Mission 36: The Tkrnn Problem

[Carl Torek]

~ MISSION 36: THE TKRNN PROBLEM ~


~ Synopsis ~


The TKRNN:


A Race of Changelings distantly related to the Founders, who millennia earlier had begun to lose the ability to alter their form
Even so, some still retained their unique capability, and these soon rose to positions of leadership
Initially, the Tkrnn were content to remain isolated, choosing not to venture out of their own space

Once the Tkrnn could reside in comfort, but now, space became a premium
Within a few centuries, it became clear that they would need to expand. First, they terraformed planets within their home System, before moving out to neighbouring, unoccupied Systems
Eventually, even this wasn’t enough, and the Elites began to venture far beyond their own far-reaching borders
A decade ago - In Federation terms - The Tkrnn approached two vast regions of space, these were already occupied, by two warring races:
The Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Star Empire

The Tkrnn knew nothing of either Race nor did they care. In their eyes, they were mere 'obstacles' in their ongoing search
So began efforts to bring the two into conflict, and eventually, all-out war - Undoubtedly hoping each would eradicate the other, leaving countless Systems at the Tkrnn's mercy
It was then that the Elites, unknowingly under the secret leadership of the Ruling Council, found a new race of beings
Who had, by pure chance, arrived in a Star System close to where the Tkrnn were hoping to gain a foothold
Fortuitously, the outpost held the very people they hoped to eradicate!


FEDERATION SPACE:


Following the incidents on Starbase Forty-Seven which have resulted in many dead or missing
Federation Vice President, Sabine Laterza, has been persuaded by Romulan Representative Crelev, who unbeknownst to the Federation, is a High-Ranking Tal Shiar Operative
That factions of the Romulan Star Empire 'could' in fact be working in league with the Tkrnn, and believes it could be in our interest to look into these claims
Given this information, she has reluctantly agreed to covertly dispatch a Starship to investigate


oooo000oooo


The USS Raven-C had been in Spacedock at Starbase Forty-Seven for almost nine months
Now, following her extensive refit, Fleet Admiral Torek has been given highly confidential orders: The Raven was to depart for Tkrnn Space immediately
On board the Starship, with the Vice President’s agreement, and despite all Admiral Torek’s protestations, were five members of the Romulan Tal Shiar!


⁜

[Carl Torek]

Starbase Forty-Seven
22:30 hrs ::

Carl was sitting in his office when Calli arrived .....

"Hi, burning the midnight oil again I see..." the Seconded Intelligence Officer said, hesitating before continuing, "... You're needed on the Raven," 

"There a problem?" he asked, lowering the PADD he was reading to the desktop.

"I've been 'asked' to bring you to the ship..." Calli was saying as Andae Blakus tapped on the open door, "... You too,"

"I just had word to come up here..." he said, frowning before turning to Valente, "... Me too what?" Blakus asked.

"..... I assume you know 'who' gave you these instructions?"

"Carl, do me a favour and come to the ship will you," Calli said, leaving the office, Blakus and Torek a pace behind. During the trip down to the Dome, no one spoke .....

USS Raven-C
Beta Docking Arm ::

As they entered the Raven, several people glanced in their direction, not that they didn't belong, it was just unusual to see either man so late in the day ..... Stepping from the turbolift onto the deserted Bridge, Calli led them to the Captain's Ready Room. Inside, both men were surprised to see Vice President Sabine Laterza sitting at Carl's desk. Without a word, Calli left them.

"Madam Vice President ....." Carl said, more question than an acknowledgement of her presence while wondering how arguably the second most important woman in the Federation could meander onto a Starship without someone commenting.

"Please, sit down Gentlemen. I must apologise for the 'cloak-and-dagger' antics, but I have a task I wish you to undertake... One that demands utmost secrecy," Laterza said, sliding an isolinear chip across the ornate desk. Carl glanced at the device and then at the two Aides, before returning his gaze to Laterza.

"Task .....?" he repeated.

"Yes. As you are well aware, we are currently having some difficulties, to put it mildly, with a previously unknown race, namely, the Tkrnn, a species of Changlings that have seemingly taken it upon themselves to attempt to instigate a war between the Klingons and Romulans..." Laterza said, rising from the plush leather chair to walk around the room, "... Unfortunately, they chose this Facility to commence their somewhat difficult task, and as a result, 'WE' are paying the price!"

"We're aware," Andae replied.

"Gentlemen, please, I know it is late, and you are undoubtedly anxious to know what I'm doing here. Help yourself to a drink while I come to the point..." the Vice President said, continuing when neither Officer moved, "... Very well ..... On that data chip are specific instructions which come directly from my office, instructing the USS Raven to depart Starbase forty-Seven at the earliest opportunity. Commander Blakus, I have increased your Security and Data Access to Level Five, I feel it essential that you have full access to all data and information regards this assignment. Once in open space, you will render ....."

"Excuse me, Madam Vice Presi ....." Carl began but was interrupted:

"Sabine, please, Admiral,"

"Madam Vice President ..... Firstly, I cannot undertake 'any' assignment without the Section Admiral's authorisation, secondly..." Carl said, pausing for half a second as he saw the Vice President's expression harden, "... I am somewhat concerned at the fact that we seem to be having this 'meeting' without Admiral Gheskori being present. Would there be a reason for that?" Laterza remained silent for some time before speaking.

"I have been given information that there is a possible 'link' between the Tkrnn and the Romulan Star Empire,"

"Other than the one where these Changelings, for reasons known only to them, want the Romulans and Klingons eradicating themselves?" Carl asked sarcastically.

It is, possible, that certain factions within the Romulan hierarchy, could be working 'with' rather than 'against' the Tkrnn," the Vice President said.

"..... You can't be serious," Andae Blakus said.

"I am 'DEADLY' serious, Commander. Thus this meeting. I chose the Raven for this meeting as it was the only place I could reasonably be sure we were not, overheard,"

"I'm sorry Madam Vice Presi ..... Sabine, but I have to agree with my Exec' on this. Surely you don't think there could be Federation involvement!" Carl said, flabbergasted at the very implication and what it could mean. Laterza nodded to one of her Aides who left the Ready Room. When he returned moments later he wasn't alone. Both Federation Officers looked in shock as the Aide entered with a Romulan woman!

"Gentlemen, if I may..." the Vice President began, apparently unconcerned at the fact that a Romulan Officer was on the Bridge of the most sophisticated Federation Starship, "... This is Colonel Karuth. The Colonel and four of her associates will be joining you, as will her Warbird, the Mak'Pw."

"This is outrageous!" Carl said, unable to control his anger at the flagrant disregard for security shown by the woman.

"Admiral. I know this is highly unconventional..." Laterza said, speaking in a manner that belied her expression, "... The information in my possession comes from the highest levels within the Romulan Empire, and as such, the Mak'Pw and the Colonel are essential to this assignment. The Colonel has been tasked, as you are now, with either confirming or refuting the information we have, which in turn will hopefully allow the Romulan Star Empire to formulate a plan of action going forwards, they will also be able to ensure unchallenged passage for the Raven through their Space,"

It suddenly dawned on Carl just who the woman was!

"You're putting us in bed with the TAL SHIAR!?" he asked, eyes locked on Laterza.

"We have 'agreed' to a joint venture, with both parties sharing 'ALL' data and information discovered,"

"..... And the Section Admiral?" Carl asked quietly.

"Let's say there is an element of, plausible deniability involved," the Vice President cryptically.

"Madam President, It is clear my presence at this meeting is somewhat, disturbing ....." Karuth said.

"You can say that again," Blakus muttered.

"..... So if you could have someone show us to our quarters, we will keep our presence on what is the term, ah a 'need-to-know' basis, until we are underway," Laterza nodded then spoke to one of her Aides who led the Romulan Intelligence Officer from the room where they joined the other four Romulan's before leaving the Bridge.

"I hope you don't mind, I have taken the liberty to have all Officers and Crew currently on Shoreleave, recalled. I have also instructed Deck Two to be cleared apart from yours and the Commander's quarters Admiral. The Romulans will occupy the Guest Quarters on that Level..." Laterza said, pausing as if trying to recall something, "... Given the nature of this assignment, I think it wise that you ask Elise and your Daughters remain behind on the Starbase until your return,"

"I'm sorry, Madam President, but unless Section Admiral Gheskori approves this assignment, I cannot take the Raven anywhere, let alone into Romlan Space!" Carl said, standing.

"That is, unfortunate, Admiral, but I fully understand your loyalty, I assure you these proceedings, and how they are being conducted, is in no way a slur on the Section Admiral, in fact, my actions will ensure his non-culpability should things take an unfortunate turn..." Laterza said, seemingly disappointed at his comment, "... Nevertheless, the Raven 'will' undertake the assignment, so if you choose to remain behind, I will temporarily advance Commander Blakus to Captain for the dura ....."

"WHOA!" Andae said, getting to his feet.

"You also wish to remain behind, Commander? ..... Given the late hour, it would be unfortunate, but I am sure a Command Ranked Officer can be fou ....."

"There's no need for that, Madam Vice President!" Carl said, the disdain in his tone obvious.

"Good..." Laterza said, the practised smile returning, her eye no longer cold, "... Please remember Gentlemen, that this assignment must not be discussed outside this room. You will leave as soon as you can. The Dockmaster is awaiting your request to depart the Starbase, your detailed instructions, along with the information I received, are on the data chip Admiral, along with the coordinates for your rendezvous with the Mak'Pw. The Colonel and her associates will as agreed, remain in seclusion on Level Two until you near the meeting point ..... Godspeed Admiral, and please be safe," Laterza said, heading for the door. Before either Raven Officer could reply the Vice President and her Aides were gone, no doubt getting off the ship in the same manner as they arrived!

Carl walked across the office to the cabinet and took two glasses, he picked out a rare Cognac and poured each of them a glass before handing one to Andae.

"Cheers," he said, clinking his glass against the one raised by his Executive Officer ..........

[Andae Blakus]

It was highly irregular of course, and Blakus would protest further if it wasn't obvious that doing so would get him consigned to quarters on the Starbase for the duration, but there it was, the assignment had been made. How could Laterza exercise this much control without the Section Admiral's approval? What exactly was going on on the Starbase, and at the office of the President on Earth?

He couldn't know the answer; all he could do was get on with his duty and trust that the higher-ups hadn't lost their minds. Reluctantly he shot back the cognac offered by the CO and made a pained expression. Perhaps at the end of their venture, assuming it was successful, he'd repeat the act although he'd probably forego the cigar.

"When do we leave?" he asked.

"As soon as we give word to the dockmaster," Carl confirmed, "How soon can you ready the departments?"

"It will take a few hours, five or six, to gather our people from the Starbase. Engineering is ready to go now. Milyanov has been keeping her primed for the last fortnight. He had a feeling things were about to take a turn."

It had been far too long of course, since their last assignment. He only wished for a little more normality. The idea of traipsing across Romulan space to the Tkrnn border in the company of a warbird - a single ship there at the warring Tkrnn and Star Empire's pleasure, effectively - didn't fill him with any optimism, a sense of curiosity about the unknown. That whole region was dominated by the staggered and underhanded conflict between the Romulans and the Tkrnn, the Raven would be the only Federation starship for a couple hundred lightyears.

Leaving the ready room he headed across the deserted bridge. "Main engineering," he requested in the turbolift, and paused, "Belay that. Deck 2."

The lift deposited him on deck 2 and he made his way along the corridor; it was his duty to see to the unexpected and not entirely welcome Romulan passengers, who the CO and XO had been ordered to work with. Stopping at an intersection of passageways, he requested an update from the computer: according to the interface, all five Romulans were now ensconced in their quarters; none of them would be permitted to leave the deck until the Raven was at the Romulan-Tkrnn border deep in the 'northern' Beta quadrant. At that point he assumed cooperation with the Romulans would become common knowledge amongst the crew, particularly as department heads - he was thinking in particular of CTSO T'Seng and the senior marine Burwell - would become aware of their passengers. In that respect he wasn't clear on what Laterza and her advisors wanted from them. Perhaps the VP was letting them wing it: collaboration with these Tal Shiar once out there would surely necessitate informing a good part of the crew of what they were all up to.

Moving on from the intersection, he became lost in these thoughts which seemed to want to repeat themselves indefinitely, until his cyclical anxiety was dispelled with an unexpected encounter.

"Greetings," the Romulan said. In the middle of the passage he was confronted by one of the junior Tal Shiar , en route to the group of five separate quarters. "I'm Lieutenant Pojoc."

"How do you do? Commander Andae Bl-"

"Andae Blakus, Executive Officer of the Raven. Yes, I am aware. And it doesn't just come from reading the crew manifest, you should know."

