Mission #6: Rattle of Sabers

Jiseth wrote:

[Bridge]

Disgraced by the Captain and taking orders from a plebe...

"...Of course, ma'am."

Jiseth wondered if this was any form of experience her counterpart had outside of a simulator. It was almost embarrassing for the Romulan. Afterall, she was one of them. Clearly an enemy while clearly Klingons were friends. It was a rather striking example of why her people detested Starfleet. So cluelessly cloy.

The probe telemetry was still coming through, however. It would have been a wonderful location for a Dominion trap. Maybe some Vorta had not gotten the message. Suddenly an alert highlighted in Amber flashed on her display.

"There's a warp signature... Far side of the nebula... Moving away from us. Too faint to tell its course."

[Bridge]

"Acknowledged Lieutenant!"

Julia pondered the implications of the decisions she was about to make her instincts were telling her to follow that signature into the Nebula. They needed to know who was attacking random vessel. The answers were in there and Julia felt compelled to seek them out.

Safefta Pardek wrote:

A very similar alert had come up on Safefta's panel. "It is also too far out of range to determine its affiliation. Our shields are at full capacity. Should we pursue the vessel? It may have attacked the Romulan ship."

Julia glanced to her control panel. "We're still receiving telemetry from the probe." She paused to allow for one more calculation of the actions she was about to take. Captain T'Koris could be unpredictable at times. She was unsure of how her commanding officer would react to her actions. "Lieutenant, use the probes telemetry to plot the safest course. We're going to chase some ghosts. Ensign Pardek. Keep the shields online and bring weapons online as well. Continuous scans for activity."

Shuttle Bay

Andrew listened to the exchange further between the Captain and the Centurion, but he still said nothing more. Now was not the time to step on his Captain's toes, and besides that...his mind was whirling of possibilities. Someone had attacked the Romulan vessel, and done a fantastic job and crippling her...even causing her destruction in the end. The way the rest of the Romulans were reacting thus far made him think of it being their fault somehow, but why would a Federation ship fire on a Romulan one...especially in an ambush??

When he was ordered back to the Bridge to find out about other Starfleet vessels in the area, and he nodded to her in acceptance...grim faced and brows furrowed. "At once, Captain," he stated, and turned sharply to leave.

All the way up to the Bridge; Andrew Sheridan's mind whirled with ideas. There had been no other Federation vessels in the area earlier as of this morning's report, but perhaps that had changed.

Bridge

The moment he stepped on to the Bridge; Andrew could feel extra tension. Something had changed. All of his people were busy, and while that was not abnormal...there was an extra sense of people working harder.

He stepped down to the command deck, "Status report," he inquired of Julia quietly...his eyes on the screen. Sheridan had already noticed as he passed the Tactical station and Safefta stationed there that the shields were up.

Andrew Sheridan wrote:

Shuttle Bay

Andrew listened to the exchange further between the Captain and the Centurion, but he still said nothing more.  Now was not the time to step on his Captain's toes, and besides that...his mind was whirling of possibilities.  Someone had attacked the Romulan vessel, and done a fantastic job and crippling her...even causing her destruction in the end.  The way the rest of the Romulans were reacting thus far made him think of it being their fault somehow, but why would a Federation ship fire on a Romulan one...especially in an ambush??

When he was ordered back to the Bridge to find out about other Starfleet vessels in the area, and he nodded to her in acceptance...grim faced and brows furrowed.  "At once, Captain," he stated, and turned sharply to leave.

All the way up to the Bridge; Andrew Sheridan's mind whirled with ideas.  There had been no other Federation vessels in the area earlier as of this morning's report, but perhaps that had changed.

Bridge

The moment he stepped on to the Bridge; Andrew could feel extra tension.  Something had changed.  All of his people were busy, and while that was not abnormal...there was an extra sense of people working harder.

He stepped down to the command deck, "Status report," he inquired of Julia quietly...his eyes on the screen.  Sheridan had already noticed as he passed the Tactical station and Safefta stationed there that the shields were up.

[Bridge]

Julia heard the door at the rear of the bridge slide open. She glanced over her shoulder to the sight of Andrew stepping off the turbo lift and making his way to the center of the bridge. Julia stood up. Worry and doubt were her close friends. She was doubting the orders that she had just issued.

"Commander, Lieutenant Jiseth and Ensign Pardek both had odd readings. I believe that they were picking the ship that attacked the Romulans. We are receiving telemetry from our probe and I have asked Jiseth to utilize the probes data to plot a course to investigate the readings."

[Klingon Bridge]

Smoke filled the bridge of the Klingons vessel. Plasma conduits exploded around the bridge in a systematic fashion. A myriad of yellow, gold and red sparks rained over the bridge crew. The Captain came to his feet and began to yell orders. "Shields! Shields!" Another hit struck the vessel and a tactical officer was thrown across the bridge filling the explosion of his console. "Weapons officer... bah!" A hail of phasers and torpedoes flew from the bird of prey.

Another hit struck the Klingon vessel and bodies were slung across the bridge. "What the hell is the Federation doing. Are they prepared for war." The Captain took a moment to ponder his course of action. The surprise attack left much of his crew dead. Plasma was venting into space. Shields were inoperative and phasers were offline.

The Captain braced himself and pulled his head high. Every warrior begins each day prepared to die in glorious battle. "Perhaps today is a good day to die. Lieutenant, prepare for ramming speed. If the Federation wants to start a war today we shall give them one." As the helmsman laid in the trajectory Vor'Char whispered to himself. "StoVohKor." As the ship began a steady drift towards the Federation vessel the Board of Prey took another hit. The Helm officer spoke with disappointment in his voice. "Sir, all propulsion systems are offline." The Captain slammed his hand on the console, shattering it to pieces. Blood gushed from the wounds and dripped to the floor. "PitoK!" He screamed. The federation vessel left the area as quickly as it had appeared. Leaving behind a badly beaten and broken Klingons Warship. "How dare they dishonor us by denying us an honorable death."

