Messages

["I believe we will be namin' that trick the MacKenzie Maneuver Lad. That was a special kind of devious. Okay, you've earned a stay from your hull scrubbin' with that one."]

Kyan was busy plotting an attack angle when Galloway's words made him look up briefly. He was about to respond to the jib about his music taste when he saw the warbird getting closer on the viewscreen. Still a few hundred thousand meters away, they had about twenty seconds befor the ships would pass one another.They were going to pass "œover" Challenger, exposing their ventral side. When the Captain ordered a hard over, the little tactical officer saw the pass in his head. The warbird would bank to Challenger's port side, trying to get a shot at their dorsal weapons or the bridge itself. It was a typical opening tactic that Romulans used in close quarters. If they scored a hit, they might pull a hard starboard turn and try to fire off an attack to Challenger's aft section while the starship recovered. Mogais were nimble enough to do that. If they missed, they'd course correct harder to port and try to create distance so they could cloak.

And that would make things infinitely harder. He remembered something he'd heard once from another Captain. "œYou need to fight Romulans fast. Don't let them drag it out." An idea took shape. Kyan knew it was a risk but at the same time, if it worked, the warbird would be crippled in one pass. At the very least they'd be thrown off their course and have to compensate, which would cost them several seconds, and prevent any chance that they'd get behind Challenger to have clean shots at the warp nacelles. Eighteen seconds now.

"œMister Davenport, come over here." He called out.

The Human was there in an instant.

"Ok." Kyan began, looking up briefly. "œWhen I tell ye, lock a tractor beam on their starboard nacelle and give it tug. Ye gotta be quick with it so ye do an release it as soon as ye pull'em."

"œBut that won't"¦." then he saw what Kyan was thinking and stopped mid-sentence. "œAye sir." He grinned.

"œI'm gonna try tae take some of the piss out of their shields first so the beam can get a grip." Kyan said, tapping away at his console. "œRemember, quick yank and let go. We just wanna get-em into a better position for a shot at their starboard pylons." That was a vulnerability of the Mogai design. Their nacelle pylons were thin and weak, the problem was that they were well protected by the wing"¦ IF you hit them from above. But this pass was the perfect opportunity to exploit that weakness.

Davenport nodded. "œAye." He offered, returning to his console.

Kyan fired another round of torpedoes and a series of phaser volleys all aimed at their starboard side ventral shields. Satisfied that he'd done enough damage there, he waited as the ships drew closer to one another. The viewscreen shifted as Challenger veered over to starboard and the Romulan took the opposite course. Ten seconds.

Kyan hammered the warbird again and gripped the sides of his chair as Challenger's point of impact shields dispersed a volley from the Romulans. He keyed in a last second adjustment to the phasers before calling back to Davenport. "œNow!"

Challenger's tractor beam lanced out and grabbed the warbird's starboard nacelle. It held it for a millisecond before cutting out, but it was enough to rotate the romulan ship the few degrees needed for Kyan to get his shot at their nacelle pylons. When the pylons came into view, twin blue beams lanced out from Challenger's ventral phaser array, catching the warbird's starboard nacelle pylons.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian nodded in approval at Kyan's tactics. It was something he'd had never thought of and he was impressed.

"I believe we will be namin' that trick the MacKenzie Maneuver Lad. That was a special kind of devious. Okay, you've earned a stay from your hull scrubbin' with that one."

The Romulan ship's starboard nacelles were smoking ruins after Kyan's trick and the Mogai's noted maneuverability was clearly reduced.

"Helm. Attack Pattern Gamma 3. Tactical, we're ta circle the target. Keep a continuous hail of fire on them as we do. Helm, when we complete the circle, break ta course 147 mark 24. Tactical, our circle will end with us on their starboard side. When we break, hit them with every aft firin' weapon we have!"

"Captain. I've detected transporter activity. Seconds before we fired."

Lieutenant Randall spoke from the science station.

"Do ye ken where they went?"

"Aye Sir back to the planet. I have their coordinates."

Ian's smile became feral as he tapped his combadge.

"Lieutenant Mrekrerhas, we've a target for ye, one far better than a pack of bloody Orions. Assemble a fully loaded combat squad. Take the Cutty Sark and the Mjolnir as top cover. Your target is a group of high value Romulans. Go in hot, if'n you take prisoners, that will be a bonus!"

Ian's eyes were hard as he murmured.

"Okay, ye Siursach witch. Let's see if'n ye keep that smug expression with a Caitian foot up yer arse."

[bagpipes]

[Lt. Commander Kyan Mackenzie | Bridge, USS Challenger ]

He knew Ian was mad about the music. That much was evident when he'd called down to sickbay. That "...IMMEDIATELY!" was a dead giveaway. Which is why Kyan had decided not to go to the bridge in a hospital smock... well, that wasn't the whole reason. Ok. He WOULD have done it, had Maz not pleaded with him not to... and a follow-up emergency call back to the ship been initiated just a few minutes later.

Something was up now. Something serious.

It was for that reason that the Onlie had decided to trudge all the way back to their quarters and change clothes. Of course, he had to replicate new shoes...and get a new com badge, which had taken a few minutes. So when the lift finally opened onto the bridge, Kyan wasn't exactly surprised to see the rest of the bridge crew already there. He was surprised to see the looks on their faces though. Galloway looked grim....and pissed. Said looked horrified. Everyone else was somewhere between slack-jawed shock and scared stiff.

Kyan stepped off the lift and looked at the viewscreen. Nothing there to give him a hint of what might be going on. As such, scenarios burst into his imagination. Of course since they were all grups it was probably an overreaction. They were notorious for that.

"Oh no! Someone insulted someone else and we might go to war! Oh no... Some captain or another got his ship blown up! Oh no.. some idjit fancied himself intergalactic despot of the month and was about to attack Earth... or Vulcan." And why didn't they ever attack Tellar? or Andoria? That was a good question. As much as the Tellarites talked you'd think some baddie would want a go at them.

Kyan stifled a laugh at the thought of some intergalactic baddie rolling up to Tellar with his fleet. They'd probably just insult his mother and close the channel.

Wait!... he knew what it was. Galloway was pissed because of the music, and Nira was pissed because she heard the song about the teenie weenie bikini and was sad because she didn't have one with polka dots. It all made sense now. Kyan made a note to replicate her one at some point. Yule was coming up... maybe then.

"Arright then." He called out finally. "Whats going on?"

Wait.... was that bagpipes!? That meant...

Kyan's eyes lit up as though the fat elf Himself had dropped a boatload of presents off. He hurried over to Tactical. Running tweaked his ribs, but it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle. "Shove off!" he told the grup manning the console. "Take the back station and keep the shields rotating."

"But the...." Davenport protested.

"Are ye the fookin Chief the now or is it me? Yer relieved!"

