Homefront PART II

 Episode Name:  Homefront PART II

   Written By:  Belgarath

         Cast:  Anderson, Becky, Gwen Poole, J'qoba, Jatila, Kisa, 
                Kismet, Lanie, Leres, Malloy, Nabrun, Novairen, 
                Prochazka, Randal, Strell, T'Pral and Ttomak.

  Produced By:  Starfleet

  Directed By:  Belgarath

     Aired On:  Fri Sep 24 01:53:32 2004

     Stardate:  54410.1

Time: Tue Sep 14 16:54:47 2004

Stardate: 54387.6

Meanwhile in the Neutral Zone....it is a normal afternoon officers and civilians who gather for drink and company. Conversation is light and airy, albeit friendly. Outside the viewports, the Anomaly shines forth its mysterious light which is temporarily blocked by a transport which breaks off from the other three refugee ships.

T'Pral trots across the Neutral Zone threshold, with a determined and steady gait. Moving between the bodies dividing her from the bar, she weaves her way in, winding around. Kisa's invitation meets with a slight nod-- not uncertain, surely. "That would be desirable, yes, thank you... but you will have to introduce me. I have not been aquainted with this one..." She indicates the person with which Kisa had been talking.

A quirked brow is Strell's only response to Jatila for a few moments. "Indeed. It will be at my first opportunity."

Lanie has her head bent slightly toward Gwen Poole as the pair sits at a corner table, intently looking over a PADD and talking in quiet tones. Lanie looks mildly thoughtful for a moment before she glances up at Poole, giving her an amused smirk and saying something to her.

Poole just wears an enthusiastic smile as she explains whatever it is she was explaining to Lanie. At the other woman's response, she flushes crimson and glances over her shoulder to the bar. Looking back to Kait, she murmurs something back.

At her place, Gwen Poole says "I have a t-shirt."

Prochazka keeps silent, for a few moments longer, watching the various people passing by from where he's seated by the bar. After a few more sips of his beer, he takes out that small object from his pocket again, studying it thoughtfully, for a few moments.

Leres is drinking a thick goopy mixture that looks well, like mud. She gives a quick glance about the room and gives a nod of greeting to Malloy.

Ttomak stares at his PADD.

At his place, Malloy chuckles softly, then nods to Kisa. "Well, being rid of the brats I reckon you did earn yourself some leisure time. AS for the quad, well, there are quarters for us on station, but lately I find myself every so often stuck on the Aegis working, I'd rather have them on there. Which just ain't possible."

Kisa beams, standing up momentarily, and gestures across the way to Malloy. "T'Pral, this is Lieutenant Craig Malloy of Timefleet. And Craig, this is T'Pral." She now gestures back to T'Pral. "She serves as Ambassador Rome's aide. Now you've both met, can we get you anything to drink?" is inquired, of course, from the Vulcan.

At her place, Lanie asks, smirking a bit, "And this shirt says you're secretly a nerd? I'm surprised you don't dress up in costumes and go to those conventions back on Earth."

Randal's attention is drawn to the viewport as the light flickering of light is interrupted by the passing of the transport. After a moment, though, it drifts away and to his drink as he sits quietly for the moment, keeping to himself and enjoying his alcohol.

Malloy rests his elbows on the tabletop, leaning a bit forward to talk to Kisa. When he's being introduced to T'Pral, he turns his head slightly, then gives the Vulcan a friendly nod. "We met, in passing, a few times. Nice to meet you properly finally."

Kisa chuckles at overhearing something Malloy whispered across the table before T'Pral's arrival.

Poole coughs, turning ever the more red in the face and motions with her head towards the door.

A Tellarite makes his way past. The exit parts for him and he disappears into the mall.

At her place, Gwen Poole says "Right. So. Want to see the configuration demo?"

Jatila nods amiably to Strell. "You know, it occurred to me, if Kisa Dra were to perform on a regular schedule in the Gallery, even more sentients would be tempted in to appreciate the artwork you have displayed." Catching Thorne's gaze, her own follows it, but, upon detecting nothing untoward, she returns to her conversation. Briefly, her eyes rest on Ttomak.

Across the station, klaxons go off as the yellow alert lights begin flashing.

At her place, Lanie says "Of course I do." Her eyes glance around the area as if realizing suddenly that the Neutral Zone has become a little more crowded than it seemed earlier." How about--"

Lanie leans in a bit toward Poole, cut off in mid word by the klaxons. She glances up at the ceiling as if that'll give her all the information she needs to know. Because bad things happen from overheard, right?

On every viewscreen across the station, the image of a green, winged dagger on a black background appears.

J'qoba pauses in while taking a drink from his mug. He looks around to noticed the yellow lights flashing all around him.

