Compile Summary Day 6 (USS Hades - SEC Office - ACSO Ensign Shayhiloosh - 0800) (USS Hades - SEC Office - ASEC Lt. Baylon Trinin - 0802) (USS Hades - SEC Office - ACSO Ensign Shayhiloosh - 0805) Day 8 (USS Hades - Deck 14, Main Engineering - ACEO Ensign Dana Travis - 0604) (USS Hades - Deck 14, Main Engineering - CEO Norm Harper- 0606) (USS Hades - Deck 1 Main Bridge - A/COPS - Lt Tom Jackson 0633) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - CTAC Lt. Ammon Ranae -0647) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Ready Room - Commander Lemar & Ambassador Frazier - 0750) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - CTAC Lt. Ammon Ranae -0752) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Bridge - COPS Lt. Maraht - 0753) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Ready Room - Commander Lemar, Ambassador Frazier & Commander Rhian - 0755) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - HO Lieutenant Finlay Guarastine - 0756) (Romulus - Capitol District, Senate Building, Private Office - Senator Terrh - 0805) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Corridor Outside Ready Room - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 0806) (USS Hades - Bridge- CSEC- Lt. Baylon Trinin- 0807) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Corridor Outside Ready Room - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 0808) (USS Hades - Deck 16, Tactical Planning - SO Lieutenant Tarus Daban - 0809) (USS Hades - Deck 11, Cargo Bay 2 - Crewman Denise Lebranski - 0810) (USS Hades - Bridge - COPS Lt. Maraht - 0811) (Romulus - Paetor's Office - Praetor Vrih - 0830) (USS Hades - Deck 9, Temporary Quarters - Ambassador Brianna Frazier - 0912) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Bridge - Lieutenant Ardena Carrow - 0913) (USS Hades - Primary Computer Core- CSEC- Lt. Baylon Trinin- 0913) (USS Hades - Deck 9, Temporary Quarters - Ambassador Brianna Frazier - 0915) (USS Hades - Deck 6, Main Science department - Lieutenant Ardena Carrow - 0918) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 0924) (USS Hades - Deck 1 Main Bridge - A/COPS - Lt Tom Jackson - 1020) (USS Hades - Deck 5, Transporter Room 1- CSEC- Lt. Baylon Trinin- 1026) (Romulus - Senatorial Receiving - Praetor's Aide Ejuil - 1030) (Romulus - Senatorial Receiving Area - A/COPS -LT Tom Jackson- 1031) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 1050) (USS Hades - Security Offices- Security Officer- Ensign T'Sol- 1051) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - CTAC Lt. Ammon Ranae - 1052) (USS Hades - Deck 10, Corridor 7-Alpha - SO Lieutenant Tarus Daban - 1052) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - COPS Lt. Maraht - 1055) (USS Hades - Turbo Lift - CEO Norman Harper - 1055) (USS Hades - Deck 14, Main Engineering - ACEO Dana Travis - 1056) (IWS Donatra - Transporter Room - CO- Commander Rhian - 1058) (USS Hades - Transporter Room 2- ACOUNS- Ens. Anamitra Ripley- 1058) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Bridge - COPS Lt. Maraht - 1059) (USS Hades - Transporter Room 2 - Commander Rhian - 1100) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Bridge - COPS Lt. Maraht - 1101) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Begin Compile --------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2408.01.04 (USS Hades - SEC Office - ACSO Ensign Shayhiloosh - 0800) Shayhiloosh stopped in front of the new office door for the Chief of Security. S/he marveled that Lt. Trinin had been able to adapt easily to setting up a new office so quickly. S/he pressed the door chime with a root. S/he held a PADD in one of hir self grown hands. (Reply Baylon Trinin) "Good morning Sir," said Shayhiloosh. "I hope I have come at an opportune time." Shayhiloosh politely nodded an bright blue irised eyebulb in the Chief's direction. (Reply Baylon Trinin) "I have come to give you another report on some interesting findings, Sir," said Shayhiloosh. "I ran the probabilities and using all the known factors, the chances of all those faulty chips all being installed back at Starbase Geneva are three hundred thousand, four hundred and twenty five to one." Reaching up a root, s/he plucked the PADD from hir self grown hand and deposited it on the desk in front of the Security Chief. (Reply Baylon Trinin) "I still must say Chief that I find it too highly improbable to accept that the explosion happened right after we crossed into the Romulan Neutral Zone as coincidence. If those chips had been installed back when this ship was in Geneva, there should have been some sort of explosion during one of the encounters that this ship has had with the Myenru at Beta Seranis. There were certainly power surges happening then during those encounters, according to the repair logs and reports, but the EPS conduits didn't detonate. They also didn't explode during the battle for the Mars Defense Platform, or after the Nimitz crew survivors came to the Hades, Sir. It is illogical to assume it is coincidental." (Reply Baylon Trinin) "I am still inclined to agree with you Sir. I concur that we have a saboteur aboard. Do you have any ideas on how to draw this nefarious person out? Could we set some sort of trap?" (Reply Baylon Trinin, Any) (Posted by Sheila Mayer) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - SEC Office - ASEC Lt. Baylon Trinin - 0802) Baylon had been in his makeshift office thinking about how he was going to catch a saboteur when all he had was suspicions and no real idea what the motivations of the saboteur were. It could be as simple as destroying the negotiations, but Baylon somehow felt that there was more involved to it than just that. The question was what that agenda was and who was pulling the strings. The dossiers that Lemar had provided had only really generated more questions than answers and had left him wondering if he was actually even in the game let alone on the right trail. "Grem" he muttered as he turned off the PADD that had been displaying the latest data. All the very circumstantial evidence pointed to her. Her disappearance only to turn up in one of the computer cores, led him to wonder how she got there to begin with. A minor medical report indicated a possibility that the wound she had could be self inflicted, although it could not be guaranteed. Her odd behavior at the argument between the diplomatic team during their first meeting. It was almost convincing. ~Almost~ The fact of the matter was that Baylon was out of his league. he wasn't an espionage sort of person or really much of an investigator. He was more a planner with the ability to follow through physically with any plan that he might concoct. He was by no means capable of playing cloak and dagger with a trained Romulan spy or saboteur. To compound that, Romulans had a way of convoluting the fact by creating decoys through the use of misdirection. It would not be unthinkable for there to be more than one saboteur. Between them one might act as a suspect in a way to throw suspicion off the other. "Damn it, give me something to work with, other than a hunch. I just need a clue, is that too much to ask?" he said aloud, despite the fact that there was no one in the room. His door chime sounded and Baylon turned his eyes towards the door. He rarely received visitors, and so far Only the First officer had taken the time to show up here since his new offices had been put into place. "Come in" he called out. The door slid aside to reveal Shayhiloosh, the Arborian science officer. Baylon had seen the officer around, but they had never met. "Good morning Sir," said Shayhiloosh. "I hope I have come at an opportune time." "Not at all ensign, what can I do for you?" he asked. "I have come to give you another report on some interesting findings, Sir," said Shayhiloosh. "I ran the probabilities and using all the known factors, the chances of all those faulty chips all being installed back at Starbase Geneva are three hundred thousand, four hundred and twenty five to one." The Arborian handed over a PADD and Baylon picked it up and glanced through the data. "They call that a long shot, but the odds are much greater than that. Those chips by serial number are actually presently installed in another Federation starship." Baylon replied. "I still must say Chief that I find it too highly improbable to accept that the explosion happened right after we crossed into the Romulan Neutral Zone as coincidence. If those chips had been installed back when this ship was in Geneva, there should have been some sort of explosion during one of the encounters that this ship has had with the Myenru at Beta Seranis. There were certainly power surges happening then during those encounters, according to the repair logs and reports, but the EPS conduits didn't detonate. They also didn't explode during the battle for the Mars Defense Platform, or after the Nimitz crew survivors came to the Hades, Sir. It is illogical to assume it is coincidental." Baylon shook his head. "Beta Seranis was well before the last time this ship was at Geneva. We put in for minor repairs and a power distribution system overhaul after the battle for the MDP. Chief Harper himself conducted the inspections and he is beyond suspicion." "I agree that there is no chance of this being a coincidence. I also believe that the chips were somehow smuggled aboard this ship. They weren't transported aboard, which means someone had to carry them on, or at least disguise them enough to fool the sensors. they then had to make their way through the ship and install them or distribute them to associates who would install them." "No I agree with you that this was no accident." "I am still inclined to agree with you Sir. I concur that we have a saboteur aboard. Do you have any ideas on how to draw this nefarious person out? Could we set some sort of trap?" "Truthfully no, I do not. But I suspect that if we can figure out how those chips got aboard ship in the first place, we'd be much closer to figuring out who is responsible. I've scoured every transporter, security and internal sensor log for the last three months and I've turned up absolutely nothing." he mused. "I suspect that they will become more desperate and active once we actually arrive at Romulus and the negotiations are underway. That said, it becomes a waiting game, unless you have a suggestion?" (reply Shayhiloosh) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - SEC Office - ACSO Ensign Shayhiloosh - 0805) "I am still inclined to agree with you Sir. I concur that we have a saboteur aboard. Do you have any ideas on how to draw this nefarious person out? Could we set some sort of trap?" asked Shayhiloosh. "Truthfully no, I do not. But I suspect that if we can figure out how those chips got aboard ship in the first place, we'd be much closer to figuring out who is responsible. I've scoured every transporter, security and internal sensor log for the last three months and I've turned up absolutely nothing," mused Lt. Trinin. "I suspect that they will become more desperate and active once we actually arrive at Romulus and the negotiations are underway. That said, it becomes a waiting game, unless you have a suggestion?" asked the Security Chief. Shayhiloosh bobbed his eyestalks in deep thought. "Logic would suggest, Sir, that we find out who would benefit the most from the negotiations failing and who would benefit the most if the Romulans took control of the Hades. It would require an extensive knowledge of the Romulans themselves and we might have to rely on the faction that is supporting the negotiations. It may behoove us to find out why that particular faction is supporting the treaty talks." Shayhiloosh stared at Baylon Trinin with all three eyestalks. "At