Future Horizons

[Grayson]

OLD:

Abubakar's mouth went into a sort of aggressive snarl and he stormed a few giant steps towards Grayson, flinging his own empty chair round as he did so. "If you have something to say about, Lieutenant Junior Grade" he emphasised the word 'junior', then get it over with and we'll settle out diffences the old fashioned way"

Mark just grinned back to the Bajoran. It was so easy to push some people to their edge. Almost hilarious. He didn't answer Abubakar, because P'ayanna answered Mark's question about the Helman's plan.

"Klingon shock troops are equipped to shoot down shuttles, so this feint is a poor choice of tactics. Perhaps you would fly this personally so that your ashes might rain down on the warriors of the Empire." Turning her head to the Captain, she said, "Captain, there are two options. Overt or covert assault. Small diversionary tactics rely on subterfuge. An all-out assault would require more troops than we have. His," she shrugged toward the b'jorngan in red, "idea would cause far more alertment than mine. Although I do not mind dying in battle, I would prefer a glorious victory to being betrayed by his foolishness."

Abubakar reaction was quite childish. Mark could tell the man wanted to punch him. "Well, another one wants to beat me up. What's new?", thought Mark amused.

"Are you two ignorant fools?" Abubakar shouted as he strormed back to the display. "The team will be virtualy all the way there by the time the shuttle makes a pass, they will be expecting a later all out assault- especialy if we make a hole!"

Mark shook his head, disaproving every word from the Lieutenant, but the man continued, "I fail to see how your mangy warriors will shoot down a shuttle that they don't see coming and that is traveling at high velocity. It will masking tecnology- they won't see it unti. it's on top of them, by that time it will be gone!" , he turned ti face Kersare. "I was planning on the T9 being unmanned- preprogrammed. But perhaps Ensign Mavose could use her scanning skills and be on board, increasing our chances of finding Trelin and confirming the layout."

Mark watched all the hatred shimmer in the Helman's eyes. It was funny how someone like him could have ever worked in Intell. His fists were closed and his pulse was quick."Inteligence formation... Bah!", thought Mark.

Then Mark heard Lt. Thundera laughing. Apparently Kersare too.

The Lt. went on, giving a so-called sermon to the others. The only thing that Mark really paid attention it was the last part.

"I'm not finished yet" she said about to begin again. " I think that instead of them arguing over who has the better plan, why not take the good points of all 3 and form one single plan to eliminate the bad parts. That way there won't be any confusion as to what if this, and what if that." Cheetara paused for a second. "Now, the reason I'm laughing is becuase of the irony of my thoughts as all of this is going on which caused my thoughts."

"Yes Cheetara? Go on"

"Sorry. As I was saying," she began again. "From all that bickering and arguing like fools, I got an ironic thought in my head. I started thinking, Now I know why the Borg assimulate people, it stops all that unneccesary childish foolishness so that they'll work together as a team. "

"With all due respect, Lt Thundera, why don't you go back to them, if you can't endure a simple disscussion?", asked Mark, coldly."The only way to work as team is to avoid use invalid plans that can kill the rest of team. I strongly recommend against calling too much attention for ourselves down there. Stealth should be the only option in this case, not hovering over the fortress saying, "Hellooo, I'm here"..."

Mark looked at Abubakar. "Oh, by the way, sir. You should control your temper, or somoene could think you're not fit to drive the ship", said he, very mildly.

OFF: Fight! Fight! That's what I call a good briefing!

[Abubakar]

ON: Directly after Grayson's response to Thundera.

Abubakar was now still very close to Mark, and could tell that the man was finding joy in seeing Abubakar so wound up, and that just wound Abubakar up more, which in turn made Graysons grin wider.

He snapped his head away from glaring at Grayson at shot a filthy look at Thundera, "for once I agree with this insolent man. Go back to them then, or shut up!"

Seemingly switching sides, most likely in a facile effort to get even deeper under the Bajoran's skin...
...'Mark looked at Abubakar. "Oh, by the way, sir. You should control your temper, or somoene could think you're not fit to drive the ship", said he, very mildly. '

If he were not an Officer, and were the Captain and the XO not in the room, he would have made Graysons head spin. Even though he had shrugged off his calm exterior of false flat emotion that he had picked up in Intel, he still possessed much of his self control. That coupled with the help of Kost'Amojan, the leader of his gods, stopped him just after the hand had tightened into a ready-fist, and the arm had twitched upwards in preparation to strike.

He leaned in very very close to Grayson, so close he could feel the mans breath on his face, "be careful, desk jockey." he whispered through gritted teeth, "accidents happen, as I'm sure you know". He then stood back slowly, still glaring at Grayson, thier eyes locked.

He then contemplated, that on top of a fight, how interesting it would be for two Intelligence trained Officers- both of whom had just happened to be nearby in countless 'accidents', to be trying to kill eachother.

OFF: Yeah the fun never stops! Would have so loved to have Abubakar punch Grayson , but then that it a court-martial offense

[Kersare]

OFF: Don't forget <<Location, Time, Day>> stamps on your posts, please

ON:

<<Conference Room, 1624, Day 20>>

Isabel watched the pandemonium partially intrigued and partially disgusted. These were trained StarFleet Officers, fighting and bickering, being petty. What shocked her even more was that they'd do it in her presence. A heated discussion was one thing, but this was another. That aside, this was not getting them anywhere.

"That's enough. Everyone sit down and be quiet, now," Isabel said with a slight edge to her voice.

She waited somewhat impatiently for those standing to sit, looking into each of the officer's eyes. Her gaze fell first on Cheetara, "Lieutenant, I realize you may have a unique sense of humor, but the Borg, as you should know, are no joking matter. Being assimilated is no joking matter either, so I would appreciate it if you would keep those kinds of comments to yourself." An image of Derek (NPC), her husband, flashed through her head. She'd lost him because of the Borg, and Cheetara's comments had hit a nerve.

