Blood and Iron

[Grayson]

[[RMS Verona]]
[Intelligence Operations, 0900, Day 2]

As things went, Nassar was pretty happy about having both Adam (NPC) and Jason in on their operation. Both were very good at thier jobs and could only prove to be an asset in finding Darkhelm and figuring out who these invaders were. The doors to the operations center opened up, admitting Mark who had come up earlier this morning.

"I'll have to admit, this is a nice set up you have here," Mark said, looking around. "Although I still fail to see how they managed to hide a whole Republic class battleship from the number crunchers."

"Oh, you'd ne surprised. So, where do you think we should start looking?"

Mark offered Nassar a PADD. "In here there is Darkhelm's latest reports. Positions, details, remarks, curses... You name it. There's enough to give us some idea of where she was when she disappeared".

He walked around the room, analyzing the place. "It's interesting the fact that she mentions something about debris made of an unknown material during her last entry. I think we should start looking there."

"I agree," Nassar responded. "I'll inform that bridge that we will be changing course soon, no time like the present to start."

Nassar sent the message to the bridge before turning around to address Mark again.

"So, tell me something Mark, why did you choose those two? I mean I knew you choose Darkhelm and can understand why but an operations officer and a nurse, do you know something that I don't?"

"Of course I know", replied Mark dryly. He offered an amused look at Nassar. "But you don't really expect me to explain to you, do you?"

Seeing Nassar's expression Mark sighed exasperated. "Alright, alright. You know Barrett experience with Jackson (NPC), right?"

Nassar nodded, silently. He wanted to know where Mark was going with that.

"I have observed that from time to time, more recently, he had been visions of a war. A war between the us and an extra galactical invasor. I also know that Marans are known for having clairvoyance abilities. It's my belief that Jackson had the power and when he and Barrett were - I don't know exactly the term - were 'joined', Barrett inherited the power."

Nassar snorted. "The last time we had someone with power to predict the future I wasn't even born. The prediction said that Maran would find out how big the Universe reall was, by contacting a single person. And a human with Maran psych powers? That's not really possible."

Mark's face closed. "No, it's possible. I know that happened... The medical files indicate alterations in his cortex and brain configurations. The only reason of the lack of control is because he's human and he wasn't prepared for that."

"You're pushing, Mark...", started Nassar.

"No, I'm not", interrupted Mark. "His visions are quite accurated when he saw the end of the Maran Republic and the destruction of Earth. His personal logs describe a huge fleet coming from outside the galaxy. That, my friend, tells me that he's exactly the person we need. The other, Townsen, only came because Barrett's insisted on it."

Nassar didn't look convinced, but he nodded. "Well, if you're right then you're expecting him to have another vision, right?"

Mark nodded.

"Alright," Nassar nodded. "You've never lied to be me before, why would you start now?"

Mark arched an eyebrow. "How very untelligence officer like of you."

"I have my moments," Nassar smiled. "In the mean time I'd like to start to brief you on what we do know."

"Probably a good idea."

Nassar lead him over to a large display screen and called up the picture of a man that Mark had not seen before.

"This is Severance Tann, he's a private freighter pilot that said he witnessed a strange occurance in space the crash landing of the alien craft. Darkhelm was on her way to interview him when she disappeared in a small farming village just north of here. Scans could not find her until she popped up two days ago, more or less in one peice."

"So, whats the big deal?"

"She went to follow a new lead, one that led her to Crystal Reef City and thats when we lost all contact with her. That was two days ago."

"So, that's the place were going to start. If I know Darkhelm, if something went wrong, she must left any kind of message indicating what happened to her and her small team. Let's take six man team, including Barrett and Townsen, since I doubt we'll be able to separate those two."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll select the rest of team. I assume you'll be leading team?"

Mark smiled. "Of course, Nassar. Do you think I trust anyone else to do that?"

Nassar laughed. "My mistake, Mark. The team will be ready to leave as soon you say the word."

"Good", said Mark. "I have some equipment to gather. I see you in fifteen."

OFF: To be Continued...

A JP brought to you by

Lieutenant Jason Barrett
Chief Operations Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B

&

[Hawkins]

<<Deck 9, Day 1, 2030>>

Jack had asked the computer to find the chief engineer and this is where he had been instructed to find him near the port nacelle access conduit on this deck, so here he was, exiting a turbolift on deck 9.

His reasons for seeking him out was two fold, the first of which was the maintenance clutter in his new found office, this could admittedly be told to any engineering officer, but it was something that Grayson had said, the second reason, that made Jack want to search out Lieutenant Peters specifically?

Hawkins rounded the corner of the brightly lit corridor, which at this time of night was a relatively quiet one, and saw the lower half of someone sticking out from an access panel along the wall, he approached and spoke loudly enough for the man in the conduit to hear him, ?Lieutenant Peters??

A bang came from the access panel, followed by a muffled curse. A moment later Peters slid out, rubbing his head. "That'd be me. What can I do you for?"

Jack extended his hand to the Lieutenant, ?I?m Lieutenant Hawkins, the new assistant Intel officer, I just discovered I had an office which currently looks more like a store room for spare parts, and figured you might be the man to talk to about getting it moved??

Peters took the extended hand and shook it. "Welcome aboard, Lieutenant. Whatever we don't use in the next 24 hours, I'll see about getting moved."

?I?d appreciate that,? Jack said with a slight smile, ?and I guess I also wanted to come meet you, you reputation precedes you when it comes to Lieutenant Grayson??

"Mister Grayson," Peters said with a chuckle, "is not very fond of me. Given our 'adventures' this past mission, I can't say it's surprising, but they weren't all my fault."

?I believe his exact words were an Intel officers worst nightmare? Jack said, ?and that I shouldn?t let you wave you hand near me?? he concluded with a slightly quizzical look on his face.

"Something I did out of whimsy while we were on Direidi. It didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. Of course, the Jedi Mind Trick only works if you have strong telepathic powers or access to The Force."

?Well the good Lieutenant hardly strikes me as someone who likes whimsy?.or anything else for that matter. Especially not when I told him to get a certain building material out of his ass??

Peters coughed. "You told him what?! Oh, that couldn't have gone over well."

Jack chuckled slightly, ?Depends on your definition of ?well?, I for one enjoyed it??

"Well, a comrade in arms against the dourness of our Chief Intelligence Officer. I welcome you." Peters grinned.

