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 <BOOKMARK:Chapter21> <BOOKMARK:Chapter21>
 <fs x-large>**Chapter 21: Arrivals And Departures**</fs><wrap lo right>[[archives:den_of_lions#top|Top]]</wrap>\\ \\  <fs x-large>**Chapter 21: Arrivals And Departures**</fs><wrap lo right>[[archives:den_of_lions#top|Top]]</wrap>\\ \\ 
 +**Location: main bridge, USS Republic**
 +
 +Captain Kimberly Roth watched in silence from the center of her own bridge as the battered hulk of the Defiant-Class vessel that had so suddenly appeared only minutes ago, was sliced through by the lattice-work of alien energy beams. Then, in an instant, she was gone, as a brilliant flash of white light erupted from her center and consumed the tattered and broken debris field that had seconds before been a starship. As the shockwave from the warp core breech washed over the Republic, she braced herself upon the back of the operations officers chair. As angry as she had been a few minutes ago with herself, with Kostya for sending that ship, and with the vessel's commander whom she had never even met, she was angrier now for what had happened; what she had allowed to happen.
 +
 +"Commander," Roth said, turning to her first officer, who stood only a few steps behind her, "I want answers, and I want them five minutes ago. Get down to the transporter room, find out just what the hell happened on that ship, why they opened fire without provocation or cause, and just who in the hell gave those orders."
 +
 +"Yes ma'am," replied Carter, somberly, as he took one last glance at the view screen, and the few embers of debris that still burned in space. Quickly, he moved off to the port forward of the bridge and entered the turbolift.
 +
 +"Mister Danzig, anything from the Tholians?" Roth queried her Tactical Chief.
 +
 +"Negative Captain. They've still got that jamming field up." the Russian reported.
 +
 +"Any chance of penetrating it?" she questioned, irritated with the Tholian's continued unwillingness to communicate.
 +
 +"I don't see how . . . " Danzig replied, apologetically.
 +
 +"Doctor Virtus, any ideas?" Roth asked, stepping over to the starboard science station. Before he could reply though, the deck beneath them lurched. Bracing herself against Virtus' temporary post, she spun around towards the view screen as soon as the ship stabilized. There, she found what she had been dreading.
 +
 +The red-orange tachyon beams of the Tholian web had engulfed them once more.
 +
 +//"Carter to Bridge, is everything alright?"//
 +
 +"It would seem our earlier escape was in vain, Commander," Roth reported with irritation.
 +
 +//"Understood. Shall I return to the bridge?"//
 +
 +"Negative. I need to know what happened with the Allegiance." Roth replied.
 +
 +//"Understood. Carter out."//
 +
 +"Captain, I think you should take a look at this," reported Danzig, replacing the image on the view screen with a tactical analysis.
 +
 +Roth didn't need her Tactical Chief to explain the graphic on screen. "It's contracting." she surmised.
 +
 +"Yes ma'am, and at this rate, she'll make contact with the shields in less than five minutes." Danzig informed her.
 +
 +"How long until contact with the outer hull?" Roth asked.
 +
 +"Depending on how long our shields hold . . . six to seven minutes." Danzig reported.
 +
 +"Begin evacuations of the outer sections of the saucer section. Start with decks nine and ten, then decks eight and eleven. They'll be affected first." Roth ordered with grim determination, not about to let her ship share the fate of the Allegiance.
 +
 +"Aye, Captain," replied Danzig, departing his post, bound for the turbolift.
 +
 +"Curious that this web seems to be contracting at a considerably slower rate than the one that destroyed the Allegiance," Virtus noted.
 +
 +"I'm afraid we don't have time for you to analyze that, Doctor Virtus," Roth replied, "I need one of two things from you in the next six minutes; either a way out of this web like before, or a way to communicate with the Tholians."
 +
 +"Yes ma'am," replied Virtus, with a quick nod of his head, before turning his attention to his console.
 +
 +Turning back to the view screen, Roth looked out through the web, upon the Tholian ships, and the planet destroying itself below, and wondered not for the first time, if any of them would make it out of this alive . . .
 +
 +
 +----
 +
 +
 +**Location: transporter room 1, USS Republic**
 +
 +Zoe touched the wound on her forehead. The stinging from the cut reassured her that she was alive. She couldn't tell if it was bad or not, but she wanted answers. The wound would have to wait until everything calmed down. She felt the ship lurch slightly. This wasn't good. The web must have surrounded the Republic once again.
 +
 +Within moments, someone walked through the doors to the transporter room. She gave him a glance and realized that he was one with some sort of authority. Before she could get over to him and ask him questions, he started asking questions himself.
 +
 +She moved from behind the rest of the crew that made it off the Allegiance alive. She was the highest ranking officer present from her former crew.
 +
 +"I'm Lieutenant Zoe Beauvais. I'm the highest ranking officer left alive."
 +
 +"John Carter," Republic's XO said as he looked Zoe over. She seemed healthy enough, which for the moment, was all Carter cared about. "No offense Lieutenant," he offered, "but I think you folks might have over-done the rescue just a bit."
 +
 +"Lightly put, Commander, my Captain went psychotic. I don't know what the orders were, but I figured out that bottom line a war was to be started here today."
 +
 +John felt his face twist into a scowl as he puzzled out the broader situation. USS Allegiance had warped out of nowhere and cut a swath through the Tholian ships that had held Republic in their web. Carter had originally chalked the newer ship's appearance to blind luck, but given what had just happened, and including the recent events of "The Republic Eight Trial", he felt now that his least favorite flag officer might not be taking no for an answer.
 +
 +It was becoming clear to John Carter that Vladimir Kostya was dead set on bringing the Federation into a war, and he apparently didn't care whom it was with. He quirked his head to the side and looked at the newly-arrived Lieutenant. "Can you define psychotic? And while you're at it, where exactly do you fit in?"
 +
 +She frowned when he asked about her place in it all. "Sir, she gave the order to fire on the Tholians. I refused to follow that order and was in the process of getting removed from the bridge when the ship started to get crushed by the interlacing web. We weren't fully crewed. We were never given the reason for our mission or the fullest briefing of the mission. I realized that there was a problem when we were just sitting by when the Republic got into trouble."
 +
 +'Talk about hedging your bets' Carter thought, `I wonder if Kostya assumed we would fail in the first place?' "So, SOMEONE told you to wait nearby, Without making contact on the off-chance that something MIGHT blow up?" Carter shook his head. "That doesn't make and damned sense at all.
 +
 +"Sir, I don't know what is going on. All I know is that the Captain went against Starfleet protocols and I made sure that she knew about it. A small fire fight broke out on the bridge as well."
 +
 +Carter couldn't help a small smile as the Lieutenant from Allegiance gave a small clue as to what she'd been up to. "Why do I get the feeling that you've got what `Fleet brass likes to call a `Colorful Record'? Not that you wouldn't fit in around here of course . . . " he let the point trail off, curious as to the junior officer's reaction.
 +
 +Crossing her arms, she looked him dead in the eye. "I may have a colorful past with the War, Sir, but I do not go against Starfleet protocol. What gets me is that the Captain hand-picked me for the position aboard the ship. I may have to take matters into my own hands, but not at the expense of Starfleet and my fellow crewmembers."
 +
 +Carter nodded. "Good enough for me. At least for now." Carter turned on a heel and waved to an ensign in Operations gold. "Ensign, get the rest of these people to sickbay so we can get them assessed."
 +
 +"Now wait a second," Zoe interjected, "I'm not going to . . . "
 +
 +"Oh, I'm not putting you on a cot lieutenant," Carter said as he began to head out of the transporter room toward the turbolift. "I've got to get back upstairs."
 +
 +"Did we get caught back in the web?"
 +
 +Carter nodded grimly. "Yep, and we had to twist the universe inside-out to do it once. Don't know if our luck's going to hold."
 +
 +"Damn," she exclaimed. "I don't know about you, but I have thwarted death once today, and I don't want to do it again. I offer my services to you, Commander and to this ship until I can get back to the base and to the London."
 +
 +As the two officers entered the turbo-lift, Carter extended his hand. "I'll take whatever I can get, Lieutenant," he commented. "We can always use another hand at Tac."
 +
 +"I'm not normally this bitter, but it's been a long couple of days; questions were left unanswered, protocols were broken, I disobeyed direct orders, I was removed from the bridge, and I nearly died today. I hope this helps you in your assessment. If this web that the Republic is caught in now is anything like the one that the Allegiance was caught in, we don't have much time to spend arguing about what happened aboard that ship."
 +
 +"Believe me, Lieutenant," Carter said as the duo stepped onto the bridge, "arguing is the last thing on my mind right now." Carter felt himself tense a bit as he looked at the angry orange lattice-work that once again had his ship ensnared.
 +
 +
 +----
 +
 +
 +**Location: "The Hill", deck 10, forward, USS Republic**
 +
 +Bracing himself against the bar, Lieutenant Conrad Danzig watched through the large windows of the ship's ten forward lounge as the tachyon beams struggled against the Republic's shields. Between those windows and himself, a Medical Team led by Doctor Saal Yezbeck was finally loading one of the lounges civilian workers who had been injured when the web had first re-engulfed them onto the anti-grav stretcher they had been waiting for. As they struggled to keep their balance, Danzig struggled to keep his cool, as the situation grew increasingly urgent.
 +
 +"Lets go, lets go!" Danzig shouted, ushering the medical team towards the double-wide wooden doors.
 +
 +With a sudden blinding flash, the shields finally gave way under the power of the Tholian web. From his place at the bar where he had made one last visual survey of the lounge, he knew only seconds remained before the web sliced into the hull. Just as the medical team cleared the doorway, the sound of screeching metal and cracking transparent aluminum reached his ears, and Danzig knew his fate was sealed.
 +
 +He was not going to allow that fate to be shared by anyone else, though.
 +
 +Throwing himself against the bar, he could already feel a change in the atmosphere as breathable air began to seep through cracks in the hull, as he struggled to reach the control panel an activate the atmospheric containment field. Slamming his fingers down on the control, he watched as it sprang to life in the still open doorway. He could still hear the voice of Doctor Yezbeck, just beyond it's safety, screaming for him to get out . . .
 +
 +But it was already too late.
 +
 +With a sudden roar and a rush of wind that reminded him of the harsh winters he had spent in Moscow as a boy, he felt himself being ripped away from this world, ripped away from the safe sanctums of the Republic. His instinct to survive drove him to claw desperately against the slick frosted glass surface of the bar, to try and grab hold of the back of one of the stools. He couldn't hold on though. As he felt himself in mid-air, the pressure of the encroaching vacuum crushing his lungs, everything seemed to slow down . . .
 +
 +He watched for a nano-second in disbelief as the two forward-most windows shattered into a billion shards, disappearing into the void . . .
