From: Shawn _ (alamo_nate_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Jan 31 2008 - 18:42:10 PST
=Stormfront=
LOCATION: ANDARA Capitol City
SCENE: Prime Minister's Office
STARDATE: [2.8]0128.1637
TIME INDEX: 5 weeks ago
Rain pelted the high windows of the Prime Minister's office, the dull rumble of thunder in the distance shook Prime Minister Blithis out of her thoughts. If she were prone to believing in omens, she might have thought the coming storm to be a particularly fitting metaphor.
An aide opened the door and peaked his head in, so quiet that Blithis might not have noticed if she hadn't been expecting him. Blithis flicked her eyes upward to the aide, without moving her head.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Ambassador Vertec has arrived," the aide said. "She is requesting an audience with you... immediately."
"Very well," Blithis nodded. "Show her in."
The aide nodded and left, leaving Blithis alone again, if only for a moment. She was not surprised that Vertec was here- doubtless, the Vorta's impromptu-visit was motivated by the last transmission she had received from ANDARA. Blithis expected that Vertec would not be in the best of moods, and she steeled herself in preparation against the Vorta representative from the Dominion.
The Dominion. ANDARA's new big-brother.
Life on ANDARA had rapidly changed since the Dominion's annexation. Blithis' own rise to the position of Prime Minister after the sudden and unfortunate assassination of her predecessor had contributed to some of these changes, but even Blithis hadn't expected daily life to change so drastically. She rose from her desk and moved to the window, staring down at the street below her. Normally, it would have been full of merchants and farmers selling their goods, or perhaps street-performers entertaining crowds of Andaran children. One could argue that it was the rain that kept them off the street today, but Blithis suspected their reluctance to come out and play had more to do with the team of Jem'Hadar posted outside her building- not to mention the *other* teams, posted on street-corners throughout the city.
Vertec's silver-tongued assurance that "they are only there to ensure your safety against possible invasion by the Federation" had almost made sense when Blithis had first agreed to it. In retrospect, that was foolish- the Federation would sooner abandon the Gamma Quadrant entirely than *invade* a peaceful world like ANDARA.
Things were getting worse. The Dominion was starting to throw its weight around more and more, sticking its nose into Andaran-affairs on an increasingly-regular basis. True, they had not yet gone so far as to make it feel like ANDARA was living under martial law, but it was starting to get close. "Security checkpoints" for all Andarans entering or leaving the city, random searches of stock-crates and other goods, and whispered rumors of Andarans who openly opposed to the Dominion-ANDARA alliance "disappearing" suddenly with no trace had given Blithis cause to seriously doubt the intentions of ANDARA's new friends.
Then, a few days ago, a transmission had come from the Dominion, instructing Blithis to assist in acquiring the resources and manpower necessary to constructing and maintaining a permanent Dominion military-base on ANDARA itself.
And Blithis realized that enough was enough. Her reply had been short, and to the point.
"No."
And it had been enough to cause Ambassador Vertec herself to risk a return to ANDARA, dangerously close to what had once again become Federation-controlled space, to have a face-to-face discussion with Blithis. Vertec was attractive, charming, and piercingly-intelligent, but she was clearly not accustomed to not getting her way, and could become truly terrifying in a quiet, controlled way. Blithis did not look forward to their conversation... but such were the duties of a true leader.
Blithis did not turn around when Vertec stormed in.
"Ambassador," Blithis said politely, keeping her gaze fixed on the rain outside her window. "Have a seat, please. May I offer you something to drink?"
"That will not be necessary," Vertec snarled while still managing to sound cordial. "This isn't a social call."
"No," Blithis sighed, turning from the window and smiling at Vertec. "I expect it isn't."
"The Dominion is very... *concerned*... about your refusal to accommodate our long-term plans for this section of the Gamma Quadrant," Vertec said with a frown. "A military-base on ANDARA would give us the perfect staging-area for which to strike the Federation and maintain control of the wormhole."
"I'm quite aware of this," Blithis nodded. "However, the Dominion's war with the Federation has nothing to do with me or my people. Our relations with the Federation were terminated by the closure of the wormhole, not as a precursor to *your* war."
