Deep Space Guardian: Season III-Episode 41

[Lord Borg]

-Earth, Siberia-

T'Sa imeditly felt the bitter cold bite into her sensitive skin, being a Vulcan she could take desert enviroments similar to a Cardassian, they simply basked in it, cold enviroments on the other hand, was much, much differnt. She let out a shiver and stepped over towards Ian out of habit, trying to seek some warmth. T'Sa looked over to the direction where Ian was looking, when she heard the explosions and people screaming. She looked on in concern, she shivered again, her breath visible in vapors as she breathed out, it seemed broken as her breaths were in gasps from the cold.

"Ian" she said, dropping formality in the cold, she turned to face him and crossed her arms againts her chest, trying to trap in some of the warmth of her body, her ears had detected a faint plead help, "That was an inteional explosion."

Jon shivered to, but ignored it and looked over to his friends for ideas. The man wanted to investigate something, and he had to wonder just what it would be.

"What should we do next, Captain?"

[Spellbinder Marik]

-Earth, Siberia-

Kiris remembered once when he�d served on the Advent when they�d lost environmental controls for two days. The ship began to get very cold very fast. Half of his heritage was descended from a people that favored desert climates. Kiris didn�t seem to be as bothered by the cold as some of the others. He briefly wondered if it had anything to do with the nanoprobe leak in his central nervous system. He didn�t know what it was for sure.

The doctor had said he�d have increased immune response but biological too? Kiris decided unless it became an issue he wouldn�t worry about it. Kiris reach down and pulled the tricorder from his belt. He�d used it back at the transporter station and forgotten to leave it there. He opened it and began scanning. The tricorder began beeping.
�Commander, I�m detecting multiple lifesigns, some of them weak and several trace elements of compounds used in explosive devices. Radiation levels are also present. We should get inoculated as soon as possible.�

-Earth, San Francisco-

Laura McKnight had gone off duty and proceeded to walk through the city. So much destruction. Part of her hurt to look at it. As an engineer she was used to seeing broken things but not in this fashion. Her thoughts were interrupted when her combadge chirped.
�McKnight here.� She wasn�t expecting what was said next.
�Commander McKnight, report to Spacedock Security immediately.� Laura sighed. She was beginning to feel her age catching up with her.

Age wouldn�t affect N�Tran or Kiris in the same way because of their extended lifespans. Sometimes she feared how N�Tran and Kiris might be after her death. She shook off the thought.
�On my way.�

[La Forge]

Earth, Siberia

As Juliana and the others rematerialized in the snowy tundra of the Siberian moutains after being beamed there by the U.S.S. Monarch, she could feel the cold hit her like a brick in the face. The bitter cold air swept over her as if a wave of ice sending an unnatural chill down her spine. Her booted feet sank into the ankle-deep snow, encasing them in the white powder. Luckily for the group, it wasn't snowing as was common in the area, however, a few snowflakes were floating about. These flakes were being scattered about by the gusting winds. Juliana's long dark brown hair was tossed about in the winds with some snow mixed in with it. Her breath rattled away and she could see clouds of steam escape her mouth every time she took a breath. As she breathed, the stinging cold air filled her lungs. It hurt like hell. She wasn't accustomed to the cold weather. After all, she was born and raised in France, which may not be the warmest of places, but, at least it was no Siberia. She could remember one time when she had gone skiing in the Alps. And, she had thought that was cold.

Juliana quickly wrapped her slender arms around her chest to try and warm up her freezing cold body. Her body was shaking in the cold. She was only dressed in the simple standard uniform of a Starfleet officer. It was a snug fit and covered her body well, however, it wasn't the greatest insulator. If only she had one of those cold weather suits right about now.

While Juliana tried to warm herself up, along with the others, an explosion could be heard from a ways away accompanied by screams. Were there still Nautolians in the area? Juliana couldn't tell. At the sound of the explosion, which seemed to come from a nearby military installation, Juliana was about to pull her tricorder off her belt to try and figure out what happened, however, Lieutenant Ditex beat her to the punch. As the engineer explained the situation, Juliana released her grip on her tricorder and resumed her vain attempt to try and warm herself up.

"I should've dressed warmer..." she lamented, mentally, stating the obvious. After all, she had known that she would be going to Siberia, one of the coldest places on Earth, except for Antarctica.

[Founder]

-Earth, Siberia-

Ian listened to Kiris' report intently and wondered why there was radiation nearby. The explosive possibly could have been of an older model of a torpedo, as modern torpedoes didn't emit radiation upon detonation or it simply could be something else and not a torpedo. Whatever it was, Ian would take the risk of sending them closer. As Kiris suggested, they could just be innaculated later on.

"Let's go." Ian ordered.

He trudged through the freezing cold snow, ignoring the sting of the cold wind. His black hair, now disheveled, blew over his face. It reminded him that he had to get a haircut again and soon. The sounds of screams was becoming clearer as he neared the site of the explosion. Black smoke was rising in the air from the many fires and the crater left by the explosive. Whatever it was, it wasn't an aireal attack as there were no ships in the air. No, it was from something on the ground. Ian neared the fence, dividing the complex from any passing Starfleet officers with too much curiosity. The fence was made of duranium, which meant there was no way they'd ever be able to shoot their way through it, not that Ian had a phaser handy. He sighed and stared at the grey wall, obscuring his vision of whatever was on the other side of it. He could smell something burning and the yelling was now really clear, save for the fact that the yells were overlapping with other yells.

"I need a doctor!!!" Someone yelled.

"Someone lock the cages down." Another yelled.

"Move!" Someone yelled.

"I need some help over here!!" Another voice.

"Make sure the prisoners are locked down!" A familiar voice ordered.

Ian recognized the last voice as the voice of Admiral Gerard Smith. He looked up and considered climbing the "wall", but sadly, it was far too high for them to do so. Both Kiris and Juliana both had tricorders, so he turned to them.

