Captain Aeris - Promenade
Aeris exited the security office, sifting through a PADD. It had been a long, grueling meeting; one she was unable to steer to her favour for the life of her. As she walked, she was joined in stride with one of her Bridge officers from the Zephyra.
"Perfect timing, I see?" Aeris said.
Wendy shrugged her shoulders. "I walked by three times trying to anticipate your exit. So, how'd it go?"
"Starfleet somehow suspects a terrorist presence in the sector and they want me to assist in station security while I'm here. I'm just to look out for anything out of the ordinary and basically be paranoid for them."
The officer rolled her eyes. "Uh, it's a space station. There are always things out of the ordinary."
"No, but there was this one, odd feeling I got just as I was leaving the Food Court earlier. It felt... almost threatening," Aeris drifted into thought.
Lieutenant Wendy glanced at Aeris. "Any idea who it was?"
"I'm scrolling through a list of officers from ships docked at Spacedock to see if they'll jog my memory. It's a long list. Anyway, how are things on your end?"
The other Human sighed. "Slow. I don't know what those Iconian probes from the War injected into the systems on Spacedock's lower decks, but they won't let go."
"Well, we're on to other enemies now, so hurry it up. One less reason for the Zephyra to be stuck here, the better."
Wendy nodded and walked in another direction. Suddenly, a voice chirped through the comms, from an unknown security officer. "Security to Captain Aeris. An ID code set off some red flags in Cargo Bay 7. We have a Romulan Centurion down here. Can you come check it out?"
"On my way."
---
Captain Aeris - Corridors
Exiting Cargo Bay 7, Aeris was met with a Commander Reeve from station security. "Pleasure to have you with us, Captain."
"Uh, it would be if I didn't get a fake-out in that Cargo Bay. You guys didn't even apprehend anyone."
Reeve put his hands up in defense. "We're not here to make speciest accusations. But the ID code we received checked through 4 of our 5 security decoders-- Nothing to bat an eye at, but we were told to keep a watch out for anything. And I mean anything. Yesterday we spent a whole afternoon debating and examining an unknown mass collection of alien fibers. Turned out to be Caitian."
"You know, I'm not much for the finer points of security, but I do know command. Using my powers of expecting people to do what I require, I expect you assist me with what is required in security. That includes not wasting time on hairballs."
The other officer crossed his arms in agreement. "I won't lie and say we didn't learn a lot from that, in terms of biology, but we do need to answer to the higher-ups on our suspect-intel. Especially to Sulu. He's always on our case."
"He was on leave for while. Glad he's back," she commented. "Now. Let's go to Club 47, where our Romulan 'friend' was last seen headed."
Reeve interrupted his own thought-process. "Did you just do the 'friend' air-quote thing?"
"Yeah, I just realized I did. I order that to be accepted as non-cliché. Also, pilots being medics."
---
Club 47
Entering the semi-energetically active social realm, Aeris could almost feel her desire for Romulan Ale calling to her again. She recalled how close she was getting back out into the stars before it was pulled away from her like a rug from under her feet. Repressing that awkward thirst, she pushed on, along with Reeve, browsing the crowd. It was there, she bumped into Elihu, as he and the Romulan Centurion, a member of his crew, from earlier, were on their way out. In an instant, a rushing memory of threatening stance filled Aeris once again and locking eyes with the part-Vulcan from the Food Court struck her heart rate into a heightened state. It was him...?
Something was definitely odd about her reaction to this man. It wasn't normal, and she needed to know why or if it was related to the reports of terrorists in the Vulcan sector. "Excuse me, Lieutenant... Elihu," Aeris said while referencing her PADD's listing from earlier. "Captain Aeris, with Spacedock security. Would you come with me for some questions?"
---
Captain Terry - Promenade
Terry stood at a console, speaking with Hann, one of his Starfleet Bridge officers from the Kitana. "Repairs to the ship are complete. Will we be taking on any missions, Captain?"
"I haven't heard anything yet, and my business here isn't finished. Sit tight and I'll let you know," Terry suggested, thinking he'd like to get his postponed evaluation over-with. If he wasn't on his way to that, he'd be seeking out his next task.
Deactivating the communication, he turned and bumped into Admiral Nat. "Why don't you watch where you're---" But, then he got his bearings and pulled himself together. "Oh! Admiral. I should've watched where I was--- Well, you know how that sentence ends. It's a standard sentence. It has a beginning, middle and end. We don't always need the whole thing."
