Star Trek: Season 9

[wraith1701]

Joint Post by HawkeyeMeds, Jen & wraith1701

Back in sickbay, Joseph slammed his head into the pillow and caught the metal frame.

"Oh for...."

"Easy there, Chief."

Looking up, he saw the formidable figure of K'Tan in the doorway carrying a brown sack.

"Wotcha got there, mate?" he asked.

K'Tan furtively glanced around the room.  Seeing that they were safe from prying eyes, he removed a large, amber colored bottle.  Beads of condensation rolled down the chilled surface of the glass as K'Tan handed it to Joseph.  "Just a little something to help ease the pain," he said with a grin.

K'Tan pulled out a second bottle, and after flicking the cap off with his thumb, took a slow pull of the beer.

"I found it in the replicator library. It's an ancient Australian drink called 'Coopers Original Pale Ale."  He let out a soft burp.  "I used my security clearance to override the replicator's safety protocols.  No synthehol here; these are the real deal."

"Very nice," D'Callan said with a smile.  He lifted his bottle to toast-

"Here's to a guy who is never blue,
Here's to a buddy who is ever true,
Here's to a pal, no matter what the load,
Who never declines, just one for the road!"

Both men laughed, clinked their bottles together, and took a deep drink.

"How do you keep ending up here?" K'Tan asked.  " I'm starting to think that you get yourself into these scrapes just so you can get away from facing me in that ancient 'cricket' game.  You still owe me a match, you know."

Joseph rubbed his head and smiled in mock-discovery.

"I knew it; you've been practicing."

K'Tan gently laughed as he walked around the bed, quietly surveying the gleaming and fresh smelling sick bay. He paused at the head of the bed.  "So, how's everything going?"

"Not Good mate," D'Callan replied.  "Aeric's just been barking down the com badge. And my brother is here-- Remember; I told you about him. Well something has kicked off down there and I don't think he's too happy."

K'Tan smiled absently as he continued to look around the bay. Sitting down, he put his boots on D'Callans bed.

"Have you seen Ryla around?" K'Tan asked.

Joseph stopped halfway through his conversation. "Are you even listening to me?"

K'Tan looked past Joseph to the office. "Yeah, yeah; you mentioned something about Commander James barking at your brother, or something."

Joseph sat up and swung his pillow at K'Tan's head.  "Ryla is in the office if you fancy going over there and get rid of that grin."

K'Tan stood up and lightly punched D'Callan's arm. "Chin up," he smiled.  "Beers later. That's if you aren't still confined to quarters."

K'Tan stood and headed towards the office, leaving D'Callan shaking his head in mild amusement.  His smile faltered as he looked down at the muddy boot prints left on his bed.

"Oh great; Susan's going to love this mess."

[dinghead]

Joint Post by Dinghead and Feathers

Darius glanced over at Commander James. The situation was getting sticky, if 31 was involved...

At least everyone in the room seemed to share his opinion of that little self-important group of shadow-dealers. Had it been his call, Darius would have stunned everyone in the room first, the Boss included. Then sorted it all out after everybody was tossed in nice, safe brig cells. Of course, he'd been accused of over reacting before...

The other guard, it seemed wasn't about to take Aeric's proffered assignment. Seniority is a horrible thing from the new guy's perspective.

"Your office," Darius repeated crisply. "Right away... Sir." He stepped back and motioned to the Ferengi, "This way."

Galdar nodded, still slightly uncertain. Whatever was going on was probably above his rank and definitely outside his sphere of Starfleet experience. As a non-citizen, his knowledge on the minutiae of Federation life was limited but something told him that even the average Federation man-in-the-walkway wouldn't have 'got' these strange numeric references.

On exiting the bay Galdar looked sidelong at Shane. He saw an ensign, like himself, but a human and so impossible for him to assess in terms of age and temperament. He cleared his throat.

"Galdar. Ensign. Shuttle pilot. Just transferred to the Arabella." he paused, then tried to smile in a friendly manner. "This is not the way I'd have chosen to report aboard but neither is knocking on an airlock...from the outside...without a suit."

Darius looked at him briefly then returned his attention to the corridoor ahead. Striding along, he said nothing for an extended period. The Ferengi simply trotted along beside him, however, also saying nothing. Despite his obvious nerves, the extended silence appeared not to rattle him further. Darius mentally shrugged. He was an officer, even if he was an unknown quantity, and for the moment he wasn't in custody.

"Darius Shane. Security."

The Ferengi looked at him and waited for the next sentence. There wasn't one.

