S4:E6 - A Question of Integrity

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Confluence of Federation, Bajoran, and Tzenkethi space - USS Challenger - Deck One - Bridge - Stardate 75747.3]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ruth chortled at Ren's teasing of Lahr.  While she was in a very easy going relationship with him it was 'normal' to her to have the Bridge crew interacting and even joking.

"You know Ms. Ren, it's nice to have another regular female around, and one that will give as much as she gets from the lads! No offense Captain, but you're still 'one of the lads' when it's banter time, 4 pips or not!" she grinned.  "And keeping that one..."

She nodded her head towards Lahr, grinning from ear to ear.  "... in check is a full time job for even someone that's known him as long as I have!  Good to have reinforcements!" she added giggling.

"Aw man, seriously? What is it?  'Pick-on-the-Andorian' day?" he griped back though his antenna with their relaxed movement to and fro turning towards Ruth was proof that he wasn't bothered by the teasing in the least.   Still, he sighed woefully when his complaints were mostly ignored by Ruth as she continued on - though at least now she was agreeing with him...  which made up for the teasing.

"I do however concur with the Andorian in question, the Tigers programme really gives flying skills a workout and a half, certainly in terms of reaction times, manoeuvres and so on, about the only thing that you wouldn't get is having your controls configured like those of the Challenger."

The CSO shrugged.  "That said... given how many different craft I've piloted from my Beech Staggerwing back home in Trondheim, to Klingon warbirds, Romulan warbirds, Jem'Hadar fighters, they're bloody different I can tell you, the Mjolnir, Challenger and other Starfleet vessels.... it's as well to be able to turn your hand to anything and I rather think that you could." she added with a warm smile.

"And Mr. Ansty over there, nah... Lahr's excellent in the thick of any action, fighting or fun, I mean like kicking ass in Luigi's on the consoles there, but he doesn't go looking for trouble I'll give him that much, well other than playing Parises Squares!" the red head said with a chuckle.

"As it's quiet, and I'm not actually scheduled to be on the Bridge, just covering for poor Werdiss, Lt. Cmdr Evar that is, she has a migraine, I'm going to head down to the office and get some paperwork done, for some reason I've got a little behind lately!"

The reason she was so behind was that while she could have pulled a couple of all nighters and caught up, at least at the start, but it had had a culminative effect, all the reports from the Space Nazis episode had piled up and she'd wanted to spend time with Lahr, so while she hadn't told him, it was a blessing in disguise that he was only spending every other night with her... she missed him terribly when he wasn't there, and she couldn't sleep when he wasn't there, she missed the comfort of sleeping in his arms.  She hadn't told him this, or least not directly, he may have noticed the bags under her eyes on mornings she hadn't slept with him, or the endless cups of Ratkajino. (She had at least restricted herself to regular and not the 3x caffeinated version.) But the upshot was that she had every other night to catch up with stuff.

When Ruth's talkative commentary turned to praising him and his gaming skills, Lahr waggled his antenna good-naturedly at Ruth before turning to Ren.  "She's saying nice things about me to make me feel better - because she trounced me at Super Smash Bros. the last time we played." He explained,  "And she's afraid I'm gonna use some of the moves I'm learning in my new afterhours team sport to negate the advantage she has when she threatens me with those axes of hers."

He looked back to Ruth.  "Soon enough I'll be good enough to dodge 'em.. then watch out... Mwahahahah... huh?"

His laughter was interrupted by a chime from his console.   Woohoo!  Shift change!  And as if called by the chime, Beta shift began to arrive.   Lahr turned back to his station and began the final checks and readied his station to pass off to his replacement.

He heard Ruth mention she was gonna be busy in her office which meant he had the evening to himself, since the schedule showed that Grelek was his replacement today.  "Mind if I join in on that holodeck, sir?  I've got nothing else planned..."

"Since we're just patrolling at the moment, I've got the scans going, console will beep here for CPO McNeil and on my PADD."

She stood as McNeil came out of the Turbolift to relieve her.

"Nothing much Andrew, just keep the scans going, I'll be in my office if you need me." the CSO said with a smile, she walked to the turbolift to the right of the viewscreen (if facing it) as an excuse to walk past Lahr, touch him lightly on the shoulder and smile.

"Just seeing if you were jumpy as well as ansty, Petty Officer!" she said with a grin both at Lahr and Kyle.

"Keep the boys in check T'eala, don't let them give you any grief! And if you're going to join in with the Tigers, I'll see you later!"

Despite his main attention being on his signing off his console, Lahr was a good multi-tasker and one of those was being aware of where Ruth was.  He knew common knowledge had it that Andorian's could sense air temperature and barometric pressure with their antennae to such a degree that he could all but 'see' where people were in the room even with his eyes closed -  but Lahr being mischievous loved to add in a few of his own misleading notions as to their abilities.  So when Ruth came up behind him and touched his shoulder, he'd sensed it a fraction of a second before he felt the touch so didn't 'jump' or 'startle' at all and instead joked back at her casual comment.  "Jumpy?  Nah.. I knew you were going to do try to startle me before you decided to do so...  With these antenna it's almost as if I can sense the future." 

[Richard James Litt]

[USS Challenger · Mess Hall]
As Litt and Sammy

"œToo early again, Ricky?" Sammy asked looking Richard with a curious look.

"œYou know"¦ We passed through a lot of things recently"¦ I have some "œpaperwork" to do." He said looking Sammy and eating the last piece of his pizza.

"œAnd the Helm?" She asked him one more time.

"œRen is there, she can handle!" He smiled to her.  "œDo you wanna hang out to dinner tonight?" He asked looking Sammy and waiting for her answer before he could leave.

