Season 14: Episode 12 - Conjoinment Crisis - Part Two - Crisis of Identity

[Rayek trLhoell]

Erei'riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[RFS Valdore - Deck 13 - Briefing Room] (after briefing meeting)

[Briefing Room (Deck 13)| RFS Valdore]
"œah, sir. I was wondering if you wanted me to try to make an antigen that may neutralize the creature. It would have to be administered in close range, but I think it can be done in brief time."
"œA lot of promise now rests on my shoulders" He thought, trying to not be pressured by the hole he dug himself in. Dem also thought talking with Doctor Belmont would be prudent, as he wanted to get to know her better. Maybe his major in molecular sciences would also help with the crew's aliases. It would also be nice to have some friends in the medical department.

Rayek regarded the doctor at his suggestion.  Obviously, the doctor was of the opinion that more of these conjoined individuals existed and were likely to be encountered.   Rayek also was of that opinion, but he was less optimistic of the doctor being able to easily manipulate Borg technology in time for them to have something useful while on the mission.

The Romulan Subcommander gave a slight nod to the Bajoran. "You have permission to work on it.  Though I will not delay the mission waiting on your results."

[Dem Broadshire]

[Briefing Room (Deck 13)- Medical Bay| RFS Valdore]
"œUnderstood Sir." His lack of confidence was clearly apparent in the commander's voice, which only deepened the hole that he dug himself in. When he left to go to sickbay, regretfully that was also the commanders destination. Dem kept a couple of paces behind him, keeping quiet to avoid interaction. Dem considered himself a people person, but a slightly irritated Romulan commander heading an undercover operation was not his idea of "œpeople". After what felt like hours, the walk was over, and Dem walked past his compatriots to a science lab in the back room and got to work.

[Sorik]

Erein Sorik
[RFS Valdore - Deck 13 - Briefing Room]

Erei'riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[RFS Valdore - Deck 13 - Briefing Room] (after briefing meeting)

Rayek was gathering up his PADD and logging off the briefing room computer so to go with Dr. Belmont to see about what might be possible for a disguise, when Sorik rose and turned to face him, obviously with more to say.  When the Vulcan spoke seeking to be assigned the task of creating the ID's, Rayek hadn't expected such an offer.

"You do realize that the names on the ID's will have to be aliases, correct?  Are you certain you are capable of creating forgeries?  Is that not too much like lying?"  He couldn't resist the taunt before shrugging.  "If you wish the task, it is yours.  But have Torra review the alias details before final printing."

Rayek noticed then behind the Vulcan, that Dr. Broadshire was also standing in wait.     "You wished to say something more, Doctor?"

[Briefing Room (Deck 13)| RFS Valdore]
As the meeting concluded, Dem was in a state of indecision. Should he go? Would it help the team to have a genetic engineering specialist, or will he be a hinderance? Dem sat their tapping his finger on the table as the meeting came to a close. He smiled at Doctor Bellmont, but his mind was somewhere else. He was thinking about the best way to incapacitate the beast, and he landed upon a blood infused antigen that would help deactivate the creatures enhanced cognitive processes. As the meeting was dismissed, he saw operations officer Sorik talking with the commander. Dem half stood up, awkwardly standing, and jittering about as the officer bid for the ID tag job. The only thing moving on him now was his mouth, reading over his proposition in his mind to create an antigen to be used on the away mission.

[Briefing Room (Deck 13)| RFS Valdore]
"œah, sir. I was wondering if you wanted me to try to make an antigen that may neutralize the creature. It would have to be administered in close range, but I think it can be done in brief time."
"œA lot of promise now rests on my shoulders" He thought, trying to not be pressured by the hole he dug himself in. Dem also thought talking with Doctor Bellmont would be prudent, as he wanted to get to know her better. Maybe his major in molecular sciences would also help with the crew's aliases. It would also be nice to have some friends in the medical department.

There was nothing in Sorik's face that would show the slight confusion about the Subcommander's words. He merely stood there unmoving, listening. "I do realize it and yes, I am certain", the Vulcan confirmed. "Offering to volunteer for a task one is unable to perform is not logical", he explained to him. When Rayek agreed for him to take over the task, Sorik hesitated, although he noticed the Bajoran doctor lingering in the background, apparently seeking to speak to Rayek as well. He wanted to argue with Rayek, that he would do the job thoroughly enough, probably even more thorough than Arrain Addams would do and thus he didn't think his work would need go through that phase of review.

It was the second he needed too long to make his decision, then Rayek already called Dr. Broadshire over, asking him what he wanted to say. Sorik bowed his head in acceptance of the Subcommander's decision, turned to Dem with a nod of acknowledgment before he left the Briefing Room.

[RFS Valdore - Lab]
Sorik had spent some time reading through the files of the officers who would be part of the undercover mission, so he would be able to make up believable aliases for them. For himself, he chose a history of him having been in the Vulcan military's armed forces. He credit himself with some melee experience, which he actually had, but it was not as excellent as one would expect from him in that alias, since he had learned and used it more in a way as a meditation technique.

After finishing his work he prepared everything for the upload into the Free State database and made it so that it would look like they have been there for years already.

That done he contacted Torra.  "Arrain, I'm currently in the lab and just finished the preparation of the aliases for the undercover mission. When would be a good time for you to review them? As per Erei'Riov tr'Lhoell's orders."

