4:30 – Commander’s Quarters

The lights in the quarters turned on with an audible click causing Kirin to pull the sheet up over her head. 

“Damnit! Computers dim lights” she groans as she reaches out from under the sheets for her PADD to check the time.  As she looks at the PADD she cannot help but mutter, “Why?” under her breath as it reads 4:30, a full 90 minutes before her alarm was meant to wake her.

Laying there for a few minutes she tries to drift back to sleep, thinking of pleasant and relaxing things, but after little success, she sighs, ‘This is far too early but mine as well get up now…make the most of it I guess…’

Sitting up and tossing the sheet to the side she stretches before standing and walking to the window looking out at the starscape sails past her window; the streaks of the stars at warp are always amazing to see. “Not long now…” she says stifling a yawn before turning and walking over to her desk.

Quickly looking to see if there are any new messages and seeing only a couple of personal ones to deal with later she gets up and heads to her bedroom.

She quickly gets dressed into a pair of black pants and a burgundy hoody with the Starfleet logo on its breast, ‘No point getting into m uniform yet,” and begins heading towards the bridge of the USS Daradax, lost in thought.

‘Cannot believe this is MY ship, there must have been some mistake, not that I will complain I do like her, small enough to get to know her very well and still be able to do a variety of missions…’ Passing by the mess hall she wanders in to get a coffee before continuing on. ‘I think this crew can make this work, two weeks of shakedown around Bravo and no, well overtly destructive, issues between the crew members. So that is good…though I need to get Thanan to look into the lights in my quarters…they shouldn’t be turning on at random times.’

Stepping onto the bridge she finds Ensign Kerry Dawson still at the science station listening to, what Kirin has realized, is her usual late-night music choice, a compilation of Vulcan lute instrumentals overlaid.  Engrossed in her work Kerry doesn’t look up or even realize that Kirin has entered the bridge. Smiling to herself Kirin takes a sip of her coffee and walks over to the ensign.

“What are you working on there Kerry?” she says causing the ensign to jump slightly. 

“Oh, Captain! Sorry…um…I meant commander, ma’am.” She says taken aback, “I was just reviewing the files from the USS Centaur on Sector Fero Psi. There are a lot of possible points of interest once we arrive in the sector” pausing briefly, “What are you doing up?”

“I didn’t mean to startle you, Kerry. I couldn’t sleep, the light in my quarters is on acting up. I need to get Thanen to take a look at them when he wakes up.” Looking around the bridge and she wanders over to con and quickly taps out a command bringing up the flight information. “So tell me what you found of interest in Sector Feel Psi.”

With that Kerry visible smiles, one on one she tends to open up a bit more, “Oh well, as you know there is the singularity Jck 6-9748 which doesn’t appear to be anything special but without a detailed analysis we cannot really be sure. As we discussed previously there are several planetary bodies that need more detailed analysis, some with the potential of life such as the one in the Gydis System. There is also the station that the Centaur found in the Oro system, we will be there to drop off the team so could run some further scans. I am most interested in the Rey system as there is what appears to be a trading station, suggesting a warp-capable species.”

 “Sounds like we may have our hands full. I am familiar with most of that but keep looking through the data and see if anything else jumps out. Anything to report overnight?”

“Yes Ma’am, the USS Liverpool has updated their ETA for 13:00 today; they are a couple of hours delayed. Other than that, nothing to report”, Kerry said without looking up come the console.

Shrugging Kirin nodes, “Nothing to be done about that. Glad nothing else came up, it will not be the case for long. I suspect once we start the survey you especially will always have something interesting to study. I will leave you to it. I will be in the holodeck if you need me; I am awake, mine as well get some exercise in.”

6:30 – Holodeck

An hour and a half later the computer chimed causing Kirin to slowly open her eyes, “Enter” she says as she slowly lowers her legs from the current pose, Fallen Angel, into Flying Crow.

The arch appears, the door opening; slightly taking away from the quiet mountain meadow that surrounded her. In steps her XO, Lieutenant Thanen Th’zalnar, “Sorry to interrupt Kirin…” He starts before pausing and watching her move between poses before she finishes in cobra. 

“Is there something I can do for you Thanen or are you just going to stand there and watch?”

“Sorry…. I just, well I understand the theory behind this yoga as the humans call it but struggle to see the appeal myself.”

Laughing a little in her head Kirin smirks and thinks ‘I think you see the appeal…’ 

“Well, you are more than welcome to join whenever you like Thanen; it might warm up that blue blood of yours,” Kirin says, knowing full well he would not likely join unless it was to just watch a bit more.

“I might do that Ma’am. I wanted to let you know that Kerry mentioned that the lights in your quarters were acting up. I took a look at them and fixed the issue; faulty sensor.”

Standing up and wiping the sweat off her face and neck with a towel she nodes. “Thanks, though couldn’t a message have worked?”

“Yes, that’s true but I wanted to speak to you in private, if possible, I thought you were almost finished here given your usual routine.” 

“Walk with me then Thanen. Computer end programme” Kirin says as he walks out of the holodeck and the mountain meadow fades away. “What is this about?”

“As you know Kirin for a ship this size, we are at just under a third of the regular crew complement. I was reviewing the systems again last night and though we have a high degree of automation and emergency holograms which can help with repairs I am concerned that if something does happen why on the survey, we lack the redundancies within personnel that are needed. Space can be a dangerous place as we all know,  we are not exactly in an Inquiry or Vesta.”

Kirin smiles and sighs at this as they continue towards the lift, “I know what you mean. Those thoughts have crossed my mind as well and I did put in a request to command for an additional crew, but they do not feel that a survey mission into an already, somewhat, known area of space with no known hostile species needs more.” Shaking her head she continues, “I can understand where they are coming from to a degree, but I also think that they want to see how we” she waves her hand around her “the crew hold up. Let’s be honest, I think this is a bit of a test for each of us. Mnass have had some issues with her temper and authority but her skills are without question, Dawson is painfully shy at times but truly brilliant and needs this experience, Belania; well she is an amazing pilot but I am not sure she wouldn’t sell the ship out from under us. Did I ever tell you the first thing she said to me in my one-on-one?” Thanen shakes his head, “The aftermarket value of the Daradax and the very large profits we would each make. Anyways” waving her hand as if to push the thought aside, “and then there is us. I have on at least one occasion struck a senior officer, though rightfully deserved, his behaviour and comments warranted much worse and command knows that; not to mention my previous work. You seem to be the most regular officer aboard the Daradax.”

Thanen cracks a smile at that, his antenna both swivelling to point at Kirin. “We are an odd crew; I will give you that. I also doubt Belania would sell the ship, Ferengi or not.  Dawson will get there I am sure, Mnass well those cases, along with your incident were very circumstantial, to say the least.”

“I appreciate that Thanen.”

Getting off the lift they walk to the mess hall to find Mnass and Belania both sitting there eating breakfast, dressed and ready for the day. Looking up Mnass sharply nodes her head in acknowledgement in their direction and Belania cheerfully waves.

“Morning Commander, XO.” Belania says; looking at the commander she smiles, “How was your workout commander?”

“Oh,” Kirin says a bit surprised, she looks down at herself, forgetting that she was not actually in uniform yet or regular clothes for that matter, and only wearing a sports bra and yoga shorts. “It was what I needed this morning. Speaking of which I should go get ready.” She nodes at Thanen, “If there is anything else we can pick it up once I am on the bridge.” With that, she turns and heads to her quarters.

11:45 – Bridge

Sitting on the bridge Kirin looks around, thinking back to the conversation with Thanen. The bridge was empty except for Belania, at the con and herself at the operations and tactical console running queries and routine scans.

“How is the Daradax doing Belania? Does she handle as you expected? Kirin asks.

“She is a good ship, Commander. Better than the older Aerie class ships she is based on, similar but better for sure. Well worth her weight in latinum.  Quicker to respond and such but something is nagging at me about her handling, just not sure what. It is a better ship but as Rule of Acquisition 134 states ‘There is always a catch’…not sure what it is yet.”

“I am glad to hear that – run a full diagnostic on the manoeuvring thrusters and systems if you think it is needed. She did check out in the spacedock but that is different than when we are out here in the black. I am going to grab a coffee and lunch. Would you like one?” getting up and turning to leave Kirin pauses  “I have started to run a diagnostic on tactical, it will take about 30 minutes. Send me a message if it ends early.”

“Thanks for the offer, Commander, I am fine thank you and I will let you know.”Nodding Kirin gets up and leaves the bridge and enters the mess hall finding Ril finishing up her lunch and looking down at a PADD. “Ril, how are you today? Did your training activities go well last night?”Ril, lost in thought, looks up from the PADD surprised. “Commander…I am well, the training was exhausting, exactly what I needed. Things have been quiet here and I don’t do well with quiet.””If you want to talk about it Ril, please let me know. I know you have come from a busy posting on Bravo but this might be good for you.”Dismissing the gesture with an aggressive way of her hand, she shakes her head visibly annoyed “I am fine Commander” she says a bit sharply. “I need to get back to my review of the phaser banks. May I go?””Of course. Please keep me updated.”‘What am I going to do about her’ Kirin thinks to herself as she grabs a coffee and sits down. ‘One moment she is a model officer and others…well…not. Maybe it is me?’

Quickly finishing her lunch Kirin gets up to return to the bridge just as her combadge beeps.

“Bridge to Commander Tarken, we have an incoming priority communication from the command.”

“Thank you, Ensign, sent it to the briefing room, I will take it there.”

Kirin sat in the briefing room lost in thought, her mind reeling from the possible implications of the coup on Rator.

‘Safe to say that stability is not something we will see for a while now.’ she thought to herself as she gently rubbed her forehead with the fingers of her left hand. “The syndicate and underworld are going to have a field day with this as well,” she muttered aloud.

Looking back at the computer and the orders from command she sighed. “So much for exploring Sector Fero Psi; I was actually looking forward to that.”

Getting up she headed to the bridge. “Belania, drop us out of warp and lay in a course for Starbase 23, warp 6. We have new orders.”

Before Belania could respond Kirin taped the console on the arm of the command chair. “Kirin to all crew. We have had new orders from Command. Please report to the observation deck in 30 minutes; things are about to get interesting.”

“Commander, what is this about?” Belania asks.

“You’ll find out in 30 minutes ensign. Needless to say, our trip to Fero Psi is on hold indefinitely for the time being.” Turning to leave Kirin pauses before looking back at the pilot, “We are off to help people, it’s what we do. Feel free to put the ship on autopilot and set a 500k Km proximity warning, will you? I need to confirm with the USS Liverpool that we will not be making the rendezvous.”

Sitting in her quarters Kirin stares out at the stars streaking past her window, memories of her last mission coming back.

She could easily picture the events on Rator and the bloodshed that followed. After all, it wasn’t long ago that elements of the syndicate had tried to stage a coup on Kolar to regain some of its lost power. It failed but she still remembered the day…

Snapping out of the train of thought she pulled up the coms menu on her desk’s computer and selects the USS Liverpool and a direct line to Captain Hera before beginning to speak.

“Captain Hera, Lieutenant Tarken, USS Daradax here. I am sure that you have heard about Rator and have your own orders by now. The Daradax has received new orders and will not be rendezvousing with you sadly and have reversed course. Please pass on my apologies to the observation team.”

She reviewed the message before sending it off. “Time to go break the news I guess…” she says before standing.

—

Thanen entered the observation deck a few minutes early finding Belania and Ril already present sitting at the conference table and Kerry grabbing a large bottle of water from the replicator for the table. The hush that fell over the room as he walked in confirmed his suspicions, they were already speculating what was going on. Nodding to everyone he pulls up a chair “Afternoon. Hope everyone is well?”

“Would be better if I knew what was going on” Ril grumbled as she pours herself a glass of water. “Any idea what this is about?” causing Belania and Kerry to look at him eagerly.

“Not a clue. We may be a small ship, but I haven’t seen Kirin since early this morning. First, I heard anything about this was when everyone else did.”

Belania looked over and sighed, “The Commander should be here shortly. All I know is that she said our survey mission to Fero Psi was on hold indefinitely and we are now en route to Star Base 23.”

Kerry looked up quickly from her PADD that she was taking notes on, “StarBase 23? That is right on the border of the Romulan Star Empire. Do you think they have attacked?”

“Ha, if only we were that lucky to see some action!” Ril said rather loudly. “Starfleet has been building back up, the empire is a shadow of what it once was. With our luck, they realized that a ship like the Daradax should just be running supply runs.” Pausing briefly before continuing, “It if was an attack the Daradax would not be a ship that gets pulled in. The best we could hope to do is break even with a Malem-class.”

“Who knows at this point Ril. But I am confident that command doesn’t want this ship just running supplies around; there are plenty of freighters. If she was an older Aerie-class maybe, but not one of these newer Ravens. Might be border patrol or something; after all, that was part of the idea behind the new Raven-class.” Thanen says as he leans back his antennae moving as if scanning the room.

—

Leaving her quarters Kirin cannot help up wonder what the Daradax could do to help with this situation.  ‘A corvette, against who knows what…’. Her thoughts trail off as she reaches the observation deck door and enters. As she does all heads turn quickly to look at her and several questions are already being asked before she can even get a meter into the room.

“Afternoon everyone,” she says as she walks in holding up her hand for quiet. “I  know you all have questions, but I would ask you to hold off on those until after I run through what I know”, this is greeted with several nodes from the crew and the room falls silent

“As you are likely aware…” she smiles at Belania… “we have been ordered to Star Base 23 and our mission to survey Sector Fero Psi is on hold, indefinitely. What you don’t know is that we have just received word of a military coup on Rator 6 days ago. The military has taken over, killed whatever senators it could get its hands on, and others have fled to the federation, the free states or the republic seeking asylum. For all intensive purposes, the Star Empire is in a state of civil war and that is a problem for not just those in the empire but for every neighbouring sector; this could spill out of control quickly.”

Pausing Kirin pours herself a glass of water and looks at each of her officers. Their expressions ranged from concern to almost excitement about what this could mean for them.

“In addition to this several dozen worlds within the region have declared independence but they are not self-sufficient. This has resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis within the region. I am not sure of much beyond this yet, but we have been ordered to Star Base 23 where a Taskforce is forming being led by the Captain sh’Elas on the USS Temeraire.”

“Once a Star Base 23 we will get more information.”

Looking around the table she could tell there were questions and speculation about what the mission would entail going through everyone’s minds. Thankfully they only had a couple of days before they arrived at StarBase 23. Enough time to check the ship over but not too much time to let their minds run wild.

“That is all I know; does anyone have any questions?”

Everyone’s hands raise…

— 

The screen flickers to life showing Kirin Tarken sitting at the desk in her room aboard the USS Daradax in her full uniform (this is her command log after all). She looks at the screen and sighs before beginning.

— 

Commanders Log Sublimental

“We are still en route to Starbase 23, another 36 hours until we arrive. The crew is apprehensive to say the lease. They, we, had all gotten ourselves into the mindset of explorers you could say, and I know we were looking forward to that mission in Sector Fero Psi.”

“This new mission is important and why star fleet exists but so far the details or exact orders are limited, to say the least. Once we arrive, I am sure Captain sh’Elas will lay it all out for us and we can then plan accordingly.”

— 

Pausing she shakes her head slightly and lets out a long breath as she tilts her head back to the ceiling before continuing.

— 

“Well, that is not exactly true, is it. For me anyways. It seems that once Star Fleet Intelligence, always SFI. After I briefed the crew, I received a coded transmission from my old CO, Commander Clements. I guess the brass thought a friendly face, well a known face, would be better than a random SFI handler.”

“Once we rendezvous with the Temeraire and taskforce I have been ordered to brief Captain sh’Elas on an additional component of the mission. I am to meet with an SFI informant within the underground of the system we are heading to as it is believed that they have information about the coup and plans that the new Romulan “government” may have for the Psi Velorum Sector though he couldn’t say what.”

“That means that Thanen will be getting command for a period of time as I will need to lose the Starfleet mantel yet again and pick up the Orion criminal one; I had really hoped I was done with that.”

“He will be ready. It will be several days before we arrive at our final destination, possibly longer as I suspect we will need to load up on materials and humanitarian supplies before we depart SB23. The crew has already started going over every system and sub-system to make sure they are up to spec. Not that we expect to find anything that needs repairing. The yard crew at SB Bravo did a great job getting the Daradax ready for what was meant to be a yearlong survey mission.”

“The crew is doing as well as expected. Both Belania and Kerry are fresh out of the academy, this will be the first big test for them, training and simulations can only take you so far when events start to move quickly; be it combat or not. Thanen and Ril have a couple of years in the fleet, though it was on SB Bravo they made it through the chaos of the century storm so I know they will be fine.”

“I just cannot shake this feeling that this will not be a simple humanitarian aid mission. The Romulans are going to push back, how could they not. The entire Fourth fleet has been mobilized and will be pushing into territory they believe to be their own.”

“We shall see what – all we can do is be prepared.”

“Computer end recording.”

— 

Kirin leans forward to turn off her console before pausing; ‘Computer, start a private message for Captain Tarken, USS Stormfront; “Hey Mom; we need to talk.”’ 

—

—

The screen turns on showing ‘Audio Recording only – Command Log USS Daradax’

— 

“Command Log – USS Daradax Stardate 77375.56; Lieutenant Kirin Tarken”

“We have our orders in full now. The briefing was held not long ago aboard the USS Temeraire led by Captain Tharia sh’Elas along with Lieutenant Commander T’Prynn the Strategic Operations officer assigned to the taskforce. In attendance were the commanders of the USS Neptune, Captain Michael Ryder, a Vesta; the USS Dvorak, a Captain Taes, a Springfield; and the USS Thyanis, Lt. Thevius, another Raven.” 

“The overall mission is simple, provide assistance to the planet as Romulan overseers strip the planet’s refineries of key technologies that cause all infrastructure to shut down. In addition to this, they are reliant on food shipments, so we need to ensure that they have enough food to last them until they are able to get their own farming and food production facilities up and running.”

“Seems simple enough, right? Well on paper this part should be. The Daradax will be loaded to the brim with refinery equipment and MREs for short term use as well as agriculture and food production materials to Support the USS Dvorak. We are scheduled to dock with Starbase 23 later this evening for the transfer to begin.”

