The Right of Sentence

 Episode Name:  The Right of Sentence

   Written By:  Daedalus

         Cast:  Daedalus, Jatila, Jolvan, K'net-mauri, Kran'dok and Modon.

  Produced By:  Starfleet

  Directed By:  Daedalus

     Aired On:  Sat Nov 26 09:20:38 2005

     Stardate:  55438.1

Time: Fri Nov 25 16:27:07 2005

Stardate: 55436.5

Fade in, on the interior of a starship. By the lines, the color scheme of black and green, and the few lettered displays and signs, it is a Romulan ship; by the cramped size, it is not a very big ship, though clearly no small Bird of Prey or Scout -- perhaps a frigate, or a mid-sized gunship. A young Romulan woman, clearly well-bred but also clearly not very experienced -- a well-connected heiress on her obligatory Serona, perhaps? -- stands at the door of a room off this ship's corridor, pulling her hand away from a communications panel. She turns to the familiar form of K'net-mauri. She speaks in their native tongue, "As you heard, Centurion," she says, her back steely and stiff, "he will see you now." And with that, she steps forward to trigger the door's automatic sensors with her presence, and escor the Ambassador inside.

K'net-mauri follows along tamely, looking a bit bored. It's an affectation, that expression of calm disinterest, and a well practiced one. His dark eyes, however, are interested. Sharp, even.

Within the room -- larger than a 'captain's ready room' of the type used on most Starfleet vessels but only the larger Romulan ships, and clearly some kind of private mess hall and conference area for the small frigate's senior officer's -- there is a lone occupant, seated near the viewport. The wiry, angular Romulan with the quirky, feral grin and the pointed ears slightly oversized rises from his seat, his uniform immaculate. He steps around the table and forward, the insignia of a Subcommander in the Star Navy, assigned to a command position aboard a ship of a semi-private Consular fleet, glinting in the dim green-washed light. The man snaps out a crisp salute. "Hail, Centurion." No, not an Ambassador, not in *this* room, with *this* man. Then, turning to the woman. "Dismissed, Serona."

K'net-mauri salutes back, the gesture smooth and automatic. Not exactly a passionate expression of loyalty, more like the way many people can't help but lock a door behind them and don't even notice or remember if they've done it. Ingrained habit that is, perhaps, the most reliable form of loyalty. He waits for the woman to leave, without saying anything.

The other man does likewise, and then sits, motioning for K'net-mauri to do the same. Outside the viewport, his body no longer blocking it, the starfield in motion can be seen as the ship moves to its destination. "I would say it has been some time," the man says, still speaking in their native tongue, "but from what sweet Ronax tells me," -- 'sweet Ronax' is said the way a poet would refer to 'the wine-dark sea', automatically, and without much inflection -- "it has been longer still for you, in a sense." His brow furrows. "I won't pretend to understand the temporal physics involved. As long as we're at least reasonably sure that it was not an attack against the Empire, and the Butcher of V'tarus was not behind it, Ronax and I have come to the conclusion that we must both let it go, accept it as a given, and ... be as forthright with you, as you have been with us."

K'net-mauri settles smoothly into the chair. He nods a bit in response to the other man's words and smiles dryly. "From my point of view, in every sense," he says. "And no, the attacks against the Empire were mere sideline events. And fortunately, from your point of view, entirely imaginary." A little chuckle, then. "I would say your conclusion is a reasonable one. Any other would no doubt be quite inconvienent. And I'm sure it would be a terrible character flaw were I, in my situation, to fail to trust myself." A faint shrug, "So."

The Subcommander nods at this assessment, and then continues, "I won't pretend the last of these was a decision made lightly -- the honesty I expect to trade you today, I mean. I put effort into it, and I hope you might know that reflexively. I am aware, of course, of the possibility that the you that you are might think very little of the me that you remember, Centurion. I have been torn on this. You might remember the me you remember as a grinning fool, the mirthful merry jester I was when I first was your helmsman." He is quiet now, reflective, earnest. It is clear that K'net-mauri's opinion of him sincerely matters to him. "...rather than the man that the you I remember made of me, the man worthy enough to become your Second Officer. It is possible that you do not remember this changing, and so you might not be the man Ronax and I remember, either. So I ... prepared for this meeting." A flicker of a smile. "In case you were wondering why I would spend several weeks in the vicinity of Station Four-One-Nine without contacting you directly, it was ... to stalk you. To get a feel through gossip and second and third hand reports of what kind of man this particular you is." And then he repeats K'net-mauri's own closure. "So." And he exhales. "I think that you would not betray me, even if you disagree with what we are doing in the name of the you we weremember, and of the Empire. I think that even if you think that I am wrong, and foolish, you will limit your disagreement to a stern lecture on my idiocy. I hope I can ask for your word, as a man who has shed blood at your command, not the least of it his own, that you will, in fact, keep confidence with me today?"

"Oh, I suspected as much," replies K'net-mauri. "In reference to your visit. I didn't give it much further thought. As for who I am, everyone else seems to find me much the same, and so I would conclude that to be your best choice as well." He folds his hands, palms together with his two index fingers steepled. "And I am not, today, prepared to betray you. As I said, I will trust myself. If my self is a different man, I had better adapt to it."

Nelor nods. "Just so. And I think the differences minor, myself. Hence placing my head on the proverbial stone for the vrelnec to fall." He sits back. "I will summarize the assets involved, then, first. Of the six ships in the vicinity which belong to the fleet loyal to the Consular faction in the Senate now headed by your wife, the two you can consider your strongest assets are this ship, my own D'ger'than, and Ronax's Bird of Prey, Torathon. The other four vessels are spread out over a larger swath of the border, nominally supporting the Praetorian Border Fleet as Ronax and I are sworn to do, and we may assume at least passive loyalty from those ships and their captains, but for purposes of our ... goals, there is officially Torathon and D'ger'than. Officially."

K'net-mauri nods gravely, and makes a little gesture with his fingers, indicating that Nelor should continue.