 +
 +Another nano-second, as the bulkhead itself melted away under the heat of the tachyon beam . . .
 +
 +One more, as he himself felt a twinge of warmth . . .
 +
 +In his last moment, he could not make sense of so many things . . .
 +
 +Why he was now outside the Republic . . .
 +
 +Why he could not feel anything below his waist . . .
 +
 +Why he didn't need to breath . . .
 +
 +In an instant, his vision blurred, and went black.
 +
 +Then he was gone . . .
 +
 +
 +----
 +
 +
 +**Location: main sickbay, USS Republic**
 +
 +It was a scene that Republic's medical staff knew all too well. Casualties were flowing in from all corners of the ship, and that, on top of the rescued Allegiance crew, activated the emergency protocol developed by Doctor Cromwell called the Overload Contingency. Unfortunately, its creator was not present to witness its first usage since the redesign of sickbay over a year ago.
 +
 +Normally, the main ward consisted of 10 biobeds, and 2 diagnostic tables. With the Overflow Contingency, two new medical bunks of stretcher design extended out from the walls above each biobed at 1.5 and 2 meters from the floor. Casualties that were stabilized but immobile were moved to these higher "biobunks" to make room for a more critical patient on the main biobed below.
 +
 +It was this arrangement that kept sickbay from being overwhelmed.
 +
 +As the doors to the main ward burst open with three, gold-uniformed operations crew, the gray-haired Doctor Fernmoore turned away from her patient on the diagnostic table to see two of the crewman carrying the third in a "fireman's seat" carry position. This young man was bloody and unconscious, with a left forearm contorted in a most unnatural position. With frustration, Fernmoore ordered "there's no more room in here! Put him in Exam Room 2!" Turning to a short, junior Klingon doctor with white hair and pink skin, she continued her line of thought. "Q'Tuir! Leave your patient with Nurse Copenhagen, and take care of this man."
 +
 +"Understood," Q'Tuir responded, and after a nod to the young nurse next to him made a direct line to the exam room. Almost immediately, following, the doors opened again, and Doctor Saal Yezbeck marched in with a stressed, almost wild look in his eye. Directing personnel entering the room behind him, he pointed to a few empty biobunks for the new casualties arriving on stretchers.
 +
 +"Are you okay?" Fernmoore asked. "What happened?"
 +
 +"We just evacuated the Hill," he replied while catching his breath. "But not everyone made it."
 +
 +"Who did we lose?"
 +
 +"Danzig," Saal exhaled with regret. "Our new tactical officer. He was helping people out of the room when the bulkhead shattered. He sealed the door to save us . . ."
 +
 +Eliza placed a comforting hand on Saal's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault."
 +
 +Yezbeck had seen more emergency situations than anyone else on the sickbay staff, but it was never easy for him to see a comrade parish. Only one thing helped to override his mourning, and that was another emergency. With a shake of his head, he pushed aside the vision of Danzig's death and focused on the current situation.
 +
 +"What's our status?"
 +
 +"We're filling up quickly," said Fernmoore. "We've activated Triage Two and Three, and it's compensating for now. But we're short a few people."
 +
 +"Where's Shannon?" Yezbeck requested, looking around the room of patients and fast-working staff.
 +
 +"I don't know," Eliza explained. "She hasn't shown up yet."
 +
 +"Yezbeck to Harris!" Saal tapped his combadge with irritation. No response occurred, even after a second try.
 +
 +"Computer!" he shouted. "Location of Doctor Harris!"
 +
 +//"Lieutenant Commander Harris is not aboard the Republic."//
 +
 +With shock, the two doctors looked at one another in disbelief. Could it be? Was their ship's pediatrician blown out into space like Danzig? With decompression reports coming in from the outer sections of the ship, it was the only explanation.
 +
 +"Computer, Activate EHM," Yezbeck finally said, knowing that every second counted with an understaffed sickbay.
 +
 +//"Unable to comply. Holographic grid is offline."//
 +
 +"Explain!" he bellowed.
 +
 +//"Trans-dimensional shift impacted all extraneous computer algorithms and caused a reboot of the core systems. Alert status redirected higher processor functions to combat systems."//
 +
 +"Medical override," returned the now sour senior surgeon. "Yezbeck two-alpha. Re-initialize holographic matrix."
 +
 +//"Acknowledged. System re-initialization commencing."//
 +
 +"Thank you. Now activate the damned EMH!"
 +
 +With an electronic whisper, the clean-shaven face of Doctor Bashir from Deep Space Nine faded into existence.
 +
 +"Please state the nature of the medical emergency," came the smooth British accent.
 +
 +"We're understaffed and have casualties coming in from all areas of the ship," Yezbeck explained. "Report to the Trauma Ward for triage duty."
 +
 +"Understood," the EMH replied, and as it walked towards the nurse's station leading to the rear wards, a static sizzle followed by a kaleidoscope of dancing photons shimmered from the hologram. No sooner did it appear than did it fade away.
 +
 +"I thought you FIXED that damn thing!" shouted Yezbeck to Fernmoore.
 +
 +"I DID!" she replied. "I asked operations to take a look at it before we left port!"
 +
 +"Well, they didn't do a damned good job, did they?!" he argued.
 +
 +As before, the doors to sickbay burst open, and five more personnel raced in carrying two more casualties. As the doctors broke off their argument, they scrambled to help the newcomers. However, just before the doors closed, Shannon Harris stumbled in; her hair in disarray and a confused expression on her face. She looked around the sickbay, trying to get a grasp of her surroundings. Her combadge was missing from the chest of her blue uniform.
 +
 +"Shannon!" Yezbeck exclaimed. "Are you okay? What happened?" He rushed over to help the stumbling doctor.
 +
 +"I don't . . . I don't know," she muttered. Her face splayed one of exhaustion, and as Saal helped her into the SOD (Surgeon-On-Duty) office, he sat her down on the sofa.
 +
 +"Shannon, you don't look good at all," he commented. "Let me get you a stimulant."
 +
 +"No," she turned down the offer. "I'm okay, I just need to rest."
 +
 +"What happened? Where's your combadge?"
 +
 +The red-haired pediatrician frowned, and felt her chest for the communicator.
 +
 +"I must have dropped it," she explained. "Although I can't remember where."
 +
 +Saal checked her head for contusions, although he found none.
 +
 +"Did you hit your head on something?"
 +
 +"I don't think so," she replied. "Just give me a minute. I'll be okay."
 +
 +After a look of concern, Saal conceded after hearing a patient scream out in the main ward.
 +
 +"Okay, but I don't want you out there if you're not feeling well. If you need to, take a bunk. Do you hear me?"
 +
 +As she nodded, Saal went back into the main ward.
 +
 +"There's internal bleeding here!" shouted Fernmoore as she hovered with a tricorder over a patient. "Why didn't they beam you directly to sickbay?!"
 +
 +"We tried," answered a standing comrade of the man on the diagnostic table. "But operations never responded. We got tired of waiting and just decided to bring him down here ourselves."
 +
 +"THAT does it!" Yezbeck exclaimed, overhearing the conversation. "Yezbeck to Bridge! I got people coming in sickbay that should have been BEAMED here instead of being carried! What's going on with operations?!"
 +
 + 
 +
 +**Location: main bridge, USS Republic**
 +
 +Roth pursed her lips at the complaint from sickbay. Looking towards the young petty officer at ops, she watched as he frantically yet unsuccessfully worked the controls to direct various incoming requests to the proper departments. Realizing that ship operations were suffering at the absence of Kuga, she decided to make a temporary change.
 +
 +"Chief Rainier!" she called, and the red-uniformed, white-bearded Chief-of-the-Boat turned his attention away from the damage control console at the rear of bridge.
 +
 +"Yes, ma'am?"
 +
 +"Take over the Ops station!"
 +
 +"Yes, ma'am," he replied, and dutifully marched down the ramp to the head of the bridge.
 +
 +For his part, the young petty officer at the controls felt as if the universe was coming to an end. He had thought that the enlisted training program that Ensign Kuga initiated to help offset the department's lack of officers would suffice for him to take bridge duties. And, for normal operations, was working. But the change in alert status to battlestations was more than he could handle, and to have the captain, herself, relieve him of duty was tantamount to a court-marshal in his mind.
 +
 +However, as Chief Rainier arrived at the station, he placed a comforting hand on the youngster's shoulder. Looking into the eyes of his senior NCO's, the young man realized that he was not in trouble, and that Captain Roth was more perturbed at the current situation than at his inability to perform at the ops station under battle conditions. Nodding his head, Petty Officer Third-Class Randall wiped his forehead of sweat, and swiveled the console away from him to excuse himself from the seat. Walking to the rear of the bridge, he worked to shake off the dread of failure as the turbolift doors slid open. Commander Carter and Lieutenant Beauvais stood in the elevator, and Randall stepped aside to let the commander and the blonde-haired lieutenant walk off the lift before entering himself.
 +
 +"Commander," greeted the captain as the XO walked down the side of the command pit with Lieutenant Beauvais in tow. "We're not doing too well at the moment. I hope you've got some good news for me."
 +
 +"Some," John replied. "We've got about two dozen survivors from the Allegiance aboard, and have sent most of them to sickbay." Turning to introduce Zoe, he continued. "Lieutenant Beauvais here is the surviving senior officer, and explained that her Captain was going against Starfleet regulations in their attack. If it weren't for her, the Republic would probably be in an even worse situation right now."
 +
 +"Welcome aboard, lieutenant," the captain welcomed her. "Thank you for your help."
 +
 +A curt nod came from her end as she tried to locate the person that she was to assist on the bridge at tactical. She turned her head to the main view screen to see the events folding in around them. The ensnaring web at least wasn’t approaching as fast as it had while she was aboard the allegiance. Even though she wasn’t paying active attention to the conversation that the Captain and the Commander were having, she filed all the information later. It was a battle technique that she taught herself to make sure that she got all the imperative information first and foremost.
 +
 +The shaking from the contracting plasma web against the ship's hull turned to a severe jolt that nearly knocked her off her feet. She quickly regained her balance as she looked to the Commander, and he had regained his balance as well.
 +
 +Turning back to the commander, Captain Roth continued. "Unfortunately, we still may be facing just as bad an outcome. Decompression reports are increasing, and Mister Virtus has been unable to come up with a solution yet."
 +
 +"Any ideas, Vic?" John turned to his friend in the seat to the captains left. The veteran scientist was engrossed in his work on the console next to him, and did not look up to Carter when he replied.
 +
 +"With every question you ask, John, it deprives me of 2.3 seconds of time to come up with a solution."
 +
 +"Got it," John said. Turning back to the captain, he changed the subject.
 +
 +"Where's Lieutenant Danzig? Beauvais here is willing to give him an extra hand at tactical."
