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Star Trek: Season 9

Started by Geekyfanboy, February 14, 2009, 08:29:14 PM

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Feathers

"They're turning", called Rory from what felt like just behind Galdar's head, making him jump and causing the Zephyr to shudder slightly in response. He found the front-and-back seating combination was taking a bit of getting used to. "Come to new heading 006 Mark 214 and we'll head them off before they duck behind the planet."

"Aye." said the Ferengi as he brought the nose of the Zephyr up and around to the new bearing.

"We can beat them easily at impulse," continued the hologram, "but while we've got warp engines, they top out at warp 5. Security disabled the fugitive's warp drive but it's not unrepairable. From my scans, we won't catch that thing if they fix it."

Galdar nodded then partially turned in his seat. "Any chance I can try that holo-whatsit control interface you talked about earlier?"

Rory smiled at the domed orange skull before her and made a quick control selection.

"There you go. It's designed to be fairly simple...", she started.

"Got it!" called Galdar, grabbing the stick and throwing the Zephyr through a tight corkscrew before settling back on course.

I know it's unnusual here but I don't have a podcast of my own.

X

#196
Aeric smiled to himself from the operations station on the bridge of the Arabella. Telemetry from Oona's cloaked vessel provided him with the location of their target. The very cloaking device that he had been using now served as a beacon to the Arabella's sensors.

Aeric keyed in a sequence that transferee the information to Starfleet Intelligence then opened a communications channel. "James to Admiral Shawas."

From his display panel, the channel opened and she appeared on his screen. "How can I help you commander?"

"As stated in my previous report, there are no SI sympathizers or agents aboard the ship. The two targets that we spoke of have been located. I've dispatched a shuttle to recover one of those targets and a sympathizer that is with him. I have also transmitted the detection codes that Si can use to hunt down the other target."

The Admiral nodded. "Given that the Arabella is still in repairs, I could not expect you to launch in pursuit. SI thanks you for all that you have done to assist in this investigation."

Aeric frown, "Permission to speak freely Admiral."

"Granted Mr. James."

Aeric took a deep breath, "Why did you even need to come to me with this. There was no damned way that Quinn, D'Callan, or Sevryll were compromised. They have put their lives on the line constantly for this crew, this ship and the Federation. How could you even begin to suspect them."

Shawas sighed, "We never suspected them Mr. James. We knew that they would not betray their oaths, but we also knew that they wouldn't simply turn on those that they love. This was a test Mr. James and it was you that we were testing. SI needs agents that are willing to step outside of their comfort zones to complete the mission. We need agents that will stand by all the Articles of the Federation and not simply twist one to suit their needs. You have proved yourself in being able to meet the needs of Starfleet Intelligence, we will be in touch. Shawas out."

Aeric shook his head and closed the channel. He did not begin to know how he felt. He did his job and he was happy for that, but it alienated him for the rest of the crew. Shawas might have thought that he was doing what he did to protect the Federation, but it wasn't just the Federation. He did it to protect his family. Those of his blood and those that had become that while serving with him.

It was an offer that he might have to seriously think about. Section 31 was a serious threat and one that he was starting to think that it was time to end.

Feathers

#197
Joint post by Feathers and Hawkeyemeds

Theran D'Callan sat calmly in the oversized pilots chair, built for a Tellarite's bulky physique, and manipulated the controls as the shuttle headed for the planet of Ogus II. He'd quickly discovered the lack of warp drive functionality which at least explained why the ship was still in this sector.

It looked like Andrews had given up trying to get the drive on line a while ago, while Theran was still...incapacitated, and had opted instead to head into the Ogus system and try and hide amongst the planets and moons there. With no warp drive it had either been that or head out into open space and hope to be lost to sensors or picked up by someone friendly.

Nicholas Andrews moaned in the corner of the cabin, distracting the agent from his thoughts. Looking across, Theran saw the Lieutenant raise a blood stained hand to a blood stained head and attempt to open his eyes. The left was fine but it didn't look like he was having much luck with the right.

"What's happened to the warp drive?", the agent snapped out as he looked back at the damaged panel before him.