"Indeed?" Blakus said and cleared his throat. He decided he wasn't interested in how much the Tal Shiar knew about him or any other Starfleet officer. "Where are you headed, Lieutenant? You and your colleagues are restricted to deck 2 until we've travelled all the way through your territory."

"Obviously I know that," the man smirked, "But I needed to stretch my legs, as you'd put it. I look forward to working with your Chief Engineer Commander Milyanov. I am the engineer of our team," he explained.

"If you are such an expert, you'll know that I too am an engineer."

Pojoc smiled and nodded readily. "Romulan intel about Tkrnn technology will prove invaluable to you, I'm sure. Over two dozen clashes between our navy and their forces, and seven infiltrations of Tkrnn territory in which we the Tal Shiar gathered teraquads of information on their capabilities, will prove a great asset for the powers of the Alpha and Beta quadrants."

"Assuming you're willing to surrender that information."

"Our orders came from the senate. Have no doubt, we will work with you. Once at the designated coordinates, you will help us infiltrate their terraformer." The what now? Blakus thought. "A ship, roughly cuboid in form, dimensions four by four by five kilometres..." Pojoc stopped himself and offered simply, "More will be revealed en route."

Unnerved and uncertain, Andae hurried away from deck 2 and continued his trek down to engineering, then with Milyanov and Tinsley headed back up to the mess, The Wheel. For now the portals on the exterior showed the great amphitheatre of the inside of the Dome. Soon that would be replaced by the endless starfield.

[Calli Valente]

Starbase Forty-Seven ...
Previous Day ::

Following the 'party' for the reopening of Sean and Kara's bar, Calli had been keeping her head down ..... She had been introduced to a young Officer newly arrived from the Academy, an 'over eagre' Lieutenant who had seemingly taken a shine to her. Kara thought it was all too 'quaint' telling her she should get in touch and have lunch or supper, a long romantic walk n the Arboretum, a little hand-holding maybe? ..... She had told both of them in no uncertain terms that 'matchmaking' was not one of their strong suits, and although they disagreed, they finally let the subject drop. Knowing Kara as she did, Calli had no doubt that the next time she walked into the bar the aforementioned Lieutenant would either already be there, or would totally coincidentally turn up within minutes. So when the call came for her to report back to the Raven, she almost tripped over herself .....

USS Raven-C
Beta Docking Arm ::

Acknowledging the Security Officers at the umbilicus walkway onto the ship, she made her way around the long corridor to the first turbolift:

"Deck Two,"

'Deck Two access prohibited' the computer said unhelpfully.

"Bridge!" Calli ordered, deep in thought as the turbolift rose through the Saucer Section. The doors slid aside and she stepped out, Harry Wedlerson was sat in the centre seat:

"Harry, why is Deck Two ?"

"No idea, it was cleared of all Senior Officers save for the Captain and Exec' ... You've been moved to 'VIP' quarters on Deck Three for the time being," the Operations Chief said with a shrug. Frowning she retraced her steps to the turbolift and entered, requesting Deck Three she asked the computer to confirm her new quarters, putting that the damn thing could have said so before. Once in her temporary home, she checked the Duty Roster then unpacked, took a shower and dressed in fresh clothes, satisfied she was respectable she asked the computer the location of the Captain:

'Admiral Torek is in his Ready Room'

"Thanks," Calli replied sarcastically. Back on the Bridge she crossed to the Ready Room and tapped the chime.

"Evening..." she said, seeing Torek sitting at his desk, she nodded at the two empty glasses, "... Not enough room in the one glass then?" she asked.

"Andae was here, help yourself and give me a refill while you're at it,"

"So, why is Deck Two off-limits?"

"We have 'guests' I think you've been moved to 'VIP' quarters for the duration of this trip,"

"Yes, I know..." Calli said, lowering herself into the chair opposite, handing Carl his refilled glass, "... So, want to tell me what's going on?" she asked. Seeing Carl's reluctance she didn't press him, she sipped at the cognac enjoying the earth in her stomach, and waited, knowing he would elaborate in his own good time.

"We've been given an assignment,"

"Good, about time we got back out there, I was wondering if Command were looking at mothba ....." she stopped talking, realising Carl had more to say.

"Oh we're going out there alright, and we've got guests," Torek said.

"Nothing unusual about that,"

"Except 'these' orders came directly from Sabine Laterza, and bypassed Gheskori in the process!"

"You're joking, right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking, I half expected Ghekori to stride through that door before we got underway, but he's either already been spoken to by the proverbial 'powers that be' or he still has no clue we're prepping to leave,"

"Jeez...! Calli replied by way of comment, then continued, "... Hold on, what's the Federation Vice President doing issuing a Starship with orders anyway?"

"As far as Ican tell, it's got to do with this Tkrnn issue, and the 'guests' we have on board are ..... Romulans ..... or rather, Tal Shiar to be precise..." Carl said, downing the last of the cognac, "... Their presence is on a 'need to know' basis for the time being, so don't refer to them until we let them out of hiding will you?"

"Fine by me..." she said, emptying her own glass before rising to walk to the drinks cabinet, Carl declined a refill so she only poured herself a small one, "... Romulans eh," she said, wondering how long it would be before the first trouble ..........

[Carl Torek]

Starbase Forty-Seven ...
03:00 hrs ::

Carl sat in the centre seat on the Bridge of the USS Raven-C ..... To say he wasn't happy could be called an understatement ..... Ande and Calli were seated on either side of him as the Bridge crew readied the enormous vessel for departure. No one had commented on the hour, everyone knew that standard departure times were usually mid-afternoon, Starbase time.

"All moorings and umbilicus released, Dockmaster confirms we are free to manoeuvre," Wedlerson said from Ops.

"Thank you..." Andae replied after glancing at Torek, "... Helm. Back us away from the Dock and assume departure angle with Spacedoors,"

"Aye Sir," Lieutenant Anna Fields at Helm confirmed. The Sovereign Class Starship used thrusters to slowly move almost sideways and back away from the Docking Arm, then began to slowly rotate until the massive Spacedoors came into view.

"Sir, incoming communication," the Comms Officer said.

"Ignore it..." Carl said. Everyone on the Bridge remained focused on their Station, but the Comms Officer repeated herself, "... I said, ignore it, Ensign,"

"Admiral, the communication is coming from Section Admiral Gheskori," the woman said.

"You have your orders Ensign," Calli said, turning to face the young Officer, who looked ashen at the prospect of cutting the comm. Carl remained silent as he watched the Spacedoors open slowly. Lieutenant Fields now used the sips thrusters to manoeuvre the ship along the departure line, but suddenly the doors, seconds ago gliding open, were now closing!

"Helm ..... One-quarter impulse, get us through those doors," Carl said, the calmness of his tone hiding his inner nerves.

"Sir?"

"You 'HEARD' me Lieutenant, or would you prefer I put someone in that seat with better hearing?" Carl said, clearly annoyed as the gap between the doors grew ever narrower by the second.

"..... No, Sir... Sorry, Sir," Anna said, returning her attention to her panel. Moving the ship to Port several metres, she engaged the impulse drive and the Raven moved forward, fast, way too fast the edges of the massive doors disappeared off either side of the viewscreen as the Saucer Section passed beyond the doors, and then they were in open space outside the Starbase. Carl was quietly wondering if Gheskori would order tractor beams to be locked onto the ship, if he did there would be no going anywhere, but no restraints materialised and the Raven gradually put distance between her and her home .....

"Lysia, any signs of pursuit?" Calli asked.

"Nothing, in fact, the Spacedoors have completely closed," the Tactical Officer said. Carl watched the viewscreen, wondering if he had pushed his lifelong friendship with Gheskori beyond any possible reconciliation. The last thing he wanted to do was to be placed in the position he now found himself in. Technically, he had taken the Sovereign Class Raven without official orders, yes, he had been 'instructed' to depart by the Federation Vice President, but that didn't lessen his situation one iota. He would undoubtedly face a Courts Martial if and when he returned unless Sabine Laterza vouched for his actions officially, which for some unexplainable reason, he doubted.

"Lieutenant..." Carl said standing to approach the Navigation Station, "... Heading zero eight zero mark one zero ..... Warp two,"

"..... Aye, Sir," Anna fields confirmed, entering the required information into her panel before executing the order. The Raven moved into faster-than-light travel, the stars streaming by on the large viewscreen.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," he replies by way of apology for his earlier temper, "... I'll be in my Ready Room if needed," he said, crossing the Bridge knowing everyone was looking at him. Calli and Andae stood as he passed.

"They deserve some explanation of what just happened Carl," Calli whispered. Carl looked from her to Andae and back.

"They are here to follow orders, not have me justify every decision I make," Carl replied, glancing past his two most trusted Officers to see others quickly turning away.

"This is different, and you know it," Calli insisted, Blakus nodding almost imperceptibly in agreement.

"Feel free," Carl said, passing the two before entering his Ready Room ..... Inside he dropped into his seat and turned to watch the stars ..........

[Gheskori]

OOC: Hope it's ok to put this Gheskori post on the Raven thread

IC:
"What the hell is she doing?!" Gheskori blurted before reining himself in and trying to evaluate the situation. From his position on the central raised platform in the command centre, he nodded over at the controllers responsible for docking operations and for communicating with the dockmaster, "What do we have?"

"It's confirmed, sir. The Raven has powered up and is making to unmoor itself from its berth."

"She's now floating free, sir," another reported.

The Raven had begun its slow turn towards the doors of the Dock. "Get me the Raven. Personally to Fleet Admiral Torek, highest priority, direct from the Section Admiral." There was no response. Feeling approaching apoplexy, Ghes managed to extract himself and enter discussions.

An unscheduled boarding of the Raven by its crew had been noted earlier; it'd been assumed they were about to carry out some sort of moored shakedown test. The ship was not scheduled to depart for at least another two months, as new assignments started to be made in the wake of the discovery of the Tkrnn's plan regarding the Beta quadrant and their interference on the Starbase. The El Salvador had been scheduled to depart first, and nothing definite had been set for the Raven.

"Ship has reached the spacedoors," an officer confirmed. "She's gone."

"A vessel to pursue?" he asked his aide Barton. The commander closed his eyes and shook his head; nothing was available, at least nothing with the range and top speed of the Sovereign class vessel. The Enzio and El Salvador were both offline, the Maracanda and El Alamein only just returned, and other smaller non-starships - both warp and sub-warp - were spectaculary ill-equipped for the job.

"Has he completely lost his mind?" Nia Lemond asked, entering the command centre main floor. Gheskori lowered his head; for a moment he almost entertained the possibility, nothing or very little else would seem to explain Carl's actions. And they were certain the Section XO was indeed aboard the Raven.

"No. But perhaps that's something you could more fairly level at the Federation Council," someone spoke. Gheskori, Barton and Lemond turned and saw Vice President Laterza, now in the place that Lemond had just been, at the edge of the command centre. She approached with Commander Williams and others of her staff, "You see, Gheskori, I gave the order to the CO of the Raven to depart."

Ghes took a moment to absorb the information. Eventually he threw his hands up, "On what possible grounds?!"

"I'm afraid the nature of his mission is to remain undisclosed. But as to why I gave the order and why the directive was not passed to yourself, wouldn't you rather be absolved of blame, if his objective isn't achieved, and that those who would have to answer for it would lie elsewhere?"

That didn't sound likely to the Denobulan. Surely the administration would wish to exculpate themselves via a Section commander rather than allow one of their own to take the blame? As it was, if Laterza was to be believed, at first she herself would have to answer, and then by extension the whole Federation Council. No, something else must lie behind it. But about the mission. What could it be that its risk was so great the Federation Council needed someone to be able to deny it?

"I can't tell you that," the VP replied and her expression hardened, "I'm not satisfied with this situation myself, Gheskori, and I'm sorry I've gone behind your back, but secrecy must be maintained. I've acted on advice and recommendations from Starfleet Security and the Romulan delegation to Earth headed by Crelev."

Ghes noted the Romulan wasn't present with Laterza. "Why the Romulans in particular? Wait," he turned, "Tactical, are you tracking the Raven?" Yes, of course they were, and it was apparent that Carl was taking the ship towards the Romulan border. Ghes's worry increased tenfold. He hoped Laterza and Crelev knew what they were doing...

[Andae Blakus]

OOC: See Gheskori post above

IC:
The Raven was flying for the Romulan border, aiming almost for the point which would keep them in Romulan space for the shortest time, though slightly diverted to allow passage close by a couple of Romulan outposts in case of any need or emergency, but first of all to be able to rendezvous with the IRW Mak'pw...

In his quarters, Blakus considered the ship's situation. The crew knew little of the mission that Laterza had in mind for them. Further details - hopefully all of them - would only become apparent once they reached the Romulan-Tkrnn border. Apart from the passing and obscure information about the terraforming vessel given him by Lieutenant Pojoc, Blakus was entirely in the dark.