After being handed some orders, Terry looked at the PADD he was given. He was glad to have a mission, finally, but to be put back into the heat of the Iconians was troublesome. As he walked, he noticed Commander Reeve staring through the windows of the doors to the Security office. They displayed surveillance video, which Reeve was reacting to.
"You know, in some cultures you could can just knock," Terry said.
Reeve shook his head. "I got what I needed." He tapped his commbadge. "Reeve to Security teams Alpha through Delta. Begin intensive scans and initiate searches of the cargo bays, starting with 7 through 12. Look for explosives, monitoring equipment, anything."
"Sounds serious," Terry said.
Reeve nodded before running off. "We'll see."
"I guess, so will I," Terry answered to himself, looking at the PADD in his hands.
---
Captain Aeris - Security Office
Operating on a hunch, she turned to her security screen displayed on the wall behind her desk. Before Elihu could leave, she spoke.
"Computer, bring up the surveillance video for Cargo Bay's 7 through 12 and display them in reverse order, each incrementally at 5 minutes before the other, starting at 0900 hours."
On it, displayed the bird's eye view of each cargo bay, and the many people going in and out of them. She touched the video for Cargo Bay 7, freezing it at the point the Romulan Centurion was fiddling with something in a crate in the back, then began freezing all the other videos. The same Romulan, with the same clothes, was in each bay, fiddling with a far away crate on each screen.
"What was your officer doing? What is your mission here?"
M'Konel watched the footage with a smile. "Captain...you're not going to find anything. To put it bluntly, you have absolutely nothing. That code I gave your man... look it up. I mean really. But be careful what you do with it."
Aeris picked up Reeve's PADD report from Cargo Bay 7, referenced it and entered the Romulan's code into a general database search. Too determined to even care if M'Konel was still standing there, she read the incoming search results. "This is a Starfleet Intelligence code?" She pondered. "You're working for Intelligence on something. That's what this is about! You're on a mission for them." She looked to the side in shock, in disbelief.
But then the search monitor beeped, indicating the final results from her inquiry as complete. She looked one last time. From an intel category only released to Captains, was a depiction of an organization sharing the code.
"The Tal Shiar!?"
Somehow, Starfleet Intelligence had enabled a Tal Shiar code, indicating this man having some kind of association with those pointy-eared barbarians.
Turning and narrowing her eyes at M'Konel, she tapped her commbadge and commanded: "Computer, erect a Level-10 forcefield around the office. Aeris to any available officers, I need an established guard around the Security Office."
In an almost too-calm tone, M'Konel whispered, "Do what you like, but don't feel that way about the Romulans, nor the Tal'Shiar. You will apologize, or I will cripple your mind. Trust me, it's not pleasant." M'Konel was not actually sure he could do that, but his confidence was absolute. His Vulcan psionic abilities were able to amplify his Betazoid empathic ones, though he too was quickly becoming overcome with emotion.
"I won't apologize," answered Aeris, suddenly feeling the pressure of M'Konel's psionic abilities beginning to overtake her. "You're involved in a secret operation aboard Spacedock. And now you're threatening me. Starfleet asked me to investigate this station for exactly what you've done. I don't know what you did in those cargo bays, but it was not an approved action."
Then the drill began into her mind. She began involuntarily sifting through her memories, ones she pushed back as far as she could. She fell back into her chair and grasped her head, completely forgetting what she was talking about or what she just said.
"I don't--- hate-- the Romulans--- It's the-- Tal Sh--- air. --I'll never-- forgive them--- for--- ugh, what they did to my-- crew." Without will, she recalled a complete Tal Shiar take-over of the Zephyra, just last year; one of the most horrifying experiences of her life.
The lieutenant nearly collapsed, his knees wobbling. He caught himself on the edge of her desk and cringed in anguish and anxiety and panic. "I am not them, Aeris." He quickly, but non-threateningly, reached over to open a hailing frequency to Starfleet Intelligence. "Please, release the force field and recall your guards..."
With the pressure of her memories releasing, Aeris pulled what little she could of her present-state of mind together and stood. Her back was to the monitor as Starfleet Intelligence blinked on screen.
"Captain Aeris," came Commander Bradden's response. "It's come to my attention you have someone in custody in your office."
