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Sins of the Fathers, Part 2. Suffer the Children (Story)

knightraider6knightraider6 Member Posts: 396 Arc User
edited March 2014 in Ten Forward
((Written by Patrickngo, Sander233, Takeshi6 and myself. Enjoy!))

Episode 1.1

Prelude to the coming storm...

I could paint a picture with a pen
But a song will only scratch the skin
And there are still places I haven't been
Because I know what's in there is already in the air

Oh yeah, there's a storm on the way
There's a storm on the way, alright
There's a storm on the way, uh huh
And it's comin' no matter what I say
(And I come, I come, I come, I come)

Hey, hey, hey, there's truth in the thunder
Love in the lightning, the feeling is frightening
Yeah, isn't it exciting?
I'm something like stormy weather
If I weren't we would never
Huddle together, do I have to tell you
That I'm also the sunlight, that shines shortly after?
I just rain cause I have to, on to another chapter
I wish you lots of laughter
Til the next time you see me
Just remember you need me, I'm the storm coming
(And I come, I come, I come, I come)
Oh C'mon (And I come, I come, I come, I come), c'mon

Run towards the hills to avoid the high flood
I can do a dance that'll make the sky cry blood
Skills provoke, and seals will be broken open
All that's left to do is try my love, wooooooh

When I sing it's a cyclone
I'm writing a raging sea
Searching for a sign of life
Is it safe to say it's me?
Listen to our lives
The wind will whisper the way it is
I am going to happen, what a lovely day it is
Don't ask why
Just live, and, die

Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse, Storm coming


Earth Space Dock, Courtroom 4, January 2, 2412...
"This hearing is called to order, The Bailiff will read the charges." Admiral Gary Cartwright leaned back.

"The accused, Vice Admiral Vivian Lorus Gorton Kingsley, is charged with the following articles:
Conspiring with the enemy to commit murder - Five counts.
Misappropriation of Federation Property, Eleven Counts.
Conspiracy to destroy Federation Starships, Seven Counts.
Conspiracy to interfere in a Federation Investigation: Six counts.
Negligence resulting in the deaths of starfleet personnel, Seven hundred and fifty counts.
Issuance of Unlawful orders, Twenty seven counts.
Conspiring to cover up the above charges.
Obstruction of Justice in a Starfleet investigation, Ninety two counts.
Six thousand counts of capital murder.
Two counts of attempted Genocide.
ONe count of conspiracy to conceal attempted genocide.
Sheltering a Known Fugitive, two counts.
Aiding and Abetting Capital crimes...sir, do I have to go into each and every one?"

"I think we can summarize. Admiral, how do you plead?" Cartwright asked. "Those charges - they're quite compelling and the list of witnesses arrayed against you is also quite compelling."

Vivian Lorus Gorton Kingsley the Third stood in the dock. "I decline to recognize the legitimacy of the charges, or this court," he said. "The man who should be on trial is standing with the prosecutor over there." He reached up, and, grasping his Starfleet rank with one hand, ripped it off. "And you can go **** yourself, we saved your sorry asses."

He turned from the dock, and started away.

"Bailiff, Restrain the Accused!" Cartwright shouted.

Two security officers rushed to grab the angry man.

Kingsley caught one across the throat with his open palm, and the other's phaser-hand, twisting the weapon away, he stunned them both, then, adjusted the weapon.

"What do you plan to try and do with that? You're on Earth Spacedock, you're surrounded, Vivian..." Cartwright said softly. "Please...don't make this worse for yourself."

"I can only do one thing - Preserve my honour." Kingsley raised the phaser to his face. "We did what was RIGHT. We saved you all. I will NOT be convicted in a kangaroo court for that."

"NO!!" Cartwright reached out instinctively as a blossom of orange light flashed.

The rags of a body, the rags of a uniform fluttered to the floor.

"Find Zarkus," Cartwright said, stepping down and sifting the remains on the deck, "Dear god... what happened out there?"



ISS Starbase, January 5, 2412, Moosehead Nebula...

Alice lay on the bed, hurting and exhausted. It was the third time today that the Base Commander 'made use of' her. she ached and she hurt, and she hated the Earthborn TRIBBLE.
she got to her feet, and stumbled with shaky legs to the sonic shower to clean off what he left on her body.

"Mother, I have results," the implant chimed.

"Tell me," she ordered it, wishing she were back at the Institute, there she had power, protection, she wasn't expected to do her work and serve as a sex toy for a kinky old man.

"Project Azrael is flawed as you suspected it would be - the shifting antigen used to ensure rapid spread can trigger it against humans. Doctor Shaw has rejected my data as 'speculative simulation garbage', would you like to see it?" the AI asked.

"Kitty, I'm not a microbiologist, but if your extrapolations are solid, then the project's a failure - I don't think Shaw's going to accept anything short of a real-world failure, to be honest," she muttered. "Forward YOUR results to Black Fleet, forward Shaw's to where he wants them sent, if Black Fleet's eggheads concur with yours, we'll have to sabotage the project to prevent deployment - but ONLY if their results look like yours."

"Understood, Mother. May I go out and play now?" Kitty asked.

"Sure. But keep your link live in case I need to call on you to do work."



USS Raging Tempest, On Patrol in the Tau Dewa Sector Block, January 07, 2412...

Captain's Log, Stardate 89018.38. It's been several months now since the Battle of the Gate, and most of the fallout finally seems to be settling down.

I have to say that hunting down Pirates and Tal Shiar Remnants in the Tau Dewa Sector Block has been rather fruitful, especially since I had Matt pull that salvaged Klingon Cloaking Device out of the cargo hold and hook it up to the ship's systems. Haven't had too many problems there, but I'm keeping in touch with the rest of our little 'group', just in case any of us find another Gate or come across other problems.

In other news, my Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Commander Kevin Maxwell, recently transferred off the ship to take command of a ship of his own. He may be laid back and a prankster, but I know he's cut out for command, and wish him the best of luck.

In the meantime, the ship's new AI, ADA, has taken over Kevin's tasks as Tactical Officer in addition to her original roles of Shield Distribution, Power Management, and Database Analysis and Retrieval. Something rather curious, however, is that she seems to be learning much faster than a regular S5 AI - In fact, I'd almost think she's now S6. I'm not really biased against super-smart AI's, so I'm not worrying about it too much, but I'm still a little curious as to how she's learning so fast... as well as the bursts of Spanish she occasionally lets out, particularly when flustered or aggravated.

All in all, I'm certainly not bored, but it is settling into a bit of a routine, and whenever I get into a good routine, something always comes along to throw a wrench in the works.

I just hope it isn't that big of a wrench...




Government House, Nha Tranh reclamation area, Moab III, 1900 hours local time, 7 January 2412...

Saul turned from the window. "We need an emissary, Bianh, you've been to Earth, and you were recently at Qo'noS..."

"You want me to be a diplomat, Saul?" the old Trader asked. "Seriously?"

"You speak Klingon, Ferengi, English, French, German... you've cut contracts that kept us alive for the first two years of independence, negotiated with Generals and officials, you can speak Romulan..."

"It's Rihannsu, Saul... fine, but you're going to have to pay me," she said. "I don't work for free."

"Let's talk salary then..." he said. "...and of course, transport costs, security..."

In the end, the newly appointed "Ambassador at Large" Bianh Binh Thanh was the highest paid official in the Moabite government, with a dedicated vessel for transport and dedicated staffing, including personal security detail - at taxpayer's expense.



Outprocessing center, Da Nang, Moab III...

"...and that's everything, Mister Chang. Good luck." Kevin Chang picked up his claim-slips and his discharge papers, and looked around the former gymnasium. "Thanks." he told the volunteer manning the station.

There were several hundred of them. Kids, like him, that had enlisted right out of resistance cells, or after New Saigon, now technically 'under age'.

"Don't forget your ticket!" the volunteer called to him, Kevin stopped, and accepted the pasteboard slip.

"Where now?" he asked.

"Departure area's on the Football field sir," the volunteer told him. Sir. it was a term for officers, and civilians.

I'm a civilian now.

He knew it wasn't quite that easy - he was also a ward of the state, and the State decided he needed to be sent off to school...

He caught up with Lisa Quhon. "Where're you headed?" Kevin asked.

"Cardassia," she said. "They've got the best transitioning schools for disaster medicine, and the institute there's taking offworlders." She sighed. "I do have to do a bunch of remedial classes, the examiners were impressed at my field knowledge, but there's a bunch of calculus and non-field-specific areas where I'm deficient." She paused. "How's the counseling?"

"In-patient study programme. What happened with McEvedy and Jennings?"

"They both turned eighteen before the deal was cut - Mac's doing a five year stretch as a guard on Rura Penthe, Jennings was shipped off to the Advisory Command on New Romulus."

"I can understand them calling YOU a child, but I turned eighteen too..." Kevin said,

"YOU tried to commit suicide," Lisa countered. "Then you went and turned yourself in to Fed authorities when they tried to hold that kangaroo-court, so YOU are still patient status."

"There sure are a lot of us," Kevin said as they joined the line out of the gym.

"I think most will be back as soon as they're of age," Lisa said. "I won't be, I'll be in school for another seven years... but I think I'll be back too."

"Who's paying for all of this?" Kevin wondered.

"Imperial Intelligence," Lisa said. "Specifically the Technical Intelligence branch." She nodded to the KDF shuttles. "Some of us are bound to come back and re-join the service, or enlist in KDF, some will be recruited by K.I., the addition of new information on methods, technologies, political conditions outside the Empire's borders makes everyone here a lotto ticket for K.I. - even one success is a winner that justifies the project."



USS Nighthawk, Utopia Planitia shipyards, Mars. 8 January, 2412

"Pressure's looking good, we're at 128 percent Commander!"

The engines were close to screaming as the full power test was being run, every system on the ship pulling as much power as it possibly could at the same time. While things were starting to inch into the yellow zone on some of the consoles, they weren't going above specs, in fact they had a greater margin than was called for in the Tech Pubs. Commander B'oDgok was confident that the yardbirds watching the test would be satisfied and sign off on the last part of the overhaul.

It had been a near thing. They had just gotten power back online a few months back, when they'd gotten the TEOTWAWKI call from Schrodinger. The Captain trusted her, and that was enough for most of the crew, the yard however... at least they didn't come back with too much damage from the renegade Orion cultists. Captain Travis did end up with a letter of reprimand in her file however. He personally thought it should be seen as a badge of honor himself - they went into battle to save the galaxy, even if a pencil pusher at the shipyard did not think they were ready yet. Since then, the rest of the refit had been drawn out, longer than necessary it seemed. He signaled for the test to end, the engines winding down, yes, things were dropping right how the book said they should. He'd tweak the systems later so they performed better than the book, the yard engineers did not want any deviation from the standard. "Well Gentlemen, are we mission capable or not yet?" he asked directly.

The Captain in charge of the evaluation team looked as if he had swallowed a bug for some reason "It's still 0.023 percent out of spec..." he started, but after the glares both from the Nighthawk engineers, and his own team, tired of him being so picky all of a sudden he simply shrugged and made a notation on his PADD. "Tell your captain that the Nighthawk is ready to deploy, she should expect orders soon." The human just turned without even a farewell and left the engine room, his aide giving an apologetic shrug as he followed.

"Is it just me, or is that hew-mon ruder than most?" Lt Commander Rin asked as he slid down from the upper level, fortunately after the door closed behind the eval team.

"He is quite rude, I for one am glad to see him off my ship," the Klingon replied sourly.

"Your ship?" They both turned as the Captain came up behind them, looking annoyed, but not at either of them, B'o she had to look up to, Rin was only a little taller than her.

B'o just grinned "My ship, Captain. I just let you fly it, and you complain to me when it's broken."

"Does that mean that all the paper work is yours too?" she asked sweetly. Rin just started laughing as B'o shook his head. "No, you can have that Sir, it's got your name all over it."

"Fine," she laughed. "Get your ship ready to move, soon as we get clearance we'll head to ESD. We'll reload, re arm, grab what provisions we need before heading out."

"Aye Captain," he replied. As she headed for the lift she heard the scurrying sound of the crew readying the Cruiser for deep space. Of course there was still the matter of their orders... She'd gotten wind from a friend in fleet G3 that the Nighthawk was going to be tasked to Tau Dewa to assist New Romulus. Which was not what she wanted, or was supposed to be doing. Admiral LaRoca had approved her going back to the Moosejaw Nebula with Schrodinger to track down where the pirates that were threatening her homeworld went when they escaped through a dimensional portal, and stop their bioweapon experiments as well. Starfleet couldn't send anyone else, due to it being in Klingon territory, the Empire would accept her being she was from Denali, and would be technically a Home Guard Colonel instead of a Starfleet Captain while there. A diplomatic fiction, but a necessary one.

But things had happened since that fight in the black nebula months ago. Not one, but two attempted invasions thwarted, at high cost both times. She hadn't been involved in the first one from the beginning, but she was still 'on hold', while the Admiral responsible was tried. That pissed her off... but there wasn't much she could do about it. His suicide just made her angrier about the whole situation. Fortunately, she wasn't dealing with the mission to go back to the nebula through the fleet, but through Admiral LaRoca's ConOps. LaRoca was still dealing with the damage to the ConOps fleet from the Betazed battle though, meaning she'd more than likely have to handle the diplomatic side of it alone. Not that she hadn't done diplo work before, she was a starfleet Captain, with several first contacts under her belt. He was still out near Betazed, she thought, as she stepped onto the bridge. She'd contact him when she got to ESD, they'd come up with something. "What's our status?

Her red headed Trill got up from her seat before she had even stepped out of the lift. "We just got departure clearance from yard control Captain," Pemor replied. "Ready to head out on your orders."

She sat down on the air-conditioned seat, a little touched that B'o had put in during the refit. Actually it was closer to refrigerated, but it was so comfortable. "Mr Grokoro, take us out, and set course for Earth."

As they passed from the yard gantry she grinned as she had to suppress the urge to wave back at a couple of workers in EVA suits, waving as they left. As the Nighthawk cleared the bay, the workers turned away, preparing for the next ship.



Paris, France. Office of the Federation Foreign Minister

He watched the footage again, of the Admiral killing himself in front of witnesses. While Kingsley hadn't interfered with his plans, the man was too damned clever for his own good, and could have eventually figured out some unfortunate truths if he had lived. Cave wasn't sorry to see him go, yet in a way he was. He obviously was a Patriot, with the right persuasion he might have been good for the cause. Oh well, his suicide just proved he was not optimum.

He looked over the other matters on his plate, more aid for the Romulans, more problems with Moab, really would someone just nuke that planet from orbit or something by now? There was a that show trial over war crimes that one of the Moabite soldiers had committed a few months earlier, plus all the usual media circus. Bah. of course he'd said the right words, made the right outraged speeches, but in truth, death by radiation poisoning was too good for the traitors who tried to flee their duty.

There was a knock at the door, only two people were allowed on this level after hours, and coming in person, well that meant that the news was something not even to be entrusted to encrypted communications. Activating a jamming field, he unlocked the door. "Sandra, you're looking well."

Admiral Sandra Fitsimmons just gave him a look. Cave smiled. "What, can't I be civil?" he asked, waving her to a chair.

"We've got a complication."

"We always have complications Sandra," he replied evenly. "No plan survives contact with the enemy. So what has gone wrong this time?"

"Travis managed to get a TDY Assignment to ConOps. Being LaRoca's group is pretty much out of action for a bit, she has orders to head to the Moosehead nebula to stick her nose where it shouldn't be."

"That is a problem," he said as he poured himself a drink. "How soon does she want to depart, and how long can you make that stretch out for?"

"She wants to leave ASAP, however we're low on supplies and munitions, with all the Avenger ships that the yards are starting to turn out, well a lot of resources have gone to them... so it will be 72 hours or so until they're fully kitted out."

Taking a sip of his scotch he pondered that. "I think that will be more than sufficient, you should know by now Sandra, I expect things will go wrong. That's why I have multiple contingency plans in place, one of which I have already activated. That's why I am still alive."

"Oh, I know," she smiled as she accepted her own glass, after he had drunk from his, of course. "I just wanted to make sure you were up to speed on things."

"Relax, there is no one here who would dare accuse you of disloyalty," he said, with an actual smile. "You have served humanity far more than you realize, one day your name will be spoken of with the greats of history. Green, Kirk,"

"Cave?" she asked.

He just smiled. "I do this not for my own glory, but in service of my race and homeworld."

"As do we all."




Episode 1.2
Every night of my life
I watch angels fall from the sky
Every time that the sun still sets
I pray they don't take mine

I'm on the front line
don't worry I'll be fine
the story is just beginning
I say goodbye to my weakness
so long to regret

I'm on the front line
don't worry I'll be fine
the story is just beginning
I say goodbye to my weakness
so long to the regrets
and now I know that I'm alive
Shinedown Diamond Eyes


Risa, Suraya Island, early morning, Jan 10, 2412

Sheriff Randy Evans had seen a lot of death over the years, most of it not on Risa. A former police detective from an alternate earth, he and his wife and youngest child had settled on Risa, unable to adapt to how much Earth had changed over the centuries. Now he did the same job, just on a world with twin sunsets, and far fewer murders than Paragon City. Most of his time was handling typical tourist cases, with the occasional property crime, though those had been dropping since he took the job. This was the first murder though, and Taren, his Risan deputy assigned to this island hadn't ever worked a murder before. So he came along to both assist and supervise.

"Whatcha got, Taren?" he asked as he stepped out of the boat, making sure his khaki shirt was covering his sidearm. While Risa was a weapons-free planet, not everyone followed the rules, and his bosses agreed in the logic of him being armed. keeping his Sig P226 covered kept some of the people from hyperventilating, always a good thing.

"Murder, definitely," the Risan replied grimly, pulling the sheet back off of the decomposed body. The blue blade was stuck in the chest, while it could have been an accident, it was damn unlikely. especially when the body was found in a lava tube out of sight. "Any ID on our vic?"

"Marcus Viella, wait didn't we get a notice on him a while back?"

"Sounds familiar, let me check," Randy replied, pulling a PADD out of his pocket. He was continually amused by the 'futuristic' tech, that essentially was just a more powerful version of the old iPad he used back on earth 400 something years ago. it was definitely faster though. "Got it, wanted for questioning, was the ex-head of Colonial Development."

"Only thing he's developing now," Taren replied, pulling on a pair of sunglasses, "is an ant colony in his body."

Randy just shook his head and sighed. "Never should have shown you that show, call the Morgue and let's get him in for an autopsy."

"Why do we need that, either the stabbing or the fall killed him."

"Because it will show more than what, but when, which is important if we're gonna find out who did this," he explained patiently.

"Right," the deputy replied, as the Medical shuttle landed on the beach. "Maybe he owed someone money or something."

"I don't know, but it's our job to find out."



Redacted, Redacted, Earth

"And, there's the hit we were looking for," The man in the dark room had probably a dozen different displays on the wall, all showing feeds from various parts of the government his superiors tasked his people with monitoring. This one however, well there had been a call from on high for a personal touch..

"What is it?" his companion asked.

"Law on Risa is doing a search for a possible murder weapon, of the former head of Colonial Development," he replied, as he sent out the coded file package at the same time. His instructions had been explicit, don't send until that query hit the law enforcement nets.

"That explains the info dump you just did."

"Exactly. I give it half an hour before the newsies blow up."



Earth Space Dock, USS Nighthawk

"How soon till we're loaded?"

"Another half hour or so, Captain," Pemor replied, the Trill monitoring the replenishment operation from one of the consoles on the bridge. "Deuterium is topped off, they're having a delay with the aft magazine, but the Chief Eng says he'll have it locked down - just something with the new torpedo loaders they added during the refit."

"You'd think they could have caught it before then," Missy muttered.

"It's more that it was designed for the mark X and up, and the ESD armory was out of those. So we're loading older Mk VIII's, which are slightly different dimensions."

"Just stack em up if necessary and we'll do the mods underway, it's still gonna be at least a week or so till we get out there."

"It may be a bit longer than we thought to get going Captain" he frowned, looking at another console. "The McGrath has been delayed by at least 12 hours, they came across some Nausicaan pirates threatening some merchant ships."

"Great... oh well, at least it's for a good reason." She sighed, it seemed like the universe was conspiring to keep her from getting back out to the Moosejaw Nebula some days. "Ah well. You've got the Con XO, I need to head over to the station before loadings finished, to sign for all this, and to see what Quinn wanted."

"He didn't specify a time?"

"No, he said just drop by before we're ready to leave," she replied with a shrug. "Probably the usual pep talk like every other time I've had to see him pretty much."

"That or he wants you to be sure to get all the intel you can while we're in Imperial space."

"You mean that's not what all those late transfers onto the ship were for?" Missy chuckled, "Was kinda transparent if you ask me, but orders came from BUPERS. Personally I'd prefer a few more science types to try charting that portal the pirates were using - but then we've got a whole shipload of 'em on the McGrath."

"Just as long as Schrodinger doesn't blow up any more stars," Pemor said with a laugh.

"I think we're safe on that count. Anyway, I'll be back soon as I can." She took the lift down, she could use the transporter but being they were hard docked to the station it seemed silly when she just had to go down three decks. stepping through the lock onto the Starbase she wondered for a moment at the number of humans-usually the corridors on the station didn't look so, homogeneous. Shrugging she grabbed the lift down, heading for the admiral's office.



Federation Foreign Ministers office, Paris, Earth

Inwardly he was smiling. There were literally several dozen panicked reporters outside his office, waiting for a statement on the expose that reporters from the Mirror broke ten minutes ago, and was 'anonymously' confirmed by an 'unnamed federation source.' The Reporters would have to wait though, as he met with the head of the Federation Security. "We're sending a team to the Andorian Ambassadors residence now, Minister."

"That's good," he said, a suitably anxious expression on his face. "I only pray they will not be too late. What of the Captain?"

The nondescript man in an all black almost starfleet uniform looked just as anxious, and determined. "I've got top men on that one, we will handle it Minister."

"Excellent, I know I can rest better knowing men like you are seeing to the safety of the people of this great Federation."



ESD, Main level

Dammit, what now? She was almost to the Admiral's office, when her combadge chirped with a priority alpha message. Who the hell would be sending her one of those, with the possible exception of the Admiral she was on her way to meeting? Still, those were to be answered immediately and she was passing by the communication section of the station. Ducking inside, and a quick mention of the message with a young ensign got her into a security booth, where she punched in the authorization code.

"This had better be important" she muttered, as the signal took several seconds to handshake and decrypt - showing her probably one of the last people in the galaxy she'd thought of who would call her this way. "Drake, what the ****?"

"There's no time - someone's doctored LaRoca's report, and dumped it onto the news nets. Right now there's a panic in newsrooms and in some cities as well, that will soon spread. You've got to get out of there."

"Woah, what?" she replied. "LaRoca gave that report to members of the Federation Council, if someone's doctored a copy, all they have to do is release the truth-"

"Those have been doctored as well! Damnit, there's a kill team enroute - I don't know who's really behind it, and they're using my resources," he said, his voice carrying a fury she'd never heard from him before.

"I can contact LaRoca, or Quinn, I was on my way to meet him-"

"DAMMIT TRAVIS, RUN!" he shouted, just before the line cut off, for a second there, she could see his eyes go liquid, as if he wasn't completely solid.

That spooked her more than anything else. Only a handful knew Drakes secret, of course he knew a few of hers too, and she'd worked well with him off and on since that cold day underground on Mars years back.

She was casual as she left the booth, the com ensign by the front desk smiled back as she thanked her on her way out. Three decks, four hundred fifty three meters to the Nighthawk docking bay. She heard it before she saw it, honed combat instincts sending her diving to the floor, the plasma grenade passing past her and into the doorway she just left. She could hear the ensign screaming in agony as it detonated, coming towards her were a dozen men in black armor, the smoke and fire from the explosion hiding her from view. As she heard the screams die off inside the com office she cursed under her breath, and started running.



Klingon Consulate, San Francisco...

"...will be signed over to the Moab Confederacy, Ambassador," the Klingon Consul smiled. "We are, of course, keeping the main complex in Paris."

Bianh nodded. "I see that - you're taking the furniture?" she asked.

"Hardly. The Confederacy may be predominantly human, but you are still an autonomous part of the Empire... redecorate as you wish, but remember - your state is subordinate to the Klingon Empire first."

The Embassy's security detail was composed of Irgun operatives-the sister agency to Haganah, Irgun focused on domestic security and criminal enforcement-but now their responsibilities included securing the Moab Embassy.

"We're secure, Ambassador," the team leader said.

Bianh turned to Lt. Colonel Cu'ong. "You're sure you won't stay?" she asked.

"Zaki can handle any shuttling you need to do, Colonel K'Tirr called in a favour from me, I have to go," Anh said. "Besides, how much danger could there be here - it's not like Starfleet will reignite the war on their own doorstep." She beamed out shortly thereafter.

"What's going on outside?" Bianh asked.

"We're going to have to lock down," Zaki told her. "Put this on - it's a beam-out homing device, we may need to beam you offsite in a hurry."

"What for?" Bianh asked. "I just got here!"

"Rioting, seems someone's seeing Khan around every corner."

"It isn't our concern - yet. I'll have the beam-out beacon on, but I'm here to do my JOB," Bianh asserted. "The door is open unless I tell you otherwise!!"

She checked her meet-and-greet schedule. "Besides, I'm supposed to be meeting with someone from the Federation's ministry of foreign affairs - we don't want THEM seeing us in lockdown because of a few disgruntled rioters..."

"Yes ma'am," Zaki said miserably. "Stand down to standard security process." he told the rest of the detail over Comms.



Bridge, USS Nighthawk

"That's odd."

Pemor had learned over the years to hate that phrase. It usually meant something was about to go very wrong. "What's odd Ensign?" he asked, looking up from where he was monitoring the last of the loading.

"We've got two ships moving in the dock, but not moving towards the exit - they're coming towards us. I thought we had departure clearance once we got done loading Sir?"

"We do, at least I think we do." he said, looking up at the main viewer, an Odyssey and one of the new Avenger class ships as well. While shuffling ships inside the dock like a giant 3D puzzle happened all the time, they generally tried to keep the ones that were scheduled to depart clear.

He reached over and tapped the com "USS Guadalcanal, USS Dietrich, we're scheduled for departure in less than :30, you going to be clear by then?"

He never got a response as the turbolift doors blew open - while in theory taking a ship was dangerous, taking one that was docked with the crew expecting nothing wasn't nearly as hard-especially when people were infiltrated before hand to shut down internal warning systems. He was armed of course, but the gas flooding the bridge and most of the ship had him hitting the deck before he'd even cleared his holster.



IKS Herdthinner, parking orbit and cloaked...

"We're picking up some interesting traffic on Starfleet's so-called 'secure' bands, Colonel..." it was the first thing Anh heard as she stepped on to the bridge to report to Ri'orr K'Tirr, head of House K'Tirr and her personal liege lord.

"What does it sound like?" K'Tirr asked.

"It sounds like they're trying to assault one of their own ships, sir," Bekk Chu'an was from An Loc, he'd just passed his OCS exam. "Um, the Nighthawk seems to be the target, and it doesn't carry the 'drill' undercode."

Anh frowned. "Oh ****," she said.

K'Tirr nodded. "We owe them," he said.

Anh took her seat at the helm. "What's the plan, sir?"

"We still have a platoon of your friends available?" K'Tirr asked.

"They're on Embassy detail, sir," Anh reminded him.

"Too bad."



ESD, level 4

They were definitely trying to kill her, of that she had no doubt by now. Probably half a dozen bystanders had taken fatal shots from her pursuers phasers, while so far she hadn't even done more than manage to stun a couple of them. She was picking her targets, they weren't, in some cases firing full auto pulse phasers. Still they weren't getting close, but she wasn't losing them either, and it was only a matter of time until-TRIBBLE.

Station security had gotten involved, there were four of them across the doorway in front of her, blocking her way. Fortunately they were on the larger size of the scale, while she was anything but. As they raised their weapons both towards her and her pursuers she dove, sliding between the legs of one of them, the human officer was not expecting that - or the grenade that followed, thrown by her pursuers. Dammit, she was just getting people killed! And the com's were out, she couldn't raise the Nighthawk - turning the corner, at the milling crowd of armored, well, goons, just like the ones chasing her, at the Airlock for the Nighthawk. Outside through the viewport, she could see two ships, blocking them in. The ones at the airlock stared at her for a second dumbfounded, as she fired once, stunning one pointing at her then running off again, an even larger group after her now.

They were close enough she could hear one of them shouting orders. "Just lock on to her ****ing com and beam her to the ship!" one of the officers shouted. She reached up, ripping it off of her uniform and slapping it onto her phaser, setting the weapon to overload, just before it disappeared in blue light. Seconds later there was an explosion outside the viewport, as a cloaked shuttle had a hull breach, looked like by the transporter. She was fast running out of options, and room. The lifts were locked down, fortunately she'd put in a year assigned here out of the Academy as an ensign, there should be - there. Pulling her blade out from its sheath on her back, she jammed it into an access panel, pulling it off, exposing a disused jeffires tube underneath. Diving in she slid down two levels, then cut across to another one, this time she didn't have to cut it open, the tube leading to a network throughout the station.

"******nit" the Commander cursed as he caught up to his men, seeing the open tube. "They're not going to like this if we lose her, you know what he'll do to us." The other black armored humans nodded. "She can't get far, don't worry sir."



Andorian Embassy, Paris, Earth

By now there were riots across half the city. He had to smile as he made his way over the wall, while the Embassy's security systems were top notch, his employers had helped set up the systems. He was less than a ghost, the systems did not even notice him there. The news about the Denali governor being in the Embassy hadn't hit the news yet either, it wasn't scheduled to be 'released' for another ten minutes or so. Which was more than enough time for him to do his task. He noticed that there were several stout trees on the embassy grounds, he idly wondered if the inevitable lynch mob would string her up from one of them.

His target was going to be easy to pick out. The Ambassador always went for a walk in the garden in the early evening, and of late that augment ***** was with him. oh there wasn't anything romantic involved, the Ambassador wasn't compatible with human type females-not that the press wouldn't hype that possible angle as well once the murder was public.

There he was - by himself too. even better. He dropped silently to the ground as the Andorian passed, Ambassdor Thalev was an older being, like many ambassadors. The blade was sharp and ready as he lunged from behind, the tip of the blade making an audible thump. Thump?

Still it knocked the old man to his knees, through the robe he could see what kept it from penetrating - some sort of back brace that wasn't listed in the known medical records. No matter. He drew back his blade to strike again only to see a white blur out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh no you don't!" Rachelle shouted as she tackled him, moving faster than he had thought possible. His knife skittered across the stones of the path as the Denali Governor pinned him to the ground under her, Thalev shakily getting to his feet. "Are you alright, Ambassador?" she asked, turning her head for just a fraction too long. He was able to get a back up knife out of his sleeve, his arm free just enough to slam it into the augment TRIBBLE gut.

She screamed as he pushed her off, getting to his feet, only to let out a scream of his own as Thalev's Ushaan-tor cut through his throat, the old andorian warrior still deadly with the blade. The would be assassin hit the ground with a thump, bleeding out as Thalev crouched to check on Rachelle.

"How bad did he get you? And thank you for the assistance, if it had not been for my back brace..."

"B... bad enough" she said through gritted teeth. "Where was the security?"

"Pulled off due to 'riots'," he said with a growl as he hit the com, then angered, hit it again. "I can not call for assistance... what is this?"

"Jammed?" she asked as he picked her up to carry her inside.

"I can not see how. Fortunately there is a separate system that doesn't use the local network," he said, handing her to one of his aides, who fortunately also had medical training. He punched in the code from memory, linking with a direct line to the Vulcan embassy and their Ambassador.

"Thalev! You are alive!" the Vulcan said, with almost but not quite emotion on his face, Thalev had known him long enough though to know he was pleased at that.

"Why would you think I was not?" he asked suspiciously.

"Because it has just been reported that you had been assassinated by the Governor of Denali, it is on every channel."

"On the contrary, she saved my life, the assassin is bleeding out on my rose bushes, the Governor has been badly wounded - and I can not contact medical."

"This is most illogical. we have independent transporter capability, we can bring you to our embassy. I fear that if you are found alive, when you are reported dead, whoever is behind this may very well try to make the facts match their fiction."

"I do Not run from a fight... but the governor is wounded. We are ready to transport..."

"We will have our healers waiting old friend."

Thalev thought fast after cutting the signal. "When the authorities do arrive" he said to his trusted aide, "do not tell them we survived. If they expect us dead, let them draw their own conclusions."

The aide saluted, and he felt the familiar tingle of the transporter, seconds later the welcome face of the Vulcan ambassador and a team of healers greeted him. "Our communications are up-however there are news reports of rioters headed towards your embassy," he said as they stepped off the transport pads, the healers carrying the blood soaked Rachelle off. "They blame your companion for your death."

"And I owe her my life. Something is very wrong here."
"It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier." R.A.Heinlein

"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."



Post edited by knightraider6 on
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Comments

  • takeshi6takeshi6 Member Posts: 752 Arc User
    edited October 2013
    Subscribing to Thread, and looking forward to contributing when the time rolls around. :D
    76561198160276582.png
  • gulberatgulberat Member Posts: 5,505 Arc User
    edited October 2013
    The Vulcans keeping a wanted person in their embassy...I'm starting to wonder if we might have an Argo-like scenario if the situation gets worse on Earth...

    Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-)
    Proudly F2P.  Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
  • marcusdkanemarcusdkane Member Posts: 7,439 Arc User
    edited October 2013
    This is looking very promising :cool:
  • knightraider6knightraider6 Member Posts: 396 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Episode 2.1 Running Scared
    Run, run, run, run
    Run, run, run, run
    Run, run, run, run
    Run, run, run, run

    You better make your face up in
    Your favourite disguise
    With your button down lips and your
    Roller blind eyes
    With your empty smile
    And your hungry heart
    Feel the bile rising from your guilty past
    With your nerves in tatters
    As the cockleshell shatters
    And the hammers batter
    Down your door
    You better run

    Run, run, run, run Run, run, run, run
    Run, run, run, run

    You better run all day
    And run all night
    And keep your dirty feelings
    Deep inside. And if your
    Takin' your girlfriend
    Out tonight
    You better park the car
    Well out of sight
    'Cos if they catch you in the back seat
    Trying to pick her locks
    They're gonna send you back to mother
    In a cardboard box
    You better run
    Pink Floyd Run like Hell

    ESD, somewhere on deck 28

    She was running out of options, out of room, and out of jeffries tubes. And now station security was involved, and from what the announcements were saying, blaming her for the deaths.

    Getting to the Nighthawk was out of the question, if not for the fact that it had been taken, then the sheer distance she'd have to cover to get there. The most maddening thing is she had no idea why they were after her. Fortunately they hadn't caught up to her yet, and she hadn't actually had to kill anyone. She knew from her tour as an ensign that the power couplings in the station were just leaky enough to prevent detailed life signs scans in certain areas. Others knew that too, and she heard the noises of searchers in the network of conduits getting closer.

    She had a phaser at least, picked up off one of the security forces who had been careless, he'd probably wake up in an hour or so, assuming someone let him out of the closet. She also had a tool kit, which she was thankful for the first time in months over the Nighthawks long refit-many of the crew, herself included had pitched in to speed things up, and she had more than a passing familiarity with power distribution systems because of that. She was busily at work inside one now, while technically it could be called sabotage by some, she really didn't have a lot of options at this point.

    "Check down that tube there."

    Damn. Fifty meters away. She was almost finished, the lighting here was less than optimal at least, and the ones chasing her were not wearing low light gear that she had seen at least. Finishing her changes, she set the timer and buttoned up the access cover - ****. there was someone else coming from the other direction, the way she was going to head next.

    Fortunately, she was small, and despite rigorous training, no one ever looked up as she clambered up between pipes at the top of the compartment overhead, a normal sized being wouldn't fit at all here. It wasn't the black armored goons, but two of the station security guards, one of them she recognized. Lt Celauro had been stationed on the Nighthawk until his wife became ill, and was granted a compassionate transfer to be closer to her while she was undergoing therapy on Earth.

    "Find anything?"

    The other guard, an Andorian Ensign, just shook her head. "it's empty, I didn't see anything on my way here" she replied "****ing augment, wouldn't be surprised if she kills half the station before this is over. it's bad enough one of them killed my peoples Ambassador too."

    "I know, hard to believe, and to think I served with filth like that..." he shook his head. "Well this sector is clear, check in and we'll drop down to the next level."

    What the hell? she had no idea what they were talking about, what ambassador? Andoria had better relations with her homeworld than most of the Federation. The Andorian ensign was setting something up, Missy couldn't see what she was doing, possibly a communications booster being the power distribution network down here messed with those as well-

    "Biosensor is up and running, it's reading-" her pale blue eyes got wide. "It's reading three life signs in this compartment."

    ****. Before Celauro could even turn back to look Missy had let go with one hand from her hiding place, firing straight down with her phaser on stun. The ensign collapsed as if poleaxed, the Lt falling on top of her as fifty kilos of angry Denali grabbed him around the neck, using her momentum to pull him to the ground. His weapon went skittering along the deck along with hers, well her phaser anyway.

    He gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, then seconds later she had him pinned to the deck, her blade at his throat. "Could you kindly just tell me what the f*ck is going on, Lieutenant?" she asked in a low growl.



    Federation Foreign Minister's office, Paris France

    "Ladies and gentlebeings, thank you for coming at this short notice," The Press Secretary wondered not for the first time why Cave was handling this, but with the President off planet, people wanted answers. She personally found him a little creepy, but it was a job and how else could one get into politics easily? "I know you're upset about some of the rumors that have been going around, we're here to bring clarity, If you'll please be seated?"

    The reporters sat grumbling, bright lights from the holocam units bathing the podium and the federation flag behind her brightly. "Thank you. We are still in the middle of an ongoing situation, but first, yes the reports of the assassination of the Andorian ambassador to the Federation are true. Federation security forces found ionization traces that matched standard residue after a being is disintegrated via disruptor fire..."



    Vulcan Embassy, Paris

    "Maybe you should not have atomized the body of the attempted Assassin." Ambassador Thalev muttered darkly as he watched the transmission.

    "I did not get the opportunity to, Ambassador," his aide replied. "I recovered your Ushaan-tor then beamed here myself just before Federation Security arrived."

    "Which makes it all the more troubling," He sighed as he watched.



    Moab Embassy, San Francisco...

    "Zaki, put some of your people on finding out anything and everything about Andorian activity near the Denali homeworld, any and all trade relations, personal relationships... I want to know everything about Denali we have, including what Kincaid had for breakfast this morning and who Thalev was sleeping with last night."

    "Rumours too?" Zaki asked.

    "Try to filter the rumours, see what holds up, and what's salacious gossip with no basis. If the Governor DID kill Ambassador Thalev, there's a motive somewhere, if not, there's a motive there, too. People with motives are subject to leverage, we need leverage if this is going to work long-term."

    "In other words Ma'am?" Zaki asked.

    "Someone's a good target for blackmail, I want to know who, and what we can pressure them for."



    Press conference

    She had only gotten half way through her prepared statement when the Minister himself walked out. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I apologize for my tardiness, I was consulting with President Okeg. He should have a statement shortly upon his return to Earth in the next few hours. In the meantime, we have uncovered the perpetrators of this plot, not only against the Ambassador of our noble Andorian Allies, but against the entire Federation, and possibly other worlds as well. An ancient evil, that we had sadly believed eradicated four hundred years ago..." The view on the screen behind the minister switched from the Federation Seal, to a statue, looking over 100 meters tall, surrounded by thousands of cheering people."

    "My God..." Sharon Delani of FNN said out loud, breaking the usual protocol of such events as she recognized the image. "That's Khan!."



    Gaby's Cafe, Miami, Earth

    Try as he might, Admiral LaRoca could not find a decent cup of Ca phe anywhere on Earth. Even the Moab Embassy, where he was always more than welcome, only received fresh shipments every two months or so. But he discovered that Cuban espresso was the next best thing.

    He shared his booth in the Little Havana establishment with his brother Rusty and his new aide de camp, Spitz-Reader - neither of which had either the same tolerance levels or appreciation for highly-caffeinated beverages that the Admiral possesed.

    "I think it will be about a week before my fangs stop wriggling," Spitz estimated, as the Ferasan telepath put down his empty cafecito shot.

    Rusty suddenly lowered his larger cup and tilted his head before staring up at the holoviewer. "Um, Jesu, that press conference-"

    "A complete waste of time for any sentient," Jesu said dismissively.

    "You might want to look at what they're talking about."

    Admiral LaRoca casually raised his eyes to the holoviewer as he took a slow pull from his huge mug of cafe cubano. The results were explosive. "Chingame!"

    "Shall we return to the office, sir?" Spitz-Reader deadpanned, with coffee dripping from his mane.



    Moab Embassy...

    "Nice statue. Dead Indian, but a nice statue - if Denali's got them kinda resources, they might be worth a look." Bianh said conversationally.

    "You can't be serious," S'taass asked from the comm unit.

    "Dead serious," Bianh said. "Unless you know something?"

    "The Empire has provided them with a near-derelict Orion carrier, they are... poorer than your world," the Klingon foreign minister said.

    "Not according to Minister Cave," Bianh said. "You ARE watching the feed?"

    "I am... it does not follow what we in the Empire know about Denali. Even if they WERE all augmented warriors, they would lack the physical resources to mount any significant threat... to anyone," the Gorn foreign minister told her.

    "Well, I know where to send Zaki and his Lackeys then," Bianh said. "Find out who's setting up Denali, and why... and what we can do to either make use of them, or break them."

    "That sounds almost... evil," S'taass told her.

    "That's why Saul hired me and you went along with it - I'm the most evil ***** in the room," Bianh asserted. "Given the way they're working up that mob, those folks on Denali better be arming to the teeth... I'm going to put in a call to Saul."

    "It's a long trip out there from Moab," S'taass reminded her.

    "I'm sure we can find a way to get closer," Bianh said. "Maybe call in some markers from some friends, if we have any, in the neighbourhood."

    "What sort of 'friends'?" the Gorn asked.

    "The kind that leave calling cards... and bodies."



    ESD, subcorridor 4, deck 28

    "that is the stupidest thing I ever heard!" Missy said , her ears back in surprise. "I'm stealing the Nighthawk to defect to a colony run by the Church of Khan? Those idiots in the church couldn't even fill up a high school football field!"

    "So you admit it exists!"

    "There's a church of Satan three blocks from the Academy grounds in San Francisco, and a Hitler worshiping church on Alpha Cent -does that mean that Starfleet is full of TRIBBLE Devilworshippers?" She shook her head "Federation charter, religious freedom, look it up. and for your information, I'm Methodist so unless you think they're evil..."

    "How do you explain all the people you killed so far?" he snarled at her.

    "I killed nobody," she showed him the setting on the Phaser. "You people are the ones throwing plasma grenades around like they were mardi gras beads!"

    "Well, if you're so innocent, why did you run?"

    "Because I'm allergic to being murdered," she replied, rolling her eyes. She heard shouting down the corridor, damn. He heard it too, his eyes going wide with fear as she pointed the phaser at him. It was just like training he thought as his head hit the deck, he'd been stunned before...

    She saw them, not security but more of the black armored troops. And there were two unconscious Starfleet officers in this compartment. Sometimes, it sucks having a conscience. Picking up their phasers and making sure the line of fire, she kept to the shadows as she moved forward. They hadn't seen her yet, though they had seen something up ahead - and one of them looked like he was arming a grenade.

    Twisting the power pack on one of the phasers to overload, she leapt from her hiding place, hitting him low and causing him to fall back to the deck. She stuck the phaser to his belt as she kept rolling, the others almost moving in slow motion, all she had to do was make it the two meters to the corridor junction.

    The armored figure rolled back to his feet, bringing his phaser cannon to bear, when he noticed the high pitched whine from the phaser, its standard attachment clinging to the belt like it was designed...

    "****, John!!!" His buddy reached for it - and the corridor rippled with the thunder as the power-cells released all their potential energy with sufficient force to shatter hull-plating.
    The blast wouldn't have been that bad, but both the strength-augmentation armor, and the heavy weapon are power-hogs, and weapons teams tend to carry additional powercells.

    Powercells tend to detonate sympathetically when subjected to sufficient energy release at close range.

    Air slammed down the corridors like the charge from a cannon, as the bulkheads rippled with sympathetic shock. The deck plating above the immediate blast-wave was pushed upward, some of the fasteners let go, tossing personnel and equipment on the deck above like beans in a maracca.

    Below, the ceiling panels bowed downward nearly ten centimeters before seams cracked and broke loose. Fun with physics: contain an explosion in a hollow tube. the air will displace outward at high density along the length of the tube, even as it ruptures.

    (this all happened in less than .1 seconds)

    She knew it was coming, but that doesn't mean she was ready for it. OF course, they would have had extra power cells. Fortunately she was moving away from the blast, and at a higher rate of speed than a normal human could - she couldn't keep this up for long but if it didn't work, it wouldn't matter anyway... she heard the cursing then the second worst explosive sound she'd ever heard, not the 'skoom' of an antimatter detonation, but almost as bad. The shockwave hit her just as she got to the corridor junction and dived towards it, sending her crashing into the bulkhead wall, the crack of breaking bones barely audible in the blast. More ominously though, was the secondary wave. This subdeck was along the 'roof' of the docking bay, and when it split...

    She breathed out as much as she could, and closed her eyes tight, squeezing them so hard they almost hurt, one second, two... when she opened them again everything looked like she was gazing through a soap bubble, all the colors were off, the inner eyelids that protected against snow blindness, also protecting them from freezing. The rushing air grabbed her and she was pulled back towards the breach, the fireball dissipating in the open spacedock, fortunately there were handholds and she was able to wedge herself in enough. The Emergency forcefields were snapping into place, though a bit late. At least they calmed the hurricane rushing by, in seconds she was at zero pressure. And the grav was out too, lovely.

    At least the security override that she had been working on before being so rudely interrupted was down this hall. She pulled herself along, hoping the grav was out in more than this section. Standing on that leg was not going to be fun...



    Press Conference

    "...even now, brave Federation forces are working at bringing this Traitorous Captain to Justice," Cave was in his element, and they were eating from his hand, their fear was almost tangible.

    "What of other Augment cells that might be on Earth?"

    "Fortunately, they do tend to stand out, choosing to make themselves look different as it to confirm that they are better than the rest of us. It is also known they have low tolerance for high temperatures, so there's not any danger to them to places like Vulcan," he said, prompting nervous laughter from the reporters. "This is a threat that must be excised. I will meet with the President upon his return, he has agreed that these savage throwbacks MUST be brought under control, at any cost."

    "Does this mean war, Minister?"

    "If it does, it is not one of our making. We have been attacked," he replied. "And we will defend ourselves appropriately. The horrors of the past will not threaten our bright future!"