"œNot to dinner"¦ I wanna hang out to dance, I haven't dancing for a long time." She smiled to Richard.

"œYou know you can go out to dance at any time right? The holodecks are there if you need them"¦" He said with an amused smile.

"œBut I don't know almost anyone here yet"¦ And you're always working"¦ I don't like to go out to dance on my own." She said finally.

"œFair enough"¦ Let's go out to dance tonight"¦" He said turning around. "œBut until there, enjoy the ship, I bet you can do a lot of things on your own here." He said leaving Sammy on the Mess Hall.

[USS Challenger · Litt's Quarter]

As soon as Litt entered his room, he walked right to his computer to start his working on some reports about the last mission.

[Ian Galloway]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Confluence of Federation, Bajoran, and Tzenkethi space - USS Challenger - Deck One - Bridge - Stardate 75747.3]

His laughter was interrupted by a chime from his console.   Woohoo!  Shift change!  And as if called by the chime, Beta shift began to arrive.   Lahr turned back to his station and began the final checks and readied his station to pass off to his replacement.

He heard Ruth mention she was gonna be busy in her office which meant he had the evening to himself, since the schedule showed that Grelek was his replacement today.  "Mind if I join in on that holodeck, sir?  I've got nothing else planned..."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian raised an eyebrow at Lahr as he replied.

"You're more than welcome Lad, but today will be more than just takin' off and landin'. Today will be about puttin' a Tomahawk through her paces doin' loops, barrel rolls, split-esses, and such ta fight the P-40. If'n you're up for that, then meet me in holodeck one in an hour."

Ian turned to face T'eala.

"That reminds me, since you haven't been ta Kunming before, all you have ta do is ask the replicator for 'Flyin' Tigers' flight gear' ta be fully outfitted with the right kit. See you both there."

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Confluence of Federation, Bajoran, and Tzenkethi space - USS Challenger - Deck One - Bridge - Stardate 75747.3]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian raised an eyebrow at Lahr as he replied.

"You're more than welcome Lad, but today will be more than just takin' off and landin'. Today will be about puttin' a Tomahawk through her paces doin' loops, barrel rolls, split-esses, and such ta fight the P-40. If'n you're up for that, then meet me in holodeck one in an hour."

Ian turned to face T'eala.

"That reminds me, since you haven't been ta Kunming before, all you have ta do is ask the replicator for 'Flyin' Tigers' flight gear' ta be fully outfitted with the right kit. See you both there."

At the Captain's answer, Lahr seemed to hesitate.  He'd managed take off and landing the one time, generally speaking Lahr had always figured that was the hardest part of flying shuttlecraft because usually the routes were rather dull and certainly hadn't had the threat of weapons fire the few times he'd flown before.  The Flying Tiger program was like nothing he'd had ever no other flight simulator he'd ever tried.   He knew he was in over his head.   The holo-program was intended for experienced flight officers not beginners like himself, still Lahr recalled the thrill of having succeeded and wanted that feeling again.   "I'll be there, Captain!" he answered.   He glanced to Ren and gave her a nod before he left the Bridge to prepare for the holodeck program... like maybe review the Take-off and Landing steps a few more times just to be sure he didn't forget. It had been a while since he'd managed the landing and Lahr hadn't been back since.

[Ian Galloway]

[Bridge - USS Challenger - Confluence of Federation, Bajoran, and Cardassian space]

It had been two days since his last entry and it was time to update the log. Ian hit record on the command chair and began to speak.

"Captain's Log, Stardate 75754.5. We have completed our transit of Bajoran space and have reached the Cardassian border ta continue our mission of patrol and showin' the flag. We are maintain' warp six and it will take ten days to cover the entire length of the border.

"It's been nice ta have some quiet time for a change as I believe the crew has had a rough go this year and they deserve the opportunity to recharge even though patrol remains the most hated of Starfleet tasks, the quiet makes it worth it. End Log."

Ian shut down the record function and stared out at the viewscreen. He had to admit that he was bored. Not that he wanted yet another life or death situation to deal with, it's just that there such a thing as too much quiet and he was just about at his fill.

[T'eala]

[Bridge - USS Challenger - Confluence of Federation, Bajoran, and Cardassian space]

It had been two days since his last entry and it was time to update the log. Ian hit record on the command chair and began to speak.

"Captain's Log, Stardate 75754.5. We have completed our transit of Bajoran space and have reached the Cardassian border ta continue our mission of patrol and showin' the flag. We are maintain' warp six and it will take ten days to cover the entire length of the border.

"It's been nice ta have some quiet time for a change as I believe the crew has had a rough go this year and they deserve the opportunity to recharge even though patrol remains the most hated of Starfleet tasks, the quiet makes it worth it. End Log."

Ian shut down the record function and stared out at the viewscreen. He had to admit that he was bored. Not that he wanted yet another life or death situation to deal with, it's just that there such a thing as too much quiet and he was just about at his fill.

T'eala took comfort in the strange and exciting flight program Captain had invited her to join. Running a wide array of aerials alongside ShranLahr and Galloway provided the only source of 'look-forward-too' for the ensign. Patrols were generally quiet in theory. No captain in their rightful place would stroll around the stars, looking to throw proton torpedoes. Still, she had long learned to expect, and prepare for the unexpected.

She kept her eyes split on attentions. In sparse moments they'd fly up to the viewscreen, hopefully to see a glimpse of anything into the void. In longer moments they were fixed on her console. She was putting the finishing eye on her full helm diagnostic report. It was something she was preparing to send off to engineering, a full conn-assessment of proper propulsion metrics, as well as navigational response timing. T'eala had been extra careful to mother over the Challenger.

