S5: E1 - Honor Against Glory

[Lagar]

[ USS Challenger - Bridge ]

The slow monotony of scanning, rescanning, and recalibrating sensors droned on, as every station on the bridge worked to puzzle out the mystery of the ion particles. It didn't make sense, there had to be a piece missing. But before anyone at conns had the chance to decipher it, Lowe barked out, loud enough for the entire bridge to hear:

"Sir, the Captain is requesting an emergency beam-up, with Madam President!" Jettis sat straight up in his seat, blinking in surprise for a moment. "Beam them up! Stand by to go to yellow alert." He barked, though he command was surely unnecessary. He then swiveled to Lagar and Belmont, standing at the Science stations. "You're both relieved from Bridge duty, you're more needed in sickbay right now. Beam directly there."

Lieutenant jg Lagar
[Bridge "" USS Challenger]

The Phylosian rose, along with Lisa, preparing to have his molecules disassembled and reassembled in Sickbay.

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

As expected, Lisa found her "right hand woman" already working to solve the puzzle of what had happened to the President. With Jess' report, Lisa rushed over to stand beside her and read the charts in their entirety.

"You've done great so far..." she trailed off as she made sure a crash cart was already in place. Not knowing the nature of this poison, they had to be prepared for anything. As she got a better picture of how she was poisoned from the shorthand on the charts, Lisa looked to Jess.

"Well we can't do anything substantial until someone has an analysis from that bloodwine!" she exclaimed exasperatedly.

Only a few minutes after she'd said it, the comm had come in from T'Vas, Rashar had the analysis, and Jess had the hypo injected.

She gave a grateful look to all involved and then turned to Lagar with a stronger one as if to say,

"This is not over yet."

Lagar laid a congratulatory tendril on the shoulder of Ensign Rashar. "You've just helped save the President of the Federation, Ensign." he said, giving the man a bit of a shake. The Betazoid was put a little off-balance by the surprising strength of the Phylosian arm"¦ tentacle"¦ thing. There was more than a small amount of power in those twisting appendages.

As Lisa shared her look with Lagar, he gave her a nod in return that might be interpreted as grim. The Phylosian stepped away from the excitement and drew up a PADD. On the Bridge, they had been dealing with suspected Romulan activity, and last night, Lagar had been briefing himself on the broader state of affairs with the new Romulan government. He was no intelligence analyst, but he was a doctor, and a capable researcher. He knew he needed to gather facts about this poison and its likely origin, not assumptions. After a rigorous but accurate search, Lagar verified his findings with his colleagues and, securing Lieutenant Belmont's permission, made the following report to the Bridge.

"Sickbay to Bridge, this is Lieutenant Lagar. The poison was Kitali, a fairly exotic substance, speaking toxicologically. It is made from the ichor of Denebia Carnivora, a creature of Deneb IV, and is reported as being in common use by the Orion Syndicate." His eyestalks tilted down to verify one last fact from his notes on the PADD. "Fairly easy to make, and it has no special technical requirements to store it or prepare it for delivery."

He ended his report there, unless the Bridge had further questions that Sickbay could try to answer. For now, Lagar knew that his part was to follow orders.

[Ian Galloway]

[Galga Conference Hall]

The Betazoid male nodded his head to the Captain and walked toward the crowd. He was scanning for the group of Ferengi which was not to hard. What had helped Shazham was the area where he could not read emotion or thoughts and open space in the crowd because the Ferengi were small.

The Starfleet officer spotted the small group of Ferengi with a security guard in tail. Then he paused to the Security, "Don't stand to close," he told them. Then he moved a pace to them because he would not want to be close enough for their ears to hear him telling that to the security officer.

"Excuse me, Ambassador Glerk may I speak to you?" the Flight officer asked.

[Galgan Conference Facility]

When Shazham approached the Ferengi delegation, CPO Blackfeather, and PO2 Naamet Shurile joined him in case they were involved and decided to resist. However, when Shazham asked for Glerk, he was met by an oily subordinate who smiled broadly.

"I am so very sorry about your president, I do wish her a speedy recovery. Unfortunately, the ambassador is not here, he retired to his chambers as he was so upset by these dreadful events. Terrible thing, very bad for business. I am certain however, given the circumstances, we would be willing to receive members of the Federation in his chambers as we wish to assist in any manner possible."

[Galga VI | Guest Quarters]

"No additional data points, all scanned."

T'Vas closed the tricorder. Were she human she would have sighed in frustration. The Tricorder was ultimately a handheld tool. Though she hadn't reviewed the results when she sent them to Challenger originally, she did so now. The limited database showed that there was a poison, but there was no matching result. The scans had also picked up the small hole in the cork, but not the significance. If she had a toolkit, she could have tried to increase sensor resolution, but she didn't and she couldn't take apart her commbadge without tools anyway.

She did try changing the sensor settings to see if there were any further insights, but no new discoveries could be made with the equipment at hand. She uploaded the data to Challenger's computer as supplementary readings. With a glance, she saw her regular uniform in the closet, but thought it in bad taste to change when everyone else was still wearing formal dress. She also thought about the evidence in her room, but nothing could be done right now about securing them further. She exited her guest room, still carrying the Tricorder, figuring it was useful.

[Galga VI | Conference Room]

"Captain."

T'Vas walked back to the room and the Captain and lowered her voice: "The bottle was tampered, Captain, no doubt. A small hole in the cork, it is poison." She held up the Tricorder if he wanted to look for himself. "Any word on the President's status?" Shazam and the rest of the Starfleet team were beginning their questioning while she had yet to receive new orders.

[Galgan Conference Facility]

Ian felt like a drawn bow waiting to fire he was so tense to know the answer to the very question T'Vas asked. He didn't want to disrupt any efforts to save the President, but he had to know, was the Federation about to go to war because of the murder of President Blackwell. He tapped his replacement combadge.

"Galloway ta Challenger, report."

Ian had asked that question dozens of time and never was the answer so important.

[Jettis Jyur]

Lieutenant jg Lagar
[Bridge "" USS Challenger]

The Phylosian rose, along with Lisa, preparing to have his molecules disassembled and reassembled in Sickbay.

