Star Trek: Season 11 Episode 1

[Feathers]

Lead-in to Joint Post with Jen and Meds

Looking up from the PADD in his hand, Galdar surveyed the bridge. Ensign Bosa was still working at the helm and junior Tactical and Ops duty officers were standing almost idle at their posts. Alpha shift bridge command in a docked ship at a locked down station. Yes, he thought, leaving the Bridge will be acceptable under the circumstances.

Standing, he tapped his com badge. "Bridge to sickbay".

"Caine here sir," the Nurse responded promptly.

"Ah, I was expecting to speak to Doctor Drett." Galdar said, caught off-guard by the Nurse's response to his hail.

"I believe you'll find her in her quarters, Sir. Sickbay out."

A little taken aback by the abrupt nature of the response, the Ferengi dropped back into the command chair and tapped his chest again. "Galdar to Drett". Waiting a full thirty seconds with no reply, he tried again. "Lieutenant Galdar to Lieutenant Commander Drett"

Standing abruptly the Ferengi turned and, nodding to the tactical officer, a fellow Lieutenant, he headed for the turbo-lift.

- o -

Three minutes and a short trip later, Galdar was standing at the door of Ryla Drett's quarters feeling particularly stupid. No-one was responding to his hails and the mechanism obstinately refused to open for him. Exasperated and now more than a little concerned he was silent for a moment. Shouting through the door was an option, but it wasn't one he favoured and his only other viable alternative was probably not a good idea... but he'd acted on worse in the past and managed to survive. He sighed.

"Computer," he called, "override door-lock on the quarters of Lieutenant Commander Ryla Drett on Executive Officer's authority, authorisation Galdar Blue Omega Seven."

"Authorisation confirmed. Lock released" The bland voice of the computer was accompanied by a swish of servos as the doors before him swept open. Stepping immediately into the widening gap Galdar was rather startled to find himself on the business end of both a phaser and a Romulan disruptor as a pair of what looked horribly like guards covered his position.

"As you were!" he snapped, gratified that the squeak of fear he'd dreaded did not manifest audibly in his voice. Ignoring the drawn weapons, he strode fully into the room and allowed the door to close behind him before turning back to face the guards. The human had lowered his phaser and was staring over Galdar's shoulder in some confusion but the Romulan weapon remained steady, pointed directly at the Ferengi officer. Galdar grimaced, regretting his spur-of-the-moment action. It was something he wouldn't have dared try even yesterday but with his new authority had come the requirement to behave appropriately. He just hoped that the occupants of these living quarters would believe that the authority he was trying to display really belonged to him.

Slowly, following the human guards gaze, Galdar turned to face the room and desperately tried to ignore the growing itching sensation between his shoulder blades. The sight of both Lieutenant Commanders D'Callan and Drett seated on the far side of the living area was reassuring but at the same time both confusing and disturbing in equal measure. At least having the Chief of Security in sight meant that his chances of being shot by the guards had just reduced considerably.

"Ryla", he nodded to Drett and flashed her a brief smile. "Lieutenant Commander?" nodding at the seated D'Callan also, he let the questioning tone hang in the air for a moment. "What have I just walked into?"

[Jen]

Joint post by Hawkeyemeds, Jen and Feathers

The Trill doctor felt a combination of embarrassment, shock and relief pass over her face. "Galdar! How'd you? Why are you? You could have been... What are you doing here?" She finally managed to spit out. Her wide-eyed expression moved from the Ferengi to the Terran Chief of Security. She knew her status as a 'person of interest' would get out eventually, but the last thing she expected was for her friend to march in, order the guards to stand at ease and casually ask what was going on.

"I was looking for you?" he suggested, just a little too tentatively he felt. Straightening, he waved the PADD he was carrying in her direction. "With the departure of the Petersons for Quirinus, I wanted to go over your feelings on staffing in sickbay. When you were 'unavailable' I came down here to find out if you were OK." His brief smile turned to a frown, "and I guess I also wanted to see why I hadn't been informed of the CMO's absence from duty."

Ryla lifted her chin. She could not relax with the Romulan guard still holding her disruptor on Galdar, but after surviving many tense situations in the past the Trill had developed the ability to feign composure. She sniffed loudly, "I wasn't aware that protocol required the Chief Medical Officer to report to the alpha shift helmsman." The doctor was being sarcastic of course. Galdar was her best friend and it was more than obvious that he was worried about her. She often defused twitchy situations with a bit of dry wit, but in that moment, mixed with the sarcasm, was the barest hint of an honest question.

Galdar couldn't help himself. Despite the overtones of the tableau before him and the weapon behind him, he grinned. "That would normally be true," he said, struggling for a serious tone. "When said helmsman is also the newly appointed Second Officer, however, and his starship has a vacancy in the XO position..." he tailed off and struggled to reduce the intensity of his smile. "You can call me 'Sir' if it helps," he finished, weakly.

