S:5 E:10 - The Galloway Gambit

[Buck McNair]

[The Lounge - USS Challenger]

After dropping off the first contingent of Romulan scientists, Ian had hustled to his quarters and changed into his dress whites. He arrived back at the Lounge just as the last of the Romulans arrived. He sighed as he wasn't a fan of formal events, but something this big was too big for an informal opening. He moved to the small stage of the lounge and began to speak.

"Welcome delegates, one and all. The purpose of this conference is for the open sharin' of research and ideas between the greatest scientific minds of the Federation and the Romulan Free State. As Captain of the Challenger, I have the honor ta declare these proceedin's ta be open."

As Ian nodded at the ripple of applause, it took every fiber of his being to keep his jaw from dropping open as he suddenly recognized the Romulan standing next to one of the scientists, dressed as a simple Centurion. It was Thelal!

[Lounge - USS Challenger]

Whilst Buck had grown accustomed to the way officers had their parties, they always seemed to catch him off guard on more than one occasion. The ceremony for the scientists was a lavish one, probably with talks of everything that Buck had very little insight or opinion upon; he could small talk for a little while before he would run out of verbal cue cards to start conversations with. His rank as an Ensign might not interest them as much as they would someone with more gold or silver upon their epaulets. Whilst the invitation had stated that informal wear was a possibility, he did not want to take the chance.

First impressions and all that.

His mother would have implored him to at least be presentable even if he had no idea what the others were saying. At least it would have shown an effort.

Buck entered, hoping that the scientist delegates were far too absorbed in their conversations to notice him in the vicinity as he hugged the wall - looking around the sea of faces and providing a polite nod and smile as he passed some of them. Blue eyes glanced over to the Captain as he took center on the small stage, dressed in his dress whites.

He joined in with the clapping that might have followed after the speech, turning to look for someone to engage in conversation for the time the discussions were on going. It was hard not to notice T'Prith and Lahr in his tuxedo. He grinned, making his way over without making it look as if he were in a hurry to get anywhere.

"Looking good, Lahr. You clean up nicely."

Buck glanced over, looking at T'Prith and gesturing with his head to join in on the conversation if she so desired. "Learn anythin' from the scientists? Or have you just gotten here yourself?"

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 8 - The Lounge]

[Lounge - USS Challenger]

He joined in with the clapping that might have followed after the speech, turning to look for someone to engage in conversation for the time the discussions were on going. It was hard not to notice T'Prith and Lahr in his tuxedo. He grinned, making his way over without making it look as if he were in a hurry to get anywhere.

"Looking good, Lahr. You clean up nicely."

Buck glanced over, looking at T'Prith and gesturing with his head to join in on the conversation if she so desired. "Learn anythin' from the scientists? Or have you just gotten here yourself?"

Before he could go far, Buck approached commenting on his tux.  Lahr mocked a male fashion model pose for a moment to show off his appearance.  "Yeah well, I gotta look good for my Ruth.  Ain't like I can compete intellect-wise in a crowd like this."

The Andorian noted Buck's head gesture toward T'Prith, and he gave her an up-nod as well before answering Buck's question.  "Nah, I arrived just before that Captain gave that inspiring welcome.  Haven't had a moment to meet any of the scientists, yet.  Was kinda hoping Ruth would be able to introduce me around to her colleagues"

He glanced about the room pointedly looking for her, as he continued his conversation with Buck. "What about you?  You get to meet any of them yet?"

[Buehler]

[Sickbay]

Once the non-medical slowly trickled out of sickbay, a comfortable silence fell upon them. Evan returned to reading his article, skimming through it until a young petty officer walked in, the sleeve of her golden uniform rolled up to her elbow to show an inflamed area of eczema on her forearm. "œGets agitated when I'm stressed," she mumbled. Evan wasn't surprised. With a whole slew of unfamiliar delegates on board, everyone seemed to be just a little on edge. After applying a small amount of topical steroids, Evan sent the petty officer on her way, only to have the CMO stick her head out of the office to bark, "œBuehler!"

"œYes, ma'am?" he replied.

"œWe're expected to show up at the doo-dah they're throwing for the scientists," she grumbled, "œbut I've still got some paperwork to fill out and files to review. Seeing as you are no longer busy, I need you to make your way over there to represent the department."

Evan couldn't tell if the woman was irritated or grateful for the work she still had to do. Interpreting tone of voice was not his strong suit, so he just shrugged his shoulders and responded, "œYes, ma'am," and slowly made his way to the lounge in question.

[Ian Galloway]

[The Lounge - USS Challenger]

Ian managed, through a brittle smile, to step down from the stage without calling for an intruder alert or bodily rushing Thelal and punching him directly in the nose. He instead, moved over to talk to Doctor Surith, the leader of the Romulan delegation who was talking to Doctor Gong Shang the lead Federation scientist.

"Excuse me Doctor Gong, but I must speak to Doctor Surith in private for a moment."

Once they were out of ear shot, Ian, only through sheer willpower, was able to speak to the Romulan in a conversational tone.

"Doctor. That Centurion standin' next ta Senator Kindota is known ta me. He is nae a member of the Free State. He is, in fact, Commander Thelal, a known member of one of the most radical splinter groups of the Romulan Empire. He has actively plotted against the Federation on several occasions and most recently caused the deaths of thousands of Romulans from the Free State. Normally, I'd have him in the brig by now, but as the conference has begun, I cannae do so. Please tell me why this man is here?"

Surith at least had the decency to look uncomfortable as he replied.

"I was unaware of this fact Captain, but as this Thelal is here under the auspices of Senator Kindota. I cannot take any action. Why the Senator would allow such a man to be part of his personal staff is beyond me, but I will alert the rest of the Romulan contingent that an agent of the former Empire is aboard. I will also make some inquiries regarding what brought Kindota to a scientific conference in the first place."

Although he was far, far from pleased, Ian nodded and added.

"Thank you Doctor, please update me when you ken more."

"I will."

On leaving Surith, Ian gestured to T'Kel and updated her on Thelal's presence, knowing she would take appropriate action based on the extreme delicacy of the situation. Confident in his security chief, Ian then intercepted Nira and spoke to her quietly.

"We have an intruder. Somehow, for some unknown reason, Senator Kindota has brought Thelal aboard as his Centurion. Although I would love ta rip his liver out and feed it ta him with my bare hands, there are political ramifications that will disrupt the whole bloody quadrant if'n we bugger this up. T'Kel is aware and is seein' ship's security, but it falls ta us ta suss out what game this wanker is at. On your toes Lass, there's game afoot."

[Nira Said]

[The Lounge - USS Challenger]

Ian managed, through a brittle smile, to step down from the stage without calling for an intruder alert or bodily rushing Thelal and punching him directly in the nose. He instead, moved over to talk to Doctor Surith, the leader of the Romulan delegation who was talking to Doctor Gong Shang the lead Federation scientist.

"Excuse me Doctor Gong, but I must speak to Doctor Surith in private for a moment."

Once they were out of ear shot, Ian, only through sheer willpower, was able to speak to the Romulan in a conversational tone.

