Chapter 3
HALLWAY OF KLINGON SHIP
PRESUMABLY ATTACHED TO GHUT'S STATION
Kor led the small party down the hallway. Kor turned to Jacobs, "Welcome to my ship, Captain Jacobs."
Jacobs was looking around, surrounded by four guards, there were not many options. Still, an opportunity may present itself. Kor said, "So what do you think of Klingon technology?"
Jacobs knew the first thing in interrogations was to make the subject say something. Fortunately, training had provided some help. "Joshua Jeremiah Jacobs, Captain, Serial Number EA-1737-47546-US"
Kor had a sinister laugh, "Come now, Captain, I'd like to get to know you much better. For instance, why aren't you on the Wisconsin?"
Jacobs replied "Joshua Jerem…"
Kor laughed again, "Captain, those techniques will not help you for long." Kor stopped before a hatchway. "I do not think you realize where you are. You are the farthest thing from the Federation you could possibly be. You know the name of my ship?"
Jacobs eyed Kor. It was not much, but Jacobs tried to give as much sarcasm, disdain, and disgust in that short look. Everyone knew that Kor's ship was the Death's Door. Kor laughed devilishly again, "I see you do know me. We are not on that ship. We are on the IKV Shadow of Death."
The irony hit Jacobs. He had just read Psalm 23 this morning. Jacobs could not help but to start laughing. Kor was just about to go through the hatch but spun around in anger. "You think that is funny? You must be insane. You are in my ship, in a place where your Starfleet will never find you. My ship is cleverly hidden inside a very large cargo container, we are powered down except for essential systems. Your starship will not find us among this labyrinth of collectible junk. I could kill you without fear of any reprisal. In short, your life is mine."
Kor was expecting to see fear, but instead he saw something in Jacobs he never saw before in a non-Klingon. Defiance with no fear. Kor said angrily, "What is it? What is so funny? You are truly insane." Kor led the group through the hatch.
They entered a room that looked distinctly non-Klingon. In the center was a chair with clamps for the feet and hands. The chair was semi-reclined and had padding on it. The headpiece had a lot of strange technology surrounding it. The room's walls were smooth and had an iridescent look to them. Behind the chair was a large console with a lot of controls- all of them in Klingon. Kor motioned grandly. "Welcome to the mind sifter. This one is special. We have added a holo-projection room around the chair so we can see what you see inside your mind."
Jacobs looked impassively around but inside he was worried. Strange part was he was more worried about what they wanted to sift from his mind, not what was going to happen afterwards. The only thing that came to Jacobs was to continue his defiance. "Joshua Jeremiah Jacobs, Captain…"
Kor yelled, "Lock him in!".
The Klingons grabbed Jacobs and pressed him into the chair and locked him in. Jacobs fought with everything he could, but there were too many of them. Kor looked to an old Klingon next to him and said, "Healer, now."
The Healer, which sufficed as a Klingon Doctor, came over and gave Jacobs an injection. "Give it a minute, then the medicine will be in full effect. We will have to keep his levels up, and I will monitor that from the console behind the Mind Sifter."
Jacobs continued to struggle. It was useless. Kor walked toward him and leaned over the chair, "That drug will keep you from forming memories longer than a few hours. I will need that for you to do what we want here. I have you here because you have some information vital for me. I want to know where your secret base is."
Jacobs instantly thought of SHADO base, and tried to think of something else. "Joshua Jeremiah…."
Kor interrupted. "A small demonstration of what is about to happen." Kor stood up. "Healer, my hands are free from the chair. Start at base level."
The Healer checked and made sure Kor was not in contact with the chair. He activated the controls and Jacobs immediately and instinctively stiffened. It felt like someone had reached inside his skull and had a grip on his brain, no pain yet but very uncomfortable. Kor said, "Let's start with something simple, why did you laugh back in the hallway just now?"
Jacobs gritted his teeth. "Joshua…." The feeling in his head started to feel like a headache.