Ryla's serious expression held for all of three seconds before a dimpled smile spread over her face. "Congratulations... Sir."

"Thanks!" The toothy grin remained just long enough to signal his appreciation before his visage turned serious again and his gaze switched rapidly between Ryla and D'Callan. "And this is... what?" He asked, nodding back at the guards.

Keeping his eyes on Galdar, Joseph stood. His mind was awash with rapid-fire  thoughts. New XO? James has promoted Galdar to first officer? When? Damn. It must have been when I was over on the station. Peering past the smiling Ferengi, Joseph looked at the Romulan guard who still leveling her weapon on Galdar. "The officer asked you stand down. Do as he says." The Romulan woman reluctantly obliged and stood to attention. Turning back to Galdar, Joseph put his hand out. "Congratulations, Sir. You have walked into a delicate situation, a bit like a wombat walking onto a dingo farm." Galdar's smile wavered as he tried to process the words 'wombat' and 'dingo'. Joseph glanced to Ryla then back at Galdar. "This is an investigation. A sensitive investigation that I would like to get sorted out and finished with... So..."

"Investigation? Of what?" Joseph remained silent. "OK, scratch that." Galdar continued. "I know 'what'. I was there. What I don't know is the 'why'. Why here for example?" Pausing briefly, he looked around, "I mean, you're not seriously suggesting that a plot to murder a Romulan Senator of some...reputation", he glanced back at the Romulan guard, "was hatched in these messy quarters?

"Messy?" Mumbled Ryla with a hard smirk. She waved a hand toward the guards and addressed her friend. "Apparently I'm a dangerous and calculating individual, Lieutenant Galdar. You're the acting first officer now, surely you've had the opportunity to review my record. It's not exactly spotless...sort of like these 'messy' quarters." She was being sarcastic again, yet it was evident Joesph D'Callan did not see the humor in it. She gave him a reassuring wink before clearing up any confusion, "they're here for my protection. Captain Sevryll ordered them posted outside my quarters to keep any Romulans who may have heard of my status, from avenging their senator. Most of them hate the Federation more than the old Empire and they only need an excuse to stick a blade in one of us. Mr. D'Callan asked the guards to stand inside my door so my 'situation' is not as obvious to our crew-members or the Romulans."

"Ah, I see." Galdar shuffled his feet a little. "So all the station guards around the docking ports and the security officers at the airlock aren't enough to dissuade potential attackers then?"

"It wasn't enough to keep the senator safe..." Ryla muttered under her breath.

Catching the deepening frown on the security chief's face, Galdar straightened abruptly. "Of course, I'm not questioning Captain Sevryll's orders." He concluded rapidly. Walking over to the desk, the Ferengi dropped his PADD next to a lopsided pile of similar devices. "It looks like now isn't the best time to be reviewing personnel records with either of you." He stated. "I'll leave this here and we can get to it once you're clear of this... situation. Unless there's someone else in the department I should be consulting with?"

"No. I'm still the CMO and as far as I know we're currently without a doctor...Myella has been transferred to the station. I've requested that she stay aboard Arabella to cover for me until things blow over, but I haven't heard whether that request was granted. And...I'd prefer if you spoke with me concerning my staff." She gave the chief of security a sidelong glance.

Joseph spent the moment trying to figure out what he had missed. It was obvious much had happened between his meeting with Commander James and his arrival at Ryla's quarters. Pushing his feelings into the back of his mind, he came to and looked down at his blue brief case. Taking a deep breath he looked over at Galdar. "I do need to finish up here. The longer we linger in chit-chat, the more likely it will be that these guards will develop sores on their feet."

Glancing at the guards and masking a grimace, Galdar nodded at D'Callan. "Let me know the outcome, privately if necessary. If we need to find another medical officer I'd just as soon know about it ahead of time." Lowering his voice somewhat, he continued more slowly and somewhat hesitantly. "If there's anything I can do to help, Sir, professionally or...otherwise... She's my friend...you understand?" Turning back to Ryla, both his voice and his air of confidence returned. "I'll have a look at retaining Doctor Peterson's services for the moment, Doctor. Even if she resides aboard Quirinus with the Commander, that shouldn't be an issue for as long as we're docked."

Unable to verbally thank Galdar, Doctor Drett swallowed the knot that had formed in her throat and nodded.

Turning Galdar walked to the door but, stopping just short of the sensor, looked back over his shoulder at Ryla. "You've been caught up in worse," he said quietly, "but remember that this is Lieutenant Commander D'Callan on the Arabella, not Commandant Mastroianni at the Academy. You'll be fine." And so saying, turned back to the door and strode from her quarters.