"Lieutenants," He said, "Can you find a way into the camp?"

[Spellbinder Marik]

-Earth, Siberia-

Kiris scanned again after Xavier�s inquiry.
�The fence surrounds the entire camp. It looks as though there checkpoints every few meters. If we can find and secure one we have our way in.� Kiris looked up from his tricorder.
�Permission to lead an assault sir?�

[Founder]

-Earth, Siberia-

Bengali reacted in surprise at how Kiris asked to lead a "assault" against the checkpoints to enter the complex behind them. He blew his warm breath onto a closed fist, desperately trying to fight the cold. The young officer looked from officer to officer, feeling very out of place. Before Kiris, he was never really involved in anything outside of engineering. Lieutenant Grey, the chief engineer before Kiris, handeled all the matters solely.

"Are you a commando or an engineer?" Bengali asked sarcastically.

Ian chuckled at the question and pondered what Kiris suggested. He wasn't aware that Kiris had any tactical experiance, but then again, he hasn't really had a chance to speak to him one on one personally. His eyes darted to the officers around him and he tried to search for a phaser. Ian certainly didn't have one on him.

"Perhaps," Ian responded to Kiris, "However, I don't think we're going to find Nautolians at the checkpoint, but rather, Starfleet officers. I don't like the idea of "assaulting" them, to be honest. It doesn't sit well with me and with my record, I don't think I could protect you all if Starfleet decides to prosecute you all for attacking fellow officers. No, that should be a last resort..."

He tried to think of some options and fast, as the cold was starting to get to him. Suddenly, it hit him that he was standing in the presence of Captain T'Sa. She had a distinguished record and had a pretty good record with Starfleet. In addition, she was a member of Starfleet Intelligence, at least, she used to be. If she couldn't get them inside through diplomatic means, then sadly, Ian would go with Kiris' plan. After all, something was going on and it didn't sound good judging by the voices he could hear. Ian, still clutching the PADDs about the new Guardian, T'Sa's new ship: Amragosa, the fleet yards project, and lastly, Juliana's expedition team, began to trudge through the snow and towards the nearest checkpoint where he could have T'Sa speak on his behalf. He stopped suddenly and spun around, preparing to inform T'Sa of his plan. However, before he could say anything, he heard a voice yell out.

"Intruders!" He said.

Ian spun around to see six men, dressed in arctic gear, quickly approach them with phaser rifles.

"Don't move!" One shouted.



The commander of DSG held his hands up, "Wait, we're Starfleet officers."

"I recognize you," The man said, his voice muffled by the mouth piece, "You're Commander Xavier. We have strict orders to deal with any intruders."

They slowly raised their phaser rifles at shoot Ian and his crew. Ian had the worst feeling that those weapons were not set on stun. He couldn't believe that Starfleet officers were going to kill other Starfleet officers. How did it come to this!?

[Spellbinder Marik]

-Space Dock, Security Office, Earth Orbit-

Laura got a coffee from the replicator and sat down. She�d expected that someone wanted to see her about something. What she hadn�t counted on was waiting. Though the brass loved to keep you waiting when they could. She sipped her coffee and waited. It was unusually quiet in the space dock today. Especially considering what just happened. Finally a security officer and an Admiral came in.

�Sorry to have kept you waiting Commander. Business and politics you know.� Laura nodded.
�Indeed sir. There will be a lot of business and politics concerning recent events.� The Admiral had yet to introduce himself and Laura wasn�t going to ask. It was his right to conceal his name.
�Where is your husband Commander?� Laura sat the coffee cup down.
�N�Tran? He�s either on his way back to Elerra Prime or already there. What�s this about?� The admiral pointed to a screen and spoke to the security officer.
�Show her.�

The security officer activated a monitor. Laura saw N�Tran on the inside of one of the damaged Starfleet buildings. He was standing near a computer terminal. She finally heard the words of a Starfleet computer.
�Download complete.� Laura had some mixed feelings about this. She hoped N�Tran hadn�t done anything stupid. She thought he was passed of such things.
�What did he take?� The security officer turned the screen off.

�We don�t know. Some of the computer security systems were compromised in the assault. But we do know that it was something.� The security officer brought up an enhanced shot of the computer N�Tran was standing by at the time of the recording.
�We caught a brief glimpse of the computer screen at this time index.� Laura looked at the enhanced shot. Most of it was covered because N�Tran was standing directly over it. She was able to make out the category.

Classified Starfleet Directory. Laura sat back in her chair for a moment. Had everything N�Tran said and done since he came back been a lie or a ruse? Laura was really disturbed by this and evidently the admiral saw it because he ordered the security officer out of the room.
�Commander, I realize that he�s your husband and this may be difficult to accept but we have to know what he downloaded.� Laura got that shivering feeling one generally got in uncomfortable situations.
�Why would he do this?� The admiral shook his head.

�Not to put too fine of a point on it Commander, he�s your husband but he�s also a Romulan. It�s what they do.� Laura shook her head.
�No, not N�Tran. He doesn�t do something without good cause. I know him better than that.� The admiral lowered his head in disappointment. This women didn�t know her husband half as well as she liked to think she did. The admiral pulled a PADD out of his pocket and sat it in front of her.
�That�s a list of event�s we�ve uncovered concerning Romulans. A majority of them are ones where your husband was the commanding officer. The others are thought to be his work but we can�t prove it.� Laura picked up the PADD. There was a lot of information in it.
�Take that with you. Study it carefully Commander and when you get back to Elerra Prime,� The admiral paused for a moment.
��find out what he downloaded and contact this office immediately.� Laura put the PADD in her pocket and stood up.
�Yes sir.�

Laura left the office and the security officer from before came back in.
�We could have just destroyed her marriage sir.� The older man shook his head.
�No, her husband did that. We�re just helping her see it.� The younger man didn�t feel right about this and was generally forthcoming with his thoughts.
�Sir, this doesn�t seem right. Why her and not one of our own?� The older man smiled. He liked the officer he was training to take his place but he still had a ways to go.

