Compile Summary Romulus (Romulus - Senate Conference Chamber - Praetor Vrih - 1120) (Romulus - Senate Waiting Area - CSEC- Lt. Baylon Trinin - 1129) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - OO Ensign Thomas Klein - 1128) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - OO Ensign Thomas Klein - 1130) (USS Hades - Deck 10, Ten Forward - Norman Harper- 1143) (USS Hades - Deck 10, Sickbay - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 1201) (USS Hades - Deck 10- Hades Section, Engineering Control- Security Officer T'Sol- 1203) (USS Hades - Deck 10, Hades Section, Engineering Control - Centurion Mavus - 1205) (USS Hades - Holodeck 1 - Commander Rhian - 1212) (USS Hades - Holodeck 1 - Security Officer T'Sol- 1214) (USS Hades Holodeck 1 Centurion Mavus 1217) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Ready Room - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 1405) (Romulus - Senate Waiting Area - CSEC- Lt. Baylon Trinin - 1408) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 1410) (USS Hades - Main Bridge - CTAC Lt. Ammon Ranae - 1411) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - ACSO Ensign Shayhiloosh - 1412) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Hydoeponic Bay AKA Genesis Jungle - ACSO Ensign Shayhiloosh - 1412) (USS Hades - Astrometrics Lab- Science Officer- Ensign Harry Doorman- 1414) (USS Hades - Deck 5 - Commander Rhian - 1415) (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge COPS Lt. Maraht - 1415) (USS Hades - Astrometrics Lab ACSO Ensign Shayhiloosh - 1416) (Romulus - Senate Conference Chamber - Praetor Vrih - 1830) (Romulus - Senate Conference Chamber - A/COPS - Lt Tom Jackson - 1831) (Romulus - Senate Building, Conference Chamber Four - Ambassador Brianna Frazier - 1832) (Romulus - Senate Building, Conference Chamber 4 CCOUNS Ensign Jon Nayati 1833) (USS Hades Deck 1, Bridge COPS Lt. Maraht - 1843) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Begin Compile --------------------------------------------------------------------- Stardate: 2408.01.06 (Romulus - Senate Conference Chamber - Praetor Vrih - 1120) Vrih raised an eyebrow as Frazier excused her own security contingent. It was, must assuredly, unexpected, and showed a level of trust that he did not expect. This might go easier that he thought. Then he looked at the other Romulans and noted an air of distrust. It was not that long ago that someone excused themselves from a meeting of the senate only to lead to the death of the entire senate. The pause from the Federation security officer was momentary, but it was enough to show that it may have been a surprise to this Baylon Trinin. Apparently the psi-dampeners were functioning, as it was known that he was a Betazoid telepath. Perhaps the fact that she was sending him away was her method of trying to ease the committee's concerns about his telepathy. However, the moment was over and he graciously requested permission to leave the committee's presence. "By all means Lieutenant," Vrih replied. "Rest assured that your team is in safe hands. If you follow the Centurion he will lead you to a waiting area." Trinin nodded and led his two security men from the chamber. Once the door was closed Vrih looked back at the Federation team. Then he looked down each side of his own committee and smiled. "Well, my friends, shall we get started?" he asked. "Let us begin outlining what we hope to accomplish, and perhaps tackle one of the easier items, and in that vein we can begin with a sense of accomplishment and with a positive outlook." (reply any, if you wish) (posted by Al Muir) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Romulus - Senate Waiting Area - CSEC- Lt. Baylon Trinin - 1129) =^=This is the Hades. Go ahead Lieutenant.=^= "Just checking in Hades. The Ambassador and the delegation are currently in session with the Praetor and the Continuing Committee. Nothing unusual to report, but I thought that you might like an update, considering that we had not reported in since we'd arrived." (reply Hades) "Please advise Commander Lemar to expect me to check in every half hour beginning now. Trinin out." (reply Hades, Any) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - OO Ensign Thomas Klein - 1128) Thomas didn't often get the chance for a spot on the bridge. It was usual reserved for the senior staff that were on duty at the time, so when he was called to the bridge to replace the chief earlier that morning, he had been both surprised and delighted for the opportunity. So far, things had been normal. There was only so much that could go wrong while being in orbit of a planet, even one that happened to be the homeworld of a long-standing hostile neighbouring empire. There had been extra requests for the transfer of power to sensors and scanners by the science department, but that was really the only thing of interest that had occurred. Lieutenant Jenkins, the science officer that was standing in for Carrow and McKenzie, was pleasant enough, so Thomas was only too happy to oblige her requests. =^= Trinin to Hades =^= Instantly Thomas was alert, and he saw that the transmission on the comm. had just come from the planet surface. He knew that Lieutenant Jackson was down there with the rest of the negotiating team, but he hadn't realised that a security escort had accompanied them. ~It makes sense~ he thought finally before reaching for the button on his console to answer the hail. "This is the Hades. Go ahead Lieutenant." (reply: Trinin, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - OO Ensign Thomas Klein - 1130) With both hands, Thomas activated all the communication protocols at his station while waiting for the response from the Lieutenant. Messages needed to be recorded, their carrier wave tracked and checked, the coordinates of the transmission origin need to be logged, and depending on the message content, it might need to be routed through elsewhere. =^= Just checking in Hades. The Ambassador and the delegation are currently in session with the Praetor and the Continuing Committee. Nothing unusual to report, but I thought that you might like an update, considering that we had not reported in since we'd arrived. =^= ~Origin coordinates logged~ Klein's fingers flew over the console to make sure the computer was doing the other things that it should be. It was. "Thank you Lieutenant. We currently have the Romulan Commander onboard, so most of the senior staff of meeting and greeting him." =^= Please advise Commander Lemar to expect me to check in every half hour beginning now. Trinin out. =^= As the channel closed, Klein wondered whether it was best to advise the Commander now, or to leave it until later. Given that there wasn't currently an officer officially in the command chair, he made the decision to forward a message to the commander so he would see it later. The last thing he