Still trying to regain her head, Aeris remained her back to the monitor, leaning over her desk with her hand on her forehead. "Was Lieutenant M'Konel ordered to infiltrate Earth Spacedock and plant unknown devices aboard the station? Are you working with the Tal Shiar?"
"Aeris," sighed Bradden, not intending on answering any of those questions. "I order you to drop your force field and let Lieutenant M'Konel go."
She turned to face the screen. "Commander, what is going on--"
"Do it," interrupted Bradden. "That's an order."
The screen blinked out to Aeris' shock, and she slowly looked over at M'Konel. "Computer," she opened, in disbelief and exhaustion. "Drop the force field surrounding the office."
She only had Elihu M'Konel's word to go on. That, and being under Starfleet's thumb had been her casualty ever since the Tal Shiar incident. The doors to her office swooshed open and she addressed the group of security officers and concerned Captains outside.
"False alarm. Stand down."
M'Konel bypassed the men outside and walked down the corridor. Then he was beamed to the Philadelphia.
"Captain, what happened?" Admiral Nat asked.
Krystal quipped, "Someone steal some Cheetos or something?"
Aeris snapped out of her mental recovery mode and turned to them. "It seems the crew of Philadelphia was sent to plant unknown, cloaked devices aboard Spacedock. Lieutenant M'Konel, who reached me through projected psionics, was unclear about whether his mission was to destroy us or not. After I attempted to apprehend him, Starfleet Intelligence ordered that he be released."
She shook her head in realization.
"But how do we know the extent of Intelligence's involvement, or that officer on screen, even? Either way, we're left with too many unknowns."
Then, Reeve came through on the comms. "Reeve to Captain Aeris. Our scanners do not penetrate any of the devices. We're unable to locate them. It's as if they don't exist."
"So, nothing at all?" Aeris asked.
There was sigh over air. "Sorry, ma'am. But we did read some of the electrons in the Cargo Bay as suffering from a distorted angular momentum. Whether that's the result of alien cargo, or something else, we can't be sure."
"Well, keep trying," Aeris added in reluctance. "Let's get science teams on this and screen visitors with access for now. Aeris out."
She then sighed.
"This experience has reminded me that it's my fault I'm stuck at Spacedock. After the Tal Shiar took over my ship, Starfleet Command began to send me on less and less missions. At some point they even stopped retuning my calls. There were steps I could have taken that day to prevent that encounter, but I was too short sighted. Too foolish of a Captain; young and brash. I can't let that happen again."
The admiral looked at Aeris. "If you've been stuck at home for that long, you must have been here when the Iconians attacked the system. Have any experience with the Iconians?"
Aeris turned. "We were all in that war, Admiral. I did get the Zephyra into its fair share of pew pews. I know I am stuck here at the moment, but if another mission arose I would prefer to stay here until my current mission was complete." Her thoughts drifted to her immediate conundrum in the Cargo Bays, then back to the Iconians. "Oh, but were they ever a tough adversary. I took down several Baltim Raiders, a Quas Cruiser and more. At least I didn't have as chaotic a time as Captain Terry did."
---
Captain Terry - Councillor's Office
Terry sat before Councillor Lucrecia who sat before him. "Your test results check out; meaning you're technically okay for duty. But I'd like to know what you think?" she asked.
"I know I have a history, but the fact that I'm willing to work passed things should convince you I'm better," Terry explained.
Lucrecia tried to read him. "What we try and what we are aren't always the same thing. Your new mission has you excited."
Terry sat up. "A chance to get back at the Iconians? I'd be crazy to pass that up. Whatever they have going on, it's important we stop them."
"There's no disputing that." The councillor nodded. "But treading careful may be in your best interests."
The Captain agreed. "I'll do my best."
---
Captain Aeris - Cargo Bay 7
Aeris entered the cargo bay where Commander Reeve and several science officers were at work scanning the area. Everyone looked busy, despite there being no results.
"Well, we're just about ready to call it quits here," Reeve said. "Is it possible this is some kind of hoax?"
Aeris glanced around, not sure what she was going to see that no one else had. "You know, Commander, I'm starting to think that as well."
She stepped away from the science officers, while Reeve followed.
"Captain?" Reeve asked.
The woman pondered. "Something about M'Konel before he left, that I assumed he was trying to sabotage Earth Spacedock. Perhaps it was something else."
