YE/E01 - Disreputable Damsel

[GM-01]

==Away Team Thread==

As the away team materialised, they found themselves standing on a starship Bridge that had gone out of fashion over a century earlier; rather than the standard greys or sometimes wood panels current designs used, chairs for both the Captain and First Officer, and LCARS terminals powered by multitronic or bio-neural systems, the Bridge was circular and very beige. The single chair in the center looked well-worn, and the terminals around the perimeter were quite clearly still working on duotronic circuits. It was like stepping into a museum; in fact it was very similar to the Enterprise-A or Saratoga, both at the Fleet Museum, just smaller.

Standing in the center of the Bridge, having apparently just risen from his chair, stood the ship's apparently sole crewmember. Human and in his early sixties, he stood a little over six feet, with a weathered face and dirty blonde hair that was already turning grey. Tattered cargo pants and scuffed combat boots were topped by a rumpled shirt and a dark blue woolen trenchcoat. He appeared unarmed, and though he did not seem to appreciate the presence of the Starfleet crew, he also made no effort to resist.

"Welcome aboard the Disreputable Damsel. I'm Captain Heathridge."

For anyone familiar with Earth dialects, the Captain seemed to be from Scotland, specifically the areas around Edinburgh. His voice also carried none of the warmth that might otherwise be offered to a guest aboard a ship, further reinforcing that he didn't want them there.

"Well, let's get this over with, shall we? I'm sure you have more important things to do."

[Peter Jensen]

Peter looked around as he materialized on the bridge of the Damsel. He kept the last minute instructions from the bridge in mind: Mind your manners. 
He had taken slight offense to that, as this was something he took pride in, but he'd let it drop. He hadn't come this far without being able to drop quips like that from his constant awareness when circumstances demanded it.
He would, however, privately ask the Captain later, how she'd feel about him insinuating in front of the crew that she was rude, callous and generally obnoxious.

For now, though, there was indeed a job to do. 

When he looked around it felt like he was back in the fleet museum aboard the bridge of the Enterprise-A. That reassured him somewhat. Unless they'd done something truly mind-bending to the ship, the Yeager should be able to disable it if things came to shove. 

He stepped forward and offered the Captain his hand. "Thank you, Captain. I am Commander Peter Jensen, First Officer of the Yeager. Allow me to introduce Leftenant d'Tor'an, our Chief of Security, as well as Midshipmen Turner and Kiernan, engineer and doctor respectively.", he said as he gestured to each individual when presenting them. 

"I appreciate you're probably a busy man, so let's get right to it" he said and, with a smile that was meant to be reassuring and disarming, continued: "The sooner we get started, the sooner we finish, and the sooner we're out of your hair. I'm going to need a complete deck plan of the ship and 100% accurate cargo manifest. And yes, that includes whatever modifications you might have made, secret compartments, whatever you might have stashed under that chair, or under your bed, etc. I intend to search this ship from bow to stern and port to starboard, so my people will find everything on their own, you understand, but if they do find something irregular, and it wasn't on the plan you gave us, our search is going to take longer. 

Much. Longer", he finished with a calm voice, but also one that showed that he meant it. Full cooperation would be preferable. For all parties.

[Artemis d'Tor'an]

For some reason, Art hadn’t thought they’d materialize on the Bridge. She supposed that it was herself projecting; she certainly would not have given an unknown number of persons coordinates to her ship’s Bridge. She would have had people transport into a designated area, like a transport room or a cargo bay. She looked around and immediately tensed, thrown off by more than just the old-fashioned choices of the ship’s control area.

A single human-looking male stood in the center of this Bridge, staring down the uniformed officers with a sort of tiredness in his eyes. “Welcome aboard the Disreputable Damsel.” The man said plainly. “I'm Captain Heathridge.”

It was an odd name for a ship, but Art was not here to judge that. Their Captain had sent them aboard because she thought something was suspicious, and so that was what she was here to investigate. She did her best to look intimidating: straightened her back, squared her shoulders, puffed out her chest, and narrowed her eyes; in short, she did everything she could except bare her Klingon teeth at the older man.

