Mission 6 : Flight of the Freighter

[Kirok]

Bridge - Security station

Marshall looked up from the file he was reading to see what all the commotion was. A tense stand off had started. He stopped what he was doing and concentrated on the task in hand. Moving away from the console he moved with in a few feet of the man. Far enough way not to spook the man who had claimed he had been kidnapped. He wasn't sure exactly what was going on and why the man felt this way.

As he was on the bridge he decided that it wouldn't be wise to escalate the situation with more people. Turning to the man in a quiet voice " Exactly what is it that has happened for you to be here".

[Bridge - NPC - Kidnapped Transport Specialist]

"That man" the kidnapped Transport Specialist pointed a boney finer at Buris.  "He beamed me off Starbase Columbus and onto your ship.  Then he locked me in the Captain's Ready Room, against my will" the said.

"I an Officer of Starbase Columbus.  My name is Cole Turner.  You can verify this information on you database or by contacting the Starbase - who I'm sure by now have put an APB out on Mr. Buris and his cohort in crime" he added.

"In addition, he apparently attempted to kidnap Admiral Kirok.  He has just transported over to our Main Transport Room.  Then someone here tried to kidnap him.  You can check the Transport logs at that man's station to verify my story.  And you can use this as proof" he said as he opened his hand and revealed the Admiral's com badge.

"They were trying to kidnap him for some nefarious reason.  This is the proof.  On top of the kidnapping charges, he has spread false reports about the Admiral.  I swear it!" he said.

[Steve Marshall]

[Bridge - NPC - Kidnapped Transport Specialist]

"That man" the kidnapped Transport Specialist pointed a boney finer at Buris.  "He beamed me off Starbase Columbus and onto your ship.  Then he locked me in the Captain's Ready Room, against my will" the said.

"I an Officer of Starbase Columbus.  My name is Cole Turner.  You can verify this information on you database or by contacting the Starbase - who I'm sure by now have put an APB out on Mr. Buris and his cohort in crime" he added.

"In addition, he apparently attempted to kidnap Admiral Kirok.  He has just transported over to our Main Transport Room.  Then someone here tried to kidnap him.  You can check the Transport logs at that man's station to verify my story.  And you can use this as proof" he said as he opened his hand and revealed the Admiral's com badge.

"They were trying to kidnap him for some nefarious reason.  This is the proof.  On top of the kidnapping charges, he has spread false reports about the Admiral.  I swear it!" he said.

Marshall was stunned at the mans claim " Mr Turner this a very serious claim you have made?" He considered the facts for a moment  while he confirmed the mans credentials. The computer came back with the results.

" It Seems Mr Turner you are who you say you are. I am Lt Steve Marshall." He showed the man that he had nothing to fear on the Phoenix. After all he was a Star Fleet officer. " So Cole if you don't mind calling you by your first name exactly what are the grounds for the kidnappings who is behind them."

[Kirok]

Marshall was stunned at the mans claim " Mr Turner this a very serious claim you have made?" He considered the facts for a moment  while he confirmed the mans credentials. The computer came back with the results.

" It Seems Mr Turner you are who you say you are. I am Lt Steve Marshall." He showed the man that he had nothing to fear on the Phoenix. After all he was a Star Fleet officer. " So Cole if you don't mind calling you by your first name exactly what are the grounds for the kidnappings who is behind them."

[Bridge]

"Thank you, Steve" Cole replied a bit more calmly.  "I don't know for certain why they kidnapped me or why they tried to kidnap Admiral Kirok.  He did have in his hand a padd.  And he requested a security detail as soon as he arrived on station" he added.

"If I had to speculate, that man is one of the people behind the kidnapping" he said, again pointing to Buris.  "He was likely trying to keep Kirok from sharing whatever was on that padd.  He and whoever gave him the order to kidnap the Admiral" he said.

[Steve Marshall]

[Bridge]

"Thank you, Steve" Cole replied a bit more calmly.  "I don't know for certain why they kidnapped me or why they tried to kidnap Admiral Kirok.  He did have in his hand a padd.  And he requested a security detail as soon as he arrived on station" he added.

"If I had to speculate, that man is one of the people behind the kidnapping" he said, again pointing to Buris.  "He was likely trying to keep Kirok from sharing whatever was on that padd.  He and whoever gave him the order to kidnap the Admiral" he said.

Steve rubbed the back of his neck. The situation seemed to have just got more complicated as it now implicated one of the Phoenix crew. Steve had not been here long himself so he couldn't really tell much about those he served with. " Cole do have any idea what's on the padd?". Steve wondered if he should have asked this question..

"Look we need to sort out what's going on here. But here is not the place" He had not forgotten that Mr Buris had something to do with this but it wasn't his place to deal with him. He needed to know what there plans where with reference to Admiral Kirok.