Kismet's antennae perk upwards in blatant curiosity. "Wonders never--" she silences, triggered into that state when seeing this winged dagger. Her hand clutches around her frenikan, drawing it closer to her chest.

Strell lifts a brow. "An interesting symbol," he notes as he catches sight of the winged dagger.

Prochazka keeps on studying the object in his hand, smiling just until he sees the yellow lights flashing, putting the object back in his pocket, wathing the viewscreen, frowning a bit to himself. "What now...?" he mutters.

"Tal'Kaden," Poole says, giving Lanie a nudge as she rises to her feet. Maybe she doesn't want to die sitting down.

Jatila glances toward the ceiling with a slight sigh. "Not again," she mutters, not particularly alarmed... And then she catches sight of the viewscreen, and her entire attention focuses on it, dark eyes narrowing.

. o O Kismet thinks "Not them. Where's my chaka? What about the children?"

J'qoba pauses for a moment and decides to down the rest of his beverage. He sets his mug down to watch the viewscreen.

Randal glances up as the yellow alert goes up. He looks more annoyed then anything, and opens his mouth to make a sarcastic comment, but is interrupted by Strell's comment. He looks over at the screen and his brow furrows. The only noise he ends up saying is "Hmm."

T'Pral inclines her head to that, and is ready to answer when she is also cut off from whatever she might have said, her attention quite stolen away.

Malloy arcs his left eyebrow. "Oh for crying out loud." he mutters, hand automatically checking for something on his right hand, that apparently isn't where it is supposed to be, judging by the look of dismay on his face. His facial expression turns into a frown, accompanied by an Andorian curse which to humans sounds like advertisement for a nice beach ressort. "Tal'Kaden..." he mutters, rising slowly from his seat.

At her place, Gwen Poole says "There isn't a whole lot I can do here. Stay if you wish, but I'm beating a path."

Kisa's alarm strengthens in terrified alarm. "EVERYBODY DOWN!" she cries out, antennae obviously picking up something. A hand reaches out to tug T'Pral HARD by the sleeve, hoping to reach beneath the table in time.

Ttomak looks up, arching a brow. He then catches sight of the symbol on the viewscreen, and his eyes nearly poop out. He stands up, then cocks his head as his eyes go distant. He looks at Kisa, and in full agreement, he shouts, "NOW!" as he ducks down.

Lanie, nudged but having already been placing her feet under her in order to stand up, rises next to Poole. She looks like she's about to say something to Poole, but a glance at her causes her to swallow back the words. It might have something to do with the fact that Poole is very much /out/ of uniform. She nods toward Poole as if in silent response of something and turns a bit.

Poole sighs and pushes Lanie back down, getting underneath her table calmly.

The tug feels more like a yank, to the Vulcan Aide, and she more or less crumples upon herself like a child's doll, to hit the deck beside the table.

. o O Kisa thinks "Something's coming and it doesn't sound good"

Jatila doesn't even bother identifying the source of the shouted alarm- she dives from her stool, knocking over her glass without even realizing it, and under the nearest table.

Leres looks up at the yellow alert, but something someone says catches her attention. She immediately looks concerned and as Malloy speaks again her brows furrow, but it's with Kisa's statement that she gets moving. She doesn't waste any time getting mobile and down. And she doesn't get down in any kind of disco way either.

Prochazka blinks, as he hears all that, especially the warning about getting down to the floor, before deciding that following the warning would possibly be wise. And so, he hurries down from his own stool, and moves along the floor in the direction of the nearest table. "Never a moment of peace..."

Strell turns his gaze toward the shouting Romulan and Andorian, lifting a brow before he settles to the deck in silence.

Anderson arrives from the mall, the entrance's double doors sliding silently closed behind him.

Anderson has arrived.

J'qoba mutters a few curses as he ducks under the bar. The mug shatters on the floor next to his hand with the handle remaining in his hand. His free hand instinctively going to the handle of his d'k tagh.

Randal jumps off his barstool as the shout goes up, but instead of diving to the floor or under a table he raises his hands in fists and looks quickly around the bar. His sweeping gaze stops on Ttomak, who Randal makes a point of watching closely. There's a scowl of suspicion on his features.

The station groans and shudders violently. The lights go out, occassionally flickering back on. Consoles explode and fires erupt.

. o O Randal doesn't recognize Ttomak, and him being Romulan makes him a possible assailant in Randal's mindset.

Malloy is doing the officer and gentleman thing. He goes down in style, covering both Kisa and T'Pral, making sure they are safe and sound for the time being, getting shielding by the table. Craning his neck, he turns his head, to at least see something.

Lanie's tugged down along with Poole, not really protesting once the firework display starts. She holds her arms up to protect her head as she crouches down, halfway peeking up from where she's at, eyes squinted slightly as if she's afraid to look too long or hard at what's going on.

