Star Trek: Season 4 - Family Matters

[X]

Aeric quietly paced the floor of the control tower as his team monitored the progress of the away team. They had long since made their landing, but that was only the start of the mission. They had done everything that they could to support the away team and the mission was in their hands now.

"Sir," came the voice a female human ensign, "should we divert some of our team members to monitor the situation with the incoming ship?"

"No," Aeric said. "If the bridge needs additional eyes, they will contact us. I need us to stay focused on the away team. However, we should be ready if neccessary. Contact the flight deck and have them prepare one of the scout ships for possible departure."

"Aye sir." the young woman said as she relayed the orders. "The chief says that the modifications of the Shadow are complete and she is ready for use. We have several pilots on standby for order to go to ready reserve."

"That won't be necessary," Aeric said. "If it becomes necessary to launch, I'll be the one at the helm. I will be on the flight deck if you need me."

[wraith1701]

Joint post by Jen and wraith1701


After completing his meditation, Ambassador Spock led Admiral Talbot, Commander Sevryll, and Lt. K'Tan to the safehouse holding the Romulan agent.  Once there, the trio followed Spock down a carved-stone stairway leading beneath the house.  Their faces grim, the group descended into the darkness.  The feeble glow of several wall-mounted light strips lent their faces a stark, atavistic appearance.  As they reached the landing, K'Tan could hear the distant echo of water dripping steadily onto the cold, stone floor.  Spock gestured to a closed door set into the far wall.  "You will find him in there."

K'Tan glanced at Commander Sevryll, who gave a quick, short nod.

Without another word, K'Tan opened the door to find a middle-aged Romulan man bound to a chair in the center of a small, dimly-lit room.  An empty chair sat across from the prisoner, and a single antique glow-globe hung suspended from a length of rope directly above him.  K'Tan grabbed the empty chair and slid it towards the bound Romulan.  As the legs scrapped across the rough floor, the Romulan strained against the ropes holding him in place.

K'Tan took a seat and regarded the prisoner coldly.  "I'll make this short.  Tell me where Krell is being held, or I will kill you."

As the Romulan lifted his head to look K'Tan in the eye, his lip curled up into a smirk.  "Your disguise is good; my compliments to whoever altered your appearance.  But your accent clearly marks you as an offworlder.  And since no self-respecting Vulcan would threaten to kill an unarmed man, I can only assume that you are a human Federation agent."

The Romulan's smirk grew into a sneer of disdain.  "Your threats don't scare me, Earther.   Causing harm to an unarmed prisoner would violate any number of your Federation's laws.  And then there's the fact that you humans simply lack the fortitude required to torture a prisoner."

"Who said I was human?" K'Tan snarled.  He sprang up, sending his chair crashing to the floor behind him.  Picking up the chair by a leg, K'Tan whirled and smashed it against the wall, sending pieces of wood flying.  Chest heaving with rage, he turned back to face the bound prisoner.  Spittle flew from his lips as he leaned down and yelled "Qu'vatlh guy'cha b'aka!"

The Romulan's eyes widened in surprise as K'Tan pulled a dak'tagh from a sheath at his waist.  With the press of a button, two small, inward-curving blades sprang from the hilt of the knife to flank the coldly-gleaming center blade.  K'Tan leaned in close to the prisoner, his nose scant inches away from the Romulan's.  The tip of the three-bladed Klingon knife pressed cruelly against the Romulan's throat.

"Who's to say that I'm not a Klingon, surgically altered to appear Romulan?"

The Romulan trembled visibly, though whether in fear or anger, K'Tan could not tell.

"I'm sure you've heard of Aviskie," K'Tan continued.   "My people wrested the world from the Romulans' grasp decades ago through honorable conquest.  But true to character, Romulus just couldn't accept being bested by the Klingon empire.  Time and again, your people raided Aviskie, killing civilians and children like the sniveling  bIHnuch that you are.  Well, you made a mistake on your last raid,  Ha'DIbaH!  You left one of the children alive!  I could care less about the whereabouts of the Vulcan.  My parent's blood is on your hands, and I intend to make you pay for what you've done!"

K'Tan was snapped out of his tirade by slender yet strong hand that suddenly grasped his wrist.  With a strength that belied her graceful appearance, Commander Sevryll slowly but steadily pulled  K'Tan's blade away from the Romulan's throat.  "That's enough," she said.  "step away."

As K'Tan reluctantly withdrew, Sevryll turned to the wide-eyed Romulan captive.  "I will give you one last chance to give me the information that I need.  If you do not cooperate, I will have no choice but to let my comrade interrogate you."

The captive's gaze followed K'Tan as he stepped into the shadows that enveloped the circumference of the small room. His eyes were filled with trepidation and locked on the man who had spat Klingon words upon him like a vile poison. They remained fixed on K'Tan as Sevryll knelt before the bound man and gently turned his face to hers. His eyes rolled to meet the Vulcan's, as her soothing voice spoke again, "he is not the "ideal" Starfleet officer...you should heed his words." He swallowed as she slowly removed her warm hand from his cold face. "I need the location of the man you betrayed. I can forcibly remove that information, which I would prefer not to do, or you can submit to a meld and your experience will be less distressing."

The man's features slowly morphed into a leer, "I have been trained to defend against such mental probes."

