Trouble on the Horizon

Posted on Fri Jul 30th, 2010 @ 6:14am by Commander Fala Awen & Vice Admiral Iluvar & Commander Earlond & Commander Christopher McNeil & Lieutenant JG Malia Jacy

Mission: Episode 1.2 - "A House Divided"
Location: USS Pandora, Bridge
Timeline: Day 17, 1000

ON: [[USS Pandora, Bridge, Day 17, 1000]]

Following the discovery of the neutrino emissions the previous day, Awen had been trying to keep experienced Tactical officers on the bridge at all times. Korina (NPC) had taken one of the major shifts. It had actually been her Assistant Chief who had come up with a unique tactical scan scenario that was rather efficient. That was what Awen was running now.

McNeil entered the bridge and took his preferred post for the second time in less than a day. After yesterday's detection of Neutrino emissions McNeil had stayed on the bridge for several hours, then spent several more in his office. He had only just come back on duty after taking 8 hours off to eat and sleep.

Isela nervously shifted her weight from one side to the other. While she knew it was good that she had identified the neutrino emissions, the Trill also knew that it wasn't good that she hadn't been able to pinpoint its location. Isela had noticed that the emissions had been increasing, which she'd already told the Admiral. Other than that, she hadn't come up with anything more.

Suddenly, a beep from her console got Awen's attention. Surprised, she ran the scan again. "Sir....I think we have company..."

Sensing the urgency in the Bajoran's voice, Iluvar turned his attention to the main viewscreen where the shimmering image of another Romulan vessel began to materialize into view.

"It's a Romulan D'Deridex,"Awen began. But she was interrupted when the vessel decloaked. "It's decloaking off the port bow of the D'Kar!" She quickly sent the display to the Main Viewscreen, so the entire bridge could see. "The IRW Seras..."

"Red Alert," Earlond ordered tersely, watching the decloaking vessel warily. "Raise shields."

Awen nodded at Earlond's orders. She heard the Red Alert klaxons start sounding as her fingers slid across the console now being washed in red light. "Shields are raised." Hopefully they wouldn't need them, but it seemed rather odd that the Seras had remained cloaked up until now. If they really knew that the Pandora was there, why bother with a cloak?

"Tactical analysis," Iluvar said calmly, keeping his eyes on the image that was currently on the viewscreen. Two different classes of Romulan warships in orbit of the same planet wasn't unusual. Very often, Starfleet vessels might rondezvous to transfer supplies or personnel, but the likelihood of two vessels meeting in orbit of what, for all intents and purposes, was a colony world abandoned by the Empire was rather slim.

The Bajoran did a analytical scan of both Romulan vessels. Her expression grim, she replied, "Admiral, both ships have their shields raised and weapons armed. Right now they just seem to be staring at each other, but I don't know how long that will last. Based on their behavior, it would seem that they are from different factions, sir..."

A new wrinkle has been added, Iluvar thought to himself as he studied the image on the viewscreen. Fala was right, however. There was no way for them to know how long it would take for their situation to degenerate. It was quite possible that the new arrival would not be as forgiving of their having Romulan colonists aboard as the D'Kar had been.

McNeil started a search for all intelligence reports on the IRW Seras. It shouldn't take long to pull everything up, but depending on how active the ship had been near Federation space it could be a decent sized list. Or he could get nothing. There was no way to tell until the search completed. He already knew they had nothing on the D'Kar, as he'd checked that ship out at the rendezvous.

Earlond sat in silence, watching the two Romulan ships as they faced off. Fala was right - they did seem to be from different factions. In Earlond's experience, when two opposing factions met, they usually looked for any excuse to start a fight - and the presence of a Federation vessel could very well be that excuse for these Romulans.

While considering the possibilities, Awen again looked over at Iluvar who had still not said anything. "Sir? Should I arm our weapons?" It wouldn't take long to do, but if this got any worse she wanted to be ready.

Isela's eyes widened at the mention of weapons. The Trill herself had never been on the bridge during a firefight and wasn't overly eager to make this her first time. As she glanced around, Isela saw that most of the bridge officers were relatively calm. Whether this was simply because they'd had a good deal of experience or because nothing had happened yet, she didn't know.

Iluvar could understand his tactical officer's concern. In fact, he was certain that others shared her concern, especially his first officer. As a representative of the Federation on what was supposed to be a diplomatic mission, however, he could not immediately reach for his guns when the going got tough. "Standby," he replied, maintaining his focus on the screen, "have they made any contact with the D'Kar or the planet?"

Malia shook her head. "No, Sir. At least, they haven't yet." Though if the Security chief was right; and seeing as how no one was yet contacting the other with even a friendly hello, it surely seemed that she was ... it probably wouldn't take long.

