ominous, possessed of an effulgent spiritual foreboding - and wondered when the time would come...
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Carl Torek
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"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
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Post by Carl Torek on Jul 12, 2016 18:13:00 GMT
Personal guard to Froras:
Carl Torek Andae Blakus Cmdr. Harry Wedlerson Lt Milyanov
Concubine to Froras:
Calli Valente IC ::"We needn't be the slaves he advises we be ... Perhaps we disguise ourselves as members of his personal guard. Most of us are human after all, like the Empress's subjects, so there shouldn't be any problem if it comes to having our species identified." Andae suggested. "Yes, it seems to be our only option here." Carl said, getting up from his seat, "Get Froras back up here, and find out what sort of garb we'll need to wear, we certainly can't turn up dressed like this." It appred that the Personal guard contained no Females, so an alternate 'profession' had to be thought of if Calli was to accompany them, which she insisted upon ! Fifteen minutes later they were gathered in the transporter room ::"I'm not sure Commander Valente is embracing her new-found status." Harry said, grinning at the less than happy Advisor, who was dressed in something approaching risque. Froras looked his newly formed 'guard' up and down, playing the part even before they leave the Raven ... Seemingly satisfied, he called for his 'Woman' and stepped onto the transporter. He had provided the Chief with co-ordinates to his private vessel. Seconds later they were aboard ..... The vessel, named 'The Tengri' much larger than a shuttle-craft, broke orbit, the Pilot apparently aware of their destination in advance, headed directly for the Moon. Froras instructed the men of their status and responsibilities, he also informed them of their fear of their Master, they must do as ordered instantly, regardless of consequences, failure would result in their immediate deaths, if not from Froras himself, from one of the Temple guards, the Delkhii emphasised that he would be helpless to prevent such action as he would be killed for his cowardly behaviour the second the offender himself had perished ! ... To say Torek and the others were less than happy with the situation was an understatement of magnitude. Passing through the first shield was relatively easy, but as they neared the threshold of the inner, two small craft fell into formation with them, both looked like they could do them damage ... Froras moved forward, speaking directly to whoever was controlling the iris type aperture. Twice he looked back, seemingly concerned, but eventually they were given permission to pass through and the escorts disappeared from sight as quickly as they had appeared. Dropping to the ground on a pristine deck, almost marble-like in appearance, it shimmered in the sunlight. Stepping out, they walked as instructed, two either side of their Master, Calli two paces behind hi, head bowed as ordered. Two men, likely guards, neared, one eyed Froras, while the second moved behind Calli, so close she could feel his breath on her neck. He reached forward, his arm almost on her breast, Harry turned and knocked the guard away, instantly Froras spun and slammed a back-hand into the mans face, felling him. The guard drew his blade but their master stepped forward quickly: "My Lord." Calli said quietly, as Harry, remembering his instructions, rose to one knee, head bowed, awaiting his fate.. Froras looked at her then at Wedlerson. "You are fortunate." he said, leaning forward as if to emphasise his annoyance and displeasure, "Any further from you and you will not see the new day, now stand ,to your duty !" Harry stood, ensuring his head remained bowed until his Master had seen fit to turn away. Only then did he look up and wipe the blood from his torn lips. "You would dare to punish one not of your charge !" he almost shouted, turning to the first, "Remove this man from my sight before I disembowel him myself !" the first guard approached the second, drawing his curved blade as he did so. Without breaking step he plunged the tempered steel into the mans chest, the blade passing through and visible between his shoulder blades, muttering some prayer, the guard stepped back, withdrawing his weapon from the man as he did so. The guard dropped to the floor, dead. The first nodded to Froras and motioned for the corpse to be removed and the marble-like floor washed. He motioned for the Master and his group to follow him without a second glance at the dead guard. Carl and Andae risked the briefest of glances at each other before falling into step ... The ziggurat awaited ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jul 13, 2016 22:27:54 GMT
Not daring to look round now Blakus reflected on the moment when they'd stepped out of the Tengri and looked over the plain of the feast. It was a large market type square as Froras had described and as the map had shown, with small figures just visible through the haze going about their feasting and festivities, picked out as silhouettes against the thousand campfires that filled the place. Now though he kept this gaze firmly ahead, following Froras who while he maintained the businesslike march let it be known that it was expected his 'guards' did likewise.
