Star Trek: Theurgy

Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

May 14, 2022, 12:20:36 AM

DAY 08: OPERATION VIGILANT SIGIL

STARDATE 57677.68
APRIL 27, 2381
1830 HRS

[ Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Fisher | Fore Compartment | Type-11 Shuttlecraft | Rosalind Franklin ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan @RyeTanker @BipSpoon @jreeves1701 @GroundPetrel

Ives had left.

His parting words, a well-wishing of ‘Good Luck’ lingered in the air long after he’d dematerialized atop the dual transporter pad of the shuttlecraft, Rosalind Franklin. Now what lay ahead of Fisher, and his comrades standing round the fore compartment, each with a unique yet wholly understandable look of confusion and or concern, was a mission that would be off the books, but not due to a traditional sense of clandestine operational procedures. No, Fisher would’ve been fine with that. As a spy, he’d coordinated a number of missions that had never seen any sort of official recording. It was part and parcel for the service. But he’d never before participated in an operation that had been deliberately left off of the books, due to potential temporal implications. Naturally, he was as well read on the matters of time travel and past incursions involving Starfleet as any other officer, but innately, the fundamentals gave him something of a migraine any time he tried to make sense of it all.

“Wonderful.” He quipped sarcastically as he cast a glance across the compartment to Lieutenant Dantius.

They’d only just embarked upon this affair, and his head was already swimming with forethoughts, concerns, and considerations regarding the passage of time, both now, past, and future tense. Though, with a shake of his head, he’d made some affirmative decision that he’d operate according to his dictates regardless of the ramifications.

“I guess first things first, we need to find this... B’etath... if we’re going to stop his assassination.” Pushing off of the console from which he had been leant against, Fisher nodded to Dantius before continuing. “If you’d be so kind as to establish a secure channel with Klingon Councilor K’Tal.” It’d been some time since he’d had any sort of contact with a representative of the Klingon Intelligence Services, or at least any contact that wasn’t of the strictly illicit nature, but if they were going to track down their target prior to his murder, they’d need an inside hand on the matter. “Hopefully Admiral Anderson’s name still has some weight we can leverage to our benefit.” He remarked, stepping over to the Tactical station to ensure that no internal sensors were actively recording the affair. Even if they weren’t under strict orders to operate with zero data logging, he’d likely still have opted to ensure the security of the cabin for such a communication.

“Someone want to take the CONN, and move us further away from Theurgy? Maybe put us into mid-orbit over Qo'noS.” He asked.

Once the cabin was verified secure, thus ensuring no record of the mission nor any happenings aboard the shuttlecraft would be logged, he nodded in affirmation to Dantius a second time, as though to say she could access the communication grid without hindrance. With a step away from the console, he then approached the starboard side equipment locker and opened it. “No sense in pretending otherwise.” He explained as he began retrieving a number of Type-II Phasers to disperse among the team. “We’ll need to be armed for this. Never know when someone is going to pop into our dimension from some other timeline, or some such craziness.” The flippancy of his tone of voice belied the minor annoyance he felt at having been plucked for this mission, seemingly at random. He hadn’t been given any explanation as to why, but he imagined it has something to do with the structure of the timeline.

“Standing orders are to shoot any intruders on-sight. We ask questions after.” He wasn’t in the business of playing games anymore. He’d already been on the receiving end of personal pangs during his time aboard Theurgy. Twice in fact. And he wasn’t about to see any of the members of this team, since they were technically under his command, end up in any kind of a Klingon interrogation chamber, or worse. After all, the threat of the Infested was very real on this mission. In fact, there was a damned good chance they’d end up in some sort of a fight with one or more at some point in the very near future, and that alone caused the ache in his still recovering body to intensify a factor. Thankfully, he knew the people who were along with him for this one and could vouch for each any every one of them and their individual ability to hold their own. He wouldn’t necessarily have to hold the line alone on this one.

“Should’ve brought a deck of cards.” He commented absently as the seconds seemed to pass, and any hails made to raise K’Tal went temporarily unanswered by the Klingon Intelligence Agency. He knew of course, it would only be a matter of minutes, if that, before their call was taken.

---

OOC: Alright, figured it’d likely help for us to have a shuttlecraft along for this mission. It can serve as a base of operations for our characters as they attempt to track down the location of B’etath, and then perhaps in a support role afterward. This is the starter thread for the Story Prompt ‘The Retro-assassination of B’etath | Tempus Sigillum’.

Posting order is as follows: @Swift @RyeTanker @GroundPetrel @BipSpoon

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #1 – May 18, 2022, 07:35:05 PM

[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Fore Compartment | Type-11 Shuttlecraft | Rosalind Franklin]

@Swift @GroundPetrel @BipSpoon

Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell moved towards the conn station, glad to have something to do as her brain wracked itself coming to grips with the clandestine assignment the Captain had handed everyone in the shuttle.  In her mind, she had no idea why she had been chosen for this particular assignment, and she'd done her best to steer clear of anything involving temporal mechanics aside from remembering the mantra of as little effect as possible whenever involved in a time travel incident.  "Aye Sir, Setting course for a geo stationary orbit over the First City at one-quarter impulse.  ETA is 15 minutes."  After making a few minor adjustments to the navigation and setting up the auto pilot, the medico accepted the phaser and attached it to her belt as her mind continued to mull over the situation.  In a lot of ways, what they were going into was damn exciting and interesting.  She'd already had quite a bit of that already though, and the last time she'd been on planet had involved a slug fest with the Klingons that saw several crew members killed. 

Diplomacy was generally not one of her best skills, so she'd leave that to the more eloquent intel types, but there were a few things other things that she'd grabbed along the way and she took a few moments to do a quick search of the replicator files and couldn't find what she as looking for.  Deft fingers manipulated the comm system to bounce a data transfer from the Rosalind Franklin to a series of comm satellites before hitting Theurgy and coming back with the requested information which was uploaded to a spare isolinear chip.  With the shuttle on autopilot.  The Andorian made her way to the replicator and removed a panel before inserting the chip into an empty slot and waited a few moments for the system to up load the program.  With a beep of completion, Zark began selecting items from the reprogrammed replicator a was soon loads of generic clothing, a few dark grey cloaks, shoulder holsters, non Federation formable explosives and detonators, micro grenades, a 'pocket' med kit, and various knives of Naussican metallurgy, tricorders that appeared to be of Ferengi manufacture, earbug communicators, and water pockets to the dining table.  The piles were organized and she scribbled on a PADD with arrows pointing towards each person's pile.  They could take or leave what they wanted as they saw fit.

The combat medic was somewhat hesitant with the musical instrument case she brought from the cargo area before shrugging and setting it on table and unlocking the latches.  It was archaic, yet possible uniquely suited to their circumstances, for inside were the parts to a bullpup sniper rifle, suitably updated for the 24th century and designed with an integral silencer, and 10 rounds of Tritanium Tipped 0.338 Lapua Magnum ammunition.  It was no where near as destructive a phaser or disruptor, but it had the advantage of being very quiet and had the ability to go thorough just about everything non military. As she looked over the dull matte black parts, Zark fervently hoped she wouldn't have to assemble the thing, but given their track record so far of hostile encounters, she couldn't be certain.

"Y'all wanna get changed before we head down? Also, I'm going to check that the logs for all this stuff in the comm log and replicators were never created, but can someone check first?" Zark called to the front as she closed the case and grabbed her pile before heading to the washroom to change.

---

OOC: @GroundPetrel you're up, remember to tag Bip for the next post.

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #2 – May 20, 2022, 09:25:41 AM

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Fore Compartment | Type-11 Shuttlecraft | Rosalind Franklin | ATTN: @Swift @RyeTanker @BipSpoon

"Sir," Anh-Le acknowledged as she double-checked the com rig's encryption.  Hopefully the Klingons wouldn't take too long. 

She sent off the transmission, then turned in her seat.  "With respect, Commander, do we have a plan going in?  We don't have a reliable means of identifying the enemy until they decide to drop the mask, but given the limited numbers of the enemy I doubt they'll send many infected operatives directly.  Maybe not even one." 

Which meant that they had little chance of capturing more enemy agents, but that would be a tertiary objective even if it occurred.  On the positive side, the likelihood of one of the team becoming infected (how did that even work?  The crew needed to figure that out, and soon, or the enemy could theoretically pop up anywhere on the ship at any time and just casually blow up the warp core with none the wiser) was also small--effectively nil in Anh-Le's personal estimation. 