[Lek]

[Briefing Room --> Shuttlebay - RFS Valdore]

Lek waited until the briefing was over before heading for the shuttlebay. It greatly simplified things that the Valdore had one of the older model shuttles aboard. All that was really necessary to make look like an independent merchant was to change its registration code and repaint it. Once that was done, Lek grabbed the biggest spanner he could find, which was two meters long, and began hammering it against the hull, leaving dents along the hull and chipping the newly applied paint.

"What are you doing Ferengi!"

A Centurion barked at him and signaling for a couple rating to join him, clearly ready to take the spanner from Lek.

"Have you ever seen a neat tramp freighter? They look like they've been through hell and that the owners don't have the latinum to make cosmetic repairs. The idea is for the away team to blend in, I'm just giving the ship some 'character'."

The Centurion's expression worked from angry, to confused, to thoughtful, and finally to resigned.

"You Ferengi are far too devious for your own good."

He snarled as he spun on his heel and signaled for his goons follow him

[Tess tLhoell]

Tess t'Lhoell
[RFS Valdore - Quarters]

[RFS Valdore - Briefing Room >>> Medical Bay]

After leaving the briefing room, Rayek quickly messaged his wife, explaining briefly to her of an impending away mission that he was being assigned to lead and that he might be gone a day or so.

"I'm headed to Sickbay to undergo some cosmetic surgery for the mission.. if there's time before needing to leave, I will stop by to say my goodbyes.  Lek will be watching after you and Fvienn, in my stead."

Tess played with Fvienn to entertain the two year old when she received Rayek's call. She frowned at what he said.  "Cosmetic surgery? What kind of cosmetic surgery?" While she knew there were missions where these things were necessary she was no fan at all of these kind of procedures. She already hadn't liked them when she had got trained to perform them in the Academy. So. the thought of her husband being altered in such an invasive way didn't sit right with her. But she said no more.

When Rayek spoke of Lek, Tess smiled. She remembered the Ferengi very well. Around the time of her and Rayek's wedding she had had the chance to meet him. And she knew that Lek was a valued friend of Rayek. Fvienn hadn't really met a Ferengi yet, too. "That is really nice of him. I'll make sure to make it an easy job for him."

She sighed. "Please take care, ciccino."

[Vasilisa Belmont]

Erei'riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[RFS Valdore - Deck 13 - Briefing Room] (prior to Dem's arrival)

Rayek acknowledged Dr. Belmont's volunteering.  He had suspected that with Subcommander Briggs' volunteering that the doctor would join along too.  Some might be hesitant about having a 'couple' together on the same away mission, and there were valid reasons for that, but Rayek also knew that having someone you cared for at risk beside you made one all the more motivated to get things done right so as not to endanger them more.

He was glad to hear her answer that cosmetic surgery was one of her specialties.

"Excellent.  Then immediately after the meeting, I will go with you to Sickbay to have that done."   Rayek stated towards Dr. Belmont.  He consider things for a moment, tapping on his PADD.

"While a Vulcan disguise for me would be physically easiest, it may also bring suspicion to the mercenary group if there were more than one Vulcan in the group.  Besides which, I doubt my ability to portray the species in a way wouldn't get us undue attention."

To himself, Rayek finished that admission with a silent... 'because I tend to portray Vulcans as complete  kllhwnia-nomaes diehv.  (*[spoiler]shit[/spoiler]-head robots)

Lek spoke then in answer to his request and Rayek knew that his family would be safe under the Ferengi's care.
Arrain Danjar-Torra Addams
[RFS Valdore - Deck 13 - Briefing Room] (after Dem's arrival)

When the Subcommander opened up the meeting for anyone to speak, Torra spoke up.

"Sir, it's likely there will be times when the Away Team will get split up.  We won't have our Starfleet comm badges, nor will we be able to use Romulan communicators. I recommend the Team be provided with the same surgically-inserted ear comms that you use, sir.  They are ideally suited for mercenary work, so would fit our cover-story even if discovered." Torra suggested in her soft-mannered way.

Her former Security chief, now Romulan Subcommander, turned towards her and smiled at her suggestion.   "That's an excellent idea, Arrain.  I won't make it mandatory but I have the just the perfect comm device in mind for those who want it."

The Subcommander described a comm device that was bio-locked to their specific DNA when set-up so that even if found and removed it was unlikely whoever found it would be able to listen in on the encrypted device.  Torra commented that it sounded like a Romulan-designed device, to which he laughed.  "That's because it is.  I designed it myself with some AI assistance.  But it's not in registered or recognizable as a Romulan design since I was upgrading the Federation model I had with me at the time."

It would mean more work for the doctors upfront but the Subcommander seemed to think that was best.

"We'll also carry the standard Federation hand communicator so as not to draw attention to their presence with our lack of normal comms." he added.
.
.

Before wrapping things up, Rayek reviewed the plan.

"Lek and his engineering team will adapt a shuttle into something passable for a a small rogue mercenary team. The Away Team will consist of myself, Briggs, Belmont, Sherem, Tragnar, and Addams. Oh, and Sorik.   Aliases will be provided along with ID. Ear-comms are an option for those wanting them - which I recommend"

"We will approach the planetoid under the guise of mercenaries looking for work.  Sherem will be our main spokesperson, in the hopes that her being Cardassian will get us better access than stealth alone would.  We locate the vessel that boarded the vaQ and using whatever means necessary gain access to the ship, her log and any labs aboard her to determine if and/or how they had any part in the Klingon crew's condition."

