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[[Lieutenant Commander Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Deck One | Bridge | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]]

[Lieutenant Commander Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Deck One | Bridge | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

The Lieutenant Commander took notice of the escort as it uncloaked, keeping an eye on the sensors while the two ships resumed their travel at Warp 8. So concentrated Zhuk was, in fact, that his tail puffed up as he overheard Blackfeather. He had successfully managed to sneak upon the Caitian, a feat that he believed the Chief Petty Officer deserved commendation for. Nonetheless, Zhuk decided to concentrate on the situation that had arisen within the ship, his ear pivoting to properly overhear the whispered words relayed to him,

"That is... a set of unwelcome news. I appreciate they have been brought to me, however. Even if it is not critical, I believe determining who may be the culprit is important. Let us deploy a Security team to try and identify patterns and revise the security footage. All thieves eventually commit a mistake..."

Zhuk stated, with certainty. Though this event certainly was unexpected, it also amused him. It was a good opportunity to show off his abilities as the new Chief of Security and ingratiate himself with the new crewmembers. The training of the Security officers would also be placed to the test.

A request for assistance that came from Blackfeather's commbadge made his ears flick. Great. It seemed as if the thief had bitten off more than they could chew, and were being put on their place. He assumed so, at least. As he prepared to give a set of orders to Blackfeather so that they could resolve the situation, the Captain instead spoke up first. It was an unexpected happenstance, but not unwelcome, as it gave him a chance to familiarize himself once more with the Captain's chair.

"Understood, Captain Galloway. Good hunting."

He allowed a smirk to be shown briefly before he took his place upon the Captain's chair as Ian took his leave with Blackfeather.

He glanced over at Lieutenant Jaeger's direction, finding her comment amusing. And also fitting. The action was what he usually craved, and this occasion was no different. However, he knew that he had to maintain professionalism in his current posting,

Heh. Mayhaps, but our duty still remains important. There will be a later opportunity for us to join them.

His tone slowly shifted from being entertained to a dry, composed statement. He did wish that he could take things with more humor, but he felt that it was improper.

Zhukdra'shar remained in his posting up until Galloway's return. Offering him a polite nod, he stood up from the chair. Perking up at the instructions given, his tail lightly swished from side to side, "Acknowledged Captain. I shalt deal with this situation in a swift and concise manner."

And with these words, Zhuk headed over to the turbolift.

[Crewman Zala | Deck Four | Mess Hall | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Zala swiftly joined Blackfeather's Security retinue as she was near the Mess Hall when the hail was given. Entering the area, she couldn't help but gasp at seeing the scene, watching as Lahr bravely held the Bajoran to keep him from hitting a Tamarian. She still decided to reach for her phaser just as things got uglier. Soon enough, though, the Captain proceeded to dismantle the entire fight with a scary speech. She even felt a chill running down her spine. With Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie also coming into the fray, and with the guidance of Blackfeather, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Stop it, Crewman! You are only making this situation worse for yourself!" Zala exclaimed, gathering what valor she had to place Rale in her place. Or at least, attempt to. Her attention then shifted to Tora, the Cardassian, offering her literal shoulder if she needed it,

"H-Here, uhm... you can support yourself in me if you want to. I can help you get to Sickbay..."

[Little Mo | Deck Eight | Cetacean Lab | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

"Oooh~" Came the impressed voice of Mo as Mirriam explained that she indeed was a dol-pheen. He was surprised to be called a 'Lobling', as it was a Ferengi word for a child, not used often by his teacher or friends. The explanation of the swimming creatures fully captured his attention, even though he still did not understand a few things, like 'Dee-Ene-A', or 'sai-bert-netic'.

A soft 'Eep!' was produced when he was splashed with water, though he began to laugh afterward, clapping his hands together. He hardly minded getting wet, and so, it was an amusing experience.

The petition of Mirriam, however, did confuse him for a moment. He did want to join them because he thought it would be cool, but he wasn't sure he could impress them. So he thought for a moment. Maddy's and his fellow classmates gave him a few ideas, and so, he was one of the last to answer,

"I am Mo! And I am very good at maths. All maths. Even divisions. My sister also tells me I have a 'buzziness mind'! Uhm... a-and my sister is a Security officer hethe!"

[Ensign Tora Zalos|Mess Hall|USS Challenger]

"Ooh, thank you so very much. I'll treat you to some food or something when I've had my nose un-broken and my head's no longer spinning. No, I insist." Tora promised the young crewman who offered her assistance. Someone was probably going to give her a bonking for wanting to mix around with enlisted personnel, but she'd never really bought into that anyway. She looped her arm around the young woman's shoulders and used that to help herself up - the two nearly buckled, but thankfully Zala held her weight, and Tora managed a wry smile. "Well. I think I shouldn't waste too much time now, should we? I'd hate to redden my face more than Rala's fist already has. Goodness gracious."

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Mess Hall | USS Challenger]

The first thing Tora noticed upon waking up was the noise going on around her. The captain's weird accent, Shran, others she couldn't bring immediately to mind. She was laying on the floor. Why was she laying on the floor? That was weird. She lifted a hand to her face, and it came away sticky and red right where her nose was. Panic filled her immediately as she touched the bridge, and it felt way softer than normal. "Oh. Oh god." She murmured to herself, glancing in complete confusion at the crowd around her - and the Bajoran who'd punched her, who was thankfully now in custody and unable to do more than hurl insults, presumably. What a relief. "I gotta get to sickbay." She murmured, sitting back upright. Something sticky dripped into her mouth, and she nearly recoiled at the metallic taste of her own blood.