�Her husband trusts her. She�ll have free access to any ship or equipment under his command.� The younger man nodded.
�Yes sir but how do we know we can trust her?� The older man waved his hand.
�She�s a Starfleet officer. She�ll follow orders.� The older man paused for a moment before speaking again.
�What are our orders?� The younger man remembered everything the older man was training him for.
�To do what�s best for the Federation even if they don�t know it.� The older man nodded in agreement.
�So has been the philosophy of Section 31 since its founding��

-Earth, Siberia-

Kiris was about to respond to Xavier and Bengali. Before he noticed they were surrounded. Kiris didn�t have any official tactical training aside from the basic that all are taught at the academy. Though he was good at making do with his fists. This time though he was outgunned. He doubted even his nanoprobes could stop the blast from a phaser rifle. All he could do now was wait. Perhaps an opurtunity would present itself�

[Lord Borg]

-Earth, Sibieria-

Jon looked around in question, and began to think over his options. If the guards decided to attack, then obviously, they were trying to hide something here. He knew that the element of surprise would be needed, and that would be hard when one could barely move due to the cold.

T'Sa's eyes had widend at what they had done, and she suddenly took a step forward. She wondered what the guards were trying to hide from the public, she thought she heard something about prisoners. She had never heard of a Prisoner encampment in Siberia, Earth.

"I am Captain T'Sa" she said, "I'm ordering you to lower your weapons."

[Founder]

-Earth, Siberia-

Ian watched as T'Sa bravely stepped forward and ordered the officers to stand down immediately. He hoped that some deal could be reached between them and the officers as Ian was freezing to death. It was beginning to become unbearable. One of the officers aimed their phaser rifle at T'Sa.

"Sorry, captain," He said fiercly, "But your authority does not supercede the authority of admiral Smith's."

Xavier groaned at the name, figuring that only Smith would order Starfleet officers to shoot other Starfleet officers. He looked around, trying to find a way to get them out of this, but he, Archer, T'Sa, and Kiris were too far to attack without one of them getting shot. However, Mark and Juliana were close to the security officers. If one of them, at the risk of their own lives, could attack one of the officers, then perhaps the distraction could allow the others to charge the security officers. Sadly, Bengali was as cowardly as they came to physical confrontations. He kept his hands up and was not going to attack any of the officers. It was up to Juliana to do something. If not, Ian, T'Sa, Archer, and Kiris would have to charge forward and attack, resulting in one of them definitly being hit...

[La Forge]

Earth, Siberia

Juliana had stood as still as possible, her arms pressed tightly at her sides, as the Starfleet security officers, dressed in attire suited for cold weather, had surrounded the group, phaser rifles in hand. The air was still biting cold and she still felt as if she were going to freeze to death, however, the tension in the air between the two groups of Starfleet officers was enough to warm her up a little bit. She had no idea why these men were holding them up at the lethal end of a phaser rifle. What had they done to them? Captain T'Sa, a high-ranking Starfleet officer, had even tried to reason with them to no avail. Refusing a superior officer's orders? Who did these guys think they were?

However, when she heard one of the men utter the name 'Admiral Smith' everything came together...well...at least it started to come together. From the whole Aikon incident and the whole ordeal with Tayus, among others, Juliana had learned that this Admiral Smith was, by no means, a good man. If anything, he was nothing but a cheap slimeball. The man had tried to interfere with operations on DSG on more than one occasion. While she had never spoken to the man directly, she knew that he wasn't a man to be trusted. It seemed plausible enough that Smith was up to something nefarious, once again.

The group, including Juliana, simply stood around, wracking their minds for some way to get out of this nasty predicament. But, what could they do? After all, the 'diplomatic' route had failed. There was no negotiating with these men. It seemed that a more...physical route would be the only way out of this whole mess. Juliana surveyed the area, looking to the others, seeing where they were and as to who had the best chance at taking out one of the security officers. If someone could distract those security officers long enough, the rest of the group would be able to charge them. However, as it were, it seemed that Juliana and the assistant chief of engineering, Mark Bengali, were close enough to get at one of the security officers. Bengali didn't seem like he was willing to assualt the men. Too risky. Normally, Juliana would've agreed with him. In most cases, she would simply stand there, waving her hands in the air, waiting for some miracle to come out of thin air. However, this day...this day, Juliana felt a bit more...well, she couldn't describe it. Her father's death had instilled this feeling in her that she really didn't care what happened to her, her career, or anything else, anymore...

Suddenly, while the security officers kept their rifles focused on the rest of the group, Juliana stepped forward and thrashed out with her knee, bringing her knee up into one of the security officer's crotch. The man reeled over and grabbed at his wounded privates. Juliana had chosen this place for one reason and one reason only and if that reason wasn't obvious to someone, the that person should go get their brain checked out. The Frenchwoman took this momentary distraction and brought her fist down over the man's head, knocking him to the ground. The man fell to the ground, nursing his private parts, while Juliana scrambled to snatch up the man's abandoned phaser rifle. As she did so, the others would have to charge forward or else she would be shot for sure...

[Lord Borg]

-Earth, Siberia-

T'Sa heard noises behind her and looked to see that Julianna Roberts had attacked one of the guards. She looked forward in time to see one near her rush forward to help the man that had been attacked. T'Sa reached out and pulled at the man as she moved forward, pulling him into her as she grunted with effort. She spun him around in time for the others to steady their rifles.

"Stop" she yelled out.

T'Sa moved her hand over the man's shoulder and found the base of his neck and squeezed. No one could see it due to the gear he wore, but the man's eyes suddenly rolled up into his head as he was knocked out by the nerve pinch. She grabbed his phaser rifle and aimed it at the guards.

"Don't move" she yelled to the group.