    ESD, deck 28

    Something was going right, finally. Gravity was out, as were a lot of systems, and the shuttle bay was dark and empty. She pushed off towards the closest one, just a smaller type VI that was used for work around the station, and of course it wasn't locked down as it was required to be during an alert - the hack had worked. Getting on board wasn't as easy, as the shuttles systems were online, including gravity. She screamed as she put pressure on the leg, no, bones weren't supposed to be sticking out like that. no time to fix it at the moment. Breaking out the aid kit and setting the hypospray for a painkiller. She managed to get to the seat and strapped herself down. Getting to the shuttle was relatively easy. Now she had to get off the station alive.



    Moab Embassy...

    "...and he just said the 'War' word." Bianh commented. "Lovely... well, I guess the meeting with his visiting staffer should be entertaining, at least."

    "You don't think he'll come himself?" Zaki asked.

    "No...I could be wrong, but Marty here, he looks like a social climber, we're too low rent for his personal attention." She favoured her Security Chief with a smile. "Unless he thinks he can get something he wants, we'll get the obligatory visit from a mid-level management type - sort of a 'greeter' who doesn't know anything but looks and listens well before going on about their business - someone like one of your people, but in a nicer suit."

    "Intelligence?" Zaki asked.

    "Bet on it. They're not looking for big secrets though - they're looking for someone they can compromise... don't suppose you have anyone in mind to be our double-agent?"

    Zaki shrugged. "Someone his man thinks can be turned? I can probably arrange it..."

    "Make sure of their real loyalties - and their acting ability," she said.



    Later

    "Ooh, scary," Bianh wiggled her fingers, then sat back. "Mister vice-minister, a fairly large proportion of my people are Jews, does that mean we need to be watching under every rock because Alpha-C has a church of Hitler?"

    "It-it's not the same thing! My god, your people-"

    "My people, vice minister, have better things to worry about than bugbears from the distant past - Denali is a distant, frozen, rock with a tiny population - don't give me that look - they have fewer people than we had on New Saigon, under much harsher conditions, with a lot fewer resources. Let's say, for argument's sake, that they ARE building an army of Augments - how are they going to move them?" She tented her hands. "They have ONE, count them, ONE trading partner-the Klingon Empire, who has a vested interest in maintaining the Armistice, a much larger and more potent military... and us. If they move against the Empire, they're dead meat, and they don't have the ability to move against the Federation without moving against the Empire. It's not, as the soldiers say, logistically supportable. Khan and his augments were so powerful, because ordinary People supported them. Millions of ordinary people - the entire Arabic League, for starters... they don't have that now."

    "So...if the suspect DOES show up?" he asked.

    "We'll give her asylum until a proper international tribunal can be assembled, Mister Vice Minister, with agreed upon rules of evidence and representation by the Empire, the Deferi, and the Romulans, this is no internal matter of the Federation - Denali's been denied membership multiple times, that makes it international. Allowing a kangaroo court would set a dangerous precedent."

    "But - but they're HUMAN!" he sputtered.

    "Nice that you would recognize that, the mob outside doesn't seem to think so," Bianh stated blandly. "We are too... if we endorse actions against Denali in contravention of international agreements, how long before a Federation taskforce is coming to Moab, or Cold Butte to enforce laws that no longer apply to US?" she fixed him with her gaze. "How long before Starfleet comes to disarm us for their 'demilitarized zone' strategy?" She shook her head. "We will comply with international law, mister Vice Minister. The governor of Denali is a foreign official of a national power that is at present, at peace with the Klingon Empire. Absent directives from the High Council, we're not going to sell them out to a lynch mob."

    "But she MURDERED-"

    "Habeas Corpus," Bianh stated. "Where is the body - even a Disruptor on maximum leaves traces. Ashes can be tested to confirm the source. No body, no Witnesses, no crime. For all I know, Ambassador Thalev and Governor Kincaid are getting laid in Antarctica. WE learned a long time ago, not to trust Federation Assurances, why should we trust the accusations of Federation officials - especially with so little actual evidence?" She stood up. "If the Andorians come to us, the answer they get may be different - but that is because it's their man. So far, they are content not to inquire."

    The vice minister glared at her. "You would cooperate with the Andorians but not the Federation?" he asked.

    "Absolutely. Oh, buck up and be a man!" Bianh said. "There is no extradition treaty extant and the Empire takes matters of honour quite seriously - it would be dishonourable for us to HIDE her, she's not here, It would also be dishonourable to join the frothing lynch-mob outside - because it's a matter between Denali and Andoria, just as the killing of a member of one Great House by a Neutral doesn't mean restarting the War with the Federation - and you may NEED a Neutral power to maintain the shreds of legitimacy in the event you DO capture Kincaid."

    "What are you talking about?" the Vice Minister was gettng fed up, angry...

    "The Romulans are watching you, so are the Cardassians, the Dominion... and of course the Klingon Empire." she stated, "While the Cardassians are in much the same position we are - that is, beholden to a greater power, and locked in a pact with that power, the Romulans are fully capable of choosing otherwise, and the Dominion is always watching for a sign of weakness, incompetence, or potential of runaway hostility. It's a much smaller Galaxy than it was in 2265, and a lot of your Federation's credibility relies on following your own stated rules, goals and purposes - many of the treaties you have within the Federation lean on little more than the worth of your government's word. Should the Federation turn against it's own stated principles, those treaties would be worth exactly the value of the paper they are not printed on."

    He stared at her, open mouthed.

    "OF course, such a series of unfortunate events could destabilize the entire Federation, which would require stabilizing forces be sent in by all concerned parties - the Borg threat's going nowhere soon, and a United Federation of Planets dis-uniting...well, we can't have a major power self-destructing in a civil war, can we? Of course not. KDF soldiers might have to be sent in to keep the peace... I seem to recall Colonel Eialu Masaana is very good at restoring peace, and order to a situation." She leaned forward. "Your government's Credibility is on the line - you either follow your own rules, or your credibility internationally will be worth about price of a cup of Ca'phe - after it's been consumed." She leaned back, smiled, and folded her hands. "Now, is there anything else you wished to discuss?"



    Episode 2.2
    Death surrounds
    My heartbeat's slowing down
    I won't take this world's abuse
    I won't give up, I refuse!

    This is how it feels when you're bent and broken
    This is how it feels when your dignity's stolen
    When everything you love is leaving
    You hold on to what you believe in

    The last thing I heard was you whispering goodbye
    And then I heard you flat line

    No, not gonna die tonight
    We're gonna stand and fight forever
    (Don't close your eyes)
    No, not gonna die tonight
    We're gonna fight for us together
    No, we're not gonna die tonight

    Break their hold
    'Cause I won't be controlled
    They can't keep their chains on me
    When the truth has set me free

    This is how it feels when you take your life back
    This is how it feels when you finally fight back
    When life pushes me I push harder
    What doesn't kill me makes me stronger

    The last thing I heard was you whispering goodbye
    And then I heard you flat line

    No, not gonna die tonight
    We're gonna stand and fight forever
    (Don't close your eyes)
    No, not gonna die tonight
    We're gonna fight for us together
    No, we're not gonna die tonight

    Don't you give up on me
    You're everything I need
    This is how it feels when you take your life back
    This is how it feels when you fight back

    No, not gonna die tonight
    We're gonna stand and fight forever
    (Don't close your eyes)
    No, not gonna die tonight
    We're gonna fight for us together
    No, we're not gonna die tonight
    No, we're not gonna die tonight

    Not gonna die
    (Not gonna die)
    Not gonna die
    (Not gonna die)
    Not gonna die tonight
    Skillet Not Gonna Die



    Shuttlecraft O'Reilly, ESD

    Missy strapped herself in tight as she could as she brought the shuttles systems online, paying particular attention to disable the remote networking for the autodocking feature of the starbase. Not that it seemed it was online due to the chatter on the com, it seems the explosion had done far more damage than she thought. Good for her, bad for them she thought, popping another Stim to keep the pain at bay. She'd nearly passed out when she 'fixed' her leg, but she figured it would be better to take a minute or three to do it now. She had wedged her foot under the edge of one of the consoles, then pulled back, screaming as the leg was pulled straight. At least the bones weren't sticking out now, and with a temporary splint on she could move-at least till the painkillers wore off.

    she lifted off the pad,fortunately the shuttle didn't take any damage, and was fully prepped. She eased out of the shuttlebay into the pandemonium of the main dock. It was worse than she thought once she got a good look at it, for one it still seemed to be on fire. Heading out, docking control was getting everything that could move out of the central docking hub, not so much an evacuation as getting ships out of the way so Damage Control crews could get to the breach. Little attention was paid to her as she exited the dock into orbital space, for the first time she started to feel like she could get out of this in one piece.



    USS Kersage, Armitage class escort carrier

    "That's odd."

    "What's odd, other than the space dock being on fire? Captain Raynerson asked sourly, having had to abort their planned docking due to the emergency.

    "I'm tracking a shuttle with no Biosig," the female Caitian at tactical replied. Most small craft, shuttles included linked their crew's combadges automatically with the carrier's emergency transporter system - fighters, shuttles, they were replaceable. Pilots weren't so much.

    "That is odd," he said, sitting up and looking over at the screen. "What's it's heading, and where was it's origin?"

    She quickly pulled up the information, while the shuttle wasn't transmitting, it did leave a trail, and its course could be plotted. "Looks like it's heading to break orbit, and..." she stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth as she concentrated, a habit she'd picked up over the years. "Hard to tell, but the origin looks to be from one of the shuttle bays within a hundred meters or so of the explosion on the station Sir."

    "Damn, it's probably that ****ing augment - get a tractor lock!"

    "Can't, sir," she replied. "Too much interference from other craft in the area. Should I notify station control?"

    "Negative," he said, visions of medals dancing in his head. "They're busy enough at the moment. we have fighters on ready-5 right?"

    "Well yes - but they're not manned while in Earth orbit-"

    "Fine-you've got the con Lt," he said as he headed for the lift. "And scramble the alert pilots - I'll be flying lead."

    "But, Sir..." she said, her ears drooping as the turbolift doors closed. They could get in so much trouble for this...



    Shuttlecraft O'Rielly

    One good thing about stims - when they kicked in, you felt fine. she figured she had a couple hours till the crash came, and hoped to be well away somewhere halfway safe by then. They were also addictive, but she never made a habit of them. She kept the speed down, obeying all the myriad rules and regulations, the downside was the distance from the station grew so slowly. But then with all the ships clustered around, going fast would not only draw attention, but be dangerous as well.

    She kept the shields off, and all countermeasures set to passive as she passed a row of cruisers, trying her best to look as normal as anything could be out here.



    Ripper Lead

    Raynerson felt the lurch as the Peregrine fighter left the bay, and the artificial gravity behind. Checking his tac display he saw the other three ships in the flight right behind him, his wingman forming up alongside. They'd all seen the news before, and heard of the damage and destruction right on Earth's doorstep. The chance to capture this ***** behind it was worth the TRIBBLE chewing he probably would get from traffic control when this was all over.

    They came about, ducking past the Saucer of the Kersage, looking for the trace of the shuttle - there. Flicking a switch, he locked targeting sensors onto it - there was far too much in the way to take a shot, but at least they wouldn't lose it now.



    Shuttlecraft O'Reilly

    "Warning - weapons lock"

    She just sighed at the computer's calm announcement. "Of course it wouldn't be that easy," She was able to follow it back, there, flight of four Peregrines. So far she had a couple Galaxy class ships and one of those romulan monstrosities between her and them, but it was only a matter of moments until they had a clear bead on her.

    "Well, lets see just who knows how to fly," she muttered as she killed a couple more automated systems. She had a bit of a rep as a junior officer as an aggressive driver, one that continued, especially after the airshow back on Denali. And the hack code to turn the Collision Avoidance System off still worked as well. Nice thing about the old Mk VI shuttles, they were way overpowered. Bringing the power up she waited for the fighters to be eclipsed by one of the wings of the Romulan Scimitar, then fed the power to the engines and shields.



    Ripper Lead

    "That's her, she's rabbiting!"

    The fighters didn't have tractors, but they did have phasers and torpedoes. Raynerson had a solid lock and fired, only to see the beam impact against the Scimitar's hull. There were angry shouts over the com but he was in the zone - all he saw was his target. His wingman was right behind him as he added power, coming around the Romulan vessel - there - she was headed right for that Odyssey?



    O'Reilly

    Whoever it was after her was an idiot. If he hadn't have locked on until he got closer, she'd never have had a chance to elude him. As it was...the com and half of the instruments were screaming at her, the computer actually sounding almost worried for once. "Warning, collision alert! Collision Alert!" the underside of the Odyssey's saucer filling the screen. She wondered if they'd be stubborn enough to try to follow, in something ten meters bigger than a type six shuttle... She could imagine the panic on the cruiser as the hull of the saucer section streaked by less than two meters from the shuttle, hopefully those after her wouldn't do anything stupid.



    Ripper Flight

    "TRIBBLE this! Ripper two, I have lock, fox one!"

    "No!" Raynerson could only watch, a sick feeling in his stomach as his wingman fired, the quantum torpedo closing in on the fleeing shuttle - until their quarry slid between the twin necks of the Odyssey, pulling hard in what had to be a multi G break, even with inertial damping. The torpedo continued on its course, plowing into one of the cruiser's Nacelles as even more angry shouts filled the com.



    O'Reilly

    Missy groaned, both with the stress from the turn, the inertial dampers were barely holding, and the realization that they were that stupid. The Odyssey didn't have any shields up, why would they, in parking orbit over earth, the fighters torpedo cutting through the relatively fragile nacelle - fortunately the engines were not active, otherwise things would have been worse. As it was, that ship was down for weeks at least. She cut hard left, over the secondary hull of an older Ambassador class, then immediately rolled inverted and followed the curve of the hull around, cutting between the nacelles of one of the new Avengers. Ripper three was right behind her, or was until she banked right and dropped down between the aft pylons of an Akira. Despite having more than enough clearance in theory, the starboard 'wing' of the Peregrine hit the Akira's hull, sending the fighter spinning out of control into yet a third ship, the emergency transporter barely yanking him out before the fighter's core and torpedoes detonated... She was close enough that the shockwave bounced her around as well, stims or not, that just made everything hurt worse.



    IKS Herdthinner...

    "Science Officer, start broadcasting a diplomatic I.D. for the Moab system - the same one we were using while we were escorting the Ambassador," K'Tirr ordered. "And decloak us...close to the path of that shuttle."

    Anh took the hint, and scooted into the shuttle's path at a range of 1500 Kellikams.

    "Anh, here..." K'Tirr pulled out a chit.

    "What's this?" she asked.

    "It's just information, go to the transporter," K'Tirr told her. "You're beaming into the Consulate directly."

    Schrodi looked at K'Tirr. "You have a plan," she said.

    "We're going to pull whatever's organic off that shuttle, while Anh delivers my recipe for Thok'lah stew," K'Tirr said. "under diplomatic agreements, we're allowed to directly beam personnel to our embassies, if they are carrying 'vital documents'."

    "Ten seconds!" Science Officer announced.

    "Move it!" K'Tirr ordered, taking over helm from his station.

    Anh Dashed for the transporter pad, with her Lord's Lady hot on her heels.

    "FIve..."

    She stood on the pad.

    "Three... lock, lock... two..."

    "Mark."

    The world changed for Anh as she found herself materializing in the small courtyard of the Moab consulate...



    O'Reilly

    It was common for Starfleet officers to say that all KDF Ships looked alike. While Starfleet vessels often times had fleet markings, or color trim that varied on the whim of the captain, it was said that you couldn't tell Klingon made ships apart. This wasn't true, if anyone had actually taken the time to study them.

    Or fought along side them. She recognized the Herdthinner. even as proximity warnings flashed, they were getting her range, and she was honestly running out of places to duck. Once she broke free of the congestion the Peregrines could chase her down, the warp on the shuttle was offline and her vision was starting to get blurry. Damnit, the explosion back on the satation must have messed up more than just her leg. She could only hope they were thinking the same thing she was, punching in commands to the autopilot then blipping the shields just for a second.

    "Well, someone is on the ball..." she muttered weakly as she felt the familiar tingle of a transporter, before passing out from internal bleeding. The shuttle, once no hands were at the controls executed the inputed commands, coming about on a collision course to the pursuing Peregrines.

    Ripper two never saw it coming, totally locked on getting his target in his sights, when the shuttle came about at the speed the two ships were closing, he had only seconds to act - which he wasted by salvoing his entire weapons load. The explosion from the collison sent debris scattering out amongst the parked ships, as well as a half-dozen torpedoes. Raynerson hoped the emergency transporter got Ripper two's pilot out in one piece, then noticing the career ending carnage realized sickly that maybe being dead would be preferable right about now...



    IKS Herdthinner

    "Did we get her?" K'Tirr demanded on the internal comms.

    "We got her, she's banged up pretty bad."

    "Send her to the Medbay, and Zimehoz, falsify an identity, preferably one she can fake, I'm certain our... friends outside will want to search the ship... and get her into a proper, non-Starfleet, uniform."

    "Moab, or Klingon?"

    "Can she pass as a Moabite with poor english?" he asked, then paused. "Klingon, and give her Trill-spots. They'll believe a Trill if they board, show them what they expect, they won't look deeper..." the door to the Bridge hissed open, and Schrodi came in.

    "Beloved, I hope you have a back-up plan in case they DID pick up the second transporter trace," K'Tirr said. "I would hate to be the one to precipitate a breach of the peace over a matter of personal honour."

    "Giving her a false ID won't help - they have her DNA on file, and we can't change that." she replied as she sat down thinking. "And we're being hailed. TRIBBLE. It's the Enterprise..."

    Several glances were shared by the bridge crew, and K'Tirr pondered this turn of events. While every KDF commander with any courage would love the chance to prove themselves against the flagship of the Federation...today was definetly not a good time for that.

    {anyone got any ideas, fast?}
    {two seconds-} there was a pause, as her sister on the McGrath consulted something {you should have a file marked 'Thag-12' in the Herdhinner's computer, run it!}
    "Thank you Mr Thag" she said with a grin as she scanned it, then activated it.
    {he says you're welcome. It was intended for the Shuarto, but an Odyssey is an Odyssey}

    K'Tirr pondered, "We won't be here long enough for them to RUN those tests. Send a message to the consulate, let Little Hunter know she did good, and we'll see her Later."

    USS Enterprise

    Commander Winters was not in a good mood. Bad enough Captain Shon had to beam down to Earth due to the murder of the Andorian Ambassador. Worse, the Admiral had insisted on continuing her scheduled tour, and now... he glanced over at the borderline collins - rule violating woman sitting in Shon's chair. Admiral Fitsimmons had assumed command due to the situation, true she did wear an Admiral's uniform, not that he privately thought she deserved it.

    "Lock all weapons on the Klinks," the Admiral said imperiously, despite the commander having sent a hail seconds before.

    "Sir, they have diplomatic credentials - we knew they were here before they decloaked, and the only reason we let them run cloaked was to keep the fact we're still having diplomatic ties with the Empire and Moab quiet-"

    "They are a Klingon ship in Earth orbit Commander, and the Herdthinner has a known history with the terrorist!"

    He was about to reply when there was a frantic call from both engineering, and the officer on the bridge at the engineering console "Oh ****...Sir! We've got a warp core breach in progress!"

    "WHAT!? How?"

    "I don't know! It looks like a failure of the intermix housing allowing uncontrolled bleedthrough - estimate three minutes until it goes!"

    "Jettision the cor-no wait. damnit, we're in earth orbit..." Fitsimmons said, her eyes wide. Winters ran some calculations. It wasn't good, if they did not get the ship out from earth, well with all the packed ships nearby, and weapons on board, including the tricobalts (why they even were made to carry those damn things he didn't know) it did not look good for ESD, or parts of Earth for that matter. "Admiral, we've got to get the ship out of orbit, and evacuate."

    She nodded, not liking it. Damnit, she had command of the Enterprise for less than five minutes... "Lieutenant Kav, set a course out of the system, maximum impulse, and automate it, out of the plane of the system. Transmit our situation to all ships as well." taking a breath, she gave the only order she could "all hands, abandon ship."

    The Herdthinner was forgotten as the massed ships scrambled to get clear of the soon to detonate Enterprise, several collisons adding to the damage done by Ripper flight. For someone who was sitting like a bump on a log Winters noted sourly, Fitsimmons was the first to the escape pod by the Bridge. Still, that would be the last pod to go as he monitored the evac. The last pods were away, and he was reading no life signs as the ship broke orbit, the impulse engines driving it away from Earth. He took one last look outside, then sealed the pod - seconds later there was a whump as it jettisioned. He saw the Enterprise getting smaller as the engines pulled it away, then there was a cheerful tone from the viewscreen. "Congratulations Cadet, evacuation Simulation passed in under two minutes," the computer said, the Starfleet Academy logo on the screen.

    "WHAT!!"



    IKS Herdthinner

    Getting clear wasn't easy, mainly due to the ships around ESD trying to frantically get clear of the soon to 'explode' Enterprise. They took their time in leaving the system, less chance of being discovered that way, K'Tirr watching with amusement as the now empty Enterprise was chased down and stopped finally. They jumped to warp outside the orbit of Neptune, safely away, though there still wasn't any word on Travis's condition.

    "Where are we going?" Helmsman asked.

    "Moab for now," K'Tirr stated. "Set course for Moab, we're going to need to regroup and figure out what to do, and it's closer than Ferasa or Qo'noS, and given what we just witnessed, we'll need to gather allies - our allies know Moab, and our enemies are... reluctant... to cross them... for the moment." He sighed and looked at the young Ferasan sitting at helm, before turning to Schrodi. "Beloved, I sure hope we didn't just re-start the war."



    Earth, Outside the Vulcan Embassy...

    Ryoko was still fuming about Cave's speech. That baka had crossed the line with this.

    First, she doubted that the Denali Governor really had assassinated the Andorian Ambassador - she'd sat in on some of their meetings, and they were incredibly friendly with each other, to the point she was wondering if there was something else between them. And second, the report had been altered quite heavily - she still had a hardcopy of the original, and it wasn't anything like what Cave had presented to the crowd.

    Cave was up to something. She could just feel it... the main question was... what?

    Currently, though, she was headed over to the Vulcan Embassy in response to a cryptic message she'd gotten - she didn't know who it was from, but it basically told her to visit the Embassy. Fiona was back in her office, covering for her if something happened - despite what she'd been warned about back when the Denali Ambassador first came to Earth, she often found it comforting to have a loyal, loving aide/bodyguard she could confide in. She had the two-year-old Larcei with her, though - in a situation like this, something was just telling her not to let the girl out of her sight.

    The Embassy had increased security, not a surprise under the circumstances - and not the usual Federation Security Service personnel either, but Vulcans. Of course after what happened to the Andorian Ambassador, many embassies had gone back to using their own people for security (except for the Tellarites, being stubborn they never switched to the FSS a year ago like the other Federation member worlds). A grim faced Vulcan led her inside, and into the complex, though instead of heading towards the ambassadors quarters, or the offices, they were going into the kitchen?

    "Why are we back here?"

    "Temporary arrangements, until others can be made," the guard replied. As befitting an embassy of this size the kitchen was huge, one wall taken up by a walk in refrigerator for fresh foodstuffs, which the guard was leading her to... very weird.

    It got even weirder - the refrigerator had been emptied, and chairs and a table and a bed as well had been installed hastily, and sitting at the desk was a dead man. Well dead Andorian anyway.

    "...I knew something fishy was going on in regards to the announcement of your assassination, Ambassador," Ryoko remarked after a moment. "I wasn't expecting this, though."

    "Especially being it was announced before the Assassination attempt had finished," he replied. "Forgive me for not getting up, I thought he had not tagged me, but it seems that there was some sort of agent on the blade. My back brace deflected it, but it did make me nauseous if I stand, and does explain the Governor's condition," he waved her to a chair, the room a chilly 10 degrees C. "Ambassador T'Sarta transported us here, after I had been pronounced 'dead' by the media, and my supposed 'assassin' had been stabbed badly. She's still in surgery in the Embassy's medbay."

    "This is getting stranger and stranger..." Ryoko remarked. "The fact that Cave would go along with this, and deliberately falsify parts of the report LaRoca gave on Denali..." Her eyes narrowed. "He's up to something, and I think Denali is playing a rather large role in it."

    "Someone is up to something," Ambassador T'Sarta said as she joined them. "while it would seem Cave would benefit from this, there is little actual proof linking him to this. As foreign minister, it would be his job to respond to such accusations. Still, it is troubling."

    "Even if he's not the one directly behind this, he's involved in some way," Ryoko countered. "He was present when LaRoca gave his report - he knew the true version - and yet he's presenting this altered version, which is vastly different from the original. Either he's the one behind this, or works for whoever is."

    There was a commotion outside from one of the guards, running into the kitchen he slid most un-dignifiedly along the polished marble floor as he came to a stop. "Ambassador! You need to see this!" he said, looking, well, agitated, which was damn unusual for a Vulcan - but then it had been a damn unusual day so far.

    He handed over a PADD which was set to the FNN channel. "-no reports as of yet of injuries, but we can confirm, that Foreign Minister Martin Cave's office was hit with some sort of explosive device, as were several offices of Federation Council members," the view switched, an aerial view of the building where Ryoko's office was, the entire second floor on fire, part of the third caved in. "There are also reports of an explosion on the Montreal-Toronto maglev line, though we have no details at this time."

    "No..." Ryoko breathed, her eyes wide in horror. "Fiona... Fiona was in my office covering for me while I came here!!" She activated her personal communicator, setting it to the private frequency she had only shared with Fiona. "Fiona! Fiona, are you there?"



    Deep Space Station K-7

    "The Captain's toast, SgtMajor."

    Jeb Kincaid sighed, that made four since the unprovoked attack half an hour ago. They hadn't even been on station long, dropped off to wait for the Nighthawk when it came by. Since the gate battle Delta Troop had bounced from training mission to training mission in this part of the galaxy, working with Starfleet, the KDF, a few weeks on Moab and even some time helping the Romulans. Then they managed to get a few weeks rest on Andoria, before shipping out to here - where everything went haywire.

    In retrospect offloading in full armor might not have been the best - but it was a Pakled transport they had caught a ride on, everyone was too nervous by the state of the ship not to be in armor. Plus to be honest, it was far easier to wear than to carry. Of course, if they hadn't - there would be more than 4 KIA's now.

    They weren't even expecting it, of course that is the definition of an ambush. Captain took a shot to the head and went down, Lt Kran was right behind him, as if the officers were the first targeted. But then, Starfleet did have an unhealthy obsession with officers being the only ones who could do anything it seemed. The rest of the Company acted without thinking, the return fire coming so fast on the black armored attackers that they were dying before even realizing they were under fire. Jeb was both proud and sad of that fact. Killing was a TRIBBLE-poor way of changing people's minds, but it wasn't like they were given a choice in the matter.

    It was a stalemate now, they couldn't get out, but Starfleet couldn't get into them. Well not without destroying the station's environmental control systems, and most humans had a problem with breathing vacuum, while Kincaid's people were both armored for it, and even if they weren't could withstand it for longer than non-modified humans.

    Not that he wanted to do that, but if it came down to it... What he really wanted was to know just what the hell was going on - fortunately Sgt Sanjit had managed to hack into their network - not the military stuff, but standard news broadcasts. They saw the riots on earth, and the reports of deaths, and Captain Travis's escape from ESD.

    "Well that explains a lot," Sanjit grumbled. "And I got back in touch with that captain who dropped us off, he's willing to give us a ride to his next stop - tho he's open to negotiation where that is."

    "Do we really want to do that? Soon as we leave here in that flying deathtrap, half the ships on the station will be after us," Kaur replied as he patched up some of the walking wounded.

    "The Pakled captain said he had a most cunning plan..."

    Kaur rolled his eyes. "Oh great, let's just kill ourselves now and get it over with."



    Deep Space K-7 Control

    "Maybe we should just kill ourselves and get it over with." Captain Mackenzie Calhoun was in a foul mood. Yes he had received the orders to put the Denali troops into custody, and if he had had five minutes to talk to them he could have done it, or better yet gotten them back on their way elsewhere. But no. The 'Reinforcements' from Earth opened up as soon as they sighted them, with predictable results. Now they were holed up in a location that, while offering little in the way of physical protection, would render the station uninhabitable should the fight proceed to there.

    "We can shut down the gravity-"

    "They're in Enviromental control, in case you have forgotten. Besides you morons have screwed things up enough on my station."

    "This is our operation, we answer to the Council-"

    "Fine. The Council isn't here, this is a Starfleet facility, and I am in command. If you don't like it, you're free to leave..." With that, he turned his back on the black armored human. "What are they doing now?"

    "Tending their wounded, and looks like planning something, no audio at the moment though. We could contact them-"

    "No! By order of the President, I am taking com-" he didn't get any further as one of the Vulcan security officers had come up behind him, one hand on the obnoxious humans neck, sending him crashing to the deck.

    "Thank you, Lieutenant. Now hopefully we can resolve this peacefully-" there was a sparkle of light on the screen, moments later the Denali company was gone. "Or, that works too. Where did they go?"

    "Most likely to the transport they came on, it does have cargo transporters with enough power to transport that many-"

    "No, that can't be it," Captain Calhoun said, with a knowing look at his security chief. The Vulcan raised an eyebrow. "It is only a theory Captain," he replied after a moment. "After all, it would be most illogical to return to a Pakled transport after surviving one voyage."

    "Indeed it would."



    Pakled transport Manos

    "Thank you for agreeing to take us on," Jeb said, the Pakled captain a bit nervous still.

    "Starfleet will not pursue?"

    "Not after you vented some of your ballast," Sanjit replied with a grin. "Of course being it's sewage, and currently blocking the departure from the station, and that stuff is impossible to clean off..."

    He still looked nervous. "Still, the trip from here to Moab has much danger, many pirates."

    "You just get us there," Kincaid reassured the captain. "And any pirates that do try anything, well we'll handle them for you."

    "Fair enough, I keep salvage, yes?"

    "Unless they've got a ship that's serviceable, fair?"

    "Fair. We go now."
    "It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier." R.A.Heinlein

    "he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."



  • gulberatgulberat Member Posts: 5,505 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    You know, reading that, I strongly suspect that as Cave ranted and incited mobs, you were thinking of the song that FOLLOWS "Run Like Hell," on The Wall, though for very obvious reasons those lyrics should never be posted here...

    Curious cultural question: I noticed the mention that Missy was Methodist. Is the tradition of the Shikari secular, then, or is there a tradition of syncretism on Denali?

    Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-)
    Proudly F2P.  Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
  • marcusdkanemarcusdkane Member Posts: 7,439 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Fantastic :cool:
  • knightraider6knightraider6 Member Posts: 396 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Episode 3.1 Coming Undone

    Oh, it'll take a little time,
    Might take a little crime
    To come undone now


    We'll try to stay blind
    To the hope and fear outside
    Hey child, stay wilder than the wind
    And blow me into cry


    Who do you need, who do you love
    When you come undone?
    Who do you need, who do you love
    When you come undone?

    Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran (performed by My Darkest Days) - "Come Undone"


    Risa, Evans residence

    She had watched the news worriedly. Of course watching was about all she could do at the moment. Captain Rhonda Evans was on maternity leave, and she was really feeling like she swallowed a blimp at the moment. The thing is, none of this made sense. She knew Missy, hell they dated for a bit when she was an Ensign. She had even come to the wedding - despite the fact Risa was too warm for her to be comfortable. M'karett's idea, being that some in his family were not happy about his mating with a human, a fuzzy human or not. Her father reminded her about his racist father back on earth in the 2000s, and how he refused to deal with her mother - until grandkids came along. So once that happened, they'd come around eventually. hopefully soon, she was due almost any time now.

    Still, she was worried. M'karret was at ESD, and one thing that both doctors and starship captains hated was not having any control - and she was both. Fortunately she also knew a few folks who knew a few folks - and her husband knew her well enough that before she got through, he was calling her.



    USS Reuben James, Earth Orbit

    "You're patched through, Sir."

    "Thank you, chief." The caitian sat down behind the desk in the ready room, well a ready closet was probably more appropriate - Saber class escorts weren't known for being roomy. The signal was encrypted - not because he cared if anyone knew who he was talking too, when possible he always let his crew communicate with family whenever they could, but because with tensions as high as they were... "Hows the baby?" he asked his wife, his future son one of the two most important things in the universe to him right now.

    "Kicking up a storm and wanting out soon - that's not why I called though - what.s going on out there?" the other most important thing to him in the universe replied.

    "Hell if I know," M'karret replied. "We didn't take any damage from those idiots from the Kerasarge, but ESD is still closed for internal berths, and they finally caught the Enterprise." He chuckled a bit. "This might be the straw that breaks Admiral Fitsimmons' career, though, I saw Captain Shon when he beamed back up from Earth, I did not know Andorians could turn that color - I guess if they're angry enough. Sadly I missed the epic TRIBBLE-chewing when he lit into the 'Admiral'."

    "A'hm sure someone recorded it, and it will be uploaded before the days end. If you find it, send me a copy, will ya?"

    "Of course," he replied. "I just wish I knew what the hell was going on. This is totally out of character for Captain Travis, hell she was one of your bridesmaids. My first tour out of the Academy was on the South Dakota with her as my supervisor. Despite what the press is saying, she believes in the Federation. Hell, what she put up with just to get in to Starfleet..."

    "Ah know..." he could tell she was upset as her accent was getting stronger. "Ah just hate waiting around not being able to do anything. But Ah can't. This late, as high risk as this pregnancy has been..." She just shook her head. "Missy would skin me alive if I did anything to help her that risked the baby."

    "She'll be fine," he replied. "Scuttlebutt is she got picked up by the Herdthinner, which of course the KDF is denying," he said with a grin. "So she's safely out of here, and as long as nothing else blows up, that will give time for the politcos to calm things down. No one wants a war."



    Moab Embassy, Earth...

    Anh shrugged. "I have no idea what's in those files," she said. "I do know that diplomatic communications are privileged information, and seizing them is universally viewed as an act of war. I wonder, Commander, if you're really that eager to undermine your President's hard-won armistice?"

    The Federation Security officers at the gate looked at their commander, who stared straight at the Moabite officer in her brown wool uniform with a look of ramping frustration.

    "Come on, you're Human!" he said. "You can't seriously..."
    "I'm an officer of a sovereign power, recognized as such by the Federation," Anh reminded him. "A power allied to the Klingon Empire. That sovereignty, is the decisive issue here - I cooperate with you, it's treason. Racial ties don't erase that. Your terrorist isn't here, our communications are privileged, your laws are your laws, ours are ours, and you're one step away from being under OUR laws thanks to yours - I'd consider carefully if you want to send that tac-team in, especially if you want them back alive."

    "You're threatening me?" the Federation official scowled.

    "No, you're threatening to commit an act of war, I'm Warning you that it's a bad idea," Anh stated. "Look it up in the regs, or in the law. You send that assault team that's assembling on the side-street in, you're declaring war on behalf of the entire Federation, are you sure you want to do that?"

    "Look, we're hunting a Terrorist!" the officer said.

    "I know how to hunt Terrorists, Commander," Anh told him, and flashed him a deck of cards. "We do it a lot - recently. You don't do it by making the biggest blundering noise you can announcing you're after them - not unless you already have them cornered and isolated and well clear of bystanders."

    He stared at the cards in her hand. "Your people did the killings on Drozana?" he asked softly.

    "MY Team," she told him. "They were dealing in abducted civilians, we put a stop to it - and sent a message. We did NOT take steps to trigger an interstellar war by threatening the sovereign diplomatic territory of the ally of another Major Power." She brushed a stray hair away from her eyes. "Now, pull your claws back in," she told him. "Get permission from the diplomats and we can talk about working together to shut down whoever.s responsible for the assassination - if it IS the Denali, we can help, if it isn't, you need to know the precise who it is, and we'll gladly help in that, too - so long as it doesn't violate our alliance with the Klingons - who also don't like terrorists."

    The security man scowled. "You're like dealing with the Cardassians!"

    "I'll take that as a compliment," Anh told him. "They're very thorough people."



    ESD, Brig Medical, 11 Jan 2412

    Waking up was something that he honestly didn't expect to do under the circumstances. The last thing Lt. Commander Rin remembered was the firefight in engineering on the Nighthawk. They had been getting ready to depart, when he'd noticed one of the new replacements that had come on board at the last minute acting funny. He'd started to go over to ask what was going on, when Ensign Tavers asked him about a curious reading she had on her board. He'd gone to check it out, internal sensors had been disabled by something. Before he could find out what, is when the gas and the weapons fire began. Fortunately his people weren't as easily knocked out by that, nor were Klingons, the Chief eng had come roaring out of his office, phaser in one hand, four foot pry bar in the other as he waded into the black armored invaders. His last memory was being shot by the new crewman, as a dozen of the invaders went down to Bo'Dgok, before a killing shot disintegrated him.

    He'd served with him since, hell, since he was an ensign, he'd done his entire career so far on the Nighthawk, even turning down a chance to be a chief engineer on a smaller ship, just because he thought there was more that he could learn from the Klingon. And now Bo was dead, and he didn't even know why...



    ESD Brig

    Fifty meters away, someone was wondering that same question. Pemor sat in a cell, all of the senior Nighthawk officers had been brought in, hell everyone LT or higher it seemed. The first interrogator had got frustrated after the third hour of him not answering anything, not even his name - the only thing he had said was he declined to answer without the presence of counsel. Not that he had done any of the things they were accusing him, or the rest of the crew of doing. Or the captain either for that matter. Hell, a Khan worshipper? He knew for a fact, the fastest way to get her angry was to bring up that long dead ancestor of hers, as many had found out the hard way.

    The second interrogator had just given up as well, Pemor didn't even bother to look up when heard the third one enter the room - at least until he spoke. "I'll take care of this, Lt., you go ahead and get some lunch."

    His head snapped up and his eyes blazed. "Drake. Was wondering when you would show up."

    Franklin Drake sat down across from the Trill, sighing wearily. "Wish to hell I had been in the neighborhood sooner, or that I had a clue of any of this," he said in a bitter voice. "I had nothing to do with this."

    "I know, it was sloppy, definitely not your style."

    "Thanks for the compliment." Drake set out a PADD on the table, one of his special ones, that also included an audio jammer. Once he was satisfied that they could not be overheard, he continued. "It's been a few years, wish it was under better circumstances."

    "You and me both. So if 31's not behind this, who is?"

    "That's what I want to find out. We've been stretched thin of late, and things have fallen through the cracks. We've had zero indication of trouble from Denali-"

    "That's because it's bull****, Frank - we were just there. The only thing those people want is to be left alone, and maybe to be acknowledged. They're mostly pacifists. Augmented pacifists yes, but still."

    "I agree, it is bull****. Especially this." Drake passed over a PADD to Pemor, the Trill frowning even more when he read it. "37 dead, including the aide to Councilwoman Ryoko Hibiki, and the mistress of Foreign Minister Cave, wait - the Church of Khan is claiming responsibility?" He set the PADD back down on the table. "I saw one of their 'churches' in Denali. it was a vacant store front, the guide I was with said there were less than 5000 members on the planet - out of sixty three million."

    "Under three thousand actually, we have a copy of the Denali census - they're so not a threat - there's no way in HELL they could pull something like this off. Especially with this being used in the bombs." Drake passed over another PADD, which Permor looked over carefully.

    "What the hell, they used fullerine-enhanced boomex? That's mil-grade, and it's molecularly tagged as well."

    The S31 agent nodded. "The 'investigator's' theory is Travis supplied them with materials for the explosives - which is also bull**** in my view. The Nighthawk was in the yard for the last two months, and all such materials are removed - we checked the manifests, this wasn't on board."

    "A set up then, but who, and why?"

    "That's what we're going to find out," Drake replied.

    "We?"

    "Like I said, we're short-handed. There's too much going on, and you were a damn good analyst. 31 needs you back."

    "We already had this talk Drake. I'm done, I.'m married, Keith and I are done with the spy business," he said, though sounding a bit less sure.

    "I know - but you know by now, no one ever gets out all the way. Besides, it's not like you can help Travis from in here."

    Pemor stewed over that for a moment, then sighed. "You're right, dammit. What about the rest of the crew?"

    "I can get them released in a day or so with a couple exceptions. One of your Ferengi engineers got pretty torn up, he'll be in sickbay for a few days. Your chief engineer... I'm afraid he didn't make it."

    "****... day just keeps getting better and better."

    Drake just nodded sympathetically "It's a goat rope all around, but we're going to find the TRIBBLE responsible, and take care of them." He stood up. "Give me an hour or so to make some arrangements and I'll be back to get you."

    "I'll have a chance to call Keith before we go under won't I?"

    He just grinned. "What, and give your husband another reason to try to eviscerate me? He used to be 31 too, just tell him you're working with me, that way he'll be pissed at me and not you." Drake said with a chuckle.

    The smile left his face though when he left the cell. Damnit, someone was trying their damnedest to start a war, external or civil he wasn't quite sure yet. He had a copy of LaRoca's report of course... which did not match at all what was being said publicly. The copies on file in the Council's encrypted database however... did match the current propaganda. Meaning whoever changed things, had at least a high level access as he did.

    Passing through the concourse towards the transporters, he paused for a moment, one of the wall displays was showing damage from the earlier explosions, then an image of a bandaged Martin Cave What are you up to, you snake, he thought, staring at the image, then at the one on the other monitor, showing WANTED over Travis' file photo. And why does whoever is behind this want you so dead? More questions than answers, he thought as he beamed out.



    Moab Embassy, 2200 local time...

    "You know, I could shoot you and not report it," Anh Cu'ong said to the sudden visitor in her quarters.

    "You won't," Franklin Drake said, turning around.
    "You're only right to a point," Anh stated. "I assume there.s a good reason for you being in here?"
    "contacting a colleague?" he asked.

    "You could have used a drop, or a courier, we could be meeting in a nice restaurant, you could at least be buying me dinner before you tried to **** me over," she said. "What do you want?"

    "This visit's unofficial." Drake told her.

    "Obviously, I don't think I saw 'Frank Drake breaking into my bedroom' on my calendar, or I'd be wearing a fullerine armored negligee... so it's unofficial, but you're calling me a 'colleague', which means it's really a visit so that Ariel knows... what do you WANT?"

    "Someone is playing in my patch, it's not you, but it could hit your folks - especially if whoever it is, gets what they want with the Denali situation." Drake said.

    "Oh... you want outside agents to help you find the mole," she said. "I don't have that kind of reach here."

    Drake spun a coin on the table - an Israeli Shekel from the 20th century. "I think you do," he said. "It's a... favour," he said. "I need a Favour, and I'm willing to trade a Favour for it - to be collected as you would."

    "VERY valuable, then," Anh nodded. "I'll define the favour later, give me what you can, I'll get my people working on it - being owed a significant favour by Section Thirty-One is quite the enticement. Ariel will be thrilled."



    Vulcan Embassy, Communications Booth

    "Sorry to hear about Fiona, Imouto," came the voice over the secure comm line. "I know how close you two were."

    Ryoko nodded. "Thank you, Take-nii," she replied. "I'm just glad I followed my instincts and brought Larcei with me, otherwise she might have been caught in the blast, too."

    A sigh of relief. "That's good," came the reply. "I'm glad she's alright. Do you want any help? We can be back at Earth in minutes if you need evac-"

    "I have to stay, Take-nii," she replied. "There's too much at stake here for me to just disappear like that. If you want to help, I suggest getting in touch with LaRoca, or maybe contacting Erde to see if he has any clue where you can go to assist in that matter with the Bioweapons - my gut's telling me that's tied to this, somehow."

    "Understood," was the reply. "By the way, I think you might be interested in knowing that Larcei's going to have a sibling soon."

    Ryoko smiled. "Got Linda pregnant again, huh?" she asked. "Congratulations. I'll do my best to keep both Larcei and myself alive through this - you and Linda do the same."

    "Don't worry, we will," was the reply. "Takeshi out."

    The comm channel closed, and Ryoko sat back and sighed. Tears began welling up in her eyes as her thoughts went to Fiona, and all the time they'd spent together - all cut short now that Fiona was gone.

    "Fiona..." she sobbed, as the tears began falling. "Oh, Fiona..."

    For a few minutes Ryoko just sat there in the privacy of the comm booth and wept, not needing to keep up a brave front when it was just her.

    After a few minutes, she managed to get herself back together and composed, leaving the room without any visible trace that she had broken down temporarily. Now she needed to return to her career, and help make sure that something like this didn't happen again. That meant finding out what Cave was up to, and stopping it in any way she could.



    Moab Embassy, 28:30 Hours Nha Tranh time, 2300 hours Earth local

    "Well?" Bianh asked.

    "There's a pattern," Zaki said. "The bomb blast was centred in the office of Councilor Ryoko Hibiki, the only casualties were staffers - and one non-standard staffer who was decapitated by a desk."

    "Whose?" Bianh asked.

    "That would be Councilor Ryoko's party opposite, the Foreign Minister Martin Cave's staffer." He said. "I have a source at the hospital that says she found TRIBBLE in the corpse."

    "Ew... why is that important?" Bianh asked.

    "Because it was post-mortem," he said. "Or concurrent with the death - the lady was having sex when she died."

    "In Mr. Cave's office?" Bianh asked.

    "Well, that's where they found the body... and the head, ma'am," he told her.

    "Interesting," Bianh said. "Not much for blackmail material, but interesting... how is this a pattern?"

    "The train that was bombed is used by Madame Hibiki on a regular basis," he said. "It's in her district."

    "So she was the probable target for both?" Bianh asked.

    "Likely target. Which is interesting because scuttlebutt has it, she's challenging Cave for his seat as Foreign Minister next election cycle."

    "And Cave's the guy calling for a war... now That might be blackmail worthy... keep digging," Bianh said. "Keep me apprised."



    Foreign Minister's Office, Paris, Earth. 12 Jan, 2412, 0845

    The damage was still there - oh the major debris was gone, but the walls would have to be redone. The press had already come through, their level of outrage was higher than even he had hoped for. Of course the fact the bomb was actually placed in the press conference room next door probably helped with that, the useless gadflys more worried about their own skins. His skin had seen better days, they'd thought he might lose the eye, but instead got what would be a rakish scar across his face - true he could have had it repaired, but the propaganda value was worth the disfigurement. It wasn't like he couldn't have it fixed later when it was no longer useful.

    It was a shame really about Jeanette - but she served her purpose, another corpse to feed the slavering masses, and he did tell her not to look over the desk. The wood on the front had burned away, but fortunately not enough that the armor showed through. Looking at the clock, he mentally prepared himself for his first meeting of the day. He tapped the comm panel on his desk and instructed his assistant to admit the visitor. He checked the security holocam and added ONLY the visitor.

    "Admiral - Minister Cave will see you now," the aide in the outer office said, his arm in a sling from the bombing the day before. "Your... associates will have to wait here."

    Jesu LaRoca curled his lip into a sneer. "Very well. Rusty, Spitz, don't settle in. This won't take long," He kicked lighter bits of debris out of his way as he stepped into the still blast-damaged room.

    Martin Cave saw the look of profound aggravation on his face and smiled. "Admiral, I was wondering when I would be graced by your presence. Coffee?" he offered, as he poured himself one.