On top of that, if the enemy was using temporal locals as agents, which Anh-Le thought likely, they might be harder to detect, which could be bad...but also useful if the team could spot them anyway, to keep the operation quiet. 

"I also recommend a brief discussion of our insertion and rescue plans, sir," Anh-Le continued.  "With respect, my Orion slave-girl routine is passable at best, though I've got the body for it.  I'm not certain if I'll be an effective distraction if I'm given that duty.  Furthermore, Klingon intelligence services will likely be unable to provide sufficient personnel aid for overwhelming numbers, due to the need to keep operations quiet for the time being.  Otherwise, I'm at your service, Commander." 

The com link beeped, and Anh-Le swiveled back to read the message.  "I have contact with K'tal, sir.  The ident code checks out.  He wants to know how you got this code and how you know Anderson."  It was phrased like a stereotypical angry Klingon, but Anh-Le thought that was a sham.  She wouldn't be surprised if K'tal and Admiral Anderson had a personal red-line comm just in case under normal circumstances.  It was how she'd run things, anyway. 

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #3 – May 25, 2022, 08:16:30 PM

[ Lieutenant Valyn Amarik | Fore Compartment | Type-11 Shuttlecraft | Rosalind Franklin ] Attn: @Swift @RyeTanker @GroundPetrel  [Show/Hide]

Valyn had been on her fair share of operations since her arrival. She was constantly moving. This though, over the entirety of her career was something entirely new. While she’d read what reports she could regarding Theurgy’s temporal run-ins. She herself had never had to really deal with time-travel. Not in her time with the Tal Shiar, not with Shinzon, not on the Enterprise. Of course, she’d read her fair share about it, both from Romulan perspective and from that of Starfleet while she was at the academy. What she gathered, was that it was nothing short of the most convoluted headache one could possibly find oneself in. So there she was, knee deep in it. 

Silently, she stared out the viewport, into the endless black, lost in her own mind for a moment. Valyn wasn’t here as a pilot, or as a ‘handler’ arranging things from a technical perspective. She knew where her skills lay, and they were in the field. As they moved away from Thea, she watched the hulking vessel grow smaller and smaller, though it never really vanished, at least not for some time. She hadn’t yet had a good view of her from the outside like that, and seeing her like that she understood more clearly that the engineering and design behind the ship really was a monument to Starfleet grandiosity and ingenuity. 

As Fisher moved towards the equipment locker, she broke her gaze from the mothership, and followed after him, glancing into the locker and searching for a phase pistol. They were certainly her preferred weapon over a classic Type-II. “Whole damn thing is convoluted. This assassin could be anyone. Hell, it could be his wife.” She ground her teeth. In reality, she’d never expected to be part of anything like that, but she’d received the message, as had all the others. She reached past Fisher and found the preferred weapon, holding it with her finger extended across the side of the weapon, not around the trigger. She wasn’t particularly keen on the idea of facing another infested so soon after her last. Azurite Station was something that still haunted her dreams. The Bajoran man at her feet, blown to pieces and littered with injuries that would have killed any other man. It did not however kill him. 

“Got it.” Shoot first, talk later. It was a methodology she was very much a fan of. She by no means desired violence, but given the magnitude of the mission, she would have suggested the very same thing. 

As the Andorian set out some gear for her, Valyn gave her a nod, and even a friendly smile...ish. She looked at her pile and gathered up her things. She took a pair of cargo pants, some combat boots, a sweater, and a brown, leathered, and worn looking trenchcoat. Her other gear was set to the side as she changed. The clothes fit perfectly, and in an instant she’d gone from Starfleet officer to nondescript appearing Vulcanoid. She shoved the pistol into her shoulder holster, obscured beneath the jacket. The tricorder and a handful of explosives were also tucked into various pockets. Briefly, she reached for her own Romulan knife, and then thought for a moment, staring at the inscription on it. A pained and angry looked came across her face before she reached for a nausican replacement, stowing her own knife in the equipment locker. That knife was her most valued possession, it also however had her Tal Shiar name and rank inscribed upon it. It was too risky to bring. She shoved the earbud in her ear, and pocketed a pouch of water, then indicated she was ready to go.

Valyn looked down at the case being opened and let out an impressed whistle. “You do not fuck around, Lieutenant. Ballistic rounds are a good choice.” Her eyes glanced over the Tritanium tipped rounds and really, she certainly looked impressed. It wasn’t really often she was able to see a weapon like that, something that still utilized slugs or bullets. Disruptors and phasers were simply more convinient and damaging in most cases. Ballistic weapons certainly weren’t something the Federation often used anymore, at least not in her experience. She’d of course read the report from the Battle of Sector 001, about how her old Captain had utilized a holographic Thompson Machine Gun to blast through a group of borg on the E’s holodeck once, but never had she seen something like it in action. 

“I got you.” Valyn moved off towards the front of the ship and began to go through the logs. Most of it hadn’t shown up in any case, but there was some nondescript data entries that she quickly got rid. Her fingers rapidly danced across the multicolored LCARS display before she leaned back to give Zark a thumbs up. “All clear.”

Valyn moved towards the main section of the craft to find her seat again and glanced towards Anh-Le. “Maybe they won’t send one but frankly after the last run in I had with one, I’d rather be safe than sorry, myself. Even if they aren’t infected though, they’re some sort of Temporal Agent more than likely.” The Orion did have a point though, they had absolutely no idea how to identify their target. 

She glanced at Fisher, allowing him to answer the questions, it was his op after all. She did however, offer her brief input. “I say we keep ourselves as hush-hush as possible for as long as we can. We pose as civilians. I, for instance-” She cleared her throat and her entire tone changed. Her southern belle voice vanished in a flash and was replaced by something monotone, serious.

“My name is T’mir.” It was certainly a lot more likely than a stray Romulan wandering about on the Klingon homeworld. The façade quickly broke though, and she smirked. “Insertion and rescue-” She glanced at Fisher. That was his court, and she intended to let him have it. 

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #4 – August 05, 2022, 08:50:57 AM

[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Fore Compartment | Type-11 Shuttlecraft | Rosalind Franklin]

@GroundPetrel @BipSpoon

Lieutnant Zark stepped out of the washroom looking significantly less conspicuous aside from being an Andorian.  If anything, she looked much like a shabby person down on her luck and just trying to get by.  When she got to the surface, she'd have to smear some dirt on her and generally make herself appear very unappealing, but that shouldn't be an issue when she found some garbage to roll her cloak in.  Ughhh, it's going to take forever to get the smell out, and what it'll do to my skin.... The Andorian mentally shivered as her antennae drooped.  Such depressing thoughts were banished as she made her way passed Valyn who had effortlessly switched tones to something else.  "T'Mir is it?  Well, if we're going with false identities, I'll go with Sam.  At least it has the benefit of being part of my name, and to answer your statement" The blue smile turned absolutely feral for a moment. "I sure as shit don't fuck around with violence."

By the time the medico turned bardic hobo lookalike had made her way back to the pilot's seat, Commander Fisher appeared to be somewhat frustrated by what K'Tal was telling him.  Hard to tell though, especially with professional spooks of the leader's calibre.  Still, it didn't sound good.

"Sir, surely with our method of contacting you, our bonafides should be...." Commnder Fisher started before a gruff and distinguished looking Klingon, presumably K'Tal cut him off.  "How you got this code is suspicious enough and though we are a warrior people, without good intelligence and security, even the mightiest warrior can be laid low by treachery Commander"  Dealing with fellow professionals could be frustrating apparently the Andorian thought to herself as she eavesdropped while monitoring the course the shuttle was taking.  "These are suspicious times and acting with such .... reticence about your purpose is a severe test of my patience. "  The Klingon crossed his arms before giving his terms.  "Commander, you will stay with the shuttle.  You will land at an undisclosed location where you can be monitored, the rest of your ..... team can transport down before then.  When your business is concluded, you may take off again and retrieve them.  We will know when they have all beamed back aboard.  Your shuttle will be tractored to the pad, and if you try to leave without authorization, we will destroy the shuttle with you in it and your team will be hunted down and killed." Fisher made a sound of protest, but was cut off.

Woooooow, that's just lovely and so welcoming. Zark thought to herself.  Her internal monologues sarcasm was so thick, she imagined it leaking out of ears and nose for a moment.