Kor nodded to the Healer, who pushed the power up a little. The headache instantly got worse; a lot worse. Jacobs also could feel that somewhere inside him he wanted to tell. It was a strange feeling to sense that part of you wanted to tell and the other part was struggling against that. Suddenly Jacobs said, "He is with me even here."
Kor looked around to the others, they did not understand what Jacobs said. Kor asked, "Who is with you?"
Jacobs once again gritted his teeth and tried to keep the answer from coming but it was no use, "God. Almighty God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost. Yahweh. Jehovah…"
Kor interrupted, "Meaningless! Your God is not with you here. We Klingons believe in no God. You are alone."
Jacobs said stiffly, "You are wrong."
Kor looked back at him, "Why the laughter earlier in the hallway?"
Jacobs laughed stiffly again. "Psalm 23. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me. God's sense of humor is ironic. Your ship's name is the Shadow of Death. I will fear no evil because God is with me."
Kor was getting angry; this interrogation already was off track. "You are entirely within my power. Your God cannot help here."
Jacobs stiffened and managed to stay quiet. Kor's demeanor changed, "Nothing to say? You have been talkative so far, let me prove to you the futility of this." Kor nodded to the Healer.
The Healer pushed the power a little bit more. Jacobs blurted out, "You are wrong. You will fail."
Kor's demeanor changed again, back to anger. "You will die or be a mental vegetable after this! We have only just begun! There is a level of power that will cause permanent brain damage!"
Jacobs said stiffly, "I am just an instrument, you are fighting with God. You will fail. I may die but you will fail…" Jacobs held something back.
Kor looked angrily at the Healer. The Healer made an adjustment. Jacobs finished his statement, "You will fail miserably."
Kor snapped back, "I will kill you!"
Jacobs slackened a bit and said quite easily, "Are you threatening me with death? I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God as my Savior. You kill me I go to be with him. Death will be a release. It will ensure that I do not fail in my mission."
Kor was furious. "Enough! We are off track." Kor looked at a different Klingon and motioned. The Klingon pushed a few buttons and a star chart came up on the prismatic wall. "We know a secret base which you have visited is located somewhere in these seven-star systems." Jacobs immediately recognized the systems and saw system PXK-1016, the location of SHADO base. So, this is what Kor is after.
Jacobs was overwhelmed, all he could think of was what would happen if he gave up the location of SHADO base. Jacobs started to cry uncontrollably; he was totally unable to resist the power of the Mind Sifter. There was no way that he could stop, and if the information got out, the security of the Federation would be compromised. Billions could die, all because he could not keep his mouth shut. Jacobs silently prayed, "Lord, I am not strong enough for this, you said that we can do all things through Christ Jesus. Please help me to resist this somehow. Please help me not to falter. In Jesus' name, AMEN!
Kor smiled evilly. "A prayer, Captain? Yes, we heard that. One of the things the Mind Sifter does is remove your inhibitions. You may say what you think. That prayer was a waste of breath. Obviously, there is a secret base somewhere in there. Tell me, Captain, where is it?"
Jacobs was overcome with emotion. He just was overwhelmed with what was going on, he couldn't help from crying, "JJjjjjjjoooossssshhhhh… sssshhhhh uuuu aaaaaaa. Not my strength, HIS strength."
Kor continued his evil smile, "We will crack you Captain, you can count on that."
COMBAT INFORMATION CENTER
STARBASE 5
Commander Williard, "Incoming flash traffic from the Wisconsin sir."
Adama looked away from the large map and looked at Williard. "Very well, let's have it."
Williard tapped a few buttons and the message appeared on the main table. Adama read it and his heart sank.
TO STARBASE 5
FROM USS WISCONSIN –FLASH TRAFFIC-
ABORT FAILED, MILLENIUM FALCON RETURNING TO SHIP, FALCON ACTUAL MISSING IN ACTION. ETA THREE HOURS FROM NOW, WILL UPDATE AFTER QUICK DEBRIEF OF FALCON CREW.
Adama slammed his fist down on the desk. "Forward this to Starfleet HQ and FID. Make sure it is addressed so Archangel sees it."