Art also took her own advice, letting Commander Jensen do the talking. He introduced himself, the rest of the Away Team, and requested complete documentation. Giving no reason for their search, he was very clear about their intentions to turn the ship inside out. While he talked (and talked), Art scanned around them, wondering just why he was the only one manning the Bridge.




==Tag GM: Does Art see any active consoles, any blinking lights, what’s on the viewscreen?, basically looking for any evidence that another person was on the Bridge alongside this man?==

[Alexander Turner]

Alexander materialized on the bridge and a massive grin immediately formed on his face. Duotronic circuits, bio neural systems, a true classic lady. Just like the Enterprise A, Alexander's favorite ship of all time. Admittedly he was initially quite distracted, but he quickly returned to focusing on the task at hand as the commander and Captain exchanged words.

“Welcome aboard the Disreputable Damsel.” The man said plainly. “I'm Captain Heathridge.” 

Alexander listened carefully for any strange tones or indicators of nerves in the man's speech. He also tried to sniff the air discreetly for signs of other crew members or anything out of the ordinary.

As Commander Jensen began to speak Alexander pulled out his tricorder getting ready to begin scans when ordered. He Also nodded to Captain Heathridge politely as he was introduced.

==Tag commander or chief, Alexander is ready for orders.==

==GM input: Do Alexander's Catien sense of hearing or smell pick up anything out of the ordinary in the captains mannerisms or the bridge environment?==

[GM-01]

==Jensen==

Heathridge raised an eyebrow at Jensen as the Starfleet Commander spoke, waiting impatiently for the monologuing to stop, before producing a PADD that rested on the armrest of his chair. He handed it to Jensen, a simple manifest of spare parts and decommissioned engineering equipment, to be delivered to a Starfleet Repair Yard for refurbishment or recycling.

==D'Tor'an==

All of the consoles on the Bridge were active, but none of the chairs looked to have been occupied in a very long time. Though they were not dusty, the entire Bridge was as clean as any Starfleet vessel, they simply did not show the wear and tear of regular use. 

The viewscreen currently showed the Yeager hovering above the tiny freighter, poised to latch onto it with a tractor beam or reduce it to stellar flotsam if Heathridge did anything stupid.

==Turner==

Turner's keen sense of smell only picked up one scent on the Bridge, that of Heathridge. His ears could pick out the whirring and clicking of old duotronic systems trying their best to keep up despite their age.

Heathridge himself appeared agitated, though he was not obviously exuding any pheromones that suggested his fight or flight instinct had been triggered.

[Artemis d'Tor'an]

As the Captain handed Peter the PADD, Art watched it carefully, as if the object was going to turn into a tribble and bite him the moment he laid a finger on it. Thankfully, the PADD did no such ridiculous thing, and Art went back to scrutinizing the outdated Bridge.

She found it suspicious that there was one person on the Bridge, and yet all the consoles were powered up and active. Had Braggins scanned for lifesigns before they came over here? Art took out her tricorder now and did as such. She hated being ill-informed, and so far, she and Braggins had a solid history of just that.

“How many in your crew complement?” The Security Chief asked, her voice barely casual. She did not hide what she was doing from the Captain, as if to warn him that he better tell her the truth to the best of his abilities. “Any passengers or odd cargo we should know about?”



==GM request: With the tricorder set to wide-range, how many life-signs can Art detect, sans the Away Team and the Damsel’s Captain?==

[GM-01]

There were no other lifesigns on the Disreputable Damsel.

[Sara Kiernan]

When the aura of being transported faded from Sara’s eyes, she instinctively grabbed her medical kit, before the sheer emptiness of the bridge struck her. She relaxed slightly, even as the almost lively bridge felt eerie with only the ship’s captain on it. She wondered where the crew might be.

The Captan of this ship wasn’t putting Sara at ease. But she seemed to have the easy job if the ship was so lightly populated. She looked the bridge over and just took it in.

==GM request: Does it seem like the bridge consoles have been in use or are they just on?==

[Peter Jensen]

"Much obliged"  Peter said with a genuine smile as he took the PADD. The manifest looked completely fine.
But Peter was a suspicious nature when he had to be, and he knew that there were ways of concealing things you didn't want a standard search to find.

