S3-M11: The Best Things In Life Are Free

[Orum N'Jeer]

A check from Pev with station security confirmed that Captain Satar was with his ship, overseeing the station engineer's diagnostic scans.

The S'ti'ach made his way to the dock where the Romulan ship was berthed, and there found the Romulan, stern-faced with his arms crossed, observing as the station team prepared to board his ship. One of the repair team, a Rigelian Jelna that Pev hadn't yet met, was just finishing their explanation of when Satar could expect an overview of the damage to his ship.

As the conversation concluded, the newly-installed diplomatic officer approached. "Captain Satar? I am Pev, an officer with the station's diplomatic corps."

The Romulan looked down at the four-armed, blue alien who stood a bit over one meter tall.

"What in the four quadrants are you?" he asked.

Pev blinked his large, black eyes. "I am Pev, an officer with the station's diplomatic corps. My apologies, captain, I thought I had already spoken that part aloud."

The Romulan's eyes darted around as if he expected someone to reveal the joke. "No, I heard you. What are you?"

Pev put his upper right hand on his chest. "I am a S'ti'ach, captain. A native of the planet S'ti'ach'aas."

"You look like someone dressed their pet and taught it to speak."

Pev's face betrayed no emotion. "And you look like someone dipped a Vulcan in brine and set them in the sun for six hours to dry."

The Romulan's eyes widened. "How dare you?"

Pev crossed his hands behind his back. "I am a Starfleet officer, captain, and will treat you with exactly the same amount of respect that you offer me." To punctuate his lack of malice, the ensign smiled broadly. "If you have a moment, I was hoping you could join me for a drink. It is my first day as a diplomat, and was hoping to make an impression with my new superiors, as well as endeavoring to help you and your people in any way I can."

[Xasik]

Xasik Speech
Xasik Lattice
Emerald Speech
Emerald Lattice

--------------------------------

< Katra Station / Simulation Lab >

There was just enough time to greet everyone in the simulation lab, give a well deserved snuggle to patient little Emerald, whom she had not been able to give their daily dose of snuggles before, as well as the more mature part of her lab family: Xasik, Eydis and Reisen, whom she all bad an overdue, warm greeting and thanks in person, followed by her quickly glossing over the daily schedule for the department.
"œI am looking forward to see what you two will manage to learn about the artefacts. What is their planet of origin?" She asked towards Xasik and Reisen, taking a sip of her own coffee while watching Emerald playfully bumping into Eydis' leg and the Captain gently picking them up.
A musing smile was to be seen on the scientist's face.
Was she not the luckiest one in the galaxy to be amidst those endearing individuals she had chosen as her new family?

[Katra Station | Simulation Lab]

Emerald

They were delighted when First Mother (Sirol) appeared in the family den. Squeaking excitedly, Emerald rolled over to her to demand attention from her. They had been denied their usual snuggles today and would not allow the delay to continue. They voiced their feelings with a series of sharp squeaks and clicks before humming their joy at her being here. Snuggles in the bubble weren't the same as the snuggles outside of the bubble but they were just as warm and loving, and with the humming they shared it was even better.

Inside their bubble, Emerald held the smaller bubble that First Mother had given them. It was always with them and it always would be. Giving the bubble a gentle squeeze, they squeaked excitedly as it squeaked at them. It was one of their favourite games to play. They squeezed it a few more times and giggled about it while they enjoyed the humming of those around them.

Emerald was disappointed when  First Mother placed them back onto the ground but they quickly found amusement by booping into the legs of Dear Mother (Eydis) until shi picked them up. They clicked and chirped with delight, still humming their joy and happiness to everyone around them.

Xasik

Xasik was glad to see his colleague and gave her a traditional, polite nod of his head in greeting as well as his typical Reman smile as he watched her scooping an excited little Emerald up into her arms. Emerald had been looking for her and now perhaps that they had seen her they would be able to calm down and relax a little bit.

He nodded in agreement as Sirol as she went over the schedule for the day. It didn't sound too chaotic and he was grateful for that. He was eager to examine the artifacts and was glad that he would have the time to do so.

"œMy hope is that these artifacts can shine some light on the civilization that existed there before their sun baked them. The planet is called Salamis but not much else is known about the people that lived there, so I'm hoping to help shed a little light on the mystery."

The call pulled her out of her thoughts for a second, before she then quickly tapped her comm badge to respond.
"œOf course, Commander."
She calmly spoke, then glanced over to Xasik and Reisen.
"œI have to excuse myself once more it seems, my apologies for that.
In my absence please stay in contact with the OPS and Engineering in case one of them needs assistance with Roluman language and/or customs.
But I have to ask you to refrain from personally contacting our refugees until we know more about the situation. Having us three combined might be perceived as threatening..."

Xasik politely looked to Reisen and then back to his artifacts as Sirol took her call. He didn't want to eavesdrop on a conversation that was not his business. He picked up a particularly interesting, stone artifact that had him stumped and handed it to Reisen. "This one had me a bit confused. Perhaps you'll have more luck with it. It's made of beautifully formed marble but other than that I really have no clue what it could have been used for."

