Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals
- Thread starter DavidFalkayn
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Re: Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals Part 6
Thanks guys. The scene between Joseph and Liz was hard to write--I wanted to get the feelings, emotions, and responses right and I'm glad ya'll think I succeeded. It's a personality clash between the two--they're both stubborn, proud, and more than a little willful when they want to be. Also, they're both projecting their family issues on to each other. As in real life, both parties could have handled the situation a bit better: Liz was more than a little insensitive in dealing with Joseph and Joseph did come in both underestimating her abilities and resolve and prejudging her as something of a Starfleet Admiral's Princess. Hopefully, they'll learn to work through their initial impressions...but you never know...
Regarding Sisko and Sito, CeJay: Remember, Sito did spend some time recovering on the station and she was a protege of Glover's and Glover and Sisko are fairly tight with each other. But more than anything else, it's really a matter of Sisko being a basically decent human being who understands that this young woman has been through hell and wants to help her in regaining a normal life.
Thanks guys. The scene between Joseph and Liz was hard to write--I wanted to get the feelings, emotions, and responses right and I'm glad ya'll think I succeeded. It's a personality clash between the two--they're both stubborn, proud, and more than a little willful when they want to be. Also, they're both projecting their family issues on to each other. As in real life, both parties could have handled the situation a bit better: Liz was more than a little insensitive in dealing with Joseph and Joseph did come in both underestimating her abilities and resolve and prejudging her as something of a Starfleet Admiral's Princess. Hopefully, they'll learn to work through their initial impressions...but you never know...
Regarding Sisko and Sito, CeJay: Remember, Sito did spend some time recovering on the station and she was a protege of Glover's and Glover and Sisko are fairly tight with each other. But more than anything else, it's really a matter of Sisko being a basically decent human being who understands that this young woman has been through hell and wants to help her in regaining a normal life.
Re: Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals Part 6
I really liked/hated the tension between the two captains. Positional authority can be an SOB, and unfortunately Akinola was on the wrong end of that stick. Must have been tough with his decades of experience. I'm looking forward to seeing how the professional relationship between the two develops as I can't really see them becoming buddies.
I really liked/hated the tension between the two captains. Positional authority can be an SOB, and unfortunately Akinola was on the wrong end of that stick. Must have been tough with his decades of experience. I'm looking forward to seeing how the professional relationship between the two develops as I can't really see them becoming buddies.
Re: Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals Part 6
Just catching up with this tale. A great segment. You did a tremendous job interweaving the Bluefin and Sutherland crews. I like how both Shelby and Akinola are projecting their own family issues into their working relationship. I also like the growing jealousy of McBride at Jadon and T'Ser's friendship. And Pierson is always cool to read about. Keep up the good work.
Just catching up with this tale. A great segment. You did a tremendous job interweaving the Bluefin and Sutherland crews. I like how both Shelby and Akinola are projecting their own family issues into their working relationship. I also like the growing jealousy of McBride at Jadon and T'Ser's friendship. And Pierson is always cool to read about. Keep up the good work.
Re: Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals Part 6
Thanks DarKush. There's quite a bit of below the surface tension between members of the two crews as well as the not so below the surface problems between the captains. As for whether Shelby and Akinola will ever become buddies? Hard to say. Right now probably not, but they are professionals--they might not like each other, but they'll get the job don.
As for the next part, work is coming along, slow but sure. Kind of think of the next part as the roller coaster being pulled up the hill--a lot of stuff is about to happen. Things have been a little slow also because work's been hectic recently and we've had plumbing problems (50 year old house with 50 year old plumbing) and other assorted domestic issues have taken up a lot of my time, but they're working themselves out now and I hope to have the next part up soon.
Thanks DarKush. There's quite a bit of below the surface tension between members of the two crews as well as the not so below the surface problems between the captains. As for whether Shelby and Akinola will ever become buddies? Hard to say. Right now probably not, but they are professionals--they might not like each other, but they'll get the job don.
As for the next part, work is coming along, slow but sure. Kind of think of the next part as the roller coaster being pulled up the hill--a lot of stuff is about to happen. Things have been a little slow also because work's been hectic recently and we've had plumbing problems (50 year old house with 50 year old plumbing) and other assorted domestic issues have taken up a lot of my time, but they're working themselves out now and I hope to have the next part up soon.
Re: Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals Part 6
Hope the house situation is under control!
I'm certainly looking forward to the next installment. But, considering how long it took me to finish the first Merlin story, I can't complain. 
Hope the house situation is under control!
I'm certainly looking forward to the next installment. But, considering how long it took me to finish the first Merlin story, I can't complain.
Re: Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals Part 7
Sorry about the delay folks, but it's been a busy January. Here's part seven--I hope ya'll enjoy it!
Rocks and Shoals--Part 7
“As we will be docking at Deep Space Nine in fifteen minutes, we request that you please return to your seats. As a special treat, the captain will maneuver the shuttle so that you may all have a view of the Celestial Temple, the Home of the Prophets.”
Her head jerking up as she heard the automatic voice of the shuttle’s computer, Lieutenant, junior grade, Sito Jaxa looked out the small observation window next to her seat just in time to see the majestic sight of the wormhole opening up right on cue. Watching in rapt fascination as an Oberth class starship exited the wormhole; Lieutenant Sito ignored the shuttle’s computer voice as it once again spoke.
“And just a few degrees from the Celestial Temple, you’ll see Deep Space Nine, the former Terek Nor. Once a symbol of oppression for the Bajoran people, Deep Space Nine now serves as the Guardian of the Temple and a symbol of pride and hope.”
Her blood freezing as her eyes took in the Cardassian built station, Jaxa took a deep breath as she suppressed the voices rising in her head.
“I’m scared.” The Little Girl cried as the structure grew larger in the window.
“Shut up!” The Huntress spat out, “Just shut up! The first Cardassian pig who tries to touch me…”
“Awww…you like it and you know it.” The Junkie chimed in, purring, “The beatings…the punishment…the acid…”
“All of you…” Sito commanded, “Be quiet! Don’t forget—I’m in charge here!”
“For now, Dear…” The Junkie replied before going silent, “For now…”
******************************************************************
“There she is!” Chief O’Brien exclaimed, jerking his head towards Lieutenant Sito who, at the moment, was just emerging, along with a score of other passengers, from the shuttle airlock. As he and Lieutenant Commander Worf approached the Bajoran officer, the Irish veteran of the Setlac III Massacre gave her an appraising look. Immediately spotting the physical changes the young officer had made since he had last seen her before his transfer from the Enterprise to DS9, as well as the haunted look in her eyes, the chief saw at once that he had made the right decision in talking Keiko out of joining them in meeting Sito.
“Lieutenant Sito.” Worf, as senior officer, formally greeted the young Bajoran, “Welcome to Deep Space Nine.”
Breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of her two escorts, both combat veterans in their own right who had experienced their own horrors, Lieutenant Sito replied with a shaky grin, “Thank you, Sir.”
“It’s good to see you again, Sir.” Chief O’Brien added, “If you’ll come with us, we’ll take you to your quarters.”
“Thank you.” Jaxa replied as she fell in with the two men, again breathing a sigh of relief as the two men subtly made sure to stay far enough away from her so that she did not feel crowded as they walked down the corridor. Turning her head towards her former mentor, Sito addressed the Klingon warrior, “Sir…I just wanted to let you know that I’ve been keeping up on my Mok’bara.”
“Very good, Lieutenant.” Worf answered back in his usual deep voice, giving no betrayal as to his true emotions, “Perhaps we can spar later on.”
The Huntress within her flashing a sly grin as she sized up her prey, Jaxa responded, “I’d like that, Sir.”
“Here we are, Lieutenant.” Chief O’Brien interjected as they approached the door to Jaxa’s temporary quarters.
“Thanks again, Chief.” Sito simply replied as the door swooshed open. Addressing Worf once again, the Bajoran woman inquired, “Would this evening be a good time for our bout?”
Nodding his head once, Worf replied, “That would be good. I’ll meet you in the gym at 1900 hours.”
Turning away as the door closed behind their young former shipmate, the Irish chief turned his head towards Worf. Regarding the Klingon warrior with a quizzical gaze, Miles asked, “Sir? Why did you challenge her to a bout? Do you really think she’s ready?
“That’s what I intend to find out.” Worf replied laconically as the pair walked down the corridor.
“I see…” the perceptive chief of operations nodded his head knowingly before sounding a cautionary note, “Be careful, Sir.”
**********************************************************************
As both sparring partners slipped smoothly into their on-guard positions, Worf gazed into the fiery eyes of his opponent. Remembering that his former protégé always left herself open to the vIlInHoD, a feint named after the bird that mimics speech, Worf suddenly struck out of his vaD, or flexible stance, only to find that his Bajoran adversary had sidestepped him, counterattacking with the very aggressive toq strike, barely stopping her strike before it made contact with his body.
As the pair broke from combat, returning to the vaD stance, the Klingon warrior bowed formally, “Very good, Lieutenant. I was not aware that you had mastered the toq school. Prepare yourself!” He called out as he lunged suddenly, his fists striking rapidly in the Qin vagh maneuver. Momentarily taken aback by the suddenness and ferocity of Worf’s attack, Sito instinctively blocked and parried her opponent’s strikes, the Huntress asserting herself more and more as she countered each blow, her blocks and parries now turning into ripostes as she watched carefully, waiting patiently for the opening that would give her the killing stroke.
At once spotting the change in his opponent’s technique and manner, Worf gazed into the young Bajoran’s eyes as the pair exchanged blows. The fiery intensity they had possessed earlier was now replaced by a steely, icy cold purpose. Grunting as he barely dodged a leg kick from his Bajoran sparring partner, the Klingon warrior deliberately dropped his guard pach just a touch, giving his adversary an opening for a sudden QIn pup strike that, should the blow strike home with enough force, could potentially kill him. Now we see.
