[WelshAvenger]

A joint post by Krajin and WelshAvenger



USS Ares
Deck 1 - Captain's Ready Room



Mariella sat at the desk in her ready room, scrolling through progress reports, requisitions and personnel notifications. 'Good grief,' she thought, 'there never used to be this much admin.' With a sigh, she rose from the desk and walked to the replicator. "A mug of Chai, hot, please." The panel beeped and a steaming mug of delicious smelling Chai appeared. Taking the cup over to her desk, she started to scroll once more through the messages when she was interrupted. =/\= Bridge to Captain Jones. =/\=

Mariella tapped the comm panel on her desk, "I'm here, what's up?"

=/\= Captain we're receiving a transmission from the head of security on DS9. =/\=

"Really? Well, let's have it in here then." Mariella replied, somewhat surprised.

A tired looking man in a Bajoran uniform appeared on the viewscreen in front of her. "Umm, hello Captain, I was trying to contact your Chief of Security, I'm Inspector Jajeth."

Mariella smiled, "Commander Tarquin is indisposed right now, how may I be of assistance?"

"Well, ma'am, there was an incident involving one of your officers in Quark's and we were requested to forward the report to you." explained the Inspector.

"I see." Mariella steepled her fingers in front of her face, "Inspector, on a scale of one to Wolf 359, how bad was this incident?"

"As far as station security is concerned, the matter has been closed to our satisfaction." Inspector Jajeth pitched his voice in a way that didn't escape Mariella.

"Thank you, Inspector." Mariella nodded to the man, "The name of my officer involved?"

Jajeth grinned slightly, "Lieutenant Thane Va'Rek. Good luck to you, Captain, DS9 out."

Mariella frowned, Va'Rek wasn't a name she was familiar with but then, she hadn't really had a chance to meet all of the officers yet. Tapping her commbadge, she said, "Captain Jones to Lt Va'Rek, I believe that you have a meeting with me in my ready room."

The response over the Commbadge was a sudden blast of rowdy, boisterous cheering in drunken Klingon. Something muffled and then blessed silence for thirty seconds before Thane would answer. =^=Captain! I do not believe I have a meeting with you considering I am on leave!=^=

"Let us, for now, entertain the possibility that you are dead wrong about that whole sentence, Lieutenant." Mariella smiled.

=^=Alright. I can be there in a few minutes to meet you, I do not promise a neat uniform though.=^=



Thane would approach the Captain's ready room roughly a half hour later dressed in his proper, Honour Guards uniform, the kind that he was most often seen in around the ship when on duty unless the task at hand justified otherwise. He had even applied a fresh application of his face paint even though the Ferasan was highly inebriated he was still able to do it down to the T. A press of the button on the Captain's door chime.

Mariella swivelled her chair to face the door, "Come in!"

Stepping into the Captain's Ready room, Thane would strike an imposing figure in his uniform and would stand at attention. A thump of his fist to the armoured chest plate in the traditional Klingon Salute. The armour had been cleaned, polished and the cloak properly fixed so it lacked the normal wear and tear damage of where parts might drag.

Mariella let the Ferasan stand at attention for a second or two, "At ease. I have to say that the Honour Guard uniform is a nice touch. Impress the captain by being dressed in armour that conveys one of the highest honours in the Klingon Empire. Very nice psychological move."

Standing at ease, hands tucked behind his back but under the cloak and easily at reach with whatever he had tucked under there. "Thank you, Captain. Though this is my standard uniform around on the ship when on duty unless the situation requires otherwise."

"Can you explain to me why the head of security on DS9 would be submitting a report to the ship regarding the assault of a Klingon officer?" Mariella began. "It's quite the read. I quote, 'his face met the bar once and he must of liked it that much his face met it again a couple of times.' Do you have anything to add to the report?"

A smirk rather briefly spread across his face as that had made it into the report. "None at all, aside from it being as you would call it. Self Defence. He took the first swing, I just delivered my retaliation of.. reasonable measure. Quark has a really nice bar counter." He'd flash a smile.

"Very well. I've reviewed the footage and the dishonourable pe'taq looked like he was going to leave without paying. It seems like you, as an honourable officer of the KDF, moved to talk him out of it when he decided to try and attack you. It was at this point when it seemed like his face developed an unhealthy attraction to the bar, several times. Does that sound accurate, Lieutenant?" Mariella looked piercingly at the Ferasan.

