From: V. Rahul Chandra (vrccan_at_gmail.com)
Date: Fri Mar 02 2007 - 23:30:33 PST
======= “Fitting it All Together” Con’t from my own “Trying to fit it all Together” ======= Location: ESPERION Stardate: 2422 [2.7] 0227.2312 Scene: Conference Room “We are here,” Half-Tail announced, walking boldly into the conference room with two of his rebel guards behind him. He took a seat at the table, glaring balefully across at the president of ESPERION, who returned his look calmly. The guards took their places behind him and against the wall, mimicking the stance of the two Presidential guards that were also in the room. Sitting around the table were now three ESPERION natives and three Starfleet officers. In addition to Half-Tail and the President, the leader of the Society of Progress, Jurveus, was also present. The Federation was represented by Captain Jones, Commander Kenta and Colonel Maverick. “Thank you all for coming,” Helice said, once Half-Tail had settled himself. She stood up. “We are here today to try and find some common ground between all of us and to try and put and end to any further bloodshed. This is a discussion primarily between the three of you and my officers and I will mediate on behalf of the United Federation of Planets.” She turned to Half-Tail, who was regarding her intently and had been ever since she’d started to speak. “Perhaps you would like to begin and air your grievances with the current Government?” ======= Time Index: Simultaneously Scene: Chravis’ Shop Daniel looked at Kel. Kel looked at Daniel. Neither one of them could believe what they’d seen on the screen; a few days ago it wouldn’t have surprised them but in the context of everything that had happened recently, it was extremely surprising. “It could be a trick,” Kel said. “Set deliberately to throw us off the track of the real culprit.” Daniel nodded his head, that thought having occurred to him also. “It could be,” he said. “We need to find out for sure and fast – I bet they’re already at the table talking by now.” Kel nodded. “The talks were set to start a few minutes ago,” he said. “If this information is true, then it means that there are more violent acts ahead regardless of what happens in those talks. If they happen once security has relaxed, the results could be disastrous. We need proof and we need it fast.” ========= Location: USS PATRIOT Scene: Intelligence Office [[Cath, you there?]] “I’m here Daniel,” Catherine said quickly, tapping her comm. badge. “What is it?” [[How are those maps of the tunnels coming along?]] “They’re about as good as they are going to get,” Catherine admitted. “Without scanner penetration and accurate ESPERION records, the computer has estimated the paths as best it can.” A slight pause, then, [[okay it’ll have to do. Transfer them to Kel’s tricorder.]] Catherine frowned. “Are you going back into the caves?” she asked. [[We have to Cath.]] She bit her lip, not wanting to say too much in front of the priest, who she glanced at briefly. “Okay,” she said finally. “I’ll transmit them now. Be careful.” [[We’ll be fine. I promise.]] ========== Scene: Main Bridge Cal ran another scan of the ship systems from her station, everything checking out just as it had a few minutes ago when she’d run the previous scan. With so much of the senior staff either injured or off the ship, the command had fallen to her. The problem was with the action going down on the planet’s surface, the ship in orbit and all systems nominal, there wasn’t a whole lot of commanding to do. [[Clarkson to bridge.]] “Cal here, what can I do for you Captain?” Cal asked. She was tempted to ask Daniel about why he hadn’t contacted her for his request earlier, but he sounded flustered so she decided to save it for later. [[Lieutenant McClellan and I require an immediate site-to-site transport from our current location to co-ordinates 32 degrees, 15 minutes, 15 seconds North Latitude by 105 degrees, 23 minutes, 11 seconds East Longitude. It’s important.]] “Acknowledged Captain,” Cal said, isolating the destination on her sensor sheet. Once she had it, she frowned at what she saw. “Captain, there doesn’t appear to be anything there except a lot of dirt and sand.” [[Nothing that we can see,]] Daniel answered. [[Please Lieutenant, it’s extremely urgent that we get there immediately.]] While the first part of his answer intrigued her and made her curious, Cal sensed the urgency in his voice. “Initiating transport…now,” was all she said as her fingers flew across the console, expertly manipulating the controls to achieve the desired effect. ======== Location: ESPERION Scene: Dirt plains The duo materialized and immediately set to work. Kel punched a few buttons on his tricorder before looking at the screen while walking slightly towards the northwest. Daniel, rifle in hand, followed in his wake, his eyes darting around as he remained ever vigilant for anything out of the ordinary. “Okay,” Kel said, holstering his tricorder and turning to look