Kyan wasn't about to have some random grup lieutenant doing the shooting if he was still breathing, which he was, excitedly. It only took a second for him to scan the screen and get a target package for the torpedoes. While those were spinning up, he loosed a phaser volley from the ventral array that pounded against the Romulan ship's dorsal shields. "Direct hit on their dorsal shields. It's gonna take sommat more den that tae crack em though." he called out. "Firing torpedoes."

A five torpedo volley arced out from Challenger's forward launcher then, twinkling across the distance between the Trailblazer Class starship an it's Romulan quarry. Another phaser volley raced the projectiles as though it were a game of "Who can break through first." Kyan watched with palpable excitement as the Challenger's wrath descended on the Romulans, waiting to see if his shots found their mark.

[Unification Movement Refugee Camp | Old Angdarr Realms | Andgarr Prime]

Aarwendil was still feeling uncomfortable in being in this place, more precisely in being closer to Nira and everyone that saw what happened in the river. Even if he was mostly distracted with his own shame, the Betazoid was able to catch details of the conversation between his Commander, the Romulans and the Embassador. The mention that this group was formed by Unificationists sparked his interest enough for him to turn to look at them.

He had read about the existence of Romulans that wanted to rejoin the Vulcans, even seeking to adopt their "˜cousins' lifestyle. However, they were frowned upon by most of the Romulan Empire. The young Betazoid turned to look at Nekab, who remained close during the entire conversation. They had basically the same each, but the other was courageous enough to face his entire homeworld to follow a lifestyle that he believed to be true.

It was admirable.

While they were still discussing the fate of the refugees, Captain Galloway sent a message recalling all of them back to the Challenger. Aarwendil felt relieved that he was going to be able to return to his room. To his surprise, Nekab was also going with them. The Romulan approached Nira, already carrying a bag. "œI'm a doctor specialized in medical entomology. I have been studying the yanmarr and the way that they affect other species since it started. It is logical that my presence and the resources of your ship will be helpful in learning more about the infection."

Then, with their new friend, the group was transported to the Challenger.

[USS-Challenger |Medical Facility]

Rather than being allowed to go to his room, Aarwendil was dragged to the medical facilities as soon as they arrived on the ship. Nekab was convinced that the young Betazoid experience with the yanmarr had been more extreme and that he needed more time to recover. Since the Romulan was the specialist, this prompted the Chief Medical Officer Jessica Fellows to put the Ensign in observation.

Now he was in the medical facility, arms crossed and very annoyed. Meanwhile, Doctor Fellows was showing the place to Nekab. His annoyance became rage when he heard one of the nurses talking with another about the situation in the Frontier day, with Changelings uniting forces with the Borg to bring down the Federation and the Romulans that were going to attack.

Aarwendil hated the Changelings. They were responsible for the most terrible things that happened in the Quadrant Alpha in recent times. For a moment, the betazoid thought that it would be so good if they disappeared, together with their jem'hadars and vortas.  All of them throw inside a wormhole to never be seen again.

He wasn't aware, but his emotions were slowly influencing the nurses nearby him, who speak about their rage regarding the recent events.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

The Challenger's first salvo staggered the warbird, which allowed for a second firing pass that MacKenzie exploited to the fullest with several direct hits on the Romulan ship's hull. Return fire was wildly inaccurate, but would have done nothing to Challenger's point of impact shields even if they'd been fired with precision.

"Helm hard over, Kyan, keep doin' what you're doin' and I'll forgive your appalling taste in music."

Ian had cut the news feed from Earth as he could do nothing to influence the events there, so listening to the frantic and panicked calls from there was only a distraction. Beating the snot out of this warbird felt good, even if it might not be the most "Starfleet" way of doing things.

["Lieutenant Davenport, weapons free, fire as fast as the weapons will cycle. Your primary target is their bridge. Secondary target are their engines. We're ta blind them, lame them, and send them ta hell!"]

[Enarrain Nirreen of House Caligula | Bridge | IRS Narrocian]

"Enarran! Praetors!" the Tactical Officer called. "The Challenger is charging weapons and shields!"

Taking her eyes off of Domitian and to the viewscreen, Nirreen raised an eyebrow.

"Hail them again," Ratheen ordered.

[Commander Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

At once, the bridge was a flurry of activity. Nira was still shocked by it; she had been shocked already by Saavik's mind meld, and now this horrifying news had made her slow to respond. But respond she did, she too shared the Captain's wrath. Even more so when Commander Catalan indicated they were hailing again. The Caligula Clan was back on, replacing the Daeinos-class cruiser on the viewscreen, but an old man was with them this time...

"Really, Captain, is the last of the Federation so eager to make war with the Triumvirate, hmmm?" asked Ratheen sweetly. "You have to be aware of the consequences of attacking two Praetors, especially when one of them is the religious leader of the Triumvirate."

Nira stirred uneasily. Were they really...?

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian's eyes narrowed as he heard the Romulan's voice, she was clearly surprised and she'd stated they had aligned with the Borg and the Changelings, that made them accomplices to the attack on Earth, which was all the justification he needed to the arrogance off their smug faces. He made a slashing motion with his hand to cut the channel, he was done listening to them. It was at that point Mackenzie arrived, but there wasn't time for him at the moment.

"Lieutenant Davenport, weapons free, fire as fast as the weapons will cycle. Your primary target is their bridge. Secondary target are their engines. We're ta blind them, lame them, and send them ta hell!"

["Shields up! Red Alert! Battlestations! Helm, Attack Pattern Gamma One. Tactical, bring quantums to ready. Bring phasers to ready. Ops, full power from the second warp core to shields. Engage point of impact shields."]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Through his despair, Ian did hear that the crew was accounted for and that pleased him somewhat, not much, but some. However, the next thing that he heard clearly was the gloating from the Romulan woman. He couldn't do anything about what was happening on Earth, but he could do something about the Romulan woman. Despair was instantly replaced with a cold and calculating wrath. He stood and spoke in an icy tone.

"Shields up! Red Alert! Battlestations! Helm, Attack Pattern Gamma One. Tactical, bring quantums to ready. Bring phasers to ready. Ops, full power from the second warp core to shields. Engage point of impact shields."

To the Romulans, he said in his native Gaelic.

"Deoghail am fallus bhÁ rr duine mharbh siadha tiadhan! Make peace with whoever you believe in because you're ta meet them this day."

His eyes never left the viewscreen as he added.

"Ops. Scotland the Brave on all channels! NOW!"

["Sweet Merciful Maker, how could this be possible?"]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian drummed his fingers on the arm of the command chair as he waited for the crew to return, so far, 388 of the 550 assigned had checked in. He knew the transporters were running as fast as they could cycle, but it just wasn't fast enough for him, especially when the Starfleet feed went dark. Unfortunately, the official feed was quickly replaced by panicked reports from FNN of the fleet opening fire on Stardock.