"That said, Lieutenant Thundera does have a point. All I've been hearing is arguing and bickering, 'This plan is ridiculous, it won't work' and things of this nature. You are all StarFleet Officers, and this behavior is completely unacceptable. Name-calling and threats will not be tolerated, especially in my presence. You should all be ashamed. I see a lack of respect in this room, and I won't stand for it another moment."

A few of the officers looked like they would like to comment, but the look on Isabel's face prevented that. Others seemed to realize that interrupting what the Captain had to say would be a very bad idea at the moment.

"The next person that threatens someone else, or engages in behavior unfit of a StarFleet officer will be sent to the brig to think about their actions," Isabel continued. It seemed a childish punishment, but at the moment, it also seemed fitting with the behavior she was witnessing.

"Now, I'm going to forget what I've been witnessing the past ten minutes and we're going to start this part of the meeting over. Whoever has an idea on how the Away Team should be taken in can speak, and there will be constructive criticism on the ideas. We will then decide on the plan that would be the most favorable, given our choices, or implement a plan that is a combination of the ideas presented. Any comments or concerns about an idea shall be held until the proposer is done speaking, and shall be given in a respectful, calm way, which will in turn be observed by the proposer when responding," she said. "I hope I am perfectly clear and don't need to go through this again."

With another sweep of the room with her eyes, she took a deep breath to calm herself. "Alright, whoever would like to begin may do so now."

Part of her felt a more secretive approach would be good, however, she wasn't sure they'd be able to maintain the secretive approach - many things could go wrong. Another part of her felt that having the shuttles pass over the complex would be beneficial; they would then be able to pinpoint Trelin's location, and wouldn't have to waste time searching every room and crevice for him, which would take up time.

Isabel waited apprehensively, waiting for a response. Hopefully they would heed her words. Overall, she was glad she had a crew that could come up with multiple solutions to a problem, she just wished they would react and treat each other better. So many conflicting personalities...

OFF: Okies people, keep it coming. Very interesting meeting indeed, just couldn't let the Captain sit around and watch some of it though... Not that they couldn't still have thoughts of injuring each other, lol. Plus, knowing you, I'm sure it'll still be interesting.

[Former Member]

The Cap'n wrote:
"Now, I'm going to forget what I've been witnessing the past ten minutes and we're going to start this part of the meeting over. Whoever has an idea on how the Away Team should be taken in can speak, and there will be constructive criticism on the ideas. We will then decide on the plan that would be the most favorable, given our choices, or implement a plan that is a combination of the ideas presented. Any comments or concerns about an idea shall be held until the proposer is done speaking, and shall be given in a respectful, calm way, which will in turn be observed by the proposer when responding," she said. "I hope I am perfectly clear and don't need to go through this again."

ON: USS Malinche; Deck 1; Conference Room 1
<<Day 20; 1624 hours>>

Petra lifted her head and looked at the captain. She still wasn't sure whether it had been the rotten stench or the thought of being alone in a pre-programmed shuttle to do scans. Perhaps a combination of the two. In either case, she found that she wasn't very fond of either.

She liked the captain. She held so much authority, knew what she wanted, so... magnificent. Petra shook her head. Ugh. Bad move. Her head dropped a bit, but forced it back up almost immediately as she fought back the sick feeling. She watched Abu... Abu... Abu-something-or-other. The image of a little monkey named Abu came to mind, a character from one of Disney's ancient movies, Aladdin. 'The cute fly-boy will be Abu', she told herself as Abubakar took his seat. 'Cute, yes... but not very nice.' She pouted.

The smell finally began to dissipate. Petra slowly began to breathe more deeply. Oxygen began flowing through her system again as the recent outburst of emotions slowly began to quiet down a bit. She watched P'ayanna from the corner of her eye. That last elbow jab was fairly forceful... 'Perhaps she didn't want me too smell it too much... she was looking out for me.' Petra had concluded. 'How sweet of her! I'll have to show her my appreciation sometime. What a nice friend!'

Then it hit her. Abu wanted her in a Type Nine shuttle to do scans. Alone! She jumpped up out of her seat and looked across the table at him. "Wait! Wait, wait wait wait wait!! Now just wait one moment. You want little 'ol me to fly in a shuttle, all by my lonesome little self, to do some scans while flying over that heavily guarded military complex, in an attempt to find Trelin, in an ultimate attempt to risk my life while being fired upon?!" She couldn't fully grasp his logic. "I might die! I don't want to die! What if something were to go wrong? What if I was shot down?"

She felt her stomach turn into countless knots at the mere thought of it. She wanted to sit down, but she was frozen in place as she stared at Abu, who appeared to be enjoying every moment of her reaction.
_________________

Ensign Petra Mavose
Chief Science Officer
USS Malinche

[Kersare]

<<Conference Room, 1628, Day 20>>

Then it hit her. Abu wanted her in a Type Nine shuttle to do scans. Alone! She jumpped up out of her seat and looked across the table at him. "Wait! Wait, wait wait wait wait!! Now just wait one moment. You want little 'ol me to fly in a shuttle, all by my lonesome little self, to do some scans while flying over that heavily guarded military complex, in an attempt to find Trelin, in an ultimate attempt to risk my life while being fired upon?!" She couldn't fully grasp his logic. "I might die! I don't want to die! What if something were to go wrong? What if I was shot down?"

Isabel sighed. Hadn't she just said she wanted them to calm down? Of course, it was Petra. Looking over at Petra, Isabel addressed her, "Ensign Mavose."

"Yes?" came the young officer's slightly more meek reply.

"Sit down and take a deep breath, then look at me," Isabel told her. Once Petra made eye contact with her, Isabel began speaking again, "First off Ensign, things do sometimes go wrong, no matter what you do. I can't always prevent bad things from happening, and neither can you, they just happen. I can tell you that I do everything in my power to stop them when I can, alright?" She watched Petra nod.

Isabel sat silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts and allowing this information to sink in for Petra, since the girl obviously didn't catch onto things as fast as some, as displayed by her rather late reaction to Jaran's plan.