Sevryll held his gaze for a minute, before looking over her shoulder at K'Tan. The Romulan watched nervously as a wordless exchange transpired and K'Tan stepped eagerly into the light. As much as she abhorred violence, the captive required encouragement. If K'Tan could "persuade" the man enough, his mental guard would be dropped and she could take the information from him freely. It was a loathsome act but she knew no other option. 

K'Tan removed the gloves from his hands as the Vulcan woman slowly stood and turned her back on the brutality that she had just invited.

As K'Tan approached the bound prisoner, the Romulan spat at him.  "What happened to the 'Klingon Honor' you people pride yourselves on?  What honor is there to be had in beating a defenseless man?"

K'Tan stepped forward, then drew his right knee up with blinding speed.  The knee connected with the Romulan's outthrust chin, causing his jaws to snap shut with a sickening CRAK.  As the prisoner's head snapped back violently, a small spray of emerald blood and tooth fragments flew from his lips.

"Honor has no place when dealing with animals," K'Tan replied with a snarl. 

The Romulan's head rocked forward, his chin coming to rest against his chest, locks of his graying hair falling forward to obscure his face.  K'Tan grabbed a handful of the Romulan's hair, and forced his head back up.  "Don't try and pass out so soon, petaQ !  We're just getting started!"

The Romulan's eyes slowly flickered open, then rolled lazily about; he seemed to be having trouble focusing. 

Still holding a handfull of the prisoner's hair in his left hand, K'Tan drew his right hand back; fingers tucked in and curled up, palm facing out.  Like a steel piston, his arm shot forward, the heel of his right hand crashing into the Romulan's nose.  There was a meaty smack, undercut by the SNAP of the prisoner's nose breaking.

As the Romulan let out a muffled cry, an emerald  stream began to flow steadily from his damaged nose, painting his lower face and top of his shirt in a slowly spreading green stain. 

Time seemed to slow to a crawl, and K'tan felt as though he were hearing the prisoner's plaintive cries from a great distance.  The man's pleas were punctuated by the repeated, muted SMACK of fist hitting flesh.  Although he knew that he was the one inflicting pain on the man, K'Tan felt as though he were watching someone else play out the grisly scene, and he was sickened by what he saw.  K'Tan's thoughts drifted back to just a few hours ago; he remembered having tea and snacks in the home of Admiral Talbot's mother.  The house had been filled with the smells and sounds of home; it was the perfect scene of domestic tranquility.  And the affection shared by the Romulan Admiral and his mother had been clearly evident. 

K'Tan's sessions with Counselor Margon came crashing home.  Romulans weren't the evil monsters he had been brought up to believe them to be.  They had the same hopes, dreams, and fears that he had; the same potential to do harm as well as good.  Unfortunately, the bruised and bleeding man before him had forsaken good and chosen to do harm.  K'Tan's mission was to try and undo the harm caused by the Romulan prisoner, and if that involved hurting him, then so be it. 

He would do what he needed to do to get the man to cooperate. 

Time seemed to resume it's normal pace, and with it came the sounds and scents of the prisoner's cell.  The sharp, coppery smell of blood.  The ragged, plaintive whimpers of the Romulan prisoner.  K'Tan's own breathing, sounding labored from his exertion. 

K'Tan glanced at his hands; they were stained green from the blood of his victim.   

As recently as a few days earlier, K'Tan would have thought that he would derive joy from having the chance to visit some of his own pain on a Romulan.  His eyes stung with the realization of how wrong he was.  Fighting against an evenly matched opponent was one thing, but there was no glory in what he was doing.

As he mentally gathered his strength to continue, one thought echoed over and over in his head:

I hope that Commander Sevryll ends this soon.

[Jen]

When she turned the captive's face towards her's, Sevryll felt a feral fear coursing through her fingertips. She did not have to lay her hand on him now, to know that the emotion had swelled to a heightened degree of horror.

The Vulcan woman flinched with the sound of each impact, and her stomach turned at the thought of her involvement in such barbaric mercilessness. She forced herself to turn and face the event that she had ordered with a mere glance. The scene wounded her as though she herself bore the punishment inflicted by K'Tan. Though the beating had only lasted a little over a minute, it felt like hours to her; unable to stand the sickening scene any longer, she ordered K'Tan to stop. The Vulcan's quiet command came to his ears like a scream, and he abruptly halted his barrage— all to happy to oblige.

Sevryll stepped forward and knelt before the Romulan captive once more. His swollen face hung low, yet he mustered the energy to lift his chin and look her in the eye as she wistfully addressed him. "I do not wish this to continue any further...please...allow me to meld with you so that I might stop this abuse." He had always been a loyal servant to the powerful and privileged, but his punished body cried out for him to submit to her, and against his better judgment he finally did. The Romulan nodded once in response.

Commander Sevryll wasted no time in performing the meld. She lifted her hand to his swollen face and gently positioned her fingers on the appropriate nerve synapses. He jerked involuntarily, feeling himself surging forward, like flood waters spilling over a dam. Then he rushed in to a place of peace and his body relaxed. His muscles went numb, leaving him conscious but incapable of moving. Instantly, Sevryll felt a tingling in her hand, which flowed like electricity along her arm until it charged her mind. The Romulan almost lost consciousness but Sevryll caught him, supporting his shoulder with her hand she held him upright. Her touch on his shoulder completed a circuit of sorts, and she flowed into his mind.