at Daniel. “According to Catherine’s map, this is the spot with the lowest amount of rock between the crust and the underground cavern.” Daniel nodded. “And it’s a hell of a lot closer than the entrance Cindy and Kyle went through,” he observed. “Let’s just hope the computer was accurate enough in its predictions.” He un-holstered his hand pistol and tossed it over to Kel, who deftly caught it. “The marine model’s more powerful,” Daniel explained. “Should make this task a bit easier.” “Right,” Kel nodded his understanding. “So,” Daniel said, adjusting a few options on his rifle. “Wide spread beam and turn it in a circular pattern complimentary to the one I start. Got it?” “Got it,” Kel replied, nodding his head in understanding. Daniel pressed the trigger and the beam shot out from his rifle, tearing into the ground and ever so slowly started vapourizing it. The two men were standing far enough away from where the beam was aimed that any sudden pieces of ground giving way weren’t going to affect them heavily. Kel waited until Daniel had established a complete revolution and then started training the beam from the pistol Daniel had given him, moving his beam in a pattern that complimented the one Daniel was currently working on. They worked in silence, each one quietly hoping that this plan was going to work. ======== Time Index: Simultaneously Scene: Conference Room “No, that is a LIE!” Half-Tail bellowed, slamming his fist on the table for emphasis as he stood and glared daggers at the President. “You LIED to this planet and its people and that is why we must have CHANGE!” “I did nothing of the kind,” the President replied with a snort of disapproval. “Our priests told us that these events were tied to the second coming of the nearly perfect one and we believed them. In fact, we still have nothing to prove that they were wrong in their assessments.” “There were the three priests that have been killed,” Jurveus pointed out, a rather bored expression on his face. “There is that,” the President admitted, turning to Helice. “Have your officers been able to find the assassin of Rashas?” “I have two of my best officers working on that angle right now,” Helice assured him, silently hoping that Kel and Daniel were close to some kind of breakthrough. ========= Scene: Dirt planes -> cave interior “Stop!” Daniel said all of a sudden, ceasing the beam emanating from his rifle. Kel did likewise and when the dust settled, there was a hole big enough for one of them to fit through at a time. The sunlight was enough to allow them to see the bottom of the cavern, which was a short enough distance away that they both felt comfortable jumping down into the cave. “You sure you wanna do this?” Kel asked, looking at Daniel. “There’s no telling if this map’s right, or what will happen once we get to the end even if it is right.” “I know,” Daniel said. “But what’s the alternative? Do nothing, let Captain Jones negotiate things and then leave with the knowledge that a few months down the road things might be worse than they were before? There are still 10 priests left, not to mention all the people that could die if further incidents happen.” He looked squarely at the Strategic Operations Officer. “To stop that we need to make accusations and to do that we need proof. Unless you have a better idea, this is the only way to get it. I know I don’t want this to be on my conscience, do you?” Kel looked right back at him for a long moment, before tossing his pistol back at him and shaking his head. “Good,” Daniel said, holstering the pistol and handing Kel the rifle. “Toss this down to me when I call for it,” he added, leaning down and peering down the hole they’d just created. =========== Location: USS PATRIOT Scene: Bridge Cal turned her head to look in the direction of the lift doors as she heard them swing open, nodding her head in the direction of Ensign Rochemonte as she came onto the bridge. “How do you feel Ensign?” she asked. “Still a bit woosy,” Cindy admitted. “But I’m ready to resume my duty.” “Very well, man the engineering station,” Cal said, turning her head back to look at the PADD she’d been reading. Ever since Clarkson and Kel had requested the site-to-site transport she’d been monitoring their movements. With humanitarian efforts slowing down and fewer staff down on the planet, Cal had comparatively little to do at the moment. She couldn’t figure out what their angle was, and she didn’t like things she couldn’t figure out. =========== Location: ESPERION Scene: Conference Room “Okay, we’re not getting anywhere,” Helice said, standing up and motioning for everyone to be quiet. Some of the exasperation she felt was starting to show on her face and a nagging fear was beginning to eat at her, namely the fear that they wouldn’t ever be able to solve this problem. Not until she’d heard back from Kel and Daniel. “I suggest we take a short recess,” She suggested. Almost immediately and without a backwards glance, Half-Tail got up