Seeing Petra still somewhat calm, for Petra at least, Isabel continued, "Now, Ms. Mavose, if you'd been paying attention to what I just finished saying you'd realize that we have not decided on a plan yet. I asked everyone to calm down, start respecting each other, and then we'd go over everyone's ideas and choose the one that seems best, or make a new one that's a combination of those ideas."

Hopefully this would help calm Petra done some. Isabel searched her mind for some more words for the girl, "You are a StarFleet Officer, so in some cases you may be put in danger - that's part of your job. It would be beneficial to have scans of the complex, so it may be that you need to this. I will take your feelings about it into account, if we decide to use that as part of the plan, but I can't promise you won't have to do it. Everyone has a job to do. Our goal is to rescue High Council Member Trelin and to negotiate some form of peace between the Celtronians, and I have to make sure those things happen."

Isabel had no idea what was going through Petra's head at the moment. Hopefully she'd be able to accept her words and calm herself for the rest of the meeting. P'ayanna luckily had some self-restraint, or else Petra would most likely be in sickbay, at best, by now.

The Captain now addressed all the Officers in the meeting, "Let's try to be professional here and continue the meeting. Whoever's ready to speak about their idea can do so now."

[Abubakar]

<-----"The image of a little monkey named Abu come to mind, a character from one of Disney's ancient movies, Aladdin." EXCELLENT!!!

ON: Day 20. Conference Room. 1629.

Because his idea was ultimately, of course, the best- he started to speak first. "Allow me to clarify..." he said, shooting two looks at his two rivals at the table, imagining them with slightly less than perfect face-arrangement.

"I will pilot a Type 11 to the surface, masked, at 1800. I will land about 5K's from the edge of the field so as not to bee detected visualy by the guards on the ground. By midnight local time, when most of the soldiers will be off duty, the team will be almost there. At this time, a preprogrammed shuttle carrying Ensign Mavose" he looked at her as she gulped anxiosly, "will make a pass over the complex, it will attack the complex and try to take out as many fighters as possible whilst they are still on the ground. They will likely think this is an attack, and with any luck they will fire at the shuttle and send fighters after it. As the Type 9 flies away, it will fire at the ground to try to take out as many soldiers as possible, and Ensign Mavose will transmit the exact layout of the complex, life signs, arms, and the location of Trelin, to the team. Invaluable information." he paused to look around the room. Pie-Dog and Grayson did not look pleased, but they at least shut up.

"With any luck the Type 9 will be shot down *after* Ensign Mavose has beamed aboard my shuttle as it flies over, making thier small Klingon minds think they've just thwarted an assault,

Petra's eyes went wide as she stared at Abu. "A... a... a..." She nervously gulped. "But, I don't want..."

He smiled, patronizingly, "not many do dear.."

The feeling of getting sick came again. She felt her face turning green. "I don't feel very good..." She said, very, very unenthusiastically.

Ignoring the pathetic Ensigns annoyingly weak reaction to risking ass for Starfleet, he continued. "Anyway, once the team have thier information, and the shuttle has been shot down" he glanced over at Mavose again, relishing the look of sick panic on the poor girls pale face, "my shuttle will leave." he stared right at the Captain, "the team could transmit when they're ready to be picked up, I fly in, grab 'em, get out again." He darted his eyes back to Pie-Dog, "Quickly." he added.

With input from:

Ensign Petra Mavose.
Chief Cheerleader,
U.S.S Malinche

[Former Member]

OFF: Aw, man, all that action up there on the ship and I'm stuck down on Celtron V all alone... *Receives offended looks from Zura and Miltuk* I mean, apart from my NPCs... heh...

Lol, all the nicknames that are cropping up. Can't wait to see what else materializes...

ON:

<<So'Kra Council, Celtron V, 1630, Day 20>>

"So, we still need to get a good decorator in," said Miltuk (NPC), reasonably, looking around the chamber, "but we seem to be doing all right otherwise."

It was true. The building still bore the heavy marks of recent battle, but at least Zura and Brek (NPCs) and their mechanics had brough most of the systems back up to scratch, or as much as they could do in the few hours since the attack. The invasion had, however, been brutal, and though the fatalaties were limited in the grand scale of things, it still stung to have lost lives during an allegedly peaceful mission.

"I wish Starfleet were here," sighed Zura.

"Why," spoke up a sharp voice, "so they can have a go at us for having such lax security?" Officer Frober (NPC), along with Orsad, had been overseeing of the tactical side of the diplomatic episode, and had been especially soured by the Klingon/To'Ma incident.

Della Frober was an odd character. She was the only human on Tekel's team, and while she had never served in Starfleet or indeed the Dominion War, she had known people lost to that cause, and had no reservations about expressing her dislike for the cowardly Cardassians who turned their back on the Alpha Quadrant in that time of crisis. Like Tekel had once done, she doubted very much that the society as a whole could ever change. She tolerated Orsad as a superior only because he had been a known dissenter, but all the same, the relationship between them was icily professional.

"Perhaps we made a mistake," Tekel told Frober quietly but firmly, "by posting so few guards. But you and I agreed that it should be enough. We could not have foreseen the depths the To'Ma would sink to."

"The To'Ma may very well see this as a war," Frober hissed. "And I don't think, at this point, that the So'Kra would be inclined to disagree with them. We should have known they'd try something like this. We should have anticipated-"

"And what good do you think it would have done?" Tekel was fighting to keep his voice even. "The troops overpowered us even when we got all our people out there in the fray. Maybe," now aware his voice was steadily rising, he suddenly dropped to a low whisper, "maybe, if we had posted more guards, they all would have been killed instantly. Maybe we should be grateful that most of our forces were alive to retreat!"

"Or maybe we could have prevented Trelin (NPC) from being captured!"

"Or maybe," said Zura, appearing between them, "we should stop dwelling on the 'what if's and figure out where to go from her." The other two fell silent, mutually chastened.

After a short lull in conversation, Tekel called over to Brek, "How're the injured ones doing, Dors?"