Their particular destination was apparently well away from the zones of contact between the two sporadically fighting peoples, though these things could change quickly, Andae knew, and he worried that by the time they got there they'd find themselves in the middle of a warzone. Again he and the rest of the crew had to trust to the Tal Shiar's judgement - a laughable state of affairs.

Colonel Karuth and her team had asked more than once for a meeting with their Raven counterparts, to discuss some aspects of the mission. But despite the desire of the three senior Raven officers to find out more about what they were up to, they'd had to ward Karuth and co off. Accepting of the situation, the Romulans had remained in their quarters on deck 2.

Blakus also had mostly kept to his quarters on that deck while off-duty, worried he might accidentally reveal something over drinks at The Wheel. Resisting the temptation to call on Pojoc and ask for more information - and telling himself it wasn't because he feared the Tal Shiar engineer - he instead again took up reading the annals of his family history. His heritage lay with the impoverished nobility of Europe, from a time when notions of poverty and aristocracy had had meaning on Earth.

Anything that might betray to the crew something out of the ordinary about their mission - Romulan intel agents being aboard, for example - couldn't be permitted. The CO and XO, Laterza's words still ringing in their ears, had considered it essential for the crew's own safety that they learn next to nothing, at least until the ship was part way across Romulan territory. That Romulan space was their initial destination was one of the few things the crew did know...

"We're three hours from the specified coordinates, sir," Fields reported. Blakus nodded. The Raven was now inside the Romulan neutral zone. Their destination was the Valdore-type Mak'pw, which lay just the other side.

"Commander... we're receiving a hail by subspace... galactic coordinates 174 mark 28, about 50 parsecs distant. It has a Starfleet carrier wave signal."

"Identify the vessel," he tapped the central chair's armrest, "Admiral Torek to the bridge." Carl strode out from his ready room, his features troubled. Had he already been holding some communique with someone? Andae wondered.

"Source is the USS Cincinnati, sir. Ok, they've now sent a text-only message..." Lysia T'Seng studied her display, "... asking if they can render assistance... They note that we've crossed into the Romulan neutral zone. I think, sir, that they're politely asking for an explanation." She didn't say it, but to Blakus it seemed the Cincinnati was speaking for her, and for everyone else aboard the Raven.

[Carl Torek]

OOC: Great post by Gheskori, it really added to the storyline.

IC:

USS Raven-C ::

Carl hadn't set foot outside the Ready Room in the hours since leaving the Starbase, leaving running the ship to andae and Calli. Truth be told: if he could have clicked his fingers, or tapped the heels of his boots together to be away from Starfleet, away from the responsibilities, to return Elise, Bethan, Vanessa and himself back to Earth, back to their home across the way from the Yacht Club in San Francisco, he would have gladly done so. He had never felt so tired .....

"Computer, begin recording," he said in the room illuminated by starlight alone.

'Ready'

For the Attention of:

SECTION ADMIRAL GHESKORI ...

Starbase Forty-Seven
Yattho Star System:

PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL ...


"Section Admiral Gheskori ..... It is with deepest regret that I must offer my resigna ....."

=^= Admiral Torek to the Bridge .. .. .. =^=

"Pause recording ..... Delete," Carl said, sighing as he stood and crossed the room.

"What is it?" he asked as he entered the Bridge, remaining standing as his Exec' vacated the centre seat.

"Text-only message from USS Cincinnati..." Lysia T'Seng studied her display, "... Asking if they can render assistance... They note that we've crossed into the Romulan neutral zone. I think, Sir, that they're politely asking for an explanation." Carl could see that everyone on the Bridge was hoping he could enlighten them.

"Tell the Captain of the Cincinnati that we're fine, please Lysia," he waited until she confirmed the communication then looked at each in turn:

"..... I know you are all wondering, some more than others as to our 'unorthodox' departure from the Starbase, and why I refused to acknowledge the recall from Section Admiral Gheskori ..... Over the years I have come to trust you all implicitly, and I would hope that a modicum of that trust is returned. I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you precisely what I know..." he proceeded to refresh their memory regarding activities on Starbase Forty-Seven, adding the Vice Presidents' belief that one or more factions of the Romulan Senate may, or may not, be working alongside the Tkrnn. Informing them that that their instructions to depart were issued by the Vice President herself, for his eyes only, and 'DID NOT' include Gheskori or the Raven's Senior Officers, "... An instruction I immediately disobeyed by informing both Andae and Calli and which am doing once again by informing you all of our assignment,"

"Sir, the Cincinnati is still heading our way," Lysia T'Seng said quietly.

"Andae ....." Carl said, motioning towards the Comms Station, Andae spoke very briefly to the Commanding Officer of the oncoming Starship, which seconds later turned to resume its previous course.

"We have been 'instructed' to investigate the Tkrnn..." Carl continued after Blakus nodded, "... Some of you will no doubt be wondering why you have been temporarily relocated from Deck Two ..... Aboard the Raven are five Romulan Officers ..... We are to work with the Romulans during this assignment, and 'ALL' information gathered will be immediately shared between us. I need to inform you that the five are Tal Shiar!"

"Butchers," someone muttered.

"Lysia, please assign Security at 'ALL' Sections, the Romulans will not have free-reign of the ship, and must not attempt to enter any restricted area. They will have limited access to computer systems, 'VERY' limited...!" Carl said, disliking their situation more with each passing second, "... They have been asked to remain on Deck Two unless their presence is required elsewhere. I'm not going to have them chaperoned, but I also want them under no illusions that they cannot wander around the ship freely, understood?"

"Yes, Sir," T'Seng confirmed, waving one of the Bridge Security Officers over to issue initial instructions.

"Now ..... As you are undoubtedly aware, we have entered Romulan Space..." Carl continued, "... We will shorty rendezvous with a Valdor Type Warbird, the IRW Mok'Pa. Our 'guests' are the Commander, and several Officers from that vessel, as to who will be remaining aboard the Raven once we meet up with our, counterpart, as yet to be decided. Needless to say, I don't want any unnecessary interaction between the Romulans and us, so inform your Departments to that effect ..... OK, enough said, Andae you have Conn, I'll be in sickbay....."

"You unwell, Sir?" Calli asked worriedly.

"Headache," Carl said as he stepped into the turbolift, all eyes on the Bridge silently watching him go ..........

[Andae Blakus]

Bridge

Andae sat in the centre seat on the bridge while Torek had headed to sickbay. The crew were still running over various tactical scenarios regarding what they would do if things didn't go to plan, though considering they still weren't sure what exactly the plan was, they were trying every conceivable scenario that involved a lone starship going into Romulan space...

"Commander, we're nearing the rendezvous coordinates," Fields reported.

Deputy CTSO Gerelo frowned at his console, "We should be detecting the Mok'pw by now. Still nothing on scanners, sir."

"Acknowledged," he said to both. They'd expected to find the Tal Shiar vessel already at the coordinates but apparently the ship was elsewhere. "Let's sit tight. Conduct long range scans over as a wide a surface area as possible; we might still detect it as being on an inbound course."

They didn't find the Valdore-type warbird but it arrived nevertheless, long range sensors not able to reach that scanning area fast enough. The warbird arrived from the galactic south-east - towards the Klingon border, Blakus noted - and began hailing. He tapped the armrest panel, "Admiral to bridge."

"Apologies for our tardiness," the Tal Shiar officer said when he appeared on the viewscreen, "I'm Major Hirt'vak, second officer of the IRW Mok'pw. Where are my Commanding and Executive Officers?"

"I'm Commander Andae Blakus, Executive Officer of the Raven. They're in crew quarters," Blakus treaded carefully, "We believe it best to keep them separate from most of the crew in the interests of secrecy and of the importance of our assignment, regarding which latter we hope you can enlighten us in short course."

"Colonel Karuth will do that. I must speak to her and your Commanding Officer."

As if on cue, both Torek and Karuth, as well as Valente and the other Tal Shiar major (the Mok'pw XO) strode into the Raven's nerve centre (the other three Tal Shiar guests still in quarters on deck 2). "Ah... Colonel," Hirt'vak nodded with what was perhaps the slightest modicum of visible relief on the viewscreen and gave the Romulan salute. Carl introduced himself and Calli, and once the initial dubious pleasantries were over with and the comm with the Mok'pw was ended Torek turned to Karuth,

"Colonel. It has been our pleasure to escort you here. Presumably now you and some of your officers will want to return to your vessel for our joint transit out to the Tkrnn border," he nodded perfunctorily, but Karuth had other ideas. Her expression hardened,

"On the contrary, Admiral, myself and my team will be remaining here aboard the Raven. We won't be moving. It's part of the deal between us and the Federation... Our conditions for escorting you across our space are that we keep watch over you, firsthand. If you don't like it, I must ask you to contact your Vice President as well as Ambassador Crelev."

"I don't know if I approve of that, Colonel," Torek said eventually.

"Don't take offence," the First Officer Major Nulakr put in, "You know of Romulan methods and our isolationism? There is little trust of outsiders in the Star Empire, even amongst we the Tal Shiar who are used to consorting with the Federation and Klingons." Yes, usually because you're busy infiltrating us, Blakus thought. "Besides," Nulakr continued, "Our primary goal aboard your ship is not to keep watch over you, but rather to plan our operation with you."

"Yes, about that... When are you going to be a little more forthcoming?" Andae asked.

Karuth and Nulakr ignored him completely and the colonel turned to Torek, "Now that our vessels have rendezvoused, Admiral, I see no reason why we can't begin our planning immediately. I insist on it in fact."

Torek seemed about to retort at that last but stopped himself, bowed obligingly and stepped aside, gesturing impatiently to the door of the conference room. Andae couldn't stop his amusement at seeing Carl's reaction to proceedings. Colonel Karuth nodded and walked into the room where Andae, Carl and Calli and the Romulan CO and XO began a preliminary briefing about the terraforming vessel on the Romulan-Tkrnn border.

* * *

Conference room

"None of what we discuss here leaves this room until we're at our border with the Tkrnn. This is only a preliminary conversation... we'll all learn more, once we reach the sector," Karuth glared at all four Starfleeters and Romulans and gestured to her XO. Torek shook his head to himself slightly and Andae suppressed a grin.

Major Nulakr nodded and rose to head to the wall display, into which had been downloaded a stream of data from the Mok'pw. He indicated a graphic, "This ship was detected by a listening outpost of ours in our peripheral Gamma Zordon sector; the vessel is emerging from the other side of the Zordon system that lies just within Tkrnn space. All our warships are currently engaged, and it seems the Tkrnn have purposely aimed to find a way into our territory where our defences are less numerous. We believe the ship - with an estimated mass of 450 of your megatonnes - has been commissioned to begin terraforming Romulan planets, and perhaps eventually some of your Federation worlds that border our territory."

About five times the mass of a Borg Cube, Andae thought. "Wouldn't the Tkrnn need a fleet to support such a vessel as it advances?" Andae asked.

"We have wondered about that," Karuth acknowledged at the table, "Either the escorting fleet lies hidden, or the terraformer is capable of defending itself... or the Tkrnn are overconfident."

[Carl Torek]

Carl was still lingering in Sickbay when Calli came to fetch him - The Mok'pa had been sighted on long-range sensors and was approaching at high warp .....

"I suppose we'd better inform our, guests," Torek said, heading for the door, Calli looked back to see Doctor Keeley frowning, her head shaking from side to side worriedly.

They went to Deck Two to inform the Romulans and then made their way to the Bridge:

USS Raven-C
Bridge ::

They had watched as the Valdore Class Warbird, IRW Mok'Pa, blasted past the Raven too close for comfort, before turning in a wide arc to come alongside the Sovereign Class Starship. Had Torek been annoyed at the massive breach of protocol on approaching another vessel, he didn't show it, though everyone on the Bridge knew he was keeping his opinions on the Romulan vessels' approach to himself.