[Founder]

-Earth, Siberia-

Ian charged forward as soon Juliana had sprung into action, much to his surprise. Normally, Juliana was timid and would never have done what she had just done in the past. It seemed like she had changed or so Ian had figured. As T'Sa was dealing with one guard through the use of the Vulcan Nerve Pinch, Ian charged towards another officer. He couldn't tell, but it seemed like Kiris had to deal with one of the officers too. Ian hoped the man could deal with it, while Ian took care of another officer. He threw the PADDs he was holding at the man's face. The officer reacted in surprise and stumbled backwards, pointing his phaser rifle into the air. It discharged, but didn't hit anyone. Ian jumped forward, his martial arts training kicking in, and jump kicked the officer into the snow. As the man fell, he heard T'Sa order the remaining guards to freeze. He spun around to see what was going on.

"You got 'em, T'Sa?" Ian called out.

[Lord Borg]

-Earth, Siberia-

T'Sa heard Ian hollar to her, she dared not take her eyes of the guards, as they could use the distraction to try and over power her. Even with her being outnumbererd, they were all nervious about the phaser she had aimed at them, Vulcans were well known to be fantastic aimers.

"Yes" she yelled back, "If they continue to coperate!"

T'Sa then directed her words at the guards.

"Place your weapons on the ground" she ordered, "Then step over there."

[Spellbinder Marik]

-Earth, Siberia-

Kiris charged into an officer. The two of them tumbled off to the side and into a snow bank. Kiris felt the snow fall down the front of his uniform as he struggled with the man. Kiris grabbed the phaser rifle and tried to wrench it away from the man. For a moment Kiris briefly recalled his fight with Merik Naruul. Kiris began to pull on his anger at Naruul and use it in this fight. Kiris let go of the phaser rifle with one hand and threw a fist into the man�s unprotected face. The man barreled back, instinctively clutching his face. When Kiris looked again he saw the man had a broken nose. Kiris raised the phaser rifle and fired.

The man slumped to the ground. After Kiris calmed a bit he realized he should have checked whether or not the rifle was on stun. He checked it. It was on heavy stun. The man would live but wake up with one hell of a headache. Kiris grabbed the man by his hood and dragged him back to where the group was. Kiris noticed Bengali crouching behind a snow hill. Another officer was approaching him, weapon drawn.
�Mark!� Kiris called out as he threw the phaser rifle toward him.

[Founder]

(I'm kind of confused about the last post as it kind of conflicts with earlier posts. So, I'll try and respond, but I apologize for any mistakes...)

-Earth, Siberia-

Things were happening really fast, too fast. As T'Sa had stopped some officers, Kiris seemed engage with some other officer. He dealt with him and tossed a phaser to Bengali, who was about to be attacked by an officer that didn't seem to notice T'Sa ordering the others to stand down. Ian wasn't sure if the suits obscured their hearing/vision or what, but the man didn't seem to notice. Bengali had been hiding during the fight, fearful for his life. He held his hand out to grab the phaser, but it fell right between his open arms.

"Oh..." Bengali whispered.

The officer lifted his phaser rifle, smirking under his mask. However, before he could fire, Ian, using a phaser rifle he had taken from one of the guards, stunned the officer. The man collapsed to the ground, making the battle come to an end. The remaining officers obeyed T'Sa and tossed their weapons to the ground. They moved aside, their hands in their in surrender. Ian, panting heavily, motioned for the others to follow him.

"Let's see what they were willing to shoot Starfleet officers over." Ian said forcefully.

He stopped, realizing the remaining guards would rush to alert others if they were left standing there. Ian looked to each of his own officers, wondering if he should leave any of them behind to guard the men. Realizing that would be dangerous, he fired the rifle, which was on a really low setting, at the guards. They fell to the soft snow, their suits protecting them from the harsh enviornment.

"Come on!" Ian ordered.

Ian ran through the snow as fast as he could, but his shoes weren't really made to run through this enviornment. As Ian ran towards the now empty checkpoint, Bengali approached Kiris, but said nothing. He felt sheepish for his cowardice and slightly angry at the group for participating in this irrational behavior. The man simply wanted to go back to San Francisco, where they wouldn't be getting into trouble. He folded his arms and trudged forward after Xavier. Ian approached one of the gates, but found it locked, despite all the guards leaving. It seemed they were certainly paranoid. He approached a console alongside the gate and entered his authorization code. Ian wondered if it would work, but sadly, judging by the gate not moving, it didn't. Ian contemplated going back and ordering the others to put on the arcttic suits. However, he realized that the guards probably had very little under the suits and he wasn't going to leave them outside to freeze to death. No, he would go in as himself. Judging by the chaos inside, no one would immediately notice him. He pressed a button to activate the comm. line.

"This is patrol," Ian said, pretending to be one of the officers, "Open the gate."

There were a paused, then, "What happened out there? We saw phaser discharge."

Ian cleared his throat and looked at the others, slightly nervous about what he was doing.

"Yeah, we had some Koinians out here," He lied, "But they were stopped, no problems."

"Acknoweleged." Was the response.

Ian sighed in relief as the gates slid open, paving the way for Ian and the others. His eyes widened when he saw what was going on. It looked just like the scene in San Francisco. Dead bodies, roaring fires, destroyed buildings. He wondered if the war extended to here as well. Ian looked around and saw various Starfleet officers running back and forth. They were yelling and trying to put out the fire and help the injured...

"What the hell is this!?" An officer shouted.

Ian turned his head to see a young officer aiming his phaser at Ian. He was obviously the sentry to the doors.

"Lieutenant," Ian said, "You don't want to do that..."

[Lord Borg]

-Earth, Siberia-

T'Sa saw a chance and had sliped around the guard, as his attention had been focused on Ian, wondering what was going on. The man could only laugh at Ian's words.

"Is that so" he said, "Well, I think I wan--"

The man went silent and his eyes rolled up into his head. He fell to the ground in a lump with T'Sa standing over him, her hand still in formation for a neck pinch. She looked to Ian and raised her eyebrow in question wonering how many more times they would be stopped.