The captain sighed and dropped back into his chair. A piece of shrapnel was on his command console. The captain yanked at it and flung it across the bridge in anger. "Communications, send a message on Klingon frequencies. See if our other vessel can locate us."

Kintiss wrote:

Yes, he knew about Romulan physiology. He knew what sort of medicines they needed, their blood composition, where their vital organs were and, if his hand was forced, he knew where to bite for the quickest paralysis. He ran the medical tricorder over the Centurion's form. It looked like he wasn't seriously wounded, so he turned his attention to the others.

Seeing that the Centurion had been given the all clear from their new medical officer, Archangel gave a curt nod. There were superficial injuries, that she could see for herself, but it was also obvious that they were not lethal and, given the Romulan habit of soldiering on rather than admitting weakness, offering treatment for those superficial injuries were more likely to irritate him than anything else.

She scanned the gathered Romulans, looking for her medical officers. Spotting Kintiss there, she nodded to him. "Ensign Kintiss, far be it for me to tell you how to do your job, but I get the impression that we may be facing a dogfight in the near future. I'd suggest that you move those who need treatment to sickbay and prepare for a possible innundation.

"Centurion, if you'll accompany me to the bridge, we'll find out what happened to your ship," she stated. Without waiting for an answer, as was customary on a Romulan ship, she turned and headed for the door, intending to head to the bridge.

Bridge

The new First Officer scowled slightly as he heard Julia report they were following the trail of the one possibly responsible for the ambush on the Romulans. Archangel wanted answers, and so did he.

"Mister Wu, I want verification of all currently assigned Federation starships within the area. As of this morning, we were the only starship, but I want any updates from Starfleet Command. I especially want any reports relating to sightings of Federation vessels in this area over the past three days that seem out of place," Andrew began. "Miss Pardek, I know our shields are already up, but I want us at full battle readiness. If that ship we are following out there so much as blinks our direction...I want us to be ready. If indeed they are the one who wiped out a D'deridex warbird with such ease...I sure don't want them catching us off guard." He paused for a moment before directing his next orders to the Helm. "Lieutenant Jiseth, I want you to coordinate with Tactical and Ops on staying aware of any sensor contact within the immediate light-year. There is already one power out here who has lost a starship and most of a crew. I suspect someone will come looking into this...both one of their ships, and possibly others. I don't want us suddenly facing more trouble from us not paying attention to our surroundings. Things are tense enough as it is. All three of you, be especially vigilant for the tell-tale signs of cloaks being used...quantum singularities and so forth."

With those orders given, Andrew turned to Julia in very quiet whisper. "The Romulans seem to think we attacked them...we being the Federation. I want to know why. Captain asked for an update of Federation ships in the area...especially those that might have gone rogue, but as of this morning...there was no such reports. We should be the only one of our's out here. So.....," Andrew paused as he faced the Second Officer fully, "....we need to figure out why they think that. Any wreckage you can scan with our probe might give us a hint. Perhaps scarring from weapons fire on a piece of their ship, or sensor log buoy we missed....something that can help us figure this out. Oh, and one more thing...we came here looking for an anomaly that we never found. I want to know where that went to. Was it a false report, or did we simply miss it with the call of the warbird? Any sensor log info you have on the anomaly we came looking for...send directly to my PADD. I don't know what's going on, but I have a very bad feeling about this."

That was an understatement. Andrew was more than well aware of the temporal mechanics...it was, after all, his speciality. He didn't dare take his line of thinking that far just yet, but already he was beginning to suspect the situation was a lot worse than any of them knew. If Julia found the anomaly, and there was nothing really to it...then he would breathe a sigh of relief. If, however, she found a gate...or some evidence there had been a true opening in the Space/Time Continuum...then....well, he would cross that bridge when they got to that part.

[Bridge]

Jiseth had formulated her plan already, simple considering the circumstances. Being told to do it twice made her wonder who really was in charge. It was but a moment later she recalled the potent truth. Everything began and ended with T'Koris. There was no other authority on the ship, not even Jiseth's reputation clawed out of years of struggle could match it.

There was only a subtle hint of life in her eyes when she looked over her shoulder to Sheridan and Julia whispering to each other. Humans were less that discrete about keeping secrets, at least to her.

"Sir... The nebula has yet to be charted sufficiently. Might I suggest warping out of the system and returning on the far side to get a better reading?"

Andrew Sheridan wrote:

Bridge

With those orders given, Andrew turned to Julia in very quiet whisper.  "The Romulans seem to think we attacked them...we being the Federation.  I want to know why.  Captain asked for an update of Federation ships in the area...especially those that might have gone rogue, but as of this morning...there was no such reports.  We should be the only one of our's out here.  So.....," Andrew paused as he faced the Second Officer fully, "....we need to figure out why they think that.  Any wreckage you can scan with our probe might give us a hint.  Perhaps scarring from weapons fire on a piece of their ship, or sensor log buoy we missed....something that can help us figure this out. Oh, and one more thing...we came here looking for an anomaly that we never found.  I want to know where that went to.  Was it a false report, or did we simply miss it with the call of the warbird?  Any sensor log info you have on the anomaly we came looking for...send directly to my PADD.  I don't know what's going on, but I have a very bad feeling about this."