"Don't know.", Andrews muttered. "Looks like Security 'fixed' it. Not normal procedure." He lifted his head for a moment before letting it fall back against the wall of the cabin where D'Callan had dumped him.

"How long will it take to fix properly?" the Australian continued.

"Hah!", snorted Andrews, "That depends on when we can stop and how long for. It's probably not a big job but it's not going to be possible while we're bowling along at full impulse."

Theran nodded but said nothing. It was as much as he'd worked out for himself anyway. He couldn't imagine how he'd 'fallen in' with this bunch of amateurs - their 'inside man' didn't have a clue what had been done to their ship and the prime movers had both been detained. This was a singularly sloppy operation.

"Thanks for the gassing you gave me, Father." he thought sarcastically, "look where it's got me.".

Looking at the sensors, he had to admit to himself that it was also probably going to be a short operation. Taking the damaged cloaking device from his pocket Theran smashed it against the smouldering panel and took a small red disc from the remains. He looked at it, turning it slowly in his hand. It was cold but beautiful. He shook his head and then popped it into his mouth and swallowed hard.

Reaching across the damaged panels to the copilots controls, Theran D'Callan powered up the refitted weapons array. Andrews had at least managed to get one thing right.

I know it's unnusual here but I don't have a podcast of my own.

Feathers

Joint post by Feathers and Just X

"We should be in weapons range...", Galdar called to his back seater.

Rory obediently activated the phaser array mounted beneath the nose and a beam of energy speared the larger craft, coruscating off the shields.

"Direct hit. Their shields are down by three percent.", she stated, with a hint of a smile in her voice.

"...but I don't think that's going to do us any good is it." muttered the Ferengi.

"Well I did tell you this was more sports vehicle than weapons platform.", the hologram chided. "We do have other mechanisms at our disposal. Just stay with them."

"Staying with them in this ship won't be a problem. We'll overrun them in a couple more minutes but if the weapons are that ineffective, what are you going to do? Throw Hupyrian beetle snuff at them and hope the sneezing fit causes them to stall?"

"Sarcasm, Ensign?", Rory enquired with a laugh. "That's not quite in line with the description I received of you from my father." She worked the panels before her as she spoke, powering up the microtorpedo launchers. Galdar grinned, swinging the Zephyr slightly off to port, aiming to get between the ship and the planets of the Ogus system to prevent any attempt to lose them in orbit.

A burst of energy lanced out toward them, glancing off the starboard shield as Galdar instinctively pulled the craft into a roll and ducked back behind the shuttle, planets and moons wheeling around the periphery of his vision.

"That seems to be about close enough for comfort unless we have shields that are disproportionately strong. Whatever you're going to do, I hope you can do it from here...", he paused as another beam of energy struck out, this time taking the ship full on the nose, "...or herabouts." he completed as he pulled the stick back, lifting the Zephyr and allowing the remainder of the energy beam to pass harmlessly below them.

I know it's unnusual here but I don't have a podcast of my own.

X

Joint post by Feathers and Just X

"I know we need to act quickly, but we can't simply board and subdue them." said Galdar, gesturing wildly with a free hand. "One of us has to stay with the Zephyr and even if the other could get through their shields and hold them alone, we'd still have to get them aboard in order to take them anywhere. There simply isn't enough room in here to hold two uncooperative prisoners, one of whom is possibly equipped with the ability to generate mind altering pheromones."

The Zephyr was still tailing the Tellarite shuttle but something was now clearly wrong with the larger craft. Their shields were still holding, but she was practically drifting in space from failures in the reaction control systems.

Additional scans revealed that their targets had transferred much of the ship's available power into strengthening their shields.

Unseen, Rory nodded. "There is another way..."

"What? How else can we take them? We've already ruled out tractoring them." Galdar's hands flitted across his controls, betraying his nervousness by their staccato movement.

"After we take down their shields, we can use the transporter..."

"But we've already discussed..."

"Let me finish. We can use the transporter to beam them from the ship and keep them in the pattern buffers. From there, we'll have 420 seconds to get them to the Stalwart."