Lagar laid a congratulatory tendril on the shoulder of Ensign Rashar. "You've just helped save the President of the Federation, Ensign." he said, giving the man a bit of a shake. The Betazoid was put a little off-balance by the surprising strength of the Phylosian arm"¦ tentacle"¦ thing. There was more than a small amount of power in those twisting appendages.

As Lisa shared her look with Lagar, he gave her a nod in return that might be interpreted as grim. The Phylosian stepped away from the excitement and drew up a PADD. On the Bridge, they had been dealing with suspected Romulan activity, and last night, Lagar had been briefing himself on the broader state of affairs with the new Romulan government. He was no intelligence analyst, but he was a doctor, and a capable researcher. He knew he needed to gather facts about this poison and its likely origin, not assumptions. After a rigorous but accurate search, Lagar verified his findings with his colleagues and, securing Lieutenant Belmont's permission, made the following report to the Bridge.

"Sickbay to Bridge, this is Lieutenant Lagar. The poison was Kitali, a fairly exotic substance, speaking toxicologically. It is made from the ichor of Denebia Carnivora, a creature of Deneb IV, and is reported as being in common use by the Orion Syndicate." His eyestalks tilted down to verify one last fact from his notes on the PADD. "Fairly easy to make, and it has no special technical requirements to store it or prepare it for delivery."

He ended his report there, unless the Bridge had further questions that Sickbay could try to answer. For now, Lagar knew that his part was to follow orders.

[ USS Challenger - Bridge ]

Seconds ticked by like minutes, as they waited on word from Sickbay. Nothing was coming up on scanners, as per usual, but their focus had switched from the mysterious cloud of ion particles, onto a much more.. pressing issue.
As soon as Jettis' commbadge chirped, he sat up, listening to the messages intently. It was followed by another, more detailed report, and he nodded to nobody in particular.

"Noted, keep me updated if her condition changes. Jyur out."

Almost as if through telepathy, Galloway called in to ask for a report, immediately following. Smirking slightly, he moved his fingers to his commbadge to respond.

"We just got word from Sickbay that the President is stable. The poison was Kitali, from Denab IV, reports from Ensign T'Vas show it was administered into the bottle through the cork. Are there any suspects insofar?"

[Ian Galloway]

[ USS Challenger - Bridge ]

Seconds ticked by like minutes, as they waited on word from Sickbay. Nothing was coming up on scanners, as per usual, but their focus had switched from the mysterious cloud of ion particles, onto a much more.. pressing issue.
As soon as Jettis' commbadge chirped, he sat up, listening to the messages intently. It was followed by another, more detailed report, and he nodded to nobody in particular.

"Noted, keep me updated if her condition changes. Jyur out."

Almost as if through telepathy, Galloway called in to ask for a report, immediately following. Smirking slightly, he moved his fingers to his commbadge to respond.

"We just got word from Sickbay that the President is stable. The poison was Kitali, from Denab IV, reports from Ensign T'Vas show it was administered into the bottle through the cork. Are there any suspects insofar?"

[Galgan Conference Facility]

Ian didn't think he'd ever been so relieved in his life when Jettis reported that the President was stable. He wasn't certain he could wrap his head around all the consequences of what the second order effects of her murder would generate. At least now, none of them would happen overtly. However, what Starfleet Intelligence would do in the shadows was a question for which he did not want the answer. Priority of effort now was finding out who was responsible. What happened after that would play out based on the answer to the first question.

"Sweet Merciful Maker, thank you Lieutenant. We've begun our investigation as ta who did this. The shorter answer at the moment is who isn't a suspect, that's a much shorter list. Please keep me informed as things change. I will do the same from here. Galloway out."

Ian took a deep breath and faced those of the crowd that remained, but he directed his response mostly at Martok.

"Ta all who are gathered here, President Blackwell is alive and is stable. We will provide updates as we receive them, I ask for those of you who believe in a higher power, of any stripe, please ask them ta support her in these troublin' times. Thank you."

"Qapla'!" Matrok thundered and advanced to shake Ian's hand. "I knew she had too much of Kahless' spirit to fall in such a way! Complements to your medical staff Captain. Now, I'd like my men to assist yours in finding the toDSaH that did this."

"Certainly Chancellor. Chief Cleroux will be in charge of the investigation along with Chief Blackfeather, and Mister Shurile. Ensign Shazham is a Betazoid and should be invaluable in the questionin' of suspects, and Ensign T'Vas, is obviously a Vulcan and is a science officer. I am very confident that we will be findin' the pillock involved."

"Pill...lock? I do not know this word."

"Do ye ken the word dumbass Chancellor?"

"Ah! Yes, this one I know. Yes, we will indeed find this dumbass. Tell me Captain, you speak differently from usual Federation Standard I hear from senior officers. From where do you hail?

Ian felt a little subconscious about having let his Standard slip, but when under duress, it was a fairly common occurrence.

"I'm from Inverness, Scotland Chancellor. It is located at the northern tip of the former nation state of Great Britain on Earth. We're a proud folk with strong traditions and when angry, I tend ta let my Standard slip a wee bit."

"Never apologize for your home Captain, I myself come from the Ketha Lowlands, far from the seat of power on Qo'nos, so I understand. The President said there was more to you than met the eye, and I now see what she meant. We will find this 'pillock' and he will not enjoy what follows."

Ian was honored to know the President apparently thought well of him, but the last thing Martok said was delivered in such an icy tone that it was clear, one of the Challenger's crew would have to find the suspect first or Klingon justice would come into play.

[Rhymus Cleroux]

[Galga Conference building]

Ian nodded as Shazham gave his report as it really wasn't a surprise that some of those present would not be upset to see the Federation in disorder or at odds with the Klingon Empire.

"Aye Lad, we need ta speak ta this Ferengi."

Ian turned to Rhymus.

"Findin' this Ambassador Glerk is your first order of business. I'm headin' back ta our quarters and gettin' out of these bloody dress whites. I'm fair certain the party is over."

[Galga VI, Conference Facility]

Rhymus stared down the Klingons a moment longer before turning to his Captain.

"Aye, Captain. We'll have this case closed in time for supper."

Martok's story was a likely one. But it seemed ridiculous to Rhymus. The Chancellor of the Klingon Empire having to reach outside the border for bloodwine, and just so happening to find a Ferengi who would be at the Conference with exactly what he needed? Preposterous. More likely the Ferengi Delegate was involved more deeply than a simple handoff.

