S2 M7 - The Two Wolves

[Hrafn Falleg]

Ensign Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Katra Station - Saucer 1 ] (upon arrival at the station)

Rayek rose an eyebrow at Hrafn's play on words before allowing out a single guffaw.  "Your puns are terrible." Though he did grin wider at the mention of Ready Rooms - so she was aware.  Rather than be embarrassed, he felt a boost to his ego.

When Hrafn then suggested inviting both he and Tess to dinner with her and the kids, Rayek loved the idea but was concerned how her husband might feel about it.  "Are you certain that is wise given our... history? I would hate for word to get back to your husband that might suggest anything inappropriate."

Rayek knew if roles were reversed he'd wouldn't want his wife inviting over for dinner the person she'd had attraction to.  That would be like inviting Fells to dinner.  Just the thought caused a slight scowl.

It was awkward speaking of this openly so Rayek hoped to end it quickly.  He glanced about to be sure no one was paying attention.   "I'll mention the offer to Tess."

[Katra Station - Saucer 1 ] (upon arrival at the station)

"To be fair, I don't think Nevir would have a problem if it was you and Tess, y'know your very obviously, heavily pregnant wife, and with Crista and the kids present, and I could invite Ujosso too as he trusts her too if it made it better, and the Captain...the kids go on about him too.  Just wish that EQ Kimball and/or Mondo was still around, the kids get so attached to people and then it breaks their hearts that they get posted away.  I think Nevir would only have a problem with situations where, other than on duty, there might be just the two of us."  Hrafn said sadly.

"As for my puns..." she said giving him a playful, brother/sisterly jab to the ribs.  "You love them really, admit it!!  I'll give the kids your love, they'll pester me until you do come and see them, or maybe as a compromise we could do ice cream on the Promenade or something soon with them... that's public, can't have a problem with that..." she said not needing to add she was thinking of Nevir.  "...and he wouldn't want the kids upset, they are his life's joy, as I'm sure yours will be.  Have you thought about names yet?  Save it though... we can talk about it over dinner or ice cream... whatever happens, yes?! Laters!"

Hrafn said, blowing Rayek a mocking kiss and winking while giggling her head off, while stepping into a turbolift, so only he could see her antics.  Safely inside she shook her head in bemusement.  She was glad after all that had happened, she and Rayek were still good friends. She was happy he'd finally found love, happiness and fatherhood with Tess and the forthcoming baby.

[Deck 2 > CSOs Office]

Humming as she stepped out in Deck 2, she trotted to her office and picked up PADDs then smiled and sat down.  She had a few minutes so decided to do the rota for the department for the next few weeks.  Remembering she had a Conference to attend not as a speaker, just to take notes she wondered if this was one of those occasions where she could delegate.  She'd been off on the Healy so often lately she hadn't spent any time with her family.

Making her mind up she hit her commbadge and ordered her two immediate subordinates to her office, they would likely enjoy a trip off base, and doing something important.

Falleg to Moreno and Mountain-Kahn, please meet me in my office as soon as possible.  Don't break necks to get here, but within the next 20 mins would be good.  Thank you.  Falleg out. 

[Solluk]

Katra Station - Day 2 - Briefing Room

"Captain's Log - Stardate 73377.04

I've scheduled the senior officer's briefing for nearly noontime to give everyone a chance to sleep in after yesterday's events.  It still troubles me that there was an apparent false distress signal aimed at capturing the Healy in an anomaly, but that nothing coincided with it.  At the moment, I'm forced to believe that some threat force was testing a new weapon system, but that it failed.  Hopefully, today's review of the sensor data will allow us to get a better handle on the events surrounding the Healy's momentary entrapment.

At Commander t'Lhoell's suggestion, I have kept the Healy on alert standby with 99% of her crew on ship shifts in case whoever did this isn't done yet.  However, if we still don't see any threatening behavior or incidents by tomorrow, I will probably stand the Healy back down to her skeleton permanent crew assignments.

Also on the agenda is Beja's request to discuss the Dord.  She's had some concerns regarding them and it's about time they got addressed.  Other than that, there's nothing of note on agenda.  It should be a light day, and I see that there is a social event on my calendar scheduled for later this afternoon.  I should take a page from Mr. Saxon's book and get myself a yeoman.  The increasing number of social and diplomatic events cluttering my calendar are bound to get out of hand, otherwise.

End Log."

ONE HOUR LATER...

Solluk shook his head, "Well, the lack of sensor detail on the anomaly is frustrating, but it seems we must conclude that there is just insufficient data here to make heads or tails of the incident.  However, I'd like a plan on alternate response scenarios to use if we should get suspicious distress calls in the future.  I don't want the Healy to keep dropping into subspace pitfalls, or one of them may eventually work the way they're supposed to.

Strat Ops, let's have a plan for preventing that on my desk by 0900 tomorrow.  Work with Science if you need to."  'On his desk' was an archaic term, as reports were transmitted electronically now, but it was still in use to mean that the reporting officer should accompany the report to give a brief run-down of the contents in person.

Solluk nodded to Saxon and then took another bite of his Avocado Benedict that he'd been munching on during this briefing/brunch.

"Goodspeed and Rhade, once we stand down the Healy tomorrow, I'd like you both to give her systems a once-over.  I want to be sure that the anomaly she fell into didn't cause any subtle damage to ships' systems.  Let's get a Level 1 Diagnostic, Stem to Stern.  Offshore her systems' operational state to the drydock computers for the duration of the tests.  If we have to reactivate her in a hurry, I want to be able to freeze the diagnostics, purge active memory, and return her systems to ready status within five minutes."

Solluk sipped his tea, then looked towards Beja.

"Counselor.  You've been wanting to discuss the Dord with me for some time.  I hope you don't mind doing it in this setting.  I'm sure the senior staff may have valuable input into whatever the matter is.  I've slotted the final segment of today's briefing for you.  Take it away."