It wasn't much of a great plan since there were so many unknowns but it was at least a framework.

"Dismissed."

[Briefing Room - Valdore]

Lisa nodded as she spoke with Rayek. At his next words, the doctor gave a slight chuckle. The subcommander's honesty about his inability to portray a Vulcan was amusing inasmuch as they looked almost identical. It was always fascinating to her that the two species had such a contrast in their actions and thoughts despite their cosmetic similarities. She supposed it really wasn't too different from humans, who had such a wide array of personalities yet shared many of the same features.

"I'm sure we can think of something," she replied as the meeting was drawing to a close.

Erei'riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[RFS Valdore - Deck 13 - Briefing Room] (after briefing meeting)

Rayek was gathering up his PADD and logging off the briefing room computer so to go with Dr. Belmont to see about what might be possible for a disguise, when Sorik rose and turned to face him, obviously with more to say.  When the Vulcan spoke seeking to be assigned the task of creating the ID's, Rayek hadn't expected such an offer.

"You do realize that the names on the ID's will have to be aliases, correct?  Are you certain you are capable of creating forgeries?  Is that not too much like lying?"  He couldn't resist the taunt before shrugging.  "If you wish the task, it is yours.  But have Torra review the alias details before final printing."

Rayek noticed then behind the Vulcan, that Dr. Broadshire was also standing in wait.     "You wished to say something more, Doctor?"

[RFS Valdore - Briefing Room >>> Medical Bay]

After leaving the briefing room, Rayek quickly messaged his wife, explaining briefly to her of an impending away mission that he was being assigned to lead and that he might be gone a day or so.

"I'm headed to Sickbay to undergo some cosmetic surgery for the mission.. if there's time before needing to leave, I will stop by to say my goodbyes.  Lek will be watching after you and Fvienn, in my stead."

Arriving at Sickbay, he sought out Dr. Belmont.  "What options have you got for me, Doctor?"

[Medical Bay - Valdore]

Lisa left the meeting as soon as Rayek called the dismissal, in an attempt to gain some extra time to look at what this medbay had for her to work with. Exchanging a few cordial words as she walked around and gently butted in to others' spaces, the doctor was pleased to discover that the Romulan medics here were not too different from those she'd previously worked with. They at least acknowledged her in kind instead of outright ignoring her or getting irritated by her presence. They actually behaved much like the Vulcan doctors she knew. Curious, Lisa wondered if any of them would go out for a drink of Romulan Ale with her if she asked. It would certainly emphasize their social competencies compared to Vulcans if they did.

Gathering as much as she could find, Lisa waited for Rayek. When she spotted him as he entered the room and sought her out, she greeted him with a smile and patted the cot indicating for him to take a seat.

"I've got most of the equipment I need here, so I should be able to make you into whichever species you think would be best. Denobulan, Orion, Human, up to you. It will be easier to conceal your ridges and ears than to create more prominent facial features, so keep that in mind. We also have the option of temporary modifying your genetic makeup incase your identity is questioned on the mission."

The doctor took out a PADD and began scrolling through its contents, confirming the ideas she had lined up. As she did this, she glanced up at her patient.

"Let me know when you've decided what you want, and please don't hesitate to ask any questions you have," she said brightly.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Erei'riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[RFS Valdore - Corridor to Sickbay]

Tess t'Lhoell
[RFS Valdore - Quarters]

Tess played with Fvienn to entertain the two-year-old when she received Rayek's call. She frowned at what he said.  "Cosmetic surgery? What kind of cosmetic surgery?" While she knew there were missions where these things were necessary, she was no fan at all of these kinds of procedures. She already hadn't liked them when she had got trained to perform them in the Academy. So. the thought of her husband being altered in such an invasive way didn't sit right with her. But she said no more.

When Rayek spoke of Lek, Tess smiled. She remembered the Ferengi very well. Around the time of her and Rayek's wedding she had had the chance to meet him. And she knew that Lek was a valued friend of Rayek. Fvienn hadn't really met a Ferengi yet, too. "That is really nice of him. I'll make sure to make it an easy job for him."

She sighed. "Please take care, ciccino."

[Briefing Room (Deck 13)- Medical Bay| RFS Valdore]
"œUnderstood Sir." His lack of confidence was clearly apparent in the commander's voice, which only deepened the hole that he dug himself in. When he left to go to sickbay, regretfully that was also the commander's destination. Dem kept a couple of paces behind him, keeping quiet to avoid interaction. Dem considered himself a people person, but a slightly irritated Romulan commander heading an undercover operation was not his idea of "œpeople". After what felt like hours, the walk was over, and Dem walked past his compatriots to a science lab in the back room and got to work.

Rayek was keenly aware of the Doctor's presence a few paces behind, while the Romulan made his personal call.  If time were not so important, Rayek might have paused to let the doctor move on ahead, or sought out a quiet corner to speak privately to his wife... but there was no time for such.

Tess' questions regarding his statement of course were expected.  "Nothing too outrageous I would suspect, just something to hide the fact that I am Romulan."

He was pleased that Tess seemed okay with his suggestion to have Lek watch over her and Fvienn.  He'd been a little concerned that she might take offense to the notion.   "I'm sure he'll appreciate that."

When she made her request for him to take care, Rayek silently wished he could be certain of saying his goodbyes to her privately, or at least in person where he could message her via his telepathy but since that wasn't a certainty, Rayek made do with the Romulan comm system.