Nelor says, "Unofficially, there is the Starbird Anaxion, as well as a decrepit old scout ship we have no standing crew for, but can field as a resource with crew cobbled together. And there is a very good chance that we will have at least two more ships swayed to the cause in the near future ... I confess that I have made a stronger case to the commanders of these two vessels that the Federation *was* behind the temporal incident, and their outrage has brought them closer to our cause. If you wish, I will be truthful with them, and risk losing them." A pause. "But understand that since your admission to Ronax that you remember nothing or next-to-nothing of what we are doing, some months ago, I have been forced as the next senior officer to make certain decisions on my own, and I cannot regret or gainsay my own judgement."

"The Anaxion?" asks K'net-mauri, raising a brow. He furrows his brows a bit. "That is odd." A pause and he drops the subject, though, to say, "Let them keep their outrage. The Federation was behind it. In precisely what sense probably does not matter."

Nelor nods. "Mind you, Anaxion is not crewed to capacity. It could not be, under the circumstances, but since you find it odd, I will assume that you remember differently the mission to escort it back to Rom'laas?"

"It was destroyed," replies K'net-mauri. "Very stupidly so. Why is it not fully crewed now?"

Nelor says, "Begging your pardon, Centurion, but this is clearly a temporal difference -- as our secret history has it here, you saved Anaxion, though most of its crew were dead or badly irradiated by the experimental new disruptor cannon the Cardassians were testing you had to allow Doctor Veneran to euthanize the few survivors. We reported it destroyed by the Cardassians, of course, and kept the ship as a potential resource. How those lizard-blooded idiots mistook it for a Klingon vessel I still cannot quite fathom, but since the diplomatic row over it was one of the stepping stones used by your wife's family to greater Senatorial power, I suppose none of us can gainsay it." He leans forward, rubs his chin. "I am going to presume some of the details you remember remain the same, though: Anaxion was a Horos-class Light Starbird, decommissioned when the Senate Military Subcommittee for Shipbuilding declared the Horos-class obsolete. Not a foolish choice since it *is* rather undergunned, but the cloaking device and sensor pallets were state of the art for the day and with repairs, are still serviceable now. Plus, it can hold more crew than both D'ger'than and Torathon combined. We've had to train our own crew the past decade, recruiting Seronas who owe favors or debts to your wife's family, of course, and making something resembling officers out of them without the full resources of the War College to do it, but your name and your example are a potent teacher. The skeleton crew we've mustered for Anaxion may be just that, and may be not as good as Star Navy regulars, but their loyalty is unquestioned and they will serve you and your wife unto death and beyond."

"How delightful," says K'net-mauri in his dry tone, but his eyes spark. Under that bland veneer, he probably is quite delighted. Though maybe just a touch doubtful. He nods then and says, "Your presumption is correct." He watches the other man's face with keen attention.

Nelor looks pleased at even that measure of restrained approval. He nods again. "In any event, I won't deny that Kayton's assumption of Praetorial power threw off our plans somewhat. He is one of the few men that, even if your plans succeed, you would not have been popular enough to challenge for the job." There is a discernable half-heartbeat pause, as he measures your reaction to the casual dropping of the implication of what this conspiracy's goal was. "But he is old, and you are not enemies, so you need not fear him, and when he eventually passes on, we shall have our chance. This really only means more time to plan for us, for both phases of our operation."

K'net-mauri looks, for an instant, suprised, then leans back in his chair and laughs. He seems amused and quite pleased, as if the behavior of his alternate self is a charming and engaging entertainment rather than the beginings of a serious and deadly political game. Perhaps those two things are the same to him. He smiles. "Quite so," he says.

Nelor eyes the chronometer. "We are almost out of time. We will soon be arriving and you will have to return to Oratha to proctor this Sublieutenant's field test." He rises. "For now, Centurion, know that phase one of the operation involves Anaxion and, occasionally, this frigate, delving the protonebula." He seems to mean the Sandstorm. "We know the Federation is hiding secrets there. Exposing those makes you a devious hero. The second phase of operation involves Torathon, again with support from this frigate, and bringing the Butcher to justice." If he means the same Butcher he meant before, Captain Balin's head appears to be a part of this plan. "Doing that makes you a man of honor. Only a small armored troop transport like this frigate could be a part of both operations -- escorting Anaxion, or landing enough troops on that station to overwhelm even the Betazoid criminal and his blue-skinned attack dog." A smile. "I hope you understand that keeping this ship is what has led me to refuse promotions. That is how seriously I take our goal. Between the two, and the senatorial support we can gather along the way, your star will rise."

K'net-mauri smiles quite warmly at Nelor, his face suddenly more openly expressive. "There are any number of people hiding secrets in the protonebula," he says, "And I should very much like to learn them all." A pause. "Asssaulting the Starfleet station would have rather many interesting repercussions that all of us would no doubt prefer to avoid. I would suggest we formulate a plan less likely to get every power in the quadrant all excited, their yapping can be a most inconvienent headache." He unfolds his hands, slow prepatory to rising. "But your foresight is most admirable."

Nelor says, "Agreed, and I assure you I speak in haste and overview only. For now, there is oen last thing." He purses his lips as he escorts K'net-mauri to the door. "Your aides. I *know* their history differs, since they have switched positions from what I remember. The Vice-Consul Kran'dok Brutae and Serona Jatila I remember were both hand-picked for their loyalty, and she even served briefly on Anaxion for her training in becoming your guard. Clearly, they are not the same people. But they were loyal to our cause, once." A frown. "I ask simply that you use discretion in deciding whether they still would be. Otherwise, the next time we meet will be before the Senate in session, invoking the Right of Sentence before our executions."

K'net-mauri stands and moves along easily. "Executions are nothing if not tedious," he replies. "We shall skip that part. Of Kran'dok I am unsure. Jatila, I have no doubts of."