 +
 +"Bridge to Danzig," the captain tapped her combadge. A moment passed that indicated something was holding the lieutenant up, and as a reply finally came, a frown developed on the captains face as she realized the voice was not Danzig's"
 +
 +//"Sickbay here, captain. I've got some bad news. Danzig was lost in a decompression accident on deck ten."//
 +
 +Both Carter and Roth were startled in the realization that one of their senior staff was no longer with them. The two officers looked at one another in horror, trying to decide if what they just heard was true. The captain opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a severe jolt to the ship that nearly knocked Carter and Beauvais off their feet.
 +
 +"Report!" shouted Roth.
 +
 +"Decompression at the forward end of decks 11 and 9," Rainier immediately responded from the ops station. "Affected s ections reporting twelve casualties, two of them lost to explosive buckling of the bulkheads."
 +
 +"Lieutenant Beauvais," shouted Carter as he retook his seat to the captain's right. "Take over tactical. Log in under Danzig's signon. I'll explain it to the department later."
 +
 +Sans hesitation, Zoe bolted up from the Command Pit on the Bridge to the tactical console directly above it. Her swift fingers allowed her to access the information that was pouring in from all over the ship. She realized that some things were below par, but she wasn’t here to criticize, she was here to save lives.
 +
 +“Ma’am, we are currently losing power to the phaser banks. I have requested for more power allocation from Engineering. The forward torpedo tubes are severely damaged after that last jolt we had. The Tholians still do not have their weapons armed, unless you consider the web a weapon. Forward shields are starting to buckle. I have redistributed power between the aft and forward shields to compensate for the loss in power. However, if we don’t get out of this soon, we’re going to lose the nacelles,” she reported looking over the web crushing the shields of the ship.
 +
 +The sheer pressure from the web on the shields was what was causing the buckling on the ship and the loss of life left and right. If there was only a way to get the shields to hold out a bit stronger or to increase the structural integrity field, they would probably have more of a chance. That was up to Engineering though to do.
 +
 +Her mind was in disbelief at how the events were coming to unfold in front of them. As the space that they were occupying was getting smaller and smaller, she realized just how truly they were exposed both under the microscope and the macroscope.
 +
 +After giving her report, she started to delegate the teams in where they had to be at that specific moment in the folds of time. From what she could tell, the Republic had a good crew aboard. From what she observed already, some were slacking in some areas, but for the most part, it was a well-oiled, large beast caught in the hunter’s trap.
 +
 +She kept wracking her mind for ideas on how to get out of the situation peacefully. But from her monitoring on the Allegiance, negotiations didn’t really work, and then the twit of a captain ordered to fire and initiated the issue they were now faced with. If that captain would have survived all of this brutality, Zoe hoped that there would be some form of justice serve. Now all they had to do is figure a way out of it – easier said than done . . .
 +
 +"Doctor Virtus," Captain Roth said with desperation to the goateed engineering scientist in counselor's chair. "PLEASE tell me you've come up with something . . ."
  
 ---- ----
 <BOOKMARK:Chapter22> <BOOKMARK:Chapter22>
 <fs x-large>**Chapter 22: Off The Books**</fs><wrap lo right>[[archives:den_of_lions#top|Top]]</wrap>\\ \\  <fs x-large>**Chapter 22: Off The Books**</fs><wrap lo right>[[archives:den_of_lions#top|Top]]</wrap>\\ \\ 
 +**Location: Planet Vulcan, City of Shi'Kahr**
 +
 +His plomeek soup had gone untouched for nearly twenty minutes now, since the server had brought it to him, yet despite this and the appearance it gave, he could not bring himself to eat it. How anyone could eat hot soup under the sweltering mid-day sun of Vulcan made little sense to him. He had been instructed to order it though, and to wait, and so now he did both as the dry heat that smelled slightly of cinnamon left him parched and unable to quench that thirst, less he raise his servers curiosity. This was far from how such things where supposed to work.
 +
 +"I'm an Admiral, damnit," he mused to himself, quietly, "when I want to meet with a subordinate, they report to me, not the other way around."
 +
 +The dry air felt wonderful on her skin. It had been too many years since she had been home. Finalizing her fusing with the civilian clothes, she walked from the corner to the table across from the man with the untouched soup.
 +"I apologize for my tardiness. I had unfinished business to take care of. You should eat your soup. It will help keep you cool," she told him.
 +
 +Irritated, he said nothing as the Vulcan woman sat down across from him. After a moment, he pushed the bowl of soup in question across the surface of the table towards her. "Somehow, I doubt that ingesting hot soup will do me any good." he replied, as he raised his left hand, calling for his servers attention. It was explainable now why he hadn't touched the soup; it hadn't been for him. "Water, cold. A pitcher and two glasses. With ice." he ordered succinctly. With an affirmative nod, his server withdrew to fulfill the order. "Do try the soup," he said, "after all, our server now believes it was ordered for you. It could raise his suspicions if you don't try it."
 +
 +She picked up the spoon adjoining the bowl and dipped it into the soup. A moment passed as she allowed the warm soup to warm up her body, creating chills on her exposed skin to the Vulcan arid air.
 +
 +"It was for me," she replied, waiting for the server to come back and give him his water before she continued.
 +
 +After the server left, she looked at him. "So, what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?"
 +
 +Tipping the pitcher over, he poured himself a full glass, considering for the hundredth time how to go about this, before finally answering her. "I realize that this is the first opportunity for shore leave you've had in nearly two decades," he said, stopping to take a rather large sip and then to swallow before he continued, "but we have a rather critical situation, and you're the only candidate qualified to handle it." he finished.
 +
 +He peeked her interest. "Yes, it has been too long for shore leave. However, I do not see how I am the only candidate," she replied continuing her soup.
 +
 +As he finished another sip, he inhaled deeply, bracing himself against the reality of what he was about to say, "Quite simply, because everyone else who could handle something like this is either dead, or missing." he stated, his emotions difficult to restrain.
 +
 +"Missing? The only true way to disappear is to go somewhere where no one will look for you. I did that for seven years."
 +
 +"No, you don't understand," he said, shaking his head gently from side to side, "not missing like you chose to go missing. Missing, as in 'missing in action'." he explained. "Of all our top operatives, twenty-two are dead, and thirty-seven are missing." he revealed, having been taken aback by those numbers as they had come in over the past six weeks. "We even sent out the emergency call-back signal, four weeks ago, and nothing." he continued, leaning in across the table and lowering his voice. "You and I both know there is only one way something like this could have happened."
 +
 +"Section 31 leaked our agents. What is my mission?" she asked as she allowed the reality to sink in. Section 31 had gotten more notorious this time around than they did before. It was happening sooner than she wanted it to.
 +
 +Sitting back, he paused a moment, "Before we get to that, I need to explain some things to you. The first of which is that this mission is off the books. So am I, to be honest with you. Right now, we can't risk going through even our normal channels. As far as everyone and anyone else at Starfleet, or within the department are concerned, you and I have both gone missing just like everyone else. If you're not comfortable with that, walk away now." he stated.
 +
 +"I never walked away from the department. With Section 31 monitoring our every action, I would hope that would be the course of action. But then again, I have not been on the books since I disappeared from the future," she replied finishing her soup. "Continue."
 +
 +"This is a very messy situation," he started, as he poured himself a second glass of water, "very messy, very large, and with more players than anyone knows. We know one thing though, we know why Section 31 was willing to take such an awesome risk like this. The Orion Syndicate." he said, stopping to sip. "Now I know you've never had first hand dealings with the Syndicate, but believe me, they're as dangerous - if not more so - than thirty-one. Thirty-one has weaknesses, limitations; they have to remain in the shadows. The Syndicate has none of those same vulnerabilities, in fact, it has very few. They control by fear, intimidation, and bloodshed." he explained.
 +
 +"I know of them through reputation. What is the mission?" she asked.
 +
 +"To protect our greatest hope, our greatest weapon against the Syndicate." he answered, producing a civilian-style padd from the simple black robes he wore, and sliding it across the table to her. It contained a photo of a young blond human male in a red Starfleet uniform, as well as the corresponding profile. "You'll find he's many things, none of which you expect. Underneath it all, though, he's got a good heart, and a capable mind. He's also the man responsible for providing the eye-witness testimony and evidence that allowed us to indict Keevan Faro early last year."
 +
 +She scoffed as she looked over the profile. "I heard about Faro skipping out before the trial. So why am I protecting him instead of going and getting Faro?" she asked setting the information down.
 +
 +"Because without him, we can't touch Faro. Everything hinges upon his testimony. Testimony he won't be able to give if he's dead, which he's in extreme danger of being given that Section 31 is in bed with the Syndicate." he explained, frustrated at the situation, and her attitude. "You have no idea how critical this is," he accused, "he's the key to taking down the most powerful and influential crime syndicate in known space." he stated. "Let me break it down for you, because I don't think you're getting the big picture here. This is a domino effect. With his testimony, we can take down Keevan Faro. With Faro under our thumb, we can take down the entire Syndicate. With the Syndicate out of the way, we can focus much more of our resources on Section 31. Thirty-one knows all of this, which is precisely why they're helping the Syndicate now. By exposing our operatives, most of whom where involved in investigations that in some manner connect with the Syndicate, they force us to reallocate all of our resources onto the enemy we can see, the enemy killing our operatives, while oblivious to the enemy pulling the strings, giving thirty-one a free hand." he explained.
 +
 +"I understand what is going on, but I do not see how I am the only one left to baby-sit an operative."
 +
 +"Did you miss the part about everyone else being either dead or missing? Our how about the part about two of the most dangerous organizations known to the Federation surreptitiously joining forces do to a common goal? Shouldn't those two things be more than enough for you?" he questioned. She didn't reply. She didn't need too. She simply continued to stare at him, knowing there was more to this than he was letting on. Finally realizing that she had perceived more than he had wished her too, he sighed, and looked away for a moment. "How about the fact that you're the only other person with a personal stake in this, the only person I trust at this point." he said softly.
 +
 +She shook her head lightly. "If we are the only ones left, then we need to do something more than just babysitting. I can hold the fort down for awhile. Did you pick a persona for me to embrace?" she asked as she folded her hands in her lap.
 +
 +With a relieved sigh, he nodded, "Yes, it's on the same padd," he told her, "you'll be serving as the chief science officer aboard the starship Republic. She's on assignment at the moment, but from what I know, that should be finished with shortly." he informed her. "We had to be creative in how we protected him from the Syndicate. Normal methods simply don't work. Since he was Starfleet during the war, we simply re-instated him, placed him aboard an appropriate vessel. It's worked, so far, though not without a few minor hitches. A mobile fortress like an active Galaxy-Class ship has kept him alive for the better part of a year. As for doing things other than . . . babysitting . . . believe me, I'm taking care of things." he finished.