and strode out of the room, his two guards accompanying him. “I am truly sorry that he does not appear to be more reasonable,” the President said, a sorrowful look on his face. “Things don’t look good for ESPERION right now.” “Things haven’t looked good for ESPERION for awhile now,” Jurveus commented dryly. “If you’re only just now figuring that out Mr. President, then I wonder how you’ve been able to keep your job as long as you have.” The President was momentarily at a loss of words and Jurveus chuckled. “It was a rhetorical comment anyway Mr. President,” he said, standing up and turning to address the three Starfleet Officers. “If you will excuse me, I have a few matters of my own to attend to. Be sure to contact me when the meeting gets started again.” ======= Time Index: Simultaneously Scene: Caverns “According to Catherine’s map,” Kel whispered, looking down at the tricorder he was holding in his hands. “I think that just around the corner we should be able to find a feeder cave that should lead us to the exit.” Daniel blew through pursed lips as he considered the situation. “I guess now we find out if that map is worth the price we pay,” he muttered, removing his rifle from where it had been hanging off his shoulder by the strap and readying it for potential combat. “You need to be in the lead to steer us,” he whispered back, stepping aside so that Kel could take the lead. “Just don’t let somebody shoot me,” Kel said. Daniel rolled his eyes and silently made a motion with the barrel of his rifle that Kel should go ahead. Inch by slow inch the two officers made their way forward, afraid to go faster for fear of missing their exit but afraid to go this slow for fear of being blindsided. A sudden crack caused Daniel’s rifle to shoot up in the direction of the sound, only to realize that it had been caused by his own stepping on a pebble and splintering it. Rolling his eyes at his own stupidity, he waited for a few moments for his heart rate to settle before nodding to Kel to keep moving. “Okay, I think this is the corridor,” Kel said, indicating with a point of his finger. “That should lead us to an antechamber that should feed into the building.” “Okay,” Daniel replied, re-taking the lead and starting down the corridor. It was cramped going, but at the same time not very long. He and Kel quickly emerged on the other side of the corridor, only to be stunned at what they saw. It looked like a residence, with lodgings and various pieces of technology that one might expect to find. Daniel and Kel walked forward cautiously, but the room appeared to be empty and they soon became more interested in the composition of the room. Daniel was about to turn to Kel and make a comment when he felt something cold and metallic being pressed against the back of his neck. Looking over at Kel, he saw the SOO turn around just in time to see Daniel’s predicament. “Drop your weapon,” a voice ordered. Mentally cursing himself for not being more alert, Daniel complied, tossing his rifle down onto the ground. He felt himself being frisked quickly and efficiently, at which point his two phaser pistols and two daggers also made their way into a pile with the rifle. “You too,” the voice ordered, and Daniel saw Kel quickly close his tricorder and toss it and his hand phaser into the same pile. “Go over onto the bed and sit down,” the voice ordered Daniel. “And do it slowly.” As Daniel complied, he hear the man frisk Kel behind him, dashing any hope as to the two of them being able to full a fast one on him, at least for the moment. Kel presently joined him on the bed and the two of them got their first look at the man. A look of understanding passed between them as they both silently acknowledge that he was the one whose picture they’d seen on the file in Chravis’ shop. This was the assassin they’d been looking for. As they watched, the assassin picked up a communicator and started speaking very loudly and angrily into it. Eventually he closed the channel and walked back over to the two of them, viewing them suspiciously. “Calling for reinforcements?” Kel asked sarcastically. “How did you find this place?” he demanded, looking from one to the other and ignoring the SOO’s question. “It was on a map,” Daniel said, a bit lightly and within a flash the assassin stuck him across the face with the butt of his weapon. Daniel felt blood trickle down his cheek and felt around for the wound. He spat out some blood and decided that he wasn’t going to say anything else for the moment. “How did you find this place?” the assassin asked again. When neither man replied this time he shrugged. “It is of no consequence. Soon my master will be here and he will take care of you.” He stood there, the pistol trained at the duo. He was so close that neither Daniel nor Kel could speak to the other without the man hearing. They were effectively stuck for the moment and could only hope that something happened soon to change things. ========= Time Index: Simultaneously