As the Captain left the room, Rhymus made his way towards the Galgan Security Officer.

"Officer," He said as he approached. "I've come to request the assistance of the Galgan Security forces in this investigation. My resources with my own team are limited, and your help would be most appreciated. If you could, I need these delegates confined to their quarters. That would help us in finding them should we need questions answered. I'd also request of you any hangars for this facility must be kept on guard until this investigation is complete. We will also need all sensor and audiovisual security logs from the last six hours. Can this be done, Officer?"

[Lagar]

[ USS Challenger - Bridge ]

Seconds ticked by like minutes, as they waited on word from Sickbay. Nothing was coming up on scanners, as per usual, but their focus had switched from the mysterious cloud of ion particles, onto a much more.. pressing issue.
As soon as Jettis' commbadge chirped, he sat up, listening to the messages intently. It was followed by another, more detailed report, and he nodded to nobody in particular.

"Noted, keep me updated if her condition changes. Jyur out."

Almost as if through telepathy, Galloway called in to ask for a report, immediately following. Smirking slightly, he moved his fingers to his commbadge to respond.

"We just got word from Sickbay that the President is stable. The poison was Kitali, from Denab IV, reports from Ensign T'Vas show it was administered into the bottle through the cork. Are there any suspects insofar?"

Lieutenant jg Lagar
[Sickbay "" USS Challenger]

Lagar was certain he had fully reviewed the toxicology data that was relevant to the situation, so he let his arms fall to his sides, standing stock-still in what could only be described as a tree-like fashion. There was no wind to rustle his 'branches', so he simply stood out of the way, thinking. He had applied his medical knowledge to the poison puzzle, so his thoughts returned to the mysterious ion pulse in space. He remembered splaying himself out over the scanning console, his tendrils wrapping about the screen. He remembered Lisa's assistance, Ruth's words, the presence of the Sigurdsdottir twins, Acting Captain Jettis Jyur... And his gathering of ions. Large enough to gain their attention, which they suspected was its entire purpose...

A 'fake'... In his time at the Academy, Lagar had been an avid wrestler. The combatives experiences gave him a much more personal working knowledge of humanoid physiology, which had been unknown to him on Phylos until he began his more focused medical studies. Bending human limbs to the point of tremendous pain, choking their blood and airflow until they submitted, putting their own weight and muscles and organs to work against them, all tought him a great deal as a doctor and a student of the Universe's many creatures. And on the mat, while facing down an opponent, there were maneuvers known as 'fakes', or feints. Just as with any form combat, a warrior would pretend to begin a move, only to halt and do something else instead, in the hopes of making his opponent off-balance, or put up the wrong defense. Some fakes were only effective if the opponent recognized the beginnings of the feinting motion. Attempting to "˜fake' a complex grappling maneuver is likely pointless if your opponent is an amateur. Instead, a warrior should know his enemy, and know what he expects, and then attempt the opposite.

When an ion burst was made in the far side of the system, the enemy, in this case the Challenger and the Galgan security forces, looked at the fake, and turned their scanners upon it. We looked, as expected... Lagar's body snapped into motion, twin-tipped tendril pressing his combadge. A short time had passed since he had reported his findings on the poison to the Bridge, it wouldn't be inappropriate to call again so soon, particularly if his suggestion might end up having some kind of merit.

"Lieutenant Jyur, this is Sickbay. Sir, earlier, we agreed that a ruse was likely, a feint in the form of the ion burst we were meant to detect and focus on. If we triangulate the area of space that would have been behind the Galgan security ships and our Challenger, we may find what would have been the best sensor 'dead spot' from which to approach the planet... The true attack obscured by the feint."=/\=

[Ian Galloway]

[Galga VI, Conference Facility]

Rhymus stared down the Klingons a moment longer before turning to his Captain.

"Aye, Captain. We'll have this case closed in time for supper."

Martok's story was a likely one. But it seemed ridiculous to Rhymus. The Chancellor of the Klingon Empire having to reach outside the border for bloodwine, and just so happening to find a Ferengi who would be at the Conference with exactly what he needed? Preposterous. More likely the Ferengi Delegate was involved more deeply than a simple handoff.

As the Captain left the room, Rhymus made his way towards the Galgan Security Officer.

"Officer," He said as he approached. "I've come to request the assistance of the Galgan Security forces in this investigation. My resources with my own team are limited, and your help would be most appreciated. If you could, I need these delegates confined to their quarters. That would help us in finding them should we need questions answered. I'd also request of you any hangars for this facility must be kept on guard until this investigation is complete. We will also need all sensor and audiovisual security logs from the last six hours. Can this be done, Officer?"

[Galga Conference building]

The security officer listened to Rhymus intently until he'd finished speaking and then replied in a carefully schooled neutral tone.

"Sir, although we stand ready to assist, I must inform you of the limits of our jurisdiction. As each of the delegates represent sovereign powers, we do not have the authority to detain them. Our primary purpose is to provide protect from outside interference. We can notify the delegates of your request, but we cannot make them follow your request. I do apologize Sir."

Lieutenant jg Lagar
[Sickbay "" USS Challenger]

Lagar was certain he had fully reviewed the toxicology data that was relevant to the situation, so he let his arms fall to his sides, standing stock-still in what could only be described as a tree-like fashion. There was no wind to rustle his 'branches', so he simply stood out of the way, thinking. He had applied his medical knowledge to the poison puzzle, so his thoughts returned to the mysterious ion pulse in space. He remembered splaying himself out over the scanning console, his tendrils wrapping about the screen. He remembered Lisa's assistance, Ruth's words, the presence of the Sigurdsdottir twins, Acting Captain Jettis Jyur... And his gathering of ions. Large enough to gain their attention, which they suspected was its entire purpose...

A 'fake'... In his time at the Academy, Lagar had been an avid wrestler. The combatives experiences gave him a much more personal working knowledge of humanoid physiology, which had been unknown to him on Phylos until he began his more focused medical studies. Bending human limbs to the point of tremendous pain, choking their blood and airflow until they submitted, putting their own weight and muscles and organs to work against them, all tought him a great deal as a doctor and a student of the Universe's many creatures. And on the mat, while facing down an opponent, there were maneuvers known as 'fakes', or feints. Just as with any form combat, a warrior would pretend to begin a move, only to halt and do something else instead, in the hopes of making his opponent off-balance, or put up the wrong defense. Some fakes were only effective if the opponent recognized the beginnings of the feinting motion. Attempting to "˜fake' a complex grappling maneuver is likely pointless if your opponent is an amateur. Instead, a warrior should know his enemy, and know what he expects, and then attempt the opposite.