the root end, we need to dig for data on the identities of the Romulan Senate and their various factions. Then we may be able to work from there, as well as from the leaf end of the faulty chips." (Reply Baylon Trinin, Any) (Posted by Sheila Mayer) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2408.01.06 (USS Hades - Deck 14, Main Engineering - ACEO Ensign Dana Travis - 0604) As Dana told the chief of the first two jobs on the list, she also offered him an out - wondering if he preferred something that kept him off his feet. "I have been sitting too much, lately" he replied. "I was told I needed to keep the weight off my knee every now and then, but this is not a now-and-then moment, is it?" Pushing himself off the bulkhead on which he had been leaning he continued, "So, you're tryin' out a new title as ACEO, are ya? How's it fit so far?" he asked in a friendly tone, motioning in the direction of his office. Picking up her tool belt from its hanging place, Dana turned and moved to follow Harper into his office. "So far, pretty well. It's everything I expected." As she stepped into the office she noticed what a mess it had been left in. ~I hope I wasn't expected to have this tidied~ she thought to herself. Shaking off the thought and trying to concentrate on the limping Harper, "The challenge is a good one, and I'm definitely up for it. Hopefully, I can impress you like I seemed to have impressed the FO." She smiled, not entirely sure what the chiefs opinion of her was. Harper grabbed his own belt, then as he turned to leave he asked, "Unless you want to grab something from the replicator?" The thought of coffee drifted back into Dana's mind, but as she turned again to exit the office she decided against the caffeine boost. "No thanks Chief," she said. "I managed to grab breakfast before coming down here." As the two of them re-entered the main engineering area, Harper stopped and said finally, "So, I'm up for whatever you want to do first." Travis flashed a smile as she picked up her PADD from the console she had been using a few minutes ago. Waving it in Harper's direction she said, "Sensor assembly it is then." As she made her way toward the door she said, "Hobble on this way Chief..." (reply: Harper IYW) (USS Hades - Deck 18, Sensor Maintenance - ACEO Ensign Dana Travis - 0658) It had taken about 15 minutes to get down to Sensor Maintenance where the tertiary assembly was located. It had taken a little bit more walking than she had first thought, and at the chiefs reduced pace it took longer than expected. During the events of the last few days, many secondary and tertiary circuits had blown out. It was what they were designed to do, to protect the main systems from severe damage. But since then, she had been focused on the repair of the primary systems. This was the first opportunity to get these repairs done. She and Harper had managed to run a number of diagnostics on the system and discovered the main cause of the problems and set about affecting the repairs. Slid underneath a console and inside the bulkhead some distance, Dana was reaching to one of the final circuits which needed a repair. With a final shove, Dana clicked the last piece into place. Instantly there was a sound of power returning to the circuitry and Travis gave a nod of satisfaction. "That's the last chip. Wanna try and boot it up chief?" (reply: Harper, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 14, Main Engineering - CEO Norm Harper- 0606) Norm watched a smile break across Travis' face as she reached for the PADD she had consulted earlier. Waving it in Norm's direction she said, "Sensor assembly it is then." As she made her way toward the door she said, "Hobble on this way Chief..." It was Norm's turn to smile. Finally an assistant who understood the way Norm liked his engines to run. No "yessir, everything-must-be-proper-sir..." "If you don't mind waiting for me to get my backside in gear," he said as he followed her lead. (USS Hades - Deck 18, Sensor Maintenance - CEO Norm Harper- 0659) Norm stood close as Dana scraped about within the bulkhead. He could see a bit of what she was doing from where he was standing, but it irked that he couldn't get down-and-dirty, too. He bit his lower lip and waited for the sound of the final click of the reconnection of power circuts. "That's the last chip. Wanna try and boot it up chief?" "Literally?" Norm grinned, "would love to." (reply Dana iyw) He pushed his weight off the bulkhead and moved over to the closest console. There, with a few quick strokes of his fingers, he alerted the computer. The familiar whirr of awakening mechanics began to buzz in his ears. He turned his head to smile at the ACEO, "Back in top shape, then?" (reply Dana) (posted by Jo) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1 Main Bridge - A/COPS - Lt Tom Jackson 0633) Jackson was assisting Engineering by pulling a bridge shift using the Engineering console. Maraht was manning the OPS station. Jackson and Maraht talked about the bulk head force fields and the ship's ability to keep them running and thus keeping the black, icy cold of space outside. First Officer had asked about the fields and T.J. had stated flatly - "any violent maneuvers and all bets are off" . Tom had not asked Maraht but he hoped his friend had staff standing by as a "just in case" backup. The bridge staff was nervous, excited and well, worried all at the same time. Six Romulan Warbirds 'escorting' them was enough to make anyone nervous. The console's readout told of a recovering ship. Power levels were holding steady - this helped the bulkhead force fields to maintain ship's integrity. The holo-emitters which could permit the ship's EMH program to roam the ship were at last repaired and ready for usage. Tom hoped the EMH would not be needed! Repairs were progressing but some just needed a space dock. Tom wondered how much he would be interacting with the Romulans? (reply: any/none) (posted by: Bill West) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - CTAC Lt. Ammon Ranae -0647) There was a hard edge to Cdr. Lemar's voice as he acknowleded Jackson's comment about how he was not confident about the repairs that had been made to the damaged areas. ~Oh that's just stellar!~ Ranae thought after the aCO's retort in reply, telling Jackson that it might have been pertinent to let him know that earlier, as engineering's report had been contrary to Jackson's comment. Being as the Hades was surrounded by Romulan ships, the CONN officer wouldn't even be able to turn the damaged area away from onslaught to protect it's vulnerability, should they be attacked. ~Well I can't worry about that, I have my own job to do.~ The CTAC thought as she kept her eyes skinned on the data readings, looking for anything out of the normal range, only glancing briefly over to the security station when her lover told the commander that Lieutenant Tarus would have Ambassador Frazier on the Bridge shortly. "Very well Lieutenant. I think all we need to do now is wait." Jonas said. ~Yes, we must wait, but sometimes that's the hardest of all things, to do.~ A few minutes later, the Ambassador and her escort arrived and then shortly after, Ranae felt the ship slowing down. ~We can't have reached Romulus yet? Why are we slowing down?~ She glanced up at the Romulan warbirds on the main screen and saw that they were still in formation. It must have been them who had slowed and the CONN was naturally forced to do the same. (reply any/none) (posted by Sal) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Ready Room - Commander Lemar & Ambassador Frazier - 0750) The wait had been the most frustrating thing of all. Jonas had expected that they would arrive at the twin homeworlds almost an hour ago. Lieutenant Guarastine's predictions would have had them here at 0700, but with instructions from the Donatra to reduce their speed and adjust their course - citing civilian shipping routes and travel regulation as their excuse - the trip had taken almost three times as long. While they waited, Jonas had invited the Ambassador to the Captain's ready room, where the two of them could wait things out and talk a little more about their strategy. Jonas was tense now, feeling like he was being kept waiting unnecessarily, and that they were being taken advantage of. It was a helpless feeling, knowing that he could do very little. Frazier herself was actually quite calm. When the security guard had summoned her, she had been ready far in advance. She had woken around 5am that day to ensure she was ready. With some last minute reading, she was ready now to face the Romulans. All she needed was an opposition she could speak with face to face and the challenge would be on. She only hoped that the rest of the team felt the same way. "You are very much on edge," commented Frazier, her empathic senses feeling a little battered by the waves of unfettered emotion coming from the commander. She placed a comforting hand over his on the desk and said, "You need to keep a cool head." She smiled. At the Ambassador's touch, he forced a smile. His feelings were obvious, even to non empathic people, so he took a deep breath to try and calm himself down. "I just want to get things started. No offence, but I'd feel better if you were off my ship and talking to the Romulans on the ground." Bree smiled at the remark. Had she not known the true intent of his words she might have been offended, but she understood exactly what he meant. She too just wanted to get started. It would leave the Commander with one less thing to worry about onboard his ship, but then, it would mean the concern would then be placed squarely with the security forces onboard. She had to wonder why that made the commander feel better at all. =^= Bridge to Commander Lemar =^= came a voice that was not recognisable to Frazier. It wasn't that she was unfamiliar with the speaker, but the computer seemed to have distorted the voice a little - perhaps another repair that was needed? Jonas's face immediately perked up. "Go ahead," he said. =^= Sir, the Donatra is hailing us. Commander Rhian would like to speak with you =^= (reply: none, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - CTAC Lt. Ammon Ranae -0752) As their journey had progressed on the last stretch towards Romulus, Ranae had begun to relax a little. Now it was apparent that there was no threat from the Romulan Warbirds, they were merely escorting them, and probably making sure the Hades didn't deviate from it's course. It had been a bit disappointing that their ETA had changed due to the decrease in speed, but it had given the Bridge staff time to become less tense although they were no less vigilant. Due to the extended ETA, the aCO had invited the Ambassador to the Ready Room to relax and wait. "Bridge to Commander Lemar." Ranae heard from the OPS. =/\=Go ahead.=/\= Lemar replied. "Sir, the Donatra is hailing us. Commander Rhian would like to speak with you ." ~So, the Romulan isn't requesting to speak with the captain any more, that's interesting. I wonder if he has guessed that Sash is out of commission. If he knows for sure, how did he find out?~ Ranae thought, suddenly wondering if she was becoming paranoid. ~First the explosions, now Rhian knowing Sash isn't in command, it seems a little suspicious to me.~ (reply: none, any) (posted by Sal) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Bridge - COPS Lt. Maraht - 0753) To his surprise during this phalangi rippling time, Maraht had been given the CONN by First Officer Lemar before he closeted himself in his Ready Room with Ambassadorial Aide Brianna Frazier. Not long after, there was a beep from the OPS console and Ensign Kelley Riley said, "The Donatra is hailing us. The Romulan Commander would like to speak with Cmdr Lemar." "Acknowledged, Mr. Riley," said Maraht. "I will inform the First Officer." Maraht, having positioned himself on the raised dais next to the center seat, poked at a button with his main phalange on the armrest. "Bridge to Commander Lemar," he said. =/\=Go ahead.