SD:90325.0533
Scene: Z'Dark's quarters
The proud owner of a bar, newly opened and fully utilated on the
expenses of the Dergrad Empire, Zahn was carefully considering his
next move. He decided to keep the current staff, the bar was useful
as a meeting place. Besides, the fewer people know he is the real
owner the better.
A blip attracted his attention to the communication terminal. He
turned the image on and - much to his surprise - he saw the face of
Admiral DiFalco's assistant, Adrian.
"Good morning, Commander" Adrian said. "Adm DiFalco ordered you back
to SB Omega within the next 72 hours."
"What?!" asked Zahn stunned. "I'm on an undercover operation..."
"Not anymore. You are to take command of the USS Curie. Get ready
to download your orders. Live long and prospeer, Commander"
The screen went blank.
"Kshauvat" muttered Zahn. After all the work, he had to leave just
when things started to get interesting. Still, orders were orders and
couldn't be ignored.
Scene: A dark corner
"Does that mean we're partners?" asked Shamino hopefully.
"No" the big cat replied. "You get 50% of the profit but you must do
as required by the people I shall send. Or no deal."
"It's a deal" said the Ferengi hurriedly. Then seeing the look in the
Kzin's eyes he added. "Of course I wouldn't dream of cheating you.
The 12 Rule of Acquisition clearly states: `Never steal from someone
bigger than yourself`"
Zahn smiled and disappeared in the shadows.
Scene: Ruane's office
"Sir," Graeme heard the young SO's voice over the intercom. "A
certain Mr. Z'Dark is here to see you." Ruane remembered the name in
an instant. "The bounty hunter? Send him in."
Upon entering the room, where the effects of the explosion were still
visible, Z'Dark realized that Ruane didn't know who was responsible
for this. Shasta probably hadn't trusted him or didn't want to risk
breaking /her/ cover.
"There are 2 things I wanted to tell you, sir." Zahn said, once they
were left alone. "The first thing is that the Vurtedions are not
responsible for the explosion. I've been hired by the Dergrad Empire
to make it look like the Vurtedions did it."
Ruane didn't move. "Why are you telling me all this? If it's true,
why wouldn't I put you in the brig?"
"The second reason I am here" Zahn continued, handing him a PADD, "is
that I am the new CO of the USS Curie. I'll leave for SB Omega soon,
but I wanted to talk to you about the ship first."
Sincerely,
Cmdr Zahn Z'Dark
CO, USS Curie
---------------
Phil: If that doesn't confuse Ruane, nothing will.
Bogdan
**SD: 90325.1121**
**Scene: Turbolift**
Ruane and Roberts stood in the turbolift as it travelled slowly
towards the Console Room.
"The Vurtedion." Ruane repeated for the fifth time, his voice still
soft with shock. Roberts looked at him.
"Well, the only information we have on them and the Dergrad came from
them." Roberts stated.
"You're right. I shouldn't have trusted them so easily." Ruane
conceded. The turbolift door opened to reveal the console room. Ruane
and Roberts walked out and towards the far corner and entrance to
**Scene: Ruane's Office**
The smell of smoke still lingered; the enviromental systems in Ruane's
office had been damaged by the explosion. As they entered the office
both Graeme and John coughed as they inhaled a large amount of smoke.
"Here, take these." Ensign Kirk handed each a small breathing mask,
he wore one himself.
"So, you say you have a theory as to why the Vurtedion DNA was only
found in one location?" Graeme asked.
"Yes sir. It is possible that the Vurtedion assasin was in possesion
of some kind of device that emits a small shield." He paused.
"I'm listening Ensign." Graeme prompted.
"That would contain his DNA, however when the transporter was
activated..." Roberts interupted.
"The field was broken and a small trace of DNA was left."
"Yes." Kirk said, hiding his disappointment at Roberts finishing for
him.
"Interesting. I guess we can't do anything now except contact the
Vurtedion government. I'll get to it in the observation lounge."
Graeme headed for the exit.
"Oh, I want you two to see what else you can find too." He turned and
left his burnt out office. Kirk and Roberts looked at one another,
neither were thrilled with the idea of having to work together.
**Scene: Observation Lounge(Ruane's Temporary Office)**
As Ruane worked through in his mind exactly what he was going to say
to the Vurtedion his console bleeped. He tapped a key to read the
message that had arrived.
<<<<<<<<<< INCOMING TRANSMISSION >>>>>>>>>>>
From: Ip'sc Carbo
To: Capt. Graeme Ruane
Subj: I am a hostage
Capt. Ruane,
We are holding your employee, Ip'sc, hostage. This is to ensure that
our
demands are met.
