Season 16: Episode 1: Perfect Replicas

[Malik Grippen]

rRayek looked towards the man in command red beside him.  "Lt Commander, I'm sending you in there to deal with the Bajoran and my original.  Get rid of them!"

With that Rayek prepped the transporter's site to site programming.

[Station, Operations]

Malik had listened to clone Rayek's explanations, then watched on passively as he fired on M'Nia. Something clicked then in clone Malik's brain. A higher calling from a source he couldn't put into words, but he had to get off this station and help his fellow Thinker clones.

The Risan set his rifle to kill and nodded to clone Rayek to activate the site to site transport.

" Iunderstand. I am with you. My locality is to the Thinkers. Beam me directly behind the Bajoran."

[Station, Cloning Lab

Clone Malik materialised 5 ft behind Clone-Lorut who was attempting to wake the original copies. He pointed the rifle at the small of her back and without any hesitation, fired.

[Vadok Alvarez]

rRayek tr'Lhoell
[Station - Operations Center]

The rRomulan frowned.  "That is unfortunate to hear."
In one smooth and fluid movement rRayek pulled his phaser and fired on the Caitian.   Only afterwards did he realize that he hadn't changed the setting from  stun.  Oh well, it would do.

The rRomulan then, with weapon still in hand but not pointed directly at either of the men who seemed to be activated properly,  acknowledged their support.   "Vulcan, bind her.   I won't go out of my way to kill her, but we can't allow her to disrupt our mission." rRayek stated.

The rRomulan then turned back to the viewscreen which was now showing the Bajoran clone, waking up her original.  Fvadt!.  Of course the Starfleet Intelligence would mess up duplicating the Thinker replicant process!  So far it seemed only half were activating properly.

rRayek looked towards the man in command red beside him.  "Lt Commander, I'm sending you in there to deal with the Bajoran and my original.  Get rid of them!"

With that Rayek prepped the transporter's site to site programming.

Vadok's stoic facade masked a flurry of conflicting emotions beneath the surface. The revelation of his clone nature shook him to his core, challenging the very essence of his identity as a Starfleet officer. Yet, amid the chaos and the Romulan's decisive actions, Vadok's training and duty prevailed.

He cast a determined look towards the Romulan, acknowledging the gravity of the situation with a calm resolve. "Acknowledged," Vadok responded firmly, his voice betraying no hint of internal turmoil.

As the Romulan issued orders to bind the defiant Caitian, Vadok's mind raced with calculated strategies. This unexpected turn of events demanded precise action. With a subtle nod to the Romulan beside him, Vadok silently conveyed readiness to assist in carrying out the mission, all while grappling with the implications of his newfound clone status.

Despite the storm of conflicting loyalties and identities within him, Vadok's loyalty to the mission and his training as a Starfleet officer guided his actions. He steeled himself for the task ahead, focused on fulfilling his duties with precision and composure in the face of uncertainty and upheaval.

His gaze would meet M'nias, should the Catian be observant enough they might just see the very human side of Vadok and the betrayal of his outward stoicism he had come to be known for.

[M'Nia]

Vadok's stoic facade masked a flurry of conflicting emotions beneath the surface. The revelation of his clone nature shook him to his core, challenging the very essence of his identity as a Starfleet officer. Yet, amid the chaos and the Romulan's decisive actions, Vadok's training and duty prevailed.

He cast a determined look towards the Romulan, acknowledging the gravity of the situation with a calm resolve. "Acknowledged," Vadok responded firmly, his voice betraying no hint of internal turmoil.

As the Romulan issued orders to bind the defiant Caitian, Vadok's mind raced with calculated strategies. This unexpected turn of events demanded precise action. With a subtle nod to the Romulan beside him, Vadok silently conveyed readiness to assist in carrying out the mission, all while grappling with the implications of his newfound clone status.

Despite the storm of conflicting loyalties and identities within him, Vadok's loyalty to the mission and his training as a Starfleet officer guided his actions. He steeled himself for the task ahead, focused on fulfilling his duties with precision and composure in the face of uncertainty and upheaval.

His gaze would meet M'nias, should the Catian be observant enough they might just see the very human side of Vadok and the betrayal of his outward stoicism he had come to be known for.