Time: Fri Nov 25 18:13:52 2005

Stardate: 55436.6

Fade in, the bridge of a Romulan vessel. That much is readily apparent by the muted black, green, and dull-silver of the color scheme, awash in the brighter green phorescence of console displays. A second glance makes a few other things clear: This ship is small, a scout or Bird of Prey, by the crampedness of the bridge. There is a command well, but as befits the current generation of Romulan small ship design, there is no chair there. Romulan ship masters are sturdy enough to stand, and the equivalent of a Starfleet paper tiger's armrest controls are built into half-wide consoles on the railing of the command well. There is actually space enough for two to stand in that command well and view the mini-console, though only one would actively be manipulating it and commanding the ship. In front of the command well, a single forward seated station for flight control. Behind the command well, two standing stations. Lastly, a second seated station set off-center by one of the rear bulkhead doors. All typical. But the ship is clean and stiff to a degree that only a ship mere weeks out of spacedock can be. And the man who moves from the command well to snap into a salute in the direction of Jolvan and K'net-mauri is clearly new to this level of officer-ship, as well. He bears the insignia of a Sublieutenant, himself. "Centurion. Acting Lieutenant. I am Sublieutenant Modon. Welcome to the Bird of Prey Oratha. I have asked Subcommander Nelor for the honor of briefing you myself, and since D'ger'than's role was merely to escort us here, he has agreed." He moves, to yield up the command well to Jolvan and, if the retired Centurion wishes, to K'net-mauri as well.

Jolvan Nods curtly back to the Sublt,"Thank you, Sublieutenent." Jolvan then looks to K'net not sure himself as to whom the well was offered to.

K'net-mauri gestures to Jolvan, perhaps a little sharply, to take the command station. He takes no specific operational position himself, but stays within a meter or two of Jolvan, to one side and slightly behind the man. A good position from which to observe.

Kran'dok waits paitently behind and to the side of the Ambassador. His posture and and expression precisely military as if he is a statue. As Jolvan and the Ambassador move on to the bridge, he remains standing where he is, waiting for something.

Jatila remains unobtrusively near the bridge entrance, not quite hovering, but mostly trying to keep out of the way. She settles into a stance, occasionally shifting her weight slightly from one foot to the other as she gazes round.

Jolvan steps into the command well taking in all the displays,"What is the situtation?"

. o O Jatila thinks, "It's been too long. I could get homesick if this little mission stretches on. Well, more homesick."

Modon says, "Well, sir, in a singularity, here it is, and I hope you'll bear with me if some of this seems a touch obvious. It's just that I've been told that the four of you might have some ... differences in historical knowledge." A wan smile. "Please believe in advance that when I say too much, it is on the side of discretion, then." He moves to follow Jolvan back into the command well, but continues to yield the mini-console up to the other man. This still leaves the Damage Control and seated auxiliary console free, of course. "As you may or may not know, then, we had an issue about 10 years ago with some illegal and highly treasonous broadcast stations along the Neutral Zone. They beamed transmissions inward from the Neutral Zone into Romulan space, urging support for" -- he looks somewhat distasteful -- "Reunification and other anti-Imperial ideals. The transmissions began to taper off 7 years ago when we first toyed with joining the Alliance, then ceased about 5 years ago, when the final documents bringing us into the Alliance against the Dominion was signed. Until recently, within the past few months, when they started up again. We have orders to track down and neutralize, with prejudice if necessary, the source of the transmissions."

. o O Kran'dok thinks, "We let the transmissions go for 5 years unchecked? Now we want to stop them out? It is not my place to question these things, but it does not stop me from wondering. I suppose it is a good oprotunity to do something that will be noticed if nothing else."

Jolvan listens to Modon,"Were we given the locations of these transmission sites after the treaty or do they still remain hidden?"

Modon says, "Well, that is rather the problem, Sir." A frown. "We couldn't find them. Again, I may be discounting your historical knowledge somewhat, but .... at the risk of it, I'll simply ask if you know anything about the Bi'na'tar-class listening posts?"

Kran'dok shifts his stance to stand at ease beside the door. Even when not at attention, the Uhlan appears distinctly formal and military.

K'net-mauri stands, watching Jolvan and listening. He makes no comment. His gaze is somber.

Jolvan nods,"Just fill me in Sub Lieutenent."

GAME: K'net-mauri contests his Strategic Operations vs Moderate and Marginally Fails.

K'net-mauri looks at Jolvan, and is silent, perhaps expecting the younger man to muddle through.

Jatila folds her arms and looks on, listening rather intently.

Modon nods. "Aye, Sir. The Bi'na'tar-class listening posts were designed with two linked, overlapping cloaking devices, and then monitored passively, relying on remote buoys that concentrated nearby subspace signals and beamed them in short-range high-energy broadcasts. So most of the listening was being done by the unmanned remote buoys, which then overlapped a spread of subspace carrier waves in the general vicinity of the listening post. The buoys were placed at random and the pattern programmed into the listening post so that it could position its passive monitoring arrays accordingly. Because of the random placement, even if the buoys were discovered by short range sensors of an enemy power, the enemy couldn't use the placements to triangulate the position of the listening post itself." A pause. "We scattered around fifteen of them or so on the Federation and Klingon borders, even one or two on the Taurhai front." A frown. "Well, it seems that Pa'bi'na'tar, the eleventh post, was deemed obsolete. I won't speculate as to why a valuable listening post on this particular sector's Neutral Zone border was deemed obsolete, but there's the usual possible reasons. Only it now seems that Pa'bi'na'tar was not destroyed. It seems to have fallen into treasonous hands, instead. And it was moved from its last known position as part of this treason, so now even we can't find it. We have a general location, but that's about it."

There's a question in K'net-mauri's eyes, but he doesn't voice it. Instead he looks at Jolvan.

Jatila glances toward the Ambassador, thoughtful, then her gaze swings back toward Modon and Jolvan.

Jolvan looks Naodn straight in the Eeye,"So now instead of recieving it is transmitting. So wouldn't now the central listening post be giving off a signal to the satelites that would be transmitting again?"

. o O Jatila thinks, "It's not easy to just steal a listening post, deemed obsolete or not. It'd take some pull. Hiding from the sensors. Distracting patrols. Not to mention accessing the post's controls. Hmmm."