"The Federation started this war by their refusal to withdraw from the Gamma Quadrant," Vertec replied. "And whether we're at war or not, it has no bearing on our treaty with ANDARA. The terms of our treaty guarantees Dominion protection of ANDARA in exchange for certain-"
"The treaty does *not* give the Dominion the right to turn ANDARA into a staging area from which to prosecute their... 'foreign-relations policies'," Blithis said simply. "And that is exactly what you are trying to do."
"From one point of view, perhaps," Vertec said. "But it would be prudent of you to consider how much more difficult it will be for us to ensure ANDARA's safety in the coming conflict without an already-established base here. Without a Dominion presence, the Federation might see it as a perfect opportunity to occupy your world themselves... and it would certainly be a shame to see the streets of your fair city turned into a warzone as my Jem'Hadar forces retake the planet."
Vertec leaned forward and smiled, to really drive the point home: "Why, the amount of Andaran casualties in such a situation could be... *considerable*."
"Don't threaten me, Vertec," Blithis said, meeting the Vorta's gaze. "We are *allies* with the Dominion, not subordinates to them. And surely I don't have to remind you that, now that the wormhole has reopened, the Federation is *eager* to reestablish relations with us."
"I see," Vertec nodded. "The Dominion will respect ANDARA's wishes in this matter. No base will be constructed on ANDARAN soil."
"I'm glad we could reach an agreement," Blithis said.
"But keep this in mind," Vertec said, leaning forward again. "So long as ANDARA remains loyal to us, the Dominion will consider her a valued-friend. But if ANDARA were to reestablish a treaty with the Federation... if it appeared as though your loyalty lies with our *enemies* instead of us... the Dominion would not hesitate to burn your little world to cinders."
Blithis searched for a suitably-pithy retort, but could find none. She knew full well that Vertec meant what she said, and knew that ANDARA would stand no chance if the Dominion ever decided to attack them.
But the Dominion wanted ANDARA as an ally, if only to prevent the Federation from getting them as an ally instead. ANDARA would be safe, so long as they remained neutral and did not stand in the Dominion's way.
Still, Blithis had to repress a shudder as Vertec's eyes bored into her. Finally, the Vorta stood, made a brief goodbye, and left, leaving Blithis seated in her chair, her hands gripping the armrests tightly.
Outside, the thunder rumbled again, and now even Blithis could appreciate the metaphor.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOCATION: ANDARA
SCENE: Elcar Village
TIME INDEX: Present day
Mykel stood outside the door of his tiny, humble house and smiled, taking a deep breath of the crisp, clean air. The tiny village of Elcar had already started to wake up all around, and Mykel waved a polite hello to Haxer and Blin, a local farmer and his eldest son, as they lead their herd of Andaran grassers (very similar to Terran cattle, except that they had no horns, scaly bodies, and a long, elephant-like snout that they used for picking up food and investigating their surroundings) down main-street towards the open plains on the outskirts of the village.
Blin and Haxer smiled and waved back, and Blin even added a rousing, "Good morning, Elder!" to the salutation. Mykel watched as they continued up the street for several moments, before stepping off his doorstep and beginning his morning rounds.
Mykel had been village-elder of Elcar Village for the past 15 years, and his long white hair was the same color as the state Elder's Robes his office required him to wear. His duties included keeping in touch with the residents of Elcar Village , who were mostly farmers or artisans. Once a month, he would communicate their ideas, desires, and needs to the ANDARAN capital city- a privilege he alone enjoyed, as Mykel was the only person in Elcar Village with a comm-device. The unit itself was old and hardly state-of-the-art, but it still represented one of the two most sophisticated pieces of equipment within almost two hundred miles. The only other piece of "modern" technology to be found in the entire village was known as "the Window", a television-like screen that, once a week, broadcast the latest news updates all over ANDARA. Aside from these two devices, the residents of Elcar (and many Andarans, for that matter) did not have much use for technology, preferring the
old, tried-and-true way of life that had sustained them happily for centuries.