“Once we arrive, we are to deliver the equipment to the refineries and the food and materials to the designated drop sites for distribution. I will be leaving Lieutenant Thanen Th’zalnar in charge of the Daradax for this part of the mission as I will be beaming down to the capital city to make contact with the SFI informant as per my orders from command and SFI.”

“Once this is complete we are to assist with further delivery of required materials to the surface as we can actually land and assist as ordered.

“The other ships all have their own orders but the Temeraire and Neptune will be arriving in the system first to secure it enabling the Dvorak, Thevius and Daradax to arrive without worry of possible Romulan interference…at first anyways.

“Time will tell though.”

“Computer End Log”

— 

‘End of recording’ appears on the screen.

— 

Kerry sat in the observation lounge looking out the windows as the ship travelled at its best speed towards the Kunhri system. She reached for her hot chocolate, topped with an absurd amount of whipped cream and marshmallows as she lost herself in thought.

‘I had been looking forward to the survey mission, could actually do research and discover… this though…part of the job but isn’t research sadly.’

Taking a long sip of her drink she sighs, closes her eyes and leans back in the recliner “How did I end up here? I was in the top 3% of my year in the science track. Why a Raven?” She mutters to herself. ‘The crew is nice but why here…why not a science vessel. I would have loved a posting on a ship like the Dvorak…’  she thinks as she continues to just sit there.

“Well, maybe it’s because you moan about the tasks you are given Kerry. Did you think of that?” Came a voice from behind her causing her to literally fly out of the seat to her feet, it was a good thing she had just put her drink down otherwise she would have been covered. Turning around she sees Ril leaning on the back of another chair arms crossed before her with a wicked looking smile on her face which seems to enhance the ridges on her forehead indicating her Klingon heritage.

Instantly feeling embarrassed and nervous Kerry feels herself calming up. The same thing that always happens when people talk to her when it isn’t about work. “I, um…I…” she stammers as she tries to explain herself.

“You are disappointed to be assigned to a Raven. I get it, suited for board patrol at best or lowly surveys of known areas..not a luxury posting.” Ril interrupts her as she stands revealing that she is out of uniform in just a pair of black pants and a matching black vest top. “Cannot say I was happy with this post after doing security on Starbase Bravo. But I know why I am here…” she pauses before muttering something about a stupid drunk Nausicaan and an uppity lieutenant…” but I have been wondering who did you get on the bad side of for this?”

Surprised by the question Kerry struggles to think of a reply…”Bad side? No…no, that ain’t the case, people, the instructors like me…I got good, very good grades…”

“Oh, sweet naive Kerry. The fleet and postings are more than marks. From what I have seen you don’t really interact with people well.” Ril remarks as she sits down on the chair crossing her legs.”I…”

Before Ril could continue or Kerry responds the door opens and Belania walks in humming an odd Ferenji pop song that she sometimes listened to. Seeing the other two ensigns in the room she perks up “Hey, didn’t realize you were in here. What are you chatting about?” She says walking over to them.

Kerry, already uncomfortable tries to answer, “Oh, nothin…” but before she finishes Ril chuckles and interiors her. “Just about how we have all pissed someone off to get a posting here or at least did something to irritate someone. Been trying to get Kerry to tell me about the skeletons in her closet…” turning around in the chair to face Belania Ril continues, “…so what did one of the few Ferengi and a female at that do to be shunted off to the Daradax? Figure the powers that be would want to show you off on the flagship. Look at who we have here sort of thing. Also, you are a great pilot, no reason I can see for you to be here B!”

Slightly taken aback by Ril’s comment Belania is at a slight loss for words, “Sorry, what? Who did you piss off…sure it was several people to be fair.” She remarks once she processes what Ril had said.

“Pretty much every shithead I had to arrest…” Ril says with a shrug. “Come sit, you have to admit the posting is an odd one; almost a punishment it seems for ones such as you and Kerry. And what is with this mission and whatever it is the Kirin is running off to once we arrive at Kunhri III.”

“I don’t think this is a punishment. I was a good cadet and I remember Belania at the academy, one of the best pilots and navigators they had.” Kerry says trying to sound confident in her response. 

“I didn’t piss anyone off per se – sure I maybe quoted the rules of acquisition a lot back at the academy and joked about selling the cadet’s training and several others I guess ship to my uncle but that was all in jest…” Belania says before trailing off, “I am sure no one took it seriously…” her expression showing a bit less confidence. “Oh no…I may have mentioned that this ship would fetch a good price to the commander during my one-on-one with her.” She says before pausing.

“See told you. Punishment posting; well for the two of us. Kerry, I think you just didn’t impress on people enough. So they stuck you somewhere out of the way.” Ril says with a nod as it confirming her views.

Looking over at both Belania and Kerry, Rill can see they are both second-guessing themselves, ‘Shit, I was just trying to have some fun with them, yeah Kerry is shy but does she honestly think they would put her somewhere quiet and out of the way if she was that good. And Belania, no one would fault her for some jokes…though maybe it was more than “some” jokes…’

“Come on you two, I was just messing with you. That isn’t how the fleet works.” Ril says jumping to her feet. 

Looking up at her Kerry glares with angry eyes, “And what would you know. We all heard about you beating those men you arrested into a coma. Maybe this is a punishment. Get you away from people, get Belania away from something the fleet doesn’t want to lose and me from…well I don’t know.”

Through this Belania shakes her head, “Ril you are a piece of work, what’s the phrase a real pain in the ass.” She turns to face Kerry, “But she is right Kerry. That ain’t how the fleet works. The first mission was a survey mission and a science officer, and a good one was needed. I like to think a solid pilot such as myself would be high on this list as well and as for miss downer over here” flicking her hand towards Ril, “a good tactical and security officer to ensure the mission was kept safe.” She says as she walks up to Kerry and puts a hand on her shoulder, “I want to think they are giving us a chance to really shine.”

Perking up at that Kerry smiles, “that makes more sense actually.” She says as she puts her hand on Belania’s.

Standing up and holding her hands up in surrender Ril sighs, “Look, I’m sorry. Belania, that does make sense. I just, well, am not happy with the new posting and I let that get the better of me. I liked, really liked, my old job and well I have trouble keeping my anger in check. Please forgive me. I know both of you are brilliant in your areas and when it comes down to it I should be helping both of you since you are both fresh out of the academy.”

This takes both Kerry and Belania by surprise. \until now they have really only seen a sullen Ril who clearly wasn’t too happy. Belania nods towards Ril, “Apology accepted, just don’t be such a pain I’m the future.” At this Kerry nods in agreement with a quick “Yeah.”

With a smile Ril says a quick, “Thanks, I will try to not be such a pain. But I do want to ask though what do you think about the Commander and XO? I heard she was in intelligence before this and did some dodgy stuff with the syndicate but the mission was a success so the fleet stuck her out here…”

Both Belania and Kerry laugh at that before Belania responds, “Yeah she is Orion but that doesn’t mean she did work with the syndicate, we had several Orions at the academy with us.” 

“Maybe but that is the rumour I heard back on Bravo before I left. And the XO well l, actually, he seems to just be a stand-up guy and a top-notch engineer, used to work in the dry docks on Bravo. Maybe he is here to balance out the hot-headedness of Kirin…” Ril says with a light laugh.

“Now you are reaching Ril, the commander seems really nice and friendly. She even said I can join her for her morning yoga whenever I want.” Kerry says. “I like her.”

“If you say so Kerry…there is something I am not sure about with her” Ril finally comments after a few moments causing Belania to laugh, “That may just be the crazy security officer suspicion taking.”

“Maybe…maybe,” Ril says just as an alarm on her wrist starts to beep. “Time for me to hit the holodeck, need to burn off some energy…either of you want to join? Fighting off a horde of angry Klingons gets the blood pumping?”

Kerry and Belania both look at each other and shrug. “Sure, could be fun,” Kerry says as they both stand and walk out with Ril.

The crew of the Daradax sat at their stations on the bridge all a little on edge. After spending the better part of a week at Starbase 23 having the ship’s cargo bay, empty labs and spare quarters filled with equipment and foodstuffs they departed for the Kunhri system.

Sitting at the conn Ensign Belania looked up from her station, “Commander, we should cross the heliopause of the Kunhri system in one hour.”

“Thanks Belania.” Lieutenant Kirin Tarken said with a nod of acknowledgement before turning to face Ensign Kerry Dawson, “Kerry, please ensure our long-range sensors are sweeping the system. I want to know everything that is in there before we drop out of warp.”

“Yes ma’am” Kerry said before quickly putting her head back down and initiating the sweep.

“Expecting trouble?” Comes a voice, with a slightly challenging undertone, from the revival station as Ensign Ril Mnass turns to regard Kirin. 

“In short? No, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. I would expect you to appreciate that.” Kirin says with a smirk purposely pushing back against Ril’s aggressive undertone. “The Temeraire and Neptune arrived in the system and have secured it from their initial reports but situations change.”

“And what would we do if the situation has changed, this little ship. Against a B’rel or equivalent sure, on a good day but the Romulan ships are something else…not that I wouldn’t relish the chance to try.” Ril says as she types away on her console. Her remark draws concerned looks from both Belania and Kerry who glance over at Kirin.

Belania mutters under her breath but not low enough to escape the XO’s keen hearing; “Rules 33 and 62….”

“We will do what we can Ensign Mnass” Lieutenant Thanen Th’zalnar, the XO, says from his post at the engineering console. “The Temeraire and Neptune will let us know of any trouble and if need be this ‘little ship’ is tougher than she looks. How are those tactical simulations going?”

“Oh, umm, they’re still running Lieutenant.” Roll says Turing back to check on them.

“Let’s make sure they are done before we arrived then.” Kirin adds with a nod to Thanen.”

‘Ril keeps pushing, need to work out these authority issues’ Kirin thinks to herself as she looks at each of the crew. “I know this is our first mission and not the one we expected but it’s a hell of a way to start out. There are people in need of our help and we will do everything we can.” 

— 

The USS Daradax dropped out of warp and approached the orbit of Kunhri III. Kirin sat in her chair as the planet appeared on the view screen. She couldn’t help but marvel at the blue and green pearl suspended in the black and think how from orbit it looks so peaceful but on the surface, the planet was running dangerously short on food and its refining infrastructure was down and out without the aid of the federation.

“Ma’am, the rest of the task force is in orbit. They send their greetings.” Kerry says.

Nodding towards Kery Kirin smiles, “Thank you Kerry, please send our acknowledgement back and confirm with the Temeraire that we will be contacting the local government to organise delivery and distribution of the equipment and supplies.

“Belania, please take us into a geosynchronous orbit above the capital city. Once there lock us into the orbital pattern and then I want everyone to meet in the briefing room in 10 minutes. We have work to get to and we need to ensure everything is in order.” Kirin says before leaving the bridge.”

In the briefing room, Kirin pulls up her files on Kunhri III and quickly reviews her notes waiting for the crew to arrive. She had to admit the first stage of the mission was straightforward enough, make contact with the local representatives and deliver the emergency food supplies and equipment for the refineries. The part that concerned her still was the meeting with the Starfleet intelligence informant, there wasn’t much information but that wasn’t abnormal for a meeting like this. While thinking about how she would make the approach Thanen walked in, “Commander” he says with a smile and a nod before sitting down next to her. 

The Andorian had proven to be very reliable the last couple of weeks since meeting him on Starbase Bravo. “So, Thanen, are you ready for this?” Kirin asks already knowing the answer. He would be more than up to the task of overseeing the delivery of the equipment and foodstuffs as well as aiding in any repairs the Reman refinery workers needed.

His antenna turned towards her before his head even turns she can tell he is smiling. “But of course Kirin. Overseeing a delivery, I wouldn’t be good at my job if I couldn’t.” 

“So modest. It’s not so much the delivery as the unexpected that I am worried about.” Pausing for a moment Kirin realizes how that could come across.”don’t get me wrong Thanen, I have absolute faith in you and your ability. Hell, I am pretty sure you are better suited for it than me. It is just that she is my first command and I am NOT EVEN here!” she says with a bit more heat than expected

With a slight laugh the Andorian smiles, “That is appreciated Kirin, though I have watched you these last few weeks..” …‘I am fully aware of you watching you’ Kirin thinks as she tries to hide her smirk…”… and you are more than up for the task of commanding this ship. Any idea how long you will need planet side for your secret rendezvous?”

“God, when you put it that way it sounds risqué. If all goes well, I could be in and out in a couple of hours, but these things can take longer or go sideways.” Pushing back from the table she stands and pours herself a glass of the ice tea she brought for the meeting…of all the drinks to pick up on her time visiting earth and growing up in the fleet  it wasn’t the oddest she figured…”I’m tempted to have Ril on standby if it goes pear-shaped but I want her with you. If the drop off doesn’t go smoothly and it may not, given the protests and that  people who are hungry and afraid make stupid choices she is an excellent offer to have at your side…well…according to her record and her last CO.”

“That would be appreciated but I would be happier knowing that you aren’t alone in this one, regulations are pretty clear on what a ship’s commander can and can’t do.”

Sighing, Kirin shakes her head “Don’t start quoting regulations to me Thanen, this is not a normal situation. I have the experience and background needed, no one else aboard or possibly on the taskforce has that.” pausing and eyeing her XO, he had a point after all. “Ok, fine, how about this. I will request a tactical team from the Temeraire be on standby if that makes you feel a bit better.”

“That would be an acceptable comprise,” he says with a nod just as the door opens and Kerry, Belania and Ril enter. 

“Commander, we are in a stable orbit above the planet,” Belania says as she stops just inside the door.

“Thank you. Please, everyone, sit.”, gesturing to the table Kirin sits as well.

“So we have been over this before but starting now we are on mission. I want everyone to keep an eye out for anything unusual, be those odd sensor readings, gut feelings, whatever. We are in a war zone and the Romulans can be a tricky bunch.”

“We will contact the local authorities and organise a drop zone. Thanen will take the lead on this. As you are aware I have been given additional orders and will be leaving the ship in 20 hours’ time. I should not be gone long but one never knows. During this time Thanen will lead the relief and delivery efforts.” Turning to Ril Kirin continues, “Ril I want you to support him in this as his second. I need you to watch the crews back while the drop off is underway and if they need any support with the repairs. Kerry, I need you to ensure the correct items are offloaded to the right people and to organize the transit itself so that you can be in and out as fast as possible. Finally, Belania I want you to stay on the bridge and keep an eye on the ship while this is going on. If there is trouble you…” she waves her hand at the crew, “… may need to lock down the ship and get airborne quickly. As I was just telling Thanen there are some protesting Starfleet’s involvement and people are hungry and scared so you never know what will happen. We will have more information in the next few hours once we speak to the task force and the local authorities.”

“Any questions?.”

Kirin stood in her quarters and looked out at Kunhri III below them. It was a beautiful planet with its greens and blues but the visible scars of the Romulan refineries were clearly visible from orbit. It was a real pity she thought as turned back to her bed and the clothes that were laid out on it; black pants, a top if you could call it that and the coat. Seems like there are always some Orions wherever you go working in the seedy underbelly of a world and the fashion was always similar she thought; not that there was anything wrong with the fashion after all, who doesn’t appreciate leather and long-tailors trench coat look. ‘Space Pirate or Space Cowgirl!’ always popped into her head when she dresses this way.

Sighing she stepped up to them she picked up the long crimson coat; it was a very nice coat and normally she would happily wear something like it on leave but right now it symbolized the work she had to do, the work she thought she had left behind all those months ago on Kolar before it went so sideways and she was assigned the Daradax. And now she was back to it and the ship, her ship was being handed to her XO before even doing one mission together. Putting down the coat she reminded herself, “Should be in and out in a couple of hours at most. Stop being so negative…”

She stripped out of her Starfleet uniform and quickly got dressed in her new outfit. After spending some additional time adding the needed trims and fixing her hair and makeup she looked at herself and had to admit the outfit did its job.

Grabbing the final items she needed, a long blade, several daggers and a Romulan disrupter pistol, she slide the blade and disrupter into the sheath on her belt and quickly hide the daggers within her coat and took one final look in the mirror. The outfit definitely wasn’t subtle with its tight-fitting legs and top to draw attention and then the weapons to say don’t mess with me.

—

Thanen stood outside the transporter room quickly tapping away at his PADD, reviewing the information provided by Kecenem the First Consul of Reman Affairs on Kunhri III. Muttering to himself as he read; “What a mess. Land coordinates right at refinery 27C, meet with WHOEVER is in charge. How the hell are we to know who is the right person?!”

“We can always aggressive ask who is in charge Lieutenant. I will happily do that.” Ril remarks as she steps up beside him. 

“I do not think it will come to that Ensign but if it does I may just let you. Everything in order on your end?” causing Ril to nod in response. “Yes, I just spoke to Kerry and she has the distribution plan well underway. She will have it to you within the hour she said.”

“That is good to hear, we may be able to get ahead of schedule a bit and land within the next two hours then,” Thanen says with a nod.

“So, has the commander told you what she is really doing on the surface? I have seen her record, well what I can access and there is a large redacted section…” she starts to say before being interrupted as Kirin turned the corner into the corridor.

“Depending on how it goes Ril maybe I will tell you once I am back,” Kirin says with a smirk, “Though I would then have to kill you.” Turning to face her XO she remarks, “Thanen, you all set for this?”

Thanen’s eyes go wide as he looks at Kirin standing in from of him, “Umm, yes Capt…Commander…ah, Kirin.”

“Ah, cat got your tongue Lieutenant.” Ril jokes as she elbows him in the side before looking Kirin up and down. She couldn’t help but smirk at the tight black pants which she was wearing that laced up their sides matched with the rather revealing cropped top under her coat – Starfleet was not anywhere near your mind when you look at that outfit she cannot help but think. “Hope you don’t mind me saying but that outfit should get you any information you are after Commander – dress to impress and well if looks could kill well the weapons won’t be needed.”

Kirin glanced at Ril and cracked a knowing smile. “We do whatever the mission requires ensign.” before turning back to Thanen. “I have the coordinates for the beam in site just outside the capital, it should only take me an hour or two to get to the met. Good luck with the supply drop. I may even meet you there.”

“Any questions before I go Thanen? Ril?” to which both shake their heads.

She turns and wakes onto the transporter pad. “Thanen, energize when ready.”

Standing on the pad Kirin couldn’t help but wonder if she would see the ship again. She was, after all, going in virtually blind to this and that made her very uncomfortable but it wasn’t the first time she had done this. She pushed the thought aside and looked up to see Thanen start the transporter sequence as the word around her shimmered.