We are aware of the recent attack on you by the Vurtedions. This should
prove to you that our holy war against the demons is just. All we ask
is
that you and Starfleet recognize our position and support us against our
enemies. We do not require your help in our holy war, just your
cooperation to not interfere in our business.
If you agree, Ip'sc will be returned to you unharmed. If you, Starfleet
and the Federation continue to obstruct our holy efforts, he will die,
horribly. Many more will follow. The choice is yours. But you must
act
quickly.
<<<<<<< END OF TRANSMISSION >>>>>>>>
Ruane hit his fist against the table.
"Damn!" He cursed quite loudly.
"Epidemics, rebels, assasins and now kidnapers. What next?" he got
his answer as the door to the observation lounge chimed. A security
officer reported the arrival of Zahn Z'Dark, soon the tall Kzin walked
in.
>"There are 2 things I wanted to tell you, sir." Zahn said, once they
>were left alone. "The first thing is that the Vurtedions are not
>responsible for the explosion. I've been hired by the Dergrad Empire
>to make it look like the Vurtedions did it."
>Ruane didn't move. "Why are you telling me all this? If it's true,
>why wouldn't I put you in the brig?"
>"The second reason I am here" Zahn continued, handing him a PADD, "is
>that I am the new CO of the USS Curie. I'll leave for SB Omega soon,
>but I wanted to talk to you about the ship first."
'Great. Just what I need right now.' Ruane thought to himself. This
was all getting too confusing. Just what was it about him that seemed
to attract such disasters and odd people. He was slowly beginning to
grow even more paranoid than he was already.
"Let me get this clear Mr." He was interupted.
"Commander, Captain." Z'Dark appeared to be enjoying this slightly.
"Okay. Let me get this clear Commander." He paused, "You're telling
me that you're *not* a bounty hunter."
"Correct."
"And you are infact still a member of starfleet?"
"Correct."
"You understand this doesn't exactly do wonders for my self-esteem.
StarFleet sending their undercovers and not telling me!"
"It was on a need to know basis Captain..."
"I don't give a damn about 'need to know'! This is my station I
*expect* to know a little of what is going on." Ruane took a deep
breath and calmed down. Zahn just watched him, he hoped not to be
around when Ruane found out about what else was going on.
"So, you're getting the CURIE?"
"Yes."
"She's a fine ship with a fine crew. Hopefully if you're as good a
commander as a spy," He spat the word, "she should be in good hands."
"Thank you Captain."
"It *wasn't* a compliment." Ruane said. Zahn grinned.
"Trust me Captain. The ship will be in good hands."
"Trust." Graeme repeated the words a couple of times.
"Now. Commander," Graeme had difficulty refering to somebody he had
thought was a civilian by his SF rank. "..about the bomb. Can you
provide me with some further details?"
"Of course Captain."
Submitted by Phil Long
Captain Graeme Philip Ruane
Commanding Officer
Deep Space 101, Amgine Sector
Cocoon Fleet
ALL: Ooh eck we're busy. And the BANGALORE shall be arriving with
followers!
Chuck: I'll get around to talking to McLeary in my next post(which
should follow Bo's:)
Harry: Good to see you back. :) Armin forwarded me your note, glad to
see all is sorted now. :)
-Cheers, Pinky.
SCENE: DS 101 Operations
SD 90325.2231
Finding himself in a dead end regarding the artifact he had bought from
the alien, Jefferson was weighing his options. He couldn't say very much
about Z'Dark's plans since he had somehow managed to trick the two men he
had paid to follow him around. Not that this came unexpected, it merely was
part of the game to let him know he might have a witness in whatever he
might be up to; any relevant information would have been a bonus.
What worried him more was the unexplained absence of Ip. Lynn had made
sure to personally check out every corner of the station she had access to
and Jefferson had kept silent about the loss of work time in a rare display
of sensibility. It did, however, worry him more than he felt appropriate to
display, mostly because he had no way to decide whether it was related to
him and Z'Dark or not. There was nothing like a background check available
for his little partner and someone who named their ship _Revenge_ might be
carrying around more hostile history than might be good for them.
Either way it wasn't exactly prudent to leave the station on a spin as it
might prompt curiosities that were less than welcome, yet Jefferson M'Beya
was not the kind of man who enjoyed sitting around pretending business as
usual while watching his environment from the corners of his eyes for
signals that someone had put his name on the black list.