Jack returned the smile, ?I feel we?re not the only two in this club? Jack said extending his hand once again, ?Well it was nice meeting you lieutenant, right now I need to go give my medical records to a doctor, and get a medical, oh the fun??

"Fair enough," Peters replied. "I need to get back to work anyway. But do me a favor. Don't mention my name in sickbay... I've been dodging my exam since I got aboard, and I'm sure they've got an APB out on my by now."

?I?ll do my best, see ya later? Jack said as he turned to leave. After a few steps down the corridor he stopped, ?Oh and Lieutenant,? he said as he turned to face Peters once more, ?may the force be with you?? He winked at the Chief Engineer and left down the corridor.

Peters had to fight off a laugh. "May the Force be with you too, Lieutenant."

With that, Peters picked up a nearby spanner and stuck his head back inside the access panel.

OFF:

A JP by:

Lieutenant Todd Peters
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B

[Benson]

ON:
<<Starbase 256, Promenade, Day 2, 1000 hours>>

James walked through the promenade of the starbase. He had a lot on his mind and by now he needed to get his mind off of things.

=/\= Lieutenant Benson to Lieutenant Angelini. =/\= James said after opening the comm channel.

Debora was looking aroun her new office, she was impressed how quicjly they found space for the diplomatic department. She grinned then suddenly her name was called over the comm, =/\=Angelini here, what can I do for you Lt. Benson?=/\=

=/\= You could come and have a late breakfast with me on the Starbase. Help me relax a bit. =/\= James said with a soft smile as he heard her voice. She was happy about something, that was evident in her tone.

Debora thought for a moment... =/\=So basically you want me to relieve some of your stress? What am I a councelor?=/\= She asked in her snark manner, grinning, rising out and heading to the starbase crossway.

=/\= Well no, but I don't think our counselor can relieve my stress like you can. =/\= He said with a chuckle.

=/\=Aren't I the lucky one?=/\=

=/\= Oh I dunno. I think I am. =/\= The Texan chuckled.

Debora grinned and she loves the way he laughs, =/\=And what exactly is in it for me?=/\=

=/\= I'll buy breakfast... And dinner tonight if you're free. =/\= He said with a smile.

Debora thought for an instant and grinned, =/\=Oh I am not, I have a date tonight...=/\=

There was a stunned silence, but James slowly responded.

=/\= Oh uh... well then some other time... =/\= He said.

Debora rolled her eyes, =/\=Yeah...it is with some cute Texan...perhaps you know him?=/\=

James chuckled as he got the joke at his expense.

=/\= Maybe he an' I'll have a gunfight at noon. I don't think the Malinche is big enough for the two of us. =/\= James quipped in return.

=/\=Oh great the Diplomatic officer cause a fight...=/\=

=/\= Isn't that your job? =/\= James joked.

Debora saw him in the distance and walked up to him, "If the Captian finds that out I might be relieved."

James closed the channel and smirked, wrapping his arms around her in a gentle embrace.

"Oh I don't know. She's apparently willing to be civil to that murdering mutinous bastard Jaran. If you were the object of affection between two guys who fought over you, then I don't think Captain Kersare would mind much." James said with a smirk.

"Ah so I am your object of affection?" Debora asked.

"That's correct. The woman I care for and the one who holds all my affections." James nodded.

Debore grinned, "What made me so lucky?"

"I think it was the kissing we did last night." James said before pressing his lips to hers.

"Ohhh was that all?" She asked when the kiss broke.

"Well that's what pushed me over the edge." James said with a grin as he turned towards the promenade.

"So, where do you want to eat?" He asked with a smile.

"You are buying, so you decided" She grinned,

"All right... uh... that one there works." James said with a nod, pointing towards a small family style restaurant that catered more to fleet personnel that missed home.

Debora grined one arm around his waist, "Alright handsome."

He smiled as the two walked in to have breakfast together.

OFF:

Lieutenant Debora Angelini
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B

&

[Sovereign]

OOC: This'll likely be the first post to start the ustilisation of the new rating. For those not entirely for it, Reader's Descretion is Advised.

<<Starbase corridors, 1945 hours, Day One>>

"So you're, what? A man of good nature, trying to help out women in need?" Yrel asked as the two made their way to the man's quarters, who had inedified himself as Kikan.

He turned and shrugged. "Sometimes. I really only help with those major personal problems."

Yrel seemed a bit suspicious of that, saying, "You mean you only help when you get a women to give you head in return for something?"

Kikan was not as quick to reply as he had been for the last half hour. When they rounded a corner and he gestured to one of the doors, entering in first with Yrel in close following.

"Crude," he replied finally. "But technically accurate."

"Well," she throw up her arms. "That makes me feel so much better. Now I can rightfully consider myself a prostatute."

Much to her surprise, he laughed. "Yrel, there's no need to say that. Your getting something very special, something you seem to have always wanted. And I'm..."

"Getting a free chance to: one, get laid; two, get a "throw away the condom" pass; and three, hold the woman hostage if she doesn't proform the way you want her too." Yrel crossed her arms when Kikan was about to protest, likely to the last of the stipulated circumstances. "Oh, but it's true. You know I want a child desperately, becuase it was likely oozing off of me like bad hygene, so you want to play off that and get what you want in bed. No playing nice, and if she doesn't put out just right, you could always have an "accident" and go off before its even in me...therefore keeping me here longer so I can "regenerate" your little men for their march through my birth canal."

"Again, crude," he said after a long pause and an agonising silence.

"I prefer blunt," she unfolded her arms, and finally sighing. "Maybe this was a mistake...I'm going to leave..."

"Do you really want to leave, and start all over again finding someone who'll get you pregnant, when there's someone right here?" he said as she turned her back to him, making for the door. "Or do you think there's anyone better out there? You were in a stripclub for fucksake. Those aren't exactly the kind of people that'd 'play fair' when you'd try to get to motherhood."

Yrel stopped shy of the door, anxiety racing through her. Half of her was compelled to storm out of there and away from this 'man', retaining a level of dignity. The other half screamed at her, telling her to sacrific she had to for the ultimate goal. A litte dignity spent wisely would be worth it in the end.

She peered off her shoulder, seeing Kikan right there behind her. His very pressence, inches away from her, only fuel the side of her that was willing to press on with sex. When he placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her around, the side of trying to resist and force her to leave, lost a great deal of ground.