They had entered the ziggurat. Weaving through tunnels through which came little light - broad and tall as corridors and halls, really, but seeming warren-like in how they rose jaggedly and closed abruptly at their ceilings, leaving how the illumination got through something of a mystery - they eventually came to a turbolift, evidently carved into the rock.
None of the ornately armoured temple guards were near, Blakus and the others finding they could relax as Froras eased his posture, "This temple was built on a steep hill," he explained, "It is not quite the feat of engineering it appears to be from the outside - much of what you see is surface detail, the artificial ornamentation if you like is only a hundred metres deep on average across the hill's area."
"Only a hundred metres?" Milyanov asked, voice muffled slightly by his ceremonial helm.
"Indeed. Come, before the guards pass by." They entered the turbolift and rose some fifty metres, though it was hard to tell. Froras had explained to them en route aboard the Tengri about the presence of their 'clients' on the moon, not in great number apparently, but enough that the Federation of Worlds had taken an interest. None of the away team mentioned the word 'Cardassians' to the Mongol then, not wanting to give away what they knew; in fact it was Froras that first spoke their name, here in the temple.
Out of the turbolift in a much higher level of the ziggurat - built as they'd learned around and on a hill - they came across a moving robed figure, who temple guards paused and nodded to respectfully before moving on. Froras raised a hand against Blakus's armour plating having him stop, the others coming to a grinding halt behind him, and they repeated what the temple guards had done with the passing figure, who returned their nod and walked, rather seemed to glide on... around a corner and out of sight in the corridor's tight confines.
Andae looked at the others, noting they too had seen the face beneath that dark hood.
Froras spoke hushedly, "A Cardassian. One of our clients for the deuterium. Part of the trade agreement dictates that Cardassian overseers be present on our harvesting world to ensure we are complying with the regulations in our refineries, and not holding back any of the deuterium that we refine specifically for the trade."
Eventually they came to a set of double doors, Froras identifying it as the office of the Refinery World Personnel Chieftain. "I only help you because I fear for my life in the Empress's regime and have Federation assassins on my vessel. Now, I will do my business here and then will leave you to whatever you're wishing to accomplish. There are other places where I feel I will be much safer." With that he passed inside with Calli and Milyanov, leaving the other three 'guards' outside.
Minutes stretched out and the trio didn't reappear, "This is ridiculous, we could've thrown them into a snake pit," Blakus muttered.
=/\=Admiral Torek, Milyanov here. The other four have been transported away. They stepped into a small cuboidal area of the room and... oh, wait, I'll get the door.=/\= The silver double doors peeled back to reveal the armoured Milyanov, who stepped aside to let them in and showed them to the console he'd started using. It showed a set of rectangular graphics in a network, it becoming apparent it was a map of the world's deuterium refineries.
He saw their look and nodded, "If we want to destroy their ability to harvest and refine deuterium, to stop them sending it to the Cardassians, a place such as this may be the best place for it, the closest to the best place we could possibly get at any rate."
He explained what'd just happened, "I was instructed by the Refinery Officer to remain on guard and he, Calli, Froras who didn't or couldn't do anything, and a Cardassian stepped into this cuboidal area at the edge of... Apparently they've gone to the summit of the temple. I don't know what's up there but I'm worried for Valenti... the Cardassian had unsheathed a blade and the two Mongols were standing round her." His eyes widened as he continued using the console, Blakus, Torek and Wedlerson looking over his shoulder, "This structure is 4.4 km in height, the hill only 3.1km - over a kilometre of artificial structure lies above the peak of the hill."
"On the roof," Blakus cut into the monologue, looking at the graphic display on the Refinery Officer's screen, "Are four twenty metre tall pillars topped with fire-braziers in the palm of outstretched falcons' claws. At the centre point between the pillars is a table, like an old-fashioned altar used in old world religious ceremonies and buildings... It's designed as a..."
"Place of sacrifice," Milyanov said stoically. "Human sacrifice..." he left the remark hanging, not sure himself whether it was meant as a question or not.
<Tag Carl, Calli>
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Calli Valente
Starfleet Intelligence
"Don't get in my way."