"I don't care if he's scorched and black", he informed the security guard
in front of the observation lounge, "I just want to see him and get an
answer to the question what this station is doing to prevent citizens from
disappearing without traces. It is either him or the evening news, your
call, Mister." He peered the trooper who squirmed uneasily under his gaze.
Just then the doors opened and the Kzin stepped out.
respectfully submitted
Dr. Jefferson M'Beya
ds101@fenris.inka.de
SD 90325.1600 EST
the Banglore
The trip home for the Banglore was rather uneventful, at least on the
bridge. Security had their hands full with Dergred who seemed to insist on
slaming themselves into the forcefield. They had also dismantled the
brig's sink, spilling water all over the floor of the brig..as is that
would help them to escape. Their conversations were, of course, being
monitored [NRPG: Sherman, what do they say?], but mostly the security crew
were busy trying to convince the Dergred to stop slamming themselves into
the forcefield, lest they injure themselves.
The ship arrived at DS 101 to crowded docking conditions. Manuvering the
ship to its proper location ended up being a bit more challenging for Lt.
Harrison than normal.
When it was done, the prisoners were beamed into DS 101's brig. An
engineer immediately set to work repairing the damage they had done to the
Banglore's brig.
-------
Scene: DS 101's Console Room
Alyza had just been briefed by Roberts on what had happened during her
absence. It seems DS 101 had been very busy.
"...perhaps the Dergred in the brig will shed some light on the attempt on
the Captain and on the whereabouts of Mr. Ip'sc" finished Alyza and turned
to leave.
------
Scene: Deck three corridor
She head for here quarters, she needed to eat, shower and change. On the
way she was almost litterally ran into by Galia Bitzalel and Ari
ben-Avraham. They were both dressed rather unconventionally, and were
carrying what seemed to be primative wooden noise-makers [NRPG: like the
kind used by some on new years, with a handle which when turned, has a gear
that stikes a piece of wood to make a click, click noise. When rapidly
spun, it can be very loud].
They swiftly appologized for the near collision with their superior officer.
"I am curious, why are you to dressed up in what appears to be clothing of
an ancient period in earths history? And why are you wearing a crown,
Galia? And what are the primitive noise makers for?" asked Alyza,
genuinely curious.
"Today is Purim, answered Galia. I am dressed as Queen Esther, and Ari is
dressed as her cousin Mordechi. We are going to hear the Megillah read and
drown out the name of Haman"
At that, Ari spun his noisemake to drown out the name of Haman (boo). He
grinned a bit like a little boy.
<> thought Alyza, quickly contoroling the slight pain in
her ears--the noise was very loud to a Vulcan. She said "what is a Megillah
and who are Queen Esther and Mordechi? The names sound Babylonian or
Persian, sometime before the common era of your planet."
"Indeed they are", replied Ari handing her a book, made of actual paper
"This is a Megillah, can you read Hebrew?"
"No presently, but I will know how by the time I am done with this."
The two humans were somewhat taken aback by that statement, but Alyza was,
after all, a Vulcan.
Galia offered "If you would like to come to the synagogue on deck 31 with
us to observe, you are welcome to join us."
"I think I will simply read this book you have lent me. Thank you for your
offer, Lt."
With that, Galia and Ari proceeded to the turboshaft and Alyza to her
quarters.
------------------------
NRPG: There was not much to do on the Banglore once the prisoners were in
the brig, so I thought I would bring it back. The Purim stuff is just a
bit of character developement for Galia, Ari, and even Alyza. I went to
synagogue this weekend dressed, not as Queen Esther, but as a 1/2 Vulcan
1/2 Bajoran Lt.Cmdr. It was fun, and I got lots of complements on my ears.
It was hard to keep a straight face, though, since Purim is a joyous
occasion and I got the most interesting looks. I had my husband take a
picture, I may put it up on my web page if it turns out okay. Yes, I have
a web page, well multiple pages actually.
Phil, speaking of web pages, what area of GeoCities is yours on? I am
thinking of expanding my web site, and I have very little room left on my
ISP to do so. Does GeoCities mind if a person has more than one subject on
a site? For example, Star Trek, my rabbit, and some quotes--basically the
stuff that will not fit if I expand the CyberDrive web site.
Live long and prosper \\//
Gretchen A. Haas
SD:90326.1034
Scene: Ruane's Office
> "Now. Commander," Graeme had difficulty refering to somebody he
> had thought was a civilian by his SF rank. "..about the bomb. Can you
> provide me with some further details?"
>
> "Of course Captain."
"A certain Dergrad, the former owner of the 'Rising Star' had
contacted me with a job offer. I was to try to kill you - without
succeeding, of course - and make it look like the Vurtedions were
responsible."
