Season 14: Episode 11 - Conjoinment Crisis - Part One (Ship of Horrors)

[Rayek trLhoell]

Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
RFS Valdore - Deck Thirteen - Bridge

Rayek was seated to the right of Riov Siedhri's command chair writing in his personal log - a task he tried his best to continue from his Katra counseling sessions with Beja regularly, even though journaling - nor counseling therapy - was at all required by the Romulan Free State fleet.   It however helped him organize his thoughts, so he could focus better on his work.

Subcommander's Personal Log

It has been nearly a year that I have been aboard the Romulan Free State ship Valdore working off the debt I owe - the time away from my wife and son has been nearly unbearable at times - and now, just prior to the release of my commission back to Starfleet, the ship has received another set of Starfleet personnel as part of a temporary Officer Exchange Program -  and of course, I have been selected to oversee them.   The Starfleet officers are from the USS Discovery - a ship and crew who have been instrumental over the past couple years in stabilizing the Romulan Free State territory.  The interesting thing about this OEP is that it includes several individuals I know personally; some whom I have not seen since my time on Katra.  Part of me wonders if this is an intentional assignment by the Romulan High Command with some devious hidden agenda.

Despite this irksome paranoid feeling, I was thrilled to find among the exchange program former colleagues from my days with the USS Challenger, including Commander Briggs,  Lieutenant Addams, Petty officer Tragnar and, remarkably of all since he rarely leaves his precious engines, my good friend, Lieutenant Commander Lek.

On a less thrilling note, also joining us on the Valdore is Captain Tekin - who has been tasked to assess the value of the Exchange Program from a Starfleet perspective, while his damaged ship is being assessed for possible repair.  He'll be overseeing my role and assessing my engagement with his crew, and their immersion into Romulan culture.  While I have the utmost respect for Captain Tekin as a Starfleet officer, I worry my past near indiscretion with his wife might adversely influence his perspective on the program, and myself as its lead officer.  Hopefully I am wrong.

With all that said, the Federation crew arrived late yesterday, were given a tour of the ship, and provided appropriate shared accommodation typical of all Romulan officers.  This is not a Federation ship that offers luxury suites to all its officers.  Only the Riov and Erei'Riov usually have private rooms.  As such, I have given up my own quarters to Captain Tekin and I will be sharing quarters with Lek.  The exchange personnel have been assigned ranks and roles comparable to their Starfleet positions.  I have attached the Exchange Program roster to this log.

Riov (Commander) Tekin Nevir - Exchange Program Ambassador/Observer
Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Briggs - Weapons & Security Chief
Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Lek - Engineering Chief
Arrain (Centurion) Danjar-Torra Addams - Operations & Communications Chief
Arrain (Centurion) Saqa7 Mountain-Khan - Science Chief
Arrain (Centurion) Vasilisa Belmont - Medical Officer
Erein (Ante-Centurion) Jael Sherem - Weapons & Security Officer
Erein (Ante-Centurion) Dem Broadshire - Medical Officer
Erein (Ante-Centurion) Sorik - Operations Officer
Erei'erein (Petty officer) Alexander Graham - Enlisted pilot
Erei'erein (Petty officer) Zavrol Gohun - Enlisted engineer
Erei'erein (Petty officer) Helga Tragnar - Enlisted weapons & security
Uhlan (Crewman) Dranik - Enlisted weapons & security

The Discovery's exchange officers began their duties this morning and so far all has been quiet.

The Valdore is headed to meet up with the Klingon freighter, KMF vaQ, which has been given permission to trade in Free State territory.  The Valdore has been ordered to escort the freighter through Romulan territory.  We should be arriving at the meet up coordinates shortly.

Log End.

No sooner had Rayek closed his Romulan-designed tablet then long-range sensors pinged on the Tactical station alerting the crew manning the station of incoming contact details.   However, instead of just the single Klingon freighter, long-range sensors picked up a second vessel; this one of an older Romulan 'Bird-of-Prey' design.

Rayek turned to look towards the Weapons station and Erein Sherem expectantly, waiting on the officer to report.

[Jael Sherem]

[Ante-Centurion Jael Sherem | Bridge | Deck Thirteen | RFS Valdore]

Jael was glad for the change in departments and how long it took for her to train up. What surprised her was being assigned to Tactical instead of Security. Jael realized how much of a blessing it was, because there were more openings for Tactical officers than Security. Case in point, with the amount of damaged sustained to Discovery, it made sense to be assigned a different ship. She was just as surprised to find what kind of ship it was.

"Nobody told me this was going to be an officer exchange program," Jael said in surprise. The closest she came was an infiltration mission when she met Nira Said in an officer exchange program, but that was with Klingons, and exchange programs were common with Klingon officers...but instead, it's a ship from the Romulan Free State.

Truth be told, Jael had taken plenty of Security electives to familiarize herself with defending herself, but she knew nothing about Tactical functions. Fortunately, she was bright and quick, so she was able to learn fast on a crash course. She remembered at the Academy when she selected classes that instructors were disappointed to find using the skills she inherited from her father would be wasted in science classes. She wished she had listened.

