Season 16: Episode 1: Perfect Replicas

[Malik Grippen]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Station - Transporter Room]

After the first round of personnel beamed to the Bridge, Rayek tried to send Novi and Dranik's team to Engineering to secure that location but there was a forcefield around it.  Rayek would lay odds that it was Lek's doing.  Instead of Engineering, Novi, the Sec/Tac team were sent to Sickbay.

Because Vadok had asked to return to the Lab,  Dranik volunteered to stay, so Rayek sent them back to the Lab.
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Rayek had a good idea of what sort of custom code the Station Commander was referring to.  "Allow me to take a look."

The station Commander looked to Romulan hesitantly, looking to Malik uncertainly but didn't resist when Rayek moved to the console.  Rayek typed in a numerical cypher... based on his son's name and astrological birthdate.  The control blared at him declaring the cypher incorrect.  Rayek frowned a moment before looking to the station commander.

"Commander, is the replicant of Tess t'Lhoell also present on the station?" he asked trying not to sound accusatory.

That the man didn't need to ask who she was spoke volumes to the Romulan about how much the human knew about Rayek and his clones backstory.  The station Commander shook his head.  "No, to my knowledge, she died in Gamma Quadrant. His thoughts were on her often though."

Rayek considered this a moment before nodding and turning back to the console.  He typed in a new set of numerical encryption cyphers, this time based on his wife's birthdate and what he assumed was her death-date.  The console unlocked.

"Commander, if you would be so kind as to disable the self-destruct."
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The commander entered his code and the computer sounded out.

Self Destruct sequence deactivated.

Malik breathed a sigh of relief.

The commander then gave his terminal over to Malik. The Risan set to work. First, all primary systems were reset back to normal parameters. Including defences, communications and transporters. Malik maintained the station lockdown however, they couldn't risk people fighting again. He turned to the station commander.

"I am hereby placing you under arrest by the authority of Starfleet Command. Many lives have been lost today and your part in it will need to be accounted for."

The station commander didn't put up a fight, seemingly having already accepted this outcome.

He then turned to Rayek.

Sir. Kindly contact Discovery and inform them we have the station under control. I will update Starfleet Command and request immediate support.

Malik then began to issue a subspace message.

Priority One. Starfleet Command.
USS Discovery requests immediate reinforcement and logistical support following successful capture of SI outpost. Risk to USS Discovery by clone agents.

A reply came back after a short while. Malik read it aloud.

"The USS Zheng He is enroute. ETA 2 hours."

[Rayek trLhoell]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Station - Operations Center

The commander entered his code and the computer sounded out.

Self Destruct sequence deactivated.

Malik breathed a sigh of relief.

The commander then gave his terminal over to Malik. The Risan set to work. First, all primary systems were reset back to normal parameters. Including defences, communications and transporters. Malik maintained the station lockdown however, they couldn't risk people fighting again. He turned to the station commander.

"I am hereby placing you under arrest by the authority of Starfleet Command. Many lives have been lost today and your part in it will need to be accounted for."

The station commander didn't put up a fight, seemingly having already accepted this outcome.

He then turned to Rayek.

Sir. Kindly contact Discovery and inform them we have the station under control. I will update Starfleet Command and request immediate support.

Malik then began to issue a subspace message.

Priority One. Starfleet Command.
USS Discovery requests immediate reinforcement and logistical support following successful capture of SI outpost. Risk to USS Discovery by clone agents.

A reply came back after a short while. Malik read it aloud.

"The USS Zheng He is enroute. ETA 2 hours."

When Malik suggested the division of labor, Rayek went along with it, even though by Chain of Command the one contacting the SC should be him.  What harm was there for the Second officer to do it.  Malik had been present at the briefing same as Rayek, so he knew the mission was classified and that support was not likely to be coming.

"tr'Lhoell to Discovery..."   Rayek frowned when his call to the ship went unanswered (because the main Ops console was down and the Bridge crew and Away Team were dealing with issues of their own).

He turned his attention to Malik and his message just as the Risian hit send.  Rayek facepalmed. "Um. Grippen.... I believe the clones were to be considered classified material"

When the response came back ...announcing that another ship was enroute,  Rayek didn't know whether to be happy to have support or worried that the lot of them were about to face a demotion.  Guess they would find out in 2 hours.