Abruptly Galdar stilled. He turned his head and caught Rory's eye. "If that's what we need to do then we'd better be VERY sure that there's no alternative." he stopped as a new thought hit him. "You are Starfleet, aren't you?"

"Yes Ensign, I am." said Rory, "I was designed to serve as an emergency command hologram in the event of critical loss of life, but I don't hold rank."

"You're a hologram? So it's my call...and my responsibility if we fail?"

"This isn't my first mission and we will both be held responsible if we fail," Rory replied. "From beam out, we hold them in the transporter buffer and get them back to the Stalwart and Starfleet Intelligence. They're already moving to intercept us so as long as nothing out of the ordinary happens, we can do this."

Galdar tried to think of another way out, but there was really only one decision to take. If he left the Hewmons aboard the shuttle they'd possibly die. If he beamed them onto the Zephyr, he'd probably die and while the planet was a possibility it wasn't quite close enough yet.

Slowly he nodded. "Make it so." he said with a grave smile "...and may the Blessed Exchequer look favorably on me if we fail."

Meds

Theran fired what weapons he had but the guiding sensors were so damaged it was like letting off a party popper in a darkened room. Fixing his gaze at the scanner he knew time was running out, options were thin. Looking back at Andrews and whispered in thought.

" I could eject you out of the air lock, maybe they would find that a distraction"

He smiled and shook his head.

"Nah, you'd only go and screw that up as well."

Sitting back down he powered up the engines to maximum and made the whole shuttle a ticking bomb.

"Lets see how far we can burn this thing out"

Theran sat back and put his feet on the damaged control panel and put his hands behind his head. After a heavy sigh, he began to whistle an old Australian tune about a swag man sitting under a Coolibah tree as bits of metal and steam swam around him.

Feathers

Joint post by Feathers and Just X

"Shuttle shields are down." Rory snapped as the final volley of mircrotorpedoes succeeded where their phasers had failed. "Energizing."

Galdar waited for his cue, holding the Zephyr parallel with the unnamed shuttle off their starboard bow.

"Done! Go. GO!"

The Ferengi gripped the control stick tightly and half spun, half rolled the Zephyr round onto its new course.

"Hang on!" he called as he pushed the impulse power demand to the limit. "It could get a little warm in here. However good the tech is, driving things this hard is going to generate heat."

He could hear the smile in Rory's voice as she replied "A definite advantage to me that I'm not susceptible to such things then, isn't it!"

Galdar grinned in turn. "Try and get me as much as you can from the engines. This is going to be tight and while Nick did try and kill me, I'm not keen on returning the favour."

The Zephyr roared through the silence of space, arrowing toward their point of intercept with the U.S.S. Stalwart. To Galdar time seemed to extend and slow as all of his skill and ability was neutralised by the simple need to point the shuttle in a straight line and achieve the maximum velocity possible.

Tapping a panel, Rory called "Rory James to Stalwart."

"Jefferson here. Go ahead."

"Captain, we have the targets and are en route to rendezvous. Have transporters and Security teams standing by to receive in approximately six and a half minutes."

"Acknowledged. Transporter room is awaiting prisoners."

As he listened to Rory close the channel, Galdar was aware that the cabin was growing detectably warmer as the engines raced and systems started to feel the strain. He thought back to his test flight aboard the USS Ninescah, a flight that he'd longed to extend and a craft he'd wanted to push to the limits. With the Zephyr he'd got his wish and while he was fairly sure Lieutenant Commander James would sign off on the stress he was putting on the ship, this wasn't the joy ride he'd envisaged.

"Coming into range of the Stalwart in 5 minutes. We have a one minute window." called Rory over the noise of the engines.

Galdar simply nodded and tried to push the ship faster.

"2 minutes, Ensign.", Rory James stated after an extended period of silence.

Galdar still said nothing but the tension in his shoulders spoke volumes where words would have offered little. He was afraid. Afraid that he'd made the wrong choice. Afraid that they'd take too long. Afraid that he'd killed his friend.