She wished she had Gid with her, mostly as comfort, but Gid was back with the Discovery, helping with repairs. So she had to learn weapon and other Tactical systems on a Romulan ship.

Jael had to admit, she was taken aback by the Romulan commander...who had a Starfleet commission long enough to hold a command position. I swear, if Elim Garak was ten years younger, he would've applied for the Academy when he was exiled, but noooo...

In spite of that, Jael had to admit she looked good in red.

Recalling that Commander MacKenzie had gone missing, Jael had to admit she technically won't miss him. Having to work with a childlike (literally) First Officer was unnerving to Jael. She still wished Kyle Briggs would've been XO instead; at least Jael can stand to look at Briggs better...whether or not her heart would flutter slightly in a swoon...just her luck to have a crush on a superior officer.

So engrossed was she in getting to know Romulan tactical systems that she had no time to see her quarters, let alone whom she was sharing with. By the time they were en route, Jael was proving that she knew the systems excellently. She was no Nira Said, but Jael was observant, quick-witted...the only differences between the two, Jael felt, was skin tone and brain capabilities.

She couldn't resist jumping; she never had a sensor go off before, but she was new all the same. She set to work at the sensors and discovered a Bird of Prey - the old Romulan kind - approaching.

"Subcommander," Jael called. "Long range sensors have detected a Bird of Prey. The Romulan kind. And an antique, specifically; it's one of the older models."

She worked on identifying them while she couldn't believe what was coming. An antique...she wondered who was coming to call. Probably somebody who got a hold of a ship from the Romulan mothball fleet, most likely from one of the other factions; the Free State surely wouldn't have these museum artifacts going around.

[Dem Broadshire]

[Medical Bay | Riov Siedhri]
Doctor Betaika of the Romulan Medical Council coarsely shouted at Dem,
"œDermally re-generate these wounds. Our patient should not have any proficient damage."
Our patient was a nameless Romulan, working on a plasma conduit when it blew out, leaving sparks and green fire where their pointed faces should be. If this was a Starfleet ship, red alert would have been announced, and every officer would be running wildly like a trodden ant's nest. But not this ship. Not the Rioeve sheddedee (or however it's pronounced, Dem thought). In this serious accident, Dem was not even sure if the captain was informed.
"œA dermal regenerator won't be able to fix all the damage! The wounds are too deep." .
Dem stated, stupefied at the apparent lack of care for the patient.
"œRomulans are tougher than you think erein. Or should I say Ensign." He sneered, not bothering to hide his anger.
Dem decided to follow the instructions of his commander, his real commander. Comply with the Romulans, this is an opportunity most Starfleet officers will never get. He dashed towards the patient, fumbling with the differently placed buttons, and started regenerating his skin. Miraculously, the internal damage to the face healed. Dem now felt very guilty for what he said.
"œAh, Arrain, I am sorry for what I said, I will not question"¦"
The Romulan came up to him, patted him on the shoulder and warmly stated:
"œIt's alright son. You did an excellent job. This place is new for you."

Dem was shocked to hear his change of attitude, before deciding to remove his prejudice of this species. Last time he took bias to the sickbay, his young (but old) commander was kidnapped. This was an opportunity to try again.
Maybe this mission will not be as bad as Dem first thought.

[Alexander Graham]

[RFS Valdore-bridge]
Alex didn't know what to expect when going into the officer exchange program. However piloting this aircraft could be a lot different from piloting the Discovery. He started working on his duties making sure that the flying systems were operational and running smoothly. He paid close attention to catch if there were any issues that came up. If there were any issues then he made sure to fix them before they had to leave. This was a new experience for him but he didn't want to mess anything up or let down the commander down. While he was nervous he was hoping to learn more about the Romulan culture.

[Lek]

Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
RFS Valdore - Deck Thirteen - Bridge

Rayek was seated to the right of Riov Siedhri's command chair writing in his personal log - a task he tried his best to continue from his Katra counseling sessions with Beja regularly, even though journaling - nor counseling therapy - was at all required by the Romulan Free State fleet.   It however helped him organize his thoughts, so he could focus better on his work.

Subcommander's Personal Log

It has been nearly a year that I have been aboard the Romulan Free State ship Valdore working off the debt I owe - the time away from my wife and son has been nearly unbearable at times - and now, just prior to the release of my commission back to Starfleet, the ship has received another set of Starfleet personnel as part of a temporary Officer Exchange Program -  and of course, I have been selected to oversee them.   The Starfleet officers are from the USS Discovery - a ship and crew who have been instrumental over the past couple years in stabilizing the Romulan Free State territory.  The interesting thing about this OEP is that it includes several individuals I know personally; some whom I have not seen since my time on Katra.  Part of me wonders if this is an intentional assignment by the Romulan High Command with some devious hidden agenda.