Registered: Aug 4, 2010 21:19:10 GMT
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Post by Calli Valente on Jul 14, 2016 17:02:53 GMT
Earlier ::Calli had stood patiently awaiting the garment Froras expected her to wear whilst on the Moon ... To say it was 'revealing' was an understatement, 'I wear more while swimming' she thought as she held the bikini-type garment in front of her. Despite objections, strong objections, she donned the 'outfit' and the sandals, finally, she took up the gold necklace, ot was hinged, and at present open, there was an inscription around the outer of the necklace: ..... برای او که فوق همه ..... Placing it tentatively around her neck, she slowly closed the two ends until they touched. She felt a second of heat before it subsided, only then realising it had sealed the join and there was no way to remove the piece of jewellery from her neck ! ... after long moments of trying, she accepted the fact, making a mental note to hit Froras 'hard' when the opportunity arose ... Turning the necklace as instructed, so the inscription, quoting 'For he who is above all' was facing forward, she headed for the door. As an afterthought she picked up a blanket, throwing it around her shoulders, and only then did she step into the corridor and make her way to the Transporter Room ..... Ziggurat ::Passing through the large ornately decorated doors, they moved deeper and deeper into the labyrinth ... They were led down passageway after passageway, making it almost impossible to remember the sequence of left and right turns, this was an obvious defence mechanism to prevent attack, or possibly, escape, it was hard to tell. Finally, they approached two golden doors, almost three meters in height, Froras explained that they were to be allowed audience with the Refinery Personnel Chieftain, second only to the Ruling Council on Delkhii. "I only help you because I fear for my life in the Empress's regime and have Federation assassins on my vessel. Now, I will do my business here and then will leave you to whatever you're wishing to accomplish. There are other places where I feel I will be much safer." Froras said quietly as two robed guards barred their way. One explained that the Chieftain would permit only three to enter. He picked out Froras, Milyanov, and Calli. Unable to object, the three passed through the doors cautiously, which silently closed behind them ! The Chieftain, named Koson-Tao, came forward. He completely ignored both males, concentrating his unsettling attentions on Calli alone. "Your Lordship." Froras began, but was immediately silenced by one of the guards. Koson-Tao motioned and one guard turned to pick up an item then come forward, they could see he was carrying what appeared to be a robe, finely woven, gold in colour, covered in intricate runes. It was tied at the neck with a golden cord, it was placed around Calli's shoulders and secured. The two guards took hold of her arms, she struggled to fee herself, but to no avail. "You must be patient my Child." Koson-Tao said soothingly. "My Lord, I am confused." Froras said, suddenly fearful, "We came here to inspec ......" "Did you not bring this child for my pleasure ?" Koson said dangerously. "I beg forgiveness my Lord, she is but my concubine and not worthy of such exulted attentions. I will arrange for ten, twenty, of my finest to be brought here for your choosing. Milyanov, realising very quickly that something was going seriously wrong here had been inching away from the group, who were concentrating on the Chieftain. He was now stood off to one side now, seemingly forgotten. Very slowly, he began to reach behind him to retrieve the concealed phaser, but one of the guards turned to face him. He froze, eyes on the guard, who approached him cautiously. He pointed to the floor, Milyanov remained standing, unsure of what the guard expected, but the blow from the hilt of his sword dropped him to one knee instantly. "Remain." the guard said, eyes moving between the kneeling Milyanov and the group of people in the center of the room. One guard stepped into some form of cubicle and vanished from sight. The Chieftain, now holding onto Calli with the other guard, told Froras to step forward, they followed and all vanished as the first guard had. He remained kneeling for a second then quickly retrieved his Comm badge: =^= Admiral Torek .. Milyanov .. They appear to have been transported away .. They stepped into a small cuboidal area of the room and ..... Oh .. Wait .. I'll get the door =^= As blakus, Milyanov and Wedlerson explained what they were seeing, Carl approached the cuboidal area, looking at the cieling and then the floor plating. "...... Are four twenty metre tall pillars topped with fire-braziers in the palm of outstretched falcons' claws. At the centre point between the pillars is a table, like an old-fashioned altar used in old world religious ceremonies and buildings ... It's designed as a ..." Blakus hesitated. "Place of sacrifice ...." Milyanov said stoically. " ....Human sacrifice ...." "Can we follow them up ?" he asked. "We will have no way of knowing what we'll face when we appear Admiral." Wedlerson said, "We 'could' go up in pairs, if we have our phasers ready we can possibly drop those closest to the altar first and cover until we combine forces ?" "Commander Blakus and I will go to the altar, you two remain here and figure out how to cripple this facility indefinitely." he turned to Andae, "Ready ?" he asked, taking his phaser and setting it to heavy stun setting eight. Blakus followed suit then the two stepped into the cubical, promptly vanishing from sight. "I hope that thing to two way." Harry said, turning his attentions to one of the consoles ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jul 18, 2016 16:14:54 GMT
Blakus emerged with Torek on the flat pinnacle of the ziggurat, seeing immediately the way between the two dark pillars stark against the absurdly purple sky. Beyond lay the sacrificial altar on which Valenti had already been placed and tied down; the gap between the pillars that led to it was less than a metre across, fortuitously blocking the Mongols and the Cardassian's view of the pinnacle's two new occupants.
