Mission 8: Survival of the Fittest

Jiseth wrote:

"This is not your bridge. This ship belongs to the Romulan Empire."

She did not bother to pull herself out to look at the Captain. Jiseth found her own blood boiling as she went about the tedious task of resetting the calibration controllers. The space was beyond cramped, but her anger gave her a zen focus as she worked.

"Starfleet Directive 010: Before engaging alien species in battle, any and all attempts to make first contact and achieve nonmilitary resolution must be made. The record already shows you ordered us to fire on them first. To fight these bloodthirsty Klingons first. Drag this out into a long fight in a restricted area. That's why Stark's here, isn't he? Because you can't hold up in a critical situation. The Klingons will face charges and your incompetence will not get in the way of that."

[Warbird - Bridge]

Finally, Archangel's temper was about to reach its boiling point, and the other Romulan on the bridge was the one that was pushing it there. Striding the few paces to the console she was in the process of dismantling, she seized Jiseth by the back of her jacket and yanked her back, pushing her toward the turbolift off the bridge.

"Security, get the Lieutenant off the bridge and make sure she stays there," she snarled, throwing another glare at Jiseth before turning her attention to the chief science officer. "Rellek, as soon as those Klingons respond, I want your face on that viewer, understood?"

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

[Warbird - Bridge]

Finally, Archangel's temper was about to reach its boiling point, and the other Romulan on the bridge was the one that was pushing it there.  Striding the few paces to the console she was in the process of dismantling, she seized Jiseth by the back of her jacket and yanked her back, pushing her toward the turbolift off the bridge.

"Security, get the Lieutenant off the bridge and make sure she stays there," she snarled, throwing another glare at Jiseth before turning her attention to the chief science officer.  "Rellek, as soon as those Klingons respond, I want your face on that viewer, understood?"

[Bridge]

Watching the interaction between Jiseth and the Captain made Julia want to crawl in a hole. She couldn't fathom that an officer would so blatantly defy her Captains wishes. The whole situation was a catastrophe, to say the least, and Julia wasn't sure how to process the information.

Her mind quickly switched gears to the Captains request that she communicated with the Klingon. She could understand why the Captain would want a human to appear on the screen.

"Yes Captain. Acknowledged." She made her way down the bridge and closer to the command center. She was reading between Captain's words and knew that she wanted the Klingon to see a human in command. Relations between the Romulan Star Empire and the Klingons had been strained, at best, since the war.

She turned over her shoulder and looked to the Vorta at operations. "Cadet, can you get me those Klingons on the view screen?"

Archangel T'Koris wrote:

Finally, Archangel's temper was about to reach its boiling point, and the other Romulan on the bridge was the one that was pushing it there.  Striding the few paces to the console she was in the process of dismantling, she seized Jiseth by the back of her jacket and yanked her back, pushing her toward the turbolift off the bridge.

"Security, get the Lieutenant off the bridge and make sure she stays there," she snarled, throwing another glare at Jiseth before turning her attention to the chief science officer.  "Rellek, as soon as those Klingons respond, I want your face on that viewer, understood?"

[Warbird - Bridge]

"Hey-OW! NOUHHA FVADT AEI!"

There was a sickening crack as Jiseth's head hit the inner wall of the composite before she let out her yell. If only Night Owl and Princess had been around still she might have had a chance at subduing the bridge crew and taking command. To her knowledge she was the only one with any idea where the panels containing disruptors were.

She returned her Captain's glare with all the hate she could muster. The words Fvillhu mmhain'he daeftan escaped her lips and she turned away. Whatever happened next on the bridge would not be on her head. The security officers that exited the turbolift parted before Jiseth could plow through between them. She gave one last look to the bridge and shut the lift doors in the faces of the security guards.

The pod descended into the inner catacomb of decks that were crammed into the head of the warbird. She considered going to the engine room to still be of usefulness, but she had had enough of being around Starfleet officers and their damned foolery. The shuttlebay was out as well. Sickbay would only lead to an unpleasant conversation with Zero.

An idea snaked its way into her head. The one place that everyone feared on such a ship, at least to those who know of what went on there. When the lift doors open, Jiseth stepped out into what appeared to be a normally lit deck aside from the fact it was ghostly quiet. It had to be to keep the screams muffled of the unfortunate subjects. With a deep breath she stopped in front of a pair of black doors.