Spotting the opening left by her Klingon opponent, the Huntress flashed a cold grin as she launched her blow. Striking with blinding speed with her closed fist at her opponent’s vulnerable opening, the Huntress licked her lips in anticipation at standing triumphantly over the body of her hated opponent until she heard Sito’s voice call out with a resounding “NO!”, checking her blow just centimeters from its target. Breathing heavily as she once again suppressed that most violent of her split personalities, Lieutenant Sito looked up into the eyes of her opponent. Her own eyes moistening, she apologized, “I’m sorry, Sir…I didn’t mean…”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Lieutenant.” The Klingon warrior responded approvingly.
“But I lost control.” Sito replied shaking her head, “Maybe it’s too soon…”
“You are as ready to return now...” Worf interrupted, fixing the younger woman’s eyes with his, “As you ever will be.”
“But I almost…I nearly…”
“But you didn’t.” The Klingon interjected, his deep baritone voice carrying a compassionate note. “You proved to me just now that you have the strength to control your inner demons…”
“For now…” Jaxa protested softly, “But what about the next time?”
“You will always have to control that part of yourself.” Worf replied in a sympathetic tone. “It will always be with you. But you must not make the mistake of viewing it merely as a weakness. See it as what it is…a part of who you are. Your inner rage can be a powerful tool…or it can destroy you. What you do with it will be up to you.”
“Yes, Sir.” Sito acknowledged in a low tone as she took in her mentor’s words. “I’ll try.”
“Good.” Worf responded, nodding his head in satisfaction, “That is all one can do.”
**********************************************************************
“Everything is proceeding according to plan.” Gul Rejak gloated as he poured kanar from a decanter into a crystal goblet. Inhaling the fragrance of the thick amber liquid, the corrupt Cardassian gul declared, “Our processing plant will soon be producing enough Corillan acid to flood the Federation if we should want, and we are nearly ready to carry out our biggest operation yet.”
“Careful, Gul…” The human in the room, Rejak’s Syndicate liaison, Dmitri Cherenkov, cautioned, “Lots of things can still go wrong. In any event…” he grinned, “…it wouldn’t be in our best interests to flood the Federation with our stuff. Right now, we want to keep the demand high and the supply low.”
“Of course…of course…” Rejak replied airily as he sipped his kanar. Setting his drink down, the gul inquired, “Is everything ready from your end, Dmitri?”
“Yes.” The Terranovan replied in a thick voice, “When you’re ready to move the acid, we’ll have the weapons and latinum.”
“Good.” Rejak replied, his lips curling up in an evil grin. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to contact our ‘allies’ to make sure that they’re ready to carry out their part in our plan.”
“Be careful.” Cherenkov again warned, “I don’t trust either Tabar or Ayenga. Don’t forget, deep in their core, they are still idealists and I’ve found that it is never a good idea to trust idealists.”
“Oh…I quite agree with you, my friend.” Rejak affirmed, the cold smile still on his lips. “But don’t worry; I’ve made the necessary contingency plans should their hearts get the better of their greed.”
*********************************************************************
“We’ll be ready.” Daras Tabar declared. Then, the Kon Ma’s leader’s voice taking on a threatening tone, he added, “You just be sure to live up to your end of the contract, Cardassian—or else!”
“It’s late in the evening and I have no desire to listen to empty threats, Daras.” Gul Rejak responded in a bored tone, “I have been told by our mutual friend that everything will be ready on their end—you just be sure that when it is time that you are ready to act. I want Starfleet’s attention focused on Diaz and her gang.”
“It will be.” Tabar growled, staring malevolently at the Cardassian image on his monitor screen. “Once they finish analyzing the gift that Ayenga left them, Starfleet will have every resource they’ve got chasing after Diaz. They won’t stop until she’s either captured or killed.”
“Good.” Rejak replied, his sneer turning into an icy grin. “That’s what I wanted to hear. Tell your people to be ready to move soon—very soon.”
********************************************************************
“Cardassian vole!” The Kon Ma leader growled as his screen went blank. “If we didn’t need him and the Syndicate and the latinum and weapons they’re giving us…”
“I know, Tabor.” Ayenga replied as, approaching her leader slowly from the back, she began to gently knead his shoulders. “But remember, once we get what we want from them and we liberate Bajor from its Federation puppet government…”
“Then we won’t have to rely on those barrowbugs.” Tabor agreed as his tense shoulder muscles began to relax under his second-in-command’s ministrations.
“And we can finally get our revenge once and for all against the Cardassians.” Ayenga added, the venom with which she spat out the final word being especially strong.
“Of course.” Daras grinned, pleased at how easy it was to push the former medical technician’s buttons, “But for now, as you said, we must be patient. Our time will come. Now…” He said as he rose from his chair, the insincere grin still on his face, “It’s time for you to return to Diaz to put the next part of our plan into motion.”
**********************************************************************
Rematerializing in her converted Peregrine scout-fighter, Ayenga was met in the tiny transporter room by her second in command, Ral Omkar. Walking up to his leader, the attractive auburn haired Bajoran asked in a voice touched with just a twinge of jealousy, “So…how did your meeting with Daras go?”
Smirking inwardly at her subordinate’s suspicions, Ayenga replied in a nonchalant tone, “As expected. He put up an act that he was merely using Rejak and the Syndicate…that once we get what we need, we’ll move to free Bajor…”
“So…you think he’s lying?”
“Of course, I do.” Ayenga replied bitterly. “Daras has sold his soul to the Syndicate and the Ferengi. All he cares about now is wealth and power. Oh, I have no doubts at all that he’ll take what we’re getting from this and will use it to overthrow Shakar. But afterwards?” She spat out, “Will he take revenge against the Cardassians for what they did to us? Or against the Federation for just standing by and watching while we died? No!” She shook her head vigorously. “He’ll just turn Bajor into another Velix III. A home for pirates and smugglers who’ll end up eventually taking over. I’m not going to let that happen.” She declared angrily.
“So…” Omkar asked, “What do you intend to do about it?”
An icy grin crossing her face, the Bajoran terrorist replied in a low, dangerous voice, “Don’t worry…I have a plan of my own.” Her grin vanishing, she then instructed as the pair walked out of the transporter room, “But it’ll have to wait for the right moment. For now, we’ll let Daras think that we’re doing exactly what he wants us to do. Put us on a course for Diaz’s base…maximum warp.”
*********************************************************************
“I just got off the comm with Ayenga. She said that her and her people will be here in twenty four hours.” Larkin reported as he walked into the tiny living quarters that he and Sabrina Diaz shared together. Seeing that his lover’s attention was focused on the padd in her hands, he quipped, “Latest video from Risa?”
“Not quite.” Diaz replied as she shook her head. “I was just checking up on our newest recruit.”
“So…?” Larkin asked, his voice taking on a low, dangerous quality, as he sat down in the chair next to the former Starfleet captain, “…is he a plant?”
“That’s just it…” Diaz answered, shrugging her shoulders, “…what I’ve got here doesn’t give any indication one way or another. “Almost everything he’s told us so far has checked out with what I’ve got here.” She remarked as she set the padd down on the tiny table that served as desk, card table, and dining table for the pair.
“Almost everything?” Larkin inquired, raising his eyebrows as he became surer of his suspicions regarding the New Kauaian.
“Darling…” Sabrina chuckled, “I’d be even more worried if there weren’t any inconsistencies. Too good to be true almost always is. The thing is…” Diaz noted, shaking her head, “…prior to Leyton’s coup, nothing Atoa said or did pointed towards any sort of sympathy towards us—or any bad feelings against us for that matter. If he had any opinions where the Maquis were concerned, he kept them to himself.”
Larkin, reluctantly playing devil’s advocate, pointed out, “True…but remember, he did say that it was the results of the trial of Leyton and his gang that pushed him over the edge. What about Ro Laren and Cal Hudson? They originally didn’t have any intentions of joining us. In fact, they were sent by Starfleet to bring us down. But after having their eyes opened up to the Federation’s hypocrisy…”
“Yeah, I see what you mean.” Sabrina interrupted. “All right.” She decided, “We’ll see how he does at the depot. If he’s ok…great. But if he proves to be a snake…well…there’s a barren rock a few light years away where we can leave him. And then I might or might not leave a message for Liz to pick him up.” Pausing for a few moments as she regarded her lover, the former captain’s face softened ever so slightly, “Oh…and thanks. I appreciate what you just did. We have to be able to think flexibly if we’re going to survive and one part of that is not giving in to paranoia.”
“Trust, but verify?” Larkin quipped with a twinkle in his eye.
“Exactly.” Diaz rejoined with a laugh.
*********************************************************************
Ignoring the curious glances and suspicious glares coming from the members of Diaz’s cell, Manuele gave the appearance of reading intently the padd containing a limited selection of novels and light reading that he had been given. In actuality, the undercover security officer was carefully studying his surroundings, especially the locations of entrances and exits and making estimates of how far he was from those exits and how long it would take him to reach one of them should events take a sudden unfortunate turn for the New Kauaian. As his eyes surreptitiously scanned the room, he spotted the man named Danyor Krakke, apparently involved in conversation with Nura, the Bzzit Khaht, and two others, both humans, carefully watching him while giving the appearance of not doing so.
Immediately recognizing what the newest member of their cell was doing while he appeared to be reading his padd, Danyor Krakke frowned as he studied the New Kauaian.
Krakke, whose real name was Ivan Cherenkov, a member of the Special Missions Branch of Starfleet Intelligence who had been working deep undercover as a member of the Maquis for months, had concluded early on that Atoa had to be one of two things, he was either a plant or a traitor. Neither possibility pleased the deep cover agent. If he was a plant that meant that he was part of an operation that most likely did not know of Cherenkov’s mission. Atoa, in attempting to carry out his mission, could easily put at risk the long term goals of Ivan’s own mission—something the more experienced Cherenkov decided he would not let happen. Better to expose him and then trust that Diaz will simply strand him on some isolated planet rather than just killing him out of hand. The spy decided. And if he’s a traitor…Ivan postulated, his stoic outer mask hiding the anger and contempt the Terra Nova native felt for those who betrayed their oath…then he’ll get everything that’s coming to him. I’ll make sure of that.