"I will.  I-jol au, e'lev"

[Medical Bay - Valdore]

Lisa left the meeting as soon as Rayek called the dismissal, in an attempt to gain some extra time to look at what this medbay had for her to work with. Exchanging a few cordial words as she walked around and gently butted in to others' spaces, the doctor was pleased to discover that the Romulan medics here were not too different from those she'd previously worked with. They at least acknowledged her in kind instead of outright ignoring her or getting irritated by her presence. They actually behaved much like the Vulcan doctors she knew. Curious, Lisa wondered if any of them would go out for a drink of Romulan Ale with her if she asked. It would certainly emphasize their social competencies compared to Vulcans if they did.

Gathering as much as she could find, Lisa waited for Rayek. When she spotted him as he entered the room and sought her out, she greeted him with a smile and patted the cot indicating for him to take a seat.

"I've got most of the equipment I need here, so I should be able to make you into whichever species you think would be best. Denobulan, Orion, Human, up to you. It will be easier to conceal your ridges and ears than to create more prominent facial features, so keep that in mind. We also have the option of temporary modifying your genetic makeup in case your identity is questioned on the mission."

The doctor took out a PADD and began scrolling through its contents, confirming the ideas she had lined up. As she did this, she glanced up at her patient.

"Let me know when you've decided what you want, and please don't hesitate to ask any questions you have," she said brightly.

Rayek moved to sit up on the cot that Dr. Belmont indicated and listened as she explained how 'less was more' when it came to the procedure.   He was appreciative of that fact.

"Human then and yes the temporary genetic modification would be wise."

He laid back on the cot while the doctor prepared for the procedure. Meanwhile, his thoughts were a miles away recalling a conversation long ago with his friend Latihk, as they joked about Rayek's fascination with all things Human.  Rayek had even jokingly threatened that one day he might have his forehead V removed and his ears cropped.   Now that day was here, and of course Latihk was nowhere around to talk him out of it.

Rayek chuckled.  He'd have to remember to take a holo-image of himself in disguise and send it to Latihk in joke.  This reminded him.   He messaged Sorik - letting the Vulcan know that his alias was going to be Human, and that an image for the ID card would be sent to him once the procedure was complete.

"I'm ready whenever you are, Doctor Belmont."

NPC Arrain Danjar-Torra Addams
[RFS Valdore - Shuttlebay]

[Briefing Room --> Shuttlebay - RFS Valdore]

Lek waited until the briefing was over before heading for the shuttlebay. It greatly simplified things that the Valdore had one of the older model shuttles aboard. All that was really necessary to make look like an independent merchant was to change its registration code and repaint it. Once that was done, Lek grabbed the biggest spanner he could find, which was two meters long, and began hammering it against the hull, leaving dents along the hull and chipping the newly applied paint.

"What are you doing Ferengi!"

A Centurion barked at him and signaling for a couple rating to join him, clearly ready to take the spanner from Lek.

"Have you ever seen a neat tramp freighter? They look like they've been through hell and that the owners don't have the latinum to make cosmetic repairs. The idea is for the away team to blend in, I'm just giving the ship some 'character'."

The Centurion's expression worked from angry, to confused, to thoughtful, and finally to resigned.

"You Ferengi are far too devious for your own good."

He snarled as he spun on his heel and signaled for his goons follow him

The mild-mannered Grazerite, after preparing the Ops department and its personnel for her absence, had headed down to the shuttlebay to see if Lek and Gohun needed any assistance.  She arrived just as Lek was explaining to an angry looking Centurion that his beating on the shuttle with a spanner was to add 'character' to the vessel.

Torra waited for the Romulan to leave before approaching Lek and commenting.
"The shuttle looks...  well ... 'great' is the right sentiment but obviously the wrong word. ..Appropriate, maybe?  Anyways... You've done excellent work" she praised the Ferengi engineer.

"Is there anything I can help with?" she asked moments before her comm sounded.

Erein Sorik
[RFS Valdore - Lab]
Sorik had spent some time reading through the files of the officers who would be part of the undercover mission, so he would be able to make up believable aliases for them. For himself, he chose a history of him having been in the Vulcan military's armed forces. He credit himself with some melee experience, which he actually had, but it was not as excellent as one would expect from him in that alias, since he had learned and used it more in a way as a meditation technique.

After finishing his work he prepared everything for the upload into the Free State database and made it so that it would look like they have been there for years already.

That done he contacted Torra.  "Arrain, I'm currently in the lab and just finished the preparation of the aliases for the undercover mission. When would be a good time for you to review them? As per Erei'Riov tr'Lhoell's orders."

Torra acknowledged the comm, retrieving her communicator from her pocket and tapping on its buttons.  "Thank you, Erein Sorik.  I can review them now. I am on my way."

The Grazerite dipped her head apologetically towards Lek before making her way towards the lab.

[RFS Valdore - Lab]
Arriving at the Sorik's location, Torra asked to see the alias backgrounds and the ID card designs.  She looked them over for any sign of forgery.   She did a series of fact checking queries to be sure that details aligned and that no one was from someplace inappropriate for their species.   But as expected from a Vulcan requesting a task, everything was perfect.  Torra doubted anything she came up with would have been this good.

"You've done fine work here, Sorik.  Let's get these printed up and then distress them a little so they don't all appear to be newly printed."  It was a sound idea for both ID forgeries and shuttles.

[3 hrs later...  Shuttle approaching the Cardassian enclave border]

Rayek in his human guise was seated in the copilot's seat as the shuttle made a 'dash' across Romulan territory.