"Almost everyone in the triage is stable," the Napean replied. "Keplarish (NPC) and the nurses have been working nonstop. So have Bezit and Allum (NPCs)." Tekel raised his eyebrows in mild surprise. Senswin Allum was the council aid who had seemed least sure of what to do with himself during the aftermath of the attack. Tekel had wondered where he had got to. "You know, Celtronians make really calming doctors," Brek remarked.

Tekel nodded mildly. "Still, those medical teams the Malinche offered would still be useful. Erontab," he said, turning to Comm Officer Miltuk, "we need to contact the ship again. We need to confirm when the negotiations will be held. Ask if they anticipate us being ontrack for tomorrow, and also if they're still able to send medics."

"You realize," put in Zura hastily, "that they're probably making headway trying to retrieve Trelin? They may not be able to spare-"

"Yes, I realize," Tekel retorted, as if insulted that she imply he didn't. "But we still need their help, and you know what, they might need ours." He didn't really put much faith in that last statement; he was aware of the shambles in team was in. It was strange to think that it had originally been planned for Tekel to dispatch a number of the diplomatic envoy to satiate the To'Ma. He found himself loath to even set foot inside a conference room with them, but the needs of diplomacy would call for it... if they could get Garshon Trelin back.

"Erontab, don't forget to tell them we're willing to offer any assistance they may require in rescuing Councillor Trelin," he added half-heartedly.

OFF: Good to be back. Tag, Mali. I don't mind if someone else wants to write Officer Miltuk's communication (once the meeting's over, of course).
_________________
Warrant Officer Tekel Orsad
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer (to be)
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B

When I was a kid I claimed that all the warring worlds should set aside their differences and bloody well get along. That argument still stands, only now it needs a cane.

[Former Member]

Quote:
The feeling of getting sick came again. She felt her face turning green. "I don't feel very good..." She said, very, very unenthusiastically.

Ignoring the pathetic Ensign's annoyingly weak reaction to risking ass for Starfleet, he continued. "Anyway, once the team have their information, and the shuttle has been shot down" he glanced over at Mavose again, relishing the look of sick panic on the poor girls pale face, "my shuttle will leave." he stared right at the Captain, "the team could transmit when they're ready to be picked up, I fly in, grab 'em, get out again." He darted his eyes back to Pie-Dog, "Quickly." he added.


Although P'ayanna was disgusted by Ensign Mavose's cowardice, she was even angrier at this Abu yIntagh for picking on her. It was especially aggravating after the captain had made her wishes known. Apparently, the Chief Flight Control Officer was a stupid as he was arrogant and, therefore, did not comprehend her orders.

Speaking up, P'ayanna said, "there is no need for this. It is pointless to scan after we have inserted the team." She thought that DoghwI', Abu-whats-his-name-a-bob-wah would realize that without being told, but he'd shown his capacity for knowledge more than once, already. "There are two reasons this is so. First, we have tricorder ability and, second, any transmission to or from the team can give away our location. While I do not mind dying in battle, I would prefer to do so after completing the mission."

OFF: Tags!
_________________
Cadet P'ayanna
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche
NCC-38897-B

[Grayson]

<<USS Malinche>>
<<Conference room 1, 1630, day 20>>

OLD
"There is no need for this. It is pointless to scan after we have inserted the team." She thought that DoghwI', Abu-whats-his-name-a-bob-wah would realize that without being told, but he'd shown his capacity for knowledge more than once, already. "There are two reasons this is so. First, we have tricorder ability and, second, any transmission to or from the team can give away our location. While I do not mind dying in battle, I would prefer to do so after completing the mission."

NEW:

Mark applauded P'ayanna's argument inwardly. He could see that Abubakar was not the smart guy he thought he was, which made him look pathetic, through Mark's eyes.

When Abubakar called Mark "desk jockey", Mark did the best he could not laugh. The long time he had spent undercover had made Mark an efficient fighter. He was pretty sure he could fight in equal terms with the arrogant pilot and win. But, that, he considered, was waste of time. Abubakar deserved to be ignored and that was Mark's final conclusion.

"I have to agree with Cadet P'ayanna. We don't need an extra scan on the site. That would only hint the Klingons of Federation presence in the area and that could kill the away team." Mark didn't even look at Abubakar."To fly under combat conditions is not usual to an experiencied pilot, so, I don't agree with the idea of putting ensign Mavose alone flying. Plus, why would waste shuttle to make a diversion?"

Mark, then, looked straight to Abubakar."The Lieutenant could fly interference and call a lot of attention by attacking their fighter base, two klicks to the west. The Klingons would divert their attention to his attack and the away team would have more time and less guards to face. I think Mr. Abubakar would makes a favor by distracting the enemy. It's vital part in the plan, in my opinion. Ensign Mavose could scan the area from the ground. After her scan, she could easily hide or acompany us inside the prison".

Mark looked at Kersare. "Captain, I want to make sure the Away Team have the chance to rescue Garshon Trelin. My sources are good and I bet my life on it. I'm sure there's no reason for rest of you trust my sources, but I'll be in the Away Team and if I'm wrong, and I'm sure I'm not, I will find a way to accomplish the mission. That's a promise." Mark tone of voice was low, but, there was a lot of intensity. That would be the last time he would say something about the plan. Whatever the captain decided, that would Mark obey. Still, would be good if the plan was a sound one, not a suicidal one.

Mark was sure Abubakar would think less of him after that little speech, and he didn't give damn about that. He was being sincere and moments of sincerity were not an usual thing in Mark's life. "Sometimes I miss the Dominion War. I didn't have to deal with arrogant bastards to get the job done. Well... I did, but I usually killed the type", thought him, looking at Abubakar.

OFF: Tag crew. Mark's last contribution for this messy conference.

[Harrison]

OFF

Rolling on the floor at the nicknames. Dang it. I want to get into the melee that has been cut off. So, I'm going to join it anyway.

ON

<Sickbay>

Two was tired of this. She was not happy to be on a biobed. She didn't understand what had caused her to be sent to this place. She was tired of counting ceiling tiles. She was leaving. No one could stop her. Well, maybe a few on the ship. P'ayanna was one.