That was an understatement.  Andrew was more than well aware of the temporal mechanics...it was, after all, his speciality.  He didn't dare take his line of thinking that far just yet, but already he was beginning to suspect the situation was a lot worse than any of them knew.  If Julia found the anomaly, and there was nothing really to it...then he would breathe a sigh of relief.  If, however, she found a gate...or some evidence there had been a true opening in the Space/Time Continuum...then....well, he would cross that bridge when they got to that part.

[Bridge]

"They think the Federation did that. We're allies! Or at least we were. I'll run some discreet scans. I'll see what I can come up with. Don't worry sir; if the answer is in that wreckage; I'll find it." Julia made her way back to her science station and began to take scans of the wreckage. As the computer processed her request she leaned back in her chair and contemplated their situation. She couldn't believe that the Romulans would really believe this foolishness. The two powers had just gone through a war, united.

The science console beeped indicating that the analysis was complete. "Computer, display results of the analysis of the hull fragment." An array of charts and graphs appeared on her screen. After a few moments of examining the data Julia's face made a sudden change. She believed that the data would answer her questions but the information before her seemed to create more questions for her then it answered. The data looked like a Federation phaser signature. At least to the naked eye. When she dug deeper she saw several wave discrepancies that were inconsistent with what one would expect to find from standard Federation weapons. It as a Starfleet signature ... Kind of. She looked up form her console towards Commander Sheridan. "Commander." She called out. "Can you join me over here for a moment. I would like to look over something with you."

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

She scanned the gathered Romulans, looking for her medical officers.  Spotting Kintiss there, she nodded to him.  "Ensign Kintiss, far be it for me to tell you how to do your job, but I get the impression that we may be facing a dogfight in the near future.  I'd suggest that you move those who need treatment to sickbay and prepare for a possible innundation.

"I'll let my people know we're bringing them..." Kintiss paused as his medical tricorder let out a shrill bleeping. He observed the readout, and an expression of alarm dawned on his ophidian face. The tricorder was telling him that the fallen Romulan he'd been holding it over had suffered an aortic rupture.

"Let'ssss get them all to ssssickbay." Kintiss called to the other members of the medical team. "Thissss one needssss to be operated on, fasssst." He folded the medical tricorder up and tapped his combadge. "Kintisssss to ssssickbay, prepare the surgery. We have wounded incoming."

Hatham Lareth joined Dhael T'Koris in the turbolift on the way to the Bridge of her starship. It seemed odd to him that she commanded a Federation cruiser, and not even a senior line ship. Certainly the Dhael deserved a better vessel to command...like a Sovereign-class. At the thought of the Sovereign-class came the Centurion's remembrance of their recent defeat at the hands of just such a starship of the Federation's.

"I truly hope you discover the truth behind this soon, Dhael T'Koris. You know how our people are about such treachery. No doubt the SHAENHA'ELH STELAM heard our distress call. Major Rhian Hwersuil of the Tal Shiar commands her...investigating a lost Romulan science station we had out here before the Dominion War. She is...eccentric, Dhael T'Koris. Her hair is dyed a deep red, and she wears a blood tattoo upon the center of her brow in the shape of draconic beast. She is very...perceptive," the Centurion warned T'Koris...his voice filled with awe and fear. Such came from two sources...his presence with the daughter of General T'Koris, and the fact that Major Rhian would be the one to investigate the destruction of his ship. "It is said her warbird is painted like the void of space without stars."

He fell silent as the lift travelled upward to the starship's command center.

"The ship that attacked us...we barely saw it. She was a Sovereign-class...swift, deadly, accurate, aggressive...and as black as Major Rhian's warbird," he whispered with his eyes closed. "Never seen anything from the Federation like it before in my life."

NPC wrote:

Hatham Lareth joined Dhael T'Koris in the turbolift on the way to the Bridge of her starship.  It seemed odd to him that she commanded a Federation cruiser, and not even a senior line ship.  Certainly the Dhael deserved a better vessel to command...like a Sovereign-class.  At the thought of the Sovereign-class came the Centurion's remembrance of their recent defeat at the hands of just such a starship of the Federation's.

"I truly hope you discover the truth behind this soon, Dhael T'Koris.  You know how our people are about such treachery.  No doubt the SHAENHA'ELH STELAM heard our distress call.  Major Rhian Hwersuil of the Tal Shiar commands her...investigating a lost Romulan science station we had out here before the Dominion War.  She is...eccentric, Dhael T'Koris.  Her hair is dyed a deep red, and she wears a blood tattoo upon the center of her brow in the shape of draconic beast.  She is very...perceptive," the Centurion warned T'Koris...his voice filled with awe and fear.  Such came from two sources...his presence with the daughter of General T'Koris, and the fact that Major Rhian would be the one to investigate the destruction of his ship.  "It is said her warbird is painted like the void of space without stars."

He fell silent as the lift travelled upward to the starship's command center.

"The ship that attacked us...we barely saw it.  She was a Sovereign-class...swift, deadly, accurate, aggressive...and as black as Major Rhian's warbird," he whispered with his eyes closed.  "Never seen anything from the Federation like it before in my life."

[Turbolift]

Archangel did indeed know how her people dealt with treachery and it wasn't pretty. She stayed facing forward as the Romulan Centurion spoke. He seemed to be in a hurry to warn her, to make her aware of the dangers. Probably wants to stay on my good side. I can do a lot to help his career, or I can completely destroy both him and his House, she thought to herself.

The mention of the commanding officer of the warbird likely to come out to check on them almost caused her to shift uneasily. No one liked the Tal Shiar. She had had her own dealings with them several years ago. Thankfully, her position had ensured that she wasn't allowed to be killed, nor permanently harmed. It hadn't meant much to her at the time, but she was actually grateful for that fact. It was just unfortunate that the Tal Shiar were very well practised at taking their captives to the brink of death and pulling them back again. Reduced it almost to an art form, in fact.

