S13 - M5: Best Laid Plans

[Susan Venator]

[Captain's Quarters - Deck 2]

The system they were headed to was very intriquing, and it was something he was looking forward to.  He would have to try and convince Hrafn to head down there.  He glanced out the window at the streaking stars... both anxious and pleased to have pulled this surprise off.  The perfect gift for the one who had been literally on the other side of the galaxy.

Captain Tekin to the Bridge! 

The call from one of his bridge officers was serious... very serious.  Something must have been up.  With a sigh he stood up, walking to his door where the comm panel was.

"Bridge this the Captai-" he started, when his screen flashed with the ambient light by the door.  A yellow alert.

"Never mind, I'm on my way." he said, letting go of the button and leaving his room, straightening his uniform.

[Bridge - Deck 1]

He was barely out of the turbolift when he spoke.

"Report!" he called, the jovinity he held now abscent.  He crossed over to the big chair, where Susan had just given a hail.

"Sir, unknown vessel detected.  It was cloaked and is on an intercept course.  It... it was trying to give off a Federation signal." stated Ensign Syrim, mostly due to the urgency and being the one with the most access to the information.

"Lieutenant, I appreciate your caution, but be mindful of how we look.  We are guests in their quadrant.  However, good call.  I'll take it from here.  Helm, drop us out of warp.  Tactical, I want a readout on that ship.  Let's get an idea of what we're dealing with." he said, even though he knew Susan had just hailed.

"This is Captain Tekin Nevir, please respond." 

"Captain... now that we dropped out of warp, there is a faint signal coming through.  To jarbled to make out."

"From the ship?"

"No, sir.  Farther away.  Too regular to be natural."

"Venator, Jones, clean up that signal... in silence please.  See what you can make of it."

"In the meantime... now we wait."

Bridge

As the Captain stepped onto the Bridge, she was beaten to reporting by the over eager Ensign. Not taking the matter personally, she stepped aside at once to let Tekin take over.

Heading to the secondary Ops panel, she gave a nod in response to the order to clear up the signal.

"Aye Captain." She replied before pulling up the signal that they were only now receiving.

[Ian Galloway]

Bridge

Suzie reacted to the report of a vessel decloaking nearby. She was about to request more information when the Warp signature was identified as Federation.

"Unlikely." She replied. "Starfleet does not use cloaking devices. Yellow Alert. Raise shields, call the Captain to the Bridge and open a channel, lets hope they want to talk." She ordered.

The Bridge lighting immediately turned yellow.

"Shields up, channel open and the Captain has been called." The tactical officer replied.

This is Lieutenant Venator of the Federation Starship Discovery hailing unidentified vessel. Please respond.

[Holodeck Two]

Ian heard the alert and immediately called for the exit, it was a yellow alert, which meant something was up, but not so crucial that he couldn't stop at his quarters to change to his proper uniform. He did however, run all the way to the turbolift and used his command override to take him directly to deck 3. Ian burst into his quarters and quickly changed into his Starfleet uniform, before racing back to the turbolift and the bridge. Once there, he looked out at the viewscreeen to see the unfamiliar ship and muttered.

"Bloody hell, but that ship looks like arse."

Before moving the Mission Operations station to get updated with the most current information.

"What have we stumbled onto now?"

He thought as he also tried to clean up the garbled signal.

[Don Damien Addams]

O3 Danjar-Torra
[USS Discovery - Deck 10 - Sickbay]

Torra looked at Don, as she fought a smile at his rather terrible pun.  Even injured, he had to keep up the humor - it was one of his endearing qualities.

The nurse finished her scan. "A single 2 cm laceration just to the left of the left ocular socket." The nurse announced and noted the injury to Don's ever growing medical file.  "Nothing a dermal regenerator can't fix.  I'll be back in just a moment."

Torra bit at her lip a second before piping up.  "Could I perform the procedure?"

The nurse frowned and shook her head as she retrieved the necessary equipment.  "For you to do the task, you'd have to be overseen by a doctor, not just a nurse.  The doctor on duty is on break at the moment, I'd rather not disturb him for something this minor.  Another time, Torra. Sorry."  The nurse explained in a kind a voice.