He nodded in acknowledgment of Carl's hand chop and stepped carefully towards the pillars, remaining out of sight and backing himself up against the nearest one. Glancing out from the cover he saw the three Mongols and one Cardassian positioning themselves about Calli on the altar, he was then nearly thrown from the top of the structure as winds buffeted them from the plain, or rather beyond that, from the shield generator complex just visible through the hazy atmosphere.
Pulling himself back behind the pillar he gasped, the recollection fast returning to him that one of the people around the altar had turned his way when the gust of wind had come. He'd seen it only in peripheral vision, though he was sure: the Mongol had spotted him. He heard the unidentified Mongol's footseps, softly approaching the gap between the pillars. Torek meanwhile had sidled up to the other pillar, signalling to Blakus that he had indeed been spotted.
Blakus nodded, then glancing at Torek he realised the man's intent and counted to three...
He spun his way out of cover in sync with the CO, the combined fire of their phasers taking the Mongol down under heavy stun. To Andae's shock, he saw that it was Froras... Perhaps he'd been directed there by the Refinery Officer, or perhaps had gone of his own volition to warn them.
They'd all spotted the new arrivals. The Refinery Officer's guard stepped back from the altar, raising his weapon and firing loosely above the Starfleet officers' heads. Blakus and Torek dived forward over Froras's hopefully only unconscious form and bowled over the robed and hooded Cardassian who'd just now been bringing his dagger down on Calli's abdomen... The dagger missed as the Cardassian was brought down, the blade snicking off the side of the altar with a metallic ringing.
"You dare interrupt the ritual, weaklings of Froras? And kill your master?!" the Refinery Officer hollered and, a devillish grin on his face suddenly, raised his weapon and vapourised the prone Cardassian. Blakus blinked in confusion, rolling over in anticipation of avoiding the Refinery Officer's fire. He managed to get behind the altar, in crouching position now, while the Refinery Officer approached; the Mongol began to fire at Torek but was evidently having some trouble with his weapon - Blakus dared a look from behind the altar and saw the gun glowing red along the barrel where the presumed power cells were. Smoke rose from it and sparks from the power cells fell on the Mongol's skin, causing him to cry out in anguish.
Blakus and Torek seized the opportunity and fired simultaneously at the man, their sustained phaser beams drilling seemingly ineffectively at his chest though enough to propel him backwards towards the edge of the precipice, and off.
Ending his phaser fire into the man's chest at last, Blakus watched as the Refinery Officer began a gradual fall to the plain below; death was sure to be instantaneous, and indeed it was though not by the method he'd envisaged... The Mongol's weapon glowed so bright now that the aura from it blotted out view of his body; half a second later both the weapon and man exploded.
Still shielding his eyes, suffering from after images of the fireworks-like detonation on his retinae, he made to undo Calli's restraints, "Weapon overload," he commented, almost laughing with the absurdity of it. "Why the hell did he kill the Cardassian?"
"Perhaps he thought we'd want to capture it, probe him or her for information on the refineries."
"Wait," Blakus paused, blood running cold, "There was one more... Where's the last guard?"
<Tag Carl, Calli>
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Carl Torek
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Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
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Post by Carl Torek on Jul 20, 2016 21:13:22 GMT
As Carl got to his feet following the phaser overload, and subsequent devastation, he could see Andae already removing the bonds that held Calli ... He looked around peering past the cylindrical pillars, satisfied they were out of danger, but then he realised something wasn't quite right ... Frowning he began to check the fallen, but Blakus got his attention:
"Perhaps he thought we would want to capture it, probe him or her for information on the refineries ?" Calli was saying as she got to a seated position and accepted the offered phaser from Andae, who also realised something was amiss !