"Sweet Merciful Maker, how could this be possible?"

Ian asked rhetorically as the images from Earth burned into his soul.

"This is how it was during the Breen attack during the Dominion War."

He recalled with a shudder. He'd only been eight at the time, but watching the cities of Earth burning was the day he knew he would defy his father and join Starfleet. Earth would never burn again he vowed, but now, he was 50 light years from his home and family.

"Even if I burned the Challenger's engines to cinders, we're eleven days away."

He wailed internally with a palpable wave of guilt.

"Earth is goin' ta burn again and I can't STOP IT."

He'd stopped drumming his fingers as his hands clenched in fists of impotent rage.

"I can't let the crew see me come apart, but what can I do? What can I do? WhatcanIdo? WhatcanIdo? WhatcanIdo..."

For the sake of the crew, Ian's expression was an iron mask of discipline, but, despite his well established confidence, Ian felt despair for the first time in his adult life.

["Ops! Throw the program kill switch NOW!"]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As Ian waited for Kyan, he was absently monitoring the Frontier Day festivities on the command chair's display. It was the typical fleet 'dog and pony' show until it wasn't. There was an ear splitting screech and Admiral Shelby's feed shifted from "look how awesome we are" to complete chaos. Ian stared in open mouthed shock until his brain could catch up to what he was seeing. It took another second before he could get his voice to work.

"Ops! Throw the program kill switch NOW!"

Not waiting for a response, Ian hit the comm on the command chair.

"Dashlish! Summat is happenin' with the fleet program! For the love of all that's ever been holy, pull the memory module immediately!"

He adjusted the comm on the command chair to speak shipwide, the away teams, and every member of the crew on the planet on leave.

"All hands this is the Captain. Emergency recall, make your way back ta the ship as quickly as possible. This is not, repeat, not a drill!"

On closing the channel, Ian spun toward the Science station.

"Randall, full scans on all possible modalities. Burn holes in the fabric of space if'n you have ta. Summat is happenin' on Earth and my gut tells me it's goin' ta be gettin' far worse before however get ta the other side."

[[Lt. Commander Kyan Mackenzie | Sickbay, U.S.S. Challenger]]

[Lt. Commander Kyan Mackenzie | Sickbay, U.S.S. Challenger]

It had been an hour or so since Kyan was beamed up from the forest planet. But here in Fellows' cold dungeon, hours felt like years. Meanwhile on the planet, his people were out looking for the Orions. And the longer he sat on the bio bed, clad only in a hospital smock and his Mo the Marauder underoos, the worse the Onlie felt about it.

He didn't feel bad about getting kidnapped. That was wont to happen from time to time. And even as good a fighter as he was, Kyan was still ten years old. He wasn't going to overpower someone who got the drop on him. He'd accepted that sad fact a long time ago. And he wasn't scared to go back down either. In fact, the thing making him angry was that he ought to be down there too, looking for Seles and her goons. The sickbay staff had run the dermal regena-thing over him and fixed his eye, and even his ribs. They were still a bit sore, but they weren't broken any more. And he'd had worse anyway. A lot worse

Also, he still hated sickbay.

Back on Katra, during the Hunter attack that left him with a fractured orbital bone and several other equally grievous injuries, Kyan had been carted off to sickbay and nearly suffered a panic attack before being hit with an adult dose of some hypospray that fixed that but had the added effect of making him loopy. As he recalled the incident, he remembered that the doctor who'd given him the drug had also told him about a Vulcan on Challenger who sang songs and told jokes. When this whole thing was finished, he made a mental note to seek her out, if she was still on the ship that was. Chances were pretty good that she'd transferred by now. Or, given Challenger's typical mission profile, gotten killed off. Kyan hoped not though. A Vulcan who sang songs and told jokes would be something to see.

But that would have to wait. Right now his focus was on getting out of sickbay and back down to the planet. As he schemed exactly how he was going to make that happen, the door to the examination room swished open and Max walked in. The other Onlie's eyes widened when he saw Kyan's hospital smock.

"œDid you get hurt?" he asked as the door shut behind him. He stared for the bed but stopped short. "œOr sick?" He didn't come any further. That was to be expected though. Most Onlies tended to stay well away from sick people, especially sick adults. It had been nearly a hundred and forty years since the last grup got the blue spots and went mad, but avoiding them had been a survival instinct for a long time prior to that. Even having been in Starfleet for half a century himself, there was still that small voice in him that made Kyan think twice about going near a grup who was sick. The same hesitance was visible as Max looked at his friend from across the small room.

"œHey Max." Kyan smiled. "œNae, I'm not sick the now. Just got pounded by some Orion grups is all, the creatures."

The other boy was visibly relieved, but then concern crept back across his face. "œThey beat you up? Why?"

Kyan shrugged. "œThey ambushed us down there an kidnapped me. I seen'em before so I have. The leader's name is Seles. She's a wank stain. She done the same thing last year but I got away."

"œOh!" Max piped up. "œI heard that they have pheromones and they make grup boys crazy."

"œThey do." Kyan nodded. "œBut they dinnae all got'em. Only some. I dunno if Seles does. But she was mad on account of I escaped and she come back for revenge so she did."

"œSo it's not safe on the planet?" Max asked, disappointed. He'd been looking forward to going down and seeing the planet.

"œIt's safe." Kyan answered. Although he didn't sound too sure. "œThey probably got away and ran off, the sadness of it. I'd be after having another go at them."

"œWill they let you go back?" Max asked, jumping up onto the bed with his friend. "œI wanna go down there too. I heard that the whole planet is a forest."

Kyan only shrugged. He didn't really have an answer for that. Were it up to him, he'd already be there, but as things stood now he wasn't sure if Galloway would let him go. And then there was the behavioral machine thing which they'd hooked him up to. But all the medical scans had come back normal, so there wasn't anything to do about that. It was a waiting game now.

"œI hope. But it's stuck here I am til the blueshirts say I can leave." Kyan answered finally.

"œWhat will we do til then?" Max asked, then lit up. "œOh I know! We can listen to music!"

After he'd arrived, Kyan had discovered that Max was a fan of much of the same music he was, minus Klingon Opera of course. But that was an acquired taste anyway. They both liked the music was popular when all the grownups on their homeworld shuffled off. Elvis Pressley was the biggest artist when Kyan and Max were actually the ages that they appeared to be. Kyan liked his songs, but he was more of a folk music type, and anything on the bagpipes of course. "œWhat should we listen to?" he replied.

Max smiled. He was about to tell the computer what to play when Kyan cut him off"¦ "œWait!" he said, grinning. "œI got an idea."

~~

A little while later the ship's internal com system crackled to life all over the ship and began belting out a song from 19690..