Outsiders might claim that Andarans hated technology, but that just wasn't true. Wasn't the plow used to till the fields of Andaran farmers technology? Didn't the construction of sturdy, stone-and-durasteel buildings represent a mastery of one's environment? Could anyone really say that a phaser or a replicator was more *important* than the art created by Andaran painters and sculptors all across the planet every single day?
A replicator was a *useful* tool, certainly, but hardly a necessary one, and it was the Andaran way of life to emphasize the value of simpler, practical technologies made necessary by a largely rural existence. What use did the average Andaran have for a planetary-shuttle or hover-transport craft? Most Andarans were in no hurry to get anywhere, completely content to enjoy the journey and stop many times to smell the flowers along the way.
Andarans were certainly *aware* of what technology had made possible for the rest of the galaxy, and accepted the use of some *modern* equipment like a planetary-communications network (albiet a very primitive one by galactic standards), which made possible the use of Mykel's comm-device and the Window. But for the most part, ANDARA was content to sit back and let technology pass them by.
As Mykel made his rounds, he passed by the Great Hall on his right. That building, the largest in the village and ornately decorated, housed the Window. In addition, it served as the gathering place for every member of the village. At the end of every week, at the exact moment the planet completed its daily rotation and began a new one, the Window would light up, and the transmission of news would begin, often read by the Andaran Culture Minister. Mykel missed the days when Jarhid was Prime Minister, and Culture Minister Blithis would appear each week to deliver the reports. Mykel had always found Blithis very attractive, even in his old age, and it was a shame that a new Culture Minister had taken her place.
Mykel was not totally disappointed, however- each weekly transmission ended with a special message from the Prime Minister. This message was often kept brief, and there was little substance to it beyond "We stand, united and peaceful, as one planet, blah blah blah", but at least Blithis had not disappeared from the airwaves entirely.
The once-a-week transmission of the news via the Window was always an event in Elcar Village , as it was in villages all across ANDARA. The beginning of the transmission was always preceded by a feast- Elcar Village had long enjoyed a surplus of food, and a weekly feast both celebrated their good fortune and helped them to appreciate the fruits of their hard work. And when the feast was done, nearly everyone in town would gather in the Great Hall to hear what the Window had to say. Once the transmission completed, there was almost always discussion and debate about the issues raised and topics discussed during the feed, but this was always reasonable and fair. The people of Elcar Village rarely had a disagreement they couldn't work through.
Naturally, this weekly broadcast was something that *everyone* in Elcar Village looked forward to. So naturally, as Mykel passed by the Great Hall and saw what he thought were the tell-tale flickers of light created by the activation of the Window out of the corner of his eye, it gave him reason to pause. He turned, approaching the Great Hall, and through its large windows could see that there was, in fact, light coming from the Window.
"This isn't right," he said aloud, frowning. He pulled open the door to the Great Hall and stepped inside, walking briskly towards the Window. It was, indeed, activated- although it was a transmission unlike any the Window had ever shown him before.
Scrolling across the screen, very rapidly, was what appeared to be characters in some kind of strange alien alphabet. They danced quickly across the screen, constantly moving, and Mykel couldn't tell if it was a repeating pattern of just a constant stream of random characters. With another frown, he reached up and tried the activation control for the Window, only to find that it didn't work. The Window remained active, and the letters continued to pour out across the screen, doing their mocking little dance from one side to the other, over and over again.
And for reasons that a wise, rational man like Mykel couldn't identify or explain, he began to feel very, very uneasy. Something about these letters, dancing across the screen as they were, filled his mind with undeniable dread.
And suddenly, he felt an urge to cover the Window, or to smash its screen in, or *anything* to stop the transmission. He felt *compelled* to act, and he quickly grabbed a nearby wall-hanging and draped it over the Window, covering the screen and hiding the letters.
"What are you doing, Elder?" a voice came suddenly from behind him. Mykel spun around, feeling very much like a child caught with his hand in a cookie jar and not knowing exactly why, to see young Blin standing at the door of the Great Hall.
"Blin," Mykel said, backing up until he bumped into the still-covered Window behind him. "Shouldn't you be helping your father with the grassers?"