The tears came uninvited to her eyes and she could do nothing to stop them...the physical pain she felt...was insufferable. The Vulcan pushed through the curtain of anguish, in search of the knowledge that would lead them to Krell. Soon, Sevryll saw the Romulan's life poured out before her like a pool of water—his story reflected in the mirror of its surface. The man had a wife and two children, now grown with children of their own. She experienced his joy and sorrows, his glories and his defeats. The images and emotions passed through her with increasing speed, before at last arriving at the scene that would direct her to her father.

Less than two weeks before, the man had met with centurions outside his home...the prefect was with them. "My liege," Sevryll said aloud as the Romulan formed the words in the vision. The betrayer bowed before escorting the men to Krell, a guest in his home. Her father did not resist as they arrested him. Before thanking the Romulan for his loyalty, the prefect mentioned that they were taking the Vulcan statesman to the Administrative District for interrogation.

She let her hand fall from his face, breaking the contact between them. Slowly, Sevryll stood—disoriented from the meld she stumbled backwards  a few steps before finding her feet. K'Tan stepped forward to steady her, but she refused his help with a gesture of her hand. "They have taken him to the Administrative District. He knows nothing more. Please.... bring Aria here.... He requires her immediate attention."

[Jen]

David stiffened at his post outside the first safe house, as a figure jogged out of the shadows towards him. It was K'Tan...but where was Sevryll? When the tactical officer neared, he gestured for David to follow and they both entered the home where it was safe to speak. "Where is Aria? Commander Sevyll asked me to bring her back to the second den," said K'Tan. David noticed the green blood on K'Tan's clothing and instantly he felt himself start to panic. He pushed it down and forced himself to speak as Colonel Khev, "is she injured?"

Looking about the home for Aria, K'Tan responded, "no...the captive is. I had to enable the Commander's ability to meld with him, which required a physical thrashing." David noticed the ring of remorsefulness in the tactical officer's words. The operative lifted his brows in shock that Sevryll would allow such a thing.

Aria came out of a back room with Talbot's mother and met K'Tan in the center of the room. "Grab a med kit, the captive requires your expertise."

"I'm coming with you," said Khev.

[X]

Joint post by X and Jen:

Aria could only frown as she quietly entered the dimly lit room where the romulan prisoner was bound to a chair. Medical sensors in her new accessories were already providing the details of his condition. Even without the sensors, the coppery smell of the romulan's blood was heavy in the air. Part of her, a very small part, was horrified at what had happened, but her more finely trained logical side saw the use of such a tactic.

"Broken nose, lacerations, and a concussion," the young woman said as she glanced to the colonel. "I am not going to question what happened here, but the actions were flawed. Brute force as a means of information extraction is faulty in the best situations."

Aria quickly silenced herself as she interfaced with her microreplicator and began to produce the tools that she would need to repair the man. Inside her mind, emotional suppressors shifted into action as she began to move the newly replicated dermal regenerator over the romulan's broken skin. "Surely they realized how inefficient this information extraction method was.  Did they realize what would need to be done after two Starfleet officers, one of which was not disguised, had effectively tortured an unarmed prisoner?"

Commander Sevryll recalled the discussion she had with Admiral Talbot, regarding his proposed interrogation tactics. She had advised against violence, stating that it was likely the man would die rather than surrender the information they sought. Yet hostility was not absent from the interview she ultimately conducted, and she alone had been the one to order the abuse he endured. Sevryll wiped the remnants of tears from her cheeks, which had flowed uninhibited during the meld. She had never found the task of emotional suppression to be simple, yet ever since the day she learned of her father's disappearance the feat had become more and more difficult. The fright she touched in the Romulan had towed her own fears to the surface and in effect, the meld had overwhelmed the delicate suppressive balance within her, tipping the scales in emotion's favor.

Without pausing in her duties, Aria began to repair the broken nose of their captive as she continued speaking to the colonel. "A forced mindmeld or even neural stimulators would have been a more effective means and left far less physical evidence of the incident. If this man tells his story, it would be the end of the careers of two good Starfleet officers and a serious black mark on the reputation of the Federation."

David glanced at his wife, who watched quietly from the shadows—he offered her a supportive half smile. The Section 31 Operative believed K'Tan's actions to be the only solution to the captive's stiff-lipped stance to questioning, and he definitely did not disapprove of them. Sevryll took a weary step towards Aria and her patient. In the low light of the globe lamp David could see that her face remained impassive, but her dark eyes looked atypically downcast.

"Were you able to meld with him?" he asked. It was at that point Aria noticed her mother's presence. Sevryll nodded in response as she replied despondently, "any words spoken by the Romulan would be untrustworthy. A meld was necessary to insure the information learned was factual...and I expected that I would have to force the meld. I did not anticipated that the captive would possess the skills necessary to resist various mental probes. If I had attempted to meld without his consent, the damage would have been permanent."

She avoided meeting Aria's eyes as she continued, "you would not be capable of healing the wounds I would have undoubtedly inflicted, by forcing a meld on an individual trained to resist such procedures."  Aria turned back to the captive and Sevryll watched as she continued to work. She could not help but admire the young woman's concern for the man...

"So, you were able to gain his permission after K'Tan worked him over?" David asked as he shifted his eyes to the tactical officer, who had remained silent throughout Aria's lecture. The operative wanted to pat K'Tan on the back...but he knew he couldn't do that in front of the vulcanoids... he'd speak with the officer later.