Two, three, four
Tell the people what she wore

It was an itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow, polka dot bikini
That she wore for the first time today
An itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie, yellow, polka dot bikini

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian flinched as the music began to play, mainly because its utter nonsense lyrics than the volume. He gritted his teeth and thought.

"It's been a long bloody time since anyone has had ta scrub the hull with a toothbrush!"

Out loud he said.

"Computer. Priority override, stop music playback. Galloway four zero lamda seven."

The music stopped and Ian sighed in relief.

"Computer. Report who initiated music."

"Command to initiate music originated in sickbay. Lieutenant Commander Kyan MacKenzie."

"The little pillock! Obviously he's doin' well enough ta be up ta his usual hijinks. Guess tis time ta give the little wanker summat ta do."

He tapped his combadge.

"Commander MacKenzie, report ta the bridge immediately."

Hello Cadet! Your ATC is posted HERE

["There was talk of some sort of attempt at behavioral modification Doctor. The lad says Orions were responsible, but no one can confirm that. None of the kidnappers survived and none were Orion. I'm ta have Counselor Mills consult on this. Not that I think the little git would be troubled by what he's been through, but she might have some insight on any tamperin' that scans might not pick up."]

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Ian and Abas escorted Kyan from the transporter room directly to sickbay. They walked slowly as it was obvious that Kyan was still hurting from the beating he'd sustained. On entering sickbay, they were greeted formally by the charge nurse T'ealc and Kyan was taken to a biobed where Doctor Nathaniel Rashar met them.

"Well, it's obvious you've been through it Commander."

The young Betazoid said as he scanned Kyan with his medical tricorder.

"Three cracked ribs, several facial fractures, mild concussion, and a whole assortment of contusions that are going to leave you a patchwork of bruising."

Ian winced at the list of injuries, but was grateful Kyan had survived. He felt responsible because the young man had been kidnapped right under his own nose and he was still furious about that.

"There was talk of some sort of attempt at behavioral modification Doctor. The lad says Orions were responsible, but no one can confirm that. None of the kidnappers survived and none were Orion. I'm ta have Counselor Mills consult on this. Not that I think the little git would be troubled by what he's been through, but she might have some insight on any tamperin' that scans might not pick up."

"Of course Captain, can't be too careful. We'll look after the Commander Sir, you can count on that."

"Thank you Doctor."

Ian then made his way to the bridge and on relieving Commander CatalÁ¡n, got caught up on the current status of what was occurring on the planet. Once he was certain there weren't any emergencies needing his attention, he updated his log.

"Captain's Log, Supplemental. Lieutenant Commander Kyan MacKenzie was rescued from his kidnappin' at the cost of two Angdarr security officers and a Klingon exchange officer. A high price to be certain, especially as all six kidnappers were killed in the exchange. This last part, beyond the needless loss of life, leaves us with many questions with nae a soul ta answer them. A further complication is that Commander MacKenzie insists that Orions were involved even though no sign of their involvement was found in the kidnapper's hideout. Lieutenant Mrekrerhas is leadin' the investigation into the kidnappin' as well as the possible Orion connection.

"In addition ta the kidnappin' Medical and Science personnel led by Doctor Fellows and Lieutenant Jyur are lookin' into the deliberate genetic modification of a local species of butterfly that is causin' serious medical issues for non-Angdarr. So far, Vulcans are the only off world species ta suffer life threatenin' symptoms. The effects on others vary with humans breakin' out in a painful rash and Betazoids, well, the best way ta describe their reaction is a loss of inhibitions. Progress is bein' made on an anti-toxin, but evidence on pointin' ta who was responsible is still unknown. End Log."

Ian closed the log and sighed.

"For just a bloody 'show the flag' mission, Angdarr is provin' ta be a complicated problem."

["Given the hardness of that rock you call a head, I doubt anyone could hit you hard enough to confuse a Nausican for an Orion. We're ta be lookin' into the matter Commander. However, you'll be returnin' ta the ship ta get checked out by medical."]

[Commander Nira Said/Subanax Anju Jindak | Forest Floor | Old Angdarr Realms | Andgarr Prime]

"If they were loaded with every known virus, even we Andgarr would be affected," Anju pointed out. "It's still coincidental that it has worse affects on Vulcans, but perhaps it's exceptionally adverse on telepaths. It has to be a proteases issue..."

He nodded in agreement at Jettis' advice to keep the party contained. As Jettis went to young Neva, Anju approached Nira and Aarwendil, but Jess beat him first.

Nira looked up at Jess' words and giggled. Too giggly than usual. She disregarded the doctor's words and just clambered onto the young man's body like a sloth to a tree trunk.

"Impaired?" she giggled as she schmoozed. "Impaired...Allah almighty, I have never felt this so good!"

No she wasn't, Anju thought to himself. This was serious ecstasy, he could see the sweat, the gradual hyperventilating. It wasn't just the hormone levels.

"Jess, I have never felt more wonderful in my life!" Nira said, leaping off and then grasping Jess with manic ecstasy. "I could live here forever!"

And she just kept on giggling ecstatically, wrapping her arms around herself and twirled in a dance...

and at the height of it, and as Jess had opened her mouth, whether to state the contrary or to make good on her use of authority, she just stopped. Paused. She just stood there, a wide bubbly grin plastered on her face. Anju wondered at first if this was something new with the virus. But then he saw the hand from a shadowy figure behind her. With the night coming quickly, Nira was looking darkened, and so was Aarwendil. As such, the cloaked figure behind her was nearly invisible, but Anju had to focus to get a look at...whoever it was.

Nira felt a hand clasp on her shoulder, near her neck. For a nanosecond, in her hormonal ecstasy, she thought Aarwendil had placed a hand...and a nanosecond later, the black oblivion of unconsciousness took her.

Nira slid into unconsciousness into the shallow water...at least, it looked to Anju and Jess that she was sliding, if she was against something. She seemed, rather, to crumple, maybe like a dangling snake. Then Anju had greater focus on the cloaked figure...make that figures, plural. With the darkening forest, Anju didn't see them at first. If they had appeared when the sun was further in the sky, they would've been more noticeable.

In any case, Anju was apprehensive. He remembered that Captain Galloway and his greeting party had been ambushed after he met him and his brother. He was suspicious at the new arrivals.

"Don't make a move," Anju snarled, aiming a phaser. "You're not harming anybody else."

"Jolan Tru, Subanax Jindak, we mean you no harm," one of the cloak figures said with a placating gesture, not the one that gave Nira the nerve pinch.

Romulans. Anju knew the greeting. And they knew who he was.

"That remains to be seen," said Anju testily.

"I understand how you feel, Subanax," said another cloaked Romulan. "We heard about the Federation party, the boy kidnapped."

"You're not taking Nira there," snapped Anju.

"We're not kidnapping her, if that's what you mean."