M'nia was not happy to say the least. She may be a clone but she was every bit M'nia as the original. At least as far as she was concerned. If she could get loose she would show them what she could do! She could only hope that the real captain and M'nia and the rest would be ok and survive this and come out on top. She studied her captor. she saw there was some conflict within. "Y'know even Starfleet discourages blindly following orders. You might think about that!" she said.

[Ch'e N'ok Savyn]

[Bridge | USS Discovery]

Dem glanced down to his readouts, while priming his phaser rifle. "œBetaikas team is on their way to bust you out. Once that is finished, all of you will go to engineering. It is our last foothold on the ship. The last thing that is stopping the ship from being taken over." Dem requested. Turning his attention towards the remaining bridge staff, he ordered them to take defensive positions, in the likely event that they would be breached.

Doctor Betaika

[Beta Bridge Outside Corridor | USS Discovery]

Acknowledging Dem's order, or suggestion considering that Betaika outranks him, they arrived at the battle bridge. "œThe weakest point of entry to the bridge is just beside the door. 10 centimetres away from the perimeter of the door is best placement. This is just past the force field projectors, at the seam were the bulkhead stars, which is unfortunately relatively impenetrable. Start firing." He lifted his weapon and started to fire. "œHansen, stay clear of the leftward entry point." He ordered, while hoping his fellow officers didn't question why he had so much knowledge on breaking into federation secured areas. That was Tal Shiar 101.

[USS Discovery-B | Corridor >> Bridge]

"I believe I may have the expertise to hack into the door system," Savyn offered somewhat awkwardly. "Computer science was an interest of mine at the academy, I suspect I can... Attempt at getting into the system."

Savyn reluctantly took a knee in front of the panel next to the door and started clicking into it. After a few minutes, the door suddenly opened and Savyn scrambled to his feet.

"I have successfully hacked into the door," he stated, mostly for himself, then, quieter. "I... Had not anticipated that would work."

The team cleared the bridge quickly, freeing Hansen and confirming everything was alright. Savyn remained toward the back of the group, not entirely trusting his own combat abilities if it were to come to that.

[Vadok Alvarez]

M'nia was not happy to say the least. She may be a clone but she was every bit M'nia as the original. At least as far as she was concerned. If she could get loose she would show them what she could do! She could only hope that the real captain and M'nia and the rest would be ok and survive this and come out on top. She studied her captor. she saw there was some conflict within. "Y'know even Starfleet discourages blindly following orders. You might think about that!" she said.

Vadok maintained his composed demeanor despite the turmoil brewing within him. As M'nia's defiant words reached him, he paused, his gaze meeting hers with a depth that hinted at the internal struggle beneath his calm exterior.

"Blindly following orders is indeed discouraged," Vadok replied, his voice steady yet carrying a subtle undertone of empathy. "However, there are times when duty and loyalty to the greater mission require decisive action."

His words carried a weight of conflict and empathy, a reflection of his own internal grappling with conflicting loyalties and identities. In that brief exchange, M'nia glimpsed a glimpse of the human side that Vadok struggled to conceal beneath his stoic facade.  Could it be enough to gain an ally?

[Dem Broadshire]

[USS Discovery-B | Corridor >> Bridge]

"I believe I may have the expertise to hack into the door system," Savyn offered somewhat awkwardly. "Computer science was an interest of mine at the academy, I suspect I can... Attempt at getting into the system."

Savyn reluctantly took a knee in front of the panel next to the door and started clicking into it. After a few minutes, the door suddenly opened and Savyn scrambled to his feet.

"I have successfully hacked into the door," he stated, mostly for himself, then, quieter. "I... Had not anticipated that would work."

The team cleared the bridge quickly, freeing Hansen and confirming everything was alright. Savyn remained toward the back of the group, not entirely trusting his own combat abilities if it were to come to that.

[Battle Bridge  Engineering | USS Discovery]

"œYou are a great asset Mr Savyn" Betaika remarked, after a demonstration of his officers versatile skills. He had found a dependable officer and it would be unfortunate if he was transferred, a common phenomenon after frontier day.  He needed to accept the reality of his posting, especially at times like this for the federation. Betaika reminded himself that the free state would eventually recall him, when diplomatic favours run dry. Then an interrogation of everything he had learnt would predictably ensue. It didn't feel like betrayal to him, as Starfleet had gone into it with their eyes wide open, willing to accept the knowledge gained by both sides. As his first captain said to him, postings come and go, keep moving forward (which is hypocritical considering he later destructed his own ship due to the nature of his encounter with Kirks enterprise)
Taking himself out of his thoughts, he addressed the group. "œOnward to engineering" He teased in a low voice.  A few minutes of running along decks and one awkward turbolift ride later, they stumbled into the thick fog of phaser fire that had consumed engineering, all targeted at the captains wife.