[John Saxon]

[Katra Station - the previous day]

Well, that seemed to be quite the merry chase, Saxon thought to himself as the Healy reported that no sign of the distress call's origins could be found, instead finding some odd anomaly in its stead. The more cynical side of him wondered if this was a staged event - but since the Healy had navigated the problem without issue, it had either been a prematurely triggered trap, or whomever had set it just wasn't that good. Another, less militarily-minded, part of him wondered if this could be laid at the unwelcome door of a temporal anomaly; the distress call coming from the future or past - indeed, it had been quite some time since the station had heard from the Wanderers; it was entirely possible Katra had received some random distress signal substantially delayed by some time-doohickery. It wasn't as if the station had been addressed directly, after all.

As Solluk left to meet Tess, leaving John to hold the fort, he stroked his beard in solemn contemplation, and then instructed the various stations of Tactical, Sciences and Operations to actively monitor for long-range intercepts, temporal disturbances, and distress transmissions on non-standard frequencies, respectively. Just in case it was something to come, rather than had been.

Ugh. He hated time travel.

[Katra Station - noon (station time) the next day]

Trying to ignore the crick his neck, John nodded with stoic acknowledgement to the Captain's instructions. One of the reasons he was aching so much was that he had spent much of the night awake in his quarters, pondering on methods on how to best prepare the Healy for when the trap was less amber and more honey. Surrounded by wasps.

Did wasps make honey? He couldn't be sure and he was glad that nonsense was left to his inner monologue.

As it turned out, all John could really come up with over the long, quiet, hours amounted to various amounts of firepower, and so he was glad Solluk suggested working with Science - ostensibly Falleg - to come up with a more refined (in both senses of the word) solution. He was pleased; it had been some time since he had worked with the chatty Trill Science Officer, and he secretly wondered how her little nippers were doing. Sadly, his current roles had given him very little opportunity for anything other than work. Maybe he'd ask Sullivan to schedule in some time to visit the little terrors, if Hrafn was amenable.

Knowing Sullivan she already had it in his schedule...

His wry ruminations on the organisational prowess of his earnest aide-de-camp were thankfully interrupted by Solluk's mention of the Dord. His unkempt-through-age eyebrows raised as the Captain handed the floor over to Beja - he was extremely interested to hear the Counselor-come-Chief Diplomatic Officer's possible concerns...

[Beja]

USS Katra Station - Day 2 - Briefing Room

Beja had been mainly quiet during the senior officer�s meeting, as she hadn�t really anything to add of value to the strange non-distressed call. The Healy had gone out and not found anything, was trapped, and then let go?!?! It sounded like a fictional story that humans enjoyed reading so much. Like the others she had no real good answers for the bizarre occurrence. The only thing that she could think of was that it was a test, someone wanted to see how they would respond to a distress call, who would go out to it, who would be left behind, what vessel would be sent out. An information gathering mission was what it appeared to be to Beja, and the only ones that she could honestly think of that would do that were The Thinkers.

The Thinkers had just attempted to destroy Katra by bribing a person to crash their vessel into the station. Though that terrorist plot had failed, Beja had always assumed that was just one of many plans they had in motion. It wouldn�t at all surprise her that they were assessing the situation, looking at every angle, every weakness, every strength of Katra in order to know just how best to strike next in a way that would be successful.There was no proof though, and of course it could just be that Rayek�s paranoia had rubbed off on everyone, but she didn�t think so. It was something she put in her personal notes on her PADD. Just another possibility added to the list that everyone else had given too. A very frustrating situation for all of them to always have more questions than answers.

Beja finished her cup of tea, and then stood up. She refused to let them see her nervousness, as she had not planned on speaking in front of the entire senior staff. The plan was to talk to Captain Solluk about her plan and get his agreement. It was much easier to convince one person, it was much more difficult  to convince a room full. Especially when several in the room already had a negative bias against the Dord, making it a much more difficult challenge. But she was up for it, she had rehearsed this several times in front of her mirror and even a few times in front of her Mon. He had been very attentive.

Beja smiled brightly as she made her way to stand in front of the group, and tapped on her PADD. A few seconds later her presentation showed up on the large monitor, �Thank you Captain Solluk, I appreciate you and everyone else allowing me this time out of your busy schedules to discuss Technological Vectors and their Impact on Diplomatic Relations.�

That, in fact, was the actual title of her presentation.

�As most of you know, the Dord have relied heavily on a slave class of their population not to just do manual labor, but also to fuel their technology. Now that the Dord are expanding their way into the galaxy and are trying to open a friendly relationship with Starfleet, they are evolving as we have wanted them to do. They are now reaching out to find other means of technology and ways to maintain their society,� Beja began her presentation to the group, the screen blinking on the first image.

�Most recently the Dord have begun a trade with the Ferengi for their holographic technology. They are using this on Katra in order to find a different means other than the slave caste for their needs. This shows that they are wanting and willing to develop past the more archaic methods they have used in the past. This is a great sign that all of our teachings, and working with the Dord, are paying off!� Beja herself had been quite pleased to see that the Dord were actually not just willing to consider, but were actually pursuing on their own, alternatives to slave labor.

The screen moved to the next image, �But this also comes with some concerns as well. The Dord had wanted the Atros� ship and had been willing to bargain for all the information they knew about the planet and their technology for it. Of course, this was denied as we cannot give something that is not ours to give, and because the Dord having that sophisticated of technology could pose a danger to many, Katra and the Federation included in that.�

Beja tapped one last time on her PADD and the last image showed up on the screen, �If the Dord though are not helped with their technology needs by Starfleet, then who will they be helped by? The diplomatic meet and greet was a success, and I know that the various embassies are working together better. Perhaps the Wadi will be trading their technology with the Dord?�

�Or maybe the Thinkers will reach out to the Dord and try and make an alliance with them? They could offer technology to the Dord, if the Dord are willing to turn against the Federation and others. If we do not help the Dord out, others will do so, others that do not have the Dord�s best interests at heart. We need to be able to help the Dord find better technology to fuel their ships so that they can finally allow themselves to grow past the need and reliance on their slave population and hopefully they can join in the Federation of Planets and be a true ally to us all,� Beja smiled and nodded to the others before she took her seat and let out a breath when her presentation was over. She hadn�t even stuttered once, nor did she have to imagine anyone in the room naked. She would call that a success!