She pulled everything off her skin. They were nothing but monitors and Two was the best person to monitor herself. She sat up, dizzy at first. VERY dizzy. She didn't care. She was getting the *Trill words removed* place. Didn't someone call for a senior staff meeting? Wasn't she a member of the senior staff? That meant that the CMO was at that meeting as well. Since Darkhelm could not be in two places at once, Two was fine.

<Conference room, ten minutes later>

Two walked into the conference room, right as things were getting interesting. She took the only empty seat in the room, right next to Mr Grayson. She slipped into the chair, not wanting to be recognized as being absolutely late for this.

What was going on? Who was Pie? Who was Grimstone? What was that horrible stench? Who farted and why hadn't the room been filtered yet?

The filtering was something that Two could quietly do from her seat. She called up the engineering interface for the room. After tapping some keys, the ventilation system came on to filter the air. If that wasn't enough....Two was not going to add some smelling stuff to the room. That would be enough to give the ex-Borg a really bad headache. People didn't want to be around a Two with a really horrible headache. She was not a pretty person to deal with at that point. Like she was a pretty person to begin with.

It was another three minutes until the air had been totally filtered. The smell was gone...gone unless someone farted or burped again.

[Kersare]

<<Conference Room, 1633, Day 20>>

Isabel had seen Rebekah walk into the conference room. A little late, but she had been in sickbay, so that was understandable. Actually it was probably good timing, as Isabel would need to tell her what she needed Engineering to do for the Away Team.

After listening to everyone's ideas, Isabel sat quietly, going over in her mind what she felt would be best to do. Honestly, she had liked Jaran's idea, but hearing the other's objections also brought up some concerns with it. If you looked at the different ideas, they really weren't all that dissimilar though. Each had them dropping the away team off a little ways from the complex, then having the shuttle provide a distraction. The main thing that differed was the use of the extra shuttle.

Isabel decided it was time she spoke up. It seemed that everyone had exhausted what they had to say and time was growing short. Standing up, she addressed her officers, "After hearing everyone's ideas, I've decided on a course of action."

The room grew silent and everyone focused on her. She looked around at them as she continued, "In this case the decision must be based on what I feel is best for the success of this mission, and helps ensure the safety of everyone involved as much as possible. First off, I need Ensign Harrison and the engineers to work on masking two shuttles from being scanned. I want Lieutenant Abubakar to fly the first shuttle with the Away Team and Ensign Mavose. He will proceed to this point *points to an area on the map on the viewscreen* where he will drop off the Away Team. Ensign Mavose will keep scanning to see if she can get any more information. The shuttle will then return the Malinche."

The Captain took a moment to look at Jaran, making sure her point was clear. " Once the Away Team has been dropped off, they will maintain radio silence until they have retrieved High Council Member Trelin(NPC) and have disengaged the dampening field when they will contact the Malinche for beam out, unless they need to abort for some reason, in whichcase Mr. Abubakar will need to be ready to fly in and get them out. For this reason, his shuttle and one extra one will stand ready to go back in if the need arises."

"An attack on the complex will alert the To'Ma of our presence in the area, which I do not want. The mission has the highest chance of success if we use the element of surprise to our advantage. Another thing to keep in mind is that I want to keep fatalities to a minimum. We are here to negotiate peace, not to bring war upon ourselves or to the So'Kra. If it is completely necessary for the success of the mission, killing is authorized, but only in that case." Isabel had a feeling P'ayanna wouldn't enjoy that news, but it couldn't be helped. Killing people needlessly would not help their cause or their position when helping to negotiate. However, Isabel had a feeling that some deaths would occur during the away mission - if the Away team were discovered, they'd have to capture, knock out, or kill the ones who found them or their presence would be made known. Most likely those guarding Trelin would have to be killed as well. Hopefully the others would see why her orders were necessary.

Glancing around the room, Isabel spoke once more, "Those are my orders. Unless someone has something else to say, I suggest the Away Team get prepared. You'll be leaving at 1800 hours, and there's still much to do to prepare. Godspeed, and good luck with your mission."

OFF: Tag crew! FYI, I know Isabel said no killing on the away mission unless necessary, but as I'm sure you noticed, I did point out some cases where it could be needed, if you so choose.

Anycase, unless someone has something to bring up in the meeting, I suggest we get ready for the away mission. Also, I believe our friendly Cardassian on Celtron V tagged us for a communication, which I'll answer once the meeting's completely wrapped up.

If anyone needs ideas on what they should be doing to prepare, etc. lemme know.

[Harrison]

OLD

The room grew silent and everyone focused on her. She looked around at them as she continued, "In this case the decision must be based on what I feel is best for the success of this mission, and helps ensure the safety of everyone involved as much as possible. First off, I need Ensign Harrison and the engineers to work on masking two shuttles from being scanned. I want Lieutenant Abubakar to fly the first shuttle with the Away Team and Ensign Mavose. He will proceed to this point *points to an area on the map on the viewscreen* where he will drop off the Away Team. Ensign Mavose will keep scanning to see if she can get any more information. The shuttle will then return the Malinche."

Isabel Kersare
CO

NEW

Two, thankful to have some background noise even though it's not inside of her head, set to work once she had gotten her instructions. The Engineers were going to have to hide from detection. She wondered if they had any information about shielding that she could use. Knowledge about the equipment that they might have would be helpful. Who would have that information?

She typed some questions on the PADD she found in front of her.

1. Do we have any idea about what sort of equipment they would have down there?
2. Any idea about weapons?
3. Ideas where the weapons would be located?

She touched Grayson's arm and pushed the PADD to him, indicating the questions she had typed out for him. She listened to the discussion going on around her.

She accessed what information that had been gathered about the location. The beam down would have to be very quickly and timed very carefully or the shuttle would be in danger of being hit by weapons fire. If this is a very quick run, maybe they could send some of the auxiliary systems power to the shields.

She pulled the PADD from the person on the other side so she could get back to work. She called up the specs on the shuttle that the new hemsdude would be using. Touching several points on the PADD, she tried to reroute the power from secondary systems to the shielding system with some going to the engines for even faster climbing.