. o O Lanie thinks "Great, something's happening and I'm cowering under a table in the bar."

Kisa hooks an arm about the table's leg, but forgot entirely about her frenikan. The instrument flies off the table, crashing ahead against another chair and crumbling to the ground. The Andorian tries to calmly stay put while every part of her body shakes with the station. Antennae curl inward, obviously hiding away from the loud noises of destruction.

The klaxons blare once again as the red alert lights flash, bathing the darkness in a red glow.

Strell maintains his air of unflappable calm as the station jumps around like a flea on a griddle, rolling as the deck rocks.

. o O Strell thinks "We are obviously under attack."

J'qoba covers his eyes with hte hand holding the mug's handle, the only thing left of it. He moves his hand away as he hears and sees the red alert. He growls more as he feels the station start to heave underneath him by the deckplates.

Anderson walks in and seeing and hearing what is going on, scans the room, amd immediatly starts to think. "He yells over the noise "Anyone injured in here?"

Jatila hangs on tightly to her haven with one arm, the other curling around her head. A few curses muttered in Cardassian at some of the more violent bumps might be seen mouthed, though they're quiet enough to go unheard in the general hubbub.

. o O Kisa battles between sharp painful noises and maintaing a cool mindset

Leres was on her feet, if a bit crouched, but with the rocking of the station she hits her knees by the bar. She tries to right herself and get an idea of what the situation is at present. She gives the room a quick look over with a muttered curse in Trill under her breath.

Prochazka mutters as he feels the shuddering of the station, and see the fireworks and such going off. He rolls slightly further under the table of choice, colliding into the legs of said table, and gripping hold of it, keeping his hold, for the moment. He mutters something rather quietly, as he keeps on looking out into the red lights, staying where he is in case the station should start moving again.

Randal grabs the edge of the bar as he falls to a knee, trying to avoid falling as the deck suddenly pitches. With it being almost totally dark, he decides to wait it out for the moment. He does mutter something vaguely invective, but it's lost in the commotion that has erupted.

The red alert klaxon sounds throughout the station.

Anderson grabs hold of the bar and tries to pier through the darkness trying to see something cursing under his breath

Strell pushes himself back to his feet, inspecting the damage.

T'Pral can be felt to flinch, when lights fail to illuminate and she crowds with Kisa in the space behind Malloy's limited cover. Every red flash is like the heartbeat of the station, and it seems to her to be shuddering like a living thing. Her knee hurts, from where it hit the floor. "That felt..."

Anderson taps his com badge. "Ensign Anderson to Operations."

Malloy's new curses are even more vile than his previous one about the beach ressort. Straightening, he pulls out his PADD, increasing the candela output of the display enought to at least see a little something. "Alright, Kisa, I need to get to the Aegis, stat. Go to where you are assigned to go in case of a red alert...or wherever that security Ensign will direct you guys. That is if he is not too busy to clog comm-lines by hailing OPS as well. I bet he's not the only one to do so."

Malloy stands and leaves square table.

The station vibrates with every booming sound that emanates from somewhere on the station.

Anderson taps his com badge and terminates transmission.

Becky goes Out of Character.

Becky has left.

"What the heck was /that/?" Lanie murmurs to herself as she uncovers her head and face a bit, glancing around. "Gwen?" she murmurs, turning to look to the side of her where Poole had gone down. The latest of the shakes causes her to reach out to grab onto something to steady herself with. That something seems to be the chair she'd been sitting on.

Ttomak struggles to keep his balance in the rocking of the station, and keeping low helps him in that effort. But he still gets tossed about a bit, and his hair is all disheveled once he is able to get back on his feet in the similarly disheveled bar. His jaws are clenched tightly together.

"That felt..rough," is what Kisa can provide while clasping hands over her antennae. Booms are not so good on her sensitive organs. But she is able to still hear and responds, "Yes, Craig." She looks over to T'Pral with concern. "Can you stand?"

Jatila glances ceilingward as duty comes flooding back to her. "The Ambassador..." Gingerly she crawls out from beneath her protecting table to get to her feet, bracing herself against the shaking, and lets out a few racking coughs inflicted by smoke from the fires. "Sub.. SubLieutenant!"

. o O Jatila thinks "I'm going to kill them. I'm going to take them down in a cellar and turn them into /grease/ spots. Very, very slowly."

"Great," Randal notes sardonically as he climbs to a standing position with the help of the bar counter. "Either we're being bombed from the inside, or bombarded from the outside." He turns his eyes toward the viewport to see if there's any evidence of what might be happening visible out there.

Anderson says "Okay, everyone!" he yells, "Is anyone injuried?"

