10 Star Trek SID Catalyst
The SID transported down to the ancient Vulcan monastery. Two Vulcan monks were beside the public affairs official. She looked as impassive in person as on a viewscreen. If the sight of an armed contingent alarmed her, it certainly didn't show.
"Captain Macen, I presume?" the affairs officer inquired.
"That's correct," Macen wondered why she couldn't recall his name from the conversation they'd shared less than thirty minutes ago.
"I am Public Affairs Officer T'Lana," she told him...again, "We were told to expect you and your party."
"Told by whom?" Macen inquired.
"By our other visitors, of course," T'Lana was so matter of fact about it it was hard to determine what her opinion of those guests were.
"May we visit the monastery?" Macen asked.
"Of course. Follow me," T'Lana began to lead the way. As the team followed her, she began a description of the monastery's history, "As you may or may not know the monastery was founded several thousand years ago as a direct result of Vulcan developing spaceflight. A large colonial effort began afterwards. When Surak's Reformation occurred, the monastery shifted from a religious institution to one devoted to the supreme pursuit of logic in all its forms."
T'Lana grew a little stern, "The monks have all take vows of silence so please do not pose any questions directly to them. I speak for them."
"It seems you've chosen an ascetic life as well," Rockford ventured.
"Women are excluded from the vocation. It has been feared that a comingling of the sexes would foster distractions from the purer pursuit of logic," T'Lana explained.
"Must make for a rough pon farr or two though," Rockford needled the guide.
"The monks are adequately accommodated when their time comes," T'Lana stated.
Rockford nudged Macen with her elbow, "Now we know where she's getting some from."
Macen rolled her eyes but T'Lana had her first flash of an emotional response. She was irked, "Yes, I meet the needs of the monks. It is a high calling."
"And if you were getting paid for it, you'd be a prostitute," Rockford countered, "But you're not. You're a volunteer. Or are you? You could be a 'comfort woman' in the Cardassian tradition."
Rockford waited a half second and then took one final shot across T'Lana's bow, "Tell me, do the monk's break their vow of silence in the heat of passion?"
T'Lana stopped dead in her tracks, "It has always been a mistake to bring outsiders to our sanctuary. I can now see why."
Rockford acted perplexed, "Was it something I said?"
T'Lana's face was impassive but her eyes burned. Macen could sense that there was more to this irritation than Rockford's simple comments. This ran far deeper.
"If we could continue the tour?" Macen verbally nudged T'Lana.
"Of course," she inclined her head and resumed her course.
When they entered the heart of the semi-domed facility, they found dozens of robed monks bowing before little altars. T'Lana made a sweeping gesture, "Here the monks contemplate and explore all the facets of a logical existence."
"Or they pine away for the next seven years to be over," Rockford quipped.
Most of the team was rather startled at Rockford's behavior. Macen and P'ris took in stride though. They knew the art of distraction was a valuable interrogatory tool. The more T'Lana was upset, and the longer her discomfort endured, the more likely she was to give away where the "other guests" currently were.
"May we have a look around?" Macen asked.
"So long as you do not disturb the monks in their meditations," T'Lana allowed.
Rockford hung by the Vulcan woman's side while the SID team explored the space, "I got to hand it to you. It's a pretty sweet set up you have going here. Unlimited sex with as many partners as you can handle, at least by Vulcan standards. I guess you consider monogamy highly overrated."
"My contribution is merely logical," T'Lana tried to keep calm.
"Sure, I bet there's a whole grand tradition of comfort women on P'Jem," Rockford accepted that idea, "But why is there only you?"
"Traditionally there are three," T'Lana shared despite herself. She was carefully watching the others and Rockford was merely background noise at this point, "The other two women are...indisposed."
"Yeah, unexpected pregnancies can be a bitch," Rockford chuckled.
"And what would you know about it?" T'Lana asked a little more sharply now.
"What makes you think I don't?" Rockford probed. T'Lana might have been losing control little by little but she was growing more and more intent on watching Macen and the others.
"You are an Angosian Augment. An Infiltrator to be precise. You are nothing but a living killing machine," T'Lana coldly proclaimed, "However, your multiple personalities have been fused by the Argyn and you are no longer plagued by the disparity of multiple lives. Which was probably a greater comfort to you than the medal you received from President Bacco for diffusing the Argyn crisis."
Rockford peered at T'Lana very closely. Almost everything she had just said was classified by the President's office or Starfleet. Which meant the little slut was well connected. Very well connected.