Kikan stepped back, holding her hand with one of his own and leading her into his bedroom. He stopped a metre away from the edge of the bed and kissed her, intensely, Yrel kissing back. When Kikan took a step back and sat on the edge of the bed, Yrel noticed that her dress no longer adorned her body. He smiled as Yrel stepped towards him, mounting in his lap, and gave herself up to him.

The only thought that Yrel kept in mind, keeping her focused and capable of bearing the pain as her dignity was torn from her, was 'Motherhood...here I come.'

[Abubakar]

ON: Detention Facility. Starbase 259. 21:35

Abubakar sat silently, with his eyes closed he focused on the sqaut red candle that one of the Security Officers has brought him. He owed that to Captain Kersare, he had great respect for the woman - despite everything he had done, she still had the humanity to 'look after her flock' as it were.

True, he was disappointed she wouldn't act in defense at his trial, but in all honestly he understood her decision and certainly bore no ill feelings for it.

Instead, he simply sat crossed legged on the floor, grateful for the extra mobility he had with his hands now that the restricting irons had been removed. He still had the wrist sections on both wrists, and the middle restraint bar would just be attached again if and when he was moved anywhere, but still it afforfed him some freedom.

He focused on the candle, the soft light creating an orange glow on his eyelids that he could see with his closed eyes, he was deep in concentration, recalling the specifics of the last day and asking forgiveness from the Kosst' for each of them. He was so deep in concentration he hadn't heard the footsteps approaching then invisible wall in front of him, and only opened his eyes when the three forcefields snapped off.

As his eyelids rose, his vision took a second to re-adjust, the relaxant that was being pumped into the cell seemed to also affect his optical muscles and when his eyes had been relaxed for a period of time it took longer than usual for his vision to swim back into clarity.

In the haze, he couldn't possibly have reacted as a black object came rushing at his face. His mouth erupted in pain and he flew backwards, cracking his head on the hard bench on the rear wall. He instinctively raised a hand to his mouth and felt the blood he could taste drip out onto his palm.

Barely aware, he felt hands grab his arms and hoist him up. His eyes locked on the comm badge of someone standing directly in front of him, and recoiled forwards in pain as the persons knee swiftly made contact with Jarans groin. Another blow struck his stomach and he coughed as he stumbled forward, the person in front of him grabbed Jarans hair and yanked his head up, blood ran from his mouth.

He saw the face, it was the chief from before, the man snarled and headbutted Jaran right on the nose. He felt a sick crack and nasuseous feeling that seemed to flow from his nasal passage. He tasted fresh blood in his mouth, some if it entering from the back of his throat and some of it flowing over his filtrum and past his lips.

Jaran tried desperately to swing a fist, but his arms were both secured and outstretched by two other guards on either side. He instead tried to use the support of the other two and launch a double-footed kick into the chiefs abundant stomach, but all his weakened muscles managed was a short hop upwards.

The chief motioned with his head for the other two to hold Jaran back, clearly they had discussed this before as Jaran felt hands on his head pulling it back, his body was at a 45* angle to the floor as he was restrained, and one of them was tipping his back at a horrible angle so he coughed and spluttered as blood from his nose trickled down his throat into his lungs.

He could see in his peripheral vision that the Chief had bent down and stood up again, but he was horrified when the Chief moved closer to Jaran and moved the candle up over Jarans face.

Jaran tried to break free, he was going to have to call for help, no... no he wasn't go to do that.

Someone pinched his nose and he gasped with an open mouth for air. "Here's your band you little shit" the chief gruffly said as he stuffed Jarans red arm-band into his mouth, he tried to bite the Chief, and managed enough pressure to make the Chief wince in pain as he closed his teeth around the fingers invading his mouth. The chief merely replied by swinging a fist to Jarans face and the force of the blow made Jaran open his mouth. His head was pulled back once more from where it had recoiled in the blow.

He struggled to get free, choking on the band, he couldn't tell anymore what was sweat and what was blood on his soaked face.

The Chief lined up the candle with Jarans face and tipped it, like a cup.

Abubakars eyes nearly popped out as searing hot pain tore at the flesh inside his nose, he felt the animal ripping at him all the way to the back of his throat where it stopped and became some hard, scratchy substance, he felt tears roll down his temples into his hair as the chief poured again. He screamed in pain as best as he could through the material at the back of his mouth as another load of hot wax poured past his nostrils and into his nose, not moving much further this time because of the congealing blood and the hardening wax from the first time.

He saw his vision swim and was struggling to breath. He coughed as the dry wax in his throat scratched him but it done no good, it didn't move. The two sets of hands on his arms and face disappeared and Jaran fell backwards, slamming into the deck like a deadweight.

His fists clenched and his tried to claw for grip to move towards the opening at the cell mouth, the Chief bent down as Jaran started to convulse and he gripped his throat and chest hard.

The Chief smiled wickedly and eyed the candle in his hand, the flame was higher now with the liquid wax not sitting in a well around the wick. The Chief smile quickly turned to a snarl as the hand holding candle was raised came crashind down towards Jarans left eye, the last thing that eye saw as the bright flame before it extinguished againt the eyelid he had just had time to close.

His whole body shook as his eye exploded with pain, his free hands clutched at the Chiefs arm as he pushed the candle against Jarans face, the Chief let go of it and it dropped beside Jarans head with a soft thud before it rolled. He couldn't open his eye, and was aware of dried flakes of wax, or skin, he wasn't sure, on top of his cheek bone and around his eyelid which was sealed shut through the pain.

Jaran was slowly losing conciosusness, he could breath slightly through the material in his mouth, but barely. Jaran outstretched his right arm as his left cradled his wounded eye, his right hand grabbed the Chiefs uniform at his chest, he snarled at the Chief. His eyes started to roll backwards, he acted quickly and tapped the Chiefs comm badge three times discreetly with his little finger as he held on to the uniform with his other fingers.

Jaran felt his arms begin to shake and then his legs, before his whole body was lost to a full-blown seizure and the cell rolled out view before he was plunged in darkness, and a vague awareness that he was on a cold floor, that he could no longer breathe, and that he was in more pain than he had ever imagined possible.

[Akios]

<<MD1, 2100, Starbase 259>>
ON:

Since he had just disembarked from a ship, it didn't take Akios long to find a status display board for the docking areas, and to determine where the Malinche was docked. He knew he should report there directly, but before he did he wanted to get a look at her. The starbase had many observation lounges; after locating one in the directorythat was close to the ship, he headed for the turolifts.