wanted to do was to embarrass the man by interrupting him while entertaining a foreign military representative. (reply: none, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 10, Ten Forward - Norman Harper- 1143) "This," she gestured at her unempty plate, " sort of food does not exist on Romulus. We rarely eat vegetables raw, we do of course use sauces and spices, and besides I have never seen vegetables that look anything like these here. I think that this is a dish unique to Earth. But I assure you I will have a new out look on ways to prepare vegetables from this day forward." She took a few more bites of her salad and smiled. "You know I have only met a couple of humans before you, they were very stoic, and very unpleasant, and so I was leery of being here, as I thought it would be a disappointment. I am very pleased that I was wrong and that you are so very interesting." Norm grinned back at her, his expression almost child-like. "Well, I'm glad I could keep your attention. We'll have to do this again sometime when we have more time, but it looks like Jonas is going to sweep you away before we have a chance to really get goin'." (reply S'Tarleya) "I say we should have a recipe swap sometime, no? Ten forward is always open." (reply S'Tarleya) (posted by Justine) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 10, Sickbay - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 1201) Pausing to check on the Captain's condition, he looked over the still man with a sorrowful feeling. Devan Sash had been both a friend and mentor to Jonas. It was hard to see him in this condition, knowing that little else could be done that wasn't already being done. Still, he asked the CMO about it all the same. Angeni walked over, shaking her head slowly. "I'm trying to take his treatment as slow as possible. After the last attempt at bringing him out from under sedation went poorly, I've just left him as sedated as possible, but at the same time, I've been slowly but surely weaning him off the high doses. I've been able to wean him off the high doses of pain killers; when I first had him, we had him on a Fentanyl drip, but I have him weaned down to a dose of Toradol every four hours, with a low dose of Morphine for break through pain." As Jonas listened, it was apparent to him that the Chief Medical Officers confidence had been knocked by the attempt to revive the Captain a few days ago. She was being cautious, and Jonas felt it might be a little overly so. He might have normally expected her to take a few risks, being at the top of her field like she was. Rubbing her heard, as if alleviating a headache, the CMO shook her head slowly. "It's going to be a long, slow process I'm afraid. On the up side of things, all the synthetic patches have given way to real tissue, so I'm quite pleased about that." She put her hands behind her back and added, "I'm sure once you hear from the away team, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. I have to give you all the credit in world for doing what you do..." Glad to hear at least a small sense of positivity in her voice, Jonas smiled. "Well, you are very kind to say so Doctor, but I feel it is you that has the greater task. The Captain's health is quite a responsibility to have on your shoulders." (reply: Trommashere) "I'm sure his condition will improve soon enough. Perhaps you and the Counsellor can look into some other ways to revive him that might not be such a risk to his physical condition." Jonas returned the small chart to the base of the bed and turned back toward the CMO. "It would be a great boost to morale if he were awake." (reply: Trommashere) Making his way back into the main bay he finished, "Well, I'll let you get back to work Doctor." With a quick turn on his heel he added, "Oh, and if you see Wendy, tell her I said Hi" He smiled cheekily before heading into the corridor. (reply: Trommashere, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 10- Hades Section, Engineering Control- Security Officer T'Sol- 1203) "I would like to see some other recreational areas of the ship," said Mavus. "I have heard that you use recreation as a way to stimulate your crewmembers to help them to better focus on their assigned tasks when they are on duty. How does this not distract them and decrease their quality of performance?" "An excellent question Centurion." T'Sol replied. "Because of the various cultural differences shared between the various species of the Federation, serving on any given Starfleet, we have found that in order to best create a cooperative work environment where cultural differences may chafe, that a certain degree of relaxation time is required. The Holodecks, are more than simply recreational facilities, they are also utilized for a variety of training and evaluation programs as well. The recreational aspect is really in place because of the need for members of the crew to de-stress during long missions away from their homes. Some species handle the separation from their homeworld better than others." "How would you describe your interactions with various other species of crew on this ship with which you recreate? Does their interactions during time spent in the recreational areas end in fights or disciplinary action?" "To be honest, there are a few instances in which individuals do not mesh well culturally or socially with certain others. However, very rarely do we have an incident in which members of the crew resort to violence or even require disciplinary actions as a result of their participation in recreational activities on-board. In fact the opposite has shown to be statistically true. It has been discovered that among most species that act of recreational interactions with other members of their same crew acts as a sort of bonding between those members." "The crew becomes connected through these shared experiences and in times of extreme stress such as combat, has proven able to come together as an entity to overcome difficulties collectively that may defeat them individually. I am certain that you are familiar with the concept of espirit d'corps? We have found that complete integration, even in as much as recreation is concerned has the ability to hone an already technically efficient crew into an even more efficient and better-rounded entity." "If you would care to see our holodecks I would be pleased to show them to you." She added. "Please follow me." (USS Hades - Holodeck 1 - Security Officer T'Sol- 1208) T'Sol led the way to the turbo lift, ordered the car to the appropriate deck and led the way to the Holodecks. She checked the first one that they came to see if it was in use, and finding it vacant, opened the door. She then led the Romulan visitors inside and turning to them asked, "Is there a particular entertainment program you'd like to experience?" (reply Centurion