S3:M2 There is Always Soma

[Djann Tempest]

[ USS Shran - Bridge ]

Djann sat in the Captain's chair, slumped over the armrest display. They had just eliminated one of the possible flight paths for the escaping caravan and were now focusing on the other two.

"Warp particle dispersion is uniform all the way up until..." Tempest was thinking out loud when a klaxon started and his attention was brought to the planet facing sensors. Pressing a few buttons he threw the information up to the main viewer. Filitov's vitals had just dropped to the point where she registered as unconscious.

"Damn. We've got a problem. Katcha is on the move but not awake" he announced to the Admiral and anyone else on the bridge. "Security team to transporter room one, standby for hostile extraction".

Tempest turned to Adeyemi. "I'm just keeping them on standby for now depending on how Garrison responds" he explained to the senior officer. He saw how the Admiral had reacted at the Captain's use of force in the initial confrontation.

Tapping his commbadge, he paged the Commander on the surface. "Garrison. Filitov is unconscious and moving. I'll relay the data to your team's tricorders. I have a security team standing by for extraction if you need backup".

The sensor data was represented as a heatmap and Filitov was moving quicker than a walking pace out the rear of the structure and away from the center of the city.

[Lawrie McGellen]

[Checkerboard Bar]

Over in a corner but keeping an eye on everything was Lawrie.  He was actually drinking since it would have been his mother's birthday but he had a couple of 'sobering up' shots on his person so if he drank more than strictly necessary for his 'guise' as a drunken Scot he could surreptitiously have a hypo and all was good.

Dressed in 'full fig' he had a dirk at his waist and a sgian dubh in his sock.  He also had the other 'weapon of war' with him...

Seeing a bit of a bar brawl starting he decided that distraction was needed so already primed and ready (he'd been inflating the bagpipes bag like a drunk breathing into a breathalyser for the the last 15 mins), he hauled the drones over his shoulder, knocked back the 4 fingers of Scotch (which he's had to practically kill the bartender not to shove ice into!) in one gulp, and started playing 'Flower of Scotland' with a few bum notes for dramatic effect.

Even over the noise of the ambient music the squawk that was the pipes cut through everything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwNTWaMHv2E

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[ USS Shran - Bridge ]

Djann sat in the Captain's chair, slumped over the armrest display. They had just eliminated one of the possible flight paths for the escaping caravan and were now focusing on the other two.

"Warp particle dispersion is uniform all the way up until..." Tempest was thinking out loud when a klaxon started and his attention was brought to the planet facing sensors. Pressing a few buttons he threw the information up to the main viewer. Filitov's vitals had just dropped to the point where she registered as unconscious.

"Damn. We've got a problem. Katcha is on the move but not awake" he announced to the Admiral and anyone else on the bridge. "Security team to transporter room one, standby for hostile extraction".

Tempest turned to Adeyemi. "I'm just keeping them on standby for now depending on how Garrison responds" he explained to the senior officer. He saw how the Admiral had reacted at the Captain's use of force in the initial confrontation.

Tapping his commbadge, he paged the Commander on the surface. "Garrison. Filitov is unconscious and moving. I'll relay the data to your team's tricorders. I have a security team standing by for extraction if you need backup".

The sensor data was represented as a heatmap and Filitov was moving quicker than a walking pace out the rear of the structure and away from the center of the city.

[Bridge]

It was a cautious but pro-active maneuver. The admiral approved, but didn't undermine the lieutenant's command by doing so openly.

"Permission to lead the boarding security team, lieutenant." Adeyemi asked instead. "I'm sick of going from ship to base to ship to ship, doing reports and not mattering. Let me lead the Shran's teams. Hopefully, by God, we won't have to use them."

It was quite a speech, for the taciturn and religious flag officer. But the Shran's crew were in trouble, and it's bridge was in fine hands. All that remained was to get their people back.