[J.B Dersch]

[Ensign Lilly Hansen - Battle Bridge ------> Engineering | USS Discovery]

Lilly nodded at the group who had basically rescued her. "Thanks, Now lets go defend Engineering." As they entered the engineering, Lilly quickly began to mobilize the current Sec/Tac officers in the room. "We need 2-3 Security officers at each entrance, Rifles as well" Lilly was trying to distract her self. She was angry, And was about to leave and beam to the station to find the Imposter captain and kick his ass, But that was not ideal.

[Tanner Lachlyn]

"YOU will guard my six, and if you miss, I will kill you, understood?"

Tanner's brow lifted. Miss? How offensive. Tanner didn't miss, unless alcohol or illness was involved. She gave Lorut a nod, her phaser drawn but down by her side.

Lorut's reaction and then censoring of herself because of her vulgarity earned a slight smile from Rayek.   He didn't openly admit that he did suspect that Hrafn was also a clone.  Though he did have to wonder- whether Tess' clone was also on the station?  Putting that aside for the moment he continued towards the wall panel.

Rayek was relieved when Lorut didn't shoot him and instead allowed him to access the wall panel where he noted the holding cell contained low-levels of anesthezine, a sedative.  Her outburst drew his attention.

"Lieutenant? Are you okay?" he asked while he worked at gaining access to the controls.  Lorut wasn't the only one that could hack a computer system.  His life had depended on that skill many a time in the Tal'Shiar.

Rather than answer his question, Lorut questioned his identity before stating that she was going to wake herself up. "Commander is not my name, rather it is my rank - but I understand your caution."  He countered as he used the wall panel's controls to remove the sedative from the air and then opened the forcefield granting Lorut access.

"I've experienced this once already - as such I am more than willing submit to the necessary medical checks to confirm that I am who I believe I am."

He then looked to Lachlyn who had been quiet all this time. "Lieutenant? Are you okay?" he repeated himself with slightly more concern.

Tanner looked to Rayek and blinked quietly,"Am I okay? That seems to be the least important thing to wonder right now but it is appreciated." She paused," I'm as alright as one can be. Unravelling the complexities of who is real versus not, will be difficult but for now, we need to ensure our ship and crew are safe. All crew if need be."

She looks to Rayek,"What did you mean you've been through this before?"

[Lek]

[USS Discovery - Deck 10 - Main Engineering]

Hrafn froze in confusion and raised an eyebrow, while holding her hands and the rifle up in surrender.  "What do you mean you don't know who I am?  We've met, Lek.  Hrafn Falleq-Tekin?  Your Captain's wife?  My son used to constantly run down to Engineering."

"Doctor Betaika, he must have been-" she stated, and then sighed.  "Nevermind... the Captain said you would be a problem."

She left the rifle swing down with her arms and pulled the trigger, spraying wildly as she ducked behind the bulkhead, grimacing as some of the shots hit her.  They weren't security officers, but they were still precision officers. Before they could find her, Hrafn dove for the nearest Jefferies tube, locking it behind her.  She smirked as a forcefield flashed over the door.  Tekin was able to monitor her.  Instead, she made her way to the next point, slipping down to Deck 11 and into Gamma Hull, before reaching a turbolift.

"Computer, recognize.  Falleq-Tekin, Hrafn.  Lieutenant Commander."

VOICEPRINT AUTHORIZED

The doors opened and she dashed in, waiting for the doors to close as security officers appeared in the hall.  She waved to them, as she ordered the turbolift to head to the next secure point: Gamma Bridge.

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]

A spray of phaser fire drove off the woman that claimed to be the Captain's wife. Yes, Lek kind of met her at Katra, but, at the time, Discovery was undergoing a major refit that he had to supervise and he simply wasn't sure. Either way, something was clearly drastically wrong on the ship...again.

"Computer, erect a level ten force field around all Engineering spaces. Authorization. Lek Gamma Four Two Epsilon."

"Acknowledged."

