Molk bellowed in rage. He took aim at the tables to his right and began firing at bystanders. They began screaming and running for cover. Seeing an advantage to this, Cristal ordered Hadrian and Witt to randomly fire into the crowd to their left. Cristal continued to unleash a volley of fire at the table Radil, Riker, Danan and Kort sought cover behind.

Molk chuckled at the sight of the civilians fleeing in terror. It made him feel powerful. Powerful enough to single-handidly slay the two targets that had killed Garot and Remy. Molk actually felt something akin to remorse at their passing despite the fact that the Ferengi had been obnoxious and the Andorian had been insufferably smug. Even so, they had not deserved to die at the hands of their very own intended victims.

We once outnumbered them but now they outnumber us. Molk feverishly thought, Their deaths will be glorious! He turned his head back towards the column Dracas and Grace were shielded behind only to find the emitter end of a phaser pistol pressed against his nose.

"Try something." Dracas coldly taunted, "Please."

Swiftly, Molk tried to raise his disruptor. Dracas shot him in the face. Grace eyed this dispassionately and focused her attention on the scene before the SID table.

"Dracas look!" she exclaimed.

Hadrian continued firing into the crowd while Cristal addressed the SID team, "Throw down your weapons and no one else will get hurt."

Riker rose, followed by Danan. Kort was seething as he stood. Radil slowly came to her feet, hatred eking out of every pour. Despite Cristal's word, Hadrian continued to pick off nightclub patrons.

Unexpectedly, a set of strong arms reached out from underneath Hadrian's arms. Rather than go for a headlock, the hands took a hold of the Romulan's jaw and base of his neck and twisted. The spine severed with a satisfying crack and Daggit dropped Hadrian's limp form.

Cristal gaped at him in disbelief as Daggit rounded on her. She struggled to voice a command to Witt. Grace chose that particular moment to end Witt's participation in this affair. Cristal tried to shoot Daggit but he merely swatted the disruptor out of her hand.

Her mouth worked wordlessly. Daggit's fist smashed into her, lifting her off of her feet. Daggit checked the vitals of the prone assassin. Satisfied that she would be able to answer questions later, he scooped up a loose disruptor. Dracas, Grace, and Radil were already headed for Élan's entrance. Daggit hastily sprinted after them.

Grace turned the left corner at the nightclub's entrance. Phaser poised in a two-handed grip, she swept the Galleria with her eyes and pistol. Radil mirrored her to the right. Dracas and Daggit held the middle.

"Clear!" Grace announced.

"All clear here." Radil reported.

"Stand down." Daggit ordered, "Station Security is on its way. They can take over."

"We'd better secure the prisoners." Radil commented, "At least the ones that are still alive."

The quartet re-entered the club. Security entered hot on their heels. The privateers were disarmed even as Medical personnel began fanning out to the wounded. The station's Chief of Security, Lt. Commander Thomas Barclay, handled the investigation while the XO, Commander Sheila Hall, managed the overall crisis.

Hall hated to interrupt her CO's evening, knowing how much his reunion with Ro Laren meant to him, but her duty was clear. Tapping her comm badge, she spoke clear enough for the audio pick up to cycle her request through the main computer, "Hall to Reyes, come in please."

Reyes grimaced as his comm badge started chirping. He dabbed the corner of his mouth with a cloth napkin and excused himself. He tapped the badge as he proceeded out of the restaurant, "Reyes here."

"Captain, this is Hall." He could hear the regret in his XO's voice, "We have a situation."

"Give it to me." Reyes ordered as he reached the Galleria.

"So what do you think?" a nervous sounding Ro asked.

"Of the man or his intentions?" Macen asked in return.

"Either." Ro waffled, "Both."

T'Kir laughed, "Honey, he's been carrying a torch for twenty years now. He's reaching a certain age and has decided it's about time to see what can happen."

"Really?" Ro wondered.

"He's awfully sincere." Macen added, "Even if things only progress as far as a one night dalliance that will still serve to satisfy some mutual needs."

"Good point." Ro ruefully remarked.

"Here he comes." T'Kir warned.

Reyes approached with a sad smile, "I'm sorry but I have to go. Duty calls. There's been an incident."

Macen was intrigued, "What kind of incident?"

"A shooting at a local nightclub." Reyes revealed, "It seems your crew was involved."

"Then T'Kir and I are coming as well." Macen informed him.

"Very well." Reyes consented. Turning to Ro, he asked, "And what of you?"

"I'll accompany you." Ro smiled, "Let's just say professional curiosity has me in its grip and to be honest I have more experience dealing with SID happenstances than your people."

Reyes was delighted, "I bow before your expertise. If you'll all follow me?"

Radil glared at the Security officer waving a tricorder over her form again, "Listen sister, you probe me with that damn thing one more time and I'll shove it so far up your ass it'll register as a brain tumour."

Barclay pulled the ensign off the duty, "Any particular reason why you object to being scanned?"

"Yeah!" Radil snapped, "She's already done it four times now. Whatever she's looking for was never there or left a long time ago…sort of like my patience."