Despite this irksome paranoid feeling, I was thrilled to find among the exchange program former colleagues from my days with the USS Challenger, including Commander Briggs,  Lieutenant Addams, Petty officer Tragnar and, remarkably of all since he rarely leaves his precious engines, my good friend, Lieutenant Commander Lek.

On a less thrilling note, also joining us on the Valdore is Captain Tekin - who has been tasked to assess the value of the Exchange Program from a Starfleet perspective, while his damaged ship is being assessed for possible repair.  He'll be overseeing my role and assessing my engagement with his crew, and their immersion into Romulan culture.  While I have the utmost respect for Captain Tekin as a Starfleet officer, I worry my past near indiscretion with his wife might adversely influence his perspective on the program, and myself as its lead officer.  Hopefully I am wrong.

With all that said, the Federation crew arrived late yesterday, were given a tour of the ship, and provided appropriate shared accommodation typical of all Romulan officers.  This is not a Federation ship that offers luxury suites to all its officers.  Only the Riov and Erei'Riov usually have private rooms.  As such, I have given up my own quarters to Captain Tekin and I will be sharing quarters with Lek.  The exchange personnel have been assigned ranks and roles comparable to their Starfleet positions.  I have attached the Exchange Program roster to this log.

Riov (Commander) Tekin Nevir - Exchange Program Ambassador/Observer
Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Briggs - Weapons & Security Chief
Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Lek - Engineering Chief
Arrain (Centurion) Danjar-Torra Addams - Operations & Communications Chief
Arrain (Centurion) Saqa7 Mountain-Khan - Science Chief
Erein (Ante-Centurion) Jael Sherem - Weapons & Security Officer
Erein (Ante-Centurion) Dem Broadshire - Medical Officer
Erei'erein (Petty officer) Alexander Graham - Enlisted pilot
Erei'erein (Petty officer) Zavrol Gohun - Enlisted engineer
Erei'erein (Petty officer) Helga Tragnar - Enlisted weapons & security
Uhlan (Crewman) Dranik - Enlisted weapons & security

The Discovery's exchange officers began their duties this morning and so far all has been quiet.

The Valdore is headed to meet up with the Klingon freighter, KMF vaQ, which has been given permission to trade in Free State territory.  The Valdore has been ordered to escort the freighter through Romulan territory.  We should be arriving at the meet up coordinates shortly.

Log End.

No sooner had Rayek closed his Romulan-designed tablet then long-range sensors pinged on the Tactical station alerting the crew manning the station of incoming contact details.   However, instead of just the single Klingon freighter, long-range sensors picked up a second vessel; this one of an older Romulan 'Bird-of-Prey' design.

Rayek turned to look towards the Weapons station and Erein Sherem expectantly, waiting on the officer to report.

[RFS Valdore - Transporter Room --> Crew Quarters]

Lek appeared in the Romulan transporter stumping off the platform without a word and headed directly for his assigned quarters. He didn't speak to anyone or even pay much attention to what would normally be a fascinating opportunity to study Romulan technology.

He was in a foul mood and really didn't care who knew it. His ship was in the hands of strangers, the thought of which only served to make him angrier.

"I should be at Starbase 153 overseeing her repairs not a bunch of yard apes."

He seethed as he threw his duffel bag on the bunk assigned to him. As he sat he clenched and unclenched his hands over and over as he tried to settle down.

"I don't know who thought now would be a good time to assign me to an exchange program, but I hope I find out so I can send them an appropriate token of my appreciation."

He snarled and continued to clench and unclench his hands.

[Zavrol Gohun]

Engineering
Gohun was glad to have the change of department. After returning from Starfleet and becoming commissioned Gohun was finally in the department he wanted to be in doing the job that he wanted to do from the day he joined Starfleet. But he was on a Romluan ship and unfortunately Romulan ships were designed completely different from Federation vessels. This meant that he would have to learn about how a singularity powers. This was made very difficult as the Romulans were still paranoid and still would not let Gohun access to certain stations. While Gohun understood the need for caution he wondered how anyone could get anything done with so many restrictions put in place. But this was the hand that Gohun was dealt and he would work with that hand and clean the plasma filters because was the new guy.

[Kyle Briggs]

[Roaming]

Kyle had been walking the corridors of the Valdore since his arrival. Despite all the years he had in Starfleet, this was his first exchange program. And he found it hard to believe that it was on a Romulan vessel of all things. He had studied the language a little and knew enough to find his way around but he found himself ignoring some of the Romulans as he passed by and they addressed him as Erei'Riov. After about the fifth time, he realized they were speaking to him and he blushed four shades of red. Adding to that was the fact that when he did finally realize it, he was being spoken to by a rather cute Romulan female.

"My apologies." he had told her.

"Do not apologies....." she replied.

His smile was cut short when she continued speaking.

"It shows weakness and weakness will be exploited here."

He put on a stern face. "I'll keep that in mind. Now show me to the Security Office....Uhlan." he said after looking at her rank.