Without warning, the impulse power relay exploded in a shower of sparks and sent the craft into a barrel roll. Galdar worked to pull her back on course aware of the seconds ticking down on Rory's display. After a struggle, he managed to pull the ship roughly back in line and his hands jumped to trim the power distribution. Rory was turned in her seat, shooting a jet of extinguisher fumes into the smouldering access panel behind her.

"Heizenburg compensators are down. Stalwart will need to take them from the buffers. We can't bring them back like this." Turning back to her console, she checked the numbers. Had she been organic she would have paled. "We've losing speed." she stated flatly. " RCS thrusters are at 40%. Impulse engines are venting plasma. Transporter range now in 3.5 minutes."

Galdar ground his teeth. "How long do they have?"

"One hundred and sixty-seven seconds." The answer was enough.

Fighting the controls to hold the Zephyr on course despite the now mismatched thrust, Galdar said quietly, "Rory, prepare for warp."

"Aye, Ensign." Rory's hands moved to implement the appropriate protocols. Entering warp close in to a planetary system wasn't desirable but the hologram agreed with the Ferengi's unspoken assessment. Despite her electronic nature she wasn't immune to the pressure and emotion of the situation.

"Ready."

"Have the Stalwart standing by to take them from our pattern buffer as soon as they can."

"One hundred and thirteen seconds to pattern degradation."

Nodding, Galdar reached out and tapped at an innocuous control on the panel before him. Space around the shuttle blurred as the warp drive engaged and the small ship leapt forward.

"Zephyr to Stalwart. Do it!" Galdar shouted as the Zephyr snapped back into normal space almost instantly, searing down the port side of the Stalwart.

"Stalwart has them...and with over a minute to spare.", Rory replied calmly. She watched quietly as the Ferengi before her visibly relaxed and brought the Zephyr down from its headlong velocity into a semi-controlled stop. Behind them, the Stalwart was also slowing and turning, reversing course.

"Jefferson to Zephyr."A deep male voice broke through the quiet of the cabin.

Glancing back at Rory, Galdar cleared his throat. "Ensign Galdar here sir."

"We have them both safely Ensign. You may stand down."

"Thank you, Sir." Galdar couldn't quite keep the relief from his voice.

"We're coming around to get you now. From the state of your impulse engines I'm assuming you could use a tow?"

"Yes Sir. Thank you."

A shadow spread across the canopy of the Zephyr from the rear, blotting out all illumination from above. As Galdar looked up, the Defiant class U.S.S Stalwart quickly followed the shadow, gliding majestically into view. The Zephyr juddered as it was caught in the shimmering glow of a tractor beam and took on the velocity of the starship.

"...and Ensign?", the voice continued. "If you ever feel the need to try the Picard Maneuver in the vicinity of my ship again, please consider having the courtesy to inform me first. Jefferson out."

As the channel closed, Galdar grinned and sat back in his chair while Rory shut down the nonessential systems of the Zephyr. It had been well masked but Galdar had caught the unmistakable hint of smothered laughter in the back of Captain Jefferson's voice.

I know it's unnusual here but I don't have a podcast of my own.

Meds

#202
JOINT POST BY JEN & HAWKEYEMEDS

Theran strode to his cell with a smile on is face. Accompanying him were, three guards in front, one on either side and three more behind him. All had weapons dawn and all were looking quite nervous.

"Nice day for a stroll, aye boys?"

Not one of the guards spoke as they continued to walk down the corridor.  The head officer stopped at a small control panel and pressed his thumb against the screen. A green beam of light swept over the digit and activated the door. With weapons pointing to Theran, the head guard shouted, "into the cell on the opposite side of the room."
Theran entered.

"Now, stand against the wall...put your hands on your head and turn round."

Theran did as he was told, never allowing the smile to fall from his face. A sudden whoosh was heard as the force field went up and the lights in both cells came on. The  figure in the cell opposite of him, watched intently. Theran narrowed his eyes and smiled as the man walked towards his force field.

"Hello David, fancy meeting you here mate," said Theran as he examined the field holding that held him in his cell.
"...Well, the more the merrier, I say!" the Aussie winked as his grin grew wider, "let's say you and I blow this joint and grab an ale at the station."