[Chris Taylor]

[Checkerboard - Ante Room]

The Orion although shocked to see Kayleah and Taylor in his room did not lose any composure "Actually I do mind I am conducting business here" He answered and then motioned the other Orion to throw them out.

As the thug moved Taylor caught site of the woman in the room "It would appear to be a hostile business meeting" He laughed as he spoke but his movements were deadly serious as he pushed Kayleah into a corner with one hand he drew the Disruptor with his other and fired a shot, hitting the thug in the face and dropping him like a stone.

He then trained the weapon on the other Orion as he spoke he walked closer "Nothing would give me more pleasure right now than to kill you, but......." he trailed off as he whipped the handle of the weapon across the head of the lead Orion, quickly followed by bringing it down heavily on his neck.

As he fell Taylor was already moving again first he grabbed all the data chips on the table before untying the woman in the seat.

He helped her to her feet and looked at Kayleah "Is there a back door"? he asked hopefully.

Kayleah nodded and lead the way outside before stopping and grabbing his arm "Take me with you please" she begged and Chris could not refuse it reminded him of a previous encounter he had many years before.

He activated his comm  =/\=Black sheep to shepherd, I'm outside and we have two extra passengers and some info, hope you didn't get caught in that mess in there and what the hell was that noise ?

He supported the woman as they walked with Kayleah constantly looking over her shoulder to see if they were being followed.

[Djann Tempest]

[Bridge]

It was a cautious but pro-active maneuver. The admiral approved, but didn't undermine the lieutenant's command by doing so openly.

"Permission to lead the boarding security team, lieutenant." Adeyemi asked instead. "I'm sick of going from ship to base to ship to ship, doing reports and not mattering. Let me lead the Shran's teams. Hopefully, by God, we won't have to use them."

It was quite a speech, for the taciturn and religious flag officer. But the Shran's crew were in trouble, and it's bridge was in fine hands. All that remained was to get their people back.

[ USS Shran - Bridge ]

The Admiral's request was clearly way beyond protocol and would probably end with Djann busted back down to Ensign but he understood. He had been a research scientist for a few years out of the Academy and had yearned to be in the field as well.

"Granted Admiral, despite a million points of procedure in the way. If you get yourself killed at least let somebody know so I can court martial myself. Transporter Room 2 is rally point for Security on the Shran and best of luck sir" he directed to the senior officer.

[Checkerboard - Ante Room]

The Orion although shocked to see Kayleah and Taylor in his room did not lose any composure "Actually I do mind I am conducting business here" He answered and then motioned the other Orion to throw them out.

As the thug moved Taylor caught site of the woman in the room "It would appear to be a hostile business meeting" He laughed as he spoke but his movements were deadly serious as he pushed Kayleah into a corner with one hand he drew the Disruptor with his other and fired a shot, hitting the thug in the face and dropping him like a stone.

He then trained the weapon on the other Orion as he spoke he walked closer "Nothing would give me more pleasure right now than to kill you, but......." he trailed off as he whipped the handle of the weapon across the head of the lead Orion, quickly followed by bringing it down heavily on his neck.

As he fell Taylor was already moving again first he grabbed all the data chips on the table before untying the woman in the seat.

He helped her to her feet and looked at Kayleah "Is there a back door"? he asked hopefully.

Kayleah nodded and lead the way outside before stopping and grabbing his arm "Take me with you please" she begged and Chris could not refuse it reminded him of a previous encounter he had many years before.

He activated his comm  =/\=Black sheep to shepherd, I'm outside and we have two extra passengers and some info, hope you didn't get caught in that mess in there and what the hell was that noise ?

He supported the woman as they walked with Kayleah constantly looking over her shoulder to see if they were being followed.

As soon as he had finished with the Admiral the direct Comm with the away team came through. Djann looked to Ensign Cooper who had replaced the Admiral at Ops.

"Get a sensor and transporter lock on him" he ordered while tapping his own badge.