"Wait .... There was one more." he said, combing the area in a wide arc as he peered into the smoke filled summit, "Where is the last guard ?"
The hair on the back of Carl's neck rose and he got a feeling of apprehension, which was confirmed a second later by the unmistakable feeling of the wrong end of a phaser touching the back of his neck just above his collar. The guard, now holding tightly to his shoulder inched him forward and into the open ... Calli saw him first and spun, her phaser unnervingly aimed directly at her Commanding Officer.
"Let him go ....." she said quietly. Andae turned at her voice, seeing Torek being held captive. Their position, and that of the man holding the Admiral, made it impossible to fire without hitting Torek, "What do you hope to gain, no-one is going to get up here we've seen to that, so you are on your own. Let him go and we will release you, eventually." Calli said. Carl was about to comment but the guard applied an almost insignificant amount of pressure to his grip, which Carl realised was covering a pressure point in his shoulder. He began to drop as all sensation and motor control to his legs vanished for a split-second. The guard eased his hold and spoke to the others:
"The sacrifice must be completed. You will allow me to carry ou ....."
"Not a chance." Calli interrupted the man, "You'll be sacrificing no-one today, of ever again if we have anything to do with it !" she was about to continue when Blakus caught her eye, pointing to his ear .. He stepped back and retrieved his Comm badge from within his tunic:
=^= Blakus =^= he said, hopefully quietly enough as to not attract the attention of the hostage-taker.
=^= Sir .. The ship we came in on .. It is now approaching slowly .. .. .. Wait one .. .. It is holding off at approximately five hundred meters .. Guards are approaching our location .. We'll need to move if we don't want to be cut off .. I suggest you get done up there .. Sirs =^=
=^= Thank you for the advice commander .. Keep us informed =^= he closed the Comm and ran his finger across his neck, signifying they were about to have company, Carl too saw the motion and looked at Calli. She could see him mouth something and almost imperceptibly shook her head. Again her Commanding Officer gave the silent order, Blakus could see what was happening and took a step forward, making the captor increase his grip once again. This time he applied a fraction too much and Carl's knees buckled. Calli fired hitting her CO in the chest, a fraction of a second later Blakus fired at the obviously shocked guard, who fell to the stone floor unconscious. Both ran to Carl, bringing him around quickly .....
They began to move towards the circle etched into the aged stone as their Comm's chirped to life:
=^= Valente =^=
=^= Commander .. You need to get out of there .. The Tengri is approachi .. .. .. =^=
=^= Hold one minute Commander =^= Calli ordered as they began to hear the unmistakable sound of stone rubbing against stone, almost as if ..... They turned to see the twenty, one meter tall pillars, receding into the floor !
"Froras' ship is coming, and judging by what those things are doing, I'm guessing it's going to land !" she informed the others.
Seeing the Delkhii Commander ship approaching, they dragged the still weary CO to the circle and stood waiting. nothing happened ! ... Calli turned to the nearby wall, hoping to find some sort of activation panel built into the rock, but no luck. They turned to see the shuttle approaching, but given Froras had been unconscious for the last few minutes, how were they aware that they needed to come, unless they had bio-tracking on their commanding Officer, not unheard of as Star Fleet employ similar technology when the need arises ... Calli asked Blakus to support Carl while she ran into the middle of the pinnacle of the ziggurat. The pillars, now only centimeters from vanishing into the stone floor, thankfully prevented the Tengri from landing, and it was now standing off at fifty meters, waiting !
'First and foremost' she thought, 'They were here for Froras' ... So if 'she' could grab him, they may have a bargaining point. kneeling beside the unconscious, and clearly, going off the blood around his head, injured Froras, she took hold of his tunic and began dragging him towards the others. A beam of almost pure energy lanced past her head and she realised that whoever was in Command on the Tengri was somewhat opposed to her taking their Commanding Officer. Carl and Andae began firing at the hovering vessel, in the hopes of distracting them from their primary target ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jul 22, 2016 19:13:18 GMT
Blakus concentrated his fire on the point below the Tengri's cockpit section where the particle weapon array was located, hoping to pierce the ship's not inconsiderable armour. Is this a good idea? he thought as fire continuing to rain down on them, lifting pieces of obsidian masonry, turning it up from the top of the structure as he and Torek fell back, Blakus actually being knocked off his feet as the Tengri, their former ally it seemed, yawed about and began lowering itself towards the CO and acting XO of the Raven's position.