"Not with what ails her, no," Jess retorted, tapping her comm badge. "Fellows to Challenger, medical beam-up now..."

"You won't get a signal, not here in the Old Realms," the first figure stated. "Too much ion interference. But we have the facilities for treatment. We've been observing these corrupted yanmarr for some time. Now you're getting the affects. And that rash is worse than it looks, Doctor."

Anju pursed his lips. They're certainly not giving any choice. And they're certainly claiming innocence, but he'll have to see. He looked to Jess and to Jettis nearby, to Neva with her hangover, and at young Aarwndil. And that rash on Jess...Great Canopy help her.

[Old Angdarr Realms - Andgarr Prime]

Jess was not pleased. It was clear that Nira and others were Impaired by exposure to whatever was going on with the butterflies, but they were cut off from the resources of the ship. She had also been exposed as she'd developed an uncomfortable rash. She'd given herself a powerful anti-histamine injection and that was keeping the worst of the symptoms in check, but continued exposure might make things worse.

"Okay then. If we can't get out of the area, then we have no choice, please lead us to your facilities Subanax. We may not be technically kidnapping the patients, but if we have to stun them to insure their cooperation, then that is what we will do."

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

Kyan looked up again to see Galloway. "When did he get here?" He was slow to process what the captain said. But once he did, he shook his head adamantly. "Nae. I ken who it was, She's called Seles. She's the same one tried tae blow up the Discovery last year. They was after me doing something for em."

He tried to remember exactly what it was that they'd wanted, but couldn't. "They had a machine... a behavior machine she said. But I dinnae remember much about it."

[Hideout - Angdarr Prime]

Ian frowned. He trusted Kyan's abilities and if he said Orions were involved, then Orions were involved. Now to prove it.

"Given the hardness of that rock you call a head, I doubt anyone could hit you hard enough to confuse a Nausican for an Orion. We're ta be lookin' into the matter Commander. However, you'll be returnin' ta the ship ta get checked out by medical."

Ian then turned to face Zhuk.

"Lieutenant, looks like your work is nae finished. Work with the locals and run these bloody Orions ta ground. Just make sure you keep me informed on your progress. You can keep my bodyguards ta help you with the search."

Tapping his combadge, Ian added.

"Galloway ta Challenger. Two ta beam up."

["Energize."]

[Hideout]

As quickly as the battle had started, it was over. The criss-crossing of light ceased, as the Klingons did what they did best - battle to the death. The only thing scarier than a Klingon charging you down was not seeing the Klingon you knew was charging you down. Abas did what he could for the wounded, triaging and calling out for the wounded where he could. Before he even got to the missing officer, he had to stabilize and evacuate one of the injured security. He quickly called up the Challenger, his training kicking in with a basic 9-liner request to have the officer beamed directly to the trauma ward.

As the security officer was whisked away to higher care, notably away from a place where they could get shot more, he worked his way over to the little man. It wasn't lost on him that the engineering Chief had quickly made himself scarce, and the fact that the reason he gave was a lie was evident to Abas, but he kept his tongue. There was no shame in not enjoying combat. Battle and conflict were almost never unavoidable, and every loss of life, no matter the side, no matter how justified one group thought they were, was always regrettable.

There would be time to mourn the dead later. For now, there was still a job to be done.

He cracked open his tricorder and medical kit as he knelt down at Kyan, doing his best to perform a complete head-to-toe examination. He'd of course want to insist on the officer being taken to Sickbay and confined there for the time being, but for now, he could at least perform the initial intake. "Sir, how are you feeling?", he asked, trying to keep his voice as neutral as he could.

Simultaneously, he opened his mind, trying to sense anything Kyan might be trying to hide, to truly see if he was okay, or if anything else might be going on. He'd do his best to serve, despite his limited understanding of onlie physiology. Who knows what he'd find?

Even with his eyes shut he could tell there was someone leaning over him. There was that subtle change in the light hitting his eyelids and the feeling of someone else being there. When Kyan opened his eye, there was an Andorian looming over him. No.. not an Andorian, the other ones"¦ but he couldn't come up with the name. At first he thought it might be another of Seles' goon squad, but then he noticed the blue topped uniform. Relief washed over him when he realized what it meant.

"œLike one of those paper donkeys that kids hit at a birthday party tae be getting the candy." He rasped, trying to sit up. His ribs insisted that it was a bad idea however, and he gave up on it. His thoughts then turned to his Orion captor. "œUgly green bitch!" he muttered darkly. Then, "œDid ye catch the Orion an her lot?"

He'd be only slightly disappointed if they'd killed her"¦ since it would mean he couldn't follow through on his promise to take her head off himself. But then maybe he'd still do it, and mail it to her family. And if they hadn't caught her"¦ all the better. While he imagined the scenario playing out where he caught up to Seles and kicked her off the moral coil, there was something else stirring in the back of his mind. It felt like there was something else he needed to do but he didn't know what it was. In any case, he decided it didn't matter. He couldn't do anything currently besides lay on the floor and get seen to by this.. Aenar! That was it.

He lifted his head again. "œDinnae be forgetting my shoes." He said. "œThey tookem off me. I dinnae wanna replicate new ones."

[Bridge - USS Challenger - Angdarr Prime Hideout]

Ian entered the transporter room and two security officers joined him on the platform, one of them handing him a phaser. He wasn't happy about needing 'minders', but given the first attack, it made sense. Once he had the phaser in place he said.

"Energize."

On arriving in the dingy hideout, he immediately smelled the blood of the kidnappers and found he'd showed up just in time to hear Kyan speak, which caused him to arch an eyebrow at the Onlie's question.

"Orions? There were two Nausicans, a pair of Zakdorn, a human, and an Angdarr native, there were no Orions Commander."

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

[Arden Enclave]

Jess pulled out her tricorder and after scanning Nira, she could only sigh at the results. The news wasn't good and based on observed actions, things were likely to get far worse.

"Commander, I believe you are impaired. I would strongly suggest you return to the ship. If you don't go on your own accord, I will use my authority as Chief Medical Officer to send you back."

["Thank you Commander, that is amazin' news. You keep the bridge, I'm ta be beamin' down ta see Commander Mackenzie."]

[Bridge USS Challenger]

Ian was glad the majority of the crew was on shore leave and that the ship was docked. It allowed him to retreat to his ready room, leaving Catalan in charge on the bridge,  and pretend he wasn't worried about Kyan. It was never good for the Captain to appear unsettled, his primary role was to provide a 'non-anxious presence' as one of his Academy leadership instructors pounded into him. In the ready room, he could pace as he waited for a report from the surface.

"Captain, Commander Mackenzie has been rescued! He's sustained some injury, but is going to make a full recovery. "

"Thank you Commander, that is amazin' news. You keep the bridge, I'm ta be beamin' down ta see Commander Mackenzie."

Ian then quickly exited the ready room and headed for the turbolift.