 +
 +"And what methods do I get to employ if I am discovered?"
 +
 +"Obviously, remaining covert is best for the sake of the assignment," he replied, "but the risks involved with discovery are minimal, given the nature of things. If you're discovered, explain everything to the objective, and anyone whom he deems appropriate. I know that's not exactly standard operation procedure, but, nothing about this is." he said.
 +
 +"Agreed. Same drop rates as before?" she asked filing the information for later.
 +
 +"No, it's too risky," he responded, "the changes are all explained within an encoded file hidden beneath you're persona's profile."
 +
 +"Interesting. Shall I investigate the connection between the two while I am babysitting, or am I just to remain to the objective?"
 +
 +"Keep your focus on the objective. I'll handle the rest. I've got . . . friends . . . in high, public places on this one. People thirty-one can't go after without attracting unwanted attention. People thirty-one are too arrogant to consider a threat." he said with a smile. Pausing for a moment, the smile faded away, "Thank you, both for not asking what my stake in all of this is, besides the obvious, and for taking the assignment. I know it's not exactly what you normally do."
 +
 +She turned the PADD over and folded her hands again. "I understand what is at stake if they succeed in their mission. When it is necessary to contact me, use the old means through Ms. Smith. That way it will look completely normal. I will collect my belongings and head to dock waiting for the assignment. I am assuming I have full access to whatever means I need?" she asked.
 +
 +He nodded, "Everything is as you'll need."
 +
 +"It was nice to see you again. I am glad that your family is well. I must get back to work." She slid the PADD into her pocket and folded her napkin then put it down on the table.
 +
 +Sitting there as she departed, he couldn't help but ponder her choice of words - I am glad that your family is well - and wonder if, indeed, that was completely true . . . 
  
 ---- ----
 <BOOKMARK:Chapter23> <BOOKMARK:Chapter23>
 <fs x-large>**Chapter 23: Enter The Spooks**</fs><wrap lo right>[[archives:den_of_lions#top|Top]]</wrap>\\ \\  <fs x-large>**Chapter 23: Enter The Spooks**</fs><wrap lo right>[[archives:den_of_lions#top|Top]]</wrap>\\ \\ 
 +**Location: promenade, Deep Space Nine**
 +
 +Mixed in the intense crowd on the famous DS9 Promenade, an Ensign dressed in Operations gold and an odd female engaged in a conversation.
 +
 +Ensign Christopher Jenkins, with one look by most females from any races, his charisma instantly attracted all. "Intriguing to see you here Admiral, and I must say you're looking lovely outside your uniform," he rumored.
 +
 +The Admiral, trying to blend in the crowd, however she couldn't help feel like she was sticking out like a sore thumb. "Save the flattery for someone else Ensign . . . You will be receiving your new assignment orders soon . . . to be transferred to the starship Republic . . . " She paused for a minute to catch her breath and to make sure no one was listening in " . . . I want you to keep an eye on a Ensign Kuga for us," she conveyed.
 +
 +Chris moved in a little closer towards to the Admiral and began to whisper in her ear. "Any preferred reason on how I should handle this?"
 +
 +The Admiral gave a weak smile and whispers back, "I don't care how keep an eye on her, for all I care you could become her lover . . . Just make sure she doesn't speak about us."
 +
 +"And if she does?" Chris implied
 +
 +The Admiral turns to face Chris giving him a kiss on the cheek, “Protect the Organization at all cost.” She walks off slowly blending into the crowd; Chris just gave a nod in agreement and proceeds to Quarks.
 +
 +When the meeting came to a close, a ghost-like figure hid in the shadows finishing its watch over the two.
 +
 +
 +----
 +
 +
 +**Location: Quark's Bar, lower level promenade, Deep Space Nine**
 +
 +The Bar was buzzing with noise, as crews from various Starfleet vessels enjoy themselves at the dabo tables. Reia and what was left of the crew of the Livingston sat at the same table they have been at for the pass several weeks. Quark approached the group of young Starfleet Officers.
 +
 +"Can't Starfleet give you something else to do, besides take up space in my bar?" he said rudely.
 +
 +"Quark, we're waiting for our orders from Starfleet. Until then . . . they told us to wait and relax," said a nearby ensign.
 +
 +"You could wait over at the Dabo tables, or how about renting some holosuite time . . . I have quite a collection of programs you might be interested in," implied Quark.
 +
 +"Sorry Quark, we're just here to relax."
 +
 +"Well, try doing other relaxing things . . . " He turned to Reia. "What about you Lieutenant? I have quite a collection of holo programs from Trill," Offered the Ferengi bartender.
 +
 +Reia was about to respond when she noticed a familiar face entering the room. "Maybe another time Quark . . . " she said, walking towards the bar, trying to intercept the newcomer who was an older looking gentleman.
 +
 +At about the same time, Chris Jenkins walked into the room, bumping into Lieutenant Merrick. "Hey Reia . . . " After giving him a blank stare, she ignored him and continued to walk towards the old man.
 +
 +Quark looked at them both, and shook his head mumbling "Hue-mans"
 +
 +"Who is that old guy Reia is taking too?" the nearby Ensign asked, but before Quark could respond, he was shocked when Reia gave the old geezer a kiss on the cheek. "What the . . . Did she just kiss that guy?"
 +
 +Chris sat down at a nearby table with his shipmates from the Livingston, watching Reia out of the corner of his eye. "Oh no . . . He can't be back!?" added Chris.
 +
 +"Who is that?" questioned the Ensign even more puzzled than before.
 +
 +"That is Captain James Merrick . . . I thought he was retired," replied Chris
 +
 +The Ensign, looking dumbfounded, asked, "are you saying that old man is Reia's father?"
 +
 +"Well duh, detective! Reia Merrick?! You don't see the connection there . . . " replied Chris sarcastically.
 +
 +"I thought she was Trill . . . " began the Ensign has he was interrupt.
 +
 +"She's half Trill you moron," said Chris as he tried to drink out of an empty glass.
 +
 +"Oh . . . So what is so bad about her father?" questioned the Ensign.
 +
 +"Let's just say he is not a favorite in Starfleet . . . " commented Chris.
 +
 +
 +----
 +
 +
 +"It's nice to see you again dad," said Reia as she took a seat on a bar stool.
 +
 +Jim looked at his daughter and gave a smile, "You've grown a little since the last time I saw you."
 +
 +"Speak of the devil you've gone grey," she replied.
 +
 +"It's only to charm the younger generation," said Jim as he took a drink of his root beer.
 +
 +Reia felt a little sick to her stomach. "Dad, I would think of hearing that from mom, but from you it's rather disgusting . . . anyway so how were you able to get your command back?"
 +
 +Jim let out a small laugh, "I still have some friends in Starfleet, but honestly I think it was time for me to get back into saddle."
 +
 +"So what is your ship like?" questions Reia gleaming with excitement.
 +
 +Jim just smiled and shook his head, "The Expedition . . . Oh she is an . . . interesting ship . . . "
 +
 +"Interesting?! Come on dad . . . I want details . . . Details!" demanded Reia.
 +
 +Jim looked at Reia with a sad face replying, "I'm sorry Reia, but I can't hand out classified information in a place like this."
 +
 +"Can you at least tell me what class she is?" questioned Reia as her excitement went down the drain.
 +
 +"Excelsior mark three . . . " began Jim, when another person interrupted them.
 +
 +A woman walked up to them and looked between the two. In a heavy French accent, she stated, "Sorry, I didn't realize that you had company, Sir." She started to turn to walk away when she got stopped.
 +
 +"It's ok Doc, I want you to meet someone." replied Jim chuckling a little.
 +
 +She turned back around to face the two of them. "Jéanne-Thérèse Marsol, nice to meet you . . . ?"
 +
 +"This is my daughter, Lieutenant Reia Merrick," said Jim.
 +
 +Reia extends her hand "A pleasure to meet you Ma’am."
 +
 +Marsol almost reached up and slapped him until she restrained herself and bit her tongue. She replaced the smile on her face and looked at the woman. "Very nice to meet you, Reia. I see that your father's colorful past show true tonight. I apologize for my near fatal reaction."
 +
 +Reia return the smile, "Don't worry about it . . . Well I guess since I'm not going to get a tour of his ship I might as well be going." she says constructively trying to beg her way onto the Expedition.
 +
 +Jim looked at Reia with a grin on his face, “I know what you’re trying to pull here missy, and don’t . . . ” he began to say.
 +
 +"Eh, don't fear, there are parts of the ship that I still haven't seen," she replied smiling.
 +
 +Reia’s gave her infamous 'sad puppy' face to her father, “Daddy, please can I have a tour on your ship?” she asked.
 +
 +Marsol snickered as she heard her request.
 +
 +Jim tried to toughen up by replying, “Look I can’t let you on right now, its just policy . . . ”
 +
 +"Jim, I think that you should honor the request of your third child, that I know of. After all, if you don't, I'll find a way for her. Don't make me go rogue on you," she replied pointing a finger at him.
 +
 +Jim sat in silence for a few seconds, then mumbling “Women . . . ”
 +
 +"Apparently you love us women-folk, Jim. After all, there's three children now . . . do you have any others you want to fess up to?"
 +
 +Jim's face gave a slight smile as he replies, "Well I'm not too sure about those Orion women in . . . ."
 +
 +Marsol reached her hand behind his head and smacked him hard. "I hope that teaches you some common sense there, but then again, that would be asking for a miracle. However, miracles happen, look at me."
 +
 +Reia looks at her father blankly trying to understand what she just heard.
 +
 +Just as Jim was about to reply, a voice came over his commbadge.
 +
 +//”Captain, there is a priority two message from Starfleet Command”//
 +
 +”Roger that, I’ll be on the ship in a few minutes . . . ” said Jim, as he stood up from the bar commenting. “Sometimes it’s good to be the Captain,” winking towards the ladies as he walked off.
 +
 +Marsol just stood there in disbelief. "Men. Can't live with them and can't live without them. And he's one of the worse," she mocked.
 +
 +“Well obviously, he did something right in his life, or he wouldn’t be in the position he his in today,” commented Reia as she sighed with Marsol.
 +
 +"That can be debatable," she replied. "He's got more of an attitude than I do, and I nearly got kicked out of Starfleet for mine. It's a nice little curse I got myself."
 +
 +“Oh I take it you didn’t know what happen to him during the war?” questioned Reia
 +
 +"I know bits and pieces. He may have fought in the present war, but I have been through another one, myself. It created much havoc, let me tell you," she replied trying to push the horrible memories of that war out of her mind. "It was a long time ago, in your standards, but it just feels like yesterday to me."
 +
 +“Well with any war, it was bad for all of us . . . ” Reia commented, hoping to switch to a different subject.
 +
 +"Agreed. So, tell me, Reia, what's your area of specialty?" she asked quickly changing the subject.
