Season 1 - Mission 4: Illusions of Peace

Corman Stark wrote:

"Found some Dom, 2300 vintage," Stark said, carrying back two glass flutes of champagne to Deacon.  "Did someone bring it, or have we had this?  And if it's the latter...why have I never known this until now?"

He frowned at the odd expression on Deacon's face.  She seemed to be deciding whether or not she had swallowed a bad plum.  And then he noticed the blood on her hands...and everything else was a blur.

=^="Stark to security, lock down the meeting hall.  Nobody in or out that isn't Starfleet!"=^=

Stark had seen stab wounds before.  He'd taken and given quite a few over the years...and this was what he was looking at right now.  "Easy, ma'am," he murmured, deciding on the quick that there was little he could do while on an installation with a full medical department.

=^="Two for emergency transport to sickbay!"=^= he commanded, hoping that everyone could keep things under control here...at least for a brief moment.

[Meeting Hall]

Coughing hurt, but Rachel's body didn't seem to take that into account. The need to evacuate the blood starting to trickle into her lung was greater than the need to prevent more pain. Hearing Stark's voice, she looked up, trying to focus enough through her VISOR to see him, but gave up as she finally slumped fully to the deck plates.

It took only a few seconds after Stark's call to the transporter rooms for her to feel the familiar sensation of her molecules being broken down and sent to sickbay.

Henriks Abols wrote:

Ensign Maya Stone was already present and assisting the admiral onto a biobed when Henriks came out. "What have we got?" he asked, reaching for his tools.

"A stab wound between the third and fifth coastal cartilages, just narrowly missing the heart," the ensign quickly replied.

Henriks turned to Admiral Stark. "Do we know what caused this?" The next step would depend on his answer.

[Sickbay]

When they arrived, an ensign was already standing by to assist her onto a biobed. The jacket of her dress uniform was quickly removed, as well as the armoured shirt she wore under it. Had she not been concerned by other things, Rachel might have been particularly curious about what kind of weapon had been able to get through the armour.

Hearing the chief's voice, she struggled to lift her head from the biobed, trying to look up at him. It was getting harder to think clearly. After a few moments, she let her head drop back to the bed with a pained groan.

Myree Grell wrote:

[Meeting Hall]

"...Huh," Myree said, her face screwing up in a puzzled frown.  "Clear as mud."  She could think of a few rather dark reasons that someone would want to drug her drink, but there were better things to use for than than hallucinogens.  That left...well, she had no idea what that left.   "I could swear I saw Sigma's arm implants come alive and flail around like a tentacle."  The Orion smiled apologetically at her Deltan friend.  "No offense, naturally.  We...we should probably let Admiral Deacon know about this."

"None taken," Sigma assured. "The only thing that comes out of these are pointy tools and a few card tricks." They laughed at their own joke. That aside, the idea of a hallucinogenic compound in Myree's drink was cause for worry. Maybe talking to Deacon about this would be a good idea...

As if the universe were trying to tell them 'not going to happen', as soon as Sigma looked toward the Admiral they saw that she was holding their hand to their side and looking extremely stunned. "What the..."

When Stark began calling for a medical transport and the two beamed out of sight, Sigma's brows furrowed. Their cybernetic eye's pupil constricted as they squinted around the room. "Someone stabbed her," they whispered urgently. "I'm trying to see... what is that?!" they suddenly said with alarm, rubbing their implant. Just as suddenly as the figure had appeared, it was gone. "I swear, I just saw a pair of Tal'Shiar agents walk over by those Andorians... did you see that?"

Corman Stark wrote:

=^="Stark to security, lock down the meeting hall. Nobody in or out that isn't Starfleet!"=^=

Sigma Nu wrote:

"None taken," Sigma assured. "The only thing that comes out of these are pointy tools and a few card tricks." They laughed at their own joke. That aside, the idea of a hallucinogenic compound in Myree's drink was cause for worry. Maybe talking to Deacon about this would be a good idea...