Scene: Conference Room After taking a short walk to clear her thoughts, Helice had returned to the conference room only to find it deserted minus Kenta and Maverick. “Where is everyone?!” she demanded. Kenta looked at Mav to see if he wanted to say anything and when the MCO shrugged, he cleared his throat and started speaking. “The President said that he had some urgent business to attend to,” Ben reported. “Word is the Half-Tail and his troops have retreated back to Belial and Jurveus is still back at the headquarters for the Society of Progress. Since the talks appear to have broken down, I didn’t see any point in calling him back.” Helice let out a long breath, blatantly ignoring Tarnak as he tried to mention something to her. “That’s not everything,” Kenta said. “About 15 minutes ago we received a report from the PATRIOT. It seems that Lieutenant McClellan and Captain Clarkson have disappeared.” ========== Scene: Cave Antechamber “Well well well,” a voice said, causing all three men currently in the room to turn and look in the direction it had come from. They saw another man, a smile on his face, start walking towards them. “What have we here?” Daniel and Kel had both suspected that it was Jurveus from the moment they’d seen the file in Chravis’ store, but now that they were confronted by him here, neither quite knew how to piece things together. “I don’t get it,” Daniel said finally, when it looked like the silence would go on forever. “I did not expect you would,” Jurveus replied, a sneer on his face. “You do what you’re told day in and day out, not thinking about any greater existence. How could a mind as puny as yours possibly comprehend the greatness that is the plan I have put together?” “What is it you want?” Kel asked. “Power? Do you want to rule ESPERION instead of the President?” Jurveus laughed and for the first time both officers heard a hint of insanity to the laugh as the persona the head of the Society of Progress had built up gradually became unraveled and his true personality began to surface above it. “My dear Lieutenant,” he said, his tone patronizing. “If I had wanted to replace the President, I would just need to run in the next election. With all the chaos that my men have caused around this planet in the last few months and the good deeds I’ve done, victory would almost be assured.” “No my friend,” he said, turning and walking back towards the centre of the room. “My goals are much more grand than that. Not only will I rule this planet…” here he lifted his arms up towards the heavens, casting his gaze skywards. “But when my plan comes to bear fruit, everyone on this planet will believe that I am the Nearly Perfect One!” ========== Location: USS PATRIOT Scene: Observation Lounge “So what are we going to do?” Helice asked, looking around the table at all of the other officers assembled. “We’ve got two missing officers, a situation that’s on the brink of total disaster and all out civil war and we have no clue who to blame for it.” “When was the last time you were in contact with Clarkson and McClellan?” Kenta asked, looking over at Cal. The operations officer shrugged. “They requested a site-to-site transport shortly after you had started negotiations,” she reported. “But I kept a scanner lock on them after the transport. I was able to track them underground for about an hour before the thickness of the rock began to compromise the integrity of the lock. About a half hour later – approximately twenty minutes ago – I lost them completely. “Thank you Lieutenant,” Kenta said, before turning to look at Catherine. Outwardly she looked calm, but the PATRIOT’s Executive Officer hated to think of the turmoil emotions that were raging underneath, this being the second time that her husband had gone down to the planet and then gone missing. He also hated to think about the kind of trouble Daniel was in once he got back, assuming he got back alive. “What was it that the pair asked you for?” Kenta asked her. “First,” Catherine said, after clearing her throat and finding her voice. “They asked me to do an analysis of some sensor records…” here she went on to narrate the request that Daniel had made, along with her findings and the results that she’d sent back to Daniel. “Then what happened?” Kenta asked, prompting her for more information. “Then the line went silent for about half an hour, at which point Captain Clarkson contacted me again to request the cave maps I had gotten the computer to extrapolate along with the help of Priest Palthainon,” here she nodded in the direction of the priest who was present at the meeting. “After that I don’t remember him contacting me again.” “That last contact happened just a few minutes before the site-to-site request,” Cal put in. “And he told neither of you where he was going?” Kenta asked, momentarily confused as to what was going on. “More than likely he didn’t want to get any of the senior officers involved,” Mav put in gruffly. “We were all in the