=/\= "Sir, the Donatra is hailing us. Commander Rhian would like to speak with you," said Maraht. (Reply Jonas Lemar, Brianna Frazier, Any) (Posted by Jim McCrary) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Ready Room - Commander Lemar, Ambassador Frazier & Commander Rhian - 0755) Jonas looked at Frazier, and likewise she looked at him. It was the call they had both been waiting for, and as Jonas offered the Ambassador the opportunity to pull her chair around beside him he said, "Patch it through to the Ready Room." "Stay calm, Commander" she reassured him as she got into position. "He's going to prefer to speak to you, as the military commander of the ship. I won't speak up until you need me to." She gave him a nod as she was in position. She wanted him to be confident and in control. With a nod, Jonas understood what the Ambassador had meant. The Romulans were alleged to be honourable, and power respected power. Jonas wasn't certain, but he as sure they would prefer to speak with a man, rather than a woman too. Although he had not had enough experience to know if that were true or not, he would soon find out. The screen activated to show the face the Romulan commander. "Good morning Commander. I see that we have arrived at your homeworld, and I might I take this opportunity to say they are indeed beautiful looking worlds." Jonas smiled sincerely. He appreciated such things often, and hoped that the Romulan commander might do similar. Rhian's face remained impassive, but he was gratified to hear the appreciation of the world he loved so much. =^=Greetings Commander Lemar, Ambassador Frazier, and welcome to Romulus. I'm certain that you'll find it as intriguing as your own home worlds. I hope that you have found the remainder of your journey to be eventless.=^= "Fortunately so, yes." Jonas answered confidently. Given the welcome he had just received, it was apparent that Rhian was now inclined to be a little more polite. Whether that was because they were now more familiar with each other, or if he had been ordered to be so - Jonas couldn't be certain. "My crew is honoured to be here, as is the Ambassador. No doubt she is eager to begin proceedings according to the Praetor's schedule." Frazier said nothing, but nodded in agreement with the Commanders comments. At first glance, it appeared the Lemar had gotten over his initial uncertainty with dealing with the Romulans. The conversation, although only just begun, seemed to be going much better than it had done previously. =^=I will be sending you the coordintes for your orbit around Romulus. Do not deviate from them. As you may have noticed, there are many ships here, and not all of them are as receptive to the idea of a Federation warship orbiting our world as I am. I would hate to have an unfortunate incident due to a simple misunderstanding, or even an inadequacy in one of your crewmen. No offense intended.=^= He displayed open hands to show his sincerity. Hearing the words of the Romulan commander, Jonas had expected nothing less. They were firmly in enemy territory and he expected to have to follow all manner of regulations and rules that were ... well, alien to him. So he agreed without argument and replied, "No offense taken. My helmsman is standing by, ready to receive your data." Brianna Frazier continued to remain silent, although she was itching to speak. Now they were finally here, she wanted to take the bull by the horns and get on with things. She had only mentioned it briefly to the First Officer, but she wanted to invite the Romulans onboard the ship. She hoped he would remember to do so. =^=Expect the coordinates shortly.=^= He couldn't help but note the look of anticipation on the new ambassador. Nolan had been known to his people and so they had some idea what to expect. This Brianna Frazier was something else all together. His information showed that she were, at least part, Betazoid. He was certain that revelation sent a wave of discontent through the senate chambers. Even to Jonas, it was obvious that the Donatra was a great ship. He figured it was to be their counter-part for the duration of this mission, and as such, Commander Rhian was HIS counter-part. With that in mind, the suggestion from the Ambassador to try and get to know the Romulan Commander seemed all the more beneficial. "Commander Rhian, I would like to take this opportunity to extend an invitation to you and your senior staff. I've arranged for an early luncheon and would be honoured if you would attend." The invitation caught Rhian by surprise only because he was going to make a similar suggestion. Having a contingent of Romulan officers on board might bring some ease to the minds of the crew that at least they would not be blown completely out of the sky. Little did they know the depths that some Romulans might stoop. Still, as long as there was a tactical advantage to keeping the ship in one piece, he was fairly confident that they were safe. =^=An excellent suggestion, Commander. Shall we say that we can transport aboard in three hours? That would be about 1100 hours, by your time standard.=^= Jonas was a little surprised that it had been so easy to get the Romulan Commander to accept. Not wanting a look a gift horse in the mouth, he quickly said, "Splendid. I will see you then." =^=I... look forward to the moment.=^= As the screen deactivated, Jonas leaned back in his seat and let out a slow breath. "Well, that went better than I expected." Jonas swivelled his seat a little and looked over at the Ambassador with a cheeky smile. Bree had to say, she was surprised that the Commander had been as effective as he had been. She was ready to jump in a rescue the conversation at a moment's notice, but it just wasn't necessary. "You're a natural. Maybe I can find a space for you on my negotiating team?" She grinned mischievously. Jonas held up his hands in protest, "Oh no thank you." He stood up from his seat. "I would rather be right here, entertaining Commander Rhian..." he trailed off and shook his head as he made his way to the door. "Did I really just say that?" With that, Jonas laughed. As Ambassador Frazier got up from her seat, "I think you call that a Freudian slip." She smiled and she approached him, then patted him on the shoulder on her way out. "Don't worry, I won't tell!" With that, the two made their way back out onto the bridge. (reply: none, any) (posted by Dave Cherrington & Al Muir) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - HO Lieutenant Finlay Guarastine - 0756) Finlay stifled a yawn and ended up pulling one of those faces that really wanted to yawn, but she refused to allow her mouth to open. As a result, her eyes watered ever so slightly and she dabbed at them lightly with the side of her finger. ~Last thing I need is to spoil my mascara~ She figured if she was going to meet a Romulan today, she would make a good impression doing it. Maraht had moved from his position at her side to take command of the bridge, as ordered by the First Officer. He was surprised that Tom Jackson hadn't slid down to take his place, but decided he must have been busy doing something at the engineering console off to the starboard side. SO while she waited for further instructions, Finlay had been lightly drumming her fingers on the console facia as she monitored the output of the port & starboard thrusters. As the formation of ships had slowed to a near stop, Finlay had done likewise - not that she had any choice. If she didn't slow down, there was a good chance she would have collided with one of the Romulan ships. Of course, there was an equal chance that she could have used some fancy manoeuvres to move the Hades out of formation with the Romulans and to safety, but somehow she didn't think the First Officer would have approved. All of a sudden, there was a bleep at her console and Finlay quickly moved to access the alerted information. She was receiving a stream of data from the IWS Donatra. As she opened the data and decoded it for viewing, she could see that it was clearly a set of course adjustments for the orbit of Romulus. ~Geez, don't they think I can put us into orbit without their help?~ she thought, feeling a little bit put out that she was being given every explicit instruction on where to fly the ship. Turning her head and looking over her right shoulder she said, "Lieutenant Maraht, I'm receiving a set of instructions from the Donatra. They want me to put the Hades into a very specific orbit. Shall I comply?" (reply: Maraht, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Romulus - Capitol District, Senate Building, Private Office - Senator Terrh - 0805) Terrh had been on edge for two days, since his last meeting with the Praetor. At that time, Vrih had made it very clear to Terrh that he knew about his connections with the Tal Shiar, and he all but accused him of having something to do with the unknown events aboard the human starship. The truth was, Terrh knew very little indeed. He knew that plans were in motion to halt the proceedings before they had begun, but given that the Federation ship had arrived minutes ago he could only assume those plans had failed. As soon as he had left the meeting, he had called for Chairman Vaebn, the infamous leader of the intelligence agency, the Tal Shiar. So far, Vaebn had not gotten back to Terrh, and as such the Senator was extremely nervous about the imminent arrival of the Federation Ambassador. The Praetor would likely hold him personally responsible should anything happen during the negotiations, and the punishment he might receive was not something he enjoyed thinking about. Finally, his servants had managed to get a secure channel to Chairman Vaebn. He was at an undisclosed location - for a change - and as the screen flickered on he could see that his face was obscured by shadows, to protect his identity during the transmission. Terrh had leaned forward and already decided he was going to start with an aggressive tone. He was angry that he had been kept waiting, and he wanted Vaebn to know it. "You know, I called you two days ago. Why haven't you responded to me sooner?" =^= Watch your tone, Senator. Have you forgotten who you are speaking to? =^= The tone from the Chairman was icy. He was clearly unimpressed by Terrh. Terrh said nothing, but tried to change his attitude. He was annoyed that Vaebn hadn't called him sooner, and with the Praetor watching him so closely, he was a little uncertain of how he should proceed. The Praetor had charged him with ensuring nothing further happened to the USS Hades, and Terrh knew that although he hadn't been directly responsible for the happenings onboard the Federation ship, no doubt Vaebn would have more information. Finally, Terrh responded in a calmer tone and said, "Praetor knows about our involvement. I don't know how, I have been very careful." With his calmness quickly dissipating, a clear sense of concern and panic was seeping into his voice. This was so unlike him, but with the threat of his own life on the line, was he getting desperate? =^= Why are you so surprised? =^= The chairman was almost laughing. He found the Senator's reaction most amusing. If he hadn't, he might have felt the need to dispose of the Romulan. =^= Praetor is a very resourceful Romulan. How else did you think he got elected to his position? =^= Terrh shrugged a little, understanding that argument. The Praetor commanded