Something To Hold On To

 Episode Name:  Something To Hold On To

   Written By:  Daedalus

         Cast:  Beraq, Daedalus, Donavon, Green, Ket'ang, Norvan, Soral and Vimes.

  Produced By:  Starfleet

  Directed By:  Daedalus

     Aired On:  Sat May 07 14:03:47 2005

     Stardate:  54951.3

Time: Fri May 06 20:01:36 2005

Stardate: 54949.5

The small, sleek form of USS Thomas Paine-C cuts through the dark of space, as it has for the better part of a day since departing from Station 419-Upsilon, coasting to a safe distance, and jumping to warp speed. After a moment, the scene cuts to the interior, where there is the usual bustle of an active Starship bridge. In addition to the Trill science officer sitting in the center chair, the red-headed, maroon-shirted human at Flight Control, and the two humans standing behind at Tactical and Mission Ops, a male Vulcan Ensign sits silently at Ops, and a stocky Bolian, also an Ensign, stands at the bridge-side engineering console. Another Bolian, with a senior NCO's insignia, stands at attention near Mission Ops, clearly in conference with Lieutenant Green. On the viewscreen, the stars move past at warp speed, a faint countdown in the corner estimating the last few minutes until the edge of the dangerous space-time dimple known as the Riley Convergence is nigh.

After eyeing the countdown, Norvan clears her throat, and begins to speak to the bridge crew in a firm, authoritative voice. Or, at least, that's what she's shooting for. "We are on our final approach to the Riley Convergence, so I would like to go over a few important details of this mission before we arrive. Some of you, if not most of you, will already be familiar with the majority of this data; however, considering that this will, most likely, be a very delicate situation, I believe a review is appropriate." She pauses, letting her eyes drift over the individuals on the bridge, and then continues. "Recently, Station 419 sent a probe to confirm the presence of the Riley Convergence in this timeline, since its existence had not been previously recorded here. The probe was able to confirm the existence of the Convergence, but shortly thereafter, it ceased transmission very abruptly. Further study of the data logs revealed that the probe was intentionally destroyed, by a Class 4 Disruptor on a D5-class Klingon Destroyer, somewhere between one hundred and one hundred and thirty years old. There was an incredibly small margin of error on these calculations: about one-half of one percent. We are virtually certain that we are dealing with a Klingon ship that is over a century old."

. o O Green thinks, "Okay, that explains the Klingon Aide's presence."

The smooth journey seems close to hitting a bump; Donavon eases an elbow onto the console when swiveling about to face the Command chair. What is revealed is rather...revealing, another piece to the puzzle which Beraq first laid. The notion of a time loop added by a century old Klingon ship has a certain ironic twist to Donavon; a faint amused twitch of her lips arises before fading into a serious expression.

. o O Donavon thinks, "Funny. Rob's been in that spot before."

Seated at the tactical console, Vimes takes in the details being provided by Norvan. Brow furrowed, he casts a momentary glance towards Beraq but turns his focus back to the read-outs on his display.

Green glances up from her conversation with the NCO, turning slightly to face the command well as she listens to Norvan with her usual lack of outward expression. Her gaze flicks briefly to Beraq after the explanation, then to the viewscreen, then she turns to ready the sensors to scan once the Convergence is in range.

Soral is at least officially an observer for a civil agency. His attention is equally divided between those around him and the small display terminal right next to his VIP seat in the command pit.

Beraq is sitting back in her chair in the Command area. She glances over at Lt Norvan and asks, "Did you have an opportunity to see if the probe saw or heard anything distinctive that matched the D5-class Klingon Destroyer on the list I provided Lt. Donovan?" She swivels the chair slightly to view the Starfleet officer.