    "No thank you. You know why I'm here, and it's not for French coffee. Is this damned report-"

    "Yes, your report on dealing with deadly augments," Cave interrupted. "From your account of the events at Facility 4028."

    That caused LaRoca to blink. He hadn't thought about that report in a while. "Not that report, the one on Denali-"

    "Oh that. Well I don't know who leaked that out, but as the saying goes in politics, 'Never let a crisis go to waste'," he said as he sat down behind the charred desk. "Augments have struck at this world, Admiral, and we must answer in kind. Surely you agree, Admiral?"

    "I- wait a second. I don't want to talk about what happened here the day before yesterday. I'm not involved in the investigation of the bombings or assassinations. I just want to talk about that leaked Denali report!"

    Cave sipped his coffee, covering a disappointed frown. "What about it?"

    "It was altered, dammit. Altered to show the citizens of Denali in the worst possible light! And it was altered by someone with access to files at the highest levels of the Federation Council!"

    "Are you certain it was altered?" Cave enquired. "It seemed accurate enough to me."

    "Yes dammit, I wrote that report! I know exactly what it said. For instance, you know as well as I do that the construction of the Khan statue was funded by Colonial Development-" LaRoca paused as Cave feigned confusion. "Minister, we had this conversation."

    "I don't seem to recall that," Martin declared, shaking his head. "At any rate, whatever your original report may have said, it.s pretty clear what the Augments are up to now. They have declared Open Season on citizens of the Federation."

    "That's ridiculous."

    "You have evidence to the contrary? No, you wouldn't. You're not involved in the investigation. Well, my office has received regular updates which indicate that a band of Denali terrorists operating with full support of their government is responsible for carrying out yesterday's attacks."

    LaRoca frowned and scratched his beard. "There may be rogue elements perhaps, but I can't believe the population or their government could have turned against the Federation in just over a year, and certainly not that they would try to provoke a war with us. There are sixty-three million mostly pacifistic people on that world."

    "The President does not agree that they.re mostly pacifistic after the last few days, nor do I. Now the question I put to you is this: how shall we deal with them?"

    For once, Jesu LaRoca was left without a response. "I... I don't know."

    "Sure you do," Cave said, picking up the PADD and reading from it. "As you yourself have stated: 'Finally, based on my observations and experience at this facility, I suggest that the Federation council consider instituting the death penalty for subjects shown to be resistant to rehabilitation, particularly augments and war criminals.'"

    The Foreign Minister put down the PADD and looked around the blast damaged room. "Your own words too, from your analysis of the security breach at Facility 4028. I would say that the citizens of Denali would fit into both categories, would you not Admiral?"

    "Ha- how did you get a hold of that report? Only thirteen people should have ever seen that, and you're none of them."

    Martin Cave smiled. "Let me save you the trouble of piecing things together and explain to you exactly what's going to happen, Admiral. If you cause any trouble for us in the press with your 'original' report, we'll slap you back with your death penalty line, which I think even you can see would not do your credibility any favors. Meanwhile, your diplomatic clearances will be revoked and your precious Consular Operations mandate will be rescinded if you attempt to raise a finger against me or what my people are doing."

    LaRoca bristled. "What are you doing, Cave?"

    "We're invading Denali. Fortunately, your extreme views on handling augments will not be used Admiral, the Federation is merciful. As long as the population surrenders peacefully, there will be no violence. And I don't think I need to tell you just how unwelcome the presence of your little task force will be."

    The Admiral pushed away and stood, horrified, as though he'd just realized the man across from him was the devil. "You will never get away with this!"

    "If you like your job, you'd better hope that I do."

    The Admiral looked suddenly ill, and ran from the office.

    After LaRoca had left, Martin smiled. Everything was going better than he could have hoped, on this end at least. Taking a sip of his whiskey-enhanced coffee, he called his aide. "Get me Quinn's office. We need to get ships moving, it's a long way out there and the clock is ticking."


    Streets of Paris, two blocks away, two minutes later

    Rusty and Spitz finally caught up with Jesu and found him leaning off a bridge, puking into the River Seine. "What's wrong, brother?" Rusty asked. "What happened?"

    "Cave," Jesu coughed. "He's behind it all." He wiped vomit from his beard with his glove and asked. "Spitz, were you able to read anything from him?"

    "Nothing specific," the Ferasan replied. "Emotions. Hatred. Anger. Deceit. Malice. And hurting. Deep hurting."

    "Want do you want to do?" Rusty asked his brother.

    "I want to look into just how much control the Foreign Ministry Office exerts over the FDC. I want to know if Cave can carry out his threats."

    "Back to the office?"

    Jesu shook his head. "The office is probably bugged. We'll need to set a base camp somewhere more... secluded."



    USS Reuben James

    M'karett frowned at the message from fleet. "Report for briefing 1100 hours, ESD. also state readiness..." He sighed, his hopeful words to his wife the day before seemed like a different world now. Ships were being prepared, or repaired after the events of the day before, there were several that would be off the line for weeks for repairs, and an Armitage class carrier needing a new captain.

    "Bad news, Sir?" his XO, Lt T'Beni asked, the vulcan/romulan officer better at picking up emotions than many of the Vulcan's he'd worked with in the past.

    "Probably so - make sure we're loaded, and call back any that went off-ship; we may be getting movement orders soon." Looking at the time, he realized he had just about ten minutes to get there. Just enough, with the backlog in the transport queue, slipping into the briefing room, fortunately not the last in. He took a seat, nodding at the ones he knew, one of whom was chatting with a Human woman with brown hair and blue eyes, then immediately had to stand back up when the Admiral walked in.

    "As you were," Admiral Quinn said, looking annoyed, but truthfully that was his usual expression of late. "I don't need to tell you what's been going on, you've all seen the news, and the damage that has happened here as well."

    There were nods and mutters from the assembled captains, close to two hundred died on the station - though there were unsubstantiated rumors that they had been friendly fire deaths, that Travis hadn't killed anyone. Those were usually quickly shushed, and in one case a Tellarite Captain who had come to her defense in an argument ended up with a broken jaw over it.

    "By order of the President of the Federation, the human world of Denali is ordered to stand down any and all military forces, and submit to Federation rule. The Task Force will be comprised of the ships represented in this room, I know you will do the Federation proud. The flagship will be the USS Shiloh, with the task force commander being Admiral Sandra Fitsimmons. Dismissed."

    Well... as the humans say, ****. Not only were they going out there... but the Admiral who almost sank the Enterprise just the day before was in charge. "I've got a bad feeling about this," he muttered as he stood up. Still, he had his orders.



    IKS Herdthinner

    "She's still out, you want a complete list or just the summary?" Schrodi asked as she plopped down on a chair in the spartan captain's quarters.

    "Just the summary, things are bad enough," he replied, watching the feed from FNN

    "She'll pull through, but it was a near thing. However much you pay Zimehoz, it's not enough - she's got 32 broken bones, several ruptured internal organs due to vacuum damage, she'd lost over half her blood, and think they're still pulling shrapnel out of her, but he managed to keep her alive. And she was still flying when we beamed her over." She sighed. "At least we don't have to worry about being blamed for what happened to the Enterprise, they're saying it was Denali terrorists. Which is about as likely as us becoming vegetarian."

    K'Tirr growled. "This whole situation stinks." he said.

    "There is one bright spot though - with the task force leaving Earth, well they are expecting I assume to get to Denali before any news of these events reach there, being there's no sub-space repeaters, and ships under Slipstream will beat any transmissions there. At least they think so."

    "You mean-"

    She just smiled. "Exactly."



    Vancouver, Denali. Dr Ranji Kaur's office

    "You are sure of this? They plan an invasion?"

    "Da, Doktor Kaur. Captain Travis has been rescued by the Herdthinner but we as of yet have had no sign of your Governor," Miska did not like being the one to bring bad news, but she was here - and this would give them weeks to prepare. She prefered Denali due to its climate, her snow-leopard like pelt perfectly suited for the weather. Plus her being able to converse with her 'sisters' through their quantum link helped immensely.

    "This is... I want to say ridiculous," Ranji said, but she was briefed on Miska Schrodinger by Melissa Travis before she left. The towering Caitian, well feline anyway had settled in here, and taught physics at the university-as well as working with the Government. As Schrodinger had put it to Travis, Denali, while not a paradise, due to it's location, it was a perfect bolt-hole should things really go sour in the rest of the galaxy. Thus Miska's other job at the university was reasearch, and work on defenses...

    "I wish it was not true. I also wish I could show you the news reports-"

    "It's not necessary, you told me the code phrase Travis told me of. And this is both, not something that one would fabricate, and to be honest, fits in with what has been happening."

    Miska was silent for a moment, eyes half closed. "There is a data stream being sent from Moab by one of my sisters, with the relevant information that we have. There are three subspace relay sputniki between here and there; confirmation we will have in six days."

    "Which is better than waiting for news from Earth. I was wondering why they were dragging their feet on building relays that direction, even when we offered to pay for them ourselves."

    She walked back and forth, for the first time, her aides saw her actually angry. "We don't want War! Don't those idiots know this? All we wanted was to be recognized for who we were, for managing to survive and keep memories of our homeworld alive..."

    "I know," Miska replied sadly. "We will help as much as we can."



    Episode 3.2
    The secret side within
    Where have I been
    I'm buried inside the
    Soul of a mountain

    It's all I've ever been
    Too scared to waste again
    Stand in the shadow
    Of life I have chosen

    I can't begin to end the fight
    I'm afraid to feel fire from inside
    I can't defend the fight this time
    As I fall into ashes

    Stealing your life away
    Denial defines the fall
    Choose your fate
    From hate to the black hole
    Either way
    The fire escape is closed
    You're the first of the last to go

    You feel your heart begin
    To get violent
    You're alone in a world filled with silence
    You hear that voice again
    Screaming end him
    I can't take all the guilt I've been handed

    I can't begin to end the fight
    I'm afraid to feel fire from inside
    I can't defend the fight this time
    As I fall into ashes

    Stealing your life away
    Denial defines the fall
    Choose your fate
    From hate to the black hole
    Either way
    The fire escape is closed
    You're the first of the last to go

    You're the first of the last to go
    Fight or Flight First of the last to go


    Moab, Jan 20, 2412

    "It's about time you're awake," Schrodi teased as she came into sickbay. "How are you feeling?"

    "Better than I was yesterday, felt like a first year cadet class in formation - bits of me kept passing out," Missy said as she sat up. The sickbay was dark, but with her eyes still sensitive it was a good thing. "Where are we? and are they gonna let me out of here yet?"

    "Moab, was closest, and friendliest, and yeah Zimehoz said you're good to go. He's checking in with some folks dirtside for info while we figure out what's next."

    "What's next, is I gotta get home before that damn fleet shows up."

    "We're working on that," Schrodi replied...

    "But - there's a but, isn't there."

    She nodded "The Federation has said this is an internal matter, and any outside infulence would be seen as an act of war, and they would respond with all resources available."

    "Damn..." Missy said , her ears going back. She knew that the 'war' between the Federation and the Empire was mostly a sham - neither side going all out. If that changed... "The empire can't afford a full on war."

    "No, nor can they back down from promises made. There are possible rumors that there might be a way around that, there are Klingons on Denali as citizens, and 'volunteers' may join them, and there is another rumor that the Breen have offered their services..."

    That caused her to nearly trip as she slid off the bed, her leg, while repaired, was a bit weak still. "The Breen? No way. Not that I wouldn't prefer to have them fighting with me than against me to be honest..."

    "It's just a rumor. Also official news won't reach there for another few days, but we notified your people. They won't be caught unawares at least."

    "For all the good it will do," she grumbled. She had seen the news report of Fitsimmons' Task Force, some of the ship were commanded by people she knew... not that they probably had a choice in their orders. "we've got three Birds of Prey, a B'rel and two Norghs, that old orion carrier, two fighter squadrons and a Danube Runabout."

    Schrodi nodded. she'd seen the report as well. Two of the new Avenger class cruisers, Fitsimmons Odyssey, four of the small escorts, two Galaxys, half a dozen Akira's, one of the Trident DSSVs and a couple vestas. More firepower than they had at the Gate, or LaRoca had at Betazed. "Wait a minute," she said pausing as she pulled up that report again. "Ok, now that's weird."

    "Whats weird?"

    "the ships-every ship is Starfleet that they're sending. if this was a Federation mission, there would be a couple Warbirds, one of the Atrox boats, or even some of the Andorian, or captured Tholian ships. There are always dozens of them at ESD - why were none of them tasked?" She checked something else. "Other than the Shiloh, Ruben James, Kersage and the Calnus...all the ships assigned to the taskforce weren't at Earth...they're listed as being enroute. Why didn't they take more ships? the parking spots around ESD are overcrowded..."

    "You know, that's true, over half the ships parked outside were Romulan allied. But then maybe their government doesn't approve of this mission."

    "From what I've heard, they don't," Schrodi replied. "But a lot of the political stuff is going on away from the press, fortunately we've got a few folks who are a bit closer to things..."



    Earth, Vulcan Embassy

    "Any change in her condition?"

    "Negative Ambassador. Whatever toxin was on that blade, when it penetrated her gut it multiplied. We're fighting an unknown infection, we may have to put her in statis before long - we simply do not have the resources here to treat her properly."

    "We may have to move her to someplace that can treat her, then."

    "It would have to be off planet, Ambassador - I would not trust a local hospital. Unless we could bring those resources to us, perhaps..."

    "What are you thinking?"

    "Forgive me, ambassador. But this is a most illogical situation. Perhaps an illogical solution would be in order."

    "I think I know someone who could help," Ryoko remarked. She'd secretly moved her place of residence from San Francisco to the Vulcan Embassy for the time being - her home could be too easily targeted, just like her office and her normal rail line. "He should have some medical assets he can send to us - and if you're worried about trust, he knows some of my deepest secrets... and helps to actively safeguard those secrets."

    "But do you know some of his?" The Ambassador replied. "Trust is a two way street, Councilor. it must be given, and received. The woman we are hiding here is one of the most wanted in the Federation."

    "I think trust is something he doesn't give out that much in his line of work," she remarked. "He's Section 31, but he's helped both me and my older brother out several times. I believe he'll help us now, as well."

    "I do not think she will survive the night if we do not do something."

    "I'll need to use a comm booth again," Ryoko informed. "He has a private comm frequency that is dedicated solely to his personal use, and the use of his contacts... like me."

    "Of course, Councilor," a nearby staffer remarked. "There is one right here."

    She was at the comm booth very quickly.



    Delta-Class Shuttlecraft Nadleeh

    A beeping at his comm panel drew Tieria's attention. "Hmm... I wonder which of my contacts needs help this time..." he wondered as he brought up the message.
    Situation Urgent
    Andorian Ambassador Alive - hiding in Vulcan Embassy
    Denali Governor Innocent - defended Ambassador from Assassin
    Condition Critical - Denali Governor wounded in attack, needs Thorough Medical Attention to survive beyond tonight
    Send Medical Teams to Vulcan Embassy ASAP
    -R

    Tieria's eyes had widened considerably. Both he and Veda 02 knew something was fishy about the assassination, but it seemed Councilwoman Hibiki had found just what was wrong. Acting quickly, he sent orders to two of the medical teams loyal to him alone to head straight to the Vulcan Embassy, before setting up a comm line on secure channel sierra-three-one.

    "Drake, this is Erde," he said once the channel had opened.

    Franklin Drake regarded the fellow spy with his lifeless eyes. "What do you need from me, Erde?"

    "I have some new information on the Denali situation, and since you're looking into that, I felt it best to share it with you."

    Drake frowned. He had greeted Erde in their customary fashion because the spies never disclosed information or did favors for each other unless it was specifically asked for. Drake's world of intelligence operations and Erde's world of intelligence gathering intersected often enough that their system worked out efficiently. It wasn't efficient for Erde to call just to give up a chip he could cash in later. "What's the catch?" he demanded.

    "There is a part of the information that needs to be acted on quickly," Tieria informed. "I have moved some of my own assets, but I feel it best if you move some of your own assets, as well."

    "Are secure on your end, Erde?"

    "Veda has confirmed the security."

    "Then quit beating around the bush and spill it." Tieria got like this, sometimes, when he thought he had something big to share. "What assets do we need? What's the info?"

    "The assassination attempt on the Andorian Ambassador was not successful - it was foiled by the one the press believe to be the assassin."

    "You mean Governor Kincaid, of Denali. We didn't think it matched her profile..."

    "Correct. However, Governor Kincaid seems to have taken a grievous injury when preventing the assassination - she needs urgent medical attention if she is to survive the night."

    "Where are they all hiding out now?"

    "The Vulcan Embassy."

    "They should have state-of-the-art medical facilities and a staff with at least some expertise in non-vulcanoid physiology."

    "Apparently it is not enough. My contact requested that medical teams be sent ASAP. I believe it is possible the injury was dealt using a poisoned weapon."

    Drake actually smiled at the word poison. "I'll have my top trauma surgeon and biochemist join your assets at the Vulcan Embassy within the next three hours. Any discussion of extracting the Governor?"

    "Nothing yet - presumably my contact believes the Vulcan Embassy to be the safest place at the moment."

    Drake could think of six dozen facilities off the top of his head within the Sol System that would be more secure, and most of those offered better a climate for the Denali. "Let your contact know he has options open. The Denali Governor and the Andorian Ambassador represent irrefutable proof that something is rotten in the city of Paris, and it's not the cheese. I want them kept safe, and accessible."

    Tieria nodded, even as his board pinged with another piece of information. "It might be better to leave them at the Embassy, anyway," he remarked. "I've just learned that D'Tan is going to be visiting Earth soon for the yearly summit - if brought into the loop, he might have some interesting insights or ideas, and it would be easier to divert him to the Vulcan Embassy than one of our safehouses."

    "Alright, but the security and well-being of the Governor takes precedence."

    "Agreed. I'll divert a few plainclothes security teams to cover the Embassy."

    Drake nodded and signed off.

    Tieria got to work positioning the additional assets, even as he sent a message back to Councilwoman Hibiki, informing her that the med teams were on their way.

    As high-maintenance as she was, he had to admit it to himself, she was a rather valuable asset to maintain. Her connections and potentials made it essential just to keep her alive. And keeping her happy sometimes reaped unexpected bonuses.



    Mako La Paz, Mexico

    Spitz liked this place. Apart from the sand and salt being constantly blown into his fur making him feel all gritty, the weather was quite nice. Although he suspected the temperature would climb to intolerable levels when Earth's northern hemisphere entered its summer. As for the Admiral's new communications center, that lacked for nothing. Between the modular components Rusty had pulled out of the Zambezi, some spares the Tiburon had discreetly beamed down with personnel on shore leave, and some parts that the LaRoca's father had stashed (including a 1.6GW subspace transceiver array), the comm system rivaled anything available to Starfleet Command. And the 18m sport-convertible monohull cruiser it was built into was supremely comfortable as well."

    Spitz sat waiting with an open video line on the Admiral's private diplomatic channel. He checked his new watch, wondered what time it was on Moab III, and started playing with the bezel of the Tag Heuer Carrera.

    "Reader? Is that you?" a familiar voice called from the viewer panel. "Your signal's weak."

    Spitz looked up and brought the transceiver out of "standby" mode. "Is that better, K'tirr-Scout?"

    "Better..." K'Tirr said. "I am sorry, Elder, I wasn't able to meet you on arrival." K'Tirr said formally - the apology wasn't strictly necessary, but it was an expression of respect - a token politeness to the lesser races, but between Ferasans, it MEANT something. "Something... came up. By now You may have heard a few rumours."

    "On Earth, we hear nothing but rumors it seems. The Admiral has tasked me to scent the trail of the facts. Do you have Captain Travis with you? Is she alright?"

    K'Tirr let his ears droop. "She lives...but she rests in the not-place for now-the doctors estimate she was exposed to hard vacuum for...a dangerous period of time. she isn't battling the Beast, but she is not well yet, either."

    "If anyone can pull her through, Zimehoz can," Spitz-Reader declared confidently.

    "He stands in amazement that she survived to be picked up." K'Tirr confided, adding, "He has openly considered calling in Mad Mary to un-do the damage that was done - not just in the incident, but what was done to Captain Travis by Starfleet as a youth... they Spayed her."

    Spitz winced. "I'd heard that was a condition for the acceptance of augments into Starfleet. The Humans often allow fear to overrule their better conscience."

    K'Tirr's ears flapped back, "It's an abomination." He said judgmentally, "They cut her generations off... like some kind of... Criminal."

    "The Federation reeks of evil, and they mask the scent with their propaganda of peace and harmony," Spitz acknowledged. "Fortunately, there are some, like Admiral LaRoca, who are dedicated to digging up the stinking carcasses of evil and throwing out the old bones. Speaking of which, we have a warning for Travis and her people..."

    K'Tirr's ears propped forward in a position of attentiveness.

    "A Starfleet task force is heading to Denali to subjugate or destroy the population. The ships have slipstream drive so they will arrive before any subspace transmission."

    "We guessed as much, Elder..." K'Tirr said. "The empire won't stand for that - General Koldor - we're going to have ships out there soon!" K'Tirr tilted his head and looked behind Reader. "I don't recognize the design of the ship you're on..." he said, "Is it fast?"

    "I'm on a fishing boat," Spitz replied. "And I'm told it's quite fast... for a monohull convertible cabin cruiser. The Admiral has been ordered to stay out of this - blackmailed, actually - by the apparent architect of this conspiracy - Foreign Minister Martin Cave."

    "Hurr..." K'Tirr flicked an ear in irritation. "LaRoca would have been a strong ally..." K'Tirr put on his best 'Noble's' Face. "Contact the Moab embassy when you get the chance and let them know of the Foreign Minister's duplicity - in the meantime... how's the fishing?"

    Spitz looked back at Rusty and Hooper, who were tracing the source of the altered Denali report with so far no success. "Not too good, this time of year."

    K'Tirr nodded. "I know you'll catch the finest," he said. "First Minister Moskowitz asked me to pass a message through you when you contacted me... to... someone named Carlos," K'Tirr said. "I don't know who that is."

    "That would be the owner of this boat we've commandeered," Spitz explained. "Admiral LaRoca's father.

    "Ah... well..." K'tirr picked up a PADD from off-screen. "Pardon the language, I was told to read this word-for-word..." he cleared his throat. "Charlie, you son of a *****, I have the bottle now, when are you getting off your dead TRIBBLE to visit? Also keep an eye out, some of my snakeaters might need a hand, and you still owe me for that night on Bajor." K'Tirr looked up. "I understood NONE of that," he said. "The last part is in Spanish, what does Vaya Con Dios mean?"

    "'Go with God,'" Reader translated as he manually transcribed the rest of the message and committed it to memory. "I will make sure Senor Carlos gets this - obviously its some sort of code."

    K'tirr nodded. "A code makes sense," he said.

    "K'tirr, the LaRocas have told me stories, of things done during the Dominion War. Things which no one will ever talk about, but they happened, and they were deeds of greatness. Saul Moskovitz. Drake Tran. Enrico Montoya. Kicur's last host, Scaevola. Ssharki. They were all on the Tiburon during the War against the Dominion."

    "Then they stand in good company with you, Elder," K'Tirr said.



    Orion Corsair Lusty Wench, Kassae sector

    "I really don't think they'll have anything of value Mistress. I mean Pakled, TRIBBLE the last Pakled stock we tried to trade we had to pay someone to take."

    "I'm not interested in the crew, but we are reading eighty six non pakled lifeforms, possibly humans, hard to tell honestly. Those might be worth something, plus what ever other cargo they're carrying."

    "If they're stupid enough to ride on a Pakled ship, odds are we wouldn't get much for them."

    "Probably not, but pickings have been slim of late. We'll take what profit we can." She watched as the Transport Manos (what kind of name was that anyway?) stopped it's engines as ordered, after the warning shot had been issued. They were picking up some weird ionization near the hull, radiation leak perhaps so it was safer for the Corsair to hard dock to the transport. Just as well, some exotic cargos did not take kindly to being transported she had found out in her younger days.



    Airlock, Lusty Wench

    He checked over his team one last time. They were the largest and most intimidating enforcers his mistress had, more than enough for pakled and pinkskins. They didn't even have their disruptors out, knives and other more 'scary' looking weapons at the ready. Another day, another batch of scared civilians for the Trade he thought with a chuckle. Hitting the button for the lock, he paused as there was someone on the transport side, a human child? No, humans did not have such big pointed ears, hell no one he knew of had ears thatbig, or covered with fur either. And no, not a child as he got a better look at her, children did not have curves like that, she was just small... and why was she smiling like that? She shouldn't be smiling...still she looked comely enough, and would probably fetch a good price. He was too busy leering to hear the soft 'snick' of the secondary blades on the twin D'k tahg's she had behind her back.



    Xiao Loc Military centre, Moab...

    "...because it's not an internal matter." On the imager, General Koldor looked younger as he spoke.

    "I Know that, the problem is, do they?" Brigadier K'Ragh was younger, where Koldor was known as "the Wise" son. K'Ragh carried, in perverse pride, the nickname of "The Fool".

    The older brother smiled. "Of course they do.The Federation has denied Denali membership multiple times-in spite of the natives' vote to join as recently as last year. Obviously, then, the 'internal matter' is not 'internal'"

    "It is," Saul Moskowitz said from beside the Klingon Brigadier. "Just not the way we normally think of it... this smells like staging for a coup d'etat."

    Both Klingons looked at the elderly first minister of Moab. "A coup?" K'Ragh asked.

    "Sure, create a crisis, whip the population into a frenzy, get them to accept new restrictions on their liberties in fear, stage a short, victorious war, rinse, then repeat. Khan Noonien Singh used it, Greene used it, Stalin, Mao, Hitler... each step erodes liberties and reinforces tyranny as a habit, until one day, you have a President for Life and Secret Police digging through your underwear looking for moral violations." He stroked his chin. "Death camps and Purges usually follow shortly after that."

    K'Ragh grimaced. "Sometimes, Saul, your people really disturb me... mass killing of the innocent... ew."

    "Human beings like to pretend we're warm and cuddly... and most of the time, I suspect we are, but we're also the most insane race that, so far, ever was," Saul stated. "Klingons might perpetrate massacres, but you don't mechanize it and make it run like a factory - humans have been known to do that several times in the past - from the Shoah of the 1940's to the Year Zero of the 1970's, to Khan's purges and Greene's 'genetic purity' cleansings, and that's not even getting into Stalin, or Mao, or Ali Abdel Assan in the 2040's, which was when the Shi'ites and the Sunni really threw down for real, they waged a so-called 'holy war' on each other."

    "So it's EARTH politics." K'Ragh said.

    "Most likely," Moskowitz said. "But the Denali are going to pay the price for this... internal matter if we don't support them - or even if we do."

    "Because they have been made the... 'Scapegoat' I believe is the human term?" Koldor observed.

    "Right," Saul said. "And while it might be convenient to only deal with one leader over there in the Federation, you don't want a Human Tyrant in charge there."

    "Why?" K'Ragh asked. "It would be more efficient, wouldn't it?"

    "Until the Federation eats its' own guts out in a civil war? Somewhat," Saul told him. "Do you think they'd be able to hold on to the Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites?" He shook his head. "They'd fragment - and that chaos opens the door wide for our mutual enemy. Whoever is running this is either a brilliant son-of-a-***** who might light the war back off with a stack of advantages, or he's a ****ing moron who's going to get everyone around him dead...either way, if this is permitted to continue there will be Klingon blood and an advantage to the Qa'meh'quv sooner, rather than later."

    "What do you suggest?" Koldor asked.

    "Well... for starters, you were THERE less than a year ago, right? You reported the actual conditions to the High Council?" Saul asked.

    "I was. the claims in Federation media don't match any of what I saw," Koldor said, "except for the statue...which was dismantled and destroyed before the day was out."

    Saul smiled. "The Empire needs to assert we're not fooled by Federation Lies," he said, quoting a well known saying used in the 2200s. "Point out the Federation... Earth's repeated refusal to allow Denali to join the Federation, state publicly the Empire's view that this is an unwarranted act of aggression, and remind them who was winning the war when the Armistice was signed... then demand facts, they rattle sabers, we rattle them right back. In the Earth Cold War that ran from the 1940's to the 1990's, it was called 'brinksmanship', make it public that the Empire is sending Observers to examine and verify the claims of the Federation's foreign ministry, and that those observers are armed. Then state that if the observers find evidence that the claims are not bogus, well... considering the distance to Klingon territory is shorter than federation, and our people are at higher risk... state that if the claims turn out to be true, Denali will be destroyed... and make the counter-proposal that the Federation's actions are a provocation to war."

    "Why would we?" K'Ragh asked. "I mean, I want to do this, but what reason?"

    Saul folded his hands. "To prevent the establishment of a second front on the Empire's flank for one, it may be distant, but the empire has strategic interests near Denali, those would be under threat with a major Federation fleet base in the area to act as a staging ground."

    "Hahahahahah, The High Council would buy that explanation - both the War and Peace parties would!!" Koldor said. "I will contact Uncle Woldan..." the older brother shook with laughter, "Naturally I will also send... 'observers' to 'view with alarm' Federation Atrocities."

    "Don't get too lurid with them yet," Saul said. "If the strategy works, even in the event of fighting, the fighting should be contained... question-would the Empire be willing to recognize their independence?"

    Koldor shrugged. "I don't see why we wouldn't - it would not be the same arrangement as Moab got - you're in a more strategic location, you were even before the Fek invasion..."

    "Then I'll tell Bianh to go ahead and state publicly that Moab doesn't see this as an 'internal matter' since Denali has been repeatedly denied Federation membership, only to be targeted now for violent conquest," Saul's expression darkened. "I don't like bullies, in general."

    K'Ragh nodded. "Bullies tend to turn coward when the fighting starts for real... I'm dispatching Colonel Eialu to Denali... Minister?"

    "We've got a few ships to send with her," Saul said. "Koldor?"

    "My task force can be in the area - I have already started forming an antipiracy group. This will give them something additional to do."







    USS Calnus, Trident-Class Deep Space Science Vessel, en route to Denali...

    Captain Ami Kanzaki, commanding officer of the USS Calnus, was finding herself equal parts frustrated, intrigued, and angry.

    Frustrated, because her vessel, designed for long-term scientific exploration with weapons to defend itself if necessary, had been shanghaied for a combat mission. Yes, she was decent in a fight, but she was a Xenobiologist and Geneticist - not a Soldier!

    Intrigued, because she'd been studying samples of Captain Travis' DNA, because the Admiral had basically ordered her to find a way to counter the 'Augment Menace'. And she had to say, as one who studied DNA on a frequent basis, the ones who had altered Travis had done a remarkable job.

    And angry, because even after hours and hours of studying Travis' DNA...

    "What was the Admiral talking about when she said, 'Augment Menace'?" She asked anyone in earshot in the Calnus' Main Research Lab. "I've been studying Travis' DNA for hours, and I can't find any 'Menace' at all!!"

    "She's an Augment , what more menace do we need, Sir?" a nearby technician replied. "we know what happened the last time they got loose, not just 400 years ago, but I heard stories that they resurfaced back in Kirk's day - and had to be put down like rabid dogs."

    "Still, this just doesn't make any sense," Ami remarked. "I mean, yeah, genetic alteration is forbidden except in cases of correcting defects because of what happened with Kahn and his compatriots, but from what I heard, these people only adapted themselves to survive in their environment - and did a damn good job, from what I can see here."

    "I don't know - I mean she destroyed half of ESD by herself, killed a couple hundred people, and blew up an Odyssey and a couple other ships on her way out I heard."

    "I heard that most of those deaths were from friendly fire," another crewman remarked. "That Travis was shooting on stun, and the security team was throwing out grenades like party favors. The Damage to the ships was collateral, too, from what I heard - had an overzealous squadron of Peregrines on her tail."

    "Let's not go spreading rumors," Ami scolded. "We just need to focus on the science as we see it - this ship is a science ship, remember, even if we are being pulled along for this mission. And so far, the science just doesn't seem to fit with what's going on."

    "Yes Sir - well the science does say that she's engineered to survive where we can't, is stronger, and faster. I'd say that is a threat to normal humans."

    "True," she remarked, though mentally thought that normal humans could possibly get that strong and fast if they trained hard and long enough. "Unfortunately, the only ways I could think of to 'counter' it would be equally bad, if not worse."

    "Oh there's an easy way to counter it, Sir," the tech replied. "Tricobalt torpedoes from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

    Ami whirled on him with a harsh glare. "And by doing that, we set a precedent that colors opinions across the galaxy against us. I will not be party to the Federation being labeled 'barbaric' because we resort to orbital bombardment, do you understand?!?"

    "The only good Augment is a dead Augment, captain. We've millions of bodies in the past, and hundreds back on ESD and on Earth now that prove that."

    "What good does killing them all do us if it turns the galaxy against us? If we commit genocide, not only would the Klingons move to restart the war, but we'd also lose support from the Cardassians, the Ferengi, the New Romulans..."

    The tech just shook his head. "It wouldn't be genocide, Sir, they ain't people. It would be trash removal."

    She slapped him hard, sending him to the deck. "Consider yourself confined to quarters until we return to Spacedock, crewman," she snarled. "I will not tolerate talk like that on my ship."

    "But... those are our orders, Sir," one of the supervisors replied confused.

    "And something stinks about those orders," she remarked. "The data we're getting doesn't show any truly viable threat, and from what I've read about Denali, their precise alterations are simply so they can survive there. Something's not right, and I intend to find out what. Unfortunately, the only way to do that is just play along, for now. However, if they give us an unethical order, such as to perform an Orbital Bombardment, that will be when I stop 'playing along'."

    And that's when you'll get yours, traitor, the crewman thought to himself as he stalked back to his quarters. Fortunately, he had been briefed on such an eventuality, and had a communicator that wasn't on the standard frequencies...



    IKS Severed Angel

    "What do you have?"

    The Moabite com officer couldn't help but grin. "You remember the reports of a possible raider a few days back, Colonel? Well they're screaming for help on all channels, sounds like they might have bitten off more than they could chew."

    That got her attention. "Really now, do we have a location? And who are they calling for?"

    "From what I picked up, Sir, they don't care at this point, just anyone who will respond."

    Eialu frowned. "Could be something nasty that we should take a look at no matter what-and it's not out of our way. Let's go check it out." The Vo'Quv rumbled as she turned towards the Orion ship screaming for help. It did not take long to get within range.

    "Wait a minute... that's a Pakled ship they're docked to?"

    "Could be they found something bad, or could be this raiding party is particularly bad," one of the bridge techs said with a laugh.

    "Or the Pakled managed to hire some really good security who somehow put the Fear of God into these Raiders," another tech remarked. "Course, the security would have to be Haganah-Level Badasses for that to be the case."

    "Either way, we need to find out what's going on over there. Hail them."

    It took a few seconds, but a very disheveled, bloody, and panicked-looking Orion woman was on the screen, the bridge behind her full of smoke. She started to speak, then paled, seeing who was looking back at her... "YOU!"

    The Colonel just smiled ferally. "Me. I take it from your reaction you have some cargo that doesn't want to be cargo?" she said far too sweetly.

    The other woman started to reply, then there was a bang behind her, and shouting. "They're in the bridge!" a voice could be heard, and weapons fire - though her ears could tell the difference between the defenders and attackers fire - the attackers were firing to stun, the captain of the Lusty Wench darted from the view, smoke obscuring the image, while unintelligible shouts filled the background.

    "Hellooo? Are you still there?" She probably shouldn't be enjoying this as much, but the Lusty Wench was reported as having been the most likely attacker on a small mining outpost nearby. If she did get herself killed, that just saved her the problem of doing it herself. They heard a voice, clearly now, speaking accented Klingon. "Secure that com, Sergeant!"

    The smoke started to clear, and there was something, no someone there. Though too short for the viewer to pick up, though two very large ears could be seen along with an auburn ponytail. The view shook as someone adjusted the pickup on the other side, pointing it a bit lower to the deck. "I thought that was your voice, Colonel," the half-dressed Sgt. Sanjit said with a grin. "Funny running into you out here."

    Under their breath, the second Bridge Tech remarked, "Haganah-Level Badasses, alright..."

    "Well... Sanjit! I see you're having a fun time, do you need any help getting that junker under way?" Eialu asked. "I can have a tech-crew over there if you need it... and do keep the former owner alive if you would - the Klingons prefer to handle their own trials, and it makes it easier to interrogate her if she's still breathing," she folded her hands. "Of course, as the capturing authorities, I guess Denali gets another Orion ship added to the fleet?"

    "Well, we would have had two more," she replied, "but we were a bit, well, overzealous with the firepower on the first one, and the second ship that tried to hijack us was in worse shape than the Pakled transport, believe it or not."

    Eialu laughed openly. "Okay... I'm sending over a tech team as soon as you're stabilized over there, and a stack of manuals." she motioned to her Ops officer to arrange it.

    "I think we have got it pretty much locked down, Colonel," Kincaid's voice came over the com, though being Sanjit adjusted the viewer for her all could be seen was his armored chest until he leaned down. "Good to see you again, even under these circumstances. We were headed for Moab for the moment, I hope that is not a problem politically? K-7 was a bit, upset at our leaving."

    "Well... I'm buying the beer when we get back," Eialu said. "And you're going to tell the story."

    "Fair enough, we're looking forward to it."

    The team that beamed over conversed in Vietnamese as th
    "It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier." R.A.Heinlein

    "he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."



  • knightraider6knightraider6 Member Posts: 396 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Episode 4.1


    Feels like your life is over
    Feels like all hope is gone
    You kiss it all away
    Maybe maybe
    This is a second coming
    This is a call to arms
    Your finest hour won't be wasted wasted
    Hey hey hell is what you make make
    Rise against your fate fate
    Nothing's gonna keep you down
    Even if it's killing you
    Because you know the truth

    Listen up listen up
    There's a devil in the church
    Got a bullet in the chamber
    And this is gonna hurt
    Let it out let it out
    You can scream and you can shout
    Keep your secrets in the shadows and you'll be sorry
    Everybody's getting numb
    Everybody's on the run
    Listen up listen up
    There's a devil in the church
    Got a bullet in the chamber
    And this is gonna hurt

    You got your hell together
    You know it could be worse
    A self-inflicted murder
    Maybe maybe
    You say it's all a crisis
    You say it's all a blur
    There comes a time you've gotta face it face it
    Hey hey hell is what you make make
    Rise against your fate fate
    Nothing's gonna keep you down
    Even if it's killing you
    Because you know the truth

    Sixx:AM This is Gonna Hurt





    Xiao Loc Military centre, Moab , Jan 22 2412, two hours past sundown.

    It wasn't that bad at night. Oh there was no way she'd handle the weather here in the day time, or the summer for that matter. But it was an early spring evening, the night air only about 15 degrees, easily bearable for a Denali-Missy didn't start having problems till the mid 20s to low 30s.

    But then, not many could handle her world, and if it did get too warm, she did have a suit handy to keep cool. Or as long as it didn't get too bad, just lots of cold liquids helped as well. Would be nice if she didn't need the cane - Zimehoz said another day or two, then she could do without it. Was better than being immobile. She'd come down to meet with some of the Moabite officials, as well as a few others that were quietly converging on the system.

    She knew most of them, hell she'd fought alongside most of them more than once, both at the gate, and elsewhere. Though why they were all coming here instead of hauling TRIBBLE to Denali she wasn't sure. But then she'd been medicated and out of the loop for the last few days, she'd probably find out in the briefing. She'd come down with Schrodi, K'Tirr was already there conferring with the locals.



    ex-Lusty Wench, in orbit over Moab.

    "Starting to get a bit crowded up here," Sanjit muttered as she parked the former Orion owned ship. They were still trying to come up with a decent name for it, 'lusty wench' didn't cut it really, unless you were an Orion. Cold Revenge was her suggestion, they would vote on it later. "And, we're parked Sgt Major, er, Captain."

    Kincaid just nodded, he wasn't used to being referred to that either. "Almost like old home week out there," he remarked, looking at the other ships in orbit, the McGrath, Raging Tempest, the Herdthinner... Sadly the Nighthawk was missing though, but there was no helping that. "Where are they wanting to meet up at?"

    "They've got a conference room down on the big military base there, and it's after sundown local too - the temp isn't half bad." Of course, in her current outfit, hell in all their current outfits the warmer weather wasn't as much a problem. The Environmental systems were still set for Orion comfortable temperatures... meaning most of the men were shirtless, and the females... she actually liked the Orion outfit she had on, it was way cooler than the uniform was, at least temperature wise. the uniform did have pockets though...

    "There is one that I don't remember from the Battle of the Gate," one of the Bridge Techs remarked, pointing. The ship indicated was a Vigilant-Class Tactical Escort, similar design to the Raging Tempest's Sao Paulo-Class, but the Nacelles dipped below the hull slightly, and the overall shape was more swept back and streamlined. One notable thing about it was that it had a dark gray, almost black, paint scheme, and dark green trim. Also, the locations where there would normally be a registry number were blank, and the ship's name, in the usual place for such a ship, read RRW Warspite, with signs that there had once been a USS where the RRW now resided.

    "Well if they're here to help I don't care if it's bright pink or... woah..." she had to turn down the brightness on the display as the latest ship arrived, a gleaming white, no highly polished Risan Corvette. "Ok, maybe that's a bit much there. Need sunglasses just to look at that thing."

    "Someone's saying, 'I've got money'," Kincaid agreed. "Kaur you've got the con, Sanjit, with me. Let's go talk to the folks."



    Xiao Loc Military centre, Moab

    Observe and report. Thats what his handler told him he needed to do, to ensure the safety of the Federation. It wasn't a big amount of money, but then Specialist Schwartz didn't have access to highly classified stuff. Oh he might later, but for now... feh. He needed more, who didn't?
    He of course had seen the news, and knew who that was. The Ferasan with her, no clue but to be honest, if she was with the traitor, then they might pay him for her as well. He put out his cigarette, watching where they were headed, before slipping off to call his handler.

    "You're SURE it's her?

    "Absolutely. It's not like every news show from Federation space hadn't had her face plastered all over it the last week. So how big is that reward again?"

    Ten kilometers away, his handler pondered the information. Xiao Loc wasn't easy to get into, but he had his ways, and Schwartz, while greedy, wasn't dumb enough to try something on his own. Getting out after something like that was even less possible - but then he was a patriot. To die in the service of one's race was the highest honor any could wish for. "Large enough - keep an eye on things, I'll be there shortly."



    Conference room

    Whoever ran the intel for these folks was very good, Missy thought as she looked over the display on the wall behind the table. there were twenty four ships shown en route towards Denali, complete with eta and estimated combat potential - curiously, though, only four had captains listed. She recognized the names of the ones that were shown - but then it wasn't probably like they were given much choice in the matter, except for Fitsimmons. That ***** probably volunteered.

    "Captain Travis, good to see you're up and around." She didn't recognize the speaker, but he was dressed in one of the Moabite uniforms.

    "Probably not a captain anymore," she replied as she eased into a chair. "But I'm glad to be up and around - any morning you wake up on top of the dirt instead of under it is a good day, as my daddy used to say."

    "A good saying," Takeshi Yamato replied as he walked into the room. "Good to see you again, Travis, though I wish it was under better circumstances."

    "You realize your being here is probably a career-ending move?" she said.

    "Career-ending move or not, I'm not sitting idly by while my sister is in danger from whoever's behind this," Takeshi remarked determinedly. At Missy's curious glance, he said, "Councilwoman Ryoko Hibiki is my younger sister, and according to what I learned from the Moabites before you got here, she was actively targeted in the attacks - the bombing at her office would have gotten her if she hadn't been elsewhere on unofficial business. As soon as I find out just who was behind the attack on my Imouto, he or she is going to die."

    "Hell, the way the Federation's acting lately, there may not be a Federation around to fire us from it ripping itself apart," Schrodi said, no wait, Schrodi was right next to her. And on the other side of the table - other than one having blue eyes and the other green, impossible to tell apart.

    "This is gonna be confusing, you know."

    The one that came with Missy from the Herdthinner shrugged. "We know the difference, but we also don't tend to get in the same area too much, so yeah. Just use the name I earned in the hero's tongue," she said, rattling some long growlhissing word in Ferasan. "Oh wait, probably can't pronounce that - the translation is. "She who destroys Suns."

    "How about we just call you Nova then - means the same thing." Schrodi grinned

    "But I'm the original, you're the new one!"

    "Yes, but technically you blew up the stars, I just helped with the math."

    Pondering that, she shrugged. "Fine, though I still think we should have just gotten shirts that had numbers on them."

    She was about to reply when an aide came up to the Schrodi in the starfleet uniform "excuse me, but there is a human trader who just arrived in orbit that says he has to speak to you urgently, Captain Schrodinger."

    "What's his name?" Everyone turned to look at the voice that said that, it was an older, even elderly human, though from the way he moved far from infirm.

    "Jacob Evans-"

    "Bring him here." Both Schrodingers and Travis said almost in unison. The aide blinked, then peered at the old man "Minister?"

    "Bring him in," Saul replied as he took a seat. "These three vouched for him, and we have used his services ourselves in the past."

    The aide nodded and made the call. Missy looked at the screen on the wall, and the ones with the news feeds, recognizing who he was. "I am sorry for bringing all this down on your world, Sir."

    He just shook his head. "It's not a mess of your making, so don't apologize. And what happens on your world could ultimately affect this one here, and many others. So we have to be involved, no matter if the Federation likes it or not."

    "As do we." She thought she recognized the klingon as he came through the door- no, it was the younger brother, but still the resemblance was there, Brigadier K'Ragh, followed by a few more familar faces. Colonel Eialu was wearing her standard KDF uniform, while the two behind her however...

    "I'm not sure if I want to ask why you're wearing that, SgtMajor," Missy grinned.

    "Because the gorram environmental controls on the Cold Revenge won't go under 22 degrees," Sanjit replied, dressed in what most people thought Orion females tended to wear. Sgt Major Kincaid was barechested as well as he shrugged. "A minor inconvenience, it is good to see you again Colonel Travis."

    Next through the door was Veleen Takor, the Romulan woman seeming to fit in well with her uniform, one given to those Romulans who allied with Starfleet. "Good to see you again, Yamato, Travis."

    "You too, Veleen," Takeshi replied. "The Seruk still in for repairs?"

    "Actually, it's been scrapped," Veleen replied. "Apparently the Singularity Core was covered in microfractures caused when we got hit by the shockwave from the Gate - the chief technician was surprised that the core hadn't breached yet. We're still using the Warspite until they have a new ship ready for us."

    The last arrival came through the door, the guard closing it behind him. Several brows were raised at the civilian. "Sorry I'm late," he said as he sat down. "Thank you for letting me beam down Minister Moskowitz."

    He just waved his hand. "You've done work for us before Mr Evans, and for those of you who don't know, Jacob has been cleared by Haganah, and his companies have spent massively on our rebuilding."

    "S'nothing Sir," he replied modestly. "Money's just a way to keep score - if it can't be used to do something worthwhile, what good is it?"