Torra was disappointed but understood.  She nodded and gave a smile towards Don.

[Sick bay]

Don frowned on the nurse reply of not letting Torra to do it. Did the Nurse not liking the other doctor who was on the other side of sickbay? He could see the man he could not remember. Maybe the nurse needed her eyes checked.

'Maybe you can do brain surgery on me next time," he told Torra with an wink.

[USS Discovery - Deck 10 - Sickbay]

Juraan overheard the conversation and while the nurse of course was correct he thought that she could have made an exception. But the good thing was he was a doctor and he wasn't doing very urgent lab work at the moment.

Putting everything away to leave it safely he emerged from the lab and entered the treatment room. "It's alright, nurse", Juraan said as he approached. "I would be glad to oversee Miss Danjar doing the treatment. I've seen for myself that she is quite skilled." He nodded encouraging to her and then looked at Don, whom he had seen quite often here since he was on this ship. "Hello, Mr. Addams", he greeted him and then quickly looked over the scans the nurse had made to have an idea of what needed to be done so he could support Torra if needed.

[sickbay]

Don smiled to the doctor. "I can't help myself. Just love coming here," he joked.

[Holodeck Two]

Ian heard the alert and immediately called for the exit, it was a yellow alert, which meant something was up, but not so crucial that he couldn't stop at his quarters to change to his proper uniform. He did however, run all the way to the turbolift and used his command override to take him directly to deck 3. Ian burst into his quarters and quickly changed into his Starfleet uniform, before racing back to the turbolift and the bridge. Once there, he looked out at the viewscreeen to see the unfamiliar ship and muttered.

"Bloody hell, but that ship looks like arse."

Before moving the Mission Operations station to get updated with the most current information.

"What have we stumbled onto now?"

He thought as he also tried to clean up the garbled signal.

Don's brown eyes blinked when he noticed the yellow alert. Well, seems the holodeck stimulation with Ian was going to be on hold. "I got to head to the bridge," he said as he hopped off the med bed.

[T'Ra Jones]

[Bridge - Deck 1]

He was barely out of the turbolift when he spoke.

"Report!" he called, the jovinity he held now abscent.  He crossed over to the big chair, where Susan had just given a hail.

"Sir, unknown vessel detected.  It was cloaked and is on an intercept course.  It... it was trying to give off a Federation signal." stated Ensign Syrim, mostly due to the urgency and being the one with the most access to the information.

"Lieutenant, I appreciate your caution, but be mindful of how we look.  We are guests in their quadrant.  However, good call.  I'll take it from here.  Helm, drop us out of warp.  Tactical, I want a readout on that ship.  Let's get an idea of what we're dealing with." he said, even though he knew Susan had just hailed.

"This is Captain Tekin Nevir, please respond." 

"Captain... now that we dropped out of warp, there is a faint signal coming through.  To jarbled to make out."

"From the ship?"

"No, sir.  Farther away.  Too regular to be natural."

"Venator, Jones, clean up that signal... in silence please.  See what you can make of it."

"In the meantime... now we wait."

Bridge

As the Captain stepped onto the Bridge, she was beaten to reporting by the over eager Ensign. Not taking the matter personally, she stepped aside at once to let Tekin take over.

Heading to the secondary Ops panel, she gave a nod in response to the order to clear up the signal.

"Aye Captain." She replied before pulling up the signal that they were only now receiving.

[Bridge]

"Yes, sir," T'Ra added, her fingers dancing across her screen as she worked in conjunction with Lieutenant Venator, who stood at Ops. Scans pertaining to the long range scanners were minimized, as the cause of the garbled message was much more likely to be close at hand, though if she couldn't find anything, she would begin to search farther out.

"I'm not detecting any spatial anomalies that would interfere with the signal," she reported, "so whatever is disrupting the signal either has to be on our end or theirs..."-- whoever they were-- she added, with an arched brow and and expression directed at Venator that was meant to ask how their systems fared.