“Didn’t you hear me?”
Shaken from his reverie, Krakke muttered a confused, “What?”
“I said…” Nura repeated in an exasperated tone, “Why don’t one of you big strapping heroic freedom fighters go over and say hello to the new guy?” As Krakke and Rof, a burly Alshain, looked away, the Bzzit Khaht snorted in disgust, “Well, if you two are too chicken to talk to him, then I guess I will.”
Walking over to their newest recruit, Nura smiled as she looked down on where he sat reading his padd, “Hi.”
Glancing up at the source of the greeting, Manuele saw the leathery skinned Bzzit Khaht woman he had saved earlier, “Huh?”
“I never got a chance to say thank you for saving me and Larkin from being handed over to the Cardassians.” Nura said in a friendly voice, “I don’t know about the others, but I’m grateful to you for pulling me out of that brig.”
“Ummm…don’t mention it.” Manuele stuttered as he looked up at the Bzzit Khaht.
Taking the seat next to the burly New Kauaian, Nura remarked, a calculating expression behind her smile, “That was some pretty good seat of the pants flying you did. You a pilot?”
“Not really.” Atoa responded, “The computer did most of the work, I was along for the ride.”
“Well…” the Bzzit Khaht declared with what passed for a smile amongst her people, “…whoever programmed your computer’s one hell of a pilot.” Looking up, she spotted Sabrina Diaz and her lover walking together into the group’s common area. Placing a friendly hand on the newcomer’s shoulder, Nura commented knowingly as she read the expression on her leader’s face, “We better get over and join the others. Looks like stuff is about to happen.”
“Ayenga and her team…” Sabrina began as Manuele and the rest of her cell gathered around her and Larkin, “…will be here in less than twenty four hours. I’ll brief them on their part then, but for now, I want us to go over our plans for the depot. Starting with defenses.” Turning her attention towards the newest member of her resistance group, Diaz requested pointedly, “What’ll we find there, Mr. Atoa?”
Immediately recognizing the measuring and suspicious gazes given to him by all but Nura, who, surprisingly, was giving the New Kauaian a look that seemed to be supporting, Manuele responded carefully, “I can’t say for certain, of course, but…going from previous experience, I would imagine that there wouldn’t be any significant forces at the depot. These places rely on staying under the radar for most of their security. Starfleet Medical gambles that with space being so large, that by keeping them as inconspicuous as possible, these depots can remain under the radar.”
“I know all that.” Diaz replied sharply, “I was a captain once, remember? What I want to know is what sort of defenses will it have?”
“I was about to tell you before I was interrupted…” Manuele retorted, not giving an inch before the stern faced cell leader, “I’d say you’re probably looking at facing a doctor in overall command of the facility, maybe a few researchers and med techs and there’ll probably be a small security team—no more than three or four I would imagine. Total numbers…hmmm…about ten…twelve at the most.”
“That’s about what I figured.” Diaz agreed, nodding her head. “So…here’s the plan. All goes according to plan, we get away clean and no one gets hurt.”
**********************************************************************
“Damn.” Dr. Calvin Baxter cursed, shaking his head as he confirmed the test results appearing on his monitor screen. “I was afraid that was what we were going to find.”
“I can’t believe…” Dr. Denise Murakawa remarked as she worriedly fingered the small gold crucifix hanging around her neck, “…that someone like Sabrina Diaz could even conceive of such a thing. It’s just so…”
“Nevertheless…” the stoic voice of the Sutherland’s science officer, Lieutenant Commander Varok, interjected, unintentionally cutting off the young Japanese-Centauran doctor’s next words, “…the test results have been verified. We should inform the Captain as to our results.”
“Of course.” Dr. Baxter agreed, favoring his younger colleague with a paternal grin, “Since you’re the team leader, Dr. Murakawa and since it was you who tumbled on the gene sequence in question, you should do the honors.”
Blushing at the retired former Chief of Starfleet’s praise, Denise activated her intercom, “Sickbay to Captain Shelby…”
“Estimated time of arrival at Deep Space Nine in three hours, Captain.” Ensign Maria Django reported from her position next to the senior helmsman and her lover, Lieutenant Sam Lavelle. “That is, assuming that bucket of bolts we’re towing doesn’t cause us to drop out of warp again.”
Stifling the rising snickers coming from most of the rest of the Sutherland’s bridge crew with a withering glare from her piercing blue eyes, Captain Elizabeth Shelby promptly rebuked her outspoken junior operations officer with a curt, “Belay that talk, Ensign,” just as the comm light on her chair blinked. Hitting the comm button on her chair, the petite captain heard, “Sickbay to Captain Shelby...”
“Dr. Murakawa?” Liz answered back, “Does your team have any news for me?”
“Yes, Sir.” Doctor Denise Murakawa’s strained voice responded, “But I think you should come down here to hear it.”
Worried about the anxious tone of her Chief Medical Officer’s voice, Shelby replied as she rose from the center seat, surrendering it to her first officer, “I’ll be down there in a few minutes.”
Arriving in sickbay, Captain Shelby was greeted by the three grim faces of her chief science officer, chief medical officer, and the visiting physician from the Bluefin. “So…” Liz asked as she approached the three officers gathered around Dr. Murakawa’s desk, “…what’s the bad news.”
“Bad news is right, Sir.” Denise sighed as she pointed at the monitor display on her desk. “That’s the biogenic structure of the components of the warhead that Chief Deryx defused. It’s a designer variant of the Fostossa virus, only it’s been genetically modified to affect a wider variety of species. It’s extremely virulent and persistent and highly adaptable.”
“Whoever designed this…” Dr. Calvin Baxter declared as he ran a hand through the shock of white hair on his head, “…knew what they were doing and had the facilities to do it in. I haven’t seen work this precise…this…complete…in years.”
“How long would it take before the symptoms would show?” Liz inquired.
“Hmmm…normally, with Fostossa virus, the initial symptoms appear after approximately three days to a week.” Dr. Murakawa replied. “This variant, however, seems to have been designed with a longer incubation period—anywhere from a week and a half to three weeks before the first symptoms appear.”
“That explains why they weren’t interested in completely destroying that Lissepian colony.” Liz concluded, “Had they have been successful in setting that bomb off—either on one of our ships or on the colony—it would have been devastating.” As the others in the room nodded their heads in silent agreement, Shelby asked, “How long do you think it’ll take for you to find a cure?”
“I don’t know, Sir.” Denise answered honestly. “Like I said, the virus is highly adaptable…”
“We’ve tried several times already.” Dr. Baxter added, “But within a generation or two, the virus develops resistances to whatever we throw at it.”
“Perhaps…” Varok observed, “…we are taking the wrong approach to the problem. Instead of approaching the virus as something that must be attacked…” the elderly Vulcan suggested, “it might prove more advantageous to, in the words of the ancient Vulcan proverb, ‘Convince Nirak that Mount Celanya is, in fact, Mount Selaya.’”
“I get it!” Baxter chuckled. Then, seeing the look of confusion on the faces of the two women in the room, the elderly physician explained, “Instead of trying to kill the bug, we neutralize it…”
“By providing something else for it to bond to!” Denise exclaimed, cutting the white haired doctor off. Blushing red with embarrassment, the normally shy Dr. Murakawa apologized, “I’m sorry, Sir…I didn’t mean to.”
“Nothing to apologize for, Young Lady.” Calvin answered back with a toothy grin. Turning his attention back to the Vulcan science officer, the former chief of Starfleet Medical asked, “Is that what you meant?”
Nodding his head once, Varok replied in his usual flat voice, “Precisely. If a substance can be found that the virus would find more attractive than the body’s amino acids, then it would bond with that, rendering it inert.”
“But wouldn’t the person with the virus still be a possible carrier?” Liz asked with a worried frown.
“For a time, yes.” The Vulcan science officer confirmed, “But after a brief period the virus would be eradicated from the body as it would be unable to reproduce.”
“I see…” the captain responded as she chewed over her officer’s proposal. “Very well. Begin work on it. We’ll be at Deep Space Nine in approximately two hours. Coordinate with Dr. Bashir on our arrival—he might have some ideas of his own.”
“I’d suggest we start off with the guanine group.” Doctor Murakawa declared as she sat down at her desk. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and hit the jackpot right away.”
“The odds of doing so…” Varok recited, “Are approximately 863,642 to 1.”
Sighing dejectedly, Denise retorted as she ran the first sequence through the simulation, only to have it come back negative, “I was afraid you were going to say that.”
“Well, Denise…” Dr. Baxter grinned as he entered in a new sequence on his computer, “…maybe this’ll cheer you up. If you ever want to have some fun making Morgan Bateson squirm, ask him sometime about what happened on Stardate 1175.6 at Sloopy’s between him, Brooks Erdolan, and those Antarean strippers.”
************************************************************************
“Ever been to DS9?” Lieutenant Commander Jadon Tol asked as he handed Lieutenant T’Ser a cup of coffee.
“No…” The Vulcan operations officer responded as she gratefully accepted the cup from the handsome Trill who took the seat next to her, “But I’ve heard so much about it.”
“Most of it’s probably true.” Jadon responded with a chuckle. “First thing…once we get shoreleave—I’ll take you over to Quark’s...” Pausing for a moment as he took a sip of his coffee, the dark haired Trill smiled broadly as he changed the subject, “I can see now why you rave so much about Cookie. This coffee’s really good” His eyes taking in the oak veneer paneling and paintings of older aquatic vessels bearing the Bluefin’s name that lined the walls of the tiny cutter’s wardroom, the Sutherland’s chief engineer remarked, “This place definitely has an Old School vibe to it.”