When an ion burst was made in the far side of the system, the enemy, in this case the Challenger and the Galgan security forces, looked at the fake, and turned their scanners upon it. We looked, as expected... Lagar's body snapped into motion, twin-tipped tendril pressing his combadge. A short time had passed since he had reported his findings on the poison to the Bridge, it wouldn't be inappropriate to call again so soon, particularly if his suggestion might end up having some kind of merit.

"Lieutenant Jyur, this is Sickbay. Sir, earlier, we agreed that a ruse was likely, a feint in the form of the ion burst we were meant to detect and focus on. If we triangulate the area of space that would have been behind the Galgan security ships and our Challenger, we may find what would have been the best sensor 'dead spot' from which to approach the planet... The true attack obscured by the feint."=/\=

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

T'kel, back at Tactical, arched an eyebrow at the doctor's hypothesis, finding it odd that a plant based physician would offer advice on such a matter, but she could not fault the logic of his assumption.

Using the doctor's suggestion as a base point of a new scanning sequence, T'Kel's nimble fingers danced across the panel and began searching by quadrants of the Galga system, but excluding the quadrant where the cloud of ion was detected.

Not getting any useful information on the first scan, T'Kel tied in the ship's lateral sensors and there it was, 180 degrees from the cloud of ions was a minuscule, but defined trail of ions. Whereas the cloud had been very large, clearly released from a larger ship or a device designed to emit a large signature, the trail she'd discovered was so faint, it was almost undetectable. It was only by using the entire sensor capability of the Challenger had she even noticed the fading trail.

Unfortunately, while she could track the trail from the edge of the system to Galga VI, it had faded too much to trace its path in the atmosphere. Perhaps had she found it sooner, before it had time to degrade, it might be tracked further, but there was nothing to be done now except to report.

"Lieutenant Jyur." He addressed him as he was still in command as the first officer had not declared that she had the conn. "It seems Doctor Lagar is correct. I have located a very faded ion trail entering the atmosphere. I am however, unable to determine its terminus on the planet itself."

[Rhymus Cleroux]

[Galga Conference building]

The security officer listened to Rhymus intently until he'd finished speaking and then replied in a carefully schooled neutral tone.

"Sir, although we stand ready to assist, I must inform you of the limits of our jurisdiction. As each of the delegates represent sovereign powers, we do not have the authority to detain them. Our primary purpose is to provide protect from outside interference. We can notify the delegates of your request, but we cannot make them follow your request. I do apologize Sir."

[Galga VI, Conference Facilty]

"Then I will trust the advisory will emphasize the needs for their own safety following this attack. Walk with me, Officer. Time is of the essence."

Rhymus gestured for the Galgan to follow and pulled off his dress jacket as he walked. As he made his way through the crowd, he briefed the Security Officer.

"Early investigations have given us a lead the poison came from the Ferengi Ambassador, named Glerk. Whether he knew of the poison or not, he will need to be questioned."

[Galgan Conference Facility]

When Shazham approached the Ferengi delegation, CPO Blackfeather, and PO2 Naamet Shurile joined him in case they were involved and decided to resist. However, when Shazham asked for Glerk, he was met by an oily subordinate who smiled broadly.

"I am so very sorry about your president, I do wish her a speedy recovery. Unfortunately, the ambassador is not here, he retired to his chambers as he was so upset by these dreadful events. Terrible thing, very bad for business. I am certain however, given the circumstances, we would be willing to receive members of the Federation in his chambers as we wish to assist in any manner possible."

Rhymus sighed inwardly. Already the roaches skittered from the light. Very well, it would matter little.

Rhymus tapped his combadge to speak to those still on the ground.

"Ground elements, this is Chief Petty Officer Cleroux. It would seem most beneficial if we were to separate into teams. Ensign T'Vas, Ensign Shazham, I'd like you to take Chief Petty Officer Blackfeather and question the Ferengi Ambassador. I will take Petty Officer Shurile and move to the Galgan Control Center. The cameras and security sensors might have seen something worthwhile. We will reconvene in the Federation Quarters to discuss." 

With the plan laid out, Rhymus turned back to the Galgan Officer.

"Let's begin making our way to Security, Officer. I'd like to look over the sensor reports."

[Don Damien Addams]

[Galgan Conference Facility]

When Shazham approached the Ferengi delegation, CPO Blackfeather, and PO2 Naamet Shurile joined him in case they were involved and decided to resist. However, when Shazham asked for Glerk, he was met by an oily subordinate who smiled broadly.

"I am so very sorry about your president, I do wish her a speedy recovery. Unfortunately, the ambassador is not here, he retired to his chambers as he was so upset by these dreadful events. Terrible thing, very bad for business. I am certain however, given the circumstances, we would be willing to receive members of the Federation in his chambers as we wish to assist in any manner possible."

Shazham held his hands to his side and he had no choice to look down at Ferengi. "Sadly. These are trying moments for Starfleet and for everyone. My name is Shazham and may I ask who I am talking to?" After the aid gave his name Shazham had addressed him accordingly by name and title. "Can we see the Ambassador? And I can understand the business reputation taking a hit." That was true. Ferengi had to have good reputation for business and poison was just for bad for the business brand.

"Perhaps he can aid us to find where the poison could possible come from? And if he can help us find the individual might bring reputation back up or more," he told the Ferengi. He was still thinking there was a chance they can do it. But he had to tell WHAT a Ferengi wanted to hear. It had a profit in it. REPUTATION of being higher.

[Galga VI, Conference Facilty]

"Then I will trust the advisory will emphasize the needs for their own safety following this attack. Walk with me, Officer. Time is of the essence."

Rhymus gestured for the Galgan to follow and pulled off his dress jacket as he walked. As he made his way through the crowd, he briefed the Security Officer.

"Early investigations have given us a lead the poison came from the Ferengi Ambassador, named Glerk. Whether he knew of the poison or not, he will need to be questioned."

