012 : Missing Persons

[Iorte Clancy]

Intel office

"Are you ready for this one, Iorte?" Iezelda asked, handing him his miniature comm device - in place of a badge - that would be worn on the underside of his uniform collar.

"I think so," he frowned, "It's better than posing as a rare metals trader from Mars." He referred to his and Iezeld's role of the last few days before their capture by the guild's leaders and apparent incarceration in a room some six or seven levels below the guildhall. The room had yet to be pinpointed precisely, that being one of his list of objectives in reentering the guild and the surrounding spaces and decks.

Here he would be more in his element, even though he'd been commended for his undercover work on the one or two other occasions he'd undertook it in the past. Regardless, and he agreed, it was said he was more accustomed to and had greater aptitude for work that sometimes required more brawn than brains.

It'd once been remarked that he liked to lead with his fists, a joke that'd started at the academy when he'd spent more time in the boxing ring, but it was really no laughing matter as what was a joke between him and old classmates was quite serious when it came to his adoptive father and his treatment of Iorte's adoptive mother. And perhaps similarly with his academy friends, people on his assumed colonial homeworld had commented on the similarity between father and foster son.

He ended his reflection quickly and looking at Iezelda decided that whatever the two of them had, he could never let the same behaviour affect him as had affected his parent. "I'll be on comm with you from here," she said, indicating a panel in a nearby desk in the Intel offices.

Acknowledging mutely, he departed to embark on the next phase of the business about the guild, Botracht, and the Tkrnn...

* * *

Level below the Guildhall

A lot of what he'd already gone by down here seemed achingly familiar, and he recalled that some of these passages were those he and Iezeld had fled down as they'd made away from the interrogation room in which they'd found themselves bound. Perhaps it was his imagination that he seemed to recognise so many of these corridors, particularly as the escape route would therefore make no sense, but some of them surely must be the very same.

He climbed from the floor above that on which the actual room he'd been kept captive in was - whose location therefore he still couldn't discern - and headed up to the level just below the guildhall's ground floor. He checked his chrono mounted on a small tag on his left fore arm: 0722, it read. Just over an hour until the hall was open to the public. He didn't have long to complete his mapping activities - which unfortunately, unbeknownst to him, didn't quite include the deck on which he'd been held.

Via a maintenance ladder, he ascended on to the ground floor of the guildhall, this not being the official entrance obviously, which was all the better. He might've just beamed in somewhere, but that wouldn't have allowed him to methodically map each of the new sections, here and in the levels below.

The corridors were mostly murky and unilluminated; at one point he nearly trampled over a member of the cleaning staff who ducked away and avoided his gaze, traipsing in the opposite direction down the passage. Counting himself a little fortunate, he pressed on.

His mini commbadge chirped; he pressed at his collar and a tiny voice was emitted, audible - he hoped - only to him, =/\=Clancy, we believe de Luca is not far from you, on the first floor above you in an equivalent section,=/\= Iezelda commed, and her words caught in her throat slightly, =/\=Wait, her lifesigns' grown fainter... I believe she's unconscious, Iorte.=/\=

=/\=She hasn't fallen asleep?=/\= he asked stupidly.

=/\=Unless she's decided to have a nap in the middle of a corridor, no... Her body's on the move; still unconscious.=/\=

=/\=Acknowledged.=/\= He ripped his hand away from the badge at his collar and scurried down the passage, his tricorder now set to survey and catalogue the new corridor configuration automatically. It wouldn't be as complete or accurate but time was now of the essence.

He found a way up to the first floor quickly, avoiding yet another member of the cleaning staff as well as - and he didn't realise it at the time - Botracht's half-brother Neuchri arriving early for the day...

[Elena de Luca]

First Floor ...
Tradesmen's Guild Hall
Approx 06:30 hrs ::

Twice now she had found herself chastising herself - She, like everyone else within the Intelligence community, was trained for just this type of scenario, 'So why, am I talking to myself?' she pondered, this time inwardly .....

She lifted the tricorder that had suddenly decided to inform her of an anomalous reading it was getting: Apparently, there 'appeared' to be another room beyond the far wall of the room she was standing on the threshold of. Frowning, she reset the device and rescanned, with the same result. Se had intended to enter the room but something caused her to pause ...

"Might I be of assistance?"

She had a fraction of a second to realise she was in danger before she felt the cold caress of what she thought could be a hypospray touching her skin, before darkness fell upon her .....


----------


"Ahh, you are awake, good. I hope I didn't, what is the term, startle you, by my student appearance?"

Elena looked around, as far as she could tell they were still in the corridor where she had been, rendered unconscious, so looked at the man currently resting on one knee as he went through the contents of the small utility satchel she had brought with her.

"You need to surrender yourself to the authorities..." she said, but the man simply smiled as he picked up each item from her pack in turn before lowering it to the plush carpet, "... What do you expect to gain from your actions?"

"Gain? ..... Interesting notion, but I believe we are past capitulation on either side," The Changeling said with something approaching a very 'Human' shrug.

"You wanted to start a war, between the Romulans and Klingons, presumably in the hopes of culling both Races to a manageable number, am I right?" Elena asked, glancing at her phaser less than a metre away.

"It was, unfortunate that you became involved,"

"Well, you started killing people off on a Federation Starbase, hard not to take offence really," she said, inching herself away from the wall slightly.

"Yes ..... Alas, some of my, associates were overzealous in their actions which led to Human lives being lost. Unfortunate indeed ....." the 'man' said, casually reaching out to pluck the phaser away before dropping it into her own satchel, he picked the other items up and returned them too before resting the satchel against the far wall.

"I'm assuming you know that this place will be occupied pretty soon, Someone is 'bound' to ask about our being here chatting,"

"That will not be an issue my dear as we will be, relocating, momentarily, where we can have a much more intensive conversation,"

"If that's meant to be some sort of loosely veiled threat, you might want to rethink your dialogue a little," de Luca said, glancing along the corridor, weighing up her chances of reaching the Ballroom before the Changeling snatched her.

"Alas, I did not have time to perfect my erm, syntax. No matter, I'm sure my questions will be fully understood and answered promptly,"

"Or else?" Elena asked, but the Tkrnn just smiled before rising to his feet. He looked down at her seemingly deep in thought.

"Am I right in saying you came here alone...?" he asked but received no reply, so continued, "... come now, let's not be childish, it is a valid query. You either came alone, or there is someone else here that may need to be dealt with. I would much rather plan to avoid contact rather than be forced to 'remove' anyone needlessly, so.....?"

"Go to hell," she said.

"As you wish my dear, now, if you could rise to your feet, we will be on our merry way," the Tkrnn instructed, waiting patiently while she thought about obeying or refusing.

Slowly, Elena pulled her legs beneath her, lifting her right leg so her knee was forward, her foot flat on the carpeted floor, using her left leg she began to rise then put all her effort into pushing her right leg down thrusting herself up and forward. Despite the Changeling's apparent casualness, he was clearly ready as his right hand shot forward and down in a classic downwards shutō-uchi or knife-hand attack that landed expertly on her carotid sinus. She was unconscious before she was once again acquainted with Guild Hall's plush carpeting!

Sighing, more out of regret at having to incapacitate the young woman rather than any sense of annoyance, he retrieved her satchel and then leaned down to pick Elena up. Resting her over one shoulder, he walked to the door leading into the Ballroom, satisfied no one had overheard the brief altercation, then began to cross, heading for the stairway that would lead to the Ground Floor then the Service Level.

He was on the top step about to go down when he saw the briefest of shadows below ..... While he himself could transform, he couldn't do likewise for the woman he was carrying. He paused, the staircase was curved, so the lowermost step could not be seen from the uppermost, likewise top to bottom, but there had definitely been something moving below, cleaning staff, possibly, but he couldn't take the risk of discovery. Then the shadow approached the staircase.

Slowly he lowered his burden to the floor, laying her lengthwise against the wall in the semi-darkness as whoever was below started climbing. He could easily incapacitate whoever was coming up the stairway, but having to move two rather than one person would be too difficult given the location and the likelihood staff would be arriving to begin their day's work. Annoyed at having to leave the woman, she would have provided much information once he had her out of the reach of those searching for him. He moved quickly, crossing the Ballroom and out into the far corridor as whoever was climbing the stars reached the First Floor ..........

[Iorte Clancy]

Iorte edged his way up through the staircase's shadows, sure he had heard something from up here but not knowing what. Hopefully it was only de Luca, whom he'd gone in search of, but unless she was dragging herself along in an unconscious state, zombielike or sleepwalking, she'd been apprehended and was being moved by the person who'd knocked her out.

=/\=De Luca's stopped moving, Iorte. She's the rest of the way up the stairs, a little to your left,=/\= Iezeld commed into Clancy's hidden device under his uniform collar.

He didn't respond, knowing the Chief Petty Officer would take it as an acknowledgement, unless he clarified otherwise. Nearing the top of the stairs, he saw a solitary shape distinct from the floor of the ground level. It had 5 digits, spread from a central unit: a hand, like the missing officer Malcolm's hand... except this one - as it turned out as he ascended the rest of the way up the stairs to the ground floor - was attached to a body, de Luca's.

Kneeling by her unconscious form and getting a positive reading on a pulse, he looked across the wide space of the function room that formed the front section of the ground and first floors of the guild hall, and saw a retreating humanoid form, now melting into an indistinct silver-grey blob that then crashed to the maroon-coloured carpeting and ran in rivulets of mercury towards the back of the internal structure, into a corridor that led to office spaces. A changeling...

"Elena..." She slowly came around. "I assume the changeling did this?" he asked.

She nodded groggily and with his help rose to her feet, "He found me as I was looking through the rooms, while on the last one back down there," she gestured down the righthand corridor (on the left as one faced the guildhall front entrance) to one of four doors. "He must've hit me again, just as I was trying to spring a surprise attack."

"You speak to him? Learn anything?"

She shook her head, "Nothing we haven't heard before really. They have more than one shapeshifter aboard the base. He claimed that it's his colleagues who are the more militant ones, the more ardently expansionist, while he's really the good guy. He wanted to incarcerate me somewhere."

Iorte nodded, "I suspect he would've taken you to one of the guild's new interrogation rooms, to be talked to by Horace Whitman and Tar'Dalian. It's some levels below this, about five or six," (seven was the true figure). "I've mapped the corridors below here, but couldn't find the room myself and Iezeld were kept in. I recognised many of the corridors, however."

De Luca acknowledged and Iorte, deciding it was useless to chase the changeling for now - particularly when it'd reverted to it natural liquid state in its escape - explored the seven rooms: four in the corridor this side of the ballroom, three in the other.

He finished up and sighed; each of the rooms was unremarkable, and seemed as if they could've been from any century of Earth's history: concrete floors, a mop and bucket in a corner, a load of dusty foldable wooden chairs seemingly not used in months or years. =/\=Well, I'd say we should be getting out of here for now and infiltrate again this following night,=/\= he commed for all their benefit.

