[Asteropax]

USS Ares
Deck 10

"Your wrong, Ensign" Tess said, looking over at the Captain. "Starfleet would never massacre Billions of people, because they are NOT the Dominion."

"You claim that a war to end the Cardassians would be necessary. I'm telling you now it would not. Everyone suffered from that war, the Cardassians rebelled against Dominion control and paid heavily for it. There is no need to wipe out an entire race just to satisfy your personal lust for vengeance. You say a war is justified if it kills all the Cardassians. Would you say that about every war Earth has had? The first two World Wars killed Millions, and all because of a few peoples lust for revenge. The First World War you had, was revenge for a murder. The Second was hate towards certain people. Does that not sound anything like your hate towards the Cardassians? Driving creatures to extinction never ends well. Vulcan had a massive war, and my people were nearly wiped out because of this. Peace and helping your enemies after a war is the only way to fix a problem, not attempting to murder them all for the mistakes of their leaders." Tess said.

Barron adjusted his position slightly and turned to face Tess, “Mistakes? If that is true, then tell me; how many guards within the Concentration Camps tell their leaders they were wrong for murdering millions of people? I hear the Cardassians treat their prisoners no better.”

“Barron,” Teriir interrupted him before he could continue, “The Cardassians are not those people any more and you don’t become them to defeat them. Only though peace can you really stop being enemies.”

“Don’t even bother lying!” the Traitor snapped back at him, “I overheard some comments about you which stated you were a prisoner of theirs once! You know exactly what they do! What is the worst thing they did to you there! Tell us the truth! The REAL truth!”

The Captain held the Ensign’s gaze for a moment and then looked away, “The actions of a few doesn’t mean we should see them all that way.”

“LIES!!!”

Teriir gave Barron a hard look before finally speaking, “I witnessed the execution of numerous families; men, women, and children. Gul Malak ordered their deaths and sent the recording of the execution to a Federation Taskforce outside the system as a fear tactic.”

“And what of the troops? Did they hesitate? Did they freeze up? Did any of them not fire!?!”

“No one,” the Captain admitted sadly, “Everyone fired.”

“So why should they receive our mercy?”

“Because the Gul who planned the attack, Gul Enok, was known to assist refugee ships throughout the War,” Teriir replied.

Barron’s eyes went huge and he began shaking from a rage so powerful it was palpable, “The murderer of my father!?! Helping civilians!?!”

“I witnessed him shield a Sydney with his own ship from a Jem’Hadar Warship at the border of Federation Space. It was a shock but my Captain contacted him about it after the Warship backed down. Gul Enok explained that he was fighting the Federation’s military, not the civilians. To defeat us, he wanted to prove they were better warriors who deserved to win by their strength, not murderers of people who didn’t ask to be put in harm’s way.”

“Yet HE was the one who assaulted Aureum and massacred it’s people!”

“No, Barron,” Teriir shook his head in responce, “Gul Enok planned the attack as a quick strike against the Federation forces in the system, not its people. He limited his fight to the military targets on the planet while Malak led the battle following the 14th Order’s withdrawal to carry out other operations elsewhere. The Cardassian 18th Order along with the Dominion’s 13th Fleet were responsible for what happened to Aureum.”

“So the vanguard was not responsible for paving the way to a massacre?”

“Gul Enok knows about his role and regrets it. But he was a soldier, who fought us; not the civilians we were fighting to protect. The morale shake he received from the actions of his own people was likely the driving force behind his actions throughout the remainder of the Dominion War. I remember him contacting civilian traffic outside of Starbase 211 when he led an attack on it to warn them of the impending battle.”

“You sound as though you support him!” Barron yelled, “A Cardassian over your own people! Every last Cardassian must die for everything they have done to us and everyone else in the galaxy!”

“And that is the right thing to do?” Teriir asked, suddenly eerily calm. He began circling around the Ensign, who now stood still but turned to continue facing him, slowly and steadily as he spoke, “This is what your father wanted you to be?”

“I am a leader!” Barron snapped back, now aiming the phaser at him in fury.

“Which is it?” the Captain argued, “Are you a leader or are you an opportunist? Telling others to fight for a cause only you believe in won’t get you anywhere. Tricking people into doing what you want will prevent anyone from trusting each other, ruining everything they believe in. You once looked to the stars and saw a future; now all you see is how many wrongs there are in the world.”

“Don’t pretend to know me! You have no idea what I’ve been through or the choices I’ve had to make!”

“You’re right; I don’t know you. I only know the troubled young man who lost a parent and joined Starfleet because they wanted to fight an enemy who wronged him. The Cardassians hurt you and you don’t know how to face that pain which is why they all have to pay for the actions of a few. You stand up for what you believe in even though others feel it’s wrong; possibly outright evil.”

“Then that is their problem,” Barron waved off Teriir’s comment.

“It is everyone’s problem. So tell me; what happened to Jacob Desai? He was one of your classmates at the Academy. He’s rather interesting due to his being a Human / Cardassian Hybrid but his file was sealed several months ago. Was it from him disappearing?”

The Ensign didn’t speak and kept his face perfectly neutral as though it didn’t matter. Teriir’s eyes widened in understanding, “You don’t even need to answer; it’s written all over your face! You faked his murder and passed him onto your mother when she arrived at Earth to receive her new Flagship; our sister ship, the Athena. Your cohorts have been torturing him ever since just to get a kick out of it.”

Barron’s face distorted into an almost blinding fury, “My only regret is that I’m not there to jab Klingon pain sticks into him day after day! Make him scream the same way his people have made millions of our families scream in pain! I’m strong enough to do what is necessary to protect the Federation!”

“Oh, shut up! You know nothing about strength! You intimidate others into doing what you want, you put others in harm's way instead of yourself, and you don’t know what any of us who have seen war have been through. The people who’ve looked out for you all your life gave you power but you’ve never had the strength to use if for anything but yourself,” Teriir paused in his pacing and pointed at him.