He directed his attention back to Sirol when she spoke to him again.
"œNo need to apologize," Xasik reassured her with his typical Reman grin. "œYou're busy and needed elsewhere. I'm sure we can manage to maintain the lab in your absence. I promise we won't burn it down or accidentally explode it." There was a playful tone in his voice as he spoke. He was becoming more and more comfortable around his colleagues and it was starting to show in his interactions. He smirked at Reisen to convey his amusement to him.
He then looked to Eydis to see if shi was as amused as he was.

"œWe'll be sure to stay in contact with OPS and Engineering in case we're needed."

He had to refrain from rolling his eyes at her next request. There was no way in Vorta Vor he would willingly approach or contact any Romulan he was unfamiliar with. His PTSD was getting better the more he worked on overcoming his past, but there was still some things he simply couldn't do.

"œNo worries there," he said with an even tone. "œI had no plans to contact them. I admit that I feel uncomfortable with so many unfamiliar Romulans aboard so I am content to refrain from making myself known to them at present. I would hate to trigger a diplomatic incident."

[ Katra Station - Labs ]

The small pocket of particles was rapidly fading, but there was enough of a footprint to make some assumptions. The well was just large enough to disrupt the shields of a small ship, though neither the Runabout, nor the Freighter had reported such a disturbance. The fact that it was discovered, meant that it was created relatively recently, and should be further investigated. Where to begin the investigation however, was up to Xasik.

Xasik looked at the information on his terminal and frowned at it. This really wasn't his area of expertise but he would try his best. From what he could tell, there was a small pocket of particles that had been created recently but it was fading fast. What could that mean? A hidden object? A cloaked ship perhaps? They had just taken on a group of Romulan refugees after all. He hated to think it possible but perhaps it was a trick or a trap?

Perhaps he should call for help? Someone more knowledgeable in this area might be able to make something useful from the information.

Xasik hesitated and looked over the information one last time before tapping his comm badge and contacting Sirol and Kyan

"œFreeman to Lieutenant Sirol and Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie. Sorry to bother you both but I've been sent some scans and I'm just not sure how to decipher them. I'm out of my depth on this. I'm sending you both the scans to see if you can make any more sense from them than I can."

Xasik sent the scans through to Sirol, and Kyan.

"œFrom what I can tell there is a small pocket of particles just large enough to disrupt the shields of a small ship, but they're fading fast. From the data I have, I believe this anomaly was created recently. I'm not sure what it could mean though. Perhaps a hidden ship? Maybe a security threat? I'm running more scans now but I'm having trouble deciphering the data. I'm a rocks and minerals guy, this is way above my pay-grade. I wasn't sure who to contact about this."

[Jettis Jyur]

A check from Pev with station security confirmed that Captain Satar was with his ship, overseeing the station engineer's diagnostic scans.

The S'ti'ach made his way to the dock where the Romulan ship was berthed, and there found the Romulan, stern-faced with his arms crossed, observing as the station team prepared to board his ship. One of the repair team, a Rigelian Jelna that Pev hadn't yet met, was just finishing their explanation of when Satar could expect an overview of the damage to his ship.

As the conversation concluded, the newly-installed diplomatic officer approached. "Captain Satar? I am Pev, an officer with the station's diplomatic corps."

The Romulan looked down at the four-armed, blue alien who stood a bit over one meter tall.

"What in the four quadrants are you?" he asked.

Pev blinked his large, black eyes. "I am Pev, an officer with the station's diplomatic corps. My apologies, captain, I thought I had already spoken that part aloud."

The Romulan's eyes darted around as if he expected someone to reveal the joke. "No, I heard you. What are you?"

Pev put his upper right hand on his chest. "I am a S'ti'ach, captain. A native of the planet S'ti'ach'aas."

"You look like someone dressed their pet and taught it to speak."

Pev's face betrayed no emotion. "And you look like someone dipped a Vulcan in brine and set them in the sun for six hours to dry."

The Romulan's eyes widened. "How dare you?"

Pev crossed his hands behind his back. "I am a Starfleet officer, captain, and will treat you with exactly the same amount of respect that you offer me." To punctuate his lack of malice, the ensign smiled broadly. "If you have a moment, I was hoping you could join me for a drink. It is my first day as a diplomat, and was hoping to make an impression with my new superiors, as well as endeavoring to help you and your people in any way I can."

[ Katra Station - Docking Bay ]

"It's evident to me that this is your first day." The distaste in the Romulan's voice was potent, as he stared down this blue thing that interrogated him. "However, my pride is not more important than the lives of my people. Any... further questions you may have, you're free to ask. Do note that the rest of my crew may not take so kindly to your words though."

:: CO's Ready Room | Katra Station ::

Kyan had been quiet during the meeting. It was unusual for him, as he usually had something to say on most topics. However, the incident with Admiral Carter had taught the Miran something about dealing with unknown Comanders which was; play it close to the vest until you know who you're dealing with. He had his opinions of course, and his suspicions about their Romulan guests. But at the moment, that's al they were. Opinions and suspicions. And since there was nothing concrete to base them on, he'd decided to keep them to himself.