=/\=Tan agrees,=/\= Iezeld commented from Intel HQ, where her and David Tan were listening in, =/\=Elena, we're glad you're alright.=/\=

Just as she was finishing speaking, Clancy and de Luca were accosted. Iorte turned lazily, assuming they were being meekly challenged by a member of the cleaning staff, but to his surprise found himself confronted by the restaurateur Neuchri,

"Clancy. So you escaped. You're a fool, why come back...?" the restaurateur hissed, and froze as the Hybrudean exile took a step towards him, "No no, I meant no harm. Whitman, and Botracht my half-brother, and the one I can't name..." he frowned and seemed to shiver, perhaps he meant a Tkrnn changeling, perhaps the one who'd attacked de Luca, "... they're the ones responsible, they're the ones who kidnapped you and Petty Officer Iezeld. I can't say I'm not on their side, but I lack their spirit of criminality, you might call it. Please!" he yelled at Iorte as the Intel officer pulled back a fist, impatient over these shenanigans.

It took de Luca to prevent him, "No, Iorte. We should at least take him at his word, if only initially, until his level of culpability is proven as favourable."

Pausing interminably he eventually nodded, "Very well. Then if you have no power over us, Neuchri, we're leaving. But it won't be the last you see of the authorities; tell that to Tar'Dalian, to Whitman, to Botracht..."

Not telling either of those present, Iorte weighed up what should actually be done. Either he and de Luca stayed and tried to use Neuchri to wind their way towards the other guild leaders (once they showed up), and so hopefully to the changeling, or they came back this following evening.

<Tag de Luca / Tan>

[David Tan]

Intelligence Offices ...
Mezzanine Level
Command Centre - Approx 11:00 hrs ::

Elena had been cleared by Medical an hour earlier and had gone to her quarters to shower and change, David was sitting with other Intel Members talking about recent events .....

"It's getting beyond a joke," Iezelda said, sipping at the too-hot coffee, she was tired out having been monitoring the previous night's incursion of the Tradesmens Guild Hall.

"At Admiral Lemond's request..." Colonel Dúpin began, "... I've assigned Security both inside and outside of the Guild Hall for the foreseeable future, you can imagine the uproar from the Guild when they turned up,"

"Well, maybe having Security looking over everyone's shoulders twenty-four-seven, might make some of them rethink their supporting Botracht and his associates..." David said, rising to refill his own coffee, "... Anything more on that Neuchri bloke?"

"Nothing we can use as leverage..." Iezeld said, lifting one of a pile of PADDs to read the displayed report, "... He's had his fair share of run-ins with Authorities, both here and on Earth, but he always seems to wrangle his way out of anything heavier than the mandatory 'slap on the wrist' for his misdemeanours,"

"I still wouldn't trust the guy," Tan said, lowering himself back into his seat as Elean entered. He watched her move to the counter and pour herself a coffee, seemingly deep in thought as she found her own seat.

"I had every intention of trying to persuade the Tkrnn to at least sit down with us and talk, hoping he'd appreciate what's happening and how it could affect the Tkrnn as a whole, but no luck," de Luca said as she blew over her coffee.

"Maybe that's a way in...!" David said suddenly, making everyone turn in his direction, "... We've been trying to stop the Tkrnn from continuing their rampage. It's got to be clear enough even to them that their efforts to start some all-out confrontation between the Klingons and Romulans have failed miserably, but rather than turn and leave, they started taking their frustrations out on Starbase Personnel ..... So why not play their game?" he said, falling silent.

"Meaning .....?" Elena finally asked.

"We've been going about this the wrong way..." he said, pausing to gather his thoughts before continuing, "... Well not really, but given what we know, there's little chance we'll catch one of the Tkrnn, and if we do I'm doubtful we'd be able to keep him, so ..... Why not make our case public, or at least, a part of our issues?"

"We tried 'asking' but got nowhere," Rosa Noon said.

"Then we'll walk into the Guild Hall in broad daylight, ask to speak to Botracht along with that snide Restaurateur Neuchri and the other cronies. We'll instruct Botracht to pass on a message: We'll make it clear that we're going to take our efforts elsewhere in an effort to stem Tkrnn activity, not only on Starbase Forty-Seven but in the Yattho Star System too,"

"By doing what, precisely?" Iezeld asked.

"We tell Botracht that Starfleet Command is right now instructing the Section Admiral to pull Starships off their current assignments and make their way towards Tkrnn Space where we'll give them no option but to either recall or neutralise their people,"

"You can't be serious, David," Elena said, astonished at the mere suggestion that Starfleet would threaten a whole Race for the crimes of a handful,"

"If we let it 'slip' that Command has been instructed to recall all Starships pending new orders ....." he said with a shrug.

"..... And what makes you think Botracht, or anyone else for that matter, will give a rats backend about us going after the Tkrnn?" Roda Noon asked.

"They might if during the recall we close down all non-essential facilities during the recall,"

"I'd still like to go back tonight to get a look at those strange readings I got from the First Floor Ballroom," Elena commented.

"We 'could' simply go in there and conduct another search openly, if nothing else it will infuriate Botracht and his cronies..." Rosa suggested, "... Leave it until maybe twenty-one twenty-two hundred hours, then go banging on the doors mob-handed. Meantime, as last night, two go in on the Q.T. ... The Guild Staff will have their hands full with Security wandering searching from room to room, which might not only give the two coverts time to go looking but could flush out the Tkrnn again,"

"I'm not too keen to come face to face with that 'man' again, to be honest, That said, there's definitely something amiss, both on that First Floor, 'AND' in the Sub-Level Iorte located, we know the Guild has no genuine cause to have space on that Level, so why have they?" de Luca commented, burning her upper lip on her coffee ..........

[Iorte Clancy]

"Myself and Iezeld were kept on some deck down there, a room meant for interrogation in one of the sub levels," Iorte replied, "The room must be there somewhere; during my mapping activities I remembered a good many of the corridors in the vicinity."

"We'll see this following evening," Tan said, "I'd like to approve this op - I mean Rosa's modification to the idea of going in and speaking to Botracht or associates directly. If we can do the latter as well, we should. Probably the following day if we're still in the building. Give them the idea that their business will be suspended when the starships on assignment supposedly come back before heading for the Tkrnn border in Romulan space."

"The Raven is already at that border," Iezelda pointed out, "How can it work?"

"The guild doesn't know about the Raven. Fleet Admiral Torek's mission is top secret," Tan replied, defending his idea, "Rumour has it that his orders didn't come from the Section Admiral, not even from Starfleet Command, but from Vice President Laterza and Romulan Ambassador Crelev."

Iorte raised both eyebrows; how had the Federation Council and Starfleet persuaded base command to go along with that?

He'd looked into the guild's planning permission requests for the extension - either side of the Gamma Promenade front - to the hall and the expansion of their space into the six or seven levels below. While the documentation was technically all in order, great parts of it were missing, with little or no reason given for the desire to expand, and Iorte wondered how they'd managed to get approval... Perhaps someone in the civilian administration sympathetic to them in their ill dealings? Or someone they'd bribed?

The next evening at about 2100, security were rapping at the main doors of the guild hall. Already inside the building were Clancy and de Luca with, just as before, Iezeld on comm to both of them. The difference was that this time - accompanying the security officers - were Tan, Noon, as well as Lieutenant Maerwicz and two more Intelligence officers, interspersed with the security and dressed in gold collars.

After a lot of huff and puff from the guild officers still present - most had returned to their quarters or were currently in one or other of the bars of Gamma and Beta Promenades, where the more disreputable folk tended to congregate - security were allowed in to begin, at least as they claimed, a systematic search of the premises.

"You have no jurisdiction!" Raised voices and hurrying feet were heard throughout the structure, as guildsmen argued with security who made demands at the entrance to certain rooms, staying clear of the use of force but having the intention of being difficult. The distraction in place, Clancy rose from his place of ensconcement on what - for operational purposes - Intel was calling deck negative 3 (it being the third of half a dozen or so sub-levels) and headed for a junction to meet with Noon who'd split from the main group of security. Likewise Tan rendezvoused with de Luca in the great hall that formed the first two floors of the front of the guild hall.

<Tag Tan, de Luca>

Well these corridors are completely deserted now, Iorte thought. He hadn't had such a luxury during his mapping and certainly not when he'd fled from them with Iezelda. "I couldn't get to this place..." His surroundings were becoming very familiar, invading his senses with a threatening immediacy. =/\=Did you hear that, Iezeld?=/\=

=/\=It's an open comm, I'm listening. Proceed.=/\= He could hear her voice shaking slightly, as she also would know where he was.

This was the place, the very place he and Iezelda had stepped into in those first moments of flight from Tar'Dalian, Neuchri and Whitman, and possibly a Tkrnn changeling... The starkly painted walls, the anaemic lighting and sterile surfaces... He came upon the door to where he and Iezelda had been interrogated. Beside it was a smaller door he hadn't noticed before, and he and Noon quietly entered, glad that no alarms - at least none that were audible - sounded. Creeping through the darkness and tight confines, he happened upon a small side desk on the right with a console upon it. He leant towards its white screen...

The system was busy, and though the glyphs upon the screen were indecipherable, he could easily tell that the console was transmitting something... A little investigation showed that the signal was bound for both the Ceylan'tar and Yattho systems, where there'd been substantial Tkrnn activity. The glyphs... the Tkrnn script and language? Who'd installed this thing here?

As he wondered it, a humanoid-like Tkrnn appeared on the screen; the universal translator worked quickly, "Who is this?!" the Tkrnn demanded.

[David Tan]

Gamma Promenade ...
Level One Five Five Seven ::

They had entered the Guild Hall immediately making sure that there was no misunderstanding as to the seriousness of their presence .....

"Something's been troubling me..." de Luca said as David approached the Intelligence Officer sitting cross-legged on the plush carpet of the Great Hall. David knelt beside her peering over her shoulder at the schematic displayed on the tricorder she was holding, "... See, it doesn't make sense....." for several seconds Tan couldn't see what she was referring to, then it hit him!

"Why do they need storage areas below the Guild Hall itself...?" he said, seeing the sections Elena had colour-coded passing through six of the Levels beneath the Promenade, "... I'm assuming there's nothing in the way on Delta Promenade?"

"No, there 'was' two shops below us, but the Guild apparently bought out their contracts and set them up on this Level," she confirmed.

"Expensive!" Tan said, bemused at how the supposedly 'non-profit' Tradesmens Guild had appropriated the necessary funds to buy out shop owners without argument and set them up in larger premises for the same rent!

"Maybe we're missing something here," de Luca said, shaking her head.

"Iorte should be down there by now... Let's go look at that 'extra' room you found," David said, rising.

-----

In the corridor, she again scanned the room, as before it showed there was another concealed room beyond the far wall. According to the schematics, it was above a clothing store that was renting the Promenade Level, while the upper floor was taken up by part of the Starbase's superstructure. Entering the room off the corridor, they approached the wall and David waited while Elena moved her tricorder back and forth along the length of the wall, lowering her scan by half a metre on each pass. Done, she turned to David while resisting the urge to scratch her head in confusion, these readings don't look at all right.

"According to the schematics, there's nothing behind here but structural material, if there's a room here it isn't showing on the plans," she said with an exasperated shrug.

"Well, given what we know so far, which admittedly, isn't much, I'm inclined to have Engineering send someone up here to cut a hole so we can have a look for ourselves," Tan said, tapping his commbadge to make the call. Ten minutes later two Starfleet Engineers appeared, one carrying what looked like a large suitcase.