Jon stepped next to Ian and smiled.

"Who said there's never a Vulcan when you need one?"

T'Sa looked over to him in confusion, wondering what he meant by that. She walked over to the two men and looked to Ian.

"Ian, there's something wrong here, this isnt damage from orbital bombardment."

[Republican_Man]

--Suitcase Lounge, San Francisco--
For three hours now Starfleet Captain Kyle Katran and Federation Councilor James Christopher Watts had been jamming out, playing Blues songs left and right to a well-pleased crowed. But by now it was quite late, roughly 11:00 PM, and to the two Blues friends the time had flown by quite a bit.

Kyle had been the primary lead guitarist with James taking on the usual singing roles and joining in with some harmonica playing and the occasionally some guitar. All in all, to the beaten-down warrior and the stressed-out politician, this was the most fun in months, and they were sorry to see it have to end.

�We�re gonna do one more song for you all,� the former Special Forces officer said into the microphone. �This one�s a rendition of the �ole Blues song �T-Bone Shuffle,� to celebrate the end of the war and the Federation victory!� The entire crowd of the Blues club cheered as he shouted the words �the Federation victory.�

The Captain eyed the band beyond him, gave Watts a nod, and said, �A one, a two, a one, two, three, four.� He then began the song, giving the rhythm with Watts providing a few licks here and there as the song began to gain some progress.

�Heeeey, let your hair down baby,� Katran sang out as the bass player took up the succeeding rhythm, �Woman, let�s have a natural ball.� He paused for a second as the music continued and sang, �Oooh, let your hair down baby. Darlin�, let�s have a natural ball. �Cause if you don�t let your hair down woman, we can�t have no fun at all.�

Another pause for the rhythm. �You can�t take it with you,� he sang out. �That�s one thing that�s for sure. No, no, you can�t take it with you. That�s one thing that�s for sure. Ain�t nothing in this quadrant a T-Bone Shuffle won�t cure. J.C. Watts, ladies and gentlemen!� he yelled out.

Just then the counselor broke out into a masterful guitar solo which each and every audience member could just feel tear right into their souls. After that Katran himself broke into a rockin� solo, the whole audience tapping their feet as the music rang out. Two saxophone players had joined in for this song, and they cranked out some music in the background. The keyboardist was soon allowed a solo, followed once more by Katran.

Watts then began to sing. �Right now we�re wakin� to the dawn�ve a new day! Oh, right now we�re wakin�, baby, to the dawn�ve a new day! It�s a brand new day, no more Nautolians on the way.� The briefest of pauses rang out. �I�m looking...I�m looking for a better future, forgetting all about the past. Ooh, I�m looking for a better future, baby, forgetting all about the past. I�m so glad, so glad, that our troubles are all gone now.�

The Federation councilor thusly broke out into another riveting solo, bringing the song to a halt after a fantastic wave of music from all those on the stage. With a final hoorah from both guitarists, the song came to a profound halt that just left the audience wanting more, as was made especially evident by the loud cheers and yelps for �encore� emanating from the audience.

�You want one more?� question Watts with a bright smile. It was as though they were a famous band playing in front of an eager, paying crowd. The audience�s claps filled the room. Watts, smiling, looked over at his friend and the band. They all gave nods of approval, and as Watts was about to suggest to his colleagues on the stage that they do one more, especially considering all that�s happened the last few days, he felt a vibration to his right side. Someone was trying to contact him. He reached down, grabbed the communication device off of his belt hook, looked at it, and noticed that the communiqu� was coming from the President�s office.

�Kyle,� he said, sliding over to his friend. �Goddard�s office is trying to get a hold of me. You think you can take this one by yourself? I gotta take this.�

Katran nodded with understanding and said, �Of course. Go take your call.�

Watts nodded, took his guitar off, and stepped off the stage. The audience eyed him closely as he did so, wondering what was going on.

�The councilor has some business to attend to,� the Starfleet captain said, walking up to the microphone. �But,� he continued, with excitement, �we�re still gonna do one more for you. That is, if you still want it.� He spread his hands wide, asking for their opinions.

The audience clapped and cheered, signaling their approval. �Alright, then,� Kyle said with a smile. �We�re gonna do a little tune called �Sweet Home Chicago.��

The audience, recognizing the tune, cheered once more as the band began to play the music.

Meanwhile, Councilor James Watts was in a secure and quiet location, at which he pulled his portable communicator upwards and said, �Watts here.�

�Councilor,� came the reply of a human female. �This is Janis Elbry of President Goddard�s office. I realize it�s late, but the President has an important task to ask of you, and I need to give you a file with a number of bits of information regarding that task. He�s asking you to go to DSG as a Federation representative. Would you be able to go to your San Francisco office right now so I can pass on the information?� she asked in a sweet voice.

Watts considered the question for a moment and then gave his answer. �Certainly,� he said. �I�m in the middle of something right now, however, so it�ll be several minutes, but it shouldn�t take longer than a half hour, if that�s alright.�

Janis, though James could not see her, nodded. �That�s okay. I apologize for being so late in this message, but I just received orders.�

�Don�t worry about it,� the councilor replied. �I�ll contact you shortly. Watts out.� With that, he ended the conversation and clipped it back onto his belt. Reaching into his right pocket he grabbed out his A harmonica and swiftly headed for the stage.

�Oh, come on!� sang Katran as his black friend arrived at the end of the stage, catching the eye of Katran, who signaled to the band and gave the councilor a nod. �Baby don�t you wanna go...To that land of Risa, to my sweet home Chicago!�

At that cue, Watts ran up, harmonica in hand, and began to play a clean, awesome solo, blending right into the band with no problems whatsoever. The audience just loved it, and a few moments later the song, and their concert, ended. Another band, however, the club�s �Late Night Band,� took over, playing some smooth Blues songs.