Strell turns to Jatila, lifting a brow. "May I be of assistance?" he asks, stabilizing himself on a chair as the station continues to rumble.

J'qoba grumbles a bit as he picks himself off of the deck. He scowls, "The cowards! Only fools fight like this." He slowly crawls out from the stool that he was sitting on. He coughs to answer Anderson, "Only my pride!"

Lanie emerges from under the table helping up the blonde tablemate she'd been sitting with. "No, doesn't look bad," she murmurs to Poole as she proceeds to help her up and toward the exit. Lanie, though a bit rattled, looks to be fine. Poole seems to be mildly injured, however. "Yeah," Lanie calls to Anderson, "But she'll be okay, it seems minor. I'm taking her to the infirmary. Hail me if you need me." And with that, the pair is gone.

Ignoring the shout of the ensign, Ttomak looks toward the source of Jatila's voice and begins moving toward her slowly so as to not fall in the event of another shaking. "What is it?" he shouts to her.

Lanie heads out and into the Mall.

Lanie has left.

T'Pral crawls out of the space, and unfolds, coughing as she gets up. "I am scraped, but unhurt," she says clearly, and coughs again, head turned to the side. "Are you also uninjured Kisa?... Be... mindful of the broken bits..."

Prochazka finally gets out from his position under the table, and slowly gets to his feet. As he hears Anderson's words, he shakes his head a little. "Nothing more than bruises," he replies, before he looks over at J'qoba, sighing at the mention of fools fighting like this. He then glances to the viewscreen, for a few moments, and then back to the others present in the bar.

Leres comes crawling away from the bar, she's choking on all the smoke as well. She's trying to find her way in the dark towards the door. She answers Anderson's call, hoarse from coughing and smoke, "I'm fine. Just some bumps and bruises."

Anderson says "Okay, since no one seems to be hurt, I need to get you to your quarters or post whichever it is." caughing

Jatila shakes her head at the security ensign. "I don't know, Strell. Are you alright?" Finding Ttomak in the red-lit dark, she points toward the viewport. "At your assistance, sir. Ship," she coughs, "Came off those transports, headed here right before-" Lots of coughing. Damn smoke. At Anderson, she snaps, "You think the lifts are working right now, you fool!"

Kisa rips out the fallen lily from her dishelved hair, tossing it to a chair. "I am fine. Andorian bones require more than a shake to break." Eyes attempt to smile even as she stands to her feet, coughing gingerly into a fist. "We need to get to the secured area." Water appears in her eyes, an added blue liquid. "The--the child-children." Slowly, she stumbles over to the next table.

Malloy reaches out to squeeze Kisa's left shoulder. He says in Andorian, "Be safe." Meaning his instruction apparently. Without much further ado, he makes for the exit, tapping his com badge while doing so. 'Malloy to Donavon. Enroute to the Aegis via access tunnels from the Neutral Zone. Proceeding to Bridge or Sickbay as needed.' And out Malloy runs, speeding up nicely.

"Are you nuts?" Randal shouts out at Anderson. "The station is blowing itself apart!" He tries to make his way down the bar in the direction of the comm terminal.

Malloy heads out and into the Mall.

Malloy has left.

The lights on the jukebox flash.

The shaking stops, and a few of the lights come back on, as do some of the viewscreens that are still flickering the Tal'Kaden symbol. Fires continue to burn as the fire supression system does not kick in everywhere.

"I am uninjured." And it's true. Strell stands there, stoic.

One hand going to his pocket, Prochazka looks back outside, for a few moments, as he seems relieved at something. He then studies the people present, for a few moments, before he seems to realize something. "Everybody, stay calm," he says, before he moves a bit to the side, trying to get hold of someone through the combadge. He frowns a little, as it seems he haven't gotten hold of the one he tried to get hold of, and tries a second time.

After J'Qoba struggles to stands up and caughs a few times. "I ahd better get to security with all of this mess." He taps his combadge, "J'Qoba to security. I am headed to the main office to assist in any efforts to bring this situation under control. J'Qoba, out!"

With the increase in the lighting, Leres begins to pick her way towards the exit. She's checking something on her PADD as she goes. She gives it a hit with her hand as if she's trying to knock some sense into it.

Prochazka taps the com terminal. "Lieutenant JG Prochazka to Operations."

Crouching as he walks and squinting from the smoke burning his eyes, Ttomak tries to make sense of what Jatila is saying amidst the chaos. "I'll look into it," he promises. "But we must see if our other people are okay."

J'qoba heads out and into the Mall.

J'qoba has left.

Over the terminal, someone says, "Operations."

Leres gives a shout out, "Lifts are damaged, folks. You're going to be on this deck for a while."

"Yes, sir," Jatila nods at Ttomak, using her sleeve to mask her mouth from the smoke. Eyeing the fires, she says, "Strell, see if you can find a fire extinguisher, please. And see if you can find Meena or somebody to cut the power to those consoles."