Barron stared at him for a second before leaning forward with a laugh, noticing something about the Captain’s gesture, “Who do you think you are telling me about strength? You are shaking like a scared little boy who’s about to cry for help that will never come!”

“Yeah. I am scared,” he admitted, knowing his shaking arm was from keeping his anger in check but played along, “I’m scared for the lives of 800 shipmates on the Ares. I’m scared for every family on this ship. I’m scared for the lives of 13 children who have yet to be born. I’m scared of the message I need to deliver to Henry Patel, Amita Patel’s husband, and the son he now has to raise alone.”

(( TAG: Everyone still in the corridor ))

[Josh Broughm]

USS Ares
Shuttle Bay - Inside Shuttle Manhattan

Max climbed into the shuttle, closed the hatch & immediately said,

- Computer, raise shields & uplink to Ares computer.

The computer beeped & said,

- Shields activated. Uplink established.

Max slipped into the pilot's seat & brought up the Ares sensor controls.

- Computer, perform a passive scan of Cargo bay two. Alert if explosive devices are present. Also, seal off access to the rest of the ship from both the Shuttle & cargo bays.

The computer beeped and proclaimed,

- Working.

It took a minute, in which Max got himself a small coffee from the replicator. He operated rather well....too well....in pressure cooker situations.

- Explosive devices detected in Cargo Bay 2. Advise evacu-

- Cancel. How many devices?

- Twelve.

- What explosive material is contained inside?

- A higher resolution scan is required.

- Do it.

Max took a big gulp of his coffee as the sensors did a much deeper scan of the bombs. In his head, he played a song that he particularly became fond of, as he waited.

This process took five minutes when the Computer chirped & said,

- Scan complete. Material inside devices is an anti-proton/tricobalt mix. Ratio - 2:3.

- Mother of god.

He activated the comms.

=^= Chief, we got a major problem. Devices are a Anti-proton/Tricobalt mix & there's twelve of them. More than enough to blow a massive chunk out of the ship! =^=

((TAG Biqu))

=^= You don't need to tell me twice! =^=

((TAG Biqu))

=^= Going to figure that out now. =^=

He closed the comms & continued his analysis.

((TAG TO EVERYONE ELSE))

[LogicalLeopard]

USS Ares
Deck 10 - Cargo Bay 2

The doors whooshed open suddenly, and everyone instinctively crouched nearer to the shuttles. Shortly before the door closed, Biiqs gestured silently toward the door of a Type 20 shuttle, indicating that Max should run there on his mark.

The door closed, and the shooting began. "Go!" He shouted to Max as he gave cover fire, the awkward angle causing him to have to shoot right past him.

Max saw the door open & two phaser beams whized by his head. He knew it was go time.

- Chief, keep them off my ass while I scan the bombs!

He then went into a shuttle & began his work.

"Will do!" With the advantage of surprise, Biiqs estimated that they felled at least half of the Bajorans before the rest found cover and began returning fire. He knew this wouldn't be easy. Unlike fighting Cardassians or Nausicaans or Jem Hadar, Bajorans were used to being outgunned, and fighting in the most dire circumstances. As he ducked back behind the shuttle under withering fire, he plotted his next move.

Flashing the hold sign at Kurts and Nanoki, the security officers nearest to him, he shouted over the weapons fire, "My name is Lt. Commander Biiqs Tarquin. Who is in charge among your group?"

The Bajoran answered with another volley of fire.

"I think you got through to them, Chief. Ever thought of the Diplomatic Corps?" remarked Kurts.


Biiqs rolled his eyes and tried again. "Look! We know what you plan to do. It won't work. We are not letting you off this ship. Not a shuttle will launch from this bay - the ship is on lockdown. Laying down your arms is the only sensible choice."

"Sensible choice," cried a female voice from behind a cargo container, voice thick with pain. "Starfleet is all about the sensible choice, isn't it? The sensible choice was to ignore decades of suffering on Bajor, until it became strategically important. The sensible choice was to abandon it to the Dominion, as soon as it became difficult to defend. The sensible choice was to abandon worlds like Dorvan V to the Cardassians, trading the lives of your own citizens to those vermin. Tell me, Commander, why are you so concerned at what happens to those citizens now? You abandoned them once, so why dont you just look the other way and abandon them again! You won't, will you? Because now they're sympathisers to the Cardassians, just like your ilk. How many dead during the war you brought to our doorstep, Commander? How many dead!?" The last words were spit through her teeth like poison.

"I'm sorry for what you had to go through," Biiqs replied, "But this isn't the way to--"

"No more empty condolences. No more useless words. This is the way! We are leaving here, Commander, and it will be over your dead bodies."

With that, the fire resumed. He noticed that a few Bajorans were able to maneuver into a position where they would soon threaten to flank the officers on the right side of the bay. Fortunately, those officers saw and were ready, driving the Bajorans back toward another stalemate.

"Not bad," observed Kurts, "I mean, for them. Not us. It's not so good for us. We can hold them, but unless we do something different..."

He was cut off by a comminication from Max.

=^= Chief, we got a major problem. Devices are a Anti-proton/Tricobalt mix & there's twelve of them. More than enough to blow a massive chunk out of the ship! =^=

Biiqs blinked in surprise. "TWELVE of them? We're practically in the middle of the ship. If those blow, I think the whole ship would go with it !"

=^= You don't need to tell me twice! =^=

"Is there anything you can do to disable it remotely? We're kind of at a stalemate here."

=^= Going to figure that out now. =^=

"Alright, Lieutenant, well try to accelerate things out here just in case you can't. Tarquin out."

"Well, I suppose it's a good thing we wont be killed by Bajoran extremists," Kurts said. "The tri-cobalt devices will kill us pretty effectively..."

Biiqs shook his head. "Your optimism is noted, Mr. Kurts, but if we can find a way to keep bits of us from floating out into space, that would be preferable. "

Kurts eyes began to dance as a new idea came to him. "Actually, sir, floating in space isn't a bad idea....how is your zero G combat ranking?