"That wall Gents," Tan said, he and Elena stepping back. As one of the Engineers began to unpack a bulky piece of apparatus, a portable laser cutter, the other scanned the wall, explaining that they didn't want to cut through any live power conduits. After a moment he asked his colleague to double-check what he thought he was seeing, and then they turned to the Intelligence Officers:

"That's not a solid bulkhead, there's a forcefield erected there guys..." one said, showing them the reading on his device. Elena looked at her tricorder assuming there was a fault with the thing, but the engineer reassured her it was in working order, "... Our equipment is set to scan for stuff other than your normal run of the mill readings. 'THAT' is definitely a forcefield not a solid bulkhead, and clearly not Federation design, give me a moment ....." he said. Tan and de Luca waited while the two Engineers conferred, and then both scanned the room again before pausing next to the door that led to the corridor beyond. One pointed to what appeared to be a completely blank area of the wall and grinned. With the lighting so low David didn't at first see what the Engineer was pointing at, then he could see the almost invisible outline of an inlaid square, approximately five by five centimetres. Shrugging, he reached forward and lightly applied pressure to the pad, and as if by magic, the forcefield on opposite side of the room disappeared!

They all looked at the opening - Beyond, was a cramped space, they could see where numerous sections of bulkhead had been reinforced and re-directed to allow something to be installed within. Several of what looked like small metal containers lined the wall immediately to the left. Instructing the Engineers to remain outside, David crossed the threshold and approached the first container, as Elena walked further into the room. He reached forward to release the catches holding the top in place, then tentatively, lifted it off, surrprised to see weapons and other equipment, clearly 'non' Federation Standard.

"Bloody hell!" Elena said, David turned and looked at what was clearly a single-person transporter pad!

"..... Well ..... At least we now know how they're getting on and off the Starbase," he said ..........

[Iorte Clancy]

Iorte took a risk, "Our presence here has been detected. This is as far as I know a secure channel. But the Federation authorities know of multiple others of the Elite over this Starbase, including the one who perished in the bombing of the makeshift Klingon embassy."

"We know this already," the Tkrnn said dismissively. "The death of one of us was worth it for killing the Klingon Ambassador. Though I suppose some might argue it was to no purpose considering the Romulans restrained themselves... I don't recognise you. Who are you impersonating, if you're one of the Elite?"

"No one. The person whose form I've taken doesn't exist," Iorte replied.

He turned to Noon who nodded. She was in quiet communication with the Intel offices about what was going on. Lemond's officers, with the Command Centre, were attempting to track the source of the transmission, the current location of Iorte's interlocutor.

"That's not standard procedure," the Tkrnn pointed out and shook his head, "You Elite should learn that it's we the humanoid Supreme Rulers who hold the true power, and you should hold to our decrees, and impersonate only living Starbase personnel. Gah... You people are a relic of a forgotten history, when we were residents of only two or three systems in the so-called Gamma quadrant. Look at the extent of our power now. What shapeshifter ever guided the events that brought we Tkrnn to our current preeminence?"

Clancy pretended to size up the humanoid Tkrnn, "As much as I'm enjoying this ethereal conversation, Your Supremacy, I have other things that demand my attention. I've told you about the loss of secrecy, and you tell me you knew it already. Now I'd like to break this off."

"Fine. But I demand that you - and I mean you! not the Elite who spoke with me before nor some lackey - communicate with me tomorrow for an update. You know the frequency. Supreme Ruler Cial out."

Supreme Ruler Cial, Iorte thought in the darkness as the screen winked out. One of perhaps a few current Supreme Rulers, it would seem. From what Cial had said it appeared humanoids dominated that body, while the changelings - the Elite - didn't have much presence and were subordinate to them. Perhaps the shapeshifting Elite could be called an aristocracy, while the Supreme Rulers were the chief absolutist power? he thought.

"Well, we need to know that comm frequency," he said to Noon as they explored the small room further and then crept out (assuming he followed instructions and called Cial again). But what exactly would he report to him, without giving himself away through ignorance about the Tkrnn intentions?

As they'd seen before, the transmission to Cial had been directed to the Yattho and Ceylan'tar systems... Now it was found that the source - Cial's proper location - seemed to be the Yattho homeworld. Shocking as it was that one of the Tkrnn Supreme Rulers was that close to Starbase 47 and the Federation, it didn't compare to what they next discovered... Tan and de Luca let them know they'd found a transporter pad on the first floor of the guild hall...


"It's definitely Tkrnn technology, if comparison with the ship found by the USS El Alamein in the Ceylan'tar system is anything to go by," one of the two engineers with Tan and de Luca said, both scanning the transporter. They'd been joined by Clancy and Noon, who told them about the inadvertent comm with the Tkrnn humanoid Cial.

"The humanoid is in the nearby Yattho system," Iorte was informing them and looked at the transporter pad, "Can you tell if it's been in use recently?"

"Data has been wiped, but the components in their version of Heisenberg compensators indicates several activations in the last few days," one of the engineers replied, "They're on and off the base like nobody's business it seems, sir."

Noon arrived back from surveying the situation in the rest of the building. There was trouble. Some guild officers and traders had whipped themselves into a frenzy, filled the lobby and blocked the entrance, planning to stop the security contingent and Intel detachment from leaving the guildhall.

[David Tan]

Tradesmen's Guild Hall ...
Gamma Promenade
Level One Five Five Seven ::

"..... It's definitely Tkrnn technology if comparison with the ship found by the USS El Alamein in the Ceylan'tar system is anything to go by....." one of the two Engineers inspecting the transporter pad.

It was clear that the technology far surpassed that of the Federation, if what they were seeing proved correct, it would mean that someone could transport from the Yattho Homeworld, almost 'FORTY' lightyears distant!

"That can't be right..." de Luca said, shaking her head, "... There has to be some kind of 'way-point' a planetoid, a moon, hell even a lump of rock large enough to hold a single pad and a power supply!"

"What about a cloaked ship...?" one of the Engineers commented, seeing everyone turn in his direction, "... Well, it stands to reason there 'has' to be something, a cloaked vessel, there purely to relay whoever's trying to get from, 'A' to 'B' ..... Right?"

"It could be almost simultaneous, you transport from here to the way-point, then are sent on to your destination without actually materialising on the way," the other Engineer, clearly not wanting to be left out of the conversation speculated.

"There could be more, two, ten, a hundred, all presumably well hidden!" the first said, dropping to one knee to take more reading from the power supply, nodding before again commenting, "... There's no way his thing is drawing nearly half the power needed to send someone lightyears, it would light up in one of numerous monitoring stations throughout the Starbase,"

"Well, do we risk using it?" Elena asked.

"You're 'ARE' joking!" Rosa Noon said, astonished it had even been suggested.

"Well, it's not like we're unsure as to how it will function," the second Engineer commented.

"Are you two done here?" David asked, clearly annoyed at the Engineer's constant input.

"We can leave, and come back when you people are done talking if you like," the Lieutenant said, eyeing Tan. He could feel Elena's eyes on him clearly unimpressed.

"Sorry, Lieutenant, it's just frustrating, I'm not best pleased that the Tkrnn, and who-knows-who else, are popping on and off the Starbase unchallenged," David said.

"OK ..... So, you want us to leave this thing working?" the Engineering NCO asked.

"What about logging its use, time activated, destination, etcetera, can that be done without anyone knowing?" de Luca said as they heard the first shouts from below.

"Hold that thought," David said as he and Iorte exited the room heading across the Ballroom to the head of the stairs. Below, they could see almost two dozen Guildhall Staff Members holding back a group of Starfleet Security Officers, one of Colonel Dúpin's Staff was trying to inform them that the search warrant had been issued on behalf of Starfleet Command, by Section Admiral Gheskori himself.

"We can't let them know we've found the transporter," David said. He tapped his commbadge:

=^= Tan to Dúpin .. .. =^=

=^= Dúpin =^= the Security Deputy replied seemingly out of breath.

=^= Theo .. We've got trouble in the Guildhall .. We nee .. .. =^=

=^= Already on it David .. We're outside now =^= The comm snapped off as they saw more Security enter the Guildhall. Without any preamble, they began to manhandle Staff out of the door towards more waiting Security Officers that presumably had been tasked with restraining them one by one. Theo Dúpin appeared at the bottom of the stairs and began to climb.

"Can't leave you people alone for five minutes can I," he said with a grin ..........

[Iorte Clancy]

Iorte returned back up the stairs and thought about how many of the guild's staff knew about the transporter. He supposed he was asking himself what was the nature of the conspiracy, did it involve most of the guild or was it confined to the ringleaders - Tar'Dalian, Whitman and Neuchri and so on? Perhaps neither was accurate and knowledge of it belonged only to Botracht.

"Good to see you, Colonel," Iorte nodded, "What's going on out there?"

"You saw it, probably. The guild's trying to prevent my staff from leaving the guildhall. I've brought a new contingent, powers of arrest to add to the search warrant that the team accompanying yourselves -"

There was some disturbance from the lobby down the stairs. "He's got a phaser!" they heard the muffled cry, followed by the sound of a discharge of an energy weapon, then two or three more.

Concerns about the transporter, the guild's leaders and Dupin having been shunted from his mind, Clancy threw himself down the stairs and on to the ground floor, where he found a gaggle of guild officers, security guards wrestling them to the floor, and a gap in the cordon of the latter outside the entrance, a small group of the irate guildsmen seemingly having bowled over one of the security guards, who indeed lay flat on the deck. But there was someone worse off...

Clancy followed by his Intel colleagues - except for Noon who'd been left with the two engineers to keep watch on the room that led into the transporter alcove - barrelled through the hollering crowd, some still furious, others dismayed by what'd happened, to the entrance way.

Lying astride the entrance was another security guard with a 12 inch hole in his chest, shot through courtesy of a formerly concealed Mk I phaser which one of the guildsmen had had about his person. And a few feet away lay the bodies of two guild staff who'd been shot down in the wake of the unexpected attack on the Starfleet security guard by one of their colleagues.

"Report, Lieutenant!" Tan virtually shouted in the senior security officer's face.

"They went for Ensign Morris, sir. Picked their point in the line and drove their way through. Now he's dead," the ashen faced officer Lieutenant Lasczek looked upon his fallen fellow officer.

Squeezed between two groups of security, the guildsmens' muted frenzy had tipped over into madness. Trying to prevent some officers from leaving and pressed into desisting by other Starfleeters who arrived from outside the guildhall, they'd acted in desperation. "Four or five guild officers broke through, sir. Somewhere else on Gamma Promenade now, evidently. And one of them, the one who had the phaser, is the murderer of Ensign Morris."

"One of them was blue," one of the security enlisteds said bluntly.

"An Andorian," Lasczek nodded after a moment, "The guild leader who tried to hold Command to ransom presumably."

"Yes, that's Tar'Dalian, one of Botracht's lieutenants," Iorte growled with roving eyes. So the small group from the guild was at large in the promenade levels, but there was little they could do until another sighting of them was reported, or they were picked up on internal surveillance cameras.

=/\=Tan, this is the engineering team. You might want to get back here, sir.=/\=

The Intel team reconvened in the room which contained the transporter, more able to do so considering the guild had been emptied of people after the kerfuffle at the entrance. "We've discerned the precise coordinates of the waypoint station," the engineer said, "Command Centre has scanned that region of space, and it seems the waypoint is custom-built to serve as such, sir. Not cloaked, roughly cubic, about 200 metres to a side. Lying some 0.25 lightyears away, towards the Yattho and Ceylan'tar systems, galactic east towards Romulan and Klingon space."