"You have no reason to trust him, and every reason not to," Reeve added.
Aeris nodded. "You're probably right."
"Spacedock Operations to any available Captains," came a general call over the comms. "Undine threat in Sol system. Repeat, Undine threat in Sol system."
---
Earth Spacedock
An opening from fluidic space tore through, near Earth Spacedock, and a Dromias Bio-Cruiser exited. Following close behind, three Vila Heavy Bioships, which opened fire on the Dromias Bio-Cruiser and any nearby starships. The sole operator aboard the under-attack Dromias Bio-Cruiser opened a hail to Spacedock in a desperate request for asylum.
---
Vila Heavy Bioship 3, Mukoukac
With the Philadelphia approaching weapons range, Sekkugh slowed and turned to fire two plasma torpedoes into the Philadelphia's forward shields, followed by the antiproton beam at its rollbar. Shocked at his blind luck, he reloaded fast, and fired the beam again, knocking out the Philadelphia's weapons. "I didn't expect such a weak vessel."
But time was of the essence. He turned his ship to Spacedock and moved right up to it. Funneling a powerful antiproton beam into the shields of the station, the Mukoukac drained a hole and swiftly moved itself near a Cargo Bay port. He blew a parked workbee and its cargo containers apart and then moved his ship in its place so his crew could board the station.
---
Elihu M'Konel - U.S.S. Philadelphia
The bridge of the little ship was a blazing inferno as smoke poured in from nearly every location smoke could pour in from.
---
Earth Spacedock, Cargo bays
The Undine almost made it to the cargo bay doors, leading to the corridors. The felt themselves being pushed back. They phased through solid matter against their will and floated between every ship and every piece of debris, toward their own portal. It was as if the portal was generating a whirlpool, and it was inhaling all of its vomit. Even the ships were repelled. The Undine commanders tried to maintain their course and position, but it was futile. Every Undine was sent back.
---
Elihu M'Konel - U.S.S Philadelphia
As the bridge crew observed their experiment working, Elihu continued piloting the Philadelphia toward the portal.
---
Captain Aeris - Cargo Bay 7
Aeris lead a security team down the corridors outside the cargo bay. Setting into position surrounding the doors, she nodded to Reeve on its other side as a communication to enter the cargo bay. As the doors swooshed open, her team of security officers flooded into the room with phaser rifles armed. Inside, they found nothing.
The Captain fed herself into the room, following the others and gleaned what they has just seen for themselves. More nothing.
"Is it just me, or are my trips to the cargo bays, procuring nothing, some kind of irony?" she asked.
Reeve looked around. "I don't get it? Sensors said the Undine were here?"
"The ship seems to be gone as well," Aeris said, examining the cargo hatch.
The Commander walked over and scanned with his tricoder. "There's no doubt they were here. It seems someone babied our problems for us."
"The devices?" Aeris asked, making a connection.
Before Reeve could reply, their attention was pulled to the force fielded opening of the cargo hatch to cold space. Through it, they could see the Philadelphia heading straight for the Undine rift in the far distance.
---
Admiral Nat - U.S.S. Sally
The U.S.S. Sally locked onto the Philadelphia with a tractor beam, and was yet still firing her phaser lance at the rift, continuing to destabilize it. "Trust me, with the Sally bombarding the rift with a continuous phaser lance beam, you'd be a lot better off not flying into it and getting yourselves killed..."
The rift closed once all of the Undine bioships were sucked back through it. Once released, the Philadelphia moved to dock with the space station; however, due to the intense damage the small cruiser took, it's maneuverability was extremely slow.
---
Dromias Bio Cruiser, Kelekan
The sole occupant, Drekkon, found himself regaining consciousness from a blow of a nearby ship vein. Its acids had reacted with his own body, chemically knocking him out. When he saw a Starfleet Away Team and a group of Macos approach him, he realized the threat from his Faction was over.
"Do any of you understand or hear me?" he thought-broadcasted. "I am Drekkon, a deviant of the Undine Korisar Faction, and I have intel I wish to share with the Federation about planned attacks. Take me..." he waivered in his transmission, beginning to doubt whether his body was in as much health as he thought. "Take me to be debriefed..."
Then his vision went black and he fell unconscious again. Acid dripped from a chemical tear in his chest and arm.
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