"Doctor. That Centurion standin' next ta Senator Kindota is known ta me. He is nae a member of the Free State. He is, in fact, Commander Thelal, a known member of one of the most radical splinter groups of the Romulan Empire. He has actively plotted against the Federation on several occasions and most recently caused the deaths of thousands of Romulans from the Free State. Normally, I'd have him in the brig by now, but as the conference has begun, I cannae do so. Please tell me why this man is here?"

Surith at least had the decency to look uncomfortable as he replied.

"I was unaware of this fact Captain, but as this Thelal is here under the auspices of Senator Kindota. I cannot take any action. Why the Senator would allow such a man to be part of his personal staff is beyond me, but I will alert the rest of the Romulan contingent that an agent of the former Empire is aboard. I will also make some inquiries regarding what brought Kindota to a scientific conference in the first place."

Although he was far, far from pleased, Ian nodded and added.

"Thank you Doctor, please update me when you ken more."

"I will."

On leaving Surith, Ian gestured to T'Kel and updated her on Thelal's presence, knowing she would take appropriate action based on the extreme delicacy of the situation. Confident in his security chief, Ian then intercepted Nira and spoke to her quietly.

"We have an intruder. Somehow, for some unknown reason, Senator Kindota has brought Thelal aboard as his Centurion. Although I would love ta rip his liver out and feed it ta him with my bare hands, there are political ramifications that will disrupt the whole bloody quadrant if'n we bugger this up. T'Kel is aware and is seein' ship's security, but it falls ta us ta suss out what game this wanker is at. On your toes Lass, there's game afoot."

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | The Lounge | Deck Eight | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira mingled with Doctor Isim while keeping an eye out for Nirreen but also looking at Thelal as he passed. But all the same, Nira enjoyed conversing with the Betazoid scientist, especially as she asked about Betazed. Then Isim moved on, seeing Nira was too distracted, and Nira kept on wandering when Captain Galloway came to his side and apprised her.

Raising an eyebrow, Nira said quietly, "Yes, I had noticed Thelal, too. The surgeon who worked on him did a good job, though the features are much too similar for him to look old enough to look like his father. I alerted Ensign Mrekrerhas myself as you apprised Lieutenant T'Kel, he'll be keeping an eye out as well. Still, it explains why he's doing here, though he could've fooled Senator Kindota...

"But there's something else, Captain," Nira whispered with a lower voice. "There's a second intruder as well. She's disguised as one of the scientists. She's going to be harder to find, however, she knows how to disappear in a crowd like this..."

"Captain! Commander!" called Doctor Jirra merrily as she approached with a late middle-aged Romulan - though he's bound to be more than a hundred but less than a hundred and fifty by Romulan standards to Nira - and the very woman Nira was talking about at his side.

"Speak of the devil," said Nira quietly to Captain Galloway as they approached, looking at Nirreen approaching at the older Romulan's side.

"I wanted to introduce you two to Doctor Sunik, the Romulan anthropological delegate," said Jirra. "He's studying the crab-people of Glintara III."

"A pleasure," said Doctor Sunik. "And this is one of my assistants," he added, gesturing to Nirreen, who nodded with a smug ghost of a smile on her face. It occurred to Nira that Nirreen must've overheard her and Captain Galloway and brought Sunik and Jirra over...

"Anthropologist?" said Nira with interest. "You must have quite the interest in studying a planet's people and its cultures far into its past, don't you...Nirreen?"

Nirreen only maintained her smug smile, though it extended slightly by one side. Then she winked as if they shared a private joke. For her to disregard the brief coldness Nira gave, it was clear Nirreen must've noticed Nira, let alone may have been recognized.

"Ah, you know each other?" said Doctor Sunik.

"We met once, a long time ago," said Nirreen. "The Tryka System. At the formation of the Romulan Free State, and that was when she was adorned in gold."

Nira maintained a stone-cold disposition; she distinctly recalled seeing Nirreen impersonating Nira when she led a team in an attack to frame the USS Discovery. And she was still Deputy Chief of the Sec/Tac department on that ship.

"Pity it wasn't longer," said Sunik jovially. "You two could almost be twins."

He was definitely noticing how Nira and Nirreen were facing each other...they were definitely the same height. And as Nirreen took a sip, Nira noticed the scar on her hand...a scar indicative of a stab wound...that was the final piece confirming who this woman really was.

"No, not really," said Nirreen with a shrug. "Mere conincidence."

"Anyway, we were in such a discussion in comparing the crab-people to the more ancient Orions," said Jirra with equal joviality. "You'd be surprised at how similar they were, Captain..."

Jirra was bringing her attention on Captain Galloway now, and Nira could see where this was going...and it was clear it was no coincidence. Perhaps Nirreen had been noticing Jirra's looking over at Captain Galloway in a particular way, Nira had been noticing Jirra looking at Galloway's direction frequently...was this some way to distract them from Thelal?

Naturally, if Nirreen wasn't bothered that Nira had discovered her, that bothered Nira even more. And that Nirreen approached her and the Captain so easily, Nira was sure she was under the delegation's protection, perhaps even more so than Thelal. It made sense, the disguise as a scientist seemed to have more effectiveness than as a security centurion. But was Doctor Sunik even aware of Nirreen, that she could've took up an anthropological position at any point in the past fortnight?

However, Nirreen seemed to flit her eyes more toward Captain Galloway even if she looked directly at Nira when she talked to her, and then she spoke directly to Captain Galloway.

"So, Captain Galloway," Nirren said. "I would presume by your accent you're from Earth's Scotland? I've momentarily looked into the ancient Picts and their cultures and figures of legend. William Wallace was especially fascinating."

Nira looked around for Thelal but kept flitting her eyes back on Nirreen. If anything, this woman from the Tal Shiar was more dangerous than the smug windbag who often menaced the Challenger.

[Ian Galloway]

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | The Lounge | Deck Eight | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira mingled with Doctor Isim while keeping an eye out for Nirreen but also looking at Thelal as he passed. But all the same, Nira enjoyed conversing with the Betazoid scientist, especially as she asked about Betazed. Then Isim moved on, seeing Nira was too distracted, and Nira kept on wandering when Captain Galloway came to his side and apprised her.

Raising an eyebrow, Nira said quietly, "Yes, I had noticed Thelal, too. The surgeon who worked on him did a good job, though the features are much too similar for him to look old enough to look like his father. I alerted Ensign Mrekrerhas myself as you apprised Lieutenant T'Kel, he'll be keeping an eye out as well. Still, it explains why he's doing here, though he could've fooled Senator Kindota...

"But there's something else, Captain," Nira whispered with a lower voice. "There's a second intruder as well. She's disguised as one of the scientists. She's going to be harder to find, however, she knows how to disappear in a crowd like this..."

"Captain! Commander!" called Doctor Jirra merrily as she approached with a late middle-aged Romulan - though he's bound to be more than a hundred but less than a hundred and fifty by Romulan standards to Nira - and the very woman Nira was talking about at his side.