Watching the form of Kirin glow and then fade away Thanen exhaled; “Good Luck Captain. I guess it is my turn now” he mutters before turning and walking towards the bridge. Ril quickly sets up beside him “She will be fine I am sure. I wouldn’t want to cross her when it comes down to it; not that I think anyone will try given the way she looks and the way she is carrying those weapons she clearly means business.”

Thanen grunts in response, “I have no doubt. Now let’s get this delivery of supplies sorted. There are people down there who need this food and the equipment we are carrying.”

“Belania will get us down there in no time flat and Kerry has the planned distribution plan in hand. We won’t let either of you down.”

Kirin found herself looking down the weed-covered road at an abandoned warehouse she was meant to meet the informant.

Since beaming down into a building that looked remarkably similar to the one she now looked at she was taken aback by the level of degradation she saw around here. Most buildings had seen better days and the people, mainly Remans but with a fair number of Romulans she saw were thin and all too often frail; but not all of them.

On several occasions, she had seen clear indications of gang-controlled areas with Remans openly carrying disrupters and actively harassing anyone they didn’t know thankfully within each of these there were clear indications of the syndicate, a small marking on a door here, an innocuous draping of fabric there. She couldn’t help but be amazed and surprised that the system of identification was so similar to Kolar and other worlds she had been on. Twice while she had moved through the streets she had been approached but upon recognizing her as an Orion, and armed, they backed off; falsely assuming as so many people do that all Orions are part of the syndicate and pirates and therefore, not to be crossed. 

Glancing at the small holographic display on her arm she could see she had another 30 minutes until the meeting. She started to slowly make her way towards the building. She had just enough time to sweep around the building and make sure it wasn’t a trap; well somewhat certain it wasn’t an obvious trap.

Finding nothing to indicate a trap or otherwise, she couldn’t help shake the sense that something was off but could not place it. There were Romulans, Remans, a couple of Ferengi, and a smattering of people of other races around going about their business on the street none of which seemed to be eyeing her more than she would expect. Pushing the feeling aside she approached the building and pushed open one of the side doors entering into a large open space littered with rundown equipment and boxes. The swampy nature of the planet had not done this place any favours as weeds and vines seemed to cling to most surfaces and the ground in places was squishy, almost as if the swampland was trying to pull the building down to reclaim it.

Consciously keeping her hands away from her visible weapons she slowly walked into the building. Not seeing anyone she made her way into the shadow of one of the abandoned machines and waited, listening for any sound. After a few moments, she heard a squishing sound as someone made their way into the building without trying to stay on the firming ground before stopping she estimated in the rough centre of the building.

“Heallo?” a quiet voice called out. “An-any Anyone there?”

Peering around the corner she can see an elderly Reman who appeared to be alone. Before stepping out she called over to him, just loud enough, “We are here to serve.” and waited for a response. She could see the man startled at her voice before responding “Serve we must for who else will.”

Hearing the correct response she steps around the machine, greeting the elderly man, “Thank you for meeting me, I am told you have the information we need to know.”

He turns and eyes her while she approaches, “Orion? You are Starfleet not syndicate?” Nodding to this Kirin holds up her combadge, “Starfleet, good.” He gestures Kirin over nervously and pulls out a small datapad. “Must be quick the Syndicate and Romulans are likely around….I worked in the administration office and local Prod was lazy and liked his drink. I accessed their computer system the day before they, um…were removed let’s say.” he says looking around nervously. “Here take it. I must go, been here too long,” he mutters.

Seeing him on edge Kirin scans the warehouse wearily. “What is on this. What is so important that you sig…” she starts to say as a series of disrupter bolts shoot out of the dark taking Reman in the back and splashing into the ground and containers around her. The Reman cries out and falls sending the datapad sliding across the floor. Without thinking, Kirin dives behind a nearby canister and spots the datapad a few feet from her location. ‘Shit shit shit. I knew something wasn’t right!’ she curse at herself. Pulling out her pistol she peers around the edge of the canister seeing nothing again. ‘Where are they? I need to get that datapad…’ as thinks as she sends a few shots off in the direction the blast came from knowing full well that if the assailant was competent they would have moved already.

Diving for the datapad she grabs it and runs to the nearby machine she hid behind earlier. Just as she is about to duck behind it a searing pain erupts on her back by her left shoulder spinning her and knocking her to the ground but the momentum carries her behind the machine making the next shot miss. Putting her back against it Kirin reaches for her combadge activating the emergency transponder and transporter. It beeps indicating the beam-out is not working, “SHIT!”; ‘Hopefully the signal got through and the security team will get here in time at least’ she thinks to herself. 

Hearing footsteps approaching she raises the disrupter pistol pointing out past the machinery she is hiding behind as she tries to focus through the pain; her vision blurry, ‘Damn disrupter wounds’.

“Did you see where the other one went? I think they grabbed the datapad as it isn’t by this ungrateful worm.”

“I saw them over this way. I think it was an Orion female; she was hit though; likely dead already.” responds a second voice to her left

“Damn Syndicate always were they don’t belong, scum.” Responds the first voice.

“Yeah, though Orions have their uses” answers a third voice coming around the other side of the machine.

Slowly the footsteps get closer and Kirin can hear the other pair approaching from the other side of the machine. ‘Come on, where are they’ she thinks as her vision starts to fade just as a Romulan steps around the corner and she pulls the trigger as green flashes fill the air and everything goes dark.

— 

The Starfleet tactical team materialize within two minutes of the signal being received; delayed due to unexpected interference slowing them down.  Appearing in several groups around the warehouse phasers at the ready the team quickly moved into the building sweeping it for enemy combatants and for Lieutenant Kirin Tarken.

A Chief Petty Officer in full tactical gear approaches his CO, “Building is clear, we have two bodies. An elderly Reman, a Romulan in tactical gear and two disintegration burns. Scans indicate Romulan remains sir. The Lieutenant isn’t here and we don’t have her signal anymore.” he says as he pulls us out a burned and melted combadge handing it to her. “There is a faint transporting reading, seems to have been masked. It could have been her. The bodies have only been there for a couple of minutes.”

“Thanks, Chief” turning away from the Chief Petty Officer he hits her combadge. “Tactical team to Temeraire. Area secured, no signs of the Lieutenant. We have the body of an elderly Reman and a Romulan soldier plus two disintegrated Romulans.”

“We have detected a residual transporter signal but it is too weak to track. If she is alive we will do what we can to find her.”

— 

Kirin opened her eyes before quickly closing them as a bright white light glaring down at her. “What happened?” he groans as she slowly sits up realizing two things, first that her shoulder has been bandaged and feels only slightly better than it had any right to; though it still sends sharp stabbing pains throughout her and secondly that she is no longer wearing her top but a medical strap across her chest providing little cover; ‘Someone has some explaining to do!’  Looking around the room she could tell she was in some sort of medical bay but definitely not aboard a Federation vessel.

Sitting up she finds her coat with a large hole in the back of the shoulder on the chair beside the bed just within reach. Mixed feelings crossed her mind. It was a nice coat but it was for work this work…but she couldn’t help think it was a pity, she did like it. Slowly reaching for it she grabs it and pulls it onto her lap. She checked its pocket, they were all empty and her weapons were missing. “Damn damn damn. Where am I?”

As if on queue the door opened and in walked a female Reman and a large Orion. Without pause, the Reman pulls out a scanner and beings to scan her. “Ah, good good. You are looking much better. My name is Zarni.” waving a hand at the Orion, “This here is Halrad-Gar. It is a good thing he and his men saw those Romulans enter the building after you otherwise you would be dead Mistress. I would expect someone with your reputation to know better; especially someone from both Starfleet and Syndicate.”

Slightly taken aback by this Kirin shakes her head causing her hair to rapidly shift from green to red and back, trying to run through plausible scenarios and what she would need to do to overcome these two. “Starfleet, you must be mistaken. I have come from Kolar as…”

“Let me stop you there. We know who you are, both in Starfleet, well that you are Starfleet, and within the syndicate; Mistress of the Midnight Storm. You didn’t really leave a quiet trail behind you after the rogue syndicate faction on Kolar tried to seize power.” Pausing she looks to her colleague shaking her head, “the fools…they got what they deserved; most of their senior leadership arrested or killed; well, killed wasn’t it? Well done.” she says with a grin. “I am curious how you earned that title aren’t you as well Halrad-Gar?” causing him to grunt in agreement.

“Xianek, the Reman you met, worked for us and he jumped the gun in contacting Starfleet. We did not want the connection known and his foolishness led the Romulans agents to get wind of what he was doing. We suspect there are many still planetside and they are causing us trouble. I am sure you understand; this just happens to be one of those times when our interests align to a degree; for now, that is. You want the Data chip and I want your help.”

Kirin’s adrenaline had shot through the roof when the Reman Zarni started to speak; ‘How the hell do they know THAT name, that I am with Starfleet – I knew this was going to go sideways.’ Looking around she tries to look more relaxed than she felt; “You have a shirt I can wear? This isn’t the most practical for most things…Zarni?” Kirin says gesturing to the thin medical strap cover her chest. Without pausing the Reman opens a drawer and pulls out a black vest top “This should fit.” Nodding in appreciation Kirin pulls the top on with an audible groan of discomfort as she lifts her arm over her head.”

“Well, if what you say is true then you have me at a disadvantage Zarni.” Kirin says while trying to push the pain away from her shoulder. “What are your intentions now? If I am who you say, either Starfleet or Syndicate it puts you in a difficult spot. Unless I am mistaken there are three capital ships in orbit and they don’t take well to missing officers. And! If I am syndicate? Then you should be grovelling for one such as myself.”

This causes both Zarni and Halrad-Gar to look nervously at each other and laugh slightly. “Last thing we want is to antagonize Starfleet, after all, we are just as short on food as the rest of the planet. If they cannot get the refineries back up we will have no interest in this planet or system and move on – a wasted investment.” Halrad-Gar says in a deep voice.

“So, you speak?” Kirin says with a bit of an edge,  causing him to cast his eyes down. “Now, if that is so. Then please return my equipment to me.” With a quick glance at Zarni, Halrad-Gar leaves the room. 

With a smirk, Zarni remarks, “It has always amazed me the dichotomy of you Orion women, seen as slaves by some in your own race and objectified by other races at times but at the same time the real power of your race; especially those select few such as yourself…..” This causes Kirin to look at her with a frown “…I should mention that your implant was damaged by the shot and I had to remove it before it pumped your system so full of pheromone dampeners and killed you, but that is beside the point. You are Starfleet and the information on this” she says holding up the small datapad, “is too important to be left alone. You want it, need it really to save lives. But there is a price.”

Kirin feels a shiver run down her spine, ‘Shit, I wonder if the Daradax can replicate a new one…’ she wonders in regards to her implant, concerned about how this will impact those around her before the mission jumps back to mind. “What do you want for it and why would I do it, what information does it hold?”

A wicked grin crosses Zarni’s face “Right to the point, I expected nothing less from you.” She said as she walks around the bed, her hand trailing along it, “The data points to the amount of traffic, military traffic in and around the outer asteroid field as it is, was, more than it should have been. We suspect that the empire is hiding something there. We, well the syndicate, have been trying to find out but what little information we have points to an installation and possible biological or mutagenic wea…” she says before stopping as the door bangs open and Halrad-Gar barges in carrying Kirin’s pistol and blades.

“Mistress, Zarni, Hen’Real has shown up asking for you,” Halrad-Gar says trying to hide his concern.

“Ah, perfect timing. I sent a message to his lieutenant indicating I was here.” Zarni says her voice dripping with malice. Turning to Kirin she smiles, “Well Mistress, looks like the job I need you you to due before you can get this datapad just arrived.” 

“I know time is of the essence for you Starfleet types but I also know that you can play the game very well.” Pulling out a small dagger, one Kirin instantly recognises as her own, Zarni deftly flips it in the air and catches it before handing it to Kirin. “You will clear my path to power and I will give you the data…do it well and I may even have the syndicate help, well not get in the way…don’t or do it poorly and well let’s just say pheromones or not you won’t leave this building ever again and any efforts your precious Federation does to try to help this planet will well take more time and energy with a fair share of accidents will befall the poor naive officers on the ground. The choice is yours.”

Thanen sat in the command chair of the Daradax lost in thought looking at the view screen and the planet Kunhri III as it slowly spun on its axis below them.  ‘I hope the Kirin is ok. SFI really has their own set of rules…’ “Sir” ‘… sending a lone officer down with virtually no information…what are we meant to do if something goes wrong…’ “Sir?” ‘…maybe I should send Ril….no, she is needed here.’

“Sir!?”

Thanen blinks and turns towards Belania’s voice. “Sorry Ensign, what is it?”

“We have received a response from the officials at refinery 27C confirming the coordinates for landing as well as the name of the office we are meeting. She is a Romulan…wait…yes they have confirmed her name is Shasha. She has given us the all-clear but included a heads-up that there are some minor protests ongoing about the federation’s involvement but her security team has them covered.” Pausing she make s quizzical face, “I thought Romulans were not in favour here?”

“Thank you for the update.” Thanen remarks as he turns to Ril. “Anything on the sensors we need to be aware of before taking her down Ril?” RIl looks up from the tactical console and shakes her head, “Nothing, Sir.”

Turning back to the con he responds to Belania, “It is not so much that Romulans are persona non grata here but that the new Romulan government and in a sense the old government are not welcome. There is a large enough Romulan population within this system and the sector as a whole and not all of them support the military coup. They are just people after all wanting what is best for themselves and their families. Now, everyone buckle up, let’s see how this bird handles during entry. Belania, take us in.”

“Yes, sir.” Belania responds as the Daradax’s thrusters kick in and the ship beings to decelerate and bank down towards the planet’s surface and their destination. After a few minutes, the edges of the view screen start to glow red and the ships shake slightly as they begin to push through the thermosphere of the planet.

“Belania, we have entered the outer edge of a large volcanic plum focused  150km and 30° to port. The plum is feeding a large storm system. I would suggest adjusting the course around it.” Kerry comments as they continue their descent. “Sir, that storm system is moving in the direction of the refinery; ETA 4 hours. There should not be any issues if we are on the ground but we don’t want to be outside during it. Looks like a nasty one.”

“Thanks, Kerry, that is noted. We will try to have this delivery done before the storm hits.” Thanen responds. ‘There is always something… lets up this is the only curveball…’

— 

The Daradax slowed its descent as it approached and circled the massive structure that was the refinery.

“The refinery’s borehole goes down almost 3 kilometres and is over 300m wide all the way. The conditions down there must be horrible.” Kerry remarks as the viewscreen shows the now refinery and former mind in great detail causing everyone on the bridge to mutter agreements.

“Landing gear extended. Touch down in 5…4…3…2…1.” Belania says as the ship shudders slightly before coming to a halt and the gravity shifts to match that of the planet. 

“Ok everyone, let’s get this done. We have a lot of material to get off the ship, some of it is not transporter friendly either so our work is cut out. Ril and Kerry you are with me. Standard away team gear, we do not want to give the wrong impression by stepping out in full tactical gear. Belania, you stay on board. I want deck 4 sealed off so no one can get in except us. We will need help from some of Shasha’s people to get this stuff offloaded in time. I know Shasha said it was only a minor protest but things can turn so keep an eye on it, the storm and the general lay of the land.”

“Not a problem sir.” Belania remarks.

— 

Standing on the lift as it descended from the belly of the ship Ril looked around, her tension high as she hated to deal with situations like this. Meeting some unknown leader of the refinery to offload a substantial amount of very expensive equipment and a lot of food items while the people they were here to help protested the actual help was not a situation could not be classified as ‘safe’ especially given the issues on the planet. 

She glanced over at Lieutenant Thanen beside her and was impressed with how stoic he looked giving off nothing but an ere of confidence but she knew he was uncertain as well. Why else would he have sealed off the rest of the ship? Kerry on the other hand looked a little nervous or on edge. She was brilliant and Ril had taken a liking to her. She was shy but the few times she has started to open up to Ril; usually when she got talking about some sort of science experiment or something she saw on the scanners she would sometimes let her guard down and start just talking and engaging before realizing what she was doing and retreating back into her shell. She had made it her mission to crack that shell.

With a loud thud, the large lift stopped as it touched down on the landing pad. Ril could see a small group of seven individuals approaching from the entry hatch on the pad. “Sir, we have a welcoming committee” she comments as her hand moves to rest on the handle of her phaser.

Walking towards them the group of seven stopped 15 meters off and the women in front waved in greetings though there is some visible hesitation within the group before a haggard-looking Romulan woman steps forward towards the lift. Without pause, Thanen steps out to greet her before Ril has a chance to comment. “Greetings, I am Shasha the new leader of refinery 27C; it is nice to meet you in person Lieutenant Thanen Th’zalnar.”

Smiling Thanen takes the hand that she offered, “It is a pleasure to meet you Shasha, I am Shasha.” before turning back to Ril and Kerry. “This is Ensign Ril Mnass, our tactical and security officer and this is Ensign Kerry Dawson our science and medical officer.  I hope we are able to help you and your people and I also wanted to apologise again that the commander couldn’t be here for this but she had pressing business she had to attend to.”

“Your assistance is greatly appreciated but if you don’t mind I would like to get to it. My people here have had no ability to work since the empire stripped or destroyed key equipment that was needed for its operation. Idle hands are of no benefit to us now.”

“I understand that” Thanen agrees. “ We have three lifts…” gesturing back towards the one he stepped off. “The other two are stacked with most of what you need once this one is cleared off. There are additional items in the bay that will then need to be moved onto the lifts for disembarkment. Sadly some of the items have been deemed non-transportable so we will need to do this by hand and with the anti-grav seld and lifts. If you have the manpower to spare we should be able to get everything offloaded in a couple of hours. Additionally, we have stocked most of our empty space with food supplies; several tons in fact. These are standard MREs that Starfleet believes will be able to be used by the Reman and Romulan populations alike. We will be able to transport them directly onto the pad.”

“Manpower won’t be an issue. These here are my most trusted staff members, some foremen some of who I grew up with. I will also send for additional people with vehicles to help with the offloading.” With that, the remaining individuals step forward. At this Ril tenses as most have pistols at their sides.