Mavus, Any) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 10, Hades Section, Engineering Control - Centurion Mavus - 1205) Centurion Mavus found the Vulcan Security Officer's answers intriguing. She was surprised to see that she seemed to harbor little ill will toward her for implying that recreative pursuits could cause the crew to lose performance. She hoped to dig a little deeper into this Vulcan's psyche. Perhaps there was more there to be mined with some aggressive prodding. Mavus longed to prove her theories but had little access to Vulcans with which to experiment. When the Vulcan offered to show them another recreational area referred to as the Holodecks, Mavus readily nodded. She was interested in seeing how else the crew recreated. She was not sure what a holodeck was, but was looking forward to finding out. (USS Hades - Holodeck 1 - Centurion Mavus- 1211) When they arrived at Holodeck 1, Mavus followed the Vulcan. She stepped into the Holodeck, not knowing what to expect. She was surprised to see bright yellow grid lines on a dark black metallic surface. It was an empty room. ~How was this exceptionally recreational to anyone?~ It did not look much different from some experimental types of holographic rooms that were used as simulation programs by the military in training programs. The Tal Shiar were rumored to use these typed of facilities on 'guests' to obtain information and get them to let down their guard without damaging them. Ensign T'Sol turned to them asked, "Is there a particular entertainment program you'd like to experience?" Mavus asked warily, "What choices of entertainment programs do you have?" She was unsure of what would be entertaining to a Vulcan other than logic puzzles. (Reply T'Sol, Lhaes, S'Tarleya, Rhian, Any) (Posted by Sheila Mayer) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Holodeck 1 - Commander Rhian - 1212) Mavus was showing and incredible curiosity. As his advisor it was gratifying to know that she was throwing herself into the role of learning as much as she could about the federation. He might have asked to see more technical areas of the ship. But they already had much intel on the workings of a starship, and he doubted that he would have learned much from such a tour. But this, this was genious. He would never have thought to observe how the Federation people spent their leisure time. That was a way to measure a culture. The hologrid, itself, was unimpressive. It was similar to Romulan hologrids. But again, it wasn't the technical aspect that he was looking for. T'Sol asked what they would like to see, and Mavus had been a little uncertain. Rhian smiled. "Officer T'Sol," he said, "I am curious. Do you have anything in your holodeck's memory files about Romulus? I am curious to see how the people of the Federation see our home world." (reply T'Sol) (posted by Al Muir) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Holodeck 1 - Security Officer T'Sol- 1214) Mavus asked warily, "What choices of entertainment programs do you have?" "There are a wide variety of choices. There are numerous holonovels, exotic locations, ancient ruins on a number of worlds, several familiar locations as well, such as restaurants, hotels and personal oases of peace, tranquility or happiness. There are also training programs, including those devised and developed for personal pleasure." She replied, "For example Lieutenant Trinin has several Andorian mountain climbing programs that he seems to enjoy." T'Sol replied. "Officer T'Sol, I am curious. Do you have anything in your holodeck's memory files about Romulus? I am curious to see how the people of the Federation see our home world." The Romulan commander replied. T'Sol regarded the commander for a moment. "It may surprise you to know Commander that the Hades has been home to several Romulan expatriates over the years. We have quite an extensive collection of holoprograms of ch'Rihan. These include the Valley of Chula, the Fire Falls in Gal Gath'thong, several miles of coastline along the Apnex sea, as well as recreations of the urban centers of Krocton Segment and Rateg." She paused for a moment. "If you don't mind Commander I would like to show you one of my favorites." she added, " I find it an excellent setting for meditation." (reply Rhian) "Computer run the program T'Sol Romulus Fire Falls, place the time shortly after sunset." She commanded. Almost immediately the black room with yellow grid lines was replaced by an incredible scene. The tour party found themselves standing on a broad deep ledge high in the Gal Gath'thong mountain range. Several miles ahead of them, a virtual river of fire plunged down to the valley below, bathing the entire area in a orange-red glow. Above them, the stars of the Romulan sky shone brightly, as the sky was clear of clouds. "This is the way that I prefer to see your homeworld commander, and by default your people." T'Sol explained. "Yours is a world built of fire and hardship to be certain, but filled with beauty and peace as well. It is if this one place on your planet represents everything there is in a single image. Power, Strength, Peace and Serenity." "Now if you would prefer, I could have the computer cycle through the various other programs containing locations on ch'Rihan for your review." She added. (reply Any Romulan) (USS Hades - Deck 5- Security Officer T'Sol- 1418) While T'Sol had been hesitant to allow their Romulan visitors access to the damaged areas of the ship, but after some initial concerns and assurances from the Romulan commander, she finally acquiesced. She was inwardly pleased to see Lemar arrive to assist her with the remainder of the tour. "Do you have any idea where the explosion originated?" Rhian asked quite pointedly. T'Sol turned to look at the first Officer who seemed to give her silent permission to answer the question. T'Sol stepped forward. "It is our belief that the rupture took place here, at this plasma conduit." she replied, pointing to the open access point. As crewman passed by him with a tricorder, Rhian stopped him. "May I borrow this instrument?" Lemar once again humored their guest and the crewman turned over his tricorder. There were a few moments where Rhian scanned the area. T'Sol watched with fascinated interest, since she was aware that the Commander could not possibly gain any tactical data using the tricorder. Her curiosity was piqued even more when the commander mumbled, "Curious," while continuing his scans. The Romulan commander tapped a few buttons and then cleared the tricorder, handing it back to the crewman. "Thank you young man." Rhian looked over at Lemar and smiled, "Commander Lemar, the tour was most interesting, and your crew is quite fascinating. Very different from a Romulan ship. In fact, perhaps I should return this favor and invite you and some of your people to my ship tomorrow." (reply Lemar) T'Sol observed the