"Speak of the devil," said Nira quietly to Captain Galloway as they approached, looking at Nirreen approaching at the older Romulan's side.

"I wanted to introduce you two to Doctor Sunik, the Romulan anthropological delegate," said Jirra. "He's studying the crab-people of Glintara III."

"A pleasure," said Doctor Sunik. "And this is one of my assistants," he added, gesturing to Nirreen, who nodded with a smug ghost of a smile on her face. It occurred to Nira that Nirreen must've overheard her and Captain Galloway and brought Sunik and Jirra over...

"Anthropologist?" said Nira with interest. "You must have quite the interest in studying a planet's people and its cultures far into its past, don't you...Nirreen?"

Nirreen only maintained her smug smile, though it extended slightly by one side. Then she winked as if they shared a private joke. For her to disregard the brief coldness Nira gave, it was clear Nirreen must've noticed Nira, let alone may have been recognized.

"Ah, you know each other?" said Doctor Sunik.

"We met once, a long time ago," said Nirreen. "The Tryka System. At the formation of the Romulan Free State, and that was when she was adorned in gold."

Nira maintained a stone-cold disposition; she distinctly recalled seeing Nirreen impersonating Nira when she led a team in an attack to frame the USS Discovery. And she was still Deputy Chief of the Sec/Tac department on that ship.

"Pity it wasn't longer," said Sunik jovially. "You two could almost be twins."

He was definitely noticing how Nira and Nirreen were facing each other...they were definitely the same height. And as Nirreen took a sip, Nira noticed the scar on her hand...a scar indicative of a stab wound...that was the final piece confirming who this woman really was.

"No, not really," said Nirreen with a shrug. "Mere conincidence."

"Anyway, we were in such a discussion in comparing the crab-people to the more ancient Orions," said Jirra with equal joviality. "You'd be surprised at how similar they were, Captain..."

Jirra was bringing her attention on Captain Galloway now, and Nira could see where this was going...and it was clear it was no coincidence. Perhaps Nirreen had been noticing Jirra's looking over at Captain Galloway in a particular way, Nira had been noticing Jirra looking at Galloway's direction frequently...was this some way to distract them from Thelal?

Naturally, if Nirreen wasn't bothered that Nira had discovered her, that bothered Nira even more. And that Nirreen approached her and the Captain so easily, Nira was sure she was under the delegation's protection, perhaps even more so than Thelal. It made sense, the disguise as a scientist seemed to have more effectiveness than as a security centurion. But was Doctor Sunik even aware of Nirreen, that she could've took up an anthropological position at any point in the past fortnight?

However, Nirreen seemed to flit her eyes more toward Captain Galloway even if she looked directly at Nira when she talked to her, and then she spoke directly to Captain Galloway.

"So, Captain Galloway," Nirren said. "I would presume by your accent you're from Earth's Scotland? I've momentarily looked into the ancient Picts and their cultures and figures of legend. William Wallace was especially fascinating."

Nira looked around for Thelal but kept flitting her eyes back on Nirreen. If anything, this woman from the Tal Shiar was more dangerous than the smug windbag who often menaced the Challenger.

[The Lounge - USS Challenger]

Ian's head tilted and his jaw clamped down as he forced himself not to be baited. He instead replied in an even, cold tone in flawless Standard, something only did when he especially wanted to make a point.

"Nirreen. Do not insult me by considering me an idiot. I know exactly who you are and you are no more a bloody scientist than I am." He then turned to face the elder Romulan. "Doctor Sunik, I do not know if you are complicit in this charade, but in the interest of diplomacy between our peoples, I will assume this woman has lied to you. Whatever name or credentials she may have presented, they are fabrications. She is, in fact, a member of the Tal Shiar and she is affiliated with a radical element of the former Romulan Empire. That she is here implies she is in the middle of some covert operation. Something that will not bode well for the Free States or the Federation. As she is your guest, I will not have her removed from the ship, but I suggest you keep a close eye on her, I certainly will be doing so."

He then fixed Nirreen with a basilisk-like gaze.

"Whatever you have planned, it will fail. You are now under constant surveillance, by every means at my disposal. As soon as you so much as blink in a way I do not like, you will find yourself introduced to the Challenger's brig, because whatever game you are playing at, you are wanted by both the Federation and the Free States for the part you perpetrated in the atrocity committed by the destruction Khoron. You and Thelal have made your final mistake. Now if you excuse me, I must mingle."

Ian then pivoted on his heel and by the time he reached the first group of scientists, his expression held his winning smile and his eyes gleamed with warmth as he introduced himself to his guests.

[Nira Said]

[The Lounge - USS Challenger]

Ian's head tilted and his jaw clamped down as he forced himself not to be baited. He instead replied in an even, cold tone in flawless Standard, something only did when he especially wanted to make a point.

"Nirreen. Do not insult me by considering me an idiot. I know exactly who you are and you are no more a bloody scientist than I am." He then turned to face the elder Romulan. "Doctor Sunik, I do not know if you are complicit in this charade, but in the interest of diplomacy between our peoples, I will assume this woman has lied to you. Whatever name or credentials she may have presented, they are fabrications. She is, in fact, a member of the Tal Shiar and she is affiliated with a radical element of the former Romulan Empire. That she is here implies she is in the middle of some covert operation. Something that will not bode well for the Free States or the Federation. As she is your guest, I will not have her removed from the ship, but I suggest you keep a close eye on her, I certainly will be doing so."

He then fixed Nirreen with a basilisk-like gaze.

"Whatever you have planned, it will fail. You are now under constant surveillance, by every means at my disposal. As soon as you so much as blink in a way I do not like, you will find yourself introduced to the Challenger's brig, because whatever game you are playing at, you are wanted by both the Federation and the Free States for the part you perpetrated in the atrocity committed by the destruction Khoron. You and Thelal have made your final mistake. Now if you excuse me, I must mingle."

Ian then pivoted on his heel and by the time he reached the first group of scientists, his expression held his winning smile and his eyes gleamed with warmth as he introduced himself to his guests.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | The Lounge | Deck Eight | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Doctor Sunik only laughed jovially and walked off into the crowd, gesturing at Captain Galloway as he went. Nirreen remained and her smile widened; It may look like an amused expression, like she was agreeing at Sunik's humor. However, when the Captain informed her she was going to be under surveillance with Thelal, her smile only widened, and Nira certainly didn't like the expression that went with the smile; it almost seemed to be a way of telling Captain Galloway: "I'm counting on it."

"Well, allow me to come mingle with you, Captain," said Jirra jovially. "Interesting sense of humor you have today..."

As they walked off, and Nira was sure Jirra's flirtations at the Captain were not going to help his feelings further, as Nira could definitely tell (and she could equate it to standing next to an ancient forge fire, a fire hot enough to melt metal), Nirreen retorted, "Hot-tempered man, isn't he? Shall we?"

She was gesturing to mingle along. Nira didn't want to go anywhere with Nirreen, but at least she'll have an eye on her. In fact, Nireen seemed to definitely look more prominent as she walked with Nira, and then stopped at the windows and dropped what was definitely the rich girl's accent and changed to a more recognizable voice.