“Sir, Ma’am” she says as she steps up to Thanen and Shasha, “We can allow your men onto the ship into the cargo area only but I cannot let them board armed. Is protocol in a situation like this; I hope you understand.”

“Really?” Shasha says a bit taken back, “They mean you no harm…”

Thanen turns and gives Ril a look of frustration and understanding before nodding and turning to Shasha, “On this matter, Ensign Ril is right. It would be in violation of Starfleet protocol. They can leave them here at the base of the lift but they are not allowed onto the ship.”

With a sigh, Shasha nods in agreement and waves towards the men and quickly says something in Reman and they unclip their weapons and place them in an empty crate they removed from the lift.

“Thank you for your understanding Shasha” Thanen says with a smile before turning to Kerry. “Kerry let’s bring down the next two lifts and get started.” Tapping his combadge “Belania, can you start transporting the food supplies from deck 3 onto the pad to the area designated by Shasha’s men. It will be marked in a few moments.”

“Affirmative XO.” Belania responses.

“Yes, sir” Kerry responds before tapping a button on her PAD causing the lifts to her right to groan slightly before they started to extend downwards revealing a substantial amount of mechanical equipment. Walking over to the lifts as they stop she gestures to the first. “This is mostly replacement mechanical equipment, repair tools and a lot of self-sealing stem bolts…hmm ..not familiar with them. The next lift has the power junction replacements as well as the chemicals needed to restart the refinery. We can start offloading the equipment first.” At this, five Remans move to grab several anti-grav sleds while one goes towards a large shed on the edge of the hanger emerging a few moments later in a mechanised lifter and they got to work.

—

Thanen walked onto the bridge of the Daradax to find Belania at the con watching the viewscreen as it was split between multiple camera angles around the ship as well as the protestors.

“Great work getting those food supplies onto the ground. I see Shasha as already organized their distribution” he says as he points to the screen. On one of the split displays, a very large pile of boxes of emergency food supplies was being attended by 20 or so Remans and Romulans quickly taking the boxes and moving them into the nearby hanger bay while others within unpack and moved them onwards to the population in the refinery.

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” She responds with a quick glance back at him. “I was about to message you, good timing I guess. I have been watching the storm and the protests, we may have a problem.”

“What exactly is coming our way ensign?”

“Well first off the storm will arrive sooner than expected. It is an hour out at most, not two but they should have moved the equipment and material into the hanger in time. Only just. I am more concerned about the protests.” She says as he taps on the console and the viewscreen switches to show the protesters gathered beyond the fences of the landing pads. “Their numbers have been increasing, there are about 60 now. In the last 15 minutes, a group of 15 people arrived and they seemed to be stirring up the crowd. They were also visibly armed.” 

“Has Shasha been informed? How are her security forces doing?”

Nodding Belania quickly responds, “I sent her a message and video file showing their arrival. I also believe her security team has been in contact with her. As for the team. They have had more personnel arrive and are still on the inside of the fence so it’s hard to say.”

“Thanks. I am heading back down, keep me updated.”

Watching Thanen leave Belania exhales and pulls up the multiple view screens again. “Now, let’s see what damage this storm could cause us…” she says as she starts analysing the data on the approaching storm while casting an eye every so often on the screen and the protesters.

—

Thanen stood near the cargo lifts under the Daradax watching the black violent clouds as they settled overhead. A hot and violent wind whips around him as lightning streaks the sky and the rain rapidly closes the distance.

“Sir, that is the last of the equipment for the refinery offloaded and it’s now on its way to the hanger and the refinery,” Kerry says as she steps up beside Thanen. “The food supplies have now been collected and inside the hanger. My estimate is that the supply will last for three to four weeks. Long enough for the first convoy from the fleet.”

“Thanks, Kerry, good work organising the offloading. You should be proud of how efficient it went.” Thanen says while turning his head slightly to look at the hanger and Ril who jogged towards them.

Ril stops under the ship just as a wall of rain begins to fall. “Sir, I have spoken to Shasha and she has asked if we could aid them with the installation of the equipment. They have reviewed what we were provided by fleet logistics and it will need to be modified. She thinks it should only take an hour or two.”

“You would have thought the logistics team would check that before loading up the Daradax,” Thanen says with a sigh and shrug. “Ok, Ril you with me. Kerry, go update Belania. Send a message to the task force letting them know the supplies have been delivered and we will be departing soon.”

With a nod, Kerry steps onto the lift and taps her PADD causing it to lift and Thanen and Ril head out into the rain.

After action report – Operation Indigo-Kilo-3-Kilo-1

Classified Alpha 6, Starfleet Intelligence

May 2400 

Kunhri III

Arrival at the designated site went smoothly with no indications that the Intelligence agent (IA)  had been identified or was known.  

The control of the mission was quickly lost after meeting with the asset when the asset went to hand over the material. He was killed by three Romulan agents and IA was seriously injured by a distributor blast. If not for the unexpected involvement of forces from the Orion Syndicate (OS) the data package and the IA would have been lost. 

The OS  provided basic medical care possibly saving the IA’s life but indicated that they were aware of the IA’s identity both in the fleet and their connections o the OS.  The original data package had been in fact taken by the OS and the message for the handover had come from them. The leader of the OS who rescued the IA was a female Reman name Zarni and her right hand was a male Orion name Halrad-Gar. During a brief exchange, they indicated their desire for the sake of the planet to get the data to Starfleet intelligence as they believed it would leave to a secret Romulan military research site within the outer asteroid belt of the system. The concern was that the Romulan military was working on biological and or mutagenic weapons which could be sued against the civilian population and by extension the OS. It should not be believed that the OS or that Zarni were doing this out of altruism but instead, they were solely looking out for their own interests. 

During discussions, it was revealed that there was a schism within the OS on the Kunhri III. Zarni was the leader of a faction that wanted to get the data to Starfleet but was at odds with the most senior OS member on the planet a Male Orion named Hen’Real. At this time the IA was unable to extricate themselves from the situation and was asked to work with Zarni to persuade Hen’Real of the benefits of sharing the data with Starfleet.

—

Kirin glared at Zarni as the Reman stood there with an evil smile on her face believing that she has backed Kirin into a corner. ‘Bitch’  Kirin growled in her head. “So you are now threatening me and my people which if you carry out will cause significant hardship to the people of this planet? Am I getting this right?”

“I would definitely put it that way. Mistress.” Zarni remarks adding venom to the last work. Out of the corner of her eye, Kirin notices Halrad-Gar flinch. ‘At least he has an understanding of what the title in our culture means…Hmm…I wonder if…’ Before Kirin can get further with that thought Zarni continues. “Hen’Real, is a brute, like so many of the men of your race. Good for fighting and that is it. You though, I suspect he will have a soft spot for a poor wounded young Orion women. I don’t care how but you will get close to him and then kill him. If you survive you can take the datapad and go, if not I will get the datapad to your precious fleet.”

Kirin straightened slowly on the bed as she started to lean back due to the discomfort in her shoulder. “I am not an assassin. And what makes you think I won’t just tell him what you plan and get him to kill you so I can take what I need?”

This causes Reman to laugh and Halrad-Gar to noticeably shift in the discomfort of the situation. “You think I didn’t put safeguards in place for that? You have officers at several refineries across the planet. I have people loyal to me who will start killing them if I don’t send a message to them every 30 minutes.” With that, she projects a holoscreen from her PADD showing a dark stormy sky and a ship Kirin knows all too well; the USS Daradax. On the screen, she can clearly see Thanen talking to Ril and Kerry as the image shifts to that of a long-range scope with the targeting reticule coming to rest over Kerry’s head as she turns to go back to the ship. Before Kirin can say anything it switches to show another part of the planet and a new refinery showing Captain Taes of the USS Dvorak, working in a hydroponic garden teaching several young Reman, she looks up as if aware of the targeting reticule before turning back to her work. “Do I need to demonstrate what I will do? Zarni laughs.

With a glare that could kill, if only, Kirin almost spat “Don’t. They are only here to help the people.” 

“So we have an understanding then?”

“Yes” Kirin says as she slowly stands. “Let’s get this done. Assume just giving my disruptor is not an option? It would be quick.”

With a laugh, Zarni shakes her head. “That dagger will do. And please wait at least a week so I can get everything in order.” Stepping up beside Kirin she puts an arm around her shoulder. “Now Mistress, though we can’t have him hear that or call you Starfleet. Since I don’t know your actual name. How about T’onyi? Yes, T’onyi. Let us go introduce you to Hen’Real.”

—

Following a couple of days of negotiations and in-depth discussions with the OS leader Hen’Real it became apparent that he had no interest in working with or sharing the data with Starfleet. This presented the IA with several challenges, first how to gain access to the data as Zarni was unwilling to release it now as it would be known she had and how best to dissuade the OS from trying to undermine the efforts of the fleet in the system.

The IA was able to ascertain that a large group of elements within the OS did not agree with Hen’Real’s brutish approach to the management of their holdings. It was turning more and more people against him. Secondly, this element led by Zarni and Halrad-Gar felt that the OS would be in a stronger position once the current crisis was over if they worked within the system and aided the Starfleet activities from the shadow. It should be noted that this would and will likely make the OS a stronger organization on the planet especially given the fact that at the time of the coup on Rator the OS presence was minimal but as will all illicit groups they grow and thrive in situations like this. 

The IA was unable to contact SFI or the taskforce command during this time and operated on their own. It should be noted that the possible outcomes were weighted and analysed so that a route which would, in theory, maximize the benefits to the planet and its population was eventually followed. The needs of the many do, in fact, outweigh the needs of the few in this situation.

—

Kirin rolled over in bed and reach behind her and rubbed her shoulder. She was still amazed at how fast some injuries could be treated with the right equipment. ‘I can barely even feel a twinge when I move it now…’

It had been 5 days since Zarni had presented her as ‘T’onyi’ to Hen’Real as a poor lost young Orion who had been attacked by Romulan soldiers. He was brutish to say the least, Kirin’s first thought was one of his parents had to be Nausicaan as he dwarfed any Orion she had met before and she had spent several months most years back on Vondem with her mother’s family. He had taken an instant liking to her especially once he realized she had the rather rare ability to produce the fabled Orion pheromones. 

She spend the next few days on her own as Hen’Real pretty much held her prisoner in one of the rooms in the syndicate’s base of operations. She was alone pretty much beyond the odd visit of servants to look after any needs she had and to check on her injury. The one break from this was when Halrad-Gar showed up to check on her every other day. As the one who has saved her from the Romulans Hen’Real had awarded him with a promotion within the local organisation. 

There came a knock at the door and Kirin stood up and Wales to the door grabbing the dressing gown from the back of the chair and wrapping it around her. Without fail, Halrad-Gar stood there. Looking at him she smirked ‘He is more than he seems, today I will push for the information I need.’

Eyes cast down the moment he saw her, “Mistress of the Midn…T’onyi, I hope I am not overstepping myself but I wanted to check on how you are feeling following your injuries?”

“Ah, thank you Halrad-Gar, please come on,” Kirin says as she places a hand on his forearm presenting a more meek demeanour in case anyone in the hall saw them though it barely his the raging inferno that was inside her. The moment he stepped into the room Kirin slammed the door, ‘Be damned what the servants say. Let the stories spread. The more they think they know of me the further from the truth they are…’

Turning towards him Kirin glares “What does that bitch Zarni want this time Hal? You do realize only one of us will be left standing after this and it won’t be here. I think you have an idea. I recognize the Kolar syndicate tattoo on your arm there. I assume it was you who told her who I was when you found me?”

Taken aback by the new aggressive behaviour he steps back and bumps into a chair almost tripping. “Mistress, I, well, um…No new news from Zarni just the same reminder.” 

“And!?” Kirin says as she steps closer to him looking up. 

“Yes, I recognized you. I was there when the traitors were ambushed. I lead the group that closed the gap at the rear. I watched you when the fighting started, you were terrifying, beautiful. I did tell her, I thought it would help the people for her to know, to trust you more. I never thought she would do this. I came here after the incident as we wanted to start something in fresh territory and this held promise…but…”

“But someone from a different part of the syndicate wanted in and sent Hen’Real and let me guess Zarni was already leading the local underworld and was absorbed…same old story new world.” This causes Halrad-Gar to nod.

Kirin points to the chair, “Sit” and then after a moment, “Please” in a softer voice closer to her normal tone. Grabbing the chair besides where Halrad-Gar was sitting Kirin sat down as well, the dressing gown purposely exposing more of her thigh than usual. ‘I always Hated this part. But between his desire, the pheromones and we’ll me I think I can make this work…’ 

“Halrad-Gar, I do not think Zarni has any desire to help the people here, she is out for her own power and Hen’Real is the same, both are blind to the reality around them or just not willing to care. I do not care about the syndicate, I left. But I do care about the people here, Remans, Romulans…Orions. They,…” pausing she looks him in the eyes “…you, need food and to be self sufficient.”

He stares back at her his eyes not perfectly in focus as he tried to maintain eye contact. ‘Got you’ she thinks. “I need my equipment, doesn’t have to be what I brought but I need a distributor and a blade, can you do that for me? Please?”

He blinks and focuses on her before nosing, “Yes Mistress, I will get them to you before mid-day.”

“Thank you Hal.” She says she stands and walks to the door opening it. 

—

To ensure that the operations in the system were not interrupted and the population would be able to access food the IA was able to work with the elements led by Zarni and Halrad-Gar to openly challenge the leadership of Hen’Real. In short following a brief exchange if words Hen’Real and his Lieutenants opened fire on the challenging elements. This resulted in Hen’Real, his senior Lieutenants and Zarni losing their lives. Though the loss of life was unfortunate it successfully removed the head(s) of more extreme elements with the growing OS on Kundri III. This has led to Halrad-Gar taking over as the most senior OS member on the planet. One who has honoured his promise to ensure the OS does not work against or reduce the effectiveness of Starfleet’s activities in the system.  It should be noted that the OS still has a presence in the system and oversees large parts of the illicit activities planet side and system-wide. But the more violent and extreme elements have been greatly reduced.

—

Kirin sat on the large lounging sofa, really just a massive pile of pillows, and stared out the windows overlooking the sprawl around the capital, Refinery 1, land waited. She knew from mutterings of the servants that morning then they came with a new lace dress for her and from a message one slipped her from Halrad-Gar that Hen’Real had decided she had ‘rested’ enough and it was time for her to earn her keep. He stepped into the room without a knock and walked toward her. 

“T’onyi, you are healed now I am told. Zarni has promised me you will be of use to me here. The time has come, we will go to meet with some acquaintances. You will stay with them for a bit and get them to do what I want.” He steps forward and gestures for Kirin to stand. 

‘To hell, I will…you will it hurt or use anyone again‘ she thinks as she stands and takes a step towards him with a smile on her face. 

“That dress sui…” he says but stops short as Kirin arms flick forward, right, then the left and two short daggers imbed themself into his throat. He stumbles back, eyes wide before dropping to the ground.  

Kirin walks past him to the bed and takes the dress off, though stunning she hated it for what it represented, and quickly puts on a pair of pants and a shirt. Reaching under the drawer she tabs the small device Zarni had smuggled in before returning to the sofa to wait. 

Within 10 minutes the door opens and Zarni entered with Halrad-Gar on her heels. As she walks in she sees the body on the ground, “Oh good. I wasn’t sure if a Starfleet officer would get their hands so dirty, now that I….” she says, glee written all over her face. ‘Hmm, I didn’t realize a Reman’s face could look so giddy.’ Kirin thought to herself.

Kirin continuing to sit raises her hand, “Let me stop you there Zarni, before you start to monologue. We had a deal. Uphold your end of it. Give me the datapad and do not get in our way and we don’t have to see or hear from each other again.”

At this Zarni bursts out laughing, “Oh, you think you won’t hear from me again. You just committed murder and I have recording devices all over here. I am sure your precious Starfleet would love to see what you did and what other activities you were up to while you were MIA…what would they think if they learned they had a syndicate operative on their ships…that is what this looks like after all.”

“Are you sure?” Kirin says as she stands revealing a disrupter and long blade on her hip. Tapping on her shirt sleeve a holo image appears in front of her, from the device on her wrist, showing the room at the time of Hen’Real’s demise. “Such recordings are so fickle…” she says as her image blurs and is replaced with that of Zarni at the same time as a series of popping crackles are heard around. The room as puffs of smoke appear. “All your recordings are gone and all records you have made from them are being deleted as we speak. You really need to  check your security systems…so antiquated even for the syndicate.” Kirin says with a laugh. “Now, the datapad or I release the image of you murdering Hen’Real to the system.”

Zarni glares at Kirin and shrieks as she grabs her disrupter and beings to raise it towards Kirin. But before her arm is even halfway up there is a green flash behind her and her eyes go wide before she crumples to the ground, dead. Behind her Halrad-Gar stands weapon in hand. 

“Thank you Hal. I didn’t tell you but I did remember you from that day. You have my gratitude; if others ask, tell them you have my gratitude” Kirin says with a slight bow. “I trust that our deal stands and you will aid the people of this planet while we get them self sufficient?”

With a nod Halrad-Gar point at the body of Zarni, “I know you swayed, no influenced,  me, Mistress, it is what one such as you does. But don’t do it again. The stars aligned for this and only this time. Take what you need and go. I promise you that your involvement will not be known.”

Without a word, Kirin grabs the datapad and a communicator from the body. Turning to look at Halrad-Gar one last time she activates the communicator, “Daradax, do you copy?”

“Holy shit, Ma’am is that you!?” Came Kerry’s voice a few moments later.

“Yes. One to beam up”

— 

The IA acknowledges it was far from an ideal result but the main objective, the retrieval of the datapad was completed and the likely possibility of federation deaths due to the OS has been greatly reduced.

End of Report

Two hours after Kirin’s emergency transponder was picked up.

“Would you stop tapping your foot like that, it is very annoying! I am trying to work here Ril,” Thanen growled out from under the large ore processing unit on sub-level 4 of Refinery 27C.

“We are wasting our time here. The Temeraire sent us a message two hours ago saying their team cannot find her. WE SHOULD BE THERE!” Ril exclaims, clearly angry and frustrated. 

“Can you pass me the decoupler from my tool kit?” Thanen says, sticking his hand out. A moment later Ril drops a tool into it and pulls it back under and sighs audibly. “I said the decoupler, not the flux coupler,” he says before pushing back and sliding out. Sitting up he looks up at Ril barely able to hide the stress on his face.