Norvan turns to the Ambassador's Aide and gives a quick shake of her head. "No, I am afraid not. However, the variance of the energy surges responsible for the destruction of the first probe, and the readings we took from the remains of that destroyed probe, make any other conclusion all but impossible." That said, she glances around, from crew member to crew member, and resumes her briefing again. "Now, I suppose it is *possible* that this ship is merely being operated by individuals from the present, who happen to have a penchant for decades-old Klingon vessels... but given the previously-recorded temporal effects of the Riley Convergence, the most reasonable hypothesis is that we will be encountering a Klingon crew that is unaware of the alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. And hostile to Starfleet." She turns her gaze back to Beraq. "Obviously, we want to avoid a conflict with this ship, if at all possible, and hopefully, Beraq will be able to explain the situation to these temporal refugees before we have a fight on our hands." And now her gaze sweeps over the Starfleet officers again, lingering on Donavon and Vimes. "However, it may become necessary to disable the ship's weapons or engines before we can do that. If that happens, I want you all to know what we're up against. The D5 can run at about Warp 5, and dogfight at twice the speed of full-impulse, which is about two-thirds of the Paine's upper limit in a firefight. It has heavily reinforced hull-plating and support struts, which allows it to take a heavy beating before it explodes; that's a good thing, because we don't want to destroy it, so focus on pinpointing individual systems, like propulsion and weapons. It also has an impressive offensive energy output, roughly equal to a modern Federation scout or escort ship of about half the D5's size, which is nothing to sneeze at when you consider over a hundred years of technological development in between. And one more thing: it can hold anywhere between eighty and one hundred and fifty crew members, depending on the ship's mission. We don't want those lives coming to an end tonight, just because they got stuck in the wrong century." She glances around again. "Any questions?"

. o O Green thinks, "Hundred years ago... Khitomer Accords were in '93... Yeah. I hope you're /good/, Beraq."

The briefing divulges the exact details Donavon expects before entering a dogfight or details an officer wishes to have. Each crucial amount of data is stowed away, saved for later use. She half glances over her shoulder to re-verify the Paine's flight path. A gaze, then, directs to Vimes and Green, each met with a pointed look to remain cautious until the gaze passes by Soral and Beraq. Those two get a dip of her head, the first back in the saddle again for teamwork, the latter a new member.

Green tips her head for a few seconds, eyes going a bit distant, then she shakes her head- no questions from her. Catching Donavon's look, she nods slightly in return, and diverts her attention to her console.

Soral returns a small nod to Red as he catches hers, other than that? He keeps his stoical quiet, being content to listen at this time to what goes on around him.

Once Norvan has answered her question, Beraq settles back in her chair. Her face a stoic mask as her mind prepares for the upcoming confrontation. Her powerful frame is tensed for action but the Ambassador's Aide contains herself.

Within moments, the pre-programmed proximity alert sweeps on as the countdown hits the official 'red-line'. USS Thomas Paine will be within visual range of the convergence as soon as the command to drop out of warp is given, and the laying of the buoys -- the ship's secondary mission -- can begin as soon as the sensor sweeps do.

And Norvan doesn't waste any time on that, either. "Take us out of warp, Lieutenant," she says to Donavon, before turning her attention to Green. "Give me a sensor sweep of the area, and let me know if you see that D5 anywhere. Prep the interdiction buoys, but don't deploy them just yet; if we've got some cautious Klingons on our hands, we don't want them thinking that we're laying a trap here."

Donavon swivels back around to clip in the commands. Steady as the Paine goes, it drops out of warp.

GAME: Green spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Green contests Shipboard Systems/sensors vs Moderate and Fails.

Vimes puts the Paine at tactical stand-by, awaiting any further orders from the mission commander or until a clear and present danger reveals itself within range of the sensors, "Phasers at the ready, and shields up, sir."

"Aye, Lieutenant." Green gets busy on her console, her gaze flicking toward a few screens as she works, but after a few moments, she shakes her head. "Temporal interference is causing some trouble with the scans; it's like pea soup out there. I can't tell if they're out there or not. Yet. Working on it." After a brief pause, she mentions, "You planning on heading into the Convergence? Interference'd clear up there."

With the ship moving out of warp, Soral accesses the small console he has access to and enters a few code sequences, curious as to whether they will work or not. Continued typing however indicates that he is getting to something or other.

<CONTEST> Soral contests Shipboard Systems/sensors+D vs Moderate and Marginally Succeeds.

Beraq brings out her PADD and pulls up the research that she's been working on. She waits quietly as the Starfleet officers do their duty, ready to assist when needed.

The visual display shows the haze -- not quite as thick of the hot, salty, legume concoction of which Green has spoken, stretching as far as the screen can see. Of course, since estimates show the Riley Convergence to be somewhere around 2-3AUs in diameter -- somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes at Warp 1, an hour to traverse from end to end in a straight line at full Impulse -- that's entirely understandable. It's there, though, unmistakeably. And the first three or four of the 8 or 9 buoys that will go around it are ready to go.