He appreciated Artemis' thoroughness, though. He had also wondered how one man supposedly was able to run a ship all by himself.

"Alright people", he said. "As I said, we'll search everywhere. Turner, Kiernan, take a look at this and see if there's anything that stands out to you. I haven't been able to find anything on this list that arouses my suspicion, but I am neither an engineer or a doctor", he said with a smile as he handed the PADD to Turner. "Once that's done, search every square centimeter of this bridge for anything out of normal. After that, we move on from here" On a hunch he added: "Be on the lookout for jamming devices and similar".

Then he looked at the Captain.

"Leftenant d'Tor'an brings up a good point", he said, looking at her tricorder and noticing that there were no other lifesigns aboard. "Granted, this is a small ship, but surely one man can't run it all?"

[GM-01]

==Kiernan==

The consoles appeared to be just on. The consoles seemed devoid of smudges or fingerprints indicating they were regularly used.

==Everyone==

Heathridge had visibly rolled his eyes with Jensen had ordered his crew to search for jamming devices or other concealment methods, but when Jensen and D'Tor'an seemed to both ask the same question, his expression turned ever more frosty.

"Just me; what isn't automated is either operated by DOTs, or routed to my chair."

While he waited for the Starfleet crew to finish searching the Bridge, Heathridge returned to his chair. After a few moments of silence, he span it round slowly and regarded Jensen with a quizzical expression.

"Tell me, Commander. You and the Lieutenant here seem to have a healthy respect for the rules, so what unfortunate series of events transpired to get you assigned out here with a woman like Jennifer Braggins?"

[Jennifer Braggins]

[Yeager to Jensen: Expedite your search, we have a change of mission. If you cannot complete your search, you will detain Captain Heathridge and pilot the Damsel to Starbase 214.]

[Peter Jensen]

Peter was not going to take that kind of blatant disrespect to the Captain, regardless of his disagreements with her. She was, at the end of the day, a Starfleet Captain, and his CO, and he could not let that remark slip by unchallenged.

"First, that's Captain Braggins. I've given you the courtesy of using that title for you even if it's....", he looked around disparagingly at their surroundings "A bit of a stretch. Secondly, Captain Braggins has achieved more and done more good for the Federation in her fewer years than you have in your excessive years."

He was about to go on when the communications from the Yeager interrupted him. He cursed. He really wanted to give the guy the full extensive search treatment now, simply because he didn't like him. But there was no time.

"Copy, Yeager", he said. "We'll speed it up".

He gave Heathbridge a slight glare, before adressing the rest of the crew.

"Alright people, let's hustle. I expect you to know how to conduct a proper search quickly and efficiently, or I will be calling on your Academy instructors and have some choice words for them".

[GM-01]

Holding back a snort, barely, Heathridge cocked his head and gave Jensen a look that was mid-way between pity and scorn.

"You can tell me all you like about Miss Braggins' heroics, but tell me, how does a black-ops operative get to where she is without violating Federation law? How many bodies are in closets, scandals swept under rugs, all because she was working for 'the good of the Federation'."

Opening the door from the Bridge that would take the team into the cramped Turbolift to the cargo bay, Heathridge continued.

"People like her, or in positions very similar to hers, conspired to wipe the Krynar out. She was on the team that woke up the Borg Megasphere. Thousands of Starfleet officers were killed by the Borg because her amateurish plan backfired. Haven't you noticed how there's nothing in her personnel record prior to joining the Ticonderoga crew twelve years ago? How she got a "field commission" from her father and nobody at Starfleet Command even raised an eyebrow? Not to mention her recent interactions with the Tholians and the Cardassians."

The shaft opened, revealing a cavernous Cargo Bay; what had once been crew quarters and science labs had been torn out to make room.

"People like her should scare you, Commander. They're a sign that Starfleet is taking a dark turn. If I were you, I'd get out while I still could."

[Peter Jensen]

"I'll take that obviously excellent piece of career advice under advisement", Peter said diplomatically, but in a tone that said very clearly that what he really meant was something that rhymed with "shlo shlock yourshelf".
He couldn't help but agree that there was something rather suspicious of Jenny's dad's part in the whole thing, but her exploits and achievements were also undeniable.
And also, he wasn't going to give this guy the satisfaction of seeing that. It was enough that it was very likely that he'd have to break off the search before they managed to conduct a properly thorough one.