T'Lana's mouth flew open and her hand came up but she maintained her silence and lowered her hand as Grace veered off from the back wall at the last second. The next thing T'Lana knew, she had Rockford's phaser aimed at her head. Rockford clucked her tongue.
"That's the price of a thin skin," Rockford said. Then she called to Macen, "The back wall is hiding something."
"That's where the old Vulcan observation base could be accessed from. That was supposedly sealed off," Macen shared.
"I'd double check if I were you," Rockford urged.
"P'ris?" Macen made the request.
The Romulan scanned the wall with a tricorder from her belt. She studied the read outs for several minutes while everyone grew edgy. Even the monks were paying attention at this point.
"This wall is a hologram. The photon imagers refresh the construct every 3.8 seconds. A dampening field obstructs scans beyond this point," P'ris announced.
"Rab, the wall is yours," Macen informed his tactical expert.
Daggit unslung his pump action photon grenade launcher from his back. Checking the feed, he racked the pump to chamber a round. Shouldering the weapon, he fired.
Antimatter conflicted with the photons and force fields of the hologram. The ambient air was annihilated by the released antimatter and a deafening explosion occurred. A massive hole was revealed as the hologram ceased to exist. However, a ceiling mounted phaser array was also revealed and it opened fire.
Daggit was immediately struck in the chest by a phaser burst. Rockford sprinted forward while shooting at the array. Each of her shots struck it but it seemed to be armored. It could only target single individuals. Macen ordered everyone to scatter while Rockford grabbed hold of Daggit's tactical harness and dragged him out of range.
The rest of the team opened fire on the array from under cover. Macen turned to Grace, who was crouched beside him behind a monk's altar, "Mind lending a hand?"
Grace grimaced, "I've been meaning to talk to you about that. My abilities seem to be fading."
Macen wore a pained look, "Now is not a good time for that reveal."
Grace shrugged, "It is what it is."
Macen nodded, "So be it. Celeste, what's the word on Rab?"
"The word is now I'm angry," Daggit said as he rose to his feet. Daggit had somehow managed to hang on to his grenade launched despite being in a stupor. He pumped the slide and shouldered the launcher once again. Firing a photon grenade, essentially a scaled down microtorpedo, he destroyed the array while it was distracted by the other SID team members shooting back at it.
"Boo-yah!" Daggit exclaimed as the array blew up.
Macen and the others rose out of their places of shelter. He nodded at Rockford who grabbed T'Lana. Rockford brought the Vulcan forward at gunpoint.
"Now, Ms. Public Affairs Officer, you will take point and lead us to the observation center," Macen decided.
"You are making a mistake here. One you will always regret," T'Lana warned.
"Why don't we see about that after I make the mistake?" Macen replied.
T'Lana stoically proceeded into the chasm that served as a stairwell to the lower chamber.
What appeared to be security teams rushed up the stairs at the descending SID team. The sight of T'Lana leading the Outbound Ventures contractors made the security units hesitate. They were quickly stunned.
But as they were forced into unconsciousness, transporters took hold of the bodies and spirited them away. Rockford pointed out to Macen that the guards were wearing Starfleet style biosensors on their belts. When they passed out, it triggered an automatic transport.
Macen was intrigued by the choice of the biosensors. Starfleet's experimentation with them lasted between 2271-2275. After that time, Starfleet changed its uniforms and abandoned the biosensors since several incidents had proven the biosensor signals could be used to track down Starfleet personnel.
The next glut of security personnel stunned T'Lana to get her out of the way. She too vanished. As the wave was dealt with, and subsequently vanished, Macen tapped his comm badge.
"Shannon, are there any life signs aboard the Andorian raiders?" he asked.
"Actually, every one of them just self destructed as if on cue," Forger replied.
"Start scanning for an unaccounted for ship or surface base," Macen instructed.
"If it's still unaccounted for, it means we can't already see it," Forger protested.
"Shannon," Macen scolded her.
"Okay, okay! We're on it," Forger promised.
When the SID team reached the Observation Center only one lone Vulcan woman was still present. She was unusual in that she wore her hair loose and shoulder length. Macen recognized her from the visual log Ro had sent him of Bashir and Douglas' "recruitment".
"Commander L'Haan," Macen warily acknowledged her presence.
"We may dispense with the pretences," L'Haan advised, "I am no more a Starfleet Commander than you are not one."