[Vasilisa Belmont]

Erei'riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[RFS Valdore - Corridor to Sickbay]

Rayek was keenly aware of the Doctor's presence a few paces behind, while the Romulan made his personal call.  If time were not so important, Rayek might have paused to let the doctor move on ahead, or sought out a quiet corner to speak privately to his wife... but there was no time for such.

Tess' questions regarding his statement of course were expected.  "Nothing too outrageous I would suspect, just something to hide the fact that I am Romulan."

He was pleased that Tess seemed okay with his suggestion to have Lek watch over her and Fvienn.  He'd been a little concerned that she might take offense to the notion.   "I'm sure he'll appreciate that."

When she made her request for him to take care, Rayek silently wished he could be certain of saying his goodbyes to her privately, or at least in person where he could message her via his telepathy but since that wasn't a certainty, Rayek made do with the Romulan comm system.

"I will.  I-jol au, e'lev"

Rayek moved to sit up on the cot that Dr. Belmont indicated and listened as she explained how 'less was more' when it came to the procedure.   He was appreciative of that fact.

"Human then and yes the temporary genetic modification would be wise."

He laid back on the cot while the doctor prepared for the procedure. Meanwhile, his thoughts were a miles away recalling a conversation long ago with his friend Latihk, as they joked about Rayek's fascination with all things Human.  Rayek had even jokingly threatened that one day he might have his forehead V removed and his ears cropped.   Now that day was here, and of course Latihk was nowhere around to talk him out of it.

Rayek chuckled.  He'd have to remember to take a holo-image of himself in disguise and send it to Latihk in joke.  This reminded him.   He messaged Sorik - letting the Vulcan know that his alias was going to be Human, and that an image for the ID card would be sent to him once the procedure was complete.

"I'm ready whenever you are, Doctor Belmont."

NPC Arrain Danjar-Torra Addams
[RFS Valdore - Shuttlebay]

The mild-mannered Grazerite, after preparing the Ops department and its personnel for her absence, had headed down to the shuttlebay to see if Lek and Gohun needed any assistance.  She arrived just as Lek was explaining to an angry looking Centurion that his beating on the shuttle with a spanner was to add 'character' to the vessel.

Torra waited for the Romulan to leave before approaching Lek and commenting.
"The shuttle looks...  well ... 'great' is the right sentiment but obviously the wrong word. ..Appropriate, maybe?  Anyways... You've done excellent work" she praised the Ferengi engineer.

"Is there anything I can help with?" she asked moments before her comm sounded.

Torra acknowledged the comm, retrieving her communicator from her pocket and tapping on its buttons.  "Thank you, Erein Sorik.  I can review them now. I am on my way."

The Grazerite dipped her head apologetically towards Lek before making her way towards the lab.

[RFS Valdore - Lab]
Arriving at the Sorik's location, Torra asked to see the alias backgrounds and the ID card designs.  She looked them over for any sign of forgery.   She did a series of fact checking queries to be sure that details aligned and that no one was from someplace inappropriate for their species.   But as expected from a Vulcan requesting a task, everything was perfect.  Torra doubted anything she came up with would have been this good.

"You've done fine work here, Sorik.  Let's get these printed up and then distress them a little so they don't all appear to be newly printed."  It was a sound idea for both ID forgeries and shuttles.

[3 hrs later...  Shuttle approaching the Cardassian enclave border]

Rayek in his human guise was seated in the copilot's seat as the shuttle made a 'dash' across Romulan territory.

[Medbay - Valdore]

"Okie dokie," Lisa said, quickly getting to work on Rayek's request. The first order of business was smoothing out the forehead.

"You will feel a bit of pressure as I do this, but it should not hurt," she informed him as she used a modified dermal regenerator to effectively smooth the skin. She passed it over his frontal lobe methodically, watching as the prominent ridge disappeared. When she was satisfied with it, she stepped to his right and started on the ears. It really did make her feel like an artist, a whittler or a sculptor. Changing the sharp point to a rounded edge, it really made Rayek into a different person entirely. It was amazing how much appearance played into perception by others. Even though she was so practiced in cosmetics, she had never undergone it herself. She wondered what it would be like to masquerade as a Klingon, or a Trill.

After several minutes she finished up the ears and took up an instrument purely used for styling, a pocket-sized precision laser hair remover. This was her own gadget that she always kept in her back pocket. You never knew when you were going to need to remove unwanted hair. Holding it up, she aimed it at the eyebrows and began molding the sharp angles into rounded arches.

"Unfortunately I don't have a quick fix for your eyebrows when we come back; hair kind of does its own thing. So, you'll be stuck with a bit of a human looking face for awhile until I'm able to straighten your eyebrows out again," the doctor mentioned as she put the last touch on the left brow and straightened.

Reaching for the shelf next to the cot, (because she couldn't find a cart during her search,) Lisa took a hypo, checked to make sure it was correct, and inserted it in Rayek's arm.

"You are all set! I'll see you soon."

Her farewell smile was such a contrast to the feel of this medical center as she showed the subcommander out. She couldn't wait to be back on a ship where she wasn't the only one with a cheerful disposition.

[Shuttle]

After Rayek's transformation, Lisa had nothing else to do but go to her quarters and change out of uniform in preparation for the mission. After a few hours passed the team was called to assemble and board the shuttle. She met up with Kyle on the way and the two of them sat together as they traveled to their destination.