"Black Sheep this is actual. Is extraction needed?"

[Chris Taylor]

[ USS Shran - Bridge ]

As soon as he had finished with the Admiral the direct Comm with the away team came through. Djann looked to Ensign Cooper who had replaced the Admiral at Ops.

"Get a sensor and transporter lock on him" he ordered while tapping his own badge.

"Black Sheep this is actual. Is extraction needed?"

[Planetside]

The three of them ducked behind an outcrop of rocks and Chris answered to comm  Actual, Extraction would be good but we can wait until you are clear, One person injured so A welcome committee in Transporter room could be good

He was still trying to be vague and hoped whoever was actual understood that he was asking for Security as well as Medical to meet them.

He then spoke to the woman "So what did you do to piss the Syndicate off"? pulling a med pack from his coat pocket he opened the wipes and cleaned off the blood. If this was fake then the thug he had killed had no doubt took pleasure in his work.

After the blood was cleaned off her face, Chris lowered his hands to her side checking her ribs. As he did the woman flinched and took a sharp intake of breath "Don't please, they kicked me over and over again, as for what I did, I dropped a cargo when a Federation ship got too close, who are you"? she gasped as she spoke and Chris felt a little surer about her.

"I'm just a Freighter Grunt, whom hates to see a damsel in trouble" He smiled again and then looked at the other woman "And this is Kayleah, the wife or is it former wife of the barman in there".

"Still the wife and once I give you two to the Syndicate A very rich one" She had pulled a federation issue phaser from somewhere in the folds of her dress and was holding it at Taylor's head.

Chris froze briefly "Ok Kayleah, I need to treat her or we won't be going anywhere" he knelt down beside the freighter captain and leaving his holster near her side raised his hands "I'm getting the med pack now" he said out loud as he opened his coat, covering the woman as he did and withdrew the med pack again.

If Kayleah had noticed she did not make any acknowledgment that his holster was now empty.

Kayleah then stepped forward and snarled at Chris as she raised the phaser once more. In the second she moved the woman took aim and fired, the edge of Taylor's coat was burnt but the brunt of the blast hit Kayleah square in the chest.

Chris felt a twinge of sadness as he had really liked Kayleah but he often fell for the wrong woman. He then helped the woman to her feet before he tapped his comm.

Black Sheep to actual make that two to extract he spoke solemnly and quietly before he asked the woman her name."Natalya Simonova" She answered weakly as she leaned against him.

[Steve Marshall]

(Shuttle Terrance)

It had been almost 2 months since Steve had recovered from his tumor. The month or so since his discharge from his time in medical. He spent time with Charlie. Then one day it all came to an end. He was called to the commanding officers and it was then he was on his way to the USS Shran yes he would miss everyone on the Athena.

The shuttle he was on a medical supply run to the Shran so he caught a lift. It was an emotional goodbye to Charlie he wasn't sure if he would see her again. Despite the constant shipwide communication, he would miss her deeply. An alert brought him out of his thoughts the computer had read the contract to be of the USS Shran the Sovereign-class starship. By far the biggest ship he had served on to date.

USS Shran this is Lt Marshall requestion docking procedures

He was given the clearance and landed the shuttle he closed down the engines and then handed the security of the shuttle to the docking bay crew. He had 24 hours till he was officially on duty. He still had to find the quartermasters office to get quarters allotted to him.

The

[William Waring]

[The Checkerboard]
As the reports came in, Kinley nodded, then quickly resumed her guise as the playgirl, with a playful flick of her skirt.  Seeing the way he stiffened up as she dealt with the drunkard, she rather felt sorry for Will. She knew he kinda had feelings for her, and it looked really awkward.  She didn't have time to explain before suddenly, a disturbance radiated from one end of the crowded bar, and violence ensued. It was a full-on barfight, and they were smack dab in the middle. get to the edges!" she said as she instinctively dodged out of the way of a flying bottle of vodka. She turned to Will and Mondo. "We need to get outta here."