It was also clear that he was holding his tongue when the Romulan Colonel informed him that she and her party would be remaining aboard the Raven. Everyone looked at each other in silence as the group moved into the Conference Room .....

~~~~~

The Raven Officers listened in silence as they were lectured to by the Romulan Major, who clearly showed no respect for his counterparts.

"Wouldn't the Tkrnn need a fleet to support such a vessel as it advances?" Andae asked.

"We have wondered about that..." Karuth acknowledged at the table, "... Either the escorting fleet lies hidden, or the terraformer is capable of defending itself... Or, the Tkrnn are overconfident."

"I doubt overconfidence comes into it..." Calli said, receiving glares from the Romulans, which she pointedly ignored, "... If that vessel out there 'is' a terraformer, it would have all it needed to achieve its primary task,"

"..... And you come to this, conclusion, by what route, may I ask!" Hirt'Vak asked.

"Well... Let's see... Last time I checked... Terraforming isn't an overnight venture. Dependent on the planet's original atmospheric makeup, it could take generations to convert to a breathable atmosphere, capable of sustaining any specific species. Even if there was only partial reconfiguration required, it would still take time, possibly years, and the vessel would obviously need to remain in situ during the transformation process,"

"Just out of curiosity here, but have you sent any ships to investigate the terraformer more closely?" Carl asked, seeing the Romulans exchange glances before replying:

"We have not," Colonel Karuth said unconvincingly.

"So we will be the first to approach and possibly board the terraformer?" Torek insisted.

"A joint force will board and investigate,"

"I think before we go any further, we need to establish some, guidelines, for our venture..." Carl said, leaning back in his chair, "... You appear to be under the impression that while we are indeed cooperating, 'YOU' are in charge ..... I'm afraid that isn't the case. This is a Federation vessel, my Command, and as such I will be making the decisions, which I will of course discuss fully beforehand,"

"YOU FORGET YOURSELF, HUMAN...!" Nulakr, the Mok'Pa's Executive Officer said, rising to his feet, "... You are here... BECAUSE WE ALLOW IT!" Karuth waved a hand to instruct the Major to sit as Carl looked on almost smiling.

"Then I'll detain you no longer, Major, Colonel..." Carl said, nodding to each of the Romulans in turn as he rose to his feet, the meeting clearly over, "... Commander Valente, if you and Commander T'Seng could escort our 'guests' to Transporter Room Two, I will have someone collect their belongings and have them sent over to the Mok'Pa in due course," Karuth clapped, slowly and deliberately:

"Well said, Admiral," she said, but Carl had already walked out of the Conference Room.

"This way!" Calli said.

"Commander, if you could give me a moment, I fear we have, how do you Humans say 'Got off on the wrong foot' so to speak? ..... I am sure the Admiral will reconsider once he has taken instruction from his superiors,"

"That's as may be, Colonel. Though I think you will find that 'Admiral Torek' has the final say on this vessel. So, if you would ....." Calli said, raising her eyebrows as she motioned once again to the door ..........

[Calli Valente]

"That's as may be, Colonel. Though I think you will find that 'Admiral Torek' has the final say on this vessel. So, if you would .....?" Calli had said, raising her eyebrows as she motioned once again to the door .....

For a long moment, none of the Romulans moved, presumably waiting for Colonel Karuth to make her decision, then as she stepped towards the door, the others followed her in silence. as they reached the turbolift, Calli requested 'Deck Eight' ... The doors closed and the carriage began to decent Deck by Deck.

"You are not part of the crew..." Colonel Karuth said speculatively eyeing Calli, "... I studied the crew roster thoroughly prior to our arrival,"

"No, I'm not part of the permanent crew,"

"You were, Starfleet Intelligence..." Major Hirt'Vak said, grinning, "... You prefer being on board a Starship, confined, shackled, unable to act freely?"

"I'm happy with my current assignment Major, and even before I came on board the Raven, we were hardly 'shackled' as you put it," Valente replied, smiling.

"You and Admiral Torek, you are, related, both having been unofficially adopted by the former Head of Starfleet Intelligence!" Hirt'Vak said.

"You've done your homework, Major. Such a pity you didn't brush up on Starfleet protocols..." Calli said, turning to face the Major, "... If you had, you wouldn't have made the mistake you made earlier. Alas, now you're leaving we'll never know if we could have worked together. Probably for the best, you Romulans don't have the best reputation for cooperating," she knew she was goading the man and wondered if he would be allowed to act on the offence she had given, but when he remained motionless, almost as if glued to the spot, she winked and turned her back. An insult no Romulan should suffer.

The turbolift stopped, the computer chiming:

'Deck Eight'

"This way," Calli said, heading down the corridor towards Transporter Room Two.

"Commander..." Colonel Heruth said quietly as she took Calli's arm, "... It is clear that a point had to be made, and I cede that point, but evicting us will only hinder your efforts, not aid them,"

"We were tasked with investigating the Tkrnn, Colonel. We could do that with your help or alone. Yes, it would take time to circumvent Romulan Space, but we have time..." Calli said, casually taking half a pace backwards, so her arm slipped from the Romulans' grip, "... Besides... The Tkrnn are, according to you, looking to terraform 'ROMULAN' Worlds, not Human inhabited ones. So we'll have plenty of time to go around your Space, meanwhile, I imagine you'll be moving forward with your investigations in your own inimitable way," Calli finished as the doors slid aside on the Transporter Room.

"I wish to speak with Admiral Torek before we leave!" Karuth demanded.

"I'm afraid the Admiral is busy..." Calli said with an exaggerated shrug, before adopting a surprised expression as she appeared to think of an alternative, "... I 'could' ask Commander Blakus if he has time for you, before you depart?" she asked innocently.

"..... 'Commander Blakus' will be fine," Karuth said between clenched teeth. Both Nulakr and Hirt'Vat began to strenuously object, but she silenced both with a look that could have cut them in two, then, forcing a smile, she waited ..........

[Andae Blakus]

"One thing, Commander Valente... You said you had time, but I can tell you it's somewhat limited," Karuth said just before climbing on to the pad, "The terraforming vessel will now be less than a week away from what appears to be its first designated planet of the Star Empire. And while you say it isn't as much of your concern, considering its apparent targets are Romulan worlds, it will, as our intelligence suggests, try to do the same to nearby Federation worlds lining your border with us. You might be happy to throw us Romulans to the dogs, but please believe the Tkrnn will be after you next. You are also going against the spirit of your orders."

Calli was given pause for thought and commed the bridge, where Andae relayed the mission advisor's concerns to Carl in the ready room. The CO took the better part of half an hour to get back to him, and indicated that the Romulans should leave the ship all the same, with the exception of one officer that he was willing to allow to remain behind as a liaison.

Well, that way they can still keep an eye on us as they wanted, Andae thought and raised an eyebrow, expecting that Karuth herself would want to remain - so he was surprised to learn that the colonel had boarded the Mok'pa and instead left Major Nulakr aboard the Sovereign class.

Great, he thought unhappily, the First Officer.

It was well known that XOs had a tendency of sizing each other up on meeting, something that held between whole different powers of the Alpha and Beta quadrants and not just internally between Starfleet vessels or Romulan warbirds. Who was the most trusted lieutenant of his or her CO, who had the greater skills, who would gain a command first? He hoped to avoid Nulakr as much as possible. That'll probably go for most of the crew.

Spitting fury though soon brought to order by Colonel Karuth, Hirt'vak returned to the bridge of the Mok'pa - from where he'd beamed over to the Raven for the short meeting of senior officers - and set about getting the vessel into warp. "She's made one of her last mistakes," he whispered to a junior officer, regarding Karuth, at one of the bridge's consoles.

How long will she remain in her quarters? he wondered, sequestering herself from the rest of the crew? She'd been that way since before she'd departed - with the other four Tal Shiar officers - for Starbase 47 two weeks ago.

Andae sat on the bridge of the Raven, watching the viewscreen which had focussed on the Mok'pa off the starboard bow. She was beginning a slow turn towards the depths of Romulan space, and soon was gone.

"The Mok'pa has jumped to warp, sir. Warp factor 8.5."

"Lay in the same course and speed," he directed. Fields worked her console and nodded. "Engage." The Raven proceeded to follow the warbird, increasing to 8.6 briefly to catch up and then holding 1,000 kilometres astern. The vessels were now making their joint flight galactic northwards out to the Romulan-Tkrnn border. He glanced at the ready room door and tried to divine what might be on Torek's mind.

They had their orders to follow, Andae supposed, irregular though they had been, not coming from Section 47 itself but, effectively, from the Federation Council and the Romulan Ambassador to Earth. If part of those orders dictated that they should work directly with the Romulans - the Tal Shiar at that - and have them aboard the vessel, it was perhaps wise to keep one (as it happened Major Nulakr) here. It kept the Raven within the mission rules that'd been laid down, while minimising the obvious risk of having Romulan intel living aboard the ship.

Andae looked over Wedlerson's and then Svensson's shoulders, both analysing the Mok'pa. It'd already been noted that the Mok'pa was of the same configuration as the advanced Valdore warbird IRW Gecius; clearly the Mok'pa's design had been based on it.

The Gecius was that vessel which under cloak had last year been keeping watch on Starbase 47; Andae understood prominent Intel officers had boarded and disappeared on it, winding up at Zova Dox - a Romulan facility that'd been run by the Tal Shiar - before escaping. Presumably that was when the Tal Shiar had acquired the warbird's plans.

"Three days from the Romulan-Tkrnn border, sir," Fields reported later that afternoon.

Andae nodded to himself. According to Calli, Karuth had said the 450 megatonne terraformer would be at the nearest Romulan planet in less than seven days. That planet would be safe, but only so long as the Raven and her tenuous allied vessel could do something about the behemoth...

[Carl Torek]

Romulan Star Empire Space ...
Entering Gamma Zordon Sector

Two Days After Rendezveux with Mok'Pa ::

It came as a surprise when Carl entered the Bridge completely unexpectedly .....

Though no one said anything, it was clear he looked as if he hadn't slept in a week. He walked to the front of the Bridge, dwarfed by the massive viewscreen and looked at each of his Officers in turn:

"I need to apologise for my recent behaviour..." Torek said, obviously ashamed at how he had been acting, and the effect it would have been having on the crew and Senior Officers, "... I have acted in an unprofessional manner, allowing personal issues to hinder my judgement. I hope you can forgive my recent actions, and I assure you I am completely focused on the task at hand," Andae moved aside to allow Carl to sit in the centre seat, but he waved him back.

"Where are the Romulans...?" he asked after a significant pause. Blakus pointed at the vies of the Valdore Type Warbird ahead of them, "... They did as instructed and left!"

"Colonel Karuth and her Officers left, she instructed, Major Nulakr to remain aboard as liaison," Blakus said, clearly unhappy.

"I assume he's still residing on Deck Two?"

"Yes, Sir," Calli said, Carl turned to Harry Wedlerson:

"Harry, let's get everyone back where they belong, please. We'll leave the Major in the 'VIP' suite for now, no point in hiding the fact he's aboard, can someone get him up here,"

oooooooooo

Major Nulakr stepped off the turbolift, a pace in front of the Security Officer who had escorted him from his quarters. He glared at Blakus and then Calli Valente as if he somehow held them both personally responsible for his treatment.

"Admiral Torek, good to see you have, recovered," the Romulan said, clearly uninterested in Torek's health.

"Thank you, Major. I was a little surprised to find you had volunteered to remain aboard the Raven, I half expected Colonel Karuth would have preferred to remain here,"

"I did not volunteer. Colonel Karuth, instructed me to remain..." the Romulan said, walking around the Bridge as if it was his own private domain, "... Let's not have any misunderstandings, Admiral, I am here to do a job, nothing more,"

"I assume you have been in contact with your ship since we set out?"

"I have, and you will do nothing to prevent my encrypted communications," Nulakr said defiantly.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Carl said, glancing at Lysia T'Seng for a fraction of a second before returning his attention to their guest. He was about to continue when Lysia spoke:

"Admiral, we have the Tkrnn terraforming vessel on long-range sensors ..... The Mok'Pa has increased speed,"

"Match the Mok'Pa, put us five hundred metres off their Port Aft Quarter please," Carl instructed, walking across the Bridge to sit down. For a second Major Nulakr remained motionless, then strode over to drop forcibly into Andae's seat. Blakus almost laughed at the childish bravado shown by the Romulan, then Calli offered her seat, he bowed theatrically then sat, smiling at the clearly disgusted Romulan before returning his attention to the viewscreen .....

Tkrnn Terraforming Vessel ::

"The Mok'Pa is slowing,"

"Do likewise Lieutenant," Carl said to Anna fields. The Raven dropped out of warp and closed formation with the Romulan Warbird, both slowed until they were one hundred kilometres off the enormous vessel. It resembled a borg Cube in the fact that it was approximately cuboid in construction, but whereas the Borg Cubes were almost smooth-sided, this 'ship' had protrusions along both sides, some large enough that Carl believed he could have placed the Raven on several of them with room to spare. He instructed Lysia to begin thorough scans while they waited.

"Any atmosphere Commander?" Blakus queried.

"Breathable but it might be a little stale. I noted that power systems started to come online as we approached..." T'Seng confirmed, running her hands expertly over the Tactical Station, "... No weapons or shields, but that's not to say it isn't armed. Given the sheer size, I imagine it has plenty of firepower at its disposal,"