"So will it lead to the Yattho, or Ceylan'tar system?" one of the group asked.

[David Tan]

First Floor ...
Tradesmen's Guild Hall
Gamma Promenade
Level One Five Five Seven ::

Theo Dúpin was updating Intelligence when all hell seemed to break loose below .....

Tan, Clancy, and Deputy Security Head Colonel Dúpin heard weapons fire as they were talking, Dúpin snatched the phaser from his belt and ran headlong down the curve staircase, Iorte and David immediately behind him into utter pandemonium ..... On the ground floor, Security personnel were getting to their feet. It was clear someone had been hit!

"REPORT, LIEUTENANT!" Tan had snapped, listening as they were informed of the death of one of the Security personnel, Ensign Morris, still in training as Security and awaiting his automatic promotion to Lieutenant, had been killed instantly when he confronted what they now knew was an Andorian male. As Clancy and Dúpin took charge of the hectic situation, David updated Lemond and the Section Admiral:

=^= understood .. .. I've instructed all emergency bulkheads between Levels one five five six and one five five nine sealed immediately .. They won't get far David =^= Lemond had said before snapping the comm off. David was about to head back to the main doors leading out onto the Promenade, where Security was finally getting the upper hand, corralling Guild Officers in restraints into the ground floor Ballroom, when a Security Officer approached Colonel Dúpin at the same time as Tan heard his commbadge chirp to life. He tapped the badge while simultaneously listening to the Security Officer's report:

"Sir, Security spotted the Andorian, he was speaking to someone via a communicator but ran when approached, Security is giving chase,"

"Understood," Dúpin confirmed.

=^= Tan .. This is the Engineering team .. You might want to get back here .. Sir =^= David confirmed he was on his way, He and Dúpin grabbed Clancy en route to the staircase, and the three returned to the newly discovered room on the first floor ..... The Engineers, seemingly eyeing the transporter pad with something approaching admiration, explained to the Intelligence Officers what they had found.

"So will it lead to the Yattho, or Ceylan'tar system?" someone asked.

"It looks that way, yes..." the Engineer confirmed, "... Shouldn't be too hard to find now we know what we're looki ....." he paused as they realised that the pad had suddenly activated.

"What did you do?" Tan asked the Engineer on his knees beside the platform.

"Nothing it's incoming, I think!" the man said, standing, then stepping back as a cube, approximately one-metre square materialised. They looked at each other and then heard a 'whine' coming from the cube. One of the Engineers made to move forward but Iorte snatched the man's arm, stopping him approaching the cube. The 'whine' began to increase in volume as the tone moved up the scale. It suddenly occurred to Tan and everyone else, that something was very very wrong!

"Evacuate this area... NOW...!" he said quickly glancing at the cube before following the others into the corridor, "... Down to the ground flo ....." he was ordering as the device transported into the hidden room exploded!

The far end of the corridor, along with the previously hidden room disappeared in the explosion along with half of the Ballroom. David struggled to his knees, realising he had been hit down his left side by several sharp pieces of shrapnel from the blast, Dúpin too had been hit as was as Iorte. David looked around through the smoke and dust trying to check everyone who had been in the room was safe, Fire suppression systems had activated almost instantly, undoubtedly saving lives. But it was clear now that the Tkrnn and those aligned with them had radically changed their tactics ..........

[Iorte Clancy]

Guildhall, Gamma promenade

Rising from the dust, Iorte took account of his surroundings. He found himself in a bleak and fiery corridor, near what had been its end-point in its opening into the great hall. Both the hall and the corridor's walls, ceilings and floors were ruptured in several places, opening both chasms a deck or two down and great rents in the bulkheads as if some creature had torn through them, and everything was more or less lost in a haze of fire.

"Where are we then...? Let's take stock..." he was saying, still in a daze though just about on his feet. They tentatively explored down the corridor, shifting rubble and flaming debris out the way, and discovered the body - lying just outside the ruined entrance leading into the hidden room - of one of the two engineers.

The other engineer was alive and with them - the latter being Clancy, Tan, de Luca, Dupin - and over the threshold of another of the three or four rooms they found Noon's unconscious form, bleeding at the temple but eminently stable.

"What about the transporter?" Iorte asked, turning 180 degrees back to the virtually destroyed room that held the hidden alcove at its rear, "Surely it's been obliterated."

"Yes, I imagine so," Tan said, "But why would the Tkrnn do it, taking out one of their own means of transportation they installed here? I can't imagine it's easy to manufacture fresh hardware of that type here, cut off from their fleet and own space in the Gamma quadrant."

The surviving engineer raised a hand of warning and directed it to the alcove, his other hand holding a tricorder, "Hold on a minute, sir. According to my readings, the transporter wasn't destroyed... It seems it was dematerialised away from here, instants before the cube's self-destruct program initiated."

Clancy stared at him blankly. He assumed by dematerialised that he did in fact mean it was beamed out. But if the Tkrnn had that capability, why did they need one or more transporter pads aboard the station? They'd simply be able to beam whatever they needed on or off without any transporter tech on-site acting as an intermediary?

"It wasn't any normal transportation, sir... The pad was phased out of real space. Seems it now exists in a slightly dislocated frame of reference - spatially and temporally - whose true dimensionality is given by a set of ideas derivative from superstring theory, last popular in the early 23rd century when -"

"Enough!" the Intel officers effectively chimed together. "So the transporter could be made to reappear, unscathed by the explosion?" Iorte asked once their collective misgivings had abated.

"More than that, sir, I'd suggest that it's possible the Tkrnn may be able to phase the pad out of its superstring state and have it appear at any point on the Starbase... And if you're right that there could be more than one of them, sir, then that goes without saying that we'd be in difficulties: they could use the transporter pads to bring in many more explosive cubes or whatever else they might like; when the pads aren't out of phase that is."

Iorte rolled his eyes, Well indeed, he thought, but as yet the idea of more than one is only a guess.

Recovery teams were inbound to deal with the huge explosion in the guildhall, and meanwhile it seemed the noose was closing on the Andorian Tar'Dalian...

---

Intel offices

Iezelda had risen from her desk in the wake of the latest infiltration's forced conclusion and approached Lemond's office, but had been directed to Paquin's desk instead.

Reflecting wistfully that such was the lot of an NCO even if she was assigned to the main team of Intel officers in the Section, she entered in on back and forth status updates with the adjutant.

Paquin looked up from a PADD, "The Andorian. They're bringing him in this afternoon, if they succeed in their ambush. Dupin's people I mean."

"And Gheskori's ADC tells me that recovery operations are well underway in the guildhall and wider Gamma Promenade," Iezeld replied, "And our team's coming up here now. Clancy and Noon found a comms terminal seven decks down from Gamma, and by accident happened to speak with one of the Tkrnn Supreme Rulers, no less, a certain humanoid by the name of Cial. Tan and de Luca as you know found the transporter."

"The Director tells that if or when it reappears from out of phase, we need to be ready to use it," Paquin said, "If not by sending personnel, then by means of a bomb. Destroying whatever midway station they have between their space and the Starbase."

[David Tan]

Starfleet Intelligence Offices ...
Mezzanine Level
Command Centre ::

"..... if not by sending personnel, then by means of a bomb. Destroying whatever midway station they have between their space and the Starbase..." Commander Anna Paquin, Nia Lemond' Adjutant was saying as David and Elena entered the offices, "... Good to see you are well David," the woman said dropping into one of the vacant seats as Elena poured coffee for her and David.

"Any further news on injuries?" Elena asked.

"Only what we already have, several minor injuries on the Promenade, when the wall blew out, but nothing serious," Paquid replied checking the PADD she seemed to be wedded to. Nia Lemond, Intelligence Director entered, sealing the door behind her:

"Well, there have been developments," the Admiral said, accepting her own almost scalding cup of coffee. She took a seat and ran her eyes over some report or data feed Paquin showed her.

"The Council?" David speculated, given where Lemond had been for the last hour.

"Their attempt to contact the Tkrnn directly failed, the Flagship, despite all efforts, was forced to turn away from Tkrnn space,"

"Meaning what, exactly...?" Elena asked for everyone present, "... War?" she finished, answering her own question.

"It looks that way, we're to consider the Tkrnn hostile from here on in, so no more walking on proverbial eggshells..." Lemond said quietly, sipping the almost molten coffee, "... We ..... Intelligence that is, have been instructed, unofficially, to capture, or neutralise any Tkrnn currently on the Starbase with the utmost haste, while of course keeping our actions under the radar, so to speak,"

"..... And the Raven, Ma'am?" Iezelda asked, receiving a look that would have melted gold-pressed platinum from the Admiral and remembering her instruction that under no circumstances should she ever be referred to as Ma'am.

"The Raven, along with the Maracanda, are still shadowing the Tkrnn Terraformer, last report put them on the outskirts of Romulan Space," Lemond said without further elaboration.

"Admiral..." de Luca began, "... Our initial instructions were to find the missing Federation Officers, has that now changed?"

"No. In fact, I'm going to utilise as many of Colonel Dúpin's Security Personnel as feasible to continue searching all uninhabited Levels throughout the Starbase....." she paused as David looked up from his cup:

"That could take weeks, months," Tan said.

"Indeed, but it will at least free up Intelligence Personnel to concentrate on finding, and capturing, the Tkrnn on this facility, we'll work together, but 'our' priority is the Changeling," Lemond finished.

"Are we still considering sending an explosive device back on the Tkrnn transporter, if and when it reappears?" de Luca asked.

"Yes," Nia replied simply.

"Admiral, I still think we should try to use their technology, at least to visit, examine one of these 'way-points' ..... If we can put people there, a small team, then we'll have a much better chance of grabbing one of them and returning him, it, them, here for questioning," Tan suggested.

"And if you can't get back?" Nia asked, eyebrow raised.

"We have a rough location for at least the nearest way-point, send a Starship to cover that region, if the away team get into difficulty the ship can pluck them off, no problem!" Iezeld said, clearly over-excited.

"We're hardly overflowing with available Starships," Nia replied, trying not to shake her head, she knew Iezelda Iezeld was relatively new to Intelligence, her scores were what put her on Iorte Clancy's radar, so she didn't want to deflate the woman, and much like Carl Torek, she encouraged her people to speak up, no point in keeping what might prove to be a good idea for fear of ridicule.

"Admiral, the USS Clark Maxwell is in Spacedock, they were due to return to Earth yesterday but their departure was delayed," Anna Paquin suggested, seeing Iezeld look back down at her empty cup, Anna took it to refill, smiling at the Chief Petty Officer encouragingly as she handed back the beverage.

"OK, it's worth considering..." Lemond said, rising, the others in the room following suit, "... Anna, speak to Clark Maxwell's Commanding Officer, ask him, politely, if he wouldn't mind a minor detour en route back to Earth," she said, heading for the door.

"..... erm, and if he's not too keen?" Paquin asked.

"Then ..... Inform him that, on my orders, he's more than welcome to sit out the detour here, while 'YOU' Command the Clark Maxwell for the duration," she said, grinning. Anna's eyes widened, seemingly the only one shocked at the suggestion, while she had passed the Bridge Officers Command Course, a prerequisite for Command of a Starship, and a necessity to hold the rank of Commander, she had never actually taken over the centre seat of a Starship officially, she looked at the others, finally realising she had been had, David smiled:

"OK..." he said, with a sly wink at Anna, "... Let's recap what we know about our missing personnel, see what we can do to move forward," ..........

