Star Trek: Season 4 - Family Matters

[Rico]

Admiral Talbot continued to pace after Sevryll informed him that his aide had been injured while taking the romulan to the medical facility.  This was disturbing.  They couldn't afford to either be discovered at this point or loose a member of the team.  He was also disturbed by reports of spies within their midst.  He felt absolutely certain he could trust Sevryll.  He had know her and her parent for years and had placed his own life in her father's hands on more than one occasion.  But the others he was less certain of.  Especially the klingon who had joined their party at the last minute.  Of course being a klingon made it pretty unlikely he was going to be working for the romulans or any of their agents.  But still, Talbot was uneasy.  He knew the rest of the team would be returning shortly and he felt it was time to act.

"Commander Sevryll, may I have a moment please."  Admiral Talbot said to the young vulcan officer as he stopped his pacing.

"Certainly, Admiral.  The rest of the team should be returning shortly."  She said.  Trying to keep the concern she had for her disguised husband David, from both her thoughts and voice.

"Good.  Once we determine the extent of Khev's injury I feel we need to proceed with the mission with haste.  It's possible we have been discovered and if that is true the romulans will not stop until they find us.  They are most diligent in these matters."  Talbot said quickly.

"I agree, Admiral.  I still sense my father is alive, but I get the occasional flash that he is not well.  If we are to succeed in extracting him it has to be soon."  Sevryll said with some force.

"Exactly how I feel, Commander.  We haven't come this far to go back empty handed.  Now, I know the area fairly well where the romulan indicated Krell is being held.  It's relatively unguarded, but there are of course several detection and monitoring systems that will have to be taken out.  I have spoken with Ambassador Spock on this situation.  He has offered his support, of course.  But I told him we can't take the chance of him coming along.  If he was spotted or worse during the rescue the damage could be monumental.  I know your father would not wish to risk the unification efforts, even to save his life.  But Spock did offer one of his men, a vulcan he trusts named Sturm who will guide us to the administrative area.  We we be able to take some underground tunnels to get us near to the area but we will have to make our way to street level about a kilometer away.  Sturm knows the sub-junction facility we will have to infiltrate to take out the monitoring devices in order to slip in undetected.  Of course, once that happens the romulans will know something is up.  I suggest one of us will need to stay and drop the monitors for the shortest time and bring them back online once we are clear.  Both Spock and Sturm feel this may then be seen as a simple malfunction and no create quite so much attention."  Talbot said, taking a slight pause to collect his thoughts.

"Sounds most logical, Admiral.  Perhaps Aria could perform that task.  She is most adept with computer systems and electronics."  Sevryll said.

"Good idea, Commander.  I have to admit though, she gives me a funny feeling whenever I look at her.  She looks so much like you it's a bit unnerving."  Talbot said.

"I understand, sir.  I also admit to a slight unease in her company.  But I know she is most reliable and can be trusted."  Sevryll commented.

"That's good enough for me.  Commander,....ah, Sevryll.  I know this mission has not be easy for you and I just wanted to say I know your father would be very proud of how much you have done on his behalf."  Talbot said.

"As I have hear Ambassador Spock say on occasion, sometimes Admiral the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many."  Sevryll said as she raised and eyebrow.

"Indeed.  Now, let's wait to finalize the rest of the plans until the others get here.  I want to make sure we all are on board with this plan.  We won't have another shot at this."  The Admiral said as he moved to the door to watch for the returning team members.  Sevryll also stood watch.  She felt confident in the Admiral's plan.  It had to work, her father's life depended on it she thought to herself as the two of them waited in silence.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

As Captain Quinn stepped on the bridge, he asked "Can anyone give me any suggestions on finding the cloaked ship.  He heard Lt. James suggest "The support craft are ready to launch at your discression, but with some time, we might be able to configure a detection grid." 

Lt. Tucker suggested, "Sir, we could use unmanned probes linked together to create a tachyon sensor net.  We could spread the probes out and possibly detect the ship.  It would be a safer and easier way than using manned shuttles. 

Isaac spoke immediately against his better judgment.  "Sir, I would highly suggest against using any sort of support craft or probes."  Captain Quinn raised an eyebrow at the young ensign who's head had turned to him.  "And may I ask why Ensign Starstriker?"  Isaac replied without pause "Sir, using support craft would be dangerous.  All the Romulan Warbird would have to do is decloak and destroy them.  We cannot extend our shields around both the Romulan Ship and the support craft.  Its too much of a risk to the ship and crew.  Also, a probe sensor net would not be extend to a large enough area to detect the Romulan ship."  Quinn answered, "What would your suggestion be then Ensign?" 

"Sir, I have read about a research project that a man named Jonathan Retan did about permanently breaking the advantage of the cloaking device.  Its called the Tachyon Dish Disruptor.  The theory behind this 'disruptor', is that a starship's deflector array could be modified to shoot a high amount of tachyons before of a cloaked ship.  Because it is such a concentrated amount of tachyons, it would take a long time for them to dissipate. The potential advantage being that the area you fire the tachyons in will not be 'cloak-friendly' for about 5-10 minutes." said Isaac. 

Quinn then asked, "Why was this disruptor never fully explored?"

"The project ran into issues with the high-energy drain, possible damage to the deflector array, and the problem that there was not enough area covered by the tachyons." replied Isaac.  "However, I think that the Tiberius' high amount of energy, its upgraded deflector array, and the fact that the disruptor has never been used in the field means it could work." 

Quinn thought it over quickly and then said "alright ensign, work with Ensign Tev-Awash and Chief Engineer K'arath and get this idea set up.  How long will it take?" 

"If I get lucky, it will take me 25 minutes,"  said starstriker.

