Mission 32: Feeders

[Carl Torek]

Conference Room - 19:15 hrs ::

What they had been looking at were apparently historical records showing that far from being the innocent victims of a cannibalistic race, the Werim had enslaved the Phorx-ku hundreds of years earlier after they asked for help following their own Sun going nova. At first they had been welcomed, even allowed to integrate into Werim society ... They were grateful for their good fortune in having found such an understandable and open race, but that began to slowly change as time passed .....

The Phorx-ku had asked for help in refurbishing their dilapidated vessels in order to search for a new home where they could settle, but they were now doing most of the manual work on the planet and the Werim were understandably reluctant to have their source of free labour depart. They repaired five of the Phorx-ku vessels eagerly watching as the ships left orbit on their search, but unbeknown to the remaining Phorx-ku, the Werim had no intentions of them finding anything and had sabotaged all five ships.

Months passed with no word, finally, the Werim themselves suggested fitting out three more vessels to go in search of the first this time they would be jointly crewed.

Weeks later, a life-pod, containing one survivor, barely alive, was discovered adrift and was brought aboard the lead Werim vessel, the Werim, knowing their subterfuge could not be discovered under any circumstances.They isolated the survivor before any Phorx-ku could speak with him citing possible contamination, but their allies did not believe the excuse and demanded access. They were immediately confined to quarters while the Commander of the vessel conferred with his counterparts on the other two ships.

It was during this time that one of the Phorx-ku escaped their quarters via service conduits and slowly made his way to the Medical Bay. The sight that greeted him was beyond all understanding ... The Medical Staff had heavily sedated his kin, they had unceremoniously extracted the talons and canine teeth of their patient, blood still dripped from the untreated wounds onto the deck plating, dried blood could be seen around his mouth and neck !

Rage welled up within the hidden Phorx-ku, but he knew he must report what had happened, retribution must be sought ..... When the room emptied, he risked removing the panel and climbed from the conduit and slowly across the room. The Phorx-ku was still alive, for what reason he could not comprehend but he knew he must end his suffering and extended one talon to full length, placing the needle-point tip against the side of the neck where the life force was most prominent, he was about to puncture the skin when the Phorx's eyes opened.

"You must tell of this .... They want us enslaved .... You mus ........."

The eyes dulled, finally lifeless !

Making his way back to his quarters he informed the others of what he had seen and been told. Later, when the Werim came to speak with them they were ready, allowing the Werim into the large room, listening patiently while they were informed of the survivors' demise, the insincere sympathy was almost too much and as the Werim turned to leave the Phorx-ku were upon them. They castrated and disembowelled the ones there before rampaging through the ship killing all they came upon. When it was done they fed on the corpses, the first time they had taken a non-animal life in their history.

It soon became clear that the Commanders of the other two vessels knew something was amiss and contacted the ship. Failing to receive any reply they began to approach intending to dock. The Phorx-ku allowed the procedure, pouncing on those that entered immediately, some managed to escape, arming themselves killing any and all Phorx on sight, but they too suffered each being hunted through the corridors until only one remained. This one was instructed to bring the third vessel into contact with theirs .... Within an hour no Werim remained alive !

Not wanting their actions discovered, they placed all the corpses aboard the first vessel and set it on a heading out of their system into a barren part of space, it would never again be seen. The Phorx-ku took control of the two remaining vessels and turned about. They would not go back, not immediately, they would need to inform their own kin of the treachery, deceit, betrayal upon them before they could extract revenge. They would rid the Universe of the Werim, on at a time if necessary, but the Phorx-ku swore a blood oath to see their deeds fulfilled !

"Where did you get this ?" Carl asked.

"I came across it purely by accident." Harry said, shaking his head in disbelief at what the Admiral had read out to everyone around the table, "There could be no way the Werim could know we found this, otherwise they would be trying to cover their actions in my opinion. There must have been some data bleed in their archives or this would have remained hidden."

"We can't go down there as friends now we know this." Doctor Roach commented.

"So .... Suggestions ?" ..........

[Andae Blakus]

His hands clammy, Blakus pitched forward in his seat, experiencing a slight tremor before he spoke, "I might suggest we seek a way to ally ourselves with the Phorx if these reports are true. Seeking agreements with them while speaking with the Werim may allow us to play a mediatory role." It may well be a ridiculous suggestion, he reflected, and why so nervous in disposition? Was it the thought of being close to the manipulative enslavers in the Werim? Or was it the idea that those of the monstrous visage, the Phorx-ku, could indeed have been the victims in this struggle, at least initially?

"That's ridiculous, Commander," Wedlerson confirmed. "Trying to position ourselves as some sort of arbitrator would leave us neither here nor there. Look, I found this report, yes, it's horrifying yes, but it doesn't change that all those Werim were killed by the Phorx - and not all of the Werim would be guilty individually, surely - and it doesn't change the fact the Phorx hunted and eliminated the crews of the vessels we've just investigated."

Roach nodded, "I say we stand by the Werim; engaging with them, we can look to reprimand them - something we can't do on the outside.

Blakus had been shaking his head and opened his mouth to speak but Torek intervened, handing off the matter to Anna Fields who was eager to contribute, "Slavery is not something we can tolerate," she said, "even implicitly or by association. Did the Phorx-ku, going by this report, react in such a way that we wouldn't condone? Yes. But they were seeking their freedom, aware that it was soon to end if the Werim had their way. We can't be on the side of the exploiters, no matter how tentatively."

Blakus glanced at Torek who nodded, "So we support the Phorx-ku, that much we can achieve, if we could only find one of their vessels..."

"I can look into the Werim's communications logs, perhaps find a frequency, subspace or otherwise, that they've used to contact the Phorx in the past, so that we can do the same," Andae said.

"Finding a frequency undetected is one thing," Harry said, "Contacting the Feeders is quite another. We would need to leave orbit to comm them without Werim knowledge. So we suddenly leave - what are we going to tell the Werim?"

"Nothing," Blakus said dismissively, "We needn't justify our actions to oppressors."

Calli said, "Flippancy aside, perhaps a limited away team - three personnel? - will eliminate any suspicions while allowing us to confirm the veracity of this report and begin to to gain redress for the Phorx-ku." As she spoke, they received a comm from sickbay's medical quarantine - Caltek had been observed trying to end his own life, having secreted a razor about his person before entering isolation. They agreed to have him sedated heavily. Blakus would question him: considering Caltek's studies into methods of combating the Phorx-ku on behalf of his species, it became a burning question whether he knew of his own people's malevolent intent towards the Phorx-ku. Surely he knew something.

"I'd like to stay on the ship to question Caltek; Milyanov can take my place on the limited away team," Andae offered. As Torek began to nod the ship's chassis shook around them.

The staff began to rise, the bridge called, "Admiral Torek, we have been fired upon. An ion beam from the planet's moon, sir; shields generators have been scrambled, artificial gravity has failed on decks 7 through 11 and 20 through 24. The Werim Flight Controller is claiming we've been slow to allow their medical team - for retrieving Caltek - permission to beam aboard."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the lower levels of the Raven, a Phorx-ku duo had been prowling. A quartet of guards on elevated security patrol had been whittled down to two NCOs by the Phorx, yet they were none the wiser that they'd been attacked, the amnesiac gas playing havoc with their critical faculties. "It's five minutes before I turn in," the lower-ranked commented, as the aspect of something frightful now loomed at the far end of the corridor, dripping the liquid that kept its segmented carapace moving fluidly.

It bounded towards them. They blanched, turned to retreat, before the fog of forgetfulness fell upon them, the gas reaching with its tendrils across the space. In the mental confusion, they were sure to be unable to move fast enough, but gravity, or its lack, came to the rescue. The Feeder in mid-bound felt the deck fall away beneath it. Howling, it spiralled uncontrolled through the air towards the guards, who likewise kicked futilely at the air as artificial gravity failed them; crimson ballooned in the narrow space.

[Carl Torek]

Carl had listened intently to the conversation, happy that his staff knew they could could speak freely. he agreed that they needed to contact the Phork-ku as soon as plausible, if only to attempt to verify information they had come across. he was about to agree to his Exec's suggestions when the ship shook !

The Comm spurted to life before he could speak:

=^= Admiral Torek .. Bridge .. We have been fired upon .. An ion beam from the planet's moon .. Shields generators have been scrambled .. Artificial gravity has failed on decks 7 through 11 and 20 through 24 .. The Werim Flight Controller is claiming we've been slow to allow their medical team - for retrieving Caltek - permission to beam aboard =^=

Carl didn't bother to reply as he and the others stepped onto the Bridge.

"Report !" Blakus said, dropping into his seat.

"We've been hit by some form on Ion beam." Lysia T'Seng reported from Tactical, "I have a location for the surface-based weaponry."

"Lock phasers ... Contact that controller." Carl ordered.

"Too late !" Lysia said as the ship shook a second time. Systems were failing throughout the ship now and they were clearly in danger.

"Helm, bring us about, put some distance between us and the planet." Torek ordered.

"Sirs, I'm getting reports of an attack on the lower decks, no further information at this time, I've sent Security to the location." T'Seng informed them.

"Have we been boarded ?" Andae asked.

"No reports Sir, shields were intact until the first volley from the surface."

"Sir, warp drive is off-line ... Engineering are working on restoring, I'm moving us away using impulse." Ensign Fields said from the Helm.

Carl looked at the planet as it spun out of sight, the ship was now putting as much distance as quickly as possible between the Werim and themselves while they still had the means to do so. Reports were coming thick and fast: The ship had lost gravity on two thirds of it's Decks now, inertial dampers were fluctuating causing people to be thrown head-long down corridors or be slammed into bulkheads as the ship turned and accelerated away. Sick-bay was reporting casualties throughout the ship and colonel Burwell had instructed all but six Marine medics to assist the Medical teams, the remainder were heading to the lower Decks to hopefully contain whatever incident was occurring.

"Sir, sensors are down, we're flying blind." Fields informed them

"There's a bloody window there Ensign, do it the old fashioned way." Carl said, a little too quickly.

"Aye sir."

"Have we established contact with the Werim Controller yet ?"

"No Sir, they are receiving our transmission but choosing not to respond.

"Do we still have weapons ?" Blakus asked.

"Phaser power is being diverted to supplement artificial gravity, we have photon torpedoes." T'Send replied.

"Are we still being fired on Lysia ?" Carl asked.

"No Sir, we are out of range."

"Helm ... Bring us about then all stop. Comms, send mission logs to to Starbase. Lets get sensors back on-line, we're no better than blind sitting ducks out here otherwise. Will we come back into their range if we approach to fire on their weapons array ?

"Unknown Admiral, All I can confirm is they ceased firing once we put distance between us. They may well have decided they had made their point and chose not to continue their attack, or they knew they couldn't reach us and didn't want us to know the range of their cannon." Lysia said resisting a shrug.

"I think they have made their intentions perfectly clear." Calli said, "They are clearly anything but welcoming, why are they so insistent on getting their personnel back as to fire on us, there's something decidedly wrong here, they're hiding something more than we already know, and on that, there shouldn't be any way they would know we have attained the information we've got, so you have to ask .... Why the attack ?.

"OK, I'm not going to make any pretence of covertly contacting the Phorx-ku ... If the Werim are unhappy with it then so be it, they can easily be classed 'Hostile' and treated accordingly. Comms, send a message to their Command, they have thirty minutes to respond, don't give them anything else. I want that Ion weaponry disabled or gone completely." Torek said.

"It's doubtful they would pick up one of the fighter shuttles if it came in from behind the Moon, we could make a quick pass, Knock out the Ion weapons and be back in deep space before they could react." Burwell commented. Carl looked from the Marine Colonel to his Exec' then at Calli.