Williard started tapping buttons. Adama continued, "Closest asset we have is.."
Williard was first to do the mental calculations, "The Taiwan. They are on a non-critical patrol mission. They could be there in a week, probably less."
Adama was frustrated. Time as always was critical. It was better than nothing. "Send command to the Taiwan, proceed to the Triangle, Lambda Beta system with all possible due haste, lives at stake. Approach path to be specified later. Notify the Wisconsin of the Taiwan's tasking, the Wisconsin can use them at their discretion."
Williard nodded, "Aye aye, sir."
ADMIRAL NOGURA'S APARTMENT
SAN FRANCISCO, EARTH
The com quietly beeped; it was just enough to wake the Admiral from his sleep. Nogura slipped out of bed without waking up his wife and walked out of the bedroom into the living room. He touched a com panel and quietly said, "Admiral Nogura."
"Lt Forschen, watch desk, Admiral. We have a flash message from the Wisconsin."
"Go ahead and read it, Lieutenant." Nogura said.
Forschen read the message. Nogura frowned. "Lieutenant, get Lt Commander Ressler into my office in ten minutes. Tell Admiral Warren I want to meet him in my office in fifteen minutes. Alert the appropriate starship in orbit; they need to transport me directly to my office in five minutes. Which starship will that be?"
A short time of quiet and then Forschen replied, "The Enterprise is currently doing in-orbit workups for the Academy, Admiral. Currently they are on Gamma shift."
Nogura ordered. "Very well, make it so. Nogura out." Nogura pushed the com button twice. "Nogura to Archangel."
A gruff voice answered, "Michael here. Isamu what is so critical as to be addressed in the middle of the night?"
Nogura said, "Not over open com. I'll be ready for you in my office in fifteen minutes."
"It's that important?" Briggs said.
"Yes, it is Michael." Nogura said.
"I'll be there, Briggs out." Nogura hurriedly went to get into some fresh clothes, two minutes to transport.
Nogura's wife sleepily said, "Trouble?"
Nogura said while changing. "Yes, I'll call you later."
ADMIRAL NOGURA'S OFFICE
STARFLEET COMMAND, EARTH
Michael Briggs walked into the office and saw Nogura, Ressler, and Warren waiting. "Is it still night or now is it morning?"
Nogura said, "It's morning, and we have storm clouds. Computer, security protocol for my office." The computer beeped when it was ready.
Briggs said, "Now what is so important?"
Lt Commander Ressler answered, "We just got a message from the Wisconsin." Archangel suddenly focused on Ressler. Ressler was not used to the intent look on Briggs' face. The look was not hostile, but it was intense and focused. There was no doubt that Briggs was listening to every word. "Very bad news, something went wrong, the Captain is missing."
Briggs asked, "How long ago?"
Ressler stated, "We just got the message, so this happened six hours ago." Ressler handed a datapad with the message on it.
Briggs quickly read the message. "Any further word?"
Nogura shook his head, "The Falcon will be rendezvousing with the Wisconsin just about now. I expect a short debrief and they will transmit that to us."
Briggs said with irritation. "Why didn't they tell us more?"
"Because they probably got just a minimal amount of information from the Falcon. The Falcon would be trying to keep the existence of the Wisconsin a secret. I assume the landing party made its getaway when they got the abort code and somehow the Captain got left behind." Nogura said.
"Got left behind? How could they leave the Captain behind?" Briggs snapped.
"We do not know that. We will shortly. The reason I wanted you here was to discuss how to proceed from here." Nogura stated.
Briggs looked around at the three Starfleet officers. "What will they do?"
Nogura said, "That depends on what is going on out there. Jacobs did not choose Commander Leonaidas as his First Officer to sit and do nothing. As I recall, you have some experience with the Commander."
Briggs nodded. "He was in charge of a squad on a couple of missions that I personally oversaw during the Klingon war."
Warren asked, "What is your opinion of Commander Leonaidas?"