[The Checkerboard]

It didn't take a genius to work out that a fight would have eventually happened considering how some of the away team couldn't quite fit in with the atmosphere down here. That was thoughts for the past however as he was know ready for the fight. "Cover your ears!" He yelled to Kinley and Mondo as he reached under his coat and retrieved a cylindrical looking object and threw it into the crowd. Moments later a blinding light and deafening bang would explode into the room. He had thrown a stun grenade, hoping it would buy them enough time to get out. He moved towards Kinley and drew his disrupters "We need to go right now. That will only stun them for a minute."

[Djann Tempest]

[Planetside]

The three of them ducked behind an outcrop of rocks and Chris answered to comm  Actual, Extraction would be good but we can wait until you are clear, One person injured so A welcome committee in Transporter room could be good

He was still trying to be vague and hoped whoever was actual understood that he was asking for Security as well as Medical to meet them.

He then spoke to the woman "So what did you do to piss the Syndicate off"? pulling a med pack from his coat pocket he opened the wipes and cleaned off the blood. If this was fake then the thug he had killed had no doubt took pleasure in his work.

After the blood was cleaned off her face, Chris lowered his hands to her side checking her ribs. As he did the woman flinched and took a sharp intake of breath "Don't please, they kicked me over and over again, as for what I did, I dropped a cargo when a Federation ship got too close, who are you"? she gasped as she spoke and Chris felt a little surer about her.

"I'm just a Freighter Grunt, whom hates to see a damsel in trouble" He smiled again and then looked at the other woman "And this is Kayleah, the wife or is it former wife of the barman in there".

"Still the wife and once I give you two to the Syndicate A very rich one" She had pulled a federation issue phaser from somewhere in the folds of her dress and was holding it at Taylor's head.

Chris froze briefly "Ok Kayleah, I need to treat her or we won't be going anywhere" he knelt down beside the freighter captain and leaving his holster near her side raised his hands "I'm getting the med pack now" he said out loud as he opened his coat, covering the woman as he did and withdrew the med pack again.

If Kayleah had noticed she did not make any acknowledgment that his holster was now empty.

Kayleah then stepped forward and snarled at Chris as she raised the phaser once more. In the second she moved the woman took aim and fired, the edge of Taylor's coat was burnt but the brunt of the blast hit Kayleah square in the chest.

Chris felt a twinge of sadness as he had really liked Kayleah but he often fell for the wrong woman. He then helped the woman to her feet before he tapped his comm.

Black Sheep to actual make that two to extract he spoke solemnly and quietly before he asked the woman her name."Natalya Simonova" She answered weakly as she leaned against him.

[ USS Shran - Bridge ]

Taylor had responded but had been vague. Luckily the Comm was open when the shooting unfolded below. Motioning to mute their end, Tempest tapped his commbadge.

Admiral. This is Tempest. I hope you and your team are in transporter room 2. We have incoming from planetside and we may need to lockdown on arrival

Motioning to the Ops Ensign, Tempest replied to Taylor.

Black Sheep. Extraction imminent. Welcome mat is laid out.

In all the craziness Tempest noted a shuttle arrival. Funny how those things find a way to show up no matter where we are he thought to himself.

[Mondo'li Nari]

Checkerboard

Mondo was engaged in the most epic shoving match of his life, blocking attacks with his improvised shield while hurling combatants away from the group.  He was hoping to help move their team to the perimeter as his Mistress had ordered.  Whether their cover mattered at this juncture was a point worthy of debate.  But 'Mistress' or no, she was still the boss.

Then, Waring ordered a covering of the ears, pulling a grenade out from under his clothes.

By the Green Goddess and the Blessed Exchequer, what on Earth was he going to do?  Was he planning to throw a grenade into the midst of the room they were in?

Yes.   Yes, he was.  And in the midst of it all, a horrible wailing began to erupt from Doctor McGellan's position by the bar.

