Chapter 13 Secrets of Nimbus

Maxwell and Flores stood in the holodeck. "So, what's this new program you put together?" she asked.

"Sort of a training program but it uses…different weapons. Computer, run program Maxwell Omega-4." He said.

The holodeck changed from yellow grid lines to a martial arts dojo, but not one Flores was familiar with. She saw various symbols but knew there were from fiction. Maxwell walked over to a shelf and picked up two handles. "Lightsabers?" she asked as he handed one to her.

"Cool right?" Holding the handle away from him he pressed a button on the side. A distinctive snap-hiss sound and a blade of brilliant blue energy sprang from the handle.

"Computer, single opponent, lowest difficulty." Then to Flores "I'll go first." He said, stepping onto the dojo mat. He raised his blade in an en guard position and the computer created an opponent.

The opponent was not a species Flores was familiar with. He had red and black markings on his face, almost a checkered pattern with small…horns on his head. The alien held a similar handle to Maxwell's only when he activated it, two blades of crimson red sprang from both ends. Maxwell swung low and the alien countered. The movements were slower than she would have thought. The alien clearly telegraphed his movements giving Maxwell plenty of time to counter them. The blades crashed together multiple times until the alien left himself wide open and Maxwell sliced him in half.

"Not bad." She said then traded places with him and ignited her weapon. A blade of green energy sprang out of the handle. "Computer, single opponent, lowest difficulty."

Instead of the red and black horned alien, her opponent was human. A young man with glowing orange eyes. His blue blade ignited as well. Flores raised her blade in a challenge. This opponent used a different technique, but Flores was able to keep up. At the lowest difficulty even she, with little to no sword fighting experience was able to keep up. After five minutes she managed a hit and the holographic character disappeared. "I like it, but lightsabers aren't real." she said

"I know, I made it for fun." He replied stepping back onto the dojo mat as Flores left. "Computer, single opponent, progressive difficulty. One level up after victory and one level down after defeat. Randomize opponent skins and techniques. Thirty-minute time limit"

"Acknowledged."

James and Elisa went for several rounds before stopping. They both grabbed towels to dry the sweat from their brows.

"Bridge to Captain Maxwell. Priority one message from Starfleet Intelligence."

"Put it through to my quarters I'll be there in a minute. I'll see you on the bridge later." He replied.

"Sure." Elisa replied.

"Computer, sight-to-sight transport my quarters. Energize." Maxwell commanded.

A moment later he was in his quarters quickly changed into his uniform and opened the comm. "Mr. Drake, what can I do for you?"

"We have a delicate situation in the Nimbus system. Romulan Republic Intel suggests that there are triggers for some weapons of mass destruction somewhere on the planet. What complicates matters is the increasing reports of Tal Shiar activity on the planet. What do you know of Nimbus 3 Captain?" Drake asked.

"The Orion Syndicate essentially runs the place. Most people steer clear of it."

"Correct. Obviously, we cannot let the Syndicate or the Tal Shiar get their hands on these triggers. It would also be a disaster if the Tal Shiar took over the planet. We must stop them and the Syndicate. Pushing them both off the planet would help the people of that planet and give us a diplomatic connection with the Romulan Republic." Said Drake

"May I ask what the triggers are for?" asked Maxwell

"The triggers…are for thalaron radiation weapons. It is all hands on deck for this one Captain. Rendezvous at these coordinates with a Romulan Republic ship. Your two ships will investigate the situation on Nimbus and attempt to recover the triggers." Drake replied.

"Understood. What about the Devidians in the Donatu Sector?" Asked Maxwell

"I have…other operatives handling that issue. You need to leave for the rendezvous as soon as possible." Drake replied.

"Ok, we'll leave immediately." Replied Maxwell as the transmission terminated.

"Bridge, this is the Captain. Lay in a course for these coordinates at maximum warp."

"Yes sir…course plotted and laid in. Eta approximately three days." replied the helm officer.

"Senior officers to the conference room in twelve hours." Maxwell commanded.

Twelve hours later he filled in his senior officers on the situation. Three days later, the Sentry rendezvoused with a Romulan ship near Nimbus.

Maxwell was in the captain's chair when they arrived at the coordinates. He turned to Flores at the tactical station.