<CONTEST> Norvan contests Law/Starfleet Regulations vs Moderate and Succeeds.

"I'd like to avoid that, Lieutenant," Norvan responds to Green's inquiry, "although if we *do* go in, we're going to need to find a way back out... in which case, having a few of those buoys to help us would be rather helpful..." She pauses, tapping her chin a couple of times, before she makes a decision. "Go ahead and deploy two of the buoys, and spread them out a bit. Just in case we *do* need to triangulate a way out of there. And keep working on those sensors." And then she turns to Vimes. "That's a negative, Lieutenant. I want those weapons cold. We don't want to use them if we don't have to, and having them hot is certainly not going to help our case with a group of already-suspicious Klingons. Keep those shields up, though, just in case we run into anything unexpected while our eyes are shut."

<CONTEST> Donavon contests Shipboard Systems/sensors vs Moderate and Dramatically Succeeds.

Vimes nods as he powers down the ship's phaser array, "Aye, sir. Phasers cold and shields still up." before doing a tactical sweep of their surrounding area.

<CONTEST> Green contests Shipboard Systems/mission ops vs Routine and Succeeds.

At impulse, Donavon guides the Paine through the haze, closer to the target points. Meanwhile, sensor sweeps are conducted to verify the flight path is clear. Easy and smooth. Nothing out of place until brows knit together at a discovery. "Lieutenant Norvan, I've located the D5-class Klingon Destroyer but its moving at .7c. That's three times the considered full impulse. Patching you the information directly to your console."

<PROVE> Norvan has the merit of Mathematical Ability at 3.

<CONTEST> Norvan contests Physical Sciences/Physics+A vs Moderate and Succeeds.

Green shifts her attention to another part of her console, running fingertips in a staccato triplet over a series of touchpads. "Buoys away aaand," she eyes a screen, "Heading to where they're supposed to, Lieutenant." The woman starts to go back to scanning, then glances toward Donovan.

. o O Green thinks, "Bless you, Meg!"

<CONTEST> Ket'ang contests Shipboard Systems/sensors+D vs Challenging and Succeeds.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Green," Norvan says to the officer at mission operations, before turning her eyes over to Donavon. "That *is* unusual," she murmurs, glancing down at her own console and reading the display. "There's a reason why nobody flies around at those kinds of speeds. The closer you get to the speed of light, without actually going into warp, the more it puts you out of sync with a normal time dilation. Basic relativity. But this close to the Riley Convergence... well, there's no telling what that thing is doing to the laws of temporal physics in this part of space," she murmurs, shaking her head. "I'd need more readings to be sure of anything. If we can get some more scans of the Convergence, Lieutenant," she directs to Green, "we might know more. And if you can analyze the D5's flight path, give us an idea of how long they've been at that speed, that would be useful as well." With that, she turns to Vimes. "Hail them, Lieutenant." She glances over to Beraq. "I'll be calling on your assistance in just a moment."

Donavon keeps a sharp lookout on the D5's flight path while handling the controls. She adds in a suggestion, "Sir, Soral could analyze that data to answer your temporal physics inquiry."

. o O Green winces. "Remember, Tay, you /asked/ to go to Operations. Chin up, girl."

<PROVE> Soral has the merit of Mathematical Ability at 3.

<CONTEST> Vimes contests Shipboard Systems/communications+D vs Routine and Succeeds.

<CONTEST> Soral contests Physical Sciences/Temporal Physics+A vs Challenging and Succeeds.

Vimes keys out a sequence across the tactical console, "Hailing the D5, sir. Communication was received despite the interference." and then checks to see if that same interference could pose a problem to the ship's shields.

<CONTEST> Green contests Shipboard Systems/sensors vs Moderate and Succeeds.

Green fiddles with her console some more, and adds on the heels of Vimes' statement, "Can't tell yet how long they've been doing it, but their speed doesn't seem to be affecting the Convergence at all. Scans match previous scans of it." And she adds as another screen gets her attention, "The buoys are in place and functioning. We can triangulate to get back out if we need to go in."

Soral mentions towards Donavon, "Please, Red. I am here as a civilian observer only." only the slight emphasis on civilian and only might give an indication that the exact whyes of his presence on board the Paine is not neccesarily something that should be announced to the crew. However, he is non chalantly typing something on the small screen that is beside him, a while later, a message window opens at Donavons console. Related? naaa... pure coincidence.