�Well,� Watts said, �I�ve gotta get going.�

�You sure you can�t stick around for another drink?� Katran pressed, wanting to spend some more time with his friend.

The black man shook his head in disappointment. �I�m afraid I can�t. That was the President�s office. I�m being sent to DSG for some sort of diplomatic deal. I don�t know how long I�ll be there.�

The Starfleet captain nodded. �You�ll like it there, believe me. It�s a wonderful station. I wish I could�ve spent more time on there. Plus you might be able to play the Blues there a bit, too.� He smiled jokingly, chuckling at that.

�Oh, you know I�ll play it,� responded the other, with a smile. He let out a sigh, extending his right hand, which Katran gripped with his. �It was good to see you, my friend,� he said, drawing the captain into an embrace. Each patted the other�s back and the embrace ended.

�Same here,� Kyle replied. �It was fun. Good luck with your assignment. Hopefully our paths�ll cross again soon.�

�Hopefully,� James repeated. �So long, my friend,� he closed, giving a curt nod. He then turned and left the building.

Captain Katran, however, not only remained in the building, but upon the Late Night Band�s first break, about thirty minutes into the show, he approached the band and asked if he could add his guitar stylings into the mix. Impressed by his previous show, the band graciously accepted, and for two hours more he joined in, providing guitar and occasional lyrics for the group, the crowd coming and going and enjoying the relaxing show after the hell of the past few days.

--San Francisco Office of Councilor James C. Watts--
Councilor James Christopher Watts arrived at his San Francisco office, which was closed up with no one in it. It was late, almost midnight, and so he didn�t expect any activity to be occurring at his office.

Taking his seat in his office, Watts sent a transmission to the Capitol at Paris, getting an answer from Janis Elbry. �Councilor Watts,� the white human female said, nodding curtly. �I�m sending you all the information you need. This will be a long-term assignment; we don�t know quite how long it�ll take. In sum, we have representatives from the Klingon, Romulan, and Cardassian Empires either at DSG right now or on the way and we need someone to negotiate with them regarding the issues they�re intent on meeting with us about.�

James nodded. �I understand,� a stated, �but why not send an actual ambassador to meet them? I have duties to the Council; it doesn�t make sense why I, of all people, would be sent.� Truth be told, he really didn�t know why he was assigned the task of drafting the Nautolian peace treaty and negotiating with the Nautolians, and it made even less sense why he would once again be chosen to carry out this mission. Was Starfleet short on ambassadors? That simply wasn�t possible. Something had to be up, but he just couldn�t pinpoint it. Far be it from him to question such a request from the President, however.

�The President simply feels that you�re the most qualified person for this task at this time,� the blonde-haired woman replied. �After all, you did negotiate a treaty which I would say is even more groundbreaking than the Dominion War treaty ever could have been. I honestly don�t know why you�re not an ambassador or in a higher position of government in the first place,� she said, with a joking smile. She was slightly attractive to Watts when he first viewed her this night, but that smile changed his impressions of her physical appearance slightly, enhancing her attractiveness.

The councilor smiled, shyly at the compliments. �That�s good enough for me,� he said, with a pleasant attitude, just wishing he could go to sleep at this point. �You can tell the President I�ll take it. When do I leave?�

�Tomorrow, 8 AM sharp,� she replied. �The USS Reagan is leaving from Starfleet Command then and its destination is Nautolia Prime. It�s going to stop at DSG on the way for you to get there in due time.� Watts gave the woman two nods, yawning. �And don�t worry,� she said, in a friendly, joking tone. �You�ll get your sleep.� The councilor smiled slightly, squinting his eyes. �If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Elbry out.� With a strange wink of the secretary�s left eye the conversation ended.

James leaned back in his chair, letting out another yawn. There was no chance that, by the time he could get home and get to bed, he would get more than five hours of sleep now. That gave him a great deal of annoyance, but it would be fine enough. The councilor, in thought, uploaded the file sent to him by the secretary to his PADD, shut down his computer console, left an automated computer message for his San Francisco staff on the larger computer, and, when ready, exited the office, heading for his San Francisco residence. The two Earth councilors were the only ones to have official residences and offices in San Francisco, Washington, New York, and Paris all, due to their status as representatives of that planet.

As far as matters of business were concerned, Watts intended to read the PADD file on the ride to DSG, not troubling himself with the particulars beforehand. He would also have his Chief of Staff and another aide make way for DSG as soon as possible as well. There was just too much to do right now for the councilor not to have some sort of help at the station, and having those two individuals present would make his life so much easier. He also intended to appoint a Surrogate to cast his votes for him regarding any issues put forth before the Council, only with the stipulation that the councilor�s opinion be garnered first, as well as voted on. He wasn�t about to make the mistake of not being part of any of the votes at this critical time. Unfortunately for him, however, there were several roadblocks that Surrogates had to overcome in order to be able to cast votes, and he just hoped that his appointee could pass through them.

Soon after, at about 12:30, the councilor entered his residence, changed, and immediately lay into bed, falling asleep almost immediately. A sonic shower, teeth brushing, and so forth was out of the question. He needed sleep, and nothing short of it, having to get up at 7:00 in the morning. By the time he got to bed he could get little more than six hours, which pained him greatly, having slept hardly at all over the past two weeks. With the end of the war he anticipated some rest, but now it was clear that couldn�t happen.

Meanwhile, as Watts began to drift deep into sleep, Starfleet Captain Kyle Katran continued to play the Blues at the Suitcase Lounge in San Francisco.

[Arellia]

[Josi Rockholt]

Earth,Boston

Kathryn Johnson made her way to the nearest hospital. When she arrived,she saw many people that were severely injured. She sat in a corner and saw her mother. She knew she needed medical attention,but wasn't sure if she should approach her mother. Last time they saw eachother,Kathryn was only 14. It had been six years since they even talked. She just sat there and decided whether or not to see her mother.