[Susan Venator]

[Bridge]

"Yes, sir," T'Ra added, her fingers dancing across her screen as she worked in conjunction with Lieutenant Venator, who stood at Ops. Scans pertaining to the long range scanners were minimized, as the cause of the garbled message was much more likely to be close at hand, though if she couldn't find anything, she would begin to search farther out.

"I'm not detecting any spatial anomalies that would interfere with the signal," she reported, "so whatever is disrupting the signal either has to be on our end or theirs..."-- whoever they were-- she added, with an arched brow and and expression directed at Venator that was meant to ask how their systems fared.

Bridge

At T'Ra's comment, Suzie immediately began a diagnostic of their signal receivers. It came back clear, so she ran it again as a precaution. The second check also came back clear.

"Our transceiver array is working well above the standard threshold." She replied to the unasked question. "Whatever the issue is, it is not with us. Either there is a problem with whoever is transmitting it, or the signal is being jammed in some way." She paused and took another look at the signal. "There is no sign of incomplete blocks that would indicate degradation at the point of transmission so the evidence that we have would indicate that there is a jamming signal between the transmitter and us." She paused again and re-checked the signal bearing. "From the direction of the transmission, it appears to have come either from Katra Station itself or at least from the same system." She finished.

She then began to run IFF protocols on the signal. While it was on a common communication frequency, there were no initial Starfleet or Federation markers. However, if it was sent by a Federation communications system, there would be a buried code within the message that would confirm where it was sent from. If she could find it, they would know who sent it. Even if none of the message was recoverable.

[T'Ra Jones]

Bridge

At T'Ra's comment, Suzie immediately began a diagnostic of their signal receivers. It came back clear, so she ran it again as a precaution. The second check also came back clear.

"Our transceiver array is working well above the standard threshold." She replied to the unasked question. "Whatever the issue is, it is not with us. Either there is a problem with whoever is transmitting it, or the signal is being jammed in some way." She paused and took another look at the signal. "There is no sign of incomplete blocks that would indicate degradation at the point of transmission so the evidence that we have would indicate that there is a jamming signal between the transmitter and us." She paused again and re-checked the signal bearing. "From the direction of the transmission, it appears to have come either from Katra Station itself or at least from the same system." She finished.

She then began to run IFF protocols on the signal. While it was on a common communication frequency, there were no initial Starfleet or Federation markers. However, if it was sent by a Federation communications system, there would be a buried code within the message that would confirm where it was sent from. If she could find it, they would know who sent it. Even if none of the message was recoverable.

[Bridge]

T'Ra nodded. "I had feared as much." While it was good to know that there was nothing malfunctioning on their end, it did little to quell the mounting unease within her. At her station, she played the signal over again, straining to hear anything that might point her in the right direction. Although it was garbled, there were occasional soundbites that were just barely clear enough, if brief, that she was convinced there was no random noise involved. And, being that there was no problem with the Discovery, there was little they could do until they located the cause and removed it.

[Danjar-Torra Addams]

PO3 Danjar-Torra
[USS Discovery - Deck 10 - Sickbay]

[Sick bay]

Don frowned on the nurse reply of not letting Torra to do it. Did the Nurse not liking the other doctor who was on the other side of sickbay? He could see the man he could not remember. Maybe the nurse needed her eyes checked.

'Maybe you can do brain surgery on me next time," he told Torra with an wink.

[sickbay]

[USS Discovery - Deck 10 - Sickbay]

Juraan overheard the conversation and while the nurse of course was correct he thought that she could have made an exception. But the good thing was he was a doctor and he wasn't doing very urgent lab work at the moment.

Putting everything away to leave it safely he emerged from the lab and entered the treatment room. "It's alright, nurse", Juraan said as he approached. "I would be glad to oversee Miss Danjar doing the treatment. I've seen for myself that she is quite skilled." He nodded encouraging to her and then looked at Don, whom he had seen quite often here since he was on this ship. "Hello, Mr. Addams", he greeted him and then quickly looked over the scans the nurse had made to have an idea of what needed to be done so he could support Torra if needed.

Don smiled to the doctor. "I can't help myself. Just love coming here," he joked.