T'Pral appears to be staying calm. "What children, Kisa? The school children?" She picks her away along between tables, stomping out a fire that seems to be feeding on a bit of cocktail napkin, and a spilled drink. "Were they in session?"

A Tellarite makes his way past. The exit parts for him and he disappears into the mall.

Into the com terminal, Prochazka says, "I can report that the only major injuries in the Neutral Zone from whatever hit us seems to be material. Physical injuries seems to be only bruises and bumps."

Randal glances over at Ttomak as he reaches the comm terminal. "Why would we want to do that?" He asks. "If we cut power to the consoles we might lose access to the station's systems completely. Or does that symbol just a little too annoying for you?" He gives Ttomak a scowl.

Over the terminal, Harris says, "Good. Coordinate with security and medical -- we're a little busy up here. Operations out."

The terminal clicks as Harris drops off channel. The channel closes.

Strell nods, moving behind the bar to search for said extinguisher.

"I..I believe a few remained behind for afternoon studies, last," Kisa coughs again, "I can recall. Security should be there since the Center is next door." She hopes. Eyes wander around before she joins T'Pral in stomping out tinier fires using water from glasses and napinks.

Jatila shakes her head, making her way carefully toward the comm terminal herself. "The consoles with the pretty electrical fires, Captain Thorne," she clarifies, just a trifle sarcastic as her fury with the terrorists shows through.

Strell reappears from behind the bar with a seltzer dispenser. He takes careful aim and tonic waters a flame into submission. "Please notify me if you require assistance with a blaze!" he calls over the general din of the bar.

"Do you know of the ambassador's last location?" Ttomak asks Jatila as he makes his way toward the viewports, trying to see what is happening with the Merrimac and the other transports. He ignores the goading of the human, as he has much more important things on his mind at the moment.

"They're already on fire," Randal comments, "So cutting power isn't really going to help now." He taps on the comm terminal, but it just flickers and remains unresponsive. "Well, this terminal's useless. Shouldn't we be trying to get the emergency response systems working, at least on this deck?" He asks, exasperated. "Obviously, the fire suppression system is out. I don't want to think about what would happen if the hull were to breach with the containment fields offline."

Prochazka finishes talking to Ops, and looks around, for a few moments longer. He then studies the ones present, before moving around a bit, to see exactly what kinds of damage that's happened. Frowning a bit, he sighs, muttering a few choice words under his breath, before he moves to help the others with putting out the fires. "I wonder exactly what hit us," he says, to nobody in particular.

T'Pral blots at the torn skin of her knee with on of the more pristine napkins, cleaning off the wet green gleam. "There will be no one to check with on that point... knowing the classes were gone for the afternoon, they might overlook the center. Do the children have instruction on what to do, if there is an energy fire?"

Jatila glances toward her chrono. "He'd be in the Embassy, in his office, SubLieutenant. Elements only know where Palra and Pendarek are." She glares at the comm terminal, spreading her hands as she turns toward Ttomak. "Only way there is through the access tubes, and they're restricted access, if they're even open at the moment." She doesn't bother continuing the debate with Thorne.

Kisa closes her eyes in order to concentrate, antennae sway in pinpointing directions. "Yes. They've been through drills. They are to remain in the Center with the instructor until security arrives to escort." The logic soothes her worries more. "They will be fine. Security never forgets the children." Eyes flutter open to get a grasp on the scene. Damage is everywhere yet all are safe. "It appears we are to remain here," she gazes over to T'Pral, "until the alert subsides. Oh-" she steps forward to inspect the other's knee, "is it alright?"

Strell squirts out a few more non-electrical flames behind the bar before locating an actual fire extinguisher. "The evacuation alert has not sounded. Presumably, we are safe."

"As I said. A scrape. It will be fine-- I merely wanted to clean it." T'Pral says inexpressively. "Kisa, do you see debris floating outside the viewports?" the Legate asks, as she walks under one of the flashing red lights. Her second lens ticks into place, and she squints. "Is there debris outside?" she says, louder.

A small maintenance drone drifts by the window.

The terminal chirrups. "Commander Ghorev to The Neutral Zone."

Randal chuckles, glancing over toward Strell. "Or, there's no way /to/ evacuate. The lifts are down, and if this was a concerted attack by the Tal'Kaden they've probably taken down as many of the station's systems as possible." He crosses his arms. "Especially routes of evacuation."

Ttomak grits his teeth again, hands on his hips as his eyes move from his surveillance of the other ships in the area back to the other Romulan, then to Kisa as she makes her comment. "It appears we can't do anything, then." Speaking absently to T'Pral, he says, "Some." He then heads toward where he was originally sitting before the explosion occurred.