"It's been a while..."

Julia Rellek wrote:

"Yes Captain. Acknowledged." She made her way down the bridge and closer to the command center. She was reading between Captain's words and knew that she wanted the Klingon to see a human in command. Relations between the Romulan Star Empire and the Klingons had been strained, at best, since the war.

She turned over her shoulder and looked to the Vorta at operations. "Cadet, can you get me those Klingons on the view screen?"

"Err... What do you mean, sir?"

This time the Vorta looked up in a state of mild confusion. Was it the chaotic dynamic between the senior officers or the influx of information that seemed to cause a distraction in the lieutenant? Reyaen slowly began to discredit both assertions. She had noted that the former option was somewhat routine on this vessel and as for the latter things had settled down significantly since the Klingon ship had been captured.

"I've sent a hail, but I can't physically force them to respond while their shields are still up. Well, I could with a Dominion transporter, sir, but this vessel has not been integrated with such technology. She I request in a more jovial manner?"

Reyaen 3 wrote:

"Err... What do you mean, sir?"

This time the Vorta looked up in a state of mild confusion. Was it the chaotic dynamic between the senior officers or the influx of information that seemed to cause a distraction in the lieutenant? Reyaen slowly began to discredit both assertions. She had noted that the former option was somewhat routine on this vessel and as for the latter things had settled down significantly since the Klingon ship had been captured.

"I've sent a hail, but I can't physically force them to respond while their shields are still up. Well, I could with a Dominion transporter, sir, but this vessel has not been integrated with such technology. She I request in a more jovial manner?"

[Bridge]

Julia shifted her attention from the view screen to the cadet at operations. Part of being a Starfleet officer was not simply accepting things as they were, but having the courage to persevere through adversity. The courage to keep trying when all seems lost.

"Last time I checked, Cadet, dominion technology will never be an option. I need you to keep trying. They won't ignore us forever, they cant. I don't care how many hails it takes. I want a Klingon on that screen." Julia pulled herself back. Having a Vorta on this ship had made her uncomfortable from day one. She knew she was likely projecting her frustrations on Reyaen. "You can do it, cadet, just keep trying."

Julia Rellek wrote:

Julia shifted her attention from the view screen to the cadet at operations. Part of being a Starfleet officer was not simply accepting things as they were, but having the courage to persevere through adversity. The courage to keep trying when all seems lost.

"Last time I checked, Cadet, dominion technology will never be an option. I need you to keep trying. They won't ignore us forever, they cant. I don't care how many hails it takes. I want a Klingon on that screen." Julia pulled herself back. Having a Vorta on this ship had made her uncomfortable from day one. She knew she was likely projecting her frustrations on Reyaen. "You can do it, cadet, just keep trying."

[Bridge]

The first part of the Lieutenant's reply was a rather insulting jab to the Vorta. Not simply because of her origins or former allegiance, but her current one. The years spent toiling away diligently to help Starfleet unlock the secrets of the Founder's gifts that lead to her having some modest freedoms now being snubbed at. A brief ping of sympathy for the discharged flight officer took hold though she was in no position to take such a radical stand as a cadet.

Part of her wished the Klingons would keep ignoring the hails. Spare them the unpleasant pleasantries and just be hauled away to the starbase. It was becoming no wonder why the Federation had taken so many losses. Complacency was near a fine art and Reliek seemed to embody the shortcomings Reyaen had to tolerate on a daily basis.

"...Transmitting again, sir."

=/\= Klingon vessel, acknowledge received order! Klingon vessel, respond! =/\=

[Klingon Vessel]

On the bridge of the bird of prey, the Klingons were getting a little more than irrirated with the warbird who had trapped them in a tractor beam.  Orders had already been barked to the bridge officers to find a way to disable it.  The captain, getting sick of the incessant bleeping from the communications panel, slammed his fist down on it.

"Romulan vessel, we are not interested in conversation with you!  Prepare for battle!"

NPC wrote:

Captain Katogh

[Klingon Vessel]

On the bridge of the bird of prey, the Klingons were getting a little more than irrirated with the warbird who had trapped them in a tractor beam.  Orders had already been barked to the bridge officers to find a way to disable it.  The captain, getting sick of the incessant bleeping from the communications panel, slammed his fist down on it.