"You have 15 minutes Ensign". 

[Jen]

For professional reasons, Talbot rarely acknowledged their extended kinship and the Vulcan woman had always been content to respect that fact. His kind words were encouraging and she was appreciative of the Admiral's short note of support.  After they finalized their plan, they waited quietly for the return of Khev and K'Tan.

Breaking the silence Sevryll turned to the admiral, "Thank you...toz'ot." Before he could reply, the shuffling of feet outside the room they waited in, stole his notice. Talbot and Sevryll stood in unison and entered the main room where they found Aria scanning the ashen Colonel Khev.

Despite Lieutenant K'Tan's offer of help, Khev entered the Safe house on his own power. As soon as he stepped through the entry to the home, the clone was there with her medical scanner assessing his condition. The injured 31 operative smirked to himself, either K'Tan had sent a message for medical assistance without his knowledge... or Aria's weird Borg implants gave her precognizant powers in addition to everything else she was capable of.

Murphy's Law: Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way, he thought to himself. Some super spy I am—this is embarrassing. Admiral Talbot and Commander Sevryll hovered in the background, yet only one held the look of concern in her eyes; the injured man could only give her a half-nod of reassurance as he fought to remain conscious.

Aria requested that the colonel sit in a chair but he insisted that they go into another room, away from the others. He couldn't let them see the red blood that he had kept hidden behind crossed arms. David was fairly certain that Aria's "father", Lieutenant Aeric James, had informed her of his meeting with the operative and warned the girl of the Colonel's true identity...information that until now, had only been know to David's wife, Sevryll. David hoped it would remain limited to the four of them. For if anyone else found out...

As Commander Sevryll watched Aria leave the room with David, she felt Lieutenant K'Tan watching her in turn. Their eyes met briefly before she looked down and away. She forced a calm, cool impassive expression to flood her face before meeting his gaze again. The admiral motioned the lieutenant over to them and briefed the officer on the strategy that he and Sevryll had forged together. "We will leave at sunset, with or without Colonel Khev. Make any preparations you deem necessary," said the admiral.

[PepperDude]

"This is my wake up call. . .caught you in the morning with another one in my bed. Don't you care about me anymore? Don't you care about me?" asked Johnny Manrique who was standing in the middle of his bedroom.

"Yes, I do. I'm sorry Johnny! Please forgive me!" said the attractive blond girl who was in her early twenties.

"I don't think so. I don't think I can forgive you Sherry. One thing is certain though: he won't come around here anymore. I don't think so." said Johnny still standing in the middle of the room looking at the sitting figure of Sherry on the bed.

"What did you do Johnny?" asked Sherry with anguish and concern as she put her right foot on the floor while keeping her left leg bent at the knee on the mattress. Johnny finally noticed the somewhat sexy and feminine, red satin sleepshirt she was wearing which was mid thigh in length. It had a button front with a notch collar. Johnny had never seen Sherry wear that sleepshirt. The main reason was because he had never slept with Sherry despite their two year relationship. He took to heart his parents' values. He'd thought that Sherry shared the same values.

"He was at least six foot tall—taller and brawnier than me—had the build of a fine Klingon. I guess that's how you like them huh? You ask what I did. Well, he was six foot tall, came without a warning so I had to shoot him dead. He won't come around here anymore. He won't come around here. I don't feel so bad."

"Do you realize what you're saying? What you did? Oh my. . .did you really kill him Johnny?" Sherry asked this time getting up entirely off the bed while facing Johnny.

"What? You think I'd lie or play about something like that at a time like this?"

"You didn't have to kill him!"

"I would've bared all to make you happy. You didn't need to treat me that way."

"Oh. . .Johnny. . .please forgive me. I know I made a mistake." Sherry took three steps and put her arms  on Johnny's shoulders. "I'm not exactly sure why I did it. I think I felt lonely with you spending so much time on Academy work. I didn't feel loved."

"So you  shack up with some guy to feel loved?"  Johnny looked at Sherry's eyes and saw that he could not figure out the answer to his question. He looked down, shook his head, looked up again and then he put his hands on Sherry's bare shoulders. "If you needed love, well then ask for love. I could have given love. . .now I'm taking love," taking my love thought Johnny, "and it's not my fault. 'Cause you deserve what's coming now so don't say a word." Johnny paused once more and searched Sherry's eyes again for answers but didn't find any except that Sherry's explanation wasn't the complete answer. Out of frustration Johnny dropped his arms to his side letting go of his love. "I'm not kind if you betray me. . ." Yet he wanted to ask her about the other real reasons she betrayed him but he couldn't. He almost impulsively put his hands on her shoulders again and he just looked at her and she looked back. Time stood still for a few moments. Then Johnny inexplicably heard a man's voice say "Wake up call." Suddenly he woke from his dream.

He woke to hear the familiar sound of the Red Alert Klaxon and felt the ship shake. He got up, put on his uniform and headed out the door to the the turbolift. On his way there Johnny couldn't help but to think about the dream he'd just had. Sherry had been his Academy sweetheart. He'd met her in his sophomore year and fell in love with her. During their senior year she disappeared only telling Johnny that she was leaving the Academy and Earth to find out her reason for living. Heartbroken Johnny has never seen or heard from Sherry since that day.

He finally reached the turbolift. "Bridge," said Johnny and he then heard the soft humming of the lift as it proceeded toward the bridge. He's fairly certain she didn't cheat on him; and he never did sleep with her. On graduation he was going to ask her to marry him. But it never happened. And Johnny wouldn't kill a man with a phaser just because the other man was bigger. Johnny was a match for any man, human or Klingon. He would've killed the man with his hands thought the young ensign. If he had killed him at all. It was such a strange dream.