a great deal of respect from the whole empire, and many would gladly stitch Terrh up for the chance to gain favour. It was one of the ways that Terrh had gained his position the first place. A position on the Continuing Committee was one of great power and influence. Not as much power and influence as Praetor, but still a great deal more than any normal Senator would ever hope to command. "He'll hold me personally responsible for anything that happens to the ship. I won't have that." Terrh sounded defiant. He hadn't worked as long as he had worked, to go down because of stupid mistakes made by the ineffective actions of Vaebn's agents. =^= Why don't you just calm down and do your job, and leave me to worry about my own affairs =^= Vaebn was clearly not taking Terrh's comments seriously. All that did was rile the Senator further, but he could not let it show. If it wasn't for Vaebn, he would not even be in politics, never mind in a position such as his. He liked to think it was all his own work, and to the general public it certain was, but both he and Vaebn knew that without the influence he had exerted, Terrh would still be a Senator in charge of a small farming district on the outer continent. "The ship is already here. The Praetor has scheduled the first round of negotiations for 1100 this morning" offered Terrh, giving up on his attempts to force Vaebn's hand in any way. He may as well just do his job and stop complaining. What ever happened would happen. All Terrh needed to do was ensure he kept his life at the end of it all. =^= Is that so? Anything else? =^= Vaebn was now sounding more friendly, very interested in what his Senator agent had to say. "Only that the Ambassador is not who we were originally expecting." Terrh shrugged, not knowing if it made any difference at all. Ambassador Jericho Nolan had been well known to many of his kind, and the news that he would no longer be present for the negotiations put an immediate downer on the hopes for the talks. This new Ambassador, Brianna Frazier, she was an unknown to Terrh. So far he had hadn't been offered much information on her, other than she was an ex-Starfleet officer and that she was part-Betazoid. That in itself would prove quite interesting. =^= Yes, an unfortunate consequence that we had not foreseen =^= Vaebn spoke with a nonchalant tone that was not surprised by the news he had just received. "Consequence? What did you do?" Terrh couldn't help himself, and before he could stop it, the words were already out. =^= That does not concern you. Do not contact me again until our scheduled time, is that understood? =^= Vaebn snapped and spoke with finality. It was clear he had plans, and he was not about to share them with Terrh. Terrh only responded with a sharp nod. There was little else he could say. =^= Very well =^= said Vaebn before the screen went blank. (reply: none, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Corridor Outside Ready Room - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 0806) As the Ambassador had gone off to do her own thing, Jonas decided to stay off the bridge for a moment longer. Instead, he stepped into a small corridor that wasn't often used and started to pace. As he did so he tapped his comm. badge and said, "Lemar to Lieutenant Trinin." (reply: Trinin) "Lieutenant, I've invited the Romulan Commander and his senior staff aboard for a small 'get-to-know-you' Luncheon." He waited to hear reactions, knowing that he could well have fore-warned the chief of security about this before he had put forward his officer to Commander Rhian. "I want you to make sure there are sufficient security measures in place for the duration of the visit." (reply: Trinin) As the channel closed, Jonas began to make his way to the bridge, but just before he reached the door he froze. "Oh no," he thought with a shake of his head. ~She's not going to like this...~ With a deep sigh Jonas tapped his comm. badge again and said, "Lemar to Miller." =^= Miller here. What's goin on Jonas? =^= The man's tone was cheery, but it still caused Jonas to frown. Had he been with a higher ranking officer, or even the Romulan Commander, addressing him in such a way wouldn't have been very appropriate. ~I'll address that later~ he thought, thinking there was a bigger fish to fry right now. "I need a big favour..." Jonas hesitated, just picturing the face that Jason Miller would be pulling right now. "I've invited the Romulans over for a Luncheon. I need you to get Denise to make the arrangements." =^= Oh, come on boss! =^= There was obvious protest in his voice. "Hey, don't make me make that an order," joked Jonas, knowing that Denise would probably make mincemeat of Miller when he told her. He also made a note not to pass by his office for a few days - especially not at night! A sigh came over the comm. just before =^= Fine, consider it done =^= "You're a star! Thanks Jase." Jonas closed the channel and turned again toward the door and stepped out onto the bridge. (reply: Trinin, Lebranski, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Bridge- CSEC- Lt. Baylon Trinin- 0807) "Lieutenant Maraht, All Security teams are reporting their patrol areas clear." Baylon reported, "Nothing out of the ordinary, sir." he added. It was information that he would have reported to any officer that had been in command on the bridge. They didn't even need to ask him for the information. He was more than glad to offer it. (reply Maraht iyw) Baylon ordered the security teams to make another sweep of the ship and to report their results upon completing another circuit of the vessel. Now that they were so close to the Romulan home worlds, Baylon had a feeling that if the saboteur was desperate the time was growing closer when they would try to sabotage the mission again. Baylon's commbadge chirped. =^=Lieutenant, I've invited the Romulan Commander and his senior staff aboard for a small 'get-to-know-you' Luncheon.=^= Commander Lemar said, then paused for a moment before continuing, =^=I want you to make sure there are sufficient security measures in place for the duration of the visit.=^= "Aye sir." Baylon replied, "What time will we be expecting the Commander and his personnel?" (reply Lemar) "Very well, sir. I will have everything in place well before then. I will contact Lieutenant Tarus to put him on alert in case there are any unexpected complications. I will have Ensign T'Sol coordinate the security for the Commander's arrival." (reply Lemar) The channel closed and Baylon immediately swung into action. He tapped his commbadge. "Trinin to Tarus." (reply Tarus) "Lieutenant, we will be hosting the Romulan commander and a small body guard. I'd like for your team to be on standby to protect him and his people should the need arise." (reply Tarus- room for more.) "We will be hosting the luncheon in Ten Forward. Your personnel need not be present, but I want them ready. They should be arriving very close to 1100 hours." (reply Tarus) "Very good Lieutenant, Trinin out." Baylon then tapped his commbadge a second time. "Trinin to T'Sol" =^= T'Sol here, sir.=^= "We will be hosting the Romulan Commander of the Donatra and a select body guard for a luncheon in ten forward today at 1100 hours. I will require you to coordinate the security efforts and to be on hand to greet the Commander and his personnel and to be on-site with an honor guard in the even of trouble." =^= I understand Lieutenant.=^= "Very good, T'Sol. Trinin out." ~It looked like his morning just got a lot busier.~ (reply Tarus, Lemar, Maraht iyw) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Corridor Outside Ready Room - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 0808) As Jonas spoke with Trinin over the ships communication system, Trinin asked =^= What time will we be expecting the Commander and his personnel? =^= Jonas had only just had the conversation a short time ago, so it was all still fresh in his memory. "The Romulan delegation should be transporting over at around 1100 hours." =^= Very well, sir. I will have everything in place well before then. I will contact Lieutenant Tarus to put him on alert in case there are any unexpected complications. I will have Ensign T'Sol coordinate the security for the Commander's arrival. =^= "Very well" said Jonas finally. "I trust your judgement on this Lieutenant. Just send a copy of your plans to me with your daily report, just for the record." (reply: none, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 16, Tactical Planning - SO Lieutenant Tarus Daban - 0809) Tarus was pleased at how his small team of officers had responded during his rigorous training programs. He had put them through all sorts of physical and mental exercises to ensure they were as ready as they could be for anything that the Romulans could throw at them. His team was specifically for that worst case scenario that everyone hoped wouldn't happen. Since sending them to make patrols of the areas frequented by the negotiating team, Tarus had left the temporary security offices on deck 10 and moved his work to the Tactical Planning offices. He figured this section was better equipped for making any large scale plans, and with a number of holographic interfaces to aid him, he was sure that Lieutenant Ammon wouldn't mind him making temporary use of them. Tarus had just finished tying in the ships internal sensors to a holographic image of the Hades when a call came over the comm. system to drawn him from his work. It was the chief of security, Lieutenant Trinin, and as he set aside the PADD and stylus he had been using he tapped his badge and replied, "Tarus here." =^= Lieutenant, we will be hosting the Romulan commander and a small body guard. I'd like for your team to be on standby to protect him and his people should the need arise =^= ~Romulans, onboard the ship~ Tarus wanted to ask the Lieutenant if he was being serious, but then he didn't figure the chief would joke about something like that. With a shake of his head, Tarus turned away from his holographic plans and asked, "Consider it done. I'll assign other officers to the Ambassador and her colleagues for the interim." He scratched at his head briefly as he asked, "Do you know why they are coming?" =^= We will be hosting the luncheon in Ten Forward. Your personnel need not be present, but I want them ready. They should be arriving very close to 1100 hours =^= With a nod, Tarus finally understood. ~So the negotiations are going to commence here~ he thought to himself as he turned and made a note of the time; 1100 hours. "We'll be ready to move if and when required Lieutenant." Picking up the stylus he leaned in to touch at the holographic image of the ship. He highlighted a number of key locations around ten forward that he deemed could be easily defended should the need arise, one of them being Sickbay. =^= Very good Lieutenant, Trinin out =^= As the channel closed Tarus said, "Well, this alters this somewhat..." and he continued to make changes to his plans. (reply: none, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 11, Cargo Bay 2 - Crewman Denise Lebranski - 0810) Denise was wondering if Miller needed to up his fibre intake. He'd sounded very strange when he'd passed on that the First Officer wanted Ten Forward set up for a delegation lunch. She'd just rolled her eyes and pulled out the plans she'd made before they'd even crossed into the neutral zone. "Happy to do it," Denise had replied, still wondering what was wrong with the first officer's yeoman. Maybe he wasn't getting enough sleep? ~Probably the fibre.