Polaris Episode 1.2: Genesis

[Mentat Tir]

Episode 1.20
Written by Lt. Alia Kenek

Lt. Kenek left the officers' party and breathed a small sigh of relief.  All things considered, it could have gone worse.  Commander Zack's disdain had been palpable.  She didn't need the Doc's Betazoid senses to recognize how displeased he was at her sudden promotion. Kenek had a feeling that a lecture from the Commander was forthcoming, and she dreaded it.  She'd hoped from the moment she met Zack that they could find some common ground.  It had been so long since she'd had a Cardassian friend... or more precisely, since Kenek had a Cardassian friend.  She wondered briefly whether or not she was allowing Jarid's fond memories of Cardassia cloud her good judgement.  

Lt. Loram walked by and smiled politely as he did.  Kenek nodded back with a small smile.  He'd been surprisingly friendly at the dinner, and it was welcome next to the glaring eyes of Zack.  She still didn't know what to make of Captain Kelly.  Experience, she supposed would teach her much more.  

She overheard Ambassador Vaudrian discussing the Klingon ambasssador and felt her stomach churn.  She'd never felt comfortable around Klingons.  She was reminded of a time when Nitza Kenek was dating Curzon Dax, and he'd taken her to a Klingon restaurant, much to Nitza's horror.  "Brutes!" Nitza had growled to Curzon after a rather large Klingon had made a rather imprudent comment about Nitza's dress.  Curzon had laughed at her.  Nitza had thrown her goblet of blood wine in Curzon's face, and stormed off with the laughter of drunken Klingons behind her.

Alia was lamenting her postion once again on this miserable station when it shook violently.  The red alert klaxon sounded, followed by Commander Zack's clipped voice:

"Red alert, battle stations."

Sighing, Kenek rushed for the nearest turbolift.  Here was the first test.

[Mentat Tir]

Episode 1.21
Written by Capt. Matthew Kelly

Captain Kelly walked briskly on to the bridge.  Ambassador Vaudrin walked in at his heels.  Around them klaxons sounded and the bridge lights went dim.  The remainder of the bridge crew was already there, working at their respective consoles.

“Number One, report!” barked Kelly.

Commander Zack paused for only a moment before he realized the captain was addressing him.  “A Romulan Warbird just decloaked 50 kilometers off the station.  They immediately fired their disruptors.”

“At us?” asked Kelly.

“No, sir,” answered Zack.  “At first it appeared they were firing into open space, but then they hit something…a cloaked Klingon warship.”

The view screen showed the large damaged Klingon ship slowly tumbling through space.  The Warbird hung motionless.  Kelly could almost sense the Romulan’s smugness at humiliating their century’s old adversaries with a sneak attack.

“Ah, so our feuding friends must have got there early.  Neither wanted to be the first to arrive,” said Kelly.

“Of course not,” said Vaudrin standing behind the two officers.  “To be the first to arrive would have looked like they were eager to get started.”

“Sir,” said Lt. Kenek.  “Obviously, the Romulans must have detected the cloaked Klingon ship.  Only moments before the Romulans fired, the Klingon ship began leaking theta radiation.  It was minute, but that would have been enough just enough for a weapons’ lock.”

Kelly gave Vaudrin a side-glance.  “Not a good way to start peace talks, is it?”

“If we don’t do something fast, captain, there aren’t going to BE any peace talks,” said Vaudrin.

[Rhai]

1.22 Written by Doc Johannsen 5/14/02

Johansson stood in his larger than Archer's sickbay. Things that had been recently put on shelves had now fallen due to the rocky start that the station was in. "What in Betazed is going on?, he asked himself.

He tapped his badge. [Johansson to Kelly, what in Betazed is going on? This isn't exactly the best time to test us....]

Captain Kelly replied hesitantly, [Doc, I'm afraid this isn't a test. It is the real thing.]

[But we haven't even had our briefing...]



Johansson sighed. He thought about Alia and how she would be handling this situation under her new promotion. He knew she would do well, but at the reception, he could sense that Alia didn't feel comfortable with Zack around. Johansson wanted to talk to her about it. Perhaps he'd get the opportunity soon.

He also thought about Rhai. The twins! He hoped she'd be ok under this time of hustle and bustle, and especially in this attack that they were experiencing. It wasn't particularly going to be fun being in the middle of everything, with Klingons and Romulans at that.

He heard a voice and that voice spoke a few times before he came out of this thoughts.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?"

It was Candy.

"I've been asking you for the past 2 minutes, but I guess you don't care."

"I'm sorry. I was deep in thoughts."

"Yeah, I bet you were"

"What's wrong with you? What's gotten you all uptight?"