K'Tal continued oblivious to what the Andorian was thinking.  "We may have a lead for you.  Four days ago, a group of Orions and Nausicans, presumably with the Orion Syndicate, was charged with obtaining large quantities of trilithium and tekasite.  As those two compounds are highly controlled and used in explosives that can destroy stars, we monitored the group closely and raided their warehouse.  We found a significant quantity of tekasaite, but no trilithium, and the prisoners we took were hired thugs who don't know anything useful.  Their leaders are still at large and seeking some way of receiving a large payment from their benefactor.  If what we did find out is to be believed, it's the equivalent of a million bricks of gold pressed latinum" 

The Federation didn't have money, but Lieutenant Zark had been to places that still used currency.  At the amount being stated she felt her eyebrows try to climb into her antennae.  Somebody was looking to seriously get something done.

K'Tal continued after he let that amount sink in.  "I'm sending you the coordinates of the warehouse and additional intel that we have on Syndicate activity.  I need not remind you Commander that you're activities are highly covert and unsanctioned.  Do not waste what little trust is being placed in this little endeavour of yours.  K'Tal out." 

The Klingon killed the comm link without even saying goodbye and Fisher snorted before looking over at Zark.  "Let's meet with everyone else to discuss that delightful conversation."  Zark nodded as she followed the human to the main compartment. 

"Okay people here's what we know."  Fisher began without preamble, as he laid out what K'Tal had told him for everyone to hear.  "Now, this is going to necessitate some changes, so first of, Lieutnant Amarik, you're now in charge of the field aspect of the op.  I'll try to pass along what information I can glean, but it'll mainly be your call on what happens when you get planet side." Commander Fisher paused for a moment as he began to wrack his brain for what to do next.  "So, what do you think of the intel and do you have any other ideas as to how we're going to find our mystery protectee?"

---

OOC: With Swift's departure, Andrew Fisher is now an NPC. Let's get this show on the road.

The posting order is
1. RyeTanker
2. GroundPetrel
3. BipSpoon

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #5 – August 10, 2022, 05:23:24 AM

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le | Fore Compartment | Type-11 Shuttlecraft | Rosalind Franklin | ATTN: @RyeTanker  @BipSpoon

Trilithium and tekasite.  A bomb, that could be blamed on a terrorist faction or diehard anti-Martok forces.  Clever, albeit stretching the definition of "assassination". 

"The triggerman will probably be a cognizant enemy agent," Anh-Le mused.  "The others are probably dupes, like the ones they already caught.  I see a couple of likely possibilities right now--an infected triggerman close to B'etath as a suicide bomber, or one waiting near the bombing site with a detonator, relying on the target having a reliable routine..."  Why a bomb and not infecting the target, or a poisoning?  Or a frame-up and staged duel?  Klingons loved that shit. 

Of course.  "I think they're using a bomb to avoid detection," Anh-Le realized.  "Our source has an edge.  But the enemy knows they're being tracked."  Temporal mechanics was such bullshit. "Right.  I think the most likely situation is a suicide-bomber triggerman near to B'etath, ready to take out a building or a city block at least.  Unless they're trying to kill two birds with one stone and restart the civil war...no, no, this took planning, most recorded temporal incursions have seemed to have limited precision, so this was likely already in motion.  And our source wouldn't just tell us to do the literally impossible, so it should be possible to avert the assassination.  In some timeline we probably did..."  No, rabbit hole, bad.  Focus. 

"I'll secure our comms with K'tal's team, sir," Anh-Le decided, fingers flying over her console.  "We should look for someone with a transmitter.  They couldn't infect their target for some reason--" more evidence that they have a severe bottleneck "--but they got someone pretty close.  A superior of some sort, maybe.  One who's outlived their usefulness?  I need B'etath's schedule.  If I can get that, I might be able to figure out who the triggerman is." 

It wasn't a plan, and it relied on a lot of probabilities and the limits of her imagination, but it was a start. 

Anh-Le activated her comms unit in team mode.  "Lieutenant zh'Ptrell, Lieutenant Amarik, comms check.  Can you hear me?" 

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #6 – August 17, 2022, 12:22:48 AM

[ Lieutenant Valyn Amarik |Fore Compartment | Type-11 Shuttlecraft | Rosalind Franklin ] Attn: @RyeTanker @GroundPetrel [Show/Hide]

“We can’t have any record of us being here, anyone hears us or sees, us they’ll think we’re a bunch of people with a bunch of common names from all over the place.” At least, that was her logic with using a false identity. “This sort of mission isn’t for those who do just fuck around, so.” She shrugged in a ‘glad-to-have-you’ fashion at the Andorran, firing a wink in her direction.

Valyn braced herself against the console above Fisher, looking down at his screen as the Klingon spoke. She didn’t say a word, but she didn’t exactly try to hide her presence from the call either. It was typical Klingon behavior in Valyn’s eyes. Posturing, violent, and needless, but they were on Qo’Nos it was evident they’d be dealing with, and had been dealing with that from the moment of their arrival, until the moment they finally left. She let out a sigh, and wordlessly followed after both Fisher and Zark.

She was in charge.

She’d been in command plenty of times, and even in her time aboard Theurgy had been placed into situations requiring her to be the ranking officer, but this was different. It was her first real operation within the department, officially. She’d led security detachments on her previous assignment of course, but she hadn’t been in command of an intelligence operation since she’d been in the Tal Shiar. She wasn’t nervous as much as she felt a familiar feeling settling in around her, and while it wasn’t entirely unwelcome, some of the memories that came with it, most certainly were.

“Understood. I’ll keep you apprised the best I can from the field.” She didn’t speak to any of her ideas just yet though, she wanted to hear thoughts first from the rest of her team, and use those to feed into the strengths of the unit. Anh-Le made several good points to which Valyn nodded along with.

“I agree it’ll be a suicide bomber. With the war having just ended, I doubt it’ll be easy for just about anyone to keep a routine reliable enough for them to chance their entire operation on routine so…a suicide bomber, who is someone trusted.” She seemed to mull it over for a moment, “A superior wouldn’t be too far off, but I think it’d be easier if it was a direct subordinate. Someone he wouldn’t look twice at, and that subordinate might even be one of them.” Them, meaning infested. Each night since Azurite station, she was reminded in her dreams what exactly it had taken to kill one of them. It wasn’t something she particularly looked forward to if it was the case.

“I hear you loud and clear.” She shot a thumbs up at Anh-Le. “Let’s get into position.” She moved towards the transporter pad, ready to go if there were no other concerns. “Keep working on the schedule. It may not tell us exactly where he is but it might lead us in the right direction. Until then, we need to investigate this warehouse. If they’re the ones who sold the explosive they likely know to who.” She reached to her hip, and checked all her weapons and gear. Knife, phaser pistol, scanner, comms device, and explosives. Everything was accounted for. “Keep in mind the old adage to, ‘better to ask for forgiveness than permission’ if we’re exposed, do what you need to do to make sure we aren’t detected.” She knew it wasn’t exactly a pleasant methodology, but it was a needed one in their circumstances.

“I somehow doubt our identities are going to matter in regards to the criminals though.” She shrugged, then looked to Fisher, giving him a nod that she was ready for him to land where they’d been told. Then, she looked among the others, silently checking for any other thoughts, ideas, or questions.

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #7 – August 23, 2022, 05:09:46 PM

[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Aft Compartment | Type-11 Shuttlecraft | Rosalind Franklin]

@GroundPetrel @BipSpoon

Lieutenant Zark stuffed the earbud into her ear and gave the Orion Intel Officer a thumbs up that she could hear.  "Confirm, comms up and running." The Andorian verbally confirmed as part of her own test.   The disguised trooper nodded her acknowledgement at the rules of engagement her superior had laid out.  At the very least she was free to act on her own initiative, though given her particular specialization, that could have ......... spectacular results.  

Upon hearing the possibility it could be a suicide bomber, Zark shivered.  That was one crazy way to go about killing someone.  Very definite for everyone, and easy to cover up in the aftermath of a civil war.  Still, it didn't hurt to brain storm other ideas.  "With all the chaos and considering it's the Syndicate, they could also go for more innocuous looking methods as well, like running the target over with a vehicle, even a mugging gone violent, rabid targ, who knows?  Sometimes though the least flashiest method is the easiest one."  The security officer shrugged.  "Maybe we'll have better luck finding something down there."

Zark stepped on the transporter pad as Fisher let them know he was going to transport the team to a nearby alley, but they'd have to make the rest of the way on foot.  Lt. Zark gave an almost imperceptible nod at this as he gave the group a good look before wishing them good luck and energizing. 