"What?"

(( TAG: Max ))

[Josh Broughm]

USS Ares
Shuttlecraft Manhattan
Max now had to figure how to disable the bombs. He adjusted his position in the pilot's seat & said,

- Okay, Computer, give me a deep scan of the detonators inside one of the devices.

- Scanning.

Max had a thought. He pulled up his personal playlist & started playing some music.

He tapped his foot to the beat as the computer kept scanning. He felt comfortable in this shell, working alone, with a veritable hell unfolding outside. He was about to grab his second coffee when...

- Scan complete. Detonator is of Bajoran Militia build, indicative of Cardassian occupation build.

- So that's at least a starting point. Barron had a remote detonator, so let's start with a heavy dampening field in the cargo bay. At least level nine.

- Establishing dampening field.

The playlist moved to its next selection.

He bobbed his head to the new jam. Then...

- Dampening field in place.

- Neat! Kill the music.

The computer stopped playback.

=^= Storm to Biiqu, I have a dampening field in place to prevent that SOB from blowing us to hell. We need to get in there & disarm them by hand.

((tag Biiqu))

He looked out the window.

=^= Are you guys INSANE?!?=^=

((Tag Biiqu))

[LogicalLeopard]

USS Ares
Deck 10 - Cargo Bay 2

It was a good plan. A quick message to the bridge, and a bark of orders from Kurts is all it required to set the plan in motion.

"ALL FIRE TEAMS," Kurts bellowed across the bay, "EDISON EPSILON NINE ON THE MARK! BIG BLUE IS THE FOOTBALL!"

Biiqs sighed.

Kurts grinned.

And then the lights went out, followed by the gravity.

Biiqs counted to five before kicking off of the shuttle with one foot, in a diagonal path across the shuttlebay. A few seconds passed in darkness, with Biiqs hoping he set his angle, speed, and rotation correctly. When the lights came back on, he willed his senses to conform the picture he wanted to see, and attempted to keep his lunch down.

=^= Storm to Biiqs, I have a dampening field in place to prevent that SOB from blowing us to hell. We need to get in there & disarm them by hand.

"Acknowledged. We're almost wrapped up here," he replied, as he cartwheeled through the air in a most undignified manner.

Circling before him were the Bajorans, some of which floated helplessly above the cargo crates they had taken cover behind. There was a cloud of vomit being expelled by one young extremist, who obviously hadn't had much time in space. A few extremists, seeing Biiqs careen across the bay, raised their weapons in such a hurry that they lost their hand holds and went spinning out of control themselves.

And the security team, having secured themselves to the upper railing of the cargo bay and oriented themselves, began firing down (or up, depending on the way they chose to orient their thinking in zero-g) on the extremists.

He looked out the window.

=^= Are you guys INSANE?!?=^=

Biiqs landed with a thud against the railing, narrowly avoiding getting the wind knocked out of him. When he looked across the bay, he saw that all of the Bajorans had been subdued, with Kurts signaling everyone to cease fire.

"A little insane, Lieutenant," he said with a smile of satisfaction. "See, the problem is, conventional fighting against a group of combat-trained Bajorans is always a losing prospect. They excel at making the odds conform to their favor. Our advantage was that we controlled the field of battle, and Lt. Kurts pulled out an old Earth-Romulan war tactic. Drop the lights and gravity, acquire new positions, and fire while the enemy is still disoriented. To add to their confusion, sometimes it's best to send a decoy to attract the enemy's attention from the soldiers' new positions. And today, I had the honor to play that role..."

"And you did it well," chimed in Kurts from his perch about five meters down the railing. "As excellent a target as I've ever seen..."

Biiqs shook his head. "Starfleet's gain of a great tactician is surely the universe's loss of a great comedian. But we are grateful nonetheless. Alright everyone, orient yourself. Tarquin to Lt. Kenney, the bay is secure. Bring the gravity back down gradually over five seconds. We'll iso-tag the Bajorans and beam them directly to the brig. I know it'll be crowded."

As it returned, the security teams quickly came down to the first level and began to secure the Bajorans' weapons and cuff them.

"Make sure you scan them well and make sure there are no hidden weapons or transmitters on their person, then iso-tag them for beam out." He tapped his communicator. "Tarquin to Lt. Delvok and Ensign Tarov, report to Cargo Bay 2, your assistance with several explosive devices needed."

As he saw Max emerge from the shuttle, he said, "I've just called some armory officers down for extra hands, if you need them." Gesturing toward the cargo bay, he said, "Shall we, Lieutenant?"

(( TAG: Max ))

OOC: Just to let you know, I'm assuming the shuttle, being activated, was generating it's own gravity, so Max wouldn't go tumbling around the shuttle when the gravity went off!

[Asteropax]

(( OOC: Continued ))

USS Ares
Deck 10 - Corridor

“Then that boy will grow up knowing what it’s like to have everything taken from him,” Barron grunted, “He will suffer as I suffered and join my people's cause! We will rise to destroy our nemesis as a united people!”

“What about the 217 Officers and Crew who died on the Hokkaido? What about the 47 civilians who also died? Did you even think about the 19 children who never had the chance to grow up?” Teriir pressed Barron for answers, “Or did you see only what you came to destroy?”

“That ‘diplomat’ was Cardassian and that’s reason enough! Everyone else was just in my way!”

“Would you burn down an entire planet and kill nearly 2 million people to attack a select few? Execute children in front of their parents and make a prisoner watch? Disobey orders from your leaders to leave and instead condemn 800,000 troops to their deaths? Order starships to kamikaze cities to ensure everyone knows how committed you are to a massacre? Leave a beautiful place in flames with a smile on your lips?” Teriir approached Barron and got right in his face; so close that he could feel his breath on his face.