[Tess tLhoell]

Lt. Cmdr. Tess t'Lhoell (6 months pregnant)
[Katra Station - Deck 2 - s'Lhoell quarters](the evening previous to the Healy call out)

Ensign Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Katra Station - Deck 2 - s'Lhoell quarters](the evening previous to the Healy call out)

"Mane iyraet." Rayek repeated the words back, carefully positioning his tongue so to make the unfamiliar phonics exactly as Tess was demonstrating.  He glanced up from his place close to her abdomen, to note from her expression whether or not he had gotten the pronunciation right this time. Corrected, Rayek finished reading the short tale then closed the hide bound book to place it carefully on the bedside stand.

While he repositioned himself further up the bed to lay alongside her rather than just at her belly, he listened to her muse on their son's likely languages.   He smiled.  "I would not be surprised if our son adapted to learning a multitude of languages.  It is a rather common thing for most children." thinking of Hrafn's children and s'Movel children.

Rayek found it amusing that even he, from a xenophobic culture and in an age when  universal translators were readily available, knew 2 languages - 3 if you included both Romulan dialects as separate languages, by the time he was a teen and another one by the time he was an adult.  Now he was learning another.

"I'm sure Fabiano would enjoy that immensely," he remarked softly at her ear as he curled himself close to her side, wrapping his topmost arm light at her waist.  His palm rested lighted on her belly, seeking for more of the telltale movement within.

Federation Standard, Romulan, Ba'ku and Italian - were obviously the four languages she was anticipating.   Rayek himself hoped to add Klingon and ... yes rather ironically... Vulcan to that mix.  Rayek had a secret hope that by the time the baby was born that Solluk might have forgiven him for his actions on the Healy and would be willing to be as an Uncle to Tess and his son.  With that in mind, Rayek had broached the subject of possibly naming the Vulcan Captain as Godfather last week with Tess.  He had thought for certain she would agree, however though she did admit that Solluk would make an excellent godfather she quietly countered with another suggestion.  Rayek had been honestly surprised.  It wasn't often that Tess could surprise him.  Of course, after a moments consideration in which he could see this meant a lot to Tess, Rayek agreed with her choice.

Rayek chastely kissed Tess' cheek to settle them to bed, recognizing that after a long day Tess may not be interested in more energetic activities.  His thoughts turned to the next day and what activities might be planned.  He was scheduled to work Customs.  Nothing new there.  There was the Klingon Opera that evening.  Tess was scheduled to work the OCC that evening... so Rayek figured he'd offer to take over Crewman Byl th'Zialrol's shift since the man had wanted to attend the Opera badly.   A quiet day overall.   Not so the next day.  Rayek had a counseling session with Beja scheduled for immediately after work.. and after that the bowling team was supposed to get together and practice.

Bowling was something new that Rayek had just started two weeks prior in an attempt comply with the Beja's insistence that he socialize more.  So far there was just three signed up.  Himself, Tess and Kalem.  But Rayek was hopeful of garnering more interest.  His thoughts on bowling reminded him.

"On a different topic," he began, "I sent you a list of suggested tips on how to make bowling safer for you and the baby."  Concern about her well-being had bothered him after their last practice the other day, so he'd done a bit of research on the subject. 

Tess had nodded her head when Rayek had gotten the pronounciation right and then listened with a smile as he continued reading the story.

When he then, after finishing reading, moved up to lay alongside her she turned a little so she could look at him while they talked. She nodded her head in agreement when Rayek said, their son would pick up many languages growing up. She would like for Rayek to speak Romulan to their son and she would talk Ba'ku to him. Growing up in an environment where Federation Standard is spoken he surely would pick that up anyway. And with her father teaching him Italian it would be perfect.

Tess smiled when Rayek moved to lay closer to her and rested his hand on her belly. She loved his interest in the baby, it made her accept all the uncomfortable changes a pregancy meant for her more readily. Tess waited a moment with a wide grin on her face to see if there would be another 'hello' from their son, but no, right now there was nothing.
When Rayek changed the topic, Tess looked at him as she nestled into the pillows comfortably. "Oh yes, I saw that, but I didn't have time to look into it yet. I might do it tomorrow during coffee break." She then started to grin. "I want to tell my dad and Ben about the news. How about we have lunch together tomorrow?"

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

NPC Lieutenant Fabiano Moreno
[Katra Station - Operations Control Center >>> Deck 2 - CSO's office](upon the Healy's arrival)

Falleg to Moreno and Mountain-Kahn, please meet me in my office as soon as possible.  Don't break necks to get here, but within the next 20 mins would be good.  Thank you.  Falleg out. 

Fabiano had just sent Tess away to get some sleep and rest and was about to end his shift when he got a call from Lt. Falleg. Oh, great. A meeting with his DH. He hoped it wouldn't keep him from his dinner too long.

"Acknowledged, Lieutenant" , he replied promptly. A moment later the Ensign came in who'd relieve him and Fabiano made his way one deck down to Hrafn's office.

Palming the door bell he waited until he was called inside. "Lieutenant", he greeted her with a small smile.

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

Ensign Roberto Padrini
[Katra Station - Deck 22 - Sickbay](the day of the Healy call out)

USS Katra - Sick Bay Area

Beja had tried her best, but she knew that one couldn't always help everyone. She couldn't force the President of Meridian to stay and allow more medical tests to be run. She couldn't force Tarin to tell the truth about what was going on with his health. She couldn't force him to stay, no matter how much she might want to. She nodded over to Roberto, and then went over to the medical console and removed the personal isolation forcefield.