She wished she had a cloaking device to attach to the ship. That would drive the bad guys nuts when they could not see the shuttle coming at them, then a brief glimpse bfore the shuttle got away, but not too far.

She sent some instructions to the Engineering crew about the modifications she wanted done to the shuttle. The pilot was going to have to take whichever ship she had them modify, no matter what he thought.

She tapped on the PADD she had to find out the answers from the Chief Flight Control Officer.

1. Which shuttle are you wanting to take?
2. Modifications that you feel are needed?
3. Changes which you feel most comfortable with that I've marked here?

She sent it across the table towards the helmsdude. She hoped that he would notice what she was asking of him. She could make the changes without his input but he had to operate the shuttle, not her. She was not a totally skilled pilot. Maybe she would log some flight time in the training room to brush up on her piloting skills.

OFF

[Abubakar]

ON. Conference Room. Day 20. 1636.

Abubakar skidded the PADD back across the ChEng, he would need a Type 11 for the team, and a Type 9 on standby for a hot retrieval- it was faster, smaller, easier to fight in. He nodded at the Captain as everyone stood up. "I'll have an actual flight plan with you within the hour Captain" he said. Somewhat 'annoyed', that his plan had been squashed. He cast sly, and hating eyes to Pie-Dog and Grayson as he moved away from his chair.
"Ensign Mavose, walk with me" he said. More of an order than a request. That was one thing he agreed with the Vulcans on, small talk was irrelevant. As were niceties like 'please'.

Petra squeaked at the sudden demanding of her presence. She quickly took a glance around the room to identify the speaker, jumped out of her chair, and slowly made her way towards Abu. 'Cute... but arrogant...' she thought to herself as she came up beside him. "That wasn't such a bad meeting, was it sir?" she blurted out while reaching for his hand to shake it. "Outside of that nasty smell, of course. Did you smell it? Well, if you hadn't, let me tell you... it certainly wasn't pleasant. I felt as if I was about to lose my lunch from the past three days. No... it most certainly wasn't a good smell."

Abubakar listen to the cheerleader chattering like a monkey. He looked down at her, this unpleasant and facile creature. "Addressing you as Ensign, will suffice. The meeting was 'interesting', to say the least" He said as they began walking down the corridor to the nearest turbolift. To be more accurate, Abubakar was walking off, Petra was following.

Seeing her superior officer stalk off, Petra leaped into action and chased after him. "Lieutenant Abu, wait up!" She called out to him as she quickened her pace. In a few larger than normal strides, she was standing next to him. "Sir, I can only walk so fast, my legs are so much shorter than yours. Actually, back home on Earth I was always left behind as my two brothers also took the lead and now that I think about it, you remind me a bit of Dalte. He was my oldest brother. He could be quite uncheerful most of the time as well. I think you'd like him." She kept up with him step for step, well, two of her steps for each one of his. "Did you have any brothers or sisters, Lieutenant Abu?"

He was seriously beginning to regret this, perhaps he should have just stuck her chattering ass down in the a shuttle, strapped her in and had done with it. He turned around, stopped dead. He found it amusing that Petra carried on for a few quick steps before the silly girl realized he had stopped. "I do not care about your siblings, and I do not 'like' anyone. And my siblings, if I have them or not, are none of your concern, Ensign" He launched down the corridor again, after a few seconds he heard the girls little shoes pattering on the floor. He stopped to enter a turbolift.

Petra almost had to leap into the turbolift to keep herself with Abu. Any longer and she would've been stuck on the other side, and that just wouldn't do. "So, did you have a bad childhood with your brothers and sisters? I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to talk about their family, especially while in the deep recesses of space. Do you ever keep in touch with them? Do you ever think about them?" She felt her voice getting more and more high pitched as she continued. "I know what you're thinking. I think you miss them and want to visit them. You know, you could always visit them in the Holodeck." She smiled, pleased with her resolution for Abu's problem.

"Deck Five" he ordered. Fortunately for Petra, Intelligence had taught him to resist torture, and to reasonably manage his killing abilities. At this rate, they'd be on the bloody shuttle before he had a chance to get a word in edgeways. However, he was now extremely annoyed, a product of the meeting and of this child. "SHUT UP!" he roared in the Ensigns face. He felt a single tear on his cheek as memories of his mother, and of his foster-father, came flooding back. He touched his left shoulder; he could feel the pain of that knife again. The doors opened and he said with a broken and crackling voice; "can we just discuss the flight please?". He stepped out and began to walk towards his quarters.

Petra half skipped out of the Turbolift. "You know, that wasn't very nice. According to Starfleet, the more senior officers should be leading with a positive example. I mean, if you ended up walking in on me telling a member of my team to shut up, then technically, you wouldn't be in the right to correct my behavior." She paused and watched him, following him to his quarters. "I think you're a really nice person. You just need some love!"
She pounced behind him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

Abubakar rubbed his palms down his face in exasperation. "I don't c..." he immediately stopped talking as the young woman jumped on him. He was shocked to say the least. It had not been since the Liberator that pretty young Ensigns had wrapped their arms round him on the way to his quarters. It felt odd, different. He had not been touched like this in years. "Ensign..." he said, hoping she would have the end to a sentence he couldn't form.

She smiled and pressed herself closer to him. "Yes?"

He thought, very briefly, about kissing her, he parted his lips and moved his head slightly....Then shook it off as quickly as it came on. "...get the hell off of me before I snap you in half" he smiled back.

Petra jumped back. Her smile stretched from ear to ear. 'At least he has some good in him...' she told herself, smiling broader. "So, Lieutenant Abu, tell me, what's going to happen on the mission?" She asked him as she walked past him and down the corridor

Abubakar flinched at being called Abu. "I am not a monkey Ensign." he said, noticing how she was grinning like an idi...oh wait.
"Given that the Captain has rejected my plan, which has the highest level of success; we will most likely die." He held his hand up to stop her as she was about to protest this, "I will however, endeavor to return yourself to the ship alive, or with as few mortal injuries as possible"

Petra blinked and tilted her head in consideration. About twenty minutes ago, he had been talking to her about dying, and now saying that he would return her to the ship with very little or no serious injuries. 'Men. The one species in the galaxy that we'll never truly understand.' She told herself, grinning inwardly. "Oh really?"