And it wasn't that Jettis was entirely unknown to him, but he was also not well known. Kyan was still figuring the El-Aurian out and vice versa. Things like that took time, which was on thing that the both of them had in spades.

He'd hung back when Jettis was talking to their new Diplomatic Officer, Pev, and followed the new Commander into his Ready Room. Once inside, he deposited himself into one of the chairs across from Jetis at the desk.

"So boss," he began casually.. "Whaddya think on these Romulans the now? Think they're up to something?"

[ Katra Station - Ready Room ]

As Kyan followed him around to his ready room, he gave a slight wave for the man to take a seat, as he himself plopped into his chair behind the computer. No reports had come in just yet, so it would further be a waiting game."To be honest, Mr.Mackenzie... I'm not too sure what to make of it." Jettis blew out a frustrated breath, with a slight shrug. "All of their behaviors thus far have only seemed to be open and transparent. And yet there's this tiny part of me that feel like this is a trap." Shaking his head, he went back to perusing what information they had on the Freighter so far as Kyan's commbadge beeped. How the man responded would guide his next response, but the information conveyed was very interesting indeed.

[Eydis]

< Katra Station / Docking Ring >

Being back in the Docking Ring made her nervous.
Last time she had been here, a terrorist attack had almost killed her; left her buried under debris and crushed the lower half of her body.
Even nowadays she could still sometimes feel the aching phantom (?) pain in her bones and joints"¦
However, she did her best to not let any of her personal emotions seep through.
Her hand reached up to her chest, where she could feel the dagger Eydis had gifted her poking out from the inside of her lab coat's pocket.
Touching it she took a deep breath. Her friend's gift helped calm her; steer her focus away from her near-death-memory.
Narrowing her eyes she focused on her colleagues, as well as the newly arrived ship.
She was here to work and not to have feelings.

Initially the slender scientist had been surprised about Kyan"¦ Commander Mackenzie"¦ Requesting her presence at the docking ring.
Many Romulan ships tended to occasionally come and go, and - despite her own background - her assistance was usually not required when it came to serve as a mediator.
Only ever as she was briefed by Mackenzie, the special nature of this particular meeting gained shape.
Deserters from the Free State requesting asylum"¦
Sirol was not yet sure what to think of it, yet the situation had her undivided attention.

She had not been aware of deserters to even be a specific issue, but then again she was stationed far away from her own people, and news only ever seeped through sporadically, as well as - supposedly - pre-selected by the official channels...
Just like in the old days of the Empire, she assumed...
She stood there, behind two security officers, observing and listening and quietly taking her notes on the situation.
Sirol had decided that it was the wisest strategy to not be among the first row of persons they would see upon disembarking.
As the daughter of a renowned Free States Senator, Sirol was not sure whether any of them would recognise her face or her name, and as a result potentially question Starfleet's neutrality"¦

Sirol internally cringed at the Captain's words, yet remained calm and quiet on the outside.
She remembered the policy of having people disappear very well; better than she cared to admit, and while her own experiences had dated back to the time of the Star Empire, she still acknowledged the possibility of the same tactics being still used nowadays.
People hardly ever changed in less than one generation after all...
She and her father were privileged and in a good standing among the houses of the Free State, and Sirol was well aware of that, but she was also willing to hear out another perspective.
There was more than just one story behind the Captain's statement, and she was cautiously curious to understand it"¦

Eydis at first just watched emerald play around. The blue hued tholian commander was silent observing the development and play of emerald. And then Eydis gave chase to the little hatchling. Not as fast of course but A shambling almost Frankenstein monster lumbering motion. Arms outstretched as shit engaged emerald before scooping up emeralds bubbles and then placing her back down gentle. Eydis was present on the lattice and in contact with the docked romulan war bird of hers the mother swan.

Shi would pause mid lumbering step after emerald and look to Xasik. The mother swan stands ready if the need arises.  You may converse over the lattice as well with sirol. Shi would then return to her chasing of emerald around the room.

Reisen would study this playing between the two tholians for a while as if bemused by the spectacle. Before hearing his Colleague voice address him. He would give a soft nod of his head to xasik before accepting the marble artifact. It would be my pleasure to be of assistance . I must apologize however. What other information has already been collected on the artifacts? If you could send any data that you have already to my station. I will be able to get start right away Science officer xasik

Reisen would place the artifact on his table space at his work station. Looking at the data pad there. Cross referencing would help him. He would look up and steal a glance at Emerald and Eydis playing.

[Kyan Mackenzie]

:: Ready Room | Katra Station ::

"To be honest, Mr.Mackenzie... I'm not too sure what to make of it." Jettis blew out a frustrated breath, with a slight shrug. "All of their behaviors thus far have only seemed to be open and transparent. And yet there's this tiny part of me that feel like this is a trap." Shaking his head, he went back to perusing what information they had on the Freighter so far as Kyan's comm badge beeped. How the man responded would guide his next response, but the information conveyed was very interesting indeed.

"œFreeman to Lieutenant Sirol and Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie. Sorry to bother you both but I've been sent some scans and I'm just not sure how to decipher them. I'm out of my depth on this. I'm sending you both the scans to see if you can make any more sense from them than I can."