It was Johnny's mind, or heart, trying to understand and come to terms with the pain. He knew he had to move on—to let go of his love as he tried to in the dream. But he just couldn't. He wanted--needed-- to know why Sherry left everything, including the man she loved.

[Jen]

Hours later, Sevryll entered the small room as her injured husband endeavored to pull his boots on. She watched silently while he sat on the edge of his cot, struggling to finish the task. Sitting back against the wall to catch his breath, David turned a weary eye towards the woman standing just inside the doorway, "Hello commander. Are we ready to go?"

Looking about the room for Aria, she nodded in response. The operative followed her searching gaze before replying, "she stepped out a minute. Would you mind giving me a hand?"

Sevryll took a few short steps towards the cot where the disguised terran waited. She offered her arm for support, but he took her hand instead, holding it in his for some time before making the effort to haul himself up. He stood on shaky legs, looking down at his wife—a glance between them was all the unspoken communication necessary. David was staying behind.

The sounds of a busy city enveloped the team of three, waiting in the shadows just outside the structure that held Krell. The vulcan guide that Spock had assigned to lead them, had brought them through the underground tunnels and to the home of the prefect. With his task complete, the man left to their mission.

Commander Sevryll's eyes stabbed at the darkness as she whispered into the prototype communicator on her wrist. "Now," she uttered softly.

The response heard by Talbot and K'Tan came through the small devices they wore in their left ears. "Understood. Stand by commander." Aria's voice had been steady and calm, providing Talbot with an extra amount of faith in her abilities as a hacker. A few minutes later, the girl replied brightly, "the system has been bypassed. You may proceed at your convenience commander."

The Vulcan woman pushed a questioning eyebrow upward and glanced at Talbot and K'Tan. Though the light was dim, she could see them each nod, indicating they were ready. Commander Sevryll stepped lightly towards the rear entrance, all the while scanning the area with her wrist-mounted tricorder for company. Admiral Talbot waited for the distance between them to grow, before he advanced towards her. Lieutenant K'Tan, who walked backwards with his phaser drawn, followed the admiral in turn.

[wraith1701]

K'Tan's heartbeat pounded like a triphammer in his chest as he backed towards the target building. The slate-gray structure stood at the border of city and wilderness; the front faced a sprawling, bustling metropolis, while the rear was closely bordered by untamed woods. 

K'Tan took a deep breath.  The familiar sensation of adrenaline coursing through his veins brought him to a state of hyper-alertness.  The phaser held out before him swept to and fro, mimicking the movement of his unblinking eyes as he studied the shadow-shrouded surroundings for possible threats.  As the last remnants of light from the setting sun peeked through the trees on the horizon, K'Tan realized that the growing darkness was a double edged sword.  On the one hand, the darkness would help the team avoid being spotted by roving sentries, increasing the likelihood of the mission's success.  But the darkness worked against them as well- it would be twice as hard to spot any agents who might be closing in on them. 

As he joined the Admiral and Commander Sevryll at the building's rear entrance, K'Tan leaned back for a second to savor the moment.  Although human by birth, his klingon upbringing had conditioned him to enjoy the thrill of danger that came with missions like this.  In fact, many of his commanding officers had accused him of being an adrenaline junky; a truth that he didn't bother to deny.  He simply felt most alive when facing his possible death; every sense seemed amplified.  It was as though his body understood that  its end could occur at any moment, and it therefore drank in every sight, sound and smell like it would be its last. 

K'Tan glanced to his right to see Sevryll put away her tricorder and approach the keypad beside the sealed door.  Aria's earlier transmission had indicated that all security systems had been bypassed, which should leave the commander clear to override the door's locking mechanism.  The Commander's fingers flew with practiced ease over the keypad, entering multiple combinations of characters.  As her first few entries were rejected with a soft yet rude sounding beep, K'Tan redirected his attention to the clearing they had just crossed. 

The clearing, which consisted of a ten meter wide swath of well manicured grass, circled the building.  In the distance, he could barely make out the point at which the clearing abruptly ended, to be replaced by a stretch of thick forest that extended for the next few kilometers.  Somewhere in that forest, their shuttle lay hidden by a combination of holo-technology and artfully placed tree branches.  Inside the shuttle, Aria monitored the team's progress with passive sensors as she awaited their return.

The silence of the growing dark was broken only by the song of the Neiirrhs, small, brilliantly colored birds who possessed tiny, poisonous spurs.

On K'Tan's left, Admiral Talbot turned slightly towards Sevryll.  In a barely audible voice, he asked "How's it coming along, Commander?"

Pausing to wipe a bead of sweat from her forehead, she glanced back at the Admiral.    "Ambassador Spock supplied me with 132 different access codes before we left.  One of them is sure to work." 

Sevryll's statement was proven true an instant later.  The readout on the access panel gave a final beep, then grew dark.

"I have shut down the magnetic locks.  We are now free to enter the bui*"

Sevryll's words were cut short by K'Tan's hand, which suddenly flew up and clamped over her mouth.  As her eyes widened in consternation, she noticed that something had changed... the  shrill song of the Neiirrhs had abruptly ceased.

With startling speed, K'Tan whirled back to face the gloom at the trio's back.  Like a striking snake, his free hand whipped up, releasing a small, cruelly edged knife.  The blade whistled off into the darkness; there was a soft thud, followed by a half strangled, gurgling cry of pain.  Suddenly realizing his breach of protocol, K'Tan hastily removed his hand from the Commander's mouth and sprinted off to vanish into the gloom-shrouded tree line.  There were sounds of a brief struggle, followed by a barely audible snap.  Moments later, K'Tan emerged from the trees, sheathing his blade in his utility belt.  As he returned to the doorway, he cast his eyes down in contrition.