Sevryll shifted uncomfortably and gave K'Tan an apologetic glance. "Yes," she replied.

David pressed for more information, "what did you learn?"

Sevryll had gleaned more information than what she was willing to divulge to anyone other than Admiral Talbot. For the moment, the details shared with the away team would be limited. She knew David had his own mission, and she intended to be cautious where he was concerned.

The commander softly replied, "Krell was taken to the administrative district by centurions."

Aria paused her work to stare at the Romulan captive, shutting the emotional suppressors off and allowing cold logic to be replaced by deep concern for her mother. She refocused her thought on the prisoner, and centered her mental abilities on him, as she administered a hypospray dose that brought him back to semi-consciousness. She took a deep breath and spoke in a honey sweet voice that hid the true nature of her actions. "Your thoughts run deep, share them with me."

Aria shaped her power like a dagger and forced it into the mind of the captive. This was not an attempt to share thoughts, for sharing thoughts often gave the subject information about the person conducting the meld. Without hesitation, she used her telepathic abilities to cut away the incriminating memories and of the time that the man spent as a captive. Linking her mind to the database of her equipment, event by event, she replaced the missing memories with those of her patient being tortured by Shinzon loyalist, for information that might return them to power. Working swiftly, she covered those recollections with a memory of an accident to explain his missing time. She quietly explained her work aloud to those in the room, as she made sure that the memories of the accident would falter under close scrutiny. The surface memories would erode under time or pressure only to reveal the skillfully implanted ones.

Aria lost herself in her work as she wove lie into truth to protect her family and the reputation of the Federation. She was unsure of how long she had been at work when she turned to the colonel. "I have removed the threat, but I will need assistance in getting him to a hospital as well as altering the records to have him as a patient. For believability's sake, we should perform the latter task poorly so the records show that he has been a patient since his abduction."


Her medical training had come with an oath to do no harm, but she now found herself skating close to that line. Her genetically and nanotech enhanced mind, quickly calculated the possible results of her actions and confirmed that memory modification or the death of the prisoner were the only viable ways to correct the situation that the torture caused. She could not find it in herself to commit murder, but that did not give her absolution for her actions. Aria sighed softly as she brushed the thick black hair from the man's face.

Without warning, a single nanite injection tube extended from her lower wrist and impelled itself into the neck of the semi-aware romulan. Sixty thousand microscopic machines flowed from her body into the brain of her patient. Mentally linked to the machines, she slowly guided them to continue the repairs that her medical equipment had began. Her thoughts guided each machine to migrate to the sensory systems of the romulan. It was a slow process, but the only way that she knew of to attach the proper sensory information to the buried memories that she created. When her patient safely awoke in the hospital, his artificial memories would have all of the necessary sensory information to convince him and others that the memories were real.

As the young woman completed her efforts, she recalled the microscopic machines that enhanced the mental efforts she had undertaken. Aria had gone deeply into his mind to generate the proper cover story and the lies that were required to protect the away team and the mission. This was the first time that she had to apply her mental abilities in tandem and on a nanoscale. It was an experience that she found taxing beyond words. Aria was mentally drained as she ended the connection and made sure that her nanites had all been accounted for.  Resolving the situation had pushed her to the edge of abilities, and quickly pushed her own body past its personal limits into a deep mental fatigue.

Once her efforts were completed, Aria ended the process by retracting the injection tube back into her wrist. Even as she struggled to move to a seat, she knew of the fear that such an accessory would create in those ignorant to its function. In her young mind she knew that the uninformed would only see the Borg when they looked at her actions from the outside. Many observers would be too close-minded to see that the only way to defend against a Borg nanoprobe injection would be a counter injection of combatant nanites that would fight the invading machines within the host's body. To Aria and her father, the addition of their own injection tubes were simply efficient means of quickly dispersing their machines to combat assimilation. This was just one of the costs that they paid to be ready to battle the threat of assimilation, but it was a cost that she understood well.

[Jen]

Joint post by Jen and X
---

David watched with wide eyes as the girl retracted the mechanical tubule from the Romulan's neck. Clearly there was more to this clone than he was originally told and that fact concerned him greatly. He began to worry that the gene treatment, he encouraged his wife to accept, would produce similar results. Second hand Borg junk,  he thought to himself. What was Areic really up to?

Sevryll could see that the procedure had weakened Aria and the elder Vulcan stepped forward to offer the girl a supportive arm. The touch telepath modus operandi, generally required one to avoid physical contact with others for fear of breaching the privacy of both individuals. But in her own state, the commander felt sympathy for the girl and disregarded the prudence her people ordinarily observed.

"Thank you," Aria said softly as she slowly drew a breath. "father didn't design the Borg countermeasures to function like that. It took more out of me than I expected, but the task is complete."

The girl softly flexed her hand to adjust to the tingling sensation in her arm. She had neglected to consider the consequences of revealing the nature of the countermeasures. "I will be fine in a few moments, I just need a couple of minutes to recover my center." As David turned his attention back to the Romulan, Sevryll found another chair and helped lower Aria into it.

Bending over to examine the unconscious captive, who's chin rested upon his chest, David asked, " are you sure your reprogramming will be sucessful? There's no chance anyone will detect your handy work?" He thought it would be better, perhaps to eliminate the captive with the new phase pistol and vaporize his body to destroy the evidence.