Modon says, "Well, yes and no. We presume it is. But during the first wave of broadcasts" -- he names a set of dates on the Romulan calendar equating from mid-2368 to early-2373 -- "as well as the second wave that started just under a year ago, a month or so before that Dominion attack or temporal incident or whatever it was that hit that Federation station ... well, the listening post is clearly not broadcasting all the time, Sir. It's meant for passive monitoring, and it's meant to work at a given angle only. You know how that make finding it difficult."

GAME: K'net-mauri contests his Shipboard Systems vs Moderate and Fails.

GAME: Kran'dok contests his Shipboard Systems vs Moderate and Succeeds.

GAME: Jatila contests her Shipboard Systems vs Moderate and Fails.

GAME: Jolvan contests his Shipboard Systems/Communications vs Moderate and Fails.

Jolvan thinks for a moment," Are theses transmission new every time or are they just looped recorded messages. If so does the loop change every os often?"

Kran'dok clears his throat slightly. Very out of character for those whom he attends the diplomatic meetings with, the sound may be almost shocking. "Exuse me sir, but I may have some ideas about that," he says, clearly adressing Jolvan. "If I could use the Auxilary station, I may be able to help locate the station."

Jatila sends Jolvan a curious look.

Modon says, "They vary too much to be a looped tape, Sir. If there's not a live crew on that station, there's at least someone who visits it from time to time. Star Navy Command was too busy with other things to devote two ships to scour this small stretch of space. The transmissions didn't reach very far into our space -- only one or two colonies and the occasional passing ship heard them -- so it's clearly more a token protest. Treason, to be sure, but, frankly, there were logistics to be considered. Now, however, with the Alliance in force, Federation and even Klingon ships might occasionally travel near enough to this area. So for reasons of saving face, we have to destroy or neutralize this station as a threat to morale and to the reputation of the Empire."

. o O Kran'dok thinks, "This may be Jolvan's day, but there is oprotunity enough for me here as well. Exposing some Tal Shiar traitors and solving the problem will likely be of great interest. That might be the break I need to put me over the top when combined with the Ve'tar secrets."

. o O Kran'dok feels eager and excited.

K'net-mauri glances at Kran'dok. He smiles.

Jolvan was about to say something to Modon but he turns to Kran'dok, "The station's your, Uhlan." He then turns back to Modan,"I was thinking whether it would be easier to track a ship going to the station rather then find the station itself. That is if Uhlan Kran'dok cannot locate it."

Jatila sends that curious gaze after Kran'dok, shifting to a better angle to watch him.

Modon says, "Well, Sir, part of this exercise does allow you to make that call ... er, about the spare bridge stations, I mean." He gestures to include Jatila as well as Kran'dok. "But with regards to the tracking of a ship, I don't rightly know Sir. I'm myself a helmsman by training. They made me second officer and while the senior staff is still gathering on Rom'laas, I was to deliver this ship to you. I'll do what you need, but what you've got is the extent of what I know thus far."

Kran'dok turns his head back and casts an innocent and confused glance towards Jatila before taking a seat at the console. "Does anyone aboard specialize in cloaking technology? It would help to know if this class of vessel could go undetected, even by the Tal Shiar," he says as he begins to work on the console.

Modon says, "I can tell you, Uhlan, that this ship is about ten days out of drydock, and the cloaking device is the most modern a ship of this size can mount."

K'net-mauri looks at Kran'dok, and remarks blandly, "Detecting cloaked objects is aways easy when you know the cloaking protocol that is being used."

Jatila's own comment is dry. "I daresay the Tal'shiar would have no problems tracking this ship."

. o O Jatila thinks, "What are you up to, Kran'dok?"

Modon looks to K'net-mauri, then to Jolvan. "We are a few minutes at high warp from a point where the transmissions from the buoys can be detected. I ordered our stop here so that you could come aboard and assume command before we broached the area where we might ourselves risk discovery. That said, your orders, Sir?"

Kran'dok nods in response to the answers. Making a few more entries on the console he turns around to adress them. "The transmitters would be highly focused, like a hand torch or a laser. We would not be able to detect the transmission unless we were actually in the path of it. It seems that the transmission is not continuous, so it may be that when a ship does pass nearby and within range, they shut down as not to be detected. That was why I was hoping we might have a way to go unoticed. It is possible they would not be /looking/ for us though."

Jatila gives Kran'dok a bit of an odd look. "If a ship's passage would shut it down, the effect of the transmissions would be negated, since it'd never be heard. Unless I am misunderstanding your theory?"

Jolvan nods to Modan,"If we can hear the message while cloaked that approach cloaked if not then go in uncloaked."

Kran'dok shrugs slightly at Jatila. "The thought had crossed my mind as well. I am no comunications specialist, but I suspect that at long range, it may be possible to mask the source enough to prvent pinpointing. At close range, that technique would not be as effective." He turns back to the console to check the threory.

. o O Jatila thinks, "Uncloaked? Are you insane?"

K'net-mauri glances back at Kran'dok, and nods, the gesture approving.

Jolvan looks back at Kran'dok," If we find that laser beam then we should be able to just follow that to its source." It could be taken as a question or a statement.

Jatila hmmms, before turning her gaze toward Jolvan, an eyebrow arcing.

Modon nods. "Aye, Sir. Did you wish the Consul to take Damage Control, or shall I handle that station?" Damage Control handles cloaking and shields, among other things, of course.

Kran'dok consults the computer and turns back to Jolvan. "It is difficult to say just now. The effect is not likely to be as clear as a laser. We should be able to track down the bouys, but not the central listening post. If we locate them, there is a slim chance we could locate the post, but as Sublieutenant Modan said, they were made so that they could not be traced back to the listening post."

GAME: Kran'dok contests his Computer vs Routine and Succeeds.

Jolvan looks at Jat," Adjuntant, Jatila, Can you take wepaons?" then looks at Kran. "I am hoping that that only works when transmitting to the central bouy but receiving a signal from it should be a different matter." He then looks at K'net." How are you at Damage control, sir?"

"Better than nobody, I suppose," replies K'net-mauri blandly. "We shall hope to avoid damage."

Jolvan adds to Jat,"Just assist the good Uhlan." refering to the one at the weapons station."