"I apologize, Commander."  He nodded his head towards the treeline.  "There was a lone sentry, but he won't be reporting in."  K'Tan's explanation was interrupted by the voice of Aria in the trios'  earpieces:  "I've detected movement in the treeline near your location, Commander."

K'Tan eyed the Admiral and Commander in turn.  "I suggest we hurry, sir.  When the sentry fails to report in, others will show up to investigate."

[Jen]

Their footsteps were hushed by the splendid azure carpet, which covered the floor of Prefect Havid's residence.  The senior official's home, was adorned with an opulence that brashly declared his influence to all who entered the dwelling. Yet to Sevryll, the affluence suggested nothing more than his corrupt nature, for she knew that district administrators on Romulus did not earn an income that might purchase the extravagancies he surrounded himself with. She suspected that they were illegitimate private gains, acquired in secrecy through individuals paying high prices for the prefect's alliance. It is no wonder the Empire finds itself in this predicament ,  she whispered to herself.

As Admiral Talbot motioned to K'Tan to take point, the vulcan commander lifted her wrist and activated the tricorder once more. The lieutenant maneuvered passed them with confidence, and led the team to a junction in the corridor. Unsure of which direction to head, the three slipped into an inset doorway, in order to sheath themselves in shadow, while the commander sent her scan to Aria for assessment. A moment later, the girl's composed tone indicated that they should turn right at the divergence.

Lieutenant K'Tan drew his blade and motioned for Sevryll and Talbot to wait. The commander glanced quickly at the admiral, who watched intently as K'Tan disappeared around the corner. After a moment the tactical officer reappeared, and gestured for them to follow.

The three slipped through hallways festooned with art, yet none of them stopped to admire it for they were not in the mood, or the position, to appreciate anything other than the exit. Armed men patrolled every floor of the multilayered domicile, which made negotiating the passages, without detection, increasingly difficult. The team ducked briefly into a darkened nook, to allow one particularly stocky guard to pass. He moved painfully slow and Sevryll could feel herself becoming impatient with his sluggishness. Her eyes flicked from K'Tan to Talbot as she fought to keep herself from shifting uncomfortably. After what seemed like hours, he turned a corner and left the passage to the Starfleet officers.   

In the distance lay a stairwell, and beyond that the floor where Krell was located. They darted quickly toward the stairs and slithered up the steps to find the next floor guarded by more armed men. The men were not soldiers, for they wore no formal military uniforms... simply the dull attire typical of Romulan citizens.

Talbot formulated a plan as they listened to the guards brag about their sons' athletic prowess. The admiral rolled his eyes at their absurd assertions of strength and agility, each trying to "one-up" the other. He turned to Sevryll and mouthed a command. She nodded, quickly keying a message into her wrist device and sending it to Aria. A second later, the response was transferred through the devices worn in their ears, "acknowledged. Stand by, commander."

The lights on the floor went out soon after, and K'Tan, Talbot and Sevryll took the opportunity to clear the hallway of the obstacles that impeded their progress.Though her heart kicked her chest and pounded in her ears, she could still hear K'Tan and Talbot scuffling with the others. Blinded by the sudden darkness, one of the guards fumbled awkwardly in search of the panel that would return illumination to the hall. As he tramped down the corridor, the brawny man slammed into Sevryll and reflexively grabbed her arm.

The slight vulcan twisted, breaking the attacker's grip but before she could block the attack... a hammer struck her jaw. Instantly, a nebula of color and orbiting stars filled her vision and clouded her mind. She dropped to one knee and fell to the floor. Through the haze she detected the man's form lowering itself to her level to inspect his victim. Instinctively, she reached for the point between his neck and shoulder and gripped. The hologram, Dennis, would be proud to witness this rare occurrence, she thought. A millisecond later the dead weight of the man fell across her, knocking the wind from her lungs. She lay there gasping for air as his heavy head rolled on her shoulder. When her breathing returned to some semblance of normalcy, she clutched the material of his sleeve with her free hand, and pulled, rolling him off of her. Though dazed by the blow, she managed to sit up—the hall was eerily quiet and she saw no sign of K'Tan or Talbot in the darkness surrounding of her. 

[Jen]

Ensign Nareen Tev-Awash entered the turbolift and announced the deck where Ensign Starstriker and Chief Engineer K'ararth waited for her arrival. Only a few days before, the young, blond, Lorillian woman had spilled the entire contents of her hot chocolate all over Commander Sevryll's conference table during a Science Department meeting. Unfortunately that act had been the first impression she made on her senior officer. After the meeting's conclusion, Narren chased down the XO in the passageway.

"I...I'm not sure that I'm the right person for this assignment," she said.

Sevryll stopped in the corridor and turned towards the young ensign, "I would not have selected you if I believed you incapable, ensign."

"Thank you ma'am, but I'm just not as practiced as the others... Their experience makes me feel... inferior; I don't want you to be disappointed in me, commander."

The stolid vulcan woman raised an eyebrow, "put aside your apprehension and perform your duties, ensign." 

Tev-Awash looked down at her shaking hands, "easier said than done," she thought. Yet it was now time to do just that... "put aside her apprehension and perform her duties." Taking that step reminded her of being weaned off the methyl oxide that she breathed as a child. Though her mother was gentle and patient in introducing her to oxygen, the experience had been a painful one. In some regards, overcoming her anxiety was equally agonizing. Nareen swallowed a lump in her throat and lifted her chin. "I can do this," she said aloud.

"Please rephrase your request," replied the computer.