They entered his quarters, "I will try. Sit down" he ordered her, gesturing to the only chair in the room, it was facing out to the stars. He walked quickly over to his meditation monument and placed its ritual cloth over it so she couldn't see it any better. "Ensign, you don't strike me as someone who will hold up on the shuttle, to be frank. And we are going to need you to be on the ball 110% of the time. We will need to know *exactly* where the enemy is so that we can destroy him."

Petra quirked an eyebrow. "But the Captain said that we shouldn't be killing them. She wants the least amount of casualties as humanly possible." Her curiosity began to peak after he covered up the monument with the cloth. Her eyes continued to shift between him and it. "Do you mean on still creating a massive diversion for the Away Team?" She couldn't keep her eyes off the statue.

Abubakar sighed. "To get close enough to scan the complex properly, we'll need to practically on top of them. In doing so we will almost certainly been seen. To eliminate that factor, we will likely have to kill the soldiers that spot us. I'm going to need you to give me a path through the valley, that has the fewest number of soldiers. We are going to me moving along that path rapidly and you will essentially be laying the metaphoric stones of that path just as our metaphoric feet step on them." realizing the girls stupidity, he added; "are you clear?"

Petra smiled. "Of course I can do that." She pointed at the statue. "What's that?"

He was concerned that the girl indeed could *not* do that at all. None the less, it was senseless trying to prepare a person for battle that didn't have the brain capacity to comprehend battle. "It is an object" he replied, dryly. He sat down on his bed; he picked up a blank PADD from his bed side cabinet and started to tap in a flight plan for the Captain

Petra watched him sit down and concentrate on his PADD. Her curiosity surely was getting the best of her as she silently stood up. "Is it a family heirloom?" She asked as she quietly crossed the room.

Abubakar was engrossed in his PADD, he was outlining how he would initially land the shuttle. "Something like that" he muttered. "Should I have a son, I will pass it down to him".

Petra slowly lifted the cloth and took a peak underneath. "So you plan on having a family someday?"

Abubakar was trying to get the last of the landing down, the interruptions of this woman were certainly not helping. "I do not know, I have never found the right woman. My career has also kept me from settling down, or indeed meeting anyone at all" He had no idea why he was saying this, perhaps it was because he thought her so moronic it was the equivalent of talking to an uncomprehending wall.

Petra squealed and fell away from the statue, landing on her butt pretty hard. The cloth covering the statue fell with her as she stared up at the rust colored statue. It wobbled for a moment before resting itself firmly again. "Wha... wha... what is that?" She stammered as she turned her head towards Abu.

Abubakar snapped his head round towards the squealing, he had not realized that she had made it across the room. "How DARE you touch that?!" he demanded. His face hot and angry, he stood towering above her on the floor. He became even more aware of his red band that was tied tight around his arm. He breathed deeply, angrily, "it as a meditation aide" he growled<tag>

Petra scuttered along the floor and got up onto her knees. "That helps you meditate? But it's so... so..." she stammered as she searched for the right word. Somehow, she managed to stop herself from saying ugly. She couldn't, so she changed what she had started to say. "It's so unique looking. I've not seen anything like it before."

Realizing that she wasn't outraged at realizing exactly what it was, he knelt down next to it. "I made it myself, I excavated the rock myself too." he placed a hand on it, gently like you would touch a lover, "I find its uniqueness a focus point. I am not surprised someone like you has never seen anything like it, They are..." he tried to find the right word, failed and settled on "rare".

Her ears perked up at the word. Rare. "Would you mind if I touched it? I always found that you understand things more through touch than through text and words."

This time, she waited for his answer before letting her curiosity take control.

He ran his hand along its cool and rough exterior, "this has been touched by no one but me, and the hand of he who touches all" he said mysteriously, gazing into the object. He suddenly reached out grabbed her right ear.

Petra yelped at the suddenness of him grabbing her ear. "Wha, what are you doing?"

"He shot his other hand out to grab her left shoulder as she began to pull back from him, no doubt panicking. He felt a surge of 'it' rushing over him. He knew. He just 'knew', he had complete clarity with her. "Your Pah, is very strong child." His eyes bore straight into hers, a fierce and un-breaking stare.

Petra tried closing shutting her eyes from his, but still saw them in her mind. "Stop it... please..." she began, whimpering

He did not know how, perhaps as an act by the might Kosst'Amojan, but he was inside her mind. He kept his stare fixed, she was resisting him. He still didn't know how, but he able to place images, thoughts, speech into her mind. 'Feel our love...' he thought into her. He was mentally existing in a universe of fire, flames all around, everywhere. ...'The love of the Kosst'Amojan...' he projected intensely

She fought back more fiercely than ever. Ever in her life. She was never so frightened. He was too strong for her as she pushed back. "Get away from me!" She shouted as she swung at Abu, her nails digging deep into his cheek.

Abubakar gripped her shoulder tighter as a result of the pain of the woman?s nails tearing skin and flesh from his face. He growled in pain and released her. The fire stopped. They were both alone in his quarters, which seemed significantly darker due to the mental fire they were existing in only seconds ago. He breathed deeply and looked at her, he couldn't find words.

"Wha.. wha... what..." she couldn't complete her sentence. All she could feel was her heavy breathing and the warm blood running along her hand. She couldn't remember clawing Abu, but she had to have. "What was that?" she half demanded as tears continued running down her cheeks.

He was just as confused as her. "I do not know". He considered for a brief moment, "impossible..." he whispered. "I believe that I may have just been used by the Kosst'Amojan... I..." he didn't know, and it was pretty unlikely, but it was all he could come up with. "Are you alright?" he asked, genuinely concerned for her.