"Romulan vessel, we are not interested in conversation with you!  Prepare for battle!"

[Bridge]

Julia moved to the center of the Command center. She knew the Klingon captain would only give them a brief window to establish communications before he would close the channel and resume firing on the vessel. She knew she had to capture his attention. She straightened her uniform and prepared attempted to pull together a more formidable persona. Julia, by nature, wasn't one that would be described as formidable. But she was going to try, nonetheless.

"Are you interested in starting a war with the Federation, Captain. I don't think the Chancellor would approve."

She went silent, hoping had grabbed his attention.

Julia Rellek wrote:

Julia moved to the center of the Command center. She knew the Klingon captain would only give them a brief window to establish communications before he would close the channel and resume firing on the vessel. She knew she had to capture his attention. She straightened her uniform and prepared attempted to pull together a more formidable persona. Julia, by nature, wasn't one that would be described as formidable. But she was going to try, nonetheless.

"Are you interested in starting a war with the Federation, Captain. I don't think the Chancellor would approve."

She went silent, hoping had grabbed his attention.

[quote="NPC"]
[Klingon Vessel]

Captain Katogh leaned forward in his seat, glaring incredulously at the communications screen. A human in a Starfleet uniform was speaking to him from a Romulan warbird. It only took a brief glance to confirm that he was actually on a channel to the warbird and not the Federation ship hanging off in the distance.

"What is this trickery? You are on a Romulan vessel!"

Julia Rellek wrote:

Julia moved to the center of the Command center. She knew the Klingon captain would only give them a brief window to establish communications before he would close the channel and resume firing on the vessel. She knew she had to capture his attention. She straightened her uniform and prepared attempted to pull together a more formidable persona. Julia, by nature, wasn't one that would be described as formidable. But she was going to try, nonetheless.

"Are you interested in starting a war with the Federation, Captain. I don't think the Chancellor would approve."

She went silent, hoping had grabbed his attention.

[Bridge]

Somehow, Gavin had always imagined that witnessing the moment that Jiseth's career disintegrated in the atmosphere would have been more...fulfilling. Then again, maybe it was just the fact of knowing it was only a matter of time before her pathological snowflake syndrome finally wrote a check she didn't have the latinum to cash. Oof. So much for that new-found respect, and all that. Some habits were, indeed, hard to break.

He watched as Rellek dropped a parley onto the Klingons, noting that Archangel wisely didn't show up on their viewer as a Romulan on the bridge. Gavin monitored the graviton emissions, ready to relay another burst, should the Klingons scramble them again. It was straining, but nothing the warbird couldn't handle. He intensely wished for a way of typing coded messages to Julia's attention, mainly so he could remind her to throw the dishonor of breaking the Khitomer Accords in the Klingon captain's face. However, he didn't have the slightest idea how to do that on this ship. Knowing his luck, he'd end up displaying his secret messages on the viewscreen.

[Procedure Room]

Jiseth stepped through the black doors into a dimly lit chamber. It lacked the usual green and beige trimmings for bright blues and violets amid the darkened walls. The aesthetic had more in common with Jem'Hadar design and considering its purpose would probably fit well inside one of their ships. Interrogation, mental probing and augmentation, it all happened here.

At the end of the room was the manifestation of torment. To the eye a simple chair with various clamps to hold the body, limbs, and head. Then there were the various devices mounted around the back and sides. Several people could operate the chair simultaneously as they flayed the mind and body of the captive.

From the silence came the apathetic evenness of the computer's male voice.

"Scanning... Subject 7478 detected. Loading files..."

The Romulan nearly jumped out of her own skin as the screens on the chair came to life. Briskly she walked around the whole thing as it seemed to prepare for another entry. She skimmed through the settings being selected that had been used the last time on this particular individual. To her horror, the face that appeared next to the name entry was her own.

NPC wrote:

[Klingon Vessel]

Captain Katogh leaned forward in his seat, glaring incredulously at the communications screen. A human in a Starfleet uniform was speaking to him from a Romulan warbird. It only took a brief glance to confirm that he was actually on a channel to the warbird and not the Federation ship hanging off in the distance.

"What is this trickery? You are on a Romulan vessel!"