Rolling her eyes Nareen replied emphatically, "mind your own business". With that, she exited the lift and strode into engineering with as much self-confidence as she could possibly muster.

"Detecting a vessel concealed by a phased cloak is essentially impossible through passive means. If the presence of such a cloaking device is suspected, the only theoretical method of detecting it is to run a high-power scan for localized subspace phase distortion that might be as discreet as 0.3 millicocharnes from normal phase,"  declared Ensign Tev-Awash semi-confidently.

"We tried that... it got us no where," said the broad shouldered Ensign Starstriker. Inwardly, Nareen chided herself for thinking that he wouldn't have attempted that option first.

"Oh," was all she could say in response.

She was just as unsure of herself as he was. Noting her discomfort, Starstriker smiled at Nareen and replied, "this is the only thing I could think of that could work... and we have less than fifteen minutes to pull it off."

Lieutenant Commander K'ararth showed them to their stations and Starstriker and Tev-Awash began running the algorithms necessary to make the adjustments to the deflector. After ten minutes of work, the two compared notes and ran their modifications by the Chief Engineer.

"Good work," he grunted in his typically brusque Klingon tone.
Nareen couldn't help but beam in response to K'arath's complement, yet her large smile was only met with a curt nod as the Klingon turned back to his work in engineering. Her smile shrank in response.

Ensign Starstriker raised his brows sympathetically at Nareen, and tapped his com badge.

"Starstriker to Captain Quinn."

"Quinn here."

"Sir, we've finished our modifications. Ensign Tev-Awash and I are headed to the bridge."

"Acknowleged. Make it fast Ensign," replied Quinn.

Tev-Awash and Starstriker said very little as they rode the lift to deck one, but every now and then they exchanged uneasy glances. When the door slid open to reveal the main bridge, Isaac quickly took over ops as Nareen took in the sights and sounds of the bridge that she had never once stepped upon—she was simply awestruck. From the command chair, Captain Quinn turned in her direction and met her wide-eyed gaze. "Take the science station Ensign Tev-Awash."

"Yes sir!" she replied, a little more strident than she intended.
The young ensign rushed to the chair and seated herself behind the panel.

"Find that ship Mr. Starstriker," ordered the Captain.

"Aye sir!"

Nareen watched Ensign Starstriker smile as he activated the tachyon dish disruptor from the other side of the bridge. Soon after, a concentrated beam of energy erupted from the dish and burst toward the designated coordinates. His smile grew twice its size as a formerly cloaked Romulan vessel appeared aft of the damaged ship, which floated before them on the viewscreen.

[wraith1701]

Back on Romulus, K'Tan found himself trying to navigate the darkened hallway by touch.  As he crept along at a crouch, he kept his left arm extended to his side with his hand trailing along the wall.  He silently cursed the power outage, and the chaos that the darkness brought with it. 

Moments after the lights had gone out, he, Commander Sevryll, and Admiral Talbot had been set upon by a group of Romulan guards.  In the brief but fierce melee that followed, he had somehow gotten separated from the others.  K'Tan bit off a curse of frustration, and tried to focus on the job at hand.  His priorities were clear:  rejoin his comrades, and then exfiltrate the Vulcan captive.

Somewhere up ahead, he could hear Admiral Talbot struggling with a Romulan guard.  Phaser drawn and held before him, K'Tan cautiously made his way down the darkened hall.  As he inched his way forward, the sounds of the fighting grew gradually louder.  A feral smile lit K'Tan's face.  He was frankly quite impressed with with the iron-haired Romulan Admiral's martial prowess.  He had initially questioned the decision to include one of Starfleet's brass on an extraction mission; he had always felt that the admiralty were more or less a group of desk-bound PADD pushers.  Granted, many of the fleet's most highly ranked officers had displayed uncommon courage and ingenuity in their early careers, which was undoubtedly the reason for their elevation.  But once they traded the command chair for a cushy office, K'Tan felt that they were better suited to tackling paperwork than tackling enemy combatants. 

K'Tan's eyes were gradually adjusting to the lack of light.  As he peered into the darkness, he could barely make out the form of the Admiral grapeling with a towering Romulan guard.  After ducking to avoid a vicious roundhouse punch, Talbot quickly dispatched the musclebound guard with a swift kick to his head.  As the guard collapsed to the floor in an unconscious heap, K'Tan found the last of his doubts about the Admiral's fighting ability fading away.  The Lieuenant quickly jogged ahead, glancing back briefly to ensure that he wasn't being followed.

After pausing to straighten his black field jacket, The admiral turned to greet K'Tan.  "Krell's room should be up ahead," Talbot said.  He then glanced around, a frown forming on his face.  "Where is Commander Sevryll, Lieutenant?" 

K'Tan looked about in confusion.  "I thought that she was with you, Sir." 

Talbot's brow furrowed with determination.  "We'd better go back, she may need our help.  I have no intention of leaving Romulus without both her and Krell." 

As the pair made their way back to the stairwell, the darkness was violently split by an angry red disruptor blast tearing through the air.  The beam ripped into a painting on the far wall, instantly transforming it into charred, smoking ruin. The pair simultaneously dropped into a defensive crouch, both aiming their phasers at the source of the blast.  Several more disruptor beams followed the first in quick succession, cutting the darkness with a red strobe-light effect.   The evil, high-pitched whine of the disruptors was suddenly dwarfed by the loud, piercing wail of an alarm system. 

So much for a covert extraction, K'Tan thought to himself.

Talbot sprung forward onto the floor on K'tan's right, landing on his stomach with his phaser held before him at eye level.  Keeping low to present as small a target as possible, the Admiral slowly crept forward, the light from the intermittent disruptor blasts highlighting the severe angles of his face. 