[Mondo'li Nari]

USS Challenger - Enlisted Mess

Mondo stood at the viewport of the enlisted mess, a cup of Red Leaf Tea in his left hand as he looked out at the infinite vista.  Red Leaf Tea was a Cardassian beverage, suitable to the occasion of entering the region of the Cardassian border.

Thus far, the patrol had been a pleasant monotony.  Mondo hoped that it would continue.  The past few missions had been so eventful, that a long period of comparative boredom was a delightful respite.  He'd spent his days on duty on a rotation of stations.  Armory, bridge, general deck security.  His time off had been spent mostly in the holodecks, training in a variety of settings against a variety of opponents.  Sometimes, he visited the phaser range to work on his accuracy.  But even when he was training for battle, there was no sharp intensity to it.

One good thing was that he had begun sleeping well.  Something about the recent mission and the transit between universes had ameliorated a guilt that had haunted him since his earliest missions.  As his body count had climbed, so too had his inner unrest.  But the hallucinations he'd experienced during the transit had created a bridge for the different parts of himself to interact.  To come to terms.

He wondered if his father and grandfather had experienced similar times of doubt during their service with sometimes unscrupulous Ferengi Daimons.  He wished he could have spoken to them about it.  His father was long-since beyond reach, accessible only through the veil of ancestors.  His grandfather had gone quiet ever since Nalg had begun his black market operations.  Hopefully Nalg would pass management of the operation to an underling soon, and Mondo could have a reunion with his grandfather.

Meanwhile, it was perhaps time for Mondo to strengthen relationships here, on the Challenger.

He turned from the viewport, looking for a friendly face.

[Kyle Briggs]

[The Lounge - USS Challenger]

Lisa took a bite of avocado as she listened attentively. She did occasionally wonder what it would be like to be in command, and though it came with a lot of stress she understood what Kyle was talking about. When he was with them on an away mission there was certainly plenty of action. But when all the action was on the Bridge and Ian was calling the shots, where did that leave him? As CMO she felt she had the perfect amount of responsibility. Though she could do with a little less paperwork.

She looked thoughtfully at him for a moment, gave him a smile at the memory of his mother, then brightened even more at his question. Since she was off duty her face was an open book to the emotions she was feeling, and she was certainly benefitting from the relaxation.

"Yes!" Lisa cringed a little at the volume of her enthusiasm, then toned it down. "I actually just got some fresh produce so I can make some real meals. I don't usually go for trinkets or other things that take up space since I already have a few and that's all I need. My quarters are pretty big, but not that  big," she laughed. "Actually, when I got back to the ship I realized I may have accidentally bought too much for one person so if you'd ever like a 'non-instant' meal you're welcome to it to save me from spoiled ingredients."

She had recently started to get serious about cooking since she had always been too busy before. Of course was still busy, but she was realizing that with a Starfleet career she always would be. If she couldn't make time for cooking then was she really living? Sharing her new hobby with her friends was a comforting prospect.

Lisa's enthusiasm was infectious. Kyle couldn't help but to smile at his friend's happiness and her offer.

"Some fresh produce sounds great. Thank you." he replied before taking another bite. There was a moment of silence that Kyle took to think about something that had just popped into his mind. "In fact, if you like, I could use some of them and cook us a meal. I used to love helping my parents in the kitchen and learned quite a bit." he offered. "That's if you want. Just two friends having dinner. I'm not, not suggesting a date or anything." he quickly added, realizing how it may have sounded.

[Ian Galloway]

[USS Challenger - Cardassian/Federation border]

The Challenger glided along through the unimaginable vastness of space, maintaining her modest speed of warp six. Aboard, her crew went about their duties as usual and enjoying a journey that was peaceful for a change. At the center of the bridge, her captain opened his log.

"Captain's Log, Stardate 75759.8. Our slow cruise of the Cardassian border has been underway for two days now. Our mission orders are ta follow the border all the way ta the end, come about, and then cruise back, a trip of 20 days total. Given the Cardassians are still rebuildin' from the devastation of the Dominion War, we do not expect any direct problems. The only trouble we might encounter is a smuggler or a particularly stupid raider takin' advantage of the weakness of their navy. I believe that after this mission, the ship and crew will be fully recharged from the chance ta take things easy for a change. I have ta admit, despite the tedium of the assignment, the quiet has been welcome. End Log."

Lieutenant T'Kel from the tactical station chose that moment to speak.

"Captain, I'm picking up a weak subspace signal from the planet Zindi Moran. This should not be possible as the planet is interdicted by the Prime Directive as a pre-warp culture, it is highly illogical that they would be able to communicate via subspace as their technology should still be in the radio frequency band."

Ian frowned at the report as it was as curious as it was unexpected.

"Put it on screen."

"It's audio only Captain, here it is."

"To any passing alien ship, we beg for your assistance. We are under attack by an enemy that possesses technology far superior to ours. We are being exterminated, we implore you to save our civilization before it is too late. Please, for the love of whatever deity you believe in help us!"

"The signal repeats Sir. It is probably automated."

Ian's frown turned into a scowl as any time the Prime Directive was involved, it was fraught with danger as the Starfleet Command was notoriously unbending in their interpretation of the regulations giving captains very little 'gray area' to work with when the reality of the situation clashed with the ivory tower wording of those regulations.

"Bloody hell."

Ian muttered as he ran through his limited options.