 +
 +“Operations . . . I was the Chief of Operations on the USS Livingston . . . ” as her voice choked a little “ . . . before she went up in smoke.”
 +
 +"Ahh okay. He never properly introduced me. Chief Medical Officer on the Expedition. If he fails to get you aboard, there are ways around that," Marsol replied allowing herself a devious smile in the process.
 +
 +A friend of Reia’s walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. As Reia turned around, the newcomer addressed her. “Reia, the brass wants to see us again, I think it’s something about new orders.”
 +
 +Reia gave a nod and watched her friend walk out of the bar. At that moment, she swore that she could hear Quark mumbling ‘About time they leave'.
 +
 +“Well, I’m sorry to cut this short, but I got to go as well.”
 +
 +"Take care of yourself, Reia Merrick. I hope to see you again one day soon. Let me know if you want that tour and he fails for you. I got my womanly charms and devious intentions," she replied shaking hands. "Good luck with the Brass . . . I have a tendency to avoid them at all costs, nowadays."
 +
 +Reia gave a smile as she stood up, “You too, and try to take of my father if you could please.”
 +
 +"Farewell for now," she said as she herself was about to head back to the ship. She reminded herself while she was walking back to the dock that she was going to have to have a word with that man.
 +
 +
 +----
 +
 +
 +**Location: promenade, Deep Space Nine**
 +
 +The Vulcan female walked the decks of DS9. Her feet remembered their old stomping grounds and she fell back into habit of station living. The sounds and smells made it all the better. Albeit the smells sometime repulsed her, she had gotten used to it when she served aboard here as a Security officer all those years ago. She watched people go as they walked passed her. Her eyes caught a few people sitting down. One of them looked too familiar, but she didn't want to believe it. Lowering her sight, she hoped to distract herself enough so that attention was not drawn.
 +
 +Chris Jenkins, walking out of Quark's, bumped into the Vulcan lieutenant commander. Looking directly at her, the ensign noticed that she was somewhat familiar. “I’m sorry Ma’am,” he apologized with an odd look on his face.
 +
 +She looked at him, deep in his eyes, analyzing him quickly. "My apologies, I must not have been watching where I was going," she replied before she started to walk off again. Her suspicions were correct. He was one of them. Seeing that she was ordered not to do anything, she filed the information for later, but was still willing to take matters into her own hands if anything came of it. After all, she had to protect herself and she had to protect the organization.
 +
 +Chris walked away, shaking his head and thinking, ‘That can’t be her . . . she’s dead?’
 +
 +The Vulcan, ignoring Jenkins, continued walking throughout the familiar part of the station. It had changed very little in some respects since she used to serve aboard the station before the War. Nothing would be home like the Ma'at, her own personal ship. Unfortunately, it never survived the battle that ended up too many people dead. She longed for what she had before she enlisted in core. There is no running around, there was no fear of death lingering over her head, and she didn't have to always carry small weapons around on her body, even though she was the weapon herself.
 +
 +She was the one that cleaned out the dirty, gather information, and not be caught. Holding no regrets about the past, she looked forward to what the future would bring to her. A finger made it past the blue of her uniform. She hadn't worn a real one in such a long time, she found the fabric irritating to her neckline.
 +
 +Even though she was technically on leave from her real assignment, she never had to wear a real uniform with the department designations on it. Not knowing how long she was going to be on this assignment, she had made arrangements for someone to take her place if she were not to return when her leave was technically over. There was always an excuse to get off of the station that she was currently serving on.
 +
 +Now walking these decks made her realize how big the station she was on truly was. The difference was by many many decks. Risks were something that came with the job, day in and day out. She understood what she was getting into when she switched out of a regular job.
 +
 +At one of the windows, she stopped and started to analyze all the information about the crew of the USS Republic, the assignment of being a science officer, and the ship herself. The one thing she never regretted was spending too much time as a Borg. The internal cybernetics allowed her to increase her proficiency as well as it allowed to put a front on. Anyone who looked at her would assume that she was looking out the window to see the wormhole in action. Upon closer inspection, they still wouldn't be able to see that she was doing anything but looking at the stars and the wormhole.
 +
 +A security officer walked by her and then turned around. He tapped her on the shoulder and said, "I'm sorry, Ma'am. I thought that you were someone else." It had looked exactly like the security officer that he used to do rounds with.
 +
 +"That is fine. Most people assume that I am someone else, and I only disappoint."
 +
 +"Sorry," he said as he walked away. She was too old to be his former friend. He had seen the reports that she was dead, but didn't believe them. There was no funeral. He had only found out that she had died due to the Killed in Action report that he got on a weekly basis. 'Oh well,' he thought to himself as he continued his rounds.
 +
 +She hated having to lie to her former friend. She immediately recognized him when he distracted her from her current task. She had grown many years since she had worked with him. She was a different person in many different respects than her younger self. This assignment irked her. It wasn't really the fact that she knew that she could do it, or that it was really out of her specialty. What really irked her and sent chills down her Vulcan spine was the fact that most of the Starfleet Intelligence core was either in hiding or dead.
 +
 +Now to just wait for the Republic to dock.
  
 ---- ----
 <BOOKMARK:Chapter24> <BOOKMARK:Chapter24>
 <fs x-large>**Chapter 24: Vicious Circles**</fs><wrap lo right>[[archives:den_of_lions#top|Top]]</wrap>\\ \\  <fs x-large>**Chapter 24: Vicious Circles**</fs><wrap lo right>[[archives:den_of_lions#top|Top]]</wrap>\\ \\ 
 +**Location: Reactor Tower 4, Sigma Omicron Terraforming Station**
 +
 +In an instant, Hawk was face down upon the surface of the fourth reactor tower, his vision blurred as blood trickled from a cut on his lip. He literally hadn't seen it coming, or rather, hadn't seen him coming. Now, the previously unconscious Hranok was standing over him, slamming his booted foot into Hawk's ribs with overwhelming force and speed. Only as the Helmsman's mind cleared from the decisive blow to the head he must have received did the fierce shooting pain finally register across his body. His instincts told him to fight, to strike back, but he had no strength left. All he had was the excruciating pain and the taste of blood in his mouth.
 +
 +So, he did as he had done dozens, maybe hundreds of times before, and he used that which he had, and focused on that pain. Going deeper, he focused on the pain that had followed him always, in the back of his mind, eating away at him for nearly two decades now. The rage that boiled within him, the fury that had driven him in other desperate situations, now did so once more. As a brutal roar overcame him, straining his vocal chords, he summoned every last iota of strength he had left and struck back with sudden defiance. With exquisite force, he slammed his elbow back and into Hranok's left knee, shattering the joint like glass.
 +
 +As it gave way, bending out and away from Hranok in an exceedingly unnatural way, it was the assassin-turned-saboteur's turn to cry out as he toppled over. The brutal sound was like fuel to Hawk's fire of rage, giving him much needed strength to push himself up from the warm metal surface. Seeing his enemies leg bent, bleeding, and broken at such an awkward angle fed the dark depths of Nathan Hawk even more. This was barely a glimmer of the justice - of the vengeance - that he had envisioned delivering upon men like Keevan Faro since he was only a boy. It was what he had craved more than anything, what had tempted him so often during his time undercover with the Syndicate.
 +
 +As he stood over Hranok, the Bolian writhing in agony, all he wanted in that moment was to continue on this course. To make the traitor feel physically what he had felt emotionally every day of his life for nearly eighteen years. To be consumed by his own hate, to fade darker from his current shade of gray, to embrace his thirst for revenge. Taking a firm grip on the collar of Hranok's uniform, he pulled the Bolian up, forcing him to his feet. Grimacing in pain, Hranok caught sight of something in Hawk's eyes, and for the first time, felt fear as to what lay buried deep beneath the depths of Hawk's soul.
 +
 +Pushing Hranok back with each step forward, Hawk moved towards the edge of the fourth reactor tower, never taking his eyes from Hranok's own as he did. He wanted the Bolian to see what he was up against, to fear him, to recognize the fierce determination and hate that ate away at him day after day. Above all else, he wanted the Bolian to understand just what a fool he had been to come after him, to threaten him, try to kill him, to betray him on a mission he lead. To realize just how futile the entire mission to assassinate him had been from the start. To understand that no one, not Keevan Faro, not Starfleet, not even the entire Orion Syndicate, could stop him.
 +
 +"This s'how it's gonna work ya sorry sonuvabitch!" Hawk spat through gritted teeth at the broken Bolian. "Yer gonna tell me everythin' I wanna know, n'if fer one second I think yer hidin' somethin' 'er tellin' me a tale? I'm gonna break another body part 'ntil yer beggin' me ta kill yer sorry ass!"
 +
 +"Okay, okay! I'll tell you whatever you want to know! Just don't kill me!" Hranok whimpered, a pale reflection of the experienced assassin he had initially appeared to be.
 +
 +Jerking the Bolian forward swiftly, Hawk got in his face as he bellowed, "I make the rules, asshole! Ya wanna get outta this, ya shut yer damn mouth 'ntil I tell ya otherwise!"
 +
 +"Alright, alright! I'm sorry!" Hranok sniveled apologetically, seeming less like a trained operative and more like a lackey.
 +
 +"How do I save the Republic?" the Helmsman questioned without delay, even as a dozen different questions began to form in Hawk's mind as to just who the hell Hranok really was.
 +
 +"Non-symmetrical warp field, just generate one, it'll push the 'subspace termites' out of the g-band, neutralize them!" Hranok answered, promptly, a tremor of fear evident in his voice.
 +
 +"Who sent ya? How'd they find me?" Hawk asked next, adjusting his grip on the Bolian's collar. He hadn't expected such an easy time of questioning the Bolian, whose pathetic display was throwing Hawk for a loop.
 +
 +"The Syndicate, someone saw the news feed, they recognized you!" Hranok explained.
 +
 +"I wanna name!" Hawk demanded, leaning Hranok out further over the edge to make his point.
 +
 +"Dresdan! It was Dresdan! Faro contacted him, Faro saw the transmission himself!" Hranok replied.
 +
 +"Faro hates Dresdan!" Hawk shot back, leaning the Bolian out further, "Why would they work t'gether?!" he demanded.
 +
 +"Because of me!" Hranok answered quickly, "Faro knew Dresdan had someone who could get inside Starfleet, but only for a little while! That was me, that's why I was selected!"
 +
 +"What the frinx s'special 'bout you?!" Hawk inquired, pulling the Bolian in a bit, his own strength faltering as his injuries finally caught up with him, his adrenaline levels decreasing.
 +
 +"Nothing! I swear! Please! Pleeease! Don't kill me!" begged Hranok as he erupted in whimpering sobs.