Xasik sent the scans through to Sirol, and Kyan.

"œFrom what I can tell there is a small pocket of particles just large enough to disrupt the shields of a small ship, but they're fading fast. From the data I have, I believe this anomaly was created recently. I'm not sure what it could mean though. Perhaps a hidden ship? Maybe a security threat? I'm running more scans now but I'm having trouble deciphering the data. I'm a rocks and minerals guy, this is way above my pay-grade. I wasn't sure who to contact about this."

Kyan had ben about to reply when his com badge beeped. He listened to what Xasik said before regarding Jettis again.

Kyan thought it was a trap too. But he always thought it was a trap. Because most of the time... IT WAS A TRAP! But this time was especially easy to come to that conclusion. It was Romulans after all. Deception was expected when one dealt with Romulans.  Well, most of them anyways. The Qowat Milat always told the truth, which made them unique among Romulans to be sure. But these weren't the warior sisters. As such, they were suspect.

Kyan was pleased that Jettis was suspiscious too. Had this been the previous administration, the Romulans would likely have already been invited to dinner, and been allowed to roam the station with not so much as a guard being put on them.

"Well..." Kyan offered. "I think it's a trap too. But maybe not one that's been laid by these in particular so it's not.. maybe they're bait."

He then considered Xasik and tapped his com badge.

I'm not at a station the now, but I'll come down there when I'm done up here and we can be lookin at yer scans together.

Kyan fought the urge to address the Reman Geologist as "pops", which he'd taken to calling him during their time living together for IRT. Despite his sober facade, Xasik had proven to be a fun grup to live with. Kyan had almost been sorry to see the month end when the therapy was finished. But he still made time to eat dinner with Sirol, Xasik and Emerald at least once a week.

"Well boss if you've nothing else for me the now I think I'll go and see about this data that Mister Xasik's got. Could have something to do with our guests eh?"

He stood from his seat, awaiting Jettis' permission to leave.

[Orum N'Jeer]

Pev climbed up the bar stool at the two-top round table as Captain Satar seated himself upon the stool on the opposite side.

"I doubt they serve Romulan ale," said Pev settling himself, "but to be honest, Captain, it would be quite stereotypical for you to ask and then pretend to be outraged, knowing the current political climate, and you do not strike me as a stereotypical Romulan."

A waitress, a four-legged Ariolo waitress to be precise, approached the table. "Good evening to you both! I'm Leev, and I'll be your server this evening. Can I get you something to drink? Would you like to see the bar menu? We have trivia starting in twenty minutes or so, would you like a PADD so you can play?"

Pev grinned, sharp teeth gleaming white. "Yes, yes, and..." he looked to Captain Satar, "yes, thank you! For myself, I would like a dresci sour with crushed ice, please. And for the captain?"

"That...would be fine, actually. I'll have the same."

"Two dresci sours with crushed ice." She placed a PADD on the table. "The bar menu is there, and you just need to enter your team name to participate in the trivia tournament. We've got prizes!" The waitress smiled and walked away.

[Kyan Mackenzie]

:: Visitor Quarters | Katra Station ::

The room was dark save for the communications console. The man sitting in front of it cast a long shadow against the bulkhead as he and the Romulan on the screen conversed.

"Jolan Tru Senator. The freighter docked yesterday. The captain spoke with the new station commander and is currently with a diplomatic officer. The Starfleet personnel appear cautious, but have thus far reacted to our presence with little outward suspicion.

The man on the screen, an elderly Romulan with a full face and gray beginning to seep into his otherwise jet black hair nodded approvingly. "Good good. Well done Sub-Commander. When we speak again. I'd like a report on the station's senior staff. Our original planning was built around the former commander. The command team has changed now and is... unpredictable. We need more information on them."

"I shall make that my priority then." the man replied dutifully. "Have their been any changes in the mission timeline of which I should be aware?"

The senator shook his head. "No. We will proceed according to the original plan unless you advise against it."

"Very well. We're close to time now for the station's security sensors to pick up the signal. I shall contact you again in sixteen hours."

He ended the transmission and checked the timestamp. It was just under the alotted amount of time. Content that his signal would not be intercepted by Starfleet's Intelligence service, the man shut down his communications console and pulled up the data packet that he'd been given for Katra's senior staff. Being a pilot himself, he elected to begin wit the senior most flight control officer on the station.

After several minutes of reading the pilot's bio, the Romulan operative stood and stretched. It was getting to be late. Normally he would go to sleep. However, the Human that he needed to asess was known to frequent the station's drinking establishments. Duty First, the saying went. He tapped the Starfleet com badge he'd been given.

Stelan T'Mas to Lieutenant Drake. What is your current location? I would like to meet and discuss the repairs to our flight systems.

[Gideon Drake]

Stelan T'Mas to Lieutenant Drake. What is your current location? I would like to meet and discuss the repairs to our flight systems.

[Lieutenant Gideon Drake | Brig | Deck Twelve | Katra Station]

Gideon was roused from his sleep in the brig by the call from his comm badge. He was surprised the comm badge was still on his person. He was dreaming of the new counselor, dreaming of whatever the hell better woman there was than Serena King. Somebody was calling to fix flight systems?