"I will deal with the Major if and when it becomes necessary," was her answer.

Her already upswept eyebrows furrowed slightly at the mention of the ship that attacked the Romulans being a Sovereign-class. Her mind went through the few Sovereign ships that had been built. There had only been four of them, none of which were supposed to be even close to this sector. But black? Starfleet ships, as far as she was aware, were never painted black. Not even Section 31's ships were painted black or used black metal. Had she missed something? Some report somewhere about the goings on in the Federation that she hadn't read? Unlikely, but she still had to entertain the prospect.

"I'm not aware of any ships matching that description that have even been commissioned, let alone built."

Before she could say more, the turbolift doors opened onto the bridge and the young Captain stepped out into her command centre, immediately stepping down to the point just behind the helm stations, in front of the command chairs, where she could watch the viewscreen. She allowed herself a faint sensation of satisfaction at the sullen expression on her chief helm officer's face. Jiseth was another element on her growing to-do list that she had to deal with. It wasn't something that she was particularly looking forward to, but it needed done, especially if there was a chance that they were going to encounter a Tal Shiar ship. Archangel was not one for surprises. She folded her arms behind her back as she surveyed the bridge.

"Report, Lieutenant Rellek, Lieutenant Jiseth, Ensign Pardek."

Kintiss wrote:

"Kintisssss to ssssickbay, prepare the surgery. We have wounded incoming."

"Acknowledged, Kintiss, we'll be ready," came the reply over the comm channel, the computer doing its usual work of filtering out her stammer. Closing the comm channel, Ilana turned to look at Thelos, nodding once to him.

"W-w-we m-must p-p-prepare th-the s-s-surgical b-bay," she told him, "w-we h-h-have incoming." Without another word, partially because she knew that it would take too long, she moved off to start gathering together all of the various elements she knew would be necessary in dealing with this particular emergency.

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

Before she could say more, the turbolift doors opened onto the bridge and the young Captain stepped out into her command centre, immediately stepping down to the point just behind the helm stations, in front of the command chairs, where she could watch the viewscreen.  She allowed herself a faint sensation of satisfaction at the sullen expression on her chief helm officer's face.  Jiseth was another element on her growing to-do list that she had to deal with.  It wasn't something that she was particularly looking forward to, but it needed done, especially if there was a chance that they were going to encounter a Tal Shiar ship.  Archangel was not one for surprises.  She folded her arms behind her back as she surveyed the bridge.

"Report, Lieutenant Rellek, Lieutenant Jiseth, Ensign Pardek."

The Romulan Lieutenant went a bit rigid at the sound of the Captain's voice. Now she just hoped her punishment would come like a hammer and be done with. A week in the brig. Duty orders rescinded. Grounded from flying. A disruptor bolt to the face. Quite the number of options.

Her eyes seemed to dare the other Romulan to strike her down. In private or on the bridge, it started to matter less and less. Just to have it be done with. She felt as if she were being dangled along into a Cardassian trap with little chance of survival. Losing the trust of a superior officer was one thing, but that of a friend was nearly torturous.

"I was awaiting order to move the ship to the other side of the nebula by warping to and from a point outside the system. We may have detected the warp signature of the ship that attacked the warbird, ma'am."

Bridge

"Lieutenant Jiseth, I have no intention of us following a mysterious vessel that just put a Romulan D'deridex down...at least not directly. I have an idea. The nebula is currently between us and the vessel in question. They likely know we are here, but lets see if we can make sure they don't see us following them...at least not as anything more than a sensor anomaly. To do so, I want us to slip into the nebula from what telemetry we already have from the probe. From that point, we will basically soak up the way a nebula scrambles sensor contacts. It shouldn't take long....just enough to mask our signature. From that point, we will continue on to the binary star we talked about earlier...which will parallel the vessel in question. Combined, it will make us less seen as stalking them, and still allow us to keep tabs on them. It should not affect our own sensor abilities," Andrew answered Jiseth with a slight smile. "A little trick my mother taught me in the other timeline I came from," he added a tad more grimly...remembering it was one of many survival techniques she had come up with to survive being hunted by the Borg.

For a moment, Andrew sat back down in the command chair...eyes half closed in thought...brows furrowed in worry. Something about the situation kept tickling the back of his mind, but he simply couldn't figure out what was nagging at him.

When Julia requested his presence at the Science station where she had been hard at work; Andrew stood up and strode over to her swiftly.

"What do you have?" he inquired of the new Second Officer.

Julia didn't get to answer when the Captain strode on to the Bridge requiring a report from all of her stations. He frowned slightly when she had not required him to report on their overall status, but he simply let it slide. There was enough to worry about at the moment without having to worry about how to interact with his Captain as her XO. They would learn in time how to work together.

Jiseth's answer did not surprise him, because she was indeed waiting for when they had sufficiently soaked up the nebula to mask their signature from the enemy ship. At this point, Andrew had already decided the ship in question was an enemy.

He went back to looking over Julia's work, and noticed the anomalies she had discovered over the Starfleet phaser signatures on the D'deridex hull pieces. His frown now deepened. The phaser signature was a good 15.6% stronger than even what a Sovereign-class would have used. With a nearly Vulcan-like raised left eyebrow; Andrew Sheridan looked up from the data to Julia and then back down. There wasn't a starship in the fleet that could produce that kind of firepower...not with phaser beams. Sure, the Defiant-class pulse phasers were stronger, but this damage was not from such a phaser type, and even that would not have been so strong.

So, what could have produced such a result? A new race or power that used phaser technology based off of Starfleet's? Or...