K'Tan sought cover between a pair of waist-high decorative pillars, furiously trying to plot the best course of attack.  A stray disruptor blast flashed by his left cheek, turning the pillar behind him into a hail of molten shrapnel.  As the Lieutenant lunged forward, he could feel bits of semi-molten plaster pelting his back.  He was suddenly caught in a spasm of agony; the bits of shrapnel felt like hundreds of tiny teeth chewing into his flesh.  The ozone-laced smell of burning meat and fabric triggered the beginnings of a panic attack, and he quickly clamped down on the response.  K'tan swore a silent oath of gratitude to his adoptive Klingon parents.  Compared to what he had endured during his passage to adulthood on his homeworld, the pain he was now experiencing was trivial. 

As he inched forward behind Admiral Talbot, K'Tan noticed a new smell assaulting his senses- the smell of a chemical fire.  He glanced back to see flames creeping along the carpet near the destroyed pillar.  The smoke from the burning material was slowly building, and threatened to eventually engulf him.  He returned his attention to the front in time to see Talbot fire off two bursts of phaser fire at the stairwell ahead of them.  In the darkness ahead, someone gave out a short cry of pain, and the intensity of the enemy fire faltered.  Taking advantage of the brief respite, the pair quickened their advanced.  K'Tan risked another glance behind him, and instantly regretted it.  The flames on the carpet had quickly grown into a raging inferno.  The waves of fire were lapping against the walls, and finding little to consume there, were now rapidly advancing on the two Starfleet officers.

As the disruptor fire ahead once again increased in ferocity, Admiral Talbot called back to K'Tan.  "We have to fall back; those guards have us pinned down!"

"I don't think that'll be possible, Admiral!" K'Tan replied.  "The disruptor blasts have started a fire; if we go back, we'll be roasted alive!"

Talbot gave a small, mirthless chuckle.  "Damn.  Out of the frying pan, into the fire, eh Lieutenant?"

All at once, the unmistakable sound of a Starfleet issue phaser set at full auto-fire echoed from the stairwell ahead.  The thunder of the staccato bursts of phased energy almost drowned out the cries of alarm issuing from the guards ahead.  After what seemed like an eternity, both the phaser and disruptor blasts halted, giving ground to an almost deafening silence.  As K'Tan and Talbot exchanged confused glances, the only sound was the sinister, muted roar of the fire creeping towards them from the rear.  Talbot looked at K'Tan, then silently gestured at the now silent stairwell ahead of them.  His muscles tensed like coiled springs, K'Tan followed the Admiral as he cautiously inched forward.

The two instantly froze in place as the sound of footsteps echoed ahead of them.

They tensed as a slim, lethal looking figure emerged from the shadows.  Holding what appeared to be a smoking phaser, the figure approached them with calm, athletic grace. 

K'Tan's finger tightened on the trigger of his phaser, ready to fire at the slightest sign of aggression. 

The Admiral suddenly gave a quick exhalation of joy as the figure emerged into the light to reveal the calm, stoic visage of Commander Sevryll.  An angry bruise discolored her cheek, and as she saw the pair laying prone on the carpet, her right eyebrow raised inquisitively.  "It appeared that you were in need of assistance,"  she said.

Both the Admiral and Lieutenant sprang up from the carpet, grins of relief plastered on their faces.  The Admiral gave Sevryll a brief nod of approval.  "We've seen better days, but I think we're allright.  Krell is being held right around the corner; let's get him out of here before this place burns down around us."

[X]

Lt. James quietly observed the displays as he attempted to monitor communications with the Aurora and track the status of the events happening arround the Tiberius. His ships were still on standby, but it appeared as if the crew had come up with another solution.

"Lt. James to shuttlebay," Aeric said as he kept an eye on the sensors. "stand down until further notice. It appears that the situation has returned to our favor."

"Aye sir," replied the voice of his deck chief as she distributed the command to the waiting pilots. "Pilots are on stand down."

Aeric took a deep breath and sighed in relief. There was danger all around them, but at least they one this slight victory. He could only hope that the mission on the surface was also yielding it's own little victories.

[Rico]

As Talbot and K'Tan rejoined up with Commander Sevryll, the fire suppression system of the complex engaged.  Even though the fire had quickly spread the chemical blanket being emitted from various locations was quickly keeping it contained.

"Talbot to Aria."  The Admiral said activating his ear comm.

"Aria here, sir."  The young woman replied.

"I need to you to tap into the network once more and shut down the alarm system.  A fire has been started and the romulans may just think that it was the fire that set off the alarms.  At least for now.  You need to buy us just a little more time.  Then get yourself to the rendezvous point.  We are almost to our target.  Understood?"  Talbot said briskly.

"Yes.  Understood sir.  Aria out."  She said.  The trio of Talbot, Sevryll and K'Tan made their way to the door they had been searching for.  After a moments pause just outside the door, the alarms subsided.

"That Aria is a gifted operative, Commander.  I'm glad she is with us on this."  The Admiral said with a slight grin to Sevryll.  In response, Sevryll raised her eyebrow slightly.

"Admiral, let me go in first sir.  I can divert the guards attention.  And frankly sir, I am more expandable than either you or Commander Sevryll."  K'Tan said in a surprisingly quiet voice for the officer brought up with klingons.  He raised himself up proud to face what was beyond the door.