When Tarin rose to leave the sick bay area, Beja had wanted to offer to walk him back to the Meridian embassy but she remained quiet. She knew he would most likely reject her offer, due to either thinking she would spend the time badgering him for more information, or worse see it as an insult and her being condescending with the offer.

After the Meridian leader left, Beja sighed and turned to Roberto, "It is never easy wanting to help a patient who doesn't want to be helped. Let me know immediately if he comes back, or if any other Meridian comes in with similar issues. I have a feeling this won't be the last we see of it."

"In the meantime, let's do some research and see if we can compile a list of possible potential causes, illnesses, etc, just because he isn't ready now doesn't mean we give up, we still need to advocate for our patient," Beja said to Roberto, she paused when she heard a chirping noise? She turned over and saw quite an unusual sight in the sick bay area.

Beja walked over to the colorful winged creatures, "Who are these fellas and what are they doing here? Are they alright?" She looked back over at Roberto, before she glanced back down to the birds.

Roberto nodded at Beja's order. "Of course, I will inform you right away."
He then followed her when she noticed the birds in the cages. "These are birds Ensign tr'Lhoell withdrew from customs. Actually, these are just the injured ones, the unharmed ones are still up there at Saucer 1. They have been put in way too small cages with insufficient safety measures, sedated with an anaesthetic. Some of them got intoxicated by it, others suffered fractures from the transport. How I see it, those birds have been taken away from Meridian, I wasn't able to specify the species, I think they're not recorded yet."

He looked at the beautiful creatures. "They got aggressive when we were at customs, I think it's the effect of the distress they're in. However, I can't release them, they still need to be treated. I guess I can try carefully with a bone knitter, however, bird's don't possess bones, I'm afraid I'll harm them more than I will help them. I'll need to see if I can calibrate the device to the needs of the birds." Roberto sighed as he ran a hand throgh his hair. "In any case, we should approach Dr. t'Lhoell with the need of a veterinarian. I can't believe we've been lucky enough not having to deal with any serious animal problem so far. Maybe we'll find someone in the database who has a little bit of experience with treating animals until we get a professional."

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

Lt. Cmdr. Tess t'Lhoell (6 months pregnant)
[Katra Station - Deck 2 - Briefing Room]

To work a later shift had given Tess the opportunity to get some good rest. The first thing on her schedule was a meeting regarding the strange subspace trap thing they had encountered the other day. Even now with some good sleep and rest it still was as much a mystery to her than the day before. Not that she had expected some kind of revelation but she had hoped to recall details that might be of use. But that was not the case.

Unfortunately there was nothing she could do at the moment. Solluk's orders covered everything that they could possibly do.

Tess used the pause between the briefing and Beja's report to type a quick message. Roberto had informed her about the birds that had been treated in Sickbay and had been pointing out their need of an veterinarian. Tess thought of passing this on to her assistant and typed a message to Amarande.

From: Lt. Cmdr. Tess t'Lhoell
To: Ens. Amarande Xiiv
Veterinarian

Ensign, we are in need of a professional veterinarian. Can you please check the databases for possible candidates to check for us to possibly transfer to Katra. Let us look for both Starfleet and civilian vets for now. Send me the list to my PADD when you are finished. No high priority there. You can consult with Ens. Padrini if you need to.

- Lt. Cmdr. Tess t'Lhoell

~ End of message ~

Then she gave Beja her full attention. Tess listened with interest about the Dord's development. It was good to hear that they were making steps in the right direction. She thought it was a pretty quick development for them to seek alternative ways to the slave caste they had been used to for so long. However, she agreed it was concerning that the Thinkers wanted to 'help the Dord.

After Beja was finished Tess spoke up. "That was very interesting", she smiled at the Klingon. "I do think the Dord's motivation what they want to do with the technology is more important and we might have more influence on that. They could get the technology from us or the Wadi and still do something with it that is not okay according to Starfleet morals. Though I agree with you that it would be rather concerning if they would form any kind of bond with the Thinkers."

[John Saxon]

[Katra Station - Deck 2 - Briefing Room]

John tried not to outwardly show his feelings towards the notion that the Dord wanted to change their ways. Whether the old warhorse was systematically against that culture would probably be down to someone more qualified than he to determine - ironically likely to be Beja herself - but he liked to think he wasn't quite so prejudiced towards an culture wholesale, but rather governed, informed, by the actions of the representatives he had encountered thus far.

All internal debate aside, Saxon was momentarily struck by the earnest presentation of the young Klingon, who continued to surprise him in her bravery; bravery in other ways rather than the stereotypical, accurately so, 'active bravado' of her people. In her own way, the Klingon Counselor was one of the bravest people he had met, and he could only imagine how formidable she might have been if her life had trod a more traditional warrior path.

As it was, Beja and Saxon sat on either end of the diplomatic spectrum. As a Counselor, and Chief Diplomatic Officer, it was her job to form positive relationships with the peoples that Katra encountered. To stave off potential hostilities through dialogue. To embrace, encourage and be an exemplar of Federation values in the face of other governments.

Saxon was also trained to stave off hostilities. The hard way.

So it came to no surprise to him that he found Beja's treatise to be somewhat optimistic, but not yet naive, about the Dord wanting to 'change their ways' so to be more palatable to the wider galactic community. He didn't think that the Dord had cared a jot for how others perceived them, and had - in fact - made great efforts to state that their way was natural, logical and superior. Hearing they had now somehow 'come around' to a more...bourgeois...mindset stirred his inner cynic.

Still, his personal suspicions aside, he had to agree with one aspect of her talk: that if the Federation didn't take proactive steps to steer the new technological narrative, less scrupulous (ha! Even he had to wince at his own hypocrisy) more hostile governments would do so in the political vacuum. And then it would become his job.

Listening to Tess's comments, John nodded; having the Thinkers involved wouldn't be best for anyone. Yet he wasn't one to voice his opinions - he had always been one to listen, ruminate, secretly strategise, but not be vocal unless directly asked - and so for now he kept true to form.