As if the universe were trying to tell them 'not going to happen', as soon as Sigma looked toward the Admiral they saw that she was holding their hand to their side and looking extremely stunned. "What the..."

When Stark began calling for a medical transport and the two beamed out of sight, Sigma's brows furrowed. Their cybernetic eye's pupil constricted as they squinted around the room. "Someone stabbed her," they whispered urgently. "I'm trying to see... what is that?!" they suddenly said with alarm, rubbing their implant. Just as suddenly as the figure had appeared, it was gone. "I swear, I just saw a pair of Tal'Shiar agents walk over by those Andorians... did you see that?"

[Meeting Hall]

Shortly after Stark put the call in to security, Mira froze for a few seconds, her program updating itself with the new orders it had received from the security office.

"Admiral Deacon is wounded, but alive. The hall is sealed against all entrances and exits," she reported, looking between the two. Part of her programming, the part she was trying to develop, wanted to stay with them and make sure that they were safe, but the part that had been designed by Starfleet told her to go and perform her duty.

That line of indecision was brought to an abrupt halt as Sigma mentioned Tal Shiar agents. The hologram immediately scanned the room, pondering whether she would be allowed to design a link between her program and the station's sensors. It would be so much more precise.

"There are three Romulans in this room, but none of which appear to have any significant ties to the Tal Shiar. What do you see exactly? Are they still in this room?"

Mira wrote:

[Meeting Hall]

Shortly after Stark put the call in to security, Mira froze for a few seconds, her program updating itself with the new orders it had received from the security office.

"Admiral Deacon is wounded, but alive.  The hall is sealed against all entrances and exits," she reported, looking between the two.  Part of her programming, the part she was trying to develop, wanted to stay with them and make sure that they were safe, but the part that had been designed by Starfleet told her to go and perform her duty.

That line of indecision was brought to an abrupt halt as Sigma mentioned Tal Shiar agents.  The hologram immediately scanned the room, pondering whether she would be allowed to design a link between her program and the station's sensors.  It would be so much more precise.

"There are three Romulans in this room, but none of which appear to have any significant ties to the Tal Shiar.  What do you see exactly?  Are they still in this room?"

Sigma was silent for a moment, glowering at the room in frustration. It was as though they were there and yet not-- and it took her an abnormally long amount of time to figure out why. "I still see them. They're over by the table now. They look dangerous."

"Oh, fiddlesticks. I'm seeing them out of my organic eye!"

"My other eye is capable of scanning and seeing that there's nothing there, but it's at odds with my Occipital lobe, which doesn't want to accept it.... What's going on here!?"

Sigma Nu wrote:

Sigma was silent for a moment, glowering at the room in frustration. It was as though they were there and yet not-- and it took her an abnormally long amount of time to figure out why. "I still see them. They're over by the table now. They look dangerous."

"Oh, fiddlesticks. I'm seeing them out of my organic eye!"

"My other eye is capable of scanning and seeing that there's nothing there, but it's at odds with my occupational lobe, which doesn't want to accept it.... What's going on here!?"

[Meeting Hall]

Although there was something of a relief, or as close as she got to it, as Sigma told the hologram that they were seeing the Tal Shiar through their organic eye. Organic elements were notoriously imprecise and subject to the whims of other organic failings.

Thankfully, as a hologram, Mira wasn't subject to those failings. She had her own, which could be devastating at times, but at least she could rely on what her sensors were telling her.

"You are hallucinating," she said simply to the Deltan. "There is a small concentration of hallucinogens in the air, but it is getting stronger. Before long, most of the people in this room will be experiencing something similar."

Rachel Deacon wrote:

[Sickbay]

When they arrived, an ensign was already standing by to assist her onto a biobed.  The jacket of her dress uniform was quickly removed, as well as the armoured shirt she wore under it.  Had she not been concerned by other things, Rachel might have been particularly curious about what kind of weapon had been able to get through the armour.

Hearing the chief's voice, she struggled to lift her head from the biobed, trying to look up at him.  It was getting harder to think clearly.  After a few moments, she let her head drop back to the bed with a pained groan.  