Don's brown eyes blinked when he noticed the yellow alert. Well, seems the holodeck stimulation with Ian was going to be on hold. "I got to head to the bridge," he said as he hopped off the med bed.

At Don's continued teasing Torra gave a shake of her head. "You continue walking into  doors and that could happen sooner than you anticipate." she warned.

Torra smiled toward Dr. Juraan when he offered to oversee her treatment of Don.  "Thank you, sir."

The nurse handed over the dermal regenerator to Torra, but before Torra could set to work... the Yellow Alert klaxon sounded and Don hopped off the table to preparing to respond and head up to the bridge.

Torra knew her repairing his wound with the regenerator would take easily 5 minutes.  But she had an a field medic fix.   "Don, hold just a minute.  I can fix that quickly. "

She went to where her 'jump kit' was and pulled out a tiny tube from a pocket and returned to Don's side.  She quickly cleaned the wound with a swab and then applied two drops of the adhesive into the laceration then held the two sides of the wound together.  Within a minute the bleeding had stopped.

"I've used a skin glue to close the wound. Try not to touch the site for the next few minutes. Or you run the risk of gluing your fingers too.  I'll send to your PADD a full list of Do's and Don'ts. But you can report to your station now."

[Solluk]

Dosi Cruiser 'Rage' now decloaked and bearing on the Discovery

The Dosi cruiser turned so that it was at a slight angle to the Discovery, allowing her formidable arsenal to bear down on the smaller craft.  It was clear from her design that she was best at delivering broadsides.  Antimatter missile turrets and antiproton cannons festooned the vessel.  While not as powerful as their Starfleet counterparts, they could be quite damaging... especially if the Discovery's shields were able to be penetrated.  Antiproton bursts against the ship's hull would explode like tactical nukes, turning the ship's own material into the means of its destruction.

Meanwhile, the readings Discovery could get from the Dosi cruiser suggested the ship was much more powerful than had previously been recorded by Starfleet during past scans of Dosi ships.  The warp core and drive system of the craft had clearly been extensively upgraded, perhaps approaching the efficiency of Discovery's own drive.  It was almost as though this Dosi cruiser had come from the future, bringing with it a fifty year improvement to Dosi technology.

But any concern over errant time travelers would be quashed once scans of the embarked craft came to the Discovery's science team.  The fighter craft she carried were most assuredly nimble and dangerous things... but they were the same type of last-gen tech that Starfleet had previously known about.  They did not even have warp capability.  The shields were good, but not up to Starfleet standards.  She had composite armor, but it was not equal to Starfleet's ablative armor.  The cloaking device they'd recently deactivated carried the energetic signature of old Klingon tech.

The ship's upgrades clearly did not reach her every system.  No... someone more sophisticated than the Dosi must have gifted them or sold them their improved engine technology.  If this had been the product of ordinary technological development, all other systems and embarked craft would have been similarly improved.  She was like an Excelsior class ship given a Galaxy class core.

One other oddity did present itself, however.  The Dosi cruiser was equipped with powerful Tetryon emitters.  If their emissions were timed to coincide with expected phaser attacks, they might disrupt the phaser beams and make them less effective.  A clever secondary defense mechanism to supplement their shields.

Dosi Bridge

Tolar spoke up from the signals station.  "They are hailing us."

Valla nodded, and turned towards the tech panels that lined the forward section of the bridge.

"Put me on," she instructed him.

A moment later, her visage was transmitted to the Discovery.

"Attention Federation Science vessel.  This is Captain Valla of the Dosi Cruiser 'Rage.'  We have detected that you are on a direct course for the Trialus system.  We can not allow you to approach.  The Trialus system is restricted Dosi territory."

Meanwhile, coming into the Discovery's communications arrays...

The mysterious signal finally began to clear up enough so that personnel could pull some metadata off of it.  It was tagged with the identification codes for Katra Actual- the CO of the station.  The interference patterns behind the signal suggested that some kind of radiation leak might be disrupting it.

But just as soon as that information came across, the transmission stopped.

[Susan Venator]

Bridge

Suzie had been dissecting the transmission and soon confirmed that, not only had it originated from Katra Station, but that it had been sent by the CO himself.