"I appreciate the sentiment lieutenant, but no need for more heroics quite yet.  Let's try and use our heads a bit."  The admiral said in a quiet, yet firm tone.  Talbot reached down to his boot and pulled out the small tool he had nicknamed, 'Betsy.'  He quickly pressed a small tab on the device and held it in front of the electronic door lock.  After several seconds a small, soft light beam was emitted by 'Betsy' towards the lock.  Romulan symbols flashed across the keypad in a blur and quickly settled on four symbols.  There was a small click and a green indicator lamp activated on the panel.  Talbot patted 'Betsy' affectionately and returned her to his boot.  The admiral then motioned for Sevryll and K'Tan to step to the door side.  He had gone over the end point of this mission many times in his head over the last several days.  The admiral had already seen people injured on a mission he had started.  He wasn't about to let that continue, if he could avoid it.  As he slowly inched the door open, Talbot could just make out one guard about 5 meters away.  He had his back mostly to the door, the admiral decided to make his move before they were detected.  He pushed the door open and fired at the romulan guard.  Before the guard could react, the stun blast knocked him to the ground.  Just then the door was shoved back on to Talbot from the opposite side and the admiral was almost knocked down.

"No!  Arghhh...."  K'Tan yelled and charged the door.  The second guard inside was caught off balance and K'Tan knocked him back.  The larger disguised Starfleet officer side swiped the romulan across his head and then sent him backwards with a quick blow to his chin.  K'Tan made sure he was down before checking on the admiral.  Sevryll was already helping Talbot to his feet.

"Hmm, maybe I will let you go in first next time lieutenant."  The admiral said with a slight chuckle.  Sevryll and the others quickly entered the room and shut the door behind them.  All three of them noticed at the same time the aged vulcan man strapped to an examination table at the back of the room.

"Father!"  Sevryll said, with more emotion than she would normally allow.  She rushed to Krell's side and began to release his bonds.  Talbot followed while K'Tan watched the romulan guards and the door.

"Who's there?  I won't tell you what you want to know Vercious.  Don't you understand that yet?"  Krell said in a ragged and rough voice.

"Krell!  Old friend it's Sirach.  And Sevryll.  We're here to get you out."  Talbot said quickly.

"Father, it's me father.  What have they done to you?"  Sevryll said, with concern cracking in her voice.

"Sevryll?  No it's a trick.  You are not my little one?!  Do you hear me Vercious, you will not fool me!"  Krell said, in a wild and haunting voice as Sevryll and Talbot finished releasing him of his bonds.  Krell look very thin and his face bore the marks of both old and new injuries.  But it was his eyes that were causing even his vulcan daughter to be afraid.  They had a haunted and hollow look that seemed quite unlike any vulcan's eyes Sevryll had ever seen.

"We don't have time for this.  Sevryll, you need to soothe him so we can get out of here.  Tell him something quickly.  A story from your childhood.  Something to get through to him and convince him to trust you.  But quickly, we need to move soon!"  Talbot said as he helped the weakened vulcan up.

[Jen]

Krell spoke in labored whispers. " I will not help you," he groaned.

His daughter placed her trembling hand on his to reassure him and felt a wave of pain at the touch... nausea threatened to buckle Sevryll's knees, but Talbot's stern voice shored her up.

"Tell him something quickly—a story from your childhood. Something to get through to him, and convince him to trust you. "

Krell shrieked in pain as Talbot helped him sit up. Noting the painful cry, Sevryll activated the wrist-mounted tricorder and scanned her father. "His right arm is broken as well as his left foot. He has a number of internal injuries, lacerations, contusions, fractured ribs, broken teeth...fingers..." Sevryll's voice trailed away, unable to continue relaying the information.

"I'll carry him if I have too... now, do something to calm him," insisted the admiral.

Krell's interrogators could have easily ripped information from his mind through their neural probes. Her father knew it, which was why it was likely that he would continue to distrust them despite any personal information Sevryll could to impart to him. They had no time to perform an irrefutable meld and because of Krell's apparent mental state, the process could potentially be dangerous to them both.  Sevryll closed her eyes and conjured a shared memory, then whispered it in her father's ear. Talbot and K'Tan exchanged bemused glances as large tears poured down Krell's bruised cheeks. His bloodshot eyes moved to meet Sevryll's and his haggard voice uttered a single word, "daughter?"

At the moment, sleep was the only relief she could offer her broken parent. The commander spoke a quiet phrase of comfort in vulcan, "let'theiri sa-mekh", meaning be at peace father, and grasped the point between her father's neck and shoulder—instantly rendered him unconscious. He slumped against Talbot, who quickly lifted the emaciated form of his friend. Drawing their phasers, K'Tan and Sevryll covered the admiral as he bore Krell out the door and back through the corridors.

[PepperDude]

The turbolift came to a stop and the doors slid open. Time to get my game face on thought Johnny Manrique as he exited the lift and stepped into the bridge. He noticed Ensign Starstriker quickly enter the turbolift after he came out of it. Manrique then proceeded to man the tactical station relieving the ensign who had been on duty when Manrique had been asleep. When he had been dreaming of Sherry. However, there would be other times to think about her. This was not one of those times.

"Glad you could join us lieutenant, Manrique," said Captain Quinn.

"My pleasure sir," replied Manrique with a slight smirk on his face.

Captain Quinn gave him a quick brief of what had transpired. "Check your station for additional details lieutenant. Hopefully, within the next 20 minutes you'll put them to good use once we find that Romulan ship. But first I want you to have your people look into finding that spy."

"Yes, sir. Manrique to Lieutenant Tain and ensign Thesh. Report to the bridge."

Manrique wanted to meet the two security officers in person to keep the investigation of the spy as secret as possible. Within a few minutes, the two security officers entered the bridge. The chief of security led them to the ready room.