"Mister Litt, take us into the system and put us in a high orbit, 20,000km should do it. Mister T'Kel, raise shields, that should hide us from whatever primitive sensors they may have. Coordinate with Mister ch'Verret ta modulate them as necessary ta make sure we remain unseen. We need ta get close enough ta scan the planet and see what is goin' on down there."

The Challenger began to come alive as the crew responded to their orders.

"What sort of skullduggery is afoot here?"

Ian wondered, but would have to wait for now.

[Vasilisa Belmont]

[The Lounge - USS Challenger]

Lisa's enthusiasm was infectious. Kyle couldn't help but to smile at his friend's happiness and her offer.

"Some fresh produce sounds great. Thank you." he replied before taking another bite. There was a moment of silence that Kyle took to think about something that had just popped into his mind. "In fact, if you like, I could use some of them and cook us a meal. I used to love helping my parents in the kitchen and learned quite a bit." he offered. "That's if you want. Just two friends having dinner. I'm not, not suggesting a date or anything." he quickly added, realizing how it may have sounded.

[The Lounge - USS Challenger]

[A couple days prior...]

Lisa listened to Kyle's offer and caught herself before she could laugh. She had been the one who offered to cook for him, or at least give him fresh ingredients to cook a meal for himself with, and here he was offering to cook for her. She gave a small smile as he quickly explained that it wasn't a date. They'd been friends for a while and though she would be lying if she said she didn't think he was attractive, she figured that if dating was in the cards for them it would already be obvious to the both of them. Probably. He was just being a gentleman, and she respected and appreciated him for that. There weren't enough of them in the universe.

She pretended like she was giving some thought to her answer, though she pretty well already knew it. She rarely let others do things for her, but she was trying to change that. Doing everything for herself was exhausting, and sometimes giving others the opportunity to help her out gave them as much joy as she felt receiving it.

"Letting someone else transform my groceries into a delicious meal? Why, that's even better than if I'd actually gone to a restaurant on the station!" her eyes sparkled at her suggestion of either a compliment or a challenge. Her description of the meal depended on how good a cook he was. The two of them had spent a fair amount of time together in the past but he'd never cooked for her before, so she didn't know anything about his skill beyond what he told her.

"That sounds fun," she accepted with another grin. "Should I send you a list of what I have or are you able to whip up a recipe on the spot?" she inquired.

[USS Challenger - Cardassian/Federation border]

The Challenger glided along through the unimaginable vastness of space, maintaining her modest speed of warp six. Aboard, her crew went about their duties as usual and enjoying a journey that was peaceful for a change. At the center of the bridge, her captain opened his log.

"Captain's Log, Stardate 75759.8. Our slow cruise of the Cardassian border has been underway for two days now. Our mission orders are ta follow the border all the way ta the end, come about, and then cruise back, a trip of 20 days total. Given the Cardassians are still rebuildin' from the devastation of the Dominion War, we do not expect any direct problems. The only trouble we might encounter is a smuggler or a particularly stupid raider takin' advantage of the weakness of their navy. I believe that after this mission, the ship and crew will be fully recharged from the chance ta take things easy for a change. I have ta admit, despite the tedium of the assignment, the quiet has been welcome. End Log."

Lieutenant T'Kel from the tactical station chose that moment to speak.

"Captain, I'm picking up a weak subspace signal from the planet Zindi Moran. This should not be possible as the planet is interdicted by the Prime Directive as a pre-warp culture, it is highly illogical that they would be able to communicate via subspace as their technology should still be in the radio frequency band."

Ian frowned at the report as it was as curious as it was unexpected.

"Put it on screen."

"It's audio only Captain, here it is."

"To any passing alien ship, we beg for your assistance. We are under attack by an enemy that possesses technology far superior to ours. We are being exterminated, we implore you to save our civilization before it is too late. Please, for the love of whatever deity you believe in help us!"

"The signal repeats Sir. It is probably automated."

Ian's frown turned into a scowl as any time the Prime Directive was involved, it was fraught with danger as the Starfleet Command was notoriously unbending in their interpretation of the regulations giving captains very little 'gray area' to work with when the reality of the situation clashed with the ivory tower wording of those regulations.

"Bloody hell."

Ian muttered as he ran through his limited options.

"Mister Litt, take us into the system and put us in a high orbit, 20,000km should do it. Mister T'Kel, raise shields, that should hide us from whatever primitive sensors they may have. Coordinate with Mister ch'Verret ta modulate them as necessary ta make sure we remain unseen. We need ta get close enough ta scan the planet and see what is goin' on down there."

The Challenger began to come alive as the crew responded to their orders.

"What sort of skullduggery is afoot here?"

Ian wondered, but would have to wait for now.

[Sickbay- CMO's Office - USS Challenger]

Lisa was ready to get back to the daily routine of inventory, paperwork, and transfer physicals. That's what she and her team were currently doing and she had just finished up a physical before returning to her office to complete filing the paperwork on it. Being more organized than the average person, it made her feel content as she finished up the new personnel file complete with medical history and put that in an alphabetized file of all her other patients. That done, she sat back in her chair with her PADD and read up on a new study by one of her favourite researchers. Her team would inform her if they needed her for a new patient (she liked to meet everyone when she could) or anything else important, so the CMO was able to relax for the time being. 

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

[Bridge - USS Challenger - Confluence of Federation, Bajoran, and Cardassian space]

It had been two days since his last entry and it was time to update the log. Ian hit record on the command chair and began to speak.

"Captain's Log, Stardate 75754.5. We have completed our transit of Bajoran space and have reached the Cardassian border ta continue our mission of patrol and showin' the flag. We are maintain' warp six and it will take ten days to cover the entire length of the border.