Since the Dosi had now responded, she had to swallow a snigger when they identified the Discovery as a science vessel. They would be in for a shock when she bared her teeth! Not wanting to let on to the Dosi that they had identified the transmission, she sent a message to the command console.

Captain. The transmission has originated from Katra Station and was sent by Captain Sollok, the station's CO. While most of it is badly garbled, it included a general distress code alongside the command codes. I have searched the database for previous instances and I have found one where radiation interfered with a signal. It matches some of the degradation on the transmission, indicating that it is the cause of the interference. The signal has now stopped transmitting. I recommend we investigate the situation. Venator.

[Tekin Nevir]

Dosi Bridge

Tolar spoke up from the signals station.  "They are hailing us."

Valla nodded, and turned towards the tech panels that lined the forward section of the bridge.

"Put me on," she instructed him.

A moment later, her visage was transmitted to the Discovery.

"Attention Federation Science vessel.  This is Captain Valla of the Dosi Cruiser 'Rage.'  We have detected that you are on a direct course for the Trialus system.  We can not allow you to approach.  The Trialus system is restricted Dosi territory."

[Bridge - USS Discovery]

The wait before they got a reply was excruciating, but finally they answered, and for a moment the Bajoran Captain was relieved. For only a moment.  The words used... they were a threat.  And from the looks of their ships, they were packing some punch.  The Discovery had at least on advantage, though.

She was identified as a Science Vessel.

Nevir tried to recall who the Dosi were... he was just reading about the sector.  The Dosi.... they weren't that advanced, were they?  Surely not cloak and battery advanced.  Something was wrong.

Bridge

Suzie had been dissecting the transmission and soon confirmed that, not only had it originated from Katra Station, but that it had been sent by the CO himself.

Since the Dosi had now responded, she had to swallow a snigger when they identified the Discovery as a science vessel. They would be in for a shock when she bared her teeth! Not wanting to let on to the Dosi that they had identified the transmission, she sent a message to the command console.

Captain. The transmission has originated from Katra Station and was sent by Captain Sollok, the station's CO. While most of it is badly garbled, it included a general distress code alongside the command codes. I have searched the database for previous instances and I have found one where radiation interfered with a signal. It matches some of the degradation on the transmission, indicating that it is the cause of the interference. The signal has now stopped transmitting. I recommend we investigate the situation. Venator.

A chill went down his spine as he glanced at the message.  Katra station.  Something was very, very wrong.

"This is Captain Tekin Nevir of the Federation Starship Discovery.  I apologize for any perceived intrusion, but there must be some mistake.  I was told that Trialus was a Meridian system.  We have a space station set up in that system.  If we can at least get over there, I'm sure this matter can be settled diplomatically." he said, standing firm.  His eyes glanced to his crew as he waited to see the answer.  The Dosi weren't supposed to be a threat... maybe they wouldn't be.

Or maybe Hrafn was currently in peril.

[Don Damien Addams]

[Bridge - USS Discovery]

The wait before they got a reply was excruciating, but finally they answered, and for a moment the Bajoran Captain was relieved. For only a moment.  The words used... they were a threat.  And from the looks of their ships, they were packing some punch.  The Discovery had at least on advantage, though.

She was identified as a Science Vessel.

Nevir tried to recall who the Dosi were... he was just reading about the sector.  The Dosi.... they weren't that advanced, were they?  Surely not cloak and battery advanced.  Something was wrong.

A chill went down his spine as he glanced at the message.  Katra station.  Something was very, very wrong.

"This is Captain Tekin Nevir of the Federation Starship Discovery.  I apologize for any perceived intrusion, but there must be some mistake.  I was told that Trialus was a Meridian system.  We have a space station set up in that system.  If we can at least get over there, I'm sure this matter can be settled diplomatically." he said, standing firm.  His eyes glanced to his crew as he waited to see the answer.  The Dosi weren't supposed to be a threat... maybe they wouldn't be.

Or maybe Hrafn was currently in peril.