Jatila frowns, overhearing T'Pral, and she takes a few steps toward the viewport to get a look outside. Frustration blooms in her expression, since she can't deny Ttomak's assessment of the situation.

Anderson heads out and into the Mall.

Anderson has left.

Leres gives another look around and heads out of the Zone, heading for her post presumably.

Strell lifts a brow. "There are numerous vessels here. It is highly unlikely they were all damaged."

Leres heads out and into the Mall.

Leres has left.

Ttomak taps the com terminal. "Sublieutenant Ttomak here."

Over the terminal, Ghorev says, "Sublieutenant, unless some hazard or other distraction is keeping you on the Upper Mall, you'll be heading to the nearest access tube and meeting me down on Level 21, post-haste."

"Yes," Kisa echoes Ttomak's assestment. "Lots of it." Steps lead her to the viewport and a hand touches the cooling surface. "Look. The ships appear to be moving away, except for those runabouts." A glance directs over to T'Pral.

Into the com terminal, Ttomak says, "Understood, Commander. I will be there shortly."

Randal laughs a little bit. "Think about it." He gestures to the flickering symbol on one of the screens. "Obviously, they've commandeered the station's computer system. Coordinating an evacuation is going to be hard without the station's nerve center." He glances over to Kisa and adds, "The civilian craft are going to be clearing out pretty quick, since I assume the station can't hail them. I wouldn't expect a lift from any of them in that case."

Jatila glances sharply toward Ttomak. "That's the docking port level." She moves as if intending to accompany her superior.

Prochazka has kept on working on stopping fires, but now he moves over to the viewscreen and the people there and simply looks out again, for the moment.

Over the terminal, Ghorev says, "Excellent. Ghorev out."

The terminal clicks as Ghorev drops off channel. The channel closes.

T'Pral turns to try and make out what there is. Its a bad angle, or there is too much red light flashing. "I cannot see from here," she says, and shields her eyes. "But I cannot see that such comments do anything more than raise unecessary panic. I do not see any inner hull fragment material from this vantage. Shall we turn our efforts toward something more productive?"

Ttomak goes to pick up his fallen PADD, then glances over at Jatila following him. Taking a more official stance, he says, "I need you to remain here and find out if the other citizens of the Star Empire are well. Will you do that for me?"

Jatila glances toward the dead comm terminal, frustrated, even as she nods, tossing off crisply, "Aye, sir." Not happy about that neat feeling of helplessness, nope nope nope.

. o O Jatila thinks "AARRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH!"

Kisa's gaze is captured by the space scene of floating debris and moving ships. Her voice is soft in responding, "Yes. Let's. Shall we help Meena out by sweeping the Zone?" This, of course, is asked without eyes tearing away from the viewport.

Strell lifts a brow. "Assumptions are illogical. A Starfleet runabout has been spotted in flight around the station. As none of us have been beamed out, including Starfleet personnel, that would suggest that Starfleet is in control of the situation and evacuations have not been undertaken at this time."

"Thank you," Ttomak says, then salutes. "Serve the Star Empire well."

Jatila returns the salute automatically. "May we all," she says softly, and rolls up her sleeves to tackle the comm terminal. "Strell? T'Pral?"

"Well, then they should make a stationwide announcement that everything's under control," Randal says, his agitation increasing. "I'm not going to wait here much longer if they can't or won't tell us what's happening."

Ttomak heads out and into the Mall.

Ttomak has left.

Prochazka keeps on studying the viewport, but he hears Strell's words, nodding a bit, before he turns, "Unless something would have happened to make those possible evacuations impossible," he offers, before he adds, "In any case, what we need to do is stay here, until some announcement is made."

"You would accomplish nothing through that action aside from becoming a nuisance to properly trained and coordinated personnel." Strell lifts his fire extinguisher and heads for the comm terminal after Jatila calls.

Kisa returns to this reality instead of the one beyond the viewport. She smiles over at the cute fellow, Randal. "We stay here until ordered to depart. That is what I do remember from the Child Care Center's drills." And now she joins T'Pral's side.

"It is not on fire, Strell. Do you anything about comm terminals? Or better yet, getting them working again?" Jatila looks up sharply, and nearly pounces toward the Prochazka when she hears his voice, her own rather urgent. "Can you try to hail 1203? I need to find out if the Ambassador's alright. I swear by all the Elements, the next time I see Lux, I'm buying us all personal comm units."

T'Pral nods to Kisa, and looks for something stiff enough to gather the larger shards on or in. She raises a hand to signal Jatila that she has heard, is coming. "We need to clear over there, where they will be working... We may not be able to repair... but we can remove some of the personal threat, yes?"