Aria considered him with a frankness that he found disconcerting. Nonplussed she replied, "yes. I destroyed selected memory engrams. They were disassembled and are gone forever. The ones that remain have been altered. The primary advantage of altering a memory engram is that it is much more difficult to detect, because it leaves no chemical traces or temporal synaptic gaps."

"Riiiiiiiiiight," replied David sarcastically. "How do you propose we get this guy to a hospital without anyone noticing the fact that he wasn't there before we placed him in the bed?"

"I'm sorry if I was unclear. We want him to be discovered." Aria said with a slight smirk. "We want them to question why he was there and discover that his memories were altered. When this happens, he will recover a very detailed second layer of memories that implicate Shinzon loyalist. If they somehow manage to detect tampering, they will assume it is from the false front of being in a transportation accident."

Standing, she took a few steps towards the prisoner and tilted her head as she observed him. "I believe we should transport him as soon as possible so that he doesn't wake here. I would offer to forge the hospital documents, but that is not my field of expertise. Perhaps the colonel can come up with false documents to have him as a patient."

David gave Aria a snide smile, "What gave you the impression I have any experience forging documents?"

K'Tan and Colonel Khev formulated a strategy for taking the captive to a near by hospital while Aria and Sevryll returned to the Dar Talbot home.

The two vulcaniod women walked ahead of the individuals who escorted them back to the safe house. Sevryll looked back at the three Romulans who  actively and nervously scanned the darkness behind them. She turned to Aria and speaking in a hushed voice, the commander thanked the girl for her efforts and apologized for giving her such an onerous task. "I asked your father to explain the dangers before I finalized you as an member of the away team.  I was concerned that you did not understand the implications of such an operation." She paused before continuing, "I am sorry that you were forced to compromise your ethics... I should not have involved you in this mission."

"My ethics were not compromised commander," Aria said as she turned her face to Sevryll. "I only made my comments in regards to efficiency. I was fully briefed on the dangers as well as any tasks that I may be required to preform, and I accepted without hesitation. I realize that it is sometimes necessary to go beyond the regulations of Starfleet. And I know that the path I have chosen will cause people to die by our defense of family and Federation."

Aria drew a deep breath, "My words were out of place. I should have realized that you would not be skilled at information extraction. And I should have spoken up and did what was needed. You shouldn't have been in a place to damage your oath to the Federation... I should have been the one to question him. This was my fault."

In the low light of early morning Sevryll looked upon Aria with a new respect. Something stirred within her momentarily, then she lifted her chin with determination and with a considerable effort, she ineffectually cast off the fleeting emotion. "You were chosen for this mission because of your many specialized proficiencies, and you have preformed them with a deftness that many individuals, more experienced than yourself, could never achieve. You have done nothing wrong, Aria."

They entered the house and Sevryll left the younger woman with Mrs. Dar Talbot, and went in search of Admiral. She entered the room he occupied, and the feeling of anxiety hit her... an emotion she rarely suffered, and never in the presence of the Admiral. She focused her breathing in an attempt to lower her quickened heartbeat. A bead of perspiration developed on her forehead and she brushed it away quickly with her hand and approached the man who sat, quietly discussing the political climate with several supporters. He detected her advance and politely asked the Romulans to leave he and the commander alone.

With great effort, she managed an impassive expression as she debriefed the Admiral on her findings. The Reunification movement had been infiltrated the Tal Shiar, but there was more to this than it appeared. The diluted Romulan intelligence organization was now employed by a group working outside the Romulan Star Empire. "Unfortunately, the agent I interrogated did not possess the clearance necessary to know who he worked for. The only solid information I obtained from him was the location of my father. He was taken to the Administration District and is being held within the prefect's home, in a chamber above the main dwelling." She paused before continuing, " I have not shared this information in its entirety with the team members. I leave that for you to determine Admiral."

[wraith1701]

K'Tan sat across from Colonel Khev in the second safehouse, studying the PADD on the table between them.  Downstairs, the Romulan prisoner appeared to be recovering from the injuries he had sustained during the interrogation session.

  While K'Tan was glad to see that he had caused the man no permanent harm, a part of him wondered if the cure might be worse than the injuries that had necessitated it.  The treatment that Aria had employed looked uncomfortably similar to Borg assimilation. 

With a mental shrug, K'Tan pushed the thought aside.  There were more pressing issues to deal with.  Namely, how to infiltrate a Romulan hospital and drop off their guest without raising any alarms. 

K'Tan tapped the PADD a few times, bringing up a small map of the medical center located only a few kilometers away. 

"Getting the prisoner to the medical facility is problematic.   The public transporter system is out of the question.  While you and the prisoner would encounter no problems, my human bio-signature would without a doubt arouse the suspicions of the transporter operators.  And since I'd rather not carry our guest all the way to the hospital, it seems as though we will have to get our hands on some form of personal transport craft.  My only concern is the possibility of encountering any checkpoints along the way.  While I might look Romulan, I only know a few words of the language, and our guest made a point of mentioning that my accent marks me as being an offworlder.  Your thoughts, Colonel Khev?"

[Geekyfanboy]

Ensign Starstriker ran his fingers over his console. As he looked up, Quinn could see panic in his face "its Romulan sir"

Quinn stood quickly, "What, why aren't they cloaked?"

Starstriker looked down at his console, "They are damaged sir, looks like they been hit by some heavy fire."