"It's been nice ta have some quiet time for a change as I believe the crew has had a rough go this year and they deserve the opportunity to recharge even though patrol remains the most hated of Starfleet tasks, the quiet makes it worth it. End Log."

Ian shut down the record function and stared out at the viewscreen. He had to admit that he was bored. Not that he wanted yet another life or death situation to deal with, it's just that there such a thing as too much quiet and he was just about at his fill.

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Bridge - USS Challenger - Confluence of Federation, Bajoran, and Cardassian space]

Lahr was settling into this new routine of quiet.  Every other day, he'd wake stupidly early to do training with his old security mates and then breakfast with them afterwards, then spend his day up on the Bridge during the Alpha shift. He was fortunate that his Department Chief was still honoring Ruth's agreements made while Captain.  He could easily been shunted off to work the transporters down on deck 10 or ordered to stocking the Cargo bay.

Days that he didn't have his early morning workout were his favorite.  He'd wake up next to Ruth and have opportunity to hold her in his arms before one or the other of them decided they were hungry enough to break the moment and start on some breakfast.  That or his PADD alarm would sound alerting them both that they only had 15 minutes to shower, and dress for duty.  For Lahr that meant Bridge duty, regardless of what Ruth was up to.  But he was happiest when she was present too, teasing him and Ren.

[USS Challenger - Cardassian/Federation border]

The Challenger glided along through the unimaginable vastness of space, maintaining her modest speed of warp six. Aboard, her crew went about their duties as usual and enjoying a journey that was peaceful for a change. At the center of the bridge, her captain opened his log.

"Captain's Log, Stardate 75759.8. Our slow cruise of the Cardassian border has been underway for two days now. Our mission orders are ta follow the border all the way ta the end, come about, and then cruise back, a trip of 20 days total. Given the Cardassians are still rebuildin' from the devastation of the Dominion War, we do not expect any direct problems. The only trouble we might encounter is a smuggler or a particularly stupid raider takin' advantage of the weakness of their navy. I believe that after this mission, the ship and crew will be fully recharged from the chance ta take things easy for a change. I have ta admit, despite the tedium of the assignment, the quiet has been welcome. End Log."

Lieutenant T'Kel from the tactical station chose that moment to speak.

"Captain, I'm picking up a weak subspace signal from the planet Zindi Moran. This should not be possible as the planet is interdicted by the Prime Directive as a pre-warp culture, it is highly illogical that they would be able to communicate via subspace as their technology should still be in the radio frequency band."

Ian frowned at the report as it was as curious as it was unexpected.

"Put it on screen."

"It's audio only Captain, here it is."

"To any passing alien ship, we beg for your assistance. We are under attack by an enemy that possesses technology far superior to ours. We are being exterminated, we implore you to save our civilization before it is too late. Please, for the love of whatever deity you believe in help us!"

"The signal repeats Sir. It is probably automated."

Ian's frown turned into a scowl as any time the Prime Directive was involved, it was fraught with danger as the Starfleet Command was notoriously unbending in their interpretation of the regulations giving captains very little 'gray area' to work with when the reality of the situation clashed with the ivory tower wording of those regulations.

"Bloody hell."

Ian muttered as he ran through his limited options.

"Mister Litt, take us into the system and put us in a high orbit, 20,000km should do it. Mister T'Kel, raise shields, that should hide us from whatever primitive sensors they may have. Coordinate with Mister ch'Verret ta modulate them as necessary ta make sure we remain unseen. We need ta get close enough ta scan the planet and see what is goin' on down there."

The Challenger began to come alive as the crew responded to their orders.

"What sort of skullduggery is afoot here?"

Ian wondered, but would have to wait for now.

Lahr also had picked up the signal though the Vulcan Tactical Chief had been quicker at announcing it.  To make up for this, while T'Kel was playing the audio for the Captain, Lahr started checking the long range scans for any sign of ship or warp signature in or around the Zindi Moran system.  The scans were still ongoing when the Captain opted to divert the ship towards the call for help.

The Andorian Ops petty officer turned towards the Captain quizzically at the task assigned him.  Modulate the shields to hide their presence... was such a thing even possible?  Didn't that fall into the realm of Cloak technology that past Romulan treaties forbid them from exploring the use of?  It took a moment for Lahr remind himself that this was a pre-warp society and think in terms of their technology.   Yeah, he supposed modulating the shield's graviton density to deflect radar signals and visible light waves could be possible.

"I'm on it sir!"

[Kyle Briggs]

[The Lounge - USS Challenger]

[A couple days prior...]

Lisa listened to Kyle's offer and caught herself before she could laugh. She had been the one who offered to cook for him, or at least give him fresh ingredients to cook a meal for himself with, and here he was offering to cook for her. She gave a small smile as he quickly explained that it wasn't a date. They'd been friends for a while and though she would be lying if she said she didn't think he was attractive, she figured that if dating was in the cards for them it would already be obvious to the both of them. Probably. He was just being a gentleman, and she respected and appreciated him for that. There weren't enough of them in the universe.

She pretended like she was giving some thought to her answer, though she pretty well already knew it. She rarely let others do things for her, but she was trying to change that. Doing everything for herself was exhausting, and sometimes giving others the opportunity to help her out gave them as much joy as she felt receiving it.

"Letting someone else transform my groceries into a delicious meal? Why, that's even better than if I'd actually gone to a restaurant on the station!" her eyes sparkled at her suggestion of either a compliment or a challenge. Her description of the meal depended on how good a cook he was. The two of them had spent a fair amount of time together in the past but he'd never cooked for her before, so she didn't know anything about his skill beyond what he told her.