"I am," Blin nodded. "But he forgot his milking-stool, and he sent me back to get it."
"Then you'd best be about it," Mykel said, waving him off. "Go on now."
"What are you doing with the Window, Elder?" Blin asked, tilting his head in a way that only inquisitive young 12-year olds can and advancing on the old man.
"Never you mind," Mykel said, stepping away from the Window to intercept the child. But Blin moved right past him, as if compelled by something he couldn't explain, and grabbed the fabric that Mykel had draped over the screen. He pulled it aside, revealing the dancing green letters still doing their shimmy across the screen, mumbling something Mykel couldn't make out as he watched them scroll by.
"Come now, boy," Mykel said, beginning to grow irritated. "This doesn't concern you." He lightly grabbed Blin's arm to pull him towards the door, but Blin was a stiff as a stone. Mykel tugged a little harder, and suddenly Blin yanked violently out of the Elder's grip, so suddenly that Mykel actually lost his balance and fell hardly on the ground. As he did so, he saw the expression on Blin's face.
The boy's eyes were wide and fixed on the screen. His mouth was contorted in an unearthly grin, slightly open so that Mykel could see the youth's tongue poking out slightly from between his teeth, and so that a tiny trickle of drool had started to hang from the youth's lower lip. In all, it was a horrifying look that only intensified the feeling of dread that clouded Mykel's mind.
"B-Blin?" Mykel managed to squeak. And his horror only grew as, very slowly, Blin's head tilted down, and his still-wide eyes fixed on the old man lying at his feet, and (even though Mykel would have sworn it was impossible) his lips twisted into an even bigger, more sinister smile.
In that moment, Mykel saw his fate reflected in Blin's eyes, saw exactly what the boy meant to do to him, and he tried to scream. But Blin moved too quickly, and the scream was snuffed out even before it began.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOCATION: ANDARA, Capitol City
SCENE: Prime Minister's Office
"The reports are coming in from all over ANDARA," Advisor Berim reported, standing before Blithis' desk with his hands clasped formally behind his back. "Stories of children going mad suddenly and for no apparent reason, and *attacking* other people."
"And... killing them?" Blithis frowned.
"In some cases, yes," Berim nodded solemnly. "The first incident is from Elcar Village , in the northwestern hemisphere. A 12 year-old boy attacked and murdered the Village Elder. Later that same day, a seven year-old girl maimed her mother with a set of farming tools- but other townsfolk heard the mother's cries for help before the girl was finished."
"How many reports?" Blithis asked, dreading the answer.
"Fifty-seven, so far," Berim said. "Scattered all over the planet, over the last two days."
"Fifty-seven," Blithis repeated numbly. "And always children?"
"Always," Berim nodded. "The oldest child reported so far was the 12 year-old in Elcar Village . The youngest is a four year-old, but most seem to fall somewhere in the middle, between 8 and 10. All cases occurred in tiny villages or towns, removed from heavy population-centers."
"This is... unimaginable," Blithis said, shaking her head.
"There's something else, Prime Minister," Berim said. "It seems that the Dominion has heard of this epidemic of violence. Ambassador Vertec sent a communique wondering if we wanted any extra units of Jem'Hadar, to aid us in keeping the peace."
"Of course," Blithis said. "Vertec would never miss an opportunity to twist the knife."
"What are we going to do?" Berim asked. "Our best minds have already tried to discover what is behind this rash of violence. They believe that we do not possess sufficient technology to get to the bottom of this mystery. Perhaps we *should* accept the Dominion's offer for aid."
"No," Blithis said, her voice suddenly full of conviction. "That's just what Vertec is waiting for. Any further 'aid' they give us will come with a price tag that ANDARA is not prepared to pay. Its bad enough we already have 'peacekeeping' squads of Jem'Hadar occupying the capitol. If Vertec had her way, there'd be a Jem'Hadar in every home, listening in on every conversation. No... we must find another way."
"With respect, Prime Minister, if our options are to lose our children to madness or endure the indignities of occupation... I think I know exactly which choice every single Andaran parent will pick."
Blithis sighed. "You're right, of course. Something must be done."