[Sickbay]

"Whatever it was," Ensign Stone piped up, "it had to get through her uniform as well as the special body armour I had to remove in order for the wound to be treated." 

Henriks nodded, considering this information as he ran his tricorder. Various data was soon running across the instrument's little screen, causing Henriks to frown. "Miss Stone," he began, but a groan from the admiral jarred him from his present train of thought. 

The nurse reappeared suddenly, tapping his shoulder, hypospray in hand. Following a quick glance to check the settings, Henriks pressed it to the admiral's neck to release the medicine with a soft hiss before continuing. "We've got considerable internal bleeding. If we get going, we can contain that soon. But there also appears to be some foreign element present in the blood."

Henriks Ābols wrote:

"Whatever it was," Ensign Stone piped up, "it had to get through her uniform as well as the special body armour I had to remove in order for the wound to be treated." 

Henriks nodded, considering this information as he ran his tricorder. Various data was soon running across the instrument's little screen, causing Henriks to frown. "Miss Stone," he began, but a groan from the admiral jarred him from his present train of thought. 

The nurse reappeared suddenly, tapping his shoulder, hypospray in hand. Following a quick glance to check the settings, Henriks pressed it to the admiral's neck to release the medicine with a soft hiss before continuing. "We've got considerable internal bleeding. If we get going, we can contain that soon. But there also appears to be some foreign element present in the blood."

[Sickbay]

"She was stabbed, doctor," Stark muttered, dry as Vulcan summer. He sighed, rubbing his temples. "I know you can see that. Honestly, I have no idea beyond that." He frowned quickly as Deacon's uniform was removed, eyes widening at the thin shirt of body armor that she wore. And people call *me* paranoid. Then again, she had been the one that was stabbed. Not that the armor had done any good.

Obviously, Deacon was out of the realm of anything he could help with. He was a commanding officer, not a doctor. Stark turned to go, his mind ruminating over the stab wound, and the body armor. He stopped, going rigid with the realization of just who had weaponry that could go through hard substances like butter. "Tholians!" Of course. They'd given the Assembly a black eye with that whole business a few months ago. Perhaps they decided to take a more subtle flavor of revenge. A microfiliment blade could stab through almost anything.

Stark stalked past the medical personnel, accessing the emergency weapons panel via his command override. He glanced over the weapons, skipping the hand phasers and pulling out the big rifle.

[Meeting Hall]

"Alright, everyone stand still!" Stark commanded, re-entering the meeting hall with a cadre of security officers flanking him. He held the phase rifle upward in one hand, his other taking everyone in with an accusatory finger. "One of you stabbed my CO...and so help me God, if I have to wait more than five minutes before someone comes forward with information, people are going to start taking trips out the airlock!"

Corman Stark wrote:

"Alright, everyone stand still!" Stark commanded, re-entering the meeting hall with a cadre of security officers flanking him.  He held the phase rifle upward in one hand, his other taking everyone in with an accusatory finger.  "One of you stabbed my CO...and so help me God, if I have to wait more than five minutes before someone comes forward with information, people are going to start taking trips out the airlock!"

[Meeting Hall]

Hearing the commotion coming from the door, Mira's programming quickly put the pieces together and moved her into action, calmly stepping through the throngs of people currently trying to get as far away from the furious Admiral and his phaser rifle. For a moment, she worried about the fact that she was wearing her mobile emitter on her arm rather than in her shoe where she normally wore it. She couldn't be sure whether or not he would take his anger out on her.

"Sir," she said politely, standing to attention in front of him. "I have detected rising traces of a hallucinogen in the air."

Mira wrote:

Hearing the commotion coming from the door, Mira's programming quickly put the pieces together and moved her into action, calmly stepping through the throngs of people currently trying to get as far away from the furious Admiral and his phaser rifle.  For a moment, she worried about the fact that she was wearing her mobile emitter on her arm rather than in her shoe where she normally wore it.  She couldn't be sure whether or not he would take his anger out on her.