Rayek tried again to reach the Bridge this time, via the Captain's commbadge.

"tr'Lhoell to Tekin."   Rayek could hear the comm connecting.

"Station Ops has been secured and the self-destruct halted." 
Rayek wished that was the end of it but no..

"I need to inform you that that Starfleet Command has been contacted and they have sent the USS Zheng He to lend support"

It was then that the Romulan noticed the Captain's Yacht was detached and flying strafing runs against the ship itself.

"Commander,  can the firechain buoys be manually operated to select a specific target?"  Rayek knew it was possible with Katra's defense system... but he had learned that the two systems were not synonymous.
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rRayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery]

USS Discovery
Bridge

Vila shook her head. SHe'd managed to dodge the efforts to disarm her, though she didn't know how long she'd be able to hold them off. "CAPTAIN. I MEAN NOW." She said. "Someone get the REAL Captain off the bridge!" She shouted over the noise. Where the hell was the Vulcan?! She could really use Grippen or Rayek right now; both men were taller and stronger than she, and both knew her..."leadership" style and would possibly back her up.

She fired off several more phaser shots, unfazed by the "fake" Rayek's still standing. Killing the Bridge would render it all useless anyway. With luck, it could even cause an override code to take over, shutting down the clones' movements. So far, that didn't seem to be happening.

Dem's voice came into her ear over the sounds of phaser fire and the clones closing in. Luckily, in a beam of light, she appeared on Beta Bridge. "For fuck's SAKE," she said, sighing deeply. "What the HELL is going on?" It was a rhetorical question. "Sir, I really think it's best if you go hide in Engineering with Commander Lek," she said. She might dislike the Ferengi, finding him rather full of himself, but he had the same sort of passion she did, even if he channeled it to different things.

She arrived back at the Bridge to chaos. Quietly, she slipped beneath the closest bank of consoles, taking out the legs of the two people seated there, and firing on them. If she could get a vantage point, she could phaser the sucker on her own. Of course, it would be better if she had a hand.

[Deck One]
Unknown to Vila, the officers she was firing on were her own crewmates.  Elena from Ops, and the Bolian flight officer, Bok Char.  No one seemed safe from the rampaging Bajoran.  The only ones she didn't seem to be firing on were those who had arrived with her. Everyone else was fair game.
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[Deck 6]
rRayek materialized on the Battle Bridge and was not surprised to find himself facing down a pair of security officers, left behind to secure the location from the rogue Captain.  The pair of ensigns seemed uncertain as to his status, friend or foe, so the rRomulan took advantage of that fact.  "The Bridge is under attack.  See for yourself. Computer, display main Bridge security camera."  When the pair turned their attention towards the activated viewscreen, rRayek fired on the pair with a wide beam from his phaser.  They dropped.

"Computer, activate transporter inhibitors on all three Bridges and initiate a security lockout."  He authorized it using the authorization code that he'd read from his original's mind.  That should give him some breathing room, until the Captain figured out that it was in effect and overrode his First Officer's clearance.

The rRomulan moved to the Ops console and began an assessment of the ship.  Engines were locked out. That would be Lek.  And the Captain's Yacht seemed to be coming about for another strafing run.

Hmmm..

rRayek tapped his comm badge. "tr'Lhoell to Lek.  I need you to release the engine lockout, the station is about to self-destruction, and we need to distance the ship from it."

[Tekin Nevir]

[Bridge | USS Discovery]

Dem hesitated for a moment too long as the ship shook from the raining fire. "Shields Shields yep, ok." He started to rather clumsily input the required information into his console. "Firing back, disabling shots only" He offered, before remembering that they still had an intruder onboard. "Find the clone, he's still on the bridge." He commanded with a renewed confidence, still acting like he was in command. He was still slightly hesitant towards the captain.

USS Discovery
Bridge

Vila shook her head. SHe'd managed to dodge the efforts to disarm her, though she didn't know how long she'd be able to hold them off. "CAPTAIN. I MEAN NOW." She said. "Someone get the REAL Captain off the bridge!" She shouted over the noise. Where the hell was the Vulcan?! She could really use Grippen or Rayek right now; both men were taller and stronger than she, and both knew her..."leadership" style and would possibly back her up.

She fired off several more phaser shots, unfazed by the "fake" Rayek's still standing. Killing the Bridge would render it all useless anyway. With luck, it could even cause an override code to take over, shutting down the clones' movements. So far, that didn't seem to be happening.