And suddenly, her eyes rose to the ceiling. But she wasn't really looking *at* the ceiling- she was looking *through* it. Through the ceiling, past the atmosphere, all the way up and out of ANDARA itself, to the relatively tiny object that hung in space nearby.
GATEWAY Station.
"Perhaps," Blithis said with a smile, "..perhaps there is another way."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOCATION: GATEWAY Station
SCENE: CO’s Quarters
Something had awoken her.
Slowly, Commander Daisy Davidson opened her eyes. The room was dark and still around her, and for a moment she was irritated that she had apparently been roused from her sleep by nothing at all. But a second later, the sound came again. Daisy groggily realized it was her comm-screen, its noisy “chirrups!” indicating an incoming message.
Daisy grumbled and got out of bed, throwing a glance at the clock- 0230 hours.
**This had better be good,** she thought, wrapping a robe around herself and taking a seat in front of her comm-screen. She activated it, and a second later, the blue-logo of the United Federation of Planets was replaced by the image of a tall, thin, humanoid woman seated behind an ornate-looking desk. The woman’s skin was extremely pale, as if she lacked any pigmentation. Similarly, her hair was pure white, styled in a formal-looking braids. It took Daisy a moment to recognize the woman as an Andaran, and another moment to realize that it was the Andaran Prime Minister, Blithis.
{{Commander Davidson,}} Blithis said politely. Then, noticing Daisy’s attie- {{I hope I did not disturb you.}}
“Don’t worry about it,” Daisy said, trying to sound more polite than she was feeling just then. “What can I do for you, Prime Minister?”
{{This will sound most unexpected,}} Blithis started, her gaze dropping for a moment. {{I’ve contacted you… to request your help.}}
“*My* help, or Starfleet’s help?” Daisy asked, raising an eyebrow. “Last time I checked, ANDARA had sided with the Dominion. In fact, *you* made that decision, if I recall.”
{{You are correct,}} Blithis nodded. {{However, our arrangement with the Dominion has not been as beneficial to my people as I had originally hoped.}}
“Surprise,” Daisy yawned, losing interest. “What’s your point?”
{{Something is happening on ANDARA, Commander,}} Blithis said, and Daisy could tell that the woman was truly distressed. {{The Dominion has made the price of *their* assistance clear, and it is a price that ANDARA will not… *can not* pay.}}
“So what, you think the Federation is going to help?” Daisy asked. “I’m sorry if there’s something wrong on ANDARA, but we’re at war, Prime Minister. And strictly speaking, ANDARA isn’t on our side.”
{{That could change,}} Blithis said. {{If you help us.}}
“This is something to discuss with Starfleet Command, not with me,” Daisy said, shaking her head. “Feel free to contact them at your leisure.” She reached for the control to deactivate the screen, but Blithis cut in again before she could.
{{It’s our children, Commander.}}
Daisy stopped. “What do you mean?”
And Blithis told her.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
SCENE: Main Engineering
TIME INDEX: 0900 hours
Jake Crichton looked up as he heard the chime on his office door ring. He pushed aside the PADD he’d been looking at and folded his hands on his desk.
“Come in.” he said.
The door swished apart, and a tall, red-haired woman stepped into his office, looking both confident and out-of-place all at once. The pips on her collar designated her a Lieutenant Commander, and an instant later Crichton recognized her as Kate MacNeil, formerly *Doctor* Kate MacNeil up until the recent suspension of her medical license. She had been reassigned as GATEWAY’s Operations Officer and, as part of disciplinary action taken against her by Commander Davidson, was required to undergo retraining in the fields of Engineering or Science.
Which made Crichton her new teacher.
Though he did his best not to show it, Crichton was probably more nervous than she was. She was four years his elder, had several years of experience in the fleet, and technically-speaking, outranked him. Crichton had gone over her record when he discovered he’d be tutoring her, and was impressed at the number of medals and commendations she had earned during her career.
“Lt. Crichton,” Kate said. “I’m Kathryn MacNeil. I’ve been ordered to report to you for retraining.”