"I would, except for one bloody problem," he said.  "I'm locked in the brig for being an inebriated git."

[Kyan Mackenzie]

[Lieutenant Gideon Drake | Brig | Deck Twelve | Katra Station]

Gideon was roused from his sleep in the brig by the call from his comm badge. He was surprised the comm badge was still on his person. He was dreaming of the new counselor, dreaming of whatever the hell better woman there was than Serena King. Somebody was calling to fix flight systems?

"I would, except for one bloody problem," he said.  "I'm locked in the brig for being an inebriated git."

Channeling his inner Vulcan, Stelan arched an eyebrow. Going to the brig to speak with Drake wouldn't work. He decided to put the pilot off until his superiors freed him. I see. Then I shall make due until such time as you are released. Please find when when you are able. T'Mas out

With that, he closed the channel and went to the next name on his list.

[Kyan Mackenzie]

:: Operations Center | Katra Station ::

~ 2 days later
~1005 hours

As he stood at the situation table looking at the morning's sensor reports, Kyan couldn't shake the feeling that there was something about this Romulan freighter that they weren't seeing... or weren't meant to see. They had ben on the station for three days and nothing, absolutely nothing, had happened. No typical Romulan treachery had been uncovered, though not for lack of looking for it. And he had personally combed through the ship's manifest with a friend at Starfleet Intelligence. They hadn't turned anything up either.

It was getting to the point where one might just take them at their word and be done with it. Those tetryon particles that Xasik and Sirol had been checking into hadn't turned up anything conclusive yet, much less a hidden ship or ships. And to top it all of, the Romulans had been very well behaved with nary an incident reported to or by Security.

Yes, Kyan was just about to decide that they were ok. He was almost there.

"Commander." the Bolian at Tactical spoke up. we've got a neutrino spike bearing.... "

"Red Alert." Kyan called out before the Ensign could finish. "All hands to battle stations. Commander Jyur to Ops."

At the diminutive officer's command, the station's lighting stitched from bright and happy to red and blaring. The shields went up, and phaser turrets and quantum torpedo launchers came to life. One of the better technological advancements of the past twenty years, in Kyan's opinion, was the improvements in tactical automation. Now, a Command level officer ordering "Red Alert" was followed almost instantly by the ability to fight or defend one's ship or station. There was barely a "human" component to achieving that readiness. Kyan liked the efficiency.

And he'd gone for Red Alert instead of yellow because a Neutrino spike was a ship de-cloaking. That's what it always was. In this case, three of them as the Miran looked at the tactical display. And they didn't generally de-cloak so close to you just to say hello. That was confirmed by the azure Ensign's next report.

"Sir it's three Dhailkhina Class Warbirds." he offered, apprehension evident in his voice. "Their weapons went hot when they de-cloaked."

Kyan nodded. Now this was more akin to what he'd been expecting. "Open up a channel." he answered. When the Bolian gave him the nod. he spoke up again. "Romulan ships. I am Lieutenant Commander Kyan Mackenzie and this is a Starfleet station. It's a treaty violation yer committin the now. Any more aggressive acts toward this station and you will be fired upon. Respond.

The viewscreen blinked from the menacing, bird like trio of ships to a Romulan Commander in the black and silver uniform of a Tal Shiar agent. His face betrayed no emotion as he considered Kyan. "Commander. You are harboring fugitives of the Romulan Free State. You will release them into my custody... or you.. will be fired upon. As I know you'll want to confer with your station commander, you have five minutes to comply."

Before Kyan could respond.. which was probably a good thing... the transmission ended. Taking the slight in stride, he began issuing orders. "Ok. Scramble the alert fighters. And get the Lirpa ready to go if we need to take her out. That would be his job most likely, but until Jettis arrived  he'd have to remain here. " And get some scans of those ships too.... OH... and" he tapped his com badge. Mackenzie to Pev. Can ye be bringin the Romulan Captain up here? Some people wanna be speakin with him.

Tapping the badge again, he looked again at the screen and the three angry ships. Now, it was a waiting game.

[Sirol]

< Katra Station / Sirol's Quarters >

Unaware of the rather"¦ Bumpy first contact Ensign Pev had established with the Romulan Captain, Sirol sat behind her desk and was about to assemble what she could regarding any documented divergent parties within the free state.
Granted, there was not much, but it also was not exactly the sort of information Romulans gladly - or even willingly - would make easily accessible, let alone public.
Contacting her father was - in Sirol's opinion - not an option either, as the risk of Katra displaying a lack of political neutrality might harm the current situation"¦
Luckily though, she still had one little advantage - a civilian one.
She had not talked to him in weeks. Ever since the repeated attacks on the station had put his granddaughter in serious danger, he had become noticeably more isolated and cold. Sirol assumed that it was a mechanism of his coping, and had decided to leave him his free space to recover.
Today though she had to temporarily break the presumably healing silence, hoping for answers.
Sending private a vid call invite to the administrator of the Romulan embassy aboard Katra with her ID tag visible, Sirol leaned back in her chair, hoping that knowing it was her might ease Kovnin out of his cocoon.
To her surprise though, the call was accepted by his granddaughter, Arrhae.
The child sat at the desk in their family quarters and cheerfully waved at the scientist, still wearing the orange ambassadorial sash Jarok had given to the young girl almost a year ago.