"Sir," she said politely, standing to attention in front of him.  "I have detected rising traces of a hallucinogen in the air."

[Meeting Hall]

Stark continued to scan the gathered delegates, wondering which one was working for the Cardies. Of course it had to be them. The bit with the microfilament blade had been a rather inspired bit of misdirection...though nobody would say that Spoonies weren't clever. It should have been me, you sons of bitches, he thought, remembering Rachel's prone body lying on the biobed. Of all the times he'd cheated death, on a personal level and with the might of a starship at his command...of all the enemies he'd made, all the bridges burned, all the caution thrown to the wind...things like that didn't need to happen to the truly good people in this universe like Rachel Deacon. Should have been me.

He frowned as the Mira program appeared before him. "Hallucinogen..." he muttered, lowering the rifle. "I suppose you wouldn't be affected by something like that. Hell of a distraction..." Stark's eyes landed on a pair at the far end of the gathering hall. "Fine. Cycle the air in here back into the chamber, and scan it for particles to be removed. I don't want this getting into the station at large. And put Hughes and Telak on finding a counter-agent for it!"

Henriks Ābols wrote:

"Whatever it was," Ensign Stone piped up, "it had to get through her uniform as well as the special body armour I had to remove in order for the wound to be treated." 

Henriks nodded, considering this information as he ran his tricorder. Various data was soon running across the instrument's little screen, causing Henriks to frown. "Miss Stone," he began, but a groan from the admiral jarred him from his present train of thought. 

The nurse reappeared suddenly, tapping his shoulder, hypospray in hand. Following a quick glance to check the settings, Henriks pressed it to the admiral's neck to release the medicine with a soft hiss before continuing. "We've got considerable internal bleeding. If we get going, we can contain that soon. But there also appears to be some foreign element present in the blood."

Corman Stark wrote:

"She was stabbed, doctor," Stark muttered, dry as Vulcan summer. He sighed, rubbing his temples. "I know you can see that. Honestly, I have no idea beyond that." He frowned quickly as Deacon's uniform was removed, eyes widening at the thin shirt of body armor that she wore. And people call *me* paranoid. Then again, she had been the one that was stabbed. Not that the armor had done any good.

Obviously, Deacon was out of the realm of anything he could help with. He was a commanding officer, not a doctor. Stark turned to go, his mind ruminating over the stab wound, and the body armor. He stopped, going rigid with the realization of just who had weaponry that could go through hard substances like butter. "Tholians!" Of course. They'd given the Assembly a black eye with that whole business a few months ago. Perhaps they decided to take a more subtle flavor of revenge. A microfiliment blade could stab through almost anything.

Stark stalked past the medical personnel, accessing the emergency weapons panel via his command override. He glanced over the weapons, skipping the hand phasers and pulling out the big rifle.

[Sickbay]

With the painkiller rapidly spreading through her system, Rachel felt well enough to get up, or at least that's what she thought until she actually tried and ended up coughing weakly as she flopped back down again. She was aware of Stark moving around, then the sounds of a phaser rifle being powered up. In the attempt to take a breath so that she could tell him not to do anything stupid, pain lanced through the wound, immediately cutting off any words and he was gone before she could try it again.

Behind her VISOR, she blinked rapidly, trying to keep her breaths as shallow as possible so as not to aggravate the wound. It was hard to hang on to consciousness, although not all that surprising given the amount of blood soaking into her grey vest and apparently starting to gather inside her where it should be.

"How bad is it?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Corman Stark wrote:

He frowned as the Mira program appeared before him.  "Hallucinogen..." he muttered, lowering the rifle.  "I suppose you wouldn't be affected by something like that.  Hell of a distraction..."  Stark's eyes landed on a pair at the far end of the gathering hall.  "Fine.  Cycle the air in here back into the chamber, and scan it for particles to be removed.  I don't want this getting into the station at large.  And put Hughes and Telak on finding a counter-agent for it!"