~ Denise decided as she went back to work. She'd come down here to review their 'fresh food supplies' in case anything had been damaged in "the incident." They'd had more than expected by time of arrival, probably something to do with the ambassador being tossed, a convenient forgetting to tell Miss Ambassador looking down her nose that they were here, and the Captain being injured. She wondered if Romulans liked coffee. ~Oh who cares, we do and that's the important bit.~ Chances are, there was nothing 'Romulan' they could offer that wouldn't be frighteningly strange to real Romulans, Vulcan food and drink would just insult them and common Federation fare was just easier. Give it a good cultural mix and if the xenophobes refused it, well, they could drink water the whole time it was no skin off HER nose. Sending off her plots and plans to Operations for them to make reality Denise stifled a yawn and decided it was probably time to process everyone's security clearances and double check that everyone who needed to get somewhere on the ship would be able to during lock-down when their guests were on board. (Reply none) (Posted by Lorna) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Bridge - COPS Lt. Maraht - 0811) "Lieutenant Maraht, All Security teams are reporting their patrol areas clear," Baylon reported. "Nothing out of the ordinary, Sir," he added. It was information that he would have reported to any officer that had been in command on the bridge. They didn't even need to ask him for the information. He was more than glad to offer it. "Thank you, Lt. Trinin," replied Maraht. "That is reassuring to hear. Please carry on." Maraht again reviewed the information from Lt. Trinin given them at the last officer's meeting after the explosion. ~It just did not make sense that all those faulty chips would be installed all at the same time and not be detected until now. Thank the Great Mother Lava for Crewman Walker's eye for detail and persistence. I must make sure to put him in for a recommendation to the Captain.~ Maraht kept poring over the details from the reports he had received from his own repair crews, the repair logs from the Engineers and the details from his own console. ~It was a very bad time for an explosion to happen. I wish that people did not feel such great insecurity that they felt the need to hide behind such deviousness. It is far too costly in lives.~ Maraht had the strange itchy feeling inside that he was overlooking something obvious, but he couldn't tell what. He resolved to keep at the data it until he did figure out what was bothering him. (Reply Any) (Posted by Sheila Mayer) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Romulus - Paetor's Office - Praetor Vrih - 0830) Vrih looked at the report that a nameless drone of a bureaucrat had placed on his desk. He looked up at the almost featureless face of the aid. How was it they were trained so well to look so inconspicuous? If he left, Vrih was certain that within fifteen minutes he would not be able to tell you anything about the Romulan. "It appears that Senator Terrh has been quite busy this morning," the aid stated. "One could say that his comm system was burning with the activity." Vrih looked at the aid... what was his name... and frowned. "One might. But these reports say nothing of what the conversation entailed. And this one, we don't even know who it was to. It was too deeply encoded. Can I assume that it has Tal Shiar written upon it?" "Praetor, you are wise beyond compare," the aid stated. Vrih had learned long ago that the Tal Shiar and his own intelligence services had embedded themselves deeply into the senate system. He knew that it was an issue that he had wanted to solve. There had to be trust back in the senate, and not knowing who you could talk with openly was taking its toll on the socio-political climate of the empire. Fortunately, the Tal Shiar did not want the open power of the empire. They were happy enough to skulk around and take their authority through the power of their secrets. It was good to know that his own secrets were so few and innocuous that such agencies were almost disgusted to meet with him. They had little to hold over him. Not that they hadn't tried. Vrih waved off the open display of fawning. "I'm sure. Inform me when the Federation Ambassador is preparing to transport down. I want all precautions necessary taken." "As you command, Praetor," the aid said, bowing as he left the room. Vrih frowned again as he was already uncertain as to whether the aid was male or female, and how tall was he... she. He shook his head and went back to the preparations for the conference. There was much to discuss, and much trust to be built, from both sides. (reply none) (posted by Al Muir) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 9, Temporary Quarters - Ambassador Brianna Frazier - 0912) Brianna Frazier had returned once again to her quarters. Even though they still lacked a lot of the homely possessions that she had lost in the explosion a few days ago, she still felt more homely here than any office, so found it easier to concentrate on her work. She had just gotten herself a cold drink from the replicator when the comm. speaker sounded above her. =^= Ambassador, there is an incoming packet for you from the surface =^= ~For me?~ she thought while taking a sip of the fruit juice. "Send it to my quarters, if you please." She stepped closer to her computer interface and instantly the screen light up as it was activated from elsewhere in the ship. Moments later, a data package began to download itself before her and open. Taking another sip from her juice, she placed a finger on the 'browse' option on her screen to see that the Romulan delegation had sent her an updated schedule, together with Maps of the Capitol District and Capitol Building. "That's very open of them," she commented out loud. ~They must be confident of their security~ she pondered, looking over the details with fascination. Finding the most important piece of information, the start time for the negotiations, she froze the screen and stepped away, moving toward a comfortable seat. As she placed her drink on the nearby table she said, "Computer, record a message..." She then paused, allowing the computer to recognise she was speaking to it. As she waited for the chime, she took a seat and settled herself. [*Chirp*] Deciding to keep things simple and without any sort of introduction, "We have been invited to meet with the Romulan delegations at 1030 hours. Please meet me in Transporter Room One at 1025 for beam down." She stopped there, wondering if anything else was needed. ~I've got the entire schedule down here...but I can speak to them about that in person if need be~ and with that she decided to leave the message as short as it was, and issue the computer with further commands. "Computer, send message by comm. badge or computer terminal to the following recipients; Paris Kolar, Raizel Grem, Will Banowsky, Lieutenant Carrow, Lieutenant Jackson, Counsellor Nayati." She tapped lightly on the side of her head as she checked her memory, hopeful she hadn't forgotten anybody. With a final shrug, she decided that she hadn't and waited for the computer to acknowledge her commands. [Message sent to all recipients] (reply: Banowsky, Carrow, Jackson, Nayati, any) ~I suppose I better let the muscle know~ she remembered with a smile. Otherwise, when they all set off in an hour or so, the security officers outside might be a little miffed. With a tap of the communicator she had been given she said, "Ambassador Frazier to Lieutenant Trinin." (reply: Trinin) She wondered if she had disturbed him from anything important - it was difficult to tell from his tone. "I've just received word from the Romulan delegation. We're to meet with them at 1030 hours. No doubt you will wish to have your security detail accompany the group?" She remembered that the Captain had ordered the Marines and security teams to be involved during negotiations. She hated the thought of armed soldiers at a peaceful negotiation, but in the same hat she understood the need for personal security on an alien world. (reply: Trinin) "Very well. The rest of the team will be assembled in the Transporter room at 1025." She promptly closed the channel and stood up from her seat. "Ok Bree, you have just under an hour to make yourself irresistible to Romulans." With a cheeky smile she headed toward the wash room with the intention to freshen up. --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Bridge - Lieutenant Ardena Carrow - 0913) Ardena was starting to wonder if the first officer thought she'd peed in his boots or something. No acknowledgement. No notification of whether there was to be a senior officer's meeting. He gave command to the busy Lt Maraht when she was hanging out a security terminal. They, apparently, had meetings every day at 0700 but the day they pulled into Romulan space. Silly her, why would they need to double check and run over department status. Also, apparently, a busy operations officer was better suited to holding the big chair than a senior officer who had received no communication or updates before the acting captain had hurried off to his borrowed office. ~Probably thinks i'm incapable of handling things. Sure, a *yeoman* can be given command,~ that story hadn't taken long to do the rounds, ~But God forbid a *SCIENTIST* be given command.~ She sent the data on the ships and area from security down to her terminal in science and decided she may as well go clean her office and sort her chips, since obviously she had no purpose HERE. The turbolift doors were just closing after being told her destination when she got the message from Frazier. ~Oh, marvy. Of course, it's recorded. She couldn't possibly TALK to her team members, a team I'm not even supposed to be a part of. Oh, but I suppose since she's ambassador now, she has to lord it over me gleefully while I have to smile and pretend she's not a petty little tyrant.~ "Computer, record message for Ambassador Frazier," Ardena said in her best forced smile voice. "I am no longer a member of your team, unless some reassignment has happened that no one bothered to tell me about. Good luck on your mission!" a pause. "Send." Two could play the 'You're not worthy of live communication' game. The turbolift doors opened once more, and Ardena didn't quite stalk into science. ~So glad I could come to this ship. My assistant seems to be better recognized than myself. I get crapped on because I refuse to let some bitch of an ambassador rifle through my thoughts and feelings like they're her property and not mine. And, oh yes, I get moved around and placed without anyone bothering to talk to me about it twice.