The junior officer in question makes a bit of room for the woman with the swollen belly. Once that is done, Modon looks up, "Centurion, unless the Lieutenant has other plans in mind, going without cloak means going with shields." He looks almost apologetic at the much older, seasoned officer. "If you please...?"

K'net-mauri nods to Modon, then looks at Jolvan.

Jatila nods amiably, casting the weapons officer an apologetic look as she moves forward to settle near that console.

Jolvan looks at Modan as he talks to the ambassador,"Decloaked? Can't the transmission be detected while cloaked, sub lieutenent?"

Modon says, "Sir, in theory, yes, if we travel inside the arc of the overlapping transmissions. However, given that I don't know that for an absolute fact, I chose discretion. Your preference?"

Jolvan spaeaks with authority we will go in cloaked and listen, try everything we can to detect the signal. If being cloaked is the reason for lack of detection we will decloak."

K'net-mauri nods, remaining silent.

Modon says, "Aye, Sir." He turns to the flight control officer. "You heard the Lieutenant, Uhlan. Set course to bring us around into the arcs of broadcast." Then, back to Kran'dok, "Uhlan, if you could signal D'ger'than to our departure?"

Jatila nods once, listening, as she studies the weapons board from a slightly sideways angle.

Jolvan adds,to Madon," I prefer discretion."

Kran'dok nods and quickly turns around, sending off the cominuque and going back to searching for more information on the listening post. After a few moments he looks up again. "It seem further information on this may be classified. Does anyone have the authorization to view the relevant materials?"

"What authorization is required?" asks K'net-mauri.

Kran'dok looks first at the Ambassador then at the acting Lieutenant. "A retired Centurion in this situation would likely have far more clearence than an active Uhlan. Also a Tal Diann officer might be able to get more than I could as well. There is little sense in me attempting to circumvent our own security, so I would ask that one of you see what you can pull up."

. o O Jatila thinks, "Pity Ttomak isn't here."

"That doesn't mean I have the codes for this particular collection of data," replies K'net-mauri. "But very well."

GAME: K'net-mauri contests his Computer vs Moderate and Marginally Succeeds.

Kran'dok shrugs slightly at the Ambassador and stands to move aside. "You did patrol the borders, roughly where these stations were, so you may get something."

K'net-mauri turns his gaze to his console, and taps at it in contemplative manner.

K'net-mauri says dryly, "I don't recall much about them, Kran'dok." He looks at his console. "It appears they are quite a clever design -- each bears two independant cloaks, working at slightly different protocols. Vessels will be unable to adjust sensors to compensate for both."

Jolvan puts out a suggestion for consideration," What about a tacyon pulse? I believe the Federationhas been effective at using those to detect cloaked objects."

Kran'dok nods slightly, considering the possibilities. "Should we attempt to use a probe or something to try breaking the second cloak?" He leans over the consle a little, sneaking, though not subtly, a look at the information. "Also, what are the chances that they are armed or have cloaked backup?"

Jatila comments, "Without knowing who 'they' are, it's impossible to speculate."

K'net-mauri replies, "These posts are outfitted with a courier shuttle for the purpose of maintaining the bouys. Those bouys are not protected and will probably prove much easier to locate than the post." He glances at Jatila, "Indeed."

Modon looks around at all the suggestions and commentary. "Indeed, as the Centurion rightly notes, the buoys are in a way the weak link, but since each is no bigger than a one-person escape pod, their very size means we can only detect them if they don't shut down at our approach."

Jolvan nods,"They shut down for a ship. But what objects won't they shut down for?"

Jatila looks around toward the Ambassador. "A courier shuttle? Which would quite possibly have the location of the target in its nav computer."

Kran'dok looks to Jolvan. "If /we/ had difficulty finding the resources to send even this bird of prey after the bouy, it stands to reason that our traitors do not have much to defend themselves with. Though I would still plan on them being armed and dangerous. We could just be pleasently surprised when they are not."

"The post won't hold more than a dozen of them," remarks K'net-mauri. "At what range from a passing ship do the bouys shut down?"

"Sirs," says the Uhlan at Flight Control. "We are coming into approach range of the signal arc. Shall I continue or come to stop?"

Jolvan says, "All stop." he looks around the bridge,"Let's see if we can hear anything.""

Kran'dok looks to the Ambassador who was manning the Damage Control console. "Is there a way we could increase the effectiveness of our cloaks or scanners? I also wonder if active scanners might tip them off and trigger a shut down."

"Active scans are not advised at this time," Jat murmurs, glancing up toward the viewscreen.

"Aye, Lieutenant. Full stop."

"I don't know," replies K'net-mauri. "I suspect we can adjust the scanner range to detect small objects that would otherwise be ignored, at a range just outside that of the bouy's security shutdown system." He looks at Jatila.

Jolvan relaxs a bit relying on patience, "lets see what passive scanners and the comm array picks up" he tilts his head slightly to point a pointed ear to the ceiling as he thinks back to his U-boat program on the holodeck.

GAME: Jatila contests her Shipboard Systems vs Moderate and Succeeds.

Jatila bends to the board to work for a few moments, then she looks up at Jolvan, arching an eyebrow. "We're receiving multiple signals, varying in strength. It's a bit garbled- it'll take me a few minutes to sort them out."

Jolvan nods,"Tell me when you find one that make you sick to listen to."

GAME: Jatila contests her Culture/Vulcan+A vs Moderate and Succeeds.

Jatila's lips purse slightly as she works. "Certainly, Sublieutenant. Hmmm..." The requested few minutes go by. "Hrm. Well. The buoys act as a booster. They take whatever subspace signals come their way, amplify, and send them back out in an arc in the opposite direction. There's probably, and I stress the vague nature of that, somebody inside the listening post flipping through channels, so to speak. Just as we are. There are all sorts of stray Federation signals it's picking up. But this one," and her lips curve in a wry smile, "Whoever's doing it thinks they're elegant. Vulcan poetry, interspersed with Reunification blather."

K'net-mauri makes a wry face, briefly.

. o O Jatila thinks, "Forgive me, ashau!"

Kran'dok grinds his teeth at his station. "This is going to be fun," he says quietly.