"So how have you been, Nira?"

"You can be casual all you like," Nira said threateningly, "but Captain Galloway is not making an idle threat."

"Oh, come, let him try to get me into the brig," said Nirreen with an amused expression.

"And what did you do with Doctor Sunik? I would think he'd keep a better eye on you..."

"He wouldn't know suspicious to start with the letter 'S,'" retorted Nirreen. "Credentials are one thing; but a mind like his is easy to manipulate."

"He's under some form of mind control," said Nira, narrowing her eyes and her voice achieving Keiper-belt-levels of coldness, the same she gave to Ruth earlier on the bridge; having been subjected to the T'hunga mind control, the very idea of mind control was a sore point to her.

"Yes and no," said Nirreen. "Extreme early stages of Bendii Syndrome, like with Vulcans. Unlike with Vulcans, at least with him, his telepathy is extremely limited. With a bit of surgery and some posthypnotic code words, he's all the more pliable."

"All the same, Bendii?" asked Nira. She heard of the disease from Savar, a disease that's equivalent to Alzheimer's on Earth, only potent side effects include transmitting the bursts of uncontrolled emotion to others.

"Outside the Tal Shiar and certain medical experts, only a sparse few know," said Nirreen with a shrug, but still smiling in twisted amusement. "On that subject, the medical fields of the Free State need to take better care of their medical records. The only way their passwords would make them easier to access would be if the password was 'password.'"

She giggled in amusement as she took another sip. Nira only scowled further.

"So what are you doing here?" snapped Nira quietly. "You're here to kill somebody or to drive a wedge in the politics between the Free State and the Federation...?"

"In the first place, I'm not likely to tell you, am I?" said Nirreen with more pronounced amusement, her face like a panting jackal. Or a snake ready to eat. "Secondly, if I was here to kill somebody, the targeted delegate would already be dead. You'd be surprised at how many ways there'd be to kill somebody in a party like this and make it look like an accident or a fatal reaction to food like cardiac arrest."

"Well, you were warned that you and Thelal are under surveillance."

"I know. The question is, who are they going to pay more attention to?" asked Nirreen, looking like a smug cobra as she disappeared into the crowd, but not before noticing Zhuk and passing closely with a wink. Nira felt a chill...and she looked around and realized some of the security officers playing bouncer in the party had stopped Nirreen from reaching the deflector array. The fact that Nirreen was becoming more prominent in mingling, she was suddenly worried that more security officers would pay more attention to Nirreen than Thelal. The worst part was that she instinct told her to pay more attention to her than him, too.

[Lounge - USS Challenger]

Whilst Buck had grown accustomed to the way officers had their parties, they always seemed to catch him off guard on more than one occasion. The ceremony for the scientists was a lavish one, probably with talks of everything that Buck had very little insight or opinion upon; he could small talk for a little while before he would run out of verbal cue cards to start conversations with. His rank as an Ensign might not interest them as much as they would someone with more gold or silver upon their epaulets. Whilst the invitation had stated that informal wear was a possibility, he did not want to take the chance.

First impressions and all that.

His mother would have implored him to at least be presentable even if he had no idea what the others were saying. At least it would have shown an effort.

Buck entered, hoping that the scientist delegates were far too absorbed in their conversations to notice him in the vicinity as he hugged the wall - looking around the sea of faces and providing a polite nod and smile as he passed some of them. Blue eyes glanced over to the Captain as he took center on the small stage, dressed in his dress whites.

He joined in with the clapping that might have followed after the speech, turning to look for someone to engage in conversation for the time the discussions were on going. It was hard not to notice T'Prith and Lahr in his tuxedo. He grinned, making his way over without making it look as if he were in a hurry to get anywhere.

"Looking good, Lahr. You clean up nicely."

Buck glanced over, looking at T'Prith and gesturing with his head to join in on the conversation if she so desired. "Learn anythin' from the scientists? Or have you just gotten here yourself?"

[Sickbay]

Once the non-medical slowly trickled out of sickbay, a comfortable silence fell upon them. Evan returned to reading his article, skimming through it until a young petty officer walked in, the sleeve of her golden uniform rolled up to her elbow to show an inflamed area of eczema on her forearm. "œGets agitated when I'm stressed," she mumbled. Evan wasn't surprised. With a whole slew of unfamiliar delegates on board, everyone seemed to be just a little on edge. After applying a small amount of topical steroids, Evan sent the petty officer on her way, only to have the CMO stick her head out of the office to bark, "œBuehler!"

"œYes, ma'am?" he replied.

"œWe're expected to show up at the doo-dah they're throwing for the scientists," she grumbled, "œbut I've still got some paperwork to fill out and files to review. Seeing as you are no longer busy, I need you to make your way over there to represent the department."

Evan couldn't tell if the woman was irritated or grateful for the work she still had to do. Interpreting tone of voice was not his strong suit, so he just shrugged his shoulders and responded, "œYes, ma'am," and slowly made his way to the lounge in question.

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 8 - The Lounge]

Before he could go far, Buck approached commenting on his tux.  Lahr mocked a male fashion model pose for a moment to show off his appearance.  "Yeah well, I gotta look good for my Ruth.  Ain't like I can compete intellect-wise in a crowd like this."

The Andorian noted Buck's head gesture toward T'Prith, and he gave her an up-nod as well before answering Buck's question.  "Nah, I arrived just before that Captain gave that inspiring welcome.  Haven't had a moment to meet any of the scientists, yet.  Was kinda hoping Ruth would be able to introduce me around to her colleagues"

He glanced about the room pointedly looking for her, as he continued his conversation with Buck. "What about you?  You get to meet any of them yet?"

[USS Challenger-Lounge]

T'Prith was rather curious about the new scientists that she was present at the ceremony to meet. She was curious about their credentials and what research they have done so far. There was a part of her who wondered what these scientists were there to do. Her guessing was that it probably had something to do with scientific research. However she just had to wait and see to find out if she was proven right about her assumptions of the scientists.

[Lieutenant Savar | The Lounge | Deck Eight | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Savar was late to the party, and was ready in his dress uniform. Naturally, he was quite surprised inside at seeing Lahr in a tuxedo. He went over to meet the new doctor, Buehler and had passed Lahr, McNair and T'Prith.

"Good evening, you three," he said in greeting. "Nice suit, Lahr." Then he looked up and saw the Romulan delegates and raised an eyebrow, noticing an old man who looked like...

"Fascinating," said Savar. "I never knew Thelal had a father in the scientific field."

Then he approached Buehler and said, "Hello, Doctor, good to meet you. My name is Savar, I'm one of the science officers on the ship."

[Ian Galloway]

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | The Lounge | Deck Eight | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Doctor Sunik only laughed jovially and walked off into the crowd, gesturing at Captain Galloway as he went. Nirreen remained and her smile widened; It may look like an amused expression, like she was agreeing at Sunik's humor. However, when the Captain informed her she was going to be under surveillance with Thelal, her smile only widened, and Nira certainly didn't like the expression that went with the smile; it almost seemed to be a way of telling Captain Galloway: "I'm counting on it."