With a nod, she turned and was off with Kyle in tow.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
RFS Valdore - Deck Thirteen - Bridge

[Ante-Centurion Jael Sherem | Bridge | Deck Thirteen | RFS Valdore]

She couldn't resist jumping; she never had a sensor go off before, but she was new all the same. She set to work at the sensors and discovered a Bird of Prey - the old Romulan kind - approaching.

"Subcommander," Jael called. "Long range sensors have detected a Bird of Prey. The Romulan kind. And an antique, specifically; it's one of the older models."

She worked on identifying them while she couldn't believe what was coming. An antique...she wondered who was coming to call. Probably somebody who got a hold of a ship from the Romulan mothball fleet, most likely from one of the other factions; the Free State surely wouldn't have these museum artifacts going around.

Nira's thoughts about the antique ship being from a rival faction, mirrored Rayek's own after her announcement.  He turned to face the tactical officer.  Rayek had read up on each one of the exchange personnel so knew this one had only just switched departments to Tactical.  It explained why she'd been at the station both last night and now again this morning.

"Erein Sherem, see if you can determine its old registry.  It might help us determine which scrapyard it was abandoned at, and depending on its location... who likely is using it."

Rayek then glanced to the ship's commander Riov Siedhri, expectantly.  The Riov nodded.  "Let's not waste time, Subcommander."

"Ssuaj-ha!" Rayek acknowledged the order and then called on Flight."Erei'erein Graham, increase cruising speed to warp 9."

Yet even as he called out his order, the Bird of Prey which had been pacing the Klingon ship, must have picked up the much larger Valdore on their long-range sensors, for the Bird of Prey veered off abruptly and then jumped to warp.

Rayek grimaced.  More and more the other Romulan vessel was seeming like a raiding ship.  Their priority however was the Klingon ship.  "Maintain course to the vaQ." he instructed Petty Officer Graham.

"Erein Sherem, find a means to track that vessel...  Arrain Addams. Contact the Klingon ship..   and put the Valdore on battle readiness alert."  That alert status was comparable to Starfleet's Yellow Alert.

The Grazerite looked towards him with a soft expression and nodded. "Yes sir."   Moments, later the Romulan klaxon sounded, alerting the crew to get to their alert stations.  She tried to raise the Klingon ship on comms, but there was no response to her hails.

"The vaQ is not responding to hails, sir."

Rayek's forehead V grew more pronounce as his brow furrowed in frowning thought. "Flight, increase speed to 9.3 then once in transporter range match pace with that of the vaQ."

Rayek turned to confer with the ship's Riov.  "I suspect the ship has already been breached and boarded sir."

The Commander nodded gravely in agreement.  "Ready a boarding team then." There was a pause before the Romulan officer waved Rayek nearer and spoke quietly to him.

Rayek's posture stiffened in reaction.  He was silent a moment before nodding and acknowledging his orders. "Ssuaj-ha."

Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[RFS Valdore - Shared Senior Officer Quarters] (the night previous)

[RFS Valdore - Transporter Room --> Crew Quarters]

Lek appeared in the Romulan transporter stumping off the platform without a word and headed directly for his assigned quarters. He didn't speak to anyone or even pay much attention to what would normally be a fascinating opportunity to study Romulan technology.

He was in a foul mood and really didn't care who knew it. His ship was in the hands of strangers, the thought of which only served to make him angrier.

"I should be at Starbase 153 overseeing her repairs not a bunch of yard apes."

He seethed as he threw his duffel bag on the bunk assigned to him. As he sat he clenched and unclenched his hands over and over as he tried to settle down.

"I don't know who thought now would be a good time to assign me to an exchange program, but I hope I find out so I can send them an appropriate token of my appreciation."

He snarled and continued to clench and unclench his hands.

Rayek had intended to greet the Exchange personnel himself and give them a tour of the ship, but a last minute intelligence report that needed to be unencrypted for the Riov had altered his plans and kept him busy in his office until well into the night shift.   The welcoming and tour had to be passed off to another.

The executive officer's arrival at his new shared accommodation was further delayed when Rayek initially had headed to his usual quarters.  He'd walked up to doors and stood puzzled a moment when his biometrics didn't unlock the doors immediately.  Thankfully the mistake was not witnessed by others; and Rayek was glad he realized his error before using his authorization to override the lock on Tekin's door.  That would have not impressed the Discovery's Captain at all, he imagined.

Given how late it was, Rayek expected that Lek would already be asleep, as their day would start early tomorrow, so he entered quietly into the darkened quarters and stood a moment at its entrance after the doors shut behind him to let his eyes adjust to the dark.   

[Jael Sherem]

Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
RFS Valdore - Deck Thirteen - Bridge

Nira's thoughts about the antique ship being from a rival faction, mirrored Rayek's own after her announcement.  He turned to face the tactical officer.  Rayek had read up on each one of the exchange personnel so knew this one had only just switched departments to Tactical.  It explained why she'd been at the station both last night and now again this morning.