“That’s the way Captain Akinola likes it.” T’Ser replied, her lips turning up into a warm grin at the mention of her commanding officer’s name.
“You like him, don’t you?” Jadon perceptively observed as his eyes temporarily locked on to the sea-green eyes of his companion.
“Yeah…I do.” T’Ser answered back with un-Vulcan-like warmth. “He’s a good man. He cares about this ship and its crew.”
“Yeah, I have to admit I’ve got a good one too…” Tol replied, a wicked grin forming on his face as he quipped, “It’s just too bad our bosses don’t get along.”
“Tell me about it!” T’Ser chuckled, her laughter quickly vanishing as Commander McBride strode into the wardroom with one of Jadon’s engineers, the buxom blonde, Treasure Barrows, laughing beside him.
“And so…” Dale’s Texas accent filled the room as he spoke, “…he was yellin’ ‘Whoa! Whoa!’ at the top of his lungs, but that horse wasn’t payin’ any attention to him. Took him right under that tree, branches smacking him in his face. An’ then the horse went right back into the corral and stood right in front of its stall!”
“Ya’ll are puttin’ me on!” The vivacious woman replied, the Southwestern accent of her Northstar roots providing a perfect match for the commander’s own drawl. “Ya tellin’ me you let him go on ahead and ride that horse even though he was jest a tenderfoot?”
“He kept on sayin’ he could ride ol’ Nugget, so we figured we’d give him an opportunity to put his money where his mouth was.” McBride unabashedly replied as he guided his companion to the same table where T’Ser and Jadon were sitting. “Mind if we join you?” The Bluefin’s XO asked in an almost shy tone as he gazed down on the lovely Vulcan seated near the roguish Trill.
“Please, Commander.” T’Ser responded with a nervous grin of her own as the other pair took the other two seats at the table. “We were just talking about Deep Space Nine…” She added, hoping that her companion would pick up on her desires to return to the original subject.
Reading at once his escort’s wishes, the sophisticated Jadon smoothly remarked, “Yeah, I was telling her all about Quark’s…”
“Yeah…Candy and I are plannin’ on showing the joint off to Atris…” Treasure replied, her lips turning up into a wicked smirk as she regarded the Vulcan and Trill seated across from her, “So Boss, are you gonna introduce the Lieutenant to that new holosuite program ya’ll said Quark had just gotten?”
“New holosuite program?” T’Ser inquired, raising her right eyebrow in an alluring gesture, “What sort of program is it—if I might ask?”
“Really it’s just a variation of a program that Jadzia—Jadzia Dax—an acquaintance of mine—has.” Jadon explained, “It’s the baths on Trill—if you’d like…” the roguish Trill propositioned, “You’re more than welcome to join me…”
Glancing towards Commander McBride only to see him turn his gaze away as her eyes fell on him, T’Ser exhaled before replying, “Sure, Jadon…I’d love to.” Getting up quickly, the lovely Vulcan woman announced before turning to leave the wardroom, “I hate to be rude, but I’d better go—I’ve got duty in twenty minutes.”
“We’d better get going too, Treasure…” Jadon, at once picking up on the tension between the two Bluefin officers, remarked several moments later, after T’Ser had left the wardroom, “The Captain’s going to want us back on the Suthy before we dock at DS9.”
“Right, Boss.” Treasure acknowledged as she and Dale both rose to their feet. Turning towards Dale, the voluptuous blonde ensign gave the Bluefin’s XO a playful wink, “Maybe I’ll see ya’ll at the station, Sir.”
“Perhaps, Ensign.” Dale answered back, taking a deep breath as the ensign and her supervisor walked away, leaving him standing alone, with the sole exception of Cookie.
“Here, Sir.” The Bluefin’s cook said, handing the commander a shot glass filled with an amber liquid, “You look like you could use it.”
Tossing back the liquor, Dale allowed it to warm the passages of its throat as it went down. “Smooth…” the XO remarked, “Bourbon?”
“Yeah.” Cookie replied, “Some of the best Kentucky sippin’ whisky this side of Antares.” Seeing the troubled look on his superior officer’s face, the cook tentatively ventured as he set the bottle down on the table, “Sir…I know it’s not my place but…well…Momma told me something once—that there’s nothing worse than saying ‘I should have’. Good night, Sir.”
Nodding his head as Cookie left him alone with his thoughts, Commander McBride poured another shot of bourbon in his glass. Swirling the liquid, Dale gazed intently at the glass as images of T’Ser and Treasure alternately appeared in the liquid as Cookie’s mother’s words repeated themselves over and over again in his head. What if you don’t know what you should do? What if, no matter what you do, you end up saying ‘I should have’?
***********************************************************************
“That’s another thing I don’t like.” Diaz groused as Ayenga’s ship docked, “I don’t trust Ayenga or her people. I don’t care what Laren and the others say, the Kon-Ma are not our friends here. Mark my words, Larkin—they’re going to screw us and they’re not even going to kiss us first.”
“For what it’s worth, Bri…” The Rutian answered back as he gave his lover’s hand a brief squeeze, “I agree. But we don’t have much choice here. She’s the best we’ve got where it concerns anything biomedical. She’ll know right away whether there’s anything of value in that depot or not.”
“Yeah…” Sabrina agreed, nodding her head slowly before countering, “But I don’t think we should go completely by what our Kon Ma friend says here—regarding either the depot or Atoa.” Her lips curling up into an icy grin, the Maquis leader instructed her lover in a whisper, “Go ahead and bring Ayenga in to the common room with the others and brief her on what we’ve planned so far. I’ll be along directly after I take care of a few things.
“Take care of a few things?” Larkin asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Yeah.” His lover replied, the cold smile still on her face, “I’m going to take out an insurance policy or two…” Waiting until Larkin had left the tiny quarters the pair shared, Sabrina turned towards the computer monitor, activating it. “Computer…record the following messages to be sent to these individuals should any of the parameters to be designated be triggered—Admiral Samson Glover, Captain Benjamin Sisko, Captain Elizabeth Shelby. Authorization code…Cuffe.” Several minutes later, after the last of the messages had been recorded, Diaz then instructed, “Computer…establish a secure channel comm. link between me and Miriam Pierson.” Within moments, Miriam’s face appeared on Sabrina’s computer monitor.
“Sabrina?” Miriam Pierson inquired, a look of surprise on her face, “What’s up?
“Got a few minutes, Miri?” Diaz answered back, “I need you to ask that ex-husband of yours whether he can do me a favor.”
“Ok…” Miriam responded, “But you know Lynn’s going to want something in return…”
“Doesn’t he always?” Sabrina chuckled, “Here’s what I’m going to need him to do…”
Several moments later, after Diaz had outlined her plan, Miriam shook her head, “I’ll ask him, Bri…but…don’t get your hopes up—he’s got problems of his own right now…”
“Well…” Sabrina concluded, “If he can do it, it’ll be great and I’ll owe him one—but if not, that’s ok too—he’s just additional insurance in case Plan A doesn’t work. Take care of yourself.” She finished as she terminated the connection. Content now that all bases had been covered, the former Starfleet officer walked out of her office. Entering the common area, she plastered an insincere grin on her face as she drew closer to Ayenga.
“Hello, Sabrina.” The Bajoran terrorist greeted with an equally false grin. “Larkin was just filling me in on the plan. It sounds solid, but there are a few things I’d like to go over with you in private…” lowering her voice, she added, “…especially as regards your new man. I don’t trust him. He reeks of Starfleet.”
“So did I once.” Diaz responded in an equally low whisper, “For now…we need him.” Her voice now taking on a mildly placating tone, Sabrina added, “Don’t worry…we’ll find out soon enough whether we can trust him or not.”
Watching the two leaders talking quietly amongst themselves and having a pretty good idea as to the topic of conversation, Manuele turning towards Nura, flashed a sarcastic grin, “You guys don’t trust very easy—do you?”
Shrugging her shoulders, the Bzzit Khaht replied, “What did you expect? For every legit defector we get from Starfleet, we get at least three phonies. Take your pick—Starfleet Intelligence…the Obsidian Order…Tal’Shiar…Orion Syndicate…Klingon Intelligence…everyone’s got someone somewhere with us.” She remarked with a snort, “Hell…I even heard that Janeway had someone in Chakotay’s cell…”
“She did.” Rof, the Alshain interjected, deliberately flashing his canines at Manuele, “Heard it was the Vulcan.”
“Figures.” Krakke chimed in, knowing full well that in fact it was Tuvok who had infiltrated the former Starfleet officer’s cell. “Chakotay was always too trusting…” The Terranovan remarked as he glared at Atoa, “And look what it got him…killed in the Badlands…”
“At least he took Janeway with him.” Rof growled.
“We don’t know that they’re dead.” Nura pointed out, “No one’s spotted any sign of wreckage from either ship…”
“They’re dead.” Krakke answered back, shaking his head, “Get caught up in one of those plasma eddies and not much gets left.” Turning his attention back towards Atoa, the undercover operative leaned over as he growled menacingly into the New Kauaian’s ear, “I don’t like you and I don’t trust you. Do anything out of line and I’ll kill you.”
Smiling as Krakke stomped away, Rof bared his fangs as he looked down on Atoa, “I only smell a little bit of fear on you—good. That means you’re not a fool. Doesn’t mean you’re not a traitor though. You prove yourself honest—then good, I’ll gladly fight beside you. But if you betray us—then I shall enjoy hunting you down.”
“In other words…” Manuele muttered as he watched the Alshain stalk away, “…put up or shut up.”
“That’s about the size of it.” Nura agreed with a smile. “Still…” she said as she stood up, “…for what it’s worth, you’ve got one person in your corner.” Her eyes pleading, she added as she walked away, “Just don’t disappoint me.”
Sorry about the delay folks, but it's been a busy January. Here's part seven--I hope ya'll enjoy it!