[Alleyway | First City | Qo'nos]

The combat medic blinked to clear the telltales of the transport in her vision went from very bright to very dark, and looked around. Sure enough, it was a dark a deserted alleyway.  Pulling out her tricorder, she pulled up a map of the area and oriented their position.  "Looks like we're about 500 meters from the warehouse, but there's a good ring of Klingon signatures around the building."  Lt. Zark fiddled with the tricorder a bit before a frown formed on her face.  "Interesting, lots of Orion and Nausicans as well, even have a notable number of Ferengi and ... Pakled signatures too.  Looks like this area was general hub for them to do business, so I guess that rules out just having one easily identifiable group of people that are Syndicate members here." Zark raised her hand in a follow me motion as she led the group to the warehouse.  This took a little longer than anticipated as the Andorian had the team dodge a couple of patrols along the way.  No sense in being stopped by local authorities for no good reason.

Reaching the end of an alley that opened to a street next to the warehouse, the medico pursed her lips in frustration as she counted four Klingons outside the side entrance she'd been steering the group towards.  Scanning the area a second time, the Andorian overlayed the local map and noticed an odd cluster in another alley nearby before presenting the information to Lieutenant Amarik. "Sir, there are Klingon guards at each entrance, and we could take them, but it could get too noisy and draw the attention of other guards, or even a response force."  The Andorian moved the tricorder to show the team leader the screen before pointing at a red cluster between a couple of buildings.  "There's a bunch of Nausicans and Orions pretty tightly packed in this area over here.  I checked against a city map and it looks like they're headed into a underground service way.  It's more concealed and we could follow and bush whack them underground.  It's a lot less likely to draw attention and we could maybe get some intel?" Lieutenant Zark asked the group as she made the assumption that everyone was pretty much at least a rated expert in close quarters battle.

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #8 – September 03, 2022, 11:43:44 AM

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le |Alleyway | First City | Qo'nos | ATTN: @RyeTanker @BipSpoon

This was going to be a mess. 

Anh-Le still wasn't the most adept at quarterbacking, or even being junior QB on an operation.  She had even less experience with actual field work; sure, she'd done it, but she wasn't her first pick for field agent, at all. 

Sort through terabytes of fluff to find the kernels of evidence that could lead her to postulate a couple of probable hypotheses for enemy behavior?  Easy.  Laser-focusing without distractions, she could do that in an all-nighter.  Spam some Klingon's porn cache at enemy extranet addresses until some bored junior officer clicked on a link promising a free download of a lesbian Horta exploitation flick (how anyone could tell the difference between male and female Horta, Anh-Le wasn't sure she WANTED to know) and got a computer full of Trojans?  No sweat.  Jam up enemy comms with the Beastie Boys?  First thing she'd learned in applied computer science back at the Academy. 

Kill someone in a field engagement?  Not her thing. 

It wasn't like they were spoiled for options, though.  We succeed, or the Klingons kill us.  Nice guys, they'd at least given a warning. 

Her disguise was shit.  A hastily shrugged-on hooded cape, because the Klingons had some kind of beef with Commander Fisher still and wanted everyone else beaming down.  It buckled in the front, at least.  Her uniform was pretty well-hidden, and as for her face--well, Orion women were everywhere in the seedy parts of the galaxy, and for all that crusty old Klingon warriors might whine about foreigners treading upon the sacred stones of Qo'noS, the Orion Syndicate was simply too valuable of an economic partner for an ambitious regional power like the Klingons to completely shut out.  (Monitor, yes.  If you didn't keep a close eye on the Syndicate, you were stupid or suicidal.  But only the Federation could afford to shut out the Syndicate's offers of "let us exploit your people and we'll give you a cut of our best smuggled tech".  Authoritarian regimes like the Klingon Empire just couldn't compete with the galaxy's largest and most functional democracy without copious stolen, smuggled secrets.)

"I'll give K'tal's people updates as we go," Anh-Le murmured into her cheek mic as she peeked out from the alley into a busy street.  Nobody gave her a second glance.  "We'd better move out and find the triggerman, fast.  Hopefully we can make it look like a gang hit or something." 

It was going to be close.  Amarik and zh'Ptrell were good, though.  Anh-Le gave their team nearly even odds in her mental analysis. 

She'd adjust as they went.  She was good at that. 
-----------
OOC: Apologies for the delay, I had computer trouble AGAIN. 

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #9 – September 04, 2022, 01:50:02 PM

[ Lieutenant Valyn Amarik | Alleyway | First City | Qo’Nos ] Attn: @RyeTanker @GroundPetrel [Show/Hide]

Valyn stood on the shuttle, at the ready. She was disguised close to perfectly as a Vulcan, even plastering that emotionless, cold expression across her typically passionate-appearing face. She nodded to Zark, who had a point in her opinion. “They could go for a method less…flashy, but they need to be certain the succeed too so I’m not sure how many chances they’re going to take with a mugging, I don’t know many Klingons who’d let a mugging go quietly.” She offered her own thoughts on the matter, then simply shrugged.

Joining her Andorian comrade, Valyn stepped onto the transporter pad and gave herself one last once-over to ensure she had everything, and she did. She gave Fisher a ‘thumbs’ up and within seconds the all-too-familiar sensation of ice trickling down every nerve of her body washed over her. She felt…disconnected for a moment, and when she finally roused, it was in an entirely different location, her body having been taken apart and put back together again at the subatomic level.

“Got it.” She looked in the direction of the warehouse and then instead of taking the alleyway…Valyn decided to look up, eyes locking onto some scaffolding. “So we have a gathering of, forgive my judgement, but some of the seedier sorts of the galaxy around the warehouse that has drawn our attention to find our mark?” She scoffed and nodded slowly. She kept the scaffolding in mind, and followed after Zark.

“I like your idea of following them underground. Do we have any idea where that service way lets out though? I don’t want us getting caught up in a tunnel where we only have one way out, and our exit we know for certain could have Klingons coming down at us.” She clenched her jaw, and thought for a moment in silence, debating all of her options and alternatives.

Valyn looked at Anh-Le and smiled lightly. She had an idea.

“Got an idea.” She turned to face her team. “Lieutenant-“ She fired at Anh-Le, “There is an access port about ten meters that way.” She pointed towards another alleyway, just off to their left, which appeared abandoned besides the vaguely glowing and occasionally sparking access point. Likely, it wasn’t in completely working order, but it may do the job. “Mind seeing if you can manage a distraction for us?” Valyn raised a brow, then looked at Zark, “I like your tunnel idea, we just need those Klingons on the outside to stay minding their own for a few. You and I hit the tunnel, take them out, try and get some intel. We’ll come back up you take position with that rifle. I’ll approach them directly with-“ She bowed her head at Anh-Le, “They’ll likely think I’m there for some back alley deal, but-“ She shrugged, and ran a finger across the hilt of her knife.

“My guess, our target is inside, but we need to be surgical about our insertion, and be planning for our exit the whole time.” She looked between them, waiting for any objections.

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #10 – September 06, 2022, 07:12:03 PM

[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Alleyway | First City | Qo'nos]

@GroundPetrel @BipSpoon

Lieutenant Zark nodded in silent acknowledgement at the plan and lifted the hood of her cloak over her head, leaving nothing but a shadow with peak of blue skin.  "Anh-Le, stay behind us and go for the port when you hear bedlam erupt or we call you.  I gather CQB isn't your strength, but we can cause enough ruckus to keep their attention on us." the Andorian told the Orion with a smile before taking up a position just behind the Romulan field commander on her flank.  "One more thing sir, I think we can get them to underestimate who we are, just look like you're trying to push me away when I start begging for money."

"Throw me at the group when we get close." The combat whispered to her boss as they approached the final corner near the Syndicate members.  It didn't take long for the group to near syndicate 'operatives', Lt. Zark found that term endlessly amusing given they were mainly thugs, with the covered Andorian crouched and gibbering in her native language asking for a warm meal or some coin for a starving artist.  The Andorian had a moment to register six targets, then five as one started his descent into the service way.  Pawing at the Romulan added to the effect and the confusion was visible on the faces of the thugs before Zark found herself angrily tossed at the group with more strength than was thought was intended, still it was more than enough as she stumbled for real and just barely managed to get control right before colliding with the group.