Jolvan smiles slightly,"Sounds like our first lead. Can you isolate it?"

GAME: Jatila spends a courage point.

GAME: Jatila contests her Shipboard Systems+A vs Difficult and Succeeds.

. o O Kran'dok thinks, "If these are indeed Tal Shiar Vulcan sympathizers, perhaps I can kill several rodents with one stone. Do a favor for the Tal Shiar and clear up that spot on my record."

"Working." And Jat bends once more to tap away at the console... and ends up looking a bit surprised. "Fascinating." She straightens, settling her hands on the edge of her console. "It's a repeating signal, bouncing between the buoys, but with no further origin. Either it's prerecorded /on/ one of the buoy's- which is more likely, though not definite- or from a source near the buoys. I don't mean the listening post; I'm talking about another ship or an independent broadcast station."

Jolvan nods slowly,"Can you get a direction?"

Kran'dok turns to look at Modon. "How long do the messages last before being changed? You said it seemed that some one had to be living there. If they were making deliveries, how long would it be between them?"

K'net-mauri remains silent and more or less expressionless, but his dark eyes register a certain pleasure.

Modon says, "I've never heard the messages before, Uhlan. I do not know. But I am led to believe that they vary."

Kran'dok thinks for a moment and looks to Jatila again. "Is there a way to detect decay in the message from being bounced back and forth? Some way we could use the rate of decay in the message to see how old it is?"

Jolvan nods appovingly at Kran'dok.

Jatila gestures slightly. "The whole point of the buoys is to strengthen the signal. Remove decay from them. Technically we could do it by tapping into one of the buoys, but we'd have to get in close, decloak, and turn into a beacon on anybody's sensors." She looks back toward Jolvan. "A direction? The signal's bouncing between the buoys, back and forth."

K'net-mauri listens. He watches Jolvan's face, for the moment.

Jolvan scratches his chin,"Thi signal has to be coming from somewhere can we follow it?"

"Well, we can probably track the signal to one buoy and go from there," Jat offers, not sounding entirely sure of the notion.

Jolvan takes a deep breath pauses," That is exactly what I want to do. We find a bouy or two to help lead us to the station."

Kran'dok turns to the rest of the Romulans. "I hate to bring this up now, but it may be important. Just what is the purpose of all of these bouys bouncing the signal between eachother? Does anyone else hear it?

Jatila nods to Jolvan, bending to her board again. "Alright, we'll give it a shot."

K'net-mauri frowns slightly and perhaps a bit sleepily and says nothing.

Kran'dok purses his lip and thinks for a few moments, turning back to the terminal and getting to work.

. o O Kran'dok thinks, "There has to be some reason to doing this. Rogue Tal Shiar, if that is indeed what we are dealing with, could do far better than to simply allow some Vulcan poetry to bounce around a bouy network. There must be some purpose to this, something we are not yet seeing."

GAME: Jatila contests her Shipboard Systems vs Moderate and Fails.

Jolvan nods to Kran'dok," I have been thinking about that myself. Either this group fears detection more then they want a sucesseful transmission or thet this is some other unknown element posinfg as dissidents."

Jatila mutters softly to herself before commenting for Jolvan, "Wrestling with the systems, Sublieutenant. This isn't exactly my specialty."

K'net-mauri gives Jolvan a skeptical look.

GAME: Kran'dok contests his Shipboard Systems vs Moderate and Dramatically Succeeds.

Jolvan nods understandingly to Jat as he begins to walk to her station,"Let me try I was prime comm officer on a staroutpost for a time."

Jatila spreads her hands in a 'it's all yours' gesture, stepping back.

Kran'dok hears Jatila's protests and attempts to use the tie in from his terminal to assist. "There, I have pinpointed five of the bouys. I suspect there are eight to twelve in total." He looks down at the display again. "It seems that they are rotating slowly on a single axis. Their arcs are shifting. That may change the layout and give us an opening, or we may wish to remain here and examine the full pattern." He looks up to Jolvan, waiting.

Jolvan pauses half way to Jat's terminal and looks towards Kran,"Excellent. If we wait to watch the pattern could we loose the bouys we have found?"

Jatila's eyebrows lift, her gaze turning to Kran'dok. She gives him the slightest smile before sobering again.

Kran'dok shakes his head at the acting Lieutenant. "No sir," he says before turning back to his console. He makes a few quick keystrokes. "There, the locations are higlighted for you all to see. They are rotating, but stationary. Slowly urning in place."

Jolvan says, "Can we triangulate a center point for them.? That maybe the Stattion."

Kran'dok shakes his head at Jolvan. "It is not possible to triangulate a center point sir. The Tal Shiar designed it with all the random placements and rotations such that locating the platform would be impossible." He turns to the others. "I would suspect that this means capturing one bouy would also tell us nothing."

Modon says, "Except make it one less buoy supporting the system," to nobody in particular. Then a pause. "That likely sounded more peevish than I had intended, Lieutenant. My apologies."

Jolvan ponders for a second,"Didn't some one say that the main station sends out pods to do maintenance on the bouys? What if we damage a bouy we could follow the trail of the drone when it comes out to fix it."

"I said it has a shuttle for that purpose," replies K'net-mauri.

Jatila turns a thoughtful look on Modon. "And break the chain, perhaps? Hmm." Her gaze flicks back to Jolvan. "It is, after all, a network. Follow the pod to what? Sublieutenant, the listening post is minor in this. The signals aren't even coming from it; we established that earlier."

Kran'dok nods to Jolvan and Modon. He thinks for a few moments before speaking his mind, hesitantly. "True, but they might also detect that it was weapons fire and raise some sort of alarm or take an unforseen defensive action. If I had designed the net, the whole thing would shut down and reconfigure itself upon attack."

Jatila snorts. "Defend against a Bird of Prey? Who cares? Let 'em. If they do, they give away their location."

K'net-mauri is silent, but he's beginning to look a little irritable.

. o O Kran'dok thinks, "It is not just weapons fire to worry about. We could loose all our progress if they shut down the net and reconfigure. Our mission may become impossible."