"Andae, get a boarding party togeth ....." Carl began, but was interrupted by Nulkar:

"You will make no attempt to board that vessel until you are granted permission from the Mok'Pa!" Andae and Calli looked at the Romulan, then at Carl.

"I'm not privy to how you do things over there ..... 'Major' ..... But this is 'MY' ship, and I'll decide what actions to take, and when ..... Is that 'COMPLETELY' understood?" for a second Calli thought Nulakr was going to strike Carl when he shot to his feet as if electrocuted. He glared at the Raven's Commanding Officer, eyes ablaze, one hand on the ornately decorated handle of the double-edged shadow knife he wore. Then he took a pace back and give the briefest bow.

"..... Understood," the Romulan replied dangerously ..........

[Andae Blakus]

After the narrowly avoided confrontation between Torek and Nulakr, Andae had left the bridge to assemble his team.

Outside transporter room 2 a group had begun to gather, consisting of Blakus, Valente, Wedlerson, Milyanov and Christina Taylor, both from engineering, tactical deputy Delik Gerelo and two security guards, and SMO Colonel Burwell, marine Captain Lu Yang and two enlisted marines. He thought it best to leave Commander T'Seng on the ship as Nulakr was staying aboard during the sojourn over to the behemoth vessel, and Carl had concurred.

The XO was a little more worried about who may constitute the team from the Mok'pa, which after Torek's decision to beam people aboard - and after Nulakr had reported it to Karuth - had raced to agree to the idea and prepare their own unit for the exploration.

Andae nodded to the other eleven of the away team and they entered the transporter room. It was still the case, he understood, that their target's shields hadn't been raised nor any kind of offensive weaponry, though that didn't mean the terraformer didn't have such equipment. He'd like to get aboard as soon as possible - if they must - to avoid being blocked by a shield grid.


Hirt'vak prowled the bridge of the advanced variant of the Valdore type, the Mok'pa, whose only sister ship was the Gecius last sighted by Starfleet authorities at Zova Dox.

He reflected as he ran a hand along a support strut of the bridge towards port and aft. The Tal Shiar had requisitioned this vessel from the Navy, albeit at a considerable price - exclusive rights to three newly conquered star systems towards the galactic east. Now they had to share those new territories with the admiralty, but General Murek had decided it'd been a good deal to make, particularly as some of those admirals could be bought easily, and so gave them a way into the Navy's command hierarchy and even greater links with the senate and influence upon the mind of the praetor...

"Major. Our boarding party is ready to transport to the Tkrnn vessel," a junior officer - the same one he'd confided in about Colonel Karuth's limited time - announced.

"Let the chief know he can transport at will. What weakling will Starfleet send over there?" Hirt'vak asked rhetorically, "I'm sure the Colonel will soon be informing us..." Indeed, Karuth herself was leading the nine-strong Romulan team to the suspected terraformer to join the group from the Raven.

"Chief reports transport complete..." the same officer said and turned slightly, "... With her gone, and assuming for a moment she falls out of contact, for whatever reason, Major, you will have to take orders from Major Nulakr."

"Major Nulakr is on the Federation starship. No, I command here, as I have since we departed the outpost at Veii IX. Nulakr can be amongst his Raven 'friends', and Karuth can lead the Starfleet officers through the Tkrnn ship... whether her intentions are in line with those of Murek and the central authority, or are of the more beneficent kind..." It did seem to be the case that Colonel Karuth's time on Starbase 47 and since then on the Raven had weakened her resolve somewhat, made her sympathetic to the concerns of the Federation Council and the Section 47 authorities. It was the opinion of a lot of the Mok'pa's crew.

"I do wonder what our Tkrnn associates have in store for them, Major," the officer conceded, "Is the ambush ready?"

"What are you talking about...?" Hirt'vak sneered and spread his arms wide as he took the centre chair, "The Federation are our dearest allies! Who of the Romulans could ever forsake them?" The answer was of course the Tal Shiar.

"As to the ambush... You're well aware that I don't know. It's in the hands of the Tkrnn. I don't believe it will happen immediately. And the changelings may wish to trap the entire Raven and not merely some 'away team'," Hirt'vak barked and fell silent in waiting.


Arriving in two groups of six the away team looked round the interior of this section of the terraformer. It seemed they were at a junction of several corridors, which lit up sequentially as the internal sensors detected motion. Gunmetal grey and gold-beige plating of something like tritanium was revealed lining the bulkheads of the passageways, interspersed with worryingly more organic formations, similar to those on the small rhombic vessel found by the El Alamein. There were six such corridors, equidistant and heading away radially, the central point that the team occupied dominated by a pedestal providing controls of unknown function for each of the six spoke-like passages.

Andae nodded to Calli who moved to one side of the edge of the central space (which was about 10 metres in diameter) with Burwell, Gerelo, Yang and the two other marines.

With Wedlerson, Milyanov, Taylor and the two security enlisteds Andae approached the central pedestal. Milyanov did the analysis, "As suspected, this isn't any sort of bridge. Rather I think we can now fairly estimate that about 500 of these centres are scattered unevenly over the vessel." As he spoke the Romulans beamed in.

Karuth and eight Tal Shiar soldier-operatives approached, elite killers. She nodded perfunctorily to Andae. "Commander... I hope some success can come of this." It appeared to Andae that there was something hesitant in her, not exactly in what she'd said but perhaps in pure intention.

Meanwhile on the bridge of the Raven, Torek - at least having T'Seng and Fields from the senior staff present on the bridge - was having to contend with Major Nulakr and at the same time monitor the situation. The Mok'pa was shown on the viewscreen, the reasonably distant Tkrnn terraformer behind it eclipsing a lot of the starfield.

[Calli Valente]

Tkrnn Terraforming Vessel ...
Two Days Out from Romulan Space ::

They beamed into an open area, approximately ten metres in diameter, dominated by a central console, presumably part of the vessel's operating systems .....

Calli approached one of the peripheral consoles, examining the control systems. She sighed, annoyed at the fact she couldn't understand the language. She took a small device, similar to a tricorder, from her pack and placed it on the panel before pressing the activation tab. The device was now trying to remotely connect to the ships' systems and decode whatever it found, she leaned back impatiently looking around the room.

"This can't be a terraforming vessel, at least what 'we' consider terraforming," she said to no one in particular.

"Why not?" Burwell asked, having positioned the two enlisted men at opposite sides of the room.

"Well, from what we supposedly already know, the Tkrnn are similar to us, bi-pedal, oxygen-breathing. Our terraforming can take decades, this ship looks like it's got none of the technology required,"

"You can't know that without a thorough search though?" 1^st lt Kim Lu-Yang speculated, idly glancing at the lights in the device they were waiting on.

"Scans showed no signs of what would be needed on the surface, plus, why go to the trouble, they are or were heading for an unoccupied Sector of Romulan Space, but the planets in that Sector have breathable atmospheres..." Calli said, a puzzled expression forming as she glanced at the still-working device, "... Maybe they were looking for easily teraformable locations, we picked up massive empty areas throughout the ship, maybe these contained their staples, grains, seeds, etc?"

"So rather than go the whole hog and terraform a virgin planet from scratch, they simply make whatever atmospheric adjustments they need, while seeding vast surface areas from low orbit or atmospheric runs?" Burwell commented. Calli was about to reply when the Romulans were transported in. Their expressions made no secret of what they thought about having to work alongside Humans.

Colonel Karuth approached Andae:

"Commander... I hope some success can come of this."

"So do I," Calli saw the Ravn's Exec reply neutrally.

"Sooo, what do we know thus far?" Karuth asked, looking around the room like some school mistress expecting gleaming reports from her students.

"We only got here five minutes ago, Colonel ....." Calli said, seeing the woman's eyes lock onto her before she looked past the Raven Officer to the device quietly beeping behind her.

"Then it is good we have arrived," the Romulan said, issuing quick-fire instructions to her people. One approached the console Calli and Lew Burwell were standing in front of and pushed between the two. Burwell, not one to be pushed anywhere, snatched the Romulan and dragged him back away from Calli. Colonel Karuth turned in time to shout an order at her Officer, a second later would have seen the knife the Romulan had unsheathed plunged into Burwell's ribs! ..... The Romulan glared at his Commanding Officer and then lowered the weapon, Burwell in turn released his hold and took a pace back, one hand on the phaser at his hip.

Karuth swaled up to her Officer and backhanded the man so hard it would have likely floored a Human, she spat an order to the man who immediately lowered his head remaining motionless.

"My apologies..." she said with one last look at her Officer, "... My crew have been away from home far too long, tempers are somewhat, frayed,"

"No harm done..." Andae said, not letting his gaze waver from the Romulan Colonels.

"Colonel ....." Calli asked glancing at the Romulans around the room, "... Do you and your people always come so heavily armed?"

"I once visited a pleasure planet, Risa, I believe it was called..." Karuth mused, "... I met an elderly Human there who was carrying something, when I asked what it was, he replied that it was called an 'Umbrella' and was used to shield from the rain. When I said that Risa's climate was strictly controlled to ensure clear warm days, the man replied, 'Madam, It is better to have it and not need it, than to need it, and not have it'... We believe it is better to be prepared for the worst, then there are no unexpected surprises,"

"Nothing like being over-prepared," Lieutenant Yang said, receiving a glance from her Commander. Calli turned to the console she was working on as the tricorder beeped, confirming it had a stable link. She confirmed they could now read the Tkrnn information and retrieved what looked like a black piece of glass approximately forty centimetres by sixty centimetres then activated the 'tablet' which immediately duplicated the panel in front of her, substituting Federation Standard language for the Tkrnn text, after a moment she nodded then turned to Andae:

"We can access their systems now," she said, with a wry grin at the glaring Romulan Officer standing close by, deactivating the 'tablet' as he tried to look at what it was displaying.

"Good, thanks, Commander... Establish a link to Raven's computers so they can start analysing data..." he said, still looking at Karuth, "... Oh ..... Make sure that the Mok'Pa has the data link frequency,"

"Thank you, Commander..." Colonel Karuth said, "... I will have my people begin a search of the adjacent sections if that meets with your approval?"

"Fine," Andae said with a curt nod before turning away and moving over to Burwell and Valente. As Karuth spoke to her Officers, he quietly asked Calli if there was any way to 'censor' what data the Romulans were getting from the link ..........

[Calli Valente]

"Thank you, Commander..." Colonel Karuth said, "... I will have my people begin a search of the adjacent sections if that meets your approval?"

"Fine," Andae said curtly before turning away and moving over to Burwell and Valente. As Karuth spoke to her Officers, he quietly asked Calli if there was any way to 'censor' what data the Romulans were getting from the link .....

"I don't see how ..... As you can see, they can see just what we can," she said as her 'tablet' beeped, indicating the Raven was now downloading the vast amount of stored data to her computers, and had completed the translation of the Tkrnn language, which looked at first glance like an enhanced super-cuniform idiographic type. The Raven had successfully implanted a translation matrix into the Tkrnn computers. Seconds later, the green ideographs were superimposed with white 'Federation Standard' text. Now, every electronic station would display both, but they would still need to translate any signage or instruction information not electronically generated manually, signage and the like.

"You're happy with the Romulans going off on their own then?" Lew Burwell asked as he watched the heavily-armed Romulans trudge away clearly hoping for a reason to make use of their armoury.

"Not a lot I can do," Blakus replied with a shrug. It was essentially true, while the Raven Officers and the Romulans were 'supposed' to be working together, he was, albeit technically, out-ranked by Colonel Karuth, and while he was in charge of the Raven's Away Team, he seriously doubted the Romulans were going to comply willingly.

"Good riddance," Derik Gerelo said as he approached the trio.

"OK, we should think about venturing out ourselves, heaven knows what the Romulans will do with anything they find," Calli said.

"Agreed," Blakus replied, warily glancing at the last of the Romulans to leave .....

----------

Blakus decided to keep the groups essentially the same as when they had been transported aboard, so:

Group 'A' :: Andae Blakus, Harry Wedlerson, Milyanov, Christine Taylor, and the two Security Officers - Lieutenant's Tom Wilks and Alek Boon. (Wilks, to remain behind with their equipment)
Group 'B' :: Calli Valente, Lew Burwell, Demik Gerelo, Kim Lu-Yang, and the two Marine NCOs - Gunnery Sergeant Leon Peel and Corporal Mia Broad. .....

The ship was vast - Approximately 80 km³ in total. Of course, a substantial amount of that space would be either unreachable or simply impossible to access, which still left them with a 'lot' of area to cover, even if the Romulans were being cooperative - which they weren't - It would still take days, possibly weeks to cover the whole vessel, so they needed a direction to go in:

"Has it occurred to anyone that we haven't seen a single Tkrnn since we boarded?" Lew Burwell commented as they looked down one of the seemingly endless corridors.

"Maybe we didn't pick them up on scans?" Lu-Yang speculated.