Lieutenant Commander Sheridan paused in his thoughts as he closed his eyes. Was it possible? He needed more information...he needed proof...

Andrew Sheridan wrote:

When Julia requested his presence at the Science station where she had been hard at work; Andrew stood up and strode over to her swiftly.

"What do you have?" he inquired of the new Second Officer.

Julia didn't get to answer when the Captain strode on to the Bridge requiring a report from all of her stations. He frowned slightly when she had not required him to report on their overall status, but he simply let it slide. There was enough to worry about at the moment without having to worry about how to interact with his Captain as her XO. They would learn in time how to work together.

Jiseth's answer did not surprise him, because she was indeed waiting for when they had sufficiently soaked up the nebula to mask their signature from the enemy ship. At this point, Andrew had already decided the ship in question was an enemy.

He went back to looking over Julia's work, and noticed the anomalies she had discovered over the Starfleet phaser signatures on the D'deridex hull pieces. His frown now deepened. The phaser signature was a good 15.6% stronger than even what a Sovereign-class would have used. With a nearly Vulcan-like raised left eyebrow; Andrew Sheridan looked up from the data to Julia and then back down. There wasn't a starship in the fleet that could produce that kind of firepower...not with phaser beams. Sure, the Defiant-class pulse phasers were stronger, but this damage was not from such a phaser type, and even that would not have been so strong.

So, what could have produced such a result? A new race or power that used phaser technology based off of Starfleet's? Or...

Lieutenant Commander Sheridan paused in his thoughts as he closed his eyes. Was it possible? He needed more information...he needed proof...

[Bridge]

Julia had Andrew over her shoulder and he reviewed her work. The look on his face indicated that he saw it too. "It's almost a Federation signature sir. But I've never seen wave lengths like that and even a Sovereign class vessel couldn't put out that power." As Julia explained her findings Captain T'Koris approached her.

A

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

Before she could say more, the turbolift doors opened onto the bridge and the young Captain stepped out into her command centre, immediately stepping down to the point just behind the helm stations, in front of the command chairs, where she could watch the viewscreen. She allowed herself a faint sensation of satisfaction at the sullen expression on her chief helm officer's face. Jiseth was another element on her growing to-do list that she had to deal with. It wasn't something that she was particularly looking forward to, but it needed done, especially if there was a chance that they were going to encounter a Tal Shiar ship. Archangel was not one for surprises. She folded her arms behind her back as she surveyed the bridge.

"Report, Lieutenant Rellek, Lieutenant Jiseth, Ensign Pardek."

Julia nodded as the Captain approached her station. "Captain, Ive been able to isolate the weapons signature from the debris. It was eerily similar to a Federation weapons signature but there were noticeable differences in the wave patterns. On the surface I can understand why the Romulans would think this to be a Federation weapon. Its similar but its definitely not a Federation weapon."

[Bridge]

As any good captain would, Archangel listened to her three officers' reports and mulled it over in her mind. It was obvious to her now that they were dealing with a Federation vessel, but why would one of their own attack the Romulans? And why were there differences in the phaser signatures and other key areas? It would require a layover in a dry dock to effect such changes, and no dry dock would make them, let alone without logging it in.

Without saying a word, she turned and took a seat in the captain's chair, crossing her legs at the knee and resting one elbow on the arm of the chair, a finger curled over her mouth as she pondered. A Federation vessel that wasn't a Federation vessel. Curious.

They needed more information, that much was for sure, but how to get it without putting the ship and its crew in danger, that was the question. The nebula would mask their tracks, that was true, but in exchange, their own sensors would be clouded. Sending in a probe would likely be seen by the enemy vessel and destroyed, as would a shuttle, as tempting as it was at that point in time to send Lieutenant Jiseth out in one.

Her hand moved to tap on the arm of the chair, a long-held habit when she was deep in thought. "We can't risk a head-to-head encounter, not on our own." Tap, tap, tap. "We detected Cardassian and Klingon ships out there, and I've been informed that we may be joined by another Romulan vessel. Try contacting them. With some back up, we might be able to take on this rogue."

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

[Turbolift]

Archangel did indeed know how her people dealt with treachery and it wasn't pretty.  She stayed facing forward as the Romulan Centurion spoke.  He seemed to be in a hurry to warn her, to make her aware of the dangers.  Probably wants to stay on my good side.  I can do a lot to help his career, or I can completely destroy both him and his House, she thought to herself.    

The mention of the commanding officer of the warbird likely to come out to check on them almost caused her to shift uneasily.  No one liked the Tal Shiar.  She had had her own dealings with them several years ago.  Thankfully, her position had ensured that she wasn't allowed to be killed, nor permanently harmed.  It hadn't meant much to her at the time, but she was actually grateful for that fact.  It was just unfortunate that the Tal Shiar were very well practised at taking their captives to the brink of death and pulling them back again.  Reduced it almost to an art form, in fact.

"I will deal with the Major if and when it becomes necessary," was her answer.  

Her already upswept eyebrows furrowed slightly at the mention of the ship that attacked the Romulans being a Sovereign-class.  Her mind went through the few Sovereign ships that had been built.  There had only been four of them, none of which were supposed to be even close to this sector.  But black?  Starfleet ships, as far as she was aware, were never painted black.  Not even Section 31's ships were painted black or used black metal.  Had she missed something?  Some report somewhere about the goings on in the Federation that she hadn't read?  Unlikely, but she still had to entertain the prospect.

"I'm not aware of any ships matching that description that have even been commissioned, let alone built."