"This definitely wasn't a good idea!" he shouted, voice drowned out by the increasing whine of the Tengri's engines as it drew closer. He lifted himself up so he was on his back, resting on his elbows, and saw Calli had managed to get a hold of Froras again; she was dragging him back across the no-longer even ground of the pinnacle, depositing him alongside the unconscious guard who'd had a phaser to the Admiral's neck.
The task accomplished, there would be no way the Tengri could recover Froras without somehow involving the Mongol guard - from the other side, presumably, or faction as it were - lying alongside him. Nevertheless it continued lowering itself towards the platform even though, quite obviously, it couldn't yet land, and Blakus, still recovering from the blast of the Tengri's weaponry and the ringing in his ears and doubled images in his vision, now found a new sound penetrating his confused state... The Tengri was addressing them by some form of loudspeaker:
"Claimed officers of a Federation vessel," it announced, booming over the ruined highest point of the ziggurat and the dust-filled surrounds, "Return the Captain to us and you will not be harmed. You will be delivered into the hands of our authorities, where you may claim that you were overcome by us - who are traitors, and who wished to recover their Captain." By Captain, Andae assumed they meant Froras. "Clear the space for our landing and lead the Captain to the ingress point of the Tengri."
Recovering his wits Blakus looked at Torek then glanced over at Calli, mutual understanding between the three of them developing, they fired simultaneously at the Tengri at the location of its ventral weapons array. They waited in suspense; before long the weapons array sparked golden and was obliterated; the Tengri almost seemed to recoil.
Grimacing the engineer got to his feet, feeling a slight weakness in his left leg and the tell-tale sensation of something burning alongside the outside of his thigh... blood trickled out from his trouser leg. He looked across the strange new topography of the platform and saw materialising at the other end from where he and Torek had materialised at least a half dozen Mongol soldiers.
There was no time to give the Tengri Froras anymore; the Tengri had to change its target, and indeed it did; it swung about, flipping over and directing its dorsal array's fire at the newcomers, most of whom were blasted off the pinnacle - a few rushed forward and aimed for the three Starfleeters, recognising these disguised people as those who'd interrupted the ritual. Limping for cover and finding it beside Torek, Blakus prepared again to fend off Mongols but the Mongols stopped dead in their tracks, their bodies now enveloped by cerulean light. He wondered what was happening... of course, they'd been caught in a tractor beam from the Tengri!
The vessel came in for a heavy landing, crushing somewhat horribly the three Mongols that'd been charging at their three Starfleet opponents; soon after its underside hatch opened and two Mongols appeared beckoning them forward. Cautiously they approached, bringing Froras and the incapacitated guard with them - they'd got someone for interrogation at least - and reaching the walkway leading into the craft were wrestled to the ground by the Tengri's occupants.
"What! Hands off, you..." Calli began. Froras was being led aft, Blakus could just see, into some medical triage unit, while the Refinery Officer's guard was secured in a cell still further aft, soon joined there by Blakus, Torek and Valenti.
* * *
"Well," he said, "No better place to hold an interrogation," they looked pointedly at the hurting Mongol guard on the cell's bench, the same man who'd been shot in the chest by Andae and had nearly killed the Admiral.
They looked about themselves, peering out as far as the forcefield would allow them into the gangway of the Tengri. Blakus caught the eye of one of Froras's men. They glared at each other before the Mongol approached. Blakus asked, "How is Froras?"
"Better."
"Why have you imprisoned us? Why did you attack us? We were trying to protect your commander. It's time to be straight with us: are you, and Froras, on our side in this or not?"
"I've heard from the Captain he already said to you that he knew of safer places to be," the Mongol gestured near-imperceptibly around at the Tengri, indicating this was just such the place, "His and our agreement with you is, or rather was, temporary. Now we will deliver you into the hands of the authorities in the Delkhii capital. I'm sure the J'urat quri will delight in having your company once again, if only in his prisons."
"We have other people still in the temple!" he called to the receding back of their new captors. Andae sighed and turned to the interior of the cell, watching the barely conscious Mongol in its corner - the man's head was down, not avoiding eye contact he thought but perhaps quite unable to lift his head and look them in the eyes due to the pain in his abdomen.
<Tag Carl, Calli>
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