He tried again, going for broke. "What is 31 and why does it make Lieutenant Commander D'Callan's brother so unpopular?"

The official answer, was that Section 31 didn't exist. Of course, you couldn't give that to someone who'd just risked their hide for you.  With a sigh, Darius launched into an explanation. "Section 31 is a... well, they're a splinter group really. They used to be a part of Starfleet we just didn't talk about, but they were supposedly disbanded a while ago.  They were covert intelligence and ops, things that every government does, but no one admits to doing. The Boss' brother seems to fit their mold nicely, arrogant to the point of smugness and so smooth he should be downright frictionless..."

Darius came to a sudden stop. Why was he running his mouth to a Ferengi shuttle pilot about stuff way above the kid's security clearance? New-Kid-on-the-Block Syndrome, that was why.

"Sorry, Galdar," he said at length. "I just transferred aboard myself. Didn't mean to give you the suspect treatment. I know what being the odd one out feels like. Basically, a lot of folks in Command and Security hate 31 because now, they're a much greater threat then anything they THINK they're protecting us from. 31 is a loose cannon and one of these days, it's going to go off. It won't be pretty."

[Jen]

An hour had passed since Sevryll's healthy newborns first drew breath. The infants and their mother were exhausted and they slept soundly despite the bustle of Sickbay.   

Ryla smiled at Ensign Farmer over a cup of Raktijino as they chatted within the privacy of her office, "You did great Mackie...thank you for helping.  If the captain approves the clinic, you'll have to consider transferring to the medical department." Her focus moved from her friend to the man approaching her office from the Sickbay floor. "How does he do that?" She muttered.  K'Tan had somehow managed to slip past her once again; there was no telling how long he had been in the medical ward.

The Fertillian detected an instant shift in Ryla's natural lemon drop fragrance. The Trill now emitted the sweet spice of Reign Victoria Roses, "down girl..." she smiled.

"Oh stop it," whispered Ryla. She tried to halt the grin she felt in her heart from reaching her face, but it bested her easily and pressed the dimples she hated into her cheeks.

K'Tan was smiling just as broadly as he approached the door,  "Hello ladies, am I interrupting?"

Mackie's back was facing the Chief Tactical Officer as she rolled her eyes at the Trill.

The doctor's smile never failed as she tired to ignore her friend's relentless teasing.  She quickly stood, bumping her cup. It rattled on the desk's glossy surface, but remained upright.  "Hello, Lieutenant Commander." The formality was back in her reference, despite her buoyant demeanor. "Did you come to see Lieutenant Commander D'Callan?"

The smell of ale reached her and her eyes narrowed as she spied the bottle he tried to hide behind his back, "Did you bring him... something alcoholic...to drink?" She peered through the transparent office wall just in time to see Joseph drop a similar bottle on the other side of his biobed.

A frown now creased her spotted forehead, "that better be one of Margon's rootbeers, K't...Commander." She could feel her temper climbing...

[Meds]

Theran appeared in his own cloaked ship and threw the wrist controller at the wall.

"Should have came here first"

Starting the engines he looked over at The Arabella.

"Ahem, Theran D'Callan to Joseph D'Callan"

A few seconds went by before Joseph replied.

"What do you want?"

Theran rolled his eyes. "No need to be like that, I'm sorry....."

Joseph cut in.

"No you're not, you're not sorry Theran. I've made a life for myself here, I've got good friends and a career. i don't need you turning my life upside down"

Theran shrugged and pulled at his cheek.

"Considering you are the older sibling you do act immature"

Joseph barked back, his anger obvious.

"Immature, me. I'm not the one poncing around dressed in black playing eye spy. Get a life Theran and STAY OUT OF MINE. D'CALLAN OUT! "

The audio went dead and theran looked at the steady sound line on his communication panel. A small piece of skin fell from his cheek where he had just pulled and he threw it on the floor. Tapping in some numbers he opened a secure communication channel.

"D6. This is Karum D'callan. I've lost the agent known as Theran. make a note he is heavily disguised as myself, the gas i hit him with has caused him a temporary state of insanity. The other one is under Starfleet security the poison you gave me wasn't strong enough."

A slow dry sounding voice echoed back through the shell of Karums shuttle.

"I'm not interested. You've gone too far Karum, from now on, you're on your own. D6 Out."

Karum tore at the prosthetic skin, the youth full tone replaced by his own yellowing colour, he snarled and activated the warp drive.

[Geekyfanboy]

Nicholas Took looked over at Nathan Quinn as he shook his head reading the padd. Two hours prior they were relaxing in one of the finest hot spring on Ogus II before getting a priority one communiqué from Starfleet. They had to cut short their shore leave and return to the Arabella immediately.