Lt. Tucker turned from his console, 'Sir we are being hailed."

"Who's hailing us? Quinn asked sharply.

"It's the Romulan ship, they are asking for you Captain by name."

Quinn looked at Tucker with a bit of confusion then said "On screen"

As the screen came to life and an unfamiliar face could be seen. "Raise your shields" the Romulan screamed. "Raise your shields now!!!"  Quinn could feel the panic in his voice. He turned to Starstriker and yelled "RAISED SHEILDS". Just as Starstriker ran his hands across the console the Tiberius was rocked back and forth.

"Sir" Lt. Tucker yelled, "Another Romulan ship decloaking off our bow."

Quinn quickly turned back to the Romulan on screen, who's ship was also being hit hard with fire. "We are part of the reunification, friends of Ambassador Spock. We have a message, please help us."

For a split second Quinn reached out and connect with the Romulan, he knew he was telling the truth. "Ensign Starstriker extend our shields around that ship." Quinn turned to Tucker, "What's the status of the other Romulan ship."

Lt. Tucker looked down at his console, "Sir it looks like they re-cloaked, they are not showing up on sensors." 

"Not for long" Quinn mumbled to himself.

[X]

Aeric's mind raced to process the information as a second romulan ship suddenly decloaked. While his primary team continued to provide assistance to the away team, Aeric turned his attention to the secondary team. As the second ship quickly recloaked, Aeric caculated the problem in his head. Without thinking, Aeric rushed to a console and turned his attention to addressing the problem.

Aeric quickly sent a inquiry to engineering and the science labs, he needed to know how many birds they would need to put in the air to create a tachyon search grid. He knew that the Aurora and the modified ships were fitted for the operation, but they would need more than the single scoutship that was currently complete.

Aeric fingers raced over the controls as he accessed the schematics of the remaining support craft. He needed to figure out which ships would take the modifications with the most efficency. He could only mentally kick himself from failing to consider the possible event.

"Lt. James to the bridge," Aeric said as he transmitted ready orders to the Aero Group. "The support craft are ready to launch at your discression, but with some time, we might be able to configure a detection grid."

Even as he spoke, Aeric realized the dangers that they face from a cloaked vessel would also endanger the safe recovery of the away team.

[Jen]

Joint post by Jen and Wraith
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"Getting the prisoner to the medical facility is problematic.   The public transporter system is out of the question.  While you and the prisoner would encounter no problems, my human bio-signature would without a doubt arouse the suspicions of the transporter operators.  And, since I'd rather not carry our guest all the way to the hospital, it seems as though we will have to get our hands on some form of personal transport craft.  My only concern is the possibility of encountering any checkpoints along the way.  While I might look Romulan, I only know a few words of the language, and our guest made a point of mentioning that my accent marks me as being an offworlder.  Your thoughts, Colonel Khev?"

David chuckled to himself. He was not exactly Romulan either, but his own disguise was a bit more extensive than the superficial cosmetic alterations the Tiberius was capable of mustering. For one thing, his organs had been surgically reorganized. That was the hardest to get use to. He had listened to Sevryll's measured heartbeats many times, yet it was more than a little strange to feel his own heart pounding away in his own side. Nosy doctors and their wayword bio-sensors would detect nothing out of the ordinary as far as he was concerned, and he was fluent in many languages, including Romulan. If he was going to be compromised, it would be the company he brought along with him that would be the reason for it.

"It looks like I'll have to employ a couple of  Spock's cronies to help ferry the would-be patient to a hospital. Of course, I'll need your help to verify that we have no more moles infiltrating the group." He gestured to the PADD and K'Tan handed it to him, "I'm sure the Ambassador can arrange for transport.  Those new devices Aeric and his team put together can replicate the rest of items I'll need to pull this off."  He scanned the information on the tactical officer's PADD and handed it back to K'Tan.

"By the way, you did a good job—don't feel guilty about it. Commander Sevryll couldn't have pulled the information without your help."

K'Tan allowed the hint of a smile to peek through his normally stern mien.  "Thank you, Colonel.  I needed to hear that." 

Would wonders never cease?  He was actually warming up to Khev.  He would never have guessed that he might one day actually consider a Romulan to be a friend. 

[wraith1701]

Hours later, K'Tan gazed out the window of a speeding aircar at the cityscape flashing by.  He, Khev,and a small group of Unification supporters hand picked by ambassador Spock had piled into the weathered transport after securing sets of hastily fabricated identification papers.  In the back of he transport, across from K'Tan, the unconscious prisoner slumped between two of Spock's assistants.

K'Tan marveled at the graceful yet somehow fiercely harsh beauty of the Romulan architecture.  Most of the tall, sandstone colored towers were adorned with sharp, upward curving projections which reminded K'Tan of gigantic claws grasping hungrily at the turquoise sky.  Gently tapering spires and towering arches dominated the skyline, and there was a symmetrical grid of broad, marble walkways leading to and from the various public buildings.  Small, meticulously maintained park areas dotted the sprawling marble and permacrete metropolis with splashes of vibrant green, offsetting the militaristic greys and earthtones dominating the vista.   

There were relatively few transports sharing the airways with the borrowed aircar; it seemed as though most of the population either couldn't afford them or simply preferred to travel by foot.  K'Tan looked down on the steady stream of pedestrians going to and fro meters beneath them.  All wore similarly nondescript clothing.  Like the city itself, the most common colors were muted earth tones.   Curiously, the citizens all seemed to avoid making contact with one another, and went about their business with eyes locked forward. It was almost as though they were socialized to avoid drawing attention to themselves. 