"We could begin a slow approach, the Werim should be watching us, not expecting another craft ?" Calli replied, Blakus nodded.

"Colonel, assign one of your best, take Commander T'seng." Burwell contacted one of his men, a moment later a Marine Lieutenant stepped onto the Bridge and waited instructions. "Leave the Raven on a direct heading to keep the ship between the planet and yourselves." he instructed Lysia and the Lieutenant, "Full impulse only, a warp signature will be detected even with us in the way. After ten minutes come about and put the Moon between the Planet and yourselves, go to full impulse then shut down all systems apart from life support, gravity and Comms. Inertia should let you approach undetected. Be ready to bring everything on-line, plot an attack vector before you shut down. When ordered I don't want anything left of that facility, understood."

"Aye Sir." the two said, leaving the Bridge.

"Lets try to figure out how to say hello to the Phorx-ku." Carl said to Andae, who got up and moved to Science Station Two, Calli accompanied him ..........

[Andae Blakus]

Blakus swung into his seat before the science station, accessing protocols and any other system that be thought could provide them access to a link with the Phorx-ku... He aimed the transceiver array for the location of the last-detected Phorx-ku craft - extrapolated from its last known position and picked up behind them as it'd glided away perpendicularly to the Raven's direction of travel.

"We managed to garner information on the Phorx's language protocols from bilingual data-slates found on the second Werim vessel," he said to Calli who joined him. They'd only just been deciphered, the effort not a little assisted by their new understanding of the Werim language and its relation to antecedents in premodern Earth societies.

He thought, there was also the possibility of another tele-... And in an instant, as if the very idea of it arising in his mind had been the trigger for the return to his state of telepathic violation, he was put in contact with the Phorx, albeit in the very unusual manner of his conscious being transplanted into a possibly subservient species of that predatory race (or were the Phorx oppressed peoples, manipulated by the Werim as virtual serfs on their homeworld/s?) ... He'd fallen to the floor, his foetal position adopted involuntarily while Calli jumped up from her seat to see to the fallen XO.

"Not again," Andae managed to murmur, "But hopefully I can..." His eyes shot wide open; he screamed, fell unconscious.

"Ignore it, all of you!" Calli said strenuously, as members of the bridge crew turned in alarm, "We saw this happen on the Werim vessel; he recovered, and Roach's found a way to abate the episodes."

Blakus's mind fell away into a nightmarish non-sleep aboard a Phorx vessel; a Feeder turned upon the squat presence of Andae - the Phorx's weapons platform for the moment. And Andae saw in the slits of his/her eyes... understanding! This Phorx knew in an instant that its serf machine had been inhabited by a crewmember - Commander Blakus - of the Raven prey (whom a zealous Alpha was currently preying upon); this Phorx knew the reason for this telepathic contact, knew the reason for Blakus's presence here. It tilted its head at him, and Blakus in his machine body understood instinctively this gesture meant 'assent', assent to... an agreement? between their respective peoples. Yet how long would their detente/alliance last?

He darted upwards, unsurprised to find himself once more in sickbay. Looking round, he saw the whole grey, dimmed place full of injured crewmen. Taking a cursory glance at his neural vital signs, he decided he was low in the list of Roach's priorities, and promptly pushed aside the bed's semi-circular covering and ran out of sickbay before the doctor could stop him.

* * *

"We have an agreement with the Phorx, at least for now..." he said to Carl as he staggered back onto the bridge. "But they don't fully trust us."

<Tag Torek>

"Admiral," he called minutes later (as in suspense the bridge continued to await the result of the shuttle's operation round the back of Yibeha III's highly reflective moon), "In the case of a mishap in Burwell, T'Seng and Marine LT Mortis's operation, I believe I can send a feedback loop along the Werim's ion beam weaponry should they fire at us again... We think we're still out of their maximum range, but they could've been misleading us, ceasing to fire before we'd left it. A back-up in any case, sir."

"Receiving reports..." Delik Gerelo at tactical began, shaking his head tentatively, then disbelievingly, "Of a gaseous substance - potentially toxic going by the initial readings, but I've never seen anything like it before - being released into officers' quarters on deck 2. 17 of those rooms are occupied by our personnel!"

"What, in, Cygnus," Blakus intoned quietly.

[OOC: this is the amnesiac gas released by the Phorx-ku before their attacks or as a defence mechanism, that we know virtually nothing about. I'm going with the idea the Phorx prowling on the Raven aren't in comms with the Phorx which Blakus made telepathic contact with, and thus wouldn't yet cease to attack us.]

[Andae Blakus]

Northern hemisphere, second planet

The control centre of Yibeha II's northern continent was home to the distribution and reception centre of the former colony of Phorx-ku serfs. The building was now the organisational hub, not of the terrestrial world below, but of the celestial world above, controlling Werim orbital traffic and defence systems on behalf of the planetary and system government located on the southern continent.

Chief Controller Hemron would see to it that this system at least, of the four Werim-inhabited stellar systems, would run without a hitch for the remainder of the current kilocycle. His predecessor - Marne Caltek, Sr., father of the famous scientist and member of the intelligentsia Caltek, Jr. (currently missing, officially at least) - had been disposed with, given a generous 'retirement package' including lodgings on the shores of the Pink Sea, Yibeha III, not far from one of the homes of his son.

"See to it that the correction cages are put to good use," he instructed his immediate lieutenant, Flight Controller Varek who'd been in communication with the newcomer vessel, the USS Ravenous, or whatever that strange species deigned to call it.

Varek was petulant, bolting upright in his seat, "I've someone on it now, Hemron." Varek stood and began pacing, smoking his Werim equivalent of a cigar (as brandished also by Caltek, Jr., supposedly missing but actually on the Ravenous), "The electric treatment of the serfs worked, Hemron, and you know it. What good will applying 7.2 terawatts of power, previously applied, devastatingly I must admit, to the Phorx exoskeleton, do to our geothermal energy reserves?"

"Our mission is space-oriented, not land any longer, Varek..." Hemron murmured patiently, but through gritted teeth. "That energy will be applied to the skies, to Admiral Torek's vessel if you must know."

"In how long?" Varek stood by the window and looked up at the red skies, the perfect reflection of the Yibeha II globe seen in the miniscule Yibeha III moon far distant.

Hemron replied, "After 0.1 cycles [25 minutes], discharge duration of 15 mokans, enough to fry every Phorx secretly sequestered on the Ravenous within seconds, ship's energy shields or not. Of course, Torek doesn't even know he has Phorx present; he's in for a shock, figuratively."

Hemron was conflicted regarding what he and his people were doing, as most of them were. He shifted uncomfortably as he surveyed a plasma screen showing a schematic of the system, their red dot - Yibeha II - circling inside the bluish dot of Yibeha III (the location of the newcomers' ship). What the Werim were doing wasn't right, admittedly, but the Phorx-ku had been part of their species' society for generations, stitched into its very fabric and essential to its working. Yes, the Phorxs' lot was sometimes hard, but the rewards were excellent, and a few violent radicals on either side wouldn't or shouldn't be able to prevent that tense symbiosis from continuing in the future.

"0.02 cycles [5 minutes] remaining until energy discharge at the unknown vessel," Varek stated. "Wait, what did you say?" he was asking something of another controller, then his voice was insistent, "Chief Controller Hemron, unidentified object approaching moon of Yibeha III, near the latitude of the ion cannon complex."

<Tag Burwell & T'Seng's shuttle, All>

[Andae Blakus]

In the absence of T'Seng and Burwell - chief purely security/military authorities on the vessel - Blakus found that Torek saw fit to grant newly-arrived Ensign Tanya Janin a field promotion to Junior Lieutenant. She was to lead the effort with security deputy Lieutenant Gerelo's assistance to repulse whatever it was that was engaged in assault of deck 2. Early reports indicated little of anything; the people they'd contacted on that deck had seemed by their speech disoriented, claiming loss of memory (perhaps the gaseous substance was responsible, and Blakus recalled Caltek's informing him of the amnesiac gas used by the Phorx...

Then information began coming in of bodies found in some of the officers' quarters, along with trails of ichor and exoskeletal fragments - chips of the creatures detached when fired upon by hastily prepared security staff - the Feeders were aboard! But how? And why were they attacking when Blakus had just concluded an alliance with them via telepathic interchange (though he possessed no such ability by nature)?!

"Lieutenant Janin, welcome aboard and godspeed, repel the Phorx or try to come to an arrangement. We're supposed to have an agreement with their leadership. If these have been aboard for long, they may not be aware."

<Tag Tanya Janin>

"Admiral, detecting a modified EM discharge emanating from the surface of Yibeha II!" Wedlerson declared, "Velocity..." he studied his display, "Just under 2km per second, sir. Slow... we should be able to evade but if it were to strike us..."

They learnt additionally that the ion cannon on the Yibeha III moon had struck a glancing blow on Lieutenant Commander T'Seng's shuttle, which had been approaching the satellite to deliver a knock-out blow against the ion facility; obviously leakage in their silent-running mode had brought them under the eye of the satellite controllers.

"She'll make it back, sir. But chances of destroying the ion cannon... Wait, no she's fired the torpedoes. Confirmed, sirs, moon's ion cannon destroyed."

A shout of triumph resounded from the staff of the bridge, but the joy was shortlived as helmsman Ensign Fields voiced frustration, "The computer's having problems, sir; a disconnect in the logic server is preventing computation of the necessary angle to evade the beam. Obviously I'd like to move us out of the way..."

Torek and Blakus considered the matter briefly; there was little other choice: he'd held the reserved opinion the gynoid wasn't yet ready, but only her circuitry's computational capability would suffice to extract the Raven.

He stood and tapped his commbadge, nodding to Torek in the centre seat who understood his motivation and speaking sententiously, "Milyanov, execute Order 777."

There was a pause before Milyanov finally answered, "... What, sir?"

Blakus sighed and shook his head impatiently, "The gynoid activation, get on with it!"

"Ah, yes, sir." An instant later there materialised at the helm console, cascading in a cerulean wash, the until now out-of-action Helm Officer Commander Marionette. They enquired whether Marionette was activated and she affirmed she was (the opposite would've been a disaster). "Commander, plot a trajectory away from the beam; you'll have to use your neural net, the computer's temporarily fried," Blakus passed the order on from Torek.

<Tag Marionette>

He hoped the gynoid's renewed mind was up to the task. The repair work on Marionette had been carried out industriously the past few months - to return her to full active status, and up from the partial duties of before - since the Betreka catastrophe, but in her new form with the replicated Borg technology she was still largely untested.

[Carl Torek]

"How could you know that Andae ?" Carl asked, taking his Executive Officer to one side, albeit a little late given everyone on the Bridge had heard the comment.

"I ....." Blakus hesitated, wondering just how much to reveal, "Admiral, I'm asking you to take my word for it. There was, minimal telepathic communication whilst I was unconscious."

"They're a telepathic race then ?" Torek asked, his expression neutral, though knowing his Exec' had seemingly experienced previous unexplained 'episodes' of contact or forewarning.

"They must have some skill in that respect but I can't say for certa ....."

"OK. Contact the shuttle. Inform them that there is no need for subterfuge, they can approach the nearest Phorx vessel with caution. I'm going to assume that whomever contacted you will have told his companions that we want to speak with them and won't simply blow the shuttle to atoms."

"Or board and feed." Blakus said with a barely concealed shudder.

They both stopped speaking, turning in unison to face Delek as he informed them of the gas !

"Get Security and Hazard teams down there immediately. Lieutenant Janin, nothing like the proverbial 'deep end' is there, take the lead, Security Deputy Lieutenant Gerelo will accompany you ... Can we vent the rooms from here ?" Carl asked, not waiting for the momentarily stunned newly promoted Officer to respond.