. o O Green thinks, "You /should/ be in prison, Soral. I'd cooperate every way I could were I you."

Beraq looks over at Lt Norvan and gives her a nod, letting her know she's there if Norvan needs her assistance. The Klingon appears relaxed in her chair, listening to the activity around her with a stoic gaze. She continues to review the notes at hand and allows the Starfleet officers to do their job.

The hail is answered ... maybe. There is a sudden burst of static coming through. Not loud, but clearly present. No voices can be discerned in and of themselves, but there *is* a pattern.

Norvan eyes Soral as the less-than-convicing denial leaves his lips, and then frowns slightly as she watches the window appear on Donavon's console. She turns to him and speaks rather curtly to the Vulcan. "Mr. Soral, unless I'm mistaken, Timefleet doesn't exist any more, so I would appreciate it if you would share any information you might have with the rest of us, as well. Or, if it is sensitive information, with me. I seem to remember that *I* am here as the commanding officer for this mission." And then she turns to face Beraq, one eyebrow raised. "I know that Starfleet uses a couple of pattern-based forms of communication, when words cannot be effectively communicated. A sequence of sounds or rhythms that mean different letters, or words. I don't suppose they could be using something similar, in an attempt to communicate with us?"

<CONTEST> Soral contests Systems Engineering/Temporal vs Moderate and Succeeds.

GAME: Donavon spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Donavon contests Space Sciences/astrogation+A vs Challenging and Succeeds.

Donavon analyzes incoming data from two different sources - computer and Soral. The first tugs her gears as she mulls when announcing, "Sir, in reviewing the flight pattern, that arc of theirs is too tight to be new, but if it's not, it's a circle. That path seems far too deliberate, cruising about an inner one-third of the Convergence." That said, she cues the Vulcan's data and sends a copy to Norvan.

Green keeps her head down over her console. Only her gaze flickers upwards at the Norvan-Soral comments.

Soral has been in the process of typing more data into the console, this time addressed to Vimes. As Norvan addresses him, he turns to her and mentions "Your first and last statements are correct." that being about Timefleet, "However i fail to see the causality between this statement and your next. Commander Ghorev has granted my request to be present on this rescue mission as an observer, as such, i will limit my interaction with essential systems to a minimum." Also this time observer and rescue mission are faintly emphasized, the only thing he can say without outright mentioning that he is under cover.

Beraq gives a wry smile, "I would be happy to do so but..." She looks over at Lt Norvan and points to the computer in front of her, "Unless you want to grant me higher access, I will not be able to research what you wish."

The static continues, though by now the appropriate automated systems kick in to lower the volume even further, to a dully whispered cacophany in the background of rapid back-and-forth conversation.

"You should be able to access the research functions," Norvan replies to Beraq with a slight nod. "And you know more about Klingon military procedure than any of us, even if this crew is a century old. See what you can find... any old non-verbal codes they might have used to communicate with a pattern like that." She glances over to Vimes. "See if you can clean it up, make sure that there's nothing under that interference." And then she turns back to Soral with a scowl. "Do I need to make it *exceedingly* clear, Doctor? If you have information important enough to share with the rest of this crew, you should be sharing it with me as well." And then to Donavon. "Good work, Lieutenant. Any conjecture as to why?"

<CONTEST> Norvan contests Shipboard Systems/Command vs Routine and Succeeds.

<CONTEST> Vimes contests Shipboard Systems/communications vs Difficult and Marginally Fails.

GAME: Donavon spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Donavon contests Shipboard Systems/sensors vs Difficult and Succeeds.

<CONTEST> Beraq contests Computer/research vs Moderate and Marginally Succeeds.

Donavon bites upon her lower lip as eyes narrow and a squint. Current analysis requires cross-references which exceedingly becomes difficult due to the wide-net surrounding the D5's flight path; she increasingly becomes intensely focused on the task while maintaining the Paine at impulse. "There doesn't appear to be one thing which would keep the Klingons there, but I do confirm there's an energy trail, old and strong, that they've left behind. However, I am not finding any trails for how they got to their current position. They must have been here long enough for any other trails to fade."

Vimes shakes his head, "Still not able to get a clear transmission, sir. However, I don't think it's interference. It's the time dilaton itself. I'm not sure how, but that's all I can come up with at this time."