“Um, right,” Crichton said, not sure where to begin. He stood, shook her hand, and gestured to the seat in front of his desk. “You’ll have to forgive me, Commander… I’m sure you can appreciate this situation is a little irregular.”
“You don’t need to worry about addressing me as ‘Commander’,” Kate said. “Commander Davidson made it very clear- during this training sessions, I answer to *you*, not the other way around.”
“Alright,” Crichton nodded. “I understand you’re also meeting with Drake and Varn for retraining as well?”
“All part of my re-education as an Ops officer,” Kate said. “You’re the first one I’ve met with so far.”
“Good,” Crichton said with a smile. “That makes me the standard by which you’ll judge the other two.”
“May I ask what sort of… ‘cirriculum’ you had in mind?” Kate asked.
“Well,” Crichton said, leaning back in his chair and shrugged. “I guess that’s sort of up to you. How much Engineering training do you already have?”
“I took the required classes at the Academy,” Kate said. “Since then, I’ve had some experience with nanotechnology. That’s about it.”
“Okay,” Crichton said, drumming his fingers on the armrest of his seat. “I guess the first thing I’ll have you do is take an aptitude test, to see how much you remember from your Academy days.”
“A test?” she asked.
Crichton nodded. “I figure, first-half will be written. Second-half, we’ll run a standard training-sim in the holodeck, to see what areas you already have down, and what areas you need to work on. Sound fair?”
“I had really hoped all my testing-days were behind me,” Kate said. “Will it at least be multiple choice?”
Crichton grinned, and was about to answer, but Daisy’s voice over the comm interrupted them.
[[Commander Davidson to all senior staff,]] she said. [[Report to Conference Room.]]
Crichton shrugged. “Looks like you’re off the hook for now. Study up, though- Daisy’s on my back making sure I don’t go easy on you, so don’t expect it to be easy.”
“I never do,” Kate muttered.
------------------------------------------------------------------
SCENE: Conference Room
The senior staff sat around the table, all their attentions focused on Daisy Davidson, who stood at the tables head, her hands on the back of the chair in front of her.
“Thank you for coming,” she began. “Last night… or rather, early this morning, I was contacted by ANDARA’s Prime Minster, Blithis. ANDARA has unofficially requested aid from the Federation.”
“Unofficially?” Varn asked.
“ANDARA’s current status as a Dominion-protectorate current restricts their ability to formally request our aid,” Drake explained. “That would be in violation of their treaty with the Dominion.”
“But in any case, the Dominion doesn’t seem very interested in helping,” Daisy said. “At least, not unless they get something in return.”
“What do they want?” Crichton asked.
“Blithis wouldn’t say,” Daisy said, shaking her head. “She only told me that the Dominion had made an offer to help, named a price, and that ANDARA would not pay it. She doesn’t seem to be in a huge hurry to trust us, at least not until we’ve agreed to help.”
“What’s the problem?” Kate asked.
“About 3 days ago,” Daisy started, “…ANDARA’s government began receiving reports of violence in their rural townships. These ranged from assault to serious injury… and even murder.”
“Any explanation as to why?”
“There’s no apparent reason,” Daisy shook her head. “In each case, the perpetrator was a normal, healthy member of the community, and never before showed any inclination towards violence. So for large numbers of seemingly-normal Andarans to suddenly begin committing acts of violence, all over the planet and all at once- the Andarans believe something is *causing* it.”
“It could be a trap,” Eishnala Kor offered. “Blithis is the one who dissolved ANDARA’s treaty with the Federation and joined the Dominion. For all we know, the Dominion is using ANDARA in a scheme to capture the station.”
“I considered that as a possibility,” Daisy said. “And I’ve decided to help anyway.”
“Why?” Kor asked.
“Because…I know that Starfleet would like very much to have ANDARA back in the fold. I don't like having a Dominion Ally so very close to us. If we can sway them against the Dominion, that would be a good thing. For them to ask *our* help indicates their new found allegiance to the Dominion could be weakening. We should take advantage of that. And.... in each case, the perpetrators of the violence were children,” Daisy said.
Everyone could only stare.