[Discovery's Bridge]

Don came walking onto the bridge. He went straight to flight station. He was glad that his injured right could not be seen. He followed the instruction of Torra of keeping his hand away from the skin glue on the corner of his eye. It was difficult. He chose that he was going to take her advice.

Don tapped the back of the helm chair. "Okay, Lieutenant Marie Luchico I will take over," he told the female who was in the seat. Only Marie saw the hurt eye. She wanted to know. Knowing the grape vine in the Discovery she will hear about it.

The main screen showed a huge ship. It was long. Addams was pre-planning flight routes. He sat down. Punched in his sequence code on the console. Took the flight out of autopilot. He was more old fashion. Do it yourself

[Ian Galloway]

Meanwhile, coming into the Discovery's communications arrays...

The mysterious signal finally began to clear up enough so that personnel could pull some metadata off of it.  It was tagged with the identification codes for Katra Actual- the CO of the station.  The interference patterns behind the signal suggested that some kind of radiation leak might be disrupting it.

But just as soon as that information came across, the transmission stopped.

[/size]

Ian had run his own check on the garbled signal, concentrating on the 'bit rate' of the signal they did have and running it through a standard Starfleet communication algorithm, he'd pieced together.

"...Katra... we... ...tack..."

The implications were enough that Ian addressed the captain.

"Sir, given the Dosi are claimin' the Trialus system, we have creditable information that the Katra outpost is under attack, and we have a Dosi cruiser warnin' us ta break off, I recommend we go ta battle stations. In addition, based on that pile of crap's power output and weapons configuration, we prepare for multi-vector operations."

[Evandav Bervarn]

[Corridor]

"Ah.  It was a good one" EQ replied in response to the joke.  "Ain't none of us angles.  That's for sure" he added with a bit of a smirk.

He put fingers to chin as he considered his reponse to the man's questions.  "If I had to pick just one, it would be the Sharn A.  It was an Odyssey class ship.  The biggest the fleet had to offer.  Man was it a beast" he replied candidly.

"What about you?  Just arriving.  Maybe that is why you got the worst job on the ship" he added.

As he listened to EQ, he did so with a little envy. Serving on the biggest ship in Starfleet, using the variety of weapons which he was sure the ship held. When asked another question, he answered simply
"This is my first ship, my previous mission was my first." Then, Yellow Alert came, and he looked at EQ with a little apprehension. He hadn't really been part of a Yellow Alert yet, and asked
"What do we do in a Yellow Alert?" to EQ

[Solluk]

Aboard the Dosi Cruiser 'Rage' - Command Deck

Valla's eyelids narrowed as she listened to Tekin's words, trying to decide what sort of man he was.

"Captain," Talar spoke from the signals station.

Valla half-turned, and Tolar touched a control.

"I have muted our sound.  Captain, I am now able to get much more detailed scans of the Starfleet craft.  It has an unusual structural configuration.  I have noted several weak-points in the structure where it seems the ship could come apart if the right amount of force were applied.  However, our supposition that it was a science vessel may be incorrect.  Their weapon systems are exceedingly sophisticated.  More powerful than those of the previously encountered USS Hypatia."

Valla's eyes widened.  The Hypatia was the Starfleet battleship Dontu had spied during his previous visit to Katra Station.  It was a Nebula class, among the largest and most powerful of the Federation fleet.  How could this little ship be more powerful?  And why did it have structural weaknesses so obvious that Tolar could detect them in just a few moments?  Everything about this ship was a contradiction.

She looked to her executive officer.  "Go, take command of the fighter squadrons personally.  I think there may be a battle here."

His lips curled into a hungry grin as he stood  and quickly made his way to exit the bridge.

Finally, Valla nodded to Tolar, and returned her gaze to the tech panels.  An audible beep let her know sound had been restored.

"It is my unhappy duty to inform you that your information is outdated.  Trialus is under Dosi control.  The Federation and Meridian presence there was illegal.  That presence has been removed.  Our government will doubtless be in touch with your government soon, to make sure your personnel are returned safely.  We bear no ill will to the Federation for this unfortunate misunderstanding.  But we can not allow you to interfere with operations ongoing in the Trialus system.   If you wish, I can beam over to your vessel to convey additional details in person.  There is no reason for this to become... violent."