< Tag : Tanya >


"We can flood the compartments with almost pure oxygen, that should slow the affects of the toxin, Helen Roach said.

"Do it ....."

"Sir, receiving transmission from the shuttle. They have a Phorx-ku vessel on long-range sensors, they appear to be observing proceedings ..........


~~~~~~~~~~


T'Seng reported that the shuttle had been caught a glancing blow from the cannon but it had disabled their cloak. Surprisingly the Yibeha facility had for some unknown reason not fired again immediately, Carl couldn't help but wonder why. Their hesitation alas proved to be their downfall as the invalided shuttle fired photon torpedoes, they slammed into the surface of the moon obliterating all signs of the facility and leaving a substantial crater in it's stead.

"Sir, the shuttle is en-route to our location." Harry informed a much relieved Torek and Blakus. Again their celebrations appeared premature as they were informed that the Raven's computer systems had been compromised, manual rebooting would leave them open to attack from another weapons platform in range. They had little choice:

Andae stood and tapped his commbadge, nodding to Torek in the centre seat who understood his motivation and speaking sententiously,

"Milyanov, execute Order seven seven seven." There was a pause before Milyanov finally answered.

" .... What, Sir ?"

Blakus sighed and shook his head impatiently, "The gynoid activation, get on with it !"

Seconds later the Chief Navigation Officer materialised in the center of the Bridge. Ensign Anna Fields, currently at the Helm got to her feet and stepped aside as a seemingly bemused Gynoid looked in her direction, turning to face the person speaking without otherwise moving.

"Commander, are you now fully operational ?" Blakus asked tentatively.

"I appear to be missing severa ....."

"Good !" the Exec' interrupted, before giving her precise instructions.


< Tag : Marionette >


They could only wait to see how the untested Android performed her task. if they had made a terrible mistake Carl doubted they would live too long to regret it ..........

[Marionette]

"Milyanov, execute Order seven seven seven." There was a pause before Milyanov finally answered.

" .... What, Sir ?"

Blakus sighed and shook his head impatiently, "The gynoid activation, get on with it !"

Marionette found herself beamed onto the bridge. She had an almost-smile on her face as something parallel to 'Nostalgia' ran through her pathways. It had been, to her, a very long time, and she looked over at the conn console. The ensign, recognising that she was about to be relieved of conn, politely stepped out of the station.

"Commander, are you now fully operational ?" Blakus asked tentatively. Marionette ran an index of her functioning systems. "I appear to be missing several -"

"Good !" the Exec' interrupted. "Commander, plot a trajectory away from the beam; you'll have to use your neural net, the computer's temporarily fried."

Sitting down at Conn, Marionette opened a flap in the side of the console, and spoke as she precisely reconfigured the console's isolinear chips using only her sense of touch. "I shall have to interface with the systems directly, since the computer is not presently operational." The new isolinear configuration allowed her to root-interface with the ships computers, but, from only from the Conn station.

Closing the flap, Marionette placed her hands on the console, and the Conn's LCARS display flickered some, before it changed slightly to have afew borg-like display symbols, but cast in blues and greens, with a touch or two of red here and there.

In the cyberspace tron-scape of the ships computers, cyber-Marionette found herself in a darkened environment of a disheveled library. "Fascinating." she said, with just a touch of nearly-annoyed. Going over to a downed 'bookshelf', she heaved it upright again, and started picking up and looking at the books, putting some on the shelf, and discarding others for the technicians to sort out later. Heaving another bookshelf upright, she repeated the sorting of some books onto the shelf, and then a third bookshelf and its choice books.

Marionette then began re-sorting the books between the three shelves, creating new information from what was already there.

Outside of the cyber-scape, the ship began to move, seemingly of its own accord. The Raven accelerated into an S-curve, around the EM discharge as it closely approached, skimming the Raven's outer shields and then passed, on its way out of the solar system to dissipate into stray particles.

One problem down, two to go, as the phrase went.

[Carl Torek]

Carl watched the screen as the Gynoid began making rapid changes to the massive Sovereign Class' orientation ... Despite the artificial gravity and the inertial dampers he felt himself being pushed deeper and deeper into his seat.

"Eighty percent increase in gravity." Harry Wedlerson informed the Bridge somewhat needlessly.

The USS Raven shuddered as the shields were 'brushed' by the beam, a beam that would destroy the enormous vessel if it landed squarely against shield or indeed the hull itself ...... The stars spun dizzily as the ship corkscrewed away from the onslaught, until finally righting herself almost three quarters of a million kilometers distant. As he began to relax his hold on the armrests the ship again began some almost impossible manoeuvres, dipping below Zee and again seemingly rotating on her lateral axis. He hoped no-one aboard had been caught unawares, the injuries from impacting anything from a bulkhead to a table to another crew-member didn't bare thinking about.

After what seemed an age, but was in fact less than ninety seconds, the ship once again aligned herself with the help of the Gynoid navigator. Carl tentatively sat upright, grateful that the stars were now were they should be on the screen, steady, stable, and most importantly, stationary !

"We are receiving injury reports from throughout the ship. Nothing serious thankfully." Calli confirmed.

"Sir .... I'm picking up a vessel, one hundred thousand kilometers off our Port quarter ..... It's a Phorx-ku ship." Wedlerson informed Torek.

"Lieutenant Janin .... Scan that ship, nothing to alarm them just make sure they are not sitting on some kind of bloody doomsday device." Carl ordered his Tactical Officer, "Comms, anything at all from that ship ?"

"No Sir, wait, I'm getting 'something' .... I think it's a ...."

"On speaker." Carl said quickly.

=^= کشتی ناشناخته از مقدار زیادی. خودتان را به ما معرفی کنید تا بتوانیم صحبت کنیم =^=

"Well ?" Carl asked.

"One moment Admiral, the universal translator is having a little troub ... Got it !" the Comms Officer said, playing the translation over the Comm:

=^= Unknown vessel of large quantity .. Identify yourself to us so we may converse .. .. .. .. =^=

"Send them the universal greeting, lets see if they are simply curious or genuinely want a chat."

"They have acknowledged our transmission and seem to be, waiting .... Audio only on their end." the Comms Officer said with a shrug. Carl nodded and stood, facing the view-screen:

=^= I am Admiral Carl Torek of the Federation Starship USS Raven-C .. .. To whom am I speaking ? =^=

=^= You have made an enemy of our enemy .. This is sufficient =^=

=^= Sufficient ? =^=

=^= Converse is agreed at our time =^=

"Chatty types earn't they, when they're not dining." Calli muttered.

"Commander Marionette, are we secure from any further attacks ?"

"I believe so Admiral, but I will remain and act accordingly should the situation require." the Gynoid replied somewhat cryptically. Carl glanced at Blakus then Wedlerson, a moot action given neither were in any position to countermand any action Marionette should deem 'necessary' ...

"Move us towards the Phorx-Ku vessel, one quarter impulse. Bring us to station-keeping at one thousand meters. Have Security at Docking Port Six Port dorsal."

The Raven began a slow turn before beginning to slowly close the distance between the Phorx vessel and themselves. At one thousand meters the Raven came to a complete stop relative to the other ship, then waited. He wondered if they should risk moving closer, though that could be seen as an aggressive move on their part, one which would undoubtedly sever any further communication between them, so he sat back and waited ...

"Sir, Colonel Burwell on Comms." Carl nodded.

=^= Progress Colonel ? =^=

=^= Sir they have gone .. All shooting stopped two minutes ago .. We hesitated moving forward fearing a trap .. I appears that whoever was fighting have either left the ship or gone into hiding .. Our sensors still can't detect the intruders so it's anyone's guess =^=

=^= Let's try keeping the guesswork to a minimum Colonel .. Their sudden cessation of hostilities may well be due to the fact we are currently in 'discussion' with the Phorx-ku .. .. Have your men sweep the area and then stand by .. I'm still not convinced we have suddenly made ourselves friends of the local cannibals =^=

He looked at the view-screen, the Phorx-ku vessel had remained motionless.

"I assume asking them to dine with us is out of the question ?" Calli mused, a wry grin on her face despite the look from her Commanding Officer ..........

[Carl Torek]

"OK, well, what next ?" Calli asked. All Carl could do was shrug, for all he knew it was going to break countless of their rules if they made any further contact, but then, it may be seen as some sort of insult if they remain silent.

'I hate these 'first contact' issues, I am not a a Diplomat, Starfleet had those in abundance, alas, apart from the few on the Starbase the rest were roughly sixteen thousand light years away, a tad too far to be of help !' he thought with a hint of sarcasm.

"Helm, bring us about, slowly, then head for the Phorx vessel, one quarter impulse." he ordered, "It will give them plenty of time to make their minds up on if they are going to be friendly, or not. besides, given what we know of their 'history' I am inclined to take my time getting too friendly." he said, more to himself than those around him on the Bridge.

"Yes, much better to be able to choose from the menu than find your the main course." harry said, earning nervous laughs from the Bridge Staff.

The Raven turned on her axis, very slowly, not wanting to appear aggressive in any way. Once it was in line with the Phorx vessel Marionette began to approach ...... The Phorx ship was tiny in comparison, in fact it would likely fit in the main cargo bay at a squeeze, that made it none the less dangerous. These 'people' had docked with and boarded the Raven undetected, that was something Torek could not allow to happen and had asked his Security Officer to post personnel at ALL access points throughout the massive ship.

"Helm, thrusters only, bring us to a complete stop relative to the Phorx vessel at five hundred meters."

"Do you think they have transporter technology ?" Lysia T'Seng asked, entering the Bridge having returned from the shuttle outing.

"Hard to believe they need it given the ease at which they got on board." Wedlerson commented.

"They will have, they had to get their own, people ?, off here and they didn't dock to do it." Commander Valente suggested.

"Agreed." Carl said as the Raven came to a complete stop, dwarfing the other ship.

"Sir, I'm picking up a Werim vessel, extreme range but closing." T'Seng informed Torek from Science Station one.

"Weapons ?" Blakus asked.

"Unable to tell at this range Sir."

"Keep an eye on them." Andae instructed, "Sooo, do we wait or open a Comm ourselves ?"

"Well we can't sit here for the duration, Comms, contact the Phorx-ku vessel ...." the communications Officer said the Comm was open, still audio only from their end. Carl shrugged, they knew what the Phorx-ku looked like, maybe they were a little shy at allowing others to see them. 'After all, much better to turn up as unknowns when looking for your next, meal' he thought.

=^= Raven to Phorx-ku vessel .. .. .. =^=

=^= How many aboard your vessel of large quantity ? =^= was the only reply.

=^= Am I speaking with the Commanding Officer of your ship ? =^= Carl asked.

=^= I am dominant among us .. We see a vessel approaching .. We cannot allow this proximity =^= Carl ran his finger across his throat to signify muting the audio then turned to Andae:

"Contact that Werim vessel, tell them not to approach, if they do we will open fire without further warning." Blakus moved over to the Comms Station while Carl nodded to have the audio restored:

=^= They are being warned to stay away .. I would like to invite you and your .. .. Senior crew to come aboard the Raven .. We can continue our conversation easier face to face .. So to speak =^= he instantly regretted the last comment but hoped the Phorx-ku would take no offence from the possible slur.

"Sir ! ... Three more vessels approaching at high warp." Lysia said as Tanya Janin entered the Bridge.

"Werim ?" Carl asked, keeping his expression as neutral as possible given the Phorx could see him even if it wasn't reciprocated.

"No ..... Phorx-ku, they will pass us in ....." Carl watched as the three ships dropped from warp directly between the Raven and the Werim vessel, "They are activating their weapons systems .... The Werim ship is turning, they are moving to flank it."

"Tactical view." blakus ordered. the massive view-screen changed to show a tactical view of the surrounding space, six vessels were pin-pointed, the Raven signified by a large gold arrowhead, close was the stationary red icon of the Phorx vessel, while moving away was another icon, blue, followed closely by three others allotted red by the ships computer. It was clear the Phorx knew about gaining a tactical advantage as the flanked the Werim vessel quickly. The lead Phorx ship ran ahead before turning into the path of their prey, the Werim had no option but to open fire ... Their fight was short-lived.