"OK, keep out of the Romulans' way," Blakus said unconvincingly.

Burwell, ever the gentleman, decided to lead the way, Calli grinned at Andae before following, fighting the urge to 'skip' along behind the big Marine ..... According to what plans they had pulled from the vessels' computer, they were heading towards what should have been a communal space, possibly Mess Facilities or Recreation Area, though truth be told they had no idea what, if anything, the Tkrnn did as a means of letting off steam so to speak. It wasn't long before they came to the first relatively open space where the corridor joined what looked like a central 'hub' where five more corridors gave them more options.

"This is ridiculous..." Burwell said, lifting the tricorder to which the supposed 'Deck Plan' had been downloaded, "... We could be walking around in circles until the Sun goes nova at this rate.

"According to this..." Lu-Yang said, eyeing what appeared to be a plan of the ship on the bulkhead, she had intended to merely point at the screen, but made contact, the screen sprang to life as she did so:

'Please State Enquiry.....'  the ships' computer asked in perfect English.

"Could be similar to our computer interface," Calli said, tapping her commbadge:

=^= Valente to Blakus .. .. .. =^=

=^= Blakus .. Go ahead Calli =^=

=^= We've come across what looks like a computer interface or information screen =^=

=^= What does it look like? =^=

=^= Jet black panel approximately one metre by six .. Set into the bulkhead .. .. .. =^=

=^= We see one =^= Blakus replied as Christine Taylor pointed to the same thing close to where she was standing.

=^= Seems when we translated the linguacode we also added Federation English to their database .. Might help us get around better .. Wait one .. .. .. =^= Calli said as Gerelo neared the panel and asked the location of the other Away Team members. Five green dots began to blink, showing the others moving down the corridor they had picked.

=^= Seems we can locate each other Andae .. Just ask =^=

=^= Confirmed .. Check in if you find anything else .. Out =^=

"OK ..... So, what should we look for first?" Calli asked as Burwell approached the panel and spoke:

"Indicate the location of Romulan Personnel...?" he asked, giving them a wry grin as eight blue dots helpfully began to blink, "... At least we can keep track of our, colleagues," he said ..........

[Andae Blakus]

At the heart of the territory of the race of the Tkrnn in what the Federation called the Gamma quadrant the supreme rulers of the Tkrnn were gathering in council. This, one of three worlds that served as capitals of their overcrowded polity, had been long prepared for the summit, and now the sixty rulers had arrived, some from other parts of the planet, most from other locales in Tkrnn space.

The forty eight humanoids and twelve changelings sat in their great circle - sixty stone seats situated amidst a series of plains with two cities far away on the north and west horizons. Night was already falling, though the system's sun remained high in the sky... It always seemed dark here, overpopulation having spoilt the environment, giant clouds of black noxious gas hung in the sky all day and all night long.

The shapeshifting elite had once again demanded satisfaction, as well as the right to lead the incursion against the new species found in the Beta and Alpha quadrants.

"The Elite and the role they have occupied is irrelevant," one of the most prominent of the supreme rulers - a humanoid Tkrnn - replied in the great circle, "You changelings amongst us, tell the elite, tell the rest of your ilk that only we the supreme rulers in council command now."

It was well known that the Tkrnn needed more space: new lands to expand into, heavenly and terrestrial. The great expanses of the Beta quadrant (that region of the galaxy so dysfunctionally run by two bloated empires) had been identified as the new habitat for the Tkrnn species, a place where the various pressures, demographic and otherwise, could be eased. The problem was - all attempts to turn the Romulans and Klingons against each other having failed, for now - that their new opponents were fighting back, and interference from another organisation, one which, it'd proved, had been difficult to come to grips with... had made the situation even more unpredictable and hard to manage, perhaps even in the long run irresolvable.

A lead shapeshifter on the council of supreme rulers drew herself up, "You insult us changelings. It is our ancient birthright, at least to have a say in the destiny of the Tkrnn."

"And you do," the humanoid Tkrnn replied, "You, my friend, are one of the supreme rulers. But as for shapeshifters outside this council, they will guide us no more than does the day labourer. What is the status of our vessel?" he asked the rulers generally.

"It has penetrated the Gamma Zordon system," another humanoid Tkrnn ruler spoke, "Two vessels - one Romulan, one Federation - have met with it, and its logic circuits are working on a solution. The Romulan ship belongs to the entity called the Tal Shiar; from it we may have help, but the Tkrnn," and others joined in the chant, "the Tkrnn, the Tkrnn, the Tkrnn will conquer!"

---

Andae studied the screen showing the ship's schematic, seeing the blue dots representing the other team of six as well as Karuth's own group who it appeared had moved on to the deck below. The comm with Calli's team having ended, he thought on what would be their best course of action. Asking Milyanov, he was satisfied that their primary goal should be to deduce once and for all whether this vessel was a terraformer.

There was the suggestion that instead of starting with a whole new world and kick-starting a glacial series of events, the ship may be designed for carrying out small and quick alterations to atmospheres, land masses, adjusting other environmental conditions and perhaps accelerating natural processes of change to make planets habitable in a short time - lands and seas tailored such as the ruling classes of the Tkrnn might desire.

=/\=Blakus, this is Colonel Karuth.=/\= Andae paused, still adjusting to working so closely with Romulans - Tal Shiar at that. He acknowledged. =/\=Commander Blakus, we've discovered a small docked ship on this deck, the one below you. We believe it's of the same configuration as that briefly explored by the USS El Alamein. I suggest you send one of your teams down here to meet me and my soldiers, if you wish to share in the discovery.=/\=

<Tag either team>

[Carl Torek]

USS Raven-C ...
Holding Station
One Thousand Kilometres off Tkrnn Vessel ::

Carl had watched the Away Team transport over to the Tkrnn Terraforming Vessel, he couldn't help but imagine the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end as he realised that Nulakr, the Romulan Major was standing behind him:

"So, Major, have you been informed of the Personnel who will comprise your Away Team?" he asked, not really caring either way.

"I believe that Colonel Karuth will take charge on the Alien Vessel," Nulakr replied dismissively. Karuth might well be accompanying her team, but as to being in charge, he thought Andae might have another opinion on the matter.

"You don't seem too pleased to be staying here, Major?" Lysia T'Seng commented, receiving a withering glare from the Romulan. Unimpressed, she shrugged, grinning at Jor Svensson at Science before returning her attention to her own Station.

They had sat waiting for the first reports to come through - Calli had contacted the ship to let them know they were moving further into the vessel, as were the Romulans, who had made it clear they were going to explore without 'so-called' Federation interference, a decision no one seemed too upset about apparently. It often frustrated Carl to be effectively excluded from away missions, but regulations were alas, regulations, and besides, he seriously doubted his Executive Officer would simply step aside and allow his Commanding Officer to step into the proverbial 'unknown' .....

He was rapidly losing patience with the Romulan on his Bridge, Nulkar seemed to have the ability to annoy his Bridge Officers mearly by approaching, and looking over their shoulders, before shaking his head as if things would be different if 'he' were in Command. His comments, numerous to say the least, on how 'disrespectfully' the Bridge Officers conducted themselves, their obvious lack of respect for Torek, and their seemingly 'lax' approach to their assigned tasks, all seemingly riled the Romulan to the point of distraction, something Carl was quietly enjoying, though he wouldn't say so.

"Sir..." Lysia said, breaking the silence, "... I'm picking up a Romulan Shuttlcraft departing the Mok'Pa!"

"Where's it going?" Carl asked as he glanced at the viewscreen, where a small craft was indeed departing the massive Valdore Type Warbird.

"It seems to be on a heading that will take it around the far side of the Tkrnn vessel," T'Seng confirmed with a glance at Nulkar.

"What's that about, Major?" Carl asked the Romulan.

"I would presume, a recognisance vessel, undoubtedly intending to scan the far side of the vessel we are, investigating," Nulakr said, his expression neutral, his eyes too on the viewscreen.

"Coms, contact the Mok'Pa, find out what they're playing at," Carl ordered, watching Nulakr closely.

"No response Admiral," the Communications Officer replied after several tries.

"Instruct them to recall that shuttle," Carl ordered Major Nulakr, but the man merely smiled.

"Lysia, tractor beam, now!" before Major Nulakrcould object, a beam lanced from beneath the Raven's Saucer Section and slammed into the shuttlecraft, holding it securely. Nulakr reached for the disruptor he had been forced to leave in their quarters, he stepped in front of Toreak glaring dangerously before speaking:

"Disable your hold on our Shuttlecraft, now, Admiral!"

"Contact your vessel ..... Instruct them to recall the shuttle immediately," Carl replied calmly. After a face-off the Romulan was never going to win, Nulakr took out his communicator and spoke:

=^= This is Major Nulakr .. On whose orders were the Shuttlecraft launched? =^=

=^= On 'MY' orders .. Major =^= They heard Major Hirt'Vak, the Valdor's Second Officer reply.

=^= You will recall the Shuttlecraft immediately after the tractor beam releases it .. Is that understood? =^= Nulakr said. There was a long delay before Hirt'Vak replied.

=^= I am in Command here .. Major .. And I deem it necces .. .. .. =^=

=^= Recal the Shuttle .. NOW! .. Or I will return to the Mok'Pa and do so myself =^= Nulakr almost screamed into his communicator.

=^= Very well .. It will be done =^= Hurt'Vak replied, snapping off the communication before Nulakr could add anything further. He turned to look at Torek, who nodded to Lysia, a second later the tractor beam deactivated. They watched as for almost a full minute the Romulan Shuttle remained stationary, and then it returned to the Mok'Pa.

"I think it is time you made it 'perfectly' clear to your Officers, that we are supposed to be working together, or would you prefer I request Colonel Koloth return to the Raven to discuss this issue, Major?" Carl asked, turning to retake his seat before the Romulan could answer. Nulakr glared at Torek then without warning strode to the turbolift and off the Bridge.

"Well, so much for cooperation," Carl said .........

[Andae Blakus]

After a brief discussion with Calli's team, Andae along with his four Raven personnel (minus Wilks in charge of their gear) answered the summons from Karuth. They left the intersection of spoke-like corridors at which they'd found themselves - the fourth such centre they'd explored, with about 500 of them over the rest of the behemoth - and made down one spoke that Andae knew ended in a lift which would lead them to the level below.

Glyphs representing the number 215 - as Milyanov and Taylor informed them that the translation of the Tkrnn symbols had indicated them to be - were scattered here and there over the walls and panels. The deck below they knew to be deck 220, the Tkrnn using base 6 in their standard mathematics.

They rode the lift down the one level and made their way to Karuth's coordinates - indicated by various wall displays, the same as those both Starfleet teams had found on the deck above, as well as by their tricorders. The latter didn't register the docked Tkrnn vessel, but was able to pick out the Romulan lifesigns that presumably were still within it... either that or the Tal Shiar were floating in vacuum some tens of metres off the vessel.

Boarding, Andae and the others found themselves surrounded by something of organic design... It seemed - and Milyanov's information bore it out - that this was indeed of the same configuration as the Tkrnn ship found by the El Alamein that'd been docked with the IKS Qo'nos...

Like with that other rhombic vessel found in the Ceylan'tar system, a mostly circular corridor constituted the vessel's interior circumference, and the bridge - where Andae and co found the Romulans - was seemingly designed for one individual: a solitary acceleration couch positioned at the front and centre.

"At last," Colonel Karuth turned and sized up the five of them; she shook her head brusquely, "It doesn't matter. Commander Blakus, I believe you know Lieutenant Pojoc, my engineer-operative who was aboard the Raven?"

"Pleased to meet you, again. Perhaps now you can inform us of the situation? Or at least of what you've found here," Andae said to the smiling Romulan.

"It would appear this short-range rhombic vessel, as your official debriefs call it, has been docked with the terraformer since before it reached this system; it's likely been here since the terraformer set out," Pojoc said, "We've accessed the sensor grid. This ship, as well as the entire terraformer seems to be deserted. No Tkrnn, humanoid or changeling, are present. Yet we believe they may have set up their terraformer to run automatically, or at least on remote."

"I agree with the latter," Milyanov waded in (if anyone was going to compete with the counterpart engineer, it was going to be him), "but Starfleet's experience with the Tkrnn aboard Starbase 47 indicates that their persons are undetectable by standard methods. And considering the advanced state of Federation technology compared to the Romulans'..." he paused and shrugged as Andae threw him a warning glance. It wouldn't do to provoke these soldiers.

Pojoc virtually sneered and ignored that comment; it was true after all, he thought, why give the enemy ammunition? "Then we'll be wary," the Tal Shiar said, "Suffice it to say that neither of our parties have detected the Tkrnn. All these systems seem to run on automatic."

"And look," the other engineer of the Romulan team pointed to a console on the port-side. He stepped aside and Karuth nodded, moving into the space by the console.