The security officers that brought Theran into the room remained in the brig just to make sure the dangerous agents did not escape. They silently monitored the conversation, they had to be prepared for anything.

Agent Locke tried to smile. Theran always had a great sense of humor, but he was sure his partner wouldn't laugh when he learned was that David facilitated his capture.

"...you don't want to have a drink with me. I'm a traitor. I turned on you."

Locke and D'Callan ignored the guards as they stared at each other in silence.

Meds

#203
Joseph sat up in bed and looked around the silent room. The security guards smiled at him and he smiled back. They respected their boss and no way were they going to try and look menacing in front of him. Joseph thought about his situation and hoped that the Captain would believe his story, he just wished he could remember more. 
Moving to the one side he looked at the blank monitor, he was locked out, he knew nothing of what was happening. Suddenly the screen flickered on. The computer spoke gently.

"Incoming message. Security cleared by Captain Quinn"

Joseph watched as the words flashed up. He slowly read each word and absorbed each letter. Twenty seconds later the short but powerfull message from his brother had been digested and Joseph tapped the monitor off, laid back and closed his eyes as  tears forced their way through his eyelids.

Feathers

Joint post by Feathers and Dangelus

Galdar stepped through the door of his quarters and walked to one of the chairs near the centre of the room. Dropping into it, he released the fastenings at the neck of his tunic and ran his finger round the collar to loosen the stiff material. He'd never been able to afford a tailored uniform but had renewed his vow to give it a try every time he'd had to 'break in' a newly replicated garment.

The flight in the Zephyr had been a wild ride and the pilot part of him had enjoyed every minute but the stresses and responsibility had also been beyond anything he'd experienced before. When that was added to the impact of his earlier 'pheromone poisoning' there could only be one result. Ensign Galdar was tired.

He closed his eyes and his head dropped backward to the cushion behind him.

Someone stirred in the adjoining room.
 
Lester peered out from his suite to see his new Ferengi room mate making himself at home. He knew this moment would come and luckily he had had time get his head around the idea so emotional control was not an issue for him this time. He approached the relaxed Galdar in the communal area.

"Ensign." Lester's standard stoic greeting had an interrogative hint that Galdar could not help but notice.

Galdar jumped and his eyes snapped open at the unexpected intrusion. "Galdar! Shuttle Pilot. We met on the flight deck a little while ago." Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself. "It appears we are to share quarters."

Lester nodded but said nothing.

Galdar tried again. "Thanks for assisting me to sickbay earlier. I hope you didn't have any problems being out of quarters during a non-duty shift under lock down?"

"Not... at all Ensign Galdar. I trust you have recovered from your injuries?" he enquired.

"Yes, thanks.", Galdar responded. "The medical staff were most efficient...though I hope I won't find myself in the situation of needing their services too often." Galdar grinned in an amiable fashion, hoping to provoke a similar reaction from his new room mate.

He was disappointed.

"I've just transferred aboard.", he said, resorting to the obvious for the lack of anything else to say.

"I am aware of your situation Ensign Galdar. I took the liberty of reviewing your service record while I have been confined to quarters. I was interested to note your approach to the Kobyashi Maru scenario at the Academy."

Galdar grimaced this time, baring his teeth in a manner that looked far more menacing than contrite. "Not one of my most decisive moments", he conceded, "but apparently it wasn't one of the commonest reactions either." Again, he looked to his companion for a reaction.

Again he was disappointed.

Garriss began to pace the communal area as if he was assessing the space they shared.

"I must stress that I am... unaccustomed to sharing living quarters Ensign.".

"As am I, Ensign...Garriss", Galdar finally remembered, "As am I." He stopped, stuck for the best way of broaching his concerns with sharing quarters with this seemingly unresponsive Hewmon. He stood as he thought, finally turning to look the taller officer in the eye.

"I apologise if this is too direct or personal a question but it is something about which I am particularly concerned given our shared accommodation" he blurted out. He looked around. "It appears that these quarters are maintained in a very tidy fashion."

Lester turned to face the Ferengi this time. At last it seemed that Galdar had managed to get his attention.