"Yes." Barclay smiled thinly, "She's going to scan you again. I suggest you co-operate or we will make you comply. Is that understood?"

Daggit caught Radil's arm as her fist flew of its own accord. Barclay chuckled, "Too bad. I would have enjoyed feeding you your teeth."

Barclay strolled away and the ensign stepped up to bat. Radil rolled her eyes and shooed Daggit away. While the ensign thoroughly ran the scanner over every curve, nook, cranny, and crevice of Radil's body, Radil recited every prayer chant she could recall. It still didn't help much.

Reyes arrived at that moment along with Macen, T'Kir, and Ro. Hall and Barclay manoeuvred towards Reyes in order to report their individual and collective progress. Hall began her report immediately by virtue of reaching her CO first.

"What's the status of the wounded?" Reyes asked, noting the stretchers and emergency services people.

"Almost all of them have reached the Infirmary and are being treated." Hall said, "Those remaining on scene are here by virtue of being triaged as a relatively minor case. They're mostly comprised of shock victims. The counselling staffers are sorting through them now."

"Any fatalities?" Reyes inquired.

"Twelve." Hall gravely reported, "There are three more likely fatalities being treated right now. The Med staff will report in when they know either way."

"Damn." Reyes grimly muttered before refocusing, "Station status?"

"We're on yellow alert with Security teams being on high alert." Hall said crisply.

"Commander Barclay," Reyes shifted his attention to the Security Chief, "Was this an isolated incident?"

"I believe so." Barclay assured him, "Using biometric data obtained from the suspects we have been able to partially trace their movements. They arrived on station a mere two hours ago. They then accessed the Security mainframe. This was done with some apparent ease."

Barclay paused to let the full import of his last statement sink in. When he judged that it had the desired effect he pressed on, "Using our own scanners and surveillance equipment, they tracked the Outbound Ventures crew to this location and attempted an ambush."

"Are we certain that the Obsidian officers were the only target?" Reyes wondered.

"As certain as we can be at this stage of the investigation." Barclay hedged, "Their sole focus to this point was the privateers."

Reyes ignored the sneering quality placed upon Barclay's last word. His Security Chief's disdain for privateers was a long established position. The Captain didn't care what the Lt. Commander's private opinion was but he needed an objective perspective to be presented and he needed one right now!

"I see." Reyes replied, "May I ask why Captain Macen's crewmen seem to be detained?"

"They smuggled weapons aboard." Barclay reported, "I've been trying to ascertain how this was done before pressing charges."

Reyes couldn't manage to suppress a sigh this time round, "If you'd look up Starfleet's files on these individuals you'd see that they have Level 9 clearances. That grants them the same level of access and security clearances as a Starfleet junior officer. They didn't smuggle anything aboard. Their personal firearms are fitted with the same security transponders that are placed within fleet issued phasers. The computer registered them as friendly and so should you."

"I…I had no idea." Barclay admitted.

"You have a blind spot, Commander." Reyes informed him, "I expect you to work on that."

"Yessir!" Barclay snapped.

"Just to drive home the message," Reyes pointed at Macen, "see their captain addressing his crew? He holds a higher fleet security clearance than I do. He's responsible for his fair share of the intelligence coups that we've enjoyed over the last sixty years. The man's a hero. To insult his crew is to insult him and I will not tolerate that. Understood?"

Barclay nodded, "Info assimilated."

"Good." Reyes said with satisfaction, "Now what about eyewitness accounts?"

"I swear to all the Prophets," Radil growled to Macen, "if they point one more tricorder at me I'm going to forget that I'm now an honest citizen."

"Calm down, Jenrya." Macen tried to soothe her nerves, "Their security chief is an eager beaver with an axe to grind against privateers."

"Well, bully for him." Radil grated, "I still want to kneecap him."

"Before you pass judgement you may want to know a thing or two about Commander Barclay." Macen warned, "He grew up on a family owned Antares-class freighter. At seventeen he decided to enlist in Starfleet. His aptitude tests indicated a flair for security work but he managed to get involved in the engineering courses."

"Just as he was completing his ratings in engineering, his family's freighter was attacked and boarded by pirates. They managed to get a distress call off and it was answered by nearby privateers." Macen explained, "The privateers were green and bungled the rescue attempt. By the time Starfleet arrived both crews, freighter and privateer, were dead and the pirates had gained control of the armed privateer vessel and sailed off in it."

"Barclay applied to the Academy and was accepted." Macen revealed, "He accepted a Security designator and never looked back. He served under Jellico as a junior officer and was apparently a favoured student of his."

"Do you see how this all relates?" Macen enquired.

Radil unhappily subsided, "I'll behave."

"Your underlying protest is noted and appreciated." Macen smirked.

"Good." Radil huffed, "Does that mean there's a bonus in it for me?"

From behind him, Macen could sense waves of satisfaction rolling off of T'Kir. He turned to her, "Have you been coaching her?"

Adopting her best Who me? pose, T'Kir innocently shook her head. Macen didn't believe it for a moment. Macen's retort was cut short by Riker.

"We need to talk." He said to Macen.