Dem's voice came into her ear over the sounds of phaser fire and the clones closing in. Luckily, in a beam of light, she appeared on Beta Bridge. "For fuck's SAKE," she said, sighing deeply. "What the HELL is going on?" It was a rhetorical question. "Sir, I really think it's best if you go hide in Engineering with Commander Lek," she said. She might dislike the Ferengi, finding him rather full of himself, but he had the same sort of passion she did, even if he channeled it to different things.

"Yeah, I am working on it," she said, her head bent over the Ops console. Because she had killed the other one, the one on Beta bridge was fritzing but it had enough power still to get a life signs scan. Perfect. She headed back for the Main bridge, pausing only long enough to extract a second weapon from a nearby hull locker. She had run several internal schematics before this had all happened, and knew where they all were. In case.

She arrived back at the Bridge to chaos. Quietly, she slipped beneath the closest bank of consoles, taking out the legs of the two people seated there, and firing on them. If she could get a vantage point, she could phaser the sucker on her own. Of course, it would be better if she had a hand.

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

Of course the clone of Reyak was on the bridge, and the Captain was knocked back with a shot when phaser shots went wild.  It wasn't fatal, just a shoulder shot.  Prophets, he got those in the holodeck often enough.  He did a quick check to make sure it wasn't too dangerous, and then pushed himself back up, grabbing his weapon again.

"You only get this one, Vila!" he shouted back, as he moved to the tubolift as he heard the telltale sound of a transporter.  rRayek was on his way to another location.  Probably somewhere on the ship since the shields were up.

The Captain made it into the turbolift, but it stopped as the lockout occurred.  Great... now they were in a tug of war with command codes.

"Computer, override lockout.  Main Engineering." he ordered, and the turbolift started back up again.  "You can't control my ship while I'm here, Rayek." he muttered, as his comm chirped.

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Station - Operations Center

When Malik suggested the division of labor, Rayek went along with it, even though by Chain of Command the one contacting the SC should be him.  What harm was there for the Second officer to do it.  Malik had been present at the briefing same as Rayek, so he knew the mission was classified and that support was not likely to be coming.

"tr'Lhoell to Discovery..."   Rayek frowned when his call to the ship went unanswered (because the main Ops console was down and the Bridge crew and Away Team were dealing with issues of their own).

He turned his attention to Malik and his message just as the Risian hit send.  Rayek facepalmed. "Um. Grippen.... I believe the clones were to be considered classified material"

When the response came back ...announcing that another ship was enroute,  Rayek didn't know whether to be happy to have support or worried that the lot of them were about to face a demotion.  Guess they would find out in 2 hours.

Rayek tried again to reach the Bridge this time, via the Captain's commbadge.

"tr'Lhoell to Tekin."   Rayek could hear the comm connecting.

"Station Ops has been secured and the self-destruct halted." 
Rayek wished that was the end of it but no..

"I need to inform you that that Starfleet Command has been contacted and they have sent the USS Zheng He to lend support"

It was then that the Romulan noticed the Captain's Yacht was detached and flying strafing runs against the ship itself.

"Commander,  can the firechain buoys be manually operated to select a specific target?"  Rayek knew it was possible with Katra's defense system... but he had learned that the two systems were not synonymous.
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rRayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery]

[Deck One]
Unknown to Vila, the officers she was firing on were her own crewmates.  Elena from Ops, and the Bolian flight officer, Bok Char.  No one seemed safe from the rampaging Bajoran.  The only ones she didn't seem to be firing on were those who had arrived with her. Everyone else was fair game.
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[Deck 6]
rRayek materialized on the Battle Bridge and was not surprised to find himself facing down a pair of security officers, left behind to secure the location from the rogue Captain.  The pair of ensigns seemed uncertain as to his status, friend or foe, so the rRomulan took advantage of that fact.  "The Bridge is under attack.  See for yourself. Computer, display main Bridge security camera."  When the pair turned their attention towards the activated viewscreen, rRayek fired on the pair with a wide beam from his phaser.  They dropped.

"Computer, activate transporter inhibitors on all three Bridges and initiate a security lockout."  He authorized it using the authorization code that he'd read from his original's mind.  That should give him some breathing room, until the Captain figured out that it was in effect and overrode his First Officer's clearance.