[Bridge]

Julia glared back at the Klingon officer. Her expression didn't flinch her focus on him didn't waiver.

"Captain, I am Lieutenant Julia Rellek and I can assure you that this is not trickery. We were engaged in a military training exercise with the Romulan Star Empire. If you scan our vessel you can confirm that our weapons have no power. Captain, there is no honor in blowing up a defenseless ally. If you continue to fire on us it will be construed as an act of war. And I'm certain in the event that you were personally responsible for this war that Chancellor Martok would have something to say. He is a strong supporter of the alliance. You will be stripped of your honor and your house left in ruins. So we say again. Cease fire at once!"

Julia Rellek wrote:

Julia glared back at the Klingon officer. Her expression didn't flinch her focus on him didn't waiver.

"Captain, I am Lieutenant Julia Rellek and I can assure you that this is not trickery. We were engaged in a military training exercise with the Romulan Star Empire. If you scan our vessel you can confirm that our weapons have no power. Captain, there is no honor in blowing up a defenseless ally. If you continue to fire on us it will be construed as an act of war. And I'm certain in the event that you were personally responsible for this war that Chancellor Martok would have something to say. He is a strong supporter of the alliance. You will be stripped of your honor and your house left in ruins. So we say again. Cease fire at once!"

[Klingon Vessel]

The Klingon growled low in his throat. Of course these Federation weaklings would be playing at war with the Romulans. They preferred to pretend to fight great battles rather than going out and finding a worthy adversary in order to fight their way into Sto Vo Kor.

"We will not surrender, even to you, Federation!"

NPC wrote:

Captain Katogh

[Klingon Vessel]

The Klingon growled low in his throat.  Of course these Federation weaklings would be playing at war with the Romulans.  They preferred to pretend to fight great battles rather than going out and finding a worthy adversary in order to fight their way into Sto Vo Kor.

"We will not surrender, even to you, Federation!"

[Bridge]

Julia was surprised that they were so willing to fight, even at the risk of war. Think like a Klingon! The words kept rattling around in her head. She knew that war now would mean the death the Empire. The Federation faired the war far better than the Klingon had. They were stretched too thin. They lost a lot to help win that war.

"Enough!" She screamed. Hearing Julia scream certainly must of startled her colleagues. She was quite possibly the most timid of all the officers on that bridge, probably the last person you wanted negotiating with the Klingon. She looked down to her feet and then back to the view screen. This time she had a new fire in her eyes. "You are welcome to try to blow us up! But I refuse to cowl down to you. We will not back down and we will not surrender! But before you fire shall I remind you that it was Kahless himself that said; destroying an empire to win a battle is no victory and ending a battle to save an empire is not defeat. Ask yourself, Captain, can the Empire survive war?"

Julia Rellek wrote:

Julia was surprised that they were so willing to fight, even at the risk of war. Think like a Klingon! The words kept rattling around in her head. She knew that war now would mean the death the Empire. The Federation faired the war far better than the Klingon had. They were stretched too thin. They lost a lot to help win that war.

"Enough!" She screamed. Hearing Julia scream certainly must of startled her colleagues. She was quite possibly the most timid of all the officers on that bridge, probably the last person you wanted negotiating with the Klingon. She looked down to her feet and then back to the view screen. This time she had a new fire in her eyes. "You are welcome to try to blow us up! But I refuse to cowl down to you. We will not back down and we will not surrender! But before you fire shall I remind you that it was Kahless himself that said; destroying an empire to win a battle is no victory and ending a battle to save an empire is not defeat. Ask yourself, Captain, can the Empire survive war?"

[Klingon Vessel]

The Klingon was not happy about what he was hearing, but he couldn't deny the sense in her words. As much as he wanted a battle against this ship, he knew that he couldn't afford to lose face with the Council.

"Bah!" was the only reply Julia received as he slammed his fist down on the communications panel, closing the channel before he barked orders to his bridge crew to discontinue hostilities and stand down.

NPC wrote:

Captain Katogh

[Klingon Vessel]

The Klingon was not happy about what he was hearing, but he couldn't deny the sense in her words.  As much as he wanted a battle against this ship, he knew that he couldn't afford to lose face with the Council.