[Meeting Hall]

Well, the fact that he had yet to shoot her came as something of a relief to Mira as she nodded sharply to acknowledge Admiral Stark's assumption that she wouldn't be affected by the hallucinogen. She had no organic elements for such a chemical to have an effect on.

"The air was filtered as soon as you ordered the lockdown, sir," she reported evenly, extremely aware of his reputation. Whether or not the rumours were true, he was still in an agitated state and there was little anyone could do to predict what he might do. Mira then turned to scan the people trapped in the room, seeking out the Klingon and the Cardassian she had seen entering earlier, beckoning them over once she spotted them.

Rachel Deacon wrote:

[Sickbay]

With the painkiller rapidly spreading through her system, Rachel felt well enough to get up, or at least that's what she thought until she actually tried and ended up coughing weakly as she flopped back down again.  She was aware of Stark moving around, then the sounds of a phaser rifle being powered up.  In the attempt to take a breath so that she could tell him not to do anything stupid, pain lanced through the wound, immediately cutting off any words and he was gone before she could try it again.

Behind her VISOR, she blinked rapidly, trying to keep her breaths as shallow as possible so as not to aggravate the wound.  It was hard to hang on to consciousness, although not all that surprising given the amount of blood soaking into her grey vest and apparently starting to gather inside her where it should be.

"How bad is it?" she asked through gritted teeth.

[Sickbay]

A short, terse reply of "She was stabbed." was all he got from Admiral Stark. That much he already knew, but there was no point in pushing the matter further. The admiral had given all the information he could. Stark soon departed, weapon in hand, leaving Henriks to tend to Admiral Deacon and hope that more patients would not be streaming through the doors soon.

Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Deacon had attempted, without success to sit up. "You'll want to just lie still for awhile, Admiral. Whatever caused the wound has done considerable damage," he began. There was no need to go into the specifics at the moment, especially as it seemed she was struggling to remain conscious. "We should be able to patch you up, though if the weapon had gone in just a few centimeters over, it would have pierced your heart."

Henriks Ābols wrote:

A short, terse reply of "She was stabbed." was all he got from Admiral Stark. That much he already knew, but there was no point in pushing the matter further. The admiral had given all the information he could. Stark soon departed, weapon in hand, leaving Henriks to tend to Admiral Deacon and hope that more patients would not be streaming through the doors soon.

Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Deacon had attempted, without success to sit up. "You'll want to just lie still for awhile, Admiral. Whatever caused the wound has done considerable damage," he began. There was no need to go into the specifics at the moment, especially as it seemed she was struggling to remain conscious. "We should be able to patch you up, though if the weapon had gone in just a few centimeters over, it would have pierced your heart."

[Sickbay]

"I suppose I just got lucky," Rachel ground out, acutely aware of the fact that she didn't believe in luck.  If she had wanted to be comforted, she would have allowed herself to think that the simple differences in physiology between humanoids was the source of all this.  However, she was also sure that if she was going to attempt something similar, she would have made damn sure to familiarise herself with the location of the heart in her intended victim.

The Admiral made a wordless noise of protest as her VISOR was carefully removed, although she knew that it was for good reason.  Her blood pressure and stress levels were always higher when she wore it.  Without it, she felt far more vulnerable, unable to see what was happening around her. Those concerns were pushed to the side as she coughed wetly, feeling where the knife had gone through the intercostal muscles to the lung.

"How long will this take?" was her next question, her mind giving her scenarios as to what Stark would be getting up to with that rifle.

Rachel Deacon wrote:

[Sickbay]

"I suppose I just got lucky," Rachel ground out, acutely aware of the fact that she didn't believe in luck.  If she had wanted to be comforted, she would have allowed herself to think that the simple differences in physiology between humanoids was the source of all this.  However, she was also sure that if she was going to attempt something similar, she would have made damn sure to familiarise herself with the location of the heart in her intended victim.