The rRomulan moved to the Ops console and began an assessment of the ship.  Engines were locked out. That would be Lek.  And the Captain's Yacht seemed to be coming about for another strafing run.

Hmmm..

rRayek tapped his comm badge. "tr'Lhoell to Lek.  I need you to release the engine lockout, the station is about to self-destruction, and we need to distance the ship from it."

"The first bit of good news I've heard today..." the Captain started, stepping out of the turbolift and into the hallway.  A shot nearly missed him, and for a moment he wondering if he would going to end up taking down his entire crew.  But no... these looked like station personnel.  Evidently there were more clones on the ship.  That made sense... they couldn't take over Discovery let alone the station if they didn't have numbers.  Who knows how long they had been working on their plan.

The Captain held a grimace as he fired back and Rayek told him of the update.  "The Zheng He is a guardian ship... they could be either Intelligence or our back-up from Starfleet Command.  Either way, not great.  Keep information to a minimum.  If its one of our we'll be implicating them.  If they aren't, then we're going to be in deep soon.  See if you can use the station defenses to disable my yacht."

Soon, the Captain arrived in engineering, only for him to come under fire.  He dove, the lab scrub-clad Captain firing at station personnel clones on his ship.

"Dammit... I don't supposed I can get some help down here?" he called out to anyone who could hear him.

[Lek]

rRayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery]

[Deck One]
Unknown to Vila, the officers she was firing on were her own crewmates.  Elena from Ops, and the Bolian flight officer, Bok Char.  No one seemed safe from the rampaging Bajoran.  The only ones she didn't seem to be firing on were those who had arrived with her. Everyone else was fair game.
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[Deck 6]
rRayek materialized on the Battle Bridge and was not surprised to find himself facing down a pair of security officers, left behind to secure the location from the rogue Captain.  The pair of ensigns seemed uncertain as to his status, friend or foe, so the rRomulan took advantage of that fact.  "The Bridge is under attack.  See for yourself. Computer, display main Bridge security camera."  When the pair turned their attention towards the activated viewscreen, rRayek fired on the pair with a wide beam from his phaser.  They dropped.

"Computer, activate transporter inhibitors on all three Bridges and initiate a security lockout."  He authorized it using the authorization code that he'd read from his original's mind.  That should give him some breathing room, until the Captain figured out that it was in effect and overrode his First Officer's clearance.

The rRomulan moved to the Ops console and began an assessment of the ship.  Engines were locked out. That would be Lek.  And the Captain's Yacht seemed to be coming about for another strafing run.

Hmmm..

rRayek tapped his comm badge. "tr'Lhoell to Lek.  I need you to release the engine lockout, the station is about to self-destruction, and we need to distance the ship from it."

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]

Lek heard Rayek's call, but knew nothing and no one was who they seemed. He was on high alert for deception and replied after a pause.

"If you are who you say you are. What did I give you for your wedding and what was the result the extended period holoprogram we were in? We have thrusters and are backing away from the station at 10 KPS, you want anything faster than that, prove who you are."

Given the word was there were clones involved, the person calling might be able to answer his questions. If they could, then things would get complicated.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Station - Operations Center

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

Of course the clone of Rayek was on the bridge, and the Captain was knocked back with a shot when phaser shots went wild.  It wasn't fatal, just a shoulder shot.  Prophets, he got those in the holodeck often enough.  He did a quick check to make sure it wasn't too dangerous, and then pushed himself back up, grabbing his weapon again.

"You only get this one, Vila!" he shouted back, as he moved to the tubolift as he heard the telltale sound of a transporter.  rRayek was on his way to another location.  Probably somewhere on the ship since the shields were up.

The Captain made it into the turbolift, but it stopped as the lockout occurred.  Great... now they were in a tug of war with command codes.

"Computer, override lockout.  Main Engineering." he ordered, and the turbolift started back up again.  "You can't control my ship while I'm here, Rayek." he muttered, as his comm chirped.

"The first bit of good news I've heard today..." the Captain started, stepping out of the turbolift and into the hallway.  A shot nearly missed him, and for a moment he wondering if he would going to end up taking down his entire crew.  But no... these looked like station personnel.  Evidently there were more clones on the ship.  That made sense... they couldn't take over Discovery let alone the station if they didn't have numbers.  Who knows how long they had been working on their plan.