"I hate this place. It's too big. "

Johansson chuckled. "Well, Ms Marcella,  you've got to take it one day at at time. I admit the station is big, but we'll all adjust to it sooner or later. I haven't even seen  half of what this place has to offer yet."

"I guess you're right. This change is just so much to take in."

"Well, that I agree, and everyone is feeling this way now," he paused and chuckled, "even Captain Kelly who has some getting used to us. It's not always smooth sailing when in the middle of big changes. And one of these changes that will not happen is the use of those dangfangled Medical Holograms. You know how I am. I like the use of a real flesh nurse. And I'll tell you what. I personally asked for your transfer. I persisted with Starfleet when they wanted to cut down on staff and use Holograms. But in a middle of a war, what are you going to do when your main power goes down?" He winked at Candy and she smiled back.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now don't let the size of the station get in your way.Enjoy it for what it is."

[Rhai]

1.23 Written by the Bynars 820, 901,1010 5/14/02

The Bynars were happy to be working again.  They had spent about 15 minutes eating, and the rest of the 45 minutes was used to catch up and data stored in their computer packs.

They had deliberately loaded the packs with more information than they could process so that they would have something to do.  Most of the discussions were greetings and politics.

All that information was unimportant to the Bynars.  They had jobs to do.

901 was supposed to be headed for rest right now, but returned to engineering after Red Alert was announced.  With some of the tension calmed down (at least for the safety of the station) it returned to their quarters for it's rest shift.

820 and 1010 continued to work on that station.  1010 was busy on repair requests from civilians, while 820 was working on the Starfleet requests.

901 entered the strange quarters.  Since they were also in charge of all changes made to the stations architecture (since it affect environmental, power, and a multitude of other systems) they had easily combined their 3 quarters into one giant home.  The extra doors had been removed.

Have of the quarters were sealed off with a small, Bynar-sized door.  That lead to the sleeping quarters, while the eating and living quarters took over the other half.

There was no real furniture.  Their were 3 replicators and nearby was an open space on the floor.  The rest of the large space was filled with wires, computer terminals, and quite a few personal experiments.  It was such a mess (to a stranger) that if a person was to enter, they would not know which items were being put together and which were being taken apart.

But, the Bynars knew exactly what everything was and where it was.  What helped most was their communication.  Even now, as 901 got ready to rest, it got continuous updates of what it's two siblings had completed.  The computer system tracked everything for them so that no project was ever duplicated, and no troubleshooting was ever repeated.  They worked, nearly, as one mind.

The Bynars had also evolved enough that they could process information in their sleep.  Sometimes, if strong enough, thoughts DURING sleep could be sent to the other Bynars.  It was not uncommon for one Bynar to discover a solution in a dream, and see that solution completed before they awoke.

After spending an hour working on one of it's experiments with holo-technology, 901

[Mentat Tir]

1.24 by Lt. Loram Jaan 5/17/02


When Jaan felt the shudder and heard the claxon, he felt his heart stop. For a moment, he was back aboard the Stonewall. The remembered terror of standing on the bridge, watching panels exploding left and right as enemy ships swooped in and fired salvo after salvo. Watching in horror as the tactical officer was blown away from his station and thrown like a broken
doll across the bridge to smash into a wall - his lifeless eyes staring accusingly at Jaan.

He felt himself frozen in place, unable to move. His breathing was rapid and sweat beaded on his forehead. He needed to get to ops. But he couldn't move
his legs. He knew his duty was to be there in a red alert, but he couldn't bring himself to budge. He couldn't face those exploding panels.

"Move it, Lieutenant!" he heard a rough voice command.

Jaan turned to see Commander Zack glaring at him. Jaan tried to reply, but couldn't do more than work his jaw uselessly.

"Is there a problem Mr. Loram?" the executive officer growled.

Jaan finally managed to shake his head in negation. "No, sir."

"Then get to your station, Mister!"

"Aye, sir." Jaan's legs felt like lead, but at least they were moving.

He made it to ops (fortunately) before the Captain. But the look on Zack's face said they'd be speaking again later. Jaan didn't know what he feared more: Zack himself, or what Zack might find out.

But now that he was at his familiar station, Jaan felt a little better.  There was a lot of activity going on out there, and he could see the two ships engaged.

He looked at his panel. The Klingon ship was trying to send a sub-space signal.

"Captain!" Jaan called. "The Klingons are attempting to call for help."

"If they get a message through, that'll mean other Klingon ships," said the captain.

"And if they bring help, the Romulans bring help, and the whole thing falls apart before it's started," said the ambassador grimly. "And we'll have front row seats for the start of a war..."

[Mentat Tir]

1.25 by Capt. Matthew Kelly 5/17/02

“Lt. Jaan,” said the captain.  “Hail the Klingon vessel.”