At the front of the cabin, Khev sat next to the aircar's driver, a Romulan woman named Vress.  After briefly consulting his PADD, he nodded towards a relatively humble looking dome shaped structure ahead of them.  "Vaed'rae.  d'Rihannsu sthea'hwill, mnek'nra?" 

K'Tan could only make out a few words of what Khev was saying; fortunately, their driver chose to reply in Federation Standard.  "Yes, that is our target."   K'Tan looked out the viewport and felt his muscles clench; there were several Romulans wearing the stiff, broad-shouldered uniforms of the military's security division guarding the main entrance to the hospital dome.

The driver turned back and regarded K'Tan with a raised eyebrow.  "Don't be alarmed by the large number of guards.  Ever since the coup attempt by Shinzon of Remus, things have been a little chaotic here.  Different factions have been struggling to fill the power vacuum he left us with, and we have had to rely heavily on the military to maintain order. Many fear a repeat of the terroristic acts committed by Shinzon, and so all possible targets are in a constant state of alert." 

She turned back to he transport's main canopy as the ship descended. " The majority of the citizens feel afraid and confused, and their feelings are shared by many high ranking officials.  There have even been rumours that the Tal Shiar itself is splintered.  It is believed that some elements remain loyal to the current government, while others pursue their own agenda.  This pervasive paranoia and uncertainty has swelled the ranks of those who support our reunification with our Vulcan cousins.  Unfortunately, there are many others who seek to shut out the outside world." 

As the transport settled down to land at a relatively empty lot adjacent to the hospital, The driver's expression turned bitter.  Her next words contained an undeniable trace of sadness.  "An acquaintance of mine even hinted that the isolationists views held by the Tal Shiar are shared by some of the Vulcans."  She turned back once again to regard K'Tan, her eyes shining with angry, unshed tears.  "Wouldn't it be ironic if Vulcan and Romulus finally came together, but with the intention of preventing reunification?"

[Jen]

The morning sun painted the cold buildings with a blanket of golden warmth—artfully disguising the true nature of the city they found themselves in. Khev spoke openly with K'Tan in the Romulan tongue as they passed a rigid pair of Civil Guards. Their side mission was now complete and the two Federation officers were on their way out of the hospital. The klingon-raised-human simply nodded in agreement, as though he understood every word the colonel was saying. It was all a part of the rouse; being brought up on Kronos had most certainly limited his practical application of the Romulan language. For all K'Tan knew, Khev was insulting his intelligence. But the tactical officer's concern for words that may or may not be spoken against him was diminutive. Instead, his focus was set upon getting the colonel back to the safe house with no further incidents.

Colonel Khev had insisted that K'Tan accompany him into the facility to deliver the burden that had been locked in the cellar below the safe house. The man needed to be discarded before they could begin their mission, for he was a major liability. If one of them were captured in the process of rescuing Krell, centurion patrols would scour the city for the safe house and there they would find "Mr. Turncoat", in all his battered glory. His discovery would surely secure an end to all of Spock's hard work.

The two undercover officers wheeled the man into a corridor, lined with occupied gurneys, and left him on his stretcher with a Romulan Data PADD resting on his chest. Uploaded to the PADD were Aria's creative medical history and a surfeit of forged documents giving him ample reason for being in the facility. The task had been easy...or so K'Tan had thought.  As he and the colonel turned to leave the corridor, a medical aide carrying a tray of crude surgical implements slammed into Khev. All but one of the sharp tools tumbled harmlessly onto the floor. Failing to notice that one of his scalpels was buried in Khev's upper torso, the aide cursed him for having sullied his freshly sterilized tools and rushed to pick them up before anyone noticed the blunder.

David held a facial expression born from decades of experience. He apologized to the man and made some excuse, which K'Tan could not decipher, before motioning to his partner with a quick gesture of his chin towards the exit. No one paid them any heed as they strolled confidently down the hallways. Just before exiting the building, K'Tan noticed the way in which the colonel kept his arms folded tightly across his chest. It was then that the tactical officer discovered the fact that Khev had been injured in the collision with the clumsy nurse. Though the flow of blood seemed to be contained for the moment, the younger man quickened his pace to ensure that they left the facility before it became a problem. K'Tan nodded in response to Colonel Khev's Romulan gibberish, spoken for the benefit of the Civil Guards posted outside the entrance. Ignoring the helmed sentries, the two men strolled with assurance down the stone steps, toward the airship, and boarded the vessel with no further occurrence.

David kept his arms folded across the wound that still bore the implement, not only to slow the flow of blood, but also to prevent the notice of his injury. He was well aware that the scalpel had gone beyond the surgically placed sub-dermal tissues, designed to hide the fact he was human. The injury was deep and he was bleeding a mixture of his own, red blood, and the synthetic green blood that coursed through the superficial, sub-dermal tissue. That fact would blow his cover and threaten his life in more than one way.

David was sure Aria knew of his real identity, for she had made some snide comment regarding his ability to forge documents.  When they made it back to the safe house, perhaps she could repair the damage before anyone noticed and Sevryll and her team could begin the next step of their mission and he could continue his own.