[Founder]

-Earth, Siberia-

Ian nodded his head in agreement when T'Sa stated that this was the result of explosions on the ground, not by ships from above. He took a few steps forward, trying to get an accurate understanding of the situation. They were now within the surrounding wall in what appeared to be some giant open camp, filled with various small buildings. Several of the buildings were on fire and had huge holes in them from the explosion. Ian wondered if he had gotten wrong all along. There was nothing duplicitous occuring and this was simply a camp attacked by the Nautolians. Then, he suddenly remembered Goddard's shock and of course, the officers that nearly killed him and his crewmen. No, something was certainly going on here beyond the aftermath of war with the Nautolians.

"Agreed." Ian said, the motioned for the others to follow.

For the most part, no one seemed to be noticing the group, as they seemed more transfixed on the emergency. Ian could hear people barking out orders to each other and the sound of one steady voice speaking. He tried to locate the source of this unknown voice and moved towards a panel along the wall. There was a small screen on it and some type of recording. An Andorian, not dressed in a Starfleet uniform, was calmly, but firmly speaking into the screen.

"...why is that?" He asked, finishing an earlier thought that Ian didn't catch, "Can any apologestists answer my question? Why is it that Humanity sets the standard for what is normal and what is "alien"? I am an Andorian, I am not alien. YOU, humans, are the aliens! You arrogantly fly out into a quadrant that was occupied long before you and assert control over others through a thinly vieled notion of peace, but it's really just a system of control. The United Federation of Planets is the Alpha Quadrant's Borg Collective. Only our Queen is Earth and humanity itself. I'm telling you now, that I don't want to live in your "paradise". Your planet may seem like "Heaven", but it's "Hell" to others. Did you ever think of that? No, of course not. You think only of yourselves. We will not take this arrogance any longer, do you understand me? I am not a terrorist. I am the true patriot. Just cause I did not march off into your war with the Nautolians does not mean that I support them. It means I don't support YOU! I call upon all words to secede from the United Federation of Planets. Let's see how tough Earth is when it's forced to stand alone and no longer has us as phaser fodder. I'm sorry to cause so much death, especially in the wake of a devastating attack by the Nautolian Empire, but the Federation left me no choice. Did you think we would not discover your concentration camps, Mr. President? Lock us up like the animals you think we are? From here on out, our attacks will increase across Federation space and Humanity will know what fear truly is. Hara sae mechanon, my brothers and sisters, hara sae mechanon..."

Ian watched the recording and saw a familiar symbol appear on the screen after the Andorian spoke the mantra of the organization. It was the Brotherhood Of Aliens. A group of non-Humans that have been plaguing the Federation for some time. Seperatists are what some have taken to calling them. Ian knew them well as he had had interactions with them in the past, including a hostile take over of the station by them. It almost cost Ziona and Jones their lives. Obviously, they did not like the moniker of "alien" and placed it in the title of their group as defiance.

"Someone shut that damn thing off!" An officer yelled, hearing the Andorian speak on another screen.

Xavier backed away from the screen, shooting T'Sa a concerned look. The woman had probably seen Starfleet change like no other person has. She lived in an era when the Enterprise-C was boldly exploring and reporting to a unified, non-corrupt Federation. Now? She's watching aliens wanting to secede and Starfleet fall apart with corruption. It must have been so absolutely daunting for her. Ian, still clutching the PADDs, having picked them up as he ran towards the check point, had yet to give her the news on Amragosa. Now wasn't the time, but he made a mental note to address all the points on the PADDs with each crewmen as needed.

"Come on," Ian ordered, "Let's continue..."

Officers ran past them, either noticing them and not caring or not noticing them at all. He didn't blame them. The sight was another San Francisco. Officers, wounded and screaming about the pain, were dragged on stretchers to the nearest medical facility. Not that there would be many in Siberia or so Ian thought. He approached a nearby building in curioisty and entered, not facing any resistance.

"What the..." Ian murmurred.

He looked around and saw nothing but dozens, upon dozens of holding cells. All of them holding Nautolians, but these did not look like prisoners of war. No, they were dressed in civilian clothing. At first, Ian wondered if officers simply forced them to change out of their uniforms and into prisoner uniforms, but they were just normal clothing a civilian would wear. Not to mention, there were children there. Ian had never seen a Nautolian child before in his entire life.

"Finally you came," One Nautolian said, "What's happening out there?"

Ian tilted his head, "I'm not sure. I just arrived..."

Another Nautolian, an old woman, approached the edge of the holding cell, where she was restricted by a force field.

"Please," She said, "My grandchild has not eaten in two days. When will you feed us?"

Xavier shook his head, unsure of how to answer and unsure of what was going on. If he had to piece it together, the Brother of Aliens attacked this complex, but he didn't know why. He also didn't know why Nautolian civilians, probably refugees that fled Fito's take over, were locked in holding cells. Suddenly, he went pale at the rememberance of the Andorian mentioning "concentration camps".

"No...please no..." Ian whispered.

[Lord Borg]

-Earth, Sibera-

T'Sa frowned at the...'speech' the Andorian was giving, she had studied the Anti-Human group, The Brotherhood of Aliens, an ironic name, due to the Andorian's speech. She was absolutly repulsed by the group, they spoke of high words, and that the Federation was the evil one, while they hid from the public and blew up buildings killing and hurting innocent people. Like Ian had, T'Sa pieced together what this place was. Suddenly, she gagged, and covered her mouth with her hand.

T'Sa shot Ian a weird look and gagged again, repulsed by the message, repulsed by what she was seeing, she dropped to her knees removed her hand and looked down to the snow. She gagged again...and vomited. T'Sa shuddred from the cold, and the trauma she was seeing and groaned painfully as she looked back up to the cages.

"I'm sorry" she whispered.

Jon's mouth hung open in shock, he looked around and couldn't find the words. Jon wanted to cry when he heard an old woman asking for food for a child. Such treatment on Earth had been unheard of for centuries. He shook his head and looked around...and clutched his phaser rifle tightly, ready to use it.