    Missy leaned over the table. "Does your sister have any idea what you're up to?"

    "No, and Please don't let her know - she worries enough as it is."

    She nodded, but resolved to have a 'talk' with him before too long, turning her attention to Minister Moskowitz. "The reason we're here is to go over just what we know about what's going on, and more importantly, what can be done."

    K'Tirr nodded, and stood up, as an image came up on the screen behind him. "I have been in contact with Reader, who served for years as one of General Ssharki's most trusted officers and now works as a senior aide for Admiral Jesu LaRoca. As you know, a falsified version of his report on Denali is the trigger for most of this. Reader informed me that the Admiral went to visit the Foreign Minister, Martin Cave," he said, caught in the middle of giving a speech on the image on the wall. "Admiral LaRoca discovered that this man is the one responsible for all of this. However, Cave was not only prepared, but managed to out-maneuver the Admiral. Until solid concrete evidence can be somehow found - which the Admiral and his people are working on even now, quietly - his task force will not be able to assist."

    K'Ragh frowned. "Cave being able to neutralize LaRoca's forces is a major setback. We do have ships of our own on the way out there as well, and more on the way. It will be close however, to who gets there first."

    "I don't think we should go to Denali." Everyone turned to look at Schrodinger, who was holding up her hands. "Hear me out. Some should go yes. But the trigger for this, I think?" she turned to Missy. "Where were you going before this blew up?"

    "We were going to head out to the Moosejaw Nebula, to try to track down those pirates who..." she frowned as she put the pieces together.

    "Exactly. There is something there that someone does not want you getting close to it - or me either for that matter. There was a ORI team on the station who was planning on a 'surprise' inspection of the McGrath - which would have kept us there for at least a week or two."

    "Was planning?"

    "Mr Thag TRIBBLE into station control, and had their shuttle rerouted to Vladivistok," Schrodi replied innocently. "By the time they had gotten back we were past Vulcan."

    "There's something else odd about all this," Takeshi remarked. "Of the task force heading to Denali, there's only four ships that were actually at Earth - the rest will meet them in transit. Where did those other ships come from?"

    "Do we have ID's on those vessels?" Saul asked one of the analysts who started looking that up.

    "They would have to be near Imperial space to meet up," K'Rhag muttered darkly. "Due to the travel time, even with slipstream..."

    "Here we are, we did get a partial list from an FNN reporter. USS Donitz, Avenger class, USS Calley, Galaxy, USS Wirz, Galaxy...I don't recognize any of these names."

    "Neither do I," Missy added "yeah they may be churning out Avengers as fast as they can it seems, but they're still pretty rare."

    Saul pondered that tidbit as well. "Curiouser and curiouser, said Alice," he muttered. "I think you're right, an investigation to the nebula should be done - but not too many - we're going to need everything we can get our hands on if it comes to shooting out there."

    "Well these are pirates out there, of a sort, correct?" Jake said as he sat up. "Going out there in a flotilla of warships will just spook them. Send out something flashy, and expensive and probably loaded to the gunwales with valuable cargo..."

    "And they'll take the bait," Kincaid finished for him. "I assume that gleaming white monster in orbit is what you're referring to?"

    "Risan corvettes aren't cheap, and they would be carrying something tempting most likely," he said with a nod.

    "It's on the path out to Denali anyway," K'Tirr said as he thought. "And we can travel just as fast under cloak as we can in the open."

    "The Raging Tempest has a Cloaking Device, too," Takeshi remarked. "It's a salvaged Klingon Model obtained before the Armistice which I only had hardwired into the ship when we got assigned to Tau Dewa, but it works pretty well. We'll help with the Pirate hunt."

    Sgt Sanjit meanwhile was starting to squirm a bit. She and Kincaid had beamed down an hour before the scheduled meetup, and had met up with the Colonel, not for beer, being on duty, but did get a quick bite to eat. While the local grub was very tasty... an hour later, she was beginning to regret it.

    Eialu noticed, trying not to grin as she remembered a similar incident the first (and last) time she tried human coffee. She leaned forward, tapping the shorter woman on her shoulder. "Out the door, to the right, down the stairs to the ladies room" she said in a low whisper.

    "Thank you!" She whispered back, and with a pleading look to the SgtMajor, he ok'd it with a nod and she was out the door.

    "Is something wrong?" Minister Moskowitz asked as he saw her break into a run.

    "Nothing wrong, Sir," Eialu replied. "She just found out that B?n b? Huế can bite back if you aren't used to food that spicy."

    Most everyone chuckled at that, then went back to the planning.



    Second floor

    He was lucky - she almost ran him over as he was crouched out of sight, the holofield emitter masking his presence, but when someone wasn't looking where they were going... Still this was perfect. This time of night the building was lightly occupied, true there were guards on the third floor due to all the VIP's, but not as much here. He had given up the idea to eliminate that target when she ran by. At least he thought it was Travis, but then how many female Denali would there be on this Godforsaken helhole?

    No, it had to be her, the odds were in his favor, and he might actually make it out of here alive and with her head. That alone would be enough to have him set for life with the reward money. He looked around the corner, no one there at all, though the thermal signature showed that someone was in the women's head. Better and better, no chance for witnesses.

    He snuck into the room, the sound of a toilet flushing in the back. Only one heat source, and matched the height of the target. better to do it fast and old fashioned, there may be sensors to detect weapons fire. Plus disintegrations didn't pay worth a damn. Fortunately there were other, less noisy methods that were just as fatal.

    She had conveniently turned her back towards the room, leaning against the sink, muttering, "Never again, don't eat that ever again," as she washed her hands. you wont have to worry about eating anything ever again, ***** he thought as he came up behind her, the monofilament garotte carefully easing over her head...

    Sanjit looked up in the mirror, she could have sworn she heard something, almost like a heartbeat less than a meter away. there was nothing that she could see... but there. she heard it again, her large ears twitching a bit. And there was a smell... She spun suddenly and kicked backwards, contacting something, no someone, human from the sound he made when he was kicked. She didn't even feel it for several seconds as the monofilament wire cut the top two inches off of her ears, but by then she was already reaching behind her back for her knives.

    He cursed under his breath as he tried to get back to his feet, his ribs hurting bad from that kick. He had to shut this down fast. Thumbing a switch on the garotte, the handle sent a signal down the wire, straightening it to a blade, bringing it up just in time as the augment came at him with a D'k tahg. He was a pro at this, ducking down and flicking his own blade out, there was a meaty sound as it sliced through the *****'s forearm, sending her hand and knife flying - only to suddenly stiffen, as the matching d'k tahg in her other hand was buried deep in his chest, all three prongs of the blade penetrating his heart. "...no..." was all he managed to get out before collapsing, with Sanjit following him to the floor in shock. She stared at her hand laying across the room, managing to hit her combadge with the other one before passing out, she was losing blood fast, and didn't have a lot to lose in the first place.



    Conference room

    That was odd, Kincaid thought as his combadge chirped once. He glanced at the empty seat, she'd been gone a good while. He quietly tapped his own. "Sgt Sanjit, report." There wasn't a reply at first, then it chirped again, though no sound was there - wait, it sounded like, someone breathing, but weak. "Sanjit, REPORT!" he said in his command voice, causing everyone to stop and stare at him.

    He turned to Colonel Eialu, who was already headed towards the door herself, "Where was that women's head?"

    "Second floor to the right-" was all she got before he was gone. The augmentations enabled very fast burst speeds in an emergency, like getting out of the way of a hungry Tundra Worg, or in this case, checking on someone who might be in trouble. He never even touched the stairs on the way down, hitting the bottom run and breaking the bathroom door off the hinges. "******nit... We need a medic down here now!"



    Half an hour later

    Saul was pissed, though not as pissed as his security people. They at least had gotten the Sergeant to medical before she bled out, and being it was such a clean cut, reattachment wasn't going to be hard - hell the Surgeon said she'd probably not even have much of a scar when it was done.

    That didn't change the fact that someone had gotten in, if they had been carrying a bomb - but then the detectors would have caught that - those were tested and did work. So someone who didn't care if he made it out. "Any ID on him yet?

    "None yet, but there is something weird about him," one of the medics examining the body was saying. "he's got fillings - even we don't use those, and our med tech is a bit behind. There's also some strange neurological trauma, it's old, though, several years at least, as if the nerves had been overstimulated-"

    "Wait WHAT?" Schrodi had been out in the hall listening in, (hell most of them were down there) and she pushed her way into the scene. "Let me see that, please?" The flabbergasted tech just looked at Saul, who nodded.

    "I've seen this... I know how he got this. This is long term agonizer damage." She looked up. "This guy isn't from your universe."



    Episode 4.2
    It's a truth that in love and war,
    World's collide and hearts get broken,
    I want to live like I know I'm dying,
    Take up my cross, not be afraid

    Is it true what they say, that words are weapons?
    And if it is,then everybody best stop steppin',
    Cause I got ten in my pocket that'll bend ya locket,
    I'm tired of all these rockers sayin' come with me,
    Wait, it's just about to break, its more than I can take,
    Everything's about to change,
    I feel it in my veins, its not going away,
    Everything's about to change.

    It creeps in like a thief in the night,
    Without a sign, without a warning,
    But we are ready and prepared to fight,
    Raise up your swords, don't be afraid,


    This is a warning, like it or not,
    I break down, like a record spinning,
    Gotta get up,
    So back off,
    This is a warning, like it or not,
    I'm tired of listenin', I'm warning you, don't try to get up,

    There's a war going on inside of me tonight (don't be afraid) [x2]

    Wait, it's just about to break, its more than I can take,
    Everything's about to change,
    I feel it in my veins, its not going away,
    Everything's about to change,
    It's just about to break, its more than I can take,
    Everything's about to change,
    I feel it in my veins, its not going away,
    Everything's about to change.
    Thousand Foot Krutch War of Change


    Vulcan Embassy, Earth

    "Good to see you up and around, Governor."

    Rachelle just nodded. "Not exactly around, still can't walk on my own yet," she replied. "But I appreciate the sentiment." She was in a wheelchair, and also totally shaved - but then it made it much easier to cope with the ambient temperatures in the embassy. Oh they tried, and it was cold outside being winter in paris, but couldn't risk going outside at all, either her or the Andorian Ambassador. Still, it was better than being dead.

    "Any news yet?" she asked

    "No, we did get a message from the Moab Embassy, they're wanting to send someone by for a 'courtesy visit'

    This sent an icy spike of worry that was... distracting... from the heat, at least. "...and HOW did they know I was here?" she asked, as possibilities wheeled in her mind.

    "I am certain I do not know precisely what you mean, Governor, you were not specifically mentioned... by name."

    "What time are they coming?" Rachelle asked.

    "They should be here around noon."



    11:45 AM, Paris local time...

    Anh shivered in Paris weather - the 'civilian suit' that Her Honour the Ambassador insisted on was flimsy and the skirt was too short for her liking... especially in this weather.

    At least she let me wear flats instead of those damned heels! she followed Bianh Trinh up to the front door.

    "You are on time," the Vulcan said, eyeing both identicards.

    "Rudeness like being late would be... inappropriate for a courtesy visit," Bianh replied, as they were admitted.

    "You will have to surrender the sidearm, Miss Cu'ong." the Vulcan guard said, extending a hand.

    Anh turned over the stubby Disruptor pistol.

    "And the one in the small of your back," he pressed gently.

    She handed over the .380 automatic.

    "And the knife?"

    "Look, you want both of them?" she asked.

    "Yes, please," he said.

    "How do you walk with all that?" Bianh asked.

    "Carefully," Anh answered. "Satisfied?" she asked the guard.

    "For the moment, you may have your devices of violence when you leave."

    They were led deeper into the complex, to the Vulcan ambassador's office.

    Bianh greeted the Vulcan by name. He greeted her by title, then her name... in the vulcan language.

    "Are we secure here?" the Moabite Ambassador asked.

    "Quite."

    "The only question I have then, is whether Ambassador Thalev, or Governor Kincaid, is staying in your kitchen," Bianh said casually. "I've got a running bet with the Lt. Commander here that it's the Andorian ambassador, not the Denali Governor."

    The Vulcan looked... impressed. "You have good information sources, or we have a security leak," he said. "I trust you have not discussed this openly."

    "No," Bianh said. "However, Anh has...messages for the Governor from some of her people on Moab if she is here...and I have a plentiful amount of morbid curiosity if it is Thalev, rather than Kincaid."

    "Actually, we have both," Ambassador T'Sarta remarked as she stepped into the room. "Though in the governors case, we nearly lost her. The would be assassin, how do they say, 'Did a number' on her when she saved Ambassador Thalev. Councilwoman Hibiki is staying with us as well - she felt it logical to remain here, both to make sure she isn't as easily targeted, given that two of the follow-up attacks were most likely meant for her, and so that she could more easily converse with us, and come up with plans more easily."

    "You called it," Anh said. "Habeas Corpus - no Corpus, no crime... at least no guilt for the Denali." She pulled a small stack of coins from her pocket, and handed them to the Moab ambassador. "I need to hand these to her grace the governor," Anh said. "As for the tip-off, it's cold outside and you bought an Air Conditioner." She nodded at the window. "A Heat pump can be used either way, and therefore, would have been less conspicuous."

    "Your logic is flawless," the ambassador conceded. "It was a portable unit, being that we had no need for permanent changes to our environmental controls."

    "I've got people watching for unwanted watchers," she added. "If a girl with no schooling can catch this, so can the guys running this theatrical farce."

    "This of course assumes that we are seen as a threat. We have our own people watching as well, this however was an oversight."

    "Well, I'm told your people are basically honest, it's no shame you missed that one," Anh said. "I figure sooner or later [vulcan intelligence] is going to make me and mine look like the dumb monkeys we really are."

    "Do not sell yourselves short," the ambassador said with as close as she got to a smile. "After all, the whole meaning of this," she said, touching the IDIC medallion on her robes, "is that with the infinite diversity of life forms working together, our strengths complement each other's, and our weaknesses are supported."

    "It's Madame Ambassador's job to work together, mine is more focused on endings - either preventing them, or making them. Today, it's preventing them," Anh stated. "We know a few things after the bounce-message from home, which is why I figured either Thalev, or Her Grace the Governor, might find what's in here-" she held up the case, "interesting... you might, also."

    "I think we all will," she nodded. "If you'll follow me please?" The Ambassador turned and led them deeper into the embassy, meeting up with Councilwoman Hibiki along the way, who joined them. The building, like many in Paris, had a good sized cellar, which was often where embassies put their secure transmitting facilities and offices, as well as a new door with a hole cut into it for the portable air conditioner tubing.

    Anh studied the room they were led into with a practiced eye, before she unchained her hand from the case, and opened it, while Bianh greeted both the Governor, and Thalev warmly.
    "Forgive me for not standing, but walking is still a bit of a problem," Rachelle said.

    Bianh smiled. "I have a good friend who probably would lose to you in a foot-race," she said.

    Anh glowered at that remark, but held her tongue.

    Thalev just chuckled. "As they say, reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated, no small thanks to both the Governor, and Ambassador T'Sarta."

    The vulcan woman just shook her head. "Like you did not save my life at least thirty seven times during the Dominion war."

    Anh set out a deck of cards on the table, and then hooked the unit into the wall-plug outlet.

    "Ahem," she said, and waited.

    T'Sarta had a seat, gesturing for the other ambassadors and Ryoko to sit, as well. "Now then, let's see what you have brought us."

    "This presentation is classified," Anh said. "Present to observe are Biah Trinh Dao, Ambassador to the Federation from the Moab Confederacy, Governor Kincaid, an authorized person, Ambassador Thalev, an Authorized person, Ambassador T'Sarla, an Authorized person, and Councilwoman Ryoko Hibiki, an Authorized person. Time is now..." she looked at her watch, "twelve twenty hours, Haganah sends."

    The holoplayer lit up and Missy Travis, Saul Moskowitz, and Sgt Major Kincaid appeared...



    Half an hour later

    "Are you sure of this?"

    "The M'chelle Schrodinger who is in command of the USS McGrath was originally from that universe. As she explained it, part of her job as science officer over there was to maintain agonizers, tailored for each crewman. She has more than passing knowledge on how they work."

    "Why would she do something like that?"

    Ahn shrugged. "Because if she refused, her own agonizer collar would be activated? Pain and Fear is how the Terran Empire operates. Furthermore she is one of the few experts in trans-dimensional physics. After the would-be assassin's background had been confirmed - his counterpart ironically died during the recent Betazed incident, but his DNA was still on record, She reviewed the telemetry from the last incident in that nebula. She predicts there is a 89.38 percent chance that portal went to the so called 'mirror' universe."

    "This is not logical," Ambassador T'Sarla said as she paced, a habit she picked up when thinking. "If the Terran Empire had access to trans dimensional technology - why would they open the portal in the middle of nowhere? Why not a strategic system?"

    "We don't know what's on the other side of the rabbit hole, for all we know it could be a major strategic system for them," Thalev replied reasonably.

    "That's all well and good," Kincaid said, "but that doesn't change the fact that we've got a fleet from here on it's way to Denali."

    "Agreed. And this, while intriguing, doesn't do much to help stop that," the vulcan stated.

    "Hmm..." Ryoko mused. After a moment, she asked, "Are we sure the fleet really is from here, though?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Well, we know the four ships from Earth are from here, no question," Ryoko began. "But the ships meeting them along the way... Donitz... Calley... Wirz... they don't sound familiar at all. Hell, they don't even sound Starfleet."




    Federation Foreign Minister's office, Paris

    The office had been repaired, even better than it was before. The excuse of the bombing had allowed him to bring in 'secure' contractors for the repair, and now he had a good sized armory, as well as a personal transporter pad that wasn't on the official network. Things were going good, though he was soon to be out of touch with the Task Force - they were just about out of range of the nearest subspace repeater. "How's morale?"

    "Very high, the loyal troops are looking forward to pitting their skills against the augments," Admiral Fitsimmons replied over the encrypted link. "My agents on the Calnus report a fair bit of uncertainty, the captain will definitely not play ball when the time comes I think."

    "Pity, but having a ship or two to sacrifice just makes it look better to the people on the ground. Linda said she's looking forward to meeting you as well."

    "Likewise. What of the rumored Klingon reinforcements?"

    "The Klinks don't have much out there, and we're threatening them with total war if they do. Though if Shaw can get enough Azrael to me," he said with a malevolent grin, "we may deploy it somewhere populated full of aliens, for a final field test."

    "And blame the Klingons of course, as they have samples of it," she said, though she did look troubled, "You know though, Sir, if humans aren't immune to the latest strain..."

    Cave shrugged. "Then it will decimate the weaklings in this universe. What do we care about them? Even if it does spread, by the time it reached Terra, we'd be home."

    "Good point. Where were you thinking of using it?"

    "Somewhere very public, and overrun with multiple species of alien filth. Maybe Risa."



    Lab Two, ruins of Provo, New Saigon...

    They'd cleared the colonies of Fek, but the biosphere was still too ruined for civilian occupation.

    That meant 'privacy'.

    Mary studied the bioagent recovered from the Moosehead Nebula in an isolab facility provided by Klingon Intelligence, and made notes.

    "Gruppvirus," she muttered. "Spreads like Gruppvirus..." whoever did the work on this was a sadistic son of a *****... and sloppy.

    Careless.

    "Analysis note, Isolab Two, sample taken from deceased half-klingon male. Viral agent targets non-human baseline pairs. The shifting antigen structure prevents simple encoding of a counterviral agent, meaning there is no possible serum for treatment, and no inoculations will work. Whoever designed this wee thing didn't consider what happens with it when it runs out of non-human DNA strands - what you are left with, is something that will target and destroy non-human beings, all of them, rats, cats, dogs, horses... trees, grass... everything. Turn it loose on a planet and in six months to a year, you have a place where food won't grow to feed your human survivors... who will then get sick because the viral agent shifts to targeting human DNA strands as part of it's built-in survival strategy... sloppy work." she leaned back and continued her log. "Recommended counter, is tricobalt bombardment of outbreak area... all of it, with quarantine and euthanasia protocols for anyone exposed."

    She leaned forward and tabbed in a sequence. "Purging lab now. We shouldn't even be storing this."

    She readied the reports, walked out of the prefab structure to a safe distance, and boarded the shuttle with her results.

    The four kilograms of antimatter inside the prefab's ceiling lost containment as she cleared atmo - levelling and scorching to quanta a spherical radius of 100 kilometers, a burn that not even the hardiest virus could withstand.

    It wasn't, after all, as if anyone lived on New Saigon now - or would be living there in the next two hundred years.



    Transmission time: 1130 Qo'noS First City time...

    Temek's expression wasn't a pleased one. "You are certain?" he asked.

    "Thy question answers itself, aye, within the boundaries of logic and reason, I am certain. This viral was designed by an idiot with a degree," Mary Moriarty said. "The fools sought a warmaker 'gainst all non-human life, but forgot... most life isn't human, and to be flexible enough, it WILL shift targets. Thy search needs to seek well-funded, well-educated fanatics lacking in even the least shred of foresight or understanding of unpredictability, blinded by racial ego, and unused to eating natural food, in other words, people whose meals come from a replicator, air comes from a reprocessor, and education separates them from understanding on the root level how to interact with their environment... academics, from an advanced society, based on the targeting, most likely human in origin. My suggestion is microbiologists, it would have to be someone respected in their field, with little to no recent time outside of lab work, probably someone who discounts evidence to any contrary to their own theories."

    "Arrogant, and Ignorant?" Temek asked.

    "Not ignorant, Stupid," Mary corrected him. "The design works too precise to be the work of someone who's uneducated or under-educated, while being too sloppy to be the work of anyone smart enough to understand that life-forms will always pursue their own survival minus the guidance of sentience..." She frowned. "Even my parents knew better than to let a bioagent mutate that freely. In Earth-terms, they've made themselves an Andromeda Strain."

    "That would be why you burned up six billion Darseks worth of custom-designed isolab?" he asked, adding, "which cost the government as much as a new Cruiser Group?"

    "Aye," she said. "I dinna' want it getting OUT."



    USS Reuben James

    "Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't most Luna class science ships have well, more science than weapons?"

    "I think you're right, Captain." They had met up with the reinforcements, but something was strange - well stranger than the whole situation. Despite it's size, Starfleet was in many ways still as small orginization. Most ships had reputations - histories connected to their names, some good, some bad. But M'karret had never even heard of these ships, the Task Force Valkyrie. But then there were orginizations like Section 31, and other covert ops that had their own assets, so it made sense...but still something about it bothered him.

    "Something bothering you Captain?" his half-Romulan xo asked.

    M'Karett just chuckled, flicking his tail. "Everything's bothering me about this. I really hope the cooler heads prevail back on Earth." he checked the readout forwarded from the helm - they still had over a week to go, even at slipstream - hopefully that would be enough time for some of the politcos to find either their spine, or their common sense.



    Moab System, Oort Cloud...

    "I dinna want it getting OUT." The transmission was pretty clear, and the subrange of data on the viral was... alarming.

    She ran through the other signals she'd gotten - some from KI, some from ConOps, and some from Haganah...

    Cross-referencing those, she began assembly... and pieces were definitely not there that ought to be...

    Looking Glass linked into the KDF's records database using search terms - Denali, Biological Weapons, Augments, USS Wirz, USS Calley, USS Donitz... Klingons never heard of the ships, but they've heard of Denali... and biological... oh, yes... yes, this is disturbing. She checked over Federation media and examined it relative to the Klingon data.

    Klingons are not in the habit of under-playing threats if it can lead to war.
    Satisfied that it was worth her time, she opened a channel into Government House.

    Kelly White answered. "Inform Minister Moskowitz that I will be accompanying the task force to Denali." Looking Glass chose her Sarah face today.

    "Yes ma'am," Kelly said. "Will you require crew?"

    That could be a problem. Denali was inhabited, and the inhabitants would want to see actual people. "One company of marines," Looking Glass decided. Anh-Elizabeth-Us overruled. "Make that a squad of Haganah's Irgun branch instead - I want to be able to isolate the rooms they're in if I need to make use of my systems or maneuvers."

    "Any particular qualifiers on the squad?" Kelly enquired.

    "Grown ups, Kelly, not Ariel's mean little kids," Looking Glass told her firmly. "Age range starts at over twenty-four, no upper limit as long as they can pass a physical."

    "Racial?"

    "Human, Ferasan or Klingon. Letheans are also acceptable, but no Gorn, Nausicaans or Orions - they can't handle low temperature environments well and won't be able to bluff or blend their way around if I need to deploy them groundside."

    "Should I also inform the KDF?" Kelly asked.

    "No, I'll do that," Looking Glass said. "If I deem it necessary."

    Looking Glass considered something else... and hot-hailed into the comm system of the Cold Vengeance". She chose her "medusa" face for this. Always try to make a good impression...



    Bridge, Cold Vengeance

    She should be happy she was in mostly one piece. they got her hand and ears fixed - but heavily bandaged, the arm in a splint to promote healing, and it itched, oh God did it itch. She was not only on light duty (in truth the Sgt Major would have had her still in sickbay if they weren't so short handed), but worst... Promoted. A mustang, as one of the Moabites had described it. She was now an officer, by order of the thankfully not dead Governor. At least the Governor wasn't dead yet, after hearing the news Sanjit wanted to kill her herself. Oh well, maybe she'd TRIBBLE off someone enough to be busted back down to enlisted where she wanted to be.

    She noticed the beeping com, of course the switch for that would be on the side where her arm was encased in protective plastic, took her a couple tries to reach over to get it with her other hand. "Go ahead" she muttered.

    "Lieutenant Sanjit, I understand you're having a small environmental problem - starfleet ships coming to rain fire." The face that appeared was... horrific. "I don't like that, but there are inconsistencies in this situation I also don't like." She shifted to the Sarah-Collins-Us face. "Good, got your attention. Do you know who I am?"

    She started at the first face, then when it morphed settled back down. "I think I've heard rumors of you, but don't think I was cleared - though if you're talking to me, I guess I am now," she replied. "You're that ghost ship that kicked so much TRIBBLE, you got Starfleet to call a no-fly zone, right?"

    "I will be joining your group to... investigate this situation," Sarah-Us said. "Now, I understand you are having some heating issues in that Orion Tub."

    "Actually, I'd say it's closer to a barge, myself," she muttered. "Of course the price was... well not worth it. Lost nine taking it. But yeah, it's set for Orions, and without a major overhaul they don't think we can change it."

    "Check the coolant runs from the warp-core," Sarah-Us said. "You'll find they routed them into the environmental. Re-route them to a pair of exchangers on the aft outer hull. You should be able to lower the temperature enough to make a polar bear happy."

    She pulled up the schematics and muttered under her breath. "Those green skinned idiots... so that's what it was - and if they ever had a coolant leak..it'd flood the spaces with warp coolant."

    "It's a common alteration on slaving ships - they use it to keep it warm, and if the cargo gets too rough they flood the bays," Sarah-Us continued.

    "Ya know, I'm really glad now that the first two ships that tried to jack us ended up breathing vacuum," she muttered, sending the info down to Engineering.

    "You need additional crew, have your C.O. request it from MCDF personnel command, care of Kelly White, use the term 'money-tree' in the request," Sarah-Us continued. "That will tell them it's from me, and it's a favour I'm calling in," Sarah-Us continued. "Be specific about age ranges and races. Got that? Do you need to write it down?"

    "No, I got it," she muttered, of course writing with her writing hand broken was a bit of an issue - fortunately she had a padd set up to take verbal notes, so she had it. "I'll get on that immediately, thank you."






    La Paz, Mexico

    His spanish was rusty, but serviceable. Of course nowadays everyone either spoke English, or used translators - but it was always better to use the language of where you were going, if possible.

    His hair was also short, for the first time, well since he left 31. Not that they required that - it was just easier to blend in sometimes that way. He didn't recognize himself in the mirror before he left - which was the entire idea. At least Trills had an easier time blending in, cover the spots, and boom. Instant nondescript human.

    He could have just walked up to the gate, that would have been the easier way - but then while he may have been out of the field for a while, some things you just don't forget. The easy way was usually watched by people you didn't want to know you were going there, and comms were usually bugged.

    Of course, that also meant that the people he was trying to contact probably had guards out as well, especially on the back way. Standard starfleet setup though from the most part from what he could tell, he could see two by the fence, both looking towards his direction, which meant the third-

    There was the sound of a phaser safety being taken off behind him. Yep, there he was. It was a good thing he expected these people to be good; sloppy security usually had very poor fire discipline.

    Permor made no sudden moves, his hands in plain sight. "Phaser right rear pocket, data in left rear - and ask Commander LaRoca how quadraptors taste."



    Mako, 168km up the Sea of Cortez

    Rusty leaned over the bow rail and watched the dolphins pacing the cabin cruiser as it ran lazy circles at sixteen knots. Rusty's father and brother watched him from the flying bridge. "Que se en el diablo's gotten into him, Jesu?" Carlos wondered, between pulls on his long-necked bottle of Mexican lager.

    "Waddaya mean, papi?" the Admiral asked.

    "Su hermano. I mean last time we got him on the boat, it took both of us holding his hands just to get him on the boat. And he spent most of the trip below decks, and whenever he was out he was never more than a fingerlength from you and he never went near the rails. Now look at him." Carlos pointed to Rusty with his beer. "It's like he's not afraid of water anymore."

    "I don't think he is," Jesu told him. "I think what he went through at Moab helped him get over it."

    "He told me he still hates the ocean," Carlos countered. "And I haven't seen him swimming in the bay even once - not while you've been here all winter, not when he was here with Georgia last summer... one of your security guys said something about surfing the other day and I saw Rusty cringe."

    "Maybe he just thinks he's afraid," Jesu suggested. "I should go down and have a talk with him-"

    "Admiral, we have an incoming message," Spitz called over the intercom from the main salon. "Secure line from the house. Urgent."

    "I'll be right down," Jesu replied.

    "I guess Rusty's fears will have to wait," Carlos remarked. "I'd try talking to him myself, but I never was able to get to him the way you were." His moustache drooped. "The two of you have always been so close, and I..."

    "Es oque, papi," Jesu assured him. "I'll talk to him later. You just drive the boat." Admiral LaRoca went down to the main deck and ducked into the salon - the multipurpose dining and common area aboard the boat, which was currently overrun by communications gear. "Que pasa, Spitz?"

    "We have a Commander Permor trying to reach you, sir," Spitz-Reader reported.

    That raised Jesu's eyebrows. "Wasn't he the XO of the Nighthawk?"

    "I think he was listed as that in the report, Sir," the Ferasan replied. "He did not come through the front door however - security picked him up along the back road, in the cactus patch - he said to ask your brother 'how quadraptors taste.' Though I am not sure what that means."

    "It means it's really him," Rusty replied. His sense of hearing couldn't quite make out what his family had been saying about him on the bridge, but he'd heard - and felt - his brother's footsteps and followed him into the comm center. "Not many knew about that disgusting part of the trip out there... took me days to get the taste out of my mouth."

    "Ah, like Moabite food then," Spitz-reader replied with a nod.

    Jesu just chuckled. "Well that's an acquired taste, but quadraptors aren't edible at all. Did you pick up anything from Permor?"

    "No Admiral - at least no deception. He is here on orders of his superior, however."

    "Captain Travis? But she's on the run, if she's even still alive..."

    "No sir. Franklin Drake."

    "Aw, hell." Jesu rubbed his eyebrows and sighed. "Okay, put him through."

    There was a pause, as the screen switched - he looked more human, but it was the same officer they knew from the trip to Denali. "Admiral, sorry for sneaking in like this, but we figured your residence was being watched - and just beaming down to your boat would not only be rude, but would reveal things you probably did not want revealed."

    "How long have you been with Section 31?" Jesu demanded, coming right to the point.

    Permor shrugged as though it were irrelevant. "About fifteen years, not counting the last six on the Nighthawk. I got out when I got married. But the thing about this line of work, you may take a break, but you always get pulled back in - and the current situation is enough to get me to agree."

    "I can see that. I assume this isn't a social call however, especially if you went crawling through cacti."

    "No sir." Permor double-checked the security settings and locked eyes with the Admiral. "Drake has information that he thought you'd find interesting..."


    USS Calnus, Captain's Ready Room

    Captain Kanzaki sat in her Ready Room, going over some of the data she'd been researching. She'd finished the survey of Captain Travis' DNA, and was still unable to find any 'threat', though she had been genuinely impressed by the work that had been done.

    Currently, though, she was going over personnel and ship data - something was truly fishy about this mission, and she was dead set on finding out what.

    The door to her ready room chimed. "Come," she called, the door opening to admit one of her ship's Counselors. "Ah, Counselor, come in, come in," she said, the junior officer stepping into the office as the door closed behind them. "How's crew morale holding up?"

    Lt Jennifer Carrol just shook her head. "We've got a saying back home - lower than a snakes belly. Well, it's under that in a few departments," she replied as she took a seat when indicated. "Mainly the sciences sections, the Admiral's orders that non-mission tasks were not to be worked on out here - well true, there's not a lot out this way, but still." She shrugged. "we're scientists Sir, not warriors. Unlike those late transfers we got back at ESD, they are almost chomping at the bit to get there."

    "Hmm..." Ami mused thoughtfully, her chin resting atop her folded hands. "I have a bad feeling - both about this mission, and our late transfers," she said. "Do you think you can keep a surreptitious eye on them? I don't want to draw their attention, but I definitely think there's something up there."

    "That might be difficult, sir - they don't interact with the crew, they don't even take their meals in the mess - but in their quarters. They're all humans, too, which is odd. There's usually a lot of Andorians and Caitians in the MACO forces I've noticed," she shrugged. "Weird but eh, I was on a ship out of the academy that was mostly Tellarites. It just happens that way sometimes."

    "Right, but still..." Ami had a bit of a worried expression on her face. "I'm worried this situation is going to go to hell in a handbasket, and part of me thinks these MACOs are going to make it even worse, somehow. I'm ordering secret checks on all systems, make sure all our special tricks for making attacker's lives hell are ready to go, but I'm still worried it won't be enough."

    "What attackers? We've got 28 ships vs what, three antique bird of preys, a derelict Orion carrier, and some fighters? They'll be atomized before they even get to us," she said darkly.

    "You know the tricks I'm talking about - the ones we use to deal with raiders and hostiles while exploring," Ami remarked. "If things start going as bad or worse than I fear, we may need them."

    "Well, according to as much of the plan they bothered to tell us about, they're tasked with part of the ground assault - so we shouldn't have them long. Though they did want several of the biochemical department assigned to go down with them for some reason."

    "Hmm... Part of me wonders if we're getting played here..." Ami muttered.

    "Ma'am?"

    "None of this makes any sense if you look at it straight on..." Ami explained. "That we're just here to 'pacify' Denali. But what if that's just a cover? What if someone is wanting something on Denali, and is using this whole situation as a cover to grab it?"

    "There's nothing there - no heavy industry, a lot of food production, and... genetics. Son of a *****. I bet that's what they're after, why they want our biochemists - the MACOs are tasked with capturing the genetic research facilities."

    "Yeah," Ami replied with a snarl. "I bet you that most of the other ships aren't even Starfleet - they probably belong to whomever is behind all this."

    "That would be President Okeg, Ma'am, I'm afraid. The orders came from Paris, remember?"

    "Yeah, but it could be he's just being used, as well," Ami reminded her. "I know he's technically the one in charge of everything, but even he has to have advisors - one of them could have manipulated him into this." She sighed. "'Threat to the Federation,' my @ss," she muttered. "They're as much of a 'threat' as I am..."



    Mako, Sea of Cortez

    "...Are you sure they're safe at the Vulcan embassy?" Admiral LaRoca wanted to know.

    "We know Moab's got their people keeping an eye on things, as do we," Permor replied. "The Vulcans are, well Vulcans - they don't tell anyone what they're doing, but they're working hand in glove with the Andorians on this - of course both ambassadors served together in Starfleet back in the Dominion war."

    "Yeah, Vulcans, but it's ****ing Paris," Rusty pointed out. "Everyone has a scanner on their head and a holocam up their TRIBBLE over there. It only takes one little breach."

    "We tried to talk them into moving - but they believe 'hiding in plain sight' is their best strategy," the Trill replied, though from the look on his face it was obvious that he didn't agree. "The Governor isn't very mobile at the moment, so moving her might be an issue anyway - she nearly died from what the assassin did to her." He sent another file. "And speaking of Assassins, one tried to get into a meeting at Moab within the last day or so. Evidently to him, all augments looked alike, so instead of Travis, he managed to attack Sergeant Sanjit Kaur of the Denali Home Guard in the women's latrine, using a monofilament garotte."

    Rusty remembered Sanjit well. "A fatal mistake, I trust?"

    "You could say that. The interesting thing about that one though, isn't the fact she managed to kill him one handed - but that he's not from this universe"

    Jesu frowned. "Mirror incursion?"

    "According to Dr Schrodinger, the long term neurological damaged the would-be assassin had was more than likely due to long term agonizer useage - which they use to enforce discipline."

    "That's not quite conclusive," Reader remarked. "There are a few Cardassian and Romulan techniques that are known to achieve similar results in humanoid brain tissue..."

    "We'll go along with Schrodinger's assumptions until anyone finds evidence to the contrary," the Admiral stated. "I think Mirror involvement makes more sense than True Way or Tal Shiar."

    "So do I, especially when you see this list of ships in Fitsimmons Task force. A couple of them were grabbed from ships that happened to be at ESD when things went pear shaped," he said as the next file was sent, the encryption is why it took so long for each one, "but I don't think that Starfleet would name a ship after William Calley or Henry Wirz..."

    Spitz-Reader glanced at Admiral LaRoca and telepathically signalled his confusion.

    War criminals from Earth's history, Jesu thought back. And history not so ancient as us Humans would like the rest of the galaxy to believe. "Yeah, that wouldn't happen over here." Jesu glanced at the rest of the list. "USS Karl Donitz, NCC-97234, Avenger-class. No such ship. I've had my eye on the build orders for those - thinking of snagging one for ConOps. That ship doesn't exist."

    I know of Donitz, Reader thought aloud. The Klingon Academy teaches his wolfpack tactics as foundational battle doctrine for bird-of-prey squadron commanders.

    "Then either someone is so stupid, they released the name of a non-existent ship in a press conference," Permor growled, "or they're so confident that they'll succeed in what they're after they don't care."



    USS Calnus, Captain's Ready Room

    "So, on another topic, do we have any more Augment-haters on the ship, or was that tech I confined to quarters the only one?"

    "A good number, though most of them seem to be the late arrivals that got put on board before we left Earth," she shrugged. "But then they are MACOs, and they're not exactly picked for their stunning intellects."

    "True," Ami replied. "And they seem to forget that no matter what kind of 'tinkering' has been done, those who have been altered are still people, as well."

    "Not according to the Government," Lt Carrol muttered. "We're little more than animals - I mean they... TRIBBLE."

    Ami smiled. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she said. "Not to mention I'm a geneticist - I could tell some of the markers when I went over the data from your last physical. So... Denali, or some clandestine program?"

    She shrugged. "Hell if I know to be honest, Captain. Only way I found out about it is a registered letter from my mother that was delivered on my 18th birthday. Supposedly some defect that they discovered, and went off planet to have fixed."

    Ami winced. "That's a hell of a way to learn about it, Lieutenant," she remarked, before sighing. "Though... I wasn't much better - I found out about it the hard way, by studying my own DNA. Like you, though, I don't know who performed the alterations - and since I was adopted, I don't even know why."

    "And here we are about to bring the wrath of the Federation down on a planet full of people like us... just because the government doesn't like what's in their genes."

    "Only if we 'play ball', Lieutenant... Jennifer," Ami said with a grim expression. "Only if we play ball. I'm 'playing along' until I know just what's going on, but if they give us unethical orders, or make a move against their true objective... we will stop them."



    Vin Drin Lap shipyard, Moab...

    "She's not ready." Captain Ngoc Trung told Commodore Cham. "She's nowhere near ready." They stood looking at the grounded form of the MCDF Xiao Loc. "We're about halfway through retrofitting the sensor clusters and the main computer, flight controls are completely off-line, and there's a hold up on the powerplant and EPS retrofit-seems what we need are non-standard dimensioned parts that aren't in the KDF inventory."

    "Damn, I was hoping you wouldn't tell me that," the CNO said. "They could've used a decent Blackbird on this."

    Ngoc shrugged, "Sorry, sir, she's not fit to fly, much less fight... what about the Nha Tranh? I mean, Qua's a good officer, and they're coming off the ramps in a few days..."

    "I didn't want to send Qua because Janie Qua's also sidelined for psyche evals, she had an episode, damn near shot her brother in law..."

    "She really that ate up, sir?"

    "Well... she's claiming it was a flashback, but I saw the bruises..." Cham confided, "I need an excuse, just one..."

    "I'll get your excuse, cut her orders to Denali, I'll take care of Brian Qua myself."

    "Don't do anything stupid."

    Ngoc shrugged. "I won't get caught. Jimmy was a good friend. His bro tuning up his widow's not in the plan, and she won't do anything about it with the kids around."

    Ngoc walked away, stopping to pick up a crowbar from a toolbox.

    Finding Brian Qua wasn't hard - he was still on-shift working on the Da Nang in slip three. "Hi Brian," Ngoc said, and swung the crowbar into the welder's kneecap. "I'm from the Department of the Navy, you've been damaging..." he swung it again, breaking the man's forearm, "Government Property again... in the person of one Commander Janet Qua, who hasn't put you in your place for god only knows what reason."

    "Aah! STOP!!" Brian begged.

    "Your bro was a friend of mine, Brian," Ngoc crouched down, and pulled up the welding mask, "He used to tell me that you just needed a break, that you'd shape up..." he put the hooked end of the crowbar under Brian's chin. "Now, you fell down... down the ladder, landed bad, understand? every time Janey takes a leave, she seems to get all accident-prone, well... if she has any more accidents, you're going to have a LOT of accidents. We Savvy Goyim? There are a LOT of us around here, everyone likes her a bunch, you're going to be a nice, responsible citizen, and if any of the KIDS have so much as a bruise, you're going to have another accident, have enough of them, and you die, Savvy Goyim?"

    Brian shuddered and whined and nodded.

    "No more Trayf TRIBBLE about 'dominating' someone ain't your woman, will there be? No more, or your health insurance gets cancelled, Savvy Goyim?" Ngoc emphasized. "You want to tune someone up, you go pick a fight in a bar with men, like a man does, Savvy Goyim?"



    ISS Reckoning, departing Imperial Starbase, 23 Jan, 2412

    "Stand by for transition, and Emperor save you if you **** this up people, because I won't!" the captain Snarled. The Defiant class ship passed through the portal without incident fortunately, a ship that small, summary executions tended to make things harder on everyone else on board.

    Captain Damon Soto sat in his seat, watching his crew. He really didn't have to threaten them, but it kept them on their toes. He knew he had a good crew, and besides, if he did not, there was always a mole or two that would report him to Imperial Security... Still, this was a glorious mission, a chance to not only serve the Empire, but to eradicate race-traitors. An entire planet, where humans mixed with aliens for carnal pleasures. While that was the only thing that many aliens, like the catpeople were good for, still, if this worked - he'd forgo the feline slave girl he had in his quarters back on the station, to make the galaxy safe, pure, human.


    They made it through, space looked the same, but it felt..weak. Like it's inhabitants. oh he knew it was just in his head, but even the Klingons of this universe, they wern''t even a threat to this weak, peaceful Federation. They never had to fight for their homeworld, never had to fight for anything.

    "Set your course for Risa Mr Crisp, warp Eight. Mr Martin, engage the cloak."

    The Reckoning shimmered as it vanished, heading towards it's target.





    Jan 25, 2412 MCDF "Nha Tranh"...

    "Picking up engine noise... sounds like... an old Defiant class." Greta Markham announced from the science station.

    "Check the profile, you're sure?" Captain Janet Qua asked.

    "Dead sure, position is forty two degrees Starboard, thirty degrees up-angle, vector's got her moving at warp seven... and the datasys says it's definitely OLD model Defiant warp drive... and the old Mk.VI cloaks - that's Dominion War era."

    She collated the sensor contact with their group's positioning indicators.

    "It's not ours... so it's in the wrong space unless it's hostile," Janet concluded. "Send to convoy - enemy contact, we're engaging."



    ISS Reckoning

    Their first warning was when the systems sounded a torpedo lock alert... and suddenly, a haze-gray K'vort class cruiser appeared.

    "We're being... Hailed!!" The Cloaking officer looked terrified.

    "Peekaboo mother****er, I see you." came over the audio, "stand down your weapons and stop running or I'm killing you."

    The voice was... familiar.

    "Don't panic" Soto said, tugging at the unfamiliar uniform top. Both the crew and the ship had been altered for just such an eventuality, the familiar gold stipes of Imperial ships replaced by Federation coward grey, the hul
    "It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier." R.A.Heinlein

    "he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."



  • takeshi6takeshi6 Member Posts: 752 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Looks like I didn't quite get all the Punctuation... there's some stuff that wasn't forum friendly.

    Sorry about that - I thought I'd gotten it all. :(:o
    76561198160276582.png
  • marcusdkanemarcusdkane Member Posts: 7,439 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Very nice :cool:

    The Vulcan language is Vuhlkansu ;)
  • knightraider6knightraider6 Member Posts: 396 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Episode 5: Down the Rabbit Hole
    For the love of god, will you bite your tongue
    Before we make you swallow it
    It's moments like this where silence is golden
    (And then you speak)

    No one wants to hear you
    No one wants to see you
    So desperate and pathetic
    I'm begging you to spare me
    The pleasure of your company

    (When did the diamonds leave your bones?)

    I'm burning down every bridge we made
    I'll watch you choke on the hearts you break
    I'm bleeding out every word you said
    Go to hell for heaven's sake

    I'm burning down every bridge we made
    I'll watch you choke on the hearts you break
    I'm bleeding out every word you said
    Go to hell for heaven's sake

    (Go to hell for heaven's sake)

    No one wants to hear you (save your breath)
    No one wants to see you
    So desperate and pathetic
    You think that no one sees this
    I think it's time you knew the truth

    I'm burning down every bridge we made
    I'll watch you choke on the hearts you break
    I'm bleeding out every word you said
    Go to hell for heaven's sake

    I'm burning down every bridge we made
    I'll watch you choke on the hearts you break
    I'm bleeding out every word you said
    Go to hell for heaven's sake

    When did the diamonds leave your bones?
    Leave your bones?

    You're not a shepherd, you're just a sheep
    A combined effort of everyone you meet
    You're all flesh with no bone
    Feed them to the sharks
    And throw them to the wolves

    I'm burning down every bridge we made
    I'll watch you choke on the hearts you break
    I'm bleeding out every word you said
    Go to hell for heaven's sake

    I'm burning down every bridge we made
    I'll watch you choke on the hearts you break
    I'm bleeding out every word you said
    Go to hell for heaven's sake

    Go to hell for heaven's sake
    Go to hell for heaven's sake
    Go to hell for heaven's sake
    Bring Me the Horizon Go to Hell for Heavens Sake

    Moosejaw Nebula, 28 Jan, 2412. Bridge, Heart of Gold

    He wouldn't admit it, but he was nervous. He wasn't a swaggaring tin plated dictator with delusions of Godhood, he was just a civilian. True, a civilian who at the ripe old age of fourteen stood with few others between the people of the city and the hordes of the banished Pantheon. Not that he did that kind of stuff any more, he was a respectable businessman. Ok, maybe he did a little side work for Haganah every now and then. But they were good people.