[Iorte Clancy]

Intel offices

Paquin volunteered, "Well, the latest report has it that four of the eight personnel have been found, with Petty Officer Malcolm Wright being the ninth - not one of those reported missing initially but whose body was found in his quarters a couple days after the others were lost. His connection with them was via Technician Elizabeth Chapman, one of the eight, whose body has likewise been found."

Clancy weighed it all up, nodding sagely as he slumped a little in his seat, "Dupin's conclusion is that they were definitely killed by a changeling, he thinks perhaps the same one as was with some of the Starbase brass as they were evaluating the explosion at the entrance of O'Toole's on Alpha."

The Tkrnn that subsequently disappeared, he thought, It would've kidnapped and killed the nine officers and NCOs before all those events. "So where do you want us to start, Admiral?" he asked.

Lemond bit her lip, "I'm giving serious thought to assigning at least some of you to the team to go to whatever waypoint station is nearest. The rest of you, and others, will apprehend and bring into custody the Tkrnn - humanoids and changelings - that are here on base, if there are any left."

"We'll need to find a way to bring the transporter back into phase, if that team has any hope of getting on to the waypoint," Iezeld tentatively put in.

They chewed it over for a while longer and agreed that using the James Clerk Maxwell to beam aboard the waypoint, at least to start with, wasn't a good option, as the station's scanners would recognise a Starfleet signature transport; better to use Tkrnn technology to get aboard.

---

Docking levels

The James Clerk Maxwell had just departed its berth, sidling out of the Dock in reverse before pivoting about at the space doors and slipping through into the eternal blackness, outbound to the predicted coordinates of the waypoint station.

Iorte watched it go and turned to Iezelda; she'd been kept off the pending jaunt to the waypoint, for which he was silently grateful. They embraced and he said he hoped he'd see her soon, and she went up to the Intel offices to act as point of contact for Intel officers in plain clothes currently milling about the four promenades.

Several hours passed and Dupin and the Deputy Chief of Starbase Engineering contacted him. The phased-out transporter in the hidden room in the guildhall was showing signs, flickering and intermittent, of reconstituting itself in normal space, amidst the blasted wreckage in that area.

So they had a mission. It'd been agreed that a bomb wouldn't be used yet and that a team would certainly be going to the waypoint. That was assuming the Tkrnn transporter materialised itself back here completely.

"Do we need to worry about who may be on the waypoint?" he asked the rest of the assigned officers, Tan, de Luca and Noon when they and Commander Paquin had gathered in an R&D lab, to which the Tkrnn transporter had been moved. "If the Tkrnn were using that thing frequently to get personnel and items aboard the Starbase, it stands to reason they might have a whole lot more of that kind of thing over there."

"The Clerk Maxwell is proceeding at warp 9," Noon replied, "The plan is to get it on station before we execute any transport over. It can sit at a vast distance and passively scan the waypoint for lifesigns, then report findings to us here via subspace."

"Changelings don't show up on sensors," Tan pointed out, "Our starship would only find Tkrnn humanoids."

"The Director has evaluated the risk and is satisfied," Paquin said, regarding the transporter device as an engineer cried that it'd taken on full solid form. "Your objective is to capture one or more Tkrnn, humanoid or changeling, and probe them for intelligence, then send them packing back to the far Romulan border and the fringes of the Gamma quadrant, with a message that all Tkrnn are being turned out from the Federation. We hope to destroy the waypoint later. The James Clerk Maxwell will be on hand in case you get into any trouble."

"What about the missing personnel here?" Clancy asked.

"Dupin, Maerwicz and Iezeld are on it. Happy hunting," Paquin said, briskly handing Tan a PADD from Lemond.

Engineers were moving the Tkrnn transporter from its research cradle to the floor. Now they waited for the James Clerk Maxwell's report from the waypoint coordinates...

[David Tan]

Intelligence Offices ...
Mezzanine Level
Command Centre ::


It had taken the USS James Clark Maxwell, under the command of Captain Noah Kemp, who had apparently turned down Anna Paquin's offer to take the centre seat, almost eight hours to reach what they believed to be the optimal location between Starbase Forty-Seven and an impossibly small asteroid that held the Tkrnn way-point. Given the location, it quickly became clear that the Changelings must be using a series, three, possibly more, or these way-points to achieve reaching the nearest Tkrnn-occupied world .....

Anna Paquin entered the office, a PADD, seemingly a permanent fixture, in one hand:

"The Clark Maxwell has reported back..." she said, relinquishing the PADD long enough for David to read the report before taking it back, "... Admiral Lemond is with Admiral Gheskori in conference with the Federation Council,"

"Still no decision on the Tkrnn I take it?" Tan asked.

"Can't say, but it looks like there could be an official declaration should there be any further loss of Federation lives," the woman said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Any word on the transporter?" Iorte asked.

"Science says it rematerialised twenty minutes ago and so far appears stable, though they have no honest idea as to how long that could last," Paquin replied, double-checking information on the PADD.

"Well ..... No time like the present, so to speak," David said, rising from his seat, ten minutes later they were stood in the wreckage of the Guild Hall first-floor Ballroom, outside the small room containing the Tkrnn device. David couldn't help but wonder how the Science team were coping, the room, cramped to begin with, now looked like a junkyard of mismatched girders, beams, and stanchions, mixed with the new supports erected by the Corps of Engineers to prevent whatever was above from crashing down on anyone present, or so they hoped. David approached the transporter pad, looking out of place but there nonetheless.

One of the Science team approached, glancing warily at the Tkrnn device before handing a tricorder to Clancy:

"We've rigged up a bypass of sorts..." he said, pointing at the device before continuing, "... This will activate the transport, we're assuming you will end up on the waypoint given there doesn't seem to be anything that would serve as a co-ordinate selector. Tap the green icon and erm, off you'll go," the woman said.

"You don't exactly exude an air of confidence," David said, grinning at Clancy as he turned the adapted tricorder over in his hand.

"Well, we're as confident as we can be..." the woman replied before returning to her colleagues and then turning back towards the Intelligence Officers, "... If you're going I'd suggest now is as good a time. Oh, I wouldn't try sending more than three, maximum four at a time, just to be on the safe side," she finished with a shrug. With a glance at the transporter pad, David stepped up and turned to face the others, pausing for a fraction of a second, Iorte, Elena, and Rosa Noon joined him ..... Clancy looked at the tricorder, then seemingly coming to some inner decision, he placed a thumb on the green tab .....

Tkrnn Waypoint ::

The four materialised:

"Is it just me, or did that take 'WAY' too long?" Elena asked feeling nauseous for a moment before her stomach settled.

"Not like we've just gone from one room to the next," Clancy said, securing the tricorder. All four had felt the effect of the transport process, possibly the device on the Starbase had suffered minor damage either during the explosion or while phasing, or it was due to the vast distance involved, Starfleet were nowhere close to beaming over such distances.

The room was almost bare apart from a pristine version of the transporter pad they had stepped onto light-years away. All four had automatically drawn their phasers, anticipating company, but it seemed they were not expected, and the transporter had already shut down or gone into standby mode. Checking the room they found nothing of interest:

"Any thoughts on how big this place is?" Rosa Noon asked.

"The asteroid or moonlet, whatever it is, is small, it must have a heavy metallic core to sustain gravity. Elena was saying as Tan's commbadge chirped to life:

=^= Clark Maxwell to Away Team .. .. =^=

=^= Go ahead =^= Tan replied.

=^= Confirming your safe arrival.. We'll stand off and await orders .. Good luck =^=

=^= Thank you .. Captain .. Away team out =^= David tapped the commbadge to sever the link then headed towards the only door.

In the corridor, several small rooms were spaced on either side, the first rooms contained a single bunk but nothing else. Rosa paused, at one of the last, peering into the semi-darkness before her step over the threshold activated the room's lights:

"Erm ..... Are these what I think they are?"

Everyone came back to look at what the woman was referring to, standing in silence for a moment as they contemplated the dozens of one-meter square metallic cubes, all knowing they had seen one similar before. In act, one identical to those stored in the room had materialised then exploded only hours earlier on the Starbase! ..........

[Gheskori]

Starbase 47

Most officers on the base knew that Gheskori and Lemond were in a meeting with the Federation Council via subspace, but few of them knew how difficult it was.

"At this time the matter is with Starfleet Security and the presidential oversight committee responsible for audits of the office of the Commander-in-Chief Starfleet. A decision on war, or no war, officially, will be given you once both of those have processed their respective processes..."

Gheskori resisted the urge to facepalm. These sorry bureaucrats! It was a wonder anything got done in the Federation on any of the core worlds, even Vulcan, with this sort of PADD pushing and absolving oneself of responsibility...

"Councillor Berkat, this is a matter of the greatest importance not only to Section 47, but to the whole of the Federation!" Lemond stated via the visual link from her own office.

Ra-ghorennii, who wasn't present, had apparently passed the latest update from the Starbase near the Romulan and Klingon borders on to other departments, too busy with some other matter, related but distinct it seemed, involving his Vice President and two Romulans, one being Crelev.

After the unofficial declaration of war on the Tkrnn last month, little had been seen in Federation space and its fringes in terms of increased incidents with possible Tkrnn (or so the Federation Council was wanting to tell them), even on Starbase 47 itself things had seemed to die down a little, and with that Ghes had had to agree...

But then it seemed the Tkrnn had been driven underground in their latest efforts, at least up to about a few hours ago when the cubic device had exploded on the transporter pad in the Gamma Promenade guild offices, which was the very point of this conference - something the Section Admiral and Intelligence Director were having a hard time getting through to these Earthbound councillors.

"Certain questions, issues, matters... have to be taken into consideration, Gheskori," another Federation councillor said, "The Tkrnn are a puzzle. Contingencies in case of failure, risk management, root cause analysis of procedural errors, worst case scenarios have to be formulated, reviewed, made subject to further check, approved and executed, with concomitant checks in the auditor's office, before such a declaration can be made..."

"Councillor... Councillor! I have to let you know that if the Council won't declare the Federation at an official state of war with the Tkrnn, then Section 47 will!"

"You don't have the proper authority," the man said after a moment, infuriatingly unflappable.

"This Starbase is the closest prominent Federation facility to Tkrnn space," Ghes retorted, and tried to control himself, "Then at least... if the Federation isn't at war with the Tkrnn, please Councillor, in light of the deaths of Federation citizens from Tkrnn bombs on our Starbase, tell Ra-ghorennii and Laterza, that we are!"

[Iorte Clancy]

Tkrnn waypoint marker 7428-1F

Everyone came back to look at what the woman was referring to, standing in silence for a moment as they contemplated the dozens of one-meter square metallic cubes, all knowing they had seen one similar before. In fact, one identical to those stored in the room had materialised then exploded only hours earlier on the Starbase!

"I'd say we need to get one of these through the transporter," Iorte said, as they surveyed the stacked grey cubes of explosives in the room Noon had explored. He opened his tricorder and ran it over one, furrowing his brow, "The trick will be to not have it detonate once it reaches the other side. Any failure to do so would probably be a court-martiable offence."