"Well, allow me to come mingle with you, Captain," said Jirra jovially. "Interesting sense of humor you have today..."

As they walked off, and Nira was sure Jirra's flirtations at the Captain were not going to help his feelings further, as Nira could definitely tell (and she could equate it to standing next to an ancient forge fire, a fire hot enough to melt metal), Nirreen retorted, "Hot-tempered man, isn't he? Shall we?"

She was gesturing to mingle along. Nira didn't want to go anywhere with Nirreen, but at least she'll have an eye on her. In fact, Nireen seemed to definitely look more prominent as she walked with Nira, and then stopped at the windows and dropped what was definitely the rich girl's accent and changed to a more recognizable voice.

"So how have you been, Nira?"

"You can be casual all you like," Nira said threateningly, "but Captain Galloway is not making an idle threat."

"Oh, come, let him try to get me into the brig," said Nirreen with an amused expression.

"And what did you do with Doctor Sunik? I would think he'd keep a better eye on you..."

"He wouldn't know suspicious to start with the letter 'S,'" retorted Nirreen. "Credentials are one thing; but a mind like his is easy to manipulate."

"He's under some form of mind control," said Nira, narrowing her eyes and her voice achieving Keiper-belt-levels of coldness, the same she gave to Ruth earlier on the bridge; having been subjected to the T'hunga mind control, the very idea of mind control was a sore point to her.

"Yes and no," said Nirreen. "Extreme early stages of Bendii Syndrome, like with Vulcans. Unlike with Vulcans, at least with him, his telepathy is extremely limited. With a bit of surgery and some posthypnotic code words, he's all the more pliable."

"All the same, Bendii?" asked Nira. She heard of the disease from Savar, a disease that's equivalent to Alzheimer's on Earth, only potent side effects include transmitting the bursts of uncontrolled emotion to others.

"Outside the Tal Shiar and certain medical experts, only a sparse few know," said Nirreen with a shrug, but still smiling in twisted amusement. "On that subject, the medical fields of the Free State need to take better care of their medical records. The only way their passwords would make them easier to access would be if the password was 'password.'"

She giggled in amusement as she took another sip. Nira only scowled further.

"So what are you doing here?" snapped Nira quietly. "You're here to kill somebody or to drive a wedge in the politics between the Free State and the Federation...?"

"In the first place, I'm not likely to tell you, am I?" said Nirreen with more pronounced amusement, her face like a panting jackal. Or a snake ready to eat. "Secondly, if I was here to kill somebody, the targeted delegate would already be dead. You'd be surprised at how many ways there'd be to kill somebody in a party like this and make it look like an accident or a fatal reaction to food like cardiac arrest."

"Well, you were warned that you and Thelal are under surveillance."

"I know. The question is, who are they going to pay more attention to?" asked Nirreen, looking like a smug cobra as she disappeared into the crowd, but not before noticing Zhuk and passing closely with a wink. Nira felt a chill...and she looked around and realized some of the security officers playing bouncer in the party had stopped Nirreen from reaching the deflector array. The fact that Nirreen was becoming more prominent in mingling, she was suddenly worried that more security officers would pay more attention to Nirreen than Thelal. The worst part was that she instinct told her to pay more attention to her than him, too.

[The Lounge - USS Challenger]

Ian ignored Nirreen's smile, because she was displaying the same sort of arrogance as Thelal, which only confirmed to him that they would fail. He wanted to ignore Jirra as well, but given that all the scientists were distinguished, he smiled at her only because it was the polite thing to do as he replied.

"Doctor Jirra, there is nothing funny about havin' a Tal Shiar assassin aboard my ship. I suggest you take my warnin' seriously. Now, excuse me, I have ship security ta attend ta."

Ian then exited the Lounge and tapped his combadge and spoke softly.

"Computer recognize Galloway, Ian."

"Acknowledged."

"Establish continous transporter lock on individuals known as Thelal and Nirreen."

"Confirmed."

"Establish force fields on all critical systems except for any member of the crew."

"Confirmed."

"If'n either tracked subject goes within twenty meters of any protected system, beam both directly ta the Brig and flood cell with anesthezine."

"Confirmed."

Ian then re-entered the Lounge and continued his round of glad handing.

[Zhukdrashar Mrekrerhas]

[Ensign Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | The Lounge | Deck Eight | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | The Lounge | Deck Eight | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira mingled with Doctor Isim while keeping an eye out for Nirreen but also looking at Thelal as he passed. But all the same, Nira enjoyed conversing with the Betazoid scientist, especially as she asked about Betazed. Then Isim moved on, seeing Nira was too distracted, and Nira kept on wandering when Captain Galloway came to his side and apprised her.

Raising an eyebrow, Nira said quietly, "Yes, I had noticed Thelal, too. The surgeon who worked on him did a good job, though the features are much too similar for him to look old enough to look like his father. I alerted Ensign Mrekrerhas myself as you apprised Lieutenant T'Kel, he'll be keeping an eye out as well. Still, it explains why he's doing here, though he could've fooled Senator Kindota...

"But there's something else, Captain," Nira whispered with a lower voice. "There's a second intruder as well. She's disguised as one of the scientists. She's going to be harder to find, however, she knows how to disappear in a crowd like this..."

"Captain! Commander!" called Doctor Jirra merrily as she approached with a late middle-aged Romulan - though he's bound to be more than a hundred but less than a hundred and fifty by Romulan standards to Nira - and the very woman Nira was talking about at his side.

"Speak of the devil," said Nira quietly to Captain Galloway as they approached, looking at Nirreen approaching at the older Romulan's side.

"I wanted to introduce you two to Doctor Sunik, the Romulan anthropological delegate," said Jirra. "He's studying the crab-people of Glintara III."

"A pleasure," said Doctor Sunik. "And this is one of my assistants," he added, gesturing to Nirreen, who nodded with a smug ghost of a smile on her face. It occurred to Nira that Nirreen must've overheard her and Captain Galloway and brought Sunik and Jirra over...

"Anthropologist?" said Nira with interest. "You must have quite the interest in studying a planet's people and its cultures far into its past, don't you...Nirreen?"

Nirreen only maintained her smug smile, though it extended slightly by one side. Then she winked as if they shared a private joke. For her to disregard the brief coldness Nira gave, it was clear Nirreen must've noticed Nira, let alone may have been recognized.

"Ah, you know each other?" said Doctor Sunik.

"We met once, a long time ago," said Nirreen. "The Tryka System. At the formation of the Romulan Free State, and that was when she was adorned in gold."

Nira maintained a stone-cold disposition; she distinctly recalled seeing Nirreen impersonating Nira when she led a team in an attack to frame the USS Discovery. And she was still Deputy Chief of the Sec/Tac department on that ship.

"Pity it wasn't longer," said Sunik jovially. "You two could almost be twins."

He was definitely noticing how Nira and Nirreen were facing each other...they were definitely the same height. And as Nirreen took a sip, Nira noticed the scar on her hand...a scar indicative of a stab wound...that was the final piece confirming who this woman really was.