"Stay down, spoonhead. My grandmother died at the hands of one of your kind! She was sweet and kind and she treated me like her own child! She's a spy and a deceiver! Don't trust her! She's gonna betray you all-" More was not heard as Rala, ranting and raving, was led away by security personnel.

[[USS Challenger - Mess Hall]

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Mess Hall

Given how poorly Lahr was feeling, he knew it would be irresponsible for him to show up for his shift in this state.  This meant a trip to Sickbay.  Lahr's antennae sagged even more than usual at the notion of others, especially his new Engineering Chief, learning that he couldn't hold his liquor. He doubted the Vulcan would have any tolerance for that sort of thing in his department.  It would be just his luck that he'd end up back doing auxiliary monitoring.  Lahr missed Neva.

As the hungover Andorian reflected on his poor choices, and even poorer options, he noted for the first time the presence of Ensign Jones, his DCT1 (Damage Control Team One) leader at one of the other nearby tables.  She seemed to be listening to the animated talking of the ship's token Cardassian. Maybe he could get her to cover for him until his hangover eased up a bit?  No harm in asking, right?

Walking over slowly - because moving too fast gave him a bit of the spins - Lahr listened in on the topic of conversation.  The junior lieutenant really seemed to have an interest in Romulans.

"Well, if you're looking to make friends, you're on the wrong ship.  Cap'n Galloway is more known for fighting with them than making nice.  You should have requested Discovery." he offered up his two-cents to the two women.  He hoped the painful headache he felt, wasn't being shown on his face as he spoke.  "Rumor has it the Free State only came into being because Captain Tekin and his ship, uncovered a plot to break up the union of the two leading factions."  Lahr knew bits and pieces of the story because he was good friends with the Discovery's Ops officer at the time.

"She's also the ship that had the first Romulan Free State officer exchange program." he added as he helped himself to a seat across from Ensign Jones. He gave the woman an slow nod.  This placed him beside Tora.

"Heya, mind if I join in?" he asked even though he'd already sat down.

Kasey looked to him almost gratefully. "Don't mind at all. Lieutenant Zalos, have you met Chief Petty Officer ShranLahr ch'Verret?"
.
.
Shouting from the next table over drew his attention and made the Andorian wince, his antennae leaned far back almost touching the top of his head, and he looked over sourly as the argument progressed.

At one point in time, Lahr would have been in there trying to break up the fight, now Lahr wanted nothing to do with it.  The most he would bother to do now, is call up to his friends in security to come an deal with the situation themselves.

Lahr tapped his comm.  "ch'Verret to Blackfeather. You might wanna send some of your team down to the Mess... a fight has broken out over some stolen property."

[Ensign Tora Zalos|Mess Hall|USS Challenger]

Tora would've loved to go on about how yes, she'd met Shran before and the Chief's mad deejaying skills and how he killed it (figuratively, of course!) at the party she and Zhuk had organised and how cool he'd looked doing it. Like, really, not too old, not too bad looking and talented? Too bad enlisted and officers weren't supposed to fraternize, or she'd have been happy to chat him up and see where things went.

Or she might have deflated a bit hearing that goodwill and warm and fuzzy good relations with the Romulans were likely not on the menu. Like, okay, maybe she should've expected that might be the more realistic outcome, but still. Ouch. Way to crush a girl's mood, right?

But nooooooo. Before she could properly come up with sensible and witty replies to either of those topics the sound of arguing, and then fisticuffs, rent the air, and her hopes were tragically dashed. Again, way to crush a girl's mood. Ouch. A quick glance across the mess hall told her immediately who it was, and a sigh escaped her lips. "Oh, god. Jeyshon! Stop!" Tora was on her feet and walking towards the two in a heartbeat. She'd just met the Tamarian the other day and hit it off quite well with him and honestly, didn't really want to see him get trashed like that. You know, as a friend does. "Hey hey hey, why don't we take a moment-" was all she managed before Rala's fist connected with her nose at more or less full force, and she crumpled to the floor with a strangled groan.

"Beat it, spoonie, or you're next when I'm done with your friend here!" Rala snarled. He kicked her limp body once and aimed a haymaker punch straight at his actual opponent.

[Ensign Tora Zalos|Mess Hall|USS Challenger]

"Didja hear? We're off to the Romulan Free State? Yeah, yeah, we've got a lot of red tape to go through but isn't it worth it in the name of goodwill?" Ever since she'd heard that the Challenger would be heading into Free State space, Tora had simply not shut up about how Romulans had always fascinated her, what with their secretiveness and all that, to anyone willing to listen. Her victim for the afternoon: Kasey Jones the engineer, whom she'd met in the mess hall as a complete stranger. "I know it's a little naive to assume that they'll treat us as the good guys from the outset, but one can hope, right?" There had been extensive research into the Romulan people and their culture already, of course, but Tora was eager to make her own mark in that field. Which, of course, started with getting to know a Romulan - which was itself easier said than done.

["All hands, this is the Captain speakin', report on the double ta your duty station on the Challenger immediately. This a full complement recall. This is not a drill."]

[Station Operations - Starbase 185]

Galloway winced when he heard his PADD ping and was stunned at Gillespie's order. However, rather than ask questions, he immediately tapped his combadge before the admiral could change his mind.

"All hands, this is the Captain speakin', report on the double ta your duty station on the Challenger immediately. This a full complement recall. This is not a drill."

Ian was even more surprised by Admiral Carter's support as he was still uncertain of his standing with the man.