“Look, I need you to focus on what we are doing here. I get it. I want to get back on the ship and take it right to Refinery 01R to look for her but we cannot. It isn’t even that it would be against orders but that electrical storm is causing chaos up top. The Daradax had to raise shields as the ionized particles in the plum coated the hull and turned it into a MASSIVE lightning road. She is grounded and on top of that, the storm is messing with the transporter.” he says clearly frustrated. “What would you have us do? Walk the to the other side of the planet?”

“AH! Fine, yeah you are right,” Ril says through gritted teeth as she paces back and forth. “I hate not being able to do anything. I never should have let her go along, she was nervous about the mission whatever it was.” 

“I get it, I want to go and as soon as the storm clears I intend to take the Daradax there and join the search. I want to see the scene as much as anyone,” Thanen responds, “But for now we cannot and there is work here that needs to be done. I know you aren’t an engineer but you could go and check on the protesters. See what is happening with that?”

Ril looks back at him and sits down on a nearby piece of equipment, “No need. I checked a while back. Those ones that Belania mentioned, the instigators just left about the time we entered the refinery and the remaining people, well, when Shasha’s people brought out the MREs they took them after a bit of reluctance and went home. The stomach is the way to the hearts and minds I guess. Though it did seem old that the instigators just left, wonder what that was about.”

Shrugging, Thanen pushes back under the processing unit; “Damned if I know. Maybe they didn’t want to be caught in the storm. Either way, try to find something to do. I could use your help with some basic repairs and installations that even a security officer should be able to handle.”

With a harsh laugh Rill gently kicks Thanen’s food. “Fine, what do you need me to do sir?”

—

Twelve hours after Kirin’s emergency transponder was picked up.

In the centre of the abandoned warehouse 3 beams of light shimmered into existence and then vanished leaving Ril, Thanen and Kerry standing there alone. Without pause, Ril drew her phaser but kept it at her side causing Thanen’s face to flicker with a bit of annoyance.

“Ensign, put that away. The area is secure or do you think that the tactical team,…” Thanen says why wave to the Starfleet team in full tactical gear around them, “…has not done their job?”

Muttering under her breath she puts the phaser away and starts looking around, “Never know, they couldn’t find her so maybe…”

Watching Ril walk off, almost stomping Than sighs and shakes his head, “Kerry, let’s go have a chat with whoever is in charge here and get an update. I would be shocked if we can do anything but at least we came to see if we could help.”

The two of them walk towards the far side of the warehouse where an area is marked out and flooded with lights and a small team of officers.

As they approach the CO, a young lieutenant walks over. “You must be Lt. Thanen Th’zalnar. Wish we could have met under better circumstances.” Looking over towards the marked-out area she bites her lower lip and turns back to him. “There isn’t much else I can tell you since we spoke last but I understand if you want to examine the site yourself. Just be careful to not disrupt it.”

Thanen quickly nods to her and turns to Kerry, “Go do your thing, Kerry.” before turning back to the lieutenant. “Thanks for letting us come down lieutenant, I know you were about to pack up but wanted to see it for ourselves.”

“I would want to do the same if I am honest. We have checked everything but the signal they used to beam her out, we think, was just too weak to trace. I am hopeful she is alive but the transport could not have been her. There are enough disrupter burns at maximum power that there might not have been anything left to even pick up.”

“Yeah, I just hope that isn’t the case,” Thanen says looking past her. “Better go take a look myself. Thanks again.”

—

Three days after Kirin’s emergency transponder was picked up.

The screen clicks on and Kirin Tarken appears sitting at the desk in her office. Hair down, its colour shifting red to green. She has a sad smile on her face as she begins to speak.

If you are watching this Thanen then I did not return from the mission and a full 72 hours have passed since I was meant to leave. As the mission should not have taken this long I wanted to prepare a message for you. I hope that the supply run to the refinery went off without any issues and that you and the crew are ok. I really wanted to be there with all of you.

I will keep this short, I sent a message to command and asked that you be given command of the Daradax if I do not return. I know we have only been together a couple of weeks but you are a born leader. Far better than I am. I hope they honour that request. 

I would ask that you and the crew focus on your mission here and assist the captains and other ships as needed. Do not let Ril or the others go off the deep end trying to get revenge or payback, or whatever you want to call it. This is part of the job and we all know it. There is always the chance we do not come back; we knew it when we signed up.

It was an honour to work alongside you. I once heard a proverb and it resonated with me and I thought it encompassed what Starfleet does in a way, for me at least.

‘What world lies beyond that stormy sea I do not know, but every ocean has a distant shore, and I shall reach it…’

Good luck my friend. 

Thanen learned back in the chair n the briefing room and turned off the screen. “Damn you Kirin” he mutters. “What hell are we meant to do….”

Before he finishes the thought aloud the door chimes, glancing at it with mild annoyance he barks “Enter”. 

The door slides open and all three ensigns, Kerry, Belania and Ril, on the ship enter. They enter the room and stop around the table and look at him. Before Thanen has a chance to speak Ril nudges Kerry with her elbow and she steps forward slightly. “Oh, um…sir. We have received orders to aid the USS Dvorak with transporting supplies to various refineries. The Temeraire also sent through an update on the search. Sadly they have not found any signs of her, though they are still hopeful.” she says. On close inspection, Thanen could tell that each of them is not taking the current situation well. Kerry’s eyes appear red and watery and she had come and spoken to him several times while Ril was barely containing her rage; all her free time was spent in the holodeck literally ripping holographic opponents apart. Of the three Belania seems to be the one taking it the best, she appeared a bit shaken and had been quieter since they found out that Kirin was missing but was still herself. ‘I do need to have a chat with her, the others have come and talked to me several times but Belania just brushes it aside…’

Sighing Thanen stands up slowly. “Well then. We should get to it. There are people on that planet who need our help. Kirin would not be impressed if she knew we were not pulling our weight.”

At this Ril scoffs and steps forward. “Let me go down there. You don’t need me for supply runs.” she almost yells. “We barely spend ANY time where she went missing after the storm cleared and now we are told to not search for her. That is BULLSHIT SIR!”

“Ril, that is ENOUGH! We have been through this. We have our job to do. I understand how you feel, believe me. I do but going down there all hotheaded will likely just get you killed and put us in an even more difficult spot. SO YOU WILL DO AS YOU ARE INSTRUCTED!” he shouts as he stands up from the chair and slams a hand on the table. 

“You are all dismissed. Kerry go confirm the orders,” he says staring at Ril until she deflates slightly and turns and leaves. Sinking back into the chair he stares at the ceiling. “Ril, for someone who liked to challenge the Captain…”… ‘I know she didn’t want to be called that like she didn’t deserve the title but she isn’t here now is she…’ “she would have been the first through the breach to get her back.”

— 

Four days after Kirin’s emergency transponder was picked up.

Kerry sat at her station lost in thought, no matter what she tries to work on she couldn’t stop thinking about Kirin. ‘I cannot believe she is gone…she may not be…could have had to go deep undercover for the mission…could she have contacted us?…it is like walking on eggshells around he…’ she is jarred from her thought as Belania walks into the bridge holding two cups of raktajino. 

“Here you go Kerry, got you a raktajino, I remember you saying you hadn’t tried one before. It’s pretty much like the coffee you usually drink but better I think.” She says as she walks over and places it beside Kerry’s console before turning and sitting at the Con.

“Oh, thanks Belania. I, ah…well I will give it a try.” She responds as she picks up the cup and takes a sip. “Ok, yeah that is not bad. Thanks…” she says as she starts to turn back to her console before stopping. She generally hated talking to people but this was about work and her crewmates, pushing aside the discomfort at the thought she turned back to face Belania. “…Belanial…you haven’t said much since the commander, well Captain, I know she told us not to call her that, disappeared. I..umm…wanted to see if you were ok?”

Not responding for a moment Belania continues to work at the consol before taking a long sip of her raktajino before putting it down and leaning back in the chair. “You want to talk about this now?” she asks and looks at Kerry who seems to have a pretty serious expression on her face. “Ok, Honestly, No I am not ok. We likely lost our commanding officer on some secret mission we know nothing about. IT IS NOT GOOD!” Belania says a bit of frustration entering her voice as she raises it before exhaling and visibility trying to calm herself muttering, “Remember 104 – Faith moves mountains…” Looking back at Kerry she smiles, “There is nothing for me to do to change the situation. It is the job, sadly part of the job and we know it. She was the CO with security experience and used to work doing who knows what with SFI; it was her job and she did it willingly because she knew her duty and her own skills. As Rule of Acquisition 62 says ‘The riskier the road, the greater the profit’; I know the rules are meant for profit generation but they, well some, work in many areas of life. She knew the risks and the possible payout was enough for her to justify it. I also am not ready to call it in yet.  Rule of Acquisition 62 says says ‘Never get into anything that you can’t get out of’ and I believe, want to believe that is still the case.” 

“I, oh, well, I never thought of the rules for use outside of that…not, that I really…know them well or at all really,” Kerry says a bit timidly, taken back by Belania’s response.

With a shrug, she stands up and talks over to Kerry’s station and leans on the console beside her. “I know that Ril was, is still, gunning to go to the surface and Thanen has been letting a low rage burn inside. Though he won’t act on it, I think, Ril would if she could.” She takes a sip of her Klingon coffee and smiles as the warmth runs through her. “We have a rule for that as well you know; 88. It tells us that ‘Vengeance will cost you everything’ be that in trying to ruin someone financially or any other form of vengeance I like to think.” She looks down at Kerry and puts a hand on her shoulder. “We must have faith that she is still ok; that’s Rule 104 actually,” she says with a little laugh, “We have done all we can and we have people still to help.”

“Any you Kerry; how are you holding up?”

— 

Five days after Kirin’s emergency transponder was picked up.

Kerry once again found herself sitting on the bridge monitoring the situation around the ship. The USS Dvorak was in orbit not far off. She couldn’t but admire the ship even though she was an older ship, almost 50 years now, it was the sort of ship she had always wanted to be assigned to. One that showed up to study a planet or anomaly. She was, well had been settling into the Daradax, especially after that little chat with Ril and Belania but that seemed like forever ago now. 

It took her a moment to realize that the com panel had begun to beep at her. “Likely Shasha wanting Thanen to come back down and look at another piece of machinery that isn’t working perfectly…” she says out loud as she reaches over to hit the signal alert. 

“Daradax, do you copy?” Comes a very familiar voice over the speakers causing Kerry to almost fall out of her seat before she regains herself.

“Holy shit, Ma’am is that you!?” Kerry says almost like a shout when she finally speaks.

“Yes. One to beam up”

“Right away Captain! Sorry Ma’am!” Pulling up the remote access for the transporter controls she locks onto Kirin’s signal and hits the activation button. Before she has even finished with that she opens the shipwide coms. “THE CAPTAIN JUST MESSAGED! SHE IS BEAMING UP! SHE IS ALIVE!”

“Is this really necessary Doctor? Couldn’t just a quick scan with the tricorder wrap it up” Kirin says as she lays on the biobed as the scanning arch slides up and down over her. “I know the reports of my death were greatly exaggerated….”

“Captain, it is standard procedure after a crew member has had an encounter such as yours to undergo a full medical workup…and it is needed” Came a voice from the other side of the room. “I may only be the EMH but you were shot and their rudimentary medical procedures barely did the job. Not to mention the surgery to remove your implant…” the voice trails off as the EMH mark 1 steps into view. 

The scanner arm comes to a stop and the EMH begins typing on the display. “Ensign Dawson. Please come here. If you are to act as the medical officer when I am not activated, you mine as well learn something while I am.”

Stepping up beside the bed Kerry looked a little shell-shocked following the unexpected return of Kirin. “Uh, ok Doctor”

“Good, now speak up, you must exert your will over the patients they will fight what is best for them…” he turns and looks at Kirin, “…such as allowing the medical scan to finish.”

Rolling her eyes Kirin silently cursed herself for the following protocol and getting checked out by the doctor once she beamed back up. ‘Doubt Thanen or any of others would have pushed the issue…but needs to be done, especially with the implant….’ she thinks as the EMH rattles on.

“Ok doctor I get. Let’s finish the scan so I can then get dressed and deal with what I can only imagine is a mountain of reports to write.” Kirin says slightly defeated. It wasn’t like she could get up easily anyways after she changed into one of the silver medical robes and with the scanner arm still over her midsection.

Without responding the EMH looks over to Kerry. “Tell me what you think these readings are showing Ensign.”  He says pulling up a virtual 3D display of Kirin’s body that hovered above the table and pointing towards her shoulder where she had been shot.

“Oh, umm..it looks like the sub-dermal tissue and muscle fibres at the injury site are only partially healed. They will need treatment to stimulate muscle growth and dermal regeneration to avoid long-term damage.” Kerry says as she examined the display.

“Maybe there is hope for you yet Ensign Dawson. What about here?” The EMH remarks point to a spot on the screen.

“Doctor I get that training is important but can we go a bit quicker maybe? Run through the scans with Kerry later?” Kirin s says.

“No, best to learn when the patient is here. Now Ensign, what does this indicate.” The EMH says with a dismissive wave to Kirin.

Glancing at Kirin with a slightly lost and apologetic expression on her face Kerry looks back to the EMH and then the virtual 3D display. “That is odd. Looks like a poorly done surgery to remove some sort of implant. These readings though suggest that there is an abnormal level of volatile chemical compounds being produced and secreted by her body. The computer has classified them as pheromones…but wouldn’t that mean…she is, you are part Orion..…..” her voice trails off and she looks at Kirin who smirks and shrugs.

“Good, you have some promise ensign. Go get the dermal regenerator and let’s get started. Not much we can do about the implant. It isn’t something that can be replicated easily.” The EMH says before looking down at Kirin still stuck on the bed, “Captain, you will need daily suppression injections. They will only partially work though so just be aware of your condition…I will also monitor the other crew for headaches. This could be an interesting chance to study the effects the Orion pheromones have on multiple species at once.” he says thinking aloud. 

“Doc, I don’t know if that would be appropr…” Kirin starts to say before the EMH cuts her off.

“Where is that dermal regenerator Ensign?” The EMH says loudly causing Kerry to jump and bump her head as she was bent over trying to find it in the medical cabinet. As he fills a hypospray and injects its contents into Kirin’s shoulder.

— 

Thanen sat in the briefing room on deck 2 of the Daradax and looked at the main screen on the wall not sure how to phrase what he wanted, needed to ask Captain Tharia sh’Elasif. 

Reaching for the mug on the table he takes a sip of the Janaran tea before setting it down as the warm liquid relaxes slightly; though irritation was still noticeable to anyone familiar with Andorians as his antennae twitched nervously as Captain sh’Elasif was. “Not point dragging this out,” he mutters. “Computer open a channel to Captain sh’Elasif on the USS Temeraire.” 

About 30 seconds passed while he sat there waiting, giving him time to drink some more of his tea, before the screen changed from the Starfleet logo to show an office with a slender, and beautiful Andorian female staring back at him, her expression giving nothing away as she waiting for him to start.

“Captain sh’Elasif, it is a pleasure to finally met you in, well, remotely. I am Lieutenant Junior Grade Thanen Th’zalnar; I currently serve as Executive Officer on board the USS Daradax.” Thanen says trying to calm his nerves but his antennae continue to twitch ever so slightly.

“Lieutenant, I am familiar with you. I assume this has to do with Lieutenant Commander Tarken beaming up a couple of minutes ago?” she responded. “Yes, sir; I was not aware that you had been notified about her return.” Thanen quickly says. “As per protocol, she is currently in medical getting a full workup by the EMH. We do not have an actual doctor on board; Ensign Dawson acts as our medical specialist but her training isn’t much beyond that of most Officers.”

“Thank you for the update and for confirming your current status. The communication from the surface was not encrypted so our comms team picked up. If I had not heard from you in the next 15 minutes it would have been myself who prompted this call.” sh’Elasif remarked her face giving away no emotions as her antennae remain fixed on the screen in front of her and Thanen

“Ah, ok. Well, that is good to know.” Thanen says a bit embarrassed that he didn’t think that the USS Temeraire would pick up the communication. “I am calling as you are the ranking officer in the system; if Kirin, sorry Lieutenant Commander Tarken is cleared by the EMH would that be sufficient for me to return command back to her or should I retain command until she is debriefed? Obviously, if the EMH doesn’t clear her she will not return to duty until such a time that she is.”

“That is an excellent point Lieutenant and it is good that you ask. We do not know what happened down there and I would like a full report from her as soon as she is able to provide it. But if she is cleared by your doctor, the EMH, and it doesn’t raise any questions about her mental fitness then there should be no reason for her to not return to command.” 

“Understood Captain, thank you for confirming what thought would be the case. I will have her provide you with the full report as soon as she is able.” Thanen says as he exhales and relaxes; noticeably he is sure to the other Andorian.

“I will await the report Lieutenant. I also wanted to say you did a good job given that you were put in command on what was your crew’s first mission and you held them together when your Captain went missing. It did not go unnoticed.” sh’Elasif says with a slight smile appearing on her lips causing Thanen to sit up a bit straighter before she continues. “Thank you, Lieutenant.” at which point the transmission ended and the Starfleet logo reappeared.

“Well, that went better than expected. Now let’s hope Kirin is ok….” Thanen says aloud before finishing his tea and standing to leave. 

—

Sitting in the command chair on the bridge Ril slowly spun around in circles while Belania sat at her post on the con. “And just like that, she is back! Do you know what she said when she beamed back up? She just looked at Kerry, Thanen and I, cocked a smile, shrugged and said ‘So, anything exciting happen while I was away?’ as if she hadn’t been missing for a week.” Ril says with obvious frustration, “And then before anyone could really say anything she just walked past us to medical and said “Should probably get checked out, Kerry you’re the medical lead, come with me. Thanen we will speak shortly, Command is yours.” Then right into medical, and when I went to see if she was ok she just said we would speak soon, she needed privacy for the check. LIKE WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!” she continues.