"Bah!" was the only reply Julia received as he slammed his fist down on the communications panel, closing the channel before he barked orders to his bridge crew to discontinue hostilities and stand down.

Julia breathed an audible sigh of relief as the Klingon gave the order to stand down. She looked over to Captain T'Koris and flashed a slight smile. "I guess they weren't interested in joining us for ractijino's?" She looked around the bridge and saw a similar sigh of relief emitting form most of the bridge staff.

"Ensigns Ives and Ezac, stand down. Take us to yellow alert. Leave the shields in place until the Klingon's leave the system." She turned to the Vorta at operations. "Cadet, you performed well back there. Good job getting the Klingon's. Open a channel to the Phoenix. Ensign M'Rai, prepare to take us out once we've contacted our ship. Gavin, assess the damage from that Graviton burst and get a report ready for the Romulans. They won't be happy about the condition of their vessel."

Julia stepped out of the center of the bridge to make room for the Captain. With a gesture from her hand she motioned that the Captain could have her station back. "I don't know about you ma'am but I've had enough games for one day."

[Procedure Room]

Moving to examine one of the many screens in further detail, Jiseth found herself short of breath. She remembered the torture sessions, but never a reason why. Erroneous questions that they surely had answers to like the previous ports of call for the Phoenix.

=/\= Jiseth to Doctor Alpha. I need you in the Procedure Room, deck 26. =/\=

Her index finger flicked through the list of recording entries. Each one detailed the duration and methods used along with who was there to administer the conditioning. It was all there. Still frames along with various notes and comments. Bits and details of her minds strew about like strips of fish fillet.

"Computer, what is the total duration of sessions for Subject 7478?"

"Approximately 26 days."

"...Play recordings from the beginning."

Julia Rellek wrote:

"Ensigns Ives and Ezac, stand down. Take us to yellow alert. Leave the shields in place until the Klingon's leave the system." She turned to the Vorta at operations. "Cadet, you performed well back there. Good job getting the Klingon's. Open a channel to the Phoenix. Ensign M'Rai, prepare to take us out once we've contacted our ship. Gavin, assess the damage from that Graviton burst and get a report ready for the Romulans. They won't be happy about the condition of their vessel."

Julia stepped out of the center of the bridge to make room for the Captain. With a gesture from her hand she motioned that the Captain could have her station back. "I don't know about you ma'am but I've had enough games for one day."

[Bridge]

She was unsure what exactly was unpleasant about this whole affair. Something not willing to be addressed it seemed. Rellek's reassurances did not help the matter. Reyaen pondered if she simply did not like the taste of her own Vorta medicine. The uncertainty if positive words were genuine or simply words. She did as requested, however. The communications link transmitted without issue now that the jamming signal had gone down.

"Channel open, sir... If I may be so bold to speculate, but was that an order to release them from the tractor beam?"

[Gannius - Bridge]

The exchange between Rellek and the Klingon commander was interesting to Ezac, to say the least. The behavior from the commander was seemingly cut and paste out of Klingon Behavior - 101; however, Rellek displayed a fire that she had previously kept unknown -- at least as long as Ezac had been assigned to the Phoenix.

Julia Rellek wrote:

"Ensigns Ives and Ezac, stand down. Take us to yellow alert. Leave the shields in place until the Klingon's leave the system." She turned to the Vorta at operations. "Cadet, you performed well back there. Good job getting the Klingon's. Open a channel to the Phoenix. Ensign M'Rai, prepare to take us out once we've contacted our ship. Gavin, assess the damage from that Graviton burst and get a report ready for the Romulans. They won't be happy about the condition of their vessel."

Once Rellek gave the order to stand down, he promptly turned toward his console and removed the targeting system's lock on the Klingon vessel. Unsure of just what lay ahead, he thought it prudent to leave their restrained weapons system fully charged. The Romulans appeared to be waiting calmly for the Klingons to leave. Who knew how quickly they would resume the training exercise.

Jiseth wrote:

=/\= Jiseth to Doctor Alpha. I need you in the Procedure Room, deck 26. =/\=

[Sickbay]

During the entire battle, both on the bridge and the in space, Zero had been sat on a biobed in the warbird's sickbay, eyes squeezed shut and hands clenched on the side of the bed as she fought to keep her breakfast in her stomach instead of decorating the deck plates.