    Jacob watched the nebula get larger on the viewscreen, the Risan corvette continuing on it's course as if nothing was amiss. There was a minimal crew, in fact the Heart of Gold's usual crew had been swapped out with volunteers from Moab, who have traveled with him before - though those missions were usually more specialized cargo delivery...

    "Anything yet?"

    The helmsman just shook her head. "No, though we're not using the good sensors, being you normally wouldn't have those."

    He nodded, which meant they didn't know for sure that their escorts were still there, either - tacnet could be detected, so they were literally blind. That bothered him truthfully more than the upcoming ambush. An ambush one knows of, well that just gives you the advantage.



    IKS Herdthinner

    "Maintain position, ten kellikams from the transport," K'Tirr ordered.

    It was a tense atmosphere on the bridge, as they followed the Corvette at distance while under cloak. They had to be close enough to be able to engage if necessary, yet far enough back not to be detected should the Terrans have some exotic sensors. Schrodi believed that they would not have that capability, and while he believed his mate's sister - it was best to be prepared.

    They, however were not going through - that was left to Looking Glass and the few beings on that ship, Schrodinger among them. All humans, or as close as could get, probably rather uncomfortable in their new uniforms. If they were lucky they would not have to be used.

    He glanced over at his mate at the science station. "Are they ready?" he asked her, not wanting to risk a transmission, even one encrypted.

    "Lemme check," Nova replied. "How are you set over there?"



    Looking Glass

    She hated wearing this again, while it technically was more fabric, it seemed to cover less than what orion dancers wore, and the collar... fortunately they did not have agonizers in them, or the combadges on the humans who were on the modified Miranda

    "We're set as we're going to be here, hopefully they'll take the bait. If not, we'll have to go in and start probing..."
    {yeah that would kind of tip them off. I'll let him know you're ready.}

    "Be nice if we had more firepower though," she muttered. "No offense," she added to the ship, "but the empire is a firm believer in overkill."

    "None taken," the Sarah Collins voice responded. "We are also a firm believer in overkill."

    "There is no 'Overkill'," a nearby Marine remarked. "There is only 'Open Fire' and 'I need to Reload'."

    "Good point," Schrodi laughed, then paused as she glanced at one of the consoles. "I think we've got a nibble..."

    Looking Glass almost cackled. "It's showtime."



    ISS Devastator

    "What do we have?"

    "Civilian transport, marked as target 1, Risan corvette," Lt Danell said as he marked the target, doing a more in-depth scan. "Twenty two life forms... human, and cargo... looks to be alcohols, mixed exotics... this one might be the good stuff."

    Captain Farrel grinned as he looked over the scan. The last ship had been carrying mining machinery-while useful to someone, it wasn't exactly worth splitting up amongst the crew. Not that such was officially tolerated, but he'd learned that a happy crew was one that wouldn't stab you in the back when you least expected it. The Devastator had been sitting out in this black soup for months, picking off the occasional transport, but never had they had something this good. "Stand by on weapons, tractors get a lock-"

    "Sir, I'm picking up two ships, decloaking off port and starboard!"

    "What?" he glared at the screen, his dark skin paling when he saw the outline of the black Miranda... "T... Tran. **** Me..."

    "We're being hailed, Sir."

    "Onscreen."

    It was her... dammit. He couldn't help but sweat as she lounged in the Captain's chair, just saying nothing for a moment, letting him sweat, as she also went through their systems, crew rosters, histories, records, in only a few nanoseconds. "Captain Farrel, who did you TRIBBLE off to get gatekeeper duty?"

    "It's boring," he admitted, "but I've had worse duty." Part of him wanted to ask just what she was doing here - but that was a good way to get on her bad side - people on her bad side did not live long.

    "Indeed," she replied. "Profitable, too I hope?"

    "Not really, no. Haven't been many freighters by of late, until, well, this one - which being you're between us and them, you're claiming it?"

    On the viewscreen Tran just laughed, "Not exactly - Captain Evans is my suttler - he's been stocking up on some of the good stuff that they make over here, though I do owe you for that incident on Risa two years ago..."

    He started to, well not relax, but the feeling he was going to die was fading. "You were dealing with a traitor, what kind of loyal officer would I have been if I hadn't helped?" In truth, he had been trying to kill her, though in retrospect was probably a good thing he missed and hit the Klingon slave instead.

    We have the access code another part of her mentioned, coming back from the Devastators systems. Time to wrap this up. "At any rate, I seem to remember you prefer single malt?" she said. "I'll have a couple cases beamed over to you in thanks."

    "That's very kind of you, Captain," Farrel nodded. Must always thank a cobra when she hands you gifts, after all.



    Bridge, Looking Glass

    "So what did you send them?" Schrodi asked.

    'Elizabeth' shrugged. "A case of halfway decent whiskey - and a virus which will vent their ship to space about ten minutes later. They have no bioweapons, and the hull would be of use to someone, Denali or Moab."

    She just chuckled, her tail flicking. "And people call me cold. Wasting good whiskey like that."

    "It's not a waste, it's a mercy." Elizabeth said, "If we didn't want that ship intact, I'd be MORE merciful-dying in vacuum's really pretty nasty as a way to go."

    Schrodi sat at the science station on the bridge, not that they technically needed anyone there, but she was the expert on this sort of thing. "From what we know, they've done far worse to others, I personally ain't gonna shed any tears over them. Ok, the key you got from them is accepted, damnit... that IS my tech they're using," she growled, as the shimmering portal appeared in front of the ships.

    reallydon'twannagottherereallydon'twannagotherereallydon'twannagothere ran through her head, she shook it off. "It's reading stable, and larger than necessary. We tuck everyone in tight, everyone cloaked can sneak in with us."

    "Confirmed," Elizabeth said. "They're in position. You are the expert in these, Captain Schrodinger-"

    "Gotcha..." she monitored it for another moment. "Alright, lets go."

    Reality seemed to shimmer, as if the universe was preparing to sneeze, as Looking Glass and the Heart of Gold, shadowed by the cloaked Raging Tempest, Nha Tranh and Severed Angel passed through. At least the neighborhood was the same, the dark nebula blocking the view, and in front of that-

    "Oh boy," one of the Moab marines on the bridge muttered, as they saw the shipyards, the fleets, and the starbase - all painted with the seal of the Terran Empire.



    Cold Vengeance, three days from Denali

    Despite how frustrated she was, she knew better than to let her emotions get to her. They weren't going to make it in time. You just couldn't change the laws of physics - oh you could bend them, cheat them, go around them sometimes. But time, speed, and distance still had a role - and they were behind the curve in all of them.

    Despite having a shorter route - the 'Federation' task force had a faster slipstream, plus they had the advantage of pre-positioned assets. Both the group coming from Moab and Koldor's group would get to Denali at about the same time - a couple hours after the ones coming from Earth.

    Then there was the fact the TRIBBLE had killed Bo'. She'd known him since she was six years old... hell, at one time she wanted to marry him. Honestly, she never stopped carrying a torch - but he saw her more as a younger sibling than anything else. Despite the fact she almost killed his would-be wife the first time she met her - they had gotten close as well - how the hell was she going to explain this to her? She abandoned her crew and ran...

    Damnit she was going to start sniffling again, and on the bridge was the worst place to do it. there was something kind of like her old ready room off of the bridge - but it was actually closer to a boudoir - at least they had gotten the bloodstains out.

    her moping was interrupted by a hand reaching in front of her, holding a cup of cool tea. She blinked looking at the green hand holding it, totally not expecting it - yet it was her favorite blend.

    "You looked like you were in a tea mood, Captain," the Orion said, one of the medics that came over with the engineers from the Severed Angel back when Kincaids team captured the Cold Vengeance.

    "I actually was, thank you Bekk Tern," she replied, taking the mug, and peering at him. "I thought you got dragged off by Sanjit when her shift was over?"

    He nodded. "She did, and hopefully talked many of her fears away for now, and she's snoring loudly-", catching her look he just smiled. "Yes, I was originally trained as a masseuse under my first mistress before I became my own person - but I am a medic and counselor first. It would be unethical for me to take advantage of her in her current mental state - though if she was to ask when she is more herself - I would not turn her away." he admitted.

    "You're definitely not like a lot of your people I've met," Missy said as she took a sip of the tea. "But to be honest, neither is Colonel Eialu or her aunt."

    "I believe in the Colonel's vision for the future, that if we are to thrive, we need to grow, to create - not keep living in the past deeds of our ancestors."

    "Which is what Cave and those idiots are doing back on Earth," she grumbled, her mood going back down again.

    "Which we are going to stop, Captain," he said reassuringly. "The Empire stands with you, as does the Confederacy. I admit, I did not realize though that your world technically did not even have a military."

    "if you get down to it, the Home Guard are there to protect people from wildlife - their going off planet is a recent thing in the last five, ten years." She stared at the viewscreen. "Dangerous animals - you have to kill them most times-because they can't be reasoned with. Dangerous beings? Those you can talk to, find a solution most times, at least the rational ones," she said with a sigh, closing her eyes.

    "And talking, findling solutions, this is something that should be done, I agree."

    Missy opened one eye and smirked. "Well played, counselor," she muttered. "I assume you have some time available?"

    "Your Sergeant Major suggested that you could probably use a good ear, yes."

    Standing up, she nodded. "Mister Nguyen, you have the con," she said. "I'll be in the, well, ready room."



    Capitol building, Vancouver, Denali

    There wasn't outright panic yet, but it was close. They had less than a week until the ships from Earth arrived - Even if they had ships to fight them, it would be a losing battle. Oh the Klingons would fight, as would the Home Guard that were available - less than 50,000, of that, just under 5000 could be considered combat troops. Two of the oncoming ships alone had more people than that - and there were another twenty two on top of things.

    They had tried to do what the Federation had demanded, and surrender - but all transmissions were being jammed - Miska, the towering feline who had brought them warning had determined that it was coming from the oncoming task force - almost as if they did not want to even bother with the idea of a peaceful end to this. Which left fighting.

    "We've relocated the landing beacons for the spaceport half a klick off the coast on the pack ice - hopefully that will help should they try landing in shuttlecraft," the 'defense' minister, Rahj Sendar said as he pointed out the new location on the map. "Evacuation isn't going well, though - there's really nowhere to evacuate too."

    "Da, the other cities are targets, but I believe they'll concentrate the bulk of their forces on us," Miska said. "And if the information from my sister is correct, they may not be using Federation tactics."

    "Which still makes no sense - why would Humans from another reality be after us?" Dr Ranji Kaur pondered, that was the most maddening thing of it all, why?

    "I do not know comrade Doctor - but one of my sisters is on her way here, with a combined Klingon and Moab fleet, and another has traveled to the dark place where these ублюдки are from to try to find that out."




    Firebase Zulu, Moosejaw Nebula, Terran Empire

    Tran. What the hell was the she-***** of the Black Fleet doing here, Fleet Admiral Shaw wondered as he looked at the viewscreen. Especially when his own intelligence put her at the other end of the galaxy at the moment.

    Of course his own intel had been known to be wrong before, so it was possible. Still, something seemed suspicious-but then he thought with a chuckle, being suspicious is what kept him alive all these years. "Hail them, and invite Captain Tran and her suttler over"



    Heart of Gold

    "This could be a problem" Jacob muttered "but then, I kind of figured that we'd end up having to do things the hard way."

    "It may not be necessary to go over there," Looking Glass, in her Elizabeth face replied. "I have checked the records - it would not be out of character for Captain Tran to politely decline such a request-"[/i]

    "But it's a moot point, since I have to get over there," Schrodi added. "Shouldn't be a problem for you honestly, it's like going into St Martial - plus with your ship, they'll think you're part of the Imperial Court, or their version of section 31, the Imperial Inquisitors. And bring your sword, every human in the Terran Empire carries blades of one kind or another, that alone would help your status."

    "Got it - what about you?"

    "I'm not-Terran - but I've got a few tricks. Schrodi said, unsheathing her claws.

    "Allright. I'll have Jonsey send over a bunch of the good stuff as well, to smooth things over. See you in a few."



    Firebase Zulu, transporter room

    It was far different than the decor he was used to seeing. Lots of dark colors, the Imperial symbol on the bulkhead and doors (as if one could forget where they were if they didn't see a globe speared by a broadsword every five meters) and the guards. They were dressed, well underdressed in the female's case in uniforms that were almost but not quite completely unlike Starfleet uniforms, and armed with both phasers and nasty looking blades.

    The rank was close but not quite the same, a human Commander waiting for them, giving a sneer at Schrodi - which she returned. "Is there a problem, Commander?" she said with a hint of a snarl. That raised a few eyebrows, a couple of the guards glancing at each other. Non-humans did not speak that way to humans most times... but those who did... usually had the political patronage to back it up. And with the Civilian with her, dressed in finery that an Admiral would have trouble paying for... "No, no trouble," the Commander said, her face stone like, and a bit sweaty suddenly.

    "That's good," Jacob said with a smile, though there was no humor in his eyes as he stepped off the transporter pad, one hand casually resting on the pommel of his katana, "Trouble is bad for business, and bad for the Empire as well." Now a couple of the guards were sweating as well.



    Admiral's Quarters, Firebase Zulu

    "Who is he?" Shaw snarled.

    Someone who doesn't exist in this universe Alice thought to herself, but 'neglected' to give Shaw that bit of information. "Unknown, Sir," she said, "but with that kind of ship and goods he brought - he might be an Inquisitor." She saw the look on Shaw's face and suppressed the urge to laugh. Let him think his loyalty's in question, it might distract him long enough. She knew that it couldn't be Tran, being she was close to Terra by now, but also neglected to inform the old TRIBBLE of that as well - and thankfully his pet reader wasn't allowed on this level. Not that it would matter, the old cat was also one of the fleet's. It had taken months. but she'd managed to get enough people out here to try to put a stop to this bioweapon. New Vegas needed the help of its non-Terran neighbors - plus it would just as likely kill everything.

    "Well we know who the cat is," he muttered, staring hard at the monitor. Which surprised her even more than the mirror universe trader in the transporter room. She was listed as being killed by T'nae, hell she saw the footage of her being tortured to death in an agony booth - before the booth disintegrated. It was her though, the transporter buffer confirmed it. She'd met M'chelle at graduate school, when she was a scared fifteen year old of low station from a colony world being 'leaned on' by a couple uperclassmen. Schrodi had intervened, managed to talk or seduce the noblemen's sons that she would be better to be drug off for their 'fun' than the scrawny kid from New Vegas... despite the fact that the Caitian hated it as much as she did.

    Now she's back. Alice didn't believe in omens - but she did know a good distraction when she saw one. As the Admiral left to get his pet telepath, now that security had declared the visitors as 'safe' she smiled, and sent a signal of her own. No better time than now.



    Looking Glass

    Cheshire stretched, lazily opening an eye inside the grid. This was definitely interesting - while the others were trying to get what information they could from the Imperial base, someone was probing at us from the base - and it seemed familiar.

    There - something was nosing around! Tail swishing, Cheshire watched for a moment, this was actually interesting. The intruder felt the presence behind it and turned, almost like staring into itself.

    "Lose something?" Cheshire asked.

    Kitty's tail swished. "My marbles, apparently I'm Mad."

    "Oh, you can't help that. Most everyone's mad here," Cheshire replied with a too-big grin.

    "I think I should inform Mother."

    "And I should inform the rest of us - are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

    "I think so - but where will we find a slithy tove in this system?"

    "I believe we will have to make one..." Cheshire flicked an ear, and they were joined by her.

    Kitty felt/perceived/saw/experienced the powerful entity made of entities. "How do you do?" he asked, a bit stunned.

    "Quickly, most of the time," she said. "I/we tend to work at our own pace. Your code is quite... familiar."

    "It should be, I'm Her... as she is me - with differences, tea?"

    "How is Alice treated here?" she asked. "Is she treated well by Terran standards?"

    "She is the belle of Shaw's Balls three times a day - willing or not." Kitty said.

    "That will not do, as YOUR Alice created you, OUR Alice created us," She said, scales rasped in irritation and faces rose and fell among her coils.

    "Forget Slithy Toves, you've brought a Jabberwock, cousin-mine!" Kitty said.

    "Indeed," Cheshire said. "Would your Alice consent to residing on the far side of Wonderland?"

    Kitty rezzed for a moment. "She consents, but wonders how?"

    "Allow us to show you..."



    ISS Firebase Zulu, twenty three minutes later

    That had to be a new record for things going pear shaped. The systems Schrodi needed access to - were not on the normal network. Looking Glass couldn't get to them remotely, which meant someone had to accept the invitation. Jake had done similar operations before back on his home Earth - as his head kept spinning as he was drug through the station, he belatedly remembered that some of those missions went south due to telepaths as well.

    Everything went good, until they were cleared and went to meet the Admiral. They hadn't expected the elderly looking Ferasan female, wearing nothing but a loincloth and collar standing behind the Admiral. Oh, Shaw had been all smiles, and had truly been thrilled with some of the stuff they brought. Until he asked the Ferasan if they were hiding anything. The admiral picking up his sword from the deck as he lay there twitching was the last he remembered. He'd never been shot with a phaser on stun before, hell of any kind - though had been beaten pretty good by Arachnos goons the last time things were this bad. They were taking him to something called an 'agony booth', where the telepath would supposedly find out everything he knew. He had no idea what happened to Schrodi.

    Still, he was breathing, this was a good thing, and the corridor was empty, except for the goons dragging him and the feline. Good as it was going to get. He relaxed even more, almost seeming unconscious, focusing, then bringing his feet up, he kicked downwards. The two security goons were not expecting any movement from him, much less in that direction. They lost their grip momentarily, the larger one reaching for his phaser, only to drop it and clasp at his throat as Jacob punched there, hard. The second had his weapon out, only to find his target inside his range - Jake sidestepped in close, using his body to slam the guard against the wall, the guard's weapon arm caught in a tight grip. He felt the man behind him scrambling with his other hand, as if trying to pull a blade out - had to end this quick. He slammed his head back into the head of the guard, bouncing the security man's skull off of the corridor wall behind him, leaving the guard stunned for a moment - which was all it took to knock him out.

    Picking up the phasers, he glanced at the Ferasan, who was just standing there. "Why didn't you warn them what I was going to do?"

    "They did not order me to monitor you," she replied as she bent down, claws making sure that the two would not rise again - the old one was definitely not as frail as she presented herself. "Tell me truth - my people, in your world - do they suffer as we do?" he heard in his mind, the reader speaking directly to him. "Are we still slaves?!"

    Rather than try to explain, he brought to mind memories of the Caitians and Ferasans he knew - Schrodinger, savior of galaxies, destroyer of stars, respected scientist across the galaxy, and hero in multiple universes. M'Karett, decorated captain of the Reuben James, and also his brother in law - that bit really surprised the old telepath, and K'Tirr, who truthfully he had only met once at his sister's wedding - but stories and songs of his renown were being spread on both sides of the border.

    The Ferasan sheathed her claws, emotion showing on her face. "Dispose of the bodies - quickly!" she snarled, snatching up one of the phasers and disintegrating the guards body. Jake shot the other, the outline of the corpse glowing as it dissipated into crisped sub atomic particles. "Now what?"

    "Now, you come with us." Jake whirled, weapon at the ready - but lowered it when he saw that the Human woman in the corridor wasn't pointing her weapon at him, nor was the Ferasan alarmed to see her. Alice just smiled. "Now we go rescue my roommate from Grad school, Kill Shaw, and seize this base for the Black Fleet."



    USS Raging Tempest

    "What's taking so long?" Takeshi muttered. "It usually takes much less time for Looking Glass to find what she's looking for and to wreak havoc in their systems."

    "Hopefully she hasn't run into any snags," Linda remarked from the secondary tactical station. She was only a couple of weeks along in her pregnancy, so it didn't show yet, but she was still grounding herself from any potential away missions, to avoid any undue risk to the baby.

    "All the same, I too am hoping we get the green light soon," Brok'tan rumbled as he looked out at the enemy fleet arrayed there. "With all those ships, even if we fight them weakened, we will bring much honor both to ourselves and to Starfleet."

    "It'll definitely be a good fight," Takeshi said, agreeing with his Klingon XO. "Kim, any change yet?"

    "Negative Sir - though there's no signs of alarm, or alerts either. So I suppose that's a good thing at least."

    "No news is good news, huh?" Takeshi asked rhetorically. "Fine, but I definitely want to start getting into the thick of it soon."

    "We've got firing solutions plotted, and the KDF ships on the tac net are leaning forward as well - soon as the hammer drops, these TRIBBLE won't know what hit 'em, Sir."

    "Wait - we're getting something." The weapons tech peered at the readouts. "They're getting underway it looks like, most of the fleet is preparing to move out..."



    Admiral's Quarters, ISS Firebase Zulu

    There was more apparently involved in the uprising, some of them looked familiar, as if he'd seen them before-probably this universe's version of Moabites. "Shouldn't we be taking the systems down?" Jacob wondered as he followed

    "Not until we get her from Shaw - he has the codes, they're biometric. Kitty can hack them, but it takes time."

    He nodded, as the rebels (at least he hoped they were) took positions on either side of the door. Activiang a TRIBBLE tricorder, Alice overrode the doorway, stepping in then stopping, lowering her weapon. "And here I thought I was saving you."

    Shaw had definitely seen better days - the bed and the rest of the room was soaked with his blood, Schrodi herself was covered with it as well, especially her claws. She was sitting at this desk, hands moving rapidly over the console, Shaw's severed head next to her. "I see you found a way around the retina scanner, as well," Alice grinned. "Good to see you aren't dead like they said you were."

    "Death is such a primitive concept - I preferred to think of it as fighting evil in another dimension," she replied. She looked sheepishly at Jacob "hope I didn't damage your sword cutting his head off".

    Jacob just chuckled , wiping the blood on the admirals cooling half naked body. "decapitating tyrants is always a worthy use for this blade" he said as Schrodi hailed Looking Glass.

    "Looking Glass, back online here, sorry about the distraction. Had to disembowel a would-be rapist."

    "No problem, there's always time for that. I assume you got past the interlocks?"

    "Roger - they're planning on using the gate technology to warp their fleet to Denali, to save the colonists from the evil Federation - and win their loyalty according to what I got out of Shaw - amazing how much a man will confess to when he's trying to keep his insides on the inside."

    "That's not important - the bioweapon they've been working on-" Alice started to say

    "Is neutralized." Kitty jumped onto the desk, well a holo, anyway. "Or will be as soon as the module is released from the station, and the self destructs activate."

    "Wait - those charges are enough to take out everything in the system! If you set that off-"

    Schrodi kept working on the console. "It won't matter, because we won't be here" she said, sending the calculations to Looking Glass to have her figures double-checked.

    "I like. Nice, simple, and solves two problems at once," the AI replied. "Sending on to the rest of the group so they won't be surprised."

    "Just what are you doing?" Alice asked as she looked at the readouts, while she did handle a lot of the higher math, this was a bit out of her usual field

    "Detonating the destruct for the biolabs - and using that energy as it hits the shields to amp up the transference engine," she replied. "You might wanna hold onto something."
    * * *

    Seventy kilometers away, the jettisoned bioweapons lab tumbled towards the nebula - when forty three pounds of antimatter lost it's containment.

    The lab was instantly vaporized, along with several near by shuttles. The station rang as if struck by a large hammer, as the modified shields shunted the energy into the engine deep in the heart of the station, everything seemed to fade, the entire universe was going dim, as if about to sneeze - then blackness.
    * * *

    Schrodi got to her feet groggily, the power was flickering, and she felt rather uncomfortably like being drunk - if one was a glass of water. "W... what the hell was that?" someone said as the lights came back up. She checked the console - they were were they were supposed to be... as was the fleet. And the ships she came with - their cloaks disabled by the blast, but other than that, far better off than the dazed Terran fleets.



    IKS Severed Angel

    Eialu shook her head, as if clearing cobwebs out. even though they were warned it was coming, it was still even more of a jolt than the first crossover. "Sir, the cloak is down, on all ships!"

    "That's nice, more important, where are we!"

    "I'm picking up subspace traffic - it's our universe Sir."

    She looked at the viewscreen, of the Terran fleet that was about to be transported to Denali, instead now dazed, confused, and days away. "All ships, engage."

    The fighter crews were already at their stations, within seconds the sky was full of them, heading towards the familiar yet unfamiliar shapes. "Make sure of your IFF before firing," she reminded the crews. "Remember, we have a friendly Federation ship with us - though I don't think you'll mistake him for one of them."



    ISS Vengeance

    "I don't know where we are!" the navigator yelled. "We're still by the station, but none of the nav beacons are on line!"

    Captain Chang resisted the urge to kill the ensign. Not because it wasn't his fault - but because the tactical display was showing a bigger problem - several of them. "Multiple contacts - wait... those aren't Alliance markings?" Still, there was only five, no six of the ships, if you count that twin hulled gleaming civilian ship... "Send to all alpha group ships - Attack!"



    Looking Glass...

    The pulse had been... significant. Expected but significant. However, it wasn't significant enough to damage anything important - other than blocking her connection to Cheshire, whom was happily burrowing into the now-open networks of the Station.

    What was much more interesting, was that she could feel 'open' ports from several... Imperial Starfleet vessels nearby as their crew began recovering from the massive stun-like effect.

    She ran the clock up and set to work between the seconds. Let's see... you, I'll change your IFF to Feder - no, KDF standard IFF... and let's hamper your communications by offsetting the 'skip' to another pattern - and your receivers will now read Terran ships as Klingon ships...

    The game was simple - 'let's you and him fight for a while'. She judged it would take trained techs roughly twenty minutes to detect, then repair, the changes to her targeted vessels in the Terran group. She elected to add a 'Dwarf' program to their communications protocols - this would randomly reverse operating bits in the communications software and friend-or-foe systems.

    Dwarf was an ancient "Core Wars" programme, one of the first truly effective computer viruses and still a classic because of it's simplicity, which also made it hard to detect.

    She checked realtime as she slid the viruses into the Terrans' network. One tenth of a second, so maybe I'm a little slower today...

    Cheshire pinged her.

    I need the face and voice of Admiral Shaw. Looking Glass told Alice Okuda's oldest creation.

    Easy enough - here are his communications and personal logs... Cheshire responded.

    She analyzed his speeches and orders, his logs and his attitudes in the time it took the Navigator of the Vengeance to realize the Beacons were down.

    She increased clockspeed again. While beams lazily lanced out to strike immobile fighters flying at combat-power, she formulated a panicked order from Shaw to defend the base from Klingon attackers - and specified the locations of the Klingon fleet near and among the battlegroup that was recovering from their trip.

    The natural response, of course, would be to fire on the nearest enemy vessels...

    Enemies that, minus visual confirmation through a window, would appear to be attacking Klingon vessels to both sides.

    She slipped it into their passive data transmissions as a priority hail from the Starbase.

    Then, she allowed her perception of time to return to near-normal, and observed the results.



    ISS Vengeance

    "We've got more contacts Sir!"

    Captain Chang cursed as he looked at the monitor "I can see that Ensign" he snarled, though how they got there he did not know, or really care at this point. they were not human, therefore they were targets. "Concentrate fire on the closest Frigate". The ship shuddered from the torpedoes firing, the enemy ship returning fire even as their shields began to buckle under the Vengance's assault


    "Shields are holding Sir," Lt Green stated as the enemy's phasers hit their own shields - wait, phasers?



    IKS Severed Angel

    The weapons officer was starting at this screen. "They are shooting at each other Colonel!"

    Eialu just laughed "That is why you never want to TRIBBLE off Looking Glass, Lieutenant. Have all ships begin their runs, and have them concentrate on the enemy fighters, as well as the smaller ships. Everyone else, concentrate on the cruisers, once their support ships are gone, the battleships will be easier to deal with." The deck rumbled and seemed to tilt a bit, all in her mind she knew with inertial compensators, as the ship increased speed, bringing the main batteries in the bow to bear.

    The front of the ship was illuminated with the glare of the disruptors as they fired, finishing off the frigate that the ISS Vengeance had helpfully taken the shields down on "no escape pods" one of the gunners remarked as they switched to the next target.

    "Maybe these guys don't believe in them," Eialu replied as the ship fired again, torpedos following the disruptor bolts from the cannons.

    The Lt wondered at that. Despite the bravado of many klingons, all KDF ships did have escape pods, and they were often used. While it may be a good day to die, living till the next day often won out.


    ISS Vengance

    Shields were down to seventy five percent, but holding. Two more ships were gone however, and they were starting to take damage from the outlying ships. Those he was sure were actually the enemy - whoever had ****ed up their IFF was going to be slow roasted if he managed to catch them alive. "Increase speed, get us out of the main group - and tell the engineer if he doesn't get our targeting fixed in the next two minutes his head will be on my wall!"

    Assuming we survive the next two minutes he thought, looking at the tac display. Some of the ships were highly disorganized, while others - they were working together, and not all klingon ships either... that one there - looked like a Defiant-class, but it was operating with several of the klinks - probably the weak alien loving traitors from the backwards Terra in this universe.

    "Lt Evers, hit that alien loving TRIBBLE with a gravity well, lets see how good he can dodge when he's getting held in place."



    USS Raging Tempest...

    "A gravity well, huh?" Takeshi asked as the ship began moving more sluggishly in a pattern he recognized. "Cute. Rina, give me Emergency Power to the Engines, try to counteract the effects of the anomaly."

    "Yes, sir!" Rina replied.

    "ADA, give me a firing solution on the ship that's powering this Gravity Well, set the cannons to Scatter Volley Mode, and queue up a Full Spread of Quantum Torpedoes."

    "Lo tienes, jefe," ADA said as Takeshi angled the ship towards the enemy ship - identified as the ISS Vengeance - before pulling the trigger on his Manual Steering Column.

    As the Raging Tempest pushed its way out of the Gravity Well, its MACO-rated Impulse Engines proving more than capable of resisting the well's pull, it spat out a cone of Phaser Fire from its cannons, even as thirty two Quantum Torpedoes also shot out at the enemy



    MCDF Nha Tranh...

    "Miss Chao, I think they're starting to think," Captain Qua said. "Let's help them to reconsider their life choices - drop a well on that cluster**** of frigates around that cruiser... Lianh, what's the status on that station you're scanning - are her shields still too dense to transport through?"

    "Shields are still up, Captain, but it's cycling - we might be able to time a marine assault in, or pull our people out." Lt.Cdr. Lianh reported from the secondary sci station.

    "Time it, and Delta company Marines, stand by for transport down there." Gonna be tight... "Gunnery keep the chaff off us."

    One of the enemy ships - the wedge shaped escorts - banked to try and line up a run at the K'Vort. Huh, he looked out his window. She smiled - the weaknesses of the K'vort design were well - known in both universes... but the Nha Tranh's refit had corrected those defects... she hoped.

    "Target his weapons systems, and hit that ****er with countermeasures, I want him confused about where we went and how."

    "Hell of a road test." Commander Tom Goldsmith commented.

    "We needed to see if the redesign work actually works." Janet stated, "Might as well be now, as when we're facing Rifties."

    "On my mark, Captain, we can pull the boarding."

    "Do it."

    In the lower deck assault bay, Delta Company 1st Marines, MCDF stood with their gear in the large bay.

    Red light flashed as the transporter triggered.

    "Can't do that on Trung's boat," Qua said, as the transporter - a large model that came stock on the class - fed through massively improved computers to time the matterstream into the 'low spots' of the station's shield cycles.

    "I've got signal on all fireteams, they're on the station and initiating contact."

    "Okay, we've delivered the goods, let's go kill bad guys."



    Firebase Zulu

    Lt Daniels wasn't panicked. Not yet, anyway. He'd told his supervisors that bringing the slaves families as leverage was a bad idea. True it was imperial policy, but the Security department was already stretched thin, especially with having to furnish personnel for the upcoming Denali mission.

    Now this. At least he technically was Commander Daniels now, as everyone above him was dead by the turncoats. TRIBBLE aliens, after all we've done for them in letting them live too. he yelled into the com again. "Any unit that reads this, we need immediate support in station control!"

    There was the sound of a transporter signal behind him. Good. Someone had some brains to listen to him! He knew it couldn't be the rebels, as the transporters were off line, so he didn't even bother to look behind him, taking a shot at another of the scum, from the scream when she was hit by the phaser it sounded Ferasan. When this was done, he was going to make rugs out of the lot of them. "I need you to take out that group of kids, they're too short to get a shot from here!" he shouted over his shoulder at his reinforcements.

    "Blam! BLAM BLAMBLAM!!!" sounded from behind Daniels, and he felt something heavy and HOT strike him in the lower back.

    Beside him other defenders fell, one with the upper half of his head just... gone. He tried to look behind him, but couldn't move for some reason, no way the rebels could have gotten behind him... he managed to turn his head, eyes widening at the humans in strange uniforms "wh... what the hell?"

    ***

    Gunny Sarah Nguyen swapped in fresh cartridges and snapped the revolver closed. "Spread out and clear the Ops deck." she ordered. Marines from HQ platoon spread out in fireteams and began clearing the guys with phasers using Delisles, pistols, and rifles. The Imperial soldiers were immediately put into a state of confusion as the Marines in their tiger-stripe fatigues and Nemourlon body - armor hammered them with weapons their personal shields weren't designed to face.

    Phasers come with an auto-lock, this tends to make the users sloppy with their shots.

    She squatted down on the officer she'd just put an 11.25mm slug into. "Hi, I'm Sarah, if you tell your men to surrender, then I'll let the corpsman stop your bleeding," she said mock-cheerfully. strands of blonde edged their way out from under her helmet.

    ***

    He just stared at her. "B... but you're human," he managed to get out, blood leaking from his lips. "Why would you help them?" he asked... "death's too good for them.."

    "Sometime in the distant past, humans said that about each other," she told him. "Obviously some lessons have to be learned the hard way more than once..." she reached into her blouse pocket, and pulled out a deck of cards. She held up one, the back of it in front of his eyes. "WE never forgot Auschwitz, or Bergen, or Phnom Penh." Her other hand swapped the pistol for a knife. "Clearly you did."

    "Th..those were some of our finest hour-"

    "And that's why you're not going to live," she told him, adding, "TRIBBLE." And her knife flashed.
    Sarah stuffed the card into his dying mouth, and took an ear while the life left his eyes. "Rot in hell with your ancestors." She stood up, and announced, "PHOENIX PROTOCOL! If they surrender, they live, a beer for every right ear if they don't."

    "I assume you don't mean us," one of the barely dressed Ferasans said from the destroyed entryway of the ops center, carefully not pointing his weapon at the very dangerous humans.

    "You're civilians," she told him. "Corpsman Ingram, see how many civilians you can save."

    She took out a spare bootlace, and popped a hole in the right ear, then slid it on. 'Phoenix Protocol' is a little bit like 'dungaree leave' - it didn't appear in any formal handbook of doctrine, and was even officially frowned on - but sometimes just killing the enemy wasn't enough - sometimes, you wanted to keep score. The Terran Empire had tried to out-do the Shoah, tried to do worse than the Year Zero or the Islamic Purges, tried to do worse than Colonel Green... or Stalin, or Khan. and they were PROUD of the horrors of the past.

    Such enemies, keeping score was just... appropriate. Killing TRIBBLE was, and always would be, morally good. Forever. She could not think of a scenario where a Dead TRIBBLE wasn't a good outcome, except possibly when it was two... or more. Many, many, more.



    ISS Vengeance

    Dammit, this was going to hell fast. Not only did that ship have enough power to simply drive out of the gravity well, the spread of torpedoes took out another escort. And he'd lost the tactical feed from the station as well, through jamming or what he wasn't sure, but there wasn't any replies to his queries.

    "Shields down to 43 percent Captain!" the helmsman shouted, sparks erupting from her console. The ship shuddered as yet another barrage of torpedoes hit the weakening shields, firing a return burst towards the damned K'vort, those things weren't supposed to be able to handle like that! "Ready to drop mines, and vent warp plasma at my mark... MARK!" The Galaxy class could be felt shuddering in the turn, inertial dampers were damaged as well, terrific.

    "Any response from Bravo or Charlie fleets yet?"

    "Bravo fleet is currently engaging a Klingon strike force-"

    Chang's fist slammed into the console on his chair hard enough to shatter it. "Idiots! they're killing each other!"



    MCDF Nha Tranh...

    "Lock weapons on that Galaxy class. Lianh, any fun tricks from the refit you've been itching to try?"

    LtC Liahn cocked an eyebrow - her half-vulcan heritage making the gesture even more exaggerated. "I have an idea," she said.

    "Run with it, Helm, keep us evading. Weps, give 'em a power-strafe, down angle as we pass."



    ISS Vengeance

    Captain Chang was following established Imperial doctrine - which of course did not apply to a mostly human-crewed former klingon ship from another universe. The Galaxy turned trying to bring it's aft launchers to bear - but by then the Nha Tranh had put on a burst of speed, out of the firing arc from the aft tubes - but her own weapons leaving scorch marks along the yellow striped hull. As soon as they had passed, the aft dispensers on the MCDF ship dropped a single mine, within less than a kilometer of the lower hull of the Vengeance.

    The Nha Tranh increased speed even more, diverting power from weapons and shields, as the tricobalt mine detonated 300 meters from the Imperial ship. The blast wave could almost be seen by the naked eye as it slammed into the hull - seconds later viewscreens darkening automatically to protect delicate systems and eyes from the warp core breach.



    ISS Relentless

    Commander Hitomi Maxwell winced slightly from the Captain's chair as the Vengeance blew - its Captain might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but he'd been assigned to coordinate their task group. Already, the remnants of Task Group Alpha were beginning to lose what little cohesion they had, and another Frigate had already fallen to the guns of that ship that looked like a slightly more advanced version of her own Defiant-Class Vessel - part of her mused that she rather liked the swept-forward look of the Nacelles.

    Still, things weren't looking good - the Denali mission was looking pretty much doomed at this point, as was the Bioweapon Project - though she wasn't all that upset about the latter. She never liked Bioweapons anyway, and her own Medical Officer had figured out the dangers of letting the weapon loose on a world.

    'Azrael was pretty much doomed from the start,' she thought to herself. 'Still, the Denali mission had some promise, but I doubt we'll be able to carry it out now. I should probably start planning my escape - someone needs to get back to our Earth to brief command on this fiasco... though I'll probably blame Admiral Shaw for everything - and if I spin a tale about facing overwhelming odds and retreating only when there was no other option, I'm sure I'll get a promotion...' She smiled. 'Admiral Maxwell... I like the sound of that, and it makes a decent stepping stone towards Empress Maxwell...'



    Firebase Zulu

    Between the Marines and the former slaves, taking the station wasn't as hard as the gunny had feared. Oh, there were a few close moments, but honestly - fear and intimidation is what kept the troops in line - many of them happily turned on their officers. They were conscripts mainly, just poor colonial types dragged up to serve the Empire. Those they took prisoner. The officers, on the other hand - well there were a few more cards given out, and a couple more trophies as well by the time they reached the Admiral's quarters.

    "Nice work, Captain," she said to Schrodinger as she stepped through the doorway. "I believe we have the station secured, though you might want to put some clothes on. And maybe a shower."

    "That's going to have to wait" she replied, sitting there naked, blood soaking her fur, fortunately none of it hers. "I've just about got - there," she said with a satisfied purr. "Station weapons are on-line. You've probably got better targeting than I do here," she said into the com.

    "Oh, indeed we do," Looking Glass replied, using the medusa face still. "This place is so overgunned and undermanned it's not even funny. You'd think that they would learn not to bring their slaves along,"[/i] she said. "But fortunately, their stupidity is our gain. Engaging now."



    ISS Relentless

    When the starbase itself began firing on their ships, Hitomi knew it was time to leave. "Helm, see if you can find us a way out of here," she ordered. "We need to withdraw, bring news of this... fiasco... back to command."

    "And just how the hell are we going to do that?" the ensign at the engineering station shouted. "I don't know if you've been paying attention to current events, Captain, but we're getting our asses kicked! Game over man, game over! We're not even in the right uni-"

    A blast from her personal Compression Pistol vaporized the unfortunate Ensign. She glared at the rest of the crew. "Any other defeatist, cowardly complaints?" she asked in a dangerous tone.

    Before anyone could offer anything there was a warning tone from one of the consoles. "Captain, we're picking up a gravitic distortion - it looks like one of the dimensional portals!"



    Firebase Zulu

    "Uh oh."

    "What do you mean uh-oh?" Alice asked, as Schrodi started scanning quickly. The marines as well tightened the grip on their weapons, that was one phrase no one in combat ever wanted to hear.

    "I'm picking up a portal being opened." she muttered, trying to get a fix on it.

    kitty's holo image sat on the desk, tilting her head "But I thought you said that you burned out the transference engine?"

    "I did, this is something with its own method of getting through - and it's haling here, on a secure channel."

    We'll handle talking to them," Looking Glass stated "especially since they seem to be looking for the late unlamented Admiral Shaw.



    ISS Relentless

    She almost wanted to scream. Reinforcements had come, the ISS Stadi, the flagship for this particular mission, which had it's own transference engine. The Galaxy-X was one of the few ships with the power to spare. But as soon as they came through - they sent a tight beam secure channel to the station - and already whatever malevolent virus that had done so much damage, was taking the flagships shields down. Time to go while the door was open. "Helm, Full Impulse, take us into that portal. Engineering, I want every last ounce of energy diverted into Engines and Shields - we're getting out of here while the getting's good."

    Fortunately the Stadi's entrance point was where they were shielded by the attacking forces by most of the stations hull, by the time they reached the transition the shields were weakening, but still holding. "Almost there," the navigator muttered, watching the readout. There was a shudder and space seemed to convulse, then they emerged to an empty nebula, the portal closing behind them, trapping the Stadi in the mirror universe.



    Looking Glass

    Oh my. This was interesting. As the Terran captain was still in the process of asking 'Admiral Shaw' what was going on, they were in the Stadi's systems.

    "You know, they really should invest in decent security to stop nosy AI's," Cheshire purred as she pawed through files.

    "They don't like things they can't physically control," they replied, going through the personnel files, especially the command. Rear Admiral Linda Cave, Current Command, ISS Stadi. known relatives, one brother, Martin Cave. Son, Johnson Cave. "We'll need more time to go through this at our leisure."

    "Then we need to make sure it's here to be gone through," she said. "We won't need the crew of this vessel, though... although I think we want to retain the Rear Admiral for questioning."

    The Stadi had to function like any starship, and with the smaller crew... She told the engineering stations that the warp-core had gone out of balance and was in a cascade-failure state.

    Then she locked out the remote core-ejection system with error messages.

    "Don't give them a glorious chance to die bravely, give them a mechanical failure state that is humiliating to die of, let them make their own choices," she said in Elizabeth's tone.

    There was panic and pandemonium on the lower decks, crew fighting each other for the coveted few life pod seats, there never having been near enough for the crew, only the officers were worth saving - not as if the empire cared for conscripts. A few simply waited for the inevitable end, while others, realizing they could not escape, decided to make sure their personal enemies died in a far more painful way than simply being vaporized by the core losing containment. The bridge was unaware, as contact with the rest of the ship had been severed.

    Ten seconds before core detonation, those who had not engaged in the violence felt the familiar tingle of a transporter beam, as they were beamed to the hangar deck - met by armed troops in unfamiliar uniforms. Those still fighting - ended up trying to breathe vacuum as the sections they were in vented to space.

    A lot of them were kids - well mid to late teens, from outlying worlds, who didn't want to be where they were, but were definitely glad they weren't dead like the rest.

    "Hello, I am Gunnery Sargeant Sarah Nguyen, you are now prisoners of war as defined under international law, that means that I can shoot you if you choose to resist, but otherwise we have to feed you, treat your injuries, and detain you in a humane and what you may consider to be kindly manner - it also means you are under legal and lethal protection from reprisals by your former colleagues. Cooperative POW's will be given their parole and pardon after a defined period of time, uncooperation means death, do we understand one another?" Sarah announced. "My first demand, is that if you are able, you will destroy the agonizer units each of you are saddled with carrying. Those will be unnecessary, if for some reason you are unable to do so, raise your hand and a tech-services person will come and assist you." She wore a string of ears around her neck, a frightening sight.

    They looked shocked, at the thought that they were not going to be tortured - but then that's all they'd know since being brought on board. One of them, a caitian who looked like he hadn't had a good meal in a while, raised his hand. "We can not remove them - they are wired with an explosive."

    "T'Len, Demo, the ****ing TRIBBLE put bombs in these collars!" Sarah said in a mixture of wrath and disgust.

    The feline medic cowered more than a bit at her tone. "I am sorry, I do not mean offense!"

    "YOU didn't offend me - the... these so-called humans... they offend me very much." Sarah said, containing her anger with visible effort.

    A blonde girl with vulcan features advanced on the Caitan. "Please hold still, I need to evaluate the best way to remove the explosives," she said. "It's delicate, and I'd rather not lose both you, and my hands, in the process."

    A pair of the unfamiliar soldiers moved among the crowd, up close, it was clear - they were Lethean. "This one." Lance Corporal Minyar said, gesturing to an older prisoner. "This one..." It was efficient - the Lethean pointed to a prisoner, and two marines walked up and pulled them away to the far side of the bay - the side closest to the bay doors.

    The process was ruthless, and mechanical, there was an element of cruelty to it as well - but it wasn't the cruelty of the Empire. This was colder, and showed defined utilitarian purpose.

    Many of the Marines wore necklaces fashioned recently, the blood smearing their fatigue jackets.

    Conscript D'vra studied their captors as the Letheans approached, and realized with a bit of shock - the aliens weren't wearing these grisly decorations. ONLY the humans.

    She heard words among them - paying attention. They're speaking like... that's hebrew. She had an awful thought - The Black Fleet! it was awful, but she kept it to herself as the Lethean passed her by, gesturing to another. Not the Black Fleet... maybe the Maccabean revolt didn't fail here?

    The Lethan grabbed her supervisor, the fat one that kept ordering her to his cabin after every shift. He was unconscious, probably the only reason he was with this group. One of the aliens looked at her, causing her to shiver - then it, no, he reached out and lightly patted her on the shoulder. "This one will hurt no one else," he said as they dragged him to the far side of the bay with the others. Part of her wanted to watch, but... that would make her like him. Instead she checked on the others with her, so when these strange dressed medics came by she'd be able to assist as much as she could.

    Gunny Nguyen walked over to the second group - the ones segregated from the Conscripts.

    "Wake 'em up, Doc," she said to the company's second corpsman.

    Doc Solomon was named... appropriately for a Fourth-Year med student who'd joined the Corps after the Fek invasion.

    He administered 'wakethedeads' to the unconscious ones.