But made a mental note to do some digging on what rumours were circulating about the Dord and their world. Perhaps something important lay in one of the many PADDs stacked on his desk. There was still that one report - if it could even be called that coming from a less-than-charitable freighter captain - regarding a spontaneous technological leap on some pre-warp world. For some reason that had stuck in his mind, but was too distant a location to investigate directly. It just seemed a little too coincidental that the Dord's about-face also amounted to a shift, albeit a cultural one.

[Catherine Goodspeed]

Katra Station - Deck 2 - Briefing Room

Cat's expression hadn't changed a bit as her mind began to race with  the logistics needed with the prep she needed to organise for the systems shakedown.

Cat glanced over to Rhade and nodded.

As Beja rose to give her update Cat smiled and mentally crossed her fingers it went well for her.  Briefings were never fun at the best of times and to this day they made Cat's stomach flip at the thought of having to do them.

Cats mind wandered back to the task in hand...

Level 1 diagnostic: This will mean all hands on deck, with teams to physically verify all the operations of system mechanisms and system readings rather than leave it to the computer to do the bug hunts.

Frankly Cat preferred this method of checks.  Every ship out of her old Commercial Ship Yard had at least 3 during the build process.  A computer can only go so far whereas a pair of eyes and hands can sometimes pick up something out of place that wires and chips won't.  They were time consuming but you couldn't afford to cut corners.  People's lives could be at risk.

At least the DryDock had the computer storage capacity to handle downloading and isolating the Healy's current operational software.  Isolating, copying and re-instating it back in an emergency shouldn't be a problem. Nothing like a good old "copy and paste" as Gramps called it.  She made a mental note for Gramps to help on that issue.  Never met anyone like him when it came to reading code. That old man could find a needle in a very large haystack.

Right:  They'd need at least 6 dedicated teams to get this done fast and right. One team working on one area at a time.  No changing crews half way through something... They would need to focus on what they were doing.  Can't have concentration broken off with something like this.

Cabling.. Need hard line data transfer cabling.... Cat was sure she'd seen some in the DryDock storage.  She'll get Peaches to check once she was out of the meeting.

Hopefully Rhade would be able to draw up some crew from the Katra with some experience of this.  Not the time for training people with a task like this.

So much for a few nights sleep in her bed.  At least the voles would be happy going back, she'd need them to sniff out any problems.  They'd been given so many treats Cat was having to put them all on a diet.

Cat noticed the look of relief on Beja's face at the end of the presentation and Cat nearly had to sit on her hands so not to clap for her.

Cats eyes tried not to look at Tess's bump as she spoke.. It had gotten so big and she glowed.

The Thinkers?? Cat made a mental note to try and remember to look them up when she had a spare moment.

[Kirok]

Katra Station - Outside Holodeck 3

Suzette turned her body slightly, so that her discreet Type I phaser would not be as apparent during this conversation.  "Um, yes, that's right, Ma'am.  Most personnel do not carry weapons on station except during emergency scenarios.

As for popular locations for civilians, there is of course the promenade.  You can find almost every kind of service or product there, and a wide variety of food and drink... though... maybe that's not as much of an allure in this case.

There are also transfer shops and lounges with excellent observation viewports on the docking saucers.  Personally, I spend a lot of time there when I'm off-duty.  It's nice to watch the ships coming in, or taking holding patterns.  And sometimes you can see ships coming in or out of the drydock.  It's the little pleasures, you know?"

Suzette grinned, but then stifled her mirth as she realized it might not be appropriate during a diplomatic encounter.

Katra Station - Outside Holodeck 3

"Thank you, Ensign.  That was very helpful" she said.  The she turned back to Eydis.

The Deltan hoped that the open conversation with Suzette had been heard by Eydis and her guards.  It would save her an uncomfortable conversation with the Tholian later.   That, at least, was her hope.

[Solluk]

Katra Station - Briefing Room

Solluk listened to Beja as she explained her concerns regarding the Dord and their technological exploration.  He knew that Starfleet Intelligence was already concerned with how the different nations of the Gamma quadrant might acquire and use technology.  Their entire operation regarding the Klingons and the Numati was testament to that.  So, her concerns were quite valid.  He simply hadn't seen them placed into a diplomatic context until now.

"Thank you, Counselor.  I think you described a very real concern."  He turned to Tess as she echoed that concern, especially regarding the Thinkers.  "Yes, given that we know the Thinkers are already actively plotting against us, the idea that they may use their vast technological knowledge to manipulate or form alliances less sophisticated nations and turn them against Federation interests is a valid threat."

He cleared his throat, "But it is also true that sharing technology is like the Terran myth of letting a genie out of a bottle.  Once uncorked, it is difficult to control what will be done with it."

He frowned slightly, "I want you to work with Science and Engineering during your free time to identify technologies that you feel would liberate the Dord from reliance on their psionic slave class, but also be unlikely to be misused.  If that is even possible.  Then I want you to work with the Federation Technical Trade Commission to find legal and diplomatic language for agreements outlining the controlled exchange of these technologies, with enforceable limits on their use.  I know that we worked with the Klingons on similar treaties in the early days of our alliance with them.  And of course we routinely share medical treatments with friendly and even neutral nations."

Leaning forward, he concluded, "No promises.  But if you work up a valid proposal, I will put it up the chain with my endorsement.  We can't just sit here and watch things happen.  Or else they'll happen to us."

He glanced around the table, "Is there any other business?"

[Rayek trLhoell]

Ensign Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Katra Station - Deck 2 - s'Lhoell quarters](the evening previous to the Healy call out)

Lt. Cmdr. Tess t'Lhoell (6 months pregnant)
[Katra Station - Deck 2 - s'Lhoell quarters](the evening previous to the Healy call out)

Tess had nodded her head when Rayek had gotten the pronunciation right and then listened with a smile as he continued reading the story.