Kisa glances about as well for a stiff object before discovering her frenikan, broken. Sadness trickles over her features; she steps closer to clutch the pieces to her chest. "Yes. Let's. We...we can use this base to scoop up the larger shards." She, then, offers the section to T'Pral.

Strell peers at the board for a moment. "I can attempt repairs."

Randal rolls his eyes. "Sorry if I'm not prone to depend on Starfleet to come rushing to my rescue whenever I'm in trouble," he replies in general to the objections to his plan of action. "I already know they don't always arrive in the nick of time," he adds, although that part is muttered. He glances over at the comm panel. "Yeah, let's try and fix that thing. Then at least we could do something other than sit here and whistle to pass the time."

Nabrun arrives from the mall, the entrance's double doors sliding silently closed behind her.

Nabrun has arrived.

Jatila casts a quick, grim smile toward Thorne before looking back to Prochazka impatiently.

. o O Jatila pictures herself grabbing the silly Starfleet officer's collar and shaking him hard enough to make his teeth rattle.

Strell pops an access port cover off the comm terminal and just stares at the innards for a long moment. "It appears that there has been a massive electrical discharge in the interal workings of this device. I believe it has been rendered non-functional until maintenance personnel arrive."

Novairen arrives from the mall, the entrance's double doors sliding silently closed behind her.

Novairen has arrived.

Novairen's com badge clicks as Foster drops off channel. The channel closes.

T'Pral raises an eyebrow, aware of Kisa's attachment to the broken thing. Quietly, as she walks toward the area around the broken com unit, she says, "Yes... that is a good idea. And it bears mentioning-- it can be repaired, and replaced.. things have that luxury over beings." She apprehends a broken mug, and hefts the largest chunk by its dullest edge

Novairen's com badge chirrups. "Lieutenant JG Foster to Lieutenant JG Novairen."

Kisa's head shakes in a negative, knowing full well her frenikan is beyond hope of repair. Still, she uses the seat of a broken chair to brush together chunk of debris and smashed wares.

Nabrun slips in, hair standing on edge, and pauses to one side of the door to look around. "Do we have any injuries in here?" she calls, quietly.

. o O Strell thinks "Unfortunate."

. o O Kisa has lost the dearest friend in the world, heart broken, yet the female is working on remaining optimistic

Randal frowns. "Any way of knowing if it was an errant power surge?" Randal asks Strell, "Or if it was system-wide? I mean, it would save us the trouble of searching this deck for a computer terminal."

Prochazka hears Jatila's words, and looks up. "It is an urgent matter, given the circumstances?" he asks, more or less rethorically, before he nods after a few moments, "I can try," he replies, quietly.

Strell lifts a brow as he turns to Randal. "I am a Vulcan, sir; not a tricorder."

Novairen's com badge clicks as Foster drops off channel. The channel closes.

Jatila hisses an inhalation of breath between clenched teeth. "Of course. Thank you, Strell." She glances over her shoulder toward Nabrun. "Bumps and bruises mostly. T'Pral was bleeding." A distracted gesture toward the Vulcan woman. And then she turns back to Prochazka, forcing her tone to be fairly calm. "Yes. It is. An urgent. Matter. Ambassador K'net-mauri Va'raeh is a high-priority target for the Tal-Kaden. Thank you."

Novairen heads out and into the Mall.

Novairen has left.

T'Pral gestures to her knee, and confirms, "Only a flesh wound..."

Kisa sweeps the debris to a corner, then glances up when seeing the medical officer. "Glad you're here. She's treated it with..water I believe."

Nabrun makes her way over to T'Pral and offers a bit of a smile. "As long as you're sure?" she says quietly.

Randal sighs tersely. "You could look for signs of sabotage," Randal retorts. "Although I suppose you wouldn't know what those would look like. Anyway, I'm getting tired of standing around here waiting for the station's command to take a few moments out of whatever they're doing to make sure we're still alive down here. I'm going to try and find a terminal that /is/ working." He makes a move toward the door to the mall.

T'Pral turns aside the fold of her skirt, to show the scrape left by the flooring, which is scabbing over already, a dark greenish color. "There was some concern, ma'am, about whether there might still be school children in the center."

Prochazka nods, rather quickly. "I'll try to reach the Ambassador," he replies. "1203, you said?"

Jatila inclines her head, allowing herself a tiny polite smile. "1203," she confirms. "I appreciate it, Lieutenant."

Nabrun dips her head to T'Pral and says quietly, "I'm certain that's being taken care of. If that bothers you, come see me/

Kisa whispers a "Thank you" to Nabrun in seeing to the children. "They would be with one of the instructors."

Prochazka nods, before he starts trying to get hold of the Romulan Ambassador.

Milara makes a sneering face at a patron who is getting a little too friendly.