The Captain held a grimace as he fired back and Rayek told him of the update.  "The Zheng He is a guardian ship... they could be either Intelligence or our back-up from Starfleet Command.  Either way, not great.  Keep information to a minimum.  If its one of our we'll be implicating them.  If they aren't, then we're going to be in deep soon.  See if you can use the station defenses to disable my yacht."

Rayek listened to the Captain's response regarding the Zheng He.  He mentally filed the information and then gave Malik a sidelong glance at the Captain's order to keep information to a minimum.  "Yessir, Information to a minimum" he reiterated to be sure the Risan heard it this time.

That Tekin used the phrase 'see if' told the Romulan that even the Captain wasn't certain about the programming of the defense buoys. "We'll do our best to disable them, Captain."
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rRayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery - Deck Six - Battle Bridge]

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]

Lek heard Rayek's call, but knew nothing and no one was who they seemed. He was on high alert for deception and replied after a pause.

"If you are who you say you are. What did I give you for your wedding and what was the result the extended period holoprogram we were in? We have thrusters and are backing away from the station at 10 KPS, you want anything faster than that, prove who you are."

Given the word was there were clones involved, the person calling might be able to answer his questions. If they could, then things would get complicated.

The replicant Romulan had been designed to infiltrate and replace the First Officer when the inital Thinker plan was underway, as such he had the exact memories of the original up until the moment of the original's capture.  This meant that rRayek did have clear memory of the holoprogram that the two had begun back when both were on Challenger.

Unfortunately, the wedding that the Ferengi spoke of, occurred after the fact, so rRayek didn't have those same memories.  What he did have however was intel from their spy on the station from back then, whose sole purpose was supposed to fill in the blanks for this sort of personal detail.  However the accuracy of their reports was circumspect since the station had discovered the presence of the replicants within just a few days.

rRayek had no choice but to answer as best he could.

"Our holodeck was the Murder on the Orient Express and we never did finish it." That part he was certain of... unless they continued it after both were assigned to the Discovery... oh Fvadt.. he needed to stop second guessing the intel or the Ferengi might pick up on his hesitation.

"And your gift, as I recall was, was a ship in a bottle."  What rRayek hadn't been told by his informant was the 'ship' was specifically a recreation of the USS Challenger that the two had both served on before Rayek's transfer to Katra Station.

[Lek]

rRayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery - Deck One - Main Bridge]

The replicant Romulan had been designed to infiltrate and replace the First Officer when the inital Thinker plan was underway, as such he had the exact memories of the original up until the moment of the original's capture.  This meant that rRayek did have clear memory of the holoprogram that the two had begun back when both were on Challenger.

Unfortunately, the wedding that the Ferengi spoke of, occurred after the fact, so rRayek didn't have those same memories.  What he did have however was intel from their spy on the station from back then, whose sole purpose was supposed to fill in the blanks for this sort of personal detail.  However the accuracy of their reports was circumspect since the station had discovered the presence of the replicants within just a few days.

rRayek had no choice but to answer as best he could.

"Our holodeck was the Murder on the Orient Express and we never did finish it." That part he was certain of... unless they continued it after both were assigned to the Discovery... oh Fvadt.. he needed to stop second guessing the intel or the Ferengi might pick up on his hesitation.

"And your gift, as I recall was, was a ship in a bottle."  What rRayek hadn't been told by his informant was the 'ship' was specifically a recreation of the USS Challenger that the two had both served on before Rayek's transfer to Katra Station.

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]

Lek listened to the responses and began to sweat. The person claiming to be Rayek had gotten the first question correct, but in the second question, he saw an opening. Speaking in what he hoped was a reasonable tone he said.

"Oh damn, it is you! That model of Discovery cost me twenty strips of latinum you know. Let me get started on unlocking the warp drive. It will take a bit, as I didn't use the standard methods because I didn't want someone overriding a normal lock out."

Lek then waited to see if this really was Rayek.

[Malik Grippen]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Station - Operations Center

Rayek listened to the Captain's response regarding the Zheng He.  He mentally filed the information and then gave Malik a sidelong glance at the Captain's order to keep information to a minimum.  "Yessir, Information to a minimum" he reiterated to be sure the Risan heard it this time.