They stepped off to one side to confer and T'Kir and Grace began their own consultation. T'Kir grinned, "Mighty fine shootin' Tex."

"Got the low-down from the crowd?" Grace wryly asked.

"And from your very own highly esteemed colleagues." T'Kir admitted.

"Am I ever so glad you can't pick through my brain." Grace chuckled.

"It was mostly the ears picking up witness statements, so there." T'Kir stuck out her tongue.

Grace laughed, "By the way, nice dress."

"You too!" T'Kir said after doing a pirouette.

"You really think so?" Grace wondered, "I've had it forever."

"You should wear it more often." T'Kir advised, "It really highlights your curves and your shape."

"What about that gown you're wearing?" Grace asked, "Where did you get it? Oh, and I love your hair! I've been thinking about cutting mine. Do you think I could get the same stylist? And…"

Macen looked grim, "So they're both resigning?"

Riker nodded, sharing his commander's mood, "Yes. They're both pretty resolute about it."

"Rab's been waffling for a while now." Macen revealed, "His sense of duty towards us only outweighed his loyalty to Parva because he was living under the illusion that her health had stabilised. Now that that's been stripped away Parva comes first."

"Can't blame him for that." Riker opined.

"That's why I approached him with the teaching job in the first place." Macen confessed, "He wasn't ready to accept it before. I'm glad to hear he is now."

"What about Kort?" Riker enquired.

Macen frowned, "He's more of a surprise but he really shouldn't be."

Riker was confused, "Why's that?"

"Hayley Galloway has caused Kort to do a lot of soul searching as of late." Macen explained, "What he's come to realise is that he wasn't disgraced on the field of battle, an arena he's proven himself in time and again, but he was disgraced while performing a medical procedure. Kort obviously feels he still has demons to work out and that Olympus Mons is the place to do it."

"What's that mean for the ship and the team?" Riker wondered.

"The ship is covered." Macen assured him, "I'm having holoemitters installed throughout the ship. The warp core produces a surplus of power and can handle the extra load. Tessa can manage the shipboard cases."

"And the dirtside trauma?" Riker had to ask.

"Radil and Lees are both fully qualified medics." Macen replied, "Either one of them can stabilise a patient and prepare them for transport to the ship."

Riker scowled, "I'm not sure I like where this is going."

The corner of Macen's mouth twisted in a sly smile, "Have no fears Tom. Lees won't be going dirtside any more than her specialty requires."

The larger man was visibly relieved, "That's a relief."

Macen studied Riker for a moment before speaking, "If you're having these kind of qualms perhaps you two should discuss getting out yourselves. I'm looking for a captain for the Indomitable."

"Isn't that the ship named after Ro's Maquis command?" Riker wondered.

"The same." Macen confirmed, "She's an Emden-class escort."

"Tough little ships." Riker grunted with satisfaction.

"And thoroughly reliable." Macen agreed, "Our Letter of Marque allowed us to take possession of her from Starfleet with all of her systems intact. Her refit time will only last a few months."

Macen's 1st Officer ruefully grinned, "You're not making this easy are you?"

Macen wore a naughty grin, "It's not meant to be easy. You have three months to make a commitment. After that she goes to someone else. Confer with Lees and get back to me."

"I will." Riker promised with a smile, "Count on it."

"That's all I can ask." Macen replied, "Of course, I'd hate to lose my own starship driver but this'd be a great opportunity. One might even go so far as to refer to it as the fulfilment of a dream."

Riker looked surprised and then his initial shock began to turn into indignation, "Don't you start to…"

Macen held up a hand to quell his protest, "Reyes and his security chief are coming over."

Riker was nonplussed. Macen's back was to the Starfleet officers. Slowly, it dawned on him, "T'Kir tipped you off?"

Macen smiled, "Of course."

"And she's the reason you haven't asked me any questions regarding what happened?" Riker's unhappiness was bald.

"She scanned the surface memories of the team." Macen explained, "I know Hannah has left you gun shy regarding telepathy and mentalist powers. All she did was grab those thoughts the person was actively dwelling on. Fortunately, everyone seemed to be reliving the events that brought us here."

"It sounds harmless but I still don't like it." Riker grumbled.

"Shhh." Macen put his finger to his lips, "The game is about to begin."

Macen turned to greet Reyes, "Captain."

"Your people are efficient." Reyes ruefully observed, "They left two survivors out of ten assailants. Hopefully we can get something out of the pair we have in custody."

"Let T'Kir and I sit in on the interrogation." Macen requested, "You'll get something."

"Brin," Reyes was chiding, "you know telepathic confessions are regarded as hear-say evidence and therefore inadmissible."

"But they are unnerving and tend to prompt verbal confessions." Macen grinned.

Reyes looked to Barclay, who merely shrugged, "All right. We'll coordinate with you tomorrow."

"Thank you." Macen replied, "May my people leave now?"

Barclay's jaw worked but Reyes beat him to the punch, "You're all free to return to your ship."

"And only to our ship?" Macen inquired.

"For now that would be best." Reyes clarified.

"Understood." Macen turned to Riker, "Gather up the troops. We're going home."