 +
 +Of everything he had expected of a Syndicate assassin, the pathetic, sniveling, whimpering routine wasn't even on the list. It just didn't make any sense! Hranok had pulled the wool over everyone's eyes for the last few weeks. He had teamed up with Beckett, he had been responsible for the subspace termites that now - unknown to the crew - threatened to destroy the Republic. He had even taunted Hawk during their captivity in sickbay. How could he now be nothing more than a shell of a man, sobbing and pleading for his life?
 +
 +"Who'n the hell r'ya?" Hawk finally asked.
 +
 +"Nobody, I'm nobody," Hranok replied, "I'm just a con-man who took the wrong people's money, I swear!" Hranok proclaimed. "I'm not even the real Hranok, I've never even met the guy . . . "
 +
 +Everything driving Hawk suddenly evaporated. The hate, the anger, the rage, the quest for vengeance - everything that had been brought to the surface in desperation to survive was gone again, in an instant. Buried back deep within him at the realization that nothing would come from killing the Bolian. In one quick movement, he pulled the Bolian in from the edge and released him, the blue-skinned alien collapsing into a heap like a marionette with the strings cut.
 +
 +"Who'r ya?" Hawk asked, as he leaned back against the console for support.
 +
 +It took the Bolian a moment to compose himself to the point where he could reply. "My names Evok," he finally muttered, as he stopped sobbing, "I'm a two-bit con-man from New Sydney." he continued, without prodding, "I made some really bad calls, took some money from the wrong people. Ended up in to Dresdan for nearly ten-thousand bricks of latinum. I couldn't pay it off . . . he was going to kill me, kill my family . . . I didn't know what else to do . . . " Evok explained, sorrowfully. "He came to me a few weeks ago, told me . . . told me if I did this for him, if I killed you, he'd call it even. I didn't have a choice, I never meant for anybody to get hurt. I never meant for any of this to happen . . . " the Bolian admitted.
 +
 +Hawk had expected to feel little less than hate for this man, this coward who had betrayed them. As he looked upon the Bolian - broken, defeated, exposed, remorseful - he couldn't help but feel sorry for him, though. Evok was no saint; he was a thief and a con, and that had caught up to him. He deserved to be punished for his crimes, that was for sure. No one deserved this though. To be at the whim of the Syndicate, to live in fear, not just for yourself, but for your family. To know that you owed your life to the changing mood of a crime lord who would just as soon kill you as spit on you.
 +
 +Battered, bruised, bloodied and broken himself, Lieutenant Nathan Hawk did something that surprised even himself. Pushing off from the console, he steadied himself, before stepping over to Evok, the man he had known for the past few weeks as Hranok, and held his hand out. At first, the Bolian had winced and braced himself for a beating. When that didn't come though, he had opened his clenched eyes and looked up at Hawk expectantly, fearfully, and been surprised by the outstretched hand. trepetitiously, he took it, as Hawk helped him to his feet, and held him up. As Evok put his arm around Hawk's neck, allowing him to stand on his one good leg, he looked at the Human and asked a question without ever saying the words.
 +
 +"'Cause ya ain't one a them," Hawk stated simply.
 +
 +Tapping his communicator, Hawk issued the command, and a moment later, he and the man who had been sent here to kill him disappeared from atop the coolant towers.
  
 ---- ----
 <BOOKMARK:Chapter25> <BOOKMARK:Chapter25>
 <fs x-large>**Chapter 25: Crowd Control**</fs><wrap lo right>[[archives:den_of_lions#top|Top]]</wrap>\\ \\  <fs x-large>**Chapter 25: Crowd Control**</fs><wrap lo right>[[archives:den_of_lions#top|Top]]</wrap>\\ \\ 
 +**Location: Tholian Ship, in orbit around Sigma Omicron Five**
 +
 +"Damn it!" a station crewmember exclaimed with vehemence. "They've had us in here for HOURS! No food! No water! Not even a damn place to piss!"
 +
 +"Relax, lieutenant," Leon ordered. "If you have business to do, do it in the corner. As far as food and water . . . well, just be glad you're still alive. That's more than you'd be if they hadn't beamed us up.
 +
 +Imprisoned in the translucent walls of the Tholian brig, all the survivors from Sigma Omicron Five could do was wait for their captors' next move. The fiery dance of red, orange, and yellow plasma reflected through the barriers giving the Spartan room the appearance of a cauldron of molten steel. Fortunately, the occupants did not experience the heat and pressure of the environment beyond.
 +
 +"What do you think?" Leon turned to Reittan with frustration. "Can you detect any thought patterns?
 +
 +"They're not so much thoughts as a complex mix of multiple emotions," the counselor explained. "And vague emotions at that."
 +
 +"What do you mean?"
 +
 +"If I had to guess, I'd say that the Tholians are communicating with each other through a free-roaming network of mental telepathy. Only, I can't discriminate between individuals."
 +
 +"You mean they're a hive mind?" Leon questioned, putting his hands on his hips. "Like the Borg?"
 +
 +"No," Reittan answered confidently. "Borg drones have no free will. There is definitely individuality here, only the thought- response frequency is so fast, I can't hone in on any one individual. All I get is the a resonating effect of emotional echoes from whatever thought was communicated among them before another one is transmitted. The Tholians seem to 'think' on a higher level than we've ever experienced. It's as if they perceive, interpret, and respond all at once with no time interval in-between."
 +
 +"That must be convenient," Leon replied with both sarcasm and awe. "Being able to interact with the universe without that pesky little thing called 'time' in order to make a decision. Can you discriminate what their intensions are with us?"
 +
 +"Hard to say," the counselor replied calmly, closing his eyes in concentration. "They're perceiving a threat outside of themselves, and they're responding with anger, frustration, and confusion, with a combined determination to . . ."
 +
 +Reittan's expression turned to a grimace, and his forehead wrinkled in distress.
 +
 +"What?" Leon asked with concern. "What are they determined to do?"
 +Counselor Tolkath knelt down, and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly to gain control of his own emotions before responding.
 +
 +". . . exterminate," he whispered to Leon, not wanting to alarm the rest of the station personnel around him.
 +
 +"Hey!" the doctor immediately shouted towards the unknown realm beyond the wall. The other prisoners only watched him silently with confusion. "Do you hear me? Talk to us!" he demanded. "What's happening? What's happening to our people?"
 +
 +A moment passed where no response was given. Leon was about to yell again when an area on the wall in which he was facing shimmered and revealed a shocking scene. It was the Republic in an energy web, surrounded by Tholian ships with the scarlet-gray disk of Sigma Omicron Five glowing in the background. The web itself was closely hugging the Republic's hull at the bow and stern, and an orange lance of phaser energy emanated from her forward weapons in a futile attempt to cut out of the matrix-like net. It was not an image in motion, however. It was frozen like a photograph; a moment captured in time.
 +
 +In response to the image, Doctor Cromwell's eyes grew wide with trepidation. In an instant where he reacted before thinking, he threw himself towards the wall and began pounding and kicking it with an almost panicked fervor.
 +
 +"Stop!" he shouted, continuing with his relentless punching of the translucent barrier. "Stop what you're doing! We're NOT your enemy!"
 +
 +With a voice that resonated throughout the room, an alien voice addressed the doctor.
 +
 +*"You are the non. You must be removed."*
 +
 +"We're a sentient species!" Leon bellowed. "Just like you! You're committing murder!"
 +
 +*"We react only to what the non have brought upon our fractals in the cradle."*
 +
 +"Hold on!" the doctor shouted. "We didn't know this planet was claimed by your species! You can't hold us accountable for these deaths!"
 +
 +*"That is not correct."* the bodiless voice continued. *"The non has visited this world during the before."*
 +
 +"Before?" Leon asked with confusion. "What do you mean 'before'? Before what?"
 +
 +*"The before is the arrival. Our fractals slept. Your species pierced the veil, exposing their cradle."*
 +
 +"What?" the doctor shook his head. "Are you telling me that humans knew about this place before the station was built?"
 +
 +*"You are the non. You cannot understand."*
 +
 +"There's no point in trying to reason with them, doctor." A cold and familiar female voice interrupted Leon's tirade. Turning to face his inquisitor, Doctor Samuel Beckett sat on a stretcher after quietly waking from her phaser-induced slumber, compliments of Nat Hawk. "They're a dangerous species. A threat to the Federation."
 +
 +Staring at her, Leon started to put two-and-two together: Beckett worked for Kostya, and kept the terraforming going despite the mysterious deaths. Kostya, on the other hand, was the admiral responsible for the Cestus Three incident; an attempt to provoke a war with the Gorns by using Leon's homeworld as the excuse. The admiral lost that battle, yet it suddenly occurred to the Doctor that Kostya may have turned his sights towards another empire in an attempts to invoke conflict and expand Federation borders: The Tholians.
 +
 +"What happened here?" Leon gritted his teeth, marching towards Beckett with fire in his eyes. Seeming to forget that she was a patient in his care, the doctor grabbed Beckett by the front of her shirt, picking her up off the stretcher. With a viscous glare, he asked "what did Kostya have planned here?"
 +
 +"You wouldn't understand, Doctor Cromwell," she spat back. "While you would have us lie down at the feet of our enemies, Vladimir Kostya is SAVING the Federation."
 +
 +"He's trying to start a WAR!" Leon shook her.
 +
 +With a fanatically defiant look on her face, she pushed Leon away and scowled at him.
 +
 +"We're already at war!" Beckett replied angrily. "We're always at war! Everyday! Everywhere! There are empires all around our borders who are just waiting for us to show a weakness! The Dominion was just the beginning! We NEED strong leaders like Kostya to protect us!"
 +
 +"You're crazy!" Leon concluded with astonishment. "You know that?"
 +
 +"And you're a fool!" she shot back, unrepentant.
 +
 +Seemingly out of nowhere, a hand reached out and pinched Beckett on the lower neck near the shoulder. As she slumped down, Counselor Tolkath caught her, and laid the unconscious body back down on the stretcher.
 +
 +"I should have known that bastard was going to pull something again," Doctor Cromwell muttered with spite, referring to Kostya.
 +
 +"This was a terrible mistake," Leon turned back to disembodied voice. "Our leaders would never have allowed anyone to come here if they knew your children . . . your fractals . . . were on the surface."
 +
 +Looking back at the picture of Republic's life-or-death dilemma, Leon continued to plea his case.
 +
 +"We will leave this place and not trouble you again . . . please, let our people go."
 +
 +*"We cannot allow this to happen again. The non must be punished."*
 +
 +"If you destroy us, and our ship you have trapped in your web, our leaders WILL be back, and in much greater numbers. When they find out what has happened, they will declare war. Many more of your fractals will die.
 +
 +*"No! The fractals must survive!"*
 +
 +"Then let us go, and they will. Our leaders will declare this place off-limits, and we will never return. Your fractals will prosper."