Lek then tapped his combadge.

"Engineering to Captain Tekin, what is going on?"

[Rayek trLhoell]

rRayek tr'Lhoell
[Station - Operations Center]

[Station, Operations]

Malik had listened to clone Rayek's explanations, then watched on passively as he fired on M'Nia. Something clicked then in clone Malik's brain. A higher calling from a source he couldn't put into words, but he had to get off this station and help his fellow Thinker clones.

The Risan set his rifle to kill and nodded to clone Rayek to activate the site to site transport.

"I understand. I am with you. My locality is to the Thinkers. Beam me directly behind the Bajoran."

rRayek smiled and then looked towards the Vulcan, phaser still held at the ready, but not pointing towards the Vulcan.

Vadok's stoic facade masked a flurry of conflicting emotions beneath the surface. The revelation of his clone nature shook him to his core, challenging the very essence of his identity as a Starfleet officer. Yet, amid the chaos and the Romulan's decisive actions, Vadok's training and duty prevailed.

He cast a determined look towards the Romulan, acknowledging the gravity of the situation with a calm resolve. "Acknowledged," Vadok responded firmly, his voice betraying no hint of internal turmoil.

Hearing the Vulcan's confirmation, rRayek holstered the sidearm and began working the controls to the transporter.  As he did so he overheard the Caitian, who's had shaken off the stun-effect rapidly.

"Y'know even Starfleet discourages blindly following orders. You might think about that!" she said.

Vadok maintained his composed demeanor despite the turmoil brewing within him. As M'nia's defiant words reached him, he paused, his gaze meeting hers with a depth that hinted at the internal struggle beneath his calm exterior.

"Blindly following orders is indeed discouraged," Vadok replied, his voice steady yet carrying a subtle undertone of empathy. "However, there are times when duty and loyalty to the greater mission require decisive action."

rRayek glanced over after having transported the Lt Commander.

"Very well said, Ensign."  rRayek praised

"Priority presently is to secure the ship.  It is our best means back to the Gamma Quadrant.  Unfortunately they've raised there shields and I do not know the ship's shield frequency."  The rRomulan looked to the Vulcan.   "Do you?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[Station -  Cloning lab-  outside the holding cells]

Tanner's brow lifted. Miss? How offensive. Tanner didn't miss, unless alcohol or illness was involved. She gave Lorut a nod, her phaser drawn but down by her side.

Tanner looked to Rayek and blinked quietly,"Am I okay? That seems to be the least important thing to wonder right now but it is appreciated." She paused," I'm as alright as one can be. Unravelling the complexities of who is real versus not, will be difficult but for now, we need to ensure our ship and crew are safe. All crew if need be."

She looks to Rayek,"What did you mean you've been through this before?"

Rayek looked to the Sec/Tac chief hesitating a moment as he looked to the identical figure lying prone in a cell nearby.

"I mean that at one point during my first year on Katra,  I and several other officers from the USS Healy,  - Katra's attached vessel - were taken captive at which point genetic samples were stolen from us without our knowledge and used to clone us, long after our escape."

Any further discussion was interrupted by the well-familiar sound of a transporter rematerialization.  But who would be beaming into a holding cell area?   The answer was pretty simple, someone who didn't want the captives there to be freed.

"We've got incoming!"  he called out in warning.

[Station, Cloning Lab

Clone Malik materialised 5 ft behind Clone-Lorut who was attempting to wake the original copies. He pointed the rifle at the small of her back and without any hesitation, fired.

The moment Rayek saw Malik, he charged the man as the pilot pointed the phaser rifle towards Lorut and fired.

[Tekin Nevir]

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]

A spray of phaser fire drove off the woman that claimed to be the Captain's wife. Yes, Lek kind of met her at Katra, but, at the time, Discovery was undergoing a major refit that he had to supervise and he simply wasn't sure. Either way, something was clearly drastically wrong on the ship...again.

"Computer, erect a level ten force field around all Engineering spaces. Authorization. Lek Gamma Four Two Epsilon."

"Acknowledged."

Lek then tapped his combadge.

"Engineering to Captain Tekin, what is going on?"

[USS Discovery - Unknown section]

Tekin was monitoring the crew from the cameras, and looked with amusement as Beta Bridge was released.  He changed to the Gamma Bridge view and released the lock on the door, watching that security team walk in before trapping them. They were headed towards Engineering.  Of course they were.  Thats when Lek contacted him.