Trained gymnast and martial artist legs found purchase at less than optimal distance as the lithe blue woman jumped at the nearest Nausican and kneed him in the sternum.  The thug grunted in surprise as he found himself forced backwards, then flailing as he suddenly found himself with nothing under one foot before yelling and falling into the hole and smashing into the first person who had been climbing down the ladder.   The Nausican that Zark hit had been big enough that her momentum didn't carry all the way forward and she landed just at the edge of the service way.  The music case came off in a smooth motion and her muscular arms swung the heavy case at a nearby Orion, smashing him in the shoulder and into a wall.  Zark had to put the case down or risk excessively mis-aligning the dangerous cargo inside, and this gave her opponent time to face her and charge.  The Andorian hoped Valyn and Ahn-Le would be able to handle the others as she jumped forward and up the charging Orion while swinging around and locking her legs around his neck.  Calculated muscle memory took over as the Andorian's momentum carried her in a wide swing that slammed the Orion into the ground head first and knocking him unconscious.  A quick hand axe to the neck made sure he was never getting up again.

Taking a split second to survey the scene, her ears picked up some yelling in the service way and the combat medic made a dash for the man hole and grabbed the ladder rails.  The Nausican she'd kicked into the hole was getting off his fellow mattress and looked to be scrambling away from ladder.  Blue hands and feet let go of the ladder and Zark landed with an oof on the body at the bottom and rolled onto the ground.  Thankfully it wasn't a sewer, but it was really dirty and the Andorian leapt to her feet in pursuit.  The Nausican was bigger, but Zark as faster and she neared the fleeing man, her leg kicked out in a soccer tackle.  The thug yelped as he fell backwards and the medico barely made it passed as he slammed into the ground.  Zark didn't wait for this target to come to his senses as she turned around and scrambled towards the downed man.  The syndicate operative had a moment to see the visage of a ferally smiling blue alien charge towards him and he made the mistake of trying to get up and planting his hands on the ground.  Zark landed on his chest and her powerful thighs locked his arms in place as she straddled his chest.  A lightning fast snake hammer lanced out and slammed into the man's throat by the lithe blue woman and the brutish alien bucked in agony as he tried to breathe, throwing his tormentor off.  It didn't matter for this fight was over as Zark made her way over to and behind the brutes head.  Getting the thrashing thug's head into her lap wasn't that easy, but a little deft kicking with her legs secured the head inside her thighs and the Andorian squeezed.  The Nausican panicked and tried to struggle out, but already injured, his struggles became less and less and Zark completed the sleeper hold on him. 

With her target unconscious, Zark ripped off the mans belt and trussed the target like a deer before making her way back to the ladder to see if the others needed help top side.  The medico made a quick check of the first victim at the bottom of the ladder and decided there was nothing to be done.  Her neck was bent at an impossible angle with some bone sticking out the side.  A definite case of dead.  Shaking her blue head, Lieutenant Zark headed for the surface.

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #11 – September 12, 2022, 07:33:39 AM

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le |Alleyway | First City | Qo'nos | ATTN: @RyeTanker  @BipSpoon

"You got it, Zark," Anh-Le told the Andorian, lurking behind the others as they moved to fight. 

She didn't need to do much.  zh'Prell did most of the work, and made brutal street fighting look good as Amarik mopped up two of the remaining three goons.  Anh-Le only had to whip out her phaser and stun a big Orion man who brushed past her without notice, presumably running for help. 

He did break his nose on the way down.  Anh-Le tried to brush some debris on top of the spot with her foot as she dragged the limp body back into the depths of the alley. 

The fight was short, brutal, and a bit sloppy, but then, field ops always were.  There was the training sim you ran on the holodeck to practice the hypothetical...then in the field, it was six months later and you were exhausted and covered in blood and sweat and scared shitless, and you were a lucky woman if nobody ended up dead. 

Still.  It wasn't good to have a fatality so early.  Anh-Le grimaced at the man zh'Prell had accidentally killed as she helped the other women pile up the Syndicate thugs in the access tunnel.  "I'll take the access port," she said.  Her robe was ratty enough that she could pass for homeless.  Prostitute, no.  (Which was probably a good thing, considering her brief stint at exotic-dancing for the Federation and what a debacle that had been)  "I'll hack into B'Etath's workplace's security, then I'll set up a distraction for you." 

Her PADD fit in the crook of her arm, and she slid it under her robe as best she could while fitting the fiber-optic into the access port.  It was a bit beaten-up, probably formerly used for an automated dumpster, but it should give her network access. 

...and there, local solid-waste utility.  Alright.  She could remote in to one of their computers, and use that to spam B'Etath's workplace with phishing emails.  She figured the odds were pretty good that someone in there would be dumb enough to click on a porn link he'd been emailed. 

What to use as bait?  Sapphic Horta Hotness CXXVI was perhaps too niche.  She refused to use Orion Confessions XVI: Nympho Nights on general principle.  Ethnic stereotypes were unpopular at the Academy (it smacked of essentialism and racism), and remained largely unpopular in the Fleet, and Anh-Le had been sympathetic towards that attitude even before she arrived in San Francisco those years ago. 

Wet and Wild Warrior Maidens 197: Girls Do Gre'Thor.  That would appeal to your average Klingon male. 

She sent a quick request to K'tal's people, and got an equally quick response with the mass-email address she needed.  Hopefully the Klingon researchers' anti-phishing security was weak. 

Anh-Le hit Send.  Now it was a matter of waiting, so she switched to local traffic control, preparing a macro that would let her fuck with civilian traffic, theoretically with minimal casualty risk. 

Not thirty seconds later, she got pingback.  She was in. 

How the Hell...  Well.  Maybe her luck had turned.  Some idiot had actually clicked a phishing email advertising Wet and Wild Warrior Maidens almost as soon as they got the link. 

What a moron! 

Also, apparently the mystery Klingon had a fetish for demonic fire temples.  To each their own. 

"I'm into the security servers at B'Etah's place," Anh-Le reported into her comms unit, keeping her voice low just in case.  "I guess I'm just an amazing hacker.  Distraction prep is in progress.  I'll do a quick check for unusual behavior among those who could get close to B'Etath at work just in case once that's done.  Good luck." 
-------
OOC: Apologies for the delay, been a busy week here. 

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #12 – September 23, 2022, 06:46:01 PM

[ Lieutenant Valyn Amarik | Alleyway | First City | Qo'nos ] Attn: @RyeTanker @GroundPetrel  [Show/Hide]

Valyn went along with the plan. It was simple enough, and it gave her some deniability in regards to knowing anything about the ‘drifter’ she’d throw their way. She gave her a hearty shove towards the group, and watched her go to work. Two of them went flying down the shaft, while the third was out cold. The remaining three however, chose not to pursue and instead, focused entirely on Valyn. Their weapons were out and drawn down on her in a flash. Instead of reaching for her own however, she threw her hands up, “I intended no offense.” She put on her best, emotionless Vulcan. Her face remained blank as slate, and she simply stood.

“If it would help, I have a handful of valuables in my jacket pocket I’d be happy to offer as recompense.” She nodded down at the pocket of her trench coat, and two of the thugs approached. What she was doing, was a classic trick, but one she knew worked nearly every time on people like them, so she went for it. Flexing that old intelligence muscle, instead of going in guns blazing for a change.

“Search her-” The lead, a Klingon, ordered the others, two nausicaans. The nausicaans approached, the business end of their weapons fixed on Valyn. One of them took a position behind her, while the other holstered his weapon and roughly grabbed her by the collar to search her. She seized the initiative and the momentum given by the tug and slammed her forehead forward into his. It hurt like hell but she powowered through. He dropped like a rock, stumbling backwards into a crate and falling with a clatter down the tunnel. She heard a thud as he hit the bottom but nothing more, though she did hear a roar of rage from the Klingon.

As if by muscle memory, she ducked, the nausicaan behind her having fired a bolt right over her head as she did so. She reached for her back and slung her wrist forward in a flash, the knife that had been stowed flying forward with the force of a loosed arrow, and finding home in the neck of the thug. The Klingon, however, proved more of a challenge, both of his hands reaching to his sides to pull out a pair of Mek’leth.