"Sir, the biggest issue I see is the immediate need for more chronitons. Even if all the Landsers do is say 'now that we've found you we're leavin',' we don't ken how long the Wu Defense works. Personally, and I'm nae a boffin, I believe the chronitons are expended each time they stop a pulse, so the station goin' ta have ta start generatin' them for when the Landsers do leave whenever that may be.

"And I believe now, the proper thing ta do is ta talk ta them, they've traveled 36 light years ta get here, I figure we owe them that much. So with your leave, Sirs, and Captain, I'd like ta reply."

When Sonak nodded his acceptance, Ian stepped into view of the Landsers.

"I greet you Explorers Marek Garr and Neediki Remos. This is Galloway. When we last spoke, the Land Moot had agreed ta suspend operation of the Great Work."

"We greet you Captain Ian Galloway. There was much debate on stopping the Great Work. After several weeks of discussion, it was decided that the work of five generations could not simply be shelved. We understand the threat and as much as it pains us, our technology will not go into common use. However, in knowing that your Federation uses a different method has our scientists in a frenzy to unlock other options. It is said that knowing a thing can be done is half the battle of making a thing. We only hope it doesn't take five generations to decipher.

"Technical issues aside, we did come here for another very important reason, we are the authorized envoys of the Moot Master Inti and the Landser people, we would speak with you if such a thing is possible."

Ian looked to the senior officers who nodded and he replied.

"The Federation is always welcome to meet with other explorers in peace. We will have a means ta pull your ship aboard this station so that we may meet in person. I look forward ta seein' you soon."

"This is most acceptable. End transmission."

Ian turned back to the command team.

"I hope I didn't overstep Sir."

[Ensign Tora Zalos|Function Room Mayflower]

Ouch. That was the precise feeling that immediately spiked through when Tora heard the announcement come over  the starbase's comms. And to think she'd put so much effort into organizing this fun little night for everyone only to have it so rudely interrupted. Someone would have to clean up the function room, of course, and dispose of whatever was left of the food and drink that'd gone unconsumed tonight, and she pitied the unlucky one. Orders were orders, though, whether anyone liked it or not. "Let's not give the cleaning crew so much trouble." She decided, pulling little plastic boxes from under the dining table to carry food back in. She let whomever was willing to pitch in help her out before departing the function room with boxes of food tucked under her arms. Surely whomever was waiting at the Challenger's airlock wouldn't question it too much? She could always give the food away, and it wouldn't be wasted then.

"I thought the Challenger was being refitted in drydock. Evidently not."  She said absently to Zhuk. "If that was an attack, I'm so not looking forward to being thrown back into battle." Even as the words left her mouth, Tora knew it was a big, big ask not to have anything unusual happen in her line of work. That was the nature of the job, and there was nothing she, nor any of her colleagues, could do about that.

[Ensign Tora Zalos|Function Room Mayflower|Starbase 185]

Right up till a few minutes ago, Tora had been convinced that nothing could go wrong on this amazing night. Like, really, was one peaceful night to relax too much to ask? Then the entire starbase shuddered, and it didn't take a genius to realize immediately that something was wrong. Starbases were built to last. For one to shudder so heavily, something had to have gone very, very wrong.

The panicked silence that momentarily descended upon the room was deafening. Tora looked around at the crowd, who had begun to surge towards the doors in a frenzied panic. "Everyone, remain calm, please!" She called out to all present. She didn't want to end the party, of course, and she knew most people here didn't either - but there was nothing else for it. "Zhuk, help me with-" Tora never finished her sentence. The crowd stampeded past her in a panicked fit, drowning out her words in a cacophony of footsteps and screaming.

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Function Room Mayflower ]

One more song in their repertoire. Tora heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, an end to this infernal music assaulting her ears! Hands on her hips, she surveyed the crowd, who were still cheering and hand-banging to the Klingons' tunes. She didn't think much of the two strangers who joined the crowd - she'd left the invite open for a reason after all; people from the crew (and not) could come and go as they wished. "I'm gonna go grab a drink. You want anything? I'm feeling a nice, cold glass of fruit punch for now." She asked her co-organizer. The thought of Zhuk lapping up sweet red liquid with his tongue like an actual Terran cat was quite funny, really. Funny how even Caitians are prone to the basest feline behavior - that she had seen for herself once while working with him to make the event happen.

[IS]

"Q'apla! Today IS a good day to die!!" Kyan exclaimed jumping off of his defeated foe.

"No dying!" Max laughed from his spot on the floor, "...only light maiming."

Kyan heaved a theatrical sigh. "Fiiiiine. We'll agree ta yer oppressive grup demands.... but I cannae speak fer the Klingons so... Anyways... Release me honorable comrades ye great creature so's we can prepare for the glorious battle to come!"

With that, Kyan piled on Lorian's back to save his fellow warriors from the Vedek's wrath.

Later, at the party....

Kyan, the Kartoses, and Max had arrived at the party a few minutes before Tora's announcement. Having never been to a Klingon concert before, Kyan didn't exactly know what to expect. Would there be bloodewine? Bowls of Gagh set out for snacking? Pain sticks? Torches and sharp metal decorations.

Definitely torches. Klingons didn't go anywhere or do anything without some torches.

Those were the possibilities that had danced in the Onlie's head before walking into the party. What he hadn't given any consideration to was the fact that the Klingons were performing at a party. Admittedly his written Klingon was very out of practice, and when Kyan saw the four imposing warriors with their instruments in the advertisement he hadn't tried to parse the text under the picture. He'd assumed that it was some sort of concert and let his imagination steer after that.