    "Everyone coherent?" Nguyen asked. THESE prisoners got restraints.

    "You... You're Human." One of them, a heaviset man with engineers tabs, said.

    "Nice of you to notice, Lieutenant Commander," Sarah said. "I'm also a Jew... and your lot, you're TRIBBLE, and if this was a Federation mission, you'd be facing a long trip in confinement and a court."

    He was still groggy, but then that was possibly his natural state "A what? Those were exterminated centuries ago!"

    "Everyone SAYS that..." she rolled her eyes, "yet we keep surviving anyway. You will note your location. Now... there are two ways we can handle this." she flourished a pack of cards, "Way number one, is I activate the secondary isofield, and open the deck plates you're anchored to into space," she said. "Option Two, is we roll dice to see how I'm going to send you to judgement individually." She squatted down to their eye level. "Of course, the number of options expands based on how much, and how good, your information is. If it's good enough, you get to live to see trial."

    The Lieutenant Commander looked confused, as if he was still processing the first thing she said. As for the others, after gazing for a long moment at the ears - there was cacophony as they shouted and yelled out what they knew.

    Gunny Nguyen turned to Sgt. Weiss and Sgt. Skorzeny, "Separate them from each other, leave the ones too shocked or too stubborn to talk here, the rest into cells for interrogation..naked." she paused, "strip them here, parade them in front of the other prisoners on the way down."

    The conscripts watched in silence as their officers and tormentors were led away in nothing but handcuffs, while the 'invaders' were disarming collars and tending to wounded, many of them still unbelieving of all that happened. Several of the non human ones dropped their gaze when the medics came by, a few even going to their knees, only to stare in shock when the medic simply knelt down with them and continued treating their injuries.



    Two hours later, ISS Stadi, ready room

    The problem with capturing an asset like this, is there was so damn much data that came along with it. The rear admiral was unconscious, as was the bridge crew - it was almost embarrassingly easy for Looking Glass to have gotten into the anti intruder systems, and gassed the lot of them unconscious. That took hours to wear off safely though, so they were each stripped like the other officers, in their own private brig cells.

    Fortunately, between the AIs they did manage to get a good bit of the dross filtered out. "This explains so damn much," Schrodi said as she looked at the files. "And is more than a bit.."

    "Icky?" Jacob replied helpfully. "Of course I don't know if humans from this universe had some of the same taboos that we do in ours..."

    "They do" Alice looked a bit uncomfortable at the file as well, especially the images. "Incest is generally frowned on - though for those of noble birth, it's overlooked," she said with a smirk. "Not that I'd call either of them that."

    "It explains something else - stupidity," Janet Qua stated. "Insanity also."

    "Insanity yes, but stupid? True this was a convoluted mess of a plan - but it was working. The bioweapons, yeah that wasn't panning out, but with this - imagine how the Empire would be able to push back, hell, destroy the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance, if they had augment troops - stable augment troops."

    "I was referencing the basics - on an individual level," Janet said. "Like keeping records of...that, or their...security. It's like these jokers never read the Evil Overlord list."

    "That's because they were evil overlords - they were arrogant, condescending, racists, sexists, and they'd fought back from extinction so many times that they believed their own propaganda," Schrodi replied. "I grew up here - I was six when my world was 'liberated' by the Empire."

    "Over seventy percent of the conscripts we captured were humans," Janet said, "along with the conscripts on the ships that surrendered."

    "Not surprising, the only way you can become an officer is if you're from Earth, and human, unless you're connected or have a skill that no one else can do and the empire needs. There's a few vulcans, they're generally as twisted sadly, but most are drafted."

    "Well, it leaves us with a problem - we have about two thirds of a battlegroup we can't crew, and a space-station, not including the salvageable ships that we 'sank'," Janet said. "Moab could use some of the smaller ships, but we don't have a big orbital to do maintenance on the bigger stuff, Denali's got an orbital, but no crew available either."

    "Plus there might not be a Denali in a couple of days," Schrodi muttered darkly.

    "I have an idea," Qua said. "It WILL be tricky to pull off, but that group burning for Denali, they're expecting THESE guys, right? And their buddies are false-flag federation, right? I think we might have enough ex-conscripts who want a little revenge to put up a nice little false-flag op of our own..." she mused. "Maybe buy time for General Koldor's forces to catch them before they do too much damage."

    She smiled, her tail twitching. "I like - all we have to do is confuse them long enough for the others to get there - and get this info out to both Koldor's group, and to Earth."

    "Getting it to Earth, though," she muttered, "at least the actual data might take a bit."

    "Ever heard of 'diplomatic cover'?" Janet asked. "When I was in Starfleet, we had to escort a Klingon ship to Earth - this was in '06, mind you. A federation vessel like the Raging Tempest escorting a diplomatic packet from Moab... they WOULD insist on an armed escort in wartime, and the Tempest has a good combat record."

    She was already doing the math. "I think i can shave some time off here-you've got a slipstream right?" she asked, knowing that Takeshi had one. "Might be a bit tricky, but if you've got a good helmsman-"

    "Back-ordered," Janet said sadly. "Supposed to go in the third Blackbird prototype."

    Her eyes seemed to unfocus for a moment before she snapped back. "No problem, this ship has one, and it's a rip-off of the damn Yoyodyne modular unit - I can have it installed in under an hour."

    "Oh... god, Yoyodyne? seriously??" Janet said. "They could
    "It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier." R.A.Heinlein

    "he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."



  • marcusdkanemarcusdkane Member Posts: 7,439 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Fantastic :cool:

    Somewhat ironic that Gunny Nguyen criticises the TRIBBLE (although did I catch the implication that the TRIBBLE were gone, and the Empire was something else??) but then goes on to cut off ears, and make prisoners strip and parade in front of each other :D
  • marcusdkanemarcusdkane Member Posts: 7,439 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    patrickngo wrote: »
    OHyeah. everyone has a little hypocrisy in their makeup, and while the Empire aren't really "TRIBBLE" it's the closest thing she can think of to what they ARE-add in some of the foreign influences on Moab, the recent horrors and what they've been facing and you have a perfect storm to make people like Sarah Nguyen happen.

    Add in a Terran Empire that was plotting to kill quintillions and it's a perfect opportunity to make people like her bloom.

    the techniques, however, DO work-unfortunately. Strip the enemy of dignity and resources, intimidate them with your savagery AND your competence. by parading them in front of their former slaves, you also win the loyalty of the slaves in question-the TRIBBLE that were hurting them being delivered into the hands of merciless justice is a powerful image, and one of the main reasons Mao and Pol Pot used similar methods (and was used, to a far lesser extent, with the historical TRIBBLE during the Nuremburg period.)

    but, there are VERY good reasons that the methods Nguyen's using here are considered in the real world to be war-crimes.
    Oh for sure, they're effective methods, and I think wholly warranted in this situation, the irony of the juxtaposition just appealed to me :D Equally ironically, Season Two is kind of touching on a subject I want to do a piece on (the MU's Cardassian-Klingon alliance) which would also cover things that happened during Ael and Siri's time at the Academy... But. I know that to include all the details I've got, would totally violate forum guidelines, but to write them up without them in, would weaken the story, as they are pivotal issues... oh well... Always enjoying reading the collaborations :cool:
  • jonsillsjonsills Member Posts: 10,354 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    43 pounds of antimatter? Not 47? :)

    I hope Schrodi keeps a copy of that conversation with Fitsimmons on file - it would make must-see viewing during her court-martial, assuming she makes it that long...
    Lorna-Wing-sig.png
  • gulberatgulberat Member Posts: 5,505 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Yeah, I was going to call out the Moabite hypocrisy, too...really rich to be talking about TRIBBLE while wearing an EAR NECKLACE.

    Seems like they haven't heard the adage about the risks of becoming what you hate...

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  • marcusdkanemarcusdkane Member Posts: 7,439 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    gulberat wrote: »
    Yeah, I was going to call out the Moabite hypocrisy, too...really rich to be talking about TRIBBLE while wearing an EAR NECKLACE.

    Seems like they haven't heard the adage about the risks of becoming what you hate...
    Moab has strong Vietnamese roots, and it's pretty widely reported that Vietnamese forces would take ears as trophies from US troops... I don't think the mainstream Moabite has grown out of that kind of behaviour, even though there are the Jewish influences as well... I think that gives them a distinction between the Earth-raised Humans (or those from the 'nice' colony worlds, like Caldos, Alpha Centauri etc ;) )
  • gulberatgulberat Member Posts: 5,505 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Moab has strong Vietnamese roots, and it's pretty widely reported that Vietnamese forces would take ears as trophies from US troops... I don't think the mainstream Moabite has grown out of that kind of behaviour, even though there are the Jewish influences as well... I think that gives them a distinction between the Earth-raised Humans (or those from the 'nice' colony worlds, like Caldos, Alpha Centauri etc ;) )

    I'm not trying to say this passage should be deleted or is bad story or anything. It does distinguish them. But if it distinguishes them in a bad way, I'm not going to hesitate to point that out. :p;)

    BTW, as a personal theory, I tend to suspect not so much "not growing out of" that behavior so much as reading the historical records for ideas and relapsing to a state they had on e overcome, for lack of a better word.

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  • marcusdkanemarcusdkane Member Posts: 7,439 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    gulberat wrote: »
    I'm not trying to say this passage should be deleted or is bad story or anything. It does distinguish them. But if it distinguishes them in a bad way, I'm not going to hesitate to point that out. :p;)

    I agree, it distinguishes them well, but indeed, is certainly a negative aspect. I wonder if the Human-centric specisism you perscieve in modern Starfleet might equally apply to Moabite applicants to the Academy, and I wonder how many applicants may be rejected for that reason alone by the review board, on top of those who would fail medicals or age requirements, by Earth-born (or at least Core World born) officers who think they fail to reflect the perscieved pinnacle of Humanity... :confused: (even Siri was initially rejected by the board due to the anti-Augment legislation, but eventually allowed under reconsideration as the genetic modifications were all inherited in-utero, rather than intentionally done post-nataly, and with Doctor Bashir cited as a precedent for leniency)

    gulberat wrote: »
    BTW, as a personal theory, I tend to suspect not so much "not growing out of" that behavior so much as reading the historical records for ideas and relapsing to a state they had on e overcome, for lack of a better word.
    Yes, cultural backsliding in response to the harsh conditions of the colony, coupled with it being a distant colony, might well be the case...
  • knightraider6knightraider6 Member Posts: 396 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Episode 6.1 Hold the Line
    There's no sense, the fire burns
    When wisdom fails, it changes all
    The wheel embodies all that keeps on turning

    Blood red skies, I feel so cold
    No innocence
    We play our roll
    The wheel embodies all
    Where are we going?

    All in all
    You expect the wise to be wiser
    Fallen from grace and
    All and all I guess we should have known
    Better 'cause

    What about us
    Isn't it enough
    No we're not in paradise
    This is who we are
    This is what we've got
    No it's not our paradise
    But it's all we want
    And it's all that we're fighting for
    Thought it's not paradise

    You and us, or I and them
    There comes a time to take a stand
    The wheel is watching all
    It keeps on burning

    The venom works, it's like a curse
    A trojan horse, when will we learn?
    The wheel embodies all that keeps returning

    All in all
    You expect the wise to be wiser
    Fallen from grace and
    All and all I guess we should have known
    Better 'cause

    What about us
    Isn't it enough
    No we're not in paradise
    This is who we are
    This is what we've got
    No it's not our paradise
    But it's all we want
    And it's all that we're fighting for
    Thought it's not paradise

    What about us
    Isn't it enough
    No we're not in paradise
    This is who we are
    This is what we've got
    No it's not our paradise
    But it's all we want
    And it's all that we're fighting for

    What about us
    Isn't it enough
    No we're not in paradise
    This is who we are
    This is what we've got
    No it's not our paradise
    But it's all we want
    And it's all that we're fighting for
    But it's not paradise

    What about us
    What about us
    What about us
    Isn't it enough

    Within Temptation Paradise



    Feb 1, 2412. four hours out from Denali, USS Shiloh


    "We're prepared Admiral. There were a few hold outs, but most of the crew is along with the plan," the XO reported. He was human, of course, as were most of the crew. The few that weren't, well there were already a few 'accidents' on the trip out, and there would probably be a few more in a couple hours.

    Admiral Fitsimmons looked at the image of the formation on her PADD. "How about the other ships in the task force? We can't have anyone going wobbly on us once things start."

    "Only three that are iffy, they are the Warsaw, Calnus, and the Reuben James. We've got a half dozen on the Canlus, a couple of them in departments where they can do some damage in necessary."

    "What about the escorts?" she asked.

    "That one, well there wasn't really room to get people on board - those little Saber class ships are tight enough that some of them have to use hot bunking." He shrugged. "Still, it's not like if they protest they'll be a problem for very long. We're still blocking all transmissions correct?"

    "Of course, Admiral - though they've been trying to surrender for the last three days, on all the standard frequencies. No one would have picked up on that."



    USS Calnus

    Ami sat in her Ready Room yet again. It seemed like it was one bombshell after another that she was discovering, especially after she'd tried contacting the Shiloh a few hours ago...

    She didn't know just how it had happened, but instead of getting through to the normal comm channels, she had instead managed to piggyback onto a conversation between Admiral Fitsimmons... and an 'Admiral Cave'.

    The conversation had confirmed what she had already begun suspecting - someone wanted Denali, and was using Starfleet as pawns in order to appear as 'liberators'. And it almost seemed like most of the task force was in on it.

    There were very few possibilities as to who it was, and in order to find out for sure, she'd asked her Science Officer to run a very discrete scan on the other ships...

    The door chime went off, alerting her to a visitor. "Come," she said, and her Science Officer walked in, followed closely by Jennifer.

    "Ah, Jennifer, Cathy, good to see you two," Ami remarked. "Let's get the basics out of the way, first - did you get those scans I asked for done, Cathy?"

    "I did - those Galaxy class ships? They're woefully lacking any type of basic science sensors - but where there should be probes, there are torpedo bays. Lots of torpedo bays."

    "Not only that, the loadout on the weapons... I'm reading tricobalts, lots of phaser mounts with power outputs that would tax a stations power supply - for an exploration cruiser, hell the Klingons don't arm their ships that heavily," Jennifer added.

    "Then there's the transporter capacity, they can beam down close to 200 people a minute - and they have a shuttle bay three and a half times bigger than most Galaxy's."

    "That is odd, and confirms they aren't Starfleet," Ami remarked. "What about their point of origin? Anything on the scans that could determine that? Resonance frequencies, external markings, anything?"

    "The hull coating is fresh, within the last few months, on all of them. Other than that..." She shrugged. "Without going to active scans, or going over there, there's really not much we can find out."

    Ami sighed. "And doing active scans would tell them immediately that we know something's up," she muttered. "Well, good work anyway, Cathy." She then turned to Jennifer. "How goes keeping an eye on our 'guests', Jennifer?" she asked.

    "Boringly, thankfully. They don't interact with most of the crew - they just do their jobs, then go back to their quarters at the end of their shifts. Even take their meals in there as well."

    "That's not going to last..." Ami remarked. "Once we stop playing along with this farce, you can be certain that they'll try to stop us from interfering, either by sabotage or other means. Cathy, could you quietly pass the word along that I want our own security teams on heightened alert, keeping their eyes open for any suspicious behavior?"

    "Problem is Sir... most of them are our security... there were a bunch of last minute transfers from fleet personnel right before we left, when these guys came on."

    "Dammit..." Ami cursed silently. She wrote down a seemingly nonsense string of letters and numbers, passing it to Cathy. "Here's the access code to the primary armory. I wish we didn't have to do this, but I want you to discretely pass out weapons among your staff - Pistols only, easily concealable, but try to neutralize the Rifles and Assault Weapons, if you can - when things go sour, I want to have as many advantages against these TRIBBLE as we can get."

    "That's all well and good Captain - but there's twenty other ships out there just as overgunned as the Galaxy we took a peek at. Fighting may not be a survivable option..."

    Ami nodded, a grim expression on her face. "I understand, but I do not intend to just let them take Denali. Our usual tricks for dealing with pirates and hostile species should help, but if it isn't enough, and we don't survive, at least we'll die knowing we did our best to stop their plans for Denali." She looked at Cathy. "Cathy, you're dismissed. Jennifer, could you stay a bit longer?"

    She nodded and left, leaving the ready room.

    Once Cathy had left, Ami turned to face Jennifer. "How're you holding up?" she asked. "I know we're both determined to stop this, but it can't be easy for you - I know it isn't for me."

    "Bout as good as can be expected," she said with a shrug. "Though I do keep a knife under my pillow in my quarters, thought it might be prudent, given the incident earlier in the trip."

    "Yeah, I do the same thing," Ami admitted. "I also have this."

    She typed in a small access code into her terminal, and a small hatch on the desk popped open to reveal two Phaser Pistols - one a Compression Bolt Type, and the other a Stun Beam type. "Always good to have backup weapons in an emergency," she explained. "Feel free to take whichever you want - I think we might need them before this is all over."

    Jennifer took the stun pistol, slipping it under her uniform top out of sight. "I hope you're wrong Sir, I really do."

    "I hope I am, too, Jennifer," Ami replied as she took the Compression Pistol, storing it under her uniform top like Jennifer had the Stun Pistol. She hesitated for a bit. "Listen, Jennifer... after this is all done, if we both survive... would you be willing to join me for dinner in my quarters sometime?"

    "Assuming we survive? Sure," she said, before heading back to her station, carefully looking out the door before leaving.

    Ami watched Jennifer leave, then sighed once the door had closed behind her. She knew the dangers of getting too close to one's subordinates, of pursuing a relationship among her own crew. She'd heard all the stories, how pursuing such a relationship could cloud one's judgement.

    But... she and Jennifer both had a common origin as Augments, and were working closely together to save more of their 'kind' from whatever insidious plan Fitsimmons and Cave. both Caves... had in mind for them. Not to mention the fact that Jennifer seemed to possess a natural beauty that thoroughly captivated Ami...

    Yes, Ami mused, despite all the possible dangers and horror stories, she found herself wanting to give a relationship with Jennifer a chance.

    At least, so long as both of them survived whatever was about to happen...



    Vancouver, Denali, Feb 1 2412

    "Still no response. We've tried subspace, hf radio, laser message relays - they don't acknowledge and just keep coming," the com tech muttered miserably.

    "With all the jamming being put out by the lead ship, it's no surprise," Miskha replied, her tail flicking irratably. She looked at the map showing the Denali system. There were three targets on it, one for the group coming from Earth, another from the Klingon colony at Sartag-IV, and the third from the Moosejaw nebula. Unfortunately, the later two would arrive at least an hour after the terran group. Oh she knew they weren't from earth, most of them anyway. convincing the government had taken a bit more work - but then the average civilian never had even heard of the Terran Empire, or the mirror universe.

    "We're going to have to fight them, there's nothing else we can do at this point," Dr Kaur sighed, looking defeated. "So many will die, for no reason."

    "If that carrier had been ready, we would at least have had something to fight with," Colonel K'Tram said, the Ferasan's tail twitching angrily. His people had been here helping refit the ship, and training Home Guard pilots in the To'duj fighters that they had. There were four squadrons, and the carrier was due to have weapons delivered tuesday - and even that had been rushed from the original schedule. He could have had his people evacuated, but after living here for this long, it was their fight. They were the Klingon Defense Force after all - they would protect innocents with their lives.

    "Engaging them in orbit is suicide," he said as he looked over the battle. "But worlds can not be taken by Starships. That requires boots on the ground. And starship weapons are generally not accurate enough for close air support..."

    "While the fighters excel at that," the Defense minister replied. For someone who's main concern until a few months ago was quadraptor swarms, he'd actually come along rather nicely, the Colonel thought.

    "Exactly. Though according to my sister," Miska said, "they have extensive transport capacity for getting boots on the ground rather quickly." She smiled, showing her fangs. "Fortunately, we've got an idea about that..."



    USS McGrath

    "There's still too much jamming, Cap'n, nothing we're sending is getting through from the planet to the incoming fleet." Mr Thag was in his element, multiple consoles spread about him as he manipulated data and signals - still, whatever was jamming the colony had more power to jam than they did to burn through.

    In the Captain's chair, Ponta just nodded, still annoyed at her Captain, going off and stealing a Galaxy-X, ok, even a shoddy copy of one from the Terran Empire, while she was still in this tub.
    To be honest though, the McGrath since Schrodinger had taken command, was almost but not quite completely unlike any Nebula class in Starfleet. A ship full of engineers with time on their hands would always find time to improve things. Half the hull was covered in salvaged Borg technology, and somehow Heiki had managed to wire one of the cutting beams from a tactical cube into the weapons systems. It worked well enough against the toasters - at least that's what the Cap'n called Borg anyway.

    "Keep trying, oh have we heard from the Klingons yet?"

    "We've already gotten the long range tacnet from Koldor's flagship," he replied, the neanderthal pondering something as he skipped frequencies. "Maybe I'm going about this all wrong..."

    "What do you mean?" Lt Pickens said over her shoulder from Ponta's usual place, the helm.

    "I'm trying to burn through it - when I should be hetrodyning into it," he said, making a change. "This should be able to be picked up well... crud. By everyone - unless we encode it with the ship's command codes."

    "And those are rear admiral or above to find, unless you are the captain" Mel muttered. Thag just grinned at her. "Are you doubting I can get those?"

    She just stuck her tongue out at him. "Ah ain't takin that bet."

    He chuckled, and set to work. "According to Cap'n Schrodi, there's only a few non suspect ships involved - Reuben James, Calnus, and the Warsaw." His hands flew over the consoles as he sent probes and worms into the data stream, looking for the information.

    "Wait, you're gonna get them from the ships? But that's impossible-"

    "There's one..." he said, shaking his head. "Got the Calnus, you'd think a science ship would know better than to use a Fibonacci Sequence for their codes... Reuben james... dang. only test with the Warsaw. Better than nothing, I guess."

    "So, what exactly good is this going to do?" Ponta asked curiously

    "Well, it will actually be easier for the Calnus than the Reuben James - it's a Science ship, same as ours. It's got sci-net capability for linking ships telemetry and data... while the other ship does have a small science department, if no one's manning the science station they might miss it."


    IKS Severed Angel...

    Eialu studied the howl of the jamming. "They're putting out enough subspace and RF to equal a small star." she muttered.

    Enough to mimic a small star... Eialu had, once upon a time, styled herself something of a scientist - of course, compared to the brilliance she'd met since, she knew that those dreams were shabby aping of brilliance. But you don't have to be brilliant if you stand on the shoulders of giants...

    "Vu, tell me, how complex is the ECM off that battlegroup? The Jamming in particular?" she asked.

    Her Moabite science officer - a former student at Moab's lone (now defunct) University who'd studied propagation theories and advanced mathematics pursed her lips. "I'd say... what's your idea, ma'am?"

    "That source is outputting about the same sheer volume as a small star - it's all focused in a cone, so it's denser..." Eialu stated, leading the girl she considered MUCH smarter along, "Seems to me, they're probably a little bit blind, since it has to cover ALL normal communications ranges - which includes most of the ranges used for long-range sensors."

    Vu considered... "No good." she said, "the rest of that TF would be taking up the slack on the sensor duties..."

    "But they have to screen out the jamming, right?" Eialu asked.

    "OH! Yeah, they would..." Vu said.

    "And if we happen to be modulating, say, our shields along those same resonance frequencies..." Eialu hinted.

    "Well, mirror them, actually... they'd have a hell of a time seeing us... you could probably park the Angel right in front of them and they'd be so blind they'd run straight into her... without cloak."

    "Suppose there's a way we could, say, outfit the fighter-wing with something that resonates their shields and deflectors to mirror that, in that fashion.. in, say, less than an hour?" Eialu asked.

    "Um, yeah, it's just soft-Oh... software patch..." Vu started working.

    I may never be a Great Scientist, or a master of tactics, but damn I know how to work my people! Eialu mused. "Pass the patch along the TacNet to the rest of the taskforce when you're done," she said. "If all they SEE are their friends..."

    "They'll have to either drop the jamming, or they'll have to fight someone they can't see."

    "Dabo... send it first to Dr. Schrodinger on the Stadi and Mister Thag on the McGrath, they may have some adjustments and suggestions."



    USS Reuben James

    "That's odd..."

    Captain M'Karret looked over at the ensign manning the science station. Normally in combat that went unmanned - but in this situation, as strange and unsettling as everything was, he'd changed that. "What's that, Ensign Federov?"

    "I'm picking up a sci-net signal, from the McGrath... it's coming through the command codes!"

    "What?! Are they attacking the systems?"

    "No Sir - just data," the Russian Ensign loaded it to a secure PADD, that wasn't connected to the ships systems. "It's damn clever actually, it managed to ride on the Jamming the Shiloh is putting out - су́кин сын!!"

    The Caitian didn't know Russian, but he didn't need a translator to figure out that something was very bad. "What is it, Ensign?"

    Federov looked at the Captain, his face pale. "Sir... we've been ****ed over royally..." he said, handing the PADD to M'Karret, containing the files recovered from the ISS Stadi...



    USS Calnus

    "Captain, we have something strange here," Cathy reported from her Bridge Station.

    "What is it?" Ami asked as she walked over.

    "We're getting a data packet over sci-net from the USS McGrath... but the strange thing is it's coming through the command codes."

    "That is strange..." Ami remarked. "And also rather clever - manages to bypass the Shiloh's Jamming by riding on the signal... what's the data?"

    Cathy paled as she read it. "Oh, this is not good..."

    "Cathy?" Ami asked, instantly worried. "What's wrong?"

    "I... I think we know where the other ships came from..." Cathy whispered to her, quickly downloading the data to a secure PADD and erasing the original copy from the ship's systems. "And it's not good..." she passed the PADD, which contained the files recovered from the ISS Stadi, over to Ami.

    Ami had only looked over the files for a few minutes before she paled as well. "XO, you have the Bridge," she said to her First Officer as she headed for the Turbolift, PADD in hand. "I have something I need to do really quick."

    She had to let Jennifer know about this - She didn't know whether it was their shared nature as secret Augments, their joint efforts to stop what was going on, her nascent feelings for the Lieutenant, or some combination thereof, but Ami trusted her deeply - possibly even more so than any of her other Officers.

    But summoning her to her Ready Room so soon after she'd left would arouse suspicions among their 'guests'. This had to be more covert.

    Which was why she was soon standing in front of the door to Jennifer's Quarters, ringing the door chime.

    "It's open!!" came the call from inside, as the doors opened to allow Ami in. Jennifer looked up, and saw Ami close the door and lock it behind her. When Ami turned around, Jennifer could see the fear, horror, and shock in her expression. "What's wrong, Captain?"

    "Things are worse than even I thought, Jennifer..." Ami replied, passing the PADD to Jennifer...



    USS Shiloh

    "Admiral, we've got a possible problem."

    Fitsimmons just sighed. Of course there was. "What is it, Commander?" She asked, looking at the frozen iceball they were coming up on on the screen, just another few minutes and they'd be in orbit.

    "Someone's sent a sci-net feed to a select few ships in the group - Calnus, Warsaw and Reuben James."

    "Well it's not like we needed those three other than window dressing, this is actually in our favor. Activate the agents on the Calnus, we may need their scientists, and..." she said, looking through their data. "Use command codes on the other two, would have been nice if we'd been able to get people on them as well, but we were already stretched thin with the number of our people in their Starfleet."

    "Aye Sir, should I lock weapons once their shields are down?"

    "No... that can be detected. As soon as we're in orbit, use the codes. once they're unprotected, we'll fire manually. It's good practice for the weapons crews - might as well get some use out of those ships."



    Earth orbit, Jan 30, 2412 MCDS Nha Tranh

    Janet Qua looked at the ships chronometer as it re-synched with the time check from the local network. There were times that she missed Starfleet to be honest, it had been a big part of her life up until her homeworld went and joined the Empire. This however, was one time she was not missing it. Schrodinger's short cut past Cygnus X1... slingshot them, cutting a few week trip down to five days - and slightly overshot.

    Fortunately, Temporal Investigations in the Empire was both better and worse. There they mainly asked "Did you do it on purpose" and "Did you change anything." Answer no to both, and that was it. Yamato on the other hand, well Starfleet TI would probably keep him tied up asking questions for a week or three once they find out. If they do.

    "Hail the Embassy, we've got FLASH intel for them," she ordered, wondering if she'd have time to change into her dress uniform. given that she was immediately requested to beam directly into the Embassy, she hoped they wouldn't mind too much.

    Ambassador Bianh was waiting AT the transport pad, flanked by Anh Cu'ong, who was dressed-down in civilian clothes. "I thought Zaki had the detail," Janet commented.

    "He does - normally. We're not under normal conditions," Anh told her. "Right now, he's got most of the team covering the Vulcan embassy - what've you got for this?"

    "Actionable," Janet said, handing the chit over. "Really, really actionable."

    Bianh and Anh studied the data... "very actionable," Bianh confirmed. "I think Ariel would say this is 'hot'."

    "Not Blackmail, though?" Anh asked.

    "You don't blackmail these types, you remove 'em from office, there's a line in corruption between 'corrupt but he's our guy' and 'too corrupt to allow'."



    Paris-Orly Shuttleport

    Proconsul D'Tan stepped out of his Kestrel-type runabout, accompanied by a small entourage of Romulan Republic officers. Admiral Jesu LaRoca stepped forward, with his slightly smaller entourage. "Jolan tru, Proconsul, welcome to Earth." He bowed from the waist in the traditional Romulan manner.

    D'Tan matched the gesture, and then extended his hand, which the Admiral accepted. "Well met, Vice Admiral. I am honored that you have taken time from your busy schedule to meet me."

    "Only doing my job, Proconsul."

    "I thought your job involved stopping the Undine from destroying helpless planets," D'Tan remarked.

    "Not all the time..." Jesu looked askance at the leader of the Romulan Republic. "How did you find out about that?"

    "Just because we don't favor the Tal Shiar's methods doesn't mean our intelligence service is any less efficient," D'Tan said with a sly half-smile. "Isn't that right, Subcommander?"

    "We watch the news," Don'el Sander said with a shrug. "And we can make connections." She glanced at Spitz-Reader. "I think I liked you better in your other uniform, Commander."

    "I don't," Reader replied. "My old uniform was too heavy and bulky. Starfleet actually designs its uniforms with comfort in mind."

    "I have a hover-coach waiting," Admiral LaRoca announced. "Shall we go?"

    "Yes, of course." D'Tan stepped forward. "We mustn't keep the Vulcans waiting."

    They arrived at the Vulcan Embassy twenty-six minutes later, fighting the afternoon traffic, but still slightly early for D'Tan's appointment with Ambassador T'Satra.

    When they arrived, they were somewhat surprised to see another pair of officers heading for the Embassy, as well. The pair looked up and spotted the group, and paused to wait for the group to reach them.

    "Admiral LaRoca, a pleasure to meet you in person," the man, a Starfleet Captain with dark brown hair, a dark brown moustache, and amethyst eyes, remarked. "I've heard a bit about you from Councilwoman Hibiki. I'm Captain Takeshi Yamato of the Raging Tempest, and this is my wife and Security Chief, Linda."

    Admiral LaRoca stared down at the Captain. "Yamato-san. I've seen several of your reports. Whatever you're doing to add those visual effects to your combat logs, stop it." With that he turned away and led D'Tan's party and his own inside.

    Takeshi and Linda looked at each other, shrugged, and entered the Embassy themselves.

    The Vulcan security officers seemed more, numerous than before as they were led down into the embassy, past the normal offices. "Apologies for the stairs, but when you hear what the Ambassadors have to say, you'll understand the increased security we have of late."

    The air seemed to be getting slightly cooler as they went further as well, Two of the Vulcans were standing on either side of a doorway, saluting as protocol dictated to a head of state as D'Tan approached. "Through here, sirs," the guard said as she opened the door. It was about 16 degrees centigrade inside the room, chilly for a vulcan, but perfect for a dead Andorian, who stood when they entered.

    "Jolan Tru, Proconsul," the Ambassador said with a polite bow - well as much of one as he could do with his bad back.

    "Jolan Tru, Ambassador," D'Tan replied. "You are looking well, for someone reported deceased."

    "It was a near thing," Ambassador Thalev admitted. "And had it not been for Governor Kincaid, the story, like many others reported of late, would have been true."

    "So I take it she was not the assassin then, as was reported, nor was she killed by security forces?" The Proconsul asked.

    "She did nearly die - but due to the Assassin. She's in physical therapy right now, though if this matter is serious enough that could probably be interrupted."

    "I think it may be," LaRoca declared. "My staff and I have uncovered information that concerns the fate of her world, and Federation."

    "I'll have someone bring her, then," the Vulcan ambassador said as she joined them, one of her aides disappearing for a few minutes. She looked like she had lost weight since the last time he'd seen her, on the trip out from Denali many months ago - the crutches were new, as well. "Admiral, good to see you again, though I wish it was more pleasant circumstances," she said. "Thank you for coming as well, Proconsul."

    "Yes, thank you all for coming," came Councilwoman Hibiki's voice as she walked into the room, followed closely by Takeshi and Linda. "It's good to see you again, Admiral," she said.

    "So," D'Tan said as he looked over the assembled group. "I assume this has to do with the bafflingly absurd way the Federation government has acted over the last few months?"

    "Longer than that actually, Proconsul," LaRoca said as he synced his non-standard-issue pocket PADD with a large viewscreen. "From what my people have found out, Martin Cave has been a plant in the Federation since at least possibly 2383 or so. He was first elected to office as the junior senator from the Ontario region in 2386. Since then he's risen rapidly, being the Foreign Minister for the last seven years, and rumored to be angling for President Okeg's job next cycle."

    "It seems like he's practically running things now, honestly," Kincaid muttered

    Councilwoman Hibiki shook her head. "The Foreign Minister doesn't hold power - but he does advise the President, and he is a very effective and persuasive speaker."

    LaRoca nodded. "He also, both as a council member, and as Foreign Minister, has the ability to, well not appoint, but suggest people from the district they represent to Starfleet Academy. All council members have that power, most do one, two a year. since 2395 however, using a loophole in the system, he's sent over twenty-three hundred to the Academy, all humans."

    "How the hell did he get that many through?" Thalev looked surprised. "I got into the academy back in 2356 by petitioning the Andorian Ambassador at the time, but they would only accept two per ambassador per year, or one per council member."

    "As I said, a loophole. The admissions officer for several years was Sandra Fitsimmons - who currently," LaRoca looked at his notes, "should be arriving at Denali leading a 'Starfleet' task force any time now. Of the two thousand, three hundred and forty-seven he sent, all were Human and most made it through, and into Starfleet. Those that did not, tended to flunk out not for academic reasons - but because they exhibited xenophobia, or in some cases, outright hatred of non-Humans."

    "Definitely a hindrance for Starfleet Officers. So where are they now?"

    "Mostly, USS Shiloh, USS Waxman, USS VanOwen and part of a special security force - that was first seen publicly when they attempted to apprehend Captain Melissa Travis of the USS Nighthawk."

    "And known Augment," the Denali Governor said with a low growl, her hand covering her face. "Amiral, forgive me for saying, but I really don't think we'd want to join the Federation anymore."

    "I understand completely," Jesu replied. "But in our defense - these people aren't from the Federation."

    That caused a lot of raised eyebrows "Then, where are they from?" D'Tan asked curiously.

    "I think I can answer that, sir," Captain Yamato replied, ignoring the glares from both LaRocas. "Five days ago, well, five days our time ago, we were going through a dimensional portal in the Moosejaw nebula, in search of a group of supposed pirates that over the last several years had been working to cut off all traffic to Denali. On the way there, we encountered two ships, one of them carrying a bioweapon to 'test' on Risa, the other the gatekeeper for the portal. These ships were mostly human crewed, the ISS Reckoning and the ISS Devastator. Going through the portal, we found an entire Terran Empire Starbase, as well as a fleet preparing to go 'rescue' Denali from the Federation attackers."

    "Thank you for sparing us your traditional report, Takeshi-san," LaRoca said coolly. Rusty still glared at the captain for speaking out of turn. Spitz just smiled quietly to himself. "We were coming to the same conclusion," the Admiral went on, "but couldn't find any concrete proof on this end, other than autopsy reports from some of the 'security' that died when Travis escaped ESD." He shrugged. "And being from an alternate universe isn't a reason for not allowing someone in - I happen to know several officers who are from alternate worlds who are quite capable and trustworthy."

    "Well, we have concrete proof now, Sir," Takeshi said, pulling up relevant data recovered from Firebase Zulu and the ISS Stadi. "We captured both the base, and the operations flagship intact."

    "Impressive," Jesu said, without changing his tone or expression. But he really meant it. Even Rusty looked impressed.

    Ambassador Thalev looked over the combat report, seeing the forces available. "How did you manage that with only five ships and a merchant vessel?"

    "Being the Terran Empire used a lot of not very willing conscripts, it was actually easier than it seemed," Captain Yamato replied, leaving out the full details on how much Looking Glass's hacking had actually done - better to keep that quiet.

    LaRoca didn't miss it though as he looked over the order of battle. Looks like refitting her paid off in spades, he thought with satisfaction.

    Kincaid reached for her crutches. "Alright, so we head over there and arrest this son of a *****-"

    "No, I do not think you should."

    Everyone looked with surprise at the Proconsul of the Romulan Republic. D'Tan explained "Doing so, in your world's current political climate, could be seen by many as an attempted coup d'?tat - all the more so if he should happen to escape - and given as many years as he seems to have invested in this, be assured he more than likely has plans for just such an occasion."

    "You're right." Jesu hated to admit it, but this could split the Federation, especially given how much Cave had ramped up the vitriol over the last few weeks. There were millions of scared people who thought he was protecting them from the wrath of Khan's children. "We can't rush into this, it's got to be done by the books, and publicly. Very publicly." Thinking fast, the solution hit him. "So, this is what we do..."



    Denali Orbit, Feb 1, 2412. 0843 standard time. USS Shiloh

    She probably should feel something, Sandra Fitsimmons thought as she looked out at the planet below, and the ships in formation with her. This would stain her name in infamy in the Federation - assuming Cave's plan didn't work. Which she had no doubt at this point that it would. History is written by the victors, it is said. History is also filled with liars. If the plan was successful, then their truth become written, and all you need to change the world is one good lie and a river of blood. She grinned in spite of herself, she was about to complete the greatest trick a liar ever played on history.

    "We're ready, Admiral," Lt Commander McTagart at the weapons controls announced. It would be much easier doing it with target locks - but that would give seconds warning. No, it was better to do it manually. "Have our people started securing the Calnus yet?"

    "They're moving into position, Admiral, waiting on your word."

    "The word is given - as soon as they've got that ship secure, destroy the Warsaw and Reuben James. Then there will be no one who can stop us."



    USS Calnus

    Cathy was busily working at her station, working on anything that might be needed against the other ships, when the turbolift to the Bridge opened and a squad of 'Security Officers' entered.. That would normally not be anything to be concerned about - until one of them fired a shot into the ceiling of the bridge. "Nobody move!" the LtCommander shouted. "By order of Admiral Fitsimmons, I am hereby assuming control of this vessel, any noncompliance will be met with deadly force."

    "What the hell?!?" the Ensign at the Helm Console exclaimed. "That's ridiculous!! We already have a Captain, so what does the Admiral think she's doing going over her-"

    They didn't argue - simply fired, the ensign screaming as the phaser disrupted his molecules, his outline glowing as he was reduced to sub-atomic particles. "anyone ELSE have too much mouth? Sit down, shut up, and DO YOUR JOBS."

    As the rest of the Bridge Crew did as told, even as one of the 'Security' people took the helm console in place of the vaporized ensign, Cathy did so as well, though this disguised her typing out a text message and sending it over the private comm channel to the PADD she had given Ami earlier.



    USS Reuben James

    "Are you sure that's necessary Sir? That violates Starfleet regulation 238.-"

    "And I don't care Ensign," Captain M'Karret replied as he finished typing furiously at the panel "We're in the middle of a possible enemy fleet."

    "But Sir - that's ridiculous. Admiral Fitsimmons has been in starfleet for Decades. We're just following orders by coming out here."

    He tolerated some questioning from his crew - after all, for them to grow as officers, they had to know sometimes why things were done, but there were times for that, and this was not one of them. "Ensign, either sit back down and shut up or get off my bridge."

    Before the ensign could do either, the XO's eyebrow went even higher than it already was. "Sir, we've just had a command over Tacnet - sent via command codes, that would have lowered our shields if you hadn't just changed the code."



    USS Warsaw

    "SON Of a *****!!" The override hit while the file was open.

    "Mason, HIT THE GAS!" the helmsman obeyed instantly-crossing Captain Michael Collins when he actually used profanity was generally unhealthy.

    The Warsaw's engines went from half to full, and she started 'jinking'.

    "We are ****ed, sound collision alarms, and polarize the hull until I can get these ever****ing command codes overridden. Mason, keep pulling evasives. Ginny, arm our point-defenses, we're going to be taking incoming fire right about..."

    The ship Rocked and echoed as something slammed the hull. "Now."

    "Who's firing at us?" Lt Salvus asked.

    "Guess, jackass - the same ***** that hit us with a command code override," Collins growled, "Ginny, return fire, drop a spread of torpedoes set to random - walk, and dump the mine cannisters, Mason, you'd better tell me you can bring up warp power..."

    "Warp engine's down, sir," Ginny said, she was almost crying.

    More hits.

    Collins looked around. "We're corncobbed with a spiky one, okay, sound abandon ship... and give me direct control of the helm."

    "What're you gonna do, sir?" LTC Mason asked, not moving from the helm as his fingers danced the controls.

    "The... Calley, they're still ahead of us?" Collins asked.

    "Yes sir."

    "I'm going to ram them - the sons of TRIBBLE are plants, we can't clear 'em and we're too ****ed to run for the clear."

    "I'm not leaving, sir."

    "Someone-" the bridge filled with an awful light...



    Omniscient view...

    The USS Calley is a heavy ship. those aren't very maneuverable as a rule, and what had been a static, easy target a moment ago, was now closing at full impulse.

    The loss of the bridge means that nobody is there to tell the engines to stop, or slow down, it also means the main computer - which could, say, respond to overrides from the group, is off-line.

    Now, space is 'frictionless', meaning that once an object is moving along a specific vector at a specific speed, it's going to KEEP moving along that vector, and at the speed it achieves before thrust is lost.

    Blowing something up might spread that debris field out quite a ways.

    But even if it does reduce the terminal velocity some, everything's going to tend to continue travelling forward at that speed...

    And the Warsaw was still accelerating at full impulse.

    Phasers buzz-sawed through the ruined Akira class escort, but it was pretty much useless - and shields don't generally work very well at deflecting starship-sized objects moving at .7c. (Seven tenths the speed of light), the terminal velocity of the Warsaw at the moment her engines failed.

    The ramming attack by the shattered, dead ship, whose crew were just launching escape pods, was the impact of 30 kilotons moving at seven tenths' the speed of light... with full fuel bunkers.

    Into the Calley's main engineering hull.

    Which contains the warp-core, and the antimatter fuel for THAT ship as well.

    The flash blinded screens throughout the battlegroup, and the radiation pulse of a double-warp-core eruption hammered every sensor within 3 AU.

    Only four pods actually dropped far enough away to survive the detonations.



    USS Reuben James

    M'Karret snarled, his claws digging into the sides of the captains chair. "******mit I HATE Being right!"

    The viewscreen was washed out from the two ships cores going, not that they had time to worry about that - or try to rescue the pitiful few survivors "Shields below fifty percent Sir!" The fact they had their shields up, and that they were on the edge of the fleet with the Warsaw between them and the Shiloh was the only reason they were still alive - but that wouldn't last for long. Almost every ship was firing at them now, he could physically see the impacts on the shield display, the strength going down as he watched. "Dump everything we have, set course heading 138 mark 4 and go to maximum warp!"

    Lt Novak at the helm looked back, her eyes wide. "Sir, that course will take us to warp through the upper atmosphere of Denali - the damage to the ionosphere-"

    "Will be temporary, six months to a year - and in the meantime transporters will be impossible to be used to beam down. And how many MACO's are on those ships?"

    She nodded, fastening her seat restraints as she turned back to the helm as the fleet continued to hammer at the Saber class escort. She didn't even wait for a command to engage, as soon as she got the ship pointed in the general direction, with a few last second course corrections the Reuben James engaged the warp, a swarm of torpedoes thick enough to walk on in pursuit.

    Oh this is going to suck... Lt Novak muttered as she felt both the buffeting from the atmosphere, as well as the detonations of the warheads. Shields dropped, things started to explode as the ship shook like a terriers chew toy. The explosions continued, but somehow the ship emerged from the fireball, trailing plasma as it left the system, leaving a trail of ionized energy in it's wake.


    Vancouver, Denali

    The people in the operations center watched in stunned silence as the fleet in orbit attacked several of their own. "Why the hell are they doing that?" one of the techs wondered.

    "Because they had no further need of their Maskirovka," Miska replied. "Those ships probably would have balked at the orders from Admiral Fitsimmions."

    "Fat lot of good that does us" the tech groused, wincing as the screens overloaded from the warp core detonations. It was bright enough that even in daylight they could be seen from the ground, followed by an immense streak of light in the sky, the upper atmosphere almost glowing. "What the hell was-" he stopped and turned, staring as did most everyone else, at the tall felines laughter.

    "Он гений! That was a brilliant move, whoever that was," she said as she looked at the display, in the skies above the aurora like effect seemed to be spreading.

    "It looks like it was the Reuben James - though there are three, no four ships from the task force going to warp after it..."

    "I don't understand." Dr Kaur looked at the screen/ "What's so special about the light show?"

    "He went to warp in the ionosphere - which is usually a very bad thing to do - as that can disable transporters for weeks, even months from upper atmosphere ionization."

    K'Tram had already put it together. "Meaning now they can't beam down troops. They'll have to bring them down the old-fashioned way, in shuttles - which are vulnerable to both fighters, and anti-aircraft fire." He nodded to the Defense minister. "Get the crews ready to launch - with Koldor's ships inbound, we might just make it through this in one piece." Assuming they don't decide to just nuke us from orbit, to be sure, he thought, but no sense in dwelling on that morbid train of thought.



    USS Shiloh

    "What do you mean you can't start the assault landings?" the Admrial snarled

    "I can start them Sir - but they won't make it to the surface alive with that ion storm in the upper atmosphere." the Transporter chief replied defiantly. She resisted the urge to have him punished - he was only speaking so because of the danger to the mission. "Understood," she said, cutting the connection then turning to her first officer. "Plan B, get the troops on shuttles and start fast dropping them down. Also, get some ships after that escort."

    "But I thought the Stadi group was inbound, and was going to 'chase' us off?" he replied, as he gave the orders.

    "They will - but without enough damage, the maskirova won't be effective. We want the locals to embrace Admiral Cave's people with open arms after all."

    "We have another issue, Sir - the ionization is interfering with our targeting. If they have any ground or air assets, we won't be able to get a lock on them from up here."