“Aye, sir,” replied Jaan, tapping this console.  “They are responding.”

“On screen.”

Through the static, Kelly saw a Klingon in full armor sitting in the command chair.  Showers of sparks shot from the aft stations behind him.

“Captain Kelly,” growled the Klingon.  “I have heard of you.  It is good to know that one so distinguished in battle has come to our aid.”

“Ambassador Kora,” said Kelly calmly.  “Hail to you and the Klingon Empire.”

Kora squinted his eyes.  “And to you and our allies in the Federation…but enough of this.  My ship will soon regain full power.  We will destroy the Romulan dogs together!”

“Milord, I must ask you to wait a moment,” replied Kelly, taking a deep breath.  “Please, stand down your weapons.”

“What did you say?"  said Kora, pounding his first on his chair. "What treachery is this?”

“Ambassador, my orders are to host negotiations between your people and the Romulans.  And I intend to fulfill my duty.”

“Do you intend to sit and watch while Klingon warriors give their lives?”

“Of course not, ambassador.  If it comes down to war, we will fight beside our Klingon brothers.  But your ship is in no shape for a battle.  Your shields are gone and your helm controls are offline.”  Kelly sighed.  “If the Romulans wanted your ship destroyed, they would still be firing.  All I ask is that you listen to what they have to say.”

Kora looked Captain Kelly up and down.  “You have fought beside our people and I thought you understood the Klingon heart.  But I can see now I was mistaken.”

Kora shifted in he seat.  “Very well, captain.”  He raised his gloved hand and pointed a finger at Kelly.  “But understand this.  If I was not on a mission from the High Council, I would have sent their ambassador’s body back to Romulus.”

The transmission went blank.  Kelly turned to his first officer.

“I don’t doubt it,” he mumbled.

[Dohlman]

Episode 1.26, Ambassador Vaudrian, 5/20/02

"Well, ambassador," said Capt. Kelly.  "You have your work cut out for you."

Sophia glared at Kelly, then turned away.

"Lt. Jaan, send a coded message to the Klingon vessel.  Diplomatic code K178Alpha.  Tell the ambassador I wish to meet with him on his ship in 10 minutes."

At that, Capt. Kelly turned in his chair toward her.  "If you go aboard that Klingon ship alone, I cannot guarantee your safety," he said.

Sophia raised one eyebrow at Kelly.  "I don't believe I asked you to guarantee a d*** thing, did I?"

Kelly's face turned to stone, and he fixed a hard stare onto Vaudrian.  "Lt. Jaan, send the message," he said in a low, soft voice.  Jaan whirled around in his chair.  His fingers flew across the console.

"Message sent," he said, presently.  

Vaudrian and Kelly were still glaring at each other, each one trying not to blink first.

"Captain, incoming message.  Ambassador Kura," said Jaan.

"Onscreen," said Vaudrian and Kelly in unison.

The image of Ambassador Kura filled the screen.

"What is this?" he growled.  

"Ambassador Kura.  I am Ambassador Sophia Vaudrian of the Federation.  I will be hosting the negotiation talks between you and the Romulans.  I..."

"I do not have time for you, ambassador," interrupted Kura.  He spat out the word 'ambassador,' as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.  "I have strategy to
formulate," he growled.

Sophia raised her voice.  "I have information, ambassador.  For your ears only."

She narrowed her eyes and lowered her head to intonate an immediacy to the situation.  Kura narrowed his eyes in return and looked warily at Vaudrian.  "I
believe it may help you to formulate your strategy," continued Vaudrian.

Kura paused, then barked, "Ten minutes!"  Then the screen went blank.

Sophia turned toward Lt. Jaan.  "Send a coded message to the Romulan ambassador, notifying him of my wishes to meet with him in 2 hours."  With that, Sophia
stalked off the bridge and into the turbolift, heading for the transporter room.

************************

Sophia shimmered from out the ether on board the Klingon ship.  The ship was dark, but not with the charming ambience of a darkened restaurant.  She was
greeted by a scowling Yeoman, who said nothing, but merely walked out of the transporter room.  She hurried down off the pad and followed.  He led her to the door outside Ambassador Kura's quarters and said, "Wait."  Then he walked off.  After a long wait, the door opened.

"Come!" growled a voice from within.  Sophia rolled her eyes and went inside.

Kura was sitting at a desk, writing something, and refrained from looking up at her.  "What is it?" he said.

Sophia cut to the chase.  "Ambassador Sotha has been linked to the Tal Shi'ar, which has since been universally denounced, at least publicly.  I have dispatched an intelligence unit to the Gamma quadrant to search for remaining members who may be in a position to compromise our ambassadorial counterpart."
That was the truth.  "I have received a report from them." That was a lie.