[[Angdarr Prime - Beam down site ]]

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Angdarr Prime - Beam down site ]

Lahr, like most of the crew, had heard about how the entire Andgarr civilization was built up in the canopy of giant trees.   As the Andorian looked around, he was a bit relieved that the height wasn't immediately noticeable; not that he was afraid of heights.

He and the security team didn't have to wait long for Zhuk, who Lahr assumed was the team leader.   With the Caitian arrived the ship's one and only Aenar.   Lahr had yet to meet the medical crewman, though Valis, despite her own overall disapproval of Lahr, had made a point to inform her fellow Andorian, that the Aenar was aboard.

Being born into the warrior caste, zh'Tianihr had a tad bit of a superiority complex and viewed any sort of weakness with distain.  Lahr guessed she thought he had the same distainful sentiments; but being born into the merchant caste and having traveled a lot in his youth, meeting a lot of varying species, Lahr took to people.  It took a lot to get on his 'bad side'.

So when the Aenar approached him, Lahr smiled and gave the man an up-nod; not that the medic could see but Lahr figured Crewman Th'vyrrol could 'feel' the openness of his greeting.

"Heya. Thanks!  Chief Petty ch'Verret, though most know me by my alias.  DJ Lahr.  So how long has the kid.. I mean, the Commander, been missing?"

When Zhuk briefed the team, Lahr listened close to figure out why he'd been requested along.

[Angdarr Prime - hours later..]
The search wasn't going well.  Attempts to scan for his specific Only bio-signature was impossible from overhead by the ship because of the thick canopy; and scanning by portable scanner was proving to be very time consuming.   The Andgarr security seemed determined that the only place he could be was in the Canopy.   Anywhere down on the forest floor they claimed was madness.  That just made it all the more ideal a hiding spot according to Lahr.

Fed up with the situation, knowing that as time moved on their chances of getting the Commander back were getting slimmer, Lahr asked to speak to Zhuk away from the others.

"Lieutenant, I realize we have to work alongside the Andgarr security, but they are wrong about not checking the ground.   Permission to start a spiraling search pattern down on the ground, sir?"

News of Catalan having located Commander Mackenzie was welcome.  Though Lahr wondered if he could have gotten it done faster.  Ah.. he missed the days of being Ops, but the switch to engineering had been needed for his mental health.   Just like the switch to Ops had been needed.

Though he was there as an engineer, Lahr had his Type 2 hand phaser at the ready.  Good thing too.

No sooner had the team beamed in than they were under fire.  Two Andgarr security dropped dead at Lahr's feet.  Being an engineer, Lahr had been beamed in at the center of the security cluster, along with the Aenar medic.  Roozh!

Lahr immediately dropped to a crouch, reaching out to Th'vyrrol to pull him down as well. He had an almost overwhelming urge to urinate but manage to redirect his fear to getting himself out of the line of fire.  With his phaser, he aimed towards where the disruptor shot had come from, and fired at anything that moved.  With his setting on stun, the Andorian wasn't worried about accidentally hitting the Commander.

Looking around as he fired, Lahr grimaced as he realized that the transporter technician had dropped them not outside the cabin where they could scan the interior and get a lay out and make a plan first.  Nope - the Ops person had just dropped them into the largest opening in the cabin - basically giving them no cover whatsoever.   Wanker!

He noted the shots that had taken down the Andgarr security had come from the kitchen area.  Lahr could see a masked face pop up from overtop a central food prep counter.   There seemed to be just the one hostile in that direction.  As opposed to the 2 or 3 in every other direction.

"Th'vyrrol, I'm going to clear you a path to the counter.  Duck in behind and stay out of sight until we have the situation somewhat clear."

With that said quietly to the Aenar, Lahr ran in a low crouch towards counter.  Aiming towards where he'd seen the masked face peek out from.  At the least sign of movement, Lahr fired, but missed.  Guess this was going to be done the hard way.  When he reached the counter, he let go for the phaser letting it slide across its smooth surface while he placed both palms down flat and vaulted himself over the counter to land behind it, basically on top of his opponent.   He rolled off and kicked out towards where he sensed the man's body was.

Reaching out a hand Lahr snatched his phaser as it slid off the counter and the fired it point blank at the burly figure.  Lahr let out a sigh at seeing the kidnapper collapse.   Only half dozen left to go.

"Th'vyrrol.  Clear.  I'll cover you."

[Crewman Zala | Armory | Deck 9 | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A | Stationed within Andgarr Prime]

Crewman Zala momentarily thought about Lahr's whispered comment. She raised an eyebrow, though soon resumed a more neutral expression as she decided perhaps it was not a good idea to let the Engineer know she had overheard that. Her ears were both a blessing and a curse, she found, capable of picking up sensitive information that benefited her and caused her to keep secrets to maintain a better relationship with her coworkers. She remembered asking one of her fellow students at the Academy once after overhearing a heated conversation through the walls between her and his boyfriend if they were okay. She told her to mind her own business in a rather rude manner she decided not to recall in detail.

In any case, she wondered why Lahr thought he would not be welcome to go along with the Security detail. She glanced over at them. There was a Klingon, D'Lorra, transferred over from the Tah'ju, if she recalled correctly, in an Officer exchange of sorts. Otherwise, she saw other officers she was learning to be familiar with. Nothing out of the ordinary, just members of the crew.

Her brown eyes returned to Lahr, and she silently wondered what had caused such a bad experience when it came to Security. Before she could deepen her thoughts on the subject, however, they were interrupted by Lahr asking for a weapon. She couldn't help but ultimately agree with his wisdom. Having another gun in what may be a dangerous situation could indeed help them win the upcoming battle.

"Yeah, I guess that does make sense. Uh... here..." She walked over towards the display on the wall, and took one of the Type-2 hand phasers, offering it to him, "I guess you do know how to use it, right?"

A twinge of fear permeated around her, as she worried about sounding rude to him. After all, he most likely did, right? Still, she wanted to make sure, in case she had to give a few pointers on the correct operation of the weapon.

Before she could do so, however, the pair was called over to the Transporter Room, and immediately, Zara legged it there. Taking her place in one of the pads, she proceeded to stand upright as she felt the pleasant hum and the strange, but fascinating sensation of beaming down to the planet...

[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Arden Enclave | Andgarr City | Andgarr Prime]

Even though he ran to get to his chosen destination, Zhuk remained with an ear trailed behind him, in the general direction where the Aenar was, to listen to his statement. He certainly felt those could prove as useful abilities, especially those of his senses and precognition. He wondered for a moment if he should ask if he could see into the future to try and determine more about the current task ahead. However, he decided against it, fearing to put too much strain on his Medical officer, deciding his abilities as a physician were much more valuable than whatever he could infer through what Zhuk almost considered a set of 'supernatural' capabilities.