There was a brief flash on the tactical display as the blue icon vanished from existence. The three red icons split and departed the area.



=^= We shall visit your ship of large quantity =^= the Commander of the Phorx vessel suddenly said, as if the fight was on no consequence ..........

[Andae Blakus]

Blakus nodded and selected the Werim ship's transceiver frequency, tapping transmit he spoke, =/\=Werim craft, turn back immediately or you will be fired upon.=/\=

The reply was slow in coming, scratchy and filled with static when it did, =/\=Can you be serious, USS Ravenous? There is a serf vessel only now detaching itself from your aft docking port! What monsters have they left amongst you...?=/\=

Blakus winced, =/\=We are aware of it,=/\= he half-lied (the first Feeders had docked via the aft port after all! he realised, Their quick departure before Burwell's teams made possible by their still-docked craft). =/\=Suffice to say we no longer consider you a potential ally against the Phorx-ku species, Werim commander,=/\= Andae said.

=/\=And yet you see three more of their ships approaching this volume, turning to obliterate us, stranger. We will not go down without a fight...=/\=

The comm trailed off as Andae eventually cut the channel, turning in his seat and requesting, "Tactical view", indeed, the Werim were embattled by three new arrivals; the invisible, otherwise red, icon for the Phorx craft departing aft docking port was still eclipsed by its proximity to the Raven's gold sign. The Werim's 'serfs' were exacting revenge, in a manner of speaking, and would continue to do so; while he didn't condone the Phorx's treatment of their former oppressors in their meetings so far, he equally couldn't endorse the enslavement to serfdom of one species by another. Which side the Federation ultimately chose - if either - would depend on the results of the following negotations. He only hoped his telepathic contact with the servile species - that squat biomechanical weapons platform (ah, the Phorx weren't exempt either!) - in the Feeders' service would prove the start of a fruitful relationship with the Phorx, where the Raven might highlight tactfully to the Feeders their use of enslaved species and their atrocities against Werim crews, while searching for the right way forward for both of them.


Ten minutes later, dorsal port six...

The Phorx craft had lowered itself towards the dorsal surface of the Sovereign, rotating about and engaging its nose with the docking clamps and surfaces, while those in the Raven had frozen in semi-apprehension as they'd felt the shudder of the chassis as the Phorx craft made its dock.

Security stood a respectful distance back from the inner airlock door, arrayed either side, while Blakus along with a selection of other senior staff stood front and centre. The hatch began retracting to the left and right, and the first Phorx, lumbering, its jackal head pearly black and regarding them inquisitively, made its way onto the decking of the Raven.

The universal translator worked rapidly. "We are satisfied to make your acquaintance in absence of blood and vengeance."

"New starts, new beginnings, trust and honour - values of yours," the second Feeder to enter spoke - soon the narrow passage was filled with the bulky carapaces of a half dozen Phorx, the primary Feeder's staff, presumably, or were specalised killers in their mix?

Blakus felt the return of the old tremble in his left hand as Torek nodded appreciatively, "Welcome to the USS Raven. As you know I'm Admiral Torek," he gestured about him, "my senior staff, Commander Blakus, first officer, Commander Marionette, Chief Navigator, Lieutenant Janin, Chief Tactical and Security, and Commander Valente, Mission Advisor."

The scratchy barely audible vocalisations of the Phorx continued, "You have learnt of former servitude. You will now assist us in overlords' extermination."

Andae's blood ran cold, "No," he said, the word escaping his throat forcefully before he'd a chance to stop it. Torek turned to him askance; of course his negative was justified, but now was the tenuous time of stepping carefully about each other's potential misgivings, not of bold statements.

The lead Phorx echoed, "No. Then agreement is no longer sufficient," it turned to go but paused, seemingly encouraged by its second in command. "We will accept, limited... cooperation in sphere of planetary bombardment, once we each are in position to do so. Other possibilities... open for negotiation," it seemed hesitant. Torek nodded, attempting to continue rescue of the situation and indicating the Phorx may wish to continue the matter in one of their conference rooms.

Their bulky forms crowded out the room; seats not sufficient to hold them, they somewhat embarrassingly from the point of view of the Raven officers had to crouch on the floor round the table. Andae and Carl turned to Calli who nodded and spoke to the Phorx ship commander, "We may point to our elimination of the ion cannon complex on the Yibeha III moon. It is no longer a threat to you. Perhaps in return we may request a concession... that there will be no unprovoked attacks on Werim civilian craft or other vessels showing no outward hostility, for a period of time as yet to be decided, and depending on the general progress of our efforts against your former oppressors."

The Phorx were silent, yet they surely knew that assaulting Werim civilians would jeopardise efforts to achieve realistic aims - peace and restitution, not extermination. Murdering crews of Werim freighters and tourist craft would alienate sympathetic non-governmental Werim and negate any support they may receive.

=/\=Admiral Torek, this is the bridge, we're being contacted by the surface of Yibeha II. A Werim named Hemron wishes to speak with us. He wishes to apologise for his people's attack on us but is demanding we depart immediately.=/\=

[Carl Torek]

"And you are ?" Carl asked after introducing his Senior Staff.

"We do not use designation as you understand them, but for clarity I am 'leader' while this is 'second' the others do our bidding."

"So how do you know who you are talking to ?" Tanya Janin asked. The leader leaned forward very slowly as not to cause alarm, he appeared to be taking in Janin's scent. he then did the same with Calli.

"Different." was all he commented as he regained his earlier bearing. before anyone else could comment the Comm chirped to life:

=^= Admiral Torek .. This is the bridge .. We are being contacted by the surface of Yibeha II .. .. A Werim named Hemron wishes to speak with us .. He wishes to apologise for his people's attack on us but is demanding we depart immediately =^=

"YOU COMMUNICATE STILL !" the leader of the Phorx said, the talons on either hand extending dangerously.

"We were in contact with the race we know as the Werim prior to our meeting, yes." Torek said, eyes locked on the lead Phorx, "We had no knowledge of the situation between your races and our only point of reference for you were the attacks you carried out ... As you are aware, the Werim attack on our vessel was completely unprovoked and as such I made the decision to retaliate. Please do not mistake our actions as our mutual desire to extract revenge for past crim ... Past events, of which we clearly had no part in."

"You refuse assistance ?" the leader asked, head moving fractionally toward Torek, who held both his ground and eye contact. Two of the Security Officers had begun to raise their phasers but stemmed the movement as Blakus held up a hand a fraction of an inch.

The leader repeated it's comment from a moment ago:

"We will accept, limited ... Cooperation in sphere of planetary bombardment, once we each are in position to do so. Other possibilities ... Open for negotiation ......

"They are not going to take no for an answer Admiral." Calli said quietly, one of the Phorx closest to their leader turning his head to regard her. It stepped forward, moving slightly to one side as it eyed Valente as if pondering a market purchase, though more than likely it was wondering how this one from the large vessel would taste. The leader said something the universal translator didn't catch and the second returned to his position.

Carl tapped his commbadge:

=^= Bridge .. Torek .. Sever communication with the Werim =^=

=^= Yes Sir =^=

Carl returned his attention to the leader.

"We would like to know more about your race. Would you be open to an exchange of inform ......"

"You will assist. Then we shall. Speak at length. It was clear they were at an impasse, Carl had zero intention in helping the Phorx decimate the Werim, but at the same time he felt, rightly he thought, justified in standing back while they carried out their attack. Alas, Federation doctrine wouldn't allow such action without exploring every possible avenue to prevent such actions. Had they been in or close to Federation space it might have been possible to call a cease fire while Diplomats were brought in, alas they didn't have such luxury.

He was brought out of his reverie by two of Janin's Security Officers who had moved to intercept two of the Phorx.

"We shall visit opening." the leader said as if this was something prearranged.

"Opening ?" Blakus said, his turn to repeat a comment.

"The other openings, spaces, dens .... You understand ?" the leader asked.

"He means the ship, he intends to set his, colleagues off around the ship." Marionette offered.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow that. A tour of the ship can be arranged but it is impossible for you or your, people, to roam unsupervised." Carl said. The second Phorx, silent up to now, spoke:

"You are, different. Dog and [word deleted], you work beside, no subservience. This is unknown in our community."

"You refer to Male and Female ... Gender ...." Carl asked, after a second the leader nodded, "We do not believe in one gender being superior or inferior to the other. In our Civilisation we are equal and serve alongside each other." There was a flurry of rapid verbal exchange by the Phorx, so quickly that they thought it was some form of howl rather than conversation. Finally the leader raised a talon, halting all sound instantly.

This concept is unknown to us. Our 'Females' produce our young, feed, reproduce, only the strongest are reared to become of use on our vessels."

"..... And the others ?" Calli asked, a shiver running down her spine as the second again trained his attention on her.

"They are of no use and are, culled ?, in order to sustain the stronger."

"Nice." Calli said under her breath, her disgust obvious.

"Regarding my proposition, a non-aggression agreement ?" Torek asked.

"We are serving no purpose here." the second commented, clearly annoyed.

"Young." the leader said, as if that explained everything, he appeared to sniff the air, the second doing likewise before some unspoken communication seemed to pass between them, "Young ... You too have young among you." Carl looked at Calli then Tanya then adopting what he hoped was a maternal smile, turned to the leader.

"yes, we too have young." the leader barred his canines, the gesture lost on the Raven Officers, but Carl had the feeling he somehow knew there were children aboard the Raven.

"We shall leave. Return in, one, of your timescales."

"Which one ?" Calli asked wryly. The leader turned to the Phorx at the rear of the group.

"One of your hours." he said, bowing his head quickly as the leader snarled.

"One 'hour' ... At which time we shall attack our oppressors .... without a word he turned, the other Phorx stepping aside to allow his passage, the others falling in behind, presumably in order of superiority or rank within the 'pride' ... The Raven Officers had little option but to watch them go ..........

[Andae Blakus]

During the interval in which the two vessels were separated, Blakus arrived back on the bridge after having checked by engineering. The temperature and pressure readings on the warp core were still a cause for concern, this anomaly not having proved easy to explain since it'd first occurred upon entering what they were tentatively beginning to call Werim space. Milyanov promised to have the situation resolved before it became necessary to again jump to warp factor 7 or above.

He made for the ready room; Torek answered the chime and he entered, "Admiral, if I may bring a matter to your attention..."

"Yes, sit down, Andae."

Blakus obliged, "Sir, it's about the Phorx." Of course, what else could it be given their impending rendezvous with the Feeders in approximately twenty minutes time? "I have reason to believe - after the involuntarily telepathic contact - that the Phorx are holding in slavery a biomechanical species, in a way not dissimilar to how the Phorx themselves have been held as vassals to the Werim."

Torek put down his PADD and looked up, interest piqued. "The Phorx-ku showed you this willingly, during the contact?"

"I don't think the Phorx have that capacity. The telepathic communication I think was initiated by a member of the enslaved species. In a sense I inhabited its body for a short time. It was trying to show to me its condition, the condition of its species in its servitude. But the needs of the moment - the pact with the Phorx-ku - dragged me away to find the nearest Phorx, and as the Phorx recognised my mind's presence in its underling, in that moment our pact was agreed upon."