middle of a negotiation and the less people that knew how they were conducting the investigation, the better.” “That’s true,” Kenta admitted. “But it doesn’t help us with our problem right now. Where are they and what are they doing?” “The fact that they haven’t checked in recently might mean that they’ve stumbled onto something,” Cindy suggested. “Or it might just mean their communicators don’t have the power to cut through all that rock.” Helice nodded. “Okay,” she said. “We haven’t been getting anywhere with the talks and right now we have nothing to go on for suspects aside from anything that Daniel and Kel may have uncovered. Right now our top priority is finding our two officers.” She turned to Cal, Catherine and Palthainon. “Use the operations data that we have to figure out their last known location and then using the cave map extrapolate all possible routes they might have taken from that point.” She then turned to Cindy. “Ensign Rochemonte, I want you to figure out a way to scan through all that rock – I don’t care how you do it, just do it. Once you’re ready, use the sensors to scan along all those routes.” “Everyone else, I want potential battle readiness reports on your departments. I hope things don’t get that far, but we need to recognize the possibility that they might. That’s all for now, dismissed.” ========== Location: ESPERION Scene: Antechamber “I see you’re not very impressed with that goal,” Jurveus observed, turning around and looking at the two officers. “I don’t see the difference between that and controlling the planet,” Daniel said. “That is because you only think short term,” Jurveus declared. “Do you not know the power of religion and faith? If I am the leader of a planet, people may follow me, but how many will believe in me? If however people believe that I am the living embodiment of their God, they will do anything for me! That kind of faith will allow me to wield a power I would never otherwise have the chance to.” “And once you’ve taken over the planet, then what?” Kel asked. “You’ll have made all these preparations for naught.” Jurveus laughed. “You poor idiots,” he said in a pitying tone of voice. “Once I have the unconditional support of every soul on this planet, I shall expand outwards naturally! We on ESPERION were born to be rulers and under the guidance of their Nearly Perfect One, we shall accomplish that goal and rule the galaxy.” “You’re insane,” Daniel said, his mouth dropping open in shock. “And a psychopath.” “The line between being a genius and a psychopath is a thin one, my young marine friend,” Jurveus replied. “And the line moves as the perception of the man looking at it. The fact remains that I have a huge army at my disposal that grows daily as more and more people join my underground movement and we have enough knowledge of these caverns that should the unthinkable happen and our plan fail we can retreat back here and live the rest of our lives without being found.” “We found you,” Daniel pointed out. “And you should be commended for that,” Jurveus said. “But unfortunately you will not be around to witness my rise to glory. You’ve both become too dangerous.” He turned to the assassin, who now had two additional guards with him. “Take them to one of the remote caves and dispose of them. Make sure their bodies are never found.” “I hear and obey,” the assassin replied and as Jurveus made his exit, the two soldiers started to advance towards the two Starfleet officers, weapons in hand. ======== Location: USS PATRIOT Scene: Main Bridge “Report!” Helice hollered as she came back out into the main bridge from her ready room. “I’ve boosted the scanners as much as I can in such a short time frame,” Cindy said. “But we’re only going to get a few minutes of the increased scanning ability before the risk of a sensor array blowout becomes too high to continue.” “Then we need to be quick,” Jones said, taking a seat in her chair. “Do you have the results from Catherine and Tellah?” she asked. “Aye sir,” Rochemonte replied with a nod of her head. “Then perform the scan,” the PATRIOT’s CO ordered. “Aye sir,” Cindy repeated as she nodded over to Cal at the operations terminal. Cal started scanning very quickly and as she did so Cindy monitored the status of the sensor arrays. “We’ve scanned 25% of the possibilities and have come up with nothing,” Cal reported. “Sensor power stress is increasing,” Cindy replied. “Although levels are still within an acceptable range.” There were a few minutes of terse silence as everyone on the bridge nervously waited for the next report. “Sensor power stress is above acceptable levels,” Rochemonte reported nervously. “We can’t sustain these power levels through the sensor array much longer. If we do the array’s going to blow out!” “Just a few more seconds…” Cal said, a few beads of sweat appearing on her forehead as she expertly and rapidly continued her scanning. “Sensor power stress is at critical levels!” Rochemonte shouted. “If we don’t