"œHi, Sirol!" The child cheerfully exclaimed and did a full rotation on the chair she sat on.

Raising one eyebrow, the scientist gave the child a polite bow.
"œHello, little Commander. How are you holding up?"

The child shrugged. "œKinda okay. I made a new friend, his name's Quintus and he's new here too. Oh, and a while ago in school, we had a real shapeshifter - like a changeling. That was really cool! And grandfather says if I behave, we might get a pet next month. I'd like that, oh and"""

Sirol raised one hand, signalling the child to slow down. "œEasy there, dear. I need to speak to your grandfather. It is important. But we can catch up after my shift, how does that sound? Could you get me your grandfather?"

"œMmh!" With that she quickly jumped up and scampered off screen, eventually returning with Kovnin in tow.
Taking a seat, the old man leaned forward and squinted, almost even as if scanning her.
"œNew rank. Congratulations, Lieutenant." He spoke in a grumpy, but sincere tone. "œ...And I suppose the thing on your head is for"¦ What exactly?"

"œA neural link assisting me in"¦ Later"¦ I need your assistance with something, Kovnin"

The old Romulan sighed but nodded.
"œOf course, of course"¦ Not even the time to get an old man up to date...
Your father at least practised some mandatory banter before getting knees deep into work. Starfleet has a bad influence on you, child"¦"
He once more shrugged.
"œAnyway, what do you need?"

Sirol leaned forward on her desk, folding her hands and calmly observing Kovnin's reaction.
"œJust hearsay. I know it is one of your specialties to pick up things you are not supposed to"¦"

"œSuch as your concerningly close ties to this Reman? Or the fact that you practically live among Tholians these days? Yes. All of it"¦
No judgement here"¦ Just observing"¦"

"œDivergents. I need hearsay about Romulans no longer affiliated with the Free State. Statements of persecution, missing persons and refugee clusters"¦ Particularly anything during the last four to six weeks"¦"

____________________________________________________

After her call with Kovnin, she decided to check up on Ensign Pev.
While she had let him free reign of approach (within the limits of common sense of course), she also wanted to make sure that he had everything he needed, as well as whether he had managed to gain any relevant insights so far.
Meeting some of the refugees in an unofficial environment has been a good strategy, and he was far more likely to act convincingly in such an environment than she would have been. (Not to mention that she considered it wiser to not reveal herself to the refugees unless she had to, as to not compromise their approach towards both, Pev and Katra as a whole.)
Tapping her comm badge she leaned a little back in her chair.
She intentionally kept her inquiry vague as to not cause him any potential inconvenience in case he was still with the refugees.
"œScience to Ensign Pev"¦" She began calmly.
"œWhen you have a free moment, would you kindly call me back?"

With that, she hunkered down over her screen again, already inclined to continue her work, as the beep of her comm badge made her stop once more.
She instantly took the call, assuming it to be the Diplomatics Officer. As she heard Specialist Freeman's voice though, the scientist curiously raised one eyebrow.

The small pocket of particles was rapidly fading, but there was enough of a footprint to make some assumptions. The well was just large enough to disrupt the shields of a small ship, though neither the Runabout, nor the Freighter had reported such a disturbance. The fact that it was discovered, meant that it was created relatively recently, and should be further investigated. Where to begin the investigation however, was up to Xasik.

Xasik looked at the information on his terminal and frowned at it. This really wasn't his area of expertise but he would try his best. From what he could tell, there was a small pocket of particles that had been created recently but it was fading fast. What could that mean? A hidden object? A cloaked ship perhaps? They had just taken on a group of Romulan refugees after all. He hated to think it possible but perhaps it was a trick or a trap?

Perhaps he should call for help? Someone more knowledgeable in this area might be able to make something useful from the information.

Xasik hesitated and looked over the information one last time before tapping his comm badge and contacting Sirol and Kyan

"œFreeman to Lieutenant Sirol and Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie. Sorry to bother you both but I've been sent some scans and I'm just not sure how to decipher them. I'm out of my depth on this. I'm sending you both the scans to see if you can make any more sense from them than I can."

Xasik sent the scans through to Sirol, and Kyan.

"œFrom what I can tell there is a small pocket of particles just large enough to disrupt the shields of a small ship, but they're fading fast. From the data I have, I believe this anomaly was created recently. I'm not sure what it could mean though. Perhaps a hidden ship? Maybe a security threat? I'm running more scans now but I'm having trouble deciphering the data. I'm a rocks and minerals guy, this is way above my pay-grade. I wasn't sure who to contact about this."

I'm not at a station the now, but I'll come down there when I'm done up here and we can be lookin at yer scans together.