[Jael Sherem]

[Ante-Centurion Jael Sherem | Romulan Shuttle]

The moment the briefing was over, Jael was already on her way to change into a mercenary. She had a distinct memory of cover names her mother frequently used, and chose the identity of Tilan Jid for her mercenary cover. She worked with her fellow officers in making the right documents, picked out the right civilian attire and even included the same Cardassian disruptor she had when she was undercover when she first met Nira.

She was pretty much the first to arrive at the shuttle and smiled at the bunch that arrived. She almost even didn't recognize Commander tr'Lhoell disguised as a human.

"Ragtag bunch we certainly are, aren't we?" she said with a smile as the team boarded and were on their way. Jael could easily imagine how the Cardassians at the enclave will react...she figured they would claim that this wasn't a mercenary crew, it was a zoo.

[Dem Broadshire]

[Medical Bay| RFS Valdore]
6 hours had passed, and the hole Dem dug himself in did not get any shallower. Now, the crew who needed this antigen were off, galivanting around without protection. It was already Dem's mistake that Commander Makenzie was taken, and that might just recur once more. "œThere is a finite amount of commanders that an ensign can kill" He thought sarcastically. In that time, he had consumed more coffee's than information about Borg nanoprobes. He was slumped over his desk, hands laying on the control panel, watching a simulation of two nanoprobes attacking each other for no apparent reason. What Dem did have, was a theory. There needed to be a way to reactivate the probes, and turn them on their master. After around an hour of mindless imagining and simulating. He landed on a neurogenic virus. One that would permit the nanoprobes to neutralise not just the virus, but the entire creature.

There was only one obstacle impeding his path to success. The away mission had already departed. He tapped the open commlink button on the screen, and messaged medical staff that he could stand to ask for help. Before pressing send, he realised that the only two recipients were Saq7 and Doctor Betaika. He still maintains the belief that he is a "œpeople person".

[Alexander Graham]

[RFS Valdore-shuttle]

After the briefing was done he made his way down to join the others in the away team. He had an idea for a code name that he was going to use for his alias. He was going to go by the alias of Kura. He didn't think anyone would question the name as it wasn't close to his actual name. He was prepared yet nervous about any of the modifications that they were going to do. He had a small smile on his face as he boarded and took his seat in the pilot seat.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Erei'riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[RFS Valdore - Sickbay] (after briefing meeting)

[Medbay - Valdore]

"Okie dokie," Lisa said, quickly getting to work on Rayek's request. The first order of business was smoothing out the forehead.

"You will feel a bit of pressure as I do this, but it should not hurt," she informed him as she used a modified dermal regenerator to effectively smooth the skin. She passed it over his frontal lobe methodically, watching as the prominent ridge disappeared. When she was satisfied with it, she stepped to his right and started on the ears. It really did make her feel like an artist, a whittler or a sculptor. Changing the sharp point to a rounded edge, it really made Rayek into a different person entirely. It was amazing how much appearance played into perception by others. Even though she was so practiced in cosmetics, she had never undergone it herself. She wondered what it would be like to masquerade as a Klingon, or a Trill.

After several minutes she finished up the ears and took up an instrument purely used for styling, a pocket-sized precision laser hair remover. This was her own gadget that she always kept in her back pocket. You never knew when you were going to need to remove unwanted hair. Holding it up, she aimed it at the eyebrows and began molding the sharp angles into rounded arches.

"Unfortunately I don't have a quick fix for your eyebrows when we come back; hair kind of does its own thing. So, you'll be stuck with a bit of a human looking face for awhile until I'm able to straighten your eyebrows out again," the doctor mentioned as she put the last touch on the left brow and straightened.

Reaching for the shelf next to the cot, (because she couldn't find a cart during her search,) Lisa took a hypo, checked to make sure it was correct, and inserted it in Rayek's arm.

"You are all set! I'll see you soon."

Her farewell smile was such a contrast to the feel of this medical center as she showed the subcommander out. She couldn't wait to be back on a ship where she wasn't the only one with a cheerful disposition.

Rayek withstood the cosmetic surgery without comment or complaint.   Afterwards, he used the 'selfie-mode' on his PADD to look over the results.  It was very odd to see his own face without it's V or tapered hears.

"Thank you Doctor.  I will see you on the shuttle shortly."

Before leaving Sickbay, Rayek checked in briefly with Dr. Broadshire but the Bajoran doctor was still in the midst of his work.   Rayek couldn't delay the mission long.   He called the Away Team to assemble in two hours.  Yet by the end of those two hours the doctor wasn't much further along in his development of the antigen.

Harold Richards  (alias of Rayek tr'Lhoell)
[Shuttle - Galantis]

Having received his alias identity and appropriate credentials and even a wardrobe suggestion from Torra, Rayek reviewed his backstory on his Ferengi model PADD that Torra had handed him.  Harold Richards was 39 years of age, born off-Earth on the Mars colony and had tried to get into Starfleet Academy in his early 20's only to fail on the exam.

Rayek wondered if the Vulcan used pieces of his actual past as base line for this alias?  The Romulan in disguise read on.

Disillusioned with Starfleet, Richards had opted to become a standard transport pilot whose penchance for bar brawling had landed him in jail numerous times where he met others convicts who connected him with his current Cardassian employer.