Romulans carefully. It was clear that they were uncomfortable with the reciprocation of the tour. The Vulcan security officer looked at Lemar inwardly hoping that he would accept the offer and that T'Sol would be permitted to attend the Tour on the Romulan ship. Maybe then, she could inquire of the Commander what was so 'curious' about his scans. (reply Any, Lemar) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades Holodeck 1 Centurion Mavus 1217) "Computer run the program T'Sol Romulus Fire Falls, place the time shortly after sunset," ordered the security officer. Immediately the eerie black room with yellow grid lines was replaced by an incredible scene. The group found themselves standing on a broad deep ledge high in the Gal Gath'thong mountain range. Several miles ahead of them, a virtual river of fire plunged down to the valley below, bathing the entire area in an orange-red glow. Above them, the stars sparkled clearly in a cloudless sky. It was indeed a breathtaking view of the Fire Falls. That a cold logical Vulcan would find it so appealing was most interesting. It gave Mavus more insight into this Vulcan. "This is the way that I prefer to see your homeworld commander, and by default your people," Ensign T'Sol explained. "Yours is a world built of fire and hardship to be certain, but filled with beauty and peace as well. It is, if this one place on your planet represents everything there is in a single image; power, strength, peace and serenity." Mavus was surprised to hear such words of passion about power and peace fall from the lips of a disciplined Vulcan. She watched the Ensign T'Sol carefully, but saw little else except stoic calm. Was that a flicker in the Vulcan woman's eyes? "Now if you would prefer, I could have the computer cycle through the various other programs containing locations on ch'Rihan for your review," the Vulcan added. Mavus studied the Federation officer, rather than the Fire Falls. "I would have you tell us why you feel so impassioned about hoping that the Rihannsu are full of power, strength, peace and serenity. The recorded experiences between our empires have not been friendly, often with poor outcomes for any of the attributes you long for so ardently. Is your wishful thinking so logical? You do not seem at all complacent when you speak of this. Your words belie your appearance, Ensign T'Sol. They sound very emotional." (Reply T'Sol, Any) (Posted by Sheila Mayer) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Ready Room - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 1405) Jonas had just submitted his latest report to head quarters. He had encoded it using the normal channels, but when you are this deep in Romulan territory, it is very unlikely that he would be able to encode something that could be tracked and decoded by the very best technology that the Romulan empire had to offer. It was a good job that nothing particularly sensitive was contained in the log. =^= I have Lieutenant Trinin on the comm. for you Commander =^= Disturbed from his thought, Jonas hadn't realised the time. He had not yet had the opportunity to speak with the Lieutenant since he first checked in a few hours ago. Since that time, he had been busy in sickbay, then with engineering, before making a stop in with the Romulan group while they toured the ship with T'Sol. So when one of the bridge officers offered him the chance to speak with Trinin he was actually quite pleased. "Put him through and put a level 10 encryption on the channel," (reply: any on bridge) There was a light click as the comm. system shunted through to the Ready Room and Jonas said, "Lieutenant Trinin, how are things on the surface? I trust your hosts are treating you well?" (reply: Trinin) "Lieutenant, I have been meaning to speak with you about some anomalous readings we've been detecting." Jonas had meant to look into it sooner, but having been distracted by the Captain's condition back in sickbay, and with a number of calls for his assistance since then, he hadn't gotten around to doing much about it. "It is causing interference with our sensor lock of the negotiating team, and it is causing Doctor Trommashere some concern." (reply: Trinin) "I'm going to ask Science to get her teams to look at it from here, but anything you can find out would be a great benefit." Jonas added finally, knowing that the longer they spoke on the comm. about such things, the longer there was for someone to intercept the transmission and do something about it. "Okay, Lemar out." (reply: Trinin) Taking a moment to consider what the Security Chief had just told him, Jonas then rose and headed for the door. ~Let's see if we can't get a handle on things from here..~ (reply: Trinin, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Romulus - Senate Waiting Area - CSEC- Lt. Baylon Trinin - 1408) Baylon was checking in once again, on the half hour as he had said he would. Of course there wasn't much to report, but by keeping the time between reports short, he hoped to discourage any sort of plots that any Romulan might be planning. Unlike the last few times, when he didn't actually get to speak to Lemar, Baylon was surprised when the bridge advised that Commander would speak with him directly. =^=Lieutenant Trinin, how are things on the surface? I trust your hosts are treating you well?=^= "Yes Commander, we are being well-treated" the security chief replied. "I am not in the chamber with the Ambassador or the delegation, so I am only speaking for myself and the security team sir." he added. =^=Lieutenant, I have been meaning to speak with you about some anomalous readings we've been detecting. It is causing interference with our sensor lock of the negotiating team, and it is causing Doctor Trommashere some concern.=^= "It's most likely a scattering field of some sort, sir. To protect the Continuing Committee members and the Praetor from being detected and beamed off the planet if I were to guess." =^=I'm going to ask Science to get her teams to look at it from here, but anything you can find out would be a great benefit.=^= "I might suggest that you scan myself and the security team as a comparison to the rest of the away team. I believe that we are outside any dampening field that may be present in the Committee Chambers." Baylon suggested. =^=Okay, Lemar out.=^= "Speak to you again soon sir, Trinin, out." (Romulus - Senate Waiting Area - CSEC- Lt. Baylon Trinin - 1840) Several hours of near endless waiting and thirty minute check-ins was beginning to take it's toll on Baylon's mental health. He had to generate tasks for his security men to keep them alert, while all the while forcing himself to do the same. It was with a great deal of pleasure when he finally saw the Hades team step into the waiting room with him. The ambassador was smiling, a possible indicator that something may have been worked out in the negotiations. "How are things here, Baylon?" she asked him as she entered the room. "A bit boring I'm afraid Madame Ambassador, although I would like to point out this is not due to any fault on the parts of our hosts." he replied truthfully. "Well, I think we should get back to the ship. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm keen to get out of these clothes." Bree laughed and glanced around at her colleagues. "I completely understand Ambassador. " Baylon replied, then tapped his commbadge, "Federation delegation to Hades, we are ready to return to the ship. Standing by for transport." (reply Hades) "Very well, energize when ready." he replied. A few moments later he felt his atoms being converted to energy and being reconstructed aboard the Hades. (reply Any) (posted by Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - FO Commander Jonas Lemar - 1410) Stepping out onto the bridge, Jonas was pleased to find that everything was running smoothly in his absence - not that he had expected any different. For one of the first times that he had noticed, Lieutenant Carrow was in command of the bridge during the day. Normally, she took on the odd Gamma shift rotation, but this was the first time he had seen her here on his watch. Glancing around he noticed Lieutenant Maraht had returned to his post, and was waving his phalange gaily as he went about his work. Jonas also noticed that Finley Guarastine had also returned to her post at the HELM, although he didn't really see the need given that they were in a standard orbit with very little chance of course correction or change in the next 12 hours. As he approached the command seat, he raised a hand to insist the Lieutenant remain seated. "Please, as you were. I was hoping that you might have your teams look at the interference we're receiving from the planet." As Jonas paused, he was uncertain of whether she was aware of it or not. He would have assumed that she was, but he explained all the same. "There is some kind of field inhibiting our sensors around the conference chamber where the Ambassador and our people are." "I was hoping you might be able to tell me what it is, and if there is a way to neutralise it." Jonas finished with a raised eyebrow. As expected, the Lieutenant assured him that she would get her officers on it right away. It wasn't the exact wording she had used, but it was the gist of it. Satisfied, Jonas it was about time he rejoined the Romulans, to get back to improving his relationship with Commander Rhian. So far, they had struck up a respectful rapport and Jonas was hopeful that they would be friends by the end of the day. ~You gotta have high hopes~ he thought to himself, smiling as he entered the turbolift. (reply: Shayhiloosh, Doorman, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Main Bridge - CTAC Lt. Ammon Ranae - 1411) Ranae was taking the opportunity to run some thorough diagnostics on the secondary TAC station while it was quiet and apparently safe to do so. The Principal TAC station was running continuous short and long range scans anyway both for the space around them and planet readings. When the diagnostics were completed on the secondary, she would man that or have someone else do so, and run more diagnostics on the principal station. She'd looked up as the Commander had entered and nodded a greeting to him and she listened with interest when she heard there was some kind of dampening field that subdued the empathic and telepathic abilities of the away team. She figured the Romulans were paranoid enough to go to those extreme measures, and that they were very distrusting as well as probably having something to hide, why else would they take such measures. Then again she could hardly blame them, she certainly didn't trust them, especially after meeting the Lhaes fellow. ~What a piece of work he is. Typical stereotype Romulan. No wonder they have a bad reputation.~ Her thoughts turned to Baylon. He'd been gone a very long time and she hoped he was seeing and hearing things that were interesting, because there was nothing worse than being bored beyond tears for hours on end. ~I wonder when they'll be back. I'll be glad to get away from here.~ She looked up at the viewscreen to gaze at the planet they were orbiting for a few seconds before returning her attention to the data readouts. (reply none necessary) (posted by Sal) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge - ACSO Ensign Shayhiloosh - 1412) In a short memo, the Science Chief explained the problem to both Shayhiloosh and Ensign Harry Doorman. Lt. Carrow had given Shayhiloosh and Harry Doorman the task of finding out why they were receiving odd anomalous biological readings from the diplomatic team's implants while on the planet. Shayhiloosh sought out Ensign Doorman and found him one of the Science labs, correlating data collected from the planet Romulus below. Shayhiloosh greeted the young Ensign. "Warm breezes and clear waters to you, Ensign Doorman. I hope you have been well." (Reply Harry Doorman) "As Lt. Carrow has assigned us the duty of finding why there are anomalous bio readings from our diplomatic team on the planet, I thought we might start with the equipment in Sickbay, before we check the implants themselves once we can lay a root on the team members," said Shayhiloosh. "Do you have any other ideas? I am certainly open to any suggestions." (Reply Harry Doorman) (Posted by Sheila Mayer) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Astrometrics Lab- Science Officer- Ensign Harry Doorman- 1414) Harry had been working on the gravitational field calculations for the Romulan home system when the memo from Carrow had come through. With a frown he had read the message, slightly irritated that he would have to put aside such interesting scientific work (for a change) and focus on something so relatively mundane as figuring out how to get past some sensor distortion. He sent a reply confirming his receipt of the task and set the computer to continue the gravitational calculations that he had started, while he started looking at the new data that represented the distortion. The doors to the lab slid open and Shayhiloosh sauntered into the Lab. "Warm breezes and clear waters to you, Ensign Doorman. I hope you have been well." "Well enough, Ensign Shayhiloosh. What brings you down to astrometrics?" he replied. "As Lt. Carrow has assigned us the duty of finding why there are anomalous bio readings from our diplomatic team on the planet, I thought we might start with the equipment in Sickbay, before we check the implants themselves once we can lay a root on the team members," said Shayhiloosh. "Do you have any other ideas? I am certainly open to any suggestions." Harry looked up from the readings that were being displayed on the monitor. "The problem isn't the medical equipment, the sensors or the implants." he