[Feathers]

Follow-up to joint post with Jen and Meds

As the lift doors closed behind him, Galdar sagged. It was more of a mental than a physical reaction but in its effects felt much the same. "Bridge" he muttered, bracing himself against one wall. Fleetingly, he considered summoning Commander James back to the Arabella and formally resigning his new position but he shrugged the notion off with a mocking laugh.

It wasn't that there was any particular effort involved in talking with his best friend and a senior colleague. Sure, his new position had made it slightly awkward given their relative ranks and D'Callan had seemed a little out of sorts with the investigation. No, that was all fine. It was having to do it while covered by a Romulan disruptor that had really strained his nerves. The adrenaline rush necessitated by the need to breeze past a pair of loaded weapons had been bad enough, but maintaining a casual conversational air at the point of a gun was going to take some recovery time. His heart rate, always extremely rapid by Hew-mon standards, was probably still off their charts and while he'd never been at any serious risk, his physiology obviously didn't agree. Commander James may be able to handle this sort of thing with aplomb he thought ruefully but it certainly wasn't what I was expecting for my first morning in the job.

With a whir, the lift slowed to a standstill and the doors slid open as he pulled himself to his feet. Stepping out onto the Bridge, he nodded again to the Lieutenant at Tactical and resumed his seat in the captain's chair.

[Meds]

Standing out side of Rylas room Joseph clipped his case together, dropped it to his side and looked up  at the ceiling. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and stood still. Several crew members walked past the chief of security, a few took curious looks but the majority were all lost in their own thoughts.
 
Opening his eyes he lowered his head and slowly walked back to his office, he tapped his com badge and said slowly : "D'Callan to Dunn be at my office in five minutes."
 
Joseph took the long way to his office, his thoughts bounced around from the investigation, to Shelby Daelen and now to the situation of the XO position. He'd missed out on promotion before near on all officers do in their career but for some reason this ate at him. At one point he thought it was because his Captain was family and doing the typical 'let's not show favoritism' angle but he knew James better. No it was the wake of the murder and the security breach. "timing is everything" he whispered under his breath. 
Entering his office he placed his case down on the desk and sat back. Looking around his room his eyes drew to a old battered red ball sitting in a glass case next to his hanging cricket bat. The ball, 'once bowled by Australian spin bowler Shane Warne' was a gift given to him by an old girlfriend. He found it ironic that the last time he saw that girl was when he lost out on promotion to her. He'd kept the ball for several reasons, one because Shane Warne had used it but two to remind him not to drop his guard and quite clearly he had not been looking at that ball recently. 
A cough dropped him out of his thoughts and standing in front if him holding a box was Ensign Christopher Dunn.

"lost in your thoughts sir?"

Joseph smiled and held his hand out for the passing box "you could say that Chris yes. Right let's crack this open and have a look at these wonderful new toys" 

Inside the box Joseph removed six prototype vidcoms. Holding one in his hand he pressed the top button and a small light came on, tapping his monitor he looked at the screen. Nothing appeared. Looking up at Dunn he shrugged and then both realised what had to be done and both said "sync" plugging his com badge into the vidcom activated Josephs monitor and the words 'vidcom syncing do not disconnect ' appeared. 
"some things never change."

Dunn smiled at his boss's casual remark and sat down at the offered chair. 

Joseph leaned forward. "Chris once we've synced you up to your vidcom head over to the station, use the toy and record what you see, who you see and your own thoughts. We'll make a holo version later once we have all the accounts in. " glancing over he disconnected the device and put his own com badge back on " right let's have a play"

Lifting the vidcom up Joseph pressed the button and looked at his screen a perfect picture. Removing a small square from the bottom of the device Joseph placed it on his desk and walked to the other side of the room. 

"Tell me what you see on the desk"

Pointing the vidcom at himself Joe pressed the yellow and black square button and talked. 
In the office Chris jumped back as a  head began speaking, it was a bit out of focus but it was clearly the chief of security talking. Dunn gave Joe the thumbs up. 
Walking back into his office Joseph put his vidcom into his belt and took another out and did the same routine  with Dunns badge. After a minute the sync was complete and he handed it to the Ensign. Joseph held onto it as Chris took it " one more thing Ensign. Report everything, even if it's our own staff, report everything. Understood"

Dunn nodded "Sir" and walked out flipping the vidcom in his hand. Sitting back down Joseph looked back at the old red ball in the glass box.   

[Feathers]

With a stab of his index finger, Tolok closed down the display of the warp field simulation and stepped back from the controls of the port-side engineering station. "It appears that your calculations are correct Lieutenant. I would advise..."

"...passing the simulations to the Chiefs aboard the other ships of the fleet for their assessment. Yes, Sir. I was planning on it once my transfer to the station was complete." Lester Garriss finished.