What he saw before him as he and the others entered the party was NOT among the things that he'd envisioned. For starters, the entire room was filled with flowery decor. There wasn't a barrel of bloodwine to be seen, and definitely not a torch in the place. Then there was the size of the room and the fact that it was filled with his own crewmates in their off duty clothes.

"Uhh Kyan?" Max spoke up from his side. "I've never been to a Klingon concert but... "

"I think we can ta da wrong place sure." Kyan answered, looking around.

"No this is the right room. Hey look, there's Ensign Tora on the stage!"

Kyan watched as a group of Klingons stomped onto the stage behind the Cardassian scientist. They were definitely the group from the advertisement. That was obvious. But what in the flowery Beltane party hell was going on? Kyan was at once shocked, confused, intrigued, and honestly a little disappointed at the lack of... well... Klingon-ness of the whole thing. He looked over at Leran and Max, who cheered and whooped as if everything was going exactly as it should. To him, Jalen and Lorian looked.... relieved? That was probably right. They were a doctor and a Vedek after all... probably not avid Klingon enthusiasts.

Looking back at his friends and seeing how excited they were to be here and see the band that they'd been waiting all evening to see, Kyan shrugged internally. And who cares if it's not exactly as ye thought it'd be?" His inner voice asked him. You came to see a Klingon band with your family and there they are! Who cares about the flowers and... Wait.. Family... was that the Immersion Therapy talking? If not, then when did that happen? Sure he thought of Max like that, they lived together, and he was an Onlie. And he'd known Jalen forever...but... family?

The Klingons began their set to raucous cheers from Max, Leran, and others as Kyan stood contemplating what his inner monologue had just said and the implications of it.

".....up by by the stage c'mon!"

Kyan only caught the tail end of what Leran had said. His reverie had been broken only when the Bajoran boy grabbed his arm. He shook off the last vestiges of his thoughts and looked him. "Huh?"

"There's room up by the stage. C'mon!" With that, he dragged the Onlie along with him and weaved through the partygoers until they were close to the raised dias where Jei'BO:L! were performing. On the way, Kyan noticed Tora was still next to the stage and waved his free hand at her. "Great choice Tora! Good party this!"

As they got to where Max was already standing and watching the Klingons play, Kyan decided that he'd think about the ramifications of his thoughts later. For now, there was a party going on, and fun to be had.

"Why, thank you, sir. It took a lot of work getting this together - some of the performers were very, very eager indeed to get things going. There's a couple of them who are making their debuts tonight, actually, if you'd like to stick around!" Rabid crowd plus raucuous Klingon music plus instruments being played way more violently than necessary plus screaming Klingon punk rocker does not make for a good environment in which to hold a conversation, obviously; Tora could barely hear the first officer as is. The slivers of his words that somehow made it unscathed to her ears got the meaning across just fine, though. "Go ahead ans help yourself to the food, there's plenty for everyone!" Tora pointed in the general direction of said food - the table itself seemed to have vanished in the crowd of undulating bodies rocking out to deafening rock music, which was a crying shame, really.

"Have fun, sir! That's what the point of tonight is for! I've gotta go." She waved to the Only and disappeared into the crowd, maneuvering her way through it like she'd done it a million times - such had life been as a dabo girl on occasion. She rejoined Zhuk at the entrance of the function room with a relieved sigh. "How long is this performance supposed to take, again? I don't think my ears can take more of this..." She just about managed to shout over the din.

[[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Function Room Mayflower | Starbase 185]]

[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Function Room Mayflower | Starbase 185]

The co-organizer, none other than Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekerhas, was currently inspecting his P.A.D.D. as he made sure that everything ran smoothly and according to schedule. His ear swished over when he overheard Tora ask him a question. He promptly settled down his device and smiled gently over at her. His outfit certainly was not a uniform, but it was cute. Some people may argue about the comfy part, however. A burgundy tuxedo, a cute little topknot of the same color, and a puffy, white dress shirt with sleeves.

Oh yes, Zhuk dressed elegantly, for the occasion called for it. Besides feeling good, it would allow people to recognize him if they needed anything unavailable, or had something they required catered to them. After all, with all the diversity the Federation had, maybe there was something that his fellow officers required he had not provisioned for. That would be easily fixed, though.

As for why he had accepted this position? Well, Tora certainly was charismatic, he had to admit. Though he was not too enthused by the idea of organizing a party, she quickly changed his opinion. Besides, it was a great opportunity to subtly show off his management skills, and continue to prove that he was more than fit for his duties as Chief of Security. It also served as a nice distraction, considering how obnoxious and time-consuming the interrogations by Starfleet intelligence had been thus far.

"Yes indeed,"

He answered, taking another look to inspect who was slated to play. It made him happy to see Lahr, or rather 'DJ Lahr', who was meant to participate later today. For now, though, the first act consisted of a band of Bolians, calling themselves Jei'BO:L. They played what was called 'Japanese popular music', or J-Pop for short, an ancient type of Earth music that Zhuk was rather unfamiliar with. Though it was popular, it seemed, considering the small investigation he ran concerning the genre,

"We have Jei'BO:L, it does seem. They shalt present themselves within the stage in five minutes, so mayhaps you are interested in presenting them beforehand, esteemed organizer Tora?"

Zhukdra'shar suggested, "Or would you want me to do so? Also... would you like to know whomst is next after this band?"