Before she could say more, the turbolift doors opened onto the bridge and the young Captain stepped out into her command centre, immediately stepping down to the point just behind the helm stations, in front of the command chairs, where she could watch the viewscreen.  She allowed herself a faint sensation of satisfaction at the sullen expression on her chief helm officer's face.  Jiseth was another element on her growing to-do list that she had to deal with.  It wasn't something that she was particularly looking forward to, but it needed done, especially if there was a chance that they were going to encounter a Tal Shiar ship.  Archangel was not one for surprises.  She folded her arms behind her back as she surveyed the bridge.

"Report, Lieutenant Rellek, Lieutenant Jiseth, Ensign Pardek."

[Bridge]

Safefta briefly glanced over at her commanding officer as she entered the bridge. She clearly wasn't happy, but Safefta didn't care too much for that. What she was more interested in was the status of the Romulans on the ship, and whether they posed more of a threat than the unidentified vessel.

"Tactical systems operating at optimal efficiency. Shields are at 100%, and our phaser and torpedo arrays are armed."

At the notion of attempting to contact the other vessels, Pardek froze, but then complied. I do not believe this is wise.

"Would you prefer I send them a communication, or you you prefer to speak with them directly?" the tactical officer asked.

Safefta Pardek wrote:

Safefta briefly glanced over at her commanding officer as she entered the bridge. She clearly wasn't happy, but Safefta didn't care too much for that. What she was more interested in was the status of the Romulans on the ship, and whether they posed more of a threat than the unidentified vessel.

"Tactical systems operating at optimal efficiency. Shields are at 100%, and our phaser and torpedo arrays are armed."

At the notion of attempting to contact the other vessels, Pardek froze, but then complied. I do not believe this is wise.

"Would you prefer I send them a communication, or you you prefer to speak with them directly?" the tactical officer asked.

[Bridge]

Looking around to the Romulan hybrid standing at the tactical station, Archangel gave brief thought to the question as to how to contact the other ships in the sector. A long, pale finger continued to tap on the arm of her chair.

"Send them a message informing them of the threat posed by a Federation-style vessel and that we require their assistance in dealing with this threat. Invite them to a conference here to discuss plans," she replied.

SHAENHA'ELH STELAM

Major Rhian Hwersuil sat in the darkened command center of her warbird with her fingertips lightly pressed together, but without the palms touching.  The longest of these fingers lightly rested to her lips and the grim smile that was there.  The report of losing a warbird in their area had set the intense Tal Shiar woman on edge, and her dark green eyes had turned from cold to down right icy.  The fact that the warbird had been destroyed in an ambush did not help matters, and less when the attacker was unknown.  There were two Klingon vessels in the area, and a single Federation starship as well.  Along with these particular guests in the region had been a Cardassian Galor-class, but yesterday her crew had found that ship a complete wreck from some recent attack that same day.  The information gathered from the wreckage had led to more questions than answers, and Major Rhian did not like such mysteries.  To her, it meant that she and her crew were missing something vital.

Even now, Rhian was still having trouble believing the evidence.  While propaganda often said in pre-Dominon War times that the Federation and Starfleet were treacherous...Rhian knew the truth.  Oh, they could be devious, and certainly their operatives had some treachery to them, but nothing like what the propaganda had made them out to be.  Not that there weren't the darker sides to any government or culture, but the Federation for the most part was not something based on treachery.  Yet, the evidence suggested a very deadly Starfleet vessel out there now...one that had weapons more powerful than even their new mighty Sovereign-class.  Such a vessel had clearly wiped out the Galor, and now she had an ambushed warbird to deal with.  The coincidence of these two incidents could not be ignored.

"Major, we managed to break the Klingon Defense Force code for this area.  I think you will find this quite interesting," Rhian's sub-commander stated from the tactical station.  She said nothing, but stood to her full height of 1.92 meters, and gracefully glided over to his station...her slender hands behind her back.  Unlike most Romulans; Rhian's attire was in a sleek black jumpsuit edged in silver.  The ease and grace of her movements indicated a warrior; not just some beautiful woman, and the way her dark green eyes took in things so coldly was enough to tell anyone she was not to be taken lightly.  Once standing to the right of her subordinate; he continued his report, "It appears the Klingons have also lost a cruiser.  They are accusing Starfleet of ambushing one of their Vor'cha-class.  Though the ship was destroyed, apparently a full sequence of the battle was sent to the other ship in the area.  I have, as yet, been able to obtain a copy of the battle, but the word Sovereign has popped up a couple of times in the communique."

Rhian's eyes narrowed further.  The power output from the wrecked Galor had said something greater than a Sovereign had wiped out the Cardassian cruiser, but perhaps the Federation's new heavy explorer had already received a refit...some upgrade the Tal Shiar had missed.  If so, it was not setting well with her at all.

"How long before we reach the nebula?" she asked him quietly, though her voice was never loud.

"Half-hour," Sub-commander Aerv stated with a sharp nod.

Rhian nodded, and turned her attention back to the view screen.  She wanted answers, and she knew the Federation cruiser PHOENIX had gone to the nebula earlier.  Dhael T'Koris was aboard as the ship's Captain, and that made her head begin to throb with a mild headache.  The last thing she wanted was to cause an incident with the Praetor through his....confusing, but very successful wife.  Nor did she have any desire to tangle with General T'Koris.  Still, if she was out here, perhaps getting some answers would be easier than some other Federation Captain who would be trying to hide things.

She had never met the Dhael before, but she had read many reports on the one known as Archangel T'Koris.  It was said she had no love for the Tal Shiar...not even a little bit, but this did not worry Rhian much.  Few in the Star Empire showed any love for her organization.  Rhian was sure that her position in the Tal Shiar was going to cause issues with meeting the Dhael, but there was nothing she could do about that part.  Respect was something that if shown to the Dhael; then it was returned.  Now was likely not the time to fence with her; though such would have been interesting.  At least, not on the surface...  Any chance to get more information from someone like T'Koris was not an opportunity to miss.  Oh, but she would have to be so very careful.  One false move, and no matter how successful Rhian had been for the Tal Shiar...her people would take her out in a heartbeat.