The call coming through from Jiseth surprised her since she had expected her Romulan to be on the bridge with the captain, helping guide the crew as to how best to use the warbird's systems, but she set that aside in favour of slipping off the biobed and heading out of sickbay.

[Procedure Room]

It had taken the Augment a few minutes to figure out exactly where she was supposed to go on the unfamiliar ship, and then a few minutes more to pause along the way and reestablish control over her vomit reflex. There must have been something about the inertial dampeners or some such that was just not agreeing with her system.

The procedure rooms themselves set her on edge. Although the aesthetic was far from that at Starfleet Medical, there was still an air of what happened here that couldn't be denied. Very quickly, she sought out her Romulan, hoping that being with someone she knew wouldn't hurt her would help to alleviate the sense of unease. She wrapped her arms over her stomach, pausing once again to keep her breakfast from making an encore appearance.

"E'lev?" she murmured, stepping into one of the rooms and seeing Jiseth standing next to one of the consoles.

Zero Alpha wrote:

The procedure rooms themselves set her on edge.  Although the aesthetic was far from that at Starfleet Medical, there was still an air of what happened here that couldn't be denied.  Very quickly, she sought out her Romulan, hoping that being with someone she knew wouldn't hurt her would help to alleviate the sense of unease.  She wrapped her arms over her stomach, pausing once again to keep her breakfast from making an encore appearance.

"E'lev?" she murmured, stepping into one of the rooms and seeing Jiseth standing next to one of the consoles.

[Procedure Room]

"It's here, Zero... All of our lost time..."

The Romulan's focus was very much still on the small screen in front of her. One hand cupped the casing of the monitor while the other swiped at the display, fast-forwarding to the next desired place in the recording. Perhaps Gavin was right. Always the extremes with her kind.

"I was sent to kill Captain Archangel T'Koris. They put me in here and fiddled with my brain. It's not enough to simply program the deed, no... I want to do it. Do you understand?"

She looked to the Augment before slipping away around the back of the chair. Her hand gliding over it as she seemed to look at it as almost an art piece. In a strange way, it very much was. Books, paintings, landscapes, they all could enter the eyes and ears and commune with one's soul. The chair did the same all things considered, but the means by which it did so lacked any beauty.

"They gave me a loaded gun and left me to figure out for myself a reason to do it. That's why I feel this is something I need to do. To rend one's enemy is to see them not as equals, but as objects which are hollow in spirit and meaning. I don't look up to her as the others do. I don't heed someone who I will wipe off the deck with a cloth assuming even that much remained. I don't feel remorse or pity for how her children would feel. I want to do this."

Turning toward Zero, Jiseth looked to her with a concluded and quite tired face. The look of someone who had been fighting and now had to surrender to the inevitable. A fisherman wrangling his catch only to be flanked by a rogue wave and consumed by nature.

"There's evidence here... It won't be enough. Still, I need you to undo what they did. Not here of course and not now, but if we ever want to have me outside of a prison... I need your help."

[Starbase Athena - Observation Room]

The little computer readout that represented the Klingon bird-of-prey remained stationary, but no more were joining it. And no further reports of weapons fire came back to the base. Apparently, the crews of either ship (or both) had figured out what was going on. Stark still didn't fully trust the icy manipulator that sat across from him. Perhaps an anonymous tip that a Romulan ambush awaited a Federation starship...perhaps the Klingons had waited to aid their allies in said ambush...perhaps the Roms were willing to throw away one warbird to gain access to the Federation's upgraded refit of the Nebula-class.

Perhaps.

But not likely. Still, as crazy as it sounded, the Romulan Empire was fractured and bickering. Who knew what rogue elements could do, even without the consent of the Praetor?

"We're not paying for damages incurred through this incident," he quietly said, with a wry twist of the mouth. "I think it falls under Act of Klingon."

[Engineering]

Gabriel Arthur was ready to pull his hair out.

It was a good thing that he kept it short, or else the temptation might have been very real. His Rhian was passable, so he didn't have to wait for the UT to parse all the phrasing and terminology as it spat out on his readout screens. "What in the actual hell are they doing up there?" Something had thrown the engine calibrations completely out of whack. As far as he knew, none of his people down here had done it. Sighing, he turned to Nelkar. "Epath, you've got the engine room. Leela, grab a kitbag and follow me. I guess we're going to the bridge."