 +
 +*"The words on the non mean little to us. We cannot trust you."*
 +
 +"Then your fractals will perish."
 +
 +A moment of silence ensured where the unmoving picture of the Republic, caught in the Tholian web, turned Leon's stomach in knots.
 +
 +"If we're to avoid war," the doctor finally said. "And keep your fractals safe, you have to trust me . . . Please."
 +
 +
 +----
 +
 +
 +Tensions on the bridge of the Republic were at an all-time high as consoles erupted into a shower of sparks and smoke permeated the air. Crewmen were frantically running to either stabilize a wounded comrade, or to secure a control station, or call for a damage team. Bathed in the pulsating red light, it seemed only those in the command pit were in control of the chaos, as Captain Roth and Commander Carter looked intently at the monitor ahead.
 +
 +"Transfer all auxiliary power to shields!" shouted Carter, as a rear science station exploded.
 +
 +"Stabilize energy reserves!" Roth followed. "I want all available power routed to the auxiliary batteries!"
 +
 +"Decompression on forward decks eight and thirteen!" Lieutenant Zoe announced from tactical.
 +
 +"Integrity fields on both nacelles failing!" Snyder said with a shaky voice at the helm. "The housings are beginning to buckle!"
 +
 +"They're crushing us like a tin can . . ." Carter said ominously.
 +
 +"Doctor," Roth turned to Virtus in the counselor's seat. "I need a solution NOW!"
 +
 +For his part, Victor Virtus did not remove his eyes from the console to his left. Dialing frantically, he replied, "we could try rotating the phaser frequencies, but I estimate only a 12.3 percent chance of being able to interrupt the Tholian web."
 +
 +"Tactical!" Roth turned her attention to Lieutenant Zoe. "Modulate forward phaser banks and cut this damned web loose!"
 +
 +"Aye, captain," came the response, and an orange beam shot towards the web matrix on the monitor. After a moment, the lieutenant shook her head, "no effect."
 +
 +"Again!" Roth ordered frantically, and another stream of fiery plasma erupted towards the shrinking energy net.
 +
 +Without warning, the bridge stopped shaking, and the pulsating web on the monitor disappeared. Everyone on the bridge froze in place, confused at the sudden halt of destructive activity. The captain opened her mouth to speak, but before a word came out, the bridge exploded with multiple flashes of brilliant white light. As the blinding illumination subsided, the bridge crew gawked at the sudden appearance of nearly a hundred Starfleet personnel packing the now very crowded command center.
 +
 +Carter didn't move. He only sat in his chair, staring at the people standing shoulder-to-shoulder directly in front of him. The commander turned his head slowly to his left to see an equally flummoxed captain, then reversed direction towards the science station, but found several more standing bodies blocking his view. The closest, who was actually in the command pit pinned between Carter's chair and the tactical arch anchored to the floor, wore a light-blue medical jumpsuit. Slowly, Carter's head tilted upward in controlled disbelief, and his eyes fell upon Leon Cromwell's face that bore an expression of mild yet surrendered irritation.
 +
 +"Leon," Carter greeted the doctor, as if they had casually met in the corridors of the ship.
 +
 +"John," the doctor returned the calm greeting, acting as if his sudden appearance and immediate standing location was the most normal situation in the galaxy. "You might want to think about leaving orbit."
 +
 +"Chief!" Carter turned to find himself shouting into the torsos of people standing directly in front of him.
 +
 +"Aye sir?" came the muffled voice of Chief Rainier, far away at the ops station.
 +
 +"Is everyone off the surface?"
 +
 +"Aye sir."
 +
 +"Helm, set course 085. Best speed."
 +
 +"Engines engaged," returned Snyder's strained voice, who had barely any elbow room to execute the command.
 +
 +As the ship swerved away from Sigma Omicron and straightened to make a direct line towards Federation space, Carter turned back to Leon, who, out of no will of his own, remained exactly where he was.
 +
 +"Care to explain this?" John asked Leon cautiously.
 +
 +"All in good time," the doctor replied. "First, I need a drink . . ."
  
 ---- ----
 <BOOKMARK:Chapter26> <BOOKMARK:Chapter26>
 <fs x-large>**Chapter 26: Second Star To The Right**</fs><wrap lo right>[[archives:den_of_lions#top|Top]]</wrap>\\ \\  <fs x-large>**Chapter 26: Second Star To The Right**</fs><wrap lo right>[[archives:den_of_lions#top|Top]]</wrap>\\ \\ 
 +**Location: main bridge, USS Republic**
 +
 +The confusion on Republic's bridge was slowly reaching epidemic proportions when Kim Roth stood up to address the newly arrived guests. At the Ops position, Brad Rainier caught a wave from Roth out of the corner of his eye. "Attention on Deck!" he bellowed in his best `scare-the-hell-out-of-the-middies' voice. An instant later, the bridge was silent, save for the regular beeps, chirps and hum that came from a starship's normal functions.
 +
 +"Thank you, Chief." Roth surveyed the assembled group, nodding with approval. "It's good to see you again, and for those of you who were part of the station's compliment," Roth again looked over the Chief, "We'll do our best to accommodate you." She looked at the crowd again. "Where's Commander Madhava?" she asked, with an arched eyebrow.
 +
 +"He's dead Captain," Counselor Tolkath said matter of factly. Tolkath looked to his feet, at the still unconscious Dr. Samantha Beckett. "It seems Doctor Beckett had her own agenda."
 +
 +Roth nodded grimly. "I see," the captain offered. "Everyone here get to Sickbay ASAP." Roth looked at the clearly relieved Doctor Cromwell, "If we can prevail upon you, Doctor?"
 +
 +Despite the ordeal of the last few hours, Leon felt an easy smile cross his face. "Permission to pass out afterwards, Captain?"
 +
 +"Granted, Doctor," she said, then turned to look at Rainier. "Chief? Lieutenant Snyder?" She asked the two crewmembers at the ops and helm consoles. "Can you get our guests squared away please?"
 +
 +As Snyder stood up from the helm station, the COB was already in motion before the captain finished the order. "Leave it to us Captain," he said, as they both headed to the turbolift and the crowd parted for him.
 +
 +"Mister Carter," Roth said, scanning the fast emptying bridge, "Take the helm please. We seem to have misplaced Mister Hawk."
 +
 +
 +----
 +
 +
 +**Location: Cargo Bay 2, USS Republic**
 +
 +The cargo bay's stillness was broken by the telltale whine of a transporter matter stream. An instant later, two space-suited forms hit the deck with an uncomfortable sounding thud.
 +
 +"Sonuvabitch!" Nat Hawk yelled, rubbing the shoulder that had just slammed into the deck. "Jesus Burke!" Hawk cursed, looking back at his companion who was in a heap on the floor. "I thought you were the smart one! How did you get the transporters to hurt?"
 +
 +"Wasn't easy . . . " Burke coughed, then clawed at the helmet release for his environment suit. "Get me outta this thing, will ya?"
 +
 +"Sure thing, Bruce," Hawk commented as he knelt down to unlatch the engineer's helmet. In a flash, Hawk was twisting the helmet counter-clockwise, lifting it away from Burke's face. "So whaddid ya do?"
 +
 +Burke coughed as he gulped fresh, albeit recycled air. "I set the station's transporters to send us out the minute Republic's shields were down. Didn't count on her moving though; hence the rough landing."
 +
 +Seeing Burke's greenish coloring, Hawk grimaced as he unfastened his own helmet. "So . . . we could have materialized in the middle of an explosion? Assumin' that's what mighta brought the shields down?"
 +
 +"Could have, but didn't," Burke said weakly. "Calculated risk." The engineer's breathing was labored.
 +
 +"Right. I'm never playing poker with you Brucey," he quipped, then tapped Burke's comm badge. "Hawk ta Sickbay! Lock on for immediate transport!"
 +
 +Burke was confused as he felt the tingle of a newly forming transporter field around him. "Wait . . . where are you . . . "
 +
 +Nat Hawk shook his head. "Can't believe I'm gonna say this, but I got a ship to save."
 +
 +
 +----
 +
 +
 +**Location: Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Sol III**
 +
 +In the richly appointed halls of Starfleet HQ, Vladimir Kostya was weighing his options. He'd hoped that Kim Roth would play ball. Why wouldn't she? He'd offered her a chance to revive her career, to be instrumental in the defense of the Federation, to be a hero, but she'd thrown all that away with one simple word. `No one says no to me,' Kostya mused inwardly. `She'll learn that the hard way now'.
 +
 +The next move would be crucial, Kostya knew. He'd have to play things closer to the vest then he had with the Cestus III affair. In that case, he'd relied too much on outside agencies. `Too many variables', he thought, `but this time I've got people I know I can trust.'
 +
 +A chirp from the comm. system brought Kostya back to reality. Annoyed, he leaned forward and angrily stabbed at the control to take the call. "This better be important, Purvis!" he chided the Yeoman not five meters away in the office's receiving area.
 +
 +//"Yes, Admiral. Sorry to intrude sir, but we've just received word from Operations Control. They've lost contact with Allegiance, sir."//
 +
 +Kostya went ashen. "What?"
 +
 +//"Operations confirms the loss of her transponder from the Intel grid at . . . . 1646 local."//
 +
 +"1640 . . . that's over two hours ago! You're just telling me this now?"
 +
 +//"Apologies Admiral, but I wanted to be sure, and I wanted to go through proper . . . channels, sir."//
 +
 +`Good', Kostya hissed silently. `At least the useless cow knows how to keep things quiet. That's something.' The head of Starship Operations cleared his throat. "What's the status of Republic?"
 +
 +//"Last report had her damaged, but functional. Intel's still got her signal on the plot."//
 +
 +Kostya slammed his fist to the desktop. "How?" he blurted aloud. "How does that damned ship manage to slip away, every time?"
 +
 +//"Not sure Sir. I'll look into that for you."//
 +
 +Rather than answer, Kostya simply punched the channel closed and fumed while the sun from a beautiful San Francisco day flooded through his office windows. The light didn't improve his dark mood.
 +
 +
 +----
 +
 +
 +**Location: main engineering, USS Republic**
 +
 +Nat Hawk couldn't wait as the heavy doors leading to Republic's main engineering section. He anxiously squirmed through the doors and took off at a sprint for the vertical intermix chamber. As the central landmark for the room, it was impossible to miss. Hawk ignored a handful of questioning looks from the engineering staff as he walked toward the towering column.
 +
 +"I don't want excuses, damn it!" Maria Pikita yelled from the upper observation platform, "just get those crystals re-aligned." Maria huffed a long lock of hair out of her face and braced herself against the safety rail, surveying the lower portion of engineering's cavernous space.
 +
 +She blinked in surprise. "Lieutenant Hawk? Is that you?" she called from above.