It wasn't the first time Garriss had completed one of the Commander's sentences, an ability Tolok found equally fascinating and annoying. Being Vulcan, the annoyance was never displayed or even acknowledged which left only the fascination.

On a number of occasions, he had nearly suggested that the Lieutenant be tested for telepathic traits but as an accomplished Vulcan telepath himself, he had dismissed the idea every time. Nothing he'd sensed from the human had ever persuaded him of any latent ability in that area. Unfortunately, with mind reading dismissed, the only other logical conclusion was that Tolok himself was predictable in his speech patterns. Hence his unacknowledged annoyance.

"Very good." the Vulcan said, even more stoically than usual. "I won't keep you from your new post."

"Sir." Lester Garriss replied easily. Turning on his heel, he strode for the doors.

[Jen]

When D'Callan's interview was complete, Doctor Drett was left alone with her thoughts. Well...she wasn't completely abandoned. She had the fortune of 'guests'; two silent and stoic guards watched her every move from their posts just inside the entrance to her quarters.

"Messy..." groused the Trill as she begrudgingly cleaned her muddled quarters. With a scowl, she jerked a lab coat from beneath a table leg and nearly toppled to the floor with a pile of books and PADDs. Once she steadied herself, she sighed, tossed the coat aside and slowly lowered herself to a crouch in order to pick up the new mess.

"Are you alright ma'am?"

Ryla longingly eyed the exit as she gathered the PADDS in her arms.

"Ma'am?"

As if hearing his inquiry for the first time, she flicked her hazel gaze to the curly-haired Terran male. "Huh?"

"Are you alright?" He reiterated. "You weren't hurt were you, Doctor Drett?" The Romulan guard slowly turned her face to the Starfleet security officer and harrumphed.

The doctor dismissed the curly-haired man's concern with a wave of her hand. "I'm fine."

He nodded and resumed his stiff-backed bearing.

Ryla considered them both with a frown as she chewed on the thought of guards in her quarters—watching her like a common criminal.  "You two seem to have me at a disadvantage...in more ways than one it seems." She rose with the stack of PADDs balanced precariously in her arms. "I usually insist on knowing the individuals who enter my quarters. Especially if they're uninvited." As if to punctuate her statement, the personal display devices clattered loudly as they spilled on to the table. "I believe a proper introduction is in order."

The curly haired Terran was the quick to accommodate Ryla. He had no opinion one way or the other regarding the Trill doctor. He was simply doing his duty and as far as he was concerned she was innocent until proven guilty. "Lieutenant Speck, Arabella Security."

"Well that's obvious." Said Ryla with a broadening smile. "And you?" She looked to the Romulan woman who seemed to be contemplating whether or not she should  humor the puny spotted female with the benefit of eye contact. After a brief moment, she decided against indulging the doctor and turned her eyes to the wall directly behind Ryla.

Ryla nodded. "Okay. Fine. You've forced me into this. I'm going to have to name you—'hey you' has gotten old." Lieutenant Speck stifled a chuckle. The Romulan worked her jaw in agitation as Ryla stooped to pick up a pile of discarded uniforms and walked to the replicator. One by one the Trill stuffed each uniform into the wall mounted appliance and ordered them reclaimed. In between each command, she casually tried out a new name for the stiff lipped Romulan guard. "Becky? No...no...that name is too friendly. Hummm...How about Gertrude? Gertrude...Gertrude...Gertrude." She tapered off and paused momentarily in her task in order to appraise the Romulan's expression. "Yeah...I don't like that name either."

[Bryancd]

Joint Post by Crystal and Bryan

Finally after giving Joe enough time to clear the area, Shelby turned to Nalah, "You look quite the mess. If we are going to do this we need to get some clothes; for both of us."
Glancing around Shelby considered her options, "I haven't been relieved of duty formally yet so I could walk about freely get us some things then come back after - " glancing over at Nalah the security officer noted the mirth in her eyes as she spoke. "What?" she said with a half smile.

"Let's face it, even dressed like I am right now you would still look "Starfleet"! Being unnoticed? That's my specialty. I spent most of my life hiding...from many different things," the smile fading slightly. "We need to not only cover our appearance but we need to blend into the local Romulan population if we will have any hope of gathering information. We'll also need to work on your body language, could you stand up any straighter?" she asked, exasperated.

Looking at the woman with exasperation, Shelby shook her head and attempted to relax but it ended up looking still, 'Starfleet'. "Looks like the tables have turned a little. I recall not long ago I was the one telling you to relax.."

"With your security training and my unique life skills, we should do well...for once," she added with a grin. "You're the ranking officer, what do you suggest?"

"At this point, survival, food water clothes stuff like that then we can start asking questions and see what we can find."

"Sounds like a plan." said the Romulan woman as she moved over and picked up the half mask which had held her identity hidden previously. "Allow me to get dressed first." With a smirk of knowledge the pair soon left the room, resealing it from being found.

