PNPC Commander Adriana Morgan - Getting Somewhere

[Marissa Jeffrey]

((Bridge, USS Gemini))

::Why they were not at alert status already probably had something to do
with the fact that they were learning a whole heck of a lot all at once.
Even when they were this good, their brains needed at least a second or
two to consume something. The yellow alert lights quickly started
blinking as the attention on the bridge was turned back to the message
they'd just gotten.::

Frost: Alright, So the message. What was it?

Riel: He pretends that there are three Klingon warbirds on this side of
the border, using, I quote, inverted shield wavelength frequencies,
endquote, and one more on the other side of the border. And he asks us
permission to come across and help us with the intruding warbirds, plus
whatever help he can give on Garridon.

::Adri saw quietly, agreeing with the conveyance of the message.::

Frost: Your assessment of the tone?

Riel: Not your stereotypical Klingon, from the tone of the message. No
IKS identification tag either. I'd say freelancer, to be polite. And I'm
not sure leaving a recorded trace of us asking a mercenary to start a
border skirmish by proxy with the Klingon Empire is a good idea.

::An assessment she also agreed with. Something seemed off here, as if
it wasn't as simple as it looked. But then again, she was usually having
to dig pretty deep to find the patterns and the answers. Having the
solutions handed to you seemed a bit too easy for her to believe it
right off the bat.::

Es-Aleh: A suggestion, if I may? String him along a bit. Thank him for
the info, ask him to keep us updated, and dangle the chance he might get
what he's asking for in front of him. Might prompt him to be a bit more
forthcoming with evidence to back his story up - or give him enough room
to trip over his own... fabrications.

Frost: Or his outright deception, if that's what he's got planned. It's
our turn to play the bluff.

::And see what they came up with. She looked on with curiosity and a
need to figure out the puzzle.::

Morgan: What's he up to?

::She said it at much to herself as she did to anyone else. Everyone had
a driving motivation and she wanted to know what was behind this one.
Deception? A grudge? Things could go either way.::

Riel: DemonRide... fancy name, definitely not Klingon, unless the
translator got overzealous... Ring any bells?

::Adri shook her head as a plan was formed.::

Es-Aleh: Not to me. And "inverted shield frequencies" or not, a cloaked
ship still leaves traces - traces I'm seeing only one set of anywhere in
the area.

Frost: Alright, let's play that up. They don't know how many ships we
can detect out there, and there's no guarantee that if there are other
ships out there that they even know they're there.

::Looking over at the man in the center chair, Adri wondered momentarily
what he would say.::

Morgan: Standing by, sir.

::Almost immediately, he began speaking. She began entering the required
parameters and translating what was said.::

Frost: Return message: Klingon vessel. Hold position and await further
instructions. We are tracking at least one identified vessel within the
system. But we cannot allow you to cross into Federation space without
command approval or evidence of hostile intent on the part of unknowns.
Standby, and we will advise further.

::Moments after he finished, she did as well.::

Morgan: Message away.

::Time to wait. Adri only could hope that it would reveal something less
malevolent, and more to their liking.::

Es-Aleh: Now to see if they actually *listen*.

Frost: See if you can get a fix on where that message came from. Even if
it's just a direction.

Es-Aleh: On it.

:: Adriana dug through the information at her console as the counselor
made some progress on the array.::

Frost: Alright, in the mean time, and idea where our rescue team is?

Es-Aleh: Lot of interference, but sensors show they're on the ground.

Frost: Well at least they haven't exploded, which is a good sign.

::Indeed. The fact that the crew was on the ground and not lost in some
meteorological hellstorm...oh wait. Adri silently wondered if where they
were now was worse than 'blowing up'.::

Morgan: Yes sir.

::She wasn't about to share her thoughts, after all.::

Frost: Where ore we on a comm link. Can we talk to anyone down there?

Morgan: Not yet. Not approaching reliably anyways.

::The counselor next to her shook his head.::

Riel: The electromagnetic interference from the storms is jamming our
frequencies. I'm trying to filter it out as much as I can, but that will
just work for the baseline. Expect fragmented transmissions.

Frost: [Tag]

Morgan: It's something for now, with the promise of more as we work.

:: And then alarms erupted on the tactical console, followed by the
sound of answers. Answers she wasn't sure she liked.::

Es-Aleh: Ship just dropped out of warp. Looks Klingon - she's firing.

:: Suddenly she felt herself bathed in red light as the ship went to red
alert.::

Es-Aleh: Four torpedoes, divergent vectors.

Frost: ?

Morgan: We aren't four locations, where are they headed?

::Something wasn't right here. The ship had fired, but it wasn't on
them? Why didn't that register in her head? Was it a trick?::

Es-Aleh: Confirmed lock on the Klingon ship, weapons ready. Torpedoes are-

Riel: Incoming transmission from the unknown ship!

::Adri's head shot to the side at the counselor.::

Frost: [Tag]

Morgan: ::At her screen.:: What is that?

::Strangeness flashed across her screen as she watched, then suddenly
words formed.::

Riel: Just a string of numbers and letters, and a message asking these
funds to be given to the Thracians as war reparations... What funds?

Frost: ?

Morgan: The numbers and letters are an account, perhaps?

::She raised an eyebrow as the rest of the message came in.::

Es-Aleh: Torpedoes are *not* targeting us. They're heading...

::The image they all saw next left the bridge in a moment of awed
silence as they all tried to understand what just happened.::

Riel: How does that even... Wait... Another transmission burst. Sending
it to mainscreen.

Frost: ?

Morgan: It seems we have an interesting situation on our hands here.

::It didn't seem so much like a trap now, but it also made little sense.
She thought back to the formation of the Thracian Alliance and wondered
about it all. How did that event drive this Klingon to this point?::

Riel: :: Looking skeptical :: Shooting their own ships and handing out
bank accounts... Please feel free to start making sense anytime now. The
part about Doctor Nicholotti sounds pretty personal, though.

Es-Aleh: A little bit, yeah.

Frost: ?

Morgan: Well, it was under her watch that the Alliance formed. She put
her ship between a Klingon and a Romulan fleet. The result sent ripples
through the Trinity sector.

Frost/Riel/Es-Aleh: Response?

Morgan: Perhaps, but something still seems off.

::And that was when the comm system seemed to spring to life. Static
filled the bridge.::

Frost/Riel/Es-Aleh: Response?

Morgan: Not sure it's stable, but it's better than what we had!


TAG/TBC

--
Commander Adriana Morgan
Communications Specialist

as simmed by:

Fleet Captain Kalianna Nicholotti
Chief Medical Officer
USS Gemini