The Admiral made a wordless noise of protest as her VISOR was carefully removed, although she knew that it was for good reason.  Her blood pressure and stress levels were always higher when she wore it.  Without it, she felt far more vulnerable, unable to see what was happening around her.  Those concerns were pushed to the side as she coughed wetly, feeling where the knife had gone through the intercostal muscles to the lung.  

"How long will this take?" was her next question, her mind giving her scenarios as to what Stark would be getting up to with that rifle.

[Sickbay]

"I don't anticipate it taking too long," Henriks replied, readying his tools as the nurse removed the admiral's visor. "But I hope you aren't getting any ideas in your head of running around anytime soon." The advances in medicine over the centuries were astounding, almost god-like even, but there were no miraculous recoveries. That meant time, and recouping. With a quick glance to the nurse and ensign, Henriks asked, "Ready?" They nodded, and so it began.

Henriks Ābols wrote:

"I don't anticipate it taking too long," Henriks replied, readying his tools as the nurse removed the admiral's visor. "But I hope you aren't getting any ideas in your head of running around anytime soon." The advances in medicine over the centuries were astounding, almost god-like even, but there were no miraculous recoveries. That meant time, and recouping. With a quick glance to the nurse and ensign, Henriks asked, "Ready?" They nodded, and so it began.

[Sickbay]

Rachel grimaced as she felt Henriks and the nurse start to poke and prod at the wound. The medication Henriks had given her stopped her feeling any pain, but it couldn't do anything for the other sensations.

"Unfortunately, Doctor, it would seem that I need to go running after Admiral Stark before he causes a diplomatic incident," she managed to say. He was, after all, a soldier rather than a diplomat. It didn't take a Betazoid to know that he didn't care much for it.

[Medical Lab]

Once Admiral Deacon had been stabbed, things really began to pick up. Raynor had wanted to join in the hunt for the assailant, but Stark had assigned him and Ilana to countering the hallucinogenic agent. It had been a rather quick reminder that, for all his warrior qualities, Raynor was still a science officer at heart. Even though of late, he seemed to feel out of place in his assigned duties.

"Here we go," he murmured, lifting a sample from one of the champagne flutes they'd gathered up from the diplomats. It would go a long way in telling them exactly what it was. "We may be fortunate. This could be something similar to plant hallucinogens."

Raynor Hughes wrote:

[Medical Lab]

Once Admiral Deacon had been stabbed, things really began to pick up.  Raynor had wanted to join in the hunt for the assailant, but Stark had assigned him and Ilana to countering the hallucinogenic agent.  It had been a rather quick reminder that, for all his warrior qualities, Raynor was still a science officer at heart.  Even though of late, he seemed to feel out of place in his assigned duties.

"Here we go," he murmured, lifting a sample from one of the champagne flutes they'd gathered up from the diplomats.  It would go a long way in telling them exactly what it was.  "We may be fortunate.  This could be something similar to plant hallucinogens."

[Medical Lab]

With her glasses perched on her nose, Ilana peered over the top of them at Raynor and one of the many samples of food and drink that had been brought to the lab. A faint smile crossed her face at the thought of the hallucinogen detected in the meeting hall being similar to the spores that Raynor had accidentally unleashed on the station some time before.

"If it is, th-th-there's a f-f-fully s-s-stocked m-med k-k-kit under th-the c-c-console," she replied, hoping that it came off as a joke, as she had intended, rather than a dig at the fact that their first two matings had been both rather disastrous as well as done under the influence of foreign chemicals.

Pushing her glasses back up her nose again, she looked back into the microscope that she had set up for a series of slides. Each one she had looked into so far was testing positive for the same hallucinogenic particle that had been present in the air.

"Th-th-this one's p-p-positive as w-w-well," she reported, marking it in the log. "M-m-my g-guess is th-th-that the p-p-particle's d-d-denser th-than air, l-l-leading t-t-to it s-s-settling over everything, l-like d-d-dust."

Ilana Telak wrote:

With her glasses perched on her nose, Ilana peered over the top of them at Raynor and one of the many samples of food and drink that had been brought to the lab.  A faint smile crossed her face at the thought of the hallucinogen detected in the meeting hall being similar to the spores that Raynor had accidentally unleashed on the station some time before.