Belania leaned back from the con and spun her chair around. “What do you think would happen? She would sit us all down in the lounge and regal us with the story of her mission? You know protocol better than most of us, you are the security and tactical officer right. She went MIA on a mission so a full medical workup is needed before she can be reinstated. You know her as well as I do. She doesn’t put things off.”  pausing for a few moments she continued, “I am sure though we will get an update from her within reason right. Hell, remember the other week when we were en route here and she pulled out that bottle of Sauran Brandy and started talking about her previous work on Starbase 3? There were some bits to that story and the commander she mentioned that I am pretty sure she let slip…”

“Yeah, true enough; she likely wanted to just clear her head a bit…” Ril responds while stopping the spin of her chair so she is facing Belania. “You would think that those sorts of comments and actions from a Starfleet officer would not happen; it is the 25th century after all; so what if she is part Orion and part Risian doesn’t mean she is…” Ril starts to say before actually blushing slightly, “well, you know the stories…”

Belania laughs slightly, “Ril I wouldn’t take you to shy away from saying something. Do you mean she is what, ‘animalistic’ with extreme carnal appetites because she is Orion or that because she is part Risian her life is guided by her Hedonism and her highly imaginative, um, mind?” she laughs again, “That is so very 22nd century of you. Have you ever met the Lieutenant Commander? Sure she is attractive if you are into that, but I would never question her professionalism, integrity or commitment to Starfleet. Would you? Hell, I definitely wouldn’t want to cross her.” Belania says and stares at Ril, “Besides what she does in her personal time is her own business.”

“I am not shying away from the topic or saying things. It is just weird to talk about that in regards to the captain of the ship.” Ril responds by waving her hand as she says ‘captain’ when Belania raises an eyebrow, “I know she doesn’t want to be called Captain, doesn’t change the fact she has earned that title by all rights within the fleet if not the rank.”

“True enough.” Belania agrees “I am just happy she is back and we can stop worrying about her.” to which Ril nods in agreement.

Kirin sighed as she entered her quarters, stripped off her uniform jacket, tossed it to the floor and collapsed onto her back on the sofa staring at the ceiling, her legs hanging off the end as she brought her hands to her head and placed her palms on her forehead. “I forgot how much of a pain in the ASS debriefings are after these missions! At least Kerry is now working on decrypting that datapad; hope it was all worth it. I cannot believe it has been 3 days of them” she says out loud with a shudder as she thinks back to her time on the planet before turning her head to look at the replicator, “Computer, chamomile tea, hot.”

The replicator lit up and a cup appeared with the well-recognized sound of its physical structure being reconstituted from the ship’s biomatter reserve. Laying there for a couple more minutes Kirin stared at the ceiling without really thinking about anything before getting up and grabbing the tea. Cupping it in both hands she brought it up to her face and inhaled the scent of it, “Never as good as the real thing but pretty close.” she mutters before taking a sip and sighing as the warmth from the drink washes over her relaxing her. 

Looking around her room she cannot help but think how nice it is to be back in her own quarters. Going back to the sofa she sat down and grabbed her PADD from the table pulling up her inbox as she knew there would be several messages, atleast, since she had been away; there always were…Without fail she has a number of messages, text and video, waiting for her but upon closer inspection, several were from Commander Clements asking for updates. They started 6 hours after the scheduled rendezvous and continued with a new one every 6 hours for 2 days. “You would think for someone in intelligence he would have more patience. I forgot how impatient he was. Don’t need to read them now; already sat through that… 8 hours I won’t be getting back.” she said as she selected and archived all of them for later review though she would have bet good latinum on there no point in checking them now.

Switching over to her personal inbox she groaned seeing all the messages; “You would think that spam filters would work better in the 25th Century but crap always gets through. Sign up for one leisurely week on a resort world and they send you new things every week.” quickly click on those and several other junk messages she quickly deletes them sees that there are only a handful of ones left that are worth opening; one in particular caught her eye from D’donya Tarken that was received several days ago. Tapping on the message the inbox vanished and was replaced with the Starfleet logo before quickly changing to an image of an Orion woman in her middle years wearing a command uniform bearing the rank of captain who bore a striking resemblance to Kirin.

—

The woman shows little emotion as she starts to speak, sitting stiffly in what appears to be her ready room.

Kirin, how are you? I trust everything is well?

After the first sentence, she sighs and shakes her head the stiffness leaving her posture and she smiles a sad smile.

This is stupid; let me start over. 

Kirin, I was so very happy…and well surprised to get your message given how we left things. I know it has been, well, far too long since we properly spoke and I am sorry for my part in that. I was very happy…well we both know that is an understatement…when I found out that you were no longer working with Starfleet intelligence on Kolar. Yes, I know what they had you doing. Why do you think I was so unhappy. I never wanted to you be exposed let alone be emersed in that aspect of my…well our…culture. But as you have told me many times, you are an adult and a Starfleet officer. A damn good one I will add and that we each have the duty that we must perform. It was just that mission hit a bit too close to home.

Kirin watched as her mother for the first time in a few years relaxed and lose the cold formality they had both adopted with each other since she joined SFI all those years ago. She knew that her last message helped to break the pattern as she had grown tired of the distance and wanted to let her know she was sorry. She knew why her mother was not happy with her assignment in SFI, she had always figured her mother had pulled some strings to get access to the reports but her mother never told her why. The stubborn streak in both of them had then firmly locked into place and that was the end of them talking until Kirin reached out after long weeks of debating.

I cannot tell you how excited I was to hear that were given the command of the USS Daradax and on your promotion to Lieutenant Commander. Getting command of Raven is nothing to laugh at! They are tough ships and give you a perfect stepping stone to bigger and better things. My first assignment was aboard an Aerie-class courier back in…oh, ‘64. We ran courier duties and transported dignitaries out to starships all over the place. Even got a run to the USS Enterprise though I never set foot on her or got to meet Picard or any of the others sadly; at that point anyway. Anyways it is a good place to start. 

D’donya’s smile increased at this point and she relaxed completely to the point Kirin recognized the relaxed and fun-loving mother from her childhood.

As for your question. Command is hard. I took a look at the files of your crew and you are right. They are an odd bunch but your assessments I think are correct based on the files and what you told me. All of them have the possibility to be brilliant officers though there is room for improvement…especially with Ensign Mnass. I accessed the file about the first incident and I am surprised that she was treated in such a way. A known and violent criminal fought back. She did the right thing, sure she put him in the ICU but it can be hard to disable someone without. Gain her trust and her respect and give her the same and she will be yours and will follow you happily to Gre’thor, the Klingon equivalent of hell. As for Ensign Dawson, that I think comes down to confidence and familiarity. I think she will start to open up to a small crew pretty quickly. After all, a small group of people is not something she will have been use to at the academy. Ensign Belania, honestly I am not sure why she was sent to the Daradax. She is a brilliant pilot. If you don’t want her I will take her. Could be that she rubbed some people the wrong way or just the luck of the draw. Your Xo though, you lucked out with him. A great engineer by all accounts and someone who will balance out, your, let’s just say impulsiveness. You know I am right so don’t start shaking your head…

Kirin’s mother just smiled knowingly as Kirin rolled her eyes and shook her head. 

In general listen to your team, support them when need but trust your instincts. They have always done right by you.

A chime came through the video and D’donya looked over to her right. 

I need to get going Kirin. Please message me back when you can. I do hate that we cannot actually carry on a conversation in real-time. Let me know next time you are in range of Starbase 11 and I will see if the Stormfront can make a detour.

Speak soon. Love you.

With that, the video ended and the Starfleet logo returned until Kirin closed the video file. “Well, that is better than I expected.” She said out loud before leaning back on the sofa and closing her eyes, a feeling of contentment settling over her for the first time in a long while. She had not realized how much the flight with her mother had been bothering her.

Laying there for a few moments she decided it was time to get up, it had been a long day and she needed a nice long shower and bed. “If only there was a proper water-based shower…” she muttered as she starts walking to the bedroom looking forward to some quiet time and a good night’s sleep this evening.

Science Lab 1 – Deck 3 15:45

Kerry sat in one of the unassigned science labs on deck 3 reviewing her work at the computer console while it churned away at the final part of the encryption locking away the data that Kirin recovered. Locking in the final algorithm she thought would be needed she leaned back in the chair and slowly spun around and let out a long exhale. Bringing her hand up to her head she brushed her blond air out of her face and rubbed her temple, “What is with this headache, it is very hard to focus” she saids stifling a yawn. Standing up she stretches, raising her arms above her head and shaking her head trying to push the lethargy from her head. ‘These last few days, all I want to do is lay in bed…it is so comfy…’ she thinks to herself before pushing the pleasant thoughts aside. Looking back at the console she can see it will take a while yet for the computer to break the final set of encryption. “Coffee…yes coffee. That will help” she mutters to herself as she turns to walk out of the lab, ‘Coffee, didn’t I just talk to someone about that?’.

As the door slides open she walked right into Belania and fell backwards onto her ass from the surprise of it as she feels a bit of a disconnect from what just happened; her arms and chest were hotter and wetter than a moment before. Blinking she looks up at the Ferengi who was now covered in raktajino and was busy pulling her uniform jacket away from her chest, “Damn that is hot,” Belania cursed as she quickly stripped her jacket off leaving her in her white undershirt which also showed some dark brown stains. Without looking down Belania let out a coughing laugh, “Sorry Kerry, are you ok? I had brought you a raktajino but, well, unless you want to wring out my jacket I think we will need to go back to the mess.” she said before looking down, “Damn sorry didn’t realize the raktajino hit you as well. Are you ok? Did it soak through?” she asks as she extended a hand to help Kerry stand.

Kerry looked back up at Belania and blinked, “Yeah.., I’m…ok. Not it didn’t,” she said as she took the hand and stood up. “I…I was just going there, though a coffee would help with this headache and lack of energy.” 

Belania paused at that, “Kerry, I asked you just 5 minutes ago if you wanted one, that is what I was just doing. Are you feeling ok?”

Looking at her Kerry blinked rapidly, “oh, yeah. yeah. It’s just this headache. I must have forgotten, focused on work.”

“How about we swing by the medbay. You have mentioned a headache too many times over the last couple of days for conforming.”

“No…” Kerry says shaking her head “No. The EMH will just be mean; he really doesn’t like me. I should just lie down.” Kerry muttered. 

“Come on, let’s go; he is definitely unlike any EMH I know of but we should get you checked out. Besides your quarters are right beside there anyways. Just a quick scan then you can go lay down.” Belania countered and began to lead Kerry to the turbo lift.

Bridge – Deck 2: 15:50

Kirin sat in the briefing room just off the bridge reviewing reports from the team and the work they have been undertaking during the last two weeks since her return. Of particular interest was Kerry’s report about her time aboard the USS Dvorak and to a lesser degree a couple of comments on Belania’s report from when a couple of the crew of the USS Dvorak came aboard the USS Daradax to conduct a stock take. Resting her chin on her hand she continued to scroll through the reports and let out a little laugh, “It would appear that Captain Taes and her crew have had some interesting times together. Body switching, bet that led to some interesting stories…and she really took a liking to the doctor of theirs…” Reaching the bottom of the report she let out a low chuff and smiled before closing the console to leave the room. 

Rolling her shoulders and her neck she walked down the corridor towards the bridge but stopped just before rounding the corner onto the bridge as she heard her name mentioned and a conversation well underway. Leaning with her back to the wall she brushed her hair out of her face causing the red to turn to a deep green, almost black before it settled behind her ear a light reddish-green.

“…cannot just ask her. She is the captain and I TOLD you the full report is sealed AND she said she didn’t want to talk about it so we don’t.” Thanen said, his voice oddly tense with a sense of aggression underneath it.

The frustration in the other voice was very clear, “Argh, I didn’t say we should ask her. You are not listening. All I said was she clearly went through something. Beyond being shot and we should make it clear she can and should talk to us about how she is feeling. You are the XO and I am in charge of security. If something happened down there to jeopardize the ship or crew or HER then we need to know.” Ril said back followed by a clear sigh.

Shaking her head Kirin pushed off the wall and walked around the corner to see Ril glaring at Thanen from the tactical console, her hand rubbing her forehead with her right index finger and middle finger as a deep look of frustration and anger flashed across her face. Thanen was leaning back in the command chair meeting Ril’s gaze. “She will do what she wants and we are…” he began to respond before seeing Kirin walk onto the bridge. Jumping up out of the chair he smiles as he looked at her.

“Cap, oh, sorry Kirin. I know you do no…” Thanen starts to say before glancing at Ril with more aggression than Kirin had seen on his face before. 

Looking at him Kirin cannot help but feel that something isn’t right. “I will stop you there Thanen,” she says holding up her hand to him to stop him from responding before turning to Ril. “What are you to going on about? Ril, are you ok? You look like your head is bothering you?” Kirin demands before turning back to Thanen “And Thanen what si with this aggression from you?”

Both Ril and Thanen begin to speak before stopping gesturing to them to be quiet. “Ril, you first”

Ril stopped rubbing her forehead and sat back in her chair. “I am not sure what the…” she starts before rubbing her temple again, “…issue is. It is nothing we haven’t spoken about. You haven’t really told us what happened down on Kunhri III and I need to know if it will put the ship or crew at risk. It is part of my job to know these things as Head of Security.” Stifling a yawn she closes her eyes tightly as a pained expression crosses her face. “You have told us it’s classified and there isn’t a risk and I believe that but you have almost locked yourself away since you returned and not been yourself. You shouldn’t, we are here when you ended us.”

Before Kirin could respond Thanen barked at Ril, “YOU DO NOT PUSH HER ENSIGN! LEARN YOUR PLACE.” Spinning on Thanen, Ril looked like she was ready to ripe his head off. “YOU ARE LUCK KIRIN IS HERE, I’D RIPE YOUR HEAD OFF OTHERWISE!” Ril shouted back as she jumped to her feet causing her eyes to go wide as she wobbled before she grabbed the edge of the console to balance her.

“SIT BACK DOWN BOTH OF YOU!” Kirin ordered causing Thanen to sit instantly and Ril to slump into her chair. “Ril. You do not look well. Go to medical, get the EMH to check you over and STAY THERE. I will be there shortly.” With a nod Ril stood up, her eyes focusing and unfocusing before she stabilized herself and walked off the bridge. Turning back to Thanen who sat in the command chair watching Kirin with a happy smile nodded. “Good, she obviously isn’t well Kirin.”

‘What the hell is going on with them…’ Kirin thought to herself before a thought entered her mind causing the pit of her stomach to drop, ‘the pheromones, my pheromones…I need to handle this quickly…if I can…’ Turning to Thanen she steps up so she is staring down at him in the chair. “No, it isn’t Kirin, in this instant, it is Captain! You do not speak to our crew in such a way. Now stand up, we are going to medical to get you to check out as well…All of us checked out.”

“Ok, happy to Kirin, uh, Captain. All you have to do is ask,” he responds standing up. 

“Come on, let’s get going.”

Medbay – Deck 2: 16:00

Kirin walked down the corridor to medical with Thanen in front of her. ‘If these two are affected I am sure Kerry and Belania are as well.’ Tapping her combadge she called them “Tarken to Dawson and Belania; report to medical ASAP”. Thanen didn’t bat an eye or acknowledge the call which was definitely out of character for him. Kirin was still convinced he would make a better captain to this crew than she could. As they reached Medical a few seconds later her combadge chimed “Belania to Tarken, We are already here, I was…” Belania responded but stopped as the door slid open and Kirin lead Thanen in. Kirin was surprised to see Kerry already lying on the biobed with the EMH MkX standing over her running a scan. While Belania stood over Ril who lay on one of the beds with a medical tricorder. “That is not needed Bel, it’s just a headache” Ril was saying to Belania.

Walking in Kirin grabbed Thanen’s arm causing him to turn and smile at her. “Go sit over in the office and wait there,” she told him before walking up to stand beside the MkX and the biobed. “Doc, I do not think the suppressor is working. Is Kerry Ok?”

Without looking up from the console on the side of the biobed the MkX shook his head, “She will be fine. My question to you is What exactly is wrong with all of you?; I am pretty sure, no I am 100% sure as my memory is infallible that we had a briefing about all of you keeping an eye out for these issues.” Turing to face Kirin, be continued, “Yes, you may have forgotten but I stood here” disappearing and reappearing over by the office, “and all of you stood by the bed where Ril is” before appearing back by the biobed. “I TOLD EACH OF YOU TO LOOK OUT for these exact things; Damnit I am a doctor, not a babysitter. I cannot keep an eye on you when I am offline and I won’t just reactivate myself to babysit you all.”

With a sigh, Kirin turned to face him. “Doctor. We have been. I cannot comment about Kerry here but those two,” pointing towards Ril and Thanen, “were fine when I was with them an hour ago and I Kerry was fine as far as I know when I spoke to her several hours ago.”

“Oh, well that is even more interesting. My scans show that she has a large buildup of your pheromones in her system which is the likely cause of her headaches and lack of energy. That is very common for human females. Belania, please send the scan results here” he says while continuing to work on the console. “Interesting. Starfleet doesn’t have many records of the pheromone’s impact on female Klingons most just males and their pheromonal shock. Ril doesn’t seem to have that…wonder if it is due to her gender or her human half…very interesting.” Turning away he walks over to Ril, “How are you feeling. Mostly yourself but a growing headache right behind your eyes, yes?” to which Ril nodded keeping her eyes closed. “Mmh, ok. And you Belania how are you feeling?”

Belania put down the tricorder, “Perfectly fine, could Kirin’s pheromones not impact me the same way?”

“Possibly.” the EMH said offhand while he continued to scan Ril. “Best for them to go rest; Belania can you help them back to their quarters then return. I will need to pull together a hypo which should purge their system of the pheromones though they will wish they had been drinking all night for a hangover would feel like bliss tomorrow morning for them.”

Kirin stood there listening to the EMH do his thing and had a growing unease in her stomach as if she was going to be sick. ‘I caused all this, my stupid pheromones, they have been nothing but a curse…not matter what my grandmother says…how is any of this good or useful…why did I have to be born with it. Wish I was like most Orions…part Orions…’ she thought before realizing that the EMH was talking to her. “…no way of knowing. A real surprise, I must say.”

“Sorry, what was that?” Kirin responded. The EMH turned back and looked at her with an annoyed expression from the biobed where he had directed Thanen to lay down. ‘When did Thanen get on the biobed?’  

“I WAS saying that the suppressor was working in so much that it suppressed the active component of the pheromones you are giving off but not the other parts. This allowed those to build up in everyone’s systems until the active ingredient was introduced. It would appear that your body has adapted so that the suppressor has been losing effect as well so when it stopped working today everyone reached levels of exposure they would expect to be at after several days. We had no way of knowing. Your body seems to want to produce those pheromones of yours and they seem to be very potent, more so than others produced by Orion women according to the database.”