"PetaQ. Captain and yes. That sounds.. accurate. As much as one can observe from the Sensors." He'd nod. “To be fair an attack is something you can expect from a Klingon who has been served the lie that is replicated Blood Wine that has been passed off as the real deal. Accurately I feel it would be an improvement for him once the Doctor is done with the reconstruction and teeth replacement.” That garnered a larger grin to which his well maintained teeth would be flashed. Even if unintentionally. “Otherwise Captain you hit the.. as Humans say it.. Head on the Nail?”

"Capital!" Mariella exclaimed, "I have a meeting in one hour with Captain Torok of the IKS Azedboor where he will object to the treatment of his officer. I will then call his officer an honourless Targ, we will argue back and forth for a few minutes and then we will review the station's footage. Captain Torok will then become very sullen and entertain thoughts of having his officer executed at which point I'll suggest that perhaps the officer involved should be given the opportunity to regain his honour while proudly serving sentry duty on board a deep space listening post. Now, Lieutenant, what do you think Captain Torok is likely to say to my proposal?"

“Certainly a proposal! I like it, though insulting the man is probably not going to get you the best run unless you're more familiar with this one than I. Or keen to stare him down. Though there's also the possibility he may laugh after the Sensor log viewing. I've known my fair share of Captains who've busted out a good, hearty belly laugh after watching their younger warriors pick a fight with someone like myself or another whom is part of the Order or Guard. They don't last in said fights. Still! If you'd like I'd love to be there for that encounter just to watch his reaction.” Thane chuckled and leaned back in the chair.

Mariella smiled, "I think it's best for everybody involved. Of course, Captain Torok may surprise me and just eject the officer into space but I'm willing to bet that he has an eye for an opportunity of a second chance for the young officer. Now, please don't let any more station security reports come my way for the rest of your leave. Dismissed."

“He very well could! I hope you enjoy yourself with the Captain and meeting that comes with it. As for station security reports, I cannot promise anything but they may be just as entertaining.”

'One final thing, Lieutenant." Mariella said with a smile as Thane headed for the door. "You were right about the Honour Guard uniform, it's very impressive."

“Thank you Captain. I hope you find my talents as they come up just as impressive.” He'd nod to her before walking out of her Ready Room and onto the Bridge.

[Josh Broughm]

Kidnapping time!
Bajor
Mylea
Just after the mediation meeting.
Sam & Max exited the building and headed towards the village marketplace. It was bustling with activity, with people darting about with their wares. One man with a smallish cart approached the pair & asked, "Care for a Jumja stick?" Max waved him off, but Sam said, "I'll take one, please." He accepted a wireless payment of five credits, handed the sweet to Sam & wheeled his cart away.

"Don't like these?" Sam asked. "Nah," Max responded, "Too sweet for me." Sam nodded and took a bite.

After about fifteen minutes, Max noticed a large stall packed with various sizes of bottles of Canaar, a Caradissan liquor. He approached the vendor & asked, "Bit unusual seeing a Caradissian product on Bajor." The vendor smiled and said, "About the only good thing the bastards gave us." He spat on the ground in distain. "Seventy-five credits per bottle, five hundred for a case. What's your pleasure?" Max pondered and said, "Three cases should be good. Right Sam?" Sam looked up from another stall and said, "Sounds like a party!" Max smiled and said, "Bill to Lt. Storm, USS Ares & ship to same." The vendor happily nodded & made up a PADD with the pertinent info.

Sam approached Max and said, "Sounds like you're stocking up." Max smiled and said, "One's for grand-dad. Its his birthday in a month." Sam smiled back and said, "I see. I spotted something Akyv would love. Let's check it out."

The two of them approached an elaborate, well decorated stall with various pieces of jewelry, large & small, understated and grandiose. Some of them featured Earth-like jeweling styles & techniques. Max was astonished that Earth Jeweling made its way all way out to this place. The Jeweler saw the two, approached them and said, "Welcome! I see you've noticed our Earth/Bajor collection." Max asked, "Where did you learn Earth Jeweling techniques?" the jeweler smiled and said happily, "Self taught through any ancient earth databases. Truly an experience, to be sure! Almost a deeper history than Bajor's, for sure." Sam saw a large pendant with a gem cut stone, one side red, the other blue with a purple diamond in the center. "How much?" Sam asked happily. The jeweler said, excitedly, "Two hundred-fifty credits." Sam nodded and said, "SOLD!" The transaction was made & the piece was placed into a custom box with a gold latch.