"Duly noted, Crewman Th'vyrroll. I shalt keep such in mind."

It was not too long until they were able to meet with the rest of the party, a good crew of Klingon officers, Officer Zala, with a rifle, and of course, Lahr. A smile came into his muzzle as he saw him actually come. Allowing Abas to talk to him first, he proceeded to do so second, "Glad you may accompany us, Chief Petty Officer ch'Verret. Our team certainly shalt be more versatile with your presence. I thought about requesting thy presence so that you may bring assistance, where we come upon a locked door or a panel we require access to."

He then offered a nod towards the rest of the crew, "Gentlemen, ladies. I trust that you are all ready to embark upon this dangerous quest to recover Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie. He has been missing by several hours by this point, so I want you to remain alert and focused. I will not allow those scum to penetrate our defenses as they did with the Captain. We shalt move as a group, and I do not want anyone to separate from a distance of more than 40 feet from one another. Anything you gaze upon, as minor as it may be, I wish it to be immediately reported. Is that clear?"

He spoke, hoping to both inspire them, but also make his plan clear. His voice carried decisiveness and conviction, and though it seemed somewhat harsh-worded, he did want to coordinate as effectively as he could, "Very well... if no more questions remain, we shalt begin this operation."

[Lieutenant Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Forest Floor | Andgarr Prime]

The descent via a spacious, heavy-duty elevator which was partly made out of wood was uneventful for the most part. Zhuk was rather pleased with Lieutenant D'Lorra's disposition, and he made sure to ask about her own set of skills on the way down. He felt confident in his team, even though he was somewhat nervous. This was the first time he led a search party, and the weight of failure from before still was present on his shoulders. He could not allow a mistake to happen again. He took a deep breath once the elevator stopped, and took his weapon as the doors opened, onto the treacherous ground.

Even though assisted by the expertise of Subanax Amnid Paimarn, and her great knowledge of the area, which Zhuk learned to admire pretty soon, they made little progress in their quest to find Kyan. He turned towards Lahr as he approached him, and asked to try and run a spiral sweep. He was about to accept, finding the suggestion sound. That was until he received a call from none other than the Captain, informing him that the Lieutenant Commander's location had been obtained and that they were about to be transported towards it.

"Acknowledged, Captain. I shalt ready my team for the transportation."

Zhuk cleared his throat, as he quickly waved a hand over him in a circle to gather his team, "It seems as if the abductors of Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie made a heinous mistake, and now their coordinates have been obtained by Commander Catalan. In a few minutes, we shalt be transported there, alongside a set of Andgarr Security guards. We were given full permission to do what needs to be done to rescue Mackenzie. So I shalt authorize lethal force if necessary. Still, do mind your lines of fire, and do not act impulsively. I do not wish to report the loss of our officer's lives."

He glanced over at them, making sure that his new instructions were perfectly understood by them. And also, remembering their faces, in case not all returned to the Challenger. He hoped it would not come to that, however.

"Subanax Pairman, Crewman Th'vyrroll, I wish for you to remain at the center of our formation, or at the rear, if possible. I do not want stray fire to injure thee or worse. Crewman Zala, you possess the Type-2 phaser rifle. Acquire an advantageous position so that you may more properly utilize it. I shalt provide cover fire in the meanwhile. Also, I probably need not remind you, but find cover as soon as possible. It will be a hard-fought battle, but we shalt be victorious."

Zala proceeded to nod at the Caitian, gripping the rifle a little more tightly as she inspected it one last time, making sure it worked properly. Meanwhile, he proceeded to place the team in position and readied his phaser. Instead of stun, he made sure to change the setting. He was sure no one would miss a few miscreants if they did not wake up the next morning. Better for the Angdarr, even.

He took a deep breath as he felt his body be once more transported elsewhere. The odd feeling still lingered for a few moments, as he found himself standing in front of a large cabin, staring at a large opening in the center. He prepared to instruct his team to move out in order to assault the hideout, however, a barrage of rays kept him from being able to utter a word as they cut down a couple of the Angarr officers who had been brought along, and stood just behind him.

Zhuk was forced to duck to keep himself from being shot, shocked by how close he had been to perishing by the attack. Or at the very least, getting seriously injured. He got up, and squatting he moved towards the opening, his mind racing as he sought to reach the wall in order to find some cover. He was grateful for fate, chance, or simply just his height that had kept him from being chosen as a target, though he still cursed his luck for being in such a bad situation.

As he slowly slid up the wall against the entrance, Zala came running towards him, keeping her head low just as she had seen Zhuk do, just before leaning against the wall herself just behind him. She was hyperventilating, obviously panicked by the situation. Assessing the general surroundings, and seeing how his team was struggling to keep themselves from being overwhelmed by the crooks, he tried to rally them with a thunderous shout,

"Do not falter! Spread out and find cover!"

He turned towards the Ferengi about to cry behind him and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing slightly, "Zala. I need you to focus, very well? I know this situation is scary, but I require you to calm down and provide me with some cover. If you assist me, then both we will be able to make it out of here."

"O-Okay..." She nodded, trying her best to take deep breaths and do as she was told.

"Alright. Just stay alert for now. I shalt attempt to eliminate some of the danger towards us..." He moved closer to the opening, and took a peek inside, just quick enough to avoid a couple of shots from some entrenched thugs within. For the second time today, he was thankful he had not lost an eye.

He did his best to recall their position, and lowered himself again, trying to avoid appearing in the same place for the second time. He waited for a couple of shots to fly past, before he once more leaned out of cover, unleashing a trio of shots that managed to nail one of them in the head, though the other two shots missed, landing against an upturned table.

He returned back to Zala, adopting his previous position, as he flashed three fingers towards her. That is how many remained in that room.

[Andgarr Prime]

Abas hadn't yet met other Andorian on the crew who ch'Verret had been thinking of, Valis. While he was generally familiar with the medical situation and breakdown of the crew, he didn't know everyone. Trying to commit the entire crew to memory was, frankly, a futile effort. Anyone who tried to was sure to burn themselves out and become over-stressed, and a sure candidate for psychological evaluation. He listened as the man spoke, while also trying to keep an ear out for the situation around him. While Abas had not heard the Chief's alias before, he raised an eyebrow at the reference. DJ? As in, disc jockey? An odd nickname, but one to investigate when there was less pressing matters to attend to. He briefly summarized what he knew, passing on information as to the current security status as well as how long the 'kid' had been missing. He didn't have all of the answers, but he filled in as much as he could regarding the current situation.

He didn't have to wait long for someone much more qualified to fill in the rest of the details - and the crew began their search. He assisted where he could - working on isolating bio-patterns, comparing them to the ship's database, and serving to keep the search team as prepared as they could. One couldn't go into battle without food and sustenance, after all. His business was the health of the crew - and he would see to it as best as he could.