Soral takes the exact words of Norvans and mentions a short "Indeed" as a response. He then continues, or rather begins anew to monitor how Starfleet is doing.

Beraq listens to the patterns and shakes her head, "Hmmm, as far as I can tell, it's just noise." She runs the noise through the terminal she's sitting at and notes, "None of this noise matches any of the Klingon codes and ciphers on file."

Norvan shakes her head slightly. "This doesn't seem to make any sense. Are they... are they in *orbit* of the Convergence?" she asks, to no one in particular, glancing around the bridge. "That thing doesn't have a gravitation pull, does it? Not strong enough to be doing that?" Again, she looks around. "I need ideas, people." Even as she asks, she too begins to go over the data, looking for some pattern or piece of data that she missed the first time.

"Sir, the impression I'm reading is a very tight circular track. Nothing indicates an orbiting pathway," Donavon says. Data computes and returns; she taps at her console in disbelief. There's a moment to reconfirm what is read. "There's no warp trail. Their warp engines aren't even on."

GAME: Vimes spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Vimes contests Shipboard Systems/communications+A vs Difficult and Succeeds.

Vimes finally manages to break through the pattern and plays back the transmission for the entire bridge to hear. A Klingon voice, at the end of a cycle. "It could have been a mayday transmission, sir. Something they could have sent out when they first encountered this convergence? I'm waiting to see if it will repeat itself."

Green quirks an eyebrow at Vimes' remark, glancing upward as she listens. "Gods only know what the shift did to their systems. They might not even have nav control." She hesitates. "I hate to mention this again, but we'd probably have a clearer picture of what's going on with them if we head into the Convergence with 'em."

Sure enough, a moment or two later, the message -- no longer static -- does repeat: "I repeat," says the translated voice, "this is Commander Ket'ang, of the Klingon assault vessel Green Talon" -- clearly a translated name. "We have received your hail, Starfleet Vessel. Do not approach this ship, or we will assume your hostile intent and we will destroy you."

. o O Green thinks, "I have to admit, that is one hell of a good name for an assault vessel. Bloody good name."

"Command Ket'ang, this is Lieutenant Norvan, of the USS Thomas Paine," the Trill begins, standing from her chair. "We see that you are circling the rift, and appear to have been doing so for some time now." She glances up towards the com. "Are you having trouble of some sort? We are willing to help, and as you can see, our own weapons are not powered..." She pauses, and glances to Beraq. "If you doubt our intentions, perhaps you would feel more comfortable speaking to Beraq, Aide to Ambassador Keel of the Klingon Empire."

At her place, Beraq looks at Norvan and shakes her head, "Hmm, that might not be the best tactic Lieutenant Norvan. Klingons prefer a show of strength. They will mistrust a hand held out in help, and may even retaliate in violence to show they are not weak as you think they are."

At her place, Norvan raises an eyebrow. "I suppose that's true... well, like I said, you're welcome to take charge of the negotiations."

Ket'ang says, "You think we need your help, Starfleet Lieutenant? Bah. I am Ket'ang, son of Ket'aHl, veteran of a hundred battles." His voice is contemptuous. "You dance around the edges of your own little vermin trap and refuse to step in, I see. But we are smarter than you know, and we have determined what this trap is. Come test us, if you dare!"

. o O Green thinks, "Vermin trap? And he's caught in it. Nope, nope, not gonna say it."

GAME: Beraq spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Beraq contests Computer/research+A vs Moderate and Marginally Fails.

GAME: Vimes spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Vimes contests Shipboard Systems/sensors vs Difficult and Fails.

GAME: Beraq spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Beraq contests Culture/klingon+A vs Challenging and Fails.

Vimes frowns as he shakes his head, "I can't get a lock on them, sir. The convergence must shielding them from the sensors ."

Green glances round briefly toward the viewscreen, then her gaze goes to Vimes, and she turns back to her own sensors, pressing them for more information.

Soral continues to observe. Which means he is practically not doing much other than studying the computer display now and then.

Beraq states in a cold voice, She says in Klingon, "I am Beraq Tai' Gholla, Aide to the Klingon Ambassador. The Klingon Empire and the Federation are currently at peace. You will cease your posturing immediately, stand down and leave the field. I do not have time for a Klingon who does not know his duty to the Empire."