Briggs stated, "Good Officer. Loyal. Aggressive. Believes in overwhelming force to preserve friendly lives. Not reactionary, but can make excellent decisions quickly."
Admiral Warren commented, "You remember all that from years ago working with him on just a couple of missions?"
Briggs looked irritatingly at Warren. Briggs' memory was phenomenal and legendary. "Yes, I do." Briggs suddenly showed that he had an idea and looked looked at the three of them. "You think he is going to hit the station?"
Nogura said, "We do not know what he is going to do, however we agree with your guess. I want to give him as much freedom to operate as possible."
Briggs thought quickly. "Before we get the debriefing."
Nogura said, "Yes. That gives us a twelve-hour jump. It also may present the Wisconsin with options they otherwise may be reluctant to use. In short, do we have any assets at the Lambda Beta system?"
Briggs thought quickly. "I see what you are asking. No, I know of no assets. We may have a deep plant operative there that I do not know about, but the odds are low. Do you have any intel on which ships are there?"
Nogura nodded and handed over a tablet. "That is from a special asset." Briggs looked up. SHADO base was so closely that Lt Cdr Ressler had not been read in on SHADO's existence. And Ressler was Nogura's chief aide.
Briggs nodded understanding that the list came from SHADO. "This list is extensive, some precise ship names. My complements. No, the specific ships do not have any deep plants on them. The others I cannot vouch for."
Nogura asked, "Would you put your backing behind allowing the Wisconsin free reign? You know Commander Leonaidas and what he might do."
Briggs paced a short distance back and forth while he thought this through. "SKINDIVER is probably compromised. We must look at damage control. Even if there is a deep plant or two on Ghut's, that is insignificant compared to what is now at stake. Yes, I would put my approval on unrestricted ops in the Lambda Beta system."
Ressler was the first to bite, "What do you think is really going on?"
Briggs had to watch what he said in front of Ressler. Briggs looked at Nogura, "They are after the Captain and what he knows. Losing even two deep plants is only a shadow of what Captain Jacobs knows. We must get him back, or ensure he is dead."
Nogura got the shadow pun. "Very well, I'll send a message to the Wisconsin authorizing unrestricted ops."
Warren said, "What about the political ramifications?"
Nogura stated, "Legally, it can be done. The Lambda Beta system is not recognized by the Federation as belonging to any government. Technically, its 'international space'. Our next stop is the President. Gentlemen, it is just after breakfast in Paris. Let's get the President's approval for this one. Archangel, care to join us?"
Briggs nodded thinking about the President's known proclivities on interspace politics, "Yes, you'll need my support for this one."
FEDERATION PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
PARIS, EARTH
The contingent from Starfleet walked into the President's office. President Bennet said, "What is so important that I had to bump the Secretary of Health and ask the Secretary of State to be here?"
Admiral Nogura said, "We need your approval for an operation."
Bennet sighed, "Obviously, something that is so devastatingly pressing as to bump my schedule around."
Briggs started off sternly, "Mr. President, we would not come halfway around the world, messed up your schedule, and reallocated transporter time on just a whim. What we have is critical, and may be disastrous."
"What is it that you couldn't conference call about?"
Nogura stated, "Captain Jacobs has either been captured or killed."
Bennet gave a disgusting look. "That's the guy that Jameson keeps complaining about?" Suddenly Bennet remembered, "He's the one that ruined the Organian Treaty?"
Briggs shot back, "Jacobs did not ruin the Organian Treaty and you fully well know that. You have been listening to Senator Jameson too much. Jacobs found out that the Organians are not around to protect us anymore."
"He almost started a war with the Klingons." Bennet answered.
Nogura said, "He prevented a war. I am afraid that if he was not at Organia, we would be in a war right now."
"Ok, so what's the big deal with Jacobs now?" Bennet said.
Briggs said, "He was on a classified mission, something went wrong and I'm afraid that what he knows may fall in the wrong hands. His last known location was on Ghut's station, Lambda Beta system."
"Where's that?" Bennet asked.
Nogura answered, "In the Triangle. It's not claimed by anybody, therefore in international space."