Petra pushed back from him a bit. "I... I should be alright..." she replied as she wiped away her tears. She saw the blood running on his cheek. "I'm sorry for clawing at you. I can hardly remember even doing it. Maybe the doctor could take a look at it?"

He smiled. "It's alright, given my past career I tend to keep a dermal regenerator handy" he touched his cheek which stung like crazy, "besides, I wouldn't care to explain this to the doctor." He stood up and walked into his bathroom, he picked up a small case which he opened to take out the regenerator. "would you?" he asked, handing it to her and kneeling back down.


Looking from the regenerator to him, she nodded. Even if somewhat hesitantly, she slowly ran it over where she had dug into his cheek. "Are you sure you'll be ok? I mean, I doubt it's very often a girl claws a chunk of your cheek out."

She felt bad about it. But, she just couldn't, for the life of her, figure out the reason why she had done what she did.

"I've had a lot worse" he said, and meant it. "And hey, I'm perfectly used to girls leaving nail marks in me" he smiled and winked at her. He nodded his thanks as the wound healed and took the regenerator back into the bathroom. He checked his cheek and he caught himself looking at his rather large scar on his face. "Do you mind if I change for the mission?" he called to her.

"Sure." She said as she left him be. "Actually, I should probably leave. I have to go see Ensign Kai anyways and brief her on the meeting."

He undone his armband, removed his top jacket and walked out of the bathroom. "Sure" he said as he unzipped his red departmental jacket. "See you in the shuttlebay at 1800" he said to her as he removed the jacket and turned to his wardrobe, hoping to find some combat fatigues.

Petra smiled sheepishly as she felt her cheeks redden. "Yes... 1800... I'll see you then, sir." She said as she left the room.

Abubakar noticed her go red just before she left, he frowned and didn't know why she had done it. When he couldn't find his combats, he just pulled out some fresh uniform jackets. He couldn't help gazing at the statue. He knelt down in front of it, opened his arms to the thing and bared his soul to Kosst'Amojan. He inwardly prayed for enlightenment on what had happened.

OFF: With the 1800 dealine coming up and since it's a long one, we've made and end time of 1715 for this post.

A JP by:

Ensign Petra Mavose.
Chief Cheerleader/sciencey type person.
U.S.S Malinche

and

[Former Member]

Quote:
Petra smiled sheepishly as she felt her cheeks redden. "Yes... 1800... I'll see you then, sir." She said as she left the room.

Abubakar noticed her go red just before she left, he frowned and didn't know why she had done it. When he couldn't find his combats, he just pulled out some fresh uniform jackets. He couldn't help gazing at the statue. He knelt down in front of it, opened his arms to the thing and bared his soul to Kosst'Amojan. He inwardly prayed for enlightenment on what had happened.

That just weirded me out.

<Shuttle Bay, Day 20, 1700>

Ensign Hagen Rogers stared at Captain Kersare's Golden Child with a blank expression. It was bad enough that he was answering to a fricking cadet, but this was ridiculous. They were standing here, doing nothing, all because somebody didn't want the department embarrassed by being late.

The other party member, Ensign Samantha Weaver, was adjusting the sights on her Type-III phaser rifle. Having felt the sting of Lieutenant Thundera's displeasure with how she was training, and the subsequent torture of many hours in the holodeck with P'ayanna, she was taking the situation in stride. They were supposed to be ready, so she was passing the available time by making sure her equipment was ready. "P'ayanna," she said. "Give this a tap to the left."

"lu'," she replied, tapping the sight to her right, as she was facing Miss Weaver. Samantha was rapidly becoming one of her favorite junior officers, as she truly wished to honor the ship and her captain.

With a deft motion, Samantha clamped the site in place and then double-checked. She didn't expect to need the rifle, however; in close quarters, it was an unwieldy weapon. Still, she'd never heard of a team wishing they'd brought less firepower along. Not even once.

Rogers shook his head at Klingon idiot girl and her fresh convert. He would have preferred to eat a burrito and kick back until the XO called them in for the mission, but there was nothing for it. Captain High and Mighty had decreed that their cadet was calling the shots -hello? Favoritism!- and, therefore, he had to play the game by her rules. Just great.

OFF: ENS Rogers and ENS Weaver are our NPC's.
_________________
Cadet P'ayanna
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Malinche
NCC-38897-B

[Barrett]

<<USS Malinche>>
<Turbolift, 1635, Day 20>

Jason thought that he was going to burst out in laughter halfway through the meeting. Both Mark and Abu had insisted in acting like kids...teenagers that were just trying to prove which one had the bigger appratus. He was glad to see Kersare end it right there. Amanda stepped into the turbolift with him.

"That was biggest pissing contest that I think I have seen in a very long time," Amanda sighed.

"Personally, I'm surprised that you managed to keep your mouth shut the entire time...I think Kersare was too."

Amanda smiled. "And what good would that have done us to interject? The Klingon thinks I am some honorless doctor and Grayson...well we all now how well we get along."

"At least you get to something important to do..."

"Ah, babysitting isn't that bad," Amanda responded. "Besides at least you aren't going to get shot at."

"There are times when I evny being shot at, remeber those times on the Hale?"

"Do I ever, although if I recall correctly there were times when you were the one that started the shooting."

"Only once," Jason smiled and then as an after thought. "Maybe twice."

The turbolift came to a stop, letting Darkhelm out on her deck. She turned around and smiled at Jason.

"Alright, looks like I am going to get all pretty for the boys...and carry around that big gun."

Jason smiled and waved goodbye as Amanda headed down the corridor. The lift came back into motion, dropping Jason off at the next deck. Walking down the corridor he opened the door to the quarters that he shared with Adam; who was already there lifting weights.

"And there you are...I thought that you might be in teh messhall or something."

"Nah, decided to blow off some steam...how did the meeting go?"

"You mean after or before Abu and Grayson decided to play who's warpcore is bigger?"

Adam laughed and came back to his feet, walking over and planting a kiss lightly on Jason's forehead.

"You know what they say..."

"Ya, ya boys with their toys."

OFF: Ok Barrett is back...sorta of....