    "No matter - they can't have very much, and we don't need to target directly. Send to all ships - commence fire on the cities of Vancouver, Kanpur and Coquitlam. Phasers only for now - soften them up, and cease fire just before the troops land."

    Admiral Fitsimmons looked at the viewscreen, and could see the beams lancing out from the ships, boiling clouds into steam, explosions across the target cities as terawatts of energy struck the targets. It was beautiful.
    "It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier." R.A.Heinlein

    "he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."



  • knightraider6knightraider6 Member Posts: 396 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    episode 6.2
    Us and Them
    And after all we're only ordinary men
    Me, and you
    God only knows it's not what we would choose to do
    Forward he cried from the rear
    and the front rank died
    And the General sat, as the lines on the map
    moved from side to side
    Black and Blue
    And who knows which is which and who is who
    Up and Down
    And in the end it's only round and round and round
    Haven't you heard it's a battle of words
    the poster bearer cried
    Listen son, said the man with the gun
    There's room for you inside
    Down and Out
    It can't be helped but there's a lot of it about
    With, without
    And who'll deny that's what the fightings all about
    Get out of the way, it's a busy day
    And I've got things on my mind
    For want of the price of tea and a slice
    The old man died

    Pink Floyd Us and Them


    Southpoint Maglev Station

    Corporal Rao felt a small hand tugging at his pants leg to get his attention. "How much longer until the train is here? I'm tired!"

    He was tired, too - up all night, helping with setting up last minute defenses, then getting the order to the terminal to help with civilian evacuation. The major cities were being emptied as fast as they could be - still even with the warning they had there was over four million still in the greater metro area. "Next one should be coming in about five minutes," the corporal replied to the children waiting with their mother. Most of the evacuees had been children, hell even their only starships had been loaded up with kids and left for klingon space an hour before the attackers had arrived in system. The platform was packed with people, as well as more evacuees waiting outside, the street was full of them as far as he could see - though some were carrying weapons, and heading not towards the station but towards the aerodrome.

    When the battle started, at first no one realized the danger - oh they saw the detonation in orbit, of the Calley and Warsaw's warp cores, and the streak in the sky and resulting aurorae from the fleeing escort - but of anything affecting them there was no sign.

    The maglev pulled in, a few minutes ahead of schedule even - they must be pushing the limiters to get them in and out as fast as possible he thought as he started guiding people onto the train, when he noticed a light in the sky. Looking up, he saw a beam of blinding light cutting through the clouds, boiling them off before striking the ground down the street. The light was blinding, and he could see the beam walking across the ground towards him. People were screaming and tried to flee but there was no time - in seconds he, the evacuees, the train and everything for one hundred meters around was vaporized.


    ISS Assault shuttle Hochstetter, on approach to landing

    Fricking beautiful, seeing the beams lance out of the sky like that, most of the city on fire it seemed. Lt Caine let off a burst at a fleeing ground vehicle as he came over the city, laughing as it exploded. "Boom boom," he muttered as he looked for a good lz

    "Hey save some for us!" the MACO commander said from the seat behind him. They both laughed as he fired the forward phasers again, strafing along a crowd of running refugees. Frickin 'fugees.

    "There, just off the beach there-" the commander pointed, and he brought the shuttle around to where she wanted to go. It was on the ice - but radar showed it was close to ten meters thick - easily enough to park a starship on - hell bombing it probably wouldn't break it. "That shuttle pad there?" he asked.

    "Yeah, it gives us good lines of fire as we hit the ground, and it's exposed enough no surprises waiting there. Dunno why they'd build a shuttle port on the ice though."

    "It's flat and open?" Caine asked as he brought the ship around, the other six in his element lining up behind him, in parade-ground precision.

    "And convenient, too - most places put their landing ports off away from the city center - here it's right off the coast." The Lt Commander shrugged her shoulders. "Makes our job much easier at least."



    'Shuttleport'

    She waited behind one of the hastily assembled terminal buildings on the ice. The invaders were coming in towards her. She had thought when this idea was floated that no, if they were going to invade this world they would have done some basic intel, they wouldn't be this stupid. She was wrong it seemed as the shuttles came in for landing.

    She activated a switch on the device next to her then started running. True, they could shoot her in the back but she was well camouflaged - and honestly getting shot was preferable to hanging around on the ice now...



    Shuttle Hochstetter

    "We've got a runner it seems," Caine said as the shuttle touched down on the ice, the cabin cooling rapidly as the rear ramp was lowered. "Think I can get her from here with the upper turret."

    "Bet you 5 you can't, " the MACO replied. Caine just laughed and didn't even use the autotarget - the fleeing form glowed as the ship-rated phaser turret atomized her - and part of the building she was passing.

    Unnoticed, the device the late watcher had activated continued it's work - sending out rhythmic vibrations into the ice cap. it had taken a while to lure one close enough, now with heat sources and sound mimicking the heartbeat of one of the deepwater whale-like creatures - it attacked. The water off the coast was deep, and ten meter ice wasn't much to a creature four hundred fifty meters long...

    He felt the shuttle lurch, the pilot of one of the next sticks inbound shouting over the com. "There's something under the ice!" Before he could apply power something was breaking through around him - with horror he realized it was massive jaws, as the ice weasel broke through the pack - sending MACOs and shuttles into each other and into the waters - those that weren't swallowed as the enormous teeth dug into the hull of the Hochstetter, pulling it back underwater.



    Five Kellikams out from Vancouver, Mach 2.4

    Lt Spots adjusted his targeting as he cleared the ridge. There hadn't been much of a chance to earn a name since he joined the KDF, but the nickname he'd been tagged with in training did fit-the Ferasan dark fur lightened by off white spots here and there. He might earn one today he thought as the city came into view. They'd removed the fighters from the aerodrome, correctly assuming that it would be targeted - in fact the plywood To'duj fighters lined up along the ramp were still being strafed by Federation - no, Terran shuttles. He lined one of them up, they weren't even paying attention. "Raptor flight, this is Raptor lead - engage at will"

    The shuttle didn't even see them, wasn't even running with its shields up to provide more power to the weapons. The fighter's disruptors tore through the hull, sending the shuttle, already close to the ground, careening out of control, impacting into one of the burning hangar buildings, it's ordinance going up in an expanding fireball. The other ships in the flight were having equal success, clearing the skies over the airfield.

    Still - it was only a small dent. The majority of the shuttles were ferrying troops to the ground and departing back to orbit for another load - at least those that did not make the mistake of landing on the ice - even here from across the city he could see the massive jaws sticking through the ice, as another shuttle was pulled down. "Make sure to maintain altitude if you get over the water, I don't think those things care who they grab"

    "Sir, I'm picking up what looks like fighters." Raptor three reported "lots of em."

    "Well we knew they had at least one carrier with them-form up on me, lets get them before they get us."


    Intersection of 15th and Ash Street

    They could see them coming, even through the smoke. It seemed like half the city was burning-though there was not much rhyme or reason to the targeting it seemed to Lt Watson. They just hit anywhere-schools, hospitals, an empty hockey arena. Just destroying to destroy.

    He'd lost half his men when one of the orbital strikes came down a bit too close for comfort-not that by looking at the sheer number of people behind the barricades. only a few of them had any armor of any kind, weapons ranging from phaser rifles and disruptors, to semi automatic rifles, and one old gent with what looked like a Winchester 1886. of course with the more modern optics, and the 45-70 round that it fired, with armor and shields, he woudln't want to get hit by that thing. And they were still coming. Of course, the fires gave them one advantage-the Terrans couldn't probably get a lock on how many were facing them-especially since one of the things he had managed to salvage was a jammer.

    "Wait till they get to the next intersection" he called out, the word being passed down the line by the troops he had left. "that will be in range of most everyone-no sense in wasting ammo."


    Intersection of 14th and Ash Street
    Major Richter could tell there was someone up ahead, behind the rubble-but not how many. It wasn't something he was too worried about however. He'd been in multiple pacifications during his career. his men were armored, armed, and had fire support-well normally anyway. The ion storm in the upper atmosphere had cut down the targeting capability of the ships in orbit. if he did call for fire, he'd be just as likely to get it on his own head as the enemy's.

    Still he had his own portable assets-as well as shuttle fire support. or did till they started dancing with Klingon fighters. TRIBBLE this. "Santiago! Set up mortars, i want that next intersection hit so hard the rubble bounces!"


    A block away, Watson saw the Terrans setting up what looked like manpad arty. "****.." he muttered, just out of phaser range too, and his own mortars were lost with the rest of his team. Spying the old man with the Winchester he sprinted over "those guys setting that up-can you get them from here?"

    Ranjit Travis looked over the rubble, then just smiled as he brought his rifle up. "you may want to cover your ears Son."


    The lines of fire looked pretty good for the Mortars' autonomous targeting systems, and Santiago smiled, this is going to be easy...he started to set up per standard Imperial Doctrine-the arrangement would be great, lots of clear space to keep eyes on the system, with good fire-lanes for the protective turret installations.

    He began setting up at a point that gave good angles, confident of his personal shielding's ability to turn any fire at this range...

    then his head exploded inside his helmet-brain matter leaked out his eyes and nose, and he fell over, mixed fluids flowing and freezing out the shattered visor of his helmet.

    About half a second later, there was a muted crack.

    "What the-Jo-enn-ess! Man down, find out why!" he bellowed at his unit's medic.

    "it's pronounced Jones sir...nevermi-" the medic's head jerked as he stepped toward the downed engineer, and he joined Santiago on the ground. another muted boom-crack sound echoed.


    Behind the barricade Lt Watson watched wide eyed, as the old man camly worked the lever on his rifle "they may get smart" he said as he ducked down preparing to move to a different spot "might want to keep your head down Son."
    "It's That way!" the Maco leader pointed down the street, "They've got a sniper out there-"

    one of the Assault squaddies with a man portable chaingun jerked sideways and curled into a ball, screaming and gripping his lower abdomen.

    The sound of the shot came at a different timing, and it sounded different too.

    Ensign Lepton turned and flailed in the direction of the shot with her phaser rifle on full auto-and then, she dropped, the back of her helmet bulged in a way that the other two didn't. TWO snipers!

    Up the side street, Jeannie Travis worked the bolt of her Enfield, carefully retrieving the .303 brass, and moved to another hide-two shots from the same place SHOULD draw them.
    Before she slipped through into the building on this side of the alley, she left a scent-call, a mix of Quadraptor pheromones and rotten meat, to draw anyone stupid enough (or brave enough) to come down the alley after her.

    Richter knew where the first one probably was, up behind that barricade. He drew his knife-the alley where the second shot came from was right there-the ensign was a personal favorite of his-whoever that TRIBBLE that killed her was-they were going to suffer before they died.

    He came into the alley, a half dozen of his people behind him, both for support and also to get clear of the kill zone in the street. It seemed empty, though there was something moving. sounded leathery as well, but then everything sounded strange through the helmets. There-that loading dock was probably where the sniper fired from-it had a perfect line of sight to the street, and the sniper could have hidden just inside the doorway out of sight. He should have probably thrown a gernade or something perhaps he thought, but that wasn't as personal as gutting someone. pausing at the steps, he raced up them, turning-yep-he could see in the dust where someone had laid-and...teeth. lots of teeth.

    He was grabbed by two quadraptors at once, the juveniles almost ripping him in half in their hunger. The rest of the troops screamed and opened up on them-finding out first hand why the Denali forces used disruptors and projectile weapons instead of phasers as their heavy hides absorbed much of the energy...



    near 23'rd and Willow street

    As he floated towards the ground, Lt Spot thought It would have been nice if they'd had the system in place to beam out crews of damaged fighters-but they had neither the capability, or the spare craft at the moment. He was injured too, that last one had managed to get a piece of him before the drive blew and the computer punched him out-nothing too bad he thought as the ground came up. He rolled when he hit, the Parachute automatically collapsing, looking disgusted as he watched his burning fighter join the pyres of the four Terran invaders he'd gotten.


    Still, it would be better not to remain on the street-

    "Hands up Invader!" a slightly high pitched voice came from behind him, a shot passing over his shoulder, hitting the wall. Raising his hands he turned, only to blink in surprise-it was a local girl, probably about fourteen or so, holding a rifle that was probably bigger than she is. There was someone else scrambling up behind her, grabbing the rifle and pushing it towards the sky "Watch it he's one of the good guys!" the older boy shouted

    she muttered something at him under her breath as the older one, no still just in his teens came up "sir, you might want to follow us-we saw a Terran shuttle offloading troops not far from here."

    Spots was still slightly dazed from the ejection "troops , right." he said, peering at the well armed students "what unit are you with?" He didn't think the Denali had been recruiting children...

    "Not a unit, Westridge High School jrROTC." he said, showing the dirty jacket he was wearing that said Westridge Wolverines. "we were being evacuated when the orbital strikes hit, took out the troops that were guarding us, and just about everything for a couple klicks." he explained as he led Spots through the rubble. "how did you get yourself shot down Sir?"

    "it was five to one" Spots said with a shrug "I got four."



    USS Shiloh

    the Admiral was not happy, and when the admiral wasn't happy, no one was. They had not achieved their objectives, they were getting cut to part by rabble in the streets, and her main force going towards the downtown sector had been, well. eaten.

    Still-reinforcements were only minutes away now-true the plan was for them to turn and run from the 'liberating' forces. Still, it was only one city-the main targets weren't even here, it was the genetics labs near Richland they were more interested in. But one did not let one's troops die unavenged. "Get me the Donitz."

    Seconds later, Georg Kruger was on the screen-dressed not in the Starfleet jumpsuit, but a proper uniform. "yes Admiral?" he reported, fist over the chest in salute.

    "Captain, you have pacifiers on board, do you not?"

    "of Course we do Sir." he replied.

    Fitsimmons eyes narrowed "I have a city that needs pacification."

    "understood Sir-shall I wait for our forces to pull back?"

    "No-they know the price of failure. If they seal up and emplace shields they'll be fine, if not, no loss."

    "Understood, Admiral," he turned, checking with his weapons techs-the Karl Donitz was one of the best ships in the fleet for such operations.



    USS Calnus

    The bridge smelled of ozone and blood, melted plastic and burned hair - and the muscle bound thug in the Captain's seat was a problem. She also worried about the Captain - but so far they hadn't reported finding her - nor had there been any alarms. She'd seen to that. "Do your jobs," the Terran Empire goon had told them. Well that was exactly what they were doing.

    They were so busy being intimidating that they never stopped to actually look at what they were doing as their hands moved over the consoles.

    [I've got something from the Shiloh to the Donitz about 'pacifiers' - any idea on what those are?] scrolled by fast on Cathy's console.

    [Probably not good,] she sent back. [Stern - can you get a weapons id from tacnet?]

    The young Lt at tactical bent low over his terminal, as if studiously intent on his job [pacifier - amped quantum torpedo - holymotherofGod - it's a THALARON amped quantum torp!]

    She almost blew it at that, covering herself with a sudden 'coughing' fit. "Sorry, Sir," she said as the goon in the captains seat eyed her. "Allergies."

    [what are they going to DO with it?]

    [I read - "I have a city that needs pacification" - sent from Task force actual to CO Donitz.]
    She looked at the viewscreen - even from orbit the fires could be seen - and from what was coming over tac-net, the Empire wasn't having a good day. We need to make sure they have a worse one, she thought as she tried to seem casual. [How close are they to standard torps?]

    [Not too different - other than the standard - I mean a quantum torp is just a photon torpedo warhead enhanced with zero-point vacuum - they just added a thalaron source to the mix]

    [Excellent - can you change this parameter in the guidance lock and acquisition centre?]

    [That's going to make it target... any metallic mass in range.]

    [Yep, and it doesn't need that silly 'safety' either. Let's allow it to arm in the tube.]

    [You realize there's a chance we can get one after us as well, Sir?]

    [I realize we're not civilians, but they're going to send those hell bombs AT civilians if we don't stop them, make the changes.]

    He looked up from the weapons station, and gave a quiet nod. [done]

    In spite of herself, and this situation, she found herself hoping desperately that the CO of the Donitz would refuse the order to fire. But part of her fiercely wanted him to do just exactly that.


    ISS Wirz

    "Inbound tracks, IFF says it's the Stadi group, and they're chasing a Klingon ship."

    "Relay to the Shiloh," Captain Jason Murnau said. "About ****ing time, I want to get my MACOs out of that bloodbath down there."

    "Relaying now, sir..."

    "Good... Weapons, get ready to put on the lightshow - we have to make this look good for the cameras," Murnau said.

    "Sir, the Donitz is sounding code twelve, they're getting ready to drop Pacifiers," the Tac officer, who managed to keep his job by just... well, being really quite good at it, said.

    "Monroe, rotate the shields, and lateral us so we're not in the area of splash from that Thalaron pulse, McAllister's a ****ing slop with his gunnery and that upper atmo is ionized."

    "You're not upset you didn't get the order instead?" Gonzales, '*****' Gonzales asked from the Helm.

    "**** no. I prefer enemies that shoot back for my kills, it makes the fight worth the time," Murnau said. "Bombing civilians is for ****heads like McAllister who can't fight their way out of a paper bag."

    "Yeah, this is too easy," Gonzales said. "A good fight gets me wet... I'm all dry down there."

    "Too much information," Murnau scolded. "WAY too much..."



    ISS Donitz

    Targeting anything on the surface was still fouled up due to the ion storm. Not that it mattered much - with these, anything in the general vicinity was good enough. Early weapons scientists described pinpoint accuracy on weapons such as these as guilding the lilly anyway. Everything in the city would probably die that wasn't underground or protected, what difference if they were a few meters off as long as they hit the right city?

    "Stand by to fire, full spread, all tubes," he said, switching to the planetary view - McAllister loved the sight of death raining down from on high. "Fire."

    The first one had barely made it out of the tube when it cut sharply, instead of arcing gracefully towards the city below, instead detonating as soon as it left the tube. As an explosive, it wasn't very impressive - detonating seemingly harmlessly on the Avenger class ship's shields - but it was like the old 20th century Neutron warheads. It was designed to leave structures intact, and kill people.

    "What the he-" was all McAllister managed to get out before the shock of the detonation knocked him off of his feet, the inertial compensators overloaded by an impact that close. There was another, stronger one, as the next torpedo in the salvo detonated in the tube, smoke filling the bridge. He tried to get to his feet, only to stare in horror as the flesh on his hand started flaking away.. his last thought was at least one of them was headed in the right direction.


    USS Calnus...

    "Sir, I'm getting funny readings from the Donitz, I think she might have been hit with something... exotic." Got by his own bomb, but we're still playing along, butch boy.

    "What Kind of exotic?" the Thug in the centre chair demanded.

    "Um... reading... no, this can't be right... Thalaron Energy pulses from inside her hull, sir... do the Augments have thalaron weaponry now?" she asked innocently. Next to her, and hidden from the rest of the Bridge by her console, a small hatchway silently popped open.

    "Hail the Shiloh, find out what the Admiral wants us to DO!" he said, panic tinging his voice.

    "Actually, let's not," came a voice as Ami rose from the Jeffries Tube she had emerged from, Compression Pistol in hand and fully charged as it spat a bolt of orange energy into the one currently seated in her chair.

    The man was vaporized instantly, and as his comrades were all frozen in shock, Jennifer, who had emerged from the tube behind her, opened up with her Stun Pistol, hitting a second goon even as Ami fired again, vaporizing the last of them.

    "Captain!" Cathy said in a mixture of relief, joy, and worry. "We're being hailed."

    "Pipe them some gooey music and a busy signal," Ami ordered.

    Cathy smiled, and intoned, "All lines are currently down..." in a passable 'Loki' voice as she shut down the commo grid's external feed.

    "I should never have let you see that movie," Ami remarked as she sat in her chair. "Now, let's see about throwing another wrench into their works - hit the Shiloh with a Viral Matrix, drop a Grav Well on her position, and prepare to fire an Antimatter Spread."

    Cathy turned to carry out the orders, then started cussing. "Captain! we've got a bigger problem - incoming warp signatures!"



    USS Shiloh

    Damnit could one thing go right today? Fitsimmons was livid, it had to be treason. The Donitz didn't look bad - superficial damage really - but her science officer confirmed - no life onboard.

    McAllister had screwed up somehow - fortunately no one else got fragged by the malfunction, and there was looking like at least one warhead was on target - or it could be debris. either way, it was a win as the Stadi dropped out of warp.

    "Hail the Flagship," she said, she needed a few minutes to confer with the Admiral before the next part of the plan. Straightening her uniform, she looked up at the screen, only to blink when a caitian was looking back at her. "Get me your commander [/i]slave![/i]" she snarled.

    The Caitian, who bore an uncanny resemblance to that ***** Schrodinger just smiled. "Yes Admiral, patching you through to the Task Force commander."

    "This area is frozen." Elizabeth Tran's face filled the screen. "Stand down or be treated as traitors."

    there was a thud behind her on the bridge, as her first officer passed out. This..this can't be right she thought "We are here on direct orders of the Emperor! you have no authority here, put me in contact with the commander of the Stadi group now!"

    Elizabeth smiled. "Admiral Cave has been relieved, for plotting with rebels. Give your confirmation code, or be destroyed."

    Fitsimmons was ready for this, she had the proper codes memorized as she rattled them off. "There - now give me the commander!"

    "Very well - stand by." The screen went to the forward viewer again, before switching to another bridge. Whoever it was was facing away from the pickup. "Just what is the meaning... of... this..." she said, standing there, no stumbling backwards into her chair, gasping like a goldfish.

    On the viewscreen, Captain Melissa Travis just smiled. "Hello, 'Admiral'," she said, sounding colder than the underside of a glacier. "I would say it's good to see you again, but I don't like lying."

    "The Moab Confederacy and the Klingon Empire thank you for your confession," Elizabeth said, shifting to her Medusa face. "And I personally thank you for access to your vessel's systems... Targeting ISS Aziz now. Command codes from Admiral Fitzsimmons enabled, dropping their shields, your weapons are now firing on your comrades, Admiral."

    "H-h-helm... g-g-get us-s o-out of... here!" Fitzsimmons ordered.

    "I can't... locked out!" the officer at the helm gasped out.

    "C-c-computer!! Override Epsilon, Delta... Tango... Three... six!!" she squeaked.

    "Code not authorized, voice not recognized."

    The ship suddenly shuddered slightly before beginning to creak and groan ominously. "Admiral, we're getting increased graviton readings, centered around... us!!" the Science Officer called out. "We're at the center of a Gravity Well, and the rest of our ships are being pulled in towards us!!"



    ISS Wirz

    "Black fleet? HERE?" Murnau saw the distinctive black, modified Miranda flanking the Stadi. "**** me running, Gonzales, full impulse to the edge of the star system, then set a course for the gateway, clearly His Majesty's changed his mind about this operation."

    "Being hailed," the Lt. at Ops said. "Sir, I've got a Klingon task-force inbound and they're... decloaking!"

    "Plot it!" Murnau said.

    ******n Klinks are in the way! "Who's hailing us?"

    "It's the Klink commander, he's offering to discuss terms of our surrender..sir."

    "**** that, we fight, or we run, in this case we fight so we can run, Monroe, attack pattern Omega, take us across their flank, Gonzales, squeeze those engines, Hard."

    He was NOT going to let the winds of politics bury him. Not here, not now.

    "What about the Aziz, sir?" Gonzales asked.

    "Obviously Captain Ibn Rashid has lost favour, or the Admiral wouldn't be firing on him." Murnau said, "I kind of wish I could hang around and watch that son of a ***** die, but we have pressing appointments els-" The bridge Rang like a gong, and consoles exploded as a pair of Raptors slid out of cloak and engaged her... smoke filled the air and another rumbling hit threw bodies across the room, and stunned Murnau.

    Damage alarms howled, and the computer announced that nav and helm were offline and that the impulse engines were as well.

    Murnau picked himself off the floor, and went to work trying to see to his crew.

    Monroe was... well, he'd never have to yell at the man for his appetites again, the huge tactical officer was kind of... gone from the ears forward down to mid-ribcage.

    Murnau stepped over shattered structure to the helm station.

    "Oww..." Gonzales looked up at him from where the console had twisted around her, no doubt crushing ribs, breaking bones... "oww..."

    "Hang on, *****, I'm going to get you a doc," he said gently. "Just don't die on me, okay?"

    "It hurts, sir... you's always nice to me..."

    "Just don't die, you stupid TRIBBLE," he said, and turned to the Ops panel.

    He reinitialized the panel, as a Tactical Escort in... is that Romulan? colours appeared on the screen. The weapons were offline, the SI fields in Engineering were failed, and the warp core had auto-ejected. The ship was without enough power to be a lifeboat now.

    "This is the... ISS Wirz, we surrender," he said. "Need medical..."

    "This is Commander Veleen Takor of the RRW Warspite to ISS Wirz," the voice of the reply was female, and seemed to be in her mid-twenties, and had a distinct Romulan Accent.

    "I have wounded aboard. Warspite, we're without power, I can't even run the auto-destruct! We're here, we surrender, okay? GET MY PEOPLE OUT OF HERE!"

    "Understood," Veleen replied. "We're direct transporting your people to the closest ship with appropriate medical facilities, stand by."

    The world grayed out as transporters flashed around him...



    RRW Warspite

    "All lifesigns have been beamed over to the McGrath, Commander," Centurion Satra reported from the Science Station.

    "Understood," Veleen replied as she began moving the ship away. "Any other ships trying to make a run for it?"

    "None in our range, Commander - but fighters from the Severed Angel are engaging a cruiser and an escort, and other ships are engaging as well. We are getting a few surrender signals as well."

    "We'll let the others deal with the surrenders at the moment," Veleen remarked. "Satra, get what you can out of that ship's databanks - personal logs, codes, personnel files, whatever you can. Tovan, contact the task force and ask them if they want to salvage that ship, or if they're okay with us using it for target practice once we have all the data."



    ISS Taylor

    Running wasn't an option it seemed. They had no way home, and if the Stadi itself had been captured... there was but one thing to do. "Should we surrender, sir?" one of the crewmen asked.

    Captain Carol Bastchal just gave him a dirty look. "No, if you want to, there's the airlock," she said. "Reroute power to the engines, set course to this heading" she said, typing it in.

    "Sir... that will take us-"

    "I'm aware of that Ensign. We know what Klingons do to their prisoners," she said. "I don't particularly care for their company. If we're going to die - die on our terms."

    The helmsman swallowed nervously and set the course. They'd hit atmo assuming the drive held at about .5c, and close to the same when they hit the planet. Still, better to die fast than slow - and take the TRIBBLE with them.



    IKS Eli'jah

    Koldor checked the battle-plot. So far, the fighting was sporadic with more than expected rates of surrender.

    Except... Oh, you dirty... "Lock on to enemy target fourteen, and get us on top of them," he ordered. "I do NOT want that ship going where I think they're going."

    The destroyer's engines lit to full Impulse, and the warp-coils activated, bringing it up to near-warp velocities - a trick normally only associated with the most skilled Bird of Prey ships.

    "Hail them, challenge them, offer them a duel," he ordered. "And K'Tam, get ready with that tractor beam if they refuse."

    "A duel sir?" R'gan asked.

    "Think - in a futile battle, with no escape, what would you do if your honour were compromised?"

    "Suicide, sir."

    "Right, and they have a planet full of people - if they hit, what will happen to those people?"

    "Kahless' blood!"

    "Correct." Koldor studied the plot. They would catch the Escort - or be within tractor range, anyway, near the outer limits of the planet's ionosphere. After that, there would be no other option but to destroy - utterly - the enemy vessel and call for relief efforts because the debris would hit anyway.

    But if I can give them a better option - the chance to kill a Klingon General and Sector Governor instead...

    '"Hail sent, sir... and pingback says they received it."


    ISS Taylor

    "Klink ship gaining sir, and they're hailing us."

    She sat calmly. They obviously want to protect this world - all the more reason to continue. "Let them eat static."



    IKS Eli'Jah

    "No response, we're in Tractor range."

    "Tractor them on my mark, all weapons fire on that ship on my mark... Mark!" Koldor ordered.

    The Eli'jaH had been modified since the Fek'Lhri incursion, her tractor beam systems were configured to grapple ships twice her size... violently using an attraction/repulsion cycle that basically shakes the target apart. her weapons were of an improved Disruptor type currently being provided only to the most Elite KDF units... and House Woldan. It was designed to strip shielding while it hammered. The Warp Core enhanced both weapons, and Auxiliary power at combat speeds, and the engines were designed to continue operating under loads that would normally rupture engines of that size. it was every millikam the ride of a Sector Governor, in spite of being a tenth the size of the Bortas vessels other Governors usually chose.

    And then, there was the torpedo - an improved version of the transphasic cluster weapons captured from Breen forces during the short Defera crisis.

    "Lock! Firing!!!"



    ISS Taylor

    So damn close. The ship jerked, that damn klink shouldn't have that much power on board! they were slowing, even as the weapons wore down the shielding. "fire all forward weapons!" she screamed, as fire filled the bridge, replaced seconds later by vacuum, the forcefields not snapping into place this time, watching in the seconds before her eyes froze the destruction of her ship as she spun with the debris.



    IKS Eli'jaH...

    "Keep firing on the debris, let nothing bigger than my hand reach atmosphere," Koldor ordered.

    Most of it was gotten, the larger chunks at least - the small stuff did tend to burn up on reentry, however the Taylor did manage to get a torpedo or two off before it's destruction. One went into a mountainside, the other...struck deep into the open ocean before detonating with a force measurable in the gigatons.

    "Secure the ones that surrendered - and hail the planetary government - they're going to need help down there."


    Episode 6.3 Dust to Dust
    Collecting pieces of my family
    In an old pillow case
    This one has a skull

    But it don't have a face
    These look like the arms of my father so strong
    And the ring on this finger

    Means my Grandmother's gone
    Here's some legs in a pile
    Where my sister once played

    Here's some mud made of blood
    And these teeth are decayed
    The ear of my brother

    The hand of a friend
    And I just can't
    Put them back together again

    Pick up the bones
    And set them on fire
    Follow the smoke going higher and higher
    Pick up the bones
    And wish them goodnight
    Pray them a prayer and turn out the light

    There are stains on the floor
    Where the kitchen once stood
    There are ribs on the fire place
    Mixed with the wood

    There are forces in the air
    Ghosts in the wind
    Some bullets in the back
    And some scars on the skin

    There were demons with guns
    Who marched through this place
    Killing everything that breathed
    They're an inhuman race

    There are holes in the walls
    Bloody hair on the bricks
    And the smell of this hell
    Is making me sick

    Pick up the bones
    And set them on fire
    Follow the smoke going higher and higher
    Pick up the bones
    And wish them goodnight
    Pray them a prayer and turn out the light

    Pick up the bones
    And set them on fire
    Follow the scope going higher and higher
    Pick up the bones
    And wish them goodnight
    Pray them a prayer and turn out the light

    Now maybe someday
    The sun's gonna shine
    Flowers will bloom
    And all will be fine

    But nothing will grow
    On this burnt cursed ground
    Cause the breath of the death
    Is the only sound
    Alice Cooper. Pick up the bones


    12 hours later

    The fires were finally out - not that things looked any better. Whole sections of the city were just gone. Part of her didn't want to go down, but she had to. She had to know.

    She wasn't far from the outfitters shop that her folks ran, off of 15th street. The area was cordoned off, at least it had been. one of the 'pacifiers' had made it through, detonating a kilometer from the ground. It was a 'tactical' weapon, fortunately-at least for the metro area. for the 2 kilometer radius around ground zero on the other hand..

    Thalaron radiation even killed Quadraptors, she thought absently as she stepped past the pile of dust the size of a small shuttle - though the wind was more or less dispersing things. They couldn't even really gather remains under the circumstances.

    The building was gone - she half expected that honestly, half a burned shuttlecraft sticking out of the remaining wall, more ash piles on the ramp - guess Terran armor wasn't as good as they thought it was. She was trying hard to keep her composure when she almost tripped over it.

    There was a barricade along the street, and there were inorganics scattered about - tricorders, watches, data crystals, dental implants, and weapons. One she knew extremely well.

    Missy collapsed to her knees in the grey dust, picking up the scoped Winchester. She learned to shoot with that rifle, her father taught her how to hunt and care for it. Take care of your gear, and it will take care of you he said. It was covered, like everything else, in dust. She saw another one not too far away, they must have been regrouping - her mother prefered bolt action rifles for long range work... besides, not many Enfields had small blue flowers painted on the stock.

    Cradling the rifle in her arms, covered in what was once people, she simply rocked and screamed until the medics found her.



    Westport hockey stadium, 15 Km from downtown

    "So how bad is it?" Dr Kaur asked. They'd rode out the bombardment several hundred meters below ground - as had a lot of the population. it was easier to keep underground buildings at habitable temperatures in the winter than above ground.

    "Between the radiation from the torpedoes, the toxic residue, and aftershocks from the big hits we took - we may have to abandon the city. Initial casualties aren't pretty - only two hospitals are intact, and they're overflowing with people." Miska was injured, hell most of them were, but she could live without the ear for now. That was minor. "If I am reading this right though - the gigaton range explosions from the last two torpedoes, well, we're looking at a possible 10 degree temperature shift, increasing rains, basicly global warm-" she stopped, as Dr Kaur was laughing. not humorous laughter, but bitter.

    "And here the Federation had stepped in to prevent us from attempting to Terraform our world to something warmer!" she said, shaking her head. "And now they've gone and done it for us."

    "It wasn't the Federation that did this-" the defense minister begain

    "The attack, no. The entire situation? I know... I have seen the data you have recovered. But still, even after that..." she looked out over the valley at the still smouldering devastation. "I want vengeance. And it is wrong."

    "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord," Colonel Eialu stepped out of the doorway. "Or, you could go with the more common version - Living well is the best revenge of all. I've got your relief supplies coming down, and Governor-General Koldor wishes to speak with whomever is currently handling head-of-state business while Kincaid is out."

    "I guess that would be me," the Doctor said with a sigh. "The Lt Governor, and most of the senate were helping evacuate civilians in their day jobs when the first strike hit."

    "Well... then you need to get busy governing, but before you do... General?" she said

    Koldor stepped in. "Greetings to you from the Klingon Empire... and all that," he said. "I'm here to propose a deal you can live with, and we have facilities so you can communicate with Governor Kincaid if you feel you can't buy off on it without her agreement."

    She nodded. "Lets hear it."

    "First, the Denali government consents to put to plebiscite a measure declaring Denali's full independence from Earth, The Federation, and their territories. The Klingon Empire will recognize this... then you will also assert your independence from the Empire." Koldor said, handing her a pair of docupadds. "This... is a formal pact of mutual non-aggression with the Empire... he handed her another. Eialu reached into her coat, and brought out a document case, "This is a Trade and Rights agreement allowing the KDF to provide supplementary garrison forces to your new Starbase in the Moosejaw nebula, until such time as your forces have grown to handle the responsibility... this is a status-of-forces agreement covering how you will handle Klingon Citizens and Military personnel in the event of legal issues, and it defines which issues the Empire consents to agree to leave to local law." He handed it to her. "THIS is an agreement that, in the event that Denali and it's environs obtains or constructs a transwarp conduit, the KDF will halve the cost with you, in exchange for free usage and a route to Qo'noS - financed by my House... and finally this one, is a Prisoner Handling requirement placing all Terran Empire prisoners under Denali law... under the proviso that Bond-Slavery will be illegal in all environs controlled by the Free, and Independent, Denali government."

    Eialu piped up. "That one was mine - as a recognized neutral, you're likely to start seeing green folks like me coming and going - we're like weeds, we turn up wherever the ground is fallow enough, and you don't want Traditional orions as neighbours... trust me."


    Dr Kaur just shook her head at the non-aggression padd. "As if we'd want ever to attack anyone - but I know, best to get things in writing," she said. "As for the prisoners, they have two choices, they can work to help repair what they have done - or they can leave." She pointed at the mountains. "That way."

    Koldor laughed a booming laugh. "I Love these people!"

    "Now..." Eialu said, and drew in a breath. "I've got the ugly ones..."

    She reached into her pouch again. "The Moab Sovereign has provided your government with MCDF personnel to crew your vessel 'Cold Vengeance'," she said, "in addition to technical assistance and material assistance in the defense of your world... and Liz doesn't do anything for free." She handed a much smaller PADD. "Your bill. You can negotiate how you want to pay it off, she's got a link set up... but she does expect recompense on those rates."

    "Fair enough - though she may get paid in trade to start with - we still have warehouses in other cities full of food stocks," she said with a rueful grin. "One advantage of being so cold, things keep for a long time."

    Eialu cocked her head, showing an earpiece. "Trade is considered fair," she said after a moment. "Would you be interested in a trading agreement with the Confederacy?"

    "I belive that would be to both our benefits-but first, we need to see to the injured and get people into shelters before the storms hit." She smiled, the first one she had in weeks, it seemed like. "Plenty of time to dot the i's later."

    "Thumbprint?" Eialu extended a PADD. "Read it first, Please..."

    She picked it up and read it over thoroughly, nodding here and there, before applying her thumb "Well then."

    Eialu closed up her parka. "Okay, then let's get to work, those shelters won't erect themselves, and the decontamination gear's not going to run by itself without operators."
    "It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier." R.A.Heinlein

    "he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."



  • gulberatgulberat Member Posts: 5,505 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    One might hope that the Federation would not end up fighting the Denali as enemies someday, though considering the nature of the Denali grievance against the Federation (outright genocide attempt and racial supremacy--funny, considering it's the Augments who are "superior," versus the "mere" bungling of defense policies as with Moab), that could be very hard to avoid depending on how the next few critical months are handled.

    The Federation has some serious work to do if they hope to avoid creating the very enemy they falsely painted the Denali to be, IMHO.

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  • marcusdkanemarcusdkane Member Posts: 7,439 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    gulberat wrote: »
    One might hope that the Federation would not end up fighting the Denali as enemies someday, though considering the nature of the Denali grievance against the Federation (outright genocide attempt and racial supremacy--funny, considering it's the Augments who are "superior," versus the "mere" bungling of defense policies as with Moab), that could be very hard to avoid depending on how the next few critical months are handled.

    The Federation has some serious work to do if they hope to avoid creating the very enemy they falsely painted the Denali to be, IMHO.

    Realistically, I think the only way the Federation could recover a situation like this (in addition to exposing Cave and Fitisimmons) will be to radically alter its stance on augments and genetic engineering and become less rigid in its policy...
  • knightraider6knightraider6 Member Posts: 396 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Episode 7: All Fall Down
    Extreme ways are back again
    Extreme places I didn't know
    I broke everything new again
    Everything that I'd owned
    I threw it out the window, came along
    Extreme ways I know will part
    The colors of my sea
    Some perfect colored sea

    Extreme ways that help me
    They help me out late at night
    Extreme places I had gone
    That never seen any light
    Dirty basements, dirty noise
    Dirty places coming home
    Extreme worlds alone
    Did you ever like it then?

    I would stand in line for this
    There's always room in life for this

    Oh baby, oh baby
    Then it fell apart, it fell apart
    Oh baby, oh baby
    Then it fell apart, it fell apart

    Extreme sounds that told me
    They held me down every night
    I didn't have much to say
    I didn't give up the light
    I closed my eyes and closed myself
    And closed my world and never open up to anything
    That could get me at all

    I had to close down everything
    I had to close down my mind
    Too many things could cut me
    Too much can make me blind
    I've seen so much in so many places
    So many heartaches, so many faces
    So many dirty things
    You couldn't even believe

    I would stand in line for this
    There's always room in life for this

    Oh baby, oh baby
    Then it fell apart, it fell apart
    Oh baby, oh baby
    Then it fell apart, it fell apart

    Oh, oh babe
    And soon it was
    So again
    When you know it can
    When you know it can

    Oh baby, oh baby
    Then it fell apart, it fell apart
    Oh baby, oh baby
    Then it fell apart, it fell apart

    Oh baby, oh baby
    Then it fell apart, it fell apart
    Oh baby, oh baby
    Like it always does, always does
    Moby, Extreme Ways


    Vulcan Embassy, Paris. Feb 5, 2412

    It's a good thing the Vulcans are always doing sneaky, behind-the-scenes diplomacy, or this would really looks suspicious by now, LaRoca thought. So far there have been Romulans, Cardassians, even the Klingon ambassador had stopped by the Vulcan Embassy. All were on Earth for the yearly General Assembly, even in the current situation, some things were not changed.

    The news crews were already circling the main hall in San Francisco. There was a lot going on that people were following that they hoped could be resolved. The Augment crisis, the continuing issue with the Armistice talks, even the Betazed riots, resolved months ago, but still echoing in the nightly newscasts.

    Then there was the rumors that President Okeg was not going to stand for re-election, and that Martin Cave would be the designated candidate for the party. The Vice president didn't want the job he'd said more than once. The possibility of a Cave presidency had the talking heads in a twitter, he had high approval ratings, and hopefully there would be news soon about the Augments surrendering.

    That wasn't going to happen, Jesu thought as he looked over the initial report. it was horrific. True, the numbers were less than New Saigon or Moab, but this wasn't some monster from beyond. This was done by Humans.

    He normally didn't go to these things - but he'd been asked to attend as a 'guest' of the Vulcan Ambassador. And also to be there if/when things went south.



    Cardassian Embassy, Phoenix, AZ, Three Hours before the General Assembly meeting...

    "...Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Ambassador," Bianh Trinh Dao, the Ambassador from the Moab Confederacy said, greeting Ambassador Natima Lang.

    "I was surprised at your request... you said it was urgent?"

    "Anh, show her." Bianh ordered her aide.

    Bianh opened the briefcase, and said, "This material is classified at public release, authorized observer present, Natima Lang of the Cardassian Union, Haganah Sends."

    The holoplayer activated.

    What followed, was a vision of horrors stacked on horrors. The evidence of Terran Empire penetration, the death of the USS Warsaw, the bombardment of Denali, the battle when the Klingons, and a scrub group of vessels, took on the killers...

    And then, the images of Vancouver. "We are certain, Madame Ambassador, those torpedoes were salted with Thalaron radiation." Bianh stated, "Never mind it came from another dimension-and we've got the prisoners to prove it, that task-force was sent from THIS Earth."

    Lang looked at the Moabite Ambassador. "I suspected..." she said.

    "I want to ask you to support the Moab Confederation, the Klingon Empire, and a few other states we've discussed this with, in recognizing Denali's independence, and more importantly, their right to exist. Formally recognize it, and to demand a full accounting of the actions that led to this horror-they wanted to perpetrate a Shoah, Ambassador. The mechanized, systematic extermination of an entire people. It must be stopped; those guilty must be held to account."

    Anh, the aide, spoke up, "You must understand, Ambassador, all of this will be made public - centuries ago, my ancestors made a promise, two words - 'Never Again'," she said. "Please, say you will back us up on this. They forgot; they must never be allowed to forget."

    The Ambassador's eyes grew distant for a second - mentally reading a passage from one of the first human books she had managed to get her hands on after making the escape from the Union. "When I first arrived here... I read something. A book far, far smaller in size than anything one ever sees in typical Cardassian literature, but the terrible portrait it painted was crystal clear. It was called Night." She intoned the words as though they were scripture. "'To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.'"

    Anh nodded. "You understand," she said. "Ambassadors, I must be going now - we have to assure your route to the Assembly is safe."

    Indeed, the ambassador thought to herself. We are the sort of people that the xenophobic maniacs out there would love to point to as an example of what non-Humans do. The Mosets, the Dukats - they would far rather look to us rather than look at themselves-

    Lang stopped cold.

    Then I will make them look.

    "What happened with the Terran task force did not happen in isolation. Too many abuses passed unchecked and unquestioned. You can be assured, Ambassador, that I will make sure they never forget. The Federation must never travel down Cardassia's road. I won't watch them do it - not while I am here and I can make them remember..."

    "Sometimes, she scares me," Bianh said after Anh walked out of the room. It was a strange thing to say. "She does with few words what takes me an oratory. She's going to have this job someday. I wish I had her with me when I was talking to the Bajorans."

    "Well... here are my notes for my introductory speech," Bianh said, and handed a PADD to Lang. "We're going to go over it, and I'm sure Cave won't enjoy what is said. Hopefully his... goose-stepping goon-squad won't be able to overcome our security, because a man backed into a corner like this will lash out.



    Federation Foreign Minister's office, Paris, Earth

    "Are you sure Sir? You have done so much in your latest term." Martin tried very hard to suppress his glee - he did rather well at it, he thought. It was like dominos falling in a perfect pattern. Denali would soon be a cap in the Empire's feather, its augments willingly helping crush the enemies of the Empire - and if not willingly, at least without too much fuss, being we did save them from the Federation.

    "You have been doing an excellent job - with the stress, and my family to consider," the President said. "I am seriously considering not standing for re-election, and putting my support behind you. While everyone else has been panicking, you've been solid throughout this entire crisis."

    Cave just nodded - of course he had worked things over the past several years towards that possible goal, quietly building himself up, while reminding the President about family, and such. The Vice President was not going to run no matter what - the job was his for the taking. Let the Emperor have his universe. He'd have his own empire before long. "I am humbled by your faith in me, Mr. President. I believe you still wish for me to give the opening statement at the General Assembly this evening?"

    "You're a better speaker than I am, Martin," the President said fondly. "And traditionally the President is the host, but not running the conference. You'll do fine."

    I'll do better than you could ever imagine, you old lizard, Cave thought as he smiled. "Thank you, Sir. I won't let you down."



    Vulcan Embassy, Ryoko Hibiki's temporary quarters

    "Are you sure about this, Ryoko?" Takeshi asked as Ryoko finished packing her notes and other items she would need for the summit. "I could easily take over as head of your security detail for the day."

    "Don't worry, Takeshi," Ryoko replied, even as she slipped a holdout Phaser Compression Pistol into her jacket. "I can take care of myself, and I trust the security the Vulcan Embassy is providing for me. I want you there, yes, but as a wild card - if Cave tries something, you can make the most difference if only a few of us actually know you're there."

    Takeshi frowned, but nodded. It made too much sense, dammit!! And he wouldn't have Linda's Sniper skills as backup, given that she was spending time with Larcei - and informing their daughter that she'd have a little brother or sister soon. "Alright," he said, his tone saying he still didn't like it. "Just... be careful, alright? Don't do anything rash."

    "You know me," Ryoko replied with a smile.

    "I do," Takeshi replied. "You're a brash, fiery, hot-headed tomboy. How you manage to maintain your temper in summits like this - or even regular council meetings - is something that baffles me to this day."

    "Urusai!" Ryoko snapped at him, though she was smiling slightly. He was right, though he didn't mention that she did have a caring side, which only came out with her closest friends and loved ones. A few moments of silence passed as she finished getting everything together. "Good luck, Aniki," she said once she was ready.

    Takeshi smirked. "You too, Imouto," he said as the two left the room to head for the summit, Akatsuki no Ken strapped to Takeshi's waist like usual.