"That sounds fun," she accepted with another grin. "Should I send you a list of what I have or are you able to whip up a recipe on the spot?" she inquired.

"Let's just surprise each other." he answered. "I'll come by tomorrow evening and you can show me the veggies and I will see what I can do with them. How's that sound?"
__________________________________________________________________________________

Dr Belmont's quarters, next night

Kyle had gotten to Lisa's quarters and was in awe at all the fresh vegetables she had managed to procure.

"Lisa! These are amazing." he said at the sight of them. "Next time we dock somewhere, remind me to have you shop for me as well." he teased.

He was gonna have fun making them a great meal. He got to work right away and they made small talk and drank wine while he cooked.

"So how was your day, Doc?" he asked as he chopped and prepped food.

In the end, he ended up only having to replicate a few ingredients to complete everything but over all, he thought it turned out well. He had taken some the of the firm ripe tomatoes and fresh Basil and added some mozzarella cheese and made them a nice Caprese Salad with Balsamic Vinegar for an appetizer.

And for the main course, he had used some of the remaining veggies to make them a nice Lemon Herb Salmon with vegetables that included broccoli, roasted cherry tomatoes, squash and zucchini.

He really did love being in a kitchen and it had been quite a while since he had had the chance to cook for someone other than himself.

"Dinner is served." he finally announced as he pulled out her seat. Once she had taken it, he brought the plates to the table. "I hope you enjoy it." he added as he sat down across the table and refilled their wine glasses.
__________________________________________________________________________

Bridge - Current day - Cardassian/Federation border

The Challenger glided along through the unimaginable vastness of space, maintaining her modest speed of warp six. Aboard, her crew went about their duties as usual and enjoying a journey that was peaceful for a change. At the center of the bridge, her captain opened his log.

"Captain's Log, Stardate 75759.8. Our slow cruise of the Cardassian border has been underway for two days now. Our mission orders are ta follow the border all the way ta the end, come about, and then cruise back, a trip of 20 days total. Given the Cardassians are still rebuildin' from the devastation of the Dominion War, we do not expect any direct problems. The only trouble we might encounter is a smuggler or a particularly stupid raider takin' advantage of the weakness of their navy. I believe that after this mission, the ship and crew will be fully recharged from the chance ta take things easy for a change. I have ta admit, despite the tedium of the assignment, the quiet has been welcome. End Log."

Lieutenant T'Kel from the tactical station chose that moment to speak.

"Captain, I'm picking up a weak subspace signal from the planet Zindi Moran. This should not be possible as the planet is interdicted by the Prime Directive as a pre-warp culture, it is highly illogical that they would be able to communicate via subspace as their technology should still be in the radio frequency band."

Ian frowned at the report as it was as curious as it was unexpected.

"Put it on screen."

"It's audio only Captain, here it is."

"To any passing alien ship, we beg for your assistance. We are under attack by an enemy that possesses technology far superior to ours. We are being exterminated, we implore you to save our civilization before it is too late. Please, for the love of whatever deity you believe in help us!"

"The signal repeats Sir. It is probably automated."

Ian's frown turned into a scowl as any time the Prime Directive was involved, it was fraught with danger as the Starfleet Command was notoriously unbending in their interpretation of the regulations giving captains very little 'gray area' to work with when the reality of the situation clashed with the ivory tower wording of those regulations.

"Bloody hell."

Ian muttered as he ran through his limited options.

"Mister Litt, take us into the system and put us in a high orbit, 20,000km should do it. Mister T'Kel, raise shields, that should hide us from whatever primitive sensors they may have. Coordinate with Mister ch'Verret ta modulate them as necessary ta make sure we remain unseen. We need ta get close enough ta scan the planet and see what is goin' on down there."

The Challenger began to come alive as the crew responded to their orders.

"What sort of skullduggery is afoot here?"

Ian wondered, but would have to wait for now.

Kyle gave Ian a slight side ways look. He wasn't usually one to question the Captain in front of the crew but he felt the rules were solid here. He tried to word it so that it didn't seem rude or insubordinate.

"Is scanning our only intentions, Sir?" he asked.

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[Bridge - USS Challenger, Cardassian/Federation border, Present]

Ruth wandered onto the Bridge, relieving PO2 Sedek whom she'd sent up to cover for her while she finished an experiment in the lab which was time sensitive.

"Did I hear the word 'skullduggery', Captain? Anything I should be aware of?  My apologies, I've been trying out some new types of well for want of something better to call it, plant food, fertilizer... see if we can't up our yield for hydroponics!" the CSO said explaining her absence.

"While anyone could technically follow my research notes and the experiment projections, trying to explain an experiment from scratch, or have the underlings read everything before they touch the actual test materials... it is way quicker just to do it myself!" she grinned and slid into Science 1 as Sedek bobbed acknowledgement and slipped out and into the turbolift like a well trained butler... seen but never heard.

She shot a grin across at Lahr, she'd not seen him other than on duty for a couple of nights and while she appreciated that he needed to spend time with his other friends, she had missed him.  That said, she'd been able to get totally caught up on all the work she had, so it was only the current PADDs of reports coming in that she needed to review, not 3 weeks worth of backlog!

[Ian Galloway]

Bridge - Current day - Cardassian/Federation border

Kyle gave Ian a slight side ways look. He wasn't usually one to question the Captain in front of the crew but he felt the rules were solid here. He tried to word it so that it didn't seem rude or insubordinate.

"Is scanning our only intentions, Sir?" he asked.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian shrugged as he replied.