Jolvan beams, "A shuttle word be easier to track. We can probably deactivate all the bouys from the controlling station. And who says we need to use weapons."

Jatila glances toward the Ambassador, remaining silent.

Kran'dok inclines his head and turns back to his terminal, searching for another way to damage the bouys.

Modon says, "Excuse me, Uhlan, but didn't you say that once we find the buoys, they aren't moving, just ... rotating?"

Kran'dok nods in response to Modon. "Correct. I was merely speculating that they could reconfigure themselves in the event of discovery or attack. The lock is drastically more effective if it changes the combination every time you try to pick it." He looks at the console again. "Besides, we are only using passive scanners and I have not determined if they have thrusters or engines yet."

K'net-mauri gives Jatila an impatient sort of flicker of a smile.

Modon considers this. "So, in effect, it is only the apparent complexity of the system that keeps us from simply targeting all the beacons we can find?"

Jatila glances toward Jolvan. "I really see no reason to avoid weapons fire at this point."

"Unless," remarks K'net-mauri blandly, "You suppose it might cause the people involved to slip off as quickly as they can." Unhelpful, isn't he?

Kran'dok makes no shrugging gesture as he continues to work. "I am merely pointing out the possible complications. It would be negligent for me to consider them as real possibilities and to keep them to myself. The decisions are yours, not mine. I am only passing on what I know."

Jolvan Nods, to K'net, "Exactly. And we want to find evidense on who is doing this." he looks up at the screen,"What side of the Neutral Zone are the bouys?"

Jatila looks at Jolvan for a very long moment, pressing her lips together.

Modon says, "The messages extend to our side, Sir. But what has made this difficult is that right now, we are still *in* the Neutral Zone. Even under the Alliance treaty, we're not supposed to spend too much time ... lingering here."

Jolvan sighs looking a the screen," Here what we ar going to do we are going to the neariest bouy still cloaked, and Sublientent Modon with his expert helmman skills is going to every so gentle bump that bouy just to dent it. Then we are going to wait for a repair shuttle."

. o O Jatila thinks, "He's in command. No telling off the Sublieutenant, girl. Yet."

K'net-mauri lifts a brow, but remains silent.

Modon says, "Aye, Sir." He steps forward. "Uhlan," he says, to the fellow sitting there, "you heard the Lieutenant. You're relieved."

Jatila silently folds her arms across her chest, looking up to watch the operation.

Kran'dok subtly braces himself, not entirely sure what to expect from the impact.

Modon makes himself at home at the console. "Setting course for the nearest buoy we have a location for, Lieutenant." And within a moment. "Proceeding on maneuvering thrusters only. Damage Control, you are advised of imminent collision in 20 ... 19 ... 18 ... " And the countdown continues.

Jolvan gives Modon a reminder," Just a little scrape, I can probably afford reimbursing the Empire for paint but not a haul breech."

Jatila decides to hold on to her console.

K'net-mauri makes his face blank and doesn't laugh. He tries not to hold onto anything tensely, either.

And as the countdown hits 0, there is a light noise which reverberates through the hull, the sound of two objects without defensive screens bumping into eachother, when one is the size of a Bird of Prey and the other the size of an escape pod. "Collision made, Lieutenant. Your orders?"

Jolvan says, "Back away 5km and all stop and wait."

Jolvan looks over his shoulder,"Damage report."

Modon says, "Aye, sir. Five kilometers back. Thrusters on reverse."

K'net-mauri says blandly, "Minimal damage. Or rather, a scrape."

Jatila murmurs, "On a brand-new ship out of drydock. I'd avoid drydock for a while were I you, Sublieutenant." Her eyes gleam with humor.

Jolvan smiles as he replies to Jatila,"It adds character." He adds," Have sensors be on the lookout for that shuttle," he then waits.

Some time passes. No shuttle comes. The signals continue, every so often they shift, various kinds of propaganda sneaking across several channel bands -- Reunification is only the start of it. There is invective against the Senate and the Praetor. There is a call to arms to refuse military service against the Taurhai. There are other calls for action, as well. But no shuttle.

Kran'dok simply turns and focuses on his console, listening to the messages and searching for clues. "Even mention of the Taurhai here is a grave act of treason. Is it possible this is here just to gall us?" After some time he shakes his head. "Perhaps this was not as automated as any of us had suspected."

Jolvan scratches his chin,"How far can these bouys be from the station?"

K'net-mauri watches the viewscreen with his eyes narrowed, looking half asleep.

Modon says, "At the risk of sounding like an apologist for these people, Uhlan, I remind you that these broadcasts are being beamed *inward* to the Empire from a point in the Neutral Zone. Unless the Federation is sending cloaked ships into this region of space, the odds on them hearing this rely only on the chance that Federation vessels flying diplomatic colors may pass accidentally through the arc."

Jatila's brow furrows as she listens, and she sends a look toward Jolvan. "We have /got/ to stop this. Look, it's a /network/ of buoys sending out signals on specific arcs to bounce off of each other. Kill a few buoys, maybe even just one, and break the network. Stop the broadcasts. That's the important thing. Then we can go after any evidence of whoever's doing this if you want to. Obviously it's not the Vulcans if Taurhai is mentioned."

Kran'dok scoffs slightly. "No not just Vulcans, but some of our people working in cullusion with them no dobut. She is right though. We have pinpointed roughly half of the bouys. If they did not respond to that, they may not respond to the weapons fire."

Jolvan considers Jatilas words,"We still have the five bouys' locations?"

Kran'dok turns to adress Jolvan specifically. "Yes sir."

Jolvan Nods,"And we destroy one would the others change location?"

K'net-mauri sighs gently. He says quietly, "It seems likely that the post is located in the area that is most saturated by bouy signals, not at any given moment, but within the time period it takes for the bouys to completely rotate. If you are going to poke something with a sharp stick..."

Kran'dok answers Jolvan. "That is only a possibility sir. There is no evidence right now to support that conclusion. Their thrusters only serve to rotate them."

Jatila blinks at the Ambassador. Her mouth opens, then shuts.