“Oh hell-” Her real accent came through and she rolled backwards, towards the still bleeding out thug behind her. She seized the hilt of the blade and pulled it from his throat with a sickening sound and readied herself. One knife against two Mek’leth and a Klingon bloodrage? The odds weren’t great, but she still went for it. The man behind her on the ground went pale as he rattled his last breath, but Valyn wasn’t concerned about him. It was either her or them. The klingon swung, a single broad stroke coming down towards her from the left before she sidestepped, slashing forward with the knife and cutting his cheek. The injury served little purpose other than upsetting him though, as he barreled forward, blade spinning like the grinding gears of a mill.

On his upswing, she saw her chance and took it. She stabbed the knife upward, directly into his palm. He released the blade, and it kept coming for her, spinning down towards her leg. She was able to move aside in time, and dove backwards in a roll, grabbing the blade as she moved. She hadn’t fought with a Klingon weapon in some time, but making do, she engaged him. The force behind her blow, blade striking blade, resonated with a loud clang, and her free hand swung forward to clock him in the face. She was fighting with no fear, and no regard for his life. To him, it was likely evident that she was no Vulcan. She pulled away, and with a final stroke of the blade, swung down, and sliced his across the back of the leg. He dropped at once, and let out a roar of agony.

Tapping the comms, she called to Zark, “One fell down and another up here needs medical attention, the third is dead.” She kept the communication short, allowing the medic to perform her own triage accordingly. She stepped over towards the Klingon, and kicked his weapon away from him. “Don’t.” She ordered him, as he reached for his hip. Instead, she crouched down, and searched him. She seized a comms device, and his disruptor pistol. Other than his weapons he carried nothing else.

She tapped her comm again, “Good work, how'd you manage that? Keep an eye out for any signals that someone might know we’re here too. I’d rather know ahead of time if we have to cover our tracks. Thanks.” She pulled her pistol out, and kept it trained on the groaning Klingon beneath her. “Quit your cryin’, it ain’t gonna kill you. I severed a tendon not an artery.” He only moaned louder.

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #13 – September 27, 2022, 07:24:56 AM

[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Alleyway | First City | Qo'nos]

@GroundPetrel @BipSpoon

Lieutenant Zark reached just under the top of the entrance and waited.  She was pretty sure she had been seen going into the access hole.  However it was not a question of whether everything else had been taken care of top side.  So taking a chance, the Andorian closed her eyes and stretched her auditory sense for a moment.  It took a bit to filter out the ambient sounds, but aside from some moaning, it seemed quiet.  The chime of an incoming communication gave her sufficient warning that she wasn’t startled when the word to come up and give aid was given.  Quickly taking a breath to centre herself, the medico climbed up the rest of the way.

A blue head poked over the lip and blue lips pursed in a silent whistle at the carnage.  There were bodies on the ground blocking most of the view, but one was definitely showing signs of pitiful life. The medic grimaced as she spotted a Klingon moaning on the ground rolling around as he held his leg as the blonde Romulan kept a weapon pointed at him.  The medic came the rest of the way out and moved to Klingon as he held his leg and rocked from side to side.  Zark didn't trust the injured Klingon one whit and figured he was part of the plot, so didn't merit the best attention.  She detoured briefly to one of the fallen syndicate members to grab his sash cut off some pieces of his shirt.  Pulling the wicked looking Nausican knife out, she quickly cut loose several strips of fabric before making her way over.  The Klingon was in too much agony to offer resistance, but he was still a Klingon in pain and it would be no mean feat to remove the hand, but applying a couple twists and pinches that had the man howling in agony even more got him to loosen his hand, which Zark rapidly bound to staunch, but not stop the bleeding.  Pulling out a hypospray and making some quick calculations, blue fingers adjusted the dosage while she kept an eye on the prisoner.  Pressing the non-Starfleet design into the thigh with a quick hiss injected the man with a small amount of pain killer which got him to calm down some what.  The look of relief that washed over his face caused the medic to smile nastily as he lay on his back and his breathing began to steady.  The medic took the opening to wrap his massacred knee with the makeshift bandage, which she wrapped around several times with a hard yank to start.  The Klingon groaned as the pain leaked through his senses and tried to reach for the blue neck, but a blue flash stopped him as a knife materialized against his throat. "Nah ah.  None of that hon.  Making me have to bandage a slit throat would just be upsetting."

The Klingon cursed quietly before leaning back as Zark continued her wrapping.  Suspicious eyes looked his assailants over.  "Ghay'cha'! Who are you?" He growled. "Answer me you honorless petaQ!" He grunted again as Zark tightened the bandage one last time before tying it off.  Practiced hands sprayed a small amount of coagulant to prevent excess bleeding out before the medic handed the rest of the hypospray to the Romulan.  Having been in the situation of treating hostile combatants over her career, the combat medic quickly moved behind the Klingon and pulled his hands together.  He must have been pretty young and cocky since he appeared to be in total shock at being handled so easily in such a fashion.  The last of the cut off material was turned into a binding that held his hands together.  "Okay T'Mir, he shouldn't bleed out too quickly now.  Up to you whether you want to use the rest on him. By the way.  There's another one trussed like a targ ready to roast down below if you need more info, but I think we got the main one here.  I'm gonna head below and make sure he's no trouble."  The Andorian nodded and made her way to the ladder, stopping briefly to pick up her music case.  She made a quick check of her medical supplies and found enough Anesthazine to put her prisoner to sleep for a while. Mentally nodding, she descended into the access way, once more.

Despite the soft tapping of her boots on the metal rungs, her ears picked up the grunting and cursing of the Nausican who was still trussed up.  Zark hopped off the ladder to avoid the body at the bottom and made her way over to the prisoner.  The thug spotted her and began swearing and threatening despite his restrained condition.  "Argghhhh!  When I get out of here, I'm gonna rip your guts out shove them down your throat you blue whore!  I'm gonna strap your feet to the back the truck and drag you through the streets!"  At this a shapely platinum eyebrow rose in curiosity, so she played a hunch and she smiled sweetly to egg the young hot head on.  "And lemme guess, you'd also make sure to drop the truck on me while it blows up?"   The thug took the bait and went on. "You're going to be incinerated!" That was enough and Zark jabbed the hypospray into his back and forcing him to rapidly wind down and go to sleep. 

Grabbing the a dropped disruptor, Lt. Zark took a moment to check the charge and telltales that the weapon was working before activating her communicator.  "I think we have a problem. The guy I had tied up suggested they have a truck full of explosives for the kill.  I'm wondering what our main man knows about this.  Advise whether you want me to come back up or go further in."

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #14 – October 06, 2022, 08:13:05 AM

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le |Alleyway | First City | Qo'nos | ATTN: @RyeTanker  @BipSpoon

Well, shit. 

"On it."  Anh-Le tapped at her keyboard, worming her digital way into traffic control while opening another tab to alert Klingon Intelligence.  A truck bomb was an oldie, but it would work.  That narrowed the time window, probably...

She checked the information on B'Etath's movements the Klingons had shared, and cursed.  "Ladies, you have ten minutes.  I bet that they're going to try to crash a truck bomb into the main entrance of the Kriton building when B'Etath goes in for work.  According to his schedule, he should be on his way there now." 

How best to handle this?  Messing with the lights?  No.  Too much of a civilian casualty risk.  This was a ghost operation.  They needed to stop the truck before it got to the building. 

It'd be lead-lined, or some kind of cheap sensor disruption.  Smuggling, despite the grumblings of conservative Klingons, was alive and well in the Empire, and police would have scanners.  False back?  No, with the time table they were on they'd probably just shoot their way out of a stop...but didn't they want this quiet, too? 

Not for the first time, Anh-Le wished she understood the enemy's psychology and capabilities better. 

"I'm searching cameras," she said, half to herself.  "Traffic cams should get ident plates.  Those I can cross-reference with shipping company records.  I'll have an update soon."  She'd written a program for this not two years ago.  It was just good practice when you were doing urban ops. 

Seconds ticked by.  A bead of sweat rolled down Anh-Le's forehead, and she wiped it off, cloak pulling across her face for a moment.  The fabric was rough.  Heh.  Funny what you noticed when you were trying to save the world. 

A minute.  Two.  Anh-Le's teeth were clenched. 

Actually checking registries was going quickly, but checking against trucks that were supposed to be out and about was taking...

Wait!  There!  A hit. 

"I've got plates," Anh-Le snapped into her mic.  "Four minutes out from the Kriton building.  Sending you coordinates and the ident plate.  Good luck." 
***
OOC: Apologies for the delay, my sleep schedule's been off and my brain useless for a while. 