Starfleet taking a dark turn? In Peter's eyes that could both be partly true and completely wrong. He still was not a fan of Section 31, but apart from that, he thought that Starfleet had for decades been a bit too naive, and naively optimistic, not dark.

Peter led the group through the doors to the Cargo Bay and when they got there, he cleared his throat and looked at the rest of the group:

"Alright. Make it quick and make it thorough."

== I don't mean to be a nag, but just so we're not stuck here holding our unmentionables during the main mission, I'm going to say that if actual search posts haven't been made by early Wednesday evening my time (GMT+1), I'm going to move us back to the Yeager ==

[Artemis d'Tor'an]

Art found herself surprised that no other lifesigns registered on the ship - none at all, except for the Captain that was right in front of her. She didn’t disregard the idea of equipment masking life signs, but at the same time, she also didn’t know why Braggins had sent them to check out this ship. The Klingon didn’t like taking things just at face value.

Jensen asked that question out loud, and Art was glad that he took that lead. It was one thing to be thorough, it was another to look like a paranoid Security Chief on the edge.

“Just me.” Came the Captain’s response. “What isn't automated is either operated by DOTs, or routed to my chair.” Artemis frowned, if only for her dislike of fully-automated systems. There were too many points where something could go wrong, only so much that one person could control.

Then the man asked Peter about Braggins. It wasn’t so much a question as it was an indictment of Braggins’ behavior, and though Art knew he personally disliked the woman as much as she did, he snapped back. “First, that’s Captain Braggins.” He then fired back about the man’s own “Captain” title, clearly gearing up for more before being interrupted by the woman herself.

[Yeager to Jensen: Expedite your search, we have a change of mission. If you cannot complete your search, you will detain Captain Heathridge and pilot the Damsel to Starbase 214.]

Interesting. Art thought, closing out the main controls to her scanning device. She was in the dark as to what they were doing here, which was annoying a deja vu situation with Braggins, and now they were to bring this little ship into Federation custody. From star charts to police escorts, it seemed Braggins was as directionless as ever.

The Captain of the Damsel didn’t want to let it go, however. His rant started and continued as he led the team to the turbolift, which Art was quickly thinking was a bad idea. As they arrived at a cargo bay, Art mashed her slightly-pointed teeth together, reminding herself that the ship’s doctor would not take kindly to giving her a referral to a starbase dentist. She stayed quiet, letting the First Officer play the diplomat, lest Art bang this “Captain” up against a wall.

She brought up her scanner again, enabling a high-level scan that would detect tachyons, typing in directions for it to run a quantum scan next. It was unfortunate that both of these scans would take a handful of minutes to run; this meant that the Captain had more time to run his mouth. As she moved the tool around the room, she made sure to keep one eye on Heathridge, glaring.


==Tag GM: results of the two intensive scans?==

[GM-01]

Both scans, when combined, revealed an anomalous reading near the center of the cargo hold. Anything other than a scan at the quantum level would have written the initial tachyon scan findings off as a software error.

A seemingly-innocuous deck plate to the naked eye, the scans determined that the deck plate didn't exist. When inspected closely, it would be fairly easy to determine that the deck plating was holographic in nature and revealed a compartment two and a half meters long, eight meters wide, and just over a meter deep.

With the holography disabled either willingly by Heathridge, who was now looking a little tense, or by remote shutdown using a Tricorder, the compartment revealed was filled almost to the brim with crates bearing the insignia of Starfleet Medical. Stuffed down beside these crates were a dozen sleeping bags and several small containers of emergency rations.

A more thorough investigation of the hold would indicate there were five other such compartments, all similarly filled and shielded against regular scans. All of them showed signs of having been occupied by living beings within the last week, with DNA scans verifying the occupants as Talarians; specifically women and children under the age of fourteen.

[Alexander Turner]

Well so far all Alexander had been able to find was some old computers. Alexander loved this kind of stuff and could have spent all day examining them, but that was not why they were here. Despite his best attempts Alexander just could not see anything wrong here on the bridge, well other than the ships Captain disparaging their Captain that was.