The lounge had a huge bay window, and through it he could see the ship a number of decks above. She was a Prometheus class, all right. They were the most advanced ships in the fleet, even after several years of service. The design of the ships was a radical departure in hull geometry and propulsion dynamics. The very fact that the ship could separate into three independently operational units added layers of complexity to all her systems that just didn't exist in the ships he'd had experience with. He couldn't help but feel nervous.

With an Aurelian's keen long range vision, he could see signs of recent work on the ship. In fact, it looked like there was activity around one of the ship's nacelles, but the view was blocked.

He picked up his carryalls and headed back to the turbolift, intending to find a higher vantage point. He was glad that he'd gotten to keep the environment suit he'd modfied to fit him, which now rested in one of his bags. In a pinch, he could wear an emergency EVA suit, which was more adjustable than the standard suits, but only with considerable discomfort.

He was in luck--the was another observation deck almost directly above the ship. From there he could see the manipulator-arm-equipped workbees working on one of the nacelles

Akios had been watching for a while when a wave of vertigo came over him, and he had to close his eyes and lean against the transparent panel for a minute. He turned away from the window before opening his eyes, and reached inside his jacket to feel the reassuring metal disk he wore.

Ever since he'd left his homeworld, Turuas'ta had been living under what humans considered 'normal' gravity, but which was fifty percent greater than that of his home and of Aurelia. Until he had adapted and built up his strength, flying had been impossible for Akios. Even now, after six years, it still took a lot more effort to fly than it would under normal conditions.

For his first few months at Starfleet Academy, he had been effectively grounded. During that time he'd unexpectedly begun to suffer from what humans called acrophobia--fear of heights.

Claustrophobia was a fairly common complaint among Aurelians. Fortunately Akios had never been a sufferer. Acrophobia, on the other hand, was unheard-of. Apparently, being unable to fly was enough to trigger the condition in Akios. As he'd gained strength and regained the ability to fly, the condition had faded away, though not completely. On rare occasions, when conditions were just right, the panic and disorientation would return. Standing on an 'open' ledge a hundred feet above the ship had been the right conditions this time.

It only took a few seconds for him to recover, though it would be a few minutes before his biosigns would completely return to normal.

The panic attacks weren't the reason for the disk he wore, however. It was an antigravity coil he'd scavenged from a damaged antigravity sled. When he'd reported to his first ship assignment, the Andromeda, he'd met the ship's captain in one of the starbase's commercial areas, which was several decks tall and had an open central area. Andromeda's commander was a skorr, an avian race similar in many ways to Aurelians, except that they'd evolved on a planet with a gravitational field much closer to that of Earth. 'Normal' gravity was no hindrance to a skorr, and the captain had suggested taking a flight. Fortunately they'd been summoned to the ship before Akios had had to reveal his much less impressive flying abilities under Terran environmental conditions.

Determined not to be put in that situation again, Akios had scavenged the gravity coil, and modified it to run independently off of a small power pack, which Akios wore at his belt. It could put out a field strong enough to cancel out standard gravity for only twenty minutes or so, but that wasn't the use for which Akios had intended it. By operating it at only thirty percent field strength, Akios could reduce the gravity in his immediate vicinity to a close match for that of his homeworld. Although his wing tips extended outside the field when he was flying, Akios had found through experience that he could fly normally with the device on, and the lowered field strength allowed the power pack to last for almost four hours. He rarely used the unit except for flying; he'd learned that now that he was adapted to standard gravity, there were other complications. However, just having it handy was comforting during a painic attack.

He'd wasted enough time. Akios picked up his bags and headed for the turbolift again, and told the lift to take him to Malinche's docking bay. At the airlock, he showed the deck officer his travel orders.

"Could you point me in the direction of Main Engineering?" he asked. "I need to report to Lt. Peters."

"You might want to stow your luggage first, sir," the deck officer remarked.

Once they had sorted out his belongings, Akios followed the directions to the Chief Engineer's office. He probably wouldn't be there, considering how late it was, but that would be a good place from which to start looking for him.

OFF

[Grayson]

[[RMS Verona ]]
[Intelligence Operations, 1000 , Day 2]

Mark looked calm and controlled when Barrett and Adam (NPC) entered the room. Both looked ready to go too. That was a good sign, but also proved that Jason wasn't going to let Mark wander off alone. Lack of trust was something good in that line of work.

"Good, you two are here", said Mark. "Nassar, please, go ahead"

Nassar (NPC) pointed chairs to the two men. There were three other men there, all Maran, all soldiers.

"Here's the plan: Lieutenant Grayson will lead a small team to the area and start a sweep. The Verona will provide cover. We don't forsee any conflict. The objective here is to find more details about our operatives". He offered Jason a look. "Meaning Lt. Commander Darkhelm and two others human agents".

"Questions?", Mark asked, looking straight to Barrett. "This the last time we'll give you answers... At least direct ones. Soon you'll be helping to answer our questions."

Jason nodded. He would be happy to stop the games with the intelligence people. Straight forward answers always seemed to serve him better and that was something that he was good at.

"Understood," Jason said. "But where are you sending us?"

"I can't give you the exactly coordinates. You can call it Blackpool", answered Mark. He watched Jason's face close. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant, no one, beside myself, Nassar and the bridge officers know the coordinates. Full security measures are in place".

"Understand", said Nassar. "The Maran Council doesn't want this information to be published in any way. We're trying to avoid panic."

Mark continued. "I don't want you to confuse you, Barrett. We're going down to the surface. It's a forest, the biggest forest in Maran. There is where biggest debris was seen fallen and there where Darkhelm was last seen. The rest of the debris are being gathered."

Nassar sighed. "The second fleet have been mobillized and locked down the area from where we extrapolate the ... object may have come."

Jason felt a knot grow in his stomach. Something was up, something big. The second fleet was commanded by Commodore Blaze Dark, a highly decorated Maran that had once served in Starfleet. If they felt the need to mobolize his task force then they were expecting the worst.

"Since we don't want you two sticking out like sore thumbs we'll be asking that you wear Maran Commando gear."

"Some of us aren't bred for combat," Adam (NPC) pointed out.

"You'll do fine," Nassar assured him. "We wouldn't have allowed you to come if we thought that you were going to be a danger to anyone or if we felt that you couldn't handle it."