"If it is, th-th-there's a f-f-fully s-s-stocked m-med k-k-kit under th-the c-c-console," she replied, hoping that it came off as a joke, as she had intended, rather than a dig at the fact that their first two matings had been both rather disastrous as well as done under the influence of foreign chemicals.

Pushing her glasses back up her nose again, she looked back into the microscope that she had set up for a series of slides.  Each one she had looked into so far was testing positive for the same hallucinogenic particle that had been present in the air.

"Th-th-this one's p-p-positive as w-w-well," she reported, marking it in the log.  "M-m-my g-guess is th-th-that the p-p-particle's d-d-denser th-than air, l-l-leading t-t-to it s-s-settling over everything, l-like d-d-dust."

[Medical Lab]

Raynor blinked at Ilana for a beat, realizing that she was making a joke. The very fact that she could joke about the disaster of a time their first couple of mating sessions were...well, it was one of the things he loved about her. "Hah!" the Klingon barked, shaking his head. "Smartass."

"So we have an agent," he said, getting back to work. "It is somehow smuggled onto the station, past security, and everything? I don't like it. Something's missing." Meanwhile, the scans returned on his screen. "The toxicology of it points toward a biological agent. It's almost like a psilocybin hallucinogen. A dosage of psychoactives would calm everyone down and let us see if this is something that will run its course, or keep pumping out."

Rachel Deacon wrote:

[Sickbay]

Rachel grimaced as she felt Henriks and the nurse start to poke and prod at the wound.  The medication Henriks had given her stopped her feeling any pain, but it couldn't do anything for the other sensations.

"Unfortunately, Doctor, it would seem that I need to go running after Admiral Stark before he causes a diplomatic incident," she managed to say.  He was, after all, a soldier rather than a diplomat.  It didn't take a Betazoid to know that he didn't care much for it.

[Sickbay]

"We'll see that this is finished as soon as possible," Henriks replied, noting her look of discomfort as they worked. They would of course work with an added sense of urgency, but there was only so fast they could go without cutting corners. "If you really must go running around," he continued, "all I ask is that you do not strain yourself." He'd hate to have to confine her to sickbay for forced rest. Most COs didn't do well with that.

Raynor Hughes wrote:

Raynor blinked at Ilana for a beat, realizing that she was making a joke.  The very fact that she could joke about the disaster of a time their first couple of mating sessions were...well, it was one of the things he loved about her.  "Hah!" the Klingon barked, shaking his head.  "Smartass."

"So we have an agent," he said, getting back to work.  "It is somehow smuggled onto the station, past security, and everything?  I don't like it.  Something's missing."  Meanwhile, the scans returned on his screen.  "The toxicology of it points toward a biological agent.  It's almost like a psilocybin hallucinogen.  A dosage of psychoactives would calm everyone down and let us see if this is something that will run its course, or keep pumping out."

[Medical Lab]

"I l-l-learned f-f-from a g-g-good t-teacher," Ilana remarked in return to his comment about her being a smartass. It was true. Before he had started to encourage her to speak up for herself and actually develop a backbone, she would never have thought of joking about anything.

Returning to the more serious matter of identifying the compound, she looked down through the lenses of her microscope, carefully adjusting the focus.

"C-c-carbon and h-h-hydrogen b-b-base d-definitely s-suggests an organic c-c-compound," she agreed. Leaning against the workbench, she tugged at the collar of her dress uniform, which she hadn't had time to change out of, before rubbing the back of her neck. There was something there, something familiar, but she just couldn't place it. "I've s-s-seen th-th-this b-b-before, s-somewhere, b-b-but I c-c-can't r-remember wh-wh-where."

Henriks Ābols wrote:

"We'll see that this is finished as soon as possible," Henriks replied, noting her look of discomfort as they worked. They would of course work with an added sense of urgency, but there was only so fast they could go without cutting corners. "If you really must go running around," he continued, "all I ask is that you do not strain yourself." He'd hate to have to confine her to sickbay for forced rest. Most COs didn't do well with that.