Prochazka taps the com terminal. "Lieutenant JG Prochazka to Crew Quarters 1203."

Over the terminal, someone says, "Yes?"

Strell watches Randal go. "Fascinating."

Into the com terminal, Prochazka says, "Ambassador? I have one of your people here requesting to know the situation up there, given the current circumstances up on"

Into the com terminal, Prochazka says, "Ambassador? I have one of your people here requesting to know the situation up there, given the current circumstances aboard the station. <OOC: Disregard the last one.>"

. o O Strell thinks "Homo sapiens at its finest; Captain Randal Thorne."

Jatila nods and turns to pace a bit, ignoring the mess except to kick a piece of debris out of her way occasionally. Now and then she glances up toward the viewscreen, glaring at the Tal'Kaden symbol there. Jatila whispers to herself, "First I'm going to remove their toes, with a dull knife. Then I shall strip tiny pieces of flesh from their bones, until they are raw all over. Eyelids next. Then salt will be rubbed into their wounds. Rock salt. I will dip them in boiling sewage, and allow them to agonize and fester, and I will feed them their own gangrenous pus. Let's see, what next..." Her head comes up abruptly, and again she moves speedily toward Prochazka, listening anxiously.

The image of the winged dagger disappears from what functional viewscreens there are.

Over the terminal, K'net-mauri says, "The situation in my rooms?"

Nabrun takes one more look around the room then turns and slips out, presumably back to her station.

Nabrun heads out and into the Mall.

Nabrun has left.

Into the com terminal, Prochazka says, "I believe that basically, both that and how you are doing yourself was what she meant, Ambassador."

Kisa's head jerks up as eyes gleam over at Jatila. "You aren't going to remove their noses?"

The lights on the jukebox flash.

Over the terminal, K'net-mauri says, "Aside from the Tal'Kaden usurping my viewscreen, nothing unusual has happened in here."

Randal goes to the door, and is about to step in the mall. Something he notices encourages him to stop right at the door though, as he watches a Starfleet officer on patrol go by in the mall. Randal turns back around, saying, "Darn. They're walking the corridors again." He moves over the bar, rights a stool and takes a seat. "Making sure we be good boys and girls and sit quietly and wait it out," he mutters in a way that is both sing-song and sarcastic.

T'Pral picks up a few big pieces of debris, and puts them aside.

Jatila glances toward Kisa, her smile grim. "In good time, in good time." She lets out a breath of relief, nodding to Prochazka gratefully.

Into the com terminal, Prochazka says, "Let us hope it will stay that way, shall we? Thank you for the answer, Ambassador. Prochazka out."

Strell returns his attention back to the console, peering into its innards.

Over the terminal, K'net-mauri says, "Thank you, Mr. Prochazka."

Prochazka's com badge chirrups. "Ensign Crayn to Lieutenant JG Prochazka."

Prochazka taps his com badge. "Lieutenant JG Prochazka here."

Over Prochazka's com badge, Crayn says, "Lieutenant. Is there a reason why there are still civilians sitting in the Neutral Zone?"

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Jatila bows slightly to the Starfleet officer, and moves off to continue pacing and plotting hideous fates for the Tal'Kaden. Her eyes roll a bit at overhearing Jo Crayn.

Into the com terminal, Prochazka says, "We were informed that the lifts was down, Ensign. And since the Neutral Zone seemed like a safe place, they were kept here instead of wandering about and possibly being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Over the terminal, K'net-mauri says, "Ah. I inform you there if I have trouble."

Kisa nods shortly before continuing to assist T'Pral with the debris clean-up. "We made off better than the other Tal'Kaden attacks. We are fortunate."

Strell finally replaces the access cover on the com terminal, moving behind the bar to replace his borrowed seltzer water and fire extinguisher in silence.

Randal glances over toward Kisa. "Well, a planet is very large, and can't be secured the way a station can. I'm sure we were a much harder target to strike because of that."

Prochazka taps the com terminal and terminates transmission.

"Not hard enough," Jatila remarks amidst her mumblings.

"A lot more security around us, but hopefully the majority are safe." Kisa gnaws on her bottom lip. "They were smart enough not to appear face-to-face lest...lest Jatila get her hands on them."

"It is impossible to completely secure a facility that is open to the public," Strell notes. "It is possible to make it safer, but by no means impregnable."

...and so the Neutral Zone becomes the base point for these civilians to wait patiently for further instructions. Questions regarding a top Tal'Kaden target are eased for Ambassador K'net-mauri was safely within quarters, answering to the hail of Lieutenant Prochazka at the behest of Jatila. Fires are diffused much to the civilian population's assistance and debris gradually is swept into piles. The Tal'Kaden have left their deadly mark, a response to thwarting their plots. But will they return again to finish what they've started?'