She smiled.  This is how the Federation did things, according to Dontu.

They spoke soft words.

They smiled.

They invited people for tea.

Meanwhile, coming across the subspace com antenna...
The signal which had previously stopped, suddenly came on again, at a slightly higher power level.  Still, it remained weak, and hard to make out.

This is Captain Solluk to all personnel aboard Katra Station and throughout the system.  Be advised: We are being boarded.   Repeat: We are being boarded.  Starfleet has pledged to defend the Trialus system.  The Dosi are intent on seizing it.

There was a pause, then:

Make Them Pay For It.

[Tekin Nevir]

Ian had run his own check on the garbled signal, concentrating on the 'bit rate' of the signal they did have and running it through a standard Starfleet communication algorithm, he'd pieced together.

"...Katra... we... ...tack..."

The implications were enough that Ian addressed the captain.

"Sir, given the Dosi are claimin' the Trialus system, we have creditable information that the Katra outpost is under attack, and we have a Dosi cruiser warnin' us ta break off, I recommend we go ta battle stations. In addition, based on that pile of crap's power output and weapons configuration, we prepare for multi-vector operations."

Aboard the Dosi Cruiser 'Rage' - Command Deck

Valla's eyelids narrowed as she listened to Tekin's words, trying to decide what sort of man he was.

His lips curled into a hungry grin as he stood  and quickly made his way to exit the bridge.

Finally, Valla nodded to Tolar, and returned her gaze to the tech panels.  An audible beep let her know sound had been restored.

"It is my unhappy duty to inform you that your information is outdated.  Trialus is under Dosi control.  The Federation and Meridian presence there was illegal.  That presence has been removed.  Our government will doubtless be in touch with your government soon, to make sure your personnel are returned safely.  We bear no ill will to the Federation for this unfortunate misunderstanding.  But we can not allow you to interfere with operations ongoing in the Trialus system.   If you wish, I can beam over to your vessel to convey additional details in person.  There is no reason for this to become... violent."

She smiled.  This is how the Federation did things, according to Dontu.

They spoke soft words.

[Bridge - USS Discovery]

As soon as he saw lips moving but with no sound, he glanced to the comms officer to cut the mic.  Luckily, that's when Ian spoke to him about what they found.

"Captain, they are scanning us."

"Then they won't think of us as a science vessel for long.  Shame... I really wanted to be one." he said, turning to Ian.

"Mr Galloway... depending on what we find, it is possible I will become emotionally compromised.  Be prepared for when that happens.  My.... my wife and children are on Katra Station." he said, sighing.

"Once this comes to blows, they will no doubt send a signal to their friends in the Trialus system.  They are probably poised over the button to report us.  Now... do you want them to report one vessel on approach?  Or three?  These people don't seem to scare easily... but their technology... its not right.  And because of that, I don't think they'll understand what their scanners see on our ship.  That ship is big, but it's clunky and makeshift.  They're no Jem'hadar.  Let's save the MVA for the cavalry."

Nevir paused to look around the bridge again.  They've been engaged with marauders and pirates... not ship to ship.  Not in a long while.

"Number one.  Prepare all decks for battle stations, all but Deck One.  Remember everyone: we are a science vessel until we are not.  Understood?"

He turned back just as the sound returned to the face of the Dosi Captain.  She did her homework.  She knew he would prefer not to engage.  It was the Starfleet way.  Which meant.. they were planning something.

"I understand.  We do have a protocol in these kinds of events.  One of which is an automated signal to explain the situation.  We haven't gotten that signal yet.  If you so desire, we can head straight to Katra Station to pick up our people, and be out of your... hair, as it were.  I agree... I wouldn't like things to get violent.  That is the Starfleet way, after all." he said, taking a seat in the Captain's chair and tapping his hand on his console in a nervous tick.

"We can arrange for you to transport over immedately if that is more preferable." he said, suddenly pulling his hand in as if realizing he was showing fear or nervousness.

Message - Tekin to Venator:

That signal from Katra.  Enemies here. They scan us. We scan them.  Stop their tongues.