"No, not really," said Nirreen with a shrug. "Mere conincidence."

"Anyway, we were in such a discussion in comparing the crab-people to the more ancient Orions," said Jirra with equal joviality. "You'd be surprised at how similar they were, Captain..."

Jirra was bringing her attention on Captain Galloway now, and Nira could see where this was going...and it was clear it was no coincidence. Perhaps Nirreen had been noticing Jirra's looking over at Captain Galloway in a particular way, Nira had been noticing Jirra looking at Galloway's direction frequently...was this some way to distract them from Thelal?

Naturally, if Nirreen wasn't bothered that Nira had discovered her, that bothered Nira even more. And that Nirreen approached her and the Captain so easily, Nira was sure she was under the delegation's protection, perhaps even more so than Thelal. It made sense, the disguise as a scientist seemed to have more effectiveness than as a security centurion. But was Doctor Sunik even aware of Nirreen, that she could've took up an anthropological position at any point in the past fortnight?

However, Nirreen seemed to flit her eyes more toward Captain Galloway even if she looked directly at Nira when she talked to her, and then she spoke directly to Captain Galloway.

"So, Captain Galloway," Nirren said. "I would presume by your accent you're from Earth's Scotland? I've momentarily looked into the ancient Picts and their cultures and figures of legend. William Wallace was especially fascinating."

Nira looked around for Thelal but kept flitting her eyes back on Nirreen. If anything, this woman from the Tal Shiar was more dangerous than the smug windbag who often menaced the Challenger.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | The Lounge | Deck Eight | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Doctor Sunik only laughed jovially and walked off into the crowd, gesturing at Captain Galloway as he went. Nirreen remained and her smile widened; It may look like an amused expression, like she was agreeing at Sunik's humor. However, when the Captain informed her she was going to be under surveillance with Thelal, her smile only widened, and Nira certainly didn't like the expression that went with the smile; it almost seemed to be a way of telling Captain Galloway: "I'm counting on it."

"Well, allow me to come mingle with you, Captain," said Jirra jovially. "Interesting sense of humor you have today..."

As they walked off, and Nira was sure Jirra's flirtations at the Captain were not going to help his feelings further, as Nira could definitely tell (and she could equate it to standing next to an ancient forge fire, a fire hot enough to melt metal), Nirreen retorted, "Hot-tempered man, isn't he? Shall we?"

She was gesturing to mingle along. Nira didn't want to go anywhere with Nirreen, but at least she'll have an eye on her. In fact, Nireen seemed to definitely look more prominent as she walked with Nira, and then stopped at the windows and dropped what was definitely the rich girl's accent and changed to a more recognizable voice.

"So how have you been, Nira?"

"You can be casual all you like," Nira said threateningly, "but Captain Galloway is not making an idle threat."

"Oh, come, let him try to get me into the brig," said Nirreen with an amused expression.

"And what did you do with Doctor Sunik? I would think he'd keep a better eye on you..."

"He wouldn't know suspicious to start with the letter 'S,'" retorted Nirreen. "Credentials are one thing; but a mind like his is easy to manipulate."

"He's under some form of mind control," said Nira, narrowing her eyes and her voice achieving Keiper-belt-levels of coldness, the same she gave to Ruth earlier on the bridge; having been subjected to the T'hunga mind control, the very idea of mind control was a sore point to her.

"Yes and no," said Nirreen. "Extreme early stages of Bendii Syndrome, like with Vulcans. Unlike with Vulcans, at least with him, his telepathy is extremely limited. With a bit of surgery and some posthypnotic code words, he's all the more pliable."

"All the same, Bendii?" asked Nira. She heard of the disease from Savar, a disease that's equivalent to Alzheimer's on Earth, only potent side effects include transmitting the bursts of uncontrolled emotion to others.

"Outside the Tal Shiar and certain medical experts, only a sparse few know," said Nirreen with a shrug, but still smiling in twisted amusement. "On that subject, the medical fields of the Free State need to take better care of their medical records. The only way their passwords would make them easier to access would be if the password was 'password.'"

She giggled in amusement as she took another sip. Nira only scowled further.

"So what are you doing here?" snapped Nira quietly. "You're here to kill somebody or to drive a wedge in the politics between the Free State and the Federation...?"

"In the first place, I'm not likely to tell you, am I?" said Nirreen with more pronounced amusement, her face like a panting jackal. Or a snake ready to eat. "Secondly, if I was here to kill somebody, the targeted delegate would already be dead. You'd be surprised at how many ways there'd be to kill somebody in a party like this and make it look like an accident or a fatal reaction to food like cardiac arrest."

"Well, you were warned that you and Thelal are under surveillance."

"I know. The question is, who are they going to pay more attention to?" asked Nirreen, looking like a smug cobra as she disappeared into the crowd, but not before noticing Zhuk and passing closely with a wink. Nira felt a chill...and she looked around and realized some of the security officers playing bouncer in the party had stopped Nirreen from reaching the deflector array. The fact that Nirreen was becoming more prominent in mingling, she was suddenly worried that more security officers would pay more attention to Nirreen than Thelal. The worst part was that she instinct told her to pay more attention to her than him, too.[Lieutenant Savar | The Lounge | Deck Eight | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Savar was late to the party, and was ready in his dress uniform. Naturally, he was quite surprised inside at seeing Lahr in a tuxedo. He went over to meet the new doctor, Buehler and had passed Lahr, McNair and T'Prith.

"Good evening, you three," he said in greeting. "Nice suit, Lahr." Then he looked up and saw the Romulan delegates and raised an eyebrow, noticing an old man who looked like...

"Fascinating," said Savar. "I never knew Thelal had a father in the scientific field."

Then he approached Buehler and said, "Hello, Doctor, good to meet you. My name is Savar, I'm one of the science officers on the ship."

In touch with the ground
I'm on the hunt, I'm after you
Smell like I sound, I'm lost in a crowd
And I'm hungry like the wolf...

Those were the lyrics of that ancient, popular boys band that played within Ensign Zhukdra'shar's head, as he kept tabs on the man suspected to be Thelal. Fortunately, his small height was both a boon as it was a hindrance. A boon, because it was easy to slink into the crowd, and a hindrance as taller individuals usually blocked his line of sight. Still, he was unwilling to allow Thelal to escape from the sight of his slit, sharp eyes, and so, he maneuvered with agility around the mingling scientists, casually looking around with his hands tied behind his back.

Another good thing that Zhuk had was his acting ability, and that was something he prided himself on having. Still, with the calm, demure expression he held, couldn't help but gasp and lift his brow as he noticed a scientist that looked awfully like Nira. In fact, she looked almost exactly as the woman that had broken his ribs. Nira's Romulan duplicate.

A mix of feelings washed over him. A surge of anger, first and foremost, as he thought about losing his cool right then and there and jumping on her to subdue her. But also, something that he didn't expect. Infatuation. The way she had winked at him with those piercing, pretty eyes, her full-lips painted with a rather peculiar lipstick (something he surmised by the quick glance he gave her, though he wasn't sure), and the braid that she sported on her hair just... made his heart flutter for just an instant.