McNeil looked down at his panel as it pinged at him. His search was completed and there were about a dozen results. Scanning through them, McNeil frowned. "Sir, according to the Intel I have on her, the Seras would seem to be loyal to the RSE."

"So it would seem," Iluvar said, mostly to himself. If the Seras was loyal to the Romulan Empire, then it stood to reason that the Seras was the warbird the Pandora was supposed to have rendezvoused with at the border. The motive behind the D'Kar's silence was quickly becoming more and more clear with each passing moment.

Rising to his feet, Iluvar tugged his uniform jacket slightly to make it sit straight. "Open a channel to both vessels," he ordered, facing the viewscreen, "I think it's time we start getting some answers."

"Sir," Mali acknowledged. Nimble fingers did a small jig and then her focus traveled from her console, over the captain, and settled on the viewscreen. "Channels are open."

"This is Rear Admiral Iluvar of the Federation starship USS Pandora," Iluvar announced by way of identification. He paused, waiting to see if there would be any response from either vessel. The D'Kar had ignored all previous attempts at communication, but it was entirely possible that, now that the situation had changed, so would their attitude.

[IRW Seras Bridge]

Seeing the image of the StarFleet Admiral, Sel'nar (NPC) spoke, "This is Commander Sel'nar of the Seras, Admiral. I would ask why you failed to meet us at the specified location, but based on the presence of the D'Kar, I suppose I do not need to ask."

[USS Pandora Bridge]

Iluvar did not need to look around to know that the others on the bridge were reacting to the woman's demeanor as well as her words. It was possible that she was looking to provoke a reaction out of him, but he wasn't about to give her the satisfaction. "Good morning, Commander," Iluvar said, keeping his tone light but formal, "I must admit that my crew and I are at a loss as we did rendezvous with a Romulan starship at the designated coordinates as requested."

Her nerves starting up again, Isela watched silently as the Romulan Commander started speaking to the Admiral. She hadn't seen one up close, such as it was, although one or two of the symbiont's previous hosts had. It was a bit unnerving - the Romulan's cool demeanor.

[IRW Seras Bridge]

"You rendezvoused with the D'Kar, which has allegiance to the RIS, Admiral. My Intelligence tells me that they have gone to great lengths to disguise their allegiance, but the fact remains that they are not with the Romulan Star Empire...and the RSE is who invited you into Romulan space," Sel'nar pointed out. She took a few deep breaths to calm her demeanor more before adding, "I can appreciate the confusion, under the circumstances, but the D'Kar is not welcome here and your vessel is off its intended course."

[USS Pandora Bridge]

"My apologies, commander," Iluvar said, processing the information as he spoke, "It was not our intention to deviate in any way." He paused for a moment, considering carefully what he would say next. Perhaps the commander was unaware of the conditions on the surface of the planet or that there was even a colony there at all. Perhaps the Seras had already scanned them and located the two Romulan colonists in sickbay.

McNeil quickly tapped in an entry about the D'Kar's allegiance and appended all the data he'd dug up about the ship when they'd made their rendezvous. He also quickly typed up an entry that confirmed the Seras as loyal to the RSE. Assuming nothing went south from here on out both entries would be sent back to Starfleet Intelligence during the next database synchronization. If anything did go wrong and the Pandora was destroyed the entries would be included in the data downloaded to the log buoy.

[IRW Seras Bridge]

Sel'nar nodded, "I'm sure it was not, Admiral. Nevertheless, I will have to report the incident." She paused as one of her crew approached her and handed her a PADD. The Romulan read the PADD and raised her eyebrow as she turned back to the StarFleet Admiral. "You have Romulans aboard your vessel," Sel'nar said; it was not a question, it was a statement.

[USS Pandora Bridge]

"Colonists from the planet below," Iluvar replied, knowing he was going to have to explain it sooner or later, "They appear to be suffering from some sort of degenerative disease, but our physicians have not yet been able to identify the cause nor have they been able to develop a treatment."

Awen raised an eyebrow and turned towards the viewscreen, wondering how Iluvar's explanation would go over with Sel'nar. She couldn't imagine it would go over well. This Romulan Commander seemed to have a strong, commanding personality; it was no wonder she was in command.

[IRW Seras Bridge]

She was not surprised at his explanation. When Sel'nar had realized exactly where the Pandora had ended up, she had been sure to pull up all information the Empire had on Nerus V. It hadn't been easy...it seemed that the colony had been all but forgotten; however, she had obtained the information she needed regardless. "I must insist that the colonists be returned to the Nerus V colony, Admiral," she said. Before he could protest, the Romulan added, "I realize that some of the equipment you have on the Pandora may seem more advanced than what the colony has, however, the colony has also come up against ailments that StarFleet has not and is more equipped to handle them."