"Then we need to find some way to deactivate the one we plan to send," Tan stated deadpan and glanced at de Luca, who nodded in understanding and gathered the group about,

"Ok, let's get one of these devices carted back to the beam-in point between us, secure it there until we can return later, and meanwhile push on in search of other intelligence."

Carting the thing back, they then headed back into the sequence of rooms and went on, exploring the facility of tight confines, going in silence past thick-paned windows with interesting views out on to the surface of the tiny inhospitable moonlet, Iorte tapped his commbadge with David's agreement, =/\=Captain Kemp of the James Clerk Maxwell, can you put me in touch with your Operations or Tactical officer?=/\=

=/\=Lieutenant Mellis. How can I help?=/\=

=/\=Lieutenant, this is Intelligence Officer Clancy. You picked up our beam in, I assume. Any reason you can discern for the delay in materialisation from the Starbase?=/\=

=/\=Uncertain, sir. There was a noticeable delay but perhaps it can be attributed to damage or common effects of Tkrnn transportation.=/\=

Iorte glanced at his colleagues, some of whom were too busy in their explorations and some who wondered what his point was, and made up his mind to air his thoughts, =/\=Is it possible that the delay in our transportation was due to us passing through more than one waypoint station, near instantaneously...? Is it possible there are other waypoints between here and Starbase 47, that we passed through unknowingly?=/\=

Theoretically, perhaps it was, but maybe it wasn't of much importance, unless those intervening unknown stations were much larger and more threatening than this moonlet's base. He broke off the comm after a while. "Where are we? What have we found?" he asked his colleagues.

[David Tan]

Tkrnn waypoint marker 7428-1F ::

"..... I'd say we need to get one of these through the transporter..." Iorte said as they surveyed the stacked grey cubes of explosives in the room Noon had explored. He opened his tricorder and ran it over one, furrowing his brow, "... The trick will be to not have it detonate once it reaches the other side ....." he said, unconvinced. David was eyeing the innocuous cube as Clancy contacted the James Clark Maxwell and spoke to the Captain.

=^= Is it possible that the delay in our transportation was due to us passing through more than one waypoint station .. Near instantaneously? .. Is it possible there are other waypoints between here and Starbase 47 that we passed through unknowingly? =^=

The thought had occurred to Tan also, but Clancy had voiced the possibility before he had managed to. he was now deep in thought regarding the device on the deck between them then suddenly interrupted the Comm:

=^= Lieutenant Mellis .. David Tan .. .. =^=

=^= Mister Tan =^= the Tactical Office replied, not exactly knowing the protocol for addressing an Intelligence Officer.

=^= You're as concerned about deactivating the device or about a possible detonation if we send one of the devices back to the Starbase? =^=

=^= Both .. To be honest .. Sir .. I'm not sure we could successfully deactivate it without knowing how the thing actually works =^= David nodded to the others. It took a great deal for a Department Head to admit he was unsure and Tan appreciated his candor.

=^= How about this .. .. Rather than us using the Tkrnn transport .. the Clark Maxwell locks onto the de .. .. .. =^=

=^= Sorry but I'm not willing to transport a bomb aboard =^= the Captain interrupted.

=^= I'm not suggesting you do Captain .. .. My proposal is that you beam the device into open space clear of the waypoint 'and' Clark Maxwell .. .. I'll transport over to you and assist Lieutenant Mellis in deactivating the device =^=

=^= .. .. And then? =^= Kemp asked dubiously.

=^= Then we can either return the device on your ship or return it to the waypoint for Clancy to send to the Starbase =^=

=^= What? =^= the Away Team heard Captain Kemp say before he returned his attention to Tan: =^= Long-range sensors are picking up a large group of vessels heading our way =^=

=^= Tkrnn? =^= Clancy asked.

=^= Too far to tell .. But they look like Romulan .. .. We've got twenty-six on sensors thus far .. They will enter the System in four hours =^=

=^= Then we'd better move Captain .. Lock onto the device with us and transport to a safe distance .. Then get me over there =^= Tan said.

They watched as seconds passed and David began to think Kemp had decided it was too risky, he was about to contact the Clark Maxwell again when the tell-tale whine of a transport began and the cube dematerialised, seconds later Tan too vanished leaving Clancy, de Luca, and Rosa Noon to continue their search of the waypoint. David materialised on the Federation Starship, Lieutenant Mellis informed him that a 'Level Ten' forcefield had been erected in Cargobay Two and the surrounding area evacuated. Nodding Tan, tapped his commbadge to inform Iorte he'd arrived, then followed the young Lieutenant ..........

[Iorte Clancy]

Iorte waited til Tan dematerialised and then nodded to the other two, "Ok, let's secure this area. Leave it as we found it, sans the one cube explosive, of course. If anyone comes across it, they hopefully won't notice that anything's different... It would at least be good if they don't realise immediately."

Carrying out his instructions - though he saw their arrangement as essentially collegial, with perhaps only Rosa subordinate to the other two - the two women put the cubes back the way they'd been - piled up in two corners of the space - before one of them had been moved to the floor, while he kept watch on either end of the corridor outside.

=/\=Infiltration team, this is the Clerk Maxwell. We've received Tan and he's in cargo bay 2. The Tkrnn device has been beamed successfully into vacuum off the ship.=/\=

=/\=What about those incoming vessels?=/\=

=/\=They're sufficiently far away that we think we have enough time to do our work. We're attempting to disable the cube device remotely; if that fails, we'll beam it aboard into a magnetic containment field in Tan's cargo bay and try the same there, after some disassembly work on it.=/\=

=/\=Acknowledged,=/\= Iorte replied, nodding needlessly and then gesturing to de Luca and Noon.

They proceeded through the small facility with its occasional impressive vistas out portals in streamlined corridors. The landscape of the asteroid beyond reminded Clancy a little of reproduced images he'd seen of the Solar System's Moon before it'd been settled and made more hospitable.

Knowing the weak gravity of that small body - this asteroid's would obviously be even less - he was grateful for the artificial systems that kept the trio in something like 1g. It seemed a little lighter than that, maybe 0.8g... More comfortable for changeling Tkrnn when they took liquid form?

The reflection made him feel the growing tedium of this search for Tkrnn - to detain, question and send back to their own space one or more Tkrnn with a message from the Federation that all Tkrnn were being turned out of UFP territory - and instead his thoughts turned, whether he grasped at the idea of her or whether she just occurred to him, to Iezelda. He was missing her terribly already. Why had Lemond decided it best to send them to this benighted facility?

=/\=Infiltration team, Captain Kemp here...=/\= the man sighed irritably, clearly enjoying his task.

=/\=Clancy.=/\=

Kemp heaved another sigh before replying, =/\=We've just received word from your Section's command. Section 47 is now at an official state of war with the Tkrnn. The Federation are allowing your Starbase this, so as for now to not get drawn into something they can't handle. The call to arms doesn't go for my ship, but we're on hand to help.=/\=

=/\=Well, that at least legitimises our mission to kidnap a Tkrnn,=/\= Iorte replied, =/\=How's progress with the device? Have you decided if you're sending it back over here once done, or taking it with you?=/\= Tan came on the line from the Clerk Maxwell's cargo bay with a reply.

<Tag Tan>

"Someone had to have carted one of those cubes from the storage room to the transporter pad, to get it over to the guildhall pad on Gamma Promenade. Someone had to have been here," Noon was saying.

"Unless an automated process beams the devices from that room to the pad, and from there on to the guildhall pad and wherever else..." Clancy said distractedly, listening just enough to get the sense of what she'd said while studying the corridor ahead, "... beamed through however many facilities, of whatever size and type, that lie between here and Starbase 47... Whoa, look!"

Down the hall a wildly morphing Tkrnn changeling was darting out of sight, so many tendrils and globules of silver-grey matter. Seeing their chance at taking the requisite captive as per Lemond and Paquin's instructions, they clutched phasers and ran after.

[David Tan]

Cargo Bay Two ...
USS James Clarke Maxwell ::

David and the ship's Chief Engineer stood in the cargo bay, now cleared of everything apart from the small utility kit he had placed on the deck before him. He glanced at the opening, moments earlier covered by the retracted door, the atmosphere held within by a force field ..... Knowing he would have to do this sooner or later, he took a breath then tapped his commbadge:

=^= Whenever you're ready .. Captain =^= he said.

Seconds later, the cube they had earlier beamed into open space, far enough away from the Starship that should it inadvertently 'go off' the ship wouldn't sustain any damage, materialised. Neither man approached as the Engineer took a tricorder from his satchel and began scanning the innocent-looking cube. David waited, listening to the conversation between Iorte Clancy, aboard one of the now individual sections of the Tkrnn vessel, and the Captain - When he heard a question mentioning his name he replied:

=^= .. .. .. How's progress with the device? .. .. Have you decided if you're sending it back over here once done, or taking it with you? =^=

=^= At this point we're still trying to ascertain if we can disarm the auto-destruct or whatever this thing uses to go off .. But I'd say we'll be keeping hold of it at least for the time being =^=

=^= Rather you than me =^= Elena commented, David tapped the commbadge to leave the conversation, neither he nor the nervous Engineer needed any unnecessary distractions.

The Engineer, Commander Ikor, had completed his scans and was now on his knees studying the surface of the cube. As Tan approached Ikor reached forward and applied slight pressure to a small indentation in the surface, there was a muted 'clunk' and the side panel moved out several centimetres. taking a breath, Ikor grasped the panel and lifted it away. It was immediately clear that the insides of the device were far beyond Federation technology. A myriad of coloured conduits interlaced between numerous panels and what appeared to be something akin to solid junctions or switches.

Using the tricorders' passive scan mode, Ikor began to speculate on various systems, finally identifying what he 'thought' could be the trigger mechanism or possibly the timer. David nodded for him to continue:

"You do know that if I'm wrong there will be hell to pay, not to mention one hell of a hole where the Cargo Bay used to be?"

"Why are you whispering?" David asked, eyes still on the panel containing what looked like several control interfaces and multiple blinking indicators.

"Erm ..... Sorry..." the man said, self-consciously, before returning his attention to the panel, "... These seem to be status indicators - Ready ... Active... Passive... Offline, maybe?"

"So if we assume the Tkrnn use a similar system to ours, therefore green's for 'go' or 'good' reds for 'stop' or 'danger' ... The two green indicators might confirm the device is in stand-by or passive mode, awaiting external data?"

"That's all saying they work like the rest of us," Ikor mused.

"Well, we have to go on the fact that when we moved it on the Tkrnn Cube, it didn't blow up in our faces, which would mean it requires input to move from one state to another," David said, relieved, given that at least the thing wasn't going to suddenly take it upon itself to blow itself, and anything in its immediate area, up! ..... He tapped his commbadge and contacted the Bridge:

=^= Tan to Captain =^=

=^= Go ahead =^=

=^= Care to join us .. Captain? =^=

=^= On my way =^=

----------

"It looks like the devices are in a ready or stand-by condition unless accessed externally. We've located a transponder module. Presumably where the instructions are received,"

"So we're not likely to blow a hole in the ship if we keep hold of it? the Captain asked, glancing over the Engineers' shoulder at the cluttered interior of the device.

"..... I'd say we're pretty safe, Captain," Commander Ikor commented as he reached into the device and placed two fingers on the blinking green indicators simultaneously. There was a discrete 'chirp' and the indicators changed to solid green and a fair percentage of the other lights went out.