"My personal possessions, as well as my living quarters, are kept in an ordered and logical manner, Ensign. It is a practice I must insist is continued." he said.

Galdar grinned, truly relaxing for the first time since Lester had appeared. "Great!" he exclaimed, "I can see we're going to get along just fine, Mr Garriss!" A wide yawn cut off whatever else he'd been about to say. "Now if you'll excuse me, I really, really need to sleep."

So saying, he moved towards his sleeping quarters, arm rising to slap Lester on the shoulder in what he thought of as a 'friendly human gesture' on the way past. In the light of his room-mate's unsmiling face, however, he thought again and dropped his arm, simply nodding politely to Garriss as he passed.

As the door to Galdar's room closed behind him, Lester heard the Ferengi muttering to himself as he crossed to the bed.

"I like this ship. It's exciting!"

I know it's unnusual here but I don't have a podcast of my own.

Feathers

#205
A forcefield snapped into place in front of holding cell 5 in the brig of Starbase 416 as soon as Lieutenant Nicholas Andrews completed his materialisation. Transferred from the Stalwart after being cleared of any more than a passing involvement with Section 31 he had been returned to his post to face a Court Martial for his actions on and against the starbase.

He stared impassively through the field as the guards stationed to either side of the cell lowered their weapons and returned to their duty stations by the entrance. As a joint Starfleet and civilian facility, the Security presence at a Starbase brig was a little more 'obvious' than might have been the case on a starship.

Across the room he could see his two erstwhile colleagues, presumably transferred from the Arabella after their rescue from the shuttle bay. Bahaz waved at him and smiled weakly when he realised he'd been spotted.

Turning to the bench at the rear of the cell, he sat somewhat gingerly. The medical bay on the Stalwart had treated his injuries quite effectively, but there were going to be tender spots for a good number of weeks, he'd been told.

That character on the shuttle had really worked a number on him.

He leant back against the wall and stared at the ceiling as his mind turned to what was left of his family on Earth and what they'd think when the news of his disgrace reached them. He shook his head. He'd known the risks when he accepted the latinum so there was no point getting all misty eyed about it now. He'd done what he'd done and he'd been caught. Now that the penal colony beckoned, he wasn't going to pretend to be an innocent victim here when all the evidence was against him. It was time to simply stand up and take it on the chin like an officer should.

'An Officer', he thought with a wry smile.

He'd joined Starfleet in the ranks but had been encouraged to sit the Academy tests from the moment he arrived. Someone had thought he could be 'an officer'.

Even when he'd passed, he hadn't been wholly sure about going into the Academy and had nearly declined the offered place. He would have been happy working with his hands, in the ranks, but the prospect of flight school, once it was dangled in front of him, had finally persuaded him to go and work toward some pips.

Without those Academy taught skills he probably wouldn't have been flying shuttles. If he hadn't been flying shuttles, he wouldn't have been approached by... He stopped, shaking his head again. That way lay madness.

Lying down, he closed his eyes. He figured he was going to have plenty of time to second guess his actions of the last few weeks.

I know it's unnusual here but I don't have a podcast of my own.

Jen

#206
Joint post by Hawkeyemeds and Jen

"I could not risk them destroying Sevryll's life," David admitted.

"Traded in, at least it was for a better looking model," replied Theran.

David smiled and the tension diminished. "I never imagined that it would end up like this, Theran..."

His partner shook his head with a sigh and looked down at his hands, "same here, mate. I was this close to getting my father and ending the pain my brother and I have suffered. Instead, we've been dealt marked cards from every player in the room. I'm going to loose my hand, but you're going to loose a lot more..."

David's brow creased as he thought of Aeric James, "Yes...but I know she'll be safe... "

Theran stepped forward, " A shark in a uniform with polished boots is no different than a shark kept in a tank. It can splash about showing its teeth but everyone knows it's an ugly S.O.B inside and out."

David turned and faced his friend, "did you just make that up?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling a tad philosophical..."

David offered him a cuffed hand as they stood on the transporter pad, waiting to be moved to the frigate.  "I'm sorry, Theran."

Theran accepted the offer with his own bound hands and shook.