It was clear to him Torek knew where this line of thought was leading. "Then you're suggesting, Andae, that in our support of the Phorx we're unwittingly condoning their own enslavement of a species while simultaneously approving, by our pact, the Phorx's war effort against their own oppressors in the Werim. And that as such we are being inconsistent."

In a word, yes, Blakus thought, uneasy that Carl had seen right through his moral stance and painfully aware that such things had to be relegated to second place due to the needs of the moment.

Andae respectfully gave way, "Now is the time for pragmatism, Admiral." There was little they could do when they were potentially surrounded by Phorx ships lying just outside sensor range who at the slightest hint of the Raven reneging on the agreement could proceed to wipe out as many Werim as possible and potentially launch a renewed attack on the Sovereign class herself.

"That's all, sir," he said, standing, "I'll make ready for the rendezvous with the Phorx ship." Carl nodded and Blakus exited onto the bridge, exhaling with a mixture of relief and discontent. He gradually realised what he'd meant to add: he couldn't approve via the pact the potential destruction of the Werim people at the hands of the Phorx, which would make him as a member of the Raven crew an accessory to genocide.

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that; he recognised the difficult position they were all in, not just himself with his personal moral dilemma. The frustration perpetuated by that compass continued to haunt him.


The chronometer ticked around to 5 minutes 'til their joining back up with the Phorx craft. Blakus checked with the bridge staff the status of ship's systems and Torek returned from the ready room; as he crossed the threshold, they received a comm. It was Flight Controller Hemron of the Werim, but transmitting not from Yibeha II or III, but from a Phorx vessel that'd dropped out of warp 0.2 lightyears off their starboard side. They quickly learned the shocking news - Hemron had defected to the Phorx! How could the Feeders allow such a thing? Were they indebted to him, might he hold secrets to be used against his own people?

"Marionette, position us equidistantly between the new arrival and the expected place our rendezvous target will drop out of warp. Janin, as a precaution prepare to raise shields but give no sign we've done this." Soon the Phorx craft with which they'd made the non-aggresion pact also entered the sub-luminal and began hailing.

<Tag All>

[Carl Torek]

Carl too had been struggling with the moral dilemma facing their possible actions in the coming hours, but t do nothing would, in his mind, condone the actions of the Phorx'ku ....

The comm chirped to life, dragging him from his thoughts:

=^= Sir .. You need to see this =^= Blakus said with no further comment. Carl stood and exited his ready room onto the Bridge.

"When did that turn up ?" he asked, referring to the newly arrived vessel.

"A moment ago, but that's not all ... Hemron is aboard that ship."

"Bloody hell, what next !" Carl said under his breath before turning back to his Exec', "What's he doing over there ?"

"Apparently he's defected, for want of a better explanation. he contacted us to inform us of his new status but refuses to speak further at present."

"Do the Werim know he's gone ?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Andae said with a shrug as Calli approached them.

"Thirty seconds." she said.

=^= Your decision ? =^= the Phorx-ku asked without preamble.

=^= There has been a development that I fee .. .. .. =^=

=^= We will stand for no delay ! =^= the comm snapped off decisively as Tanya Janin informed them that the Phorx vessel was moving closer.

"Shields." Torek ordered, dropping into the center seat as Blakus moved toward the massive view-screen, "Target both Phorx vessels with quantum torpedoes and stand by ... Comms, open a channel to the second ship, I want to speak with mister Hemron." a moment later the screen split, showing Hemron on the right and a view of the approaching Phorx vessel on the left.

=^= If you have 'ANY' sway over what the Phorx are doing I suggest you instruct the approaching vessel to hold position =^=

=^= Alas .. .. My influence only holds in regards to my technical knowledge of the Werim Admiral =^= Hemron replied, seemingly enjoying his new status.

=^= Then I'll destroy both vessels and speak to the respective next in command =^= Torek said turning to Tanya.

=^= WAIT ! =^= Hemron said, turning away from the screen to speak urgently. A long moment passed as the first vessel got ever closer, then Hemron turned back to the screen:

=^= They have agreed a further hold .. But not long Admiral .. .. .. =^=

"The Phorx vessel is holding station Sir." Wedlerson informed Carl, "Sir, two Werim ships are entering sensor range, they are heading for the Phorx vessels."

"Lieutenant, contact all four vessels in range, instruct them to take all weapons off-line and hold position or we 'will' open fire."

"Done." Tanya confirmed a moment later.

"Do you think we could get them to sit down ?" Calli asked, the sarcasm obvious.

"On each others' ashes maybe." Blakus replied. Carl realised that he would need to keep the information Andae had supplied completely out of the conversation, at least until it could be verified.

"Well we have to try .... The alternate is all-out war with us upsetting both sides." Carl said, sighing deeply, "Open a channel ....."

=^= Phorx and Werim vessels .. I am Admiral Carl Torek of the United federation of Planets .. .. .. It is clear that hostilities between your two races has escalated to the point were all-out war is inevitable .. .. I would therefore respectfully suggest that representatives of both planets meet on the Raven to begin talks which could help ease the current tension between you both .. I am not suggesting nor offering a solution to conflict but merely a cease-fire while possible compromises are discussed .. Would each of you be willing to dispatch a representative ? =^=

=^= You suggest truce Federation .. .. This is unacceptable =^= the Phorx Commander answered.

"Sir ...." Tanya said, quietly attracting the Exec's attention. Andae moved casually over to Tactical, "I'm picking up thirty four vessels on the edge of our long-range sensors. Approximately two thirds appear to be Phorx in design while the remainder are likely Werim vessels." Blakus waited until Carl looked in his direction then held up three then four fingers, Torek nodded his understanding.

=^= We can see both of you are bringing vessels into the System .. This can only lead to conflict and a useless loss of many lives on both sides =^= he said to the images of the Phorx and Werim on screen.

=^= And what do you gain Admiral ? .. .. =^= Hemron suddenly asked.

=^= Our .. Situation .. Is not relevant at this point in time .. We are only hoping to prevent any fighting if alternates can be reached =^= He was about to continue when the comm channels to both the Phorx and Werim were suddenly severed. He looked at the Communications Officer who informed him that the link had been cut from their end without outside influence.

"Maybe they're talking it over." Calli said. Carl mulled over their position then hopefully as a show of faith he had weapons stood down but ready if they were suddenly required. Three hours later they were still sat waiting when the Comms Officer informed him that Hemron wished to speak with him.

=^= Admiral .. While my standing with my own people is .. As you may classify as on-existent .. They and the Phorx-ku have nevertheless agreed upon a meeting at what both consider a neutral venue of little or no significant advantage to both .. We will therefore meet upon your space station in one week from today .. One vessel from both species will trav .. .. .. =^=

=^= Space station .. .. I .. .. =^=

=^= Oh come now Admiral .. You yourself enlightened us as to the circumstances of your arrival in our sector of space .. so our meeting on this base of yours is bot .. .. .. =^=

=^= No .. It is neither practical .. Or possible at this poi =^= Torek interrupted, but Hemron was insistent:

=^= You would not want to make an enemy of either of our races Admiral .. By using your station as a neutral venue your federation shows faith and willingness to assist in a compromise suitable to both factions .. .. .. The alternate alas .. Is that you depart this System and guarantee never to venture into this region again .. you will of course be open to attack from the Phorx-ku should you renege on this stipulation .. What is it to be Admiral ? =^=

Carl sat in silence for a long moment, knowing that his Exec' and mission Advisor were both watching him closely.

=^= I cannot make this decision alone .. I will need to speak with the Section Admiral =^=

=^= We are not unreasonable Admiral .. You have twenty four hours .. We will of course extend our arrival time accordingly =^= again the comm snapped off without preamble. Carl stood, "Gentlemen ... Conference room. lieutenant, you have the Con." he said to Tanya's assistant Tactical Officer who took her station as she stepped away.





[Tag : All senior Officers]

[Gheskori]

It was understood that the Raven senior staff had already been discussing the matter around their conference table before Ghes had called, and had perhaps part way come to a decision. They looked expectantly upon him from the screen in his office, not yet realising or being fully aware that this comm was only possible because of the intermediary position taken up by the Maracanda.

He was left uncertain, where to take this one? The base had just been cleared of the potentially deadly quantum spheres, and they couldn't be entirely sure, despite their best efforts, that there wasn't one sphere remaining in some shadowy, forgotten compartment of SB47. To invite two still largely unknown species strongly at enmity with one another onto the Starbase in the aftermath of their operation seemed ill-advised, at least for the moment.

He related his concerns to the Raven senior staff, adding, "We've informed your Communications Officer that we're routing this comm through the USS Maracanda's transceiver."

"The Maracanda, she's operational?" the Raven's XO Commander Blakus nodded approvingly, "But why is she needed, Section Admiral?" Torek nodded and looked towards Ghes.

The Denobulan took a breath, "One of the dissidents' quantum spheres - a large one - exploded at the ventral tip of the Starbase; it'd gone undetected, the Enzio and Maracanda hadn't reached it during their sweep when it detonated."

There was a gasp from those present, including from the Raven engineer present, not known to Ghes but whose name was Milyanov, whom Ghes understood then knew the implication, "The entire ventral complex of comm arrays was obliterated, including the primary transceiver; we can neither send nor receive subspace comms outside a range of 3 parsecs. Other than that, lightspeed comms only. We're using the Maracanda as a comms relay at present; it's slightly damaged from dissident attack but repairs are well under way.

"So we're sending the Maracanda out to you," Ghes continued with an inwardly reflective sigh, "If you would, bring the Raven closer to the Starbase, perhaps to the 3 parsec range. If the Werim and Phorx-ku, their representatives, can be persuaded to hold negotiations - if talks they can be talked into holding at all - on two Federation starships instead of a Starbase we here would be grateful."

He thought ahead to his holodeck sojourn with his crew more and more, but this matter had to be seen to.

[Andae Blakus]

Blakus nodded, watching the Section Admiral on the screen, before turning to his CO and the other senior staff, "I might suggest we place the Werim and Phorx delegations separately on the two ships, in addition to on their own ships they may bring." The others nodded. Andae spoke again, "And that the Raven hosts the Phorx while the Maracanda hosts the Werim."

"Reasons?" Gheskori and Torek chimed.

"We still have the Werim researcher and 'tourist' Caltek aboard, wanted by the Werim government. We can't know what they're planning to do with him once they return him to their planet... In humanitarian interest, we should keep him as far away from any Werim delegation as possible."

"And have the Phorx aboard again?" Valente said.

"We have our alliance, or truce, or tentative agreement..." Andae downgraded under the mission advisor's glare, "Or our occasional lack of antagonism with them. Better relations than with the Werim at least. We also have Hemron we can work through, if he'll come aboard." He turned to the CNO, "Marionette, based upon what we've learnt of the Werim and the Phorx-ku so far, calculate please these probabilities... That one or both parties will seek to destabilise the negotiations, that they'll intentionally cause their near-immediate failure, that they'll not begin the talks to start with."

<Tag Marionette>

"Well, let us hope Commander Manley's team is able to handle the Werim. These people enslaved the Phorx; they show themselves of a particular type; they're not going to be agreeable negotiators, even if we're only arbitrating."

The Section Admiral let it be known a team of diplomats were boarding a shuttle for transport to the Maracanda at this very moment; he closed the relayed subspace comm. Blakus turned to Torek, "Recommend we set course for the rendezvous coordinates with the Maracanda, sir."

Valente spoke, "Commander, in case you'd failed to notice, we've still got two Phorx craft out there awaiting our decision, and 34 ships on the edge of the system ready to fight it out... We can't just set sail and expect them all to follow like a shoal of fish!"

<Tag Torek, All>

[Carl Torek]

Conference Room
USS Raven-C ::