This was confusing. "And you," Ruane choose his words carefuly,
"actually planted a bomb in my office? How does your quality as a
Starfleet officer comes to terms with physicaly injuring a /superior/
officer?"
"I planted the bomb as to make it look as a murder attempt, not a
practical joke. I also planted it as to make you as little harm as
possible. Accepting the contract was a decision I had to make in a
second and if I was wrong I will support the consequences."
Ruane was feeling even more confused. "Then why didn't you come to me
and tell me about it? If you managed to get into my office and plant
a bomb unobserved, you could surely arrange a meeting without
breaking your cover."
"I have given my word to the Dergrad that I would not disclose the
details to anyone until the mission was complete. I couldn't tell
you anything."
By now it was clear that, although they spoke the same language,
their concepts differed wildly. "OK, then, why tell me now? Why not
immediatley after?"
"I leave the station now, and I thought you must know the game the
Dergrads are playing." He thought of Evans. She probably had her
reasons for not forwarding the info to Ruane and he must respect
those. "I was planning of finding out more, before coming to you"
Zahn added, which was not a lie.
"One more thing...Commander." said Graeme tired. "What happened to
Blazon? He was a good man and he was the CO of the USS Curie."
"I haven't been told, Captain. But if I find out and the info is not
classified, I'll let you know."
"Anything else?"
"Yes. There's a bar called 'The Rising Star' on this station. I own
it, but there's a Ferengi named Shamino that runs it as a front end.
That Ferengi has a most extensive network of informants. If you need
to know anything, tell him I sent you and he'll be sure to help you."
Zahn raised his paw "Live long and prospeer, Captain." It was
somewhat hilarious to see a Kzin performing the Vualcan salute, but
Ruane returned it, as Z'Dark was exiting his office. "Peace and long
life, Commander."
"...Commander." The words reached Jefferson ears just as the Kzin
stepped out. For a couple of seconds they looked at each other, each
of them surprised to see the other.
"Commander?" asked Jefferson.
"Commander." confirmed Z'Dark, his tail falling down.
Jefferson sighed. A change of plan was necessary. "Did you have
anything to do with Ip'sc disappearance?"
"Disappearance? No. Actually he told me what was that he wanted from
you and I offered to provide him. I was planning to use him to spy on
you, but he didn't show up to talk about it."
Sincerely,
Cmdr Zahn Z'Dark,
CO, USS Curie
---------------------
Forwarded message:
From: LtTrebor@aol.com
To: curie@protv.ro, ds101@protv.roomega
Date: 97-03-26 23:06:26 EST
SD 90326.2100
The Golden Orb
George walked into the bar, looking at everyone through a Ferengi's eyes.
Everyone he saw appeared to him like a potential customer. His original
intentions were to find this Thyra Kyrassian that hw was supposed to ferry to
DS101.
As he walked slowly through the bar he talked to people and tried to get them
to take a trip to DS101, although he had no idea why anyone would want to do
that.
He met Thyra as he was leaving the bar. He did not recognize her, but she
recoginzed him.
" Mr. Kennedy", she called out," I have been looking all over for you."
" We leave tomorrow, 0900 hours, be there or walk to DS 101, I'm going to bed
", he said as he jabbed a PADD into her stomach, " Oh, By the way, thanks for
being late "
He left her with a confused face on. After all, it wasn't his fault he had
to wait 5 hours for her to show up, when they had to leave early the next
day. He did get some customers out of it though.
=============================
George's quarters: Jackie-O
He sat down on his bed, thinking of the 4 week trip he was about to take. He
walked over to his desk and and tapped the terminal. He had quite a few
messages, most from customers. He hit the button and read the first one:
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
FR: DS101, Cmdr. Zahn Z'Dark
TO: Jackie-O, George Kennedy, CO
RE: Passage
SD 90326.1200
>>> Classified Grade 3 >>>
I request passage to USS CURIE, currently docked at SB OMEGA. I have heard
you are a very good Freighter Capt. and have heard rumors of your,
accomodations. I will be accompanied by a companion.
I hope you live up to what part of your reputation is good.
<<<<<<<<<< End Transmision >>>>>>>>>>>>>
He then Replied:
<<<<<<<<<< Begin Transmission>>>>>>>>>>>>
FR: Jackie-O, Kennedy, CO
TO: DS101, Zhan Z'Dark
RE: Passage
SD: 90326.2200
I'll bring you to SB OMEGA, but let's get one thing straight, I ain't one of
you SF puppets, I don't have to listen to orders on my ship.