Barron ran backwards to put some distance between him and the Captain. He looked shocked that Teriir advanced on him like that but didn’t seem fazed by his questions, “If you have to ask if there is a limit to what I’ll do; then you’ll never understand.”

Teriir continued glaring at the Traitor but held his ground, “No; I was wanting to be sure.”

“Sure of what?”

“If you were any better than someone whom both sides agreed was a War Criminal,” Teriir moved over to the door which led to Sam’s Office and faced it, not moving or blinking. He kept his hands behind his back, “Gul Malak did everything I just asked you at the Battle of Aureum. I’ve met your kind of people before who will stop at nothing until they get what they want. We have nothing more to discuss.”

(( TAG: Everyone still in the corridor ))

When Barron killed the Ambassadorial Aide, he shared the face Malak had when he murdered those children. Malak’s smile when he headed over to a Cardassian patrol ship getting ready to evacuate him off Aureum during the kamikaze attacks against the still populated towns and cities was the same one Barron had when he admitted his role in destroying the Hokkaido. That grin on Barron’s face when hearing about the now motherless child was the same one Malak had when whispering in Teriir’s ear about his role in his mother’s death.

“Life is strange, isn’t it?” Teriir said as he felt the business end of Barron’s phaser press against the back of his head, “Malak killed my mother when I was 5. I know exactly what you have gone through, Wallace; what you are still going through. I hated him for everything he did to me.”

“Is there a point to your babbling?”

“Like you’ve put a phaser to my head, I put one on his. The difference between you and me is that I was able to drop my weapon and try to help him survive the firestorm he started. He ended up saving me when he pushed me away from some falling debris at the cost of his own life. I’ll never know if he wanted me to live because he wanted me to continue suffering or if it was his way to say he was sorry,” the Captain didn’t look at Barron, “What is your choice -”

A solid, unexpected blow to the back of his head made him collapse into a heap on the floor. He groaned and looked up at Barron who was staring at him with a look of pure hatred and screamed at the top of his lungs, “YOU DID NOT EXECUTE A CARDASSIAN WAR CRIMINAL!?!?! YOU ARE MORE PATHETIC THAN I ALREADY THOUGHT YOU WERE!!!”

(( TAG: Everyone still in the corridor ))

Captain Teriir remained calm and gave his head a quick shake to clear it from the punch he’d been given. Although the blow seemed hard, as though Barron struck him with the butt of his phaser, it didn’t really hurt. He took a breath and looked right at the fallen Ensign, who was still glaring at him, “I’m stronger than you’ll ever be because I was willing to stop.”

“You think the Cardassians will stop their mad quest for kill us all?” Barron shot back with wild eyes, “They will never stop killing our people!”

The Captain almost smiled, knowing he was talking to a madman, “Things change, Wallace. If we don’t change and become better, then future generations will keep fighting the same battles. Gul Malak’s father died during a fight with the USS Rutledge near the start of the Border Wars. My mother died towards the end of that same war; killed by him. Then I fought in the next war against Cardassia! I don’t want the generation which follows to need to experience the same things I did. The same things which many of us here have!”

“What do you know about the horrors of war or sacrifice!?!”

“I’ve had to face death square in the face dozens of times. I’ve had to ignore people dying around me and keep fighting to ensure everyone else survived. I willingly gave up a seat on an overloaded evacuation shuttle so it could take of with a full load of civilians; including a newborn set of twins I helped deliver,” Teriir’s voice grew firmer and stronger with each word, moving to a kneeling position at the third point. He then looked Barron square in the eyes void of any emotion, “Dying for a cause is easy; try finding a cause to live for.”

(( TAG: Everyone still in the corridor ))

“Hmph!” Barron grunted at Teriir’s story, panting a little due to his yelling and screaming physically wearing him down a little, “What’s the difference?”

“If you have to ask,” the Captain answered, his thoughts immediately jumping to all of the friends he’d made throughout his service to the Federation, “Then you’ll never understand.”

The Ensign shook, realizing his own words had been used against him, “I ought to kill you for that but I’ve come to realize how much I actually need the Captain of the Ares this time.”

“This time?” Teriir frowned. Every word Barron said practically brought another charge against him.

“The fight with the Orions, dummy. You see, when the ship didn’t start exploding straight away, I got out of my pod and took a look around, finding another opportunity to sabotage your ship almost instantly,” the Traitor smirked, “The blood and will of the ship is her crew but it’s the Captain who gives it her soul.”

“The console explosion which severely wounded Captain Wilson when we needed him was no accident,” Captian Teriir made eye contact with Barron, “You caused an overload during the fight which would get blamed by a systems failure in a failed assassination attempt on our original Captain.”

“Yes. I am every bad day the Ares has and will ever experience.”

(( TAG: Everyone still in the corridor ))

“How does it feel, knowing I have your soul in my grasp and there is nothing you can do about it?” Barron stood and shot a few brief glances around to make sure everyone in the corridor saw his malevolent smile of triumph. He then leaned close to the Captian, “I will now get to the point in all of this; What I want most is -”

“You want the Captain’s Access Codes,” Teriir cut him off, “Your talking to me has been nothing but a diversion to buy time for the Bajoran Extremists to assault Dorvan V. On the side, you wanted us to know how badly we have failed; crush our souls, as the saying goes. Your reason for wanting my Access Codes? Activate the Self-Destruct option for the Ares to leave no witnesses behind so you can continue your quest to kill billions to satisfy your lust for vengeance; safely escaping on an escape pod or shuttle.

(( TAG: Everyone ))

(( OOC: With the Bajorans now in custody, the people in Cargo Hold 2 can pull up a monitor and see what's going on down there thanks to R'Turan broadcasting everything going on between Barron and I to the rest of the ship and the other Federation Vessels in the system. ))

[WelshAvenger]

USS Ares
Deck 10 - Corridor

A solid, unexpected blow to the back of his head made him collapse into a heap on the floor. He groaned and looked up at Barron who was staring at him with a look of pure hatred and screamed at the top of his lungs, “YOU DID NOT EXECUTE A CARDASSIAN WAR CRIMINAL!?!?! YOU ARE MORE PATHETIC THAN I ALREADY THOUGHT YOU WERE!!!”