"This is going to be fun," she whispered back to Aerv before returning to her very comfortable command chair.

Thus, the warbird continued on...cloaked and ready for battle...

Then, a message came in from the PHOENIX, and Aerv sent it directly to his commander's seat for her to listen to in private.

=/\= To all vessels in the area, a starship masquerading as a Federation vessel has attacked a Romulan warbird.  We require any and all assistance in hunting this adversary down. =/\=

Rhian's left eyebrow arched upward sharply.  Was it a ruse, or did the Dhael truly need their help to find and destroy this vessel responsible for one of her warbird's destruction?  She leaned back in her chair...wondering...  It could be a ploy to throw off any suspicion from the Federation, but from what she knew of T'Koris's profile...that did not match.  Perhaps she was seeking answers as well, and discovered the deadly weapons this other starship was carrying.  Being only in command of a Nebula-class; Captain T'Koris would have almost no chance of defeating such a foe alone.

"Do not answer as yet, Sub-Commander.  Let us see what else happens first," Rhian ordered.

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

[Bridge]

As any good captain would, Archangel listened to her three officers' reports and mulled it over in her mind.  It was obvious to her now that they were dealing with a Federation vessel, but why would one of their own attack the Romulans?  And why were there differences in the phaser signatures and other key areas?  It would require a layover in a dry dock to effect such changes, and no dry dock would make them, let alone without logging it in.

Without saying a word, she turned and took a seat in the captain's chair, crossing her legs at the knee and resting one elbow on the arm of the chair, a finger curled over her mouth as she pondered.  A Federation vessel that wasn't a Federation vessel.  Curious.

They needed more information, that much was for sure, but how to get it without putting the ship and its crew in danger, that was the question.  The nebula would mask their tracks, that was true, but in exchange, their own sensors would be clouded.  Sending in a probe would likely be seen by the enemy vessel and destroyed, as would a shuttle, as tempting as it was at that point in time to send Lieutenant Jiseth out in one.

Her hand moved to tap on the arm of the chair, a long-held habit when she was deep in thought.  "We can't risk a head-to-head encounter, not on our own."  Tap, tap, tap.  "We detected Cardassian and Klingon ships out there, and I've been informed that we may be joined by another Romulan vessel.  Try contacting them.  With some back up, we might be able to take on this rogue."

Julia sipped her coffee as she reviewed the data. Her console began to light up. There was a transmission out there. She probed further attempting to isolate the signal but failed several times. It wa definitely a Klingon signal but she couldn't determine anymore than that. All of this talk of a Federation vessel attacking ships seemingly at Ronaldo had Julia perplexed. She knew it couldn't be a Starfleet vessel but then who. Who would have the motive. Why would someone want to inflict suffering on such a dramatic scale. Julia stood up with her coffee in hand. "Captain, I'm picking up what appears to be a Klingon transmission. I can't isolate the signal. The nebula is generating too much interference.
I know its Klingon but I can't tell you much more than that Sir."

The Klingon Captain sulked in his chair. As much as a Klingon can truly sulk. He turned to his executive officer as he alerted his commanding officer to the castles the crew had taken. As the XO ran down the list a growl began to rumble from deep within Vor'Char. That rumble quickly crescendo into a roar that seemed to fill the corridors and deck throughout the vessel. 47 fallen comrades. 47 fallen warriors. The IKS SuvwI' left the Empire with a crew 72, leaving just 26 warriors to defend his vessel as it drifted dead through space. He looked to his executive officer. "They died warriors; for the Empire. Their path to StoVohKor will be swift! Why did they not deliver a final blow? They dishonored us! Leave us stranded, adrift, forced to beg for help. They should of killed us while they had the chance. I will avenge those deaths. By the hand of Kahless. I will avenge those deaths or die trying!"

A voice arose from the communication station. The young female officer seemed almost timid to interrupt her Captain as he planned the revenge of those lost lives. "Captain, I'm picking up a federation signal." She began. The Captain quickly interrupted her. "Is it the ship that attacked us?" He demanded. She quickly interjected. "I don't think so Captain. I think I've cleaned up the signal."

=/\= To all vessels in the area, a starship masquerading as a Federation vessel has attacked a Romulan warbird.  We require any and all assistance in hunting this adversary down. =/\=

"Federation... They may be our allies. But I have learned to keep them at arms lengths. Many are honorable. I fought alongside several of them during the war." He sighed. "If it is our only option. Try to get them raise them. Send them a distress call. Its either that or we drift through space until a vessel passes by." The communication officer nodded indicating the line was open.

=/\="This is the IKS SuvwI' to unidentified Starfleet vessel. We have received your communication and believe that we encountered the vessel that you are pursuing. We met them in battle and were not victorious. We require... assistance.=/\= It was not easy for Klingon to ask for assistance. Especially following such a terrible defeat in battle. Defeat rang form his voice.

Nightshade: Cardassian Outpost

Gul Duhar watched as the bombardment continued. The tiny outpost's weapons had been taken out almost completely with the first wave of torpedoes and phaser strikes from the mysterious starship in orbit. Unlike other installations during the Dominion War; Nightshade had actually managed to escape the attention of the war. Oh, it was so small, and had never had any significance before...so it being overlooked was not something Gul Duhar had really thought of too much. After all, it likely had saved his life, and the lives of his people.

