Segues
Posted on Thu Feb 27th, 2014 @ 12:43am by Commander Sakkath & Lieutenant Norval Tigan & Lieutenant Eric Edwards & Cadet Junior Grade Tenahn Vor & Lazan
Mission:
Breaking New Ground
Location: USS Hammond/Starbase 900
The trip towards the Dendrian planetoid had been, for Sakkath, quite relaxing. He had been afforded the time necessary to review several operational journals published from throughout the Federation that his duties on 900 did not permit him to remain current with; he had solved a pair of kal-toh puzzles; his meditations were more profitable than usual. He had even had a very engaging discussion with someone he had not expected to be present – one Ignatius J. Reilly-Zeferino.
His crew, however, seemed to be going mildly stir crazy. It was an odd thing, being sent on a mission that one could do very little to prepare for. Until they arrived, there would be no knowing the condition of the planet, and thus there could be no anticipating the challenges they might encounter. They would rely on their substantial training and natural talents. Sakkath had every faith in them to succeed.
But as they neared the site of their would-be outpost, there seemed to be a collective exhale of nervous energy, and the usual buzz of activity resumed throughout the Hammond.
Sakkath glanced down at the readout on the arm of his command chair. The Takei and its complement of Marines was following close behind. He hoped they would not be necessary, following the assurances of Ambassador Chordata, but he understood Admiral Wegener’s desire for their accompanying the survey team. He keyed another key, one that sent a pre-composed message to several members of the away team: Sukotav, Ziyad, Conradi (with instructions to pass the contents on to Iggy), and the rest of their telepaths with instructions to keep their eyes, ears and other senses open to any possible issues while scouting the planet.
I cannot order you to violate any personal codes, part of the message read, knowing many telepaths – himself included – considered it a gross violation of privacy to intrude on the thoughts of another without their express permission, but the security of a Federation outpost is in our hands. At the very least, be as aware as you can be.
He would also be relying on Iggy’s quite unique perspective. He had to admit, he was pleased to have her along… just so long as the local fauna did not fancy arachnids.
He was also pleased to have Chance along. His intention was to keep the Cadet close throughout their time here, and to gauge how well he was adapting after the fal-tor-pan.
But all of that was secondary to their truest purpose, which was to establish a physical structure. When the helm announced they were nearing their destination, Sakkath returned his full attention to the bridge.
“Reduce speed to impulse. Put the planetoid on screen,” he ordered, and those assembled were given their first glimpse of the world that represented the first major step of the Federation into the terrestrial Delta Quadrant. History would be made over the coming days and weeks. “Begin long range scans and pass preliminary results on to the engineering and science teams.”
He keyed the shipwide comm from his command chair. “All hands, report to duty stations. Shift commanders will provide you with the necessary details for beaming to the planet’s surface once our Marine escort has established a perimeter.”
Discontinuing, he looked to the CONN. “Take us in,” he said as he sat back in his chair and folded his hands into his lap. “Standard orbit.”
Thanks to his saurian nature, and the fact that he kept his quarters far too warm for the comfort of most species, Vor had been afforded his own room on the already-cramped Hammond. This had turned out to be fortunate as the spare bunk was full of PADDs. He had been poring over every detail given them by the Dendrian Order, not only on the planet but on their customs, their history and the state of the sector – particularly with regard to reports of terrorist activity. He had even managed to pull a few details from an uplink to one of the Voth city ships. Exile or no, communication protocols for data recovery were easy enough to access, though not for long before he was shut out. So long as he didn’t try it too often, he was confident he’d be ignored.
He needed to be an expert, he knew, as Kh’ali was nearing the term of her pregnancy. He had been assigned to ease saurian relations with the closely-related Dendrians, but he foresaw a need to potentially do more should the baby arrive.
And that was without accounting for the potential complications arising from a Terran-Klingon hybrid offspring. Why, the child could very well…
=^=All hands, report to duty stations,=^= Commander Sakkath’s voice interrupted the litany of possible complications and Vor sent a pair of his PADDs scattering to the floor. Relying on his memory, he grabbed his uniform tunic and dashed into the corridor to report to Commander Kh’ali.
Elsewhere in the galaxy, Norval was putting his feet up on Sakkath’s desk in Ops, whistling to himself a jaunty tune as he reclined and placed his hands behind his head. When the Vulcan commander returned, the Trill would bemoan his absence. “So much work to do!” “Too much responsibility!” “How do you handle it all?!”
Truth be told, running Operations was fairly simple if you were willing to tell someone they had to wait. Everyone would get what they needed… eventually. The issues only arose in emergency situations when power and resources were at a premium. And Norval Tigan was confident that any emergencies could be avoided for the time being.
“Yep,” he spoke to the empty office. “The Delta Quadrant may be a frontier, but that’s for the explorers off to the uncharted world. Everything here is going to stay nice and calm. Right?” he asked no one in particular. The silence was a satisfactory answer as he smiled to himself, and picked up the nearest departmental request sent to him for review.
Edwards was decidedly less jovial as he stared at the report on the terminal in front of him. He was on brig duty, which usually meant plenty of time to catch up on reports. But today, he’d been staring at the same readout for the better part of an hour.
He was here. Well, not him, but still him. His mind was running in circles.
Suresh.
The one that had threatened Captain Hawke and Commander Zeferino was locked away on Elba II if all reports were to be believed. And according to Darwin’s account, this Suresh was different. But did it really matter? A chameleon could change its colors, but not its nature. Suresh was Suresh, and Edwards was convinced that it was only a matter of time before this one turned into a problem.
In the midst of his reverie, he realized he was grinding his teeth and quickly parted his jaw, harrumphing. Something would need to be done. At the very least, someone needed to keep an eye on their stowaway.
And as it turned out, someone was.
A lone, pale-red glow emanated from the corner of what had once been Suresh’s quarters, and apparently would be again. Lazan sat, cross-legged, in a corner armchair. The lights were down, the stars drifting idly by in the viewport as the would-be Syndicate Lord smoked his cigar. His eyes were locked on the door in the darkness, waiting for a man he had once called his employer. Or, at least, the man’s carbon copy.
He had intended to speak to Seyla first, but then thought better of it. Best not to involve himself in a game of biological warfare with the Orion… her pheromones were almost as potent as his own, albeit in a different way. But she could control them with little more than an effort. Lazan had to carefully plan his execution, something that had always helped him stay one step ahead of his adversaries. After all, you couldn’t build a power base if no one recalled who you were.
He smirked as he lifted his glass of scotch, wondering if this other-Suresh had known him in the alternate universe. If so, he hoped his other self was smart enough to keep a few things hidden. And if not…
Well, that was what the disruptor tucked under his jacket was for.
______________________
On the Hammond:
Commander Sakkath
Cadet Tenahn Vor
On 900:
Lieutenant Norval Tigan
Lieutenant Eric Edwards
Lazan