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #15 – October 31, 2022, 08:09:27 PM

[ Lieutenant Valyn Amarik | Alleyway | First City | Qo’Nos ] Attn: @RyeTanker @GroundPetrel [Show/Hide]

Valyn kept the weapon raised and pointed right at the Klingons head, the one bleeding out from the wound he’d received, her eyes following the Andorian as she moved to treat him. Her eyes were filled with annoyance, and given her body language, it appeared she likely had no qualms with shooting the Klingon dead on the spot if he gave them any troubles, and in truth, she didn’t. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d killed an enemy in such a position, and she doubted it would be the last.

“Ah-uh!” She shouted at the Klingon, finger quickly moving as if to pull the trigger, and she did. As Zark pressed a blade to his throat, a single bolt zoomed past the Klingons head into the ground beside him. “Be under no illusion that I’m the typical Vulcan you’ve bumped into. I have no aversion to shooting you right here, got it?” She snarled the words. If it was between her and her team, or him. She’d choose him every day of the week. She let out a sigh but did her best to keep the stoic, Vulcan look about herself.

“Another?” She verified, but then gave Zark a quick nod as she watched the Andorian take off down the access way, going to check on the other Klingon. Valyn leaned down towards the now stabilized Klingon, and crouched beside him. “So what exactly are you doing here?” Valyn questioned the Klingon, but was met with a response of him spitting at her feet. She simply nodded, and shook her head, using the chance to inject the man with a bit of healthy fear. “You see, my boss will be here shortly, and he’s not nearly as kind as I am. He’ll feed you your insides.” She rose to her feet and he began to stammer, but before he got a word out, she got the message from Zark.

“Shit.” She mumbled into the device, “Hold one.” She swallowed and turned her head towards the Klingon tied up on the ground. Her stance shifted into that of a predator, going in for the killing blow. Again though, she was halted.

“Ten minutes?” She pinched the bridge of her nose, set her weapon to stun and fired on the Klingon on the ground. “Zark, you’re with me!” She shouted, “Stun that one at high setting, should scramble his brains enough so he doesn’t remember us.” Just as she’d done with her own thug, she gave the same suggestion to Zark.

She moved around the immediate area, before she found what she was looking for. It was a rather fast looking vehicle, hovering in an adjacent alleyway. Likely, it had belonged to the boss she’d just shot. It was nice, and looked rather expensive. Tapping her communicator, she spoke again, “Zark on me, I found us a lift.” She ran towards the driver-side door, pulling it open before she began tapping commands into the computer in an attempt to override it. “Fuck.” She muttered, opening up a Tricorder. It wasn’t long before she found an activation code, and punched it in. The engine roared to life with a deep, bassy rumble. As the power came on, a turret revealed itself at the top of the vehicle. It had plenty of other systems but she didn’t have the time to override them. “Anh-le i need you to override the rest of these systems. We’re going to need that turret if we stop them in time.” She’d left her tricorder open on the dash, creating a network routines point for the officer to utilize.

So she waited…and waited. The moment she’d heard that they had plates, and a location, and Zark had jumped into the vehicle, she floored it, and took off, pushing aside any other vehicles in their path. “Driving or gunning?” She shouted over the engine at Zark, offering her the choice.

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #16 – November 02, 2022, 06:54:23 AM

[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Alleyway | First City | Qo'nos]

@GroundPetrel @BipSpoon

At the order to return, Zark aimed the disruptor at the back of the sleeping Nausican and pulled the trigger.  She had momentarily debated simply shooting him in the head, but the call had been to scramble his brain.  As soon as she pulled the trigger, the Andorian was off, scrambling back up the ladder as the weapon case beat against her back. Stupid bloody being over prepared. She griped as she climbed.  Reaching the top, Zark ran in the direction where her team had last been found.  The Andorian skidded to a stop on the side walk as she threw her head left and right. Where could they possibly, ah hah! Zark thought as a vehicle growled to life and she dashed towards it and threw herself into the passenger door.  The medico had barely landed when she was slammed against the seat as Valyn gunned the engine and the car took off. "Ow! Shelat! That fucking hurt!"  The Andorian cried as Newtonian physics slammed her backward.  "Sir, I think it's moot who's driving, just go!

Zark had noticed the turret on the top of the vehicle, and her brain had also noted the controls.  The problem was she couldn't read Klingon and wasn't sure if she had time to initiate an override with the tricorder, so instead she threw the backpack on to the ground and quickly flipped it open. Assembling a rifle on solid ground was pretty straight froward.  Assembling one while in a moving vehicle was a challenge, and the security officer took a few precious seconds to examine the case's contents before her hand grabbed the pre-assembled trigger group and the butt group.  It had been a while, but blue hands moved with little hesitation as she socketed the two together, then grabbed the key and twisted the pins together.  The medic almost lost the key as the vehicle swerved and she let out a pungent curse.  Grabbing the barrel, Zark quickly twisted it into the trigger group the dropped the whole assembly between her legs while using a torque wrench to tighten everything in place.  Another swerve and Zark did lose the wrench, but her mind ignored it is as no longer needed while she grabbed the holo scope and slotted it into the railings on top.  It took a moment to find the key tool, but find it she did as she bent over to grab it and quickly locked the scope in place.  I think I'm setting assembly time records here.  Her mind bemusedly noted as she grabbed the bolt and inserted it into the back of trigger group with the clicking sound of metal on metal.  Only once piece left, and the blue hand fumbled for a magazine that seemed a little more seated in the case than she remembered it was supposed to be, but digging in her fingers a little bit more extricated a five round magazine.  The medico followed a very old habit and took a look and noted which way the rounds were facing before she tapped the small box against the side of the vehicle, then inserted the magazine into the well.  A deft pull of the bolt up and back then quickly forward chambered the the first round with a series of clacks that seemed a lot louder then it really was.

With some warning, Zark had time to brace as the vehicle screeched to a stop.  On instinct, the medico reached behind her and opened the door and got out.  Running to the flatest place she could find on the vehicle, Zark dropped the integral bipod, activated the spring mounted cheek support, then leaned over as she seated the rifle on flat metal.  Another quick flip activated the holographic site, which immediately began flashing red at the bottom into the Andorian's blue green eyes of a weapon misalignment.  The sight gave a quick scan of the assembly to compensate, but instead returned a code to reassemble and zero the rifle.  No time!  Her mind screamed as a large truck seemed to suddenly pick up speed and began to charge the building.   So much for subtlety. Zark aimed for where she guessed the driver would be, then took a breath and held it.  Her mind and body listened to her own heart beat, and at the moment her heart pumped, she let out a short breath and gently squeezed the trigger.

Trigger released the firing pin that slammed into the primer and the world exploded in Zark's face as the liquid propellant ignited sending a 0.338 tritanium bullet corkscrewing down the barrel at little over 2000 meters per second.  A blue hand automatically moved from the trigger to the bolt and pulled up and back as time seemed to slow and the smoking spent casing went flying out of the breach.  Taught muscles forced the bolt smoothly back into position as the tactical computer in the Andorian's mind noted the spark of an impact at bullseye 3 and adjusted her aim.  Taking a breath, and watching the vehicle grow, Zark let the breath out and watched as the world exploded once more in gas and fury as she pulled the trigger.

---

OOC: Dun Dun Duuuuuun!  Cliffhanger!

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #17 – November 08, 2022, 09:54:58 PM

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le |Alleyway | First City | Qo'nos | ATTN: @RyeTanker  @BipSpoon

Subtlety, my green ass.  This was supposed to be quiet, damn it. 

No time to whine.  She cross-referenced the others' location with traffic cameras, and caught a flash of Andorian blue jumping into some crook's hovercar. 

Armed hovercar.  Brilliant. 

"Right, just hacking into a hovercar to make sure the turret's working...a hovercar that's probably secured against intrusion...with a PADD..." 

Klingon Intelligence took five seconds to respond to her request with a link to a virtual machine.  Assholes.  No, that was uncharitable.  But it'd make her job that much harder. 

She spammed access requests at the hovercar's computer, biting her lip as the virtual machine ticked along.  After what seemed like eternity but was probably only a few seconds, she broke in, then scrolled through the settings until she found the turret control locks.  I hope Zark and Amarik don't like that car, no way Klingon Intelligence lets them keep it.

"I shut off the control lockouts.  I'm fucking with the traffic signals right now to minimize civilian casualties."  An alert hit her peripheral vision.  "Địt mẹ!  Nhanh lên và vào đó! Anh ấy là--" 

She realized she'd switched to Vietnamese as the truck she'd been tracking accelerated, bashing Klingon hovercars aside as it surged forwards.  B'Etath was right fucking there, almost to the doors, and the other women were...