When he then, after finishing reading, moved up to lay alongside her she turned a little so she could look at him while they talked. She nodded her head in agreement when Rayek said, their son would pick up many languages growing up. She would like for Rayek to speak Romulan to their son and she would talk Ba'ku to him. Growing up in an environment where Federation Standard is spoken he surely would pick that up anyway. And with her father teaching him Italian it would be perfect.

Tess smiled when Rayek moved to lay closer to her and rested his hand on her belly. She loved his interest in the baby, it made her accept all the uncomfortable changes a pregnancy meant for her more readily. Tess waited a moment with a wide grin on her face to see if there would be another 'hello' from their son, but no, right now there was nothing.
When Rayek changed the topic, Tess looked at him as she nestled into the pillows comfortably. "Oh yes, I saw that, but I didn't have time to look into it yet. I might do it tomorrow during coffee break." She then started to grin. "I want to tell my dad and Ben about the news. How about we have lunch together tomorrow?"

Rayek smiled at the suggestion.  "That sounds like an excellent idea." he answered.

He had no clue that events would conspire to prevent that from taking place.

So with his thoughts pleasantly on an upcoming announcement, Rayek kissed his wife goodnight one more time and contentedly settled himself in a protective wrap around her.

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

Ensign Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Katra Station - Saucer 1 ] (upon arrival at the station after Healy call out)

[Katra Station - Saucer 1 ] (upon arrival at the station)

"To be fair, I don't think Nevir would have a problem if it was you and Tess, y'know your very obviously, heavily pregnant wife, and with Crista and the kids present, and I could invite Ujosso too as he trusts her too if it made it better, and the Captain...the kids go on about him too.  Just wish that EQ Kimball and/or Mondo was still around, the kids get so attached to people and then it breaks their hearts that they get posted away.  I think Nevir would only have a problem with situations where, other than on duty, there might be just the two of us."  Hrafn said sadly.

"As for my puns..." she said giving him a playful, brother/sisterly jab to the ribs.  "You love them really, admit it!!  I'll give the kids your love, they'll pester me until you do come and see them, or maybe as a compromise we could do ice cream on the Promenade or something soon with them... that's public, can't have a problem with that..." she said not needing to add she was thinking of Nevir.  "...and he wouldn't want the kids upset, they are his life's joy, as I'm sure yours will be.  Have you thought about names yet?  Save it though... we can talk about it over dinner or ice cream... whatever happens, yes?! Laters!"

Hrafn said, blowing Rayek a mocking kiss and winking while giggling her head off, while stepping into a turbolift, so only he could see her antics.  Safely inside she shook her head in bemusement.  She was glad after all that had happened, she and Rayek were still good friends. She was happy he'd finally found love, happiness and fatherhood with Tess and the forthcoming baby.

Rayek honestly felt that Hrafn had no clue about what her husband might really think about any social interaction between them, but he smiled and nodded, reiterating that he would speak of it to Tess.   When she suggested padding the dinner with other guests that only seemed more of a deterrent to the Romulan.   He didn't need Crista or the Klingon school master getting the idea that they were around just to act as chaperone.  The notion of it was ridiculous.  "Others will not be necessary." he assured her.

It was then that she felt compelled to react to his comment about her puns, suggesting that he actually liked them.  Well... perhaps he did find them somewhat amusing.  But her teasing jab, kept the admission of that to himself.  It was exactly these sort of personal displays that he felt could be misconstrued by others and sneak its way back to her husband.  So Rayek, for both their sakes did his best not to react or encourage it.

She must have caught onto his concern because her next suggestion was to have an outing with her kids on the Promenade.   Rayek smiled and nodded.  That should be permissible.

It was then that Tess called and while he answered, Hrafn made her way into the turbolift, blowing him a mocking kiss.  His eyebrows rose in surprise before he smirked and shook his head in disbelief at the woman as the doors to the lift shut.  Rayek made his way home.

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

NPC Lt jg Saqa7 Mountain-Khan
[USS Healy - Sickbay](Gamma shift - shortly after docking)

The rescue mission had been a bust, though Saqa7 was kind of grateful; as being assigned to medical once more after over a year had felt like having salt rubbed in a wound. She was still on year two of her three year suspension of being able to practice medicine.  Sure she'd overseen the department when Katra first was just getting started... after the original CMO had to step down due to personal issues.   But he'd just been the one doing the paperwork, not actually medically practicing... if something had happened on this mission she would have had no choice but to ignore her suspension to save lives.   She was glad it hadn't come to that.

Saqa7 signed off on her mission report as the ship's doctor and begun shutting down her console, she then bid goodnight to the one nurse that was left to man Sickbay during Gamma shift.   While Saqa7 would have preferred to head to her own quarters on the station rather than the temporary ones assigned her on the ship, Tess had requested the ship's crew to remain aboard in case of a further call out.

It was amusing to see some of Rayek's caution rub off on his wife.  Couples tended to do that.  Jureena had certainly influenced her a lot.  Thoughts of her missing wife brought with a a pang of sadness.   She had such hopes of finding her when she left Katra.   Hope that had been validated when the Karemman transport ship she was on was attacked by what she now knew were Drecacon.

Her first sight of them had brought back long buried memories of the Tri-ship Attack.  The Drecacon were the unknown species that had attacked the USS Nereid and taken Jureena nearly 10 yrs ago.  When she herself was captured, there had been hope that she would find her wife, but that hadn't happened.

Before Saqa7 could torture herself with more remembrance a call came in over her commbadge.

[Deck 2 > CSOs Office]

Humming as she stepped out in Deck 2, she trotted to her office and picked up PADDs then smiled and sat down.  She had a few minutes so decided to do the rota for the department for the next few weeks.  Remembering she had a Conference to attend not as a speaker, just to take notes she wondered if this was one of those occasions where she could delegate.  She'd been off on the Healy so often lately she hadn't spent any time with her family.

Making her mind up she hit her commbadge and ordered her two immediate subordinates to her office, they would likely enjoy a trip off base, and doing something important.