With one last mighty shove that sent a pair of stout Tellarites flying backwards, Mondo dropped his improvised shied.  It fell on its side upon the ground, the tabletop facing the center of the room.  Then, without the permission he should have sought beforehand, he reached out to pull his Mistress behind the table.  He knew that a powerful concussion wave would expand from the grenade when it detonated.  He hoped the tabletop would break the wave and provide a cavity of safety for those crouched behind it.

He himself crouched down as much as he could, though even a four-foot wide table barely shielded his crouched form.

His attempt to protect his Mistress completed, he ducked his head and lifted his hands to his ears, waiting for the inevitable blast.

OOC: The attempt to grab the boss need not be successful if the boss prefers to remain untouched.   

[Jenna McKinson]

[ Checkerboard ]

It seemed that Jenna's flirting was working on the man she was speaking to. She would be bale to get the information out of him, but it seemed that things were going south. As soon as the grenade was thrown, Jenna covered her ears. It was apparent that the man was not going to let her go. She knew this feeling all to well. She began to fight him and asked the man nicely to let her go before she kicked his ass. He laugh and she shook her head. "Your funeral,"Jenna said.  He moved her arm just so that the man would feel pain and release her. He began to lunge at her in confusion with the flash bang. She slipped through beneath him before tackling him and knocking him out by slamming his head on the ground. She then ran out of the establishment. Her hear pounded as the sound and light hurt her. Once outside she took a moment to get an idea of  her surroundings.  She saw Kinley nearby and moved to talk to her.

[Kachina Filitov]

Unknown Location

Katcha opened her eyes and groaned at the pain in her head. She was lying on a metal floor and the room was in semi-darkness. She slowly worked her way into a sitting position and looked about.

She was alone in a small room, she reckoned less than 5 meters square. Apart from a rather corroded looking door in one wall, all the others were bare. The ceiling was a mess of pipes and the smell of lubricant, along with the general grime indicated to her that she was near some kind of machinery.

The last thing she remembered was drinking the Romulan Ale. It must have been spiked and the Romulan must have either not really taken a drink or, more likely, already taken the antidote. Climbing gingerly to her feet, as she still felt dizzy, she checked herself down to see what, if anything had been taken.

Her gun was gone of course, as was her knife. Her pockets had been emptied but her clothes were still intact. She felt her shirt and found the hidden communicator. It appeared to still be there, she she gave it a tap.

Filitov to ze Shran. Do you receive me? She spoke softly so as not to be overheard.

There was a tinny sound, indicating that the communicator had failed to connect. Having expected that, she quietly made her way over to the door. Surprisingly, it was not locked. She quietly opened it a little way and peered out. Outside the door was a corridor that was obviously part of a ship. And standing just outside the door were two figures. One was the Bajoran from before and the other appeared human, from what little she could see of them.

Deciding to play an advantage, she closed the door again and went to the middle of the room. Laying back on the floor, she gave a loud groan. The door opened almost at once and the two guards entered.

"Ah you're awake? Good!" The one she did not recognise said in a gruff voice. "Get up, the boss want's to see you!"

Just as the man reached down to drag her to her feet, Katcha struck. With a well timed move, she cut the man's legs out from under him and delivered a blow to his neck. This rendered him unconscious, probably for several hours. Jumping to her feet, she face the Bajoran who was looking at her in shock. Giving him no time to react, she delivered a swift kick between his legs before delivering an open handed blow to his right temple.

Now that they were both unconscious, she went to the door and closed it, to prevent interruptions. Then she went back and searched them. She removed all their weapons and personal possessions. She slid one pistol in her holster and tucked another into the back of her trousers.