"I think I've put it to sleep," Ikor said, not noticing the fact that Tan and his Commanding Officer had taken a discrete step back.

"Not being funny, but surely it can't be as easy as that?" Kemp asked dubiously.

"Why not, the Tkrnn would hardly think that someone might get aboard one of their terraforming vessels, let alone try to blow it up using their own devices," David said, seeing Ikor nod as he continued to peer into the innards of the possibly sleeping device. David watched the Engineer, clearly less nervous that moments earlier, begging to tap different indicators until a small panel, approximately six centimetres by ten, extended from the upper surface.

"Manual interface?" he speculated with a grin ..........

[Iorte Clancy]

With Tan and co working on disabling the explosive - and hence giving a way to disable the rest if needed - Iorte, Elena and Rosa were still on the asteroid, passing through the various sections of the 0.8 gravity Tkrnn waypoint station, in pursuit of their Tkrnn changeling.

The lower gravity, than was usual for Federation starships or Starfleet facilities, or indeed for Earth, made it a good bit easier to move around, to follow rapidly and hopefully keep up with the shapeshifter, although they feared it would be able to move faster.

At the next intersection, Iorte spun to his left, as the changeling had ensconced itself above the door-frame in its liquid state and a silvery tendril had betrayed to him its presence.

It slid down off the wall, the tendril thickening and taking on the form of a human articulated upper limb and reaching out to touch his neck, beginning to throttle him as the rest of the shapeshifter's body formed into something only apparently solid behind it.

De Luca and Noon stood back, wary of the other still only half solid-coalesced tendrils, and calmly as they could took aim with their Mk. II phasers. The changeling arm and hand gripping Iorte was severed near the shoulder.

Staggering back and loosening the arm and hand from his throat, Iorte retreated back a ways and saw the limb drop to the floor, slithering along the floor to join with the rest of the changeling in its human form.

He or it smiled but before it could reach out a stretchable limb again, all three of Elena, Rosa and Iorte now attacked him with their phasers, advancing as they did so and shutting it in a corner.

The barrage ended. The changeling was injured, at random - according to the different parts of its frame - reverting to its natural liquid state or to a host of of other solid phenomena: something like an elephant, a bovine, a stream, a Tkrnn computer interface, a Borg drone no less, a Starfleet admiral stationed at Earth - these sections rippling through their different natures a few seconds at a time.

The assault upon it had been intense, and Iorte felt a twinge of remorse at his and the other two's actions. But the needs of the moment and his Intel training overcame his ethical instruction. Or perhaps it was his hard realism overcoming some unrecognised inborn idealism. After all, the Tkrnn species wanted to destroy two whole empires to give themselves living space. Military-strategic goals like that had certain echoes with history, Earth's and other planets', and none of them good.

A member of a species who wanted to do that couldn't expect to be given any quarter by their enemies. Could they?

"Well, you have me. What are you going to do? Kill me I suppose. No further use," the Tkrnn's steadily morphing face looked down and away.

"No. We're going to allow you to return to health, or at least as far as it can be restored. Then we're going to send you back to your territory, with the following message..."

De Luca followed on from Iorte, telling the changeling about Section 47's declaration of war on the Tkrnn (not the whole Federation's, who were technically still at peace), how Tkrnn in Fed space were being turned out, and how all the Tkrnn had better get back to the bounds of the Gamma quadrant, or, uh... else.

"My injuries can't be mended here... I don't have the ability myself. Nor do any facilities on this base," the changeling said, its partly liquid form sagging to the floor, its face melting.

"If that's correct, we'll take you back to our Starbase for your treatment," Clancy said eventually.

The other two looked at Iorte sharply. Nothing like that had been in the mission profile; they were to kidnap a Tkrnn, ply it for intel, and send it packing. Iorte nodded at them grimly; he was playing a dangerous game, he admitted, perhaps some ethics were getting in his way, but actually he had no intention of taking the shapeshifter back to the Starbase anyway. He assumed the Tkrnn had no knowledge of the James Clerk Maxwell sitting out there; he hoped that starship had the facilities to treat this Tkrnn (as it would have a database on the related Founders) as well as security to hold him while they took their information... They could tell him he'd be coming back to SB47, but he'd gain consciousness on the Maxwell instead and not know it...

"Are you sure you're not going to destroy me?" the melted face managed to look up, a smile just visible in the mass of it.

"Yes. And you're going to tell us how the Tkrnn were going to destroy Starbase 47," Noon snapped, "That's what those explosive cubes are here for, am I right?"

"Well, that bit's right. But an attack on your Starbase and a few of your surrounding installations were the limits of our ambition in the Federation, you have my word."

"I'm afraid we can't take any chances on that one, if it even makes a difference," Iorte nodded at de Luca who phasered the Tkrnn into a dispersed liquid state.

"He's unconscious," Noon said after perusing her tricorder.

"Good. Let's call the Clerk Maxwell and get him beamed over, treated, interrogated." Hopefully the Tkrnn would believe it was on the Starbase. Iorte added, "We're going over there, too. We can keep tabs on the asteroid base from there."

[David Tan]

OOC: Hopefully, this will put some distance between the Intelligence Mission, and that of the Raven .....

IC:

Cargo Bay ...
USS James Clarke Maxwell ::

With the issue regarding the missing Starfleet Personnel on the Starbase behind them - The Intelligence Officers found they had other issues:

Commander Ikor, James Clark Maxwell's Chief Engineer, could only imagine the devastation that 'could' be caused if the Tkrnn were allowed to distribute countless numbers of the explosive devices now sitting, supposedly, inert, in the centre of the empty Cargo Bay as David Tan updated the Captain. Kemp had been informed that another member of the Intelligence team initially transported the cube pre-separation, now had an injured Tkrnn and was requesting a beam over to the Clarke Maxwell in light of both the Raven and El Alamein being out of range .....

"I've instructed the Transporter Chief to deposit Mister Clancy and his prisoner in Sickbay, while Ms de Luca and Ms Noon will be beamed directly here," Kemp informed Tan.

"Good, we could certainly use another set of eyes," David said, still not completely trusting his conclusions regarding the device only metres away.

=^= Transport in progress .. .. =^= they heard, only to frown seconds later when neither Elena de Luca nor Rosa Noon materialised.

=^= Transporter Room .. What's the delay? =^= Kemp asked.

=^= Sir .. We have two confirmed arrivals in Sickbay .. But two are missing =^=

"Missing?" David asked, a sense of dread rising in his chest. A second later someone else spoke via the Comm:

=^= Bridge to Captain .. We've picked up a small vessel leaving the Asteroid .. It manoeuvred into open space and jumped to warp .. We're tracking it .. Scans confirmed four life signs .. Two Tkrnn .. Two .. .. Human! =^=

"They snatched our people mid-transport!?" David asked, incredulously.

=^= No, It looks like they took the chance and beamed them out before we could establish a lock Captain =^= the Tactical Officer replied, overhearing Tan's comment.

"We'll arrange to rendezvous with the El Alamein or Raven to transfer you," Kemp said. David moved closer to the Captain and spoke quietly:

"We don't have time ..... If that ship gets beyond sensor range, we've zero chance of recovery,"

"But we are here to assist only," Kemp replied. But seeing Tan's expression darken, he reluctantly replied to the Bridge comm:

=^= Helm .. Set pursuit course and engage! =^= Kemp said, running for the Cargo Bay doors, Tan a metre behind him .....

Bridge ::

Kemp and Tan stepped off the turbolift, David moved around the Bridge until he stood next to the Tactical Officers' position, while Captain Kemp dropped into the centre seat.

"Where are they?" he asked.

"Currently at warp eight, heading away from us Captain,"

"Increase our speed to warp nine... Where are they heading?" the man asked, not wanting to know what he already suspected.

"Looks like a circuitous route to pass Romulan space..." the Tactical Officer confirmed, It's likely they will turn to head back into their own space at some point unless they have resources out there waiting for them,"

"Sir, the Tkrnn ship has increased speed to match us,"

"Increase to warp nine point five!" David watched the almost impossibly small speck on the viewscreen, knowing Elena and Rosa were aboard, which all but tied their hands as to taking any offensive action against the fleeing vessel. The turbolift doors opened and Clancy stepped onto the Bridge, he moved directly between Tan and the Captain, shaking his head slowly. David suspected he wasn't going to like what came next and he was right:

"Our 'friend' regained consciousness," Clancy confirmed.

"..... And?"

"He knows about our people, it seems we fell for whatever plan the Tkrnn had, he pretty much allowed us to take him knowing they were going to snatch one or more of us simultaneously,"

"To what end?" Captain Kemp asked.

"Pretty obvious..." David said with a glance at the speck on the viewscreen, "... They clearly believe that taking our people will limit what we, that being the Federation I'd assume, can do in regards to any speculative retaliation against the Tkrnn they might be planning. With de Luca and Noon in their hands I'd guess it's only a matter of time before we're given instructions on how to proceed and the consequences should those instructions be ignored," he finished with a shrug.

"Maybe we should request the Raven to join us?" Kemp commented, clearly unsure.

"Can they even see us?" Tan asked.

"No way to tell, they are at the limit of our long-range sensors, so they might not know we're in pursuit," the Tactical Officer said ..........

[Elena de Luca]

Tkrnn waypoint marker 7428-1F ::

Elena and Rosa had been searching the section ahead of the others .....


"Any idea as to when we'll finally get the hell off this ball of rock?" Rosa Noon asked, for what seemed the thousandth time in the last hour.

"Like I said 'your guess is as good as mine' but I can't see it bei ....." Elena stopped talking as she thought she heard something, thinking she imagined the shadow that moved further along the corrodor, "... You hear that?"

"No, but then I wasn't listening,"

"You really 'can' be one pain in the proverbial when things aren't going your way you know," DeLuca said with a wry grin.

"..... ELENA, ROSA, we're ready to beam back to the ship," they heard David Tan shout. For a second Elena wasn't sure she had heard right - Hadn't Tan beamed over to the James Clark Maxwell with the mine? - Perhaps he had returned? - With a last look at the numerous storage containers the two had been searching, they headed back along the corridor to where Tan was waiting. Pausing to retrieve a satchel she had dropped earlier, she looked past David:

"Where's Cla ....." she began to ask, seeing 'Tan' smile as she felt the tell-tale caress of the transport commencing. The Corridor disappeared and seconds later was replaced .....


Tkrnn Scout Vessel ::

"What the hell!?" Noon said.

"You're not David Tan, obviously..." Elena said, looking at the Tkrnn, "... and we're certainly not aboard one of our ships, so why not drop the disguise, it doesn't suit you!"

"As you wish....."  the Changeling said, morphing into a non-descript viasgé of a Human,

"..... I must apologise, I mistakenly believed you would be less inclined to act irrationally if you were confronted with someone familiar," the Changeling said.

"Where are we, clearly not aboard our ship?" Elena asked, tentatively reaching forward until her fingertips made contact with the shimmering forcefield seperating the rear of the small craft from the cockpit section, her arm involuntarily jerked back as a substantial charge ran from the 'field into her nervous system.

"That looked like it hurt my dear, maybe you should refrain from repeating the test, for your own well-being,"

"I asked you ..... Where 'ARE' we?" Elena demanded.