[wraith1701]

As the aircar sped back towards the away team's safehouse, K'Tan glanced back at  Colonel Khev.  The Bodyguard had obviously sustained an injury in his collision with the Romulan med tech, but he had repeatedly assured K'Tan and the others that the damage was superficial.

The shuttle's pilot turned back, a quizzical expression on her face.  "Are you sure you wouldn't like us to land for a moment and tend to your injury, Colonel?"

Khev's lips curved into a forced-looking smile.  "For the last time; it's just a scratch.  I'll dress it myself when we get back to the safehouse.  Now just focus on getting us back there in one piece."

K'Tan's brow creased with concern.  Khev was sitting at an odd, simi-reposed angle, and a fine sheen of sweat had broken out on his forehead.

Khev's arms were still held crossed over the site of his wound.

As the Romulan shifted uncomfortably in his seat, K'Tan briefly glimpsed the cold glint of steel behind the man's crossed arms.

Not wanting to openly contradict the Colonel,  K'Tan nonchalantly activated his PADD and keyed in a quick entry-

We should be back at the safehouse shortly.  Be advised that Colonel Khev may need immediate medical attention.

After keying in the address for Commander Sevryll's PADD, K'Tan hit the "send text message" icon, and tucked the PADD back into his tunic. 

Through the cabin's rear viewport, K'Tan watched the sun drift behind a thick bank of clouds, giving them a warm, red-orange glow.  He glanced back at Khev.  The scene outside was profoundly serene, a stark contrast to the grimace of pain etched on the Romulan bodyguard's face.

[Jen]

The commander watched the admiral's distinguished features gradually transition to display concern, as she debriefed him on the information she discovered during the meld. Talbot was anxious to find Krell, and if his expression was not a clear indication of this fact, the trench he wore into the stone floor as he paced was a telltale sign. His boots clacked lightly with each long stride, and ground the grit into the floor with their hard soles as he pivoted in place and retraced his steps. Commander Sevryll watched the low light from the wall-mounted lamps, travel over Talbot as he walked back and forth before her. She found his proclivities curious, but pacing the floor seemed to facilitate the Admiral's ability to think. Apart from that, the vulcan could not deny that there was some logic in dispelling nervous energy through such movements. In fact, she was tempted to join him in forming his trench in the floor, for she found herself wringing her hands restlessly in a tightly bound vice of unease. The meld was not without its side effects, she thought to herself, and she separated her hands and placed them on the arms of the chair she sat within. 

As he walked, the admiral exchanged ideas with the vulcan woman concerning their next move. With each step, his mind wove together the strands of strategy in an effort to form the greater details of their course of action.

Just as they finalized their plans, the commander received a communiqué on the PADD, resting in her lap. The soft chime called her attention away from the admiral, and she raised the device to view the message. A wash of dread assailed her crumbled ramparts, which typically restrained the emotions that were considered detrimental to her people. She lifted a single brow and turned a concerned eye towards the admiral. "They successfully delivered the Romulan to the medical facility and are on their way back to the safehouse. But their mission was not without casualties. Your aide has sustained an injury that will require immediate attention upon their arrival."

[Geekyfanboy]

Quinn stood on the bridge as the red lights flashed and the familiar klaxons of Red Alert could be heard.  Quinn turned back to the Romulan who was still on screen. "We are going to beam you directly to the bridge so we can further discuss this situation." The Romulan nodded as Quinn glanced over at Ensign Starstriker with a quick nod of his head. Moments later the Romulan materialized on the bridge.  The Romulan looked around suspiciously as he said in a low voice, "is there somewhere private we can talk?" Quinn gestured towards his ready room and followed the Romulan in.

As soon as the Romulan entered he turned and gave his hand to Quinn to shake. "I am Ejiul D'varo" Quinn shook his hand and gestures for him to sit. Ejiul shook his head, "There is no time for pleasantries Captain, there is a spy aboard your ship." Quinn looked a bit confused by this news "How do you know this?" he asked.  "We intercepted a transmission from your ship to the warbird out there. We have been shadowing you since you entered the neutral zone. Ambassador Spock ordered us to make sure everything went as planned for your rescue mission. When the transmission was sent from your ship we followed it to it's source and found the two cloaked warbirds. We managed to destroy one of the ships but we were no match for two. We have sustained heavy damage to our ship but our primary goal was to return to you with this news." Quinn sat down behind his desk "So you are saying the Romulans know about our secret rescue plans?" Quinn asked with dread in his voice. "No Captain, this isn't a government ship it's the Tal Shiar.", Ejiul said with panic in his voice.  "I thought the Tal Shiar were no longer a threat and have been dispursed." Quinn asked,  "There are still members out there and though they might be a small group they still hold a lot of power."  Quinn relaxed slightly " So the government of Romulas still has no idea of the rescue mission." Ejiul smiled, "That's correct and we have to keep it that way. We mustn't interfere with these negotiations talks that Captain Riker is heading up. We can not let this warbird make it back to Romulas. We have managed to destroy their communication array so they won't be sending any messages, but our ship is too heavily damaged to battle the warbird." Quinn stood, "Of course, do you know who the spy is on board my ship?" Ejiul started to follow the Captain out of his ready room, "No Captain, all we know is that it's a Tal Shiar agent. " Quinn walked back to his Captain's chair and turned toward his bridge crew. "I need suggestion on how we are going to locate this cloaked ship... and I need them now"