"Anything?" Maxwell asked

"Not yet…hold on. Romulan ship decloaking directly ahead. It's a D'helan-call warbird." She replied.

"Open a channel to the Romulan vessel." He commanded.

"Channel open." She replied

"This is Captain James Maxwell of the Federation starship Sentry. I understand we're going to be working together on this problem."

"Correct, Captain. I am Subcommander Kenatra of the Romulan Republic vessel D'serek."

"Pleased to meet you. I suggest we head for Nimbus at our best speed. We need to find these triggers." Maxwell said

"Agreed. Republic intelligence has a contact we can speak to when we arrive." Kenatra said.

A few hours later they arrived at Nimbus and all three ships assumed a standard orbit. Maxwell, Flores, and Kolez beamed down to the surface in front of Paradise city, literally the only city on the planet. Ironically, the front of the settlement which proclaimed it to be paradise city was defaced with graffiti and instead read 'paradise lost'.

A short whistle caught the captain's attention.

"Hello there. Funny seeing you people here. No one seems to care about our little planet until the Orions get their hands on something nasty. Between that and the Romulans, this place got a whole lot busier." The man, a human male said.

"We're looking for some information." Maxwell replied.

"Info? Sure. The owner of the local bar is a reformed Borg by the name of Two of Eight. He has the information you want. He can tell you more about…the Tal Shiar. Just don't anyone I told you ok?" the man said

Maxwell, who had been briefed on the Republic's contact in the city nodded. "I won't tell a soul." He replied.

Flores pointed "There's the bar sir."

"Right let's go." He replied

They walked into a somewhat crowded bar. There was a section of floor cordoned off where patrons could dance to their heart's content and a Dabo table.

"Ask around and see what you can find out." Maxwell said.

"Where are you going?" asked Flores

"For a drink." He replied then walked up to the bar.

Before he could say anything to the bartender a clearly intoxicated Andorian sidled up next to him.

"You wanna buy some death sticks?" he asked.

In one smooth motion, Maxwell surreptitiously pulled his phaser from its holster and pressed it into the alien's side. "You don't want to sell me death sticks." Maxwell said in a low and very intimidating voice.

"I don't wanna sell you death sticks." Replied the alien.

"You want to go home and rethink your life."

"I want to go home and rethink my life." The Andorian said then turned and staggered off.

Maxwell looked at the bartender. "I'm looking for the owner of this establishment."

The bartender jerked his head to the far wall where a former Borg leaned against the wall.

Maxwell thanked the bartender then approached the figure. Before Maxwell could speak the alien spoke.

"Let me guess. Someone said I had some information for you. Well, I do, make it quick." The former cyborg said in a gruff voice

"Thalaron weapons. Where can I find them?" Maxwell replied

"The desert. That is where the Syndicate does its trading." Said Two of Eight.

"The desert then. I'll start there." Maxwell replied. He turned around and caught the eye of his two officers and met up with them.

"What did you find?" Maxwell asked.

"The Syndicate does its business in the desert. There are also reports of people being held hostage in the desert. Some of them appear to be Starfleet officers and Klingon warriors." Flores said first.

"From what I heard the Syndicate managed to capture numerous personnel from various ships mostly through kidnappings. We should make rescuing those officers our priority. However, if we rescue any Klingons, I suggest we confine them to quarters until we can return them to the Empire." Kolez said.

"Agreed but we're gonna need more firepower. Let's bring down an assault team." He said.

The team of three walked out of Paradise city and looked out into the desert. "Maxwell to Sentry. Are you detecting any Federation or Klingon signatures in the desert?"

"Standby…odd it looks like there's a dampening field over the desert. We're not getting anything on sensors. It originally looked like background radiation, but a concentrated scan says it's a dampening field."

"Ok. Beam an assault team down to our location full combat load, desert conditions. And have them bring rifles for the rest of us."

"Aye, sir."

A few minutes later a seven-man team appeared nearby holding phaser rifles. They were mostly Vulcan but had a Human in charge of the team. Three members carried additional rifles on their backs. The Captain was given a full-auto rifle, while Kolez had a split beam and Flores got a sniper rifle.

"Let's go." Said Maxwell.

With that, the team set out into the desert…