Rocks and Shoals--Part 7
“As we will be docking at Deep Space Nine in fifteen minutes, we request that you please return to your seats. As a special treat, the captain will maneuver the shuttle so that you may all have a view of the Celestial Temple, the Home of the Prophets.”
Her head jerking up as she heard the automatic voice of the shuttle’s computer, Lieutenant, junior grade, Sito Jaxa looked out the small observation window next to her seat just in time to see the majestic sight of the wormhole opening up right on cue. Watching in rapt fascination as an Oberth class starship exited the wormhole; Lieutenant Sito ignored the shuttle’s computer voice as it once again spoke.
“And just a few degrees from the Celestial Temple, you’ll see Deep Space Nine, the former Terek Nor. Once a symbol of oppression for the Bajoran people, Deep Space Nine now serves as the Guardian of the Temple and a symbol of pride and hope.”
Her blood freezing as her eyes took in the Cardassian built station, Jaxa took a deep breath as she suppressed the voices rising in her head.
“I’m scared.” The Little Girl cried as the structure grew larger in the window.
“Shut up!” The Huntress spat out, “Just shut up! The first Cardassian pig who tries to touch me…”
“Awww…you like it and you know it.” The Junkie chimed in, purring, “The beatings…the punishment…the acid…”
“All of you…” Sito commanded, “Be quiet! Don’t forget—I’m in charge here!”
“For now, Dear…” The Junkie replied before going silent, “For now…”
******************************************************************
“There she is!” Chief O’Brien exclaimed, jerking his head towards Lieutenant Sito who, at the moment, was just emerging, along with a score of other passengers, from the shuttle airlock. As he and Lieutenant Commander Worf approached the Bajoran officer, the Irish veteran of the Setlac III Massacre gave her an appraising look. Immediately spotting the physical changes the young officer had made since he had last seen her before his transfer from the Enterprise to DS9, as well as the haunted look in her eyes, the chief saw at once that he had made the right decision in talking Keiko out of joining them in meeting Sito.
“Lieutenant Sito.” Worf, as senior officer, formally greeted the young Bajoran, “Welcome to Deep Space Nine.”
Breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of her two escorts, both combat veterans in their own right who had experienced their own horrors, Lieutenant Sito replied with a shaky grin, “Thank you, Sir.”
“It’s good to see you again, Sir.” Chief O’Brien added, “If you’ll come with us, we’ll take you to your quarters.”
“Thank you.” Jaxa replied as she fell in with the two men, again breathing a sigh of relief as the two men subtly made sure to stay far enough away from her so that she did not feel crowded as they walked down the corridor. Turning her head towards her former mentor, Sito addressed the Klingon warrior, “Sir…I just wanted to let you know that I’ve been keeping up on my Mok’bara.”
“Very good, Lieutenant.” Worf answered back in his usual deep voice, giving no betrayal as to his true emotions, “Perhaps we can spar later on.”
The Huntress within her flashing a sly grin as she sized up her prey, Jaxa responded, “I’d like that, Sir.”
“Here we are, Lieutenant.” Chief O’Brien interjected as they approached the door to Jaxa’s temporary quarters.
“Thanks again, Chief.” Sito simply replied as the door swooshed open. Addressing Worf once again, the Bajoran woman inquired, “Would this evening be a good time for our bout?”
Nodding his head once, Worf replied, “That would be good. I’ll meet you in the gym at 1900 hours.”
Turning away as the door closed behind their young former shipmate, the Irish chief turned his head towards Worf. Regarding the Klingon warrior with a quizzical gaze, Miles asked, “Sir? Why did you challenge her to a bout? Do you really think she’s ready?
“That’s what I intend to find out.” Worf replied laconically as the pair walked down the corridor.
“I see…” the perceptive chief of operations nodded his head knowingly before sounding a cautionary note, “Be careful, Sir.”
**********************************************************************
As both sparring partners slipped smoothly into their on-guard positions, Worf gazed into the fiery eyes of his opponent. Remembering that his former protégé always left herself open to the vIlInHoD, a feint named after the bird that mimics speech, Worf suddenly struck out of his vaD, or flexible stance, only to find that his Bajoran adversary had sidestepped him, counterattacking with the very aggressive toq strike, barely stopping her strike before it made contact with his body.
As the pair broke from combat, returning to the vaD stance, the Klingon warrior bowed formally, “Very good, Lieutenant. I was not aware that you had mastered the toq school. Prepare yourself!” He called out as he lunged suddenly, his fists striking rapidly in the Qin vagh maneuver. Momentarily taken aback by the suddenness and ferocity of Worf’s attack, Sito instinctively blocked and parried her opponent’s strikes, the Huntress asserting herself more and more as she countered each blow, her blocks and parries now turning into ripostes as she watched carefully, waiting patiently for the opening that would give her the killing stroke.
At once spotting the change in his opponent’s technique and manner, Worf gazed into the young Bajoran’s eyes as the pair exchanged blows. The fiery intensity they had possessed earlier was now replaced by a steely, icy cold purpose. Grunting as he barely dodged a leg kick from his Bajoran sparring partner, the Klingon warrior deliberately dropped his guard pach just a touch, giving his adversary an opening for a sudden QIn pup strike that, should the blow strike home with enough force, could potentially kill him. Now we see.
Spotting the opening left by her Klingon opponent, the Huntress flashed a cold grin as she launched her blow. Striking with blinding speed with her closed fist at her opponent’s vulnerable opening, the Huntress licked her lips in anticipation at standing triumphantly over the body of her hated opponent until she heard Sito’s voice call out with a resounding “NO!”, checking her blow just centimeters from its target. Breathing heavily as she once again suppressed that most violent of her split personalities, Lieutenant Sito looked up into the eyes of her opponent. Her own eyes moistening, she apologized, “I’m sorry, Sir…I didn’t mean…”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Lieutenant.” The Klingon warrior responded approvingly.
“But I lost control.” Sito replied shaking her head, “Maybe it’s too soon…”
“You are as ready to return now...” Worf interrupted, fixing the younger woman’s eyes with his, “As you ever will be.”
“But I almost…I nearly…”
“But you didn’t.” The Klingon interjected, his deep baritone voice carrying a compassionate note. “You proved to me just now that you have the strength to control your inner demons…”
“For now…” Jaxa protested softly, “But what about the next time?”
“You will always have to control that part of yourself.” Worf replied in a sympathetic tone. “It will always be with you. But you must not make the mistake of viewing it merely as a weakness. See it as what it is…a part of who you are. Your inner rage can be a powerful tool…or it can destroy you. What you do with it will be up to you.”
“Yes, Sir.” Sito acknowledged in a low tone as she took in her mentor’s words. “I’ll try.”
“Good.” Worf responded, nodding his head in satisfaction, “That is all one can do.”
**********************************************************************
“Everything is proceeding according to plan.” Gul Rejak gloated as he poured kanar from a decanter into a crystal goblet. Inhaling the fragrance of the thick amber liquid, the corrupt Cardassian gul declared, “Our processing plant will soon be producing enough Corillan acid to flood the Federation if we should want, and we are nearly ready to carry out our biggest operation yet.”
“Careful, Gul…” The human in the room, Rejak’s Syndicate liaison, Dmitri Cherenkov, cautioned, “Lots of things can still go wrong. In any event…” he grinned, “…it wouldn’t be in our best interests to flood the Federation with our stuff. Right now, we want to keep the demand high and the supply low.”
“Of course…of course…” Rejak replied airily as he sipped his kanar. Setting his drink down, the gul inquired, “Is everything ready from your end, Dmitri?”
“Yes.” The Terranovan replied in a thick voice, “When you’re ready to move the acid, we’ll have the weapons and latinum.”
“Good.” Rejak replied, his lips curling up in an evil grin. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to contact our ‘allies’ to make sure that they’re ready to carry out their part in our plan.”
“Be careful.” Cherenkov again warned, “I don’t trust either Tabar or Ayenga. Don’t forget, deep in their core, they are still idealists and I’ve found that it is never a good idea to trust idealists.”
“Oh…I quite agree with you, my friend.” Rejak affirmed, the cold smile still on his lips. “But don’t worry; I’ve made the necessary contingency plans should their hearts get the better of their greed.”
*********************************************************************
“We’ll be ready.” Daras Tabar declared. Then, the Kon Ma’s leader’s voice taking on a threatening tone, he added, “You just be sure to live up to your end of the contract, Cardassian—or else!”
“It’s late in the evening and I have no desire to listen to empty threats, Daras.” Gul Rejak responded in a bored tone, “I have been told by our mutual friend that everything will be ready on their end—you just be sure that when it is time that you are ready to act. I want Starfleet’s attention focused on Diaz and her gang.”
“It will be.” Tabar growled, staring malevolently at the Cardassian image on his monitor screen. “Once they finish analyzing the gift that Ayenga left them, Starfleet will have every resource they’ve got chasing after Diaz. They won’t stop until she’s either captured or killed.”
“Good.” Rejak replied, his sneer turning into an icy grin. “That’s what I wanted to hear. Tell your people to be ready to move soon—very soon.”
********************************************************************
“Cardassian vole!” The Kon Ma leader growled as his screen went blank. “If we didn’t need him and the Syndicate and the latinum and weapons they’re giving us…”
“I know, Tabor.” Ayenga replied as, approaching her leader slowly from the back, she began to gently knead his shoulders. “But remember, once we get what we want from them and we liberate Bajor from its Federation puppet government…”
“Then we won’t have to rely on those barrowbugs.” Tabor agreed as his tense shoulder muscles began to relax under his second-in-command’s ministrations.
“And we can finally get our revenge once and for all against the Cardassians.” Ayenga added, the venom with which she spat out the final word being especially strong.
“Of course.” Daras grinned, pleased at how easy it was to push the former medical technician’s buttons, “But for now, as you said, we must be patient. Our time will come. Now…” He said as he rose from his chair, the insincere grin still on his face, “It’s time for you to return to Diaz to put the next part of our plan into motion.”