When she had heard Xasik Freeman's voice at first, she originally had assumed it to be an update on the artefacts they had been discussing before, but the tone in his voice already revealed his - and as a result her - low key worry...
Not the sorts of news she had been expecting, let alone hoping for, and her instinct told her that this timing was more than just an unlucky coincidence.
She took a thoughtful breath and listened into the pause both made at once, assuming Mackentzie  who had also been addressed - to be tuned in already and indeed the very second she thought of the Commander, he spoke up too, as well as the noises around Xasik revealing the background voices of Reisen and Eydis seemingly interacting with Emerald.
With her smile widening a little, Sirol then regained her focus.
"œAcknowledged. I received the data and will examine what little we have"¦
I will meet you two in the Simulation Lab immediately."
Her first action was to identify and associate the attributes of the caught particles before then attempting to determine the rate and speed of particle decay and overall destabilisation to - hopefully - be able to retrace and extrapolate the original intensity and position, or at least be able to fill in as many gaps as possible without the margin of inaccuracy becoming too large to handle with a clean conscious.
"œTetryon emissions"¦ Hardly a coincidence"¦
Estimating retrace to the original spike. Please stand by."
She spoke in a calm manner as she slowly rose from her chair, still attentively following the readings on her wrist mounted holo PDA.
"œFascinating."
She quietly mumbled, then turned around on one heel, quickly making her way down to the simulation lab to network her findings with the others.

____________________________________________________

< Katra Station / Simulation Lab >
[Two Days Later]

To their great annoyance, the readings had been more than just suspicious, yet in no way conclusive enough to truly justify any sort of interpersonal investigation of their current guests...
Sirol did not enjoy their meagre harvest of knowledge, but there was only so much either of them could do with the resources given.
Hunkering over her terminal she read Ensign Pev's reports of the interaction with Captain Satar while taking a sip of her coffee, loosely registering the other two prepared mugs still sitting here, waiting to be picked up by Reisen and Xasik.
Slowly she took a seat on one of the silver gym balls, gently bopping up and down to help wake up both, her muscles and her mind, as the sudden sound of a red alert in combination with Navik [her universal language practising hologram] exclaiming "œDanger, Dvenn Sirol!" and shutting down.
The scientist put down her mug and tapped her comm badge.
"œSim Lab to OPS - Is our 'Tetryon spike' back?!?"

[Orum N'Jeer]

:: Brewhaus Gamma ::

"Ie!" shouted a happy and slightly inebriated Captain Satar, slapping the table with one hand and looking at the S'ti'ach seated next to him. Both wore broad grins. "It appears we are once again Brewhaus Gamma Champions of Trivia!" The Romulan drained his glass and called for a passing waiter to approach.

"Congratulations, Captain!" said the Human. "You and the...er..." he faltered, looking at the four-armed blue Starfleet officer.

"My friend Pev is a S'ti'ach, of the planet S'ti'ach'aas, Human," offered Satar sagely.

"You and Ensign Pev have become quite the fixtures here! Another round?"

"Indeed, Human wait staff. We should like two of your best Antarian Throttle Jockeys."

"Sounds good to me. Be right back!" The server exited stage left, weaving deftly through the brewhouse crowd.

Pev and Satar had spent a good deal of time in each other's company since their first meeting. The Romulan had to admit that the small blue creature was very personable. He seemed on the surface to lack any guile whatsoever, but as Satar spent more time with him, he realized that the S'ti'ach was in fact one of the more clever people he'd ever come into contact with. The diplomat was nearly as versed in the subtleties of language as a Romulan.

For his part. Pev had enjoyed breaking down the stern captain's facade, learning his likes and passions. He had, in his mind, cleared the captain from any clear intent to do harm, and from listening to his stories and corroborating them with the other crew members and passengers, had come to the conclusion that the ship really was full of refugees, and had taken damage by the Romulan military attempting to thwart their departure. There were still several Romulans the S'ti'ach hadn't spoken to, including one that had managed to make themsevles unavailable at every turn; something Pev found quite interesting indeed.

< Katra Station / Sirol's Quarters >

"œScience to Ensign Pev"¦" She began calmly.
"œWhen you have a free moment, would you kindly call me back?"

Pev jumped down from the chair. "Apologies, Captain, I shall return in just a moment."

The ensign left the pub, stepping to the wall in the quieter corridor.

"Pev here. How may I assist, Lieutenant?"

[Kyan Mackenzie]

:: Brig | Starbase Katra ::

~ A few hours prior to the arrival of the Romulan Warbirds ~

Sadly - to him - Kyan hadn't been in the brig since being promoted. Apparently, as he was discovering every day in new ways, being the Executive Officer on a Space Station was a time consuming job. Somebody always wanted something. Something always wasn't working right, etc. etc. And it was his job to see that it got put right. A newly minted Ensign in Security had even come to wake him up in the middle of the night. He'd used his brand new "unlock doors" power to bypass the lock on Kyan's door so that he could inform the sleeping Miran of a dispute between a Boslic freighter Captain and one of the "security people" in Cloten's place. The bulkhead beside the door still had Kyan's knife sticking out of it, and the new Ensign was probably still shaking.