[Yeager to Jensen: Expedite your search, we have a change of mission. If you cannot complete your search, you will detain Captain Heathridge and pilot the Damsel to Starbase 214.]

As the team was led to the Cargo bay the Captain continued to spew nonsense about Starfleet and Captain Braggins. Alexander did not know his new Captain well and talk of section 31 always made his skin crawl. Alexander decided though that the purpose of the chat was to distract and he noted the presence of ever increasing levels of stress or fear from their host as they entered the cargo bay.

His tricorder in hand Alexander was going to run every scan he could think of, but he knew they had to hurry and so he tried to think of how he would hide something. Holographics was one of his specialties and so Alexander decided that is what he would scan for holo emitters or holographic signals. 

Surprisingly Alexanders tricorder quickly locked on to several holographic signals in the bay and when Alexander set his tricorder to disable the signals he was surprised by several of the deck plates disappearing.

"Ah Commander." Alexander pointed to the holes now appearing around the Cargo bay.

==Tag not sure if that's how I should have written that hopefully didn't step on anyone's toes ==

[Ktan Shadowhunt]

== Catch-Up Post #3 ==

Materializing on the bridge of the Disreputable Damsel - a name that practically screamed piracy - Ktan found himself standing in the nerve center of an antique. Only one member of the crew appeared to be here, Heathridge, who was a human with graying hair and a scruffy demeanor. He introduced himself as a captain of the vessel and the sole occupant.

While Commander Jenson took care of the pleasantries, Ktan took out his tricorder and started scanning. The design of the bridge looked like something out of the 2200's, which beige coloring rather than gray, and duotronic circuitry that hadn't been used in modern starship design in decades. If he had been an engineer, the place would have fascinated him. As it was, Ktan was only concerned with how one man kept a bucket of bolts like this flying through space, and what kinds of modifications he must have made that would complicate their search.

As he and his fellow officers began their sweep of the bridge, Ktan kept to orders and didn't speak. This endeavor proved more difficult as Jenson's conversation with Captain Heathridge.

"Tell me, Commander," Heathridge said. "You and the Lieutenant here seem to have a healthy respect for the rules, so what unfortunate series of events transpired to get you assigned out here with a woman like Jennifer Braggins?"

For the second time that day, Ktan had to hide his amusement. It seemed that whatever Starfleet intended to keep quiet about the Philadelphia's last mission, word had gotten out.

As if on cue, Commander Braggins' voice came through Jenson's comms.

[Yeager to Jensen: Expedite your search, we have a change of mission. If you cannot complete your search, you will detain Captain Heathridge and pilot the Damsel to Starbase 214.]

The banter between the two men only escalated from there, with Jenson urging Ktan and the rest of the junior officers to hasten their search.

Ktan dutifully continued his scans, but not without divided attention. He was learning more about Braggins in this one conversation than he'd been able to find in weeks of casual research into his new captain.

"You can tell me all you like about Miss Braggins' heroics," Heathridge said, "but tell me, how does a black-ops operative get to where she is without violating Federation law? How many bodies are in closets, scandals swept under rugs, all because she was working for 'the good of the Federation'. People like her, or in positions very similar to hers, conspired to wipe the Krynar out. She was on the team that woke up the Borg Megasphere. Thousands of Starfleet officers were killed by the Borg because her amateurish plan backfired. Haven't you noticed how there's nothing in her personnel record prior to joining the Ticonderoga crew twelve years ago? How she got a "field commission" from her father and nobody at Starfleet Command even raised an eyebrow? Not to mention her recent interactions with the Tholians and the Cardassians. People like her should scare you, Commander. They're a sign that Starfleet is taking a dark turn. If I were you, I'd get out while I still could."

Gods above, Ktan thought. What kind of drama have I stepped into? And how does this man know so much and so specific information about our captain?

A chance encounter like this had to have been manufactured, and it rubbed Ktan entirely the wrong way.

In his distracted eavesdropping, Ktan didn't notice that a corridor had been opened behind his back. He'd barely registered the expanded search area before his fellow officers made a discovery.