"Erein Sherem, see if you can determine its old registry.  It might help us determine which scrapyard it was abandoned at, and depending on its location... who likely is using it."

Rayek then glanced to the ship's commander Riov Siedhri, expectantly.  The Riov nodded.  "Let's not waste time, Subcommander."

"Ssuaj-ha!" Rayek acknowledged the order and then called on Flight."Erei'erein Graham, increase cruising speed to warp 9."

Yet even as he called out his order, the Bird of Prey which had been pacing the Klingon ship, must have picked up the much larger Valdore on their long-range sensors, for the Bird of Prey veered off abruptly and then jumped to warp.

Rayek grimaced.  More and more the other Romulan vessel was seeming like a raiding ship.  Their priority however was the Klingon ship.  "Maintain course to the vaQ." he instructed Petty Officer Graham.

"Erein Sherem, find a means to track that vessel...  Arrain Addams. Contact the Klingon ship..   and put the Valdore on battle readiness alert."  That alert status was comparable to Starfleet's Yellow Alert.

The Grazerite looked towards him with a soft expression and nodded. "Yes sir."   Moments, later the Romulan klaxon sounded, alerting the crew to get to their alert stations.  She tried to raise the Klingon ship on comms, but there was no response to her hails.

"The vaQ is not responding to hails, sir."

Rayek's forehead V grew more pronounce as his brow furrowed in frowning thought. "Flight, increase speed to 9.3 then once in transporter range match pace with that of the vaQ."

Rayek turned to confer with the ship's Riov.  "I suspect the ship has already been breached and boarded sir."

The Commander nodded gravely in agreement.  "Ready a boarding team then." There was a pause before the Romulan officer waved Rayek nearer and spoke quietly to him.

Rayek's posture stiffened in reaction.  He was silent a moment before nodding and acknowledging his orders. "Ssuaj-ha."

[Ante-Centurion Jael Sherem | Bridge | Deck Thirteen | RFS Valdore]

Jael nodded and quickly scanned the ship. She managed to complete it just as the Bird of Prey ran for it. She managed to get the registry; reading it was another matter altogether, she couldn't understand Romulan at all.

Commander tr'Lhoell's order to track the vessel made Jael have to set aside the registry; she'll ask one of the other Romulans on the ship to translate it later.

Shouldn't be too hard to track it, she thought. Old ship like that, leaking tachyon particles...the older the ship, the more pronounced the tachyons are bound to be. And with that, she took in the course the ship took and scanned for tachyon particles, just in case they would cloak.

[Dranik]

RFS Valdore
Dranik
Mess Hall

Dranik looked down at the soup in front of him and sighed heavily. Romulan cuisine wasn't exactly the best of the different foods he had tried since arriving in the alpha quadrant. Starfleet replicators did a relatively good job with different types of food but he just couldn't find much that he liked on the Valdore.

He pulled out a small holographic photo he had taken of himself, Ciavil and the kids before he had shipped out. The two of them had decided that one of them had to stay full-time with the kids and Ciavil had family on Bolarus IX who were eager to meet the two new additions to the family even if they didn't like Dranik much and so Ciavil and the children had gone to Bolarus IX to stay with Ciavil's family. Dranik missed his wife and children quite a bit and that was adding a certain amount of stress to his life.

He looked down at his bowl of soup once again and briefly considered grabbing a ration pack when all at once a klaxion began sounding through the Valdore. Dranik immediately rose to his feet and began heading to his assigned duty station which was the armory.

[Alexander Graham]

Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
RFS Valdore - Deck Thirteen - Bridge

Nira's thoughts about the antique ship being from a rival faction, mirrored Rayek's own after her announcement.  He turned to face the tactical officer.  Rayek had read up on each one of the exchange personnel so knew this one had only just switched departments to Tactical.  It explained why she'd been at the station both last night and now again this morning.

"Erein Sherem, see if you can determine its old registry.  It might help us determine which scrapyard it was abandoned at, and depending on its location... who likely is using it."

Rayek then glanced to the ship's commander Riov Siedhri, expectantly.  The Riov nodded.  "Let's not waste time, Subcommander."

"Ssuaj-ha!" Rayek acknowledged the order and then called on Flight."Erei'erein Graham, increase cruising speed to warp 9."

Yet even as he called out his order, the Bird of Prey which had been pacing the Klingon ship, must have picked up the much larger Valdore on their long-range sensors, for the Bird of Prey veered off abruptly and then jumped to warp.

Rayek grimaced.  More and more the other Romulan vessel was seeming like a raiding ship.  Their priority however was the Klingon ship.  "Maintain course to the vaQ." he instructed Petty Officer Graham.

"Erein Sherem, find a means to track that vessel...  Arrain Addams. Contact the Klingon ship..   and put the Valdore on battle readiness alert."  That alert status was comparable to Starfleet's Yellow Alert.