[Kirok]

Steve rubbed the back of his neck. The situation seemed to have just got more complicated as it now implicated one of the Phoenix crew. Steve had not been here long himself so he couldn't really tell much about those he served with. " Cole do have any idea what's on the padd?". Steve wondered if he should have asked this question..

"Look we need to sort out what's going on here. But here is not the place" He had not forgotten that Mr Buris had something to do with this but it wasn't his place to deal with him. He needed to know what there plans where with reference to Admiral Kirok.

[Bridge]

"None what so ever.  I am a victim in all this mess.  But I would bet you money that that man knows what's on the padd.  Him and whoever he is working with" Cole replied with a firm nod.

"I'll be happy to discuss this matter further, but I insist on being return back to Starbase Columbus immediately.  That man has already falsely accused me of crimes for which I did not commit.  If only to draw attention away from the crimes he has committed" he pointed out.

[Steve Marshall]

[Bridge]

"None what so ever.  I am a victim in all this mess.  But I would bet you money that that man knows what's on the padd.  Him and whoever he is working with" Cole replied with a firm nod.

"I'll be happy to discuss this matter further, but I insist on being return back to Starbase Columbus immediately.  That man has already falsely accused me of crimes for which I did not commit.  If only to draw attention away from the crimes he has committed" he pointed out.

Not wanting to hold the man any longer as they didn't have a right to hold him on the ship any how. "Ok Cole I will return you to assignment but we may need to refer back to this later. Is that Ok with you". Steve hated this sort of issue it gave him trust issues now and that wasn't good. " I will lead to the transporter room make sure you get back there in one piece. If there's any thing else I can do to help you please let me know."

They walked in silence to the transporter room. Marshall reflected on the situation as clearly there was one matter that still needed investigating where was Admiral Kirok. And finally what was on the Padd that kicked this whole sorry event off.

[Kachina Filitov]

As the doors opened, Buris looked at the man, glancing at his collar - Enlisted.  Good.  He glared at the man before Archangel could speak.  "This is not an act of war, Petty.  You're now a material witness in an ongoing investigation!  Admiral Kirok has knowingly deserted his post!  And you have two choices - either you're just a witness, or you're part of the conspiracy to desert and transmit sensitive classified information to enemies of the Federation!  Which is it, Petty?  Security, take this man into custody and have him give a sworn affidavit!"

He glared the man down with all the rage he could muster (which was quite a lot), and he knew that he'd trigger some of the instincts the man had gained during the basic training all enlistees suffered.  Then he let T'Koris handle the problem, since she'd indirectly given him the conn.

He tapped his commbadge, speaking a bit more gently - he could tell the sarcasm and the edge of frustration in Arthur's voice, and decided to head it off at the pass.  "Thanks, Gabe.  As soon as you get anything usable, tell me.  I'm about to throw this ship and her complement into mortal danger; please make damn sure I'm not throwing all our lives away for nothing."

Kintiss came back next, also sarcastic.  Then again, he really hardly minded that - everyone on this ship knew how to do their job.  The fact that he was telling them to do it was nothing especially new.
"Doctor, right now, I don't have a plan.  There's people in a freighter, they need help, they've been caught by a singularity and are in a degrading orbit around the event horizon.  My plan is to do whatever's necessary to save their lives while endangering ours to the least feasible degree.  If you'd like to come to the Bridge and discuss that topic, I ask that you do so with hypos for all of us and after you've finished getting the Sickbay ready."

Buris folded his arms over his chest, looking her in the eye.  "Lieutenant, this is not the time for that!  There are civilians dying out there on that freighter.  Get your fingers on that panel and plot us an intercept, now, or they will all die.  After we are at warp, we can discuss your accusations.  No matter who is in command here, those people need our help!  So whether you're helping me to help them, or doing it for yourself, or for Commander T'Koris, or for whatever entities you worship, just bloody well get it done!"

His arms uncurled, and his fists were tight.  He glared her down - obviously, Buris had no problem being a bully; he'd commanded a ship as a teenager through force of will and the willingness to harm people.  He'd given most of his rambunctious rebel crew a bloody nose or two, after which point they'd listened.  He'd run an engine room almost as soon as he'd been an officer, covering multiple departments.  And now, here was Lieutenant Filitov, accusing him of mutiny and disloyalty?  It was literally everything he could do to keep his temper in check.  The ridges of his nose flared as he exhaled, hard, eyes narrow.