Christopher knew at that moment that Barron wasn't just a liability and a traitor, he was certifiable. He glanced at Jei, still standing by the overload controls, "Get ready on that, Jei, he's starting to lose control."

“The console explosion which severely wounded Captain Wilson when we needed him was no accident,” Captian Teriir made eye contact with Barron, “You caused an overload during the fight which would get blamed by a systems failure in a failed assassination attempt on our original Captain.”

Christopher shared a grim smile with Jei at the thought of the Ensign being injured by a console overload, just as he had used against the previous Captain. There was a certain cosmic karma to it. Barron wouldn't even know that he had lost everything until it was too late to do anything about it.

[Josh Broughm]

USS Ares
Deck 10 - Cargo Bay 2

Gesturing toward the cargo bay, he said, "Shall we, Lieutenant?"

Max smiled and said, as he slung the sword back across his back

- Sure! That was some good fighting. I failed my zero G combat training. Mainly because I kept throwing up on the instructor.

((TAG Biiqu))
Max laughed and said,

- That's the one thing my family all have in common. They HATE zero G.

They entered the cargo bay & Max took a long, deep breath.

- The bombs should be pretty obvious. Let's take a walk around the room & do a visual count to confirm the number.

((TAG Biiqu))

[LogicalLeopard]

USS Ares
Deck 10 - Cargo Bay 2

Max smiled and said, as he slung the sword back across his back

- Sure! That was some good fighting. I failed my zero G combat training. Mainly because I kept throwing up on the instructor.

Biiqs laughed. "Yes, yes that would make a negative impression during an exam. I've just learned that some people's stomachs are more able to adapt than others, no shame in that. I'd just say that some stomachs are more giving...more likely to share what they have with others."

Max laughed and said,

- That's the one thing my family all have in common. They HATE zero G.

They entered the cargo bay & Max took a long, deep breath.

- The bombs should be pretty obvious. Let's take a walk around the room & do a visual count to confirm the number.

"Understood." Biiqs opened his tricorder and begin scanning, walking around the bay slowly. As he did so, he couldn't help noticing the footage that was being piped throughout the ship.

“Yes. I am every bad day the Ares has and will ever experience.”

“How does it feel, knowing I have your soul in my grasp and there is nothing you can do about it?” Barron stood and shot a few brief glances around to make sure everyone in the corridor saw his malevolent smile of triumph. He then leaned close to the Captian, “I will now get to the point in all of this; What I want most is -”

“You want the Captain’s Access Codes,” Teriir cut him off, “Your talking to me has been nothing but a diversion to buy time for the Bajoran Extremists to assault Dorvan V. On the side, you wanted us to know how badly we have failed; crush our souls, as the saying goes. Your reason for wanting my Access Codes? Activate the Self-Destruct option for the Ares to leave no witnesses behind so you can continue your quest to kill billions to satisfy your lust for vengeance; safely escaping on an escape pod or shuttle.

Biiqs shook his head in disgust, saying half to himself, and half to Max, "There's a human proverb that says, 'Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.' I wonder does young Mr. Barron hear himself in the midst of his arrogant prattling..."

"Aye, all he hears is himself," came an irritated voice behind them, "That's why he hasn't realized that the captain is just buying more time to come around on his six, and shove all those words right back up his..."

"Is your tricorder properly calibrated, Mr. Tarov?" Ensign Delvok, a Vulcan, interrupted his Tellarite companion. "A .0247 adjustment to the radiometer array allows for a more precise an analysis of Tricobalt energy signatures."

Tarov huffed at the interruption, jowls working silently for a moment. "I'll tell you whose array I'd like to adjust! That slack jawed, crib dwelling, pompous disaster of an officer there," he said, pointing at a nearby screen. " Do you know a couple weeks ago when I tried to store some extra photon torpedo casings here in this very bay, EMPTY CASINGS, mind you, he said the bay wasn't rated for ordnance. NOT RATED FOR ORDNANCE! And the whole time, the little pink faced pissant had the whole bay filled with enough explosives to..."

"Mr. Tarov." Biiqs held up a hand. "I understand that I broached the subject, but perhaps we should return our focus to the bombs. Wrre just trying to make sure we have an accurate count right now. So if you two could maybe start on that end of the bay and meet us in the middle...."

Delvok nodded his acknowledgement, while Tarov snorted his, both looking at their tricorder and becoming absorbed in the data.

After a while, Biiqs said to Max, "Seems to me your initial estimates were correct. Do these remote trigger mechanisms look Bajoran to you?"


(( TAG: Max ))

[Josh Broughm]

USS Ares
Cargo Bay 2

After a while, Biiqs said to Max, "Seems to me your initial estimates were correct. Do these remote trigger mechanisms look Bajoran to you?"

Max let out a slow breath & said,

- Let's crack one open & find out. Everyone, circle up on me.

((TAG Biiqu))
When the team closed in on him & one of the devices, Max rubbed his hands together, detached a small disc from the back of his hand & placed it on a nearby cargo container. The delusional ramblings of Barron was distracting, so he said,

- Computer, close off that feed.

The computer shut off the feed. Max activated the small disc, which was a holographic display.
((TAG Biiqu))
Max laughed and said,

- This thing got a few tricks in it.

He then reached out his hands to feel around for a latch on the bomb. He felt a button on the right hand side & max pressed it. The entire top of the casing popped up with a loud clunk. He slowly opened the lid & saw a rather large dumbell construct, with wires running from the lid to the construct. Max brought his bionic arm to his lips and said,

- Stacy, activate the tricorder systems in partial passive & run a scan on the wiring.

A voice from the arm said,

- On it, Boss.