Quinn's jaw continued to drop as he read down the padd.  "Is everything alright" Nic asked as he piloted the shuttlecraft. Nathan chuckled to himself "Oh yeah everything great.. I have a rogue Section 31 agent aboard my ship who happens to be the brother of my chief of security, oh and D'Callen gave him permission and access to The Arabella. This agent has been giving orders to my crew and they are actually following them. There have been several explosions aboard the Starbase and one averted aboard the Arabella and my new ensign is said to be an accomplice with the agent." Quinn just shook he head, " Oh at least we have some good news Sevryll has her children and they are doing well."  Nic mouth was slightly open, "Wow, we should go on shore leave more often." Quinn smiled slightly and laid down the padd while running his fingers through his hair. "How much longer before we reach the Arabella". "Twenty minutes," Nic said. "Good that will give me some time to meditate, I need to calm myself down." Nathan said as he took some deep breaths.

[Feathers]

Galdar sat in the office of the Executive Officer of the USS Arabella and waited. He'd already been here a while and yet he didn't begrudge the time.

Back on Ferenginar, his father had often made him wait and he had resented it every time. Waiting, by its very nature, was a slight in Ferengi society, though not one that was often discussed. Being made to wait said that your business interests were obviously less important than those of the one you awaited and could thus be indefinitely delayed. In the same way, agreeing to wait was understood as a tacit acceptance of the assumption and a recognition of a position of inferior status. That was the surface interpretation anyway. The deeper you analysed it, the more complicated it became and the more nuances you'd discover.

Starfleet, in comparison, was relatively straightforward in that rank conferred the right to make people wait on those who held it. There were a few exceptions but generally, at least in Galdar's experience, rank reflected relative ability and experience.

Oddly, the Ensign wasn't particularly worried by what he was waiting for either. He'd not met Lt Commander James before the incident in the shuttle bay but from what he knew of the man, gleaned from his research on the Arabella, if James saw purpose in imposing on his time it was probably justified.

Galdar stood abruptly and walked to the window, from which the curve of the station was just visible. He rubbed his scalp, itchy again in the dry air.

Besides, he thought ruefully, given that someone had just blown the guts out of most of the external access ports to the station and had probably planted a device in the main shuttle bay of this ship, it wasn't a surprise that the Commander had more important things to do. There was probably a sector wide alert in place by now.

The fact that he'd come aboard with someone from this 'Section 31' was just bad luck, exacerbated by the character's relationship to the Arabella's Chief of Security. He doubted he'd be held responsible for D'Callan's presence on the ship, he'd only met him minutes before the shuttle bay was shot up and D'Callan himself had made the call for transport. There was a chance he would be associated with whatever was in progress, however, and he wasn't sure that, as a Ferengi, he would be able to talk his way out of it.

Rule of acquisition 19 was apparently correct. Satisfaction really isn't guaranteed.

[Meds]

Joseph peered round the glass and could see K'Tan attempt to hide his bottle of ale, deciding it best to hide his as well  he slipped it down the side of the bio bed. He glanced at the monitor in front of him. The information that had been transmitted flashed in front of him but something strange caught his eye. Re-reading the words he suddenly noticed small mistakes.  The wording was slightly out of context, Theran would never spell words wrong and why did he call me immature. Looking again at the screen the information was all gibberish, whatever Theran had sent him was meaningless.

"Computer scan report and highlight grammar and spelling anomalies"

The words shot up in front of him, this was not right. He wiped his eyes and looked again. The highlighted words rolled in front of him. Infrin, ashj, minuh, thut, olkj, llkj, ddfi, mhjj, bhhhg, eddd, weeerf, asdf, rtyhj, needf, erfgt, dsd.

They didn't make sense. Joseph sat up in bed and looked at the words, it took him a few moment to realise it was the first letters that stood out. I AM T OLD M BE WARNED.

"I am the old man be warned, old man? Karum? wait.... why would Theran send me that unless.....Theran is the old man. That's why he acted so agitated... Damn"

Joseph looked across but suddenly he felt tired, the poison had made him weak and the sudden anxiety and the ale made him pass out.

[X]

"Go to red alert." Lieutenant commander James said to the operations officer and tapped his com badge as he stood on bridge of the ship. "James to all personnel. A security lockdown is now in effect. All security officer begin a sweep and clear of all decks for unauthorized personnel and suspicious items. All other personnel please report to your duty stations and quarters until further notice. If you notice anything odd, please report it."