"We have a spy on board. I want you two to look into this matter. Check for possible ways that the signals could have been sent from the Tiberius without alerting security systems or any of the crew. Also, concerning who might be the spy, look into all new crew members first, particularly those who joined us after we left Earth. The spy is here; that's a fact. He or she is not leaving this ship. We, you, will find that spy and make him pay."

Lt. Tain looked up at Manrique with a questioning yet quizzical look on his face and said, "I can't wait to make him pay. One thing's nagging me though."

"What's that?" asked Manrique.

"Well, I'm a new crew member; I'm one of those who is more likely to be the spy," said Tain with an amusing expression.

"Tain, if you're the spy, then you're the absolutely best spy in the galaxy," said Manrique tapping Tain's shoulder, "and I congratulate you for that right now. I tell you what. . .I'll investigate you if it makes you feel any better. How's that?"

"That's more like it. A good spy—like me that is—should have the chief of security investigating him. You just made my day Manrique," remarked Tain with a big grin on his face. Manrique couldn't help but laugh. Lt. Tain was a funny character. However, he had made a valid point; Manrique would need to look into him, although he was quite certain that Tain was not the spy. He was not as certain of all the other new crew members though.

[Rico]

With the frail Krell across his shoulders, Admiral Talbot followed Sevryll and K'Tan back through the corridors and back down to the complex exit.  When rounding one corner they did encounter one lone romulan  He was unarmed and surprised to see the group of them come around a corner.  Before he could speak out or call for help, K'Tan discharged his weapon and the romulan slumped to the floor from the stun blast.  The admiral was so focused on getting all of them out of the complex and to safety he had little time to think about the condition of his friend.  However, due to how light he felt across Talbot's shoulders thoughts of what the romulans had put him through did slowly creep into his mind.  He quickened his pace as they moved to meet up with Aria.  Sevryll was watching her father closely as they moved to the tunnel entrance.  Like Talbot, she too was trying to focus on completing their escape and had to use her vulcan disciplines even more than normal to keep her emotions in check.  How could another living being do this to another she thought to herself as she walked beside the admiral and her unconscious father on his back.  A few minutes after the group entered the tunnels they found Aria calmly waiting for them at the rendezvous point.

"Hello.  It is agreeable to see all of you unharmed.  Sevryll, your father is injured.  I may be able to assist with that."  Aria offered.

"No time for that right now.  We need to keep moving.  I'm fairly certain our little rescue will be discovered very soon, if it hasn't already.  Let's keep moving people."  Talbot said, pushing them all forward.  He had been in enough of these situations through his career to know if they stopped they would be discovered and captured - or worse.  After about 20 minutes of winding their way through the tunnel system that Spock's vulcan guide had marked for them they made their way to the surface and were happy to discover the small ground vehicle still waiting there for them.  Once they were all inside K'Tan engaged the vehicle controls and headed them back to the safe house.

"How's your father doing, Commander?"  K'Tan asked as he tried to distract the vulcan woman.

"My father is a strong man, lieutenant.  He will recover, in time."  Sevryll said with as much confidence as she could put into her words.  It was obvious to her that her father had suffered greatly at the hands of the romulans.  She was fairly certain he would recover from the physical trauma and injuries.  Vulcans were quite resilient in those matters.  However, it was his mind that she had concern for.  The expression he had given her back at the complex when he said, "daughter" to her was what truly troubled her.  Aria was scanning Krell as Sevryll cradled her fathers head and face in her small hands.

"He is stable commander.  I have given him a very small dose of cordrazine.  I cannot risk doing more until he can be examined more closely."  Aria said as she put her hand on top of Sevryll's.

"Thank you Aria."  Was all Sevryll could say as she looked at the vulcan woman who reminded her too much of herself in another time, another place. 

[Geekyfanboy]

The cloaked Romulan ship appeared on screen. 

Quinn turned to Ensign Starstriker and Ensign Tev-Awash "Good job!!"

"Sir, the Romulan vessel is now decloaking and charging weapons." announced Lt. Tucker

"Aversive maneuver Delta Seven Alpha" Quinn yelled.

The ship veered sideways as laser passed by the bottom side of the Tiberius, Everything shook...

"Return fire" Quinn demanded. Tucker's fingers ran across the console as torpedoes and laser fire shot at the approaching Romulan ship.

"Sir there shields are holding.. they are firing again."

Quinn prepared himself for the hit as the ship shook back and forth.

"Sir shields are holding, no damage"

Quinn turned to Ejiul D'varo "Do you have any suggestions, we seem to be evenly matched"

"If I go back to my ship maybe we can distract them long enough for you to find a weakness." Ejiul said.

"But your ship is heavily damaged, there is no way you'll be able to sustain future damage.

"Will hold our own Captain.. beam me back to my ship."

Quinn gave a nod to Ejiul and shook his hand. Moment's later Ejiul disappeared from the bridge. The Tiberius shook back and forth as more fire hit it.

"Sir, Lt. Tucker announced, "Ejiul ship has set a collision course for the Romulan vessel", "What" Quinn said, "Open a channel." Ejiul face appeared on screen.  Quinn stood and approached. "Ejiul change your course.. this is..." Ejiul cut across Quinn " Our only choice...Captain our job was to make sure your mission succeeded. This is the only way to prevent my people knowing what has happened, if we do not do this then Riker's negations will be for not. My people need this reunification, we do this for our children's future. jolan true Captain Quinn."a moment of silenced passed "Jolan True Ejiul D'varo" Quinn said with a heavy heart.

"To Reunification!!" Ejiul said before the screen went blank and was replaced with a view of the Romulan warbird being bombarded by laser fire as it rammed the other Romulan warbird erupting into a large fiery explosion... then nothing.