Two Rules:
1) NO ORDERING ME AROUND
2) See Rule #1
I do not take anything from anyone. My ship has the best accomodations of
any ship in the sector, you will have the best 4 weeks of your life aboard my
ship.
When I get there there will be the matter of a fee, We will discuss that when
I get there in 4 weeks, I am currently trasporting cargo and personnel there.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< END TRANSMISSION >>>>>>>>>
He then proceeded to read the rest of the messages, some more passage
requests, and some station business, but nothing intresting.
He went to sleep.
===============================
Kennedy's Frieght Service Office
George sat at his desk and waited for the last of the people to arrive before
leaving for his ship. Then K.C. Davenport walked in.
" Mr. Kennedy, I need to talk to you "
" Any time Sweet stuff ", he replied.
She looked at him with a half-disgusted, half-flattered look, then proceeded
with ther business.
" I need to inspect your ship before you leave, station policy."
" No problem, just give me a minute. "
He walked over to his desk and pressed a few buttons, without anyone seeing.
" OK, Let's go see my ship."
He gathered up all of the passegers, collected thier latinum, and took all of
thier names down for record keeping. He then hit a small device he had and
they were all transported to the ship.
He motioned for K.C. to wait on the bridge while he showed the passengers to
thier quarters. When he was al finished he wentto the bridge to attend to
K.C. As he walked over to her, he noticed she had already taken all of the
sensor scans she would need. He flinched and walked over to a crew mate
instead, and began whispering to him.
" Have you turned all of the lights off? "
" Yes Capt. all of the lights are off on the ship "
" Good, with her poking around I though she would find something. "
He walked over to K.C.
" I hope you;ll stay and come with us on our maiden trip. "
" I'm sorry, I have to stay and attend to the station. maybe some other time.
"
" Oh, it will be such a shame, to not have something else as beautiful as
this ship on board."
She blushed a deep shade of pink.
" I hope I haven't embarassed you Ms. Davenport? "
" No, it's just I wasn't expecting that "
She walked away, having finished her inspection, caught a bit off guard y his
advancements.
He walked over to the command chair and sat down. He tapped a few buttons on
his console and began to speak.
{ This is Capt. George Kennedy, We will be leaving shortly and I just wanted
to wish you a happy trip. Pleae, take a moment to read over the schedules I
posted in your quarters, they contain the activities for the next 4 weeks.
This is a direct trip to DS101. I will be returning to SB OMEGA afterwards if
anyone is imtrested in returning to SB OMEGA }
" Helm, take us to DS101, warp 7. "
" Aye, Sir "
======================================
NRPG: Well, there it is, the first post from the Jackie-O
Curie: I will be bringing the CO back for us.
Omega: If anyone wants a trip to any of the bases, tell me
Robert Alpizar
**SD: 90327.0951**
**Scene: Observation Lounge, DS 101**
Just then the doors opened and the Kzin stepped out. Graeme listened
to the exchange with interest, it seemed M'beya was as confused as he
had been. As Zahn walked off the security officer announced the
presence of M'Beya as M'Beya walked straight past him and sat opposite
the Captain.
"Mr.M'Beya. Hello." Graeme smiled.
"Captain. Have you been able to reach a conclusion as to where
Mr.Ip'Sc has gone?" M'beya's tone was less than pleasant.
"Actually we know *where* he is. How he got there I don't know. Hang
on." Graeme tapped his comm badge.
"Ruane to Roberts."
[Roberts here Captain.]
"I need some information; A Dergrad civilian, former owner of 'The
Rising Star', can you tell me where he is?"
[Yes, won't be long.] Roberts said, Ruane heard the beep of a
console.
[The Dergrad in question left at around 1700 hours last night.]
"Around the time security have estimated Ip'Sc disappeared." M'Beya
said.
"Were there anymore departures around that time Ensign?"
[No Captain.]
"Thank you." The comm chanel closed.
"Well, there you have it." Ruane said. He wasn't bragging that the
mystery of Ip'Scs disappearance had been solved.
"You say you know where he is. So tell me."
"The Dergrad Rebels have kidnapped him. They issued this note."
Graeme turned his terminal around for Jefferson to look at...
Submitted by Phil Long
Captain Graeme Philip Ruane
Commanding Officer
Deep Space 101, Amgine Sector
Cocoon Fleet
<**NRPG**>
All: My posting shall be slow over the weekend:
1) Because it's Easter and family are round.
2) Because my girlfriend returns form uni.
3) 'Just cause.
-Cheers, Pinky.
(
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