Evidence that Heathridge had been hiding Talarian passengers, perhaps refugees of some kind, in hidden cargo areas.

Another mission frought with moral quandaries, and a captain at the helm that Ktan didn't trust at all. It was all his worst fears realized.

Realizing that it was now or never for him to actually contribute something of substance to the mission, Ktan began looking for signs of where the passengers could have gone - beginning with an old trick that had been used repeatedly by Starfleet in the past - the transporter buffers.

== And I'm back!

GM Input: Ktan is doing a general scan for hidden lifeforms and attempting to access the Damsel's transporter systems to see if any patterns are being held in statis. What does he find? ==

[Peter Jensen]

== Welcome back, Shawdowhunt! Great post! Also, I'm taking the liberty of speeding this along a bit so we can do the main mission ==

Peter was standing next to Art when she ran the scan and he was glad he did. What he saw as she ran the scan surprised him deeply. He had thought the man to be a mercenary, a 25th century edition of the infamous Harcourt Fenton Mudd that had plagued a previous century. What he saw was the polar opposite, and he actually felt a pang of....guilt? He sighed, and his facial features softened considerably when he looked at Heathbridge and spoke.

"Well, it seems there wasn't anything here, after all", he said and pretended to sound casual. He could have used a spray bottle on Turner if he had had one when the Midshipman actually did his duty and alerted him to the holes in the floor where he'd most likely been hiding the refugees.

Ironic....I am the one suddenly having a problem with people doing their duty...

"Well, yes, that does look suspicious", he said, the aforementioned irony not lost on him one bit, as he peeked inside the hole and the crates of Starfleet equipment. He cursed a bit under his breath. He couldn't let the "appropriation" of Starfleet property go completely unmentioned. But he also didn't want to bring the hammer down on the man - disagreeable though he was - for helping people flee the Cardassians.

"You heard the Captain before: We don't have any more time to waste here", he looked at everyone, and then at Heathbridge. "Normally, I'd have insisted on taking those supplies back with me, but that takes time we don't have right now. So I'll expect you to hand in those Starfleet supplies and get civilian equivalents the first chance you get", he said as he looked at the man, struggling to maintain some sternness in his voice and not sure how successful he was.

"I see nothing atrocious here. Only the world's crappiest cruise ship in an area of space that isn't really suited to crusing. Risa, this isn't. But that's not my affair. Those Starfleet supplies are, however. Get them changed for civilian issue, hm?", he said, but much softer now, then headed over towards Heathbridge:

"Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, Captain Heathbridge", he said without the sarcasm he'd used before, then, leaning in against him as he shook his hand, and whispered:

"Upgrade your jamming equipment. Now. The Cardassian Union is evil, not stupid, and if our scanners found this, so will theirs eventually, and Starfleet won't be able to protect you when they do.". He held the man's gaze for a moment to make sure he got the message, then let go of his hand, and looked around at the group before tapping his badge:

"Jensen to Yeager. We found nothing of enough importance to justify staying here. We're ready to go back".

Then he looked at Heathbridge and silently mouthed the word "Godspeed".

[GM-Braggins]

==Shadowhunt==

There were no hidden life-forms, nor was anybody being held in stasis: it looked like the Damsel was on a return trip to pick up more refugees, with medical supplies for whatever camp they were taking refuge in.

==Everyone==

No sooner had Jensen finished uttering the words "ready to go back", the transporter whined and the away team dematerialised.

==Back to the ship!==

[Ktan Shadowhunt]

Ktan's scans didn't turn up anything of note - just a rickety old ship outfitted for supply runs. Given the hidden living spaces, it seemed apparent that Heathridge was on a return trip back into Talarian space to pick up more refugees.

By the letter of the law, Jenson could have Heathridge arrested based on the evidence available. With Starfleet medical supplies and traces of Talarian DNA on the Damsel, the evidence of smuggling was certainly strong enough.

At the same time, however. . . Ktan knew what it was like to seek asylum. He knew how it felt to be fleeing your home when the political atmosphere turned hostile. When galactic governments could make no official acts of support, it was people like Heathridge who saved lives, at times even with under the table support, as one might guess from the presence of Starfleet supplies here.