"That Number One will depend entirely on what the scans find. There is nothing poured in ferrocrete that a society has ta develop subspace communications technology concurrently with warp technology just because it happened that way on Earth. Aside from the initial Federation survey that discovered the planet and the Prime Directive interdiction, there's precious bloody little about Zindi Moran on file.

"You heard the message, the tone of whoever sent it implied they were aware of space farin' species. That's of concern all by itself and that does nae account for the sudden influx of 'superior technology'. If'n someone has violated the interdiction, then we need ta ken who and what they've done."

[Bridge - USS Challenger, Cardassian/Federation border, Present]

Ruth wandered onto the Bridge, relieving PO2 Sedek whom she'd sent up to cover for her while she finished an experiment in the lab which was time sensitive.

"Did I hear the word 'skullduggery', Captain? Anything I should be aware of?  My apologies, I've been trying out some new types of well for want of something better to call it, plant food, fertilizer... see if we can't up our yield for hydroponics!" the CSO said explaining her absence.

"While anyone could technically follow my research notes and the experiment projections, trying to explain an experiment from scratch, or have the underlings read everything before they touch the actual test materials... it is way quicker just to do it myself!" she grinned and slid into Science 1 as Sedek bobbed acknowledgement and slipped out and into the turbolift like a well trained butler... seen but never heard.

She shot a grin across at Lahr, she'd not seen him other than on duty for a couple of nights and while she appreciated that he needed to spend time with his other friends, she had missed him.  That said, she'd been able to get totally caught up on all the work she had, so it was only the current PADDs of reports coming in that she needed to review, not 3 weeks worth of backlog!

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian turned as Ruth entered the bridge and gave her a quick update as to what they knew, which wasn't much.

"And so, we're goin' in for a closer look ta see who, if'n anyone, has been muckin' about."

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

[USS Challenger - Zindi Moran - High Orbit]

As the Challenger slipped into orbit, her sensors probed the planet thoroughly and what they discovered was profoundly disturbing. From intercepted communications and commercial broadcasts, it was clear the planet was in the middle of a civil war. The Combine on one side and the Panunionists on the other with both sides fairly evenly matched. However, in recent months, the Combine had pulled off several stunning victories through the use of extremely powerful new weapons.

Sensors confirmed Klingon signature disruptor weapons in use by the Combine, whereas the Panunionists only had solid slug projectile weapons, which were in line with the planet's overall late 20th Century level technology. Between the disruptors and at least one subspace transmitter, it was clear something extra-legal was occurring on Zindi Moran. Faced with evidence of technological contamination, Ian had called the senior staff or their representatives to the conference room to discuss their option.

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

[Conference Room - USS Challenger]

Once everyone was in their seats, Ian rose and began to speak with a grim expression on his face.

"Seems like we've stumbled onto a fine kettle of fish. Someone, who shouldn't, has been here. At least all signs point ta that. Sensors and communications have picked up all we are likely ta detect from orbit. That leaves us with three options as I see it. One, we do nothing, we scarper out of the system and pretend nothing happened. Two, we signal Starfleet command and sit on our collective arses until they tell us what ta do. And three, we confirm what sensors have detected with an away team.

"I've called you all here ta discuss those options or any others you might think of that I didn't. As the Prime Directive is involved, you all are aware of the sensitivity and hazards associated with anything we do or not do. The floor is open ladies and gentlebein's. Please, let me know your thoughts."

Ian then sat down and waited to see what the department heads had to say.

[Vasilisa Belmont]

[The Lounge - USS Challenger]

[A couple days prior...]

"Let's just surprise each other." he answered. "I'll come by tomorrow evening and you can show me the veggies and I will see what I can do with them. How's that sound?"
__________________________________________________________________________________

Dr Belmont's quarters, next night

Kyle had gotten to Lisa's quarters and was in awe at all the fresh vegetables she had managed to procure.

"Lisa! These are amazing." he said at the sight of them. "Next time we dock somewhere, remind me to have you shop for me as well." he teased.

He was gonna have fun making them a great meal. He got to work right away and they made small talk and drank wine while he cooked.

"So how was your day, Doc?" he asked as he chopped and prepped food.

In the end, he ended up only having to replicate a few ingredients to complete everything but over all, he thought it turned out well. He had taken some the of the firm ripe tomatoes and fresh Basil and added some mozzarella cheese and made them a nice Caprese Salad with Balsamic Vinegar for an appetizer.

And for the main course, he had used some of the remaining veggies to make them a nice Lemon Herb Salmon with vegetables that included broccoli, roasted cherry tomatoes, squash and zucchini.

He really did love being in a kitchen and it had been quite a while since he had had the chance to cook for someone other than himself.

"Dinner is served." he finally announced as he pulled out her seat. Once she had taken it, he brought the plates to the table. "I hope you enjoy it." he added as he sat down across the table and refilled their wine glasses.
__________________________________________________________________________

Bridge - Current day - Cardassian/Federation border

Kyle gave Ian a slight side ways look. He wasn't usually one to question the Captain in front of the crew but he felt the rules were solid here. He tried to word it so that it didn't seem rude or insubordinate.

"Is scanning our only intentions, Sir?" he asked.

[CMO's Quarters, next night]

Kyle had chosen to 'wing it' with the menu for dinner so Lisa didn't send him any clues as to what she had, which was quite a lot. She'd managed to find the space-equivalent of a farmer's market and bought as many of her favourite vegetables as she could carry as well as a loaf of bread. What kind of bread she didn't really know, but she hoped it would taste good. After a short shift in sickbay, she headed over to her quarters to get things ready. Once she'd tidied up a few half-filled glasses of water strewn about the kitchen, she went to her room to find something to wear. She didn't have much since she wore the uniform 90% of the time. Unfortunately this meant that she pretty much had casual wear or fancy. There wasn't really an in-between.