 +
 +"The one and only, darlin'" Hawk said with a mock tip of the hat. "Lemme ask ya somethin'." Hawk took a few steps around the intermix chamber, closer to the dilithium crystal armature. "How bad is an asymmetrical warp field?"
 +
 +Pikita blinked. "Why do you want to know? And . . . " she looked Hawk over again, "why are you wearing an environment suit?"
 +
 +"No reason really," Hawk said, as he pulled his phaser and pointed it at the crystal armature. "Jes' gotta few a bugs ta exterminate . . ."
 +
 + 
 +
 +**Location: USS Republic, Main Bridge**
 +
 +John Carter, after relieving Lieutenant Snyder to help Chief Rainier with their guests, was pleased that he hadn't lost his edge as a helmsman. It had been months since he'd actually had to use the controls to steer Republic, but he always wanted to believe that he never stopped thinking like a helmsman. Apparently, he still was one. He checked the conn station's sensor plot, then looked back at the main viewer. "We'll clear the planet's subspace footprint in 45 seconds, Captain. Engineering has us cleared to warp out after then. Shall I set a course?"
 +
 +Kim Roth waved her hand casually toward the main viewer. Set course for DS9. Maybe we can hide there for a while, seeing as how I just told our boss to go to hell."
 +
 +"I hear there's a future in piracy," Carter offered casually.
 +
 +Roth laughed out loud, an emotion she was surprisingly grateful for, considering the last few days. "You might be right XO," she said. "After all, you're already dressed for it."
 +
 +Carter smiled. "Course set for DS9, Captain."
 +
 +"Engage."
 +
 +
 +
 +**Location: Captain's Ready Room, USS Republic**
 +
 +Kim Roth sipped at her cup of mocha. It was late in the afternoon, ship time, and normally she limited her use of caffeine, to say nothing of chocolate, but she was a woman without a career, and damn it, she was entitled to treat herself. Republic's Captain looked down briefly at the lithe form resting on the arm of her chair, and scratched the small creature under its chin. "I guess you needed the rest too, eh stinker?"
 +
 +Smoke bleaked in the affirmative.
 +
 +"Is that all, XO?"
 +
 +Across the table, John Carter rubbed the back of his neck, a clear sign that, even though Republic was out of danger for the time being, he was still finding it hard to relax. "Well, I'm still waiting for Hawk's official report on what went on down in Engineering, but Pakita's own account of things was actually pretty even-handed." Carter shook his head. "I still can't believe he did it, but according to Pikita and Vic, it did the trick; unorthodox or not."
 +
 +Kim closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth of her drink, allowing herself to smile. "I think you just summed up the man himself."
 +
 +"I suppose so, Carter agreed. Then he mentally brushed the thought aside as his face turned more serious. "In all seriousness Captain, what's our next move? I have to tell you, I don't like the idea of `hiding' as you put it, even if DS9 is the best port in the storm." Carter forced himself to straighten up, making his family's `Old Man Noise' in the process. "This little nightmare makes twice that Kostya's tried to pull the Federation into a war, and he was using us to do it. Now, don't get me wrong Captain," Carter said wrapping his fingers around the back of his chair, "I'm glad you told him off, gods know, but he's got connections, and criminal or not, he's still an Admiral! Whatever we're going to do," he urged the brunette across from him, " we can't do it alone, no matter how much I want to snap the sprocking weasel's neck. "
 +
 +Roth calmly set her china cup down beside her, on the desktop. "Point taken, Number One, and we're not going to be alone when we do move against Kostya, but we have to get our own house in order first. That means fixing the ship and getting the crew squared, and DS9 is the best place to do that. I signaled them to expect us just after my conversation with Kostya during our Tholian engagement. After that fiasco, there's no way I'm taking us back to 39 Sierra." Roth looked the tall Martian who was her second-in-command in the eye. "Carter," she said, with the barest hint of motherliness in her voice, "This isn't the time to strap on the six guns and ride for justice. We've got to be smart."
 +
 +Carter nodded. He knew she was right, but the thought of inaction made part of him want to scream.
 +
 +Meanwhile, Roth continued. "I've been in contact with other members of the Flag Staff. "We're not the only one's Kostya's managed to leave twisting. We've got friends. I just have to FIND them."
 +
 +"Speaking of finding," Carter said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "We've still got a missing Ops Chief and a stolen shuttle to track down."
 +
 +Again, Roth nodded. She noted that she seemed to do that a lot in her First Officer's presence. "I've had a thought or two on that, but I want to run something by you first?"
 +
 +Roth's explanation was cut short by the door chime.
 +
 +"Come," Roth answered. A second later, the hatch slid open and Zoë Beauvais, late of the USS Allegiance entered.
 +
 +Zoë looked at Carter, giving the monocular officer a polite nod. "Sorry to intrude ma'am," she offered, "I can come back later if you like?" She took a half step back toward the hatch.
 +
 +Instead, Roth waved the young Lieutenant in. "Not at all, Lieutenant," she offered warmly. "Have a seat. We were just talking about you."
 +
 +Zoë put that information at the back of her mind. The wound on her forehead was itching, but tolerable. The medics had enough on their hands with everyone else mysteriously showing up on the bridge all at once. "Ma'am," she explained, I've got Dr. Beckett secured in the brig. She's still demanding counsel. I felt I had no choice but to pass on her request to HQ."
 +
 +Roth rolled her eyes. Much as she disliked the political state of the Federation at the moment, and despite the fact that she'd ignored orders from her immediate superior, Republic's captain couldn't bring herself to deny Samantha Beckett rights that were guaranteed to her by the Articles of Federation. Roth shot Carter a sympathetic look. "Wonderful," she said woefully, "more lawyers."
 +
 +"Not for a while, Ma'am," Zoë explained. "It was the oddest thing . . . the subspace array was down for repair, so I had to settle for carrier wave."
 +
 +Carter laughed out loud. "You used the radio?"
 +
 +"Yes, Sir," Zoë smiled.
 +
 +"Well that should buy us a couple of centuries."
 +
 +Roth nodded. "That sorts Doctor Beckett until we can transfer her DS9. I think it's best if we keep that particular ace up our sleeve for now." Captain Roth gave the young Tactical Officer an appraising look. "Lieutenant, have you thought much about your future?"
 +
 +"Always thinking about it Ma'am, in order to get the job done properly. I was thinking about heading back to the London, seeing that I am technically on vacation right now when I got pulled into a side assignment that would have me back before the London would miss me. It was a poor choice, in my opinion, to take it. I don't like to go against the orders given me, Captain," Zoë continued, "but that woman, Captain MacDonald, was hard to work with in the first place. It was either do the job or get kicked out of the Fleet. I didn't have much choice but to moonlight that assignment."
 +
 +Roth nodded. "Fair enough," she commented, "but I'd like you to consider making your assignment on Republic permanent."
 +
 +"Ma'am?" Zoë stammered.
 +
 +"What?" Carter returned. The tall man's face flushed. "Now wait a minute, Captain," he protested, looking over toward Zoë. "No offense to Lieutenant Beauvais, but we just lost Dazing, and I don't know that putting another stranger at Tactical is what the crew needs right now."
 +
 +Carter pivoted to look the Lieutenant in the eye. "I swear Lieutenant, this isn't personal. You did a hell of a thing, stepping up when you came aboard, and I do want to thank you for that."
 +
 +"But?" Captain Roth commented.
 +
 +"But we've had nothing but trouble getting anyone other than myself and McTaggart up to speed at Tactical, and frankly, the kid deserves a shot."
 +
 +Roth nodded. "I agree," she said coolly, "but not aboard this ship."
 +
 +"Why the hell not!? . . . Ma'am?" he added awkwardly.
 +
 +"Aside from Doctors Cromwell and Virtus, is there anyone onboard you trust more than McTaggart?" Roth asked pointedly.
 +
 +"No, Captain. Which is why I want him at Tac."
 +
 +"I understand that," the captain affirmed, "but since we can agree that Lieutenant McTaggart is above reproach, and given how fond you are of Mister Forrest, it seems to me that McTaggart is the perfect choice to watch over your favorite Black Shirt."
 +
 +Carter nodded, seeing the logic of Roth's position. "So you're figuring?"
 +
 +"I'm figuring to let Forrest do what he does best." She paused, taking another sip of mocha. "Once we get to DS9, I'll turn Forrest and McTaggart over to Captain Kira so that Forrest can find our lost sheep. If McTaggart is there, then it allows me two things. First," Roth explained, holding up a finger, "we'll know what's happened to Kuga, and our own people can keep it quiet."
 +
 +Carter nodded, exchanging glances with Zoë, who felt a little like a fly on the wall. Meanwhile, the Captain continued.
 +
 +"Second, if McTaggart does the job you and I both think he will, then it will only help his career."
 +
 +Carter once again folded his arms across his chest. "So, you've already made your mind up about this?"
 +
 +"Not at all," Roth shook her head. "I'll leave it up to McTaggart of course. It's his decision, but I think he'll take the opportunity. For now, I just wanted you to understand where I was coming from."
 +
 +Carter smirked. "Well, I do appreciate that." The XO added.
 +
 +"I thought you might." Roth pivoted in her chair, looking again at the young Lieutenant. "So what do you say, Lieutenant Beauvais? Can we put you to work?"
 +
 +"Sounds good. I think right now the best place for me would be here. There are many different people upset by our course of action and I can only imagine it getting worse with the destruction of the Allegiance. I was left out of the loop for it all you understand, but I have seen, no matter what, the ripple effects stretch to the deepest part of space. I'm your woman," she said with a heavy heart. It displeased her the course of action that her career had taken, but now she had to do what she had to do to salvage it.
 +
 +"Good," Roth said to the pair, pleased that she'd managed to diffuse what could have been a tricky situation. "I'll let the two of you sort out the details, but there's no rush. We've still got a few days before we put in at DS9."
 +
 +Carter turned to Zoë. "I'm due to meet Doctor Harris on the Hill in 20 mics, Lieutenant. Why don't you join us? No time like the present."
 +
 +"The Hill, sir?" she asked quite curious. Through all the years of battle, she had seen many different uses for the term, 'The Hill'.
 +
 +"It's our lounge, Lieutenant," Carter corrected, "A hold-over from the ship's days as the Saratoga."
 +
 +"This ship was the Saratoga?" Zoë said in surprise. "I had no idea." With new appreciation for her surroundings, Zoë looked the Ready Room over. "There's a lot of history on this ship."
 +
 +"I hope you're up to making some, Lieutenant." Captain Roth offered.
 +
 +"I can do that. Just let me stop by sickbay first and get myself attended to, Commander. Shall we say, 1700?"
 +
 +"Sure," John nodded. "See you then."
 +
archives/den_of_lions.1606065799.txt.gz · Last modified: 2020/11/22 17:23 by site_admin

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