That Tekin used the phrase 'see if' told the Romulan that even the Captain wasn't certain about the programming of the defense buoys. "We'll do our best to disable them, Captain."
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rRayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery - Deck One - Main Bridge]

The replicant Romulan had been designed to infiltrate and replace the First Officer when the inital Thinker plan was underway, as such he had the exact memories of the original up until the moment of the original's capture.  This meant that rRayek did have clear memory of the holoprogram that the two had begun back when both were on Challenger.

Unfortunately, the wedding that the Ferengi spoke of, occurred after the fact, so rRayek didn't have those same memories.  What he did have however was intel from their spy on the station from back then, whose sole purpose was supposed to fill in the blanks for this sort of personal detail.  However the accuracy of their reports was circumspect since the station had discovered the presence of the replicants within just a few days.

rRayek had no choice but to answer as best he could.

"Our holodeck was the Murder on the Orient Express and we never did finish it." That part he was certain of... unless they continued it after both were assigned to the Discovery... oh Fvadt.. he needed to stop second guessing the intel or the Ferengi might pick up on his hesitation.

"And your gift, as I recall was, was a ship in a bottle."  What rRayek hadn't been told by his informant was the 'ship' was specifically a recreation of the USS Challenger that the two had both served on before Rayek's transfer to Katra Station.

[Station Ops]
Malik understood the captain and executive officer wanted to adhere to their original mission of secrecy, but Malik disagreed.

"Respectfully, sir, the results of Starfleet Intelligence's experiments have nearly killed us on several occasions. Dozens of innocent lives have been lost. The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth. And the truth is Starfleet Command needs to know the threat SI has put everyone in here. Starfleet upholds law, order and protects our citizens lives - all of which SI have broken here. And if they want to court martial me for it, I welcome it."

Malik then went to the replicator and ordered a Mai-Tai.

"And I'm going to drink this to. They can bill me."

The station commander who was acting rather sheepish then spoke up.

"Sir, yes. The defence buoys can target anything in range."

Malik replied sipping his drink. "Target the yacht and disable them."

The remaining firechain defensive buoys then activated and fired at the clone captain's vessel.

[Rayek trLhoell]

rRayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery - Deck Six - Battle Bridge]

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]

Lek listened to the responses and began to sweat. The person claiming to be Rayek had gotten the first question correct, but in the second question, he saw an opening. Speaking in what he hoped was a reasonable tone he said.

"Oh damn, it is you! That model of Discovery cost me twenty strips of latinum you know. Let me get started on unlocking the warp drive. It will take a bit, as I didn't use the standard methods because I didn't want someone overriding a normal lock out."

Lek then waited to see if this really was Rayek.

The replicant Romulan was all too familiar with being overly suspicious.  Lek had seemingly accepted his answers too readily - this concerned him until the Ferengi name-dropped the ship casually. A-ha! Another test! He knew it! Lek was not that easy to fool.

The clone knew that at the time of Rayek's wedding, his original had only been on Challenger and Katra, so there would be no reason for the Ferengi to gift the original Rayek a model of the Prometheus ship.

While rRayek couldn't be positive of what ship was in the bottle, Lek's test only worked if it wasn't Discovery.

"It's nice to know our friendship is valued so highly,  Lek, but you and I know that it wasn't a model of the Discovery in there."
The false Rayek left his statement at that. Hopefully, catching the lie would be sufficient enough to have the Ferengi lower his guard.

[Lorut Vila]

Vila had calmed enough to think more clear-headed.

You only get this one, Vila!

Ha! That's what he thought. She was good at tactical planning, and she had one, for sure. For now, she was holding steady with Ops. "Dem, what's the plan? Implement it FAST because I have some unfinished business to take care of," she said. She was planning a hunting trip. Only her game wouldn't be Hesperats, it would be clones.

She clicked on to her Comms and radioed the real Captain. =/\=Sir...as soon as we get the Yacht out of the sky, meet me in Security. Remember our holodeck thing? It's time to implement that but in real life. The younger Bajoran was going to learn the Guerrilla tactics that had saved their people. 

[Lek]

rRayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery - Deck One - Main Bridge]

The replicant Romulan was all too familiar with being overly suspicious.  Lek had seemingly accepted his answers too readily - this concerned him until the Ferengi name-dropped the ship casually. A-ha! Another test! He knew it! Lek was not that easy to fool.