“Oh,” Kirin said as her frustration at herself grew, “So what am I meant to do now if the suppressors are now useless?”  

“Well” the EMH began to say as he looked at the console on the biobed, “Oh, you did a number of Thanen; got him all twisted up, him being the only male on board, excluding me but I am obviously immune…” before walking over to the hypospray dispenser tapping a button and picking on up and turning back to Thanen injecting him in the neck, “Well, until we can get a new implant for you I was thinking of confining you to your quarters.” 

“WHAT?! You have to be kidding?” Kirin said a bit shocked ‘He is likely right, isolate airflow and such.’

“It is in my right as the medical head on the ship, flesh and blood or not but I do not have another alternative right now. The crew needs to clear their systems, without that Ensign Mnass and Dawson’s symptoms will worsen and Thanen will become more aggress to anyone he perceives as a challenge unless it is you. Not an ideal situation for a ship trying to render aid I would think. Give me 24 hours and I should be able to design a new suppressor and I can liaise with the other ships in the system. They have more advanced systems and may be able to make a temporary implant until we reach a starbase.” the EMH remarked. 

“Ok, fine. I see your logic. I will confine myself and hand over command to Thanen; I will enter this into my log.” Kirin said ‘and again, the ship is no longer mine..’  a growing sense of defeat came over her.  “I will go there now.” 

Turning she walks out of the room almost running into Belania. Nodding to her Belania continued into the medbay; “Are the hyposprays…” Belania began to say to the EMH before her voice was cut off as the door closed.

Walking into her quarters she went straight to her bedroom and sat down feeling defeated. “Computer, look doors to my quarters and isolate environmental systems for these quarters”. With that, she laid down and stared at the ceiling.

Kirin sat in her quarters, wearing a comfortable black and red flowing dress that matched her hair perfectly. Tucking her feet up to her chest she tried to read through a series of reports from the crew of the Daradax as well as from the other Starfleet ships in systems but could not focus. She looked up from the PADD and the paragraph she had been reading for the last forever, it seemed, tossed it to the side with audible frustration and glanced towards her bedroom. “I hate being couped up here, it’s been almost four days! There is nothing to do but read these endless reports. Maybe a quick nap, then some exercise and I will feel better….” starting to stand she stopped and dropped back down onto the sofa, “I have been putting this off too long.”

After a couple of hours, she put the PADD down and leaned her head back, “It has definitely been an eventual few weeks for the crews of the Dvorak, Temeraire and Neptune and I guess the Ulysses now. Almost makes me feel like are not doing enough ourselves…” she pauses and picks up the PADD quickly glancing at it. “No, that’s not fair, the crew has been helping wherever they can with the farms and refineries….We just need to get that datapad decrypted so we can figure out what the Romulans are doing.”

Sighing with frustration she stood up, stretch and went to the replicator, “Risan Chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream” she said before picking up the plate and turning back to the sofa. Before she had taken two steps the console on her desk beeped with an incoming call. “Guess I need to get that” she muttered as she sat down and opened the screen casting a long look at the cake before accepting the call.

On the screen before her appeared the roughly shaved and unkept image of the EMH MkX, why he present himself that way she wasn’t sure. He changed his appearance regularly and Kirin was never sure how he was going to present himself when he was called up.

“Doctor, what can I do for you? Do you have any updates on creating a new implant to block the pheromones?” Kirin quickly asked, trying to hind her excitement. After the first few days of hounding the EMH, she decided it would be best to stop calling every hour or two demanding updates and let him and the crew do their jobs.

“Right to the point, no small talk?…Fine. Yes, I do have good news. I spoke to the medical leads on the larger vessels in the system and their more advanced industrial replicators had a similar device on file. They will be able able to replicate it and transport it over a few hours…” Holding up a hand… “but I must warn you it is not a proper replacement. It will, in theory, block the pheromones by injecting a blocker into you but we will need to monitor and balance the doses daily and then get it replaced once back at a larger medical facility. You can now get back on your feet, per se, not that you have been off them unless sleeping or sitting I assume. I will message you when it arrives. It will only take a few moments to implant.”

“Thanks, Doc, this is great news. I cannot wait to get out of these quarters.” Kirin said before the EMH disconnected. Smiling she called up a communication line to her XO, Thanen.  While she waited for him to reach a console she leaned back and took a bite from the chocolate cake and smiled. It seemed like the day was turning around.

A moment later the console chimed confirming that the connection had been made to Thanen as the image of the Starfleet logo disappeared and the Andorian’s face appeared on the screen showing that he was in engineering; the Daradax’s warp core humming behind him.

“Kirin, How are you? I was just about to message you. Kerry has been able to decode the datapad she just ran out of here a few seconds ago quite excited about it.” Thanen said with a smile as soon as the video call connected. 

“That is great news, and I am well” Kirin began to say as her console chimed again with a message from Kerry asking for a meeting in 30 minutes. “Once sec, Kerry has just messaged me about the datapad, I am going send the meeting request to yourself, Belania and Ril as well. Best we meet on the observation deck.”  

Thanen nodded at this letting Kirin continue. “I spoke to the EMH, we should have a replacement implant in a couple of hours; not more outlandish behaviour caused by me.”

“That is great to hear, I know being quarantined in your quarters has been frustrating, to say the least.” Thanen said before an embarrassed look crossed his face, “I know I wasn’t myself but I do want to apologize again for the way I behaved, Ril is still pretty annoyed with me I think.”

“Thanen, you need to stop apologizing for that. Everyone was not themselves; Ril included. But that is done, we can all have a sit down about it once I am no longer locked away per se. The reason I was calling was I wanted to see how the ship was running. I have been getting lots of reports and such from the crew and the other ships but any insight or updates you have would be appreciated.”

Thanen pursed his lips and thought for a moment, “There isn’t much that isn’t in the reports you have been sent to be honest and whenever anything has come up it is directed to your first. Though it does seem that Kerry is getting along better with everyone, well not better as she got on with everyone she seems a bit more outgoing. I have seen her socializing with Ril and Belania but had also enjoyed her time on the Dvorak. Beyond that, there has not been anything else to report besides the unfortunate incidents regarding the poisoning on the planet resulting in the loss of lives and the arrival of the Ulysses. It will be good to have you back out and about. I should go check on Kerry and the others before the meeting.”

Kirin nodded, “Sounds good. Speak soon Thanen.” before ending the call. Sitting back in the chair she could help it as her smile returned. “Finally we will figure out what those Romulans were doing and why I got shot.” Picking up the fork and having another bite of the cake she thought this day was on the up and up. With that thought, her console chimed and a new video message appeared, Kirin had spoken too soon.

The message tag read: ‘WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? SHOT AND KIDNAPPED AND I HAD TO FIND OUT FROM SFI! – USS Stormfront – Captain Tarken’

“Damn, knew I forgot something.”

—

Thanen stepped back from the engineering console he was at and glanced at the warp core, closing his eyes for a second to listen to the hum of the drive letting it calm him. Whenever he thought back to the confrontation with Ril on the bridge while they were all under the influence he felt like he was going to be sick, he in no way blamed Kirin or felt anything negative towards her for it but he hated that he was not himself and lashed out at Ril and others on the crew. What really gnawed at him though was how he remembered feeling about Kirin, he knew that he would have done anything she asked of him or thought she wanted just to make her happy; it was unnerving. He respected her and thought she had alot of potential, he just hoped that his memories of the event wouldn’t interfere with his interaction with her moving forward. 

Looking over at the display and realizing the time he frowned, “Guess I should go speak to Kerry so she has a full briefing ready, though she likely already does…” he muttered as he turned and walked towards the science lab Kerry had been working in.

—

Kerry sat at in the observation deck at the large conference table waiting for everyone to join. Scanning through the PADD he had she quickly double-checked that she had loaded all the relevant data that Kirin had retrieved. Sighing she tried to push down her nerves, she had briefed the crew before and got one with everyone, she even had drinks with Ril and Belania a couple of times. She hated how she always got nervous speaking to people…

Before she could think on it much more the door slid open and Belania and Ril walked in chatting. On seeing Kerry they both smiled and took a seat. “So, did you find anything exciting once you broke the encryption? What are the Romulans up to?” Ril asked as soon as she sat down. “I am pretty sure we are about to find out Ril. Patience” Belania said invoking an eye roll from Ril and a brief laugh from Kerry which was interrupted by Thanen as he walked into the room.

“If you are laughing I hope that means the information you found isn’t too dire Ensign,” he said with a smile. “Shall we start? The Captain will connect remotely to see the briefing and the information you have found.” 

Kerry nodded and send the files she had found to the main display which changed from the Starfleet logo to a file directory. Before she could start speaking a small window appeared in the top left showing Kirin sitting at her desk.

“Afternoon everyone,” Kirin said with a nod. “Shall we begin, Kerry the floor is all yours.”

Standing up Kerry walked to the head of the table. “As you all know I have been trying to decrypt the datapad the Captain, ah sorry, Commander brought back from the planet. With the help of some of the teams on the other ships, we broke through this morning.”

Over the next 45 minutes, Kerry outlined all the critical data that was on the datapad. Most of it was pretty routine but it did confirm the presence of a secret Romulan research base in the system.

“So in summary” Kerry continued, “The Romulan Military and Tal Shiar established a biological weapons research facility about a decade ago on an asteroid in the outer field of the system with the designated A-5736 Gamma, once translated. The location was likely chosen as the field as are a high level of radiation throughout it due to the composition of the asteroids. The focus of the base was on the development of mutagenic weapons against non-Romulans; it wasn’t abandoned as they appear to be close to having a working prototype. They have been kidnapping Remans as well as members from other species for experimentation with the goal of being able to cause programmable mass mutations within the host bodies.”

Kerry paused for a moment and sighed. “The base is small. The reports indicate it only has a crew of seven; four scientists and 3 military officers for oversight and acting as guards. On top of that, they seem to have a Malem-class scout ship attached to the base. If they are close to completing we need to stop them.”

“Kerry, thank you for presenting all of this for us. Please send the presentation to me so I can pass it on to command and the Taskforce.” Kirin said, “I have already spoken to the command given what we suspected and you are right Kerry, we need to stop the work and get more information on this weapon in case we have to develop a counter-agent. I know the other ships are currency busy so we will likely be on our own. Given what we have seen, the layout and personnel what is everyone’s thoughts on this? Ril, what is your tactical assessment and thoughts on the execution?”

Ril leaned forward, her hands clasp in from of her with her thumbs pointing back towards her with her chin resting on them. “I am always up for a challenge, and this will be a challenge. I would be much happier with a full hazard team on this.” She began before shaking her head. “But we don’t so no point thinking on that. The first challenge will be the Malem-class. It has to be hiding even with a cloak otherwise the tachyon grid would have detected it. So we will need to find it and disable it; if we approach the base and make it clear we know where the base is then the ship will likely make an appearance. The good news is that in theory, the Daradax will have the upper hand. An old Aerie-class wouldn’t be able to handle it but the Ravens were designed for border patrol and pack more of a punch.”

“After that, it becomes really risky. Boarding actions in general are very difficult. We would have no support from a larger hazard team so we will need to go in fast and hard; Beam in, neutralize guards and capture scientists; collect all the research data and, I assume, destroy anything we cannot take?” Ril continued looking around. “I would suggest that Kirin, Kerry and I go over. Kirin and I have experience and Kerry…” she says looking over to her… “you will be best placed to identify what we need to collect.” This caused Kerry to shift uncomfortably in her chair so much so that Ril noticed. “Kirin and I will do the heavy lifting Kerry. We will just need you to watch our back.”

“We need to plan out the station assault a lot more, the holodeck will be helpful for that.” Ril continued and looked over to Thanen and Belania, “I would suggest that the XO and Belania stay on the Daradax and monitor the situation, ensure the Malem stays disabled, keep an active transporter look on the away team that sort of thing.” 

“That makes sense” Thanen responded with a nod. 

“Great, we do not have much time so we will have to move quickly on this. I will have a new implant in the next couple of hours so I will be out to help with the planning in person.” Kirin comment. “I want to make sure this is done by the numbers and all systems are ready as we will likely see combat and this will be the first time for us. Ril, start reviewing tactical systems; weapons and shields but also tactical gear. We will also need to sit down and plan the assault in more detail. I will get working on a holodeck simulation for this based on the layout we have.” to which Ril lips turned up into a wicked grin. “Kerry, tap into the tachyon grid the Temeraire has set up we need to see if we can track the Malem once we get close to the asteroid field. The radiation as you said is likely helping them hide. Also if you can review the data again to be 100% certain about what we are looking for.” Kerry nodded quickly, “Belania, can you go over the command and control systems, make sure the Daradax is in peak shape.” to which Belania smiled and said, “I have been looking forward to putting her through a real test.”  which drew smiles and light laughs from the rest of the crew.

“Thanen, I trust engineering is in running smoothly?” Kirin asked.

Thanen let out a little laugh, “Of course Kirin, but I will be doing a full check anyways.”

“In that case, dismissed. If anything comes up come to me right away.”

At that everyone rose from the table and Kirin cut the video feed. 

Kirin sat on the bridge and rubbed her right temple and closed her eyes for a moment. The new implant was doing its job but since the operation, she had a constant low-level headache. Taking a deep breath she sat up and looked around at her crew; Ril was manning the tactical station, Kerry was making the science and senors while Belania was manning the con. Tapping her combadge she said, “Thanen, how is everything looking in engineer?”

A moment later her XO’s voice responded. “All clear down here.” to which she responded with a quick “Perfect, we are about to enter the asteroid field we should be on target in 20 minutes.”

Looking up she watched the view screen as the dense asteroid field past Kunhri VII grew closer. Unlike the inner belt which had large rocks fairly spread out the outer belt was very tightly packed, an oddity in space for sure. “Belania, how confident are you that you can get us through this?” The clearance between some of those rocks is measured in the hundreds of meters and not the usual tens or hundreds of kilometres on the outer edge of the field.

Glancing back Belania smiled, “Won’t be an issue. I can get us to the reported location of the base in about 5 minutes if you want? I can see a fairly direct course.”

With a quick shake of her head, Kirin responded, “No, let’s swing around, make it look like we will be passing by.”

“Ril, Kerry, keep an eye on things. If you see the Romulan ship decloak I want those shields up right away, let’s not waste a second when, if this kicks off.” Kirin said glancing over to the other two ensigns. “Now, let us enter the fray.” 

After 20 minutes of watching the view screen dip and dive as Belania flew the Daradax deafly between asteroids, she turned around and nodded to Kirin, “We are approaching the areas.”

 Kirin leaned forward in her chair and nodded while keeping an eye on the small display projected from the armrest showing a summary of the sensor readings. “Any sign of the targets?”

Kerry spoke without turning. “There are no clear signs but I am seeing a VERY faint energy reading bearing 36 mark 351 degrees. The asteroid they are emanating from matches the description in the datapad; if I wasn’t looking for this asteroid I would say it was just regular background radiation. They did a good job blending it in..” she before pausing and frowning slight, “…unless it is just background radiation.”

“Ok, keep an eye out, that warbird is likely still here and most likely watching us. Ril deploy the probes, powered down, on ballistic trajectories as discussed, please. Belania, adjust course and angle us towards the base.”

The Daradax moved towards the base and the alarms sounded and Ril without pause shouted, “Shields up, Romulan ship 200km out; they are powering weapons. Looks like they were sitting on one of those rocks; it was masking their signature. ”

“Bring us about to face them and power up the phasers; be ready to move the instant anything happens. Open comms to that ship Kerry.” Kirin said. A moment later Kerry confirmed, “Channel open Ma’am.”

“This is Kirin Tarken of the USS Daradax. The presence of your vessel in this system is in violation of the wishes of the current government who has asked the Federation for our support. You are ordered to depart the system or to power down and surrender. You will be returned to the…” Kirin started to say before Kerry cut her off. 

“They are firing, disrupters and torpedos inbound,” Kerry said. 

“Evasive pattern Sulu-Bravo, get us an asteroid between us and them. Ril, fire at will.” Kirin ordered.

The Daradax shooked as it was raked by disrupter fire causing a couple of panels to spark and lights flicker. Belania quickly flipped the ship around and jumped to three-quarters impulse, an almost suicidal speed in an asteroid belt, towards the nearest asteroid dodging the majority of fire as its phaser banks opened fire striking the Malem several times before it slipped behind the small 800-meter diameter rock just as the Romulans torpedoes struck the rock meer meters behind the small federation ship causing the rock of detonate as it became an ever-expanding cloud of rocks.

The Daradax shook violent and spun as the rocks pelted it throwing the crew around and causing the Con console to flare and send a shower of sparks over Belania as she raised a hand to her head, a large cut visible on the right of her forehead. Quickly shaking her head she regained control of the ship. “Belania, are you ok?” Kirin asked, her voice showing clear concern. “Yes, Captain, I have had worse.”

“Shields down to 40%, best avoid those rocks Bel.” Ril said calmly as Kerry spoke up, an edge of fear in her voice, “Sensor contact lost, the radiolitic isolates in the asteroid debris interfere with our sensors, and likely theirs.”

“We planned for that with all these rocks. Though I wasn’t thinking we destroy a full asteroid.” Kirin said with a smile. “Ril bring the probes online slowly at low power. Let’s use them as our eyes and ears. Their signatures should be low enough to avoid notice.”

The com panel chimed and Thanen’s voice came over the intercom. “What are you doing to my ship? The engines took a beating!”

“We ran into an asteroid, I promise we will try not to repeat that. What is their status?” Kirin responded. “Everything is fine for now. Just try not to take another hit like that,” Thanen said with a sigh.

“Contact reestablished. They haven’t moved much from their last position. They stopped when they lost contact with us I think.” Kerry said. 

“Target them with everything and fire!” Kirin barked as the multiple phaser arrays charged and fired, their scarlet beams slicing through debris from the asteroid striking true as a torpedo launched. The Malem-class warbird only just started to move as the torpedo streaked through the cloud of rocks and exploded against its weakened shields causing them to flair and fail in places.

“Direct hits, the shields are failing,” Ril said, her voice ringing with excitement.

“Target their engine and weapons, disable them befo….” Kirin began to say. 

“They are cloaking, looks like they are trying to run” Kerry called out. “Guess they don’t realize that the tachyon is up. I have them on sensors still but they are starting to move fast, heading towards the base.”