Kran'dok perks up. "We could try moving elsewhere to pinpoint other bouys before we destroy these. That is just another idea though."

Modon says, "You mean locate all the buoys, then start destroying them all once we know where they all are?"

Kran'dok nods to modan. "It would be difficult and time consuming, but strike a more decisive blow."

K'net-mauri says tiredly, "At least determine the complete pattern of their transmissions before you start whacking away at it."

Modon turns in the pilot's seat, as it were, towards Jolvan. "Not a very elegant plan, Sir, and it doesn't solve the mystery you were looking to solve, but it *does* complete our mission. Our mission was to neutralize, not necessarily investigate. As the Centurion rightly notes, we'd want to have the transmissions recorded both for evidence and further tracking later. But ... sometimes a solution is obvious because it deserves to be obvious."

Jolvan Nods," can try that but let us wait. Can you you shouw me the rotation path of all the bouys and extend th discs out to where they all cross paths?"

Kran'dok prepares the graphical display. "I have it ready to put on the viewscreen sir. We only know the location of five of them. There are eight to twelve most likely. We would have to move to locate the others."

Jatila remains silent, leaning on her console. From the way her shifting has increased, her feet must be killing her.

Jolvan looksa th the screen,"Save that. We will look once more for the others failing that we destroy the ones we know about after making a record of the transmissions for intell."

Modon says, "Permission to begin a search flight pattern then, Lieutenant? If I'm understanding the Uhlan, we have to move into their arcs to find them."

Jolvan nods,"Make it so."

Kran'dok nods to Modon. "True, just take care to note that they are rotating. You may pass very close to one and miss it if the rotation is off. I reccomend a slow pace."

GAME: Kran'dok spends a courage point.

GAME: Kran'dok contests his Shipboard Systems+A vs Moderate and Fails.

GAME: Jatila contests her Shipboard Systems vs Moderate and Fails.

This part of things takes longer than it should. In fact, when it's done, 9 total buoys have been discovered and marked and it's still not entirely clear whether there are more yet unfound. But 9 is the number that is had to go on.

Kran'dok finishes his entries into the computer. "Lieutenant," he says stiffly as he turns to face the man. "I have located nine bouys and recorded all the information we can gather given our current sensor status."

Jatila nods after a moment. "Confirmed."

Jolvan looks at the screen," Nine. Let's hope its enough or we will be back out here. Let's start destroying them. We don't want to over stay our unwelcomeness." He looks at the weapons Uhlan." Is the a way to destroy them all at oncle like a mine on a timer?"

Kran'dok interrupts. "Excuse me sir. We have one last thing we might try. An active sensor pulse just before we decloak could reveal a few more bouys before they power down."

The Uhlan standing next to Jatila, who has been silent most of this time, says "Sir, this is a state of the art Bird of Prey. While we cannot destroy all nine with exact and simultaneous precision, we can destroy at least four at once, the next four before it would be remotely possible for them to react. The last one we still have very good odds for, but it will come down to the timing of your orders, Sir."

K'net-mauri is silent.

Jatila closes her eyes briefly, but says nothing.

Jolvan nods,"Can we try that after we destroy the ones we know. I don't want to take a chance of loosing these bouys."

Kran'dok falls silent and turns to the console, ready to find any additional bouys he can or track the ones they know of.

The Uhlan looks to Jolvan, then Jatila, then back to Jolvan. "Which of us would you prefer to do the honors, Lieutenant, and do you have a preference as to the order of fire?"

Jatila just quirks a brow.

. o O Kran'dok thinks, "What officer or politician wrote this station off as destroyed or whatever they decided to call it? I am sure that will start the trail to finding out something more."

Jolvan looks down to the weapons Uhlan,"Can you cacualute the best order to go one that will give you the best chance of getting them all. Once we have gotten the nine we will decloak for 30secs and try Kran'dok's active pulse. Cloak and return to our side of the Zone."Pauses for a momnet,"This you station, Uhlan. Adjuntant Jatila will help you where you need."

The Uhlan nods. "Aye, Sir."

Jatila nods her understanding.

K'net-mauri looks at Jolvan, his expression chilly.

GAME: Modon forces Sukhar to contest his Starship Tactics vs Moderate and Succeeds.

The Weapons Officer says "Aye, Sir. Plotting destruction order now. Ready to fire on your mark."

Jolvan looks sternly at the screen, "Fire."

And in four-point-five seconds, it is done. The ship decloaks as soon as the first ripping salvo of disruptor beams and plasma torpedo charges are let loose, and as the Uhlan predicted, the next four are destroyed almost immediately. The last beacon starts to go dark, but not soon enough to prevent a targeting lock which sends a plasma torpedo almost two hundred thousand kilometers skittering across the open space to slam into the thing before it can fade completely into obscurity by going dark and small against the starscape. "Targets destroyed, Sir."

Jatila nods approvingly, bending her head to check the channels.

Jolvan Smiles at the weapons officer,"Engage cloak and set a course for the romulan side." he looks at Kran'dok" Can't take a chance on that scan we we exposed long enough." Jolvan looks around."Well done everyone."

Kran'dok clears the active scan he had prepared, waiting for the order. "Yes sir. Scanners set to passive."

K'net-mauri says blandly, "Cloaking."

Modon says, "Aye, sir. Course set for Agurthan Outpost, with initial three arc delay to throw off pursuit." He says it crisply. "As soon as we reach Agurthan Outpost, Lieutenant, I will be relieving you of command. If you wish to enjoy the bridge watch between now and then, I would be glad for the opportunity to rest, and would like permission to yield my station back to the original flight officer."

Jolvan nods,"Thank you, Sublieutenent Modon. Have a good rest. Jolon'tru."

Kran'dok takes the time afforded by the trip to S419 to quietly go through the sensor data and run some computer simulations. It seems he is quite concerned with the movements and arcs of the bouys.

Jatila nods in satisfaction, and leans against the weapons console, watching the viewscreen.

K'net-mauri remains silent, scowling out the viewport in a quiet displeasure.

Jolvan Watches the stars zoom toward the viewscreen then split into its full spectral bar a disappear of screen his face betrays no emotion.