"Alright," Jason said, standing up. "Let's get this party started then."

Mark nodded. "Right. Follow me", he said pointing to the exit. "Planetside will be in fifteen. Let's get some gear for you".

The three men exit the room, leaving Nassar with his operatives. Jason was right. Something big was coming indeed, thought Nassar, looking out the space.

OFF: To be continued...

A JP brought to you by

Lieutenant Jason Barrett
Chief Operations Officer
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B

&

[Sovereign]

<<Kikan's Quarters, Starbase 259, 0831 hours, Day Two>>

Yrel took her time in the sonic shower, making sure that most of Kikan's pressence was removed. Well, as much as possible. There was no rush for her to head back to the Malinche just yet. Kikan had already left for duty, after one last go at it moments after she had rubbed the sleepy sand from her eyes, and had actually done the favour of beinging Yrel some civilian clothes to wear on her way back, instead of the dress. At first she was warmed by the act of kindness, until she realised two things: one, the clothes were small and skimpy, certainly not suited to Yrel's casual style; two, they smelled like sex and women, no doubt from his other 'acts of kindness in the service of women'.

All in all, she felt pretty good about her chances now. Last night had dragged on for three hours, with the prime feature being five well placed shots of reproductive juices by Kikan, and another one this morning, bringing the count to six. Considering all it took in most cases was one, six was overkill. It was just a matter of time now, a day at most, before she could stroll into sickbay and be diagnosed as pregnant.

'And I guess it was worth the dignity,' she thought, turning off the sonic shower and walking slowly into the bedroom, picking up the small tanktop and short skirt, the former being the most disconcerting with her having no bra in support.

When dressed, Yrel took a bag composed by Kikan carrying her dress, pictures of himself(in case the child ever asks), and a PADD with all relevant(and some not so relevant) genetic information(family history and the such) to present to doctors that would ever handle the child's health. She hadn't even thought of latter until he said it...perhaps his last act endearing act before he left her life forever.

Yrel made for the door, giving one breif glance back and then heading out towards the Malinche. It was a good thing everyone was on shoreleave; she had plenty of time to rest and relax, allowing herself some final calm moments before she was swept up into a hurricane that'd last a good nineteen years. The Holodeck was order. A nice isolated tropical beach sounded real good.

[Kersare]

<<USS Malinche-B>>
<Shuttlebay, Day 2, 1005 Hours>

Too much had happened while she was gone, that much was certain. New crewmembers, crewmembers that left, a mutiny, and a insane crewmember being held prisoner aboard the starbase. With a sigh she stepped through the doorway and into the shuttlebay, looking around for the manager in the mess of debris still in the bay which had apparently been hit with somekind of energy weapon from the scorch marks and the melted metal strewn throughout the place. Finally spottting Warrant Officer Lirad Folen, Sara made her way
over to him.

"Warrent Officer Lirad Folen? I was told to speak with you about bringing a shuttle aboard. Its already been authorized, but I was told to clear it with you since the bay was damaged earlier. First I need to know if there is space for a Delta flyer to come aboard without getting scratched on debris. Secondly the bay will need to be cleared of personel other then yourself and one other person who will overseeing the shuttle's arrival. What you see when this shuttle arrives is not to be put on record for security purposes. This is simply to be a "standard" Delta flyer being brought aboard." She paused allowing the Warrent Officer to speak.

Lirad looked at Sara, "I didn't know you were back," he began. After meeting her gaze for a moment, he turned and pointed towards the shuttlebay, "As you can see, the debris has been removed. The deck plates have been repaired or replaced, so it should be safe to bring in the Delta flyer. Obviously there are still a good number of repairs that need to be completed."

"Thats understandable with what happened here." Sara said with a sight nod of her head.

"Exactly how long of a period of time will the Bay need cleared? I'm sure you understand that the Engineers are in a hurry to get things repaired so we can be ready for the next mission," he explained.

"Well once the nessasary arrangements have been made with the starbase's shuttle management the bay will need to be cleared for atleast ten to twenty minutes."

Lirad nodded. Still, he wasn't all that comfortable with Sara bringing in...well, whatever it was she was bringing in. "Have you cleared this with the Captain?"

"Here is the PADD with the clearance authorization, and anything else you need to know. I'll contact you once the shuttle is cleared to leave the starbase." Sara handed him the PADD with the clearance that had been used before to get the Pheonix Dawn aboard last time, she had even gone as far as making sure it was up to date and valid. Fortunately it seemed like a regular shuttle transfer on the clearance notice that was probably sitting somewhere on the captain's desk. For now she wouldn't worry about it.

"Hrm, looks valid at first glance," Lirad began. He'd still check with the Captain, but hopefully everything was fine...

"If there is any problem with the clearance let me know and I'll get it straightened out, sometimes requests from Intel don't always get noticed right away or end up causing problems." Sara said with a smile before walking off and out of the shuttlebay.

He nodded, "Alright Ms. Rayne, just give me 20-30 minutes notice beforehand, so I can get everyone cleared out." Shaking his head, Lirad hoped she'd caught his entire sentence before leaving. If this was any indication, it would be another long day. "Intel Officers, what a headache," he sighed.

OFF: JP brought to you by:

Ensign Sara Rayne
Infiltration Specialist
USS Malinche NCC-38897-B

and

Warrant Officer Lirad Folen (NPC)
Shuttlebay Manager

played by

[Rayne]

<<USS Malinche-B>>
<Deck 8, Day 2, 1020 Hours>

Fifteen minutes had passed since Sara had left the shuttlebay, she was making her way towards a turbolift so she could take it to deck six and finally check on the state of her quarters. Hopefully she wouldn't have to retrive her belongings from storage.

Stepping into a turbolift finally she voiced the command for deck six, then waited as the lift made its way to the deck above. During her short ride in the turbolift Sara noticed she was starting to get a headache, normally this wouldn't have bothered her but she also noticed her vision was slightly blurred. It seemed whatever was causing her a headache was affecting the small occular implants that were placed in both of her eyes, back durring the dominion war. Sara knew what was happening, it had happened to her before though this time she knew it was going to be worse.

"Computer disregard previous destination, then proceed to deck seven."