[Later]

Thankfully, their search appeared to be bearing fruit. The ship's crew had managed to locate the missing officer, and even better, they were ready to beam the team in to extract him. As the Captain's voice cut off from the tiny speakers, and the crew made their last-minute preparations, he knelt down. Why make a bigger target than he had to, when there were so many fine security officers who's whole job was dealing with the fire?

His two-year stint in the Andorian Guard had made him very familiar with a great many types of operation - some peaceful, unfortunately most not. While he would not use violence himself, Abas had a duty to any and all who were injured - regardless of what side they were on. He would do his duty - no matter the situation. That isn't to say he would just stand there and get shot at, however. He didn't have a death wish.

[LZ]

The whine of the transporter faded as quick as it had started, with the crew beaming in to... the perfect kill-box. Weapons fire erupted in the small space, beams of light and bolts of energy criss-crossing in the space as the smell of acrid burning began to quickly fill the air. Two security officers - thankfully none of the Challenger's crew - were cut down almost instantly from a sequence of disruptor blasts. Nonetheless, he had a job to do. Perhaps the officers could still be saved, though from how they had fallen, it seemed unlikely. Staying low, he reached out to one of the fallen officers and grabbed ahold of their collar, dragging the unfortunate soul into whatever semblance of cover he could find.

For all of the weapons fire around, he was remarkably calm. While the screams and commotion of combat filled the air, Abas kept his breathing level and almost zen-like. It was only moments later that Lahr pulled him down, only for a disruptor bolt to fly straight past where his head was a mere two seconds beforehand. "Thanks," he said, not turning away from his work, shaking his head before moving on to the next casualty. The first officer hit was already gone. There was nothing he could do for them. "Understood, Chief. Stay alive," he responded, before flinching as another blast hit very much too close to home.

As the Chief cleared a small alcove, enough for cover, Abas vaulted for the other fallen Andgarr, dragging them into cover before cracking open his tricorder and seeing if anything could be done. With the cover of the counter, which was enough to withstand the indirect fire coming its way for the moment, he continued his work, using his enhanced senses to try and paint a mental map of the area. The good news, however, was that he didn't have to stick his head out in order to see what was occurring. "Chief. Drop!" he said, as he sensed a weapon being turned toward their direction. Hopefully with his warning, the man could evade the incoming fire.

Abas busied himself with performing battlefield triage on anyone who he could see or reach - ducking out into the line of fire briefly if the need came to drag fallen or wounded to the shelter the Engineer had cleared. Hopefully the fight would be over soon - but until then, he had a duty to perform.

[Hideout - Angdarr Prime]

The room was alive with light as phaser and disruptor bolts crisscrossed the confines of the hideout. One of the Klingons took a blast and crumpled with a fist sized hole in his chest. The paired Zakdorn, working with long practiced tactics as they attempted to flank Zhuk. Just as one of the goons got into firing position, Zara was able to cut the Zakdorn down before he could shoot. The death of his brother caused the second Zakdorn to burst from cover firing wildly in a blind rage. As he reached Zara and was ready to shoot, Zhuk got a clear line of sight and shot the brother.

The remaining human and two Nausicans realized they were out numbered and made an attempt to flee, but the Klingons made short work of them as they avenged their fallen comrade. The room fell silent and the rescuers finally had the chance to search the hideout.

Kyan was found stuffed in a sack, still fully bound and badly battered. When Abas got to him, he was alive, but unconscious from the beating he'd endured. However, they'd succeeded, they'd rescued the Onlie.

[[Lt. Commander Kyan Mackenzie | Unknown Location, Andgarr Prime]]

[Lt. Commander Kyan Mackenzie | Unknown Location, Andgarr Prime]

THWACK!

The Onlie's head jerked to the side when the burly Orion smacked him with a solid backhand. "œWake up boy. I can't punish you if you're asleep." He laughed.

Kyan opened his right eye and looked at the green skinned thug. He'd have opened the other one too, but unfortunately it was swollen almost shut. "œI was nae sleepin ye targs arse.." he croaked. It was of course a lie. He had been sleeping. Between fighting before, the Neural thingamajig, then being stunned by an Orion phaser and subsequently being smacked around, he was exhausted. After the ill fated escape attempt, Seles had her goons run a length of rope over the metal pipe on the ceiling and hang him up by his arms.

Apparently his punishment for nearly escaping was to be a punching bag.

THWACK!

Another backhand had him seeing stars, and left a familiar metallic taste in his mouth. "œYou got spirit kid. I like it." The Orion smirked. "œBut it's over. No one is going to find you. Your comrades aren't going to burst in the door and save you. So you may as well just do what Seles wants."

Kyan spat on the ground. "œSeles can bugger off a cliff." He added afterwards. "œWhen I get loose from this.."

The Orion interrupted him with a gut punch. Then he shook his head. "œYou're not getting loose."

Not that he was going to admit it to him, or anyone else, but Kyan knew he had the right of it. Mostly. He couldn't escape on his own, at least not now. But Galloway wasn't going to leave him here. They would be coming. He just had to hold out until then. Which hopefully be soon. he thought as the Orion reared back to hit him again.

THWACK!

[Angdarr[

As the goon worked Kyan over, Seles entered the cell and said.

"Stop! The subject has been primed for his mission. It is time to transfer him to his 'hide out'.

As the assassination of Jindak had been in the works for several months, everything was in place and just need authorization to move forward to phase two of the operation. Kyan was stunned again and quickly bundled up for transport. The Orions who'd originally captured him, met with a group of known criminals while heavily cloaked and masked so that the criminals never knew who they were dealing with.

After money exchanged hands, Kyan was taken to another hide out deep under the Angdarr canopy. There, using carefully scrambled communications they contacted the Challenger to offer ransom terms, the princely sum of 100 bricks of gold pressed latinum. Unknown to the criminals, the "scrambling" of the communications was flawed and it took Lieutenant Commander Catalan less than an hour to locate its source. He relayed this information to Captain Galloway immediately, who in turn, contacted Zhuk.

"Lieutenant Mrekrerhas, we have a location on Commander MacKenzie. Your team and a half dozen Angdarr Security Officers are about ta be beamed ta that location. You are goin' into a hostile environment, you are authorized ta do what is necessary ta rescue Kyan. Godspeed ta you lad."

Ian closed the channel and offered a quick word of supplication that Zhuk's team would succeed and then he settled in for the part he hated as captain...the wait.

[Character Details]

Hey there Bimm, post your intro here! We're excited to see it!

Character Details

Character Name:
Character Age:
Character DOB:
Character Image:
Character Species:
Gender:
Character Family:
Character Bio:

Your Details

Previous Role-Playing Experience:
Department Preference:
Secondary Department Preference:
Commissioned, Enlisted or Civilian:

Sample post:

Additional information:

How did you find Shadow Fleet?