Rhymus sighed inwardly. Already the roaches skittered from the light. Very well, it would matter little.

Rhymus tapped his combadge to speak to those still on the ground.

"Ground elements, this is Chief Petty Officer Cleroux. It would seem most beneficial if we were to separate into teams. Ensign T'Vas, Ensign Shazham, I'd like you to take Chief Petty Officer Blackfeather and question the Ferengi Ambassador. I will take Petty Officer Shurile and move to the Galgan Control Center. The cameras and security sensors might have seen something worthwhile. We will reconvene in the Federation Quarters to discuss." 

With the plan laid out, Rhymus turned back to the Galgan Officer.

"Let's begin making our way to Security, Officer. I'd like to look over the sensor reports."

Shazham smiled as his combadge went off. "I believe our Chief was not aware the Captain had sent me beforehand. My empath ability is not that strong," not like some fellow name Radar in military hospital show name M*A*S*H which can explain he could possible had some Betazoid in him if the show was real in this reality of theirs.

[Jettis Jyur]

[Galgan Conference Facility]

Ian didn't think he'd ever been so relieved in his life when Jettis reported that the President was stable. He wasn't certain he could wrap his head around all the consequences of what the second order effects of her murder would generate. At least now, none of them would happen overtly. However, what Starfleet Intelligence would do in the shadows was a question for which he did not want the answer. Priority of effort now was finding out who was responsible. What happened after that would play out based on the answer to the first question.

"Sweet Merciful Maker, thank you Lieutenant. We've begun our investigation as ta who did this. The shorter answer at the moment is who isn't a suspect, that's a much shorter list. Please keep me informed as things change. I will do the same from here. Galloway out."

Ian took a deep breath and faced those of the crowd that remained, but he directed his response mostly at Martok.

"Ta all who are gathered here, President Blackwell is alive and is stable. We will provide updates as we receive them, I ask for those of you who believe in a higher power, of any stripe, please ask them ta support her in these troublin' times. Thank you."

"Qapla'!" Matrok thundered and advanced to shake Ian's hand. "I knew she had too much of Kahless' spirit to fall in such a way! Complements to your medical staff Captain. Now, I'd like my men to assist yours in finding the toDSaH that did this."

"Certainly Chancellor. Chief Cleroux will be in charge of the investigation along with Chief Blackfeather, and Mister Shurile. Ensign Shazham is a Betazoid and should be invaluable in the questionin' of suspects, and Ensign T'Vas, is obviously a Vulcan and is a science officer. I am very confident that we will be findin' the pillock involved."

"Pill...lock? I do not know this word."

"Do ye ken the word dumbass Chancellor?"

"Ah! Yes, this one I know. Yes, we will indeed find this dumbass. Tell me Captain, you speak differently from usual Federation Standard I hear from senior officers. From where do you hail?

Ian felt a little subconscious about having let his Standard slip, but when under duress, it was a fairly common occurrence.

"I'm from Inverness, Scotland Chancellor. It is located at the northern tip of the former nation state of Great Britain on Earth. We're a proud folk with strong traditions and when angry, I tend ta let my Standard slip a wee bit."

"Never apologize for your home Captain, I myself come from the Ketha Lowlands, far from the seat of power on Qo'nos, so I understand. The President said there was more to you than met the eye, and I now see what she meant. We will find this 'pillock' and he will not enjoy what follows."

Ian was honored to know the President apparently thought well of him, but the last thing Martok said was delivered in such an icy tone that it was clear, one of the Challenger's crew would have to find the suspect first or Klingon justice would come into play.

Lagar was certain he had fully reviewed the toxicology data that was relevant to the situation, so he let his arms fall to his sides, standing stock-still in what could only be described as a tree-like fashion. There was no wind to rustle his 'branches', so he simply stood out of the way, thinking. He had applied his medical knowledge to the poison puzzle, so his thoughts returned to the mysterious ion pulse in space. He remembered splaying himself out over the scanning console, his tendrils wrapping about the screen. He remembered Lisa's assistance, Ruth's words, the presence of the Sigurdsdottir twins, Acting Captain Jettis Jyur... And his gathering of ions. Large enough to gain their attention, which they suspected was its entire purpose...

A 'fake'... In his time at the Academy, Lagar had been an avid wrestler. The combatives experiences gave him a much more personal working knowledge of humanoid physiology, which had been unknown to him on Phylos until he began his more focused medical studies. Bending human limbs to the point of tremendous pain, choking their blood and airflow until they submitted, putting their own weight and muscles and organs to work against them, all tought him a great deal as a doctor and a student of the Universe's many creatures. And on the mat, while facing down an opponent, there were maneuvers known as 'fakes', or feints. Just as with any form combat, a warrior would pretend to begin a move, only to halt and do something else instead, in the hopes of making his opponent off-balance, or put up the wrong defense. Some fakes were only effective if the opponent recognized the beginnings of the feinting motion. Attempting to "˜fake' a complex grappling maneuver is likely pointless if your opponent is an amateur. Instead, a warrior should know his enemy, and know what he expects, and then attempt the opposite.

When an ion burst was made in the far side of the system, the enemy, in this case the Challenger and the Galgan security forces, looked at the fake, and turned their scanners upon it. We looked, as expected... Lagar's body snapped into motion, twin-tipped tendril pressing his combadge. A short time had passed since he had reported his findings on the poison to the Bridge, it wouldn't be inappropriate to call again so soon, particularly if his suggestion might end up having some kind of merit.

"Lieutenant Jyur, this is Sickbay. Sir, earlier, we agreed that a ruse was likely, a feint in the form of the ion burst we were meant to detect and focus on. If we triangulate the area of space that would have been behind the Galgan security ships and our Challenger, we may find what would have been the best sensor 'dead spot' from which to approach the planet... The true attack obscured by the feint."=/\=

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

T'kel, back at Tactical, arched an eyebrow at the doctor's hypothesis, finding it odd that a plant based physician would offer advice on such a matter, but she could not fault the logic of his assumption.

Using the doctor's suggestion as a base point of a new scanning sequence, T'Kel's nimble fingers danced across the panel and began searching by quadrants of the Galga system, but excluding the quadrant where the cloud of ion was detected.