**********************************************************************
Rematerializing in her converted Peregrine scout-fighter, Ayenga was met in the tiny transporter room by her second in command, Ral Omkar. Walking up to his leader, the attractive auburn haired Bajoran asked in a voice touched with just a twinge of jealousy, “So…how did your meeting with Daras go?”
Smirking inwardly at her subordinate’s suspicions, Ayenga replied in a nonchalant tone, “As expected. He put up an act that he was merely using Rejak and the Syndicate…that once we get what we need, we’ll move to free Bajor…”
“So…you think he’s lying?”
“Of course, I do.” Ayenga replied bitterly. “Daras has sold his soul to the Syndicate and the Ferengi. All he cares about now is wealth and power. Oh, I have no doubts at all that he’ll take what we’re getting from this and will use it to overthrow Shakar. But afterwards?” She spat out, “Will he take revenge against the Cardassians for what they did to us? Or against the Federation for just standing by and watching while we died? No!” She shook her head vigorously. “He’ll just turn Bajor into another Velix III. A home for pirates and smugglers who’ll end up eventually taking over. I’m not going to let that happen.” She declared angrily.
“So…” Omkar asked, “What do you intend to do about it?”
An icy grin crossing her face, the Bajoran terrorist replied in a low, dangerous voice, “Don’t worry…I have a plan of my own.” Her grin vanishing, she then instructed as the pair walked out of the transporter room, “But it’ll have to wait for the right moment. For now, we’ll let Daras think that we’re doing exactly what he wants us to do. Put us on a course for Diaz’s base…maximum warp.”
*********************************************************************
“I just got off the comm with Ayenga. She said that her and her people will be here in twenty four hours.” Larkin reported as he walked into the tiny living quarters that he and Sabrina Diaz shared together. Seeing that his lover’s attention was focused on the padd in her hands, he quipped, “Latest video from Risa?”
“Not quite.” Diaz replied as she shook her head. “I was just checking up on our newest recruit.”
“So…?” Larkin asked, his voice taking on a low, dangerous quality, as he sat down in the chair next to the former Starfleet captain, “…is he a plant?”
“That’s just it…” Diaz answered, shrugging her shoulders, “…what I’ve got here doesn’t give any indication one way or another. “Almost everything he’s told us so far has checked out with what I’ve got here.” She remarked as she set the padd down on the tiny table that served as desk, card table, and dining table for the pair.
“Almost everything?” Larkin inquired, raising his eyebrows as he became surer of his suspicions regarding the New Kauaian.
“Darling…” Sabrina chuckled, “I’d be even more worried if there weren’t any inconsistencies. Too good to be true almost always is. The thing is…” Diaz noted, shaking her head, “…prior to Leyton’s coup, nothing Atoa said or did pointed towards any sort of sympathy towards us—or any bad feelings against us for that matter. If he had any opinions where the Maquis were concerned, he kept them to himself.”
Larkin, reluctantly playing devil’s advocate, pointed out, “True…but remember, he did say that it was the results of the trial of Leyton and his gang that pushed him over the edge. What about Ro Laren and Cal Hudson? They originally didn’t have any intentions of joining us. In fact, they were sent by Starfleet to bring us down. But after having their eyes opened up to the Federation’s hypocrisy…”
“Yeah, I see what you mean.” Sabrina interrupted. “All right.” She decided, “We’ll see how he does at the depot. If he’s ok…great. But if he proves to be a snake…well…there’s a barren rock a few light years away where we can leave him. And then I might or might not leave a message for Liz to pick him up.” Pausing for a few moments as she regarded her lover, the former captain’s face softened ever so slightly, “Oh…and thanks. I appreciate what you just did. We have to be able to think flexibly if we’re going to survive and one part of that is not giving in to paranoia.”
“Trust, but verify?” Larkin quipped with a twinkle in his eye.
“Exactly.” Diaz rejoined with a laugh.
*********************************************************************
Ignoring the curious glances and suspicious glares coming from the members of Diaz’s cell, Manuele gave the appearance of reading intently the padd containing a limited selection of novels and light reading that he had been given. In actuality, the undercover security officer was carefully studying his surroundings, especially the locations of entrances and exits and making estimates of how far he was from those exits and how long it would take him to reach one of them should events take a sudden unfortunate turn for the New Kauaian. As his eyes surreptitiously scanned the room, he spotted the man named Danyor Krakke, apparently involved in conversation with Nura, the Bzzit Khaht, and two others, both humans, carefully watching him while giving the appearance of not doing so.
Immediately recognizing what the newest member of their cell was doing while he appeared to be reading his padd, Danyor Krakke frowned as he studied the New Kauaian.
Krakke, whose real name was Ivan Cherenkov, a member of the Special Missions Branch of Starfleet Intelligence who had been working deep undercover as a member of the Maquis for months, had concluded early on that Atoa had to be one of two things, he was either a plant or a traitor. Neither possibility pleased the deep cover agent. If he was a plant that meant that he was part of an operation that most likely did not know of Cherenkov’s mission. Atoa, in attempting to carry out his mission, could easily put at risk the long term goals of Ivan’s own mission—something the more experienced Cherenkov decided he would not let happen. Better to expose him and then trust that Diaz will simply strand him on some isolated planet rather than just killing him out of hand. The spy decided. And if he’s a traitor…Ivan postulated, his stoic outer mask hiding the anger and contempt the Terra Nova native felt for those who betrayed their oath…then he’ll get everything that’s coming to him. I’ll make sure of that.
“Didn’t you hear me?”
Shaken from his reverie, Krakke muttered a confused, “What?”
“I said…” Nura repeated in an exasperated tone, “Why don’t one of you big strapping heroic freedom fighters go over and say hello to the new guy?” As Krakke and Rof, a burly Alshain, looked away, the Bzzit Khaht snorted in disgust, “Well, if you two are too chicken to talk to him, then I guess I will.”
Walking over to their newest recruit, Nura smiled as she looked down on where he sat reading his padd, “Hi.”
Glancing up at the source of the greeting, Manuele saw the leathery skinned Bzzit Khaht woman he had saved earlier, “Huh?”
“I never got a chance to say thank you for saving me and Larkin from being handed over to the Cardassians.” Nura said in a friendly voice, “I don’t know about the others, but I’m grateful to you for pulling me out of that brig.”
“Ummm…don’t mention it.” Manuele stuttered as he looked up at the Bzzit Khaht.
Taking the seat next to the burly New Kauaian, Nura remarked, a calculating expression behind her smile, “That was some pretty good seat of the pants flying you did. You a pilot?”
“Not really.” Atoa responded, “The computer did most of the work, I was along for the ride.”
“Well…” the Bzzit Khaht declared with what passed for a smile amongst her people, “…whoever programmed your computer’s one hell of a pilot.” Looking up, she spotted Sabrina Diaz and her lover walking together into the group’s common area. Placing a friendly hand on the newcomer’s shoulder, Nura commented knowingly as she read the expression on her leader’s face, “We better get over and join the others. Looks like stuff is about to happen.”
“Ayenga and her team…” Sabrina began as Manuele and the rest of her cell gathered around her and Larkin, “…will be here in less than twenty four hours. I’ll brief them on their part then, but for now, I want us to go over our plans for the depot. Starting with defenses.” Turning her attention towards the newest member of her resistance group, Diaz requested pointedly, “What’ll we find there, Mr. Atoa?”
Immediately recognizing the measuring and suspicious gazes given to him by all but Nura, who, surprisingly, was giving the New Kauaian a look that seemed to be supporting, Manuele responded carefully, “I can’t say for certain, of course, but…going from previous experience, I would imagine that there wouldn’t be any significant forces at the depot. These places rely on staying under the radar for most of their security. Starfleet Medical gambles that with space being so large, that by keeping them as inconspicuous as possible, these depots can remain under the radar.”
“I know all that.” Diaz replied sharply, “I was a captain once, remember? What I want to know is what sort of defenses will it have?”
“I was about to tell you before I was interrupted…” Manuele retorted, not giving an inch before the stern faced cell leader, “I’d say you’re probably looking at facing a doctor in overall command of the facility, maybe a few researchers and med techs and there’ll probably be a small security team—no more than three or four I would imagine. Total numbers…hmmm…about ten…twelve at the most.”
“That’s about what I figured.” Diaz agreed, nodding her head. “So…here’s the plan. All goes according to plan, we get away clean and no one gets hurt.”
**********************************************************************
“Damn.” Dr. Calvin Baxter cursed, shaking his head as he confirmed the test results appearing on his monitor screen. “I was afraid that was what we were going to find.”
“I can’t believe…” Dr. Denise Murakawa remarked as she worriedly fingered the small gold crucifix hanging around her neck, “…that someone like Sabrina Diaz could even conceive of such a thing. It’s just so…”
“Nevertheless…” the stoic voice of the Sutherland’s science officer, Lieutenant Commander Varok, interjected, unintentionally cutting off the young Japanese-Centauran doctor’s next words, “…the test results have been verified. We should inform the Captain as to our results.”
“Of course.” Dr. Baxter agreed, favoring his younger colleague with a paternal grin, “Since you’re the team leader, Dr. Murakawa and since it was you who tumbled on the gene sequence in question, you should do the honors.”
Blushing at the retired former Chief of Starfleet’s praise, Denise activated her intercom, “Sickbay to Captain Shelby…”
“Estimated time of arrival at Deep Space Nine in three hours, Captain.” Ensign Maria Django reported from her position next to the senior helmsman and her lover, Lieutenant Sam Lavelle. “That is, assuming that bucket of bolts we’re towing doesn’t cause us to drop out of warp again.”
Stifling the rising snickers coming from most of the rest of the Sutherland’s bridge crew with a withering glare from her piercing blue eyes, Captain Elizabeth Shelby promptly rebuked her outspoken junior operations officer with a curt, “Belay that talk, Ensign,” just as the comm light on her chair blinked. Hitting the comm button on her chair, the petite captain heard, “Sickbay to Captain Shelby...”