“We cannot let them reach the base, they could beam the researchers and the bioweapon out. Ril, can you target them?”

“Yes, well likely, they are moving fast but it would be as precise, it may destroy them,” Ril remarked.

“Damn, ” anger laced her voice. “Wait,” she said, looking at the sensor display on the armrest, “Target the asteroid they are about to pass with a torpedo. If they are cloaked the debris should disable them.”

“Firing!” Ril said as Belania repositioned the Daradax and set a pursuit course. The torpedo streaked forward into what appeared an empty asteroid field and struck an asteroid turning a sizable chunk of it into a cloud of rocks and dust. The rocks struck the clocked vessel flipping it over as its clock dropped and it lost power just as a large rock struck its starboard nacelle strut almost cleanly cutting it off.

“She’s dead in the water. I am detecting only a single, feint, life sign on board.” Kerry said with a more relaxed tone in her voice.

“Excellent work everyone,” Kirin said before touching her com panel and bringing up medical. “Doc we are about to beam over a wounded Romulan, treat them but keep them sedated and in a containment field.” to which the EMH responded with a grunt of an acknowledgement.

“Beam the wounded Romulan aboard, straight to medical. Ril go make sure they are secure. Then get back here. Belania take us to the asteroid; let’s see what we have here. We can check the ship once we are done at the base.”

The Daradax moved slowly towards the base, passing the drift Romulan vessel. After a few moments, Ril returned to the bridge. “Prisoner is secure. The EMH says her injuries are not life-threatening but will keep her under until you say otherwise.”

“Thanks, Ril.” Kirin said nodding towards her. Turning to Kerry she asked, “What are we seeing down there Kerry?”

“Looks like some sort of camouflage screen over the asteroid, it doesn’t appear too over any protection beyond hiding it. Doubt we would have found this without the coordinates. I think a low yield sweep from the phasers should be able to disrupt it and leave any complex below unscathed.” Kerry said, the confidence in her voice returning.

“Do it, lets’s see what we have.”

A low yield phaser swept forth from the Daradax over the location of the base causing the camouflage screen to flicker before dropping completely. “Screens dropped, not seeing any defences or additional shielding on the base. The layout also matches what we have…” Kerry remarked, “..Though I cannot get a solid reading on the number of life signs. It jumps between 3 and 10 it seems; some are very weak.”

“Ok, the information we have had so far has been accurate so let’s hope there are no surprises down there and the actual number of in middle. Belania keeps the Daradax in this position unless you have to move; the bridge is yours. Ril, Kerry your with me. Time to suit up.” Kirin said, determination in her voice. “Let’s put an end to this weapons facility.”

Kirin led Ril and Kerry to the storage locker near the transporter room. On entering they removed their uniform jackets and pulled out the lightly armoured combat jacket as well as leg and arm guards that had become increasing standard placed on ships for when away teams expected to come under fire.

Kirin and Ril quickly pulled on their equipment before Kirin turned to help Kerry. “Let me help you with that Kerry,” she said as she helped her check the jacket and other guards ensuring they had been locked in place correctly. “Looks like you are good to go Kerry.” She said with a smile seeing the clear nervousness on the ensign’s face. “Don’t worry, we will be in and out quick. Follow our lead ok.”

“Yes Ma’am” Kerry said with a nod, “I have done all the training but, this will be the first actual time…”

“It can be daunting, I remember my first time, it was a real Trial by Fire,” Kirin said as she pulled down a phaser rifle and handed it to Kerry before turning to hand one to Ril, “Ril…” her voice trailed off. 

Ril was pulling out of a long box a bat’leth, she looked at Kirin and smiled and then shrugged anticipating Kirin’s next comment. “What, it is a traditional and effective weapon. I am part Klingon Afterall…and…it strikes fear when people see one. Makes them more like to surrender. What would you suggest as an alternative?”

“I have always preferred a simple long blade, superior to the bat’leth in many ways,” Kirin said as she grabbed a rifle for herself and attached a phaser pistol to her hip.

Ril watched her and smirked, “Ar matey, got to appease the pirate in ye. Y’ll make them walk the plank unless they tell us about their booty…” she said barely containing her laughter.

Kirin looked at her with a blank expression and shrugged. “Let’s go.” She led them t

== Romulan Bioweapons Research Station; A-5736 Gamma ==

The three of them, weapons at the ready, materialized into an empty corridor about 200m command centre according to the map.

Kerry pulled out her tricorder and a moment later looked over to Kirin, “All clear Ma’am, no one is moving close by.”

Kirin nodded and glanced at Ril, “Ril, you’re on point, Kerry you stay behind her and I will bring up the rear.”

Over the next few minutes, the three of them advanced through the Romulan base. As they did they passed multiple empty labs and storage rooms. In several of the labs large clear tubes big enough to hold an adult Romulan stood empty until they got closer to the centre of the station. A large lab, double the size of the others stood unoccupied. Ril peered around the door and muttered, “Bloody hell,” before she waved the others in.

As they entered the room both Kerry and Kirin stopped and stared. Unlike the previous labs, the large tubes were not empty, twenty such tubes each holding a person lined the walls. The majority held Remans, both male and female, but several held individuals from other species; Ferengi, an Orion and even a Romulan.  Each and every one of them was horribly deformed with grotesque mutations and tumours covering their bodies.

Kirin stood and looked at them, “What the hell are they doing here…” she muttered as she pulled out her tricorder and started to scan the nearest one “Dead, they are all dead…”. Turning her head to Kerry, “Check those terminals, download anything information you can, the Federation will want to know about this. Someone must be held accountable….”

Ril looked over at Kirin and Kerry as she stood just inside the door peering out. “Captain. We may want to come back here after we secure the facility…”

“I know. But in case they can wipe their records from there we should get what we can.” Kirin responded before glancing at Kerry. “Kerry, how long do you need?”

“It is a large database, it will take 20 minutes,” Kerry said with slight annoyance before tapping the controls and muttering a curse. “Ma’am, it looks like they have started to purge the records. I can slow it down from here while the download is underway.”

“Shit, Ok, waiting is not an option then. Ril can that door de secured from inside?” Kirin asked to which Ril nodded. “Ok. Kerry, we are doing to go secure the command centre, as that seems to be where the Romulans are and have a chat with them. You lock this door as soon as we leave; make sure that data is secure.” She paused for a moment. “Then try to prevent its destruction. The investigation teams will likely want to see go through this place and we need as much information intact. It will be up to them to lock this away forever.”

Kerry between Kirin and Ril, a nervousness on her face. “Alone?…I, um…ok. I will lock the door, access the files and download.”

Ril smiled. “You’ll be fine. We have only a handful of life signs on the station and they are in the direction we will be going.”

With that Kirin and Ril glanced down the corridor and left the room. As they left they heard the sound of the door close behind them. 

As they advanced down the corridor the eerily empty station echoed and groaned around them. 

Closing in on the command centre Kirin crouched down in a doorway to what appeared a mess hall and opened her tricorder. It clearly showed five life signs ahead of them. Gesturing to Ril to move forward she slid the tricorder back into its holster. Ril slowly moved forward towards the next room, light spilling into the hallway, before stopping and raising her hand clearly listening to something in the room. 

As Kirin leaves the doorway a loud klaxon sounds through the base turning the dark halls red as strobe lights being to flash. Before Kirin is able to react disrupter fire shoots down the hall towards her and Ril splashing across the walls and floor causing both of them to dive into cover. Kirin was able to slide back into the doorway as she quickly fired off a phaser blast down the hall while Ril shouted in defiance and dove through the doorway in the room before her.

Kirin peered around the corner and pulled back quickly as the disrupter fire continued hitting the doorframe mere centimetres from her head. “Shit” she muttered, ‘Why didn’t they show upon the tricorder’ she thought before an even worse thought crossed her mind, ‘What if there are more than we thought?!’ Tapping her combadge, “Ensign Dawson, come in. What is your status?”

Kerry jumped when her combadge chimed and she quickly tapped, “I am ok. Waiting on download. It has only a couple of minutes left the estimate was incorrect it seems. The work here has been truly horrific…” she said before Kirin cut her off. “Listen, our tricorders may not be picking up their life signs for some reason, …” the sounds of the disruptor fire and shouts come through the combadge, “…be alert.” Kerry reached for her rifle she had set down on the desk beside her and glance nervously at the door.

Ril dove headlong into the doorway in front of her knowing it was a bad idea before she did it but it was the best, and only cover she had. She quickly pushed herself to her feet to find three Romulans, two scientists by the look of it and someone without a uniform, standing in a small room full of computer consoles working away. They were slow to react and were only beginning to respond to the disrupter fire outside as she got to her feet. Before the two scientists had fully turned Ril stunned them both with two shots from her phaser rifle, causing them to slump forward onto the consoles, but as she turned to face the third one he threw a knife at her forcing her to twist so it flew past. The Romulan cursed and jumped across the desk between them hitting Ril and knocking the rifle away.

Ril staggered back as the Romulan hit her, as she did she shouted in defiance and pulled her bat’leth from her back and smiled as the Romulan’s eyes went wide and his step hesitated for a moment. That moment only lasted for a second as he pulled another long knife and swung at her shouting, “Klivam Susse-thrai”. Ril deftly parried the blow and went in for a strike that was blocked by the Romulan’s blade. 

Kirin tried again to move but the moment she peered around the corner the fire resumed. “This is Lieutenant Commander Tarken from the Federation of Planets, this research station is in breach of multiple treaties. I am ordering,…I am asking that you lay down your weapons and surrender. As you are aware your warbird is disabled, its crew is currently under medical care on my ship. I am sure that you want the chance to eventually return home to your loved ones given the unrest in the Empire. I am giving you that chance.” Kirin called out, her voice travelling far through the corridors. The weapon fired continued for a moment before slowing and stopping and a smooth rich voice called out.

“Greetings Lieutenant Commander Tarken, I am Sublieutenant Celeeka the ranking officer of the Romulan military on the station. It is nice to be able to speak to you; some of my soldiers were a little jumpy seeing a Starfleet uniform after what happened to the Indak. Impressive work that.”

“The damage that was inflicted was never our intention.” Kirin called back, “May I suggest that we discuss how best we can resolve this matter as….” she continued before a shout, closer to a roar emanated from the room Ril sought cover in. Risking a look Kirin poked her head around the corner just in time to see the body of a man fly out of the doorway and impact the wall on the other side. The Romulan started to push himself up and got one hand underneath him before letting out a deep sigh and passing out.

“Captain? You ok?” came Ril’s voice from the room as Kirin saw her move the doorway with her phaser pistol in one hand as a single disrupter bolt shot down the hall hitting the doorframe near Ril’s head.

At the same time, the voice of Sublieutenant Celeeka came down the corridor, “Hold your fire. IT IS A SIMPLE ORDER!

“I am fine. Apologies for the interruption Sublieutenant. If you would like you can go check on your man. Then we can continue our conversation.” Kirin called out.

A laugh emanated from the end of the corridor and Kirin saw a tall and striking-looking Romulan step out from around the corner. “No need. I care not for the Tal Shiar though you would likely be more interested in him as he was the overseer of the work here. I trust your colleague has the other three contained in the room?” she said as she walked forward, completely exposed and clearly not worried. 

Kirin exhaled and lowered her rifle before slinging it over her shoulder, ‘No risk no reward’ she thought to herself and stepped out into the hallway. “Ril? Do you have three more in there?” she asked as she glanced at Ril who shook her head and held up two fingers causing Kirin to frown slightly and mouthed the words ‘Kerry’ to Ril who nodded.

Looking back to the Sublieutenat, who was no more than 10 feet away, Kirin smiled. “Well, this is nicer, weapons fire makes communicating very difficult.”

That brought a wicked grin to the Sublieutenant. “It was you, Starfleet who boarded this station uninvited after all, but…” she waved her hand dismissively, “… let’s not worry about that. It would appear that neither of us has an advantage here. I know the base and my men have their weapons trained on you but you have a ship in orbit, more in the system, and your Klingon is glaring at me…she seems angry.”

Kirin suppressed a laugh before her face grew serious again, “I believe what you just outlined was how the advantage lies with me, Sublieutenant. I also do not want to downplay what is happening here. This research station has conducted horrific experimentation and weapons research. We have seen the evidence of this already and the research files are already secured. The Tal Shiar, Empire, and whoever is responsible for this WILL be held accountable. Your options are simple really, surrender and cooperate, tell us what you know and you will be treated justly OR we make sure that this sort of research and this weapon are NEVER AGAIN researched or seen – it is a simpler option I will admit. What was done to those people in those labs was unspeakable…” Kirin said as she stared at the Romulan without blinking and tried to keep the anger out of her voice.

Celeeka sighed and deflated a bit. “I had to try, you understand but you are correct. We may be able to capture your team hear but then what?” she turned and waved her hand, “Step out slowly, weapons down,” she said and two young Romulan Uhlans stepped from around the corner. “Will you accept our surrender Lieutenant Commmander, or was it, Captain? I do not like the work the Tal Shiar has done here; we will provide you with everything you need,” she said. 

Kirin nodded towards the sublieutenant before asking “You mentioned three others in the room. Where is the third?”  before looking over a Ril who slowly stepped out of the doorway. “Any word from Kerry?”

The Romulan woman had a worried expression cross her face as she took a step to look into the room and cursed under her breath. “The other Tal Shiar operative is missing. He went in there only a minute before you came down the hallway….I assumed….”

“What do you mean operative!” Ril growled at her before looking at Kirin, her eyes going wide and mouthing “Kerry”. 

Kirin nodded and Ril took off down the hall but before she made it 10 steps there was a flash of green light and a disruptor bolt hit her in the side knocking her sideways as she collapsed to the ground and groaned in pain. Before Kirin could reach a short Romulan stepped forward from a dark alcove holding a disrupter pistol in each hand, “That was too easy. You provided an excelled distraction sublieutenant, deftly played I think I may recommend you for a promotion after this.” he said with a laugh. Now,” gesturing with one hand to the two Uhlans, “take this Orion and the Klingon and stick them into the test chambers. Let us see how they respond to the new virus of ours.”

The two Romulans looked at each other and slowly bent down to pick up their weapons when Celeeka spoke, “Ignore those orders. That will not benefit us in any way. Killing them will only result in our deaths. Do you think their ship will let us leave? Or let us wait here for another Romulan ship to arrive. Besides, what have the Tal Shiar, what have you, ever done to earn our loyalty, after all, you stuck Lieutenant in one of that vates when he disagreed with you.”

The man began to raise one of his pistols to Celeeka, “You had such promise, pitty, I had thought better of yo…” began to say but trailed off as Celeeka smirked causing him to frown and the sound of a phaser cut through the air lighting up the corridor behind the Tal Shiar operative as he slumped forward leaving a shocked and slightly shaking Kerry standing behind him.

Before the operative had even hit the floor Kirin spun and brought her phaser up onto the three Romulans who all stood still. “We have surrendered to you Lieutenant Commander and we want away from this place.”

As the sublieutenant finished speaking Kerry’s voice cut through the silence causing Kirin to look back over her shoulder at the form of Ril lying on the floor clearing in pain as Kerry bent over her with a tricorder, “Ma’am Ril is in bad shape. The blast caught her in the ribs, she needs to get to medical now.”

Nodding at Kerry, Kirin tapped her combadge, “Kirin to Daradax, we have a medical emergency beam Ril to medical immediately. She has taken a disrupter blast to her sign.”

Belania voice responded right away. “Oh, Shit! Ok…Understood. Notifying medical now for beam out. Is everyone else ok?”

“We have taken the base and several prisoners. Send a communication to the taskforce flag notifying them of this. We will send an encrypted data packet shortly which needs to be passed on as well.” Kirin said with a slight edge to her voice before returning to its regular tone. “Keep me updated on Ril’s status. Kirin out.” She watched Ril’s still form for a moment before it began to glow and dematerialized leaving Kerry and her alone with seven Romulans.

Kirin watched Kerry as she stood, shaking slightly and looking down at her hands which were covered in blood from Ril’s wound. Looking back to the sublieutenant she pointed to the wall with her phaser rifle. “Could you please sit by the wall there? We will transport you over to the Daradax shortly,” she said causing the sublieutenant to wave at the two Uhlans to do as instructed. She went over and picked up each of the disruptors and moved them away from the Romulans before turning to Kerry.

“Kerry?” Kirin called but the ensign remained standing staring at her hands, unmoving. “Ensign Dawson, focus on me. Did you finish with the database?” Kirin said with more authority which caused Kerry’s head to snap up and she turned to look at Kirin.

“Yes Ma’am, I completed the download and was able to lock the system so no one can access it without my code, for a Romulan system it had very little security. I was able to stop them from deleting that data and check their logs. There have been no downloads of the data. What we have is the only copy beyond their main computer core” Kerry reported before she trailed off. “I shot someone but was too slow. I saw him just before he shot Ril. Why didn’t I shoot him….”

Before Kirin could respond her combadge chimed and Thanen’s voice came over the speaker. “We have notified the flag, and the USS Scimitar has been redirected to our location. It just arrived in the system on convoy duty. I will be here in 20 minutes. They have asked that we met them outside the asteroid field for prisoner and data transfer. They will take over the investigation of the base. We have also secured quarters for the prisoners for the transfer.”

“Thank you Thanen,” Kirin said and turned to the Romulans. “Celeeka. Thank you for not forcing my hands here. I will include all of this in my report. You and your men will be treated fairly and if you have been honest and were not involved with the work I hope you will see your homes again soon.”

The sublieutenant nodded in acknowledgement, “I will make sure that nothing is held back. We were assigned here to operate the escort vessel and provide security. I for one am happy to see the Tal Shiar get what they deserve.”

“I appreciate that Celeeka,” Kirin said before tapping her combadge, “Thanen, beam the Romulans aboard. Three are stunned, one is unconscious and three are awake and surrendered.” Without an acknowledgement, the Romulans dematerialized and vanished before Thanen’s voice came back over the combadge. “No more Romulan life signs on the station, just you and Kerry.”

Turning to Kerry, Kirin walked over to Kerry and put her hand on her shoulder. “You did well. The Doc will sort out Ril. She is tough and I know for a fact not the first time she has been shot. You did everything you could. Let’s head back to the Daradax. We have a ship to meet and then, well I am not sure.”