=^= A Diplomatic team are boarding a shuttle to meet up with the Maracanda as we speak .. Good luck Admiral .. I have the feeling you're going to need it =^= the Section Admiral smiled wryly before closing the comm ....

Carl looked around the room, unsurprisingly, no-one seemed eager to comment. He stood, resisting the urge to stretch his aching back muscles, making yet another mental note to visit the Doctor to get something for it.

"Recommend we set course for the rendezvous coordinates with the Maracanda, Sir." Andae said by way of breaking the un-natural silence.

"Commander, in case you'd failed to notice, we've still got two Phorx craft out there awaiting our decision, and thirty four ships on the edge of the system ready to fight it out ...... We can't just set sail and expect them all to follow like a shoal of fish !"

"No, we can't." Carl said, "Harry, inform the Phorx-ku and the Werim I wish to speak with them." Wedlerson nodded and a moment later the respective Commanders of both vessels were on the screen ...

=^= Regarding our negotiation venue .. .. My superior has deemed it unwise to invite both races to our Starbase given the open hostilities between you both .. .. =^= he held up a hand to silence the objections from both sides and waited patiently until they had fallen silent, then he continued:

=^= One vessel from either race will be asked to participate in negotiations for a long-term settlement of hostilities .. In the mean time the current cease fire will hold on both sides .. .. You will be sent co-ordinates where another vessel .. The USS Maracanda will be waiting .. Raven will rendezvous with the Maracanda prior to your arrival whereupon delegates from both sides will transport aboard our ships .. This is not open for discussion at this time =^=

=^= You seem to have forgotten that we far outnumber you .. Admiral ! =^= the Phorx Commander commented.

=^= I assure you .. 'Both' of you .. That what we lack in numbers we more than make up for in firepower .. So please .. If you feel attacking this vessel will be advantageous to you then do so .. .. Otherwise you will both order all other vessels excluding the ones designated for the meeting to remain a minimum of one light year distant .. Any incursion will of course sever all talks with immediate effect .. .. Raven .. Out ! =^=

Harry closed the comm before either other party could comment.

"Lieutenant Janin. Send the co-ordinates the Maracanda will be positioned. Inform them they must not attempt to arrive earlier than the prearranged time, don't let them argue. let's get back to the Bridge .....

"Sir, both the Phorx and Werim have threatened to renege on the arrangements. I cut them both off." Tanya said with an air of satisfaction.

"Good ... Helm, set course for the rendezvous, warp four."

"Sir, at transwarp three we could be there in thirteen hours." Marionette informed him.

"Warp four Commander." Carl reiterated, "We'll still get there almost two days before our, guests." .....

Rendezvous Point
Three point one parsecs from Starbase
One thousand meters from USS Maracanda ::

=^= Commander Manley .. Good to see the Maracanda finally let off the proverbial leash =^= Carl said as the image of Grant Manley appeared on the view-screen.

=^= Well we were only supposed to be out here as a mobile relay .. Admiral Gheskori briefed me on what's expected of us .. A little excitement might do us all the world of good =^=

=^= Commander Blakus .. Commander Valente and myself will transport over shortly .. We'll talk then =^=

=^= Understood Admiral .. Maracanda out =^=

"How're our prospective 'guests' doing ?" he asked his Chief Tactical Officer.

"On route Admiral, both ships are matching each other while keeping a healthy distance ... They should arrive on station at fourteen thirty tomorrow, providing they don't blow each other up first of course."

"Hmm, finger crossed I suppose." Calli commented.

"OK, Harry, come with us to the transporter room." .... Once there Carl gave the Operations Officer final instructions before the group stepped onto the transporter, "The ships yours Harry, keep me updated."

"Aye Sir." Wedlerson said, turning to the Transporter Chief, "Energise."

Seconds later the Raven Officers materialised on the Intrepid Class USS Maracanda ..........

[Andae Blakus]

Blakus stepped down from the Maracanda's transporter pad with the others, looking round to see if any of the damage Gheskori had spoken of was visible in the room. Hopefully its absence here didn't mean engines or the like were involved, he'd have difficulty calling such damage minor regardless of initial severity.

The Maracanda's first officer Scober was on hand to greet them, "Fleet Admiral Torek, welcome to the ship," the man smiled, shaking Torek's hand, "May we give you a tour of the vessel or would you prefer to see the diplomatic arrangements first of all? We've prepared our main conference room, intended for senior staff briefings."

Seeing as the Werim and Phorx craft were still far distant, they tentatively underwent the tour. It was only when they came to the engineering section that Blakus woke up and ceased to trail behind, he broke away slightly as he spotted someone.

Finding his way onto the top level of engineering, he surveyed the displays, descending towards the lower deck of engineering he nodded to those about him and glanced cursorily at the consoles - indeed, the ship had taken engine damage during its Starbase operations, the port nacelle physically so, the starboard its apparently new warp coils - the old coils fused chimeric scrap - still of course largely untested under field conditions.

A hand on his shoulder; he turned, unsurprised, "Old friend," he smiled and shook the man's hand.

"No sneaking up on you, Lieutenant Blakus!" Lieutenant Commander (formerly Ensign) Bligh laughed as he slapped Andae on the back, referring by his address to their early USS Victory days.

"I saw you from a way off, also saw the state of the engines... I'm surprised Command agreed to your deployment."

"We're stretched thin on the ground back there, the El Alamein and Oxford are to be left for base defence once the Enzio begins its next exploration. Repairs are well underway - through double shifts."

"I heard a rumour you were aboard, so you've left SCE behind," Andae said.

Bligh nodded as they walked, circling the warp core to find their way back to the touring party who were just now exiting after a brief survey of the room. "With Chief Engineer Reslik's apprehension as one of Wilm Goras's associates... One of the dissidents," he explained after Blakus's questioning look, "Yes with Reslik in custody on the base, I as Acting Assistant CEO have been appointed Acting CEO," he frowned, "Or should that be Acting Acting..."

* * *

Blakus awoke and thought back to the night preceding: they'd been shown the prepared conference room, the diplomatic facilities, and it'd been suggested they be moved to somewhere with greater spatial capacity, i.e. the holodeck. It allowed room for standards, regalia, appropriately placed ante-rooms and the like.

He arrived on shift early, everything still quiet. How were the two aggrieved parties' vessels faring? Good, they were still en route, 17 hours away. He returned after a time as the chrono neared 0930 to his quarters to shave, then headed to the transporter room to meet Gheskori's diplomats.

He and Torek, Manley and his first officer, met the three diplomats for the first time on an official basis. They nodded to one another and sat.

"Welcome all aboard," Manley said at the head of the table, "Preparations for the delegations' arrival are complete, we await their pleasure. As you'll notice the place for negotiations has been moved -"

"Yes," a diplomat cut in.

"- and we hope this meets with your approval. Admiral Torek, Commander Blakus," he signalled for them the diplomats, "Salvador Illerda, former Section 47 ambassador to the Klingon Empire; Mawr O'Slig, diplomatic attache to Security on the Starbase, and of course you know Admiral Kletchley from Command." Indeed, the admiral stood out given the other two's civilian garb.

"We've read as much as there is to read about these peoples, from what you've sent us, but what can we expect from them in the flesh?" Illerda asked the Raven officers, readying his notes.

[Carl Torek]

USS Maracanda ::

After the tour of the Intrepid Class Maracanda it had been decided to move the venue for the talks ... While the ship was space-worthy, it still required cosmetic repairs. Corridors were missing panels, exposing conduits and access panels, Carl wasn't too sure he wanted either race to know the extent of their issues:

"Commander Manley. Can we tidy up the corridors between the transporter room and the holo-deck, I would like to give the impression there are no issues with our ships ?"

"I'll have panels removed from the lower decks, the deck could do with tidying up too come to think of it." the Commanding Officer said as if only now realising the extent of the disarray.

"Thank you, I appreciate it." Carl said with a grin, "The diplomats are due in six hours, can you be done by then ?"

"No problem." Manley said, instructing his Exec' to begin immediately ......

**********

Commander Manley, Scober, the Executive Officer of the Maracanda, Andae and Carl had met the Diplomats and were seated on the holo-deck now renamed the 'Conference Room' for the duration of the talks, they had discussed numerous items but had concentrated on the upcoming arrival of the Werim and the Phorx-ku:

"We've read as much as there is to read about these peoples, from what you've sent us, but what can we expect from them in the flesh ?" Illerda asked the Raven officers, readying his notes.

"They are both convinced they are in the right." Carl replied.

"That would go without saying Admiral." Illerda replied with a wry smile.

"You have their physical appearances, the Werim almost human-like, while the Phorx-ku are feline in appearance. Both have warp capability as you know, and both wouldn't loose sleep over the complete eradication of the other ... You are going to have your work cut out that's for sure. One concern is their initial insistence on holding the talks on the Starbase ...."

"I would like to know how they became aware." O'Slig asked, continuing before anyone could offer a reply, "This 'meeting' could be a prelude to approaching the Starbase itself, and given the numbers of vessels both have it would be easy for them to take over or even destroy the Starbase should things not go well."

"It was obvious that we were not from this region and a natural conclusion that we had a base or larger vessel within easy distance. Given both the Werim and Phorx have never come across us before their assumption was logical." Carl said, "Given our insistence on holding this meeting aboard one of our vessels only confirmed their assumptions. Don't read more into this than there is. It wouldn't take much to figure out a rough location for the Starbase, their apparent willingness to conform to our stipulations on the meeting shows they have little or no interest, at this stage I think they are more curious as to what either side has to say."

"That is as maybe Admiral." Kletchley said, his gruff almost weathered appearance belying his experience and expertise, "They could simply outflank us and leave the 'base a smouldering ruin while we sip tea and eat sandwiches."

"Again I don't see why they would." Carl said, already frustrated with his apparent new role as mediator, "At this point they have zero information on our strengths, or weaknesses as the case may be. On arrival they will have seen only two vessels and one of them a somewhat intimidating one at that. Without access to our own database they have no way of knowing if we have one or one thousand Sovereign Class Star ships Admiral. I think we are getting ahead of ourselves. Commander Scober, time to arrival ?"

The Maracanda Exec' contacted the Bridge then replied.

"Two hours .... Long-range scans show nothing else in the System."

"Seems they are holding up their end of the agreement." Torek said, raising his eyebrows.

"Space is big Admiral." Illerda commented,the sarcasm obvious as he got up to help himself to refreshments ......

Arrival ::

Carl stood beside the center seat as they watched the two vessels drop from warp ... The Werim ship approached slowly, coming to a complete stop five hundred kilometers off the Maracanda's Port quarter ... The Phorx-ku vessel circled, executing several three sixty circumnavigations of both ships before it too positioned itself, equidistant from the Federation and Werim vessels on the Maracanda's Starboard.

"They're here." Blakus said ominously, making Carl work to hide the grin forming as the Diplomats shot him simultaneous stares.

"Captain." Carl said, addressing Manley directly. Manley in turn asked for a comm to both vessels simultaneously:

=^= I am Commander Grant Manley .. Commanding Officer of the USS Maracanda .. .. I would like to welcome you to this meeting =^=

=^= Our representatives will transport in one hour =^= the Werim Commander curtly informed Manley before closing their channel.

=^= As will ours =^= the Phorx Commander said, doing likewise.

"Like I said, you have your work cut out." Carl said with a grin, he turned to Andae and spoke quietly, "Have the Raven continually run long-range scans. I don't want any surprises." ..........

[Andae Blakus]

"Aye, sir," Andae nodded as Carl passed. He thought about the relative isolation of their position, roughly the same distance from the Starbase as from the Yibeha system from which they'd come - if the Phorx or Werim did decide to pounce, it would take some effort to fight them off or even to survive before they could either receive reinforcements or retreat to the station. In the latter case of course, the position of their Starbase would be given away, if it hadn't been already.