“Dr. Murakawa?” Liz answered back, “Does your team have any news for me?”
“Yes, Sir.” Doctor Denise Murakawa’s strained voice responded, “But I think you should come down here to hear it.”
Worried about the anxious tone of her Chief Medical Officer’s voice, Shelby replied as she rose from the center seat, surrendering it to her first officer, “I’ll be down there in a few minutes.”
Arriving in sickbay, Captain Shelby was greeted by the three grim faces of her chief science officer, chief medical officer, and the visiting physician from the Bluefin. “So…” Liz asked as she approached the three officers gathered around Dr. Murakawa’s desk, “…what’s the bad news.”
“Bad news is right, Sir.” Denise sighed as she pointed at the monitor display on her desk. “That’s the biogenic structure of the components of the warhead that Chief Deryx defused. It’s a designer variant of the Fostossa virus, only it’s been genetically modified to affect a wider variety of species. It’s extremely virulent and persistent and highly adaptable.”
“Whoever designed this…” Dr. Calvin Baxter declared as he ran a hand through the shock of white hair on his head, “…knew what they were doing and had the facilities to do it in. I haven’t seen work this precise…this…complete…in years.”
“How long would it take before the symptoms would show?” Liz inquired.
“Hmmm…normally, with Fostossa virus, the initial symptoms appear after approximately three days to a week.” Dr. Murakawa replied. “This variant, however, seems to have been designed with a longer incubation period—anywhere from a week and a half to three weeks before the first symptoms appear.”
“That explains why they weren’t interested in completely destroying that Lissepian colony.” Liz concluded, “Had they have been successful in setting that bomb off—either on one of our ships or on the colony—it would have been devastating.” As the others in the room nodded their heads in silent agreement, Shelby asked, “How long do you think it’ll take for you to find a cure?”
“I don’t know, Sir.” Denise answered honestly. “Like I said, the virus is highly adaptable…”
“We’ve tried several times already.” Dr. Baxter added, “But within a generation or two, the virus develops resistances to whatever we throw at it.”
“Perhaps…” Varok observed, “…we are taking the wrong approach to the problem. Instead of approaching the virus as something that must be attacked…” the elderly Vulcan suggested, “it might prove more advantageous to, in the words of the ancient Vulcan proverb, ‘Convince Nirak that Mount Celanya is, in fact, Mount Selaya.’”
“I get it!” Baxter chuckled. Then, seeing the look of confusion on the faces of the two women in the room, the elderly physician explained, “Instead of trying to kill the bug, we neutralize it…”
“By providing something else for it to bond to!” Denise exclaimed, cutting the white haired doctor off. Blushing red with embarrassment, the normally shy Dr. Murakawa apologized, “I’m sorry, Sir…I didn’t mean to.”
“Nothing to apologize for, Young Lady.” Calvin answered back with a toothy grin. Turning his attention back to the Vulcan science officer, the former chief of Starfleet Medical asked, “Is that what you meant?”
Nodding his head once, Varok replied in his usual flat voice, “Precisely. If a substance can be found that the virus would find more attractive than the body’s amino acids, then it would bond with that, rendering it inert.”
“But wouldn’t the person with the virus still be a possible carrier?” Liz asked with a worried frown.
“For a time, yes.” The Vulcan science officer confirmed, “But after a brief period the virus would be eradicated from the body as it would be unable to reproduce.”
“I see…” the captain responded as she chewed over her officer’s proposal. “Very well. Begin work on it. We’ll be at Deep Space Nine in approximately two hours. Coordinate with Dr. Bashir on our arrival—he might have some ideas of his own.”
“I’d suggest we start off with the guanine group.” Doctor Murakawa declared as she sat down at her desk. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and hit the jackpot right away.”
“The odds of doing so…” Varok recited, “Are approximately 863,642 to 1.”
Sighing dejectedly, Denise retorted as she ran the first sequence through the simulation, only to have it come back negative, “I was afraid you were going to say that.”
“Well, Denise…” Dr. Baxter grinned as he entered in a new sequence on his computer, “…maybe this’ll cheer you up. If you ever want to have some fun making Morgan Bateson squirm, ask him sometime about what happened on Stardate 1175.6 at Sloopy’s between him, Brooks Erdolan, and those Antarean strippers.”
************************************************************************
“Ever been to DS9?” Lieutenant Commander Jadon Tol asked as he handed Lieutenant T’Ser a cup of coffee.
“No…” The Vulcan operations officer responded as she gratefully accepted the cup from the handsome Trill who took the seat next to her, “But I’ve heard so much about it.”
“Most of it’s probably true.” Jadon responded with a chuckle. “First thing…once we get shoreleave—I’ll take you over to Quark’s...” Pausing for a moment as he took a sip of his coffee, the dark haired Trill smiled broadly as he changed the subject, “I can see now why you rave so much about Cookie. This coffee’s really good” His eyes taking in the oak veneer paneling and paintings of older aquatic vessels bearing the Bluefin’s name that lined the walls of the tiny cutter’s wardroom, the Sutherland’s chief engineer remarked, “This place definitely has an Old School vibe to it.”
“That’s the way Captain Akinola likes it.” T’Ser replied, her lips turning up into a warm grin at the mention of her commanding officer’s name.
“You like him, don’t you?” Jadon perceptively observed as his eyes temporarily locked on to the sea-green eyes of his companion.
“Yeah…I do.” T’Ser answered back with un-Vulcan-like warmth. “He’s a good man. He cares about this ship and its crew.”
“Yeah, I have to admit I’ve got a good one too…” Tol replied, a wicked grin forming on his face as he quipped, “It’s just too bad our bosses don’t get along.”
“Tell me about it!” T’Ser chuckled, her laughter quickly vanishing as Commander McBride strode into the wardroom with one of Jadon’s engineers, the buxom blonde, Treasure Barrows, laughing beside him.
“And so…” Dale’s Texas accent filled the room as he spoke, “…he was yellin’ ‘Whoa! Whoa!’ at the top of his lungs, but that horse wasn’t payin’ any attention to him. Took him right under that tree, branches smacking him in his face. An’ then the horse went right back into the corral and stood right in front of its stall!”
“Ya’ll are puttin’ me on!” The vivacious woman replied, the Southwestern accent of her Northstar roots providing a perfect match for the commander’s own drawl. “Ya tellin’ me you let him go on ahead and ride that horse even though he was jest a tenderfoot?”
“He kept on sayin’ he could ride ol’ Nugget, so we figured we’d give him an opportunity to put his money where his mouth was.” McBride unabashedly replied as he guided his companion to the same table where T’Ser and Jadon were sitting. “Mind if we join you?” The Bluefin’s XO asked in an almost shy tone as he gazed down on the lovely Vulcan seated near the roguish Trill.
“Please, Commander.” T’Ser responded with a nervous grin of her own as the other pair took the other two seats at the table. “We were just talking about Deep Space Nine…” She added, hoping that her companion would pick up on her desires to return to the original subject.
Reading at once his escort’s wishes, the sophisticated Jadon smoothly remarked, “Yeah, I was telling her all about Quark’s…”
“Yeah…Candy and I are plannin’ on showing the joint off to Atris…” Treasure replied, her lips turning up into a wicked smirk as she regarded the Vulcan and Trill seated across from her, “So Boss, are you gonna introduce the Lieutenant to that new holosuite program ya’ll said Quark had just gotten?”
“New holosuite program?” T’Ser inquired, raising her right eyebrow in an alluring gesture, “What sort of program is it—if I might ask?”
“Really it’s just a variation of a program that Jadzia—Jadzia Dax—an acquaintance of mine—has.” Jadon explained, “It’s the baths on Trill—if you’d like…” the roguish Trill propositioned, “You’re more than welcome to join me…”
Glancing towards Commander McBride only to see him turn his gaze away as her eyes fell on him, T’Ser exhaled before replying, “Sure, Jadon…I’d love to.” Getting up quickly, the lovely Vulcan woman announced before turning to leave the wardroom, “I hate to be rude, but I’d better go—I’ve got duty in twenty minutes.”
“We’d better get going too, Treasure…” Jadon, at once picking up on the tension between the two Bluefin officers, remarked several moments later, after T’Ser had left the wardroom, “The Captain’s going to want us back on the Suthy before we dock at DS9.”
“Right, Boss.” Treasure acknowledged as she and Dale both rose to their feet. Turning towards Dale, the voluptuous blonde ensign gave the Bluefin’s XO a playful wink, “Maybe I’ll see ya’ll at the station, Sir.”
“Perhaps, Ensign.” Dale answered back, taking a deep breath as the ensign and her supervisor walked away, leaving him standing alone, with the sole exception of Cookie.
“Here, Sir.” The Bluefin’s cook said, handing the commander a shot glass filled with an amber liquid, “You look like you could use it.”
Tossing back the liquor, Dale allowed it to warm the passages of its throat as it went down. “Smooth…” the XO remarked, “Bourbon?”
“Yeah.” Cookie replied, “Some of the best Kentucky sippin’ whisky this side of Antares.” Seeing the troubled look on his superior officer’s face, the cook tentatively ventured as he set the bottle down on the table, “Sir…I know it’s not my place but…well…Momma told me something once—that there’s nothing worse than saying ‘I should have’. Good night, Sir.”
Nodding his head as Cookie left him alone with his thoughts, Commander McBride poured another shot of bourbon in his glass. Swirling the liquid, Dale gazed intently at the glass as images of T’Ser and Treasure alternately appeared in the liquid as Cookie’s mother’s words repeated themselves over and over again in his head. What if you don’t know what you should do? What if, no matter what you do, you end up saying ‘I should have’?