Ket'ang seems to get a good, chuckling belly laugh out of that one. "Peace?!? No, you go beyond the line of believability with that one, Beraq Tai' Gholla. However, I will give you some measure of respect for your wit. That is the best joke I have heard in ... some time."

<CONTEST> Norvan contests Presence/Empathy vs Challenging and Fails.

<CONTEST> Vimes contests Presence/empathy vs Challenging and Fails.

<CONTEST> Green contests Presence/empathy vs Challenging and Fails.

<CONTEST> Soral contests Presence/empathy vs Challenging and Succeeds.

<CONTEST> Beraq contests Presence/empathy vs Moderate and Succeeds.

<CONTEST> Donavon contests Presence/empathy vs Challenging and Succeeds.

Norvan turns to Beraq with a slightly raised eyebrow, and leans in close to whisper to her.

At her place, Norvan says "Are we going to need to disable his ship? Or is he just testing us, to see if we're bluffing?"

At her place, Beraq says "There's something wrong over there. He's forcing that laugh."

Donavon's head jerks upwards at the belly laugh and thus interrupts her work momentarily. As wont a Vulcan to do so shall Donavon with an eyebrow lift and a glance towards the Vulcan and Klingon. Surely the two are shrewd enough to see past Ket'ang's boast. Following, she taps further.

At her place, Norvan frowns slightly. "If you have any ideas on how best to handle the diplomatic situation, I'm certainly open to suggestions."

At her place, Beraq says "I'm going to ask them to stand down one more time, if they don't I would shoot them."

Green lifts an eyebrow a bit at the Klingon commander's last few words, a decent portion of her attention on the conversation.

Soral just holds Donavons glance in his direction and inclines his head barely notieable. He in turn defers to Beraq's expertise of klingon matters.

. o O Green thinks, "In some time? How long /have/ they been out here? Or think they have, anyhow."

At her place, Norvan says "Very well. As long as I have your approval for that, and you feel it's necessary."

Beraq gives a low growl, She says in Klingon, "A joke? Oh no, Commander Ket'ang, I assure you the alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire is no joke. Once again, I command you to stand down and leave the field."

GAME: Donavon spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Donavon contests Computer/research+A vs Challenging and Fails.

Ket'ang says, "ALLIANCE!" Now the laughter fades. His voice is angry. "Alliance against *what*? What foe could possibly warrant us sheathing the blade against our greatest enemy? No, I do not think I will obey such prattle. Go back to amusing me, Beraq Tai' Gholla, or I will close this connection in 15 more seconds."

Norvan frowns as she folds her arms over her chest. "Perhaps you have encountered the Jem'Hadar during your time in there; I know that our ship has encountered them within the rift before. They are a part of the Dominion, an empire that stands against the combined might of the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Empire." She pauses, and then continues, in a more stern tone. "Then again, maybe you have not seen them at all. Quite frankly, I don't have time for this, Commander, and I don't care whether or not you *want* our help. As a part of our alliance with the Klingon Empire, we are obligated to provide aide, and I'm not going to break our end of that agreement because a fool has found his way into command. Now, we can do this the easy way, and you can work with us to make it easier to get you out of there... or we can do it the hard way. Which means we come in, and force you out. And if we have to disable you before we do it, we will. I'm sure you've done a tactical analysis of our ship; you know we outgun you. Severely. If we wanted to destroy you, we would have done it by now. So I highly suggest that you work with us, so we're not forced to destroy several of your ship's major systems before we get you out of there. But it's up to you, Commander. How do you want to do this?" As soon as she finishes, she turns back to Beraq, eyebrow slightly raised, as she mouths, "How was that?"

At her place, Beraq says "That was fine. A little long winded for us Klingons but a good stance."

Donavon listens patiently to the explanations and faintly smiles. Suggestions were taken into account. She tries again to locate more data on D5's Klingons while waiting for Beraq and Norvan to convince Ket'ang.

Vimes focuses his attention on the interaction between Norvan, Beraq and the Klingon commander on the view-screen. He can certainly relate on some level with the man as far as being out of step with everything else going on.

GAME: Soral spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Soral contests Shipboard Systems/Sensors vs Difficult and Succeeds.

<CONTEST> Soral contests Shipboard Systems/Communications+D vs Moderate and Dramatically Succeeds.