"And I received no order from the Admiral that indicated, 'do not bring me back aboard if there is an alert condition'.  He beamed to the station - over the protest of his First Officer, no less - when we were not even at alert status blue.  We intercepted the Quaritch's distress call, we are the only ship on station.  Commander T'Koris and I attempted to follow Starfleet regulation and bring the Admiral back on board this vessel to command in the Red Alert scenario.  He has deserted his post, Katcha!  He has abandoned us!  Why else would this damn fool Petty be standing here instead of him?!  So if you want someone to blame, it's not me.  I'm just trying to save a few hundred lives - and I need your help to do it - they need your help, and on the double.  Blame the damn Admiral, who darted off on some personal mission, who didn't trust his crew; hell, blame me if you must.  But get us to that event horizon so we can do some good.  Please."

He glared at the Security officers, knowing that they'd be confused between the conflicting orders - take the Petty into custody, take Kejal into custody, or get ready to do a search-and-rescue on a ship being pulled into a black hole - as he glared at T'Koris and stalked his way over to her, his voice now devoid of anything but a black rage; though it was obvious he wasn't directing it at her.  "Captain.  You have this Bridge - I sure as hell don't want anything to do with it.  Whatever the hell can be made of it anyway, with a helmsman who's openly disobeying a direct and legal order of highest priority, and allowing civilians to die needlessly.  All departments, with the notable exception of Flight Control, are reporting in and will have reports on the Quaritch and the singularity phenomenon soon.  Should I report to the brig, or to my station, sir?!"

Oh, yeah, he was ineffably ticked off.  Having Kirok run off and abandon them, he could almost tolerate - Admirals (according to what he'd been told when he was nothing but a Crewman) were fickle creatures, prone to flightiness and capable of wild goose chases of nothing but the highest order.  He also understood that the Admiral had a loyalty to the Fleet and the Federation as a whole; rather than just one ship - a good reason for a Fleet officer never to trust them anywhere but ashore.  So he could almost accept Kirok's disappearance.  But to have Filitov suddenly refuse to save people's lives, and then accuse him of mutiny!?  That was the last straw.  If she'd set the course, gone to warp, and then accused him, he'd still be angry, but... at least he'd be able to understand; he'd do the same in her shoes, if he didn't know what had gone on before.

Bridge

Katcha glared at the Bajoran.

"First of all Kommander, my rank is Lieutenant Commander, so you vill please address me as such. Secondly. You have imprisoned a flag officer visout due process. I vill inwestigate zis distrss vonce you and Kommander T'Koris are in ze brig. Now vill you go peacefully or vill force have to be applied?" She asked, not budging. She then turned to the unknown individual.

[Ready Room - NPC - Kidnapped Transport Specialist]

"Your a liar, a criminal, and a kidnapper" the man replied.  "You have taken me by force without my consent off of Starbase Columbus.  That is the very definition of the word kidnapping!" he added.

"And the only trial I will be testifying at is yours, Sir.  Yours and who ever gave you the order to abduct me.  Now, return me forthwith to Starbase Columus and turn yourselves in" he said.

Then he turned to Marshall, Filitov, and the other members of the Bridge crew.  "You are all my witness.  I have demanded to be returned to the Starbase.  He is the criminal here, not me!" he called out to the officers on the Bridge.

Katcha nodded.

"I agree and vill be detaining zeese two officers."

=/\=Filitov to security. Please send a fully armed detail to the bridge to take Lommander T'Koris and Kommader Buris into custody.

"I vill discuss zis vis ze Admiral before ve proceed any further." She announced to the rest of the Bridge.

[Hrafn Falleg]

[Botany Labs]

"Her 'friends' couldn't care less what kind of uniform I'm wearing," Gabriel ruefully answered.  "It's not my pips and connections they're interested in."  In fact, he could more properly be called a liability in that regard - the shadow intel community didn't need him for anything other than a lever to be used against Archangel.  "But...yes.  You're right on to it.  The girls need a more stable presence in their lives.  This?" he gestured, pointing to his uniform and rank.  "This is just a job.  My family is my life.  The weight of one duty is a feather, the other a mountain.  I -- "

Gabriel's next words were cut off abruptly by a call from the Ops manager.  Sighing, he had to remind himself that, yes, Kejal Buris was a complete and total jackass...but he was also a jackass that had done his best to bring the children home.  That fact alone kept Gabe from snapping a reply back about not ordering a peer around like a deckhand.

=^="Arthur here.  You'll have it, with extra spit and polish.  I'm standing with Falleg, we'll liaise together from here on out, unless you have any objections."=^=

Closing the channel, Gabriel rolled his eyes.  "He's good at his job.  Let's just keep repeating that...anyway.  We'll have to continue this later.  You wanna get on those sensors?  I'll get my engineering team prepped."

=^="Arthur to Lollock...assemble response teams one and four and meet me in Main Engineering."=^=

CSOs Office

"I'll get up to the Bridge, easier to co-ordinate from there."

Bridge

Hrafn seemed to walk into some kind of fracas.  "What by the Prophets is going on here?! Report someone?!" she demanded.