***********************************************************************
“That’s another thing I don’t like.” Diaz groused as Ayenga’s ship docked, “I don’t trust Ayenga or her people. I don’t care what Laren and the others say, the Kon-Ma are not our friends here. Mark my words, Larkin—they’re going to screw us and they’re not even going to kiss us first.”
“For what it’s worth, Bri…” The Rutian answered back as he gave his lover’s hand a brief squeeze, “I agree. But we don’t have much choice here. She’s the best we’ve got where it concerns anything biomedical. She’ll know right away whether there’s anything of value in that depot or not.”
“Yeah…” Sabrina agreed, nodding her head slowly before countering, “But I don’t think we should go completely by what our Kon Ma friend says here—regarding either the depot or Atoa.” Her lips curling up into an icy grin, the Maquis leader instructed her lover in a whisper, “Go ahead and bring Ayenga in to the common room with the others and brief her on what we’ve planned so far. I’ll be along directly after I take care of a few things.
“Take care of a few things?” Larkin asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Yeah.” His lover replied, the cold smile still on her face, “I’m going to take out an insurance policy or two…” Waiting until Larkin had left the tiny quarters the pair shared, Sabrina turned towards the computer monitor, activating it. “Computer…record the following messages to be sent to these individuals should any of the parameters to be designated be triggered—Admiral Samson Glover, Captain Benjamin Sisko, Captain Elizabeth Shelby. Authorization code…Cuffe.” Several minutes later, after the last of the messages had been recorded, Diaz then instructed, “Computer…establish a secure channel comm. link between me and Miriam Pierson.” Within moments, Miriam’s face appeared on Sabrina’s computer monitor.
“Sabrina?” Miriam Pierson inquired, a look of surprise on her face, “What’s up?
“Got a few minutes, Miri?” Diaz answered back, “I need you to ask that ex-husband of yours whether he can do me a favor.”
“Ok…” Miriam responded, “But you know Lynn’s going to want something in return…”
“Doesn’t he always?” Sabrina chuckled, “Here’s what I’m going to need him to do…”
Several moments later, after Diaz had outlined her plan, Miriam shook her head, “I’ll ask him, Bri…but…don’t get your hopes up—he’s got problems of his own right now…”
“Well…” Sabrina concluded, “If he can do it, it’ll be great and I’ll owe him one—but if not, that’s ok too—he’s just additional insurance in case Plan A doesn’t work. Take care of yourself.” She finished as she terminated the connection. Content now that all bases had been covered, the former Starfleet officer walked out of her office. Entering the common area, she plastered an insincere grin on her face as she drew closer to Ayenga.
“Hello, Sabrina.” The Bajoran terrorist greeted with an equally false grin. “Larkin was just filling me in on the plan. It sounds solid, but there are a few things I’d like to go over with you in private…” lowering her voice, she added, “…especially as regards your new man. I don’t trust him. He reeks of Starfleet.”
“So did I once.” Diaz responded in an equally low whisper, “For now…we need him.” Her voice now taking on a mildly placating tone, Sabrina added, “Don’t worry…we’ll find out soon enough whether we can trust him or not.”
Watching the two leaders talking quietly amongst themselves and having a pretty good idea as to the topic of conversation, Manuele turning towards Nura, flashed a sarcastic grin, “You guys don’t trust very easy—do you?”
Shrugging her shoulders, the Bzzit Khaht replied, “What did you expect? For every legit defector we get from Starfleet, we get at least three phonies. Take your pick—Starfleet Intelligence…the Obsidian Order…Tal’Shiar…Orion Syndicate…Klingon Intelligence…everyone’s got someone somewhere with us.” She remarked with a snort, “Hell…I even heard that Janeway had someone in Chakotay’s cell…”
“She did.” Rof, the Alshain interjected, deliberately flashing his canines at Manuele, “Heard it was the Vulcan.”
“Figures.” Krakke chimed in, knowing full well that in fact it was Tuvok who had infiltrated the former Starfleet officer’s cell. “Chakotay was always too trusting…” The Terranovan remarked as he glared at Atoa, “And look what it got him…killed in the Badlands…”
“At least he took Janeway with him.” Rof growled.
“We don’t know that they’re dead.” Nura pointed out, “No one’s spotted any sign of wreckage from either ship…”
“They’re dead.” Krakke answered back, shaking his head, “Get caught up in one of those plasma eddies and not much gets left.” Turning his attention back towards Atoa, the undercover operative leaned over as he growled menacingly into the New Kauaian’s ear, “I don’t like you and I don’t trust you. Do anything out of line and I’ll kill you.”
Smiling as Krakke stomped away, Rof bared his fangs as he looked down on Atoa, “I only smell a little bit of fear on you—good. That means you’re not a fool. Doesn’t mean you’re not a traitor though. You prove yourself honest—then good, I’ll gladly fight beside you. But if you betray us—then I shall enjoy hunting you down.”
“In other words…” Manuele muttered as he watched the Alshain stalk away, “…put up or shut up.”
“That’s about the size of it.” Nura agreed with a smile. “Still…” she said as she stood up, “…for what it’s worth, you’ve got one person in your corner.” Her eyes pleading, she added as she walked away, “Just don’t disappoint me.”
Re: Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals Part 7
Another fine job by the master. You know, with all of these factions planning to betray each other when their usefulness is over I'm starting to see the ending. Mr Pink pointing a gun at Mr Blue, who's pointing a gun at Mr White......
Another fine job by the master. You know, with all of these factions planning to betray each other when their usefulness is over I'm starting to see the ending. Mr Pink pointing a gun at Mr Blue, who's pointing a gun at Mr White......
Re: Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals Part 7
Just got caught up.
Great stuff so far and it shows me that I did ok with Sito in the Dauntless stories, even if mine are set seven years later.
Keep it coming.
Just got caught up.
Great stuff so far and it shows me that I did ok with Sito in the Dauntless stories, even if mine are set seven years later.
Keep it coming.
Re: Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals Part 7
I really enjoyed the sparring scene between Sito and Worf - very well done. Worf shows again that he is an effective mentor for her.
And again, you've done a masterful job of interweaving the crews of the Sutherland and Bluefin. It seems that McBride and T'Ser are destined never to catch a break. Nice scene with the two CMOs working together so well.
One minor correction - Bateson's story of the Antarean strippers would include Brooks Erdon. Thanks for the shout-out to the Merlin crew!
This segment was definitely worth the wait! :thumbsup:
I really enjoyed the sparring scene between Sito and Worf - very well done. Worf shows again that he is an effective mentor for her.
And again, you've done a masterful job of interweaving the crews of the Sutherland and Bluefin. It seems that McBride and T'Ser are destined never to catch a break. Nice scene with the two CMOs working together so well.
One minor correction - Bateson's story of the Antarean strippers would include Brooks Erdon. Thanks for the shout-out to the Merlin crew!
This segment was definitely worth the wait! :thumbsup:
Re: Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals Part 7
Terrific crew interactions and an engaging sub-plot with Atoa and Cherenkov’s infiltration into the Maquis. I’m anticipating lots of unpleasantness when these groups encounter each other. I’m just wondering how far in over his head Manuele’s going to get?
Terrific crew interactions and an engaging sub-plot with Atoa and Cherenkov’s infiltration into the Maquis. I’m anticipating lots of unpleasantness when these groups encounter each other. I’m just wondering how far in over his head Manuele’s going to get?
Re: Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals Part 7
Another great installment. I'm loving the intrigue factor that seems to be taking hold here, makes for excellent storytelling. Can't wait to see what happens with Atoa. Other things worth noting are the Sito/Worf scene - it reads as though it could have come right out of a TNG episode. Also, you seem to be handling the various crossover crews very well.
Another great installment. I'm loving the intrigue factor that seems to be taking hold here, makes for excellent storytelling. Can't wait to see what happens with Atoa. Other things worth noting are the Sito/Worf scene - it reads as though it could have come right out of a TNG episode. Also, you seem to be handling the various crossover crews very well.
Re: Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals Part 7
Ok my head is still dizzy from all these plots and plans taking place behind people's back. And you haven't even returned to Solly and Pierson's story line yet.
I like stories in which a lot is happening and this definitely qualifes as such. I have a feeling a number of people have bad things coming to them here.
Great crossover work but also a terrific Sutherland story so far.
Ok my head is still dizzy from all these plots and plans taking place behind people's back. And you haven't even returned to Solly and Pierson's story line yet.
I like stories in which a lot is happening and this definitely qualifes as such. I have a feeling a number of people have bad things coming to them here.
Great crossover work but also a terrific Sutherland story so far.
Re: Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals Part 7
DF,
You're continuing to work magic with this story. I loved the interplay between Sabrina, Ayenga, and Tabor, all the plotting and counterplotting. You're also doing a great job with the crossover of the Suthy and Bluefin crews. I also enjoyed reading your explanation for a possible cure for the virus. Sounds good.
DF,
You're continuing to work magic with this story. I loved the interplay between Sabrina, Ayenga, and Tabor, all the plotting and counterplotting. You're also doing a great job with the crossover of the Suthy and Bluefin crews. I also enjoyed reading your explanation for a possible cure for the virus. Sounds good.
Re: Sutherland: Rocks and Shoals Part 7
Thanks guys! To be honest, I was really worried about this part not coming off too well as it's setup for the rollercoaster that's coming soon.
Thanks guys! To be honest, I was really worried about this part not coming off too well as it's setup for the rollercoaster that's coming soon.
I had to stop reading after part 1, due to time constraints, but I am loving how this is set up! There are all kinds of possibilities here! I'm seriously tempted to stay up to read it! ...but I'm old enough to appreciate a full night's rest. 
I can't wait to read the rest! ...huh, ...rest...must...
I can't wait to read the rest! ...huh, ...rest...must...
Ya'll will be pleased to know that the next part is nearly done and I look forward to posting it this weekend. I'm having to redo one scene because it didn't 'sound' right on my rereading it, but once that gets done, the rest should flow naturally--I hope!
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