[Feathers]

Back in his office, Tolok perused the specifications of the Danube class runabout. With the wider facilities of the station now potentially available to him, the task of constructing a replacement for the Presidio was going to be somewhat easier than he had envisaged. If pushed, he would have admitted to a potential of a 19.76% percent efficiency improvement, much of which was down to available facilities but a large proportion of which was simply available space.

Still, there was no way that he was going to allow the entire build to be moved across to Quirinus unless explicitly ordered to do so. With the unstable nature of their current situation, an extended deployment was possible at any time; all the more so now that Sevryll was not expecting to run the fleet from the Arabella. Placing too much of the work aboard the station ran the risk of having to depart at short notice without critical engineering personnel and supplies. It also risked losing control of the construction programme.

Security was also a concern, given that the station was not a Starfleet facility. The more sensitive parts of the vessel should not be permitted aboard the station in component form.

With Garriss' transfer to the station, some of the scheduling would need to be adjusted but for as long as the Arabella was docked, his skills should still be available even if he wasn't under the Lieutenant Commander's direct command. Another shift leader would be required but his skill set did not need to be an exact match for the warp specialist.

Tapping a contact, the Vulcan recalled the list of crewman to the screen. Tapping his chest, he opened a communications channel.

"Specialist Evans, please report to the Chief Engineer's office."

"Aye, sir." came a muffled response from a jeffries tube deep in the guts of the ship.

[Meds]

Joseph collected his case and paperwork and walked out of the security area. Looking at his lists of people to interview, gazing at the names he knew he had a busy tine ahead if him, his life was not made easy when a voice he recognised called from behind.

"Mr D'Callan, oh Mr D'Callan. A word please!"

Joseph cringed but carried on walking quickly towards the turbo lift the voice kept calling and as the doors closed he looked out at 'th' waving Cardassian. "later Rayan, much later"

[Allen]

Herm was in a funk. A deep dark nasty smelly kind of funk that can only be achieved by indulging in deep dark nasty smelly kind of thoughts. Normally he was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, but even the most cheerful people sometimes have to throw themselves a pity party.

The party was now in full swing. Fortunately, he was the only one on the guest list.

He sat in his quarters, in the dark, some really hideous Terran music playing - it was filed under "Goth" in the ship's music library  - as he reflected on the events of the last three days.

--

From nearly the moment the Romulan refugees arrived, Ensign Hermaratlo had been obsessed with an artifact that was in the possession of one Sutpak Choro, a mysterious, very elderly Romulan who offered no information about himself, how he had been aboard the ship with the Senators, or how he had come to aquire the artifact.

Artifact. Herm cringed at himself when he thought about it. He had spent days convincing Sutpak to give it to him, only to have it cause a feedback loop in his laser scanner and blow up his work station. No real harm was done and the damaged equipment was easily replaced, but in the process he not only had to endure an embarrassing encounter with a very attractive security officer, he also had to face Zremm.

Lieutenant Commander Zremm, as Chief Science Officer, naturally wanted to know what had happened. Though Herm had only worked with him a short while, he had great respect for Zremm. He'd heard stories from other Archeology and Anthropology officers that often their skills were overlooked and their department neglected. While all Science Officers, and indeed all Starfleet officers often did other duties outside their field of expertise, there were many cases where the A&A officers were treated as gophers. "Ensign go for this... Ensign go for that..."

Zremm, on the other hand, embraced the opportunity to fully utilize Herm's station, encouraging the young Ensign to spend almost all his time in archeological pursuits. With the fleet spread out over Romulan space and many interesting things being found and sent to him, there was plenty for Herm to do and he was glad for the time to do it.

But facing Zremm after the "incident" was probably the hardest thing Herm had had to do in his short time as a Starfleet officer. The Andorian never yelled, (did any Andorian ever yell?) but he didn't have to. The icy stare coming from the blue face was enough. In what Herm could only describe as an act of sympathy, Zremm did not give him an official reprimand. And while Herm was grateful, nothing on his permanent Starfleet record would compare to that encouter.

The next day, Zremm resigned as Chief Science Officer.

Even though Herm was still smarting from discipline, he felt a sudden rush of sadness when he received the news. While Zremm wasn't leaving Starfleet, and probably not leaving the Arabella - at least as far as anyone knew - Herm and his fellow science officers were left reeling. Now one knew why Zremm was stepping down, all they knew was the reason Zremm himself gave - "Personal Reasons".
 
But the Science department wasn't the only thing in chaos. The whole ship, indeed the whole fleet and the station was running amok. The murder of the Romulan Senator had everyone on pins and needles.

But more than all this, part of Herm's self-imposed funk was personal. Today marked the 6 year anniversary of the final Borg offensive - and the destruction of his home world, Risa.