Aeric took a deep breath as the pulsing red light and the alarm rang out. Aeric looked over the bridge staff. "Mute the alarm and do a scan for all life forms aboard the ship without a Arabella issued communicator."

"Aye, sir." replied the ensign currently running operations.

"Flag any non-Arabella crew to be intercepted and detained by security until their credentials can be verified." Aeric said as he took a seat in the captain's chair. Taking a deep breath, Aeric closed his eyes and reached out to the ship with his mind, searching for something that did not belong on the ship.

[Jen]

The Red Alert saved Lieutenant Commander K'Tan from Doctor Drett's lecture, regarding the bottle of ale that he had clearly shared with her patient. Upon hearing the First Officer's orders, Ryla's frown fell away.  This has to be related to Joseph's poisoning, she thought. The Trill Doctor glanced from her unconscious patient, to address K'Tan. It was then she noticed that he was quickly striding toward the exit. The Trill raised her voice in question as the doors parted for him,  "do you think these people are coming for Joseph?"

[Dangelus]

"What?!"

The red alert klaxon took Lester by surprise. They didn't have them often on Starbases and he hadn't put in enough hours on starships to be quite used to them yet.

"Computer, what is happening?", he enquired.

The computer beeped in response but before it could give a reply it was interrupted by the intercom. It was Commander James ordering a security lock down and ordering all personnel to duty stations or to remain in their quarters.

Lester's shift didn't start for 2 hours and he hesitated. Exhaling, he made his decision and headed out of his quarters on his way to Engineering.

[Feathers]

Galdar continued to stand and stare at the curve of Starbase 416 through the window of Aeric James' office. He waited.

Despite having formally reported aboard as soon as he'd been able, he hadn't come aboard in an orthodox manner and certainly hadn't completed any of the normal formalities. As such, he would presumably show up as a non-crew member on internal sensors and would almost certainly be flagged for the attention of Security if he started wandering around while the ship was at alert status. Staying where the XO had ordered him and Security had put him seemed to be the best move at a time like this.

Besides, he doubted they'd want him in the shuttle bay right now if the escort he'd received from that location was anything to go by...

Yawning, he rubbed his eyes. He'd been awake for too many hours on a straight run and the current period of inactivity meant it was all starting to catch up with him. Moving to the chair, Galdar sat again and closed his eyes, glad that the klaxon had been muted. He wasn't going to sleep but he did need to sit back...just for a moment.

[Feathers]

Joint post by Feathers and Just X

Galdar stirred as the door opened and was vaguely aware of the sound of carpeted footsteps as someone entered the room. They halted a little way in front of his chair. As the Ferengi started his slow return to consciousness, he struggled to work out where he was. The footsteps hadn't helped.

He woke to see his father looking at him in annoyance then glancing meaningfully at the curved doorway that led to the rest of the house. The doorway beyond which his bedroom lay.

"I see you have still not learned sense when it comes to replenishing your energies after a taxing day" his father stated flatly.

He was slowly becoming aware of the clutter around him, including a fallen bowl of grubs. It had obviously been there a while as much of the foodstuff it once contained had crawled to the far reaches of the room.

"Urg" he mumbled through dry lips.

A hand shook his shoulder.

Galdar snapped his eyes open, and blinked his way into consciousness. Instead of home, he found an office and instead of his father he looked into the eyes of Lieutenant Commander Aeric James.

"Sleep well Ensign?" Aeric asked in a tone just slightly louder than whispering. "It's not unexpected to crash after the adrenaline wears off. It's one of those things that you have to prepare for in the future."

Aeric turned and walked to the desk, taking the seat behind it. As he did so, Galdar stood and approached the desk in his turn. Aeric's fingers lightly traced over the rough unfinished baked clay surface of a Vulcan figurine from the time before logic. It was a simple piece that conveyed so much of that time. The passion of the artist's work could be seen in the details. It was a passion directed into art rather than the bloodshed that was common it the era it was made.   

"Sir, I feel I must apologise for the manner of my arrival aboard the ship. As you know I was due to report aboard at the start of my next shift", he didn't dare ask the time, "but events in the shuttle bay rather overtook my plans leading to my somewhat hasty departure from the station."

James nodded, but said nothing.

"I would also like to formally report Lieutenant Nicholas Andrews for his part in today's action and, I believe, the destruction of station facilities. He left aboard the shuttle with the other fugitive. As for the presence of Mr D'Callan, all I can offer is that he was present in the shuttle bay, a restricted area, and introduced himself as a superior officer and brother to the Lieutenant Commander. Again, events got in the way of further introductory pleasantries."