Just as soon as the turbolift stopped and its doors opened Sara quickly made her way to sickbay. With each passing minute she felt more pain and her vision blurred even more only her training kept her from falling down she had to make it to sickbay. Barely able to see the doors for the sickbay she stepped though them with an obvious look of pain on her face before she dropped to the floor unconsious landing on her side with a thud.

OFF: <Tag: anyone in sickbay >

[Hawkins]

<<Deck 4, 2100, Day 1>>

Jack had realized he hadn?t collected all his medical records just as he arrived at sickbay, so he turned back and began heading back to his quarters, as he rounded a corner and was almost run over by and apologetic science officer rushing down the corridor.

He arrived at his door, entered the door code and walked into the room, immediately something struck him as being off, his bag wasn?t where he left it, in its place was place was a PaDD. Without even looking at it he turned and darted out the door, taking off down the corridor in search of the science officer who bumped into him moments before.

He rounded the corner finding the long corridor empty and staggered to a stop, he sighed at having lost the man who most likely was responsible for breaking into his room and returned to his quaters. He walked over to the bed and picked up the PaDD, he activated it and found only one file on the memory, he opened and revealed 2 words on the page, ?I?m watching?.

The message didn?t need to be signed, he knew who it was from and he knew the message wasn?t just that Foster would be watching him even still, but that he could still get to Jack, still control his life. Jack took the PaDD and as hard as he could threw it into the nearest wall, shattering the screen and cracking the case. He should have known it wouldn?t be that easy to escape that son of a bitch, he had turned his back on everything Foster had taught him, every expectation and hope Foster had put in him, being the son he?d never have, no, it was never going to be that easy.

He took a deep breath and tried to swallow the anger he currently felt, he looked towards the PaDD on the floor and noticed that despite the damage, the file was still on the screen, as if to show him that brute force would never be enough to stop Foster from intervening in his life.

He read the message one last time....
?I?m watching?

[Abubakar]

On: Passenger disemarkation: Civillian Sector. 22:00. Day 1.

With a dozen others, his feet clanged down the metal walkway onto the Starbase from the transport ship behind him.

The bald man carried only a small bag filled with clothes, a coded Starfleet PADD, and three pieces of machinery that when assembled became most of a quite lethal energy weapon. The fourth and final piece was in a fake molar.

Although he hardly looked it by any stretch of imagination, the man that crossed over to customs was a wealthy man, of course the majority of his wealth could not be enjoyed for many years, now was any of it accumulated from legal endeavours.

He reached up and scratched his cheek which was covered in a thick, sharp stubble. As he did so, he discreetly squirted an alchoholic fragrance into his mouth from a device in his clothing about his wrist.

He eyed the Starfleet customs officers scanning bags as his travelling companions placed them on short caterpillar tracks that revolved slowly. He was fourth in line, he counted, and he caught the laugh of someone and one of the officers - clearly they knew eachother.

"...oh it was fine..." one said, he didn't know or care which.

"Good, good...only two weeks and I can get back on that damned transport and get back to Bajor, I only hope the journey back has less arses on it"

He saw the speaker, the passenger, cast an eye towards him as he completed his statement and stepped through the doors and into the corridor.

As the line stepped forward, he moved one leg and dragged the other behind him. He faked a trip and lunged forward, both hands grabbing both shoulders of the rather burly Nausiccan in front of him.

The heaving beast wheeled round and pulled a large knife, he was about to send it plunging down before a phaser beam thudded into his back and he fell.

The man looked down and kicked the thing as the two officers came rushing towards them, phasers drawn.

A woman from the front of the queue came rushing towards the scene and dropped her own bag, identical in every way to the one the stubbly man was carrying.

She picked up the bag that the man dropped as the officer pulled him back. He in turn grabbed the falling strap mid-air from the bag that she dropped.

Cupping a hand to her mouth in false-horror, she quickly exited the room and into the corridor, carrying the bag. From memory, she found the drop and knelt down. She quickly unpacked the three metal devices and secured them in a small ventillation duct. Looking around, the woman keyed in the access code for the PADD in the mans bag, she skimmed through the pages of documentation until she got to the screen she was looking for; the account transfer. She keyed in her acceptance code, exhilarated she expected to see the confirmation that the money had been transferred to her account. Instead she saw flashing letters in a language she didn't understand, not that needed to, it always meant the same in her profession:

NOT YET LIKAR, WHEN IT IS DONE YOU WILL HAVE IT.

Furious, the woman stood and stormed off, leaving the bag behind.

++Passenger Disembarkation++

The man enjoyed playing a mock-drunk, he hurled abuse at the unconcious form on the floor and played up the officers seemingly genuine compassionate nature to his own advantages, making tears stream from his bloodshot eyes down dirty, rough cheeks. "Yet fucking attacked me!" he yelled in a slurred voice.

He whimpered as he shook of the officer who was trying to calm him down, "Sir, please... if you'll just quickly allow me to scan your bag I'll let you be on your way..sir...please if you'll..."

The man threw up his arms in defeat, "Ah you man...!" he shouted, again slurred. "You just take-un one look at me you are man and telling me I got some weapon or shit on me!" this was the part he loved the most, playing the 'victimised drunk' "I'll have your...badge or..." he skulked off seemingly aimlessly once the tricorder had scanned the bag.

His eyes on the door, he made a point of appearing to have trouble keeping on a straight course, dragging one foot behind him. Once he was in the corridor, he broke into a run and went straight for the drop. He knelt down and quickly found the the air-duct, he removed the panel and put the three pieces machinery about his person. One in each boot and the other, a tiny coin-shaped phase-coil in his left ear.

Reaching into the bag, he pulled out a shaver and ran it over his chin and cheeks, he also recovered a follicle accerator and applied it to his bald head. In seconds, he had changed into the Starfleet uniform in the bag and replaced it with the grimy tramps clothes. He pulled out a small tube and touched his top set of teeth, followed by the second, knowing that would whiten them. Using the same device he squirted the contents onto his tongue, it burned for a second but it neatralized the alchohol smell.

Taking a second to brush down his clothes and smooth his hair, he picked up the bag and walked in a proud, arrogant manner towards the turbolift, entered it and plunged into the depths of the station.

++Detention Facility++

The man walked through the doors of the detention facility as a medical team exited, he frowned as he stepped through the doors and eyed the scene before him. A Security officer was talking to the man occupying a cell, as he walked further into the room towards the control desk, the officer looked up and quickly went back to what looked like mocking the prisoner, the prisoner that the man tried hard not to look at.