On a ship with so many Vulcans and Romulans, people tend to forget that he, too, had lost his home. Risians, however, were far from being a damaged species. The wealth of the entire quadrant was shared with Risa, making it's people able to travel and spread out more so than almost any other race. Risians were not a people without a home, they lived everywhere. But that didn't make the loss of their home planet any less painful. That's what drew him to the Romulans, he thought, they shared something.

--

Herm was drawn from his thoughts when the comm panel in his quarter chirped. With a heavy sigh, Herm shut of the music, turned on the lights, and hit the connect button.

"Ah, my young Starfleet Ensign. How are you faring without my presence?"

The image of Sutpak Choro smiled widely at him from the screen. Sutpak was far from the usual stoic, serious Romulan. He was jovial almost to the point of being annoying. Almost.

"Sutpak, it's good to see you. I trust your new quarters on the station are comfortable?"

"Yes, my young friend," he answered, chuckling "though the replicator is still being rationed until they are sure the stations power can accommodate the sudden influx of new tenants. I do, however, have a bed and a soft pillow. At my age, I cannot ask for more."

"Good, good. How can I help you, Sutpak?"

Suddenly serious, Stupack answered, "We need to talk."

"Well, talk.."

"Not here. Can you meet me in the bar on the station?"

"Now?", Herm looked down at his disheveled bed clothes. He was in desperate need of a sonic shower.

"No, they might be watching. Later."

"'They'... 'watching'... what are you...?"

Sutpak interrupted. "I've said too much here. When you come later we will talk."

The communicator screen went blank. With a heavy sigh, Herm turned his eyes to the ceiling. "Now what?" he said aloud.

[Shelby D]

The walk from the section where Nalah had been secured was again, long. When the pair of women emerged into a more public area Shelby slipped in beside Jarok as if she was accompanying her almost as if she was a Starfleet escort.

Not to her total surprise, Nalah drew them aside and told Shelby to wait while she 'procured' some clothes for the officer. Since there were a number of merchants still in the process of establishing their business in the outlying sections. There were some of the stalls and small rooms absolutely cluttered with boxes of inventory. It didn't take Jarok long to find one with the appropriate clothing options. It was even easier to abscond with them as a very annoyed looking Andorian proprietor was busy arguing about the rent payment with one of the Romulan officials just outside the store front.

Pulling themselves back again from the public areas, Shelby finally spied a good look at the clothes. They were basic civvies for a Romulan woman. "Thank you..." she offered as she slipped around a corner and changed. After she did that she shredded her uniform with one of her smaller Romulan fighting knifes which she had taken with her earlier by strapping it to her ankle.

The last thing Joe needed was for someone to get ahold of her uniform and use it. Two of them hiding out was enough. Although Daelen did keep her pip insignia; she figured if someone questioned her she could use the excuse she bartered or stole them.  Emerging she looked at the woman as she pulled her hair down loose. "How do I look?"

Nalah considered her for a moment. "Passable. Good thing you have long hair to hide those ears. We'll need to work on those eyebrows, however," she said with a wry smile. "Come on, let's mingle..."

Lifting a brow curiously, Shelby smirked and the pair started out, heading for the main stream of the promenade on level 27. There they blended easily into the crowds. "I think the best place to get some information is the promenade. There we can get a general feel for things." she said while not making eye contact with Nalah who's facial features were still hidden from view partially so as to be not detected.

"OK before we get there we need a cover. I'll be a romulan merchant, Telis Giaus and with your get up....a Watraii trader I do business with. meet Stala Vtak."

"The Watraii?!!" Nalah exclaimed. "They hate the Romulans, should make for an intersting pairing."

First, they walked the promenade, then once then decided to start they picked a darkly lit bar called the 'ch'Havran' translated it meant 'Planet of the Travelers'. The establishment was situated in the general vicinity of one of the internal docking stations, obviously so it could capture a good chunk of business and quite busy it was even this time of day. As they entered they could already see a spattering of cultures, both humanoid and very alien drinking, playing games and milling amongst one another.  The perfect starting point.

[X]

Joint post by Chris and Meds  1 of 2

Making his way through the station corridors Joseph held is vidcom out and recorded every passage from the gala room to the destination he now found himself to be at. Large doors barred the way from further progress and were flanked by guards on either side of the seemingly wooden structures. Oryn's throne sat in the center and near the rear of a large dimly lit room. It was here that the Arabella chief of security was to interview the Emperor and Praetor of the reborn empire.

Looking at them he couldn't help but smirk "G'day boys. You know Tutankhamen still got attacked and was guarded a lot better. You fancy waking up his lordship?"

The guards betrayed no emotions on their face and opened the doors, being in the mood he was Joseph mocked a smile at them and walked in. Stopping for a moment he glanced around the room. Oryn sat in the dim chamber on a replicated copy of the once empty chair that rose several steps from the floor. He was dressed in black and green hued clothing that seemed to make his blue eyes stand out. Beside the throne rested a small table on which several PADDs rested.