The clone knew that at the time of Rayek's wedding, his original had only been on Challenger and Katra, so there would be no reason for the Ferengi to gift the original Rayek a model of the Prometheus ship.

While rRayek couldn't be positive of what ship was in the bottle, Lek's test only worked if it wasn't Discovery.

"It's nice to know our friendship is valued so highly,  Lek, but you and I know that it wasn't a model of the Discovery in there."
The false Rayek left his statement at that. Hopefully, catching the lie would be sufficient enough to have the Ferengi lower his guard.

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]

Lek was listening very closely as the supposed Rayek replied and easily noted that he hadn't actually stated what ship was in the bottle. Lek had been afraid a clone would know what Rayek knew, but while he answered about the holoprogram correctly and without hesitation, he was being cagey about the model. Lek knew he had found weakness and wasn't about to let it slide.

"You were always too smart for your own good. It wasn't a model of Discovery, it was the original Constitution-Class Enterprise. You know how much of a fan I was of the old Connie and I figured it would remind you of me. Should have the engines unlocked soon. You know that after what happened on Frontier Day, if I decide to sabotage something, it stays sabotaged. I've got a work crew on it."

Let's see how good this clone's maker had made his friend.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Station - Operations Center

[Station Ops]

Malik understood the captain and executive officer wanted to adhere to their original mission of secrecy, but Malik disagreed.

"Respectfully, sir, the results of Starfleet Intelligence's experiments have nearly killed us on several occasions. Dozens of innocent lives have been lost. The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth. And the truth is Starfleet Command needs to know the threat SI has put everyone in here. Starfleet upholds law, order and protects our citizens lives - all of which SI have broken here. And if they want to court martial me for it, I welcome it."

Malik then went to the replicator and ordered a Mai-Tai.

"And I'm going to drink this to. They can bill me."

The station commander who was acting rather sheepish then spoke up.

"Sir, yes. The defence buoys can target anything in range."

Malik replied sipping his drink. "Target the yacht and disable them."

The remaining firechain defensive buoys then activated and fired at the clone captain's vessel.

Rayek was tempted to point out that Starfleet Intelligence reported to Starfleet Command or at least a few of them.  But the Risan's point was taken, the second officer felt all of the Federation had a right to know.

Rayek was less certain.  His time among the Tal'Shiar - yet another secretive organization, had shown him that some good work could be done from the shadows... and that sometimes people didn't want to know where the technology came from that could save lives.  If by studying the replicants and learning about the cloning technology, Starfleet was able to come up with a defense against them - kinda like what Vadok was attempting, then yeah Rayek was okay with that.  Apparently, the Risan was not.

When Malik ordered a Mai-tai, Rayek rolled his eyes and continued working on the controls getting access to the defense buoys.  Rayek was already in the process of targeting the Yacht when the Risan 'gave the order' to fire.  In his periphery, Rayek took note of the Risan sipping on the Mai-tai.

"Mr. Grippen, throw your career away all you want, but while you are on duty with me you will refrain from drinking alcohol."

The buoys fired on the yacht.
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
rRayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery - Deck Six - Battle Bridge]

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]

Lek was listening very closely as the supposed Rayek replied and easily noted that he hadn't actually stated what ship was in the bottle. Lek had been afraid a clone would know what Rayek knew, but while he answered about the holoprogram correctly and without hesitation, he was being cagey about the model. Lek knew he had found weakness and wasn't about to let it slide.

"You were always too smart for your own good. It wasn't a model of Discovery, it was the original Constitution-Class Enterprise. You know how much of a fan I was of the old Connie and I figured it would remind you of me. Should have the engines unlocked soon. You know that after what happened on Frontier Day, if I decide to sabotage something, it stays sabotaged. I've got a work crew on it."

Let's see how good this clone's maker had made his friend.

Lek's praise and another name-drop, this time the Enterprise with an explanation from Lek of his choice suggested to the replicant that this game of cat and mouse was far from over.  Lek wouldn't have needed to provide explanation to original.  For some reason, the Ferengi was still doubting.  Perhaps he'd picked up on the hesitation or it was the lack of actually naming the ship.  Fvadt! It seemed he would have to risk it all on a guess.  The best choice being the ship that they both served on.