Time passed, the chronometer's digital display seeming to drag ever slower above the main viewscreen on the Raven. Carl was in his ready room, Blakus in the centre seat with Wedlerson and Marionette ahead of him. "They've been in there for two hours," Wedlerson nodded to the viewscreen which displayed the Maracanda, "I wonder how things are going."

"Well, both of the locals' ships are still here," Blakus vacated the chair for the engineering console and adjacent displays, wishing to see how the scans he'd set in motion were progressing. Was it still there?

It was indeed, the heightened energy density at a distance of 1.7 parsecs that couldn't possibly be stellar matter, a nebula or any other such interstellar phenomenon, but which could only be the radiation cloud resulting from a moderate to large-scale conflict of ships. Either that or extremely vigorous testing of multiple starships' engines, jumping into and out of warp every fraction of a second.

"Get me a reading on physical composition and engine signature, if such is available," he told Tinsley who sat at the engineering station, "If this is..." he trailed off. Yes, if his worst fears were confirmed, then the talks had already failed by default, for it seemed to him those were Werim and Phorx-ku craft in furious battle, perhaps the same 34 ships they'd left near the Yibeha system. "Is it possible they'll put aside their fight when they learn of the - hopefully - positive result here? Might we hide the talks from the parties so they can't arrive and destablise them?" he asked.

"It could be nothing, Andae, we've experienced sensor glitches like this over the last 96 hours, if you'd forgotten." Yes, well, perhaps he was getting restless, but -

"Commander, picking up comm traffic between the Werim and Phorx ships..." Wedlerson said. He turned, contemplating calling Torek to the bridge. "That's two, now three one-way messages, long enough to transmit something of substance but short enough to be inconspicuous, I'd say."

"No, why should they communicate outside of the meeting?" he said. Carl did at this point return to the bridge of his own volition. Andae updated him and asked permission to head to engineering - if only to allow his mind to relax: it was as if these issues, cropping up one after another, were reflections and voicings in his own mind and not external stimuli. He was in any case due to check in with his opposite number Frank Scober on the Maracanda 20 minutes from now.

<Tag Torek - for the comm between the Werim & Phorx ships, etc>

In engineering he updated Milyanov on his findings and now found himself wandering the corridors of the Maracanda in search of Scober, who apparently had taken a break from observing the talks and was to be found in the mess hall. Scratching his head, feeling the beginnings of a migraine, Blakus happened upon one of the diplomats at an intersection, the man had his back turned at a large wall panel; Blakus approached behind.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Mawr O'Slig jumped slightly and turned, a placid smile developing after an initial moment of what Blakus thought might've been alarm. "Ah, we're in recess, Commander." This was true, he discovered minutes later when meeting Scober. "I am learning the route from my quarters to the holodeck facilities."

Blakus looked over O'Slig's shoulder and saw the screen was now blank, but he was somewhat sure of what he'd seen, "It seemed to me you were accessing the long-range comms system. Was it official business?" O'Slig said nothing. "I can't think it would've been private or you would've used your own console in your quarters. Why don't you ask Manley for access to comms? It'd be much more efficient."

"It is possible I made a mistake, or perhaps you are the one in error," O'Slig's placid expression was interminable; suddenly he gave a thin smile, "Good day, Commander. Those Phorx-ku, argh, difficult to get along with. We'll get there though." Blakus watched his retreating back, shook his head as if trying to reset some of his frayed nerves; he was tired, perhaps he'd been imagining things as O'Slig suggested. He found his way to the mess hall, asked Scober to keep an eye on Security attache O'Slig at the next convening of talks.

[Andae Blakus]

OOC: Sorry for double post, I had a bit of this written before and added to it to clarify some things


Back on the Raven and entering sickbay, Blakus observed the amber and lime lights in the far left corner, indicating that the quarantine unit attached to sickbay at that corner was still active; within, was the Werim scientist, outcast and tourist Caltek, Jr., his prosthetic arm still difficult for him to manoeuvre and orientate correctly. He perked up from his slouched position as he noticed Blakus's approach, the silhouette turning on its foot-stool near the piano he'd had installed in quarantine with him.

"I've familiarised myself with the work of some of your more famous composers," Caltek smiled wistfully, the faint aura of whimsy still attached to him despite his demoralised state, "It's good practice for the limb, too; one handed is difficult, I've found. We have a similar instrument."

"Yes, yes..." Blakus said through the intercom into the darkened, bluish room. "Caltek, if you're fearful, do not be. You're secure on the Raven; neither the Werim or the Phorx can get at you here."

"Oh, that's how it all starts..." the voice came back along with a trickling of faltering Mozart as Caltek's hands moved along the keys, "They have you believe you are safe - the Feeders... And then they claw their way through the hull. Have you forgotten already. Those things are or can be spaceborne. Only under vacuum conditions, in fact, was I able to come up with my anti-toxin to the amnesiac gas... Release it into the ventilation system of your other ship - it's completely inert in interaction with humanoid bodies - and they will not be able to use the gas during the talks, from which they're sure to abscond, eventually if not immediately."

"You have the chemical composition of this toxin... Ah, you have it committed to memory?" Blakus asked darkly.

Caltek shook his head then paused, on the lip of a resolution from an awkward dominant 7th chord, "Well," he released into the major tonic, "I could give it a try, I suppose... Give me a simulation program to work with and I could construct the basic molecule from whatever your organisation has named the atomic constituents."

Blakus turned and nodded to a passing nurse, who called over Roach. "Give him what he needs to construct the anti-toxin, in case we need it," he told her. With those 34 ships out there - possibly Werim and Phorx - drawing gradually closer, they may well soon need it.

* * *

He returned to the bridge, thinking en route how he may have jumped to conclusions regarding the comms shot back and forth between their two visitor vessels. If they were communicating, it surely couldn't be something that would become the product of collusion... They would be arguing, perhaps destabilising - intentionally or otherwise - the talks. He wondered what progress the Admiral had made with them in potentially averting their attempts to destroy their efforts here.

And then there was the fierce interstellar battle apparently between Werim and Phorx, taking place a parsec or so away, or was it? Had it been a sensor glitch, or if it was something had he directed his mind towards the worst conclusions? Hemron at least seemed serious about peace, even though he was inexplicably representing the Phorx now, and was engaged in talks at this moment with Kletchley and the civilian diplomats.

He'd done some research on O'Slig, had found his record commendable, almost if not quite spotless but then it was difficult to always make oneself the exemplar. His background seemed to check out - but why had he been (if he had been) accessing long range comms, and to where? If by some unlikely chance O'Slig had ulterior motives here, Blakus could say that Admiral Kletchley at least wouldn't be involved, a stalwart, experienced and thoughtful officer, lately a diplomat, while Illerda seemed completely upright. He resolved to constrict his inquiries to O'Slig and not begin levelling accusations on the basis of association; O'Slig, while he had a decent record, had been completely unknown to Blakus before these meetings, his mysterious appearance in their affairs unnerved him, but then there was his migraine...

[Carl Torek]

USS Maracanda ::

"..... Several, shall we say 'incidents' have occurred since you and you party came aboard ..." Carl was saying, trying hard to outright accuse anyone of wrongdoing given the necessity of the talks, "We cannot stand by and allow anyone, from either party, to simply roam the ship at will. Reluctant as I am to forcefully curtail your freedom, I am informing you that I have asked Commander Manley to place guards around restricted areas of the ship. given none of you are willing to enlighten us as to the content of the communications between your warring fleets, I hav ....."

"Warring, Admiral ...." one of the Werim delegation repeated, the hint of sarcasm obvious.

"Call it what you will, but several dozen Starships firing on each other can hardly be described differently."

"This gathering is fruitless." one of the Phorx-ku spat, hissing in the direction of his counterpart.

"Fine, I will arrange for everyone to be returned to their respective vessels in due course." Torek said with a resigned shrug before rising from his seat and heading for the door. He waved to the Security Officers either side of the door and they too filed out. Outside he instructed Security to remain and allow no-one to leave. Inside, the almost stunned silence lasted three full seconds before each party began shouting at the other.

"You think this is wise Admiral ?" Manley asked once out of earshot of the others.

"To be honest .... No, I'n not. But then, would we prefer to simply cow down to each of their demands ? ....

"Why would both demand our compliance, that's what I can't understand." the Maracanda's Executive Officer asked, as puzzled as the others.

"Well, the Werim want our technology, and the Raven. They clearly believe that having our ship on their side gives them some tactical advantage should all-out war be declared. As for the Phorx-ku, they seem to want our absence rather than compliance, which makes me wonder what their motives are. Even a Starship the size of the Raven would struggle with a sustained onslaught from dozens of vessels, even if they are so much smaller than ours. Maybe they are trying to gain our allegiance so the Werim cannot."

"They think we would stand by and allow the Werim to be attacked ?" Scober asked, shaking his head, "Surely they can't know about our Prime Directive ?"

"Which may well be why they prefer us out of the way." Manley said, "If they knew of our non-intervention regulations then they could have simply said we were surplus to their requirements and may well have attacked the Werim before they even boarded the Maracanda. If they believe we could still fall on one side of the other they will need to tread carefully. alienating us might in their eyes push us towards supporting their enemy."

"Leave them in their for thirty minutes ...." Carl said, walking away .....

Cloaked Phorx-ku Vessel
Ten meters beneath USS Maracanda ::


"You have access ?"

"Yes."

"The Hummmans will not be able to detect your tampering ?"

"No ... We have accessed one of their minor systems, something called a 'replicator' I believe a device for supplying sustenance to their crew." the Phorx said, grimacing at the thought of ingesting something not freshly slaughtered.

"You can access communications ?" the leader asked, eyes flicking upward as if picturing the massive Starship above.

"In time, yes."

"And their computer ?"

"No, there will be safeguards that we cannot surpass, any attempt will no doubt alert them to our tampering."

"Keep me informed. We should have this information before 'he' returns." the Phorx said, departing the Bridge ..........

[Carl Torek]

He hadn't gone ten paces when he heard someone push past one of the Security Officers stationed at he door and call his name:

"ADMIRAL !"

Carl stopped, knowing what as coming.

"You cannot close these proceedings, you have no autho ....."

"I am in command here, Mister Illerda, not you or your colleagues."

"We have been granted diplomatic status Admiral, and as I am sure you know, in matters such as these it is 'we' who have authority over proceedings, you are here to safeguard those proceedings and nothing more."

Carl looked the man up and down as if pondering how far down the corridor he would travel should he be knocked on his arse. He began to reply as Mwar O'Slig and Admiral Kletchley left the meeting room. O'Slig turned left and walked away as Kletchley approached:

"It may have escaped your notice, but we are no longer in Federation spac ....." he held a hand up to silence the Diplomat before he could speak, then continued, "Yes, you have technical authority, and your recommendations will of course be taken into consideration as and when they are required. We are here to hopefully bring a stop to the war between these two races, at the same time forging new alliances with both. We can't be seen as the prize for either, nor can we be pictured as the weaker third party ... to that end I have shall we say, called their bluff. At this point, both have fired on us, and both would undoubtedly benefit from our 'allegiance' ... My guess is, neither will be the first to leave the table for fear that whoever remains convinces us of the benefits of us aiding them against the other."