"I hope that you are having a good day Mr. D'Callan. Would you care for a drink?" Oryn asked from his place on high.

Joseph smiled "Tea would be fine Praetor."

Standing, Joseph took note of the various PADDs of both federation and Romulan design. Oryn remained seated while an attendant brought out the hot beverage and a small table for it to rest on. Without words, the young short haired girl offered Joseph his cup. He took a sip, frowned and looked up "Sri Lankan light blue tea."

Oryn offered a small laugh, "I like to know my allies. Where should we start?"

Putting his cup down Lt Cdr D'Callan opened his case and took out his active vidcom and then some paper work. "You and me both. I trust you will be honest with your answers. Do not worry about this device it's a simple recording instrument, delicate matters at delicate times. Don't want any mistakes. Can you tell me your actions before the Gala?

"I was attending the efforts to assemble the gala and working on classified Imperial business." Oryn offered with a shrug.

"And you have witness's to your where abouts of course?"

"Yes, but the names of those witnesses are classified in the name of Imperial security." He said and focused his attention on the chief.

Looking up Joseph suddenly dropped his smile. "are you saying you are willing to with hold information from this investigation. Imperial Security, are we not batting on the same side? "

"This investigation is only happening because I want it to happen, so yes, we're on the same side. The senators lost their power the moment we lost the homeworld. There are simply things that are not the concern of the scope and power given to this investigation. There are things that are vital to the security of the empire that will not be discussed or recorded. Continue your questions." Oryn said calmly.

"This investigation would take place regardless of your will Praetor, we do like our mysteries. When you attended the Gala, for the record did you bring anything into the room with you?"

"No, actually, it wouldn't. However, I was there for a celebration, not a funeral." Oryn answered and relaxed in his chair.

"Statements already received state an altercation was seen between you and the victim. Care to explain?"

"No, not really." Oryn shook his head. "I'm sure the witnesses told you correctly. I don't see the need to add to it."

Joseph smiled as he continued to write. "The witnesses have expressed their views, but I like to have words from the horses mouth. Please. Explain."

"I said the empire might be better with them being air locked. Nothing more and nothing less."

"You don't like the senators do you? You've made threatening remarks before, that doesn't look good in any ones report!" Joe said.

"I don't care about how it looks. It's not my problem, I didn't kill anyone or have anyone killed. Whatever it appears like, it's obviously slowing down the search for the truth."

"Oh nothing is slowing this investigation, well maybe guilty remarks and hidden agenda's. Now getting rid of opposition is nothing new, maybe even here killing any unrest is your key to a better future for your people."

"I'm sure some people might think that," Oryn laughed. "but only a fool would have someone brutally killed during the live transmission of their coronation gala. It destroyed the evening."

[Feathers]

Galdar entered his characteristically tidy quarters and strode quietly into the bedroom. It wasn't often that he was out of uniform, his adopted role in Starfleet was all he really knew these days, but he retained enough clothes about the place that he could pass as a civilian if required. It was some of that clothing that he was after now.

Not that passing for a civilian was 'required' at the moment but he felt it would be prudent to be slightly less conspicuous under the circumstances. Being the only Ferengi in the Starfleet contingent on the station made him instantly recognisable which was fine...until he wanted to try and avoid having his movements noted and reported.

For a moment, he eyed his com badge and contemplated leaving that behind too. Common sense cut in, however, and he left it where it was. First, he was on duty and needed to remain in contact with the ship and second, he'd be better off if Starfleet could track him at all times. It wasn't as if it was them that he was trying to hide his movements from. Indeed, he'd already informed Lieutenant Commander Tolok of his whereabouts for the next half hour

Taking a long coat from from a storage unit, a fetching garment in dark shades of blue, he threw it on over his uniform and fastened it to the collar. Looking at himself in the mirror, he nodded briefly in approval before heading back to the corridor and the airlock to the station.

The call had come through thirty minutes earlier, surprising Galdar in two particulars. It wasn't often that he received communication from outside the ship, knowing few people beyond Starfleet that well. Other Ferengi certainly never called, if any even knew where he was, presumably writing him off as a loss to the business endeavours of the Alliance.

When he took the call in Aeric's Ready Room, the face that greeted him on the screen surprised him even more. It was older and a little more wrinkled than he recalled but it was unmistakably the same face that he remembered from childhood. "Uncle?", he'd asked, unable to mask the questions in his tone.