Suddenly, Zhuk furrowed his brow. He felt a pair of eyes gazing over at him with no small amount of inquisitiveness. His ear swished from the side, and then he turned his head to the direction he swore the gaze was coming from. Zhuk failed to notice anything, however, save for a swift shadow of black out of the corner of his eye. Strange.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Little Mo | Schoolrooms | Starbase 185]

For Mo, adjusting to school had not been easy. But he did his best to make his sister happy. She liked it when he went to class and paid attention to the teacher. And then when Mo told her all about his day. He also enjoyed it when they painted with their fingers or played with his action figures. Also, he was fond of maths. To count numbers and write substractions made him feel like a big, ole important Ferengi businessman. At least, as far as he remembered his parent's stories to go about them.

While he was working on some additions, he noticed that his classmate, Maddy, seemed a little distracted. Tilting his head to the side, he waved his little hand in front of her to get her attention, "Hey Maddie, you okay? You schem to be thinking lots!"

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Function Room Mayflower | Starbase 185]

"Sounds good to me, Chook. Go grab a seat, I'll do the honors." Tora couldn't help snickering at the nickname she'd come up with for the Caitian over the past few days; as much as he was a head of department and a big, strong Caitian man it was hard not to also think of him as a cute, fluffy kitten when one really got to know him. That and the Shakespearean phrasing... which she still had yet to un-condition him out of.

She'd done it all before, working on Risa as a teen and then as a dabo girl as a young adult. Tora stepped up the empty stage with a microphone in hand and tapped twice on the head; she was glad to see her colleagues pause their partying for a moment to pay attention. "Ladies and gentlemen - and those in between - welcome to the Challenger's We're-Not-Dead celebration! I hope you're all having a wonderful time tonight!" There was an art to it, as she'd learned on the fly. Be playful, upbeat and maybe a little bit sultry if you wanted, so long as it got people interested - which had gone well with her previous job, of course.

And yes, that was the actual name of the party - she and her team had had a good laugh when coming up with it and, honestly, a few of them had a sneaking suspicion it'd had no small part in raking in the crowd present tonight.

"Now, then. I have a list of wonderful performances lined up for everyone tonight! Up first: let's get our blood pumping with some hardcore music! As our first performance of the night would surely say, today is a good day to drop some beats! Put your hands together for the one and only Klingon rock band, Jei'BO:L!"

Yes, she'd practised saying the name. Several times. Tora wasn't a polyglot by any means and had trouble trying to reproduce some words she'd heard from visitors and customers alike - which didn't stop her from trying her damn hardest.

[Ensign Tora Zalos|Function Room Mayflower|Starbase 185]

The party had only just begun - as much as it could be with the current somewhat less than desirable mood among the crew. The room itself had been simply decorated with brightly colored ornaments tastefully placed where possible, with comfortable lounge chairs placed strategically around to let partygoers sit and converse if they wanted to. Centerpiece of the room was a table with a small spread of various dishes that the organizer had thought people would like - finger foods, mostly, with drinks dispensed from small cambros placed around the room. Notably, alcohol was absent from the available selection. Perhaps the organizer had wanted everyone to have some good, clean fun that evening. A small elevated stage sat against the far wall, thus far only with empty chairs waiting to be filled.

Speaking of the organizer, Tora mingled with the crowd, chatting and laughing along with them. A palpable air of uncertainty had been hanging over everyone she'd met over the past few days, and, well, she'd felt obligated to do something about that. Someone had to bring up morale somehow, and instill some hope that, come what may, things would probably turn out fine. She'd reached out to everyone she could get to appealing for help between round after round of interviews and questioning, and after a few days had managed to put together a crack team of five people to help her with making her idea come to fruition. She'd done the bulk of the work herself, arranging the logistics and publicity together with Zhuk while the rest sourced food, drink and entertainment from around the starbase - the end product had been this small but simple party which she'd hoped would buoy her crewmates' moods. She'd put one hard rule in her invite: Dress comfy, dress cute, but no uniforms. What they all needed was a distraction from the big, kinda-sorta looming-over-them fear of the unknown hanging over them and, just for tonight and the next two days, just be people who needed to find comfort in each other.

"Is the music in order?" Tora said to her co-organizer as soon as she emerged from the crowd with her empty drinking glass. She'd opted for a tank top and jeans tonight, with a jacket to keep her warm. "I think we're set to get the first performance underway."

["You have my attention Mister President."]

[Cargo Bay One - USS Challenger]

As the Landser scientists spoke with Jettis and Evan, the discussion quickly exceeded Ian's understanding of the physics involved. Even though he was fascinated by temporal mechanics, once they got past 'time stream' and 'inherent flow of time', he was lost. The idea of 'transverse temporal paradox loops' and 'chronical mass displacement gradients' was too much for him to follow.

"Captain Galloway."

Ian turned toward the voice and found an elaborately dressed Landser man addressing him.

"I am President Gotepi of Temarco and would speak with you."

"You have my attention Mister President."

"I am not a scientist, so much of what you and your people say about the Great Work escapes me. However, I am a good judge of people and I believe you speak truth. You actually seem concerned that our fold space will cause us harm."

"Yes I am. Imagine you have a rough stone and you rub it across a rug on your floor. You do it a few times and it doesn't matter. But if you keep doin' over and over again, eventually, the stone will make a hole in the rug. That is what your fold space drive will do to the space around your world. What happens when that hole is made, I do not know, but it will nae be good for Land-Ta."

"These words I can understand." Gotepi said with much sadness. "So much work, so much money, so much effort, so much time and we will have nothing to show for it."

"I don't have the words ta make that hurt less Mister President. I cannae imagine your frustration."