Going through all the hangers, she sighed when she reached the end without having chosen something. Backtracking, she broadened her criteria and finally decided on a wine-coloured dress that she ordinarily would've worn to a charity dinner on Earth. Not flashy in the least, but certainly elegant. Slipping it on, she then turned to makeup. This was another rare occurrence for the doctor, so she didn't put on much besides a little blush and lip gloss.

Well, it was either this or leggings and a tunic, she thought. "Computer, play dinner music."

She filled a pitcher with water, set out a couple glasses, and sat down as the room was filled with soft piano music.

When Kyle arrived they greeted each other and she showed him the produce. She smiled when he teased her.

"That's why I only told you. If word got out about my fantastic produce-seeking skills they'd put me to work in the galley and then you'd have to deal with Chloe. She's not as nice as me,"" she joked, the sparkle returning to her eyes.

Kyle had brought wine and though she didn't usually partake, she made an exception. After all, she was wearing her charity-function dress so she might as well take advantage of the occasion. She scrambled to find a couple wine glasses, washed the dust out of them, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the wine bottle was a twist-off. As she watched Kyle begin to prep the meal, she filled their glasses and sipped hers, feeling the warming of the alcohol throughout her body. It was a feeling she couldn't quite call familiar, though it recalled memories of fancy ballrooms and dull auctions. This experience was certainly much better.

She placed her glass on the table to answer Kyle's question.

"I had a pretty run-of-the-mill sort of day. Transfer physicals, paperwork, kissing boo-boos away, you know. Typical doctor stuff." She gave a small chuckle as she remembered the look on the face of the child she'd seen today when she'd 'fixed' the gash in his arm that he got from jumping on the bed. She didn't have any children herself, but she felt she knew more about caring for them just from tending to their injuries.

"What about you?" she asked Kyle.

They continued talking for a while and before she knew it a whole meal was assembled. She carried her wine glass to the table and took the seat he pulled out for her. When the plate was set before her, her eyes widened.

"Wow. This looks amazing, Kyle." It was a simple dish, but one that could easily be done wrong by an inexperienced chef. Just by looking at it, Lisa could tell it would be delicious. She laid a napkin across her lap as he sat down and they began the meal.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian shrugged as he replied.

"That Number One will depend entirely on what the scans find. There is nothing poured in ferrocrete that a society has ta develop subspace communications technology concurrently with warp technology just because it happened that way on Earth. Aside from the initial Federation survey that discovered the planet and the Prime Directive interdiction, there's precious bloody little about Zindi Moran on file.

"You heard the message, the tone of whoever sent it implied they were aware of space farin' species. That's of concern all by itself and that does nae account for the sudden influx of 'superior technology'. If'n someone has violated the interdiction, then we need ta ken who and what they've done."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian turned as Ruth entered the bridge and gave her a quick update as to what they knew, which wasn't much.

"And so, we're goin' in for a closer look ta see who, if'n anyone, has been muckin' about."

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

[USS Challenger - Zindi Moran - High Orbit]

As the Challenger slipped into orbit, her sensors probed the planet thoroughly and what they discovered was profoundly disturbing. From intercepted communications and commercial broadcasts, it was clear the planet was in the middle of a civil war. The Combine on one side and the Panunionists on the other with both sides fairly evenly matched. However, in recent months, the Combine had pulled off several stunning victories through the use of extremely powerful new weapons.

Sensors confirmed Klingon signature disruptor weapons in use by the Combine, whereas the Panunionists only had solid slug projectile weapons, which were in line with the planet's overall late 20th Century level technology. Between the disruptors and at least one subspace transmitter, it was clear something extra-legal was occurring on Zindi Moran. Faced with evidence of technological contamination, Ian had called the senior staff or their representatives to the conference room to discuss their option.

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

[Conference Room - USS Challenger]

Once everyone was in their seats, Ian rose and began to speak with a grim expression on his face.

"Seems like we've stumbled onto a fine kettle of fish. Someone, who shouldn't, has been here. At least all signs point ta that. Sensors and communications have picked up all we are likely ta detect from orbit. That leaves us with three options as I see it. One, we do nothing, we scarper out of the system and pretend nothing happened. Two, we signal Starfleet command and sit on our collective arses until they tell us what ta do. And three, we confirm what sensors have detected with an away team.

"I've called you all here ta discuss those options or any others you might think of that I didn't. As the Prime Directive is involved, you all are aware of the sensitivity and hazards associated with anything we do or not do. The floor is open ladies and gentlebein's. Please, let me know your thoughts."

Ian then sat down and waited to see what the department heads had to say.

[Conference Room - USS Challenger]

Sitting at the conference table, Lisa listened to Galloway closely. She was happy to be attending a briefing. There never seemed to be enough time for one of them to happen before they were in red alert and confusion ensued. At least, that's what tended to happen in her department since there was only so much a written message could tell. This was a welcome change. The CMO cleared her throat and came to a stand, the expression on her face not quite mirroring the captain's, but it certainly wasn't cheerful.

"I'll offer my two cents. Pretending nothing happened doesn't seem like a wise idea since it seems like the Prime Directive has potentially already been violated and we may be able to apply some sort of damage control. Signaling Starfleet command is about as effective as leaving because by the time they reply with their verdict the situation could already have escalated past the point of real interference. That leaves us with your third option and I think if we can safely send out an away team, we should do it. It'll be risky but, I assume everyone already knows that."

During her input her eyes flitted around the room and settled on Galloway by the end before she sat down.