His cool further shaken by this fact, he had but an instant to regain control of his expressions, offering a pleasant smile at the last instant as Nireen disappeared from view, closing his eyes, tail swishing rapidly from side to side as to offer a disarming display of happiness, shaking his head, hoping to throw her off on the fact that he had indeed recognized her. She didn't had to know that the tail swish was not a part of the act.

He quickly opened his eyes once he felt she was far away enough, keeping his breath until he could take a deep one, trying to calm himself down from chasing after her. His eyes sought to locate Thelal as soon as possible, though fortunately he was quick to do so. He fought the urge to chase after Nireen, fighting his wanton vengeance, but also his new-found... appreciation? For her? Impossible. Unbearable.

He still had a mission to complete, knowing that if he moved his eyes from the Romulan braggart, he could pull up something unseen. Still, he decided to confirm, as he pressed on his commbadge, speaking as low as possible towards Lieutenant Commander Said, to avoid detection.

"Lieutenant Commander, I just perceived whomst I believe is the Romulan interloper that has an uncanny resemblance to you. She is heading towards the south, I believe. Our suspect is still within my sights, though. Should I stop pursuing to focus on her, instead?"

He took another deep breath. He had no idea of any plan yet, even though his ear tried to pick up as much information as he could from Thelal.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 8 - The Lounge]

[Lieutenant Savar | The Lounge | Deck Eight | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Savar was late to the party, and was ready in his dress uniform. Naturally, he was quite surprised inside at seeing Lahr in a tuxedo. He went over to meet the new doctor, Buehler and had passed Lahr, McNair and T'Prith.

"Good evening, you three," he said in greeting. "Nice suit, Lahr." Then he looked up and saw the Romulan delegates and raised an eyebrow, noticing an old man who looked like...

"Fascinating," said Savar. "I never knew Thelal had a father in the scientific field."

Then he approached Buehler and said, "Hello, Doctor, good to meet you. My name is Savar, I'm one of the science officers on the ship."

Lahr looked over as Savar arrived and commented on his suit.

"Yeah, I make this look good." The Andorian had heard the line in a favorite movie of his.

Lahr was expecting problems tonight given they were hosting Romulans, but Savar's statement just seemed too unreal.  He followed the Vulcan's gaze to the old scientist and was stunned by what was revealed.

"Roohz! You're right!  That looks so much like him. Can't be coincidence."

The Andorian, suspicious, did a quick check of how many scientists were present.

"How many Romulan scientists are we supposed to have on board for this conference?  Are they all present?"

[T'Lara]

[Lieutenant Savar | The Lounge | Deck Eight | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Savar was late to the party, and was ready in his dress uniform. Naturally, he was quite surprised inside at seeing Lahr in a tuxedo. He went over to meet the new doctor, Buehler and had passed Lahr, McNair and T'Prith.

"Good evening, you three," he said in greeting. "Nice suit, Lahr." Then he looked up and saw the Romulan delegates and raised an eyebrow, noticing an old man who looked like...

"Fascinating," said Savar. "I never knew Thelal had a father in the scientific field."

Then he approached Buehler and said, "Hello, Doctor, good to meet you. My name is Savar, I'm one of the science officers on the ship."

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 8 - The Lounge]

Lahr looked over as Savar arrived and commented on his suit.

"Yeah, I make this look good." The Andorian had heard the line in a favorite movie of his.

Lahr was expecting problems tonight given they were hosting Romulans, but Savar's statement just seemed too unreal.  He followed the Vulcan's gaze to the old scientist and was stunned by what was revealed.

"Roohz! You're right!  That looks so much like him. Can't be coincidence."

The Andorian, suspicious, did a quick check of how many scientists were present.

"How many scientists are we supposed to have on board for this conference?  Are they all present?"

[The Lounge - Deck 8 - USS Challenger-A]

Like Ruth, T'Lara had been keeping herself busy with giving tours of the ship to their scientist visitors. The switch from routine to an increase in socialization was taking a toll on her, and the Vulcan added more time to her meditation sessions to aid in maintaining the stoic, emotionless nature everyone came to expect from her. Unfortunately she kept finding herself being pulled away from one task or another, even so far as to arrive late to or even completely miss a Bridge shift. She knew this behavior was unacceptable and made a point to think on ways to be more forceful in breaking away from small-talk. She had to admit as well that her excitement at having a large group of like-minded people aboard did appear at times, causing her to forgo Bridge duty and take on other office work instead.

A few days had passed in this manner when the science officer received the invitation to yet another social function. She had finished a long meditation session earlier that morning, had donned her dress whites despite no indication on the invitation that they were necessary, and was now in the lounge standing among the group of mixed acquaintances and known colleagues. She overheard Savar's comment, but reserved her judgement. If something was afoot in this gathering, she trusted Nira, the captain, and the security team would have a plan of action. The best thing to do for now was act natural, and T'Lara was particularly good at doing so...

[Buck McNair]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 8 - The Lounge]

Before he could go far, Buck approached commenting on his tux.  Lahr mocked a male fashion model pose for a moment to show off his appearance.  "Yeah well, I gotta look good for my Ruth.  Ain't like I can compete intellect-wise in a crowd like this."

The Andorian noted Buck's head gesture toward T'Prith, and he gave her an up-nod as well before answering Buck's question.  "Nah, I arrived just before that Captain gave that inspiring welcome.  Haven't had a moment to meet any of the scientists, yet.  Was kinda hoping Ruth would be able to introduce me around to her colleagues"

He glanced about the room pointedly looking for her, as he continued his conversation with Buck. "What about you?  You get to meet any of them yet?"

[USS Challenger - The Lounge]

Buck grinned, glancing around the lounge to the large amount of people and scientists mulling around. "Bet you could give it a good shot." Lahr certainly seemed more so than he was able to compete within the intellectual field than he was capable of.

"Perhaps Ruth can do that for the both of us," Buck commented, his hand coming up to adjust his collar. The tightness around his neck something he still needed to get used to. He looked away and into the crowd, trying not to crane too much at the glimpse of the captain and the commander speaking to scientists. "Yeah - I mean, naw. I've ain't-- haven't shaken hands with any of them yet. They wouldn't be interested in someone not so intellectually gifted."

[Lieutenant Savar | The Lounge | Deck Eight | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Savar was late to the party, and was ready in his dress uniform. Naturally, he was quite surprised inside at seeing Lahr in a tuxedo. He went over to meet the new doctor, Buehler and had passed Lahr, McNair and T'Prith.

"Good evening, you three," he said in greeting. "Nice suit, Lahr." Then he looked up and saw the Romulan delegates and raised an eyebrow, noticing an old man who looked like...

"Fascinating," said Savar. "I never knew Thelal had a father in the scientific field."

Then he approached Buehler and said, "Hello, Doctor, good to meet you. My name is Savar, I'm one of the science officers on the ship."

Buck straightened up, spotting the pips on the dress uniform as they were approached by lieutenant Savar. "Evening, sir." He replied in greeting, bowing his head at the neck. Though, it would not be long until his attention had been grabbed by the statement in question.