"Frustration? That is a true statement, but that is not what bothers me the most. What frightens me is what will the people do when they discover the work of their lives and that of their parents will be in vain? I can't bring myself to think of the rage we will see."

Ian kept his expression neutral, but now knew just how bad things were about to get on Land and he thought.

"And it's all our bloody fault."

"Perhaps your great leaders can soften the blow Mister President?"

"Perhaps..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Cargo Bay One - USS Challenger]

Among the actual delegates, not every nation had kept their representatives limited to diplomats or scientists. A few had sent agents to gather information on the massive ship that had appeared over Land. Unfortunately, while the agent's very carefully hidden data gathering equipment didn't seem to be working, there was nothing wrong with his eyes. All he needed to do was figure out a way to slip out of the briefing and he could memorize as much of the ship as he could see. Fortunately, these Federation people had biological functions similar to those of a Landser, so using that pretense, the agent made his move to begin his data gathering...

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Cargo Bay One]

Funny how many things one can get done in two hours - by some miracle Tora had used that time to shower, grab a bite to eat, wear a clean uniform and catch a quick snooze. All in all, a pretty productive two hours. She would've loved to sleep the evening away, but she'd been asked to be there when the delegates arrived, and she wouldn't have thrown the opportunity elsewise even so. Anything to un-ding their reputation, which was currently gasping for air, of course. She mingled with the delegates and conversed easily with them, writing down whatever she could learn on her PADD. Yes, learning sometimes took place best under stress (preferrably not while running for dear life, of course!), but there was no real substitute for a good old reception, where everyone was relaxed and usually willing to do some give and take. Tora shared with them bits and pieces of Risa where appropriate while asking the same of them in return - she only hoped she hadn't somehow given them the impression that the people of Risa were all sociable, attractive reptilians. She'd have to write it all down later in a report, of course, but right now she was having way too much fun gathering more information than she ever had on the planet's surface.

Then, something caught her eye. In her time as a dabo girl she'd learned to spot when someone had an ulterior motive in mind, even if they weren't being obvious about it, and right now that one Landser man was setting that sense off like a ringing buzzer. Seeing that her colleagues were occupied with their guests, Tora slipped away, meandering her way through the delegations after him.

["Here's where things get dicey Mister Blackfeather. Set for wide angle stun and fire as fast as your bloody phaser will cycle. If'n we're lucky, we'll stay ahead of any projectiles that might ken our names."]

[Outside Magana Capital Hall - Land]

When the doctor asked about transporters, Lieutenant Davenport replied instantly.

"No Sir, too many temporal disturbances for transporters, we have to use the shuttle. Chen, Jorzon help Doc with the casualty."

The two named security officers slung their rifles and gently lifted the unconscious Kyan, Davenport took charge of leading Wey'nir and the two scientists onto the shuttle and getting them settled. Once everyone was aboard, the Cutty Sark lifted and arrowed upward in a steep climb.

For the Landsers, even though they could only partially see their passage up through the atmosphere and into the black of space, the ride left even the well seasoned Wey'nir speechless. Ensign Heinz Schlemann at the helm of the shuttle made as direct an approach to the shuttlebay as he could, but he did take a few extra seconds to give the Landsers a sweeping view of Challenger as they docked.

At Jalen's insistence, Kyan was first out of the shuttle, still carried by Chen and  Jorzon to the gurney and waiting medical team. Once he was restrained by the stasis field, the injured Onlie was rushed to sickbay. Davenport escorted the Landsers out of the shuttle and met with Lieutenant Randall.

"Welcome aboard the USS Challenger Mister President. I am Lieutenant Evan Randall, the ship's deputy science chief. Most of our senior officers are off ship, but are on the way. Otherwise, they would have met such an august visitor. Now if you will follow me, I will lead you to the briefing room on Deck One."

Wey'nir was still trying to keep up with all the changes that had happened to him in the just the past thirty minutes. All he could do was nod and follow along side Randall. When he finally found he words, he said.

"Your ship is... is... beyond what the images could possibly capture."

"We are very proud of her Mister President. We hope this meeting is the beginning of a lasting friendship."

The small party rode the turbolift to deck one in silence and Randall made certain everyone was comfortably seated in the briefing room. He hoped that someone senior to him would show up soon to relieve him of diplomatic duty.

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[Land Moot Airspace - Land]

The Smith pulled alongside the Mjolnir and her pilot, Ensign Qindis Norann a female Bolian, waved to Ardy before racing ahead and directly toward the dozen Landser fighters. The interceptors opened up with a frighteningly heavy salvo of cannon fire, but the weapons were completely ineffective against the shuttle's shields. This allowed Norann to lance through the formation of interceptors unharmed and forced them to scatter to avoid colliding with the nimble Type-9 Smith. As the fighter's formation split up, it opened a path for Ardy to reach the compound. Before the Landsers could regroup for another pass, the Onizuka showed up and with the two small shuttles diving directly into the path of the interceptors, the fighters had to spend all of their efforts avoiding collisions. With the interceptor pilot's attention completely consumed with defending themselves, none of them could get a shot as the Mjolnir flared for a landing.

[Storage Facility - Land Moot Compound]

Ian watched the acrobatics going on overhead and was completely green with envy that he wasn't 'at the stick' of one of the shuttles. Unfortunately, once the Mjolnir committed to her landing, it was readily apparent to the Landser soldiers who swarmed toward the away team's hiding place.

"Here's where things get dicey Mister Blackfeather. Set for wide angle stun and fire as fast as your bloody phaser will cycle. If'n we're lucky, we'll stay ahead of any projectiles that might ken our names."