~ She supposed she should give leeway to an overworked and stressed out first officer who was trying to do his Captain's job on a demanding and high profile mission.. but how hard was it to notice someone and use them? Or was he hoping for a diplomatic incident by having her and Ms. Frazier on the same team? Now, there was a thought.. the saboteur being the first officer.. He was certainly in a position to turn this mission to pot in a hurry now.. (Reply Frazier, any) (Posted by Lorna) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Primary Computer Core- CSEC- Lt. Baylon Trinin- 0913) Baylon carefully picked up the tiny fragment of what at first glance appeared to be some sort of isolinear chip fragment. He gripped it carefully between the soft grippers of the forensics tongs and held the fragment up to the light so that he could get a better look at it. "What do you think it is sir?" Engineer's Mate Joel Hanson asked him, "And more importantly why would it be smashed up like that and in of all places the EPS conduit access port?" Baylon looked at the young engineer, then back down the through the opening in the deck of the main computer core's EPS conduit feed line. "If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say it looks like an isolinear chip of some sort. There's a partial set of serials here." the Security Chief added pointing out a series of nearly indistinguishable etchings embedded in the substrate of the chip. "I could bet you a drink in ten forward that this may be a data storage chip, designed to carry data, then dump it into the computer system. " "Okay I'll buy that." Hanson said nodding, " But why was it down there? And not recycled?" "Because if you recycle it, there's a log. If you smash it and drop it in a hole in the deck, where it's very unlikely to ever be found, then not only is there no log, there's no record of how it got there or who put it there." Joel frowned. Truth be told, I wouldn't have found it, except for the fact that I cut my finger on it when I was pulling the conduit regulator chips to double check them." Indeed, there was a tiny drop of blood on the tip of the fragment that he was inspecting. Baylon glanced down through the opening to the conduit access area. It was little more than a recessed area in the deck, through which the coupling could be accessed. It wasn't deep enough to stand in and any work would be done from deck level, reaching down into the recessed area as needed. "What would it take to gain enough access to that area so that we could look for more fragments?" "A unanimous vote of the Federation Council." Hanson replied. Just then Baylon's commbadge chirped. The Security Chief held up a single finger to Hanson letting him know to put the conversation on pause. =^=Ambassador Frazier to Lieutenant Trinin.=^= "Trinin here, go ahead Madame ambassador." Baylon replied. =^=I've just received word from the Romulan delegation. We're to meet with them at 1030 hours. No doubt you will wish to have your security detail accompany the group?"=^= "Yes I certainly do. I will be in attendance as well Ambassador." =^=Very well. The rest of the team will be assembled in the Transporter room at 1025.=^= The channel then closed. Baylon glanced at his chronometer. ~Plenty of time.~ He turned back to Hanson. "I'm sorry mister Hanson, you were saying?" "It would require us taking the primary computer core off line and then pulling the primary and secondary EPS taps to the core. Only then we can pull the couplings which would open that area up for you to conduct your forensics search." "I see." Baylon replied with a frown. " How long would that take if you were given the go-ahead?" "Two maybe three hours." Joel replied honestly. Baylon thought about his options. He needed evidence, and there was a slim chance that these chip fragments might be the evidence that he required. It could prove or disprove the involvement of Raziel Grem in the sabotage of the Hades. Of course once they'd found any other fragments, ~if there were other fragments~ It would still take a few hours to figure out exactly what they were for, what they had on them and who they belonged to. It was better than what they had at present, which was not much of anything. Baylon tapped his commbadge. "Trinin to Commander Lemar." (reply Lemar) "Sir, could you come to the Primary Computer Core. I think I've found something that you should see." (reply Lemar) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 9, Temporary Quarters - Ambassador Brianna Frazier - 0915) Bree had just finished splashing water on her face. She had been awake for a few hours now and she often found that was the best way to freshen up. As she made her way to the closet, dabbing at her face with a dry towel, the computer alerted her to a message. ~That was quick~ she thought, diverting from her original path and moving toward the console. With a soft touch, the screen displayed a brief message from Lieutenant Carrow. [I am no longer a member of your team, unless some reassignment has happened that no one bothered to tell me about. Good luck on your mission!] As the message played to her, Bree was a little surprised at the tone. "She's being very pleasant...for a change." With that, she walked away from the computer and continued her path toward the closet. "Oh well, not a great loss," she said, tossing the towel to the floor and opening the closet door. ~Probably get on better without her anyway~ With that, Bree pulled down her Starfleet Uniform from the hanger and held it against her front. Stepping toward the mirror she turned to each side, wondering if it would still fit her. "Only one way to find out..." she said, moving to place the uniform on her bed before picking up the pants separately and undoing the zipper. (reply: none, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 6, Main Science department - Lieutenant Ardena Carrow - 0918) "No, No, I bet it's LEBRANSKI!" declared Arnold Peters, a bio-chemist who seemed to only appear in Science when there was fresh coffee. "Her plan is to wait until the absolute crucial moment of the mission and then kill herself, cause the whole ship to fall apart!" "Nah, Miller'd just take over." Replied Laura Myers, an atmosphere specialist. "I think it has to be someone on the ambassador's own team, 'cause they go through fewer security checks and procedures than Starfleet personnel." Ardena wondered if she should break up the little coffee klatch. On the one hand, she didn't think it was particularly appropriate to be playing 'Who's our bomber?' but on the other, the discussion seemed to be increasing morale, not bringing it down. Oh well, to each his or her own, she'd go data diving. "What do you think?" Laura asked, turning to their boss. Or not. "I think, whoever it may be, has made a drastic mistake in thinking how determined both we and the Romulans *are* to make nice. Kill half the crew and we'll still negotiate and talk and learn. Kill the whole crew and another ship will come. I don't think the Romulans are responsible, I think an alliance or collective who don't want us getting along with the Romulans is. Cardassians, Ferengi, Orions.. the list is long and plentiful." She shrugged, "All makes me glad I'm not in security." "Amen to that!" said Peters, handing Ardena a jelly filled donut and cup of coffee. "You going to the meet and greet?" Ardena shrugged again, "No clue. I'm sure when they know what i'm doing, they'll tell me ten minutes after I've supposed to have done it." She realized just how bitter that sounded after the words were released, so she tagged on a grin, "Y'know how the military is." "Oh no kidding." Laura said in a hurry, seemingly oblivious to the chief scientist's state of mind, though Arnold was giving her a considering look. "I just got approval to examine the historical data of Vulcan's stratosphere from Memory Prime." Arnold shifted his gaze from Ardena with a snort, "Weren't you assigned to Vulcan six years ago?" Laura held up her mug of coffee in salute, "Long live bureaucracy!" Ardena shook her head and headed into her nicely fixed office. She put mug and donut down on her desk to run a hand over the bulkhead. Well, there had to be easier ways to clean one's office, but it was a start. She'd have to remember to ask Shayhiloosh if she could take some plants from the bay to cheer up her office. It was so terribly lifeless. Putting boots up on desk, Ardena relaxed into her chair, determined to enjoy coffee and donut before Ambassador Frazier could squawk about her insubordination. (Reply any) (Posted by Lorna) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 0924) Jonas had been busying himself with normal routine tasks for the past hour or so. He was trying not to think too much about the visit of the Romulans that was creeping closer and closer. He would prefer just turn up and get it over and done with, rather than stress about it for hours before and end up talking his own confidence down. According to Maraht and Guarastine, the Donatra had transmitted instruction for the orbit of Romulus, and the Hades was now in a geosynchronous orbit above the Capitol District, the location of the infamous Romulus Senate and seat of the Praetor. He assumed there had been no problem with the instructions, given that the course correction had taken place without incident. Just then, =^= Trinin to Commander Lemar =^= Jonas put down his daily report from the engineering department. Repairs hadn't been going as badly as Jackson had forecast earlier that day. Harper and Travis were clearly confident that they could take more than a few knocks and still hold their own. "Go ahead Lieutenant." =^= Sir, could you come to the Primary Computer Core. I think I've found something that you should see =^= Trinin sounded quite serious, not that Jonas ever recalled him ever not being so. "I'm on my way," he said, standing from the command seat and making his way to the turbolift. "Lieutenant Maraht," he said with a smile, "If you wouldn't mind..." is all he said, certain that the Lieutenant would be aware of what he was asking. After all, it wasn't the first time today. (USS Hades - Deck 5, Primary Computer Core - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 0927) When Jonas rounded the corner of the corridor that lead to the Computer Core, he could see that a number of these sections had recently undergone repairs. Luckily, it didn't appear too bad. The Computer Core was the brain of the ship, and had it been damaged they would have been a lot deeper trouble than this. Passing through the double doors to the room where the Primary Computer Core was stored and maintained, Jonas immediately saw Lieutenant Trinin and another officer inspecting something. Out of curiosity Jonas asked, "What do you have there?" (reply: Trinin, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1 Main Bridge - A/COPS - Lt Tom Jackson - 1020) Tom was studying the Engineering console and sneaking a periodic peak the main screen. Being deep in Romulan territory and outgunned 6 to 1 was not comforting. His thoughts were disrupted when the message came in telling him that he was to report to the Transporter Room nlt 1025 hours. Typing quickly, he replied "acknowledged" and sent it off. Tom realized that he was part of the ambassadorial team - a fact he conveniently forgot as he played engineer these last few days. He was relieved by an Engineering ensign he didn't know yet and headed off for the Transporter area. (reply: none/any) (posted by: Bill West) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 5, Transporter Room 1 - Ambassador Brianna Frazier - 1025) Bree strode into the Transporter Room with confidence. Of course, she still had her security escort at her back, but she acted as if they weren't there at all. She had taken the time to change into her Starfleet uniform and adorn her Ambassadorial pins. It was the first time she had worn them since first embarking on the trip so she was glad that they still fitted her as well as she had remembered. The last thing she would have wanted was to request a new set from the ships replication system. When she arrived, she noticed she was not by any means the first one present, so she smiled to those who were standing and waiting for her. (reply: Banowsky, Carrow, Jackson, Nayati, Trinin, any) When she was satisfied that they were all here, she quickly checked her watch. ~1029~ she thought. ~Right on time~ With that she started to make her way onto an empty transporter pad saying, "Right, well I think we're all here now. I don't think we ought to be late." As the others soon assembled beside her she gave her comm. badge a quick tap. "Ambassador Frazier to Commander Lemar; We're just about ready to go here." She smiled as she looked to others around her. ~This is a good team. We'll do well here~ =^= Then good luck to you and your team, Ambassador. Lieutenant Trinin, keep an eye on them for me. =^= (reply: Trinin) With all pleasantries dispensed with, the transporter was activated and the away teams disappeared. (reply: Banowsky, Carrow, Jackson, Nayati, Trinin, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 5, Transporter Room 1- CSEC- Lt. Baylon Trinin- 1026) Baylon had opted to keep the security detail small. He and the Major had decided that a small security detail on the surface would be sufficient to handle any problems that might arise, and failing that would provide fewer hostages to rescue or casualties to tally if things went poorly. If things did go poorly, Tarus was the first line of recovery, after that, at Lemar's discretion it was the Major and his Marines. Three lines of defense were the best that he could do, he'd know soon enough if he had brought enough security officers to the assembly or not. ~Time to have a little faith,~ He reminded himself. ~All things considered if the Praetor wanted to start an incident there were easier ways to accomplish it.