shut it down now we risk losing the array!” “I’ve got them!” Cal yelled triumphantly as Cindy reduced the power and Helice stood up and looked at the operations station. “You know their location?” she demanded. “Yes ma’am,” Cal said. “They disappeared as soon as the sensors were lowered back to normal but the computer was able to pinpoint their location.” “Can we get a transporter through there?” Helice asked. “No, they’re far too deep for that,” Cindy replied. “But if you give me a few minutes I might be able to boost our communications array enough so that you could get a few seconds worth of a message down to them.” “Do it,” Helice said without hesitation. ========== Location: ESPERION Scene: Antechamber Daniel looked at Kel and Kel looked back at Daniel. Both of them realized that it was now or never and with imperceptible nods towards each other, they silently agreed that it was time for a final gamble. They tensed as the soldiers advanced on them and just as the soldiers were raising their guns to order them to their feet they sprang. Both Kel and Daniel were able to deflect the barrels of the soldiers’ guns up into the air and avoid getting shot as gunfire rang out throughout the antechamber. While Kel struggled for control over the weapon with his soldier, Daniel was able to quickly disarm the one he was fighting with. Rather than attempt a shot, Daniel unceremoniously clubbed the soldier over the head, breaking the rifle and sending the soldier to the ground, unconscious. Daniel hazarded a quick look over at Kel but a yell drew his attention and he saw the assassin pull out his pistol. Daniel looked over at his rifle and then back at the assassin and as the man pulled the trigger Daniel leaped out of the way and in the direction of his rifle. He grabbed the rifle whilst dodging a second shot from the assassin and rolled to his knees, the rifle trained on the assassin. Rather than try and negotiate, the assassin pulled the trigger on his weapon, forcing Daniel to do the same. The beams from both weapons struck the other person in the chest and both Daniel and the assassin quickly dropped to the ground. The assassin was dead and Daniel was barely conscious, the power of the beam luckily being too weak to result in his death. Daniel rolled over to his front before futilely struggling to get up to his feet and falling down card on his front. He looked up with bleary eyes and the last thing he remembered seeing before losing consciousness was Kel still struggling to fight with the last solider… =========== Time Index: the next day Location: USS PATRIOT Scene: Sickbay Daniel’s eyes opened very slowly and the first thing he saw was the overhead sensor cluster at the top of the sickbay. His eyes darted around wildly for a few moments before he realized where he was. He closed his eyes and let out a breath, before feeling a warm hand on his forehead. He opened his eyes and found himself looking up into a pair of very warm, very loving golden-violet eyes. “Daniel?” his wife asked, the concern evident in her voice. “Cath…” he replied, attempting a smile but being woosy enough that he didn’t quite make it. “What happened?” “We made it back just in time to save you after the PATRIOT managed to get a message trough to my communicator. Once we got back here, I told them everything,” another voice said and Daniel looked over at Kel to see him relatively healthy looking, but tired. “Captain Jones got in touch with the President and Half-Tail and most of the assets of the Society of Progress have been seized and liquidated.” “Jurveus?” Daniel asked, looking back and forth between Kel and Catherine. “He escaped back into the tunnels like he said he would,” Kel said. “He’s one of the society members still unaccounted for.” “We need to catch him,” Daniel said, attempting to rise to a sitting position. “If we don’t then this will all be for nothing!” “Shhh, calm down,” Catherine said, gently restraining her husband by holding his shoulders with her hands. She was stronger than him to begin with and in his weakened state it all the more easier. “Half-Tail and the President have made an agreement to work together and scour the caves to find all the remaining Society members. They’ll find Jurveus soon enough.” “And once they do,” Kel added. “They have promised to attempt to work together and hammer out a deal that both sides can live with. They have requested Federation assistance and the Starfleet Diplomatic Corps is dispatching one of their attaches to this section of space to come and take over where the PATRIOT has left off.” Daniel sighed, placing his head back on the pillow and staring up at the ceiling. “So I guess there’s nothing more to be done then,” he said. “Not for you,” Catherine said firmly. “You scared me to death, the condition you were in when you got back to sickbay. You need rest and a lot of it.” Daniel smiled up at her, before closing his eyes and letting out a sigh of relief. He felt a kiss on his forehead