His head whipped around, raising a brow as he fixated on Thelal's 'father' or whom he presumed Savar to be talking about. Whilst he had gone about doing his rounds, he was more than certain that there were only supposed to be twenty-two by his recollection. Buck tilted his head. "Funnily enough, don't remember that guy mentioning he had a father..."

Then again, the last time they encountered one another was not on the best of terms.

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret

[USS Challenger-A - Deck 8 - The Lounge]

Lahr looked over as Savar arrived and commented on his suit.

"Yeah, I make this look good." The Andorian had heard the line in a favorite movie of his.

Lahr was expecting problems tonight given they were hosting Romulans, but Savar's statement just seemed too unreal.  He followed the Vulcan's gaze to the old scientist and was stunned by what was revealed.

"Roohz! You're right!  That looks so much like him. Can't be coincidence."

The Andorian, suspicious, did a quick check of how many scientists were present.

"How many scientists are we supposed to have on board for this conference?  Are they all present?"

"Twenty two by my last recollection of the headcount and of how many times I had to enter the number into my PADD." Buck offered, glancing between Lahr and Savar.

Something definitely was wrong.

His eyes went to the Andorian's antennae to try and see whether he could figure out along what lines Lahr was thinking.

Romulans were a tricky group.

Buck did a quick skim, wishing that he had carried his PADD around with him on the off chance that he would need it - such as now. "Looks like they're all present....surely can't be more. I booked in twenty two upon their arrival, and assisted in sorting out requirements for their journey."

[Buehler]

[Lieutenant Savar | The Lounge | Deck Eight | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Savar was late to the party, and was ready in his dress uniform. Naturally, he was quite surprised inside at seeing Lahr in a tuxedo. He went over to meet the new doctor, Buehler and had passed Lahr, McNair and T'Prith.

"Good evening, you three," he said in greeting. "Nice suit, Lahr." Then he looked up and saw the Romulan delegates and raised an eyebrow, noticing an old man who looked like...

"Fascinating," said Savar. "I never knew Thelal had a father in the scientific field."

Then he approached Buehler and said, "Hello, Doctor, good to meet you. My name is Savar, I'm one of the science officers on the ship."

[Lounge]

Evan found the air to be bristling with an uneasy energy as he stepped into the lounge. He could understand why the chief might not want to be present. Smiles and laughter abounded, with only the Vulcans conveying placid expressions, but he highly suspected that much of the joviality was deceptive, either feigned platitudes or outright lies. However, he was new to the ship and wasn't familiar enough with the crew yet to be able to determine whether this kind of demeanor was normal. All the same, something just felt off.

As he tried to contain his train of thought, an unfamiliar Vulcan approached. "œNashaut," Evan replied, by way of traditional greeting. Although he spoke fluent German and English, he had picked up quite a lot of his wife's native tongue, at least enough to get by. "œIt's a pleasure to meet you. And as much as I enjoy to stay busy, hopefully we won't be seeing you in sickbay any time soon." It was only then that he realized he was one of very few present not to be wearing a dress uniform.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 8 - The Lounge]

[USS Challenger - The Lounge]

Buck grinned, glancing around the lounge to the large amount of people and scientists mulling around. "Bet you could give it a good shot." Lahr certainly seemed more so than he was able to compete within the intellectual field than he was capable of.

"Perhaps Ruth can do that for the both of us," Buck commented, his hand coming up to adjust his collar. The tightness around his neck something he still needed to get used to. He looked away and into the crowd, trying not to crane too much at the glimpse of the captain and the commander speaking to scientists. "Yeah - I mean, naw. I've ain't-- haven't shaken hands with any of them yet. They wouldn't be interested in someone not so intellectually gifted."

Buck straightened up, spotting the pips on the dress uniform as they were approached by lieutenant Savar. "Evening, sir." He replied in greeting, bowing his head at the neck. Though, it would not be long until his attention had been grabbed by the statement in question.

His head whipped around, raising a brow as he fixated on Thelal's 'father' or whom he presumed Savar to be talking about. Whilst he had gone about doing his rounds, he was more than certain that there were only supposed to be twenty-two by his recollection. Buck tilted his head. "Funnily enough, don't remember that guy mentioning he had a father..."

Then again, the last time they encountered one another was not on the best of terms.

"Twenty two by my last recollection of the headcount and of how many times I had to enter the number into my PADD." Buck offered, glancing between Lahr and Savar.

Something definitely was wrong.

His eyes went to the Andorian's antennae to try and see whether he could figure out along what lines Lahr was thinking.

Romulans were a tricky group.

Buck did a quick skim, wishing that he had carried his PADD around with him on the off chance that he would need it - such as now. "Looks like they're all present....surely can't be more. I booked in twenty two upon their arrival, and assisted in sorting out requirements for their journey."

Lahr, being of average height, couldn't see the entire party's attendees at a single glance like he needed to, so taking up a champagne flute Lahr stepped up onto a chair and raised his voice.  "Attention everyone!"

He raised his glass high in the air as he slowly looked over the room, mentally doing a head count of anyone not ship staff, specifically noting the number of Romulans in attendance. He was checking to see if any of their numbers were inexplicably missing.

"To Science!" he toasted.   

[Ian Galloway]

[The Lounge --> Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian finished greeting the Romulan scientists and then moved to talk to Doctor Gong. He had just asked Shang which of the experiments he was most interested in exploring when Senator Kindota, with Thelal tagging along, approached, Thelal's expression as smug as ever as he spoke directly to Ian, completely ignoring the Gong and Kindota.

"It is interesting to see such an antique in person. One would think a ship this old would be part of a space museum display."

Ian was surprised Thelal would take the 'antique' route after getting out witted on this topic so many times. This made Ian smile as he replied.

"It is easy ta underestimate the Challenger if'n you get fixated on the age of the hull. The Trailblazer-Class is a major upgrade that makes this ship more than capable of holdin' her own against much newer designs like, let's say a Norexan-Class, which she has done on several occasions."

Thelal's cheeks darkened at Ian's jibe and he replied in a far less jovial tone.

"I wonder if the Captain's hand to hand skills match his faith in his ship. After all, humans are so fragile."

"I wonder indeed. However, ta quote Sun Tzu, 'For ta win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. Ta subdue the enemy without fightin' is the acme of skill.'"

Before Thelal could reply, there was a bright flash outside the ship followed immediately by the Red Alert sounding and Ian receiving an immediate call from Lieutenant Espana.

"Captain to the bridge. Captain to the bridge."

Based on Thelal's insufferable expression, as Ian began to move, he tapped his combadge.

"Computer, execute transport of designated individuals."

"Acknowledged."

As he exited the Lounge, Ian had a moment of pure malicious joy at the startled expression on Thelal's face as the annular confinement beam took him. Rushing for the turbolift, Ian arrived on the bridge within moments and barked.

"Report!"

Espada looked panicked as he yielded the command chair.

"The Doval has been destroyed!"

"By who?"

"We did."

"We did what!"