The Grazerite looked towards him with a soft expression and nodded. "Yes sir."   Moments, later the Romulan klaxon sounded, alerting the crew to get to their alert stations.  She tried to raise the Klingon ship on comms, but there was no response to her hails.

"The vaQ is not responding to hails, sir."

Rayek's forehead V grew more pronounce as his brow furrowed in frowning thought. "Flight, increase speed to 9.3 then once in transporter range match pace with that of the vaQ."

Rayek turned to confer with the ship's Riov.  "I suspect the ship has already been breached and boarded sir."

The Commander nodded gravely in agreement.  "Ready a boarding team then." There was a pause before the Romulan officer waved Rayek nearer and spoke quietly to him.

Rayek's posture stiffened in reaction.  He was silent a moment before nodding and acknowledging his orders. "Ssuaj-ha."

Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[RFS Valdore - Shared Senior Officer Quarters] (the night previous)

Rayek had intended to greet the Exchange personnel himself and give them a tour of the ship, but a last minute intelligence report that needed to be unencrypted for the Riov had altered his plans and kept him busy in his office until well into the night shift.   The welcoming and tour had to be passed off to another.

The executive officer's arrival at his new shared accommodation was further delayed when Rayek initially had headed to his usual quarters.  He'd walked up to doors and stood puzzled a moment when his biometrics didn't unlock the doors immediately.  Thankfully the mistake was not witnessed by others; and Rayek was glad he realized his error before using his authorization to override the lock on Tekin's door.  That would have not impressed the Discovery's Captain at all, he imagined.

Given how late it was, Rayek expected that Lek would already be asleep, as their day would start early tomorrow, so he entered quietly into the darkened quarters and stood a moment at its entrance after the doors shut behind him to let his eyes adjust to the dark.

[RFS Valdore]

"œUnderstood commander" he gave a slight nod of the head and upon the commander's instructions Alex increased the cruising speed to warp nine. He maintained the course for the vaQ per the next instructions. He then slightly increased the warp speed to 9.3. He paid close attention because as soon as they were in close transporter range he matched the pace of the vaQ. He was prepared for whatever the next step would be.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[RFS Valdore - Deck Thirteen - Bridge]

[Ante-Centurion Jael Sherem | Bridge | Deck Thirteen | RFS Valdore]

Jael nodded and quickly scanned the ship. She managed to complete it just as the Bird of Prey ran for it. She managed to get the registry; reading it was another matter altogether, she couldn't understand Romulan at all.

Commander tr'Lhoell's order to track the vessel made Jael have to set aside the registry; she'll ask one of the other Romulans on the ship to translate it later.

Shouldn't be too hard to track it, she thought. Old ship like that, leaking tachyon particles...the older the ship, the more pronounced the tachyons are bound to be. And with that, she took in the course the ship took and scanned for tachyon particles, just in case they would cloak.

The security officer's notion on how to track the Bird-of-Prey, was not a new idea but it was known to be effective.  Or at least it would be if the ship had cloaked.  But all that wasn't presently needed.   For now, the ships sensors even without the scan for tachyons were able to pick up the Romulan ship fleeing at warp towards what looked like the next star system.  However, unless pursued, the effectiveness of the sensors for tracking - would be diminished and take longer to receive the signal back - especially after switching from short-range to long-range sensors.

[RFS Valdore]

"œUnderstood commander" he gave a slight nod of the head and upon the commander's instructions Alex increased the cruising speed to warp nine. He maintained the course for the vaQ per the next instructions. He then slightly increased the warp speed to 9.3. He paid close attention because as soon as they were in close transporter range he matched the pace of the vaQ. He was prepared for whatever the next step would be.

The Valdore 'jumped' briefly forward as the previous cruising speed of warp 8 was exponentially increased up to warp 9 and then moments later to warp 9.3.  The starfield streaked by as the ships ETA decreased exponentially as well.  Arriving at its destination, the Valdore paced the still cruising Klingon freighter.  There were no hails from the Klingon ship; no altering of its speed or path towards the Unroth system.

Rayek recognized this lack of communication a sizable problem, since the Unroth colony's defense system involved a cloaked minefield.  The Valdore would need to escort the vaQ through the minefield or the Klingon ship if it continued on its path would suffer the consequences.

Opening a comm line from his chair, Rayek announced those selected to be on the boarding team.  "Subcommander tr'Lhoell to all exchange personnel - pass off your duties and meet on Deck 13, Transporter room, for boarding action. Repeat ALL exchange personnel to Transporter room - Deck 13."

No doubt those orders would be considered a bit odd to many - sending Engineering, Ops and Flight personnel on a boarding action - but the Riov had made himself explicitly clear.   He closed the comm and them contacted the Armory.

RFS Valdore
Dranik
Mess Hall

Dranik looked down at the soup in front of him and sighed heavily. Romulan cuisine wasn't exactly the best of the different foods he had tried since arriving in the alpha quadrant. Starfleet replicators did a relatively good job with different types of food but he just couldn't find much that he liked on the Valdore.