However, given Heathridge's apparent dislike for Starfleet, Ktan could only assume he'd gotten the supplies through even more. . . unofficial means.

All those things considered, Ktan didn't totally disagree with Jenson's next call.

"You heard the Captain before," he said to Ktan and the other junior officers. "We don't have any more time to waste here."

He then turned back to the scruffy captain of the Disreputable Damsel.

"Normally, I'd have insisted on taking those supplies back with me, but that takes time we don't have right now. So I'll expect you to hand in those Starfleet supplies and get civilian equivalents the first chance you get. I see nothing atrocious here. Only the world's crappiest cruise ship in an area of space that isn't really suited to cruising. Risa, this isn't. But that's not my affair. Those Starfleet supplies are, however. Get them changed for civilian issue, hm?"

Jenson then pulled Heathridge in closer and whispered something into his ear.

Even with his heightened feline hearing, Ktan only caught a few words, but the tone was clear. Jenson was giving the man a warning about the risks of crossing the Cardassians. Wise advice if ever there was.

If there were any dichotomy between Ktan's grudge against Braggins' actions on the Philadelphia and Jenson's choice here, they were minor at best. Jenson was allowing a civilian to risk his own life to save refugees, a decision based on the prerogative granted to him by his orders. Braggins defied direct orders, and despite being motivated rescuing hostages, simultaneously put countless lives at risk by provoking war with Cardassia. Not to mention that Jenson's choice here didn't involve handing the midshipman phasers and asking them to fire on Starfleet.

No, there was no moral dilemma to be had here.

It seems I can, at least to some extend, respect the Yeager's first officer. Even if I cannot offer the same to her captain.

As Ktan mulled these things over, the rest of the junior officers all gathered back on the bridge. Jenson then signaled the Yeager that they were ready to return.

Blue light engulfed them, and they were gone.

>> Transporter Room >>

[Artemis d'Tor'an]

The results of the scans were troubling - not to the safety of the Away Team, but to Art’s conscience. Things lit up at the center of the cargo bay, under the floor, which would be (in Art’s opinion), the most obvious place to stash something. Art was thankful for how quickly their Engineering Midshipman was able to deactivate whatever kept the cloaked/holographic plating hidden, and she subsequently took a look inside.

No one there. 

But the compartment was 8 feet by an estimated 25 feet, and 3 feet deep. This was undoubtedly a secret hold, and it was filled with crate after crate. What troubled Art was the Starfleet insignia on it; specifically, Medical’s logo. She was admittedly slightly relieved that it wasn’t Security’s, but now she had about twelve more questions for the “good Captain.” A closer look showed sleepsacks, and rations. Art was now frowning.

The COS stood up, and looked at her scans again. Now easily-spotted on the scans, there were half a dozen of these compartments in all. She looked uneasily towards Commander Jensen, not wanting to say her thoughts out loud. “No one’s in here.” She said, her voice flat. Continuing, she lowered her voice to a whisper: “There were Talarians, but no one’s here now.” She was glad that he was next to her, looking over her shoulder, regardless of how that may look to others.

“Well, it seems there wasn't anything here, after all!” Jensen announced, almost jovially. And to the issue of contraband medical supplies: “Normally, I'd have insisted on taking those supplies back with me, but that takes time we don't have right now.” He was suddenly in a hurry; they were all suddenly in a hurry, and the atmosphere had changed. It was as if they had asked him for his papers, and the man had revealed that he was an undercover agent, and they were about to blow his cover.

He spoke quietly and quickly to the ship’s Captain, and then told the Yeager to get them out of there. Art’s eyes looked softer on the man now, and she felt her throat tighten as she waited for their transporter technician to grab them. She wanted questions answered, she wanted to help, and she wanted… more. But she was not a medical officer, and this was not the time or place. Who knew why Braggins ordered them to investigate this ship - and now, she would be keeping any meddling Starfleet hands from it. Art cast an uneasy glance at the First Officer as the transporter light engulfed them, and for a brief moment (before her Klingon senses took over and she steeled herself), she wanted to hold his hand.


>> Elsewhere! >>