~ Baylon, Ensign Cappella and Ensign Mendez were the entirety of the security detail. Each were highly rated in resourcefulness, coolness under fire and in their core security metrics. They weren't there to truly protect anyone, no number of security personnel could accomplish that task if the Romulans really wanted to harm them. They were there because it was expected and because someone had to be there. The doors to the room swished open and Frazier stepped in. She flashed him a smile, glanced around the room and checked her chronograph. "Right, well I think we're all here now. I don't think we ought to be late." Baylon nodded at his two security officers, who took up the last two positions on the rearmost pads of the transporter. Baylon took a position immediately to Frazier left, just one position back. He did not want to put himself into a position that would place him between the Diplomats on either side. "Ambassador Frazier to Commander Lemar; We're just about ready to go here." =^= Then good luck to you and your team, Ambassador. Lieutenant Trinin, keep an eye on them for me. =^= "No worries commander. I'll do everything in my power to keep them safe and sound." Baylon replied after a quick tap of his commbadge. A few moments later, Baylon's molecules were hurling through space and reassembling on the surface of Romulus. (reply Any on the away team) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Romulus - Senatorial Receiving - Praetor's Aide Ejuil - 1030) Ejuil made certain that he was standing in front of the "honor guard" of centurions that had been assigned to "escort" the Federation ambassadors to the Praetor. In truth, he was there to ensure that the centurions did not consider their arrival as a pre-invasion and open fire on their guests. It would be most unfortunate to send message back to the Federation that their prized diplomats had met with an unfortunate misunderstanding resulting in their execution. The paper work for such an event would be endless. The hall that they stood in was a large, dome shaped area. It was ornately decorated to impress those who came to visit. In the middle of the floor was crest of the Romulan Star Empire inlaid into the tile. It was and impressive bird-of-prey clutching onto two planets, one in each claw. "The Federation ship is signaling that they are ready to begin transport," reported the Romulan at the controls of the matter transporter. "Then proceed," the aid said simply, as he brought himself to his full height, an impressive 2 and a quarter meters. When the Federation team completed their transport he stepped forward. "Welcome to Romulus, I am Ejuil, personal aid to Praetor Vrih." (reply Frazier) Ejuil bowed slightly, "These centurions are here to honor you, as I take you to the Praetor. It is important that you stay with me and observe our protocols while you are in my charge." (reply Frazier, Jackson, Nayatu, Trinin, Banowsky, any) (posted by Al Muir) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Romulus - Senatorial Receiving Area - A/COPS -LT Tom Jackson- 1031) Tom Jackson was amazed yet again with the Transporter process. As he watched, the HADES dissolved into shimmering waves of energy and very soon after he re-materialized on Romulan soil. He tensed a bit as he saw the group of Centurions just behind a solitary Romulan. ~I wonder if they are here to escort us or kill us?~ Jackson wondered idly. T.J. was mentally reviewing all the information Brianna Frazier had given them on Romulan protocols. He didn't like what he viewed as being placed in a straight jacket. But it was the Romulans turf and he had to play their game for now. Jackson stood in the back and listened as Bree and the Romulan guide Ejuil conversed. (reply: any/none) (posted by: Bill West) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 1050) Jonas knew that the time was almost here, and he ought to make a movement toward the Transporter Room and be ready for the arrival of the Romulan party. He wasn't often much for entertaining, and now that the time was upon them he wasn't entirely sure why he had agreed to go ahead with this. Ultimately, it had been his own fault and no one had forced his hand so he had no one to blame but himself. Standing up from the command seat he brushed down the jacket of his uniform, flattening out any ruffles that had gathered while he had been sitting. "We better make a move," he said to anyone that would listen. As he stared up at the viewscreen, which showed a mixture of the images, from the blue planet of Romulus, to the formation of warbirds that surrounded them. He had informed the senior staff of the impending gathering, and the mandatory attendance of all senior officers still remaining on the ship, so his next action shouldn't come as too much of a shock. Activating his comm. badge he said, "Doctor Trommashere, Counsellor Ripley, Lieutenant Harper, Ensign T'Sol. Please meet me in Transporter Room Two in five minutes to meet our Romulan guests." (reply: Trommashere, Ripley, Harper, T'Sol) Looking around those officers still on the bridge his eyes lay on Lieutenant Maraht. ~I wonder what the Romulans will think of our resident Horta~ and then he thought about their Arborian Science officer. ~It'll be a cultural eye-opener if nothing else~. "Lieutenant Maraht, you have the bridge." (reply: Maraht) As Jonas turned to make his way toward the turbolift he added, "Ammon, Guarastine, McKenzie. You're with me." The turbolift doors swooshed open and Jonas stepped inside, turning back to face the bridge and waiting for the other officers to enter. As they approached, Jonas could see replacement officers appearing from side doorways to replace the bridge officers he had just removed. ~A well oiled machine~ he thought as he smiled to himself. (reply: Ammon, McKenzie) (USS Hades - Deck 5, Transporter Room Two - FO Commander Lemar - 1056) Jonas stepped into the transporter room to find that security had already arrived ahead of them. They were positioned in ceremonial positions, as they had been a week ago when the Ambassador had first arrived. So much had happened since that day and sadly that Ambassador was no longer with them. Jonas knew that at this point he would be forced to answer questions about the Captain and Ambassador Nolan. He was finally ready to answer those questions, assuming he could gain a certain level or rapport with the Romulan Commander first. (reply: Trommashere, Ripley, Harper, T'Sol, Ammon, McKenzie) As Jonas awaited the arrival of the final few officers, he stood in relative silence. When he was satisfied that everyone who should be, was present, Jonas indicated to the Transporter chief to proceed. (reply: Trommashere, Ripley, Harper, T'Sol, Ammon, McKenzie, Rhian) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Security Offices- Security Officer- Ensign T'Sol- 1051) T'Sol had just finished triple checking her preparations for the arrival of the Romulan Commander and his body guard when her commbadge chirped. =^=Doctor Trommashere, Counselor Ripley, Lieutenant Harper, Ensign T'Sol. Please meet me in Transporter Room Two in five minutes to meet our Romulan guests.=^= T'Sol stood, tapping her commbadge as she did so. "Understood Commander, I'm on my way." As soon as the line closed, she tapped her commbadge a second time. "T'Sol to Lieutenant Tarus" she said. (reply Tarus) "I am headed to Transporter room two to greet the Romulans. They are expected aboard at any time. Is everything prepared?" (reply Tarus) "Very good, T'Sol out." "T'Sol to Griggs, Matson, T'Pek, Angelo and Grier. Report immediately to Transporter Room Two for honor detail as was previously discussed. T'Sol out." (USS Hades - Deck 5, Transporter Room Two- Security Officer- Ensign T'Sol- 1054) T'Sol had practically rushed to the Transporter room, so that she would be there before Commander Lemar arrived. She noted the efficiency that her security detail had shown. All were present and ready to perform their duties. "Fall in." T'Sol ordered and the security men assumed their positions, each standing at a perfect military attention. T'Sol stepped forward 1 pace and also assumed the same rigid stance. A moment later Commander Lemar entered the transporter room. He made a quick visual surveillance of the room, then moved forward and to the center of the compartment, positioning himself directly in front of the transporter pads. He stood in quiet contemplation as they awaited the arrival of the other senior officers . Once all had arrived and taken their positions, Lemar nodded once to the transporter chief who nodded back. "Energizing now sir." he said. A few moments later the Romulan commander was standing on the transporter pad, accompanied by his personal bodyguard or other serving officers. It was difficult to tell which they were. T'Sol waited for the greetings to commence. (reply all in Transporter Room 2, Romulans) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - CTAC Lt. Ammon Ranae - 1052) Ranae had been mildly surprised when she'd heard that some Romulans were coming over for a lunch meeting, and had met the news of her mandatory attendance with less than a lack of enthusiasm, but she had ensured that her demeanor would not betray her inner feelings. She would have preferred to stay out of their way but she had to follow orders, and therefore would do her best to make them feel welcome whether or not she actually wanted them there. Standing up from the command seat, the Commander brushed down the jacket of his uniform and Ranae glanced at the chronometer and sighed. It looked like it was almost time to make nice with the visitors. "We better make a move," Lemar said, staring up at the viewscreen briefly, he then touched his commbadge to inform Doctor Trommashere, Counsellor Ripley, Lieutenant Harper and Ensign T'Sol to meet him in Transporter Room Two in five minutes, and then looked around the bridge before heading to the turbolift. "Ammon, Guarastine, McKenzie. You're with me." He added as the turbolift doors swooshed open and he stepped inside. Ranae nodded and quickly followed the aCO into the lift together with the other two and waited silently to be borne to Deck 5. (USS Hades - Deck 5, Transporter Room Two - CTAC Lt. Ammon Ranae - 1056) As expected the security detail was waiting when they arrived. T'Sol was very efficient as one would expect from a full-blooded Vulcan, but she would have to have hurried to get there before their arrival yet she didn't look the least perturbed and hadn't even broken out in a sweat. ~Do Vulcans sweat?~ Ranae wondered. ~Come to think of it I have never seen a Vulcan sweat, perhaps they can't, but then...If they can't sweat when overheated they'd have to pant wouldn't they?