Not getting any useful information on the first scan, T'Kel tied in the ship's lateral sensors and there it was, 180 degrees from the cloud of ions was a minuscule, but defined trail of ions. Whereas the cloud had been very large, clearly released from a larger ship or a device designed to emit a large signature, the trail she'd discovered was so faint, it was almost undetectable. It was only by using the entire sensor capability of the Challenger had she even noticed the fading trail.

Unfortunately, while she could track the trail from the edge of the system to Galga VI, it had faded too much to trace its path in the atmosphere. Perhaps had she found it sooner, before it had time to degrade, it might be tracked further, but there was nothing to be done now except to report.

"Lieutenant Jyur." He addressed him as he was still in command as the first officer had not declared that she had the conn. "It seems Doctor Lagar is correct. I have located a very faded ion trail entering the atmosphere. I am however, unable to determine its terminus on the planet itself."

[ USS Challenger - Bridge ]

Jettis could feel the relief in the Captain's voice - and for good reason. What would the ship have to say, if the President had died under their responsibility? Aside from it being a tragedy in itself, it would likely ruin the Challenger, and Galloway's reputation. As he informed him of their suspicions - with no proof as of yet, he sat back in his seat, rhythmically tapping his foot. More time and waiting, as things proceeded.

"Acknowledged. Jyur out."

He watched as Ruth quickly cycled around, working at Sciences one. He didn't know what to make of the situation, tilting his head for a moment, before shaking his head and turning back to the viewscreen. Being... supervised while in Command wasn't a foreign concept to him, but unnerving nonetheless.

He quirked a brow as Lagar once again opened a channel, mulling over his words. "That's a good thought, Lieutenant. I'll look into that theory, Jyur out." The theory was quickly given to tactical to mull over, and the results were pleasantly surprising.

"A small trail sounds like a shuttle or small vehicle slipping in, unnoticed. If we had a better vantage point - say if the Galgan's allowed us to move," He winced, already acknowledging the unlikelihood of that happening. "Would we be able to locate a possible landing spot? Aber, I don't imagine the Galgans would be open to that  option."

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[ USS Challenger - Bridge ]

Seconds ticked by like minutes, as they waited on word from Sickbay. Nothing was coming up on scanners, as per usual, but their focus had switched from the mysterious cloud of ion particles, onto a much more.. pressing issue.
As soon as Jettis' commbadge chirped, he sat up, listening to the messages intently. It was followed by another, more detailed report, and he nodded to nobody in particular.

"Noted, keep me updated if her condition changes. Jyur out."

Almost as if through telepathy, Galloway called in to ask for a report, immediately following. Smirking slightly, he moved his fingers to his commbadge to respond.

"We just got word from Sickbay that the President is stable. The poison was Kitali, from Denab IV, reports from Ensign T'Vas show it was administered into the bottle through the cork. Are there any suspects insofar?"

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

"Well, like Lagar said, Orions... but I don't think it's them, more likely, as I said before, someone wanting to pin the blame, my money is still on the Romulans but..."

[ USS Challenger - Bridge ]

Jettis could feel the relief in the Captain's voice - and for good reason. What would the ship have to say, if the President had died under their responsibility? Aside from it being a tragedy in itself, it would likely ruin the Challenger, and Galloway's reputation. As he informed him of their suspicions - with no proof as of yet, he sat back in his seat, rhythmically tapping his foot. More time and waiting, as things proceeded.

"Acknowledged. Jyur out."

He watched as Ruth quickly cycled around, working at Sciences one. He didn't know what to make of the situation, tilting his head for a moment, before shaking his head and turning back to the viewscreen. Being... supervised while in Command wasn't a foreign concept to him, but unnerving nonetheless.

He quirked a brow as Lagar once again opened a channel, mulling over his words. "That's a good thought, Lieutenant. I'll look into that theory, Jyur out." The theory was quickly given to tactical to mull over, and the results were pleasantly surprising.

"A small trail sounds like a shuttle or small vehicle slipping in, unnoticed. If we had a better vantage point - say if the Galgan's allowed us to move," He winced, already acknowledging the unlikelihood of that happening. "Would we be able to locate a possible landing spot? Aber, I don't imagine the Galgans would be open to that  option."

"ÁžÁº getur eins beÁ°iÁ° Galloway um aÁ° elska Thelal!" Ruth said under her breath.  "In your language, Mr. Jyur, Du kannst Galloway genauso gut bitten, mit Thelal zu schlafen!... or 'we need a bloody miracle for that to happen!'  No... we need to figure this from here and only when we have concrete evidence can we even hope to put something to them saying 'we need to be at this place to check this.  I know this is the Federation President assassination attempt so everyone should be helping each other out, but you know in theory it never works like that."  Ruth sighed.  Then brightened as an idea formed.

"Ops... check in our database of ion trails and warp trail signatures... cross match whatever you find from any ship in the area, like Mr Lagar said, of triangulation and anything the Science scans Arya and I have going are throwing up... see if anything or anyone flags up... I have my suspicions but I need evidence. In the meantime we can at least find who's been in that area and narrow down the list of suspects."

[OOC: Anyone interested both the Icelandic and the German say 'You may as well ask Galloway to sleep with/make love to Thelal!']

[Ian Galloway]

[Galga VI, Conference Facilty]

"Then I will trust the advisory will emphasize the needs for their own safety following this attack. Walk with me, Officer. Time is of the essence."

Rhymus gestured for the Galgan to follow and pulled off his dress jacket as he walked. As he made his way through the crowd, he briefed the Security Officer.

"Early investigations have given us a lead the poison came from the Ferengi Ambassador, named Glerk. Whether he knew of the poison or not, he will need to be questioned."

Rhymus sighed inwardly. Already the roaches skittered from the light. Very well, it would matter little.

Rhymus tapped his combadge to speak to those still on the ground.

"Ground elements, this is Chief Petty Officer Cleroux. It would seem most beneficial if we were to separate into teams. Ensign T'Vas, Ensign Shazham, I'd like you to take Chief Petty Officer Blackfeather and question the Ferengi Ambassador. I will take Petty Officer Shurile and move to the Galgan Control Center. The cameras and security sensors might have seen something worthwhile. We will reconvene in the Federation Quarters to discuss." 

With the plan laid out, Rhymus turned back to the Galgan Officer.

"Let's begin making our way to Security, Officer. I'd like to look over the sensor reports."