P'ris snickered slightly at that. Macen asked the obvious question, "Then how are you properly addressed?"
"I am a Senior Agent within Section 31," L'Haan answered easily, "But I suspect you already knew that. Agent Douglas has been rather loose lipped with Doctor Bashir, and Doctor Bashir, in turn has been an overflowing fount of knowledge to Captain Ro Laren. Something may have to be done about that."
"Are threatening my friend?" Macen inquired.
"Do I need to?" L'Haan turned the question around.
"Go ahead," Macen urged, "She'll bury your agents."
"Perhaps," L'Haan allowed, "But Captain Ro is vulnerable in other areas. She has the new Deep Space Nine to watch over. And of course, there is Captain Alfonso Reyes. She is quite fond of him."
"You really have no idea of who you're dealing with, do you?" Macen mused, "She will make it her life's mission to hunt you down and feed you your heart."
"It has been tried," L'Haan countered, "Many times."
"Not by Ro," Macen warned her.
"Why are you opposing us, Commander?" L'Haan queried him, "We were once allies against Cell 51. A greater threat to the Federation has arisen in the form of the Typhon Pact. Unlike the Dominion or the Borg, the Typhon Pact knows us to an intimate degree neither previous foe could boast about."
L'Haan carefully studied him, "You are a Starfleet Intelligence Officer. You should welcome and embrace new opportunities to place agents within the Pact."
"Let me put this as simply as I can," Macen began to explain; "The Andorian Empire is no longer part of the Federation. They are a foreign power. There's this little thing called the Prime Directive. We don't interfere in foreign affairs unless asked to. Also, I'm no longer with Starfleet. I'm Captain of the Solstice. This 'Commander' business has got to stop."
"Perhaps," L'Haan considered his words, "I may have missed the memo outlining those facts. Or perhaps they are the fiction. Regardless of the truth, I advise you to beware of Commander P'ris."
"And why is that?" Macen asked with some amusement.
"She began her career as an Inquisitor. She imprisoned her own people for violating the official Orthodoxy. Later, as she rose in the chain of command, she returned in her own superiors for violations of the same. She then suborned the very fringe elements she'd been pursuing throughout this time," L'Haan elaborated, "Made a Commander; she brought these fringe elements to colonies outside of the Star Empire. She conveniently transferred to another post just before the colonists were annihilated by forces under Sela's command."
L'Haan placed her piercing gaze on P'ris, "Commander P'ris then became Chairman Koval's right hand. She was poised to replace him when Shinzon's coup occurred. Commander P'ris was then sidelined by Praetor Tal'Aura when she placed Sela as Chairman of the Tal Shiar. Commander P'ris then approached Section 31 and offered to act as an agent of influence within the Star Empire."
"Following the Hobus disaster, Commander P'ris rose in acclaim and popularity for her tireless efforts aiding the remaining Romulan worlds consolidate power and authority," L'Haan related, "However, when Donatra seized the opportunity to elevate herself to the rank of Empress, she also promoted Sela to the position of Proconsul. Expecting to be named Praetor, Commander P'ris was once again disappointed as her own allegiances were being investigated by Sela's agents in the Tal Shiar."
"So now we come to her 'defection'," L'Haan began to wrap up her thought, "Commander P'ris 'happened' to discover a plot to pit the Gorn Hegemony against Federation forces. She shared these concerns with us but we investigated her claims and found they lacked corroboration. With the Tal Shiar moving against her, she abandoned the Star Empire and approached you, Commander Macen. It seems you have been swayed by her fables. Allow us to do you a favor and deal with her for you."
"Do I even need to tell you to go to hell?" Macen wondered.
"Pity," L'Haan said thoughtfully, "This decision will cost you."
She touched her biosensor and a transporter beam carried her away. Macen spun on his heels, "Everyone out! Now!"
The team mounted the stairs and Macen ordered them to scurry the monks along. They made it outside of the monastery as explosions echoed from the underground chambers beneath the complex. The dome shattered and collapsed in on itself. The monks gazed upon the scene with a sense of serenity that seemed absurdly out of place.
"Thank you, Commander," P'ris confided with Macen.
"For believing you?" Macen asked.
P'ris nodded, "Precisely. We have never been enemies per se but neither were we friends until recently."
"But we were allies on more than one occasion," Macen informed her, "I tend to believe in my ally's veracity."
"Brin, what about Shannon and the others?" Rockford asked.