He pulled out a small holographic photo he had taken of himself, Ciavil and the kids before he had shipped out. The two of them had decided that one of them had to stay full-time with the kids and Ciavil had family on Bolarus IX who were eager to meet the two new additions to the family even if they didn't like Dranik much and so Ciavil and the children had gone to Bolarus IX to stay with Ciavil's family. Dranik missed his wife and children quite a bit and that was adding a certain amount of stress to his life.

He looked down at his bowl of soup once again and briefly considered grabbing a ration pack when all at once a klaxion began sounding through the Valdore. Dranik immediately rose to his feet and began heading to his assigned duty station which was the armory.

"Prepare four disruptors - one each for myself and each of the security personnel on the boarding team.  The others can be assigned painsticks or if they arrived on the Valdore with phasers - issue them those. tr'Lhoell out."

His orders were not typical for a Romulan boarding action, however these personnel had likely never used a disruptor before.  The weapons were unforgiving.  Rayek would not be responsible for a Starfleet personnel being trigger happy with their weapons, forgetting in the moment of adrenalin that there was no stun setting on a disruptor.

Rayek rose from his chair, but was halted by the Riov who looked at him sourly.  "You are going as well?"  For a moment, Rayek thought the man might order him back to his seat but in the end, he was waved off dismissively, but not before he was questioned on his decision.  "Are you going to hand-hold them the entire time, Subcommander?"

Rayek tried not to rise to the taunt.  "No, sir - just until I have assessed their capabilities." he said in justification.  "And I'm leading the mission because your orders were to 'send all the Feds'." There was a pause before Rayek completed his retort.  "In case you have forgotten, sir,  I'm only here on loan."  Then with a forced respectful bow towards the ship's commander, Rayek left the bridge.

Torra, at the Communications console, had called immediately for a replacement officer for her station and waited for them to arrive.  Given the small size of the Romulan bridge, it was impossible to not have heard the conversation between the Commander and Subcommander.  The Grazerite, having worked with tr'Lhoell back when he was Chief Petty officer on the Challenger, appreciated the Romulan's efforts to look after her and the other Starfleet personnel.

Her replacement soon arrived and Torra made her way along the corridor towards the Transporter Room.

Previously assigned to stand watch outside the Valdore's computer core, Helga passed off her duties to the uhlan replacing her and headed up to Deck 13.  There was a bit of anticipation in her step.  She didn't know what sort of mission they were being assigned to but with all exchange personnel being called to the transporter room, that meant she'd get to see Lek.  He hadn't been happy at all about being assigned to this exchange program.   Helga had gone out of her way to ensure she was assigned to the same program.

Saqa7's transfer to the Discovery had come only after the ship had been assigned to their mission to the Shaddai.   She was enroute there when news of the ship's bombing was reported out.  Saqa7 had expected reassignment while the ship was at drydock, but had been surprised to learn she'd been offered space in the Romulan officer exchange program.  She almost turned it down recalling her time on the USS Bradbury and its mission in Romulan space - but she recognized that doing so would be a bit of a black mark on her record.

So here she was.   The one bright spot on the whole thing was that there were people she did know from Katra here.  Subcommander tr'Lhoell for one, and to a lesser extent Lieutenant junior grade Sherem.   Both had been in the Science department on Katra  - though Jael's time had there had been very short - transferring to Discovery not long after.   Saqa7 hoped to kindle a friendship with the Cardassian woman.   But first Saqa7 needed to gather gear for an away mission.  She signed out a Romulan version of a tricorder and then hurried to meet up with Rayek and the others at the Transporter room.   

[Kyle Briggs]

The female Romulan had led Kyle to the Security office as he had ordered and as soon as he entered, the ship wide page from Rayek echoed through the corridors.

Opening a comm line from his chair, Rayek announced those selected to be on the boarding team.  "Subcommander tr'Lhoell to all exchange personnel - pass off your duties and meet on Deck 13, Transporter room, for boarding action. Repeat ALL exchange personnel to Transporter room - Deck 13."

"Hi there fellas." he said to the two officers that were present and manning the stations. "I came for an inspection but I guess that will have to wait. Where's the Armory?" he inquired. He was given the directions and turned and walked out. No way he was going on a boarding party without his weapon.

He approached the Armory and before he could say a word, the Armory officer handed him a satchel.

"Erei'Riov tr'Lhoell ordered these. I suppose you can deliver them Human."

Kyle noticed the disdain in the man's voice and made a mental no0te to confront him when he returned. He took the satchel without a word and left. He found a lift and headed for the Transporter Room

[Transporter Room]

He entered the Transporter Room and noticed that he was the first to arrive. He sat the satchel down and waited.

[Lek]

Erei'Riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[RFS Valdore - Deck Thirteen - Bridge]

The security officer's notion on how to track the Bird-of-Prey, was not a new idea but it was known to be effective.  Or at least it would be if the ship had cloaked.  But all that wasn't presently needed.   For now, the ships sensors even without the scan for tachyons were able to pick up the Romulan ship fleeing at warp towards what looked like the next star system.  However, unless pursued, the effectiveness of the sensors for tracking - would be diminished and take longer to receive the signal back - especially after switching from short-range to long-range sensors.