replied, " The Romulans are using some sort of Rotating Modulated Theta Band Distortion Field at the capital." He stepped aside so the Arborean could take a look. "Take a look, those look like third order field harmonics if you ask me." (reply Shayhiloosh) "Theta band fields distort but do not block subspace carrier waves. They would prevent transporter activity and might mess with the subspace signals given off by the implants and the commbadges." he explained, " normally we could just calibrate the sensors and we'd be fine, but in this case the modulation shifts make that impractical, especially since we would have to spend several minutes handling a calibration and by the time we were finished we'd have to start over again because the field would have changed." Harry shook his head. "We're going to have to figure out a way to filter out the distortion. Either that or we'll have to analyze the data well after the fact and accept real-time gaps in the telemetry. Or we could ask the Romulans for the modulation algorithms" (reply Shayhiloosh) "We could try to work out the pattern for ourselves, but it would take a while and there's nothing that says the pattern is uniform and that the algorithms aren't being changed as well. (reply Shayhiloosh) (reply Daniel Greene) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 5 - Commander Rhian - 1415) T'Sol had been a ... for lack of a better term, charming host. She had managed to give them the tour that they asked for, without compromising the ships security. It was a fascinating ship, but again, they didn't learn anything from the tour, and T'Sol managed to redirect their inquiries with the usual Vulcan practicality. However, after a couple of hours Rhian was finding himself bored of the tour. It was then he suggested that they see the area of the ship that had been damaged by the explosion. T'Sol,of course, attempted to divert them from that area, stating it was a safety hazard. But Rhian realized it would be an opportunity to see repair crews at work, and watch how these people work together. He insisted, stating that unless there was a security issue with the Romulans watching the repairs, that he would be more than willing to accept the responsibility of any Romulan injury that might occur. And so they wound up on Deck 5. Much of the damage had already been repaired, and, at least, the debris had been removed. There were still bits and pieces laying around, but Rhian got the impression that those were from the repairs and not from the original explosion. That was when Lemar arrived. "Do you have any idea where the explosion originated?" Rhian asked. He'd spent his earlier career in security, and apparently old habits died hard. (reply T'Sol, Lemar) As crewman passed by him with a tricorder, Rhian stopped him. "May I borrow this instrument." The crewman looked over at Lemar as he handed the tricorder to the Romulan. The look on the crewman's face said it all. ~What could he do? ~ Rhian began to scan the area. He made some adjustments to the tricorder and it began to beep. "Curious," Rhian said softly, continuing his scans. He tapped a few buttons and then cleared the tricorder, handing it back to the crewman. "Thank you young man." The crewman took his tricorder back and scurried off to do his work. Rhian looked over at Lemar and smiled, "Commander Lemar, the tour was most interesting, and your crew is quite fascinating. Very different from a Romulan ship. In fact, perhaps I should return this favor and invite you and some of your people to my ship tomorrow." He could feel the tension rise in his own people. They did not have clearance for such an action, but he refused to show weakness to the Federation, when they had opened themselves up for his own scrutiny. It was... the honorable thing to do. (reply Lemar) (posted by Al Muir) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Deck 1, Main Bridge COPS Lt. Maraht - 1415) The Chief of Operations did some diagnostics on his console, checking the ship's internal readings. While they ran, he studied the planet they were orbiting on the main view screen. ch'Rihan was a beautiful planet, filled with the green of lush vegetation. The blues in varying colors were from lakes and large oceans. It sparkled and glittered at them like a gem with swirls of white. The soft frothy clouds looked like butter cream icing Maraht had once seen on a culinary confection for one of the younger children of a miner friend he had known on Janus. Maraht noted the topography and checked the steady stream of geological date coming in for the science department. The feed was working well and Maraht was happy to note the mountainous regions that were rich in ore deposits of one type or another. He detected the presence of some mining operations and halfheartedly wished he could investigate them. He took a peek at the geological make up of the bedrock and nearly salivated. Starfleet had technology that could do some amazing things and replicators were truly a marvel. But Maraht had always noticed that replicated granite was never quite as good as the granite pulled from a planet or asteroid. The taste was just not the same. Somehow the replicator added a tang that Maraht never liked very well. It was just not as good as what Venerable Mother served to encourage his appetite when he was newly hatched. The curious Horta got a long study of the two moons that orbited the Romulan homeworld. The closer one, like Earth's moon, was airless and dry. The other was farther out and checking the datastream, Maraht saw that it was a volcanically active satellite, seething with hot gases and lava. Maybe it would eventually settle down to becoming habitable, in a few million years. He doubted that he could survive on its surface, much less any variety of stalks. Maraht wondered how they were doing in the Science department with correlating all of the gigantic amounts of information. His checks on the forcefields for the missing hull sections and his scans were finished, and everything had shone green on his board. He contacted the Science Labs. "Maraht to Science Labs." (Reply Harry Doorman, Shayhiloosh, Any in the Science Labs) "I see a tremendous amount of data coming in through the datastream about the planet, and its two moons. Do you need any help with correlating the geological data? The bridge is quiet for now." (Reply Harry Doorman, Shayhiloosh, Any in the Science Labs, Any) (Posted by Sheila Mayer) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades - Astrometrics Lab ACSO Ensign Shayhiloosh - 1416) Ensign Doorman looked up at Shayhiloosh from the readings displayed on the monitor. "The problem isn't the medical equipment, the sensors or the implants," he replied. "The Romulans are using some sort of rotating modulated theta band distortion field at the capital." He stepped away so Shayhiloosh could get a good