Kura looked up from his writing.  "And?" he asked.

"Come, come, ambassador.  You don't expect me to just give away information with nothing in return, do you?" said Sophia.

Kura grunted.  "I should have expected such from you, 'ambassador.'  Your kind are never straighforward."

Just then a dagger whizzed by Sophia and landed on the wall opposite her.  She turned, and saw a Klingon woman glaring at her.  

[Dohlman]

Episode 1.26, continued

"I say we gut her and send her back to the Polaris in pieces," she said.

"My second, Commander Borata," said Kura, introducing her.

The hairs on the back of Sophia's neck went up, and she backed up warily, her senses heightened.  "A pleasure," she said.

Borata didn't reply.  She merely pulled a d'k tahg and waved it in front of Sophia.  Sophia smiled slightly, and backed up to the wall, reaching up to grab a ceremonial knife.  Borata bared her teeth and lunged toward Sophia.  Sophia turned, whirling around Borata, slicing across with the knife as she did.  Borata looked down, surprised at the sight of her own blood.

Sophia heard Kura chuckling, but did not dare take her eyes off of Borata.  Borata countered with a right jab that caught Sophia on the nose.  Bright red blood gushed forth.  Sophia fell, then quickly rolled over to avoid Borata's d'k tahg in her stomach.  Sophia got up and circled around Borata.

Borata howled, then lunged again at Sophia.  Sophia went down on one knee, bringing up the knife and embedding it into Borata's armor.  Sophia lifted
Borata up off the floor, her hand still on the knife's handle, and threw her a few yards.  Now Sophia was weaponless, but she had Borata down.  Sophia jumped
on top of Borata and hit her once in the head, before being knocked off by a leg kick.  Sophia rolled, and landed on her feet next to Kura's desk.  Borata stood
before her with the two knives, and Sophia quickly looked to her left and grabbed a pen from Kura's desk.

Kura began laughing, which started Borata laughing.  Then Kura stood up and clapped Sophia on the back, sending her reeling forward a few steps.

"You fight well for an ambassador," said Kura.  "Perhaps we can...conduct business."

Sophia looked up into Borata's eyes, who was baring her teeth in a smile.  Sophia smiled, as well, then laughed.  

"I look forward to it," she said.

"Very well," replied Kura.  "Send me your 'terms,' and we can conspire to put away these Romulan b******* together."

Sophia nodded.  "I'll do that," she said.  Then she clicked on her com badge.  "Polaris.  One to beam over."

*******************

She appeared on the transporter pad, blood still running down her nose and onto her dress.  She walked out into the hall and was met by an oncoming Capt. Kelly.   Sophia sighed.  

[Dohlman]

Episode 1.27, Ambassador Vaudrian, 5/28/02

"What the hell happened?" asked Kelly.

"Nothing much," replied Vaudrian.  "I just passed a test, that's all," she said, wiping the blood from her nose.

"What test was that?  Certainly not keeping your nose out of trouble," shot back Kelly.

Vaudrian narrowed her eyes. "It was a fight with his second."  She began walking down the hallway toward her quarters.

"Who won?" asked Kelly.

"It was a draw when Kura stopped the fight with some joviality.  I was told I fight pretty well for an ambassador," said Vaudrian, smiling.  Kelly rolled his eyes.  

"Did anything of substance happen?" he asked.

"I told him I received a report from the information-gathering team I sent to the Gamma quadrant," she replied.  Kelly and Vaudrian reached her quarters and they both entered.  The door swished shut behind them.

"But you haven't received a report yet," said Kelly.

"I know.  But Kura doesn't."

"You keep playing these games, Sophia, and you won't last very long," warned Kelly.

"Are you concerned for me now?" asked Vaudrian.  "After accusing me of not being able to get my hands dirty?"  Vaudrian turned and walked into the next room to clean her face and change her clothes.

Kelly folded his arms and stiffened.  "I'm coming with you to see the Romulan ambassador," he said.

"Is that so?" replied Vaudrian from the next room.  "And what makes you think I'll let you accompany me?"

"Let me?" retorted Kelly.  "I'm the captain of this space station, and I will go wherever I d**n well please."

"Is that so?" replied Vaudrian.  She came back into the room where Kelly was, wearing a dress uniform.

"Dress uniform?  Don't you think that's a bit much?" asked Kelly.

"Let's just say I think the Romulans appreciate protocol more than the Klingons," replied Vaudrian.

"And just what exactly..." started Kelly, when suddenly the lights went out in the room.  Vaudrian and Kelly looked around.

"Computer, lights," said Kelly, waiting.

"Nothing," said Vaudrian.  "The power is out."