[Spellbinder Marik]

-Earth, Siberia-

Kiris�s tricorder finished its scan. He closed it and took a moment to be thankful that he wasn�t suffering the way these people were. He looked to the old women who�d spoken to Xavier. Kiris looked down for a moment, then approached Xavier.
�Commander, they�re all suffering from malnutrition. Regardless of whether or not they�re soldiers they should be allowed adequate meals.�

-Elerra Prime, G�Tarkin-

N�Tran was leaning against a wall in his quarters. On a stand beside him he burned incense.


He didn�t do this often. Only when he needed to think. His father had burned this scent in memory of his mother for it was her favorite scent. N�Tran kept a case on the Salara. There was a difference between hand made and replicated. N�Tran�s thoughts were interrupted when his door chime sounded.

�Enter.� R�Van, a black market operative entered. R�Van sniffed the air.
�Myrrh?� N�Tran nodded.
�Indeed. It was�� R�Van interrupted.
��your mothers� favorite scent.� N�Tran extinguished the incense.
�You know a lot about me for someone who deals in goods.� R�Van nodded.
�Information is a good. I only know that because your father bought the same ones through me when the shop he normally bought from closed.� N�Tran pulled a PADD from his pocket.

�This should cover your costs.� R�Van took the PADD.
�The price is fair but I have a special request.� N�Tran still had no idea what he had that R�Van couldn�t get himself.
�What is it?� R�Van handed N�Tran a PADD.
�A case of Romulan disruptors? You can�t get them yourself?� R�Van laughed.
�Oh I could get disruptors now but not the ones I want.� N�Tran lowered the PADD.
�Which kind are your after?�

R�Van took the PADD and scrolled through it for a moment.
�Here, this kind. Designed and developed by the Romulan Empire circa 2311.� N�Tran felt a twinge of fear spike through him. Had someone been spying on him or perhaps figured out his plan?
�How am I to get something that isn�t produced anymore?� R�Van left the PADD on N�Tran�s desk.
�I think you�ll find a way.� R�Van left N�Tran�s quarters. N�Tran stowed the PADD in his desk and walked out. Now that his components were here the G�Tarkin refit could begin.

[Founder]

-Earth, Siberia-

Ian watched as T'Sa rushed out, obviously disgusted by the sight and perhaps the idea that the UFP was behind all of this. He was saddened to see that her emotions still got the best of her, maybe even moreso then a Human as Ian, nor Archer, ran out and threw up. Whatever it was, it seemed that her problem was still growing. He heard Kiris mention that all the prisoners were starving. Ian, despite the fact he disliked Nautolians, felt a pang of guilt for what happened to them. He looked around and to saw that all these people were forgotten for the most part. They didn't seem to have access to sonic showers, judging by the fact that they were filthy. No new clothing. No food. The conditions were inhumane and the idea that the Federation, an organization that rehabilitates even the worst of criminals in the best of conditions, was sickening.

"Why are you all locked in here?" Ian asked, not facing anyone in particular, "Are you all soldiers?"

One of the Nautolians, an older one, quickly shook his head, approaching the edge of the field.

"No!" He said, "I've explained this so many times. I am in charge of a meditation shrine in San Francisco. I was arrested and placed her "for my safety" or so they claimed."

Ian heard several of the other Nautolians agree with the elder, citing that they were not soldiers. He held his hands up to silence them.

"Who locked in you here?" Ian asked.

Another Nautolian, a young female, answered, "Starfleet. They claimed that President Goddard had issued some type of new act which allowed this."

Ian tilted his head in confusion, having never heard of this "act" that Goddard pushed forward. He didn't really believe that Starfleet was behind this. To him, that was just not...plausible.

"It's not just us either," The elder said, "In the other building, Hydrans, Cardassians, and some others that have ties to the Nautolian Empire are locked up. All of them are civilians..."

"We were locked in here because of our species!" Another shouted.

All of the Nautolians began to shout at Ian and the others, realizing that they didn't know what was going on and it was possible that they would help them.

"Free us!"

"Help, please!"

"We didn't do anything!"

Ian staggered backwards, unable to honestly comprehend that Starfleet would do something like this. Despite the corruption, Ian refused to believe they'd go this far. This went beyond a few random corrupt admirals and Starfleet captains and politicians. No, this went as far as to the officer of Goddard himself...

Bengali listened to everything in alarm and he realized that whatever was going on, it was above him. He wasn't sure if this was some secret thing that Starfleet Intelligence was doing, secret orders from politicians and admirals, or that they really were criminals and the crew didn't know the full story. Whatever the case was, he realized that he did not belong here and neither did the others. He quickly grabbed Kiris' arm and whispered.

"We need to get out of here, sir," Bengali said, "Now...."

[Lord Borg]

-Earth, Siberia-

Jon looked around and grunted, as it was the only thing he could manage to do. Jon stepped over to Ian and leaned in and whispered to him.

"We need to find out whats going on here, and get these people out of here."

T'Sa stood up, and swayed slightly, and let out a groan. She eyed Ian and Jon for a moment then stepped forward, she studied the Nautolian child that was in the cage, then turned to face Ian.

"We have to...do something..."

[Spellbinder Marik]

-Earth, Siberia-

Kiris instinctively looked as he felt a tug on his arm. Bengali had whispered to him that they needed to get out of here now. Kiris assumed that Bengali felt out of place here. Kiris did too but didn�t let it make him afraid.
�Settle down Mark. Commander Xavier will let us know what to do. That�s his job. Our job is to present options when he asks for them. Until then, we just sit tight.�

Kiris found it strange that Bengali seemed coward-like. Kiris would never think less of the man for it but it seemed strange to Kiris. Most other engineer�s Kiris had served with found it nice to get out of the engine room once in awhile. Kiris sighed and looked back to Bengali.
�I�m sorry for dragging you along on this. You could have said you wanted to stay. I wouldn�t have forced you to go.