[Bridge]

God, what an ugly ship, Gabriel thought, for the umpteenth time today, as they stepped out onto the bridge. The whole scene seemed to be in a state of controlled panic. He quirked an eyebrow at the looming visage of a Klingon ship on the viewer, but quickly turned his attention to the problem at hand. "Captain," he said, flashing her a lopsided grin despite the situation. "Boards are lighting up down there like Christmas about unauthorized access to the engine calibrators."

Julia Rellek wrote:

"Ensigns Ives and Ezac, stand down. Take us to yellow alert. Leave the shields in place until the Klingon's leave the system." She turned to the Vorta at operations. "Cadet, you performed well back there. Good job getting the Klingon's. Open a channel to the Phoenix. Ensign M'Rai, prepare to take us out once we've contacted our ship. Gavin, assess the damage from that Graviton burst and get a report ready for the Romulans. They won't be happy about the condition of their vessel."

[Warbird - Bridge]

Persephone had had no idea what to do during the scenes happening on the bridge. As it was, she had decided that her best course of action would be to try to maintain the ship where it was despite the fact that the Klingon vessel that they were tethered to was trying to pull away.

She looked up at Julia as she started to dish out the orders, her ears flicking back again in concern. "Sir, I'm not happy about taking this ship anywherrrrre until an engineerrrr's had a chance to look at the warrrrp systems," she stated, hoping that she wasn't about to catch hell for speaking back to a superior officer.

Julia Rellek wrote:

Julia breathed an audible sigh of relief as the Klingon gave the order to stand down. She looked over to Captain T'Koris and flashed a slight smile. "I guess they weren't interested in joining us for ractijino's?" She looked around the bridge and saw a similar sigh of relief emitting form most of the bridge staff.

"Ensigns Ives and Ezac, stand down. Take us to yellow alert. Leave the shields in place until the Klingon's leave the system." She turned to the Vorta at operations. "Cadet, you performed well back there. Good job getting the Klingon's. Open a channel to the Phoenix. Ensign M'Rai, prepare to take us out once we've contacted our ship. Gavin, assess the damage from that Graviton burst and get a report ready for the Romulans. They won't be happy about the condition of their vessel."

Julia stepped out of the center of the bridge to make room for the Captain. With a gesture from her hand she motioned that the Captain could have her station back. "I don't know about you ma'am but I've had enough games for one day."

[Warbird - Bridge]

Standing off to the side of the bridge so that she wouldn't be visible on the viewscreen, Archangel had been intently observing how Julia handled being in a command situation. Throughout, a slight smile had tugged at the corners of her mouth. It was a well known fact among the senior staff at least that the Chief Science Officer intensely disliked combat or conflict situations, but she was handling herself well.

Even better was that fact that she maintained that command even after the channel had been closed, stepping up to the role of First Officer she had been given for the mission and doling out the orders to the rest of the bridge crew.

Taking back her place at the centre of the bridge, the young Romulan surveyed the other officers briefly to make sure that they had taken Julia's orders to heart before looking back to the science officers herself. "As am I, but that decision is up to the commanding officers back on Athena," she pointed out. Then, in a voice for Julia's ears only, she added: "Well done, Lieutenant."

Gabriel Arthur wrote:

God, what an ugly ship, Gabriel thought, for the umpteenth time today, as they stepped out onto the bridge. The whole scene seemed to be in a state of controlled panic. He quirked an eyebrow at the looming visage of a Klingon ship on the viewer, but quickly turned his attention to the problem at hand. "Captain," he said, flashing her a lopsided grin despite the situation. "Boards are lighting up down there like Christmas about unauthorized access to the engine calibrators."

Hearing the turbolift doors opening, Archangel looked up to see who had decided to come up to the bridge, slightly concerned that Jiseth had decided to push her luck even further. Seeing that it was Gabriel, however, comforted her.

The reason for his visit to the bridge came as no surprise to her though, and she nodded in confirmation. "Lieutenant Jiseth decided to try to do a little tinkering without permission," she stated, nodding to the helm station where a nervous looking Caitian had just informed Julia that she wasn't happy about moving the ship anywhere. "Take a look and see what you can do."