view of the screen. "Take a look.Those look like third order field harmonics if you ask me." Extending hir eyebulbs, Shayhiloosh studied the screen for a moment with two eyestalks and turned the third toward Ensign Doorman. "I think you are correct in identifying the distortion field, but how does this stop us from getting accurate bio readings from the diplomatic team?" "Theta band fields distort but do not block subspace carrier waves. They would prevent transporter activity and might mess with the subspace signals given off by the implants and the commbadges," he explained. "Normally we could just calibrate the sensors and we'd be fine, but in this case, the modulation shifts make that impractical, especially since we would have to spend several minutes handling a calibration and by the time we were finished we'd have to start over again because the field would have changed." Harry shook his head. "We're going to have to figure out a way to filter out the distortion. Either that or we'll have to analyze the data well after the fact and accept real-time gaps in the telemetry, or we could ask the Romulans for the modulation algorithms." "After meeting and speaking with the Romulan known as Uhlan S'Tarleya, I am certain that asking for the algorithms would be a wasted effort," said Shayhiloosh, hir branches drooping sadly. "The Romulans are too protectively paranoid and reflexively xenophobic for us to hope for a positive outcome. Our results would be the same if we politely asked the wind to not blow on Earth." Straightening up hir branches in a more optimistic way Shayhiloosh said, "We must find another way." "We could try to work out the pattern for ourselves, but it would take a while and there's nothing that says the pattern is uniform and that the algorithms aren't being changed as well," the Science officer pointed out. "How can we filter out the distortion?" asked Shayhiloosh, mulling over the problem. "I am not an engineer; my specialty areas center more heavily toward the biological sciences, but suppose we could we run the signals through some sort of multiphase flux equalizer that would pull out the distortion? Though it might leave the readings less accurate, surely the process would neutralize the distortion." (Reply Harry Doorman, Any) (Posted by Sheila Mayer) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Romulus - Senate Conference Chamber - Praetor Vrih - 1830) "This is preposterous Praetor," was the cry of Hhirl. "You cannot assume that the people of the Romulan Star Empire will willingly give free travel to those in employ of the Frederation, a people with whom there has been much... mistrust for generations, simply because you say so." Vrih's eyes narrowed. He was tiring. They had been at it for over 7 hours, with very few breaks, and they had made little head room. He had decided to table the conversation on sharing of warp and cloaking technology for another time. The last three and a half hours had been spent on trade route negotiations. "Be careful Senator, how you speak," Vrih warned. "I am Praetor, and that is exactly what I expect. If we order this then I will expect it to be carried out. Do I assume that it will be well met by all? I am no fool. There will be a period of adjustment. Perhaps a period in which Federation trade ships will require escorts. But, it is my belief that if we expect to have passage through Federation space, then we should offer the same to them." Hhirl turned his head, as would a child in a huff. (reply any) Vrih looked at the chronometer on the conference table. His eyes burned and he had a slight headache. He seemed to be fighting a battle on two fronts. He knew that such a battle was winnable, but it would require sacrifice, and it would be difficult. The table top was covered with notes and empty glasses. Vrih looked at his now warm glass of water, and took a sip, wishing it were something a bit more potent. This night was not going to end without the consumption of some Romulan Ale. However, it was time to take a break. "Ambassador Frazier, members of the committee, I suggest that we take a recess, at this point. I believe that we have gotten as far as we have in one day, and we take some time to evaluate what we have covered, and consider the topics still to come." Most of the Continuing Committee were nodding their approval. Vrih looked over at the Federation delegates. "Do you agree Ambassador?" (reply Frazier) "Then if there are no objections, I call these negotiations to recess until tomorrow," Vrih stated rising from his seat. "Shall we say, after lunch?" (reply Frazier, Terrh, any) (posted by Al Muir) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Romulus - Senate Conference Chamber - A/COPS - Lt Tom Jackson - 1831) Tom stretched and sighed. This first session had been well, intense to put it politely. Some Romulans were as troubled by this imitative as the Federation. Tom thought back of the bitter exchange between the Praetor and Hhirl. Trade negotiations had spanned three and a half hours and honestly had not gotten much for either side. Tom thought the access for trade ships and 'escorts' for each side's ships in the other sides areas was really a reasonable plan. ~Hmm , maybe this initiative is what it is supposed to be?~ Tom wondered. He mentally thanked the Grand Nagus he was not a diplomat! Praetor Virh looked to Tom to be tired. Jackson could empathize with the feeling. Jackson was tired and wanted a break desperately. Tom hoped they would get back to the HADES soon - he wanted to fill-in Jonas Lemar on what he had gleamed from his time on the surface. (reply: any in the Conference Room) (posted by: Bill West) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Romulus - Senate Building, Conference Chamber Four - Ambassador Brianna Frazier - 1832) Bree remained silent as the events unfolded. Unsurprisingly, the primary topics of the day had been the use of federation warp and cloaking technology. According to the old treaty, the use of cloaking technology was prohibited, but it was clear to everyone here that that treaty had ended a long time ago, but a few of the Romulans were insistent that this clause be re-implemented. It was of course a foolish suggestion, and Bree had no intention of denying the Federation one of its key tools throughout the fleet ... not to mention the level playing field it created between the Federation and the Romulans. Luckily for them, Praetor saw that simple fact very clearly, and after a number of hours on the subject they had moved on to something that they had thought to be easier to tackle. She had been wrong, as she was finding on so many occasions today. They had welcomed the idea that Romulan trade vessels should be allowed to freely conduct their business with Federation worlds, but the suggestion to reciprocate the offer was not as popular. ~Talk about having