'Uncle' Harne had been a family friend for years, with a particular soft spot for young Galdar. They used to get on very well and Harne had always functioned as a sort of unofficial conduit between Galdar and his father. Despite their friendship and the numerous requests from Baj, however, the older Ferengi had steered well clear of the business empire that Galdar's father had painstakingly constructed, leaving Ferenginar on his own ship three years before Galdar himself departed. In some ways, it was Harne's leaving that had caused the younger ferengi to follow. Without Harne's intervention, the relationship between father and son had deteriorated rapidly.

Clearly something had changed, for Galdar could see from the signal source that Harne was aboard his father's ship. He'd agreed to meet him nonetheless although neither wanted to advertise the fact to widely lest Baj try to intervene.

[Meds]

Joint post by Chris & Meds part 2 of 2


Joseph flashed his eyes up at Oryn "certainly won't be forgotten that's for sure. This may seem like a strange question and please don't take it the wrong way but the way the senator died was horrific, almost a cowardly way of killing someone. Have you ever seem someone die like this before?"
 
"Not personally, but I think someone was trying to send a message." Oryn said. "It's a scare tactic."

"it's a tactic that's worked. The other Senators are nervous, some have asked for extra security. Obviously that's up to you, I can have extra staff brought over if you feel you need them. Before I go and I'm sure you'll scoff at this comment but I do have concern for your own safety."
 
"Thank you, but I don't." Oryn said. "If this was about killing me, then I would've been the target at the gala. It could've been a personal vendetta, but we won't know that until we find the killer or someone else dies."

Joseph stood and took a deep breath "thank you for your time. I'll do my best to get this finished. One last thing. Do you suspect anyone and if so why?"
 
"I couldn't tell you who did it, but I can say that your current suspect list is pretty weak." Oryn said as he leaned forward and lowered his voice. "I don't think that Ryla is guilty of anything, she's a doll. As for Nalah Jarok, I'm pretty certain that she didn't do it. It's one thing to slip ship security, but another to find something to kill Navesh and still have time to sneak into the gala.  She doesn't look to have the training necessary to do all of that. If I did not have a conflict of interest in this, I'd start looking at people that would have a vendetta. Try to include everyone that wouldn't mind her dead and you'd still have a huge list."

Joseph smiled back "she's a doll? I hope you are not learning human customs from century old b movies. I think we may need to give you a hand. Otherwise I'm in agreement with you. Rylas an old friend and I'm 100% certain of her innocence I just need to clear her, as for Nalah, well let's just say I trust the advice I've been given about her but My main problem both of them are guilty on paper and so will remain as suspects. Thank you for time." Joseph looked around the throne room as he headed to the exit and then glanced back at Oryn "very roomy isn't it"

[Meds]

Joint Post by Crystal & Meds

Sitting back in his office Joseph D'Callan groaned at the sound if the Cardassians voice. 

"Ah Mr D'Callan. Have you been avoiding me?"

"Where on Earth would you get that idea Rayon. What do you want"

Cardassian Rayon pulled a chair out and sat down " it's about that fiesty young cadet who abused me on the night of the gala. I want her court martialed."

Joseph put his hands through his hair and sat back. "A cadet you say? Hmmm i'm not aware of any reports of a cadet assaulting you. Are you confused about your situation again Mr Rayon"

"Fine, fine The Ensign is the one I wish to be reprimanded. This is the second time I have talked to you...what have you done about this matter? You cannot allow such insolence and behavior to continue under your command Lieutenant Commander D'Callan!?"

Placing a pensive finger along his chin, Joe kept his amusement at this matter hidden for the time being. "I see...well I'd like to ask
again...like I did before...." came his measured response. "Did you do anything which might have provoked any type of reprisal?"

"No, I did nothing to provoke the attack." He said with not as much conviction as he previously displayed. "I told you 'that' before as well."

"Really?" This was something which D'Callan seriously doubted from his own dealings with the man. "Well at this point I am looking at a alleged attack." Rising Joe grabbed a padd from behind his desk and he started to enter information.

"Alleged attack!" His voice lifted an octave more. "I'm not in the least bit surprised at your lack of attention to this matter especially after seeing you pining away for that Romulan seductress...." Rayon added a smirk at his dig. "...Clearly she is out of your control! Maybe I will just need bypass your authority and speak with someone willing to address my concerns."

"No need, no need Legate, sorry barber Rayon, Joe contained the smirk which was threatening to emerge. "I will address
this with the Ensign as soon as I see her. I assure you I did not sanction any aggressions towards anyone; including you. You must understand though, my inattention, as you call it is not neglect it is
that I have a full plate with the Romulan situation and of course the murder. Even you can understand priorities need to bet set when such matters are in the front of everyone's minds."

Offering out the Padd Joe evenly said, "If you will just fill out this complaint form with the pertenant information and all details that
lead up to this attack I can move forward with my own investigation.

Narrowing his eyes as he glared at D'Callan the Cardassian huffed once
and then turned his back. Then he left Joe holding the PADD he exitted the room with as much dignanty as he could.