It was now getting to be around dusk, as the sun started to dip below the horizon. Sam & max proceeded to head towards the landing pad, after they sat at a small café for a bite of dinner. They had gotten about half way to the pad when Max noticed that they were being followed by three bajorans. "Pick up the pace," he said quietly, "we are being cased. Three bogeys on our six." Sam nodded and hastened his stride. Suddenly, two phaser beams struck Sam & Max square in the backs. They both crumpled in a heap in the middle of the main thorough fare. "Is this the one we're looking for?" one of the bajorans asked, pointing to Max. "No, the other one." Another Bajoran said. They proceeded to hoist Sam up and drag him into a dark alley, where a sparkling shimmer enveloped them and they vanished into the night.

((OOC: FREELANCE POLICE!!!!))

[Josh Broughm]

The Plot Thickens!
Bajor
Mylea
About an hour after the kidnapping.
Max started to stir about after he got blasted square in the back with a phaser beam. His eyes slowly opened & he saw that he was inside a home. Someone must've seen him & carried him here. Max began to rise when a beautiful woman approached him, placed a hand on his chest gently & said, "Best not to get up yet. You took a full blast of energy in your back. I have to hand it to your species, you humans are resillant!" Max asked, groggily, "Ther was another guy with me-" The woman, who now brushed her hair out of her face, interrupted, "They took him, The shield of Bajor."

Max sat up in a flash & said, "He was kidnapped?!" The woman nodded and said, "I saw it all happen." She handed Max a cup of water. He drank it quickly & said, "I need to contact my ship!" The woman stood, showing her tall, slender body with a considerable bust, saying, "Its no good. I just got a response from the Militia station here. Somehow, inter-system comms are being jammed from Prophet's know where." Max got up, punched the wall behind him in anger & said, "I had ONE JOB!!" The woman put her hand on his shoulder in a comforting way and said, "Its no use getting angry. Besides, I know why they took your friend, aside from him being an Ambassador."

Max looked at her in confusion and asked, "How do you-" The woman interrupted and said, "I'm Bajoran Intelligence. Major Hine Nuho, retired." Max automatically straightened his uniform and introduced himself. "Lt. Max Storm, Ops officer & occasional Bodyguard, ma'am. How long have you-" Nuho interrupted again, saying, "Twelve years, on & off. We got wind of the Shield planning to kidnap a high ranking federation official at the earliest oppurtinity. We couldn't send this information to Starfleet simply because it wasn't operable." Max just hung his head & cursed. "I need to get back to my ship! We need to start searching for him." He grabbed his dagger belt, that she took off & headed for the door. "I'm going with you." Max held up his hand and said, "No. This is a Starfleet Operation-" Nuho interrupted again, saying, "B.I. Put me with you to fix this, so blame them."

Max rolled his eyes & said, "Let's go." They both headed for the shuttle. He asked, as they were walking, "What did you do during your off-time?" Nuho looked down, smiled and said, "I'm a prostitute." Max did a double-take & exclaimed, "The F*** you say?!" She laughed loudly and said, "That's the exact reaction I was expecting. I'll explain later whe this is all over & your diplomat is back on your ship."

They climbed on the shuttle & sped back to the Ares. He was hell bent on making this right.

[deuZige]

joint post by deuZige, blaster (and WelshAvenger)

USS Ares
Hanger bay
(Some time before the diplomatic mission to Bajor, just after the arrival of the van Hulftoids on the Ares)




"Can I help you?" Tess asked.

Schrit nearly managed to keep the shocked surprise at his own stupidity from reaching the expression on his face. Nearly but not completely, and he hated himself as he felt his eyes widen. He recovered quickly enough by snapping to attention and stammering; “I am sorry sir! I had no idea, even though I should have. It’s just that you’re not in uniform and…” he stopped himself before mentioning her being a long haired Vulcan with ginger hair, and instead said; “ I apologize. I am Lieutenant Junior Grade Schrit van Hulftoids. I’m the fighter pilot who’s been recently assigned to the USS Ares. As I had no orders to report for duty I came here to have a look at the fighters ma’am. To get… aquinted so to speak. It’s not logical, but something very sentimental and personal I guess.” he explained.


The Vulcan raised an eyebrow, "I see, you are familiar with these class of fighters?"


Schrit came relaxed his stance somewhat, however remained standing straight with clasping his hands behind him. He wasn’t sure yet what to make of his squadron commander. She wasn’t your typical run of the mill Vulcan though, he knew that much.


“Not the Adrestia no. I’ve had the privilege to fly her predecessor, the Sparrow, during my time on the USS Breda and I've been deeply involved with the development of her successor, the Omnia class. But I haven’t had the pleasure of flying the Adrestia, outside of the simulator.” Schrit replied.