Soral listen to Norvans speech without moving a muscle. Instead he turns towards the small computer display to tap up another scan. Whatever he is seeing there has him override some controls, which brings the viewscreen into a momentary burst of static as comms shut down for a few seconds. In this time Soral once again copies the data he has seen towards helm and tactical and turns to Norvan. "You have mentioned you would like to receive information that i deem important enough to share. It is my opinion, that a Klingon Bird of Prey, which is about to decloak 3019 km ahead of the USS Paine, falls into this cathegory." The comchannel however stabilizes on its own shortly after he finishes to share this information.

Beraq chooses her words from the Klingonska Akademien, The Klingon's Warrior Guide, She says in Klingon, "Destroying an empire to win a war is no victory, and ending a battle to save an empire is no defeat. Stand down Commander Ket'ang, we are not your enemy."

There is a short but edgy silence, and if the Klingons have discovered Soral's ruse, they give no sign of it. And, in fact, a Bird of Prey does silently decloak, menacingly, hanging there. Then the Klingon Commander speaks: "A 'Dominion', you say. I like the sound of that. And all three powers united against it, and not yet victorious. They ... must be an awesome and maddeningly powerful foe. Very well, then. I cannot speak for the nameless captain of that other ship -- I believe you would call it a 'Bird of Prey', in your time? Oh, yes, Lieutenant, we have known for about twenty years, as we measure time in this limbo, of your so called Khitomer Accords, in our future, your past. The crew of that other Klingon ship liked them no more than we did, at the time, and we have fought war upon war against each other for 20 years to keep ourselves busy in this place, while waiting for the inevitable rift to form between our peoples again." He considers. "I might accept that little toy ship of yours as over a hundred years more advanced than ours, and perhaps seventy years more advanced than the Bird of Prey, but do not for one moment thing that you could have defeated us both. I cannot speak for my counterpart, however, but I can speak for me. You will have what you wish, though you may not like what you have. For if there truly *is* an alliance, *Lieutenant* Norvan, it occurs to me that in any possible chain of command for such between our peoples ..... I outrank you. You will have the honor of escorting the Green Talon home, therefore, but if you don't continue to amuse me, you and that pet negotiator of yours are going to bleed when we arrive. Ket'ang out." And that is when the D5-class Destroyer IKS Black Talon does something it has clearly not needed to do in a very, very long time ... it lights up its warp nacelles, and begins to move.

. o O Green thinks, "Twenty years? Sonofa...!" She sighs. "Amuse him. Chris was right. I need to start packing juggling balls on away missions."

Norvan raises an eyebrow, and exchanges a quick glance with Beraq, before turning back to the crew. "Alright, it looks like this is going to be easier than we thought. Lieutenant Green, keep an eye on the Talon, and make sure it doesn't have any problems getting out of the Convergence. Deploy the rest of the buoys, as well." She turns to Vimes. "Contact the commanding officer of the Bird of Prey, and make sure he's aware of what's going on; we don't need any more diplomatic incidents tonight, I think." Over to Donavon. "Lieutenant, prepare to follow the Green Talon away from here." And then, to Soral. "Good work on the sensors there, Doctor."

"Aye, sir," states Donavon as she reconfigures the Paine's flight pattern. Gradually, she draws it alongside the Green Talon -- flying in escort-mode.

. o O Donavon thinks, "Subtly direct. Another reminder why I admire the Klingons."

Vimes nods to Norvan's order, "Aye, sir. Hailing Bird of Prey now with our destination and flight plan." and proceeds to do just that.

Green pauses and turns her head to /peer/ at Soral for his calm statement, closes her eyes briefly, then pays attention to the Klingon and his explanation. An eyebrow rises slightly, then she nods to Norvan with an "Aye, Lieutenant" and gets to work.

Once every Episode comes the time when the Vulcan has to raise a single eyebrow. And since time grows short, it is now or never that Soral does so in response to Norvan's last words addressed to him. Apparently the 180 came as a surprise.

Beraq sits back in her seat, some of the tension leaving her body. She looks at Lt Norvan and Soral and does nod of a good job done.

And on the raised eyebrow and the nod, we fade slightly back to the image of two smaller ships -- Thomas Paine and the unnamed Bird of Prey -- flying in a forward wing with the Green Talon behind, emerging at a tangent off the Riley Convergence to make a pass around, small glinting metallic buoys falling away from Paine as she flies...