[Ante-Centurion Jael Sherem | Romulan Shuttle]

The moment the briefing was over, Jael was already on her way to change into a mercenary. She had a distinct memory of cover names her mother frequently used, and chose the identity of Tilan Jid for her mercenary cover. She worked with her fellow officers in making the right documents, picked out the right civilian attire and even included the same Cardassian disruptor she had when she was undercover when she first met Nira.

She was pretty much the first to arrive at the shuttle and smiled at the bunch that arrived. She almost even didn't recognize Commander tr'Lhoell disguised as a human.

"Ragtag bunch we certainly are, aren't we?" she said with a smile as the team boarded and were on their way. Jael could easily imagine how the Cardassians at the enclave will react...she figured they would claim that this wasn't a mercenary crew, it was a zoo.

[Shuttle]

After Rayek's transformation, Lisa had nothing else to do but go to her quarters and change out of uniform in preparation for the mission. After a few hours passed the team was called to assemble and board the shuttle. She met up with Kyle on the way and the two of them sat together as they traveled to their destination.

From his copilot's seat, 'Harold' looked over towards Jael at her comment. "That was plan." he noted, then looked over his console.  "We will be crossing into Cardassian territory momentarily."

The former Romulan didn't count down aloud, though he did mentally track the time.   Three, Two, One.  He checked his sensor's again, relieved when they didn't suddenly show a Cardassian cruiser ready to take them into custody.

Turning to face the others, Rayek updated the rest of the team. "It will be another two hours at warp cruising speed before we arrive at the rogue planetoid. It might be wise share our alias information in case we are questioned."  Rayek looked over towards Jael as their spokesperson to go first.

Danjar-Kelle  (alias of Danjar-Torra Addams)
[Shuttle - Galantis]

When it was her turn to introduce herself, Torra did so with a lackadaisical demeanor.  She had a wad of chewing gum in her mouth and slowly rolled it in her mouth as if it were cud.   Because of the Grazerite naming conventions unless Torra lied about her age (which unfortunately could be checked via even the simplest of scanners) and her genetic upsol(which would be difficult given her obvious curling horns which was a trait of the goat-sheep genus she was descendant from).  All Grazerites born that year and genus were named Danjar.  That being said Torra's upsol boasted over 5000 born with the Danjar name.  What was one more.

"Gre'tings, mah name is Danjar-Kelle." she drawled as if she'd been born on the southern continent rather than the northern plains.  "Mah specialty in this mercenary unit is communications, operations and 'quipment inventory.  If'n you need something, lemme know.  I'll git it fer ya.  Mah loyalty to our intrepid leader, Tilan, is unquestionable as she saved mah life from some Orions after ah had a bad run in with them after ah left home when I was five.  I be'n workin'  with her e'er since."

After finishing her introduction Torra kicked up her feet and propped them up on the nearby console (she'd already locked the terminal earlier so knew she wouldn't accidentally activate anything).

M'Arla Anderson (alias of Helga Tragnar)
[Shuttle - Galantis]

Following Kelle's introduction, Helga went next.  "I'm M'Arla Anderson.  I was raised in foster care after my Starfleet parents were killed aboard the USS Grissom during the Dominion War.  I have a general disrespect for authority and a bit of a hot temper."

[Sorik]

[RFS Valdore - Lab]
Arriving at the Sorik's location, Torra asked to see the alias backgrounds and the ID card designs.  She looked them over for any sign of forgery.   She did a series of fact checking queries to be sure that details aligned and that no one was from someplace inappropriate for their species.   But as expected from a Vulcan requesting a task, everything was perfect.  Torra doubted anything she came up with would have been this good.

"You've done fine work here, Sorik.  Let's get these printed up and then distress them a little so they don't all appear to be newly printed."  It was a sound idea for both ID forgeries and shuttles.

Sorik accepted her assessment of his work with merely a nod of his head, then acknowedged her order verbally. "Yes, Sir." He then went to do so.

Narak (alias of Sorik)
[Shuttle]

Sorik stood in front of the shuttle's bulkhead, hands at his sides. A lirpa was strapped across his back. Besides that he also had a disruptor at his belt. He wore a Vulcan combat suit - something he was surprised to find on the Valdore's replicators. He had instructed the computer to make it look worn out.

He listened carefully as everyone started to share their aliases - although it was him who had made them up. However, he was impressed with how well everyone seemed to embody their alias.

When it was his turn he spoke up. "I am Narak. I was born and raised in a Vulcan colony on Merak II. I served for 5 years on a Vulcan combat cruiser. I have never shared my reasons for leaving the Vulcan military and taking on this kind of life, I do, however, of course have my own personal, logical reasons. I have combat training, specialized in Vulcan melee techniqes."

[Jael Sherem]

Erei'riov (Subcommander) Rayek tr'Lhoell
[RFS Valdore - Sickbay] (after briefing meeting)

Rayek withstood the cosmetic surgery without comment or complaint.   Afterwards, he used the 'selfie-mode' on his PADD to look over the results.  It was very odd to see his own face without it's V or tapered hears.

"Thank you Doctor.  I will see you on the shuttle shortly."

Before leaving Sickbay, Rayek checked in briefly with Dr. Broadshire but the Bajoran doctor was still in the midst of his work.   Rayek couldn't delay the mission long.   He called the Away Team to assemble in two hours.  Yet by the end of those two hours the doctor wasn't much further along in his development of the antigen.