With his report concluded, Galdar relaxed slightly and allowed his eyes to drift to the shelves, attracted by the family images they held. Holographic children, frozen in time, looked back at him with smiles on their faces and laughter in their eyes.

In the silence that had fallen on the room, Aeric looked at his new Ferengi officer. If an honest assessment were made, he wasn't looking too good. From the bleary eyes to the crumpled uniform (with what looked like a phaser scorch mark across one shoulder) he was not a living picture of Starfleet at its best. Galdar straightened his uniform as he felt the appraising gaze, the phaser at his hip coming into Acting First Officers view for the first time.

"Is it your normal practice to arm yourself while sleeping, Ensign?", James spoke for the first time since sitting.

Galdar bristled, rising to the implied criticism...until he detected the edge of a smile at the corners of the Lieutenant Commander's mouth. He took a deep breath.

"Sleep was not my intention, Sir. However, it was a...trying evening." Images of the phaser exchange in the shuttle bay crossed his mind unbidden.

"I understand. The ship is currently on security lockdown, but your new quarters are available." Aeric said as he rose. His link to the Arabella had wordlessly informed him that the captain had sent signal of his pending return to the ship. "You should report to them and get some rest. After you have done that, we can see about getting you on the duty roster. Dismissed Ensign."

[X]

Lieutenant Commander James stood in his office and paced as he inhaled the scent provided by the flora within. His mind deftly processed the information at hand and allowed him to formulate his next course of action. As much as his personal life had occupied him in recent days, the status of the ship had always been a priority. The sudden chaos that the ship now face was something that could have been prevented if protocols had been observed. They weren't and the ship now suffered for it.

Aeric sighed softly before tapping his comm badge. "James to Dunn."

"Dunn here sir," came the reply of the newly promoted officer.

"Take another officer with you and proceed to D'Callan's location. He is to be placed under house arrest and relieved of all duties until an inquiry can be conducted on his part in the current security breach."

Dunn only hesitated briefly before accepting his orders. "Yes sir."

[wraith1701]

As he neared the sickbay exit, K'Tan was frozen in place by Ryla's question-

"Do you think these people are coming for Joseph?"

He turned and stepped back into the room as he considered her question.  "Possibly.  Perhaps I should remain here until the alert has passed." 

K'Tan tapped his combadge.  "K'Tan to Commander James.  I couldn't help but notice that we've gone to red alert.  Is there anything I can do to assist?"

[Feathers]

"Lights" called Galdar as he entered the suite that was to be his home.

The illumination in the living area rose as he stepped into its centre and looked about. The room was empty and the doorways to both sets of sleeping quarters and the bathroom were open. Presumably the unnamed Ensign who was already quartered here was at his duty station for the duration of the alert. Crew quarters on an Intrepid weren't as cramped as those on a Defiant but for an Ensign or Senior Chief, space was limited and personnel were required to share.

With this in mind, Galdar had entered the room with some trepidation. As he looked thoughtfully around the sparse, empty quarters, however, he felt himself relax and a smile spread slowly across his face. Little evidence could be seen that a human already lived here and the room looked as tidy as Galdar's starbase quarters had been. Couch and chairs were clear of the discarded clothing and debris that Galdar usually associated with human habitation and those items that were visible in the room were neatly stacked or stored. There were no pictures on the walls and no ornamentation upon any of the surfaces.

Still smiling, he crossed to each of the sleeping quarters and peered around the threshold. One of the beds had been slept in, though this was barely perceptible. His bag sat in the centre of the other room.

Guiltily, Galdar moved to the storage facility in the occupied room and actuated one of the drawers. It opened silently at his touch revealing articles of neatly folded clothing, positioned regularly and evenly so as to make best use of the available space. Checking another, he found a similar arrangement of folded garments and a large candle of some sort. He'd seen one very similar to this in the corner of Commander Radrek's office on the station. He'd always assumed it to be Vulcan.

Moving back to his own sleeping area, he could feel drowsiness creeping up on him again. He sat on the edge of the bed, stifling a yawn, and pulled at his tunic, intending to strip down properly for bed. Meeting resistance, he looked down and for the first time saw the phaser burn across his shoulder that Aeric James had noted earlier. He tugged experimentally and noted, in an abstract manner, how the melted material appeared to have fused into the skin of his shoulder. It didn't particularly hurt, but it was clear he wasn't going to sort it out here and now. It would wait.

As he collapsed onto the bed, it wasn't so much sleep that claimed him as unconsciousness.