She then went to the door and peered out again, the corridor was still empty. She slipped out and closed the door behind her. She then searched for a way to seal the door when she cam upon the four very sturdy deadlocks. Giving a smirk when she saw that they were powered locks instead of manual, she stripped down the third pistol and removed it's power cell. The smirk turned positively feral as she prised off the covers of the locks and shorted each one out. This caused them to lock down and it would take a cutting torch to get the two men out.

Sliding the power cell into her pocket, she looked about her for a computer terminal. She needed to get a signal to the Shran and let them know if her location. She could hear the thrum of engines in one direction, so headed in the other. Coming to a door, she opened it a crack and looked in. She saw what looked like some sort operations centre. There were several banks of consoles and displays as well as a table with what looked like a large star chart. The best bit about it was that there were only two people inside, one looked to be a human female and the other a Nausicaan. She decided to take the Nausicaan out first and hope that the woman did not try to attack her.

She drew the disruptor pistol from her holster and set it to medium setting. It should not kill the Nausicaan, just put it out of the fight. Pushing the door wide open she stepped into the rum and shot the Nausicaan in the chest. It dropped to the floor almost at once. Katcha then turned to the woman, who was looking at her in a mixture of fear and hope.

"Please don't hut me!" The woman said pleadingly. "I'm not with the Syndicate. They captured my ship over a year ago and forced me to work for them."

Katcha looked more closely at the woman. She was dressed in little more than rags and was not armed. This let credence to her story. Katcha gave a nod.

"I vill not hut you but I vill have to tie you up as I cannot risk you eizer hurting me or running of and alerting ze ozzers."

The woman seemed to accept this as she nodded.

"I understand. The guard usually has some restraints, you could tie him up and use one pair to tie me to a chair." The woman offered, clearly desperate hot to be hurt.

"Ver vell. got to ze guard and search him. If he has restraints, he should also have ze release for zem. Put it on ze table and zen you all ze restraints apart from vone to tie up ze Nausicaan." Katcha ordered.

Keeping one eye on the woman, Katcha closed the door and locked it from the inside.

Soon the Nausicaan was tied up with 6 pairs of restraints, then the woman sat herself in one of the chairs and used the last restraint to lock herself to it.

Katcha picked up the release and put it in her pocket before looking at the woman.

"So vot is your name?" She asked with a genuine smile.

"Christina. I was born on Lunar Colony and I used to be a technician on a cargo vessel." The woman said, still looking nervous.

"Vell Christina, I need to send a signal to my ship. If you vait zere, ve can both get out of here soon.

Katcha soon found the communications console. She selected a Federation emergency frequency and opened a channel.

Filitov to ze Shran. Do you receive me?

[Djann Tempest]

Unknown Location

Katcha opened her eyes and groaned at the pain in her head. She was lying on a metal floor and the room was in semi-darkness. She slowly worked her way into a sitting position and looked about.

She was alone in a small room, she reckoned less than 5 meters square. Apart from a rather corroded looking door in one wall, all the others were bare. The ceiling was a mess of pipes and the smell of lubricant, along with the general grime indicated to her that she was near some kind of machinery.

The last thing she remembered was drinking the Romulan Ale. It must have been spiked and the Romulan must have either not really taken a drink or, more likely, already taken the antidote. Climbing gingerly to her feet, as she still felt dizzy, she checked herself down to see what, if anything had been taken.

Her gun was gone of course, as was her knife. Her pockets had been emptied but her clothes were still intact. She felt her shirt and found the hidden communicator. It appeared to still be there, she she gave it a tap.

Filitov to ze Shran. Do you receive me? She spoke softly so as not to be overheard.

There was a tinny sound, indicating that the communicator had failed to connect. Having expected that, she quietly made her way over to the door. Surprisingly, it was not locked. She quietly opened it a little way and peered out. Outside the door was a corridor that was obviously part of a ship. And standing just outside the door were two figures. One was the Bajoran from before and the other appeared human, from what little she could see of them.

Deciding to play an advantage, she closed the door again and went to the middle of the room. Laying back on the floor, she gave a loud groan. The door opened almost at once and the two guards entered.