[Galgan Security Control]
The Galga, a Senior Guardsman Flenix led Rhymus to their 'Control' and there the shift manager Devmok showed the sensor feed of the ballroom. While the video was soundless, the Galgans didn't keep sound recordings as it might interfere with the image of Galga being where you came to have a meeting in safety that was free of intrusion, the images didn't show anything untoward. No skulking figures, no one acting unsurprised when the President crumpled. All was as it should have been until it wasn't. Devmok played the log twice and said.

"That's all we have."

[Galga VI | Conference Facility]

"Thank Goodness."

T'Vas reacted to the response from Challenger. Although the typical view of Vulcans were that they were emotionless, that wasn't true, they were more tightly controlled. At the mention of her name, it was all she could do to not sag in relief. She had played a small part in saving the President's life. There would be a long and restrained and dignified personal log entry, though the satisfaction she felt was tempered by the fact her lighting fixture was in pieces and needed to be fixed.

"Ground elements, this is Chief Petty Officer Cleroux. It would seem most beneficial if we were to separate into teams. Ensign T'Vas, Ensign Shazham, I'd like you to take Chief Petty Officer Blackfeather and question the Ferengi Ambassador.

Cleroux's page had T'Vas raise an eyebrow, but she kept in check. She realized in hindsight his confrontational manner might have been needed with Klingons who prided on forcefulness. However, with the possibility that fists might turn into open warfare on a galactic scale... She resolved to talk to him about it later and clear the air. "Acknowledged, Chief, I am on my way there."  =/\=She had overheard the comment the Ferengi Ambassador's quarters.

Along the way, the Vulcan Science Officer found her mind racing. The Klingons might just be pawns. She recalled the Third Precept of qe'S'a', Always Face Your Enemy and how loathed treachery was and the lack of honour in such weapons. T'Vas rubbed her temple during the brisk walk through the facility. She almost stopped (though she did slow down for a few paces). The last time there was a poisoning of a Klingon leader... The Romulans were involved. She couldn't remember the incident exactly, but recalled vaguely it had led to a brief civil war.

The more she thought about it, the Captain's previous assertion the Romulans, or some of them were involved, seemed more than likely. But what was their main goal? Was President Blackwell a warning shot? A decoy? One plot within a bigger plot? Was there something else at play?

Before she could ponder further, she arrived at Glerk's quarters. Shazam was there and she nodded collegially to him.

Shazham held his hands to his side and he had no choice to look down at Ferengi. "Sadly. These are trying moments for Starfleet and for everyone. My name is Shazham and may I ask who I am talking to?" After the aid gave his name Shazham had addressed him accordingly by name and title. "Can we see the Ambassador? And I can understand the business reputation taking a hit." That was true. Ferengi had to have good reputation for business and poison was just for bad for the business brand.

"Perhaps he can aid us to find where the poison could possible come from? And if he can help us find the individual might bring reputation back up or more," he told the Ferengi. He was still thinking there was a chance they can do it. But he had to tell WHAT a Ferengi wanted to hear. It had a profit in it. REPUTATION of being higher.

Shazham smiled as his combadge went off. "I believe our Chief was not aware the Captain had sent me beforehand. My empath ability is not that strong," not like some fellow name Radar in military hospital show name M*A*S*H which can explain he could possible had some Betazoid in him if the show was real in this reality of theirs.

[Galgan Conference Facility - Guest Quarters]

When Shazham, T'Vas, and Blackfeather arrived at Glerk's quarters they were immediately admitted by a functionary who vanished out of sight as soon as the ambassador arrived. Slightly taller than most Ferengi, Glerk didn't come off as shady like most of his people, in fact he came of as urbane and cultured as he greeted the three Starfleet personnel.

"In what way may I be of assistance?"

When asked about the bloodwine, Glerk said,

"I freely admit I sold the Chancellor the bloodwine. He was quite pleased that I could procure some on such short notice, but I adamantly deny having anything to do with putting poison in it; the Alliance has been very good for business, and destroying it would be an act of idiocy. I am appalled that merchandise I provided could be used in this manner as it would cut into my personal profits should word of such a thing got out. So, no, I had no reason to poison your President politically and certainly not from a business stand point."

Before Glerk could continue, suddenly, a shadowy figure stepped out from behind the curtains in the room and threw an object at the Ferengi!

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

[ USS Challenger - Bridge ]

Jettis could feel the relief in the Captain's voice - and for good reason. What would the ship have to say, if the President had died under their responsibility? Aside from it being a tragedy in itself, it would likely ruin the Challenger, and Galloway's reputation. As he informed him of their suspicions - with no proof as of yet, he sat back in his seat, rhythmically tapping his foot. More time and waiting, as things proceeded.

"Acknowledged. Jyur out."

He watched as Ruth quickly cycled around, working at Sciences one. He didn't know what to make of the situation, tilting his head for a moment, before shaking his head and turning back to the viewscreen. Being... supervised while in Command wasn't a foreign concept to him, but unnerving nonetheless.

He quirked a brow as Lagar once again opened a channel, mulling over his words. "That's a good thought, Lieutenant. I'll look into that theory, Jyur out." The theory was quickly given to tactical to mull over, and the results were pleasantly surprising.

"A small trail sounds like a shuttle or small vehicle slipping in, unnoticed. If we had a better vantage point - say if the Galgan's allowed us to move," He winced, already acknowledging the unlikelihood of that happening. "Would we be able to locate a possible landing spot? Aber, I don't imagine the Galgans would be open to that  option."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

"Well, like Lagar said, Orions... but I don't think it's them, more likely, as I said before, someone wanting to pin the blame, my money is still on the Romulans but..."

"ÁžÁº getur eins beÁ°iÁ° Galloway um aÁ° elska Thelal!" Ruth said under her breath.  "In your language, Mr. Jyur, Du kannst Galloway genauso gut bitten, mit Thelal zu schlafen!... or 'we need a bloody miracle for that to happen!'  No... we need to figure this from here and only when we have concrete evidence can we even hope to put something to them saying 'we need to be at this place to check this.  I know this is the Federation President assassination attempt so everyone should be helping each other out, but you know in theory it never works like that."  Ruth sighed.  Then brightened as an idea formed.