In addition to less sleep, which was bad enough on its own, Kyan had less time to meander around the station and talk to people, which he had done quite often as Chief of Security. It was a helpful exercise that produced intelligence about the goings on around the promenade and kept him from having to sit at a desk all day, which was akin to torture in his estimation. In fact, currently there wasn't even a desk in his office because he'd had it taken out the day he got the job. He'd replaced it with a circular chair thing with a built in personal computer terminal. He could lay down in the chair and move the monitor if he needed to call someone, or if he wanted to take a nap. It also had a holo interface which allowed him to do reports or other tedious administration tasks without having to sit behind a desk like he was in school or something. He'd seen one in a counselor's office once, although he couldn't remember their name now.

Today though, he['d broken free of the office and Ops to come down and sort out one Lieutenant Gideon Drake. He'd meant to do it previously but the whole Romulan refugee thing had ruined that plan. Walking up to the cell, he spied the erstwhile pilot laying on the bed slab.

"Good mornin to ye Mister Drake!" Kyan offered happily. "How's the jail food?"

[Gideon Drake]

:: Brig | Starbase Katra ::

~ A few hours prior to the arrival of the Romulan Warbirds ~

Sadly - to him - Kyan hadn't been in the brig since being promoted. Apparently, as he was discovering every day in new ways, being the Executive Officer on a Space Station was a time consuming job. Somebody always wanted something. Something always wasn't working right, etc. etc. And it was his job to see that it got put right. A newly minted Ensign in Security had even come to wake him up in the middle of the night. He'd used his brand new "unlock doors" power to bypass the lock on Kyan's door so that he could inform the sleeping Miran of a dispute between a Boslic freighter Captain and one of the "security people" in Cloten's place. The bulkhead beside the door still had Kyan's knife sticking out of it, and the new Ensign was probably still shaking.

In addition to less sleep, which was bad enough on its own, Kyan had less time to meander around the station and talk to people, which he had done quite often as Chief of Security. It was a helpful exercise that produced intelligence about the goings on around the promenade and kept him from having to sit at a desk all day, which was akin to torture in his estimation. In fact, currently there wasn't even a desk in his office because he'd had it taken out the day he got the job. He'd replaced it with a circular chair thing with a built in personal computer terminal. He could lay down in the chair and move the monitor if he needed to call someone, or if he wanted to take a nap. It also had a holo interface which allowed him to do reports or other tedious administration tasks without having to sit behind a desk like he was in school or something. He'd seen one in a counselor's office once, although he couldn't remember their name now.

Today though, he['d broken free of the office and Ops to come down and sort out one Lieutenant Gideon Drake. He'd meant to do it previously but the whole Romulan refugee thing had ruined that plan. Walking up to the cell, he spied the erstwhile pilot laying on the bed slab.

"Good mornin to ye Mister Drake!" Kyan offered happily. "How's the jail food?"

[Lieutenant Gideon Drake | Brig | Starbase Katra]

Gideon was still asleep and bemoaning himself and still depressed from losing Serena when Commander Mackenzie walked in. He actually opened an eyebrow and realized he definitely wasn't dreaming the red uniform on him.

"Lousy," he muttered. "But no more than I deserve, bloody loveless lovesick [spoiler]bastard [/spoiler]I am. What do you want?"

[Kyan Mackenzie]

[Lieutenant Gideon Drake | Brig | Starbase Katra]

Gideon was still asleep and bemoaning himself and still depressed from losing Serena when Commander Mackenzie walked in. He actually opened an eyebrow and realized he definitely wasn't dreaming the red uniform on him.

"Lousy," he muttered. "But no more than I deserve, bloody loveless lovesick [spoiler]bastard [/spoiler]I am. What do you want?"

Kyan neither understood, nor did he care to understand, why grups were always falling all over themselves to be someone's love interest. To his mind it was all a bit silly. So the guy's girlfriend up and left. It wasn't like there was a shortage of other females to drool after, or males either if that was the way Drake's compass pointed. Making such a spectacle of one's self wasn't going to bring Serena King back... which was a pity becayse Kyan had liked the quirk engineer.. as much as he liked any grup that is.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. He liked Xasik and Sirol more. But that was different. In any case, Serena King was gone. It was over. And in the little Miran's estimation, it was time for the silliness to end too.

"Aye and I'm glad you asked so I am." Kyan answered happily. "What I want the now is for you to get off yer arse and be useful. Yer girlfriend got reassigned. She's gone now. You threw yer tantrum like a baby and got put in here for it. But thats over too the now. It's time to get back to work." Kyan paused... perhaps to look for the right words. But since he wasn't a counselor.... "You're a Lieutenant in Starfleet." he told Drake. " Yer a good pilot and it's out there flying you aught to be, and not sulking in here. If you want to find yerself someone tae dip yer wick in, you do that on your own time, and ye don't let it interfere with yer duties. If ye want tae be gettin drunk and crying about yer bad luck with girls, ye do that after work too. But we got stuff tae be doin the now and we need you. So I'm letting you out."

Kyan eyed the depressed pilot for a moment before finishing. "And if I gotta be havin this talk with ye again, I'll have ye re-assigned to someplace where there ain't no girls tae get you in trouble... like the Tholian Embassy or something. Now, yer released. Get out of my cell and go do yer fookin job Lieutenant."

With that, Kyan opened the cell and waited for the pilot to come out.