"A moment ago, Blakus, slightly before you arrived, this docked vessel detected a shuttlecraft of the Mok'pa. It would appear it departed my warbird some half hour ago and was promptly seized in a tractor beam by the Raven. I demand an explanation..." Andae was about to retort but the colonel raised a hand, "... from both our vessels. I don't know why Hirt'vak, or Nulakr - whoever gave the order - would've done this, and I don't know why the Raven would've taken such a measure, unless it was to stop the shuttle from making any aggressive move. If it is the latter, I promise you I will deal with whichever major is responsible myself."

Andae worried that authority was already taken out of Karuth's hands. Such were the intricacies of the Romulan chain of command and such the ambition of senior officers, especially amongst the Tal Shiar, that the absence of a CO could sometimes bring about a mutiny or at least a quiet coup. Such events were surprisingly even more common than in the Klingon Defence Force.

"Colonel! One of us is missing," Pojoc alerted Karuth. Andae looked about sharply and counted eight Romulans... The man was right, and unfortunately he would have to echo him,

"So is Lieutenant Boon," he intoned. Including himself, only four Starfleet officers were present. "What was that about no Tkrnn being aboard this thing, Pojoc? Did anyone notice him enter the bridge with the rest of us?" he asked his own people, "When did you see him last?" In the corridor on the way to the rhombic vessel's bridge, Taylor replied. He commed the Raven to update them, asking about the Mok'pa's shuttlecraft and informing them that Boon was missing along with a Tal Shiar soldier.

"Milyanov, Wedlerson, with me. We're searching for Boon. Taylor, stay here and work with Pojoc. I want to know as much about this vessel and the terraformer as possible. As well as its first destination."

Karuth sent four of her own soldiers along with Blakus and co. The seven of them descended through the small rhombic vessel...

[Calli Valente]

Tkrnn Terraforming Vessel ::

As far as they could ascertain, they were at the forwardmost surface, on Level Two one five, located approximately two-thirds of the way 'down' from the uppermost surface, going off Commander Milyanov deciphering of the glyphs, he believed were indicators of Level and Relative Position within the cuboid. Calli had never been a fan of mathematics in any form, as several of her Tutors and later, Academy Instructors never failed to point out at every opportunity ....

"OK, so we're two-thirds of the way down this thing, and as far as we know there is no one else aboard?" Corporal Mia Broad asked.

"We've run every scan possible, as has Commander Blakus' teams, oh, and not forgetting our friendly Romulans," the gruff Gunnery Sergeant, Leon Peel replied.

"I don't see any point in heading for these open spaces..." Calli said, looking left and right and again at the schematic on her tablet before continuing, "... There looks to be a 'lot' of production areas, but here, above and below, these could be accommodation, crew quarters, I imagine Officer country, or more likely their Ruling Council if they have aboard, would be higher up?"

"Well, pick a direction," Lew Burwell said with a wry grin. Calli hesitated for a moment then pointed along the corridor. In a single file, with Gunney Peel at point, they headed away from their beam-in point .....

One Hour Later ::

=^= Understood .. .. Valente out =^= Calli said after their assigned update with Andae and his team.

"It seems one of the Romulans has gone missing, worryingly, along with one of the Security Detail assigned to Andae,"

"Who?" Mia asked.

"Lieutenant Alek Boon," Calli replied, frowning.

"They can't have gone far," Burwell commented.

"You're joking right? ..... On 'this' ship, hell they could be kilometres away..." Gunnery Sergeant Peel said, approaching yet another closed door. As expected, it slid silently aside as he broke whatever invisible sensor had detected his arrival, "... Anyone else wondering how their sensors 'know' that someone wants into a particular room, and aren't just passing by?" he asked, more to himself than any of the team.

"Anything?" Burwell asked.

"Same ole' ....." the Marine said stepping back to allow the door to close. As they reached the end of the corridor, Peel sprayed a small red 'dot' at the intersection from the pressurised canister he was carrying, this would indicate an area they had already investigated and avoid revisiting the same section.

They continued, logging each turn, left or right, on the 'tablet' which duplicated their movements on the identical device Lieutenant Tom Wilks was carrying with Andae's team, they, in turn, could see how the other team were progressing.

"I'm picking up a shielded Section ahead," the Marine Sergeant informed everyone. Calli and Lew Burwell approached, raising their own tricorders.

"I'm not reading anything life-threatening beyond the bulkhead," Peel confirmed. Burwell approached the large doors, eyeing the framework left and right to find some kind of activation panel, and then he saw the small red indicator on the left at eye level. He pointed it out to Calli who nodded, Burwell waved a hand in front of the indicator and the door moved aside, disappearing seamlessly into the doorframe ..... Beyond the threshold, they could see massive floor-mounted cylinders, approximately three metres in diameter, stretching for as far as the eye could see.

"Storage?" Mia Broad speculated as she scanned the first of what resembled horizontal silos.

"This is full of organic matter, something similar to grain, possibly," Greelo confirmed.

"This one is empty," Mia Broad said after scanning the identical silo opposite.

"Make a note, we'll take a few samples before we leave, you never know, it could be some new form of fast-growing grain, couldn't hurt to check..." Calli said, moving off along the line of silos. Every now and then they came across a gap. It was large enough to fit another unit in place, "... This could be how they replenish, rather than taking time to refill each massive cylindrical storage pod, they just replaced the whole unit. 'Efficient' ....." she said.

"There's another bulkhead up ahead, you think these storage facilities run the length of the ship?" Gerelo asked, frowning at his tricorder.

"One thing is puzzling me..." Mia Broad commented, continuing as the others turned in her direction, "... Well, according to form, we're somewhere in the interior of this, thing. Wouldn't they store their grain or whatever nearer the outer sides?"

"Who can tell ..... Maybe we'll get to ask about that ..... If we ever find anyone aboard that is," the Gunnery Sergeant said. He was about to continue when he suddenly spun, dropping to one knee, his weapon coming up to his shoulder.

"What?" Calli asked quietly.

"I thought I heard something, up ahead," Peel said, his phaser rifle not wavering a fraction. Calli lifted her tricorder and set it to maximum distance but didn't pick up anything.

"You're sure?"

"Not one hundred percent, but I could have sworn someone moved between two of the silos further along..." the Sergeant said, a frown forming, "... Maybe I was imagining it," he stood, lowering the rifle but not relaxing.

Burwell approached, looking in the direction the 'Gunney' had indicated.

"Maybe it's one of the Romulans?" he said, clearly not worried he might have been overheard.

"Let's keep moving forward, if there's anyone ahead they'll either show themselves or go back where they came from," Calli said, her eyes on the shadows beneath each of the enormous silos that filled the vast space ahead ..........

[Calli Valente]

It was rapidly becoming obvious that they were never going to search the whole vessel easily. The ship was almost akin to a small village though stacked on hundreds of Levels rather than spread elegantly spread throughout ideal countryside .....

They had moved from what Burwell had named 'Storage One' ... He had put the 'search complete' status on the 'tablet' he was carrying so Blakus and the others didn't turn up to do an unnecessary search.

Passing through the vast space they were once again faced with numerous corridors, and had to make a decision:

"This looks like it's going towards another storage area," Mia Broad was saying as she looked over her Commanding Officers' shoulder at the schematic.

"That 'could' be living quarters, communal spaces maybe?" Lieutenant Lu-Yang suggested.

"OK ..... We'll try the living quarters..." Calli said, checking where the other team were in relation to themselves, "... I can't believe this place is completely abandoned," she said, moving off with the Gunnery Sergeant a pace ahead of her.

They moved quietly, there was no real need for conversation - Each room was checked as they reached it, the team pausing while one of them entered, checked, and cleared the room as unoccupied, the search, while necessary, was rapidly becoming monotonous. They had moved into a wider corridor, possibly a main thoroughfare where more of the vessels' crew moved from section to section, Leon Peel was twenty metres ahead, pausing while the other caught up, when Burwell paused, looking back the way they had come. He took several paces back along the corridor and then called out:

"Corporal...?" he said, the others pausing to look back. Burwell glanced at Calli, motioning that he was going to go back to check where the Marine had got to.

Calli waited, recalling that two members of Andae's team had vanished, their search was still going on without success thus far.

After fifteen minutes Colonel Burwell returned, concern etched on his rugged face:

"..... There's no sign of her!" he said, his frustration, despite his efforts, obvious.

"Then we're going back..." Calli said decisively, "... We're losing people and there 'HAS' to be a logical reason for it. There's clearly someone else on this vessel, though why they are not showing up on scans is beyond me,"

"The Tkrnn, or at least what little we know of them, are pretty-much all Humanoid..." Gerelo said, eyes flicking up and down the corridor as if expecting company, "... There's only supposed to be a handful capable of changing, is it possible one or more of them are aboard and taking our Officers one at a time?"

"What about the Romulans?" Kim Lu-Yang speculated. Calli too was wondering about them. They had made it perfectly clear that despite the supposed 'agreement' to share the investigation, they were going to do as they pleased, regardless of the Federation's objections. So is it possible they have put more Personnel onto this ship than agreed?" she needed to contact Andae once again, both to report the Marine missing and to voice her teams' concerns.

"Were there 'ANY' signs of a struggle?" Valente asked as she tapped her comm-badge ..... Following her conversation with Commander Blakus, she turned to the others who were waiting on what their next move should be .....

"Well you all heard, he's as concerned about the damn Romulans as we are. Apparently, they tried to send another team via shuttlecraft but Admiral Torek put paid to that,"

"It doesn't mean they haven't managed to get people over here without our knowledge," Lew Burwell commented, still looking back the way they had come, presumably hoping his missing Corporal would materialise.

"We're going to make our way towards the other team, something is amiss, and I'm not willing to lose anyone else..." Calli said defiantly, "... Colonel, can you pick a direct route to get us back to the other team," she asked the Marine ..........

[Andae Blakus]

"What is this here?" the XO asked. He looked over the data on the Romulan handheld device, similar to a tricorder. He may not have understood the Romulan characters, but he recognised the same Tkrnn writing system and type and configuration of systems that they'd all been cataloguing not only since they'd got here but since the El Alamein had found the rhombic vessel in the Ceylan'tar system.

"It's none of your concern," the Tal Shiar operative intoned.

It was evident, perhaps not surprisingly so, that the Romulan away team had scanned and passed information about the docked ship to their vessel the Mok'pa without the Raven's knowledge, doing what the Starfleeters had resisted doing when they thought about censoring the data sent back to the Sovereign class. "It's every bit my concern," he retorted, "And Starfleet's, too. This is a joint operation and we committed to sharing of data!"

The Romulan pushed him forcefully into the nearest wall; Andae bounced off and instinctively raised his fists. It took the combined efforts of Milyanov, Wedlerson and somewhat reluctantly the other three Romulans accompanying Andae's team (with Taylor staying with the other Romulans, Wilks at the beam-in site, and Boon missing) to extricate the two combatants from each other.

As they continued in their search, they were commed by Calli's team, who said they were on the way to join them. One of Calli's number had gone missing, to add to Alek Boon and one of the nine Romulans.

So there were soil samples, bacterial and other lifeforms aboard, and the other necessities for one species colonising a new territory quite unlike their own, Andae considered. Could actual Tkrnn, humanoid and/or changeling be aboard, too? Nothing had been found so far, besides some unoccupied residential sectors, perhaps to be filled at some later date once settlement had taken place, perhaps occupied but not evidently so?

The half-team of three Starfleeters and four Tal Shiar were joined by Valente and Burwell's team (after a bit of trouble for the latter), making twelve of them, and they went on with the search, in sections and on decks forward of the position of the docked vessel but aft of the original beam-in point and the more heavily armed Starfleet team's search area.



"Before we left Starbase..." Andae was saying as the dozen crept down a grim and, it seemed, strangely alive corridor, "... Command had learnt that several persons had gone missing, at least eight I believe, and in mysterious circumstances. Here we have a similar issue... No lifesigns or signatures of biomatter dead or alive, no sign of a struggle, nothing else to indicate what may have happened to them or where they are now... and in both cases, the Tkrnn have been directly or indirectly involved."

None of the group needed to ask him to explain further. It was evident he thought that whoever had killed or kidnapped the missing persons on Starbase 47 - and they believed it to be a Tkrnn changeling - someone of the same species could well be responsible here.

More than one of the Starfleeters thought the Romulans weren't entirely above suspicion either, even though one of the three missing was the Tal Shiar 2nd Lieutenant Mek'res, and quietly, with the four Romulans out of earshot, Andae told Calli and Lew about the information on the Tkrnn systems the Romulans had covertly been trying to send to the Mok'pa.

At the next intersection - thankfully next to be entering a passageway that seemed a little less organic - they commed Lieutenant Christina Taylor and the other four Romulans, including Colonel Karuth, who answered.

"Myself and my team have no intention of being picked off one by one here, Commander," the colonel informed Andae after he told her about another missing team-member, the corporal with Valente's team. For once Andae felt he could agree with her. "If you can't work out what's going on here, I'm going to have to order my people back to my warbird."