He glanced at the fighter he was standing next to before adding “I’m sure though that me and the lady here will have an excellent relationship, and that I'll fit in with the rest of Ares’s squadron.”.


"I'm sure that you will." Tess gave Schrit an arch look, "Report for duty at 0600 hrs in the Squadron Office."


“Yes sir! 06.00 hours, your office. I’ll be there!” Schrit replied snapping back to attention.

"I'm certain that you will, good day Lieutenant." Tess said as she moved on.

As the Vulcan squadron commander walked away he sighed with relief. ~”That could have gone much, much worse”~ he thought to himself. He turned to the fighter and padded her hull thinking ~”I’ll see you tomorrow as well”~ before turning and heading out of the hanger bay.


As the turbo-lift whisked him from the hanger deck level back to deck 2 he made a mental note to check his inbox to see if there was any word on if, and if so when, he had to report to the Captain. Most Captains preferred to at least once have new officers report for duty after they arrived aboard their ship, but not all of them did.


Schrit wondered about his Captain, and realized that he did so for the first time since he was assigned to the Ares. He’d looked up and informed himself about pretty much everything else relating to the Ares. The specs on the ship, the specs on the Adrestia class fighter, the personnel file on his commanding officer. ~”A lot of good that turned out to do me”~ he berated himself at that thought.


But he never gave the Captain of the Ares any thought after learning that the Captain had been assigned to the Ares about the same time he was. ~”Got some things to look up before I get to bed I guess”~ he thought as he walked out of the turbo lift and walked towards “home”.

[Josh Broughm]

Bajoran moon
Abandoned Base
After the kidnapping.
The three men, with Sam, who was unconcious, materialized in the transporter room. It looked rough, dingy & very old. The group carried Sam out of the room, down the hall & into a cell, in which they laid him on the bed. They left & another Bajoran showed up and looked inside the cell, saying to a woman whom joined him, "Now we are getting somwheres. Ensure that he isn't hurt. I want to talk to him." The woman nodded and entered the cell, proceeded to take out an old Bajoran Tricorder & moved it across Sam's body. "Heavy phaser damage to his back. It'll hurt like fire when he stirs." The man nodded and said, "Good. Leave him." The woman quickly exited. A forcefield quickly popped on, closing the cell. The woman said, meekly, "Do you think taking him will change anything?" The man simply said, "If this doesn't make the Federation listen, then our backup plan will." The woman looked at him and said, "All those lives..." The man snapped, "Many lives have been lost for a free, independent Bajor! I will not allow the Federation to walk in here. Its still an occupation!!" They both walked off down the hall, leaving Sam in the cell, unconcious.

About an hour or so later, Sam started to stir. His head was splitting & he had a burning pain that was starting to dull some. He sat up on the edge of the bunk and attempted to gain his bearrings. The walls around him was grey, dirty & very old. The light above flickered constantly. He knew he was in a cell. Sam got up and approached the forcefield. It was a dull red. Sam placed his hand upon the field & it lit up in bright red as it brought resistance to Sam's hand. He stopped and said, "Never forecasted this." He then sad back down. A few minutes later, the man whom met him when he was brought in approached the cell door. "The naive stupidity of humans never ceases to amaze me."
Sam immedately stood and said, "Whatever it is you want from me, you can stick it! Kidnapping a Federation-"

"The Federation is a bunch of slime devils that are willing to take advantage of the Bajoran people!!" The man boomed, "You are a prisoner of the Shield of Bajor. We aim to make our home free from outside influence, including the Federation occupation."Sam gave him a confused look, saying, "Occupa-Y'know what, I really don't care. Release me now & no charges will be brought-" The man interrupted, saying, "That isn't going to happen. You will be treated fairly here & will be given food. We are not barbarians." Sam snapped back, "But you are terrorists." The man nodded & said, "Not how I see us. We are freedom fighters, of a sort. Here's what we want from you. You will write a letter of reccomendation to withdraw the Fedrastion from all Bajoran terrorities, including DS9. Do this & no one else will get hurt." Sam stood his ground, "Go to Hell!" The man gritted his teeth and said, "Fine." He pressed a button on the wall and said, "Prep the ships for launch. We go at dawn for the freedom of Bajor!" He then turned to Sam and said, "To give you time to change your mind. Do you like Hasperaat?" Sam just shrugged. The man left and Sam laid back down on the bunk. He never was in a situation like this. He felt his lapel & noticed the small pip. He knew then things were going to be okay.