He approached the officer who seemed to be in charge of the watch, he presented him with the PADD from his bag.

"Lieutenant Commander Lowe..." the Lieutenant said, reading further. "I wasn't informed of this." He posed it more as a question that a statement, something that always made it easier.

"I see." replied the man. "Well I'm sorry, red tape and all... if I can just get to it then thing will run so much smoother...I..."

The Lieutenant nodded, he took a brief look towards the officer standing at the cell in front of the prisoner. "SInce you two are here I'm gonna take a leak" he said before leaving the room.

The man known as Lowe walked deep into the long room and preteneded to scan all of the cells, eventually working his way round to the final one, directly opposite the cell of Jaran. He dared a look into the cell, his junior officer had seen better days, it must have been killing him to sit there like an animal being taunted by the Texan-sounding officer.

He looked sweaty and flustered, not easy to do to Abubakar Jaran, and Lowe assumed it must be something to do with the medical team. Doubtlessly someone had made a good attempt to kill him.

He scanned the cell, dropped his tricorder and bent down to pick it up. Whilst on the floor, with his back to the room, he made a show of having to clip something back on to the Trike', in actualy fact he quickly removed three of the four pieces of the weapon, he kept the molar in his jaw and scratched his left ear, the piece falling out into his palm. He slid all three under the uncomfortable bench.

He left the cell and coughed, covering his face with his hands. It was imperitive Jaran not recognise him. As he coughed, the watch officer reentered and looked to Lowe. "Sir?" he asked.

"Shocking, blatantly shocking" replied the Senior officer. "Only these two.." he pointed to the cell he had just exited and the one next to Jarans. "... meet spec', and the one next to the prisoner is by far the most secure. The other one barely passes standard, don't use it unless you have to. " He nodded, picked up his bag and walked out of the room quickly, heading to the public toilets three decks away, back in the civillian sector.

OFF

"Lowe"

played by

[Akios]

<<Day 1 2130, Deck 5 Main Engineering>>

ON

The layout of Main Engineering wasn't what Akios had expected it to be, even though he'd gotten a set of deckplans for ships of this class. He knew he should've made a three-dimensional display.

The entire compartment was more compact than what he was used to. Having served briefly on two different Galaxy class ships, he'd been spoiled by the relatively luxurious amount of space given to Engineering. Malinche's main engineering deck reminded him a little of a Defiant's engineering section, but the similarities were only superficial, the result of re-using design elements from the Defiant that had proven to be both functional and space-saving. The Prometheus, he knew, was a much more complicated beast.

He walked through the compartment, looking for the Chief Engineer's office, but came to a stop when he reached the warp core. Leaning over the railing, Akios could see the complex mechanism three decks below where the warp core would divide when the ship entered multivector assault mode. And four decks below that, through the tansparent baffle plates he could see the bulge of the secondary dilithium articulation frame.

Back at the Academy, his best grades had been in propulsion systems, but this thing gave him headaches.

He noticed a yellow-shirted officer watching him, and something about the man's body language said he wasn't from Operations or Engineering.

"Excuse me, sir," Akios said to the officer, "do you know where I can find Lt. Peters' office? I need to report in."

OFF

[Abubakar]

ON: Public Bathrooms. Day 1. 22:42

The man known as Lowe walked into the public bathroom only a few minutes walk from the Starfleet sector. It was a ridiculous location for a bathroom, his own actions were testament to that. If nothing else, someone could easily plant a bomb here and cause chaos - probably leaving the entryway to the Starfleet sector unguarded for a while.

He checked for sounds of anyone else in the room and found nobody. Quickly, Lowe threw his bag to the floor and reversed the process he had carried out only 40 minutes ago.

Before long, he was back to his old tramp-look, fragrance, poor teeth and everything. He bundled the bag up and stored it in a cabinet underneath a crudely desigined sink that was to be able to benefit a multitude of species.

Lowe staggered out of the bathroom and meandered down the corridor, waiting for someone to come along.

He was fortunate, he had only gone a few dozen metres when two Starfleet crewmembers came walking towards him, a male and female both wearing the command red, they were laughing and one of them took back a PADD from the other, giggling as she did so.

"Sir?" the human woman asked, looking concerned as Lowe struggled to stay upright. "Are you alright?" she asked as both of them moved forward. When the man was within distance, he threw up his arms and punched the man.

"I'm fine!" he roared in an intoxicated manner as the man cradled his nose.

The woman drew her phaser. "You'd better come with us" she said flatly.

"No!" Lowe yelled, making a display of running with difficulty towards the pair. They both stepped out of the way and Lowe fell to the floor, a second later two pairs of hands had hold of his arms. "Come on...easy now... time to take a rest..." the man said.

Lowe grunted and turned his head to the woman, grinning winningly at her with his yellowed teeth. She tried to hide her revulsion, and not well at that.

It took a few minutes of struggling and shouting, but the three arrived at the detention facility that 'Lieutenant Commander Lowe' had left only minutes ago. The Security officer with Jaran had left, and thankfuly there was a new watch officer for some reason.

Lowe kicked and screamed. "I don't want prison!"

The two crewmen tried to usher him towards the cell next to Jaran. He broke free and made a bolt for the door, faking a trip on the way and falling heavily towards the cell he had placed the items in.

He tried to get up but all three Fleeties rushed him and bundled him backwards into the cell. The watch officer scanned him and knelt down, pulling a Starfleet communicator from his jacket pocket. Lowe snatched it back. "Mine!" he yelled. "SO I can call my starships!" he chuckled and coughed with a big grin.

The watch officer made another attempt to get the communicator but Lowe fiercely defended his property. "Ok..." he said, standing up and walking out of the cell. He looked to one of the two crewmen who had brought him in. "I'll just jam the comm frequencies to remote devices in the room." he shook his head and left the cell, the forcefield went up.

That had gone even better than expected, the clearly inexperienced watch officer - probably fresh out of 'Frisco - was actually going to limit his own ability to call for help to just the control console, and what a shame if he was too far way from it to reach.

++Jarans cell++

Jaran rubbed his throat and watched with little interest as a drunk was thrown in the cell opposite his. His ears did prick up when the watch officer said he was disabling the remote comm devices in the room. The only functioning communications equipment in that case would be the main console. That was an old marine trick...