"Lek, we don't have time for this.  It wasn't Discovery or Enterprise. It was a model of Challenger.  Now can you please quit being so distrustful and just get the ship moving!" he answered in an exasperated tone.

rRayek silently prayed to the Elements that his guess was right and that he hadn't shown his hand.

[Lek]

rRayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery - Deck Six - Battle Bridge]

Lek's praise and another name-drop, this time the Enterprise with an explanation from Lek of his choice suggested to the replicant that this game of cat and mouse was far from over.  Lek wouldn't have needed to provide explanation to original.  For some reason, the Ferengi was still doubting.  Perhaps he'd picked up on the hesitation or it was the lack of actually naming the ship.  Fvadt! It seemed he would have to risk it all on a guess.  The best choice being the ship that they both served on.

"Lek, we don't have time for this.  It wasn't Discovery or Enterprise. It was a model of Challenger.  Now can you please quit being so distrustful and just get the ship moving!" he answered in an exasperated tone.

rRayek silently prayed to the Elements that his guess was right and that he hadn't shown his hand.

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]

Lek's hearing was acute enough to detect changes in pitch and timbre in a person's voice and Lek knew this was not Rayek. It was frightening how much this clone knew, but despite the fifty kilo head science dunsel that had brewed up this replica, it didn't know every thing.

"Good guess whatever you are, but critical piece of information you are lacking is that I didn't pay ten strips of latinum for the wedding gift I gave to Rayek, I made the ship in a bottle by hand. The ship is moving via thrusters and that's enough to get us away from the station. There will be no impulse and no warp until I hear from the real Rayek or the real Captain Tekin. Both systems are rigged to explode if you try to force your way into engineering or override my personal lock out. So, to quote an expression from a classmate of mine at the Academy. 'you may go bugger yourself with a splintered rake.'" 

[M'Nia]

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Main Bridge]

Soon, the Captain arrived in engineering, only for him to come under fire.  He dove, the lab scrub-clad Captain firing at station personnel clones on his ship.

"Dammit... I don't supposed I can get some help down here?" he called out to anyone who could hear him.

M'nia, made her way to engineering alongside the captain, not knowing what she would find, she had grabbed a phaser. She more than likely would need it. The doors opened up and they was fired upon. She followed the captain.  "Sorry captain but looks like right now I'm all you got. Cmdr lek. It's M'nia and the captain. Are you ok?"

[Dem Broadshire]

Vila had calmed enough to think more clear-headed.

Ha! That's what he thought. She was good at tactical planning, and she had one, for sure. For now, she was holding steady with Ops. "Dem, what's the plan? Implement it FAST because I have some unfinished business to take care of," she said. She was planning a hunting trip. Only her game wouldn't be Hesperats, it would be clones.

She clicked on to her Comms and radioed the real Captain. =/\=Sir...as soon as we get the Yacht out of the sky, meet me in Security. Remember our holodeck thing? It's time to implement that but in real life. The younger Bajoran was going to learn the Guerrilla tactics that had saved their people.

[Bridge | USS Discovery]

Dem was taken by surprise at the officers question. "Ah, Well I was thinking of trying to polarise the hull, to an extent to which the tractor beam disconnects." He took a moment to think his plan over. "You know what. Enough of this. Alex you do this. I'm a bloody doctor." With that, Dem walked towards the downed officers from the firefight, that the medics were tending too. 

[Lek]

M'nia, made her way to engineering alongside the captain, not knowing what she would find, she had grabbed a phaser. She more than likely would need it. The doors opened up and they was fired upon. She followed the captain.  "Sorry captain but looks like right now I'm all you got. Cmdr lek. It's M'nia and the captain. Are you ok?"

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]

When to doors to engineering opened, a couple of the more jumpy engineers opened fire. When Lek saw that it wasn't an assault, he began shouting.

"Cease fire! Cease fire! Stop shooting you knuckleheads!"

The shooting did stop and that gave Lek time to see someone that looked like the Captain and someone that looked like M'Nia. Unfortunately, he didn't know either well enough to challenge them like he had with the fake Rayek and he didn't know how he would know if they were the real ones or clones.

"Okay, I know who you look like, but that doesn't mean much. Neither does your voice print or any access codes you might have. However, from what I understand, tricorders can detect traces of genetic drift in clones. If you are willing to drop your weapons and be subjected to a scan, we might have a way forward."