"It's your responsibility as well, Colonel." While it was true that Karuth, Taylor and co were studying the docked ship's systems, it was the one place where some obvious signs of habitation had been found: the chair on the docked ship's bridge.

"Andae!" Milyanov gestured back to the corridor from which they'd just emerged. All that organic matter, that 'liveliness' that'd seemed to coat the bulkheads, was gone.

"A shapeshifter. One of the Tkrnn scourge!" the senior of the four Romulans present hissed.

"I think you might've been right, Commander Blakus," Burwell said, and nodded to his two remaining marines Yang and Peel; all three phaser rifles shot up, beams of light illuminating the half-shadows, the trio of green-clad soldiers guarding the periphery as the dozen advanced along the next section of passageway. The marines kept the quartet of Romulans well within view.

Something or someone was pursuing the visitors to the terraformer...

[Calli Valente]

It had taken Calli and her team the best part of two hours to backtrack and circumnavigate sections they had previously searched until they finally met up with Andae and his team. It didn't go unnoticed that there had been some sort of altercation prior to their arrival - The Romulan Officers were keeping their distance, hands itching above their weapons .....

They had decided that given the losses, on both sides, the groups would continue searching one large section of the terraforming vessel at a time, not that this suited the Romulans .....

Calli listened in silence as Blakus and the Romulan Colonel verbally sparred, seemingly trying to gain some 'upper hand' in their positioning. Calli knew that regardless of the Romulans idea's, Commander Blakus was in overall charge of the Away Team, and nothing Karuth or the others could say would change that fact!

Moving further down one of the as-yet unexplored corridors, they suddenly stopped dead in their tracks:

"My team and I have no intention of being picked off one by one here, Commander..." the Romulan Colonel almost spat, "...If you can't work out what's going on here, I'm going to have to order my people back to my warbird."

"It's your responsibility as well, Colonel," Andae replied, clearly trying to be reasonable and put an end to the childish bickering. Now, they realised that one of the Changelings had been close, too close for their comfort, Calli thought as they continued on more cautiously than ever - Something or someone, was following, and undoubtedly ..... Hunting!

The Tkrnn had been hard at work .......... He was one of only four with the ability to change form that had been assigned to visit the terraforming vessel for updates on what the Tkrnn Ruling Council felt was a clear lack of progress. They had discussed at length the efforts of their associates to destabilise the Romulan / Klingon peace, having hoped to incite an all-out war between the two warmongering races with mixed results. The Tkrnn who populated this behemoth was now sleeping, deep hibernation would prevent ageing and save on the requirement for vast amounts of supplies that would have been needed to sustain such a crew. It was unlikely that the interlopers would find the 'vaults' where his less gifted brethren rested awaiting their time to wake and begin their arduous task.

He had successfully released the Romulan party of one of their number and had since taken two of the Humans. He hadn't given much thought, in fact almost none, as to whether to just incapacitate the ones he took or to kill them outright. Killing prevented any unforeseen return of those he took, so killing it would be.

Now they were arguing ..... It was almost laughable in a sense ..... These two races could barely stand being in the same System as each other, let alone work alongside each other, he pondered the idea of maybe taking the form of one or another to incite a violent confrontation that would lead to them doing his job for him, but he would need to be careful, one hint that he was not who they believed, could possibly be life-threatening. So he waited, watching, moving away as the two races approached. The Romulans were despicable, warmongering murderers, who didn't deserve the vast space they occupied. The Humans were soft, forgiving, and willing to forget the most horrific of transgressions if it suited them to do so.

Now was his chance, the Romulan, a member of an organisation within the Romulan Military, named the 'Tal Shiar' was lagging behind, he was much too interested in the contents of each room they checked, helping himself to trinkets he believed were valuable, yet to the owner were mere trinkets, family gifts, nothing more. He watched as the man entered yet another room, then .....

"This is useless, we are getting nowhere having to shadow the HUMANS!" the Romulan Lieutenant spat, barging past Lu-Yang before turning to glare at the Marine 1^st Lieutenant, clearly challenging her.

"You can always go back to that pigsty of a ship of yours," Lu-Yang said with a wry grin.

"You wish to FIGHT ME ... HUMAN?" the Romulan asked, taking a step closer to the Marine, who held her ground as the others realised something was amiss and turned back towards the standoff.

"I'm not sure it would be a fair fight..." Kim said, eyeing the Romulans' bulging tunic, "... Besides, you can't fight anything with all that stolen booty you're packing," she said, jabbing a finger into the chest man's chest.

"ENOUGH!" Colonel Karuth shouted, backhanding her Junior Officer hard enough to almost knock the man off his feet. She pointedly ignored the Marine Female, presumably expecting Blakus or Burwell to reprimand their Officer accordingly.

"You got off lucky there fella," Calli said grinning at the Romulan wiping blood from the deep cut to his face before walking off, 1^st Lieutenant Yu-Lang a pace behind. Andae looked at Karuth and then shrugged. Had he not turned away at that moment, he might have seen the thin smile forming on the Romulan's face. Now, almost unnoticed, he moved forward, closing the gap between himself and the Marine Female, when he was only a metre away, he drew the ornate dagger from its sheath and plunged it into her lower back. As Lu-Yang dropped, blood running from the wound, the Romulan stepped into a darkened cross-corridor and vanished ..........

[Calli Valente]

Having killed the straggling Romulan, he had taken his place and again sewed seeds of discontent between the intruders, still he would have to wait. The time wasn't right to repeat the task and again force a confrontation, but he still had options. He had moved below the intruders now, and placed a hand on a black, glass-like, section of the bulkhead:

"Show me the intruders," he asked quietly, then studied the three-dimensional graphic that appeared - green and blue spots of light indicated the Humans and Romulans.

"Good, they are still wandering blindly," he said to himself, satisfied he could not be overheard. There was practically no chance they would find the elevators down to the Hibernation Levels, they were almost invisible to anyone not knowing their location, fitted seamlessly into the bulkheads, they could pass right in front of any of the numerous access elevators without even they had done so. Taking one of the elevators he moved to one of the secondary control rooms for the vast behemoth and started work .....

Calli was beginning to worry about the growing animosity between the Federation Officers and the Romulans, that last incident could quite easily have ended in at minimum, bloodshed, at worst, an all-out firefight!

She was about to mention her concerns to Andae when she paused, a frown forming ..... Burwell, who had seen her stop seemingly for no reason, approached:

"Ms Valente?" he said, watching her closely.

"Do you feel that...?" she asked, lowering herself to one knee before placing the palm of a hand on the deck plates, "... I'm sure that there wasn't any vibration through the deck a moment ago, I think we're moving!" .....

Bridge ...
USS Raven-C ::

Lysia T'Seng was Bridge Duty Officer when the Duty Tactical Officer got her attention:

"I think that thing is bringing power systems online," the Lieutenant said, frowning. Lysia rose from the centre seat and approached the Tactical 1 Station, she could see almost fractional increases in the power levels being monitored constantly, and then the rise increased by almost twenty-five percent in as many seconds, Lysia turned to the Comms Officer and instructed her to contact the Away Team immediately while she tapped her commbadge and requested Admiral Torek to the Bridge!

"Commander..." the Comms Officer said worriedly, "... I've lost contact with the Away Team!"

"Try again," Lysia ordered as she glanced at the enormous vessel filling the viewscreen.

"Communications are being blocked at the source," the woman said as Torek and Nate Tynsley stepped off the Portside turbolift, followed a second later by the Romulan Major exiting the Starboard 'lift.

"Is this your doing?" Carl asked the man.

"No, Admiral, none of... My doing," Major Nulakr said.

"Contact the Mok'Pa, find out wha ....." Carl began before being interrupted by T'Seng.

"The Tkrnn vessel is moving..." she said as Torek dropped into his seat, "... It's coming right at us Admiral!"

"HELM..." Carl said quickly, "... Move out of its path," they watched as the leviathan almost ran over them before the Raven spun out of the way, they watched as the Tkrnn vessel began to put serious distance between it and the two investigating ships. With communications blocked, Carl made the decision to pursue ..... The Terraforming vessel was enormous, and even though it dwarfed a Borg Cube, it clearly didn't have the propulsion technology to simply jump to warp, it was increasing velocity fast though now and would reach optimal velocity in seconds!

"Sir, it's turning away, changing heading to ..... One, Zero, Zero mark, ten!"

"That's taking it directly 'away' from both Federation 'AND' Romulan space!" Lysia said.

"You will fire on the vessel immediately, Admiral!" Nulakr demanded.

"I don't think so, Major,"

"Then my vessel will do so,"

"They're still trying to play catch-up Major, and I imagine they are as uninformed as to what that ship is doing as we are. I doubt they'll fire unprovoked..." Torek said, silently hoping he was right. He watched as the Raven began to easily gain on the cuboid vessel until Anna Fields at Helm confirmed they had matched velocity and were holding at five thousand metres, "... Maintain this distance, Lieutenant," he ordered, wondering what the hell was going on! ..........

[Andae Blakus]

Andae turned to the Tal Shiar of captain rank accompanying their section of the team. What did he know about this, if anything? Why was the ship suddenly moving under power? Calli rose from having felt the engines' distant whirr through the deck plates as the mid-ranking Tal Shiar replied,

"I know nothing about this, and neither does Colonel Karuth, of that you can be sure," he almost moved for the dagger at his belt but held off having seen what'd happened back at the beam-in point, when an operative had gone toe to toe with one of the Federation marines.

Of course Andae believed him for now; there was nothing really to indicate any treachery on the Romulans' part, at least not yet... What'd brought about the activation of the engines and the obvious rise in power levels in the ship as a whole? "Might we have been detected?" he suggested to the Starfleet and Romulan company.

"Commander, I've just tried to raise the Raven," Wedlerson reported, coming from down the passageway with Gunnery Sergeant Peel, "and I can't reach them at all. Some sort of jamming is in effect; I'd have to say that I think it's coming from nearby, at least in the surrounding cubic kilometre." That was quite a lot of internal space, Andae thought, but the terraformer had a lot more of it.

"Keep scanning our near vicinity. Humanoid Tkrnn should be detectable; changelings less so, but we damn well have to try." Considering there was a breathable atmosphere for carbon-based life on the behemoth - even if it was a little oxygen heavy - there had to be some Tkrnn about, didn't there? And humanoid ones at that given the shapeshifters didn't need any atmosphere at all let alone one typical of an M-class planet.

Looking for information, Milyanov saw nearby another of the display panels by means of which they could keep track of their location in the ship, and that of other teams. There was just one other unit now: Taylor, Colonel Karuth and three other Romulans visible as one blue and four green dots, still on the tiny Tkrnn scout they'd found already docked several levels above.

Blakus tried his commbadge but was shaking his head, "I can't get Lieutenant Taylor either."

"Wait a moment..." Milyanov found a way to switch to a different screen of the wall panel; in a terrible instant, the apparent powered motion and change of course of the terraformer was confirmed. What the group saw was the external shot of a streaming starfield, the terraformer, if not quite being at warp, then rapidly approaching it. "I think I can change our vantage point..." the engineer murmured and was able to call up an aft view - port, starboard, dorsal and ventral were also available.

The Raven was clearly visible a few kilometres astern, following them. "Where's the Mok'pa?" Burwell asked. "Under cloak?"

"Use of the cloaking device is not standard procedure in a typical encounter," the senior Tal Shiar present said. That's ludicrous, this is hardly a typical encounter, Andae thought as the officer went on, "Our vessel will be in the vicinity. Have no fear, marine."

Looking through the six different views, they found the Mok'pa was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps the Raven would know where she'd gone, what'd happened to her. "Is there any way to tell where we're heading?" Valente asked.

"Negative, sir," Milyanov replied, "Not without difficulty anyway. I'll try to recognise constellations from the external views." Little did they know that far from turning to zero in on the target Romulan planet that lay a few parsecs away, the terraformer was now heading in virtually the opposite direction.


IRW Mok'pa, unknown locale nearby

On the bridge of the now cloaked Mok'pa, Second Officer Hirt'vak watched the main screen intently, pitched forward in his central chair.

He had the terraformer and the pursuing Raven subjected to a non-invasive, hopefully covert scan. Two Romulans of Karuth's party aboard the Tkrnn vessel were no longer being read. So they'd been taken out by someone of the crew... The reason? To keep up appearances; the agency was ruthless and operatives were sometimes expendable. Unless a double betrayal was involved.

The decoy manoeuvre of the terraformer was under way and the Raven was following it; the trap, engineered by the Tal Shiar in collusion with the Tkrnn against the Romulans' own government and Navy, was laid. The Mok'pa and two other cloaked warbirds tested their talons, ready to pounce on the Sovereign class starship...