followed by the words “sleep well Asha’rali,” being whispered into his ear before he drifted off into a less disturbed unconsciousness. ============ Time Index: A couple of days later Daniel awoke to find that Catherine was sitting in a chair next to the bed, a stack of PADDs on her lap and one in her hands. She’d been there for most of the two days, doing all of her work in sickbay while she waited for her husband to get better. Now that she saw he was awake, she smiled at him, getting up and depositing the PADDs on the now empty chair before walking over to the bed, looking down at him and holding one of his hands in hers. “How do you feel?” she asked. “A lot better,” Daniel admitted. “Almost like new in fact.” “Well you look a lot better,” she said. “And according to the Doctor you’re almost good as new. A couple of days rest in our quarters and you should be ready to take me on that honeymoon your promised.” Daniel laughed. “I can’t wait,” he said. “After all this I bet we both could use a break.” He then frowned. “Did they…?” Catherine patted his hand comfortingly. “Yes they did,” she replied. “They caught Jurveus a few hours after we talked to you – that was about a day and a half ago, you’ve been asleep the whole time.” She then grinned. “I have something for you,” she said, leaning down and lifting the device up for Daniel to see. He looked at it for a few moments, stunned, before laughing. “My rifle,” he said. “How’d you find it?” “Well Kel told me how important it was to you, so I got Mav to send a few marines down to the planet to find it,” she answered. “It’s scored pretty heavily from taking part of the energy out of the shot that the assassin fired at you, but I think you were right about it being lucky. It deflected part of the beam so you didn’t get hit with the full force – it could very well have saved your life.” “A few hours in the shop and you should be able to repair it,” she added. Daniel shook his head in disbelief before bringing her hand to his lips and kissing the back of it. “I love you,” he said, looking up at her. The doors to the sickbay opened and the couple looked as Helice and Maverick made their way into the sickbay. “How do you feel Daniel?” Helice asked. “Almost like new,” Daniel replied. “Well,” Helice said. “The PATRIOT’s crew are still required to help out in the wreckage clearing and assist in some of the repopulation and relocation efforts across the planet. The diplomatic efforts have been taken over by the crew of the USS RAVEN, a ship carrying career Starfleet diplomat Lieutenant Kaplan. Since we are not in need of all of our personnel, I am giving all of the principle players in this affair a week off duty. That includes both of you.” “Thank you Captain,” Daniel said, Catherine echoing the sentiment. She smiled. “According to the tourism director, many of the pristine natural areas survived the tremors intact and as such are still open and available. If you want to take your honeymoon on the planet, I have no objection to it.” After exchanging a few more pleasantries with the two, Helice turned and made her exit. “Captain,” Mav said gruffly, walking up to the side of the bed. “Yes sir?” Daniel asked. It was impossible to read Mav and as such Clarkson didn’t know if he were in for a scolding or a bout of praise. “If you so much as set foot on marine deck within the next seven days, I will see to it that you spend your next month’s worth of duty shifts scrubbing the latrines with a toothbrush and no gloves.” With that the MCO turned on his heels and also exited the sickbay. Daniel looked over at Catherine and the two of them both chuckled. “Well,” Daniel said. “What now?” ========= NRPG: Well, what now indeed? ;) That’s the end of the mission! Whew, it was a doozy, but in the end another notch on our belts in our trek through the stars! I believe Alix mentioned in a previous NRPG that Chris would be running the next mission, so until that starts I’m assuming we’re just going to stick around here for our R&R. If I’m wrong in that assumption I’m sure I’ll be corrected by one of the brass soon enough ;) Anyway, I think I managed to cover all the plot lines in this, and hopefully it all came together in some sort of semi-coherent ending. If you want to post anything else about the mission or the searches that happened during the 3 days that Daniel was unconscious feel free to do so. Otherwise, go on and have fun in R&R until the next mission starts. =========== ========== V. Rahul Chandra <vrccan_at_gmail.com> Playing... Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey Gorman, MD Chief Medical Officer/2nd Officer GATEWAY STATION, GS-2 & Captain Daniel Clarkson, MD Executive Officer - Marine Contingent USS PATRIOT, NCC 5781-A & Lieutenant Sevlock Junior ACT Instructor Starfleet Academy, EARTH -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.5/707 - Release Date: 01/03/2007 2:43 PM From HyperNews_at_youth.net
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