"You are at present aboard what you or your 'Federation' would possibly call a 'Scout Vessel' something small, manoeuvrable, extremely fast, and undoubtedly worth it's proverbial weight in gold-pressed-latinum .... Formidable if the right circumstances, for example: in sufficient numbers, these small craft are hard to react to, even a Starship can only counteract a finite number of targets simultaneously. But sorry, I digress - You Ladies - Are here as what the more nefarious among your Race, might call, 'Insurance' or what was the other expression, as yes, a 'Bargaining Chips' yes?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I do know that kidnapping is frowned upon, someone will come after us, and I'm not confident about your chances once they catch up," Rosa Noon said, defiantly, but her bluster only made the Tkrnn grin.

"Oh they already know you are missing, in fact, one of your Starships is already catching us up. But it would alas be foolish to hold out hope of rescue, we will reach our goal before they can act against us,"

"You said we're insurance, against what precisely?" Elena asked, lowering herself onto the bench seat on the Port side of the craft where she could get a look at the Pilots Console where several lights were flashing angrily.

"The story is somewhat, protracted, but let me see ..... Our venture, to set the Romulans and Klingons against each other fell short of complete success ....."

"So much so that you began indiscriminately killing Federation Citizens!" Noon spat, but the Tkrnn simply ignored her outburst and continued to address DeLuca:

"..... Yes, that was unfortunate, and led to several perishing, including our own people, but not before the Federation on your Starbase, took Tkrnn captive,"

"So you think snatching us will force them to release your people...?" DeLuca said, shaking her head as if disappointed, "... I have news for you, whatever your name is, you are so unbelievably mistaken is laughable. The Federation doesn't give in to threats, let alone bargain in hostage-taking. They won't bow down to whatever demands you decide to make, that I can guarantee!" The Tkrnn was about to reply when several alarms began to sound simultaneously. He spun his chair to face the Helm Controls then entered a series of commands. Some, but not all of the alarms fell silent and it was obvious to everyone what the cause of those alarms was - The Changeling was pushing the small craft well beyond its design limits in an effort to outrun whichever Starship was in pursuit.

"Looks like you're venture is about to fail spectacularly, should make for a good light show, albeit brief," Elena said with an exaggerated shrug, completely lost on the back of the Tkrnn.

"You underestimate Tkrnn design my dear,"

"Hmm, well I might be wrong but given the fact we're already beginning to come apart at the seams, I'm going to guess we have minutes, maybe less," she said. Then after several seconds, the teeth-chattering vibrations began to subside, not completely, but enough that DeLuca could see clearly without her vision blurring, she moved to the other side of the Scout Ship, leaning over to try to get a view of what she was assuming was engine control. The panel was still lit up like the proverbial 'Christmas Tree' despite the Tkrnn's efforts.

"You might want to find somewhere to set down," Elena suggested casually, but the Tkrnn was much too busy to reply ..........

[David Tan]

Sickbay ...
USS James Clarke Maxwell
Tkrnn Waypoint Marker 7428-1F ::

The Tkrnn smiles as Captain Kemp, Iorte Clancy, and David Tan entered Sickbay, the Captain instructed the room be cleared as he approached the biobed:

"Captain ..... Nice of you to visit," the Tkrnn said with a smile Tan would happily wipe off the man's face.

"One of your vessels has taken off, presumably heading back to your own system," David said.

"It is possible they were having difficulty communi ..... The being began with an exaggerated shrug, but Tan leaned forward, snatching his tunic before almost dragging the man off the biobed.

"It beamed two of our people off one of your cubes before it ran, I want to know precisely where it is going and how we can disable it to get our Officers back safely, and I want to know NOW!"

"Let's not mistake our situations here ..... I want the information, or we'll chase your ship down and get our people back by whatever means necessary!"

Oh, I don't believe you would risk injury to the two women, after all, you are Federation, well known for your excessive tolerance of those who wrong you. But maybe I can help. If, you are willing to reciprocate?"

"By doing what?" Kemp asked.

Our involving this 'Federation' of yours was an error on the part of some more, dominant, members of our Race..." the Tkrnn said as David reluctantly lowered him back to the 'bed and released his hold, "... We had intended only to regain Systems taken from us millennia ago, but as our race lost their, unique, ability, we found we needed more space. The Romulans and Klingons, warring dinosaurs, have many Systems they no longer take any interest in. Those of the Ruling Council thought a war would decimate both Races, leaving them vulnerable. Alas, events caused the unfortunate loss of several Federation lives, something we regret,"

"It doesn't look that way," Kemp said.

"Well, it is all a matter of, perspective, is it not?"

"You said you could help..." David said, fighting to keep his temper in check, "... I assume you will want something in return?"

"Indeed ..... I believe that while there were Human, losses on your Starbase, you have taken action to prevent the remaining Tkrnn from departing the facility. I would require confirmation that the four still on this 'Starbase' of yours are free, along with my release too, of course,"

"..... And you will arrange for the safe return of our Officers, if we decide to comply with your request?" but the Tkrnn simply closed his eyes as if tired of the conversation .........

[Elena de Luca]

Tkrnn Scout Vessel ::

Despite her calm demeanour, Elena was genuinely concerned ..... While no Starfleet Engineer, she knew a ship about to blow itself into the primordial aether when she was held prisoner in one"

Several times in the last five minutes, she had offered her help to the Tkrnn, but they had fallen on deaf ears, that or the Changeling simply didn't trust her to keep her word that she would do nothing other than help - Understandable given the fact that had the Tkrnn lowered the forcefield, she would have made absolutely certain that she would have enjoyed seeing the Changeling meet his end, even if that enjoyment was fleeting!

"It's obvious that you're not going to repair whatever's wrong..." she said, then frowned, "... What are you doing?"

I am redirecting power from non-essential systems into the matter/antimatter integrity fields to hopefully delay the inevitable,"

"By shutting off life support!?"

"Hmm, yes, somewhat unfortunate, but then I can survive for much longer than you can. Not indefinitely of course, but longer," the Changeling said with a smile.

"Why not let me help, I'm pretty sure that even you can't miraculously delay the inevitable if you don't do something quickly,"

Before the Tkrnn could reply, Elena and Rosa realised that something had indeed changed, they had dropped out of warp into normal space, and were heading for a structure seemingly suspended in the vast nothingness. Elena was just believing that they might live to see another day, providing whoever if anyone, could catch them and transport them to safety, when the Tkrnn jumped to warp once more with the inevitable consequences, as mere moments into their flight, the ship again began to shudder uncontrollably but only for a few seconds before the warp drive was disabled, by him or the ship's self-preservation, she had no way to tell. She did though realise that in the few moments prior to going back to warp, the Changeling had used the thrusters to alter course, then Elena saw what the Tkrnn was doing as the nebula came into view:

"You can't take us in there!" she said urgently.

"..... And why would that be?"

"Well ..... Unless you have a knowledge database equivalent to a ship's computer in that head of yours, you have no way of knowing what effect that nebula will have on this thing, or us!"

"Actually, it is, in your classification, a Proto Nebula, I am confident we will be able to remain hidden whilst I undertake repairs sufficient for us to reach our intended destination, or at least to summon assistance,"

"The slightest matter/antimatter imbalance could set that thing off, and 'US' with it!" Rosa Noon said, eyeing the vast interstellar nursery ahead.

"..... You really should have more faith in your host, my dear, after all, our perishing serves no one,"

"You're bloody well INSANE, you know that, right!" Noon spat, seemingly completely ignored by the amused Changeling before after another few moments he turned to the two women:

"It is likely that shields will function, though I have no way to guarantee that until we enter the Nebula, it is possible the internal forcefield I am using to keep you, safe, may deactivate, therefore I need to take, precautions,"

"Meaning what, exactly?" Noon asked, watching as the Tkrnn took two small disks from his tunic, then what was clearly a phased weapon, he instructed Elena to move to the rearmost bulkhead and then lowered the forcefield, motioning for Rosa to step forward, his eyes seemingly locked on DeLuca he precisely placed one of the disks behind Rosa's left ear, then did the same to Elena, satisfied he re-established the forcefield and placed a finger on a small blue indicator - He looked from Elena to Rosa then, completely ignoring the younger woman, addressed DeLuca:

"The small devices on your necks are able quite unique, we develo ..... Well, the reason behind the devices is of no matter, what 'should' concern you is what they can do ..... I suggest you do not attempt to remove them without my access code, doing so would result would be extremely unfortunate ..... I know you are not about to simply take my word for it, so unfortunately, a demonstration is necessary ....."

Without warning, Rosa's eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed to the deck unconscious. Elena dropped and checked for a pulse, it was weak, but there.

"You barbarian!"

"Would you have simply taken my word as to their function?" Elena ignored the Tkrnn as she helped Rosa who was now coming around, fear and puzzlement on her face.

"Wha ....." Noon began but DeLuca urger her to stay quiet as she stood to confront their captor:

"The devices work by means of a subdermal implant, it transfers my commands instantaneously to the individual devices. The result is almost immediate, so 'ANY' attempt on my life once the forcefield is deactivated will only result in your life being lost, do we understand each other, or is a further demonstration required?"

"We understand you completely..." Elena spat, helping Rosa up to one of the couches and then laying her down to rest from the ordeal, "... I suggest you use these now, because if I get the chance I wi ....." she began, falling silent, knowing her threat was a hollow as her chances of killing the Changeling before he sent a command to end them both. There was nothing she could do at present, so she knelt beside the bunk to tend to her friend. Nodding, apparently satisfied, the Tkrnn had the women under control, he returned his attention to moving into the nebula.

It was, of course, only a matter of time, before the Federation Starship realised what he had done, then he would either succeed in his endeavour to free his brethren or would ensure many many Federation Citizens would perish for their folly! ..........

[Iorte Clancy]

Back-post

Appalled to find that the two who'd beamed over to the Maxwell with him hadn't materialised at their own designated coordinates on the starship, Clancy prepared to leave sickbay after seeing that the changeling was secured in the primary biobed, its forcefield dividing it from the rest of the room.

At that moment the changeling found solid form, recovering a little from the pummelling it'd taken, and raising itself told the first person it saw - Clancy - about what'd been achieved, how his allowing himself to be transported across to the Intrepid class was part of a ploy to allow the Tkrnn to capture some of the infiltration team that'd entered the waypoint marker from the Starbase - something of which evidently the Tkrnn had become aware...

Fighting hard to control his fury at what the Tkrnn told him, he allowed himself to feel satisfied the CMO had things in hand (with newly attendant security), and so he headed for the cargo bay to join the others, finding the cubic explosive in its containment field but the bay otherwise empty, no Tan or any of the ship's engineers.

He studied the explosive briefly, walking round it... Just one of these had blown away half the guildhall's ground and first floors on Gamma Promenade... What might all the devices they'd found on the asteroid base together do to the Starbase? And had the one destroyed in the guildhall been set to maximum yield? Iorte had to expect it'd been capable of inflicting more damage...

Not knowing the first thing about Tkrnn tech or, to an extent, engineering more generally, he contacted the bridge and discovered Tan and Kemp had left the bay to head up there just after he'd arrived.

He learnt about the small vessel that'd beamed de Luca and Noon over to itself just before the transport by the Maxwell was initiated, about the flight of that vessel along the western border of Romulan space (where it'd skirt round north-eastwards presumably, to head for Tkrnn territory), and about the Maxwell's high speed pursuit...