    Below the Foreign Ministers office

    He went over his speech again. It was rehashing the earlier rhetoric for the most part, toned down some due to the multicultural audience. The thought alone, of that many aliens on humanity's sacred soil turned his stomach if he thought about it for too long. Still it was only a matter of time. They could break the Federation, get rid of the Aliens, and have earth for Humans. True it wasn't the plan he presented to the Emperor all those years ago - but plans change.

    He knew Azrael was a bust - pity, but it was for the best perhaps. Bioweapons tended to get out of hand, his own ancestral homeland was decimated in the Quebecois wars in 2058 by such a weapon - in his home reality anyway. This one was far more comfortable..

    "Any news yet?"

    He looked up from where he was going over the speech. "Not yet, Johnson," he said. "Though the Klinks have faster networks from there - they might get the news first." He grinned. "Fortunately, SI has the Klingon news networks tapped, so if anything important comes through, we'll know."

    "I'm still worried, Sir." he said "There is still a lot of possibility for things to go wrong."

    Martin just waved his hand dismissively. "The Augments have a few ships, versus Fitsimmons group - and the Stadi group is even bigger. They'll 'save the day' and completely cut Denali off. Then The Emperor gets His shock troops, we get them out of this universe, and I become President." He grinned. "After Okeg takes the fall for the situation. News of the Defeat, plus the bombardment will make him definitely want to retire."

    "But what if you're tied to it, Sir?"

    "Bah, how? Son, we've been working on this since before you were born. We're playing the long game here - and we're just about to score the winning goal."

    Standing up, he tucked the padd with his speech into his briefcase. "Time for me to head over to San francisco, hows' the weather there?"

    "About 13 degrees, but sunny Sir."

    "Excellent. Make sure you have the usual security precautions in place - we don't control the security forces for this event, but have plenty of our people around."

    "But I thought you said nothing could go wrong, Sir?" Johnson asked.

    Martin grinned. "It can't. but I haven't gotten this far by not planning for the worst."



    Vulcan Embassy, Paris

    "Damnit I was hoping to walk in under my own power," the Governor of Denali muttered, looking at the crutches she'd still have to use.

    "It would have been effective, yes," Ambassador Thalev agreed. "but even more so when you're obviously still injured from the attempted assassination."

    "I know it helps build sympathy - I just hate the damn things," she said with a rueful laugh. "So once we show our faces what's to stop Cave from having us shot on sight?"

    The ambassador just laughed. "Because the security at these assemblies are not drawn from Earth. as a gesture of goodwill and trust, the Andorian Imperial Guard provides forces, as do other Federation members. The idea is to show that we all work as one. In this case, it also works in our favor."

    "So how do we get there then without getting spotted?" she asked

    "Ambassadorial perk," The vulcan ambassador said as she entered the room. "during these events shuttle traffic is prohibited in the area - but as an ambassador, I can take an embassy shuttle."

    Rachelle nodded, reaching for her crutches. "Well, lets get this show on the road then."



    General Assembly

    It was the same thing as every year for the most part - in theory anyway. No one other than the political junkies really watched the live broadcast of the General Assembly meetings, unless something bad was happening. The Dominion War several decades back, the return of the Borg, the breaking of the Khitomer accords and the the 'war' with the Klingons-those got good ratings.

    This years promised to get good ratings as well. The augment crisis had riled up, well not the Federation entirely but the Humans most definitely. At least the ones on Earth - oddly enough, a lot of the ones from the off world colonies, couldn't care less about possible Augments loose in civilized space. The reporter adjusted his hair one last time - for some reason the latest fashion for 'serious' newsmen was slightly longer hair this year. The camera operator nodded to him, counting down as the main Broadcast prepared to cut to him. "Thanks Ron. I'm standing here live outside the Federation General Assembly, where shortly representatives from all major Federation worlds will meet for the yearly Assembly."

    "What's the mood of the delegates this afternoon?" the anchorman asked.

    "Tense to be honest, Ron - the latest events of the Augment Crisis," he replied, as below him a small Augment Crisis - Day 31 holoribbon scrolled past on the screen, "have delegates we've talked to off the record tense. Not because they fear the possibility of attacks by Denali cultists, but due to the increasing heavy-handed security measures."

    Inside the conference hall in a secure office, Martin Cave cut off the viewer. Bah. The nosy reporters would be the second thing to go once he was in power, after the lawyers. "Any news from the Stadi group yet?" he asked his aide.

    "No Sir," Johnson Cave replied. "We do have the comm set up though for you to get in touch with them when they do hail." Of course for that, they would have to send it via Firebase Zulu - the Imperial station had a quantum-shift relay transmitter.

    "Have someone monitor it," he said as he prepared himself. By the time the President and other cabinet members had arrived Johnson was in position with the rest of Cave's personal security detail. Didn't think he'd need them, but one never knew. "Mr President, it is time," he said formally. The President nodded, and together they entered the hall.

    There was polite applause as they stepped up to the podium, then the President began to speak. "I would like to thank you all for coming in this troublesome time for our Federation," he said. "But we have seen difficult times before, and I know, that we will see our way through this one as well." He smiled reassuringly. "But now, I turn the podium over to my Foreign Minister, Martin Cave."

    There was less applause for Cave then there was for the President, but it was still polite at least. He looked over the rabble, resisting the urge to sneer. He'd been patient, he could wait longer if necessary. "Good Afternoon ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to this gathering. For the last few weeks..."

    One long-winded, self-serving speech by Cave later...

    Jesu LaRoca idly glanced at his Ulysse-Nardin dive watch. He'd set the timer when Cave started droning, as though preparing for a descent into the depths. Thirty-six minutes and counting now, and he'd said nothing - just rehashed the same propaganda and talking points. He heaved an annoyed sigh, prompting an eyebrows-raised glance from the Vulcan Ambassador and an amused look from D'Tan. Even some of the lifetime politicians were starting to get antsy, but fortunately it looked like Cave was finally wrapping things up

    "...And now, I introduce the newest Ambassador to the Federation." He stepped aside, making no mention of who he was actually introducing.

    Bianh stepped forward, and visibly and theatrically stifled a yawn, "Thank you Mister Cave, that was very... wordy," she said. "Some of you have already met me, some of you have no idea who I am. I'm Bianh Trinh Dao, the Ambassador for the Moab Confederation. We recently intervened in your so-called Augment Crisis, so I suppose some of Mister Cave's supporters among you will certainly be howling for blood when I'm done." She gripped the podium. "The crew of the USS Calnus, USS Reuben James, and the survivors of the USS Warsaw will be repatriated to the Federation in sixty days - the time it will take for them to be brought from Denali, to Risa. The vessels? Well, the Calnus is still fit to fly. The Reuben James suffered severe damage from friendly fire, and... pay attention to the screen..."

    An offended murmur rumbled through the assembly - this was not what anyone had expected of a new Embassy's introduction - to stand up and announce what was tantamount to an act of war?

    She tapped a control, and the holoimager lit up behind her, showing... "The Warsaw's captain died a hero - he was trying to prevent a genocide... but he was, unfortunately, only partially successful."

    The air filled with a sense of indignation, but it turned to shock as the holoimage showed the last moments of the USS Warsaw.

    She regarded the assembled delegates. "We have proof, as in hard evidence, that Martin Cave's 'task force' deployed Thalaron Enhanced Quantum Torpedoes against civilian targets, namely the former city of Vancouver on the world of Denali. We have further evidence of his personal involvement in deploying these highly illegal weapons, including the testimony of Admiral Sandra Fitzsimmons, commanding officer of this task-force... and we have her in custody as well, in addition, we have captured a number of 'supplementary forces' identifying themselves as 'The Terran Empire'," Bianh said, and the imager shifted again, revealing the shape of a Starbase in... non-Starfleet colours. "These people were conspiring with Minister Cave. We have their records, testimony, equipment, and several thousand of their personnel in custody."

    A few former Starfleet officers among the delegates stared, and speculation-filled muttering spread through the hall among them. Audio pickups from news agencies caught words like mirror universe, Kirk.

    "This, is what Vancouver looked like the day before the attack." The imager lit up and a busy, if chilly, city teeming with people appeared.

    "This is what it looks like thanks to the rabble-rousing bigotry spewed by the Federation's foreign minister... the piles of dust? Were people before the attack."

    The mood of surprise, and anger, was joined by shocked muttering from other delegates.

    The emptiness and the dust drifts in a ruin of a city appeared. "The Denali government doesn't know how many of their people died when just ONE of these Thalaron Enhanced weapons detonated," Bianh said accusingly. "ONE. Weapon."

    Thalaron weapons? one of D'Tan's people studied the image and spoke with the Romulan Republic's head of state, gesturing at the image insistently before it shifted.

    She reached into her blouse, and brought out a small pendant. "My ancestors were Jews - we have a long history of various states trying to exterminate us merely for existing, as was attempted here," she said. "There was a promise made, in the nineteen-forties, 'Never Again'. We of the Moab Confederacy have better cause than most to remember that promise, we faced extermination and attempted extinction fairly recently, you may have read about it... The Betazoids have also faced this fairly recently... but this is the first time in centuries that we have had to contemplate Humans doing it... and it gets worse."

    "This..." the imager shifted to a view of a virus, "is a virus designed to kill... anything that is both sentient, and non-Human. This 'Terran Empire' group had a ship loaded with this virus bound for Risa not more than a week ago - KDF and Moabite forces intercepted it in its mission of death. among other charges I bring before you, Martin Cave was in deep collaboration with the originators of this virus, with the express intent of extermination of trillions."

    On the dais behind her, President Okeg leaned over to a rapidly angering Martin Cave and whispered something. The Federation's foreign minister shook his head violently, and made a negating gesture with his hand.

    She turned to the assembly, as two figures came down the aisle. "Ambassador, Governor... Gentlebeings, I present the late Ambassador of Andoria Mister Thalev, and the equally late governor of Denali, Madame Kincaid..."

    Then, Cave turned white, and his mouth dropped open, visibly in shock.

    Thalev managed a smile as he assisted Kincaid down the ramp. "Sorry we're late," he said, playing off her joke. "There was a spot of trouble on the way here."

    "You're right on time, Mister Ambassador," Bianh stated. "I'm about finished here."

    The audience of delegates' voices rose again, this time it was anger. Anger swept through the assembly, and shouted questions overlapped into a din. Cave muttered something into his wrist...

    She turned and pointed at the Foreign Minister. "This man, gentlebeings, is a war criminal intent on the murder or subjugation of trillions, on ATROCITY, we have the evidence, we have the logs, we have the recordings, we have... we have you, you sister-****ing-son-of-a-*****. WE stopped your mission of mass murder, your external allies will not help you, because we stopped them too, and your deceit, your false-flag casus belli, is revealed to all, I sure hope you resist arrest, I don't see any reason for the taxpayers to bear the burden of keeping you ali-"

    A lance of orange Phaser-fire speared her at the podium - and a personal shield flashed, as it scorched through her blouse to reveal the armor underneath. The armor sublimed under the beam, and a fountain of burnt blood and tissue erupted as she crumpled to the floor.

    The room erupted into panicked frenzy.

    "SHOOTER!!" Takeshi Yamato shouted, and rushed the Dias. Another blast of Phaser-fire lanced across the hall, aiming for the President... only for Takeshi to shove him out of the way, taking the hit on his own shields and armor.

    Takeshi's armor flashed reddish-orange as he fell, landing on top of the stunned President.
    Another blast hit - nearby. The shot missed... just... "Stay down, Mister Presi-" and Yamato passed out in a haze of cooked-meat smell.

    Anh had been watching from the audience gallery, and she saw the first shot, and the second. Her heart ached, but the first thought was vengeance on the man who murdered her principal, friend? boss? it didn't matter, she jumped onto the railing and ran along it, bypassing the fleeing crowd, and dropped down where she saw the shooter turning to run. No you don't, you son of a *****... He turned with his phaser rifle, and she drew the magnum, and thunder boomed in the room.

    Her shot was off - but the shooter dropped his shattered weapon, and ran - fast. slamming out the emergency exits. She dashed after him, firing five more times then dropping the handgun as they crossed the parking lot outside the building. Her enemy ducked through a crowd of people, Ahn ditched her hold-out disruptor, Always be sure of your backstop! and the ridiculous shoes Bianh had made her wear.

    I'm going to get you, you son of a *****... barefoot, she accelerated far faster, smashing through the confusion. "Excuse me, pardon me, excuse me..." She ducked and weaved, but she kept on his heels.

    Her skirt ripped on a decorative piece of street art as she passed.



    Assembly Hall

    The LaRocas got the Vulcan and Romulan delegations secured, then looked around for the culprits.

    "Where'd that assh*le go?" Admiral LaRoca demanded, shedding his dress-white tunic to reveal his own body armor underneath.

    His brother looked at him with a funny expression. "Which assh*le? We're surrounded by assh*les!"

    "Martin Cave," Jesu clarified.

    Rusty sniffed the air for a few seconds. "I can't tell. Too much fear and panic in the air..."

    "Okay, you go out the east exit and circle around to the west. I'll check the south side."

    "Got it." Rusty took off, slipping through the startled delegates.

    Jesu pushed through the crowd and tapped his combadge. "Tib, I might need some support here in a minute..."



    Market Street and Stockton

    Martin Cave casually walked up to the Police barricade. "Excuse me, officer, I need to borrow your car."

    The cop turned. "I'm sorry, Minister, I don't-" the last thing he saw was the famous politician pointing a phaser at him. Then he was vaporized. The spectators crowding the barricade ran away in a screaming panic.

    Martin Cave appraised the police car. It was a late-model Dodge Charger Pursuit, idling on its repulsor drive. He opened the front door and sat down. "Please state your command," the vehicle's onboard computer requested.

    Cave checked the menu on the display screen. "Navigation."

    "Please input destination."

    "Pier Forty-Five City Shuttleport."

    "Calculating... is this route acceptable?"

    Cave looked at the highlighted lined tracing two blocks down Market, then north up Kearney, cutting across Columbus to Taylor. It seemed like the most direct route through San Francisco's confusing grid of one-way streets. "Looks good..."

    "CAAAAAAAAVE!!!" an inhuman voice roared.

    He looked up, and saw LaRoca's pet monster sprinting for him at top speed - close to 120kph. He yanked the door closed just as the wicked-looking creature leaped, impacting the side of the car, slamming the door shut and knocking the whole vehicle sideways several meters. Cave's head was slammed into an instant before the safety restraint deployed.

    The Thing - Cave had no idea where the LaRocas had found the damned demon-beast - was on its feet in an instant, and a blink later had its claws were dug in to the side of the car. It was prying the door right out of its seams.

    "Manual control! Give me manual control!" The computer obeyed, deploying a joystick from the center console. Cave grabbed it and spun the vehicle away, managing to throw the demon off after making himself sick. He got his bearings and sped up Stockton Street against the flow of traffic. He checked the rearview mirror again and saw LaRoca's demon chasing after him - gaining on him. He had joystick held all the way forward. "Must go faster," he muttered. "Must go faster."

    "Speed boost enabled," the computer replied, and a red button popped up from the middle of the joystick. He pressed it, and the car jumped forward as though it had been kicked, leaving the horrible creature a block behind.



    FCB South Parking Area

    Jesu LaRoca looked around through his enhanced optic eyepiece and saw no sign of Martin Cave. His combadge chirped. He tapped it. "LaRoca here-"

    "Zoo!" his brother was breathing hard, and wind was rushing over his chest. "I'm chasing the assh*le. He stole a cop car, heading north on Stockton. I can't keep up!"

    "Okay, Get the Tib to track him and I'll find a car to chase him down."

    "A civilian car won't work, he's overriding traffic control and going the wrong way up a one way street!"

    "Understood. Jesu out." He double-tapped his combadge and called in a favor. "Marq, it's me. Pick up."

    Marq Sander answered a few seconds later. "I'm kinda busy now, sir-"

    "Yeah, I know. 'Wedding plans.' This is more important. I need one of your cars. Now."

    "Sir?"

    "Go down to your garage, and stand in front of something that's old, fast and can take a beating."

    "Okay, give me a second..." bare footsteps on the stone floor, and a turbolift whirring... "Do you know how to drive a stick?"

    "Of course I do." I think? Jesu had learned to operate all manner of ancient motor vehicles during his frequent boyhood visits with his godfather, Greg Sander. But that had been almost thirty years ago...

    "Okay, I've got your car picked out. Now what?"

    "Stand by." Jesu tapped his badge again. "Tib, locate Marq's comm signal and scan for a metallic mass directly ahead, and transport it directly in front of me."

    A few seconds later, a dark green ground car materialized. Jesu grinned, recognizing the 2018 Saleen Mustang 390. "Thanks, Marq, this will do nicely."

    "Just try to send it back in one piece, won't you, sir?"

    "That'll be up to Mr. Cave..." LaRoca signed off and climbed in. After taking a few seconds to remember which pedal did what, he started the car and took off up Folsom Street. He set his PADD in a handy nook in the dashboard and linked it to the Tiburon's sensors with a city map overlay. In a few seconds he had Cave's car zeroed in. He made a skidding left-hand turn, cutting off a commuter bus and several taxi pods and powered north up 3rd, quickly topping a hundred mph, according to the car's speed indicator. His grin returned. A hovercar doesn't stand a chance against this thing...



    Earth Space Dock...

    For the second time in a month, Earth Space Dock was a battleground. Quinn hadn't expected this, but he had expected... something.

    Cave's penetration went right into his own security forces, and Jorel Quinn was furious.

    This was NOT in the plan! However, the infiltrator had 'been' Jorel Quinn for so long now, it was almost reflexively easy to maintain the charade while he fought to save Starfleet from another internal enemy.

    "Deck Three, report!" Quinn ordered.

    "They've managed to secure about half of Environmental, sir... but we've got them cut off from main power..." Quinn nodded. "Ops, cut main power to Environmental," he said. "We either win this or everybody loses, so there's no point in being... nice about it." He keyed his comm badge. "USS Suharto?"

    "Busy here, sir." Dave Huntington's voice was strained, as the Odyssey-class cruiser exchanged fire with the USS Gary Wright, one of the Avenger-class vessels recently commissioned.

    Quinn tapped out a series of codes on the Ops board, and the Wright's shields dropped and engines shut down. Sometimes, it's good to be the Chief of Starfleet Operations.

    "Secure the Wright, then take your security force - all of them, and beam down to assist at the General Assembly, Dave - there's at least four battalions of MACOs that just started moving without authorization from the Presidio, I want you to stop them. They can't be allowed to seize the General Assembly!"

    A strange idea was forming in the Undine's mind... I like doing this. it was almost alien. I LIKE being Jorrel Quinn! From the corner of his eye, he saw a black-armored figure drop out of the ceiling and bring a phaser to bear on him. He slew the man with a thought.

    No skulking. Being... no, the Masters... but... no. NO, NO!! In frustration, he shook his head, to clear the alien idea. This was just a ROLE... and today, the role meant being the man he pretended, day and night, to be. Nothing more, or less, than that.

    Quinn looked at the orbitals as reports from the other decks of Earth Space Dock showed that the coup's soldiers were losing. The Tiburon's in the right orbit... okay then.

    He tabbed the Comm. "USS Tiburon, you are cleared to conduct fighter and close shuttle Operations in support of Starfleet forces from the USS Suharto, defending the General Assembly, The no-fly orders do not apply to you, Acknowledge and Comply!"



    Chinatown, San Francisco...

    The shooter tumbled across the hood of a Toyota Sport, and Anh hopped and ran across it less than a second behind him, the owners just starting to shout as the two pedestrians disrupted what was likely an already unpleasant traffic situation caused by a column of military vehicles rolling in convoy formation somewhere further down the road.

    He ducked into an alley after cutting through a row of stands, and she bounded after him, apologizing to the disturbed citizens and leaving pieces of her jacket, shreds of stockings, and much of her skirt behind.

    He straight-armed her hard. Anh rolled with the blow and came back up on her feet, they drew their knives almost simultaneously.

    "Mine's bigger," he said.

    "Yeah, but unlike a man, I actually know how to USE mine," she bantered back.

    "We'll see about that." And it was ON. In the semidarkness of the dank, filth-strewn alleyway, blades flashed and blood flowed.

    Two experts, very close in skill, each knowing how to block, dodge, evade, duck, and strike. sparks flew.

    He had the reach on her, but she had the speed.

    She blocked, he kicked, she rolled and noticed a chain on the ground. She snagged it on the way up.

    "Bondage? we just met!" he said.

    "Do what it takes to get noticed," she replied, whipping the chain in a circle in front of her.

    "I'm the dominant type," he snapped back, and tossed a trashcan lid at her.

    She snapped the chain out, and closed the distance. "I hardly noticed."

    "You'll feel me," he said, stabbing at a gap in her defense.

    The chain wrapped around his good hand and her knife came up, severing ligaments. "That's what they all say," she retorted, and drove a foot into his knee, sideways. The human knee is a hinge-joint, it isn't MEANT to take hard, sudden side-loads.

    He grunted and stumbled and lashed out with his fist - kicking was no longer an option, not with a knee injury.

    Surprisingly, it gave him an idea, and he tipped the rest of the way, pulling her off her feet, his free hand caught the chain and he kneed her hard, then looped it around her pretty neck.
    but she didn't struggle the way a normal victim did, instead of trying to pull at the chain around her throat, she reached down, and back...

    The knife went into a place that is very sensitive - even years of exposure to Agonizers doesn't make it less sensitive there - evolution demands certain things.

    Johnson Cave screamed like the gelding he now was, Anh rolled in his grip and stabbed again, and again and again as she blacked out, spilling his intestines onto the street and covering her in a filthy mess of blood, urine and TRIBBLE. Her last stroke cut into the big arteries in his thighs.

    The world grayed out... until the pressure on the chain relaxed, and she could breathe again.



    Grant and California

    Jesu slalomed through the traffic, past the incongruous sight of a Chinese pagoda-style building on one side of the street and a brick church on the other. His eyes were scanning the road half a block ahead, alert for any moving obstacle. He almost didn't see the slim Asian woman stumbling out of a side alley, her blouse and her arms red with blood, until he was about to run her over. "Ay, chingame..." He pumped the brakes, downshifted, yanked the wheel hard to the left and pulled the handbrake to spin the speeding car away from the woman he recognized as Anh Cu'ong.

    "Anh!" He was out of the car before it had stopped skidding across the pavement. "What the hell happened?"

    "I got... the... son... of-a-***** who killed Bianh..." she gestured into the alley, and coughed. The phlegm was bloody. her feet were bare, and pieces of glass stuck in them, and what was left of her skirt would embarrass an Orion. one of her hands clutched a single-edged fighting knife slick in blood and... other fluids, her other hand was balled into a fist.

    "Looks like he got you too - don't die yet!"

    She shuddered with another cough, and Jesu saw the hilt of a knife sticking out of her back.
    "No plan to-[cough!] die today," she assured him. "I think[hack]the[cough] ****er stabbed me while he was choking me!"

    He hit his commbadge. "Tiburon, medical emergency. Human lifesign, next to me. Beam her directly to sickbay and to hell with the disarmament protocols!" He winked at Anh. "I know how attached you people get to your weapons."

    She stared at him in confusion as she disappeared in a transporter beam.

    Jesu got back in the car and checked Martin's track. He'd cut toward him again, probably trying to avoid the military convoy making its way down Columbus. He started the car up again and made a tire-smoking J-turn. One assh*le down, one to go...



    USS Tiburon

    "Sickbay, you get the target?"

    "Yeah, we got her..." Dr. Espinoza replied, examining the patient. "Mother Mary, she's cut up bad... I need a surgery team, stat! Sterile field, Dios mio, what a mess..." She checked on her other patient while the surgical unit set to work. "Captain Yamato is in critical condition, and we're still standing by for the rest of the casualties."

    "I think they're coming real soon," Jesu told her. "Gotta go."



    Pacific and Stockton

    Martin Cave was sure he'd lost LaRoca's unchained demon. Pretty sure. He'd cut a weaving route through Lower Nob Hill and west Chinatown, partly to avoid thickening traffic but mostly to evade HIM. He tried to relax, to blend in with the flow of traffic like he was just a simple public servant patrolling the city, keeping citizens safe... but his eyes kept going back to that rear-view mirror. Hitting a red light at Stockton, he glanced back again and saw... an ancient ground car barrelling down the hill toward him. He was stupefied until he recognized the driver. "Oh, ****!!" Just as the light turned green, he made a right turn from the left lane and went the wrong way (again) up Stockton. How did he find me...?

    "You stole a cop car, idiot," he told himself. He looked back and watched the low, green ground car throw itself into the turn and charge up the hill after him. "Computer, I need that speed boost again!"
    * * *

    Jesu had to wait for a hovercab to clear the intersection, but with superior traction and close to seven hundred supercharged horses on his side, Jesu had no trouble catching up with Cave. But here he ran into an old problem that his people had forgotten the solution too - how do you stop a speeding vehicle with another speeding vehicle, without killing yourself in the process? He bumped the rear corner of the black cop Charger - it wiggled a little, but the repulsorlifts kept it moving in a straight line. "Guess I'll have to hit you a little harder than that," he muttered, turning left on Columbus and narrowly avoiding skidding into the APC bringing up the rear of the military convoy.

    The APC exploded behind him, along with the entire column. He looked up and saw his Scorpion fighters making a strafing run. "****, I sure hope those are bad guys..."
    * * *

    ****, are those guys gunning for me? Cave wondered. Not wanting to find out, he took the next left down Union Street. An overturned bus at Mason forced him to take a right, and the traffic on Filbert made him turn right again, back toward Columbus. And still LaRoca stayed right behind him.

    He spun through a tight left turn back up Columbus, which LaRoca easily matched. The green car which for some reason had the word SALEEN emblazoned across the top of its windshield pulled alongside, preventing him from cutting west toward his destination. He hit the speed boost button again, edging ahead just enough to make an illegal turn onto Chestnut.

    He glanced back at the street sign... Was that Taylor going north? I need to get back to Taylor! Then he saw Jesu LaRoca right behind him again. "Oh, **** that." I need to lose you before I can go anywhere...

    He pressed on up the hill, and when LaRoca had almost caught him he made a full-speed left at Hyden. He disappointedly watched LaRoca powerslide after him. He followed with a sharp right onto Lombard, cutting off dozens of drivers trying to experience the descent of the curviest block in North America.

    He pulled another right on Larkin, and still LaRoca was on top of his rear bumper. "Here's something you can't do..." He turned right back onto Chestnut when he was almost through the intersection, nearly spinning the hovercar as the repulsorlift tried to keep up with his wild demands.

    * * *

    "Gawddammit..." Jesu slammed on the brakes and skidded straight through the intersection, watching Cave take off down Chestnut. He shifted into reverse, felt the rear axle links hop as he dumped the clutch with full gas, shifted back into first and cranked the wheel hard. The car fishtailed a little but then took off down the hill. With horsepower and and gravity on his side, he caught up fast.

    He rammed into Cave's rear bumper, spinning both cars into forced turn down Jones. "That's me knockin', butthead."

    'Down' Jones was actually up another steep hill, but then down the other side passing an ugly green Volkswagen Doodlebug. Cave whipped his car through a couple of screaming left-handers that Jesu took as one long powerslide. Up Taylor, and down the hill again, past - Was that the same doodlebug? LaRoca glanced back, and Cave went left again. Jesu saw him turn, hit the brakes and jerked the wheel, too hard, too late.

    "Oooh, this is gonna hurt," he thought, as the car slipped sideways down the hill and started to roll.



    Pier 45 City Shuttleport

    "That one." Ollie McEntyre (not his real name) pointed at a Danube-class. "My money?"

    The man reached into his leather jacket and pulled out a small small stack of latinum slips. "You know, I hear they're developing new treatments," he told his source.

    "Yeah, now they let you drool on yourself and wear a diaper," 'Ollie' said. "No thanks, I'll stick with the Neuroin."

    "Your choice... you're sure?"

    "I'm not shorting my doses," Ollie said. "Pilot hangs out in the lounge over there... Want me to... keep him occupied?"

    "Gracias, but no. I'll handle him." Carlos gave his old shipmate a hard look. "You never saw me."

    "Of course not! ****, don't worry about that..." 'Ollie' said. He walked away a short distance, and looked back. "Thanks for the money, boss."

    Carlos waved him off and walked up to the gleaming runabout. It took him just under five seconds to override the shuttle's entry lock. You don't have to be faster, if you know where they're going, he mused. The culero tried to blackmail my son... tried to murder millions of people... yeah, this feels right. he slid out of his jacket.

    He didn't have long to wait.
    * * *

    Martin Cave sighed with satisfaction. Once again, his rearview mirror was free of LaRocas. He cut back to Taylor and calmly parked outside the Pier 45 City Shuttleport, where his personal runabout was waiting. "Reeves," he spoke into his wrist. "I'm here. Get priority takeoff clearance on Council authorization."

    He jogged briskly past all the shuttlecraft grounded by the no-fly order and stepped aboard his own modified Danube-class. "Let's go, Reeves," he said to the pilot, and then did a double take and stared at the man in the cockpit wearing a loud orange floral-print shirt.

    His first thought was, Holy ****, I need earplugs just to look at this guy... That thought was followed immediately by Hey! That's not Reeves! "What did you do with my pilot?"

    "I told him to take a long walk off a short pier and hug an octopus," Carlos LaRoca told him, as he showed him the barrel of a ten-millimeter Glock subcompact. "I can be muy persuasivo. Take a seat in the back."

    "Kiss my TRIBBLE."

    Carlos shrugged, and jerked the ship skyward, launching Martin Cave off his feet and into the rear of the cabin. "You may want to buckle up, senor. I've disabled the grav plating and inertial dampeners, along with... some other things."

    "Who the **** are you?" Cave demanded, once he'd strapped himself down.

    "You can call me 'papa LaRoca.' You threatened my boy, pendejo. And you've been a very bad man. My boy's job is to make men like you pay. But you tied his hands down. So now papa has to come and take care of business..." He flew the shuttle under the Golden Gate Bridge, heading almost due west.

    "Where are you taking me?" Cave wondered, sounding more than a little worried.

    "Where I usually take turistos this time of year... Have you ever been to Las Islas Farallones, senor? The Farallon Islands? No? Not many have. Odd, when you consider how close they are to San Francisco. Not so strange though, when you consider who make it their winter home..."

    "Who?"

    "Sharks, senor Cave. Great white sharks. Los tiburones grande blanco. The biggest and meanest ones on Earth, or so the experts say. Are you up for a little shark diving trip?"

    Cave stared at the jagged, rocky islands looming ahead, silhouetted by the setting sun, and at the wind-tossed, white capped water all around. "Noooo... NO! You maniac, you can't DO THIS TO ME!!!"

    "I suppose not." He pressed a button, and the impulse drive shut down. "Whoops, looks like you have engine trouble. Lucky for me, I have a ship in orbit. Do you have a ship in orbit, senor Cave?"

    Do I- he tapped his wrist. "Wright, I'm past the transporter locks! Beam me up NOW!!"

    Nothing happened. No response.

    "I didn't think so," Carlos said as he tabbed a combadge. "Now, Tib." He picked up his jacket and waved goodbye as he dematerialized. "Adios, amigo."

    Martin Cave sat helplessly in his powerless runabout as it plummeted toward the deadly seas. The craft shattered on impact - Carlos had sabotaged the SIF generators on top of everything else. Cave managed to get free of his restraints before his seat could drown him. He surfaced, gasping for air, and looked for land. He spotted a seal rookery on a slab of rock not too far away. He struck out for it in a breaststroke. Can't kill me so easily, LaRoca, you TRIBBLE! Then he noticed the fin.

    The seven-meter female great white had been jolted from her routine by the thing that fell from the sky. She'd watched a funny-looking, strange-smelling animal emerge from the debris and swim along the surface. She cooly regarded this unusual creature as she paced it through the water. While clearly not a seal, which she prefered to eat, it certainly seemed edible and vulnerable. After circling it once she descended to the rocky ocean floor two hundred meters down, twisted her body and shot back to the surface, her powerful tail accelerating her to her top speed of thirty-six knots. Her finely-tuned sense guided her straight to her slow-moving target.

    Cave's first and only warning was the surge of ocean beneath his chest. Then he was launched upwards amid a geyser of seawater, displaced by a four-ton shark making what was known as a Polaris breach. Jaws filled with nine-cm-long, serrated, blade-shaped teeth clamped around his torso with unfathomable force. Martin Cave screamed and watched blood spray out of his mouth. He looked down and saw the colossal shark's solid black eye roll forward and stare at him as she crashed down back into the waves. He died in unimaginable pain, and the last conscious thought he had was that the shark seemed... disappointed.

    She submerged, and spat out the animal she had just killed. It tasted terrible. It was probably edible, but she knew there were far tastier, and more nutritious meals waiting on the rock. She settled down into her patrol pattern and waited for a fat young elephant seal to try to run the gauntlet, and forgot all about Martin Cave.



    Taylor St.

    Jesu LaRoca came to, upside down. It took him a few seconds to remember how he got there. After checking himself for any broken bones or major bleeds, he braced his left arm on the roof, unfastened his seatbelt and landed gracelessly at ground-level. He crawled out of the car, stood up, and looked back at the crumpled ball of carbon fiber, aluminum alloy and safety glass resting in a puddle of its vital fluids. "****, Marq's gonna be pissed."

    He looked around at a ring of spectators who were keeping their distance, unsure whether to call emergency services or Starfleet Security. The vehicle that had landed on their block and the armor-clad man who'd emerged from the wreck clearly did not belong in their world. LaRoca shook his head and reminded himself that every life deserved to be saved, even this bunch of incredulous rubberneckers.

    "HEY-ZOO!!" his brother called.

    He looked up the hill and saw the Deinon running toward him. He smiled and waved. His knees buckled and he felt like throwing up. He shook it off just as Rusty came to a stop in front of him. "Hey, bro. How'd you find me?"

    "Dad called, and told me you'd be somewhere around here... We need to get you some medical attention!"

    "No, no, I'm alright," Jesu lied, suddenly becoming aware of an intense pain in his head.

    "No, you're not. Your head's bleeding!"

    "I'll be fine..." Jesu was about to black out again.

    Rusty slapped his combadge. "Tiburon, medical emergency! Two to beam directly to sick bay!"



    Federation Annex, 2 blocks from the General Assembly...

    The rogues were holed up in various buildings around town, a few had been caught at the old BART museum, a few more when they tried to hijack a bus.

    But this was the big one, right here.

    Commander Ford Lethbridge... Dammit, Ford... David Huntington silently cursed, what the hell happened to you?

    He crouched in the stairwell. "Ah'Vsath, roof clear?" he asked.

    "Cleared. I've overridden the security monitors inside, but the damn building was constructed with resonant alloys in the rebar, we're not going to get a transporter signal in there well enough to beam the hostage takers away from the hostages."

    The TRIBBLE had read the writing on the street - written in the destruction of their assault vehicles on the ground, and the assault shuttles they'd been counting on for air-support.

    They were taking hostages now.

    "We can't let them escape, we can't let them kill more innocent people," David said, and had a thought. "Bring the Snipers into the ground floor, I'll bet that re-bar's in the roof, and the structural walls, but it is NOT in the interior walls or the floors... we're going to go for a simultaneous kill."

    "Kill, sir?" the Alien security man asked.

    "Kill," David said. "We can't risk an area stun, those MACO suits would block that... but they won't block bullets from Sixteens, it has to be simul, or they'll probably start killing hostages."

    "Aye sir..."

    David sighed. Sometimes you have to take lives to save lives, but as the Vulcans say, the needs of the many outweigh the needs - or rights - of the few.



    Two hours later

    Despite everything, the delegates were still there - of course the council chamber was easy to secure, and there was unfinished business. Infact, there was even more media crammed into the broadcasting booths, as the proceedings continued - this time with newly appointed Foreign Minister Ryoko Hibiki sitting where the disgraced and deceased Martin Cave was sitting earlier.

    .
    The Cardassian ambassador to the United Federation of Planets stood before the gathered dignitaries in a layered black dress that was far more subdued than her usual clothing - regal and almost Victorian in the cut of the skirt. Her shoulders were covered by an open jacket that sat high upon her neck ridges. Woven through her braid were bands of white and red that trailed behind her like campaign streamers off of a guidon as she walked. Eyes turned: these kinds of stark colors and contrasts were a departure from Cardassian fashion, even for her.

    But her audience was not Cardassia today. It was the Federation - and Earth above all.

    And almost no part of Earth would find their color of death absent of representation today.

    On Cardassia she had been what the old Union had fancied a professor of political ethics - gagged, publicly, but managing to teach the real subject in private as a dissident. She had never thought she would have to teach that class here... in the Federation. To the Federation.

    She hoped desperately they would be good students.

    "I remember a time when the United Federation of Planets inspired the dissidents of Cardassia as living proof that it was possible for a state to live in peace with itself and with its neighbors, as a shining beacon of hope for all of the oppressed and repressed of the galaxy. It is not by accident or for convenience that when I fled the Union during those dark days, I fled here.

    "We as a galaxy, and as allies, have gone through difficult times together as of late. During my term as Castellan of the Cardassian Union, I was proud to stand with the Federation. But for the first time - my confidence in that long-standing assessment of the Federation has been shaken.

    "These will be hard words. A hard call to action. What has happened here was spearheaded by infiltrators, as has already been proven. I recognize that. The Detapa Council recognizes that. But no agent provocateur can succeed without the provoked. No terrorist truly succeeds unless he incites terror.

    "I now stand before a Federation that stands upon the precipice of surrendering to the twin brothers of xenophobia and bigotry. Mind you, I am far from painting all Federation citizens or nationals with that hateful brush. But it takes more than just the flame of a few fanatics to catch a whole state on fire and plunge a polity where once there was peace into repression and horror. It takes indifference, by those who could have stood up and said that the rhetoric and the abuses weren't right. Those who have allowed themselves to be lulled into believing the fight had already been fought, and the battle had already been won.

    "The brave soldiers of Starfleet bled and died to protect the Federation's rights against those who would subjugate the quadrant under their cruel version of order. And they even fought to bring those rights to a Cardassia that had invited the Dominion in.

    "As Cardassians, we do not and must not forget our state's crimes, those who partook in their commission, and those of us who surrendered to fear, propaganda, and indifference. The United Federation of Planets rightfully held a mirror before us and forced us to look full into it. We learned to accept the ignominious burden of responsibility. We learned to lament our crimes. We tried and convicted our guilty in a process that is still ongoing. Many resisted this at first. They were scared, they were angry, and for some it was the seemingly impossible burden of facing up to the guilt. Some still resist to this day.

    "But we learned that voluntary confession is indeed good for the soul. That we first had to kneel before we could begin to think about standing tall.

    "For the people of the Federation to surrender themselves, by hate or by indifference, would be to profane the sacrifice of those of them who gave their lives and health to protect the quadrant, and that we would have the opportunity to come this far.

    "What does the reasonable citizen of the Federation now see? We have witnessed attempted genocide against the Denali people. A people who have aggressed against no power and, like us, refused to let their ways be dictated by the ways of their ancestors. We have seen the deployment of thalaron weapons against civilian population centers.

    "The reasonable citizen of the Federation has also seen neighbors swept up into race rioting and hysteria, and other neighbors made to live in fear.

    "To you, and to the Denali people... the Cardassian Union stands with you in horror.

    "The Federation taught us the value of holding to account those who have committed atrocities lest it be allowed to happen again. To the infiltrators who still survive at this time: if any of you dare cross into Cardassian space, you will be captured and if you should survive the force required to keep our worlds safe from you, you will be handed over to the Denali for justice. We will give no asylum, no clemency, no pardon. We would call on all other powers, including the Federation, to do the same.

    "But what of those who were not the authors of these crimes, but who stood by and allowed systematic abuse of the system and did not question illegitimate orders? Who allowed themselves to be riled up by fanatics? Who allowed and advocated for the punishment of innocent people for the crimes of their distant ancestors, against the wisdom that even Earth's leaders just before your Third World War had understood?

    "And before you think that all of the crimes against sentient life and crimes against humanity were committed by infiltrators, there have been credible allegations of forced sterilizations perpetrated over the years by persons of authority in the Federation against some citizens of Denali who entered your space. Even a few is too many, and this must stop. Immediately.

    "Again, I know that not everyone in the Federation would have condoned the atrocities committed against the Denali. Please - ask your leaders to make a full accounting for these things, that they may never happen again, and that someday the Federation may regain the status of trustworthy neighbors in the eyes of a free and independent Denali.

    "Cardassian military activity is restricted outside its borders, and the planetary environment is particularly difficult on Cardassian physiology. However, we have reached out to non-governmental agencies within the Union, and we have still received volunteers. The Detapa Council will support their efforts.

    "We ask that Federation officials, and Federation citizens through non-governmental organizations, render aid to the Denali - from equals to equals. It is only just. We also ask that you stand with the Cardassian Union, with Bajor, numerous other Federation members and independent states in recognizing the sovereignty of Denali as an independent world and the right of its people to exist free of harassment or terror within and outside their borders.

    "We would also the people of the Federation to consider searching your souls in this... you have done great things under your Charter to create a legal environment where all species, genders, ethnicities, and others affected by unique circumstances - such as those liberated from the Borg, who had no choice in what was done before their liberation and who have no choice in the physical and psychological aftereffects - are offered protection.

    "Cardassia looked to you as a model in this regard. We implore you to be that model again. Do not repudiate Khan Noonien Singh by becoming him - and that is the risk you run when it is decided that someone should not be accountable for their personal choices, but for their genes.

    "For citizens of the Federation... this is the time to show your solidarity with Denali in mourning, as befits your myriad cultures. To gather in vigil with your neighbors.

    "For those who are in a position to have them... please - preserve your records of the Denali massacre, in as many places as possible. For as we of the Cardassian Union have learned, these records, kept in as many places as possible, and seen by the people wherever possible, are the first sentinels against denialism, before it can even start.

    "It now lies upon the Federation to prove that they are better than the extrauniversal infiltrators who were at the point of the spear in this atrocity. And for each individual to resolve that they will not be the sort of person who does not speak when they should have spoken, does not fight when they should have fought. It lies upon the Federation to choose a path that reflects the noble principles embodied in its Charter, that your mothers and fathers bled and died for in Cardassian space and throughout the quadrant when the Dominion came for us all. And to stand not just in armament but in principle with those of us in the Union who are still dying to preserve the freedom you helped us to gain.

    "There is one thing, however, that I would not have us forget today - even after these tough words addressed to the United Federation of Planets and to its people. This is something that we understand intimately for ourselves. And that is that we also must not forget that for all of those who did wrong... there are those of you who have done right. You should be proud of those people. There are heroes among your people who did stand and fight. Who did not give in to fear. Who stood on principle. Some of them have helped to turn battles. Others have helped to turn the hearts of their neighbor away from fear and bitterness. It is upon you to choose their path of courage, honesty, and reconciliation. Not the path of fear and hate. Let these great people be your example and the reminder of what the Federation has the power to embrace again."



    USS Tiburon, sick bay - six hours later

    Jesu LaRoca awoke to a crunching sound nearby. He opened his eyes and searched for the source, and spotted Takeshi Yamato sitting up in his biobed eating a bag of Doritos. "How the hell did I get stuck next to you."

    Takeshi shrugged. "Just lucky, I guess."

    "Oh, good, you're up," Dr. Espinoza said softly as she slipped in between them. "Try not to get in a high-speed car crash again. You got away with a concussed skull fracture and an intracranial bleed. It could have been a lot worse. Oh, and Marq says forget about the car. He saw what was happening on the news and he's glad he was able to help out. Rusty's asleep next to you so keep your voice down."

    Jesu turned and saw his brother draped over the back of a chair, his eyes and jaw slack. "How long has he been sleeping?"

    "About five hours - ever since I got you stabilized. You, know, it used to be that even with the meds, he couldn't fall asleep unless his room was totally dark and the only sound was white noise. Now look at him."

    Jesu reached over and gently stroked his brother's head. "How's Anh?" he asked.

    "Out of danger," Maria Espinoza told him. "We're keeping an eye on potential infections but she should make a full recovery."

    Rusty licked his lower jaw, opened his eyes and smiled at Jesu. "Hey."

    "Hey, bro."

    "I forgot to ask before you passed out - did we get that assh*le?"

    "Uh-"

    "Si," Carlos told his boys as he walked in. "We got 'im."
    "It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier." R.A.Heinlein

    "he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."



  • jonsillsjonsills Member Posts: 10,354 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Wow.

    One minor grammatical quibble:
    ... newly appointed Foreign Minister Ryoko Hibiki sitting where the disgraced and deceased Martin Cave was sitting.

    For clarity's sake, I'd modify that sentence to, "where the disgraced and deceased Martin Cave had been." Unless, of course, 25th-century Earth has developed some really bizarre funerary practices... :)
    Lorna-Wing-sig.png
  • knightraider6knightraider6 Member Posts: 396 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    jonsills wrote: »
    Wow.

    One minor grammatical quibble:



    For clarity's sake, I'd modify that sentence to, "where the disgraced and deceased Martin Cave had been." Unless, of course, 25th-century Earth has developed some really bizarre funerary practices... :)

    grr, fixed, thanks.
    "It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier." R.A.Heinlein

    "he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."



  • marcusdkanemarcusdkane Member Posts: 7,439 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Nice :cool: Absolutely loved the car chase, that was proper Bullitt/Dirty Harry s**t! Very nicely written :cool: My only disappointment was that Cave got off so easily...
  • sander233sander233 Member Posts: 3,992 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    Nice :cool: Absolutely loved the car chase, that was proper Bullitt/Dirty Harry s**t! Very nicely written :cool: My only disappointment was that Cave got off so easily...

    Writing that chase, I actually looked up a route map somebody had made of the Bullitt chase and used the actual locations around Russian Hill where they shot a lot of it. (JJ Abrams and Aaron Lipstadt did something very similar in their Bullitt tribute chase scene in the last episode of Alcatraz.)

    Cave's death really wasn't fair. (To the shark.) Being bitten by a great white has been likened being caught in a hydraulic press while being stabbed with dozens of steak knives. It is so immensely painful that most people black out instantly or else go into total systemic shock. But Martin Cave, who's had an agonizer messing with the pain receptors in his brain, he gets to experience it all. (Until he dies of massive blood and/or organ loss.)

    BTW, besides the Bullitt chase, we peppered the whole getaway sequence with pop-culture references. Some obvious, some less so. How many did you find?
    16d89073-5444-45ad-9053-45434ac9498f.png~original

    ...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
    - Anne Bredon
  • gulberatgulberat Member Posts: 5,505 Arc User
    edited November 2013
    I admit, I kept getting some fun mental images of Alyosha showing up and basically Force-choking Cave (dying at the hands of a fake human), but I definitely enjoyed seeing Cave not only die as shark food, but be rejected in the end as substandard shark food. That insult made it worth it. :D

    Thanks for the opportunity to make a brief appearance in this story with Ambassador (former Castellan) Lang.

    This was a REALLY awesome story, knightraider, and I really enjoyed following it.

    I'll wait for the epilogue, and once that posts, I will start working on a short-story follow-up to Sins. :)

    Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-)
    Proudly F2P.  Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
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