Bennet said, "Will we antagonize the Klingons or Romulans or Orions?"
Briggs snapped back angrily, "Probably, but us just being around makes them mad. The opportunity here is not only do we get the Captain back, but we send a message to the other races 'don't mess with us'."
Bennet said waveringly, "I don't know…."
Briggs said sternly, "Mr. President, just to let you know that the FID will recommend to the intelligence committee that all due force be used to recover Captain Jacobs. Time is of the essence. I will make it well known in the committee that we unequivocally recommend the full use of force."
The President looked at the men then asked, "What is so important? If whoever has Jacobs kills him then this secret is kept then. We don't need to risk interstellar war over a lowly Captain."
One of Briggs' qualities was the ability to talk plainly and sternly, to anyone. Nobody else could get away with it but somehow Briggs did. Part of the reason was that he was in an appointed position, one that had a term. Nothing short of impeachment could remove him from head of the FID. The other reason was that Briggs chose very carefully when to make forceful statements. He never pushed his agenda forcefully unless he could back it up with hard core evidence. It was also strongly suspected that Briggs had blackmailed some politicians into doing the right thing.
Briggs stated, "They may be able to extract the information from the Captain before he is killed. I can think of numerous races that could do that. The Klingons with their mind sifter, the Romulans have been reported to have telepathic ability in some of their members."
Bennet asked, "You did not answer my question. What does Jacobs know that makes it so important to attack innocent vessels?"
Briggs sternly said, "First, vessels at Ghut's station are not innocent. We would be justified in blowing the whole thing to atoms on its reputation alone. Untold drugs, black marketing, slave trading, weapons dealing and who knows what else goes on there. The opinion of the FID is that the Wisconsin has the justification to stop, inspect, and blow up any ship including Ghut's station because what has just occurred was an act of Piracy against the United Federation of Planets! That alone would be justification, to get our people back! We do not need a vital 'security' reason."
Bennet shot back, "But what does he know?"
Briggs eyed the President. "You do not want to know. That information is closely held within the Intelligence Committee."
Bennet looked at the Secretary of State. "What do you think Harold?"
Harold was listening thoughtfully, "Without knowing what Jacobs' knows, it is difficult to say. If we attack a Romulan flagged ship, we better be prepared for an explanation to the Romulans as to why. I can go on with a list of other species such as the Klingons, Orions, Tholeans…."
Nogura said quietly, "There are no Tholeans at Ghut's station."
The Secretary of State condescendingly looked back at Nogura, "Admiral, you can't say that."
Nogura impassively said, "The Tholeans' life support requirements are extreme. It would be impractical for them to be on the station."
All was quiet at the mild correction of the Secretary of State. Harold said, "Politically, we would need to justify to any race why we 'blew them up'. At home, you would also need to explain to people why a starship has basically declared war on a station. That may give you some problems."
"Admiral, what specifically is your recommendation?" The President asked.
Nogura started, "First, time is of the essence. We have not received the debriefing of the landing party yet. It really does not matter given what we propose."
"Why not?" Asked the President.
Nogura said, "Because we are not going to give specific orders from way out here. We are six hours out by subspace communications. All we are going to do is give clearance to do unrestricted ops in the Lambda Beta system."
Bennet waited for more. After a few seconds of silence he said, "That's it?"
Nogura said, "Yes." He handed a pad to the President.
The President read the simple instruction. "You're kidding."
Nogura said evenly, "No, I am not."
"You want me to turn over the state of Interstellar relations with over a dozen species to a mere Commander? Even if he were a Captain, I wouldn't want to do that." The President said.
Admiral Nogura said, "Sir, I…"
The President cut him off, "Nogura, listen to me. There are way too many opportunities for an incident to come from your order. I am not prepared to deal with all that. We are still trying to figure out the new relationship with the Klingons since your boy negated the Organian Treaty. No, I am giving a clear order to you, tell the Wisconsin to stand by for further orders."