That, however, seemed to have changed with the orbital bombardment they currently endured. Even now, the Cardassian outpost's shields were gone, and the second strike had already wiped out the last of their own defensive weapons. It was a very hopeless situation. Even if they had not been caught by surprise; there was no way they could have taken out the ship in orbit. The defenses of Nightshade hadn't been upgraded in over twenty years.

"Gul Duhar, I finally have a visual on the attacking vessel!" a woman at the smoke Ops station reported. She was, he realized, the only other member of his staff in the command center still up and working.

"Show me!" he growled, and there before them on the view screen through all of the static could be seen a Sovereign-class...the Federation's most powerful starship hovering in orbit. Yet, something was keenly different about this particular Starfleet warship. This one did not have the feel of diplomacy or science to it...it didn't have the feel of the soft aesthetics the Federation seemed to love so much. This one was stark black against the background of space and the stars. Her curves seemed a lot sharper...hostile somehow...as if this particular ship had been built for a single purpose: War.

A new wave of torpedoes could be seen streaking towards them.

"Send the sensor logs," he told her quietly...the voice of defeat clear in his tone.

"Logs away," she stated only a second later, and it was the last thing he heard.

In orbit, the deadly black Sovereign-class hovered a bit longer.

Bridge

"Captain, I am receiving two different messages on open channels. The first is a warning from the USS PHOENIX about our presence, and calling upon all other ships in the area to help them hunt us down. The second comes from the Klingon ship we crippled...requesting aid. Orders?" asked the human woman from the tactical station.

"Good. That is to be expected, and do not destroy the sensor logs of the Cardassians. I want our adversaries to see it. By the time we get done, they will be in chaos," the Captain said with evil delight...his smile was dark and sinister. He had dark hair, dark green eyes that seemed to pierce the soul, and a distinct feel to him...one that was not pleasant to experience at all. "Remember, we must make sure they do not have the time to comprehend the truth. Helm, come about to 111 mark 14...proceed to the next target. Commander, prepare the holographic imaging net. Let's further confuse our prey, shall we."

"Of course, Captain," she answered with a wicked gleam in her eyes even as the starship left orbit for her next target.

Bridge

Andrew Sheridan closed his eyes for a long moment. The Captain's decision to call the other ships in the area was a good idea; though how their call for aid was received would be another matter. He said nothing to the conversation between Safefta and Archangel; nor of the reports given to his Captain. His sole focus was the mystery he had a theory for, and prayed he was wrong. To prove it, though, he would need evidence first.

"Lieutenant Rellek, you and I need to find that anomaly we first came seeking...immediately," he said as he turned back to his Second Officer and friend. There was a touch of importance in his voice...as if all the mysteries at hand depended solely on finding that anomaly. With those words, and without further explanation, Andrew turned back to the Science station. A moment later, he was already adding new search algorithms to the probe's parameters currently searching the nebula. It was not going to be easy considering the nebula was interfering with sensors, but if what was inside was what he suspected...then the nebula would only be able to mask it...not completely hide it.

"There," he said a few moments later as he pointed to the sudden trace of chroniton particles faintly detected. "Have the probe follow that trail, and let's see what we find...shall we," he suggested with a nod to the data displayed.

It wasn't a perfect lead just yet, but it was a lead, and the fact that the chroniton particles were found near the destroyed warbird only gave more credence to his theory.

Andrew Sheridan wrote:

Bridge

Andrew Sheridan closed his eyes for a long moment.  The Captain's decision to call the other ships in the area was a good idea; though how their call for aid was received would be another matter.  He said nothing to the conversation between Safefta and Archangel; nor of the reports given to his Captain.  His sole focus was the mystery he had a theory for, and prayed he was wrong.  To prove it, though, he would need evidence first.

"Lieutenant Rellek, you and I need to find that anomaly we first came seeking...immediately," he said as he turned back to his Second Officer and friend.  There was a touch of importance in his voice...as if all the mysteries at hand depended solely on finding that anomaly.  With those words, and without further explanation, Andrew turned back to the Science station.  A moment later, he was already adding new search algorithms to the probe's parameters currently searching the nebula.  It was not going to be easy considering the nebula was interfering with sensors, but if what was inside was what he suspected...then the nebula would only be able to mask it...not completely hide it.

"There," he said a few moments later as he pointed to the sudden trace of chroniton particles faintly detected.  "Have the probe follow that trail, and let's see what we find...shall we," he suggested with a nod to the data displayed.

It wasn't a perfect lead just yet, but it was a lead, and the fact that the chroniton particles were found near the destroyed warbird only gave more credence to his theory.

The faint signals were very little but they were still something. "Aye sir. I'm redirecting the probe now and increasing the probes speed." Julia saw the readings spike on the probes readouts. "There." Julia pointed the spike to commander Sheridan. "Sir. A spike in the chroniton readings but I still am having trouble localizing it sir. I'm not sure if we're dealing with a temporal anomaly or not. I believe that we can safely utilize the probes data to go deeper within the nebula. I recommend we take the ship in."

Bridge

Andrew thought about Julia's recommendation, but shook his head a moment later a definitive no.

"If what I suspect is inside waiting; the last thing we want is to announce ourselves. Though the nebula would hide our ship for the most part...it will be harder to detect the probe...almost impossible. No, for now, we stay put and continue to get our signature masked before pursuing the vessel when the Captain is ready," he told her, and then realized he was still not explaining his suspicions. With a deep sigh, Andrew gave his theory, "A gateway...a temporal gate from the mirror universe," he added quietly. "Keep looking into the readings, and let me know what you find," Andrew stated before returning to his Captain's side.

"A word, Captain," he suggested quietly to Archangel...deep concern laced his voice.