[USS Pandora Bridge]

Iluvar pondered the commander's words carefully. There was much that had been unsaid in her last statement and most of it was more important than what she had said. "I understand your concern, commander," he replied, "and I assure you that we are doing everything we can to make that possible, but I believe my medical staff would be more comfortable returning their patients to the surface if we had a better understanding of what was ailing them.

[IRW Seras Bridge]

"I do not think you understand, Admiral. You are violating our agreement by deviating from the actual course, even though it was due to the D'Kar's deception. We invited you to come, under our terms. I am not asking you to return the Romulan colonists, I am ordering you to do so. Once you have, we will escort you out of Romulan space," Sel'nar said, an edge to her voice. "You have kidnapped the colonists, as far as the Romulan government is concerned. You have taken them from their families. If the situation were reversed, I doubt that you would simply allow us to hold onto your crewmembers."

[USS Pandora Bridge]

"Your concern is understandable, commander," Iluvar began, "and duly noted. The colonists will be returned to the surface as soon as my medical staff can prepare them to be transported. At that time, the Pandora will withdraw. We have no intention of creating any ill will here, I can assure you."

Just because the Pandora didn't want to cause any ill will didn't mean that the Romulans would see it that way. Even if they did, Awen highly doubted that they would forget this incident. However, the Bajoran also had the feeling that Sel'nar would probably like nothing more than to blow the D'Kar to bits. The tensions between the two factions were rather high as it was, and this would undoubtedly not help.

[IRW Seras Bridge]

Sel'nar was not all that surprised that the StarFleet Admiral had agreed to her....requests. The relationship between the two governments wasn't the best and StarFleet tended to be more conservative in some respects. Plus, she knew she was right - the Romulan government had invited the Pandora in, but the colony was not a part of the agreement. She'd have to give a full report on the incident to her superiors, but that was for another time.

Giving Iluvar a slight nod, Sel'nar replied, "Thank you, Admiral. As I mentioned, the Seras will ensure that you are safely escorted out of the area. We do not want any more issues to arise." Sel'nar decided to smooth things over to an extent...one never knew what the future could bring, and making enemies of this vessel was not her intent. "I appreciate your understanding. I'm sure you meant no harm; this incident will not be held against you as far as I am concerned, but I feel it best to report what has happened to the Empire rather than continuing as originally planned. I hope you understand, Admiral."

[USS Pandora Bridge]

"Thank you for being so understanding of our situation, commander," Iluvar said with a slight nod in return, "I am pleased to hear that we will be able to put this misunderstanding behind us. It would have been unfortunate if this would have negatively affected the relations between our peoples."

[IRW Seras Bridge]

Sel'nar replied, "Of course, Admiral. I am certain the Empire will realize that the error was due to the D'Kar and her commanding officer. In these times, it is not always easy to ascertain who is on which side with Romulan vessels." She paused, glancing down at her command console before glancing back up at Iluvar, "I would appreciate it, Admiral, if you could have the colonists returned to the colony and your ship ready to depart in the next few hours. Will that be an issue?"

[USS Pandora Bridge]

Iluvar shook his slowly from side to side. "I do not see why there would be any issue with that at all," he said with a warm smile, "We will be sure to contact you when we are ready to beam the colonists back to the surface."

[IRW Seras Bridge]

"Thank you, Admiral," Sel'nar replied. "We will wait for your transmission. Seras out."

[USS Pandora Bridge]

The Romulan commander vanished from the viewscreen as she was replaced by a view of the two warbirds in orbit of Nerus V. Even from this angle, it was now clear that the two vessels were on very opposite sides of the growing strife within the empire. Iluvar let out a small sigh as he pondered the conversation that had just concluded between himself and Commander Sel'nar.

"Inform Doctor Winchester to prepare the colonists for transport to the surface," Iluvar ordered, "Helm, plot a course back to Federation space. It would appear that our time here is at an end."

OFF

A JP by

Rear Admiral Iluvar
Commanding Officer
USS Pandora

Commander Earlond
Executive Officer
USS Pandora

Commander Christopher McNeil
Chief Intelligence Officer/Mission Advisor
USS Pandora

Lieutenant Commander Fala Awen
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Pandora

Lieutenant JG Malia Jacy
(Chief) Operations Officer
USS Pandora

Ensign Isela Vin (NPC)
Science Officer
USS Pandora
Played By: LtCmdr Fala

and

Commander Sel'nar (NPC)
Commanding Officer
IRW Seras
Played by: LtCmdr Fala