"I think they'll be rather busy right now," Macen shared.
"If anything happens to Parva, I'll rip that 'L'Haan's' intestines out with a fork," Daggit growled.
Aboard the Solstice things were rapidly escalating. From Tactical, Jaycee Miller yelled out, "Starship decloaking aft of us. Unknown configuration."
"Shields up!" Forger ordered, "Edwin, get us a make on that ship."
Edwin Zimbalist plied his trade at the OPS station. Beside him, Radil instructed the CONN to break orbit. Forger had to grin.
"Thanks for reading my mind, Jenrya." Forger acknowledged Radil's efforts. She swiveled to face Miller, "Jaycee, what's the story on our troublemaker?"
"It appears to be a Bird-of-Prey built at a Federation shipyard," Miller reported.
Forger wondered if Miller was using too much peroxide in her hair and it had leaked to her brain. Then again, Forger practiced the same treatments so who was she to point fingers?
"Have you run it through the database?" Forger asked, "And have you armed the weapons?"
"Done it," Miller responded, "And I have the computer sifting through Jane's right now."
"Hello!" Miller suddenly exclaimed, "They're locking weapons now."
"Arm the aft torpedo launcher and prepare to fire," Forger instructed.
"Any chance I can take a preemptive shot?" Miller asked hopefully.
"Not in this lifetime," Forger disappointed her.
"They're firing!" Miller warned.
"Return fire," Forger ordered, "Radil bring us about so we can employ our phasers as well as our torpedo launchers. I've got a feeling our chase armament is outclassed."
"Holy crap!" Miller shouted, "Hold on to something!"
Explosions ripped through the small scoutship. Plasma conduits overloaded and station consoles shorted out. Forger was stunned.
"What the hell did they hit us with?" she enquired.
Miller looked quite put out, "A massive quantum torpedo volley combined with twin phase arrays working overtime. And they seemed to have slipped an invasive virus past Edwin. Our defensive systems are toast."
"Same goes for the whole ship," Zimbalist sullenly put in.
Forger activated a comm link to Engineering, "Parva, what's your status?"
"I scrammed the warp core," the Orion informed her acting captain, "The impulse reactor is wonky. Expect it to overload in thirty minutes or less."
"Got it," Forger said wearily, "I'm ordering everyone to abandon ship. So clear Engineering."
"Here we go again," Parva uttered before closing the line.
"She has a point," Miller grumped.
"Don't argue with me, Jaycee," Forger warned, "I'm surprised they haven't blown us to hell already."
"Okay, I'm going," Miller collected Zimbalist and headed for the escape pods.
"Shannon, Gilan and I have collected Telrik and Galen 3" Parva informed the XO, "We're boarding a pod now."
"Safe travels," Forger wished her. Forger suddenly looked alarmed, "Damn!"
Radil turned away from the pod she was prepping for the pair, "What?"
"What about Tessa?" Forger wondered.
"Didn't Galen 3 grab her isolinear rod?" Radil wanted to know.
"Do you really think Parva gave him a chance?" Forger countered.
"All right," Radil said grimly, "I'm coming with you."
"You should go," Forger urged.
"I'm not letting my baby grow up without its other mother," Radil declared.
Forger rolled her eyes, "I doubt the turbolift is operational."
"Then we'd best start climbing," Radil calmly replied.
Tessa was frantically beside herself when Forger and Radil entered. She gratefully clung to Forger, "I thought everyone had left me to die."
"Never," Forger promised her, "I need you to perform my SRS so I can finish my transition."
"Anything!" Tessa exclaimed, "Just take me with you!"
"Deactivate your program, Honey. And then I can pull your program rod," Forger gently instructed.
Tessa did so and Forger and Radil scrambled to an available escape pod. Radil paused before entering ahead of Forger, "I know you're not bi, and you're definitely not a lesbian, but if you ever come around to realizing you are, I'd be happy to run away with you."
"Are you implying what I think you are?" Forger inquired, "What about Kort?"
"He's got Hayley Galloway. He's already seeing her on the side when he travels to Bajor anyway. It'd just be a nudge to push him onward and upward," Radil revealed, "Just think about it, okay? And reconsider your wanting to undergo SRS if you accept my idea. I happen to love your penis."
"Um...okay?" Forger was rather flustered, "Can we go now?"
"Of course," Radil said brightly.
At that moment, Forger realized her life had only just begun to fall apart.