Falleg to Moreno and Mountain-Kahn, please meet me in my office as soon as possible.  Don't break necks to get here, but within the next 20 mins would be good.  Thank you.  Falleg out. 

NPC Lieutenant Fabiano Moreno
[Katra Station - Operations Control Center >>> Deck 2 - CSO's office](upon the Healy's arrival)

Fabiano had just sent Tess away to get some sleep and rest and was about to end his shift when he got a call from Lt. Falleg. Oh, great. A meeting with his DH. He hoped it wouldn't keep him from his dinner too long.

"Acknowledged, Lieutenant" , he replied promptly. A moment later the Ensign came in who'd relieve him and Fabiano made his way one deck down to Hrafn's office.

Palming the door bell he waited until he was called inside. "Lieutenant", he greeted her with a small smile.

Saqa7 was puzzled as to what the Hrafn could want at this late hour.   Altering her step, she made her way to the airlock and sent brief message to the duty officer on the Healy's bridge to let them know she had been requested off ship but would return as soon as possible.

[Katra Station - CSO's Office]

Five minutes later found her arriving just behind Lt Moreno.

"Glad to see I'm not late." she remarked casually knowing Hrafn's easy-going style.  She moved to stand beside Fabiano and looked to Hrafn in silent question as to what prompted the call when it was so late. 

[L'mar Camili Rhade]

[ Deck 22 - Medical | Katra Station ]
"Hmm," she got him a PADD with a list of flavours, passed it to him, and frowned a little at his second issue. "I suppose I'll have a look at those rashes. We can always get you a Starfleet uniform made of a material that suits you. It doesn't all come in the standard weave. We can't have you breaking out all the time, that wouldn't be at all helpful when your attention is needed elsewhere."

She absolutely wasn't making light of the issue. Hybrid species tended to either be hardier or a little more delicate with certain issues, skin issues were rather common.

[ Provisional Junior Lieutenant L'mar Rhade ] | [ Deck 22 - Medical | Katra Station ]

Rhade grinned. �Thank you, will I have to be specific forr the computerr to rreplicate the corrrect fabrric? Oh you neverr told me yourr name? Orr if you did, I have forrgotten it, my apologies.� L�mar asked Xiiv with an embarrassed smile.

Much Later

[ Provisional Junior Lieutenant L'mar Rhade ] | [ Deck 2 - Briefing Room | Katra Station ]

Rhade was glad that Beja knew what was going on as he didn�t and probably wouldn�t retain the information unless it had an Engineering theme to it. He was glad he didn�t have to think of what to do as the Captain did speak in detail, he looked at Cat and returned her nod.

�Allow me to rreturrn to my office so I can get you the rrosterrs, that way you can rreassign those not needed forr crritical duties on Katrra forr the diagnostic of the Healy?� L�mar asked Cat with a smile.

�If you want help I�m at yourr disposal Lieutenant,� L�mar stated and gave a nod. He looked back at the Captain when he realised that no one was talking. �No sirr.� L�mar replied.

Tag Cat and Xiiv

[Beja]

USS Katra Station - Day 2 - Briefing Room

Beja listened with the feedback given by Tess, and the Captain. She had been happy to see that the information she had presented was being taken seriously. She nodded over to the Captain and made several notes on her PADD about the next steps she needed to take in order to complete her proposal. She didn�t expect that the Dord would object to Starfleet willing to share some technology with them, but she would make sure to get their official acceptance. She would need to talk with the Dord ambassador anyways to make sure she understood the technological needs the Dord had. That would be the first step, before she could get the advice and input from science and engineering.

�Commander, t�Lhoell, thank you very much for your feedback. I will of course take it all under advisement. I agree that we do need to be cautious with this, but that the risks of not acting outweigh the risks of acting,� Beja smiled and nodded to Tess.

�Thank you Captain, I appreciate your willingness to allow for the growth of the Dord�s technology with Starfleet�s help. I will work on getting the necessary information and the official proposal to you as soon as possible,� Beja thanked Solluk, grateful he had been open to the future trade of technology with the Dord.

Beja smiled brightly over to Goodspeed, �I hope that Lieutenant Goodspeed that you will be willing to assist me in the engineering piece when you have some free time. I would greatly appreciate your help of course.� Beja hoped that the older human would accept, as it would give Beja an opportunity to get to know the other female better. Beja had heard the engineer had voles and chickens! She had been intrigued to know exactly how that had come to be, and maybe now she could ask. Beja counted this as a success, the first hurdle had been completed, on to the next.

[Eydis]

Katra Station - Station Commander's Ready Room

Solluk sipped his cup as Tess began to explain the events which had transpired.  He smirked very slightly as she tried to place her PADD in her lap, but was forced to use the desk due to her special passenger.  It was often suggested by human colleagues that pregnancy made a woman more beautiful.  He had considered this to be nonsense until recent months.  He wondered if it was some sort of evolutionary programming to ensure the protection and survival of pregnant females.

If so, Solluk had to reflect that it had not worked as intended.  He had sent his Executive Officer into danger without hesitation, and then only appeared to agonize over her fate on the long wait for the Healy's return.

In fact, he would have privately preferred not to send her, but it would have been disrespectful to deny her any command opportunities because of her pregnancy.

When she got to the part of her story about her escape, Solluk set down his cup.  That was an unexpected detail.  He'd assumed that the Healy had done something in order to get away.

"Hmm.  You're quite right that the distress call desisted.  I can't help but believe you were lured out there, and then seized.  But it is strange to me that it all just went away.  I suppose at the moment we have to operate under the assumption that some ploy didn't prove out.  I'll definitely be consulting with Mr. Saxon tomorrow to get his opinion on this mysterious event."

He leaned back.

"Well, we can review the sensor logs from the Healy tomorrow to see if there are any clues there.  I think we're all too tired to give it a proper analysis this evening."

When she seemed to be done with her cup, he nodded to her with a smile, "You go ahead and turn in, Commander.  We'll meet again, second-shift tomorrow, once you've had time to sleep, get some food, and think over the events of the day."