"Families, aye mate? Can't live with out em'... can't live without them. I only hope that Joseph gets that message I sent from the shuttle. You'll have your forgiveness David, I just  hope I get mine..."

As they smiled at one another the glow of a transporter beam engulfed them and they found themselves in a darker, colder room. They were still shaking hands as their bodies materialized. Theran turned his head slightly and suddenly grabbed David's arm and pulled his friend behind him just as a blast from a Varon-T disruptor hit him in the chest.

Theran's dreadful screams were at last consumed with his body. David Locke swallowed hard, survival was a Ferengi pipe dream, but he wasn't about to buy his premature end like a gullible Pakled. Sevryll's husband had no time to bemoan the murder of his friend, for the next shot greedily sought him. Agent Locke managed to dodge the beam as it lanced out and rapidly dissolved a panel behind him in hungry red waves. Four brisk steps later, David was upon the assassin— slamming his former minder to the deck and causing him to drop the sadistic weapon. The two men struggled on the floor, trading blows with fists and foreheads. Grunts and moans accompanied the echo of landed punches. One man fought for his life, the other for Section 31...both knew David would fail, the question was when...

Another shot was fired and David's cries filled the empty cargo bay.  Despite the agony, his last thoughts were of his family.

Ironically, the Federation had achieved the justice it sought at the hands of another Section 31 Operative. Guias stepped over his rapidly dissolving former partner as he strode from the room to the cockpit of his vessel.

----
Joint post by Feathers and Jen

Galdar sat and looked through the window of the Afterburner, studying the patterns of stars twinkling in the darkness. Now that the repairs were complete and the Arabella was undocked from the station, the external view was much improved.

He looked briefly down at the Starduster in front of him before his eyes settled on the face of his new friend.

"Thanks again for the drink Doctor." he said with a smile. "I can see the benefits of starship service were heavily understated at the Academy."

"Welcome aboard, Ensign." She said with a smile as she raised her glass to him. Her smile broadened as she saw K'Tan walk through the doors of the Afterburner.  Ryla had come a long way since she first lost her symbiont, but the past week had proven to her that she was capable of moving on. For a change, she actually looked forward to her new life...just as her new friend did.

Galdar raised his glass in a mock salute to the stars and took a pull of the contents.

The Trill took a sip. "I hate to break it to you Ensign", she said with a smile, "but not every aspect of a Starfleet career is fully defined by what one picks up at the Academy."

Galdar recoiled in mock horror but his smile didn't waver. "So I am starting to learn," he agreed.

In the corner of his vision, something moved across space. A ripple or distortion of some sort spreading from a point source off the nose of the ship. He turned to look but was too late. Whatever had been there had now gone but in its place was a ship, a ship that was largely unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

He looked back at the Doctor and pointed at the window. "You wouldn't happen to know what ship that is would you Doctor?" he asked, "or maybe I should be addressing the question to Captain Quinn and Lieutenant Commander James?"

------
Post by JustX


Aeric James stood on the bridge of the Arabella and watched Oona's uncloaked vessel make the jump to warp. It was perhaps the last time he would see her, but she left with three new passengers that would learn to call the ship home. The mirror duplicate of Sevryll and her newly born children would be happy in their new lives. Aeric knew it for a fact because he was also once happy on Oona's homeworld.

"Sir," the operations officer said with the hint of awe and concern in his voice, "a vortex is opening along our starboard bow."

"On screen," Aeric said as he moved to the auxiliary operations station. His hands moved over the controls and directed sensors towards the slowly opening hole in space.

While similar to a worm hole, the now four meter wide aperture bore temporal and quantum distortions. It also contained a transponder that he could never forget.

"We're being hailed," the ensign said.

"Onscreen." Aeric replied with a smile on his face, but with a heart carrying a storm of relief and worry.

The image of the vortex was quickly replaced by an image of Sevryll, with longer hair, sitting in the command chair. In the front of her and only slightly in frame, were Aria and an older looking N'Vall in the conn and operations positions of the ship.

"Aurora to Arabella," she said in her smooth alto. "we are home. Permission to dock at shuttle bay three."


THE END

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