The Valdore 'jumped' briefly forward as the previous cruising speed of warp 8 was exponentially increased up to warp 9 and then moments later to warp 9.3.  The starfield streaked by as the ships ETA decreased exponentially as well.  Arriving at its destination, the Valdore paced the still cruising Klingon freighter.  There were no hails from the Klingon ship; no altering of its speed or path towards the Unroth system.

Rayek recognized this lack of communication a sizable problem, since the Unroth colony's defense system involved a cloaked minefield.  The Valdore would need to escort the vaQ through the minefield or the Klingon ship if it continued on its path would suffer the consequences.

Opening a comm line from his chair, Rayek announced those selected to be on the boarding team.  "Subcommander tr'Lhoell to all exchange personnel - pass off your duties and meet on Deck 13, Transporter room, for boarding action. Repeat ALL exchange personnel to Transporter room - Deck 13."

No doubt those orders would be considered a bit odd to many - sending Engineering, Ops and Flight personnel on a boarding action - but the Riov had made himself explicitly clear.   He closed the comm and them contacted the Armory.

"Prepare four disruptors - one each for myself and each of the security personnel on the boarding team.  The others can be assigned painsticks or if they arrived on the Valdore with phasers - issue them those. tr'Lhoell out."

His orders were not typical for a Romulan boarding action, however these personnel had likely never used a disruptor before.  The weapons were unforgiving.  Rayek would not be responsible for a Starfleet personnel being trigger happy with their weapons, forgetting in the moment of adrenalin that there was no stun setting on a disruptor.

Rayek rose from his chair, but was halted by the Riov who looked at him sourly.  "You are going as well?"  For a moment, Rayek thought the man might order him back to his seat but in the end, he was waved off dismissively, but not before he was questioned on his decision.  "Are you going to hand-hold them the entire time, Subcommander?"

Rayek tried not to rise to the taunt.  "No, sir - just until I have assessed their capabilities." he said in justification.  "And I'm leading the mission because your orders were to 'send all the Feds'." There was a pause before Rayek completed his retort.  "In case you have forgotten, sir,  I'm only here on loan."  Then with a forced respectful bow towards the ship's commander, Rayek left the bridge.

Torra, at the Communications console, had called immediately for a replacement officer for her station and waited for them to arrive.  Given the small size of the Romulan bridge, it was impossible to not have heard the conversation between the Commander and Subcommander.  The Grazerite, having worked with tr'Lhoell back when he was Chief Petty officer on the Challenger, appreciated the Romulan's efforts to look after her and the other Starfleet personnel.

Her replacement soon arrived and Torra made her way along the corridor towards the Transporter Room.

Previously assigned to stand watch outside the Valdore's computer core, Helga passed off her duties to the uhlan replacing her and headed up to Deck 13.  There was a bit of anticipation in her step.  She didn't know what sort of mission they were being assigned to but with all exchange personnel being called to the transporter room, that meant she'd get to see Lek.  He hadn't been happy at all about being assigned to this exchange program.   Helga had gone out of her way to ensure she was assigned to the same program.

Saqa7's transfer to the Discovery had come only after the ship had been assigned to their mission to the Shaddai.   She was enroute there when news of the ship's bombing was reported out.  Saqa7 had expected reassignment while the ship was at drydock, but had been surprised to learn she'd been offered space in the Romulan officer exchange program.  She almost turned it down recalling her time on the USS Bradbury and its mission in Romulan space - but she recognized that doing so would be a bit of a black mark on her record.

So here she was.   The one bright spot on the whole thing was that there were people she did know from Katra here.  Subcommander tr'Lhoell for one, and to a lesser extent Lieutenant junior grade Sherem.   Both had been in the Science department on Katra  - though Jael's time had there had been very short - transferring to Discovery not long after.   Saqa7 hoped to kindle a friendship with the Cardassian woman.   But first Saqa7 needed to gather gear for an away mission.  She signed out a Romulan version of a tricorder and then hurried to meet up with Rayek and the others at the Transporter room.

[Engineering --> Transporter Room - RFS Valdore]

Lek was still working through the vast differences between Romulan and Federation technology when the call came for the exchange officers to report to the transporter Room. He stood there open mouthed before his jaw locked down and he stormed out of Engineering muttering curses in every language he knew. He arrived, still muttering. Not in the mood to be sociable, he nodded to Kyle and simply said.

"Commander."

[Zavrol Gohun]

Gohun was summoned to the transporter room. He had no idea what he was going to so but it was better than getting the cold shoulder from everyone he was working with. Gohun also felt like he was being shadowed the entire time. In truth he was probably just paranoid. On the way to the transporter room Gohun grabbed a disrupter and an engineering kit because he was an engineer now. With that he walked into the transporter room ready.