"Ah you're awake? Good!" The one she did not recognise said in a gruff voice. "Get up, the boss want's to see you!"

Just as the man reached down to drag her to her feet, Katcha struck. With a well timed move, she cut the man's legs out from under him and delivered a blow to his neck. This rendered him unconscious, probably for several hours. Jumping to her feet, she face the Bajoran who was looking at her in shock. Giving him no time to react, she delivered a swift kick between his legs before delivering an open handed blow to his right temple.

Now that they were both unconscious, she went to the door and closed it, to prevent interruptions. Then she went back and searched them. She removed all their weapons and personal possessions. She slid one pistol in her holster and tucked another into the back of her trousers.

She then went to the door and peered out again, the corridor was still empty. She slipped out and closed the door behind her. She then searched for a way to seal the door when she cam upon the four very sturdy deadlocks. Giving a smirk when she saw that they were powered locks instead of manual, she stripped down the third pistol and removed it's power cell. The smirk turned positively feral as she prised off the covers of the locks and shorted each one out. This caused them to lock down and it would take a cutting torch to get the two men out.

Sliding the power cell into her pocket, she looked about her for a computer terminal. She needed to get a signal to the Shran and let them know if her location. She could hear the thrum of engines in one direction, so headed in the other. Coming to a door, she opened it a crack and looked in. She saw what looked like some sort operations centre. There were several banks of consoles and displays as well as a table with what looked like a large star chart. The best bit about it was that there were only two people inside, one looked to be a human female and the other a Nausicaan. She decided to take the Nausicaan out first and hope that the woman did not try to attack her.

She drew the disruptor pistol from her holster and set it to medium setting. It should not kill the Nausicaan, just put it out of the fight. Pushing the door wide open she stepped into the rum and shot the Nausicaan in the chest. It dropped to the floor almost at once. Katcha then turned to the woman, who was looking at her in a mixture of fear and hope.

"Please don't hut me!" The woman said pleadingly. "I'm not with the Syndicate. They captured my ship over a year ago and forced me to work for them."

Katcha looked more closely at the woman. She was dressed in little more than rags and was not armed. This let credence to her story. Katcha gave a nod.

"I vill not hut you but I vill have to tie you up as I cannot risk you eizer hurting me or running of and alerting ze ozzers."

The woman seemed to accept this as she nodded.

"I understand. The guard usually has some restraints, you could tie him up and use one pair to tie me to a chair." The woman offered, clearly desperate hot to be hurt.

"Ver vell. got to ze guard and search him. If he has restraints, he should also have ze release for zem. Put it on ze table and zen you all ze restraints apart from vone to tie up ze Nausicaan." Katcha ordered.

Keeping one eye on the woman, Katcha closed the door and locked it from the inside.

Soon the Nausicaan was tied up with 6 pairs of restraints, then the woman sat herself in one of the chairs and used the last restraint to lock herself to it.

Katcha picked up the release and put it in her pocket before looking at the woman.

"So vot is your name?" She asked with a genuine smile.

"Christina. I was born on Lunar Colony and I used to be a technician on a cargo vessel." The woman said, still looking nervous.

"Vell Christina, I need to send a signal to my ship. If you vait zere, ve can both get out of here soon.

Katcha soon found the communications console. She selected a Federation emergency frequency and opened a channel.

Filitov to ze Shran. Do you receive me?

[ USS Shran - Bridge ]

Djann was wearing a path in the deck plating by pacing back and forth. Waiting to hear from the ground teams was probably going to give him an ulcer but as he was about to pluck another beard hair, a Comm came in.

It was Filitov. Hot damn he thought to himself. She's going to end up saving them by the end of this.

Tapping a few keys, Tempest responded.

This is actual, you are being received. Good to hear your voice. Do you require extraction? We have a fix on you but you'll have to get out of the structure you're in before we can beam out. The rest of the away team should be attempting to reach you.