“Blithis might be opportunistic, but I doubt she would agree to any plan that uses Andara’s children as cannon-fodder,” Daisy continued. “Her report of the incidents, the look on her face when she told me… it seemed genuine.”
“Only children?” Kate asked.
Daisy nodded. “Blithis has asked us… the crew of GATEWAY, specifically… to investigate the problem. She cited ANDARA’s years of peaceful coexistence with GATEWAY as reasons why she’s coming to us for help. Last night, I stayed up talking to three very grouchy admirals at Starfleet Command, and they eventually agreed to approve the mission.”
“We will be going to ANDARA undercover,” Drake said. “ANDARA is a Dominion-occupied world… the number of Jem’Hadar there is fairly small, but still enough that we don’t want to risk being caught. Also, if it comes out that ANDARA secretly requested aid from the Federation, the Dominion would see it as a violation of the treaty… and that’s all the excuse they’d need to turn the planet into a warzone.”
“Undercover as what?” Randall Giles asked. “I thought Andarans were xenophobic.”
“They’ve been described as xenophobic in the past,” Drake nodded. “However, even though they don’t warm-up to outsiders very quickly, they do have several healthy trade-route established with other nearby worlds. The closing of the wormhole hit the Andaran economy pretty hard, and now that its open, they’re all eager to reestablish these routes. So we’ll be going undercover as a group of merchants, there to negotiate new trade-rates with Andaran farmers.”
"We'll need some kind of ship," Giles pointed out.
"He's right," Crichton agreed. "Not many merchants tool around in a big group without some place to stash their merchandise."
"We have that covered," Drake said. "There's a beat-up freighter still docked with the station- it seems the owners died in the attack, because it's been unclaimed for the past few weeks. It's not in the best condition, but it will get us from point A to point B."
"Lt. Palandora," Daisy said, turning to the station's new Sec/Tac officer. "Your thoughts?"
"Most merchants do not carry Federation-issue phasers," the Vissian replied. "To maintain our cover, it would probably be best if we keep all our equipment out of sight."
"I can have my team modify some tricorders, to make them look like mineral-survey equipment or something," Crichton said. "That wouldn't raise any eyebrows."
"Good," Daisy nodded. "Commander Kor, organize your away-team. Crichton, get started on modifying those tricorders, and you might want to give that freighter you're borrowing a once-over as well."
"Sure thing, boss," Crichton said with a nod.
"Lt. Varn," Daisy said, fixing her gaze on the new CSciO. "I want you to go over the information that Blithis sent us, and check it against Federation databanks. See if there's any scientific or medical reason that would explain this type of phenomenon."
"Aye sir," Varn nodded.
"Giles, I want you and Drake getting as much information as you can about ANDARA," Daisy said. "If that place is controlled by the Dominion, we need to know everything we can about it- geography, politics, weather patterns- anything that might give us an edge in keeping under their radar."
"Commander," Kate MacNeil cut in. "What should I do?"
Daisy stared at MacNeil for a long moment, as if unsure of what to say. Then-
"You will continue to assist Mr. Crichton, Mr. Varn, or Mr. Drake," she said. "Your retraining hasn't been completed yet, Commander."
MacNeil frowned, but her tone remained polite. "Aye, Ma'am."
"You all have your assignments," Daisy said, looking around the room. "We're going into the lion's den on this one. But I know that I have, seated around this table, one of the best crews in Starfleet. This might be our first time working together as a group, but if we depend on each other, I know we can do anything."
Then, for the first time since the meeting started, Daisy smiled.
"The Dominion won't know what hit 'em."
=====================================================================
NRPG: Our first mission begins- and a little ahead of schedule, too!
There's something driving the children of ANDARA insane, and its up to GATEWAY to discover what it is, and find a way to stop it. Oh, and they have to do all that while remaining undercover and avoiding Dominion patrols. Will this untested team of men and women, assembled from all corners of the galaxy, prevail in the face of overwhelming odds?
I guess that's up to you guys, isn't it?
Hope I did okay with everyone's characters.
Shawn
a.k.a.
Jake Crichton, Lieutenant
Chief of Engineering
---------------------------------
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