((TAG Biiqu))

[Asteropax]

(( OOC: Interlude ))

USS Ares
Bridge

As R’Turan - EARLIER

(Barron says) “Making it look like they’ve been massacred by those freaks of nature is too good for them. They betrayed us when they left the Federation. They can redeem themselves by dying as martyrs to the end of Cardassia. With so many dead civilians, along with the Bajorans after they play their part, all done by Cardassian weapons; the Federation will have no choice but to respond!”

(Teriir says) “How could you even consider murdering civilians?”

(Barron says) “They are a means to an end. The Federation deserves better to have Cardassian scum existing as our neighbors. They’ve ruined countless families, orphaned so many of our children. Yet we’ve chosen to break bread with those villains! My people are making certain they pay for everything they have ever done to us!”

“Your Ensign appears to be either delusional or insane,” the Vulcan Captain of the USS Cerberus, Svalk, stated over communications. As soon as R’Turan got to the bridge, he made sure all of the other ships in the system were made aware of what was going on. He was now seated in the Chair looking at several picture-in-pictures of the other ship’s bridges and several security feeds.

“Insane?!?” Captain Terry gawked, “He sounds like he wants to get everyone killed for no reason! How has he managed to take things this far?”

“I don’t know,” the Saurian Captain of the Charbdis, Tarusi, chimed in, “But we’re already taking steps to ensure everyone’s safety. How are the civilian evacuation measures proceeding?”

“The Lakota has taken on all of our civilians and your ship, along with the Cerberus, are beaming aboard some of the non-essential personnel,” R’Turan answered, “If my guess is accurate and Barron has taken our hostage captive to steal his access codes, then we need to ensure our people’s safety.”

“Agreed,” Captain Sallen nodded, “With the civilians and Ambassadors back on our ships, the Lakota and Memphis should fall back so our heavy hitters can be ready to confront the Ares should Barron take over your ship somehow.”

“Then let’s get moving,” Terry answered. She looked around her bridge and was about to say something before hesitating, “We’re all idiots.”

“What?” Tarusi looked at the Lakota’s Captain in confusion.

“We have 5 ships and 2,000 Officers present; Someone has to have an idea on how to capture Barron!”

The Captains shot gazed around to look at the various Bridge Officers present and R’Turan noticed he was doing the same thing. He spoke up first, “She’s right. Any suggestions?”

“Our transporters are offline due to the lockdown,” Lieutenant Kenny commented, “But one of the other ships could beam our Captain off.”

“I thought Barron said he would kill your Captain and detonate the explosives if we did that?” one of the Officers on the Charbdis reminded everyone.

“Not if he doesn’t realize what’s happening!” someone on the Cerberus argued excitedly, “I was on the starship Enterprise during the Ba’ku Incident. Captain Picard beamed out the bridge crew of a Son’a starship and disguised it with a flash of light and some white noise to cover up the transport so he could deactivate a device that would kill everything on the planet. We could do the same thing!”

“We would need something more than a lightshow to distract Barron,” Sallen murmured, “His attention is riveted on your Captain. Is there something we could add onto that?”

“Sirs?” Ensign Aerign called out, “Ensign Barron mentioned his father died during the Dominion War. If we play a recording from him to his son on a console behind him, that may be enough to make him look away long enough for us to beam our Captain out!”

“That’ll save the Captain but what about the bombs?” another Officer, this one from the Lakota wondered aloud, “We can’t afford to have him look back, see him gone, and go for his detonator.”

“Then beam Captain Teriir to a holodeck,” R’Turan instructed everyone, “We have holographic emitters there we can use to broadcast a hologram of him to the corridor in question.”

“Oh! A switcheroo!” despite the tension, Tarusi burst out laughing, “He’ll be keeping a hologram hostage while the real Captain Teriir is safe and sound!”

“There is only a 16.2% chance of this plan working,” Svalk stated the odds, “Barron will eventually see through the illusion and detonate the explosives.”

“What if we combine the holographic communication system with holodeck physics?” Lieutenant Nagi suggested, “Everything will still get broadcasted but our Captain can still make physical contact with Barron.”

“Does that mean he’ll also be immune to Barron’s phaser if he shoots?” Kenny smiled. After Nagi nodded, her smile became broader, “Great! Let’s see about -”

“Wait! I’m afraid I don’t follow!” Sallen interrupted their excitement while flustering, “How does a hologram help with preventing the bombs from going off?”

“Captain Teriir is a war veteran,” R’Turan explained, reflecting on what he had seen in the Captain’s service record. Although some pieces of his records were sealed, he was able to look at enough public knowledge records to get an idea of everything else. There were only two words to describe what he’d seen; professional soldier. He needed to keep quiet about his guess though so left these details out, “Without the threat of getting vaporized, he has more than enough experience in hand-to-hand combat to take away Barron’s phaser and detonator. The element of surprise will also greatly assist him.”

“Not that I don’t trust your Captain,” Terry’s face flashed concern at him as she leaned forward, “But I saw the medical report of your after action with the Nausicaan Destroyer; Teriir was wounded in the shoulder. He’s still hurt. Even with the holographic safeties on, he might not be able to defeat Barron one on one. He will need backup and your holo projectors will be heavily loaded due to following his actions in a transmission.”

“I think some of your people are handling that already,” Tarusi noticed something going on and made one of the recordings they were watching fill up most of the viewscreen.

While most eyes were on the Captain and Barron, Jei had stepped to the side to a maintenance console. She put in her access codes and checked the schematic of the causeway. Ensign Barron was standing near a power coupling.

. . .

It would be a few moments, before the coupling overloaded, and effectively taking out the force fields. The entire area would be bathed in darkness for a moment before emergency lightning switched on. If Jei's luck held out, Barron would also have some nasty burns on his rear.

“I see what she’s doing. Ensign Aerign,” R’Turan looked back to the Coridan Ensign who quickly shifted to attention, “Get down there and inform the Officers what the plan is.”