your cake and eating eat~ she thought as she watched the Praetor shout down his Senators with little challenge. It was clear he commanded a great deal of respect. As silence filled the chamber, Bree gave a nod of satisfaction. ~At least this topic is heading in the right direction~ She knew the Praetor was on her side, but the other Romulans were proving harder to handle. "Ambassador Frazier, members of the committee, I suggest that we take a recess, at this point. I believe that we have gotten as far as we have in one day, and we take some time to evaluate what we have covered, and consider the topics still to come." As the Romulan delegates gave their nods of agreement, Praetor turned to them and asked, "Do you agree Ambassador?" Not realising how tiring sitting on a seat and talking all day could be, she only now felt the silent creep of exhaustion. As a result, she found herself very pleased that the Praetor had chosen this point to break for the day. "Indeed, I do agree Praetor. We could all benefit from some time to process what has been said here today." "Then if there are no objections, I call these negotiations to recess until tomorrow," Vrih stated rising from his seat. "Shall we say, after lunch?" The other senators also began to move from their seats, all that is, but Senator Terrh and Chairman Vaebn. Both remained still, their eyes watching the federation delegates carefully. "That should give us sufficient time. Until tomorrow," said Bree, and with a quick glance toward Paris she gathered her two PADDS and stood from her seat. As the Romulans made their way to the far entrance, Bree led her small group toward the main doorway. As she moved a feeling washed over her that caused her to go a little weak at the knees. A rush of emotion hit her like a wall, and as struggled to thrown up natural defenses, she went a little dizzy and staggered into Jon Nayati. As he caught her with his strong arms, she quickly shook her head and smiled. "Oh, sorry Jon. I don't know what came over me." She smiled quirkily and then slowly made her way back out into the hallway. (reply: Nayati, any) (Romulus - Senate Building, Senate Waiting Area - Ambassador Brianna Frazier - 1837) As they were led by the centurions, Bree soon caught sight of Lieutenant Trinin and his two men. Bree beamed at him with her smile, no longer feeling the dizziness she had done minutes ago. "How are things here, Baylon?" (reply: Trinin) "Well, I think we should get back to the ship. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm keen to get out of these clothes." Bree laughed and glanced around at her colleagues. She knew there was still much to be done, but at least she didn't have to do it while wearing this uniform. If there was one thing she did not miss about Starfleet, then that was it. (reply: Trinin, any) (posted by Dave) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (Romulus - Senate Building, Conference Chamber 4 CCOUNS Ensign Jon Nayati 1833) The day's events had been positive from Jon's point of view. He looked on it as positive because the Praetor seemed to be in firm control of his side of the negotiating table. That fact was made abundantly clear as the Praetor was forced to shout down his own Senators regarding both sides conducting active commercial trade within each other's boundaries of space. Amazingly enough, none of the other Romulans on the Continuing Committee challenged the Praetor's authority. Some of their auras indicated their anger and fear at the idea of alien ships within their borders. Better yet, no one attempted to kill anyone else, which often happened when tribal members started shouting matches on Necron Red. It was for this reason that Jon had been so flabbergasted when Ambassador Frazier dismissed Lt. Trinin and his two security officers, while the Romulan Centurions remained in place. After long hours of debating and shouting, Praetor Vrih signaled his desire to terminate the negotiations for the rest of the day. Ambassador Frazier politely acquiesced and a time was set for tomorrow afternoon. Ambassador Frazier, the Hades party and most of the Romulans stood up and adjourned. Only Senator Terrh and Chairman Vaebn remained. In his peripheral vision, Jon noted both Romulans' eyes lock on the departing Federation representatives as they exited. Without trying to appear obvious, Jon tried to get a quick aura read on both Terrh and Vaebn, but his concentration was broken. As Brianna Frazier was preceding him out, she staggered suddenly and fell against him. Simultaneously Jon felt his thought speaking abilities return to normal. Instinctively Jon caught her. ~Brianna's empathic abilities might have woken up as well and that might be why she was weak in the knees. My, her body feels nice against me, Great Spirit.~ The last thought went through his mind before he could stop it. "Oh, sorry Jon. I don't know what came over me." She smiled quirkily and then slowly made her way back out into the hallway. She looked exhausted. Jon walked with her, making sure she stayed on her feet. "Think nothing of it, Ambassador. I'm only too glad to be of assistance," said Jon trying to keep his face straight and hoping that Bree hadn't heard his natural thought when in tactile contact with a beautifully attractive woman. That was the bad thing about being from Necron Red; life expectancy was too short for long courtships. (Reply Frazier, Any) (Posted by Jim McCrary) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Hades Deck 1, Bridge COPS Lt. Maraht - 1843) Maraht was working with collating some of the data from the Science department, while running periodic checks on the power levels in the ship and the protective force fields on the deck sections with missing hulls. He stopped when a light on his console lit up with chirp. It was a signal from the Federation diplomatic team. =/\=Federation delegation to Hades, we are ready to return to the ship. Standing by for transport.=/\= Maraht recognized Baylon Trinin's voice. "Lt. Trinin, I shall have you and the rest of the group beamed aboard momentarily," replied Maraht. =/\=Very well, energize when ready,=/\= replied the Security Chief. "Maraht to Transporter Room 1. The Federation team on Romulus is ready to be beamed aboard. Lock on their signals and energize now." (Reply Shurik Rosanov, Any in transporter room) The console in front of Maraht chirped, showing the power level sharply rising with the activation of the transporter beam. It then lowered as the beam did it work. "Transporter Room 1 do you have them?" asked Maraht. It wouldn't do to have an accident or problem and he didn't want any of his shipmates hurt. (Reply Shurik Rosanov, Any in transporter room) (Posted by Sheila Mayer) --------------------------------------------------------------------- End Compile --------------------------------------------------------------------