"Ops... check in our database of ion trails and warp trail signatures... cross match whatever you find from any ship in the area, like Mr Lagar said, of triangulation and anything the Science scans Arya and I have going are throwing up... see if anything or anyone flags up... I have my suspicions but I need evidence. In the meantime we can at least find who's been in that area and narrow down the list of suspects."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

T'Kel ran a quick search of the database and replied.

"I am sorry Sir, the trail is too degraded to identify any specifics. Your hypothesis of the trail belonging to a shuttle sized vessel has a 94.7 percent chance of being correct. I will continue to run scans for as long as I can, but the trail is almost gone."

[Jettis Jyur]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

"Well, like Lagar said, Orions... but I don't think it's them, more likely, as I said before, someone wanting to pin the blame, my money is still on the Romulans but..."

"ÁžÁº getur eins beÁ°iÁ° Galloway um aÁ° elska Thelal!" Ruth said under her breath.  "In your language, Mr. Jyur, Du kannst Galloway genauso gut bitten, mit Thelal zu schlafen!... or 'we need a bloody miracle for that to happen!'  No... we need to figure this from here and only when we have concrete evidence can we even hope to put something to them saying 'we need to be at this place to check this.  I know this is the Federation President assassination attempt so everyone should be helping each other out, but you know in theory it never works like that."  Ruth sighed.  Then brightened as an idea formed.

"Ops... check in our database of ion trails and warp trail signatures... cross match whatever you find from any ship in the area, like Mr Lagar said, of triangulation and anything the Science scans Arya and I have going are throwing up... see if anything or anyone flags up... I have my suspicions but I need evidence. In the meantime we can at least find who's been in that area and narrow down the list of suspects."

[OOC: Anyone interested both the Icelandic and the German say 'You may as well ask Galloway to sleep with/make love to Thelal!']

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

T'Kel ran a quick search of the database and replied.

"I am sorry Sir, the trail is too degraded to identify any specifics. Your hypothesis of the trail belonging to a shuttle sized vessel has a 94.7 percent chance of being correct. I will continue to run scans for as long as I can, but the trail is almost gone."

[ USS Challenger - Bridge ]

Jettis turned as Ruth spoke, nodding as she spoke of the Romulans. "I agree. They've been such a pest for the Challenger already, I don't doubt their involvement. It's getting proof, that's difficult."

At her next words though, he burst into laughter. True laughter, though he typically contained himself on the bridge, the abruptness of her statement got to him. "Ich zweifle es nicht. Ich wusste nicht, dass du Deutsch sprichst." Reining himself in, he gave another soft chuckle. "I agree. Trying to convince the Galgans of this is as likely as it snowing in summer."

He sighed T'kel's words, continuing his tapping, before pausing. An idea spun in his head, and his lips parted with a look of focus in his eyes. "Lieutenant..." His words were drawn out, indicating he was still thinking it over as he spoke. "If we've only found one trail, and it's already fading... well I believe it would be logical to assume that the shuttle is still present on the planet, yes?"

He mulled it over for a moment, before turning his attention to Ruth. "If so, perhaps the landing party would be able to double check the guest list of authorized shuttles and people present, against sensor scans, and people within the conference. It's a long shot, and unlikely they picked anything up, but might be worth the effort."

[Ian Galloway]

[ USS Challenger - Bridge ]

Jettis turned as Ruth spoke, nodding as she spoke of the Romulans. "I agree. They've been such a pest for the Challenger already, I don't doubt their involvement. It's getting proof, that's difficult."

At her next words though, he burst into laughter. True laughter, though he typically contained himself on the bridge, the abruptness of her statement got to him. "Ich zweifle es nicht. Ich wusste nicht, dass du Deutsch sprichst." Reining himself in, he gave another soft chuckle. "I agree. Trying to convince the Galgans of this is as likely as it snowing in summer."

He sighed T'kel's words, continuing his tapping, before pausing. An idea spun in his head, and his lips parted with a look of focus in his eyes. "Lieutenant..." His words were drawn out, indicating he was still thinking it over as he spoke. "If we've only found one trail, and it's already fading... well I believe it would be logical to assume that the shuttle is still present on the planet, yes?"

He mulled it over for a moment, before turning his attention to Ruth. "If so, perhaps the landing party would be able to double check the guest list of authorized shuttles and people present, against sensor scans, and people within the conference. It's a long shot, and unlikely they picked anything up, but might be worth the effort."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

T'Kel paused for a moment as she completed her final sweep and replied.

"That is a logical assumption. However, with all the normal traffic in addition to the diplomatic traffic, combined with the imprecise nature of ion trails, tracking down this one specific trail is most unlikely Sir."

[Ian Galloway]

[Galga VI | Glerk's quarters]

"Watch out!"

T'Vas had been listening to the Ferengi, trying to absorb as much information as she could, trying to register everything when someone stepped out. She managed to react as she lunged forward, catching whatever the object was with the fingers of one hand. She had enough grip to then slam her other hand on it, careful not to let her Vulcan strength crush it into pieces.

Her lunge had her crashing to the floor, bruising her side and knocking the air from her lungs but she managed to shout "Stand back!" Aware that she was now potentially in mortal danger she clutched it to her chest and held her breath.

[Galgan Conference Facility - Guest Quarters]

As T'Vas, lay on the floor, she realized the object was some sort of multi-pointed star, but larger and heavier than any she'd seen before. The assailant was dressed in some sort of black garment, but there was something odd about it as it blurred his or her outline and making it impossible to obtain any sort of view of what he or she looked like.

The assailant however, didn't attempt to flee, instead, they continued, their attack hurling another one of the stars at Blackfeather who managed to avoid the missile. Glerk, for all his urbanity, was screaming in the high pitch that only Ferengi seemed to be able to manage. Figuring that Glerk was the target, Blackfeather was able to pull Glerk to cover behind the couch and tapped his combadge.

"Emergency Glerk's quarters! We're under attack!"

T'Vas took all this in as she tried to get her wind back, but as she gasped, she realized, that in addition to the bruises she'd sustained in her desperate leap, she'd cut her hand on the star as she caught it. Although the laceration was a minor thing, one thing she did notice was, despite gulping in air, she didn't seem to be able to catch her breath. In addition, it was getting harder to keep her eyes focused, which had nothing to do with the odd garment the attacker was wearing.