[Kachina Filitov]

[ USS Shran - Bridge ]

Djann was wearing a path in the deck plating by pacing back and forth. Waiting to hear from the ground teams was probably going to give him an ulcer but as he was about to pluck another beard hair, a Comm came in.

It was Filitov. Hot damn he thought to himself. She's going to end up saving them by the end of this.

Tapping a few keys, Tempest responded.

This is actual, you are being received. Good to hear your voice. Do you require extraction? We have a fix on you but you'll have to get out of the structure you're in before we can beam out. The rest of the away team should be attempting to reach you.

Unknown Ship

It took less than a minute to receive a reply. Katcha smiled when she heard Tempest's voice.

I could use a hand in getting out. Zere is a lot of information here zat ve could do vis getting a copy of. Zere is also a map showing routes and co-ordinates. I have also found at least vone person who claims zat her ship is attacked and she vos forced to vork for ze Syndicate. I do not know how many ozzers are here but you should come hard. I am secure vere I am for ze moment and I begin an upload ven you are closer.

As she gave the details, she used anther console to pull up the schematics of a ship. This caused her to gasp.

I am on board vot appears to be a large freighter. Zey are making somezing here and in large quantities. Zere is not enough room to fully manufacture Hyperzine, but it looks like at least vone of ze steps. Ve vere looking for information about a caravan? Could zat be vot it is? A group of ships zat togezzer produces Hyperzine?

She was thinking aloud and hoped that tempest would get the Shran to her ASAP.

[Djann Tempest]

Unknown Ship

It took less than a minute to receive a reply. Katcha smiled when she heard Tempest's voice.

I could use a hand in getting out. Zere is a lot of information here zat ve could do vis getting a copy of. Zere is also a map showing routes and co-ordinates. I have also found at least vone person who claims zat her ship is attacked and she vos forced to vork for ze Syndicate. I do not know how many ozzers are here but you should come hard. I am secure vere I am for ze moment and I begin an upload ven you are closer.

As she gave the details, she used anther console to pull up the schematics of a ship. This caused her to gasp.

I am on board vot appears to be a large freighter. Zey are making somezing here and in large quantities. Zere is not enough room to fully manufacture Hyperzine, but it looks like at least vone of ze steps. Ve vere looking for information about a caravan? Could zat be vot it is? A group of ships zat togezzer produces Hyperzine?

She was thinking aloud and hoped that tempest would get the Shran to her ASAP.

[ USS Shran - Bridge ]

Listening to Filitov the big picture finally clicked. Collapsing back in the Captain's chair he audibly laughed.

"Just brilliant. They're split up their operation across these landed ships, there is no big Facility! If there are survivors we're going to have to sweep each remaining ships..." Djann said and trailed off.

Standby Katcha, if you're able to function for a bit before I pull you out, I'll be sending down a security team to join you and sweep the ships

Tapping a few keys, Tempest called down to the Admiral in Transporter Room 2.

Admiral. We are a go for deployment. There are detainees and an unknown number of hostiles. Sensors are blocked in a few of the structures but these are all functional ships and could contain weapons or volatile materials. I'd like an inward sweep, pull out the survivors and tag the weapons for later retrieval. Any objections sir?

Tempest let the Admiral gather his thoughts and his team while he reached out to Garrison to fill the rest of the team in.

Tempest to Garrison. Katcha is awake and made contact. There are possible detainees and unknown number of hostiles at her location. The drugs are being manufactured across distributed labs in the derelicts. I'm sending in a security team to sweep and join your team. Sending coordinates and relevant sensor data to everyone's tricorders now. Good luck and let us know if you need further Security personnel.

Now that he set the scene, Tempest sat in the Captain's chair and spoke to the Ensign at Ops.

"Get me the planetary government or militia or whatever passes for a social structure. We're blockading departures from their southern hemisphere until we've contained this situation".