[Sickbay]

"Whether or not I strain myself is tied in to how much damage I have to undo," Rachel pointed out. It was getting easier to breathe now that the first few layers of tissue had been knitted together and the wound was no longer sucking. Chances were that there was a lot of stress in her immediate future, if nothing else than due to trying to figure out who exactly stabbed her and why. Questions she would very much like the answer to. For now, she would lie quietly and let the medics do their work.

Once the wound was healed, however, was not something Rachel was going to concern her Chief Medical Officer with at that moment. He'd just confine her if he knew.

Ilana Telak wrote:

"I l-l-learned f-f-from a g-g-good t-teacher," Ilana remarked in return to his comment about her being a smartass.  It was true.  Before he had started to encourage her to speak up for herself and actually develop a backbone, she would never have thought of joking about anything.

Returning to the more serious matter of identifying the compound, she looked down through the lenses of her microscope, carefully adjusting the focus.  

"C-c-carbon and h-h-hydrogen b-b-base d-definitely s-suggests an organic c-c-compound," she agreed.  Leaning against the workbench, she tugged at the collar of her dress uniform, which she hadn't had time to change out of, before rubbing the back of her neck.  There was something there, something familiar, but she just couldn't place it.  "I've s-s-seen th-th-this b-b-before, s-somewhere, b-b-but I c-c-can't r-remember wh-wh-where."

[Medical Lab]

It didn't take Raynor long to begin to work up a counteractive agent for the hallucinogen - something that may not work on a full-time basis, but would definitely buy them some more time to figure out just what the hell was going on. "Anything you could remember will be helpful," he added, beginning the replication process that would put their formulas into a real compound that could be released. "I fear this may only be a temporary fix."

Raynor Hughes wrote:

It didn't take Raynor long to begin to work up a counteractive agent for the hallucinogen - something that may not work on a full-time basis, but would definitely buy them some more time to figure out just what the hell was going on.  "Anything you could remember will be helpful," he added, beginning the replication process that would put their formulas into a real compound that could be released.  "I fear this may only be a temporary fix."

[Medical Lab]

"Even a t-t-temporary f-f-fix c-can s-s-still p-provide us w-w-with information about it," Ilana replied, taking a seat at the console and bringing up her personal project files, scanning through them in the hope of coming across where she might have seen this compound before. "An aerial d-d-dispersion w-w-would w-work b-b-best. W-w-we d-d-don't w-want t-t-to b-be g-g-going around and inoculating e-everyone."

[Meeting Hall]

Backed by a full security force, Stark basically had this entire section of the station on lockdown. A few of the delegates had objected...rather loudly. The look in his flint-colored eyes had shut down that line of thought. Stark glanced up as the airborne agent that Hughes and Telak had whipped up began to settle through the receptacles. Once things got well and settle down, his next order of business would be to have Science scan for a source of the hallucinogen. It might be easier now that they had a biological profile of the psychoactive.

Rachel Deacon wrote:

[Sickbay]

"Whether or not I strain myself is tied in to how much damage I have to undo," Rachel pointed out.  It was getting easier to breathe now that the first few layers of tissue had been knitted together and the wound was no longer sucking.  Chances were that there was a lot of stress in her immediate future, if nothing else than due to trying to figure out who exactly stabbed her and why.  Questions she would very much like the answer to.  For now, she would lie quietly and let the medics do their work.

Once the wound was healed, however, was not something Rachel was going to concern her Chief Medical Officer with at that moment.  He'd just confine her if he knew.

[Sickbay]

Henriks and his team worked with a speed an efficiency that would have made Oswald proud. He was surprised to find himself thinking of his mentor as he worked, a fierce, fiery woman who had become like a second mother to him. Where was she now, he wondered. No matter now. Perhaps he could message her when they were finished here, which they almost were. "Should be just another fifteen minutes or so," Henriks told the admiral, "and you'll be right as rain."