“Yes, sir!” she replied but appeared extremely nervous, “What exactly is the plan?”

R’Turan was about to snap at her but realized he hadn’t gone into detail on what he meant. He looked to her apologetically, “The plan is to wait until the security team captures the Bajoran Extremists in the Cargo Hold and starts working on getting the bombs disarmed. Once they start doing that, we’ll create our distraction to get our Captain out of there. From there, he should be able to ambush Barron and disarm him of both the phaser and detonator so he can’t remotely activate the bombs.”

“Then it’s our turn?” Aerign narrowed her eyes at him, pleading for him to confirm her guess.

“Then it’s our turn,” R’Turan repeated with a grin. After she got on board the turbolift to head down to Deck 10, he turned back to the viewscreen.

Barron adjusted his position slightly and turned to face Tess, “Mistakes? If that is true, then tell me; how many guards within the Concentration Camps tell their leaders they were wrong for murdering millions of people? I hear the Cardassians treat their prisoners no better.”

“Barron,” Teriir interrupted him before he could continue, “The Cardassians are not those people any more and you don’t become them to defeat them. Only though peace can you really stop being enemies.”

[LogicalLeopard]

USS Ares
Cargo Bay 2

Max let out a slow breath & said,

- Let's crack one open & find out. Everyone, circle up on me.

The team circled around, with Delvok watching impassively, Biiqs looking in with a calm expression, and Tarov running his quick, small eyes across the device while mumbling to himself. "Casing looks Orion. Some slick little number from the Orion Colonies, I'd wager." He stroked his beard as he pondered.

When the team closed in on him & one of the devices, Max rubbed his hands together, detached a small disc from the back of his hand & placed it on a nearby cargo container. The delusional ramblings of Barron was distracting, so he said,

- Computer, close off that feed.

The computer shut off the feed. Max activated the small disc, which was a holographic display.

Biiqs let out a low whistle of appreciation. "That is quite a useful bit of machinery you have there, Lieutenant."

Max laughed and said,

- This thing got a few tricks in it.

He then reached out his hands to feel around for a latch on the bomb. He felt a button on the right hand side & max pressed it. The entire top of the casing popped up with a loud clunk. He slowly opened the lid & saw a rather large dumbell construct, with wires running from the lid to the construct. Max brought his bionic arm to his lips and said,

- Stacy, activate the tricorder systems in partial passive & run a scan on the wiring.

A voice from the arm said,

- On it, Boss.

((TAG Biiqs))

Biiqs turned to Delvok, silently mouthing to him the words, "It talks, too." Delvok, not having a more suitable response, merely hefted an inquisitive eyebrow.

(( TAG: Max ))

[Asteropax]

(( OOC: Continued ))

USS Ares
Deck 10 - Corridor

“You’re smarter than you look, Captain Dumsel!” Barron sneered gleefully at Captain Teriir.

“The only thing worthless here is you,” he retorted, “Instead of doing the duty which Starfleet requested you perform, you begin pursuing your own agenda. One that goes completely against the wants and needs of our people.”

“Me? Worthless?” Barron took a few seconds to contemplate the Captain’s words, obviously to think about some way to dismiss him, “Ha!”

“If you think I’m going to hand over my access codes to allow you to blow up this ship and kill everyone on it; you are going to have something else coming,” Teriir saw some commotion over with the Senior Officers and guessed they’d come up with a plan of sorts to possibly even the odds for him and decided to keep stalling for time. He would make one more plea to try to convince the Traitor to stop, “End your mission now and -”

(( TAG: Everyone still in the Corridor ))

“Awe! That’s sooo cute!” Barron smirked, “You are pleading for your life!”

The Captain shook his head and corrected him, “I’m pleading for yours.”

“As though I need help. Yet here I am holding all the cards while you have nothing except for the thing I want most.”

“I’ve stared down the barrel of a gun before,” it was Teriir’s turn to wave off his opponent’s thoughts, “This is nothing new to me.”

“It doesn’t matter to me; the only thing I care about is ensuring every Cardassian lies dead at my feet. And if even one survives, I will swim an ocean of his people’s blood to strangle him with my bare hands!”

“Your insane quest for vengeance has caused you to betray the very people you've claimed to be protecting.”

“Betrayed?” Barron’s eyes suddenly started to go wild, “BETRAYED?!? You call me a traitor!?! A TRAITOR!?! WHO ARE YOU TO TALK!!!”

The Captain simply blinked at the now crazed Ensign and heard a few of the nearby Officers shift uncomfortably at his words. It seemed as though he were preparing to say anything to try to justify his actions, going so far as to hurl mud on others to deceive them into believing he was right. He knew Barron was about to take a crack at him and braced himself.

Barron roared while waving an arm towards all of the nearby Officers, “ALL of YOU are TRAITORS!!! You stopped protecting our people when you STOPPED SLAUGHTERING CARDASSIANS!!! I STAND HERE BECAUSE OF YOU!!!”

(( TAG: Everyone still in the Corridor ))

With that, the Ensign reached into a pocket and retrieved an object from within, hurling it at the ground by Teriir’s feet. The instant it hit, a cable shot out and caught his left forearm. The Captain went to yank it off when a stream of energy came to life and began shocking him enough to make him cry out. A second object landed on his other side and did the same thing to his right arm and pulled tight, forcing him onto his knees. He’d seen Nausicaan energy lance traps before and knew Barron must’ve been given these or stole them from one of the Nausicaan Bases on the planet below.

Barron darted over to him and began throwing punches wildly, screaming obscenities while doing so. Teriir saw a pattern in the flailing attacks and was able to twist himself around in his kneeling position to avoid the worst of it. Barron finally slowed down after a long while and stepped back, smiling and laughing with pride. The Captain didn’t respond, instead looking over to everyone outside the forcefields to signal them the best he could to tell him not to activate their plan yet. There was no way to know which way Barron would leap right now.