Turning to Jettis and Tora, Ian added.

"Once more into the breach! RUN!"

One thing about the next minute of his life that surprised Ian was the noise. Sure he was familiar with gunfire, but the aircraft mounted machine guns on a Tomahawk lacked the volume of dozens of rifles blazing away in his direction. Another completely unsettling thing he discovered was the abject terror of the whine of a bullet as it passed by. This was all so personal, so real, and as this wasn't the holodeck, so deadly.

Fortunately, the Landsers had never seen phasers before and the wide angle setting caught quite a few of them before they adjusted and took better cover. Ian ran and dodged wildly, as did Tora, Jettis and Blackfeather, but even with their covering fire, Ian began to get a sick feeling they weren't going to make it. No sooner than he had that thought when he was hit. The bullet passed clean through his upper left arm and it burned! Ian stumbled, but kept his feet with his teeth clenched against the pain as he thought.

"Fudge. I've been shot."

He was about to pick a place to make a last stand to give covering fire for the others when some bright spark on the shuttle could see the trouble they were in and extended the Mjolnir's shields to protect the away team. Once inside this protective bubble, they were safe. Ian was the last to aboard the shuttle and he had some difficultly closing the airlock with one arm, but he got it done.

"GO! GO! GO! GO!"

Ardy didn't need any extra motivation than that and the Mjolnir leapt into the air. As there were seven on a shuttle built for six, Ian simply flopped onto the deck exhausted and held on as best as he could. He was leaning back against the bulkhead when he felt a hypo press against his neck. He opened his eyes and saw Lieutenant Zorr smiling at him.

"I believe that will help Captain. Now hold still while I treat this wound."

Ian closed his eyes and did just that. He was content. Shot or not, they'd escaped alive. The main thing on his mind however, was Kyan, all he knew was he was badly hurt and that bothered him more than whatever was left of his career after this unmitigated disaster of a first contact.

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Land Moot Storage Facility]

Why did this mission have to end this way? Like, really. Why? Couldn't they just have a normal trip back to the shuttle? No, of course not - they just had to do it with projectile ammunition flying at them with extreme prejudice! How surprising. Somehow or other Tora found it in her to stand and run with her colleagues all the way back - well, most of the way back, until the captain's grunt of pain reached her ears. She didn't even have time to check if he was alright - she looped an arm around him and helped him up the shuttle ramp as they crossed the protective bubble of the small craft's shields. Thank goodness also for the medic who took over care of the captain from her; her legs gave out from exhaustion as she dropped into the back seats and she toppled sideways, spent.

How good it felt, the delicious feeling of safety that wrapped itself around her like a warm, comforting blanket. For once in this disastrous mission, she didn't have to run for her life or hide holding her breath or even stand feeling like she was being scrutinized. That last bit she could handle but the first two, not so well. Her eyes, growing heavier by the second, drifted to the tricorder she'd been clutching in her hand for dear life. There was a wealth of information on it now; data she'd gathered on these people and their way of life. She'd have to download it all and write a lengthy report on it later with citations and all, of course - but right now, even if it were for just ten minutes, rest had the sweetest, most seductive allure she'd ever known. Tora let herself succumb.

All went black.

["Given the amount of chac we're in Ensign, by all means, say what you have ta say."]

[Storage Facility - Land Moot Compound]

Ian was wheezing as much as the others once they'd finally found a place to hide. How long a respite they would get, he didn't know, but it couldn't be long considering how things were going. However, until then, every minute of rest they had was worth its weight in latinum. When Tora asked to speak freely Ian nodded.

"Given the amount of chac we're in Ensign, by all means, say what you have ta say."

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Storage Facility | Land Moot]

"I think to say that we've overstayed our welcome is a gross understatement." was Tora's answer, panted as much as it was spoken. "When someone in Starfleet hears about what's happened here, I think all our heads will be on the chopping block, sir, not that you don't know that already." The Cardassian took a long, slow breath. Her breath rattled, and the mere action made her chest tingle and ache, and not in a good way. She wouldn't have been too surprised if whoever examined her after the mission berated her for overexerting herself - or if she fell ill for the exact same reason.

"Commander Mackenzie. We... we need to make sure he's okay." She managed. "Wh- What'd they do to him, I-" She couldn't finish the thought. Even thinking it made her heart wrench, and that hurt too.

[Magana Airspace - Land]

The Cutty Sark and the Onizuka dove through the atmosphere of Land at a higher rate of descent than usual to cut transit time as much as possible. Expecting the worse, both shuttles had shields up and weapons charged, but no interceptors challenged them. The Onizuka flew top cover as the Cutty Sark landed in an area in front of the capital building that was absolutely ringed by what had to be hundreds of thousands of people. It initially looked like they are having to go in hot into the middle of a riot, but when they got closer, it was only on the extreme fringes of the city were fires burning.

When the doors of the Cutty Sark opened, Lieutenant Davenport was the first out followed by four security officers. Once she was certain there was no immediate threat, she waved for Doctor Jalen to advance. He did so with a full med kit and took his place next two a pair of Landser that were treating him and immediately went to work.

As he did so, an older Landser in a uniform stepped forward.

"Who is in charge here?"

"I am, Lieutenant Davenport."

"Lieutenant. I am President Wey'nir. I regret that we meet like this. As you can see, Magana is in turmoil. The fact that K'ren has fled has mollified the people, but everything is in flux at the moment. Your Lieutenant Wu when he invited me to come to your ship, he stated he wanted to have members of the Great Work come with me." He paused to gesture two Landsers forward. "These are two of Magana's best and will accompany me to your Challenger."