~ Finding her thoughts wandering, Ranae forced her mind back to the task of looking pleasant when the guests arrived as she stood alongside the others to await their fellow officers' arrival, and ultimately the party of Romulans. Once all had arrived and taken their positions, Lemar nodded once to the transporter chief who nodded back. "Energizing now sir." he said. A few moments later the Romulan commander and several others appeared on the transporter pad. ~Here we go!~ Ranae thought, her face as impassive as any Vulcans. (reply: Trommashere, Ripley, Harper, McKenzie, Rhian) (posted by Sal) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 10, Corridor 7-Alpha - SO Lieutenant Tarus Daban - 1052) Tarus was making a routine patrol of deck 10. He had been in ten forward around 5 minutes ago and preparations there were complete, thanks to the work of Denise Lebranski and her team of workers. He really didn't understand why she had such a bad reputation for being a hard-ass. Each time he had seen here she had been very mellow and pleasant. Making sure to check the ships more sensitive areas, Tarus was in the process of placing maintenance lockdown's on all the areas that would not require ready access. Such places included Upper Reactant Loading and the Torpedo Storage Magazine. "Computer, activate maintenance lockdown of this area. Authorization Daban-Seven-Nine-Two-Pi-Gamma." [Authorization accepted. Doors to this section have been sealed] With a satisfied nod, Tarus set off down the corridor on his way toward the Reactant Loading chamber. He had only moved about 200 metres when his comm. badge sounded. =^= T'Sol to Lieutenant Tarus =^= Tarus continued to walk as he answered, "Tarus here." He turned a corner and came to a stop beside a door, which opened instantly. He turned and walked inside and it closed behind him, Tarus stepped through a small 'limbo' section in into the main reactant chamber. =^= I am headed to Transporter room two to greet the Romulans. They are expected aboard at any time. Is everything prepared? =^= Tarus moved to a nearby console and began to tap in his security codes to commence lockdown on this section too. "My men have taken up positions on Deck 5 between the transporter room and the turbolift. They'll remain discrete and out of sight." The screen flashed a red warning, a silent confirmation that his codes had been accepted and the maintenance lockdown of this section was about to be activated. "I've just finished locking down all sensitive areas on deck 10, and have men in positions near to sickbay and ten forward." As Tarus made his way back toward the exist, his Vulcan colleague replied simply with =^= Very good, T'Sol out =^= Stepping back into the corridor, the door slid shut and there was a clunk as he lockdown activated. Tarus checked the access panel and it's normal interface was dulled and replaced with a black and yellow marker to indicate the lockdown. Satisfied, Tarus started to make his way back to Ten Forward for a final once-over before the Romulans arrived. (reply: none, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - COPS Lt. Maraht - 1055) Cmdr Lemar stood up on the Bridge. Using his commbadge he said, "Doctor Trommashere, Counselor Ripley, Lieutenant Harper, Ensign T'Sol. Please meet me in Transporter Room Two in five minutes to meet our Romulan guests." Looking around those officers on the bridge his eyes lay on Lieutenant Maraht. "Lieutenant Maraht, you have the bridge." "Yes sir," said Lt. Maraht. "Ensign Mason, take the main OPS console." The young Ensign stepped up smartly to take Maraht's place and replaced Maraht's platform stool with a chair. Maraht shifted his bulk to place himself beside the center seat on the raised dais. As Jonas turned to make his way toward the turbolift he added, "Ammon, Guarastine, McKenzie. You're with me." Cmdr Lemar and those he called to meet the Romulans with him made their way to the lift and left the Bridge. Maraht wished them well and hoped that things would go smoothly. In the meantime, there was nothing to keep him from checking on progress down in Engineering. "Maraht to Engineering." (Reply Norm Harper, Dana Travis, Any Engineers) "How are things going with any repairs? Do you need me to send anyone from my department your way? We have had a busy few days." (Reply Norm Harper, Dana Travis, Any Engineers) (Posted by Sheila Mayer) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Turbo Lift - CEO Norman Harper - 1055) Norm leaned against the turbo lift railing and chewed on his lower lip. ~Meeting Romulans...~ He had never had a feeling quite like this one before. It was as though he was going to meet with a unicorn or something equally fantastical. "Meeting with Romulans," It started to roll out of his mouth in a sing-song fashion by the time the lift stopped moving and the computer announced his arrival in the transporter room. (USS Hades - Transporter Room - CEO Norman Harper - 1057) He halted his chant of "meeting Romulans" as he stepped out. He nodded toward the officers who had made it before him, and made his way over to his regular waiting spot. It was where he had stood during the arrival of the ambasidor, and during so many arrivals of now crewmates. ~Meeting with Romulans~ (reply any) (posted by Justine) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 14, Main Engineering - ACEO Dana Travis - 1056) Dana had been going through some of the regular status reports handed in from the engineers working Gamma shift. Commander Lemar had just been on the comm., summoning Harper to the Transporter Room. Travis didn't really think it was an appropriate action, given the chiefs injury with his leg, but then Harper had said earlier he had had enough sitting around and wanted to get back into the action. As Harper hobbled off to meet the Romulans, Travis continued to read through the thrilling words from one Ensign Malone who had spend half the night fixing the power stabilisation subroutines in the Saucer Engineering core matrix on deck 5. ~You'd think that he had nothing better to do~ she thought with a roll of her eyes. This was the one element of the ACEO job that she didn't have a passion for. Paperwork was so boring. Reading it was worse! =^= Maraht to Engineering =^= ~Ah, an excuse~ she dropped her PADD in an instant and rushed to respond with, "Travis here. How can I help you Lieutenant?" She looked around as she received a couple of funny looks from other engineers there. It appeared that her over-enthusiasm wasn't shared by all. =^= How are things going with any repairs? Do you need me to send anyone from my department your way? We have had a busy few days =^= "A few busy days? That's an understatement." She laughed a little, then moved over to her console and tried to get a little more serious. "Repairs are coming along well. It's just the little things that I need to get focused on." She looked over the engineering staff she had available for the current shift. "I could use a couple of extra hands if you have them, but don't bend over backwards. We can manage if need be." (reply: Maraht, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (IWS Donatra - Transporter Room - CO- Commander Rhian - 1058) "I want to reiterate my concerns over this course of action Commander," protested Rhian's second in command, Ariennye. "You are putting yourself in the direct line of fire from those of the Federation, and our own people who are not wanting any part of this union." Rhian stopped, and faced his subordinate squarely. She was quite attractive, and if one hadn't seen the danger in his eyes, one might have suspected that he was about to make love to her. But the warning look was enough for Ariennye to take a step back and bow her head slightly. She had crossed that line... again. Finally Rhian's face broke into a weak smile. "Look at it this way. Subcommander, you've been wondering how you could get a command of you own. If this plays out the way that you have been concerned about then you may get it now. I know the danger I will be in, but I seriously doubt that these people have brought themselves into the heart of our empire, their ship completely surrounded by our ships, just to do something completely stupid. I have studied this Federation, and one thing is certain, they are not complete idiots, nor do they allow ships to be commanded by those with suicidal tendencies, at least, for the most part." He allowed himself a touch of Ariennye's shoulder. "Worry not Ari, I know what I am doing. Or at least, I believe in the Praetor, and his cause. You need to trust me now." Ariennye opened her mouth and then closed it again. There was nothing more for her to say to him. But her mind had much to say. Still, she remained silent. Rhian had been her commander for some time now. First her commander, then her friend, and now her lover. She hoped not to loose any part of him on this fool's errand. She would remain silent as he stood on the transporter pad. With him stood a small contingent of officers. He did not mistrust these Federation people, but neither did he trust them with his life. "Inform the Hades that I am ready for transport with my team," Rhian ordered. When the transporter operator nodded that he was ready he looked at Ariennye once again, hoping it would not be the last time he saw her. "Begin transport." As the last vestiges of Rhian's transporter signal disappeared the Subcommander sighed and finally let the words escape from her lips. "It is not you I do not trust my love." The words were spoken softly, and Ariennye turned and left swiftly, before there could be any confirmation from the transporter operator that she actually said anything at all. (reply Hades) (posted by Al Muir) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Transporter Room 2- ACOUNS- Ens. Anamitra Ripley- 1058) Ana stepped into the transporter room wearing a smile on her face that told everyone that she was happy to be here. Not only were they in Romulan space, but they would be hosting a Romulan commander on the eve of some great treaty between the preeminent powers in the Quadrant. It was an honor to have been asked to attend. "Sorry I'm running a bit late commander. I had to reschedule some of my afternoon appointments." She stated apologetically as she took her place along the receiving cue. She hadn't expected a reply nor had she received one, so she had managed to escape any sort of awkwardness concerning her delay in arriving. The transporter operator energized the transporter and a few moments later the Romulan commander and his body guard had arrived. This of course only caused Ana to smile all the more brightly. ~I'm about to be a big part of history!~ she thought. (reply Any) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Transporter Room 2 - Commander Rhian - 1100) When his vision cleared Rhian had to fight the panic that suddenly rose as he found himself surrounded by Federation officers. He recognized Lemar immediately. Forcing a smile on his lips he stepped forward. "Commander Lemar," he held out his hand in the human custom of a hand shake, "it is a pleasure to meet you face to face finally." (reply Lemar) "Might I introduce my own Chief of Security, Sub-Commander Lhaes, my advisor, Centurion Mavus, and personal aid, Uhlan S'Tarleya." As he spoke he pointed to an obvious warrior, an almost gentle looking woman who smiled broadly, and a younger woman who allowed herself very little expression, although it looked quite lovely on her. (reply Lemar, any) (posted by Al Muir) --------------------------------------------------------------------- End Compile ---------------------------------------------------------------------