Agency
Captain's Log
stardate: 52947.8
I've met with Admiral Whitridge and Commander Maelstrom to discuss our next move. We've decided it's time to leave the Kadem Void. That freighter that escaped our last encounter with the Sect almost certainly warned others of our presence. We'll be lucky to be out of the Nebula for an hour without being engaged, but we must attempt to meet up with the rest of the fleet at Gaalu VII.
However, we do have somewhat of an advantage now. In what could be explained as a gesture of good faith, Exile revealed to us the shroud's impotency when exposed to certain gasses in the Void, so I've ordered Ensign Whitridge to utilize the Bussard collectors for gas collection. By expulsing a continuous cloud around the ship we may be able to render the shroud ineffective. Alternatively, the concentration of the gas may only be high enough in the Void. We won't know for certain until we engage the Sect, which should be very soon.
The Captain sat deep in thought as he gave the order to depart the Nebula known as the Kadem Void aboard the bridge of the Lockheed. He was trying not to think about the interrogation that was going on between Admiral Whitridge, Commander Maelstrom, and Exile; but the subject continued to plague him. Little did he know, his intuition was about to become reality.
"Lieutenant Ivorii to Captain Lawrence." A panic-stricken voice called.
"Yes, Doctor?"
"You'd better get to sick bay quick, sir. I've got Admiral Whitridge and Commander Maelstrom in critical condition here!"
The Captain raced to the turbolift, a thousand scenarios racing through his mind. How could a Betazoid put two Starfleet officers in critical condition? He was about to find out.
The Captain burst into sick bay. "What happened?"
"They came into sick bay with vision problems two minutes ago; their condition has deteriorated from there. Their neural synapses are shutting down; I have no ideas about what could've caused something like this!" Doctor Ivorii yelled in her light Russian accent. "It must be another Sect technology we knew nothing about!"
"This wasn't a device, the brig security sensors would have picked it up." The Captain froze in thought for a moment before swiftly jerking his head up. "He must have transmitted it telepathically. Keep working, Lieutenant!" The Captain exited the room at full speed and traveled to the brig.
He entered and addressed the guard there. "Do you have a containment field up?" He asked to which the security officer nodded. Paul Lawrence then turned his attention to the crouched Betazoid in one of the holding cells. "I want to know what you did to those people and I want to know now." He said with a stillness that would shake a Tarkassian razorbeast.
"I tried to warn you." Said the Betazoid menacingly. "I tried to pacify you. But you wouldn't listen, so I had to get your attention another way."
The Captain pulled the phaser from his side and signaled for the forcefield to be lowered. "Tell me the cure to this… now!"
"Or what? You'll shoot me?" The Captain leveled the weapon at Exile's body. "You won't shoot me, and besides I could give you the condition, the Agency, at any time. You could already be infec…" a beam of energy left the Captain's sidearm and knocked Exile to the floor.
"It was on stun, get that forcefield back up." He assured the guard and left the room.
It had been only twenty minutes since the Admiral and Commander had entered critical condition but it seemed like hours. The Lockheed was heading out of Sect space fast and had surprisingly not collided with any enemy blockades yet.
The Captain had a plan to keep Exile from harming more of the crew, and the first step was enlisting the Bolian, Doctor Benzil.
Captain Lawrence entered the science lab, saw doctor Benzil, and cut to the chase.
"Doctor, I read your personnel file before coming aboard the Lockheed, it implies you have a history of dealing in… questionable merchandise. Does that include Romulan mind probes?"
The crease down the blue skin of the man's face seemed to tense up at the abruptness of the Starfleet officer but he regained his composure and spoke. "Federation sanctions…" Benzil was interrupted.
"I've got two officers in sick bay doctor, DO YOU HAVE THEM!"
"Y-yes." The Bolian stuttered.
"Get them and bring them to me in the brig." The Captain turned to leave.
"Captain, I hope you're not planning to subject any being to mind probing." Benzil stood stunned.
"You're in possession of these illegal devices and you're going to lecture me about ethics?"
"The probes are said to be the most brutal form of torture in the Alpha Quadrant."
The Captain stepped up to the Bolian until they were nearly nose-to-nose. "This 'poor soul' you're defending just put two Starfleet officers in critical condition. I don't have time to debate morality with a Bolian!" The room fell silent for a moment as Dr. Benzil turned and accessed a panel in one of the nooks in the science lab. He faced the Captain, revealing two small metal objects with blinking lights. "Let's go."