"Very good Mister President. Just as soon as Doctor Jalen clears Commander MacKenzie for travel, we will go."

At this point, what happened next was in the hands of the medical staff treating Kyan.
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[Outside Land Moot Hall]

Ian was beginning to get winded. They had been running for several minutes and while they were staying ahead of the pursuit, there seemed to be an endless amount of pursuers. The basic problem was, there was no possibility of blending into the crowd, so wherever they went, they were spotted and the pursuit continued. It was rapidly becoming clear that their only option was to find someplace to hide, but as the away team was completely unfamiliar with the massive Land Moot complex, finding an empty building during the middle of the morning workday was proving to be as difficult as losing their pursuers.

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[Land Moot Airspace - Land]

For the Landsers, the Land Moot was an entire city and as a result, had its own independent defense forces to include its own air force. There hadn't been an actual threat to the Land Moot in over a century, so the interceptors were used mostly for ceremonial purposes. Thus when they were ordered to scramble to intercept an actual threat, it took some time. This allowed the Mjolnir and her escorting Type-9 shuttle the Smith to get very close to their air space. Fortunately for the shuttles, with shields raised, they were invisible to the simple radar the Landser interceptors were equipped with, but the sensors on the two shuttles showed a dozen interceptors rising rapidly and would be a challenge to evade for an extraction. All Ardy could do, was let the rest of the people on the Mjolnir know that things were about to get even bumpier than before.

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[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Alex could see the ship move into its new orbit between the surface and that of the fold space probe. As he looked at the viewscreen, Lieutenant Booker at Ops updated him on the Landser news feeds.

"It's hard to keep up with it all Sir, especially in Magana. Full on riot in places, but it looks like the Cutty Sark got through. Rest of the planet news is exploding with coverage from 'first contact with aliens' to 'we are being invaded' to 'we submit to our alien overlords' to 'welcome brother we've been waiting'. It's chaos. Mjolnir and Smith are nearing the Land Moot and I'm tracking a dozen interceptors moving to block them. No word from the Captain since you last spoke to him."

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Outside Land Moot Hall]

For the umpteenth time in the past hour this mission Tora was incredibly, incredibly glad for all those intense PT sessions with Chief Petty Officer Stagmont back in the Academy. She had never, ever run so fast and for so long in her life. Weaving through the crowded Magana streets and dodging angry locals was bad enough, but to do it without any respite was almost unbearable. How glad she was when they found what appeared to be a room in an empty storage facility with extremely few personnel (if any, which she hoped there weren't) - which was exactly the point at which her legs gave out, and she melted against the wall. Spots danced in her eyes as she heaved deep, gasping breaths of air. She could swear her heart ceased beating for one frightening moment as the sound of footsteps and murmuring pounded past them before fading away into the distance.

And then her knees really did liquefy, and she collapsed to the floor in a gasping heap. "Permission to speak with utter honesty, sir." She could barely form the words, she was so exhausted. She only hoped the captain would hear.

["Thank you Lieutenant, go ahead and get the doctor ta Kyan's team, they've asked for help."]

[Outside --> Inside Land Moot Hall]

When Ardy reported the Landsers were telepathic, Ian cringed as he'd always been suspicious of telepaths. However, it wasn't like he could do anything about it, they were here and he had to work with the circumstances he'd been given.

"Thank you Lieutenant, go ahead and get the doctor ta Kyan's team, they've asked for help."

Going inside the hall and seeing the Landser international seat of government, Ian could only imagine how much effort had gone into having a place where multiple nation-states could attempt to act in concert. Earth's UN tried and mostly failed in that role. When Inti asked his question, at least it was one Ian could answer.

"Members of the Land Moot. I am here because your 'Great Work' drew us here. While we applaud your success, our own scientists have long thought foldin' space was impossible, it turns out there is a dangerous side effect of the technology. You see, foldin' space also means foldin' time. This results in powerful temporal pulses that our sensors detected. The Federation has had interaction with time travel and have learned it is a dangerous thing. Thus, anything that involves time draws my government's attention. Your last test sent out a pulse that disrupted the systems on my ship and revealed our presence before we were ready ta talk ta you.

"Havin' studied your history and knowin' your desire ta reach the stars, I know that what I have ta say next will nae be popular, but popular or no, it must needs be said. We already know that your fold space technology has a temporal effect. We don't yet ken how that effect will interact with the fabric of space around Land. It is very possible that you could find yourselves isolated in a pocket of space/time separate from the rest of the Universe. We need time ta study your technology ta ensure it isn't goin' ta harm our space/time continuum. For now, I am askin' you ta suspend tests of your fold space until our scientists can work with yours ta secure all of our safety."

The silence that met Ian was deafening and he hoped that his words were not being seen as a declaration of war.

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Land Moot]

Someone had to get the ball rolling here; someone like them. Hard evidence would be more than convincing, Tora hoped - assuming, of course, these people weren't so obstinate in their beliefs. Hopefully the size of this cavernous government chamber also translated to open-mindedness to ideas and opinions. "Our crew and ship were substantially affected by your tests. Several of us were rendered unconscious by the effects of the temporal folding, for example Surely it is reasonable to conclude that the same might happen to others." Case in point, her own experience and that of many others. Imagine that backfiring on the Landsers themselves... or it being weaponized. "We would be pleased to show you some of the data we collected as well as the medical logs of those of us affected."