Harold Richards  (alias of Rayek tr'Lhoell)
[Shuttle - Galantis]

Having received his alias identity and appropriate credentials and even a wardrobe suggestion from Torra, Rayek reviewed his backstory on his Ferengi model PADD that Torra had handed him.  Harold Richards was 39 years of age, born off-Earth on the Mars colony and had tried to get into Starfleet Academy in his early 20's only to fail on the exam.

Rayek wondered if the Vulcan used pieces of his actual past as base line for this alias?  The Romulan in disguise read on.

Disillusioned with Starfleet, Richards had opted to become a standard transport pilot whose penchance for bar brawling had landed him in jail numerous times where he met others convicts who connected him with his current Cardassian employer.

From his copilot's seat, 'Harold' looked over towards Jael at her comment. "That was plan." he noted, then looked over his console.  "We will be crossing into Cardassian territory momentarily."

The former Romulan didn't count down aloud, though he did mentally track the time.   Three, Two, One.  He checked his sensor's again, relieved when they didn't suddenly show a Cardassian cruiser ready to take them into custody.

Turning to face the others, Rayek updated the rest of the team. "It will be another two hours at warp cruising speed before we arrive at the rogue planetoid. It might be wise share our alias information in case we are questioned."  Rayek looked over towards Jael as their spokesperson to go first.

Danjar-Kelle  (alias of Danjar-Torra Addams)
[Shuttle - Galantis]

When it was her turn to introduce herself, Torra did so with a lackadaisical demeanor.  She had a wad of chewing gum in her mouth and slowly rolled it in her mouth as if it were cud.   Because of the Grazerite naming conventions unless Torra lied about her age (which unfortunately could be checked via even the simplest of scanners) and her genetic upsol(which would be difficult given her obvious curling horns which was a trait of the goat-sheep genus she was descendant from).  All Grazerites born that year and genus were named Danjar.  That being said Torra's upsol boasted over 5000 born with the Danjar name.  What was one more.

"Gre'tings, mah name is Danjar-Kelle." she drawled as if she'd been born on the southern continent rather than the northern plains.  "Mah specialty in this mercenary unit is communications, operations and 'quipment inventory.  If'n you need something, lemme know.  I'll git it fer ya.  Mah loyalty to our intrepid leader, Tilan, is unquestionable as she saved mah life from some Orions after ah had a bad run in with them after ah left home when I was five.  I be'n workin'  with her e'er since."

After finishing her introduction Torra kicked up her feet and propped them up on the nearby console (she'd already locked the terminal earlier so knew she wouldn't accidentally activate anything).

M'Arla Anderson (alias of Helga Tragnar)
[Shuttle - Galantis]

Following Kelle's introduction, Helga went next.  "I'm M'Arla Anderson.  I was raised in foster care after my Starfleet parents were killed aboard the USS Grissom during the Dominion War.  I have a general disrespect for authority and a bit of a hot temper."

[Ante-Centurion Jael Sherem | Romulan Shuttle | Heading to Galantis]

Jael smiled. Doctor Belmont did an impressive job with the Commander. Now she waited until they came within communication range. She was just as impressed by the cover story: Harold Richards, a dropout turned hired hand? Impressive. Of course, Garak would've scoffed at the job, but it was good to Jael.

Once in communications range, a call came from Galantis. The hail was answered and there was a glinn on the viewscreen. "Incoming shuttle, this is Glinn Gidoni of the Galantis port authority. State your business."

Jael stood forth as the spokesperson and replied, "This is Tilan Jid. I speak for the crew of hired hands here and we request permission to land."

Glinn Gidoni stared intently at Jael for a moment, then said, "Yes, I can see you're a crew of hired hands. The only other way there'd be a zoo of a crew would be if you were a crew from the Federation. I will need to ask that you identify yourselves."

"Gladly," replied Jael. "As I indicated, my name is Tilan Jid. I speak for the crew in quite a lotof ways."

"You must be the captain of the crew, then," replied the glinn.

"For the most part, but as to the voice of experience, that belongs to Mister Richards," said Jael, nodding at "Harold Richards." "However, they're all fine with my taking the lead owing to typical Cardassian cunning."

"The way of our sphere of influence," said the glinn, nodding in approval. "And the rest?"

The rest of the crew began making their respective introductions. Torra and Helga introduced themselves next,  Jael had to hold back a laugh at Torra's cover. That accent sounded much too Earth American South to her. No way in hell a Grazerite in their homeworld's southern hemisphere would have an accent like that...but then, Jael didn't know much about Grazerites to know their different accents, but all the same, Jael had to inwardly cringe at Torra's Southern drawl.

Helga's, and later Sorik's sounded more believable. Then it came turn for whoever of the rest of the crew to speak up.

[Tekin Nevir]

[RFS Valdore - Main Bridge]

If there was one thing Nevir didn't like about his position on a Romulan War Bird, it was that Romulans tend to have their 'special' ranks cooped up in their rooms in meetings and conferences.  A holdover from the former Star Empire, some things were just hard to break.  He had to sit out while his crew suffered, and now that the Valdore had reached what he hoped was their destination, the constant communication to New Romulus, Earth, Kronos, and now Cardassia Prime was just about to end.  This is where another facet of the Romulan operating procedures for special officers came in... in an investigative situation, he would be representing the government and therefore cutting contact until they left the region.  At least, that was his understanding.

Finally done with the communications, he was finally able to leave his quarters and made his way directly to the bridge.  Where he believed someone of his rank should have remained. He tried to ignore the looks of surprise and took a seat in the main chair once it was vacated.

"Subcommander, I have reached the bridge.  Report."