(( TAG: Everyone still in the Corridor ))

“Hahaha . . . ah ha! Ha ha,” Barron panted out the laughter and swaggered back a step, “All of this is your doing, Captain Terrier!”

“This is needless,” the Captain ignored the Ensign mocking his name and struggled lightly against his bonds, “All everyone here wants to do is perform their jobs and enjoy their lives.”

Barron shook his head once in disgust and lashed out at Teriir with a fierce backhand. The blow to the face hurt but also made him realize something; Barron hadn’t been trained in melee combat. His attack from earlier was completely uncoordinated. The strike just now actually made him grab his wrist as though he were unprepared to deal with the shock to his hand. Teriir kept this in mind as he listened to the Traitor, who’d moved to the center of the corridor to gloat.

“Listen to me, all of you! Starfleet has failed in it’s one duty to protect my people from our merciless enemies! Because none of you will stand beside me, then you are all against me!” Barron was shouting and waved the detonator as though it were a championship trophy; his finger on the trigger, “Nobody here lives without my permission!”

(( TAG: Everyone ))

Captain Teriir had enough and grabbed the cables holding him down. The electrical current which slashed into his arms like hundreds of needles were ignored as he stood up to his full height. There was suddenly a tension running through the air as he shifted himself to an attention position with his arms forced downwards due to the cables. His movement stole everyone's attention from Barron. Realizing he'd lost his audience, the Traitor turned his direction and began gaping, stunned by the gesture. Teriir glared at the Traitor and spoke with a voice of authority he’d never had before; filled with defiance.

“I wasn’t asking.”

(( TAG: Everyone ))

Barron’s eyes flicked nervously to the sides and hesitated. It was the first time in the duration of their conversation that he looked unsure of himself. He coughed to clear his throat and mind and aggressively moved so close to the Captain that he could feel his breath on his face, “Defiant to the end, aren’t you? Every step of the way, you and your pawns have been thwarting my efforts to save the Federation! No more of th - AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!”

The Traitor squealed with a high pitched voice after Teriir swiftly lashed out with his knee to a very delicate area of Barron's. Before he could fall down, the Captain pulled against the cables and grabbed Barron’s head so he could slam his face into his knee. The Ensign fell back, bawling from shock and pain while grabbing his nose and the delicate area. He knew from the way he was now curled up into a feeble position that he’d broken the Traitor’s nose. Teriir blinked at the sight of something else.

The phaser landed next to Barron but the detonator was next to the Captain's foot.

Moving fast, knowing he’d only enraged Barron once again, he kicked the detonator closer to himself. He grabbed it as best he could with both feet together and jumped up. The motion brought the detonator with it and, more importantly, caught it. He gave a sharp nod towards the direction of the Senior Officers and then towards Locke and the security team to tell them to do whatever the plan was. He was able to reach to a back pocket and slid the detonator into it so it was out of Barron’s sight just before the Traitor recovered enough to stare at him with eyes resembling pits of fury.

(( TAG: Everyone; Jei, Christopher, Tess ))

(( OOC: Here we go with the plan! Teriir is about to get out of there with the detonator and Barron will soon be in position in front of the console that's been rigged to blow! ))

[Josh Broughm]

USS Ares
Cargo Bay 2
Max heard the comments about his arm, smiled and said,

- It comes in handy for some certain things, like this.

He motioned to the bomb he was working on. He then refocused on the bomb.

- Stacy, how are you doing on the scan?

The voice from his arm said,

- I just finished. Wiring is isolinear based & has a progressive voltage setup.

The holographic display changed to show the power flow through the wires. Max nodded and said,

- So, cut the lowest powerflow wires? Got it.

Max then took a small panel off his arm & pulled out a small pair of snips, then started to cut the wires. Stacy said, when he finished,

- Detonation matrix deactivated.

Max let out a big breath & said,

- Thank god. Chief, you should have your guys follow this procedure when they disarm the rest.

((TAG Biiqu))

- A round of beers for all y'all!

((TAG Biiqu))

OOC: I had something much detailed in my head, but I just wanted this done. :p

[LogicalLeopard]

USS Ares
Cargo Bay 2

Max heard the comments about his arm, smiled and said,

- It comes in handy for some certain things, like this.

He motioned to the bomb he was working on. He then refocused on the bomb.

- Stacy, how are you doing on the scan?

The voice from his arm said,

- I just finished. Wiring is isolinear based & has a progressive voltage setup.

The holographic display changed to show the power flow through the wires. Max nodded and said,

- So, cut the lowest powerflow wires? Got it.

Max then took a small panel off his arm & pulled out a small pair of snips, then started to cut the wires. Stacy said, when he finished,

- Detonation matrix deactivated.

Max let out a big breath & said,

- Thank god. Chief, you should have your guys follow this procedure when they disarm the rest.

Biiqs began to breathe a little easier as the bomb was disarmed. "Excellent work, Lieutenant. It looks straightforward enough, doesn't it everyone?" Delvok nodded once and Tarov grunted his agreement. "Okay, so let's get to it. The quicker we finish, the quicker we can celebrate not dying."

- A round of beers for all y'all!

"There's a lad!" Tarov thumped his fist against Max's shoulder. "Though I'd prefer to have mine now instead of later...theres an Andorian lager I'm kind of partial to. Andorians. Can't make a decent anodyne manifold but surprisingly good at making beverages...."

With that, they began the work of disabling the bombs. As they concluded, Biiqs tapped his combadge. "Tarquin to....Tarquin to Lt. Victoria Kenney," he said as he changed his mind quickly. Please patch me through to R'Turan's commbadge. Set the volume low enough for him to hear and no one else."

"Stand by...Ready, Commander."

"Tarquin to R'Turan. The Bajorans are in custody and thanks to some great work by Lt. Storm, the bombs are all disabled."

(( TAG: Asteropax, Max ))

OOC: I think this seems suitable and realistic! I believe I've heard that disabling bombs are usually more straightforward like that, and not as complex as we see in the movies.