"Lek!  We have infiltrators staging a mutiny on the ship.  I can't tell how many of the bridge crew has been taken, but they are on their way to take over Engineering now.  I've initiated an anti-mutiny lockout.  You should still have access to Engineering controls, but only just.  The station... the station was doing cloning experiments.  Flash clones it looks like.  Thats why there was fighting on the station, it wasn't officers against officers, it was officers against their clones."

Closing the comm, the man then brought up communications, and sent a secure channel to the station ops.

"Tekin to Ops.  What's your status?  Discovery is now fully aware of our plans."

[Lorut Vila]

Real Vila:
As the air cleared from Rayek's accessing the filters, Vila's mind began to work better. Her brown eyes opened cautiously. Where was she?! Oh no, it was Crell's "hospital." She panicked a moment, writhing around. After a moment, her mind realized that she wasn't there. It was...different. More clinical. A starship. Or base. The Federation! She glanced around again. The others were beginning to rouse. "Captain?" She said, cautiously, quietly, in Bajoran.

Clone Vila:

Lieutenant? Are you okay?

"No," she said, her eyes flashing and her tone in its usual state of coldness. "I am at a loss as to why the Federation has, once again, allowed atrocities to happen under their watch," she said. "Once we figure out what's happening, I am tendering my resignation. Things need to be dealt with and the Fleet's rules won't allow me to do it MY way," she said. She moved forward, towards the Vila that lay on the biobed. The woman wasn't sleeping peacefully-some things never changed. Though she didn't look as tortured as Vila would've expected...more like...unsure. Hmm.

Commander is not my name, rather it is my rank - but I understand your caution....I've experienced this once already - as such I am more than willing submit to the necessary medical checks to confirm that I am who I believe I am.

Vila shrugged. "You should be more careful about trusting people," she said, simply and evenly.
Finally, the "real" Vila was awake. They stared at each other, and Vila raised her phaser.

In a moment, a sound startled her and everything went black. What the HELL?

Real Vila:
Vila cried out as her...clone? Apparition? Nightmare? crumpled in front of her. She let out the shrillest scream she'd ever uttered. "Why did you kill her? Me?" She asked, struggling to sit up. "Someone help me!!"

[Lek]

[USS Discovery - Unknown section]

Tekin was monitoring the crew from the cameras, and looked with amusement as Beta Bridge was released.  He changed to the Gamma Bridge view and released the lock on the door, watching that security team walk in before trapping them. They were headed towards Engineering.  Of course they were.  Thats when Lek contacted him.

"Lek!  We have infiltrators staging a mutiny on the ship.  I can't tell how many of the bridge crew has been taken, but they are on their way to take over Engineering now.  I've initiated an anti-mutiny lockout.  You should still have access to Engineering controls, but only just.  The station... the station was doing cloning experiments.  Flash clones it looks like.  Thats why there was fighting on the station, it wasn't officers against officers, it was officers against their clones."

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]

Lek blinked, shook his head, blinked again, before finally being able to reply.

"Did you say clones Sir? No matter, Engineering is well defended. No one is getting in here and having a ship capable of moving. Is there a plan to regain control?"

[Tekin Nevir]

[Main Engineering - USS Discovery]

Lek blinked, shook his head, blinked again, before finally being able to reply.

"Did you say clones Sir? No matter, Engineering is well defended. No one is getting in here and having a ship capable of moving. Is there a plan to regain control?"

[USS Discovery - Unknown location]

Tekin considered for a moment, and glanced back at the security feeds.  "Yes, I did.  And I'm sure you are as tired of this dark side of Starfleet as I am about it.  Right now we need to keep ship systems secured.  And maybe destroy that Prophet-forsaken place.  In fact, I think we will.  I know you've been dying to shoot down what we encountered.  Get me a plan to break through the defenses so we can turn that so-called Federation outpost into atomized particles.  Starfleet Intelligence can kiss my nacelles."

[Malik Grippen]

[Station, Reactor Room]

The phaser was a direct hit. Clone Vila slumped to the floor dead.

"A sacrifice for the greater good. You won't understand."

Before he could get another shot off, non-clone Rayek charged at him. Clone Malik levelled the rifle at the True Romulan and fired again, hopefully with enough time before he was wrestled.