Katra Station - Medbay

Tarin shifted in his bed as Beja ordered the activation of the isolation field.  The field would prevent the movement of atmosphere into the area of the patient's bed and open an independent air supply and filtration system for the space.  It was not as secure as a complete isolation room, but it could deal with many issues regarding the transmission of illness.

It also had the additional benefit of dampening sound.  Beja had done her best to provide a privacy screen.

When she implored him to come clean, his face contorted briefly, as though he was wrestling with himself.  He very nearly said something more.

But then he fought down the urge for honesty and swung himself off of the bed, standing up on his own power.  He was not entirely steady, but it was clear he was not fall-down drunk.

"If I think of anything, I'll let you know.  Otherwise, I'm going back to my rooms.  Thank you for your assistance, Doctors.  I won't take up any more of your valuable time."

Unless the medical staff attempted to restrain him, he would be leaving the med bay.

Katra Station - Outside Holodeck 3

A bit surprised at being addressed by the Diplomatic Officer, Suzette cleared her throat and stepped forward.

"That's right, Ma'am.  Free movement through all unrestricted areas is encouraged, just so long as no dangerous implements are carried.  The Diplomatic Protection Service is happy to take over the brunt of diplomatic protection when ambassadorial staff are moving about the station.  That way, ambassadors and embassy staff can enjoy the station without being... encumbered."

She put it as diplomatically as she could manage.

Eydis would pause and look at zex the suzette.� I see, I would like to ask if I decide to station tholians at the embassy Suite you have set aside for us. Will we be able to carry our weapons there. � Eydis would look at the not even look at the new guards as she speaks to them over the lattice. And they would begin to head to the turbo lift. � Perhaps the tholians armed can be rather exciting for some of your individuals. I wish to ask if I may carry my own crystalline sword. I�m aware that this new individual is responsible for protection of diplomatic persons. But I must request my sword be allowed if I�m to forgo armed guards. I�m the captain of tholian cruiser. While I�m certain that this individual is competent I do not wish to solely place my safety in others hands. I will abide your guards to meet you halfway. � Eydis would hum as the guards left her view and made their way back to the docked cruiser.

�If that is acceptable to you zex the deltan of the federation. I would like to visit the deep space laboratory you have on board this station. � She would bow her head slightly to zex and look at suzette with fiery glowing eyes behind her eco suit face shield.

[Amarande Xiiv]

[ Provisional Junior Lieutenant L'mar Rhade ] | [ Deck 22 - Medical | Katra Station ]

Rhade grinned. �Thank you, will I have to be specific forr the computerr to rreplicate the corrrect fabrric? Oh you neverr told me yourr name? Orr if you did, I have forrgotten it, my apologies.� L�mar asked Xiiv with an embarrassed smile.

[ Deck 22 - Medical | Katra Station ]
"Amarande is my first name," she said quietly and with a soft smile. "You're in the system correctly flagged for the allergen, so no. You'll be fine just ordering a replacement."

[Tess tLhoell]

Lt. Cmdr. Tess t'Lhoell (6 months pregnant)
[Katra Station - Deck 2 - s'Lhoell quarters] (the evening previous to the Healy call out)

Ensign Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Katra Station - Deck 2 - s'Lhoell quarters](the evening previous to the Healy call out)

Rayek smiled at the suggestion.  "That sounds like an excellent idea." he answered.

He had no clue that events would conspire to prevent that from taking place.

So with his thoughts pleasantly on an upcoming announcement, Rayek kissed his wife goodnight one more time and contentedly settled himself in a protective wrap around her.

She kissed him back with a smile and cuddled up close to him, always seeking the warmth of his body to keep herself warm. She listened to his breathing for a couple of minutes until she drifted off into a wholesome sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lt. Cmdr. Tess t'Lhoell (6 months pregnant)
[Katra Station - Deck 2 - Briefing Room]

Katra Station - Briefing Room

Solluk listened to Beja as she explained her concerns regarding the Dord and their technological exploration.  He knew that Starfleet Intelligence was already concerned with how the different nations of the Gamma quadrant might acquire and use technology.  Their entire operation regarding the Klingons and the Numati was testament to that.  So, her concerns were quite valid.  He simply hadn't seen them placed into a diplomatic context until now.

"Thank you, Counselor.  I think you described a very real concern."  He turned to Tess as she echoed that concern, especially regarding the Thinkers.  "Yes, given that we know the Thinkers are already actively plotting against us, the idea that they may use their vast technological knowledge to manipulate or form alliances less sophisticated nations and turn them against Federation interests is a valid threat."

He cleared his throat, "But it is also true that sharing technology is like the Terran myth of letting a genie out of a bottle.  Once uncorked, it is difficult to control what will be done with it."

He frowned slightly, "I want you to work with Science and Engineering during your free time to identify technologies that you feel would liberate the Dord from reliance on their psionic slave class, but also be unlikely to be misused.  If that is even possible.  Then I want you to work with the Federation Technical Trade Commission to find legal and diplomatic language for agreements outlining the controlled exchange of these technologies, with enforceable limits on their use.  I know that we worked with the Klingons on similar treaties in the early days of our alliance with them.  And of course we routinely share medical treatments with friendly and even neutral nations."

Leaning forward, he concluded, "No promises.  But if you work up a valid proposal, I will put it up the chain with my endorsement.  We can't just sit here and watch things happen.  Or else they'll happen to us."

He glanced around the table, "Is there any other business?"

Tess had listened to the orders given to Beja. She was really curious about the outcome of this. If Beja was successful with her mission, it would be a huge step in the right direction. Tess offered the Klingon an encouraging smile. She didn't have any doubts that Beja was the right person for the job.

When Solluk asked if there was anything else that needed to be addressed, Tess thought for a moment, but there was nothing that came to mind. In response, more to herself, she shook her head as she glanced back in Solluk's direction, waiting if any of the others had something they wanted to talk about in this setting.