Jaran stood up and gazed across the room into the cell at the drunk sitting on the narrow bed come bench. He nearly lost his footing when the two locked eyes and he recognised the other occupant.

His fellow prisoner made a dismissive look, and Jaran caught his reactions and sat back down, being careful not to draw attention. "Lowe..." he whispered. He didn't for a second believe that was the Colonels real name. The memory slapped him in the face like a wet Tyrellian fish.

Lowe had been in before, he had been in that cell before... dressed as an Operations Officer...

Whatever Lowe was planning, he knew it wouldn't go down for some time yet. Lowe would want to spend at least a few hours making detailed mental notes of the comings and goings of personnel, the arms they carried, how long it took them to go from here to a place and back again... you couldn't just walk into a prison and then break out. If of course, that's what was being planned. Jaran also knew that it was just as likely Lowe was sent here to kill him. Although it would have made more sense just to vapourise him at the trial in what was going to be a relatively open space, and escape.

++Lowe's cell++

Lowe sat on the floor and slowly reached behind himself to take out the three peices of the weapon he had left earler. He quietly put them in the space between his crossed-legs and clicked them together. Discreetly, he removed the fourth piece from his own clothes and slotted it into place. The weapon was completed. Phase II was accomplished.

The drunk slid it inside his jacket pocket and went to lie on the bed, his back to the room and the communicator in his hands and he huddled against the wall. He had to very carefuly re-adjust the frequency of the transmitter to the preicse frequency of the forcefield emitters, the data he had taken care to extract when 'Lieutenant Commander Lowe' had inspected the cells. It wouldn't take him long, and though he would have preferred to wait a while to assess the situations, he knew he would have to move whilst this particular watch officer was on duty.

OFF:

"Lowe" played by:

[Hawkins]

<<Sickbay, 2150, Day 1>>

Jack was still angry when he arrived at sickbay, but knew it was best to just crack on with the mission he had assigned himself. He walked up to the door which dutifully slid open, inside he saw a couple of nurses working on a bio-bed and a doctor in a non-standard uniform, certainly a look he could relate to. He approached the Doctor, ?Hi there??

Cameron rubbed his eyes as he turned round. He was feeling excruciatingly tired and was actually planning to unpack his medical gear and get to bed on his quarters aboard the ship. But the face of a fellow crew member was not one he could turn down and as he blinked in to focus on a grey uniformed young man he offered his usual conscientious smile. "Evening, how can I help?" He asked tiredly.

Jack returned the smile, completely understanding the tired look coming from the doctor, ?I?m Jack Hawkins, new Assistant Intel Officer, I just wanted to drop these off,? Jack produced the PaDDs containing his medical records, ?and to also ask you a favour?.?

The Doctor slid his jacket off and threw it onto the desk then turned his attention onto the PaDDs, briefly scanning the first page he spoke to the man with his soft accent. "A favour, eh? I suppose I could do that." Then he looked up and plopped the PaDDs down. "What can I do for you?"

?Well I need you to rough me up a bit, a bruise here, a cut there, make it look like I?ve been whaled on by security? Jack couldn?t help but notice the confused look on the Doctors face and thought it best to explain, ?I?m going undercover to see Jaran, need to look the proverbial part?..?

"You're joking, aren't you?" Cameron responded after a long silence, taken completely aback.

?On this occasion?.no?.there?s still a lot we can learn from him, there?s a lot I can learn?? Jack paused briefly, ?And it might be an idea for someone to keep their eye on him.?

He gestured for the Lieutenant to take the seat at his desk across from him, and then frumped down into his own at his desk. It wasn't like him to be formal...and sure enough he happily crossed his leg and cocked an eyebrow in a casual manner. After Hawkins sat down he began with his berating. "Has anyone authorised this officially?"

Jack leant back in the chair, ?Lieutenant Benson approved the plan and besides, in the absence of my department head, I?m in charge on Intelligence operations concerning this ship and crew.?

"Be that as it may - and I understand our Chief Security Officers' concern - you have to understand the risks involved here." Cameron sighed. "To yourself. You're putting yourself in danger; you're putting your career in danger."

?Look, doc,? Jack said leaning forward, ?I appreciate the pep talk and all, and I understand your concern, but this is something I have to do, I want to look into the eyes of the man I could have been, something?s are worth risking your career for??

Cameron sat back and stared at him for a long time. He took in his appearance and his demeanor, cracked his personality and decided this was more than ambition. He felt compelled to say yes - something the Doctor often felt compelled to do - but he still wasn't satisfied. He sighed yet again. "I take it this is something far too detailed to elaborate on?"

?He was faced with the same decision I was, whether or not to protect the Federation at all costs, I decided the price was too high, he didn?t, we both betrayed our captains, though admittedly his was worse. He?s like a counterpoint, a representation of the path not traveled, a reminded of who I could become, that?s why I need to do this.?

Cameron pitted the tips of his fingers together. "I think you'll be surprised, Jack." He said, deliberately using the officers first name. "I think you'll find firstly that you have little in common with him...and secondly that he is not the epitome of doom that everyone presumes him to be. That's not to say you are, I'm just telling you that I'm not sure what lesson you will learn from it."

?I don?t either, but its hard to learn the lesson if you don?t attend the class?? Jack now leant back in the chair once again.

The Doctor regarded his crewmate for the longest time. The silence filled the room like water, preventing him from hearing, speaking or seeing properly. But he had already made his decision. Eventually stood up - draining the water from the office. "Okay, I'll do this for you." He smiled. "And I back you one hundred per cent. That's provided I get your guarantee that you won't hurt Jaran."

Jack stood also, ?I have no interest in hurting him, i just want to start to understand him, and to make sure he tries to hurt anyone else, or the other way around. So, lets get this show on the road??

Cameron nodded. "Okay...we're agreed then." He pointed to the bio-bed at the rear of the room. "I'm going to give you muscle relaxants then release some blood into your tissue to create bruises. The most I can do above that is a black eye and a simulated scar...you'll look bad but I promise it won't hurt or damage you." Suddenly the Doctor stopped and looked round. "One more thing, Jack."

?What?s that Doc??

"When this is over...you come straight to me first. And I don't want a bloody intel report, just a synopsis - is that understood?"

?Sure thing Doc.? Jack hopped on to the bio-bed and the procedure began?

OFF:

A JP by

Doctor (Lt.) Cameron Fairbairn
Chief Medical Officer
USS Malinche

And