Briggs said angrily, "Mr. President, that is the biggest mistake since your policy on piracy! You are encouraging more against us and compromising Federation security! We need to hit them now and hard!"
Bennet exploded, "Michael! I've had enough of you and your Archangel persona! You're not the sole guardian of the Federation! I know I can't get rid of you but if I could I'd ask for your resignation. You're out of line with that comment!"
Briggs pointed at Bennet's chest, "No, I'm not. I can point to evidence that directly links your policy weakening our response to human trafficking to an increase in trafficking. The data goes back for years. This will end in disaster unless you turn the Wisconsin loose."
Nogura was quietly thinking of his ace in the hole. Was this the time to use his card of the President's illegal involvement in weapons shipping? He quietly was praying but did not quite feel the peace to use it yet. Nogura was not above the emotion, he wanted to unload, but now was not the time.
Nogura quietly said, "I will send the order."
Briggs turned quickly and looked at Nogura, but said nothing. Bennet said, "No tricks. Send the message."
Nogura said, "No tricks. I'll order the Wisconsin to stand by."
President Bennet ordered, "This took too long, dismissed."
Briggs was uncharacteristically quiet walking next to Nogura. He desperately wanted to say something but he knew Nogura long enough to know something was up. They walked past the office transporter room and out the front doors. The security detail watched them leave the office complex. The last officer asked, "Admiral, would you like for me to call a transport?"
"Yes, thank you." Nogura said with a small smile. Briggs was puzzled but now knew something was up. They patiently waited for a transport to pull up. Briggs watched Nogura, who turned to the officer, "I'm sorry, we need a Starfleet transport. The Director and I have sensitive information to discuss, a normal government car will not be sufficient."
"I'm sorry Admiral, I'll call for one." The officer placed a call and then responded, "The closest one is coming down from orbit. Their apologies sir, they were no travel orders for this and they were caught unprepared. It will be here in ten minutes Admiral."
"I quite understand, this was all in haste. Tell them very well. Thank you, officer." Nogura finished.
The two waited in the landing pad area. Nogura asked, "Michael, did you have a pressing need to be back in San Francisco?"
"Not at all, Isamu. Paris has a wonderful breeze this time of year." Archangel hated Paris.
"Yes, it does. I am terribly sorry; it seems like we were in such a rush that I never planned on travel orders back to San Francisco. If we had to send the message, I thought we were going to send, I would have authorized a transporter slot for us. As it is, I don't want to take away vital time from more pressing transporter signals." Nogura stated, then said off-handedly, "Did the President assign a priority to this message he ordered me to send?"
Briggs smiled under his mustache. "No, he didn't. I'll certainly attest to that. On a subject not related at all to this, I know you haven't seen the new upgrades to the Intelligence Directorate. Would you like to come see them, say after breakfast?"
Nogura smiled, "I'd love to."
Briggs added, "You can send those orders via our communications system. I doubt the shuttle would be sufficient. That all would depend on what you said in the message of course."
Nogura nodded, "I never thought of that. We need to discuss this further. Our shuttle is arriving." The two men laughed and stepped in the shuttle.
BRIEFING ROOM
USS WISCONSIN
Leonaidas finished listening to the debriefing. The quick debriefing also included tricorder data from Lt. Maya. She had her tricorder on set to record somewhere inside her clothing. Leonaidas said, "Ok, there was nothing you could have done. They got the Captain, and we're going to get him back. What about SKINDIVER?"
Hotchner said, "According to the tricorder data, it was only a suit, there was insufficient volume of space for him to be there."
Lt. Cdr Grimm said, "It was folded."
"So, no SKINDIVER. Any idea where he is?"
Lt. Agathon said, "According to passive sensor data from the other side of the asteroid, nobody has left the system under warp."
Lt Cdr Jareau added, "And nobody has sent a subspace transmission out of the system either."
"Ok. What about the station? Where is he on the station?"
Lt Maya said, "My tricorder recorded seven percent of the volume of the station. We'd have to use our ship's sensors to do a thorough search. Even that will take a while due to the number of ships out there. We need to be relatively close also."