There. 

Zark had gotten out of the car--why is she...oh.  Fair enough, antimateriel rifle trumped some gang-banger's plug and play turret.  The Andorian fired, once, and the truck rocked from a glancing hit, then again. 

This time she struck home. 

The truck's engine erupted into a gout of flame, the machine itself swerving, tipping, and finally flipping clear onto its back.  B'Etath turned to gape, then was grabbed and hauled inside the building by a security guard, alarms blaring as a blast door began to descend.  He's safe.  Good.

"Target is secure," Anh-Le reported, letting her relief show.  "You should probably get in there and finish the enemy agents off."  She pulled open an alert as it appeared on her PADD.  "Klingon Intelligence just notified me.  If you get arrested, they can get you out.  Might be a few years before you can show your faces on this planet, but you won't be shot.  My advice is make it look like a gang hit." 

She ducked out of her hiding-place and stowed her PADD inside the depths of her cloak.  "If you don't get caught, I'll meet you at the extraction point.  Good luck, ladies." 

Her part was done.  Amarik and zh'Ptrell could handle the rest. 
-------
OOC: sorry for the delays, hope this works out! 

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #18 – November 24, 2022, 07:47:55 PM

[ Lieutenant Valyn Amarik | Roadway | First City | Qo’noS ] Attn: @GroundPetrel @RyeTanker [Show/Hide]

Valyn grimaced and shouted over the roaring engine, “Sorry!” She hadn’t meant to launch the woman against the seat, but in any case, she continued to drive. It was supposed to be a subtle operation, and there wasn’t much subtle about an armored personnel carrier, so she’d have to be creative.

Briefly looking over her shoulder, Valyn did her best to hold the vehicle steady, and give Zark time to put her rifle together. Turning her attention back towards the main roadway, her eyes went wide, and she pulled the wheel hard to the left, narrowly dodging a cargo cruiser, the long metal container rushing towards the front of her vehicle before she’d evaded. Valyn looked up, and saw the other traffic flying past their mirrors. They were moving, and fast. On the exterior of the vehicle was some sort of criminal organizations symbol. The bravery of them, never ceased to amaze Valyn. If a cartel had been so brazen on Romulus they’d have found their location under new threat from photon bombardment. That was Romulus though, and Starfleet was far more restrictive in its solutions. She looked back right as she heard the telltale ‘click’ of the rifle

Valyn looked at the dash, watching it give a quick flicker. “Please tell me that’s you…” She muttered into her comms, aiming the comment at Anh-le. Quickly it was confirmed that it was. “You’re brilliant.” She looked out the front window and watched as each traffic signal in her sight began to switch to give them right of way, stopping traffic from other directions. Valyn pressed the throttle down, blazing forward through the streets. “You just saved us a shitload of time!” They were well and truly flying.

Quickly though, she looked up, and saw another vehicle. She slammed on the brakes, the vehicle drifting itself to a complete stop, the frame crying under the strain of the force of the movements. “All you!” Valyn shouted, reaching for her own weapon…just in case. As the approaching vehicle grew closer and closer and closer, she held her breath.

BANG.

With a cacophonous explosion, the rifle let loose its round. Going right through the engine block of the other vehicle, she watched it flip and skid. She kept herself wel hidden until she knew for certain that B’Etath was secure and out of sight. Nobody could know that they’d interfered. “I’m not getting arrested.” She offered into her comms. “Stay safe. I owe you a drink when we get back.” She looked over her shoulder, “You good, Zark?” She couldn’t help but chuckle a little before she stepped out of the vehicle, “Let’s clean up.” Her voice sounded less pleased about that. Everyone in the truck was likely already injured, and in any other circumstance, would be provided with medical care. This though, was a gang hit, or was supposed to be. Nobody would be getting medical care.

Nobody would be walking away. It had to be done, to protect the timeline.

She approached the wreck, hearing warning klaxons going off on the traffic signals and from the flaming vehicle itself. One individual was already crawling out of the crash, his legs appearing to be a bloody, mangled mess. The driver was dead, curled into a mess against the dash of his truck. Another individual however, was trying to get to his feet nearest the rear of the vehicle, though he was struggling a great deal.

Valyn took aim, and wrapped her finger around the trigger. A single bolt flew out from the end of the disruptor, finding its mark on the man crawling from the wreckage. He fell, slumped over dead. Her gaze turned to the one remaining, but first made sure that Zark was nearby. She didn’t intend to lose anyone.

Quickly, she rushed forward, and took cover, the other Klingon having taken up a firing position and firing pot shots from behind cover. “There!” She shouted, pointing towards a flanking position, her eyes seeking out Zark. She lowered her voice, “Once we drop this one, we need to place one of them in our car, make it look like a hit gone wrong. Then we go on foot.” She waited, to see if Zark had any better ideas, but if not, she’d continue to place down some covering fire, her ears searching for the slightest hint of the sound of approaching planetary authority, or even more terrorists.

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #19 – November 26, 2022, 06:32:50 AM

[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Alleyway | First City | Qo'nos]

@GroundPetrel @BipSpoon

The bright flash and searing flame was definitely more than Zark had thought she'd generate since she'd been aiming for the driver, but ended up totalling the bomb truck instead.  As soon as she saw the truck flip, she'd grabbed the rifle and pulled out down behind the APC and listened as the explosion mixed with mounds of careening metal.  When the careening stopped, her blue head poked over the vehicle and her eyes managed to both widen and blink at the same time at the carnage.  As Valyn moved out to finish off the occupants, Zark faced a moral conundrum as her natural instinct was to rush out and see if she could provide medical aid to the injured.  Pulling her Nausican disruptor out, she gritted her teeth and gripped the side of the vehicle hard to prevent her from running off and trying to put the fire out on a poor sod who was crawling out.  That's when she saw the field commander calmly move towards the flaming effigy and put him out of his misery. 

Zark opened her mouth to say something when green energy began flying at the Romulan and she prudently ducked behind cover.  Zark closed her eyes for a moment and pushed the dying man's image out of her head, and returning to the order for the mission.  Taking a breath, Zark set the weapon in her hand to kill and surveyed the fire fight.  Ducking back down, she crawl walked around the personnel carrier and waited for a moment for the Klingon to duck back into cover.  With line of sight broken, Zark dashed towards the cover he was using.  The sound of firing was louder now and the Andorian stayed low as she moved towards a corner of her target's cover and waited.  He seemed to fire off a shot or two, then fall back into cover, so Zark waited for him to pop back out.  The Andorian popped up and braced herself on a the wreckage. "Hey!"  She yelled and this startled the Klingon into facing her.  When the sight of the weapon lined up with his head, the Andorian pulled the firing stud and bolt of green energy blasted out and connected with his head instantaneously.  The head snapped back as the bolt cauterized the wound.  There was no blood loss, but it didn't matter when the skull had been super heated and molecularly scrambled. 

As the body fell, Zark rushed out of her cover and kept the weapon pointed in the Klingon's general direction in case he really wasn't dead.  When she reached him, she felt herself relax slightly, then tightened again as she grimaced and pointed the disruptor at the dead man's chest and shot him several more times.  She really couldn't tell if she'd hit him three more times.  It could have been seven.  It didn't matter.  Waving Valyn over, Zark initiated her communicator.  "Thi, the hit's done and we need help.  We're gonna run north and skirt the flames.  We also need a beam out site and the cameras in this area scrambled."  When Valyn arrived, Zark holstered her pistol.  "T'Mir, you grab his shoulders, then we'll shoot up the inside of the APC, grab the rifle, case, and run.  Hopefully Dani's got a place for us to beam out of here quietly by the time we're done."

[Councillor K'Tal | Undisclosed Location | First City | Qo'nos]

Although the head of Klingon Intelligence didn't know what was going on, his instincts told him that this little trip by the Starfleet was worth watching.  If nothing else, he could glean an idea of what was so important that the team lead, one Andrew Fisher, insisted on using his Starfleet counter parts name.  What he did not expect was the sheer audacity of someone trying to blow up part of the city for a target unknown.  Whoever was behind this was reckless and dangerous, and spoke ill of the potential carnage they were looking to cause to the Empire.  There were too many unknowns, but this couldn't all be a coincidence.  An aide at a terminal spoke up that emergency