He stopped talking while the diplomat absorbed what he had said. Finally Kletchley spoke:

"You could be playing a very dangerous game Admiral."

"Yes, I could ..... But we have to show both sides that we are here for reasons that will, should, benefit all parties. The Raven, or any other Starfleet vessel isn't on the table here. It's better they know that from the outset."

Both men finally agreed and Carl walked away .....

Thirty Minutes Later ::

Torek was stood with Calli Valente outside the meeting room as two of the Diplomats approached:

"Where is Mawr, Admiral ?" Illerda asked, eyes suddenly narrowing.

"He wasn't with you ?" Carl asked innocently.

"Don't play me for the fool Admi ....."

"He is being escorted here as we speak." Torek answered, seeing Kletchley's shoot him a glance, "Apparently, mister O'Slig was found trying to access our long-range communications."

"Why would he do that ?" Illerda asked.

"Well, he said it was a mistake, but my Executive Officer accessed the log for the station he was using and he had made no attempt to locate directions to his assigned quarters as he said. I felt it, prudent' to air on the side of caution. From here on in all of you will be accompanied by one of the ships Security personnel."

"This is OUTRAGEOUS !" Illerda spat.

"Admiral I do feel that in this instance my colleague is ri .... Kletchley began, but Torek interrupted them both:

"I have had a long-range shuttle prepared. Should any of you wish to avail yourselves ...." he left the sentence unfinished, the implication obvious. Both men glared at him as O'Slig walked around the corner, Security Officer in tow. Without another word all three entered the meeting room. Calli was grinning at the newly arrived Security Officer.

"Problem, Lieutenant ?" she asked.

"No Sir, it's ... Well hell can he talk !" Torek and Valente both laughed at the pained expression on the mans face.

"Get used to it Lieutenant, he's your baby for the duration." the Security Officer turned to position himself next to the door looking as if he had just be ordered to carry out his duties without pants on.

"Well, into the fray ?" Calli asked. Carl looked at he almost mirroring the Lieutenants expression as he entered the room. Grinning, Calli headed back to the Bridge ..........

[Andae Blakus]

A Phorx vessel pirouetted about its z-axis away from the main battle scene, its starboard side having been torn into by a pulse weapon borne by one of the two Werim dreadnoughts - its core having just gone critical, it lit up the surrounding space and caused the viewscreens of its compatriot vessels as well as of their nominal enemies to dim automatically, the illumination otherwise likely to blind the Werim and especially the Phorx owing to their sensitive eyes.

Three Werim scouts passed by the fading remnant of the Phorx craft's main mass, discharging single-shot torpedo tubes at a second Feeder vessel; they missed however, and were shot down by ephemeral beams. The battle raged on, the antagonists now fighting determinedly, now half-heartedly, as they waited on news from the mysterious coordinates at which one of each of their ships were apparently in talks.

Having checked the comm log and seeing that no call had been made by O'Slig, yet he had indeed accessed the long range comms channel, Blakus wondered if he hadn't masked his comm, or perhaps if he'd started to communicate but had then cancelled the computer's procedure on Blakus's approach; he wished he'd let the man continue his covert activity, see whom he may have been attempting to contact... He pored through O'Slig's record, deciding that something was not right - where were the profile holographs, usually so abundant in diplomats' files? There was only the grainy image in the header of his record, and while it matched quite well with Mawr's appearance, the shadowy nature of the record and the mystery about the man himself didn't do much to reassure Andae.

He suddenly remembered the damage sustained by the Maracanda, particularly as regards the slight trouble with the comm array. Computer core information on incoming and outgoing subspace comms had developed a bug whereby the core kept collecting comm data even when it wasn't needed, if a call was cancelled for instance... It was saturated, old information was continually being pushed out, he wouldn't have much time.

=/\=USS Raven to USS Maracanda. This is Commander Blakus, put me through to Lieutenant Commander Bligh.=/\= He waited; William replied. =/\=Bligh, can you get someone to comb your data trove on recent comms? You'll be looking for a comm signature that won't have been picked up by the transceiver's circuits, one used by the diplomatic corps. I want intended recipient, spatial coordinates, and content of message if applicable.=/\=

He laughed, =/\=What would be the point of that, Andae...? And you're aware that it would have to be done manually, line by line? The archives are shattered, we didn't have time to replace. And there are upwards of a million entries.=/\=

=/\=I know, and I'm not joking, get someone on it immediately.=/\=

An hour later with the talks once more in recess, Blakus entered the Maracanda mess hall. He was due to sit in on the next session, and decided it would be best to prepare with coffee, much coffee. Glad to have noticed Illerda and Kletchley at one table, he made his way over. Illerda didn't seem happy about his presence.

"Come to tie one hand behind our backs, Commander? Have a seat," Illerda gestured.

"Thank you very much," he sat down heavily and exchanged pleasantries before questioning them on O'Slig. A couple minutes were sufficient for him to realise neither had worked with O'Slig before, that Illerda was not personally acquainted and in fact hadn't before met the man.

"He was present at a Command meeting one time, I do believe," Kletchley said, furrowing his brow. "He didn't contribute from what I can remember. He spent most of the time away from the table, perhaps all of it."

"Do you remember what he looked like?" Blakus asked abruptly, surprised at his own nonchalance.

"No," Kletchley was bemused, "Why would you say that? I strongly suspect he looked like he does now."

"Neither of you have asked him about his previous activities, about his file? You're aware of his record? He's had a reasonably distinguished career, without it being spectacular."

"Would you mind telling us what you're driving at?" Illerda's expression was hard.

Blakus tapped his fingers at his lips, "I don't yet know. Something doesn't seem right... Who would he be trying to contact via long range comms?"

"That charge is unfounded... or unproven!" Illerda stuttered and spat. Blakus and Kletchley said nothing. Meanwhile the secondary diplomatic meeting room aboard the Werim vessel in their vicinity was being crowded into by the clandestinely convening Werim and Phorx officials, beginning their latest pre-meeting, and in standoffish attitude drawing out respective areas of interest on which to pressure Torek and Manley in the next talks aboard the Intrepid class.

[Carl Torek]

Delegation Meeting Room
USS Maracanda ::

"This is getting us nowhere !"Kletchley was saying, for what seemed the millionth time in the last hour.

"I believe we are being reaso ...." the Phorx interrupted.

"Reasonable !" the Werim representative spat, jumping from his seat before slamming his fists on the table. The Phorx too stood, barring incisors that could rip through flesh all too easily.

"Can we not agree on a cease fire from both sides ? ...." Illerda asked almost apologetically, waiting until both sides had looked in his direction, "First and foremost, we have made great strides, you both agree. We are sat around this table and the fighting has ceased. I believe it would benefit both sides to make the agreement permanent. Halting hostilities between the Phorx-ku and the Werim will save lives on both sides and show faith that you both want the talks to progress to a sustainable agreement between you, is that not so ?"

Both the Werim and Phorx began shouting, first at the bemused diplomat, then at each other. Carl had had enough ....

"OK, this stops here ... We will adjourn until tomorrow morning at zero nine hundred. Both representatives are welcome to remain aboard the Maracanda or return to their respective vessels ... Be aware, the stipulations regarding vessels entering the region still hold. Any vessel approaching the Raven or Maracanda 'will' be deemed hostile and dealt with appropriately. Is that understood, gentlemen ?"

Both nodded, motioning to their respective assistants before leaving the room accompanied by Security teams.

"I honestly think we are fighting a loosing battle." Kletckley admitted, shaking his head as the room cleared.

Conference Room
USS Raven-C
Twenty Three Thirty Hours ::

Carl had been sat in the semi-darkness trying not to think about how many of the last seventy two hours of the so-called treaty meeting had been wasted. The door opened, Calli and Lysia T'Seng entered.

"Admiral, do you have a moment ?" Calli asked.

"Yes, sit down both of you, what is it ?" he replied, thankful for the interruption. Calli motioned to Lysia who handed him a PADD:

"Sir, I was doing routine checks on our systems while keeping a wary eye on our 'guests' vessels ... I ran a passive scan of both ships, nothing that would have alerted them, it was more to satisfy myself that neither ship was doing anything untoward, Sir." she said, motioning to the PADD, "I'm not too sure how it happened, but I seem to have accessed, or at least partially accessed, the Werim vessels database for approximately two seconds."

"Oh ?" Carl asked, suddenly wary, "..... and this 'accidental' access wasn't noticed Lysia ?"

"It appears not sir." T'Seng said, uncharacteristically nervous.

"What does all this mean ?" he asked, scrolling through the data.

"To be honest I'm not sure Admiral, but there seems to be at least one set of spatial co-ordinates and a name, possibly the area or star system ... H'ocru XII ... I've ran them through our navigation computers and they have extrapolated an area approximately one hundred twenty light years away. The information I managed to get is vague at best, it could be something and nothing."

"Why keep it if it's nothing ?" Calli asked, "Is it plausible the Werim have something out there they want to keep to themselves ?"

"Well we certainly can't simply 'ask' them about it can we." Torek said, rubbing his suddenly tired eyes.

"Well, that's the thing ...." Lysia said, seeing the Admiral look at her over his hands, "Sir. I can't be sure if the data was Werim, or if they had acquired it from the Phorx-ku."

"Whoa, so from a mere two seconds of snooping you have extrapolated all this and come to the hypothesis that it could be something the Werim want to remain hidden, or something they have discovered that is Phorx in origin ?" T'Seng could only remain silent as Carl again looked at the information on the PADD, "Is there any way you could repeat your 'accidental' discovery ?"

"I doubt it Admiral. To be perfectly honest I was in there long enough to set every bell and whistle screaming, how my initial breach wasn't noticed is beyond me." Carl tapped his Comm badge:

=^= Torek to Commander Blakus =^=

=^= Blakus Admiral =^=

=^= Andae .. Can you come to the Conference Room .. Bring Commander Milyanov with you =^=

=^= On our way =^= the Comm closed and Carl continued:

"Normally, their computers and database would be protected as ours are, so maybe there is a glitch we could exploit ?" Both Calli and Lysia tried not to shrug.

"We could be in the region in five days at transwarp four ...." Calli said.

".... and you don't think our sudden departure during the peace talks wouldn't go un-noticed ?" Carl asked sarcastically as his Exec' and Chief Engineer entered. He handed the PADD to Calli, "Put this information up on the screen." Andae and Milyanov both read through the data quickly bringing themselves up to speed.

"Any thoughts ?" Carl asked.

"It could be anything." the Chief Engineer commented, realising he'd stated the obvious, "I mean, it could be anything from somewhere they farm exotic spices, or a massive weapons development facility, or practically anything in between. Short of accessing the data from the Werim fully, or well, going for a look, there's no way of knowing." Milyanov stopped talking, wondering if the others had already gone through these options.

"We can't ask without revealing we've been snooping." Andae commented.

"There is no way we can send a shuttle, even if we could launch one without being questioned." Milyanov added, "So if we go, we'll have to take the ship."

"It's clear that whatever is in that region could be something that could possibly tip the balance of power in this region. Otherwise why hide it so securely ?" Calli asked.

"Not 'that' securely." Lysia replied, hesitating before continuing, "I still feel our getting this was more fluke than good judgement. Had I been actually trying to get through whatever they use for firewalls, I'm sure we wouldn't be sat having this conversation."

"Is this the frequency you were using for the passive scan ?" Milyanov asked, pointing to the screen. Lysia nodded.

"Why have something so far out in the first place ?" Carl mused.

"According to the co-ordinates, it's approximately equidistant between the Phorx and Werim Sectors." Lysia commented, "May well be coincidence."

"I know it's late, but we need to hash this out. Get the rest of the Senior Staff in here." Carl ordered, getting up and walking over to the replicator, "Coffee, Black ... Hot." ..........