Dr Mallard said, "So we would be out in the open? Is that wise?"
Leonaidas was thinking about that when everybody looked to him. He said, "I am thinking on that. Ok, I see these problems, so far nobody has left, so everybody is still here, therefore the Captain is still in the system."
"Logical." Hotchner said.
"If we come out of our hiding spot, everyone is likely to scatter. Can we keep them in scanning range?" Leonaidas asked, looking at Grimm.
"Are you willing to shoot? Because they are not going to listen." Grimm said.
Leonaidas said, "Let's say yes."
Grimm stated flatly, "Then yes, I can knock out these ships, most of them with one shot. We just got a list of expected ships in the system from an asset named TURTLEDOVE. It's a single-use burner name. TURTLEDOVE gave a very good list of ships, not only classes but some ship names themselves. They are mostly light freighters. Easy to knock out."
Leonaidas asked, "Without blowing out life support?"
Grimm slowly nodded his head, "Prrrrrrooooooobablyyyyyy. I'll have to aim carefully."
Leonaidas thought. "Anything we can do to keep them in the system?"
Silence was in the room. Cdr Santini said, "We would have to get close to use the EMP to knock them out, even then it will only last a few minutes. But that only gives us one shot on the phasers, there are too many ships."
Jareau offered, "Maybe we could use the EMP a different way. The material that makes the streamers coming out of the nacelles may be used another way. How much do we have on board?"
Santini said, "Five tons."
Jareau said, "I think that if we make a small antimatter warhead, the antimatter explosion will certainly disperse the material and the plasma that is created I think will inhibit subspace communications, at least interstellar communications."
Leonaidas turned to Hotchner, "What about it Hotch?"
Hotchner looked at Maya, "Lt Maya is the expert in this area."
Maya said, "Yes, I believe Lt Jareau is right. Interstellar communications will be down for a while."
Leonaidas asked, "How long?"
Maya said, "I need to work on it."
Leonaidas said, "Ok, back to the original problem. How to keep these pirates from escaping long enough to search for the Captain? I have half a mind to come in blazing guns and order the whole lot to stay put."
Carter said, "That'd be fine sir, but there's too many of them."
Leonaidas asked, "How many?"
Grimm said, "We think 22. Nothing but merchants."
Leonaidas asked, "Could any of the merchants be carrying something big? Like another ship?"
Grimm nodded, "Three are. All we have is expected tonnage. They are big enough to be carrying a scout class vessel. That will slow me down, but I think on the other 19 I can keep the total phaser charge low enough to disable one then move to another."
Leonaidas sat still and thought for a bit. Octavian saw that look before. "Leo, you're thinking of doing just that, aren't you."
"Yes Pastor, I am thinking of that." Leonaidas said. "Our big enemy is time. We need time to search for the Captain. I'm thinking of storming in, firing a couple of torpedoes outfitted with JJ's communication inhibitors. How long for suppression Maya?" Leonaidas asked.
"I'm thinking five days, using two devices. It will take a while for a charged plasma cloud to dissipate." Maya answered.
Leonaidas nodded and stood up. He walked to the screen that had a map of the system. He manipulated the controls and drew with his finger on the screen. "Ok, interstellar comms will be down, so nobody can call for help. That buys us five days to do the search. Will we be able to use sensors?"
"Yes, in the system only. Long range sensors will be down." Maya said.
"Great. JJ sends in an ultimatum basically stating to stay put or get shot." Leonaidas said.
Dr. Mallard commented, "Someone will leave because we won't shoot."
Leonaidas said, "Yes, we will. We have the right. One of our crewmembers has been taken and we have the right to get him back. We are in international space so we can do whatever we need. Ducky, I will try to minimize the loss of life, but will do what I need to get the Captain back. We hit the first ship hard, very hard. The first ship I want you to slag the entire engineering department Ben."
"Understood." Grimm said.
Dr. Mallard said, "Ok, so assuming you can keep them here, what then?"
"We inspect the ships one by one with sensors from the shuttles, Alan coordinates the shuttles. Once we clear them, we let them go. The first ships will warn others to stay away. While we are doing that, we can start inspecting the station starting with the area where we lost the Captain using the ship's sensors. Undoubtedly, with the bulk of the station there will be sensor shadows. That would mean we need Badgers to go in and check those places out. Jack, I want you to come up with a boarding plan." Leonaidas looked around. "Any questions?"
Bauer asked, "What are the rules of engagement?"
Leonaidas said thoughtfully, "Do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission and protect our people."
Bauer smiled, "I can do something with those rules."
Cdr Carter said, "Sir, as your second in command, I feel it necessary to let you know that this will probably not be favorably reviewed by our superiors."
Leonaidas nodded, "Probably not. In response, we are in international space. We have a crewmember whose life is in danger. The way I see it is that there is no difference in this rescue than that of the Norsican base we hit earlier this year saving Senator Jameson."
"There is, there are many civilian transports." Carter said.
Leonaidas continued, "Who are in interstellar space at a known trafficking station. I will do what is necessary to protect Federation citizens. That includes disabling them."
Carter nodded. "Yes sir, please forgive my questions. I wanted to know where you stand. I agree totally. Half the shuttles will have sensor packages the other will have phasers. I'll have the Raptors floating nearby with Merculite rockets."
"Very good. Can we be ready for launch in an hour?" Leonaidas asked.
The various department heads nodded. Leonaidas said, "Good, JJ, send a message to Starfleet. Include all data from the tricorders and the debrief. Include the planning session. Let them know I intend to attack the station in one hour, we will be out of communication for approximately five days due to the interference devices."
INTERROGATION ROOM
IKV SHADOW OF DEATH
"Kor, the power level is at a level that I cannot guarantee permanent harm." The healer said.
Kor leaned over Jacobs, careful not to touch the chair. "Do you hear that, Captain? If we go any further, I cannot be responsible for what happens to you. Recently, a device like this was used on a human on Earth, what was left was just a vegetable. I like you, you show courage, strength. Admirable qualities a Klingon would appreciate." Kor pointed at the wall which the seven star systems in question. "Tell me Captain, which one has the secret base?"
Jacobs' face contorted in pain as he resisted the mind sifter. Kor said, "It is useless to resist, you don't have the strength."
Jacobs said with his teeth gritted in pain, "I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHICH STRENGTHENETH ME."
Kor smiled devilishly, "Captain, as I said, your god cannot help you here. You are in my domain." Kor nodded at the Healer, which pushed the power up. Jacobs immediately screamed with the new power searing through his mind.
Kor laughed sinisteringly. He looked at the healer, "How long before we can do the next phase?"
The Healer looked at a technician, who nodded. "I think we are ready now. I need to give him something to dull the pain."
"I thought that is how this machine worked." Kor said.
"No sir. The pain is a by-product. The machine is reading and manipulating energy in the neurons, that causes pain. What we are about to do is to make the computer and his subconscious brain to work together to create an illusion for him. Pain will not help us in that." The healer said. Kor nodded and the Healer gave the shot.
Healer Vorneh pushed a few buttons and the walls went blank. Vorneh leaned over Jacobs, whose eyes were dull. "Captain Jacobs, imagine a vertical white line in front of you."
The wall in front suddenly showed a long, white line going up and down.
"Now imagine a horizontal line." Another line showed up.
"Good, Captain. Imagine a side view of your ship." The healer asked. A side view of the Wisconsin showed up.
Kor walked to the holographic image. "The image is blurry, like we are looking at it under water."
Vorneh said, "That will get a little better as we map his brain more accurately. Another important consideration is that time will not be linear for him. We are looking at his memories, his imagination, not a recording of what happened. What we see will jump around a lot. Also, he is now not looking with his eyes, his brain will be generating what he sees. What we see on the screen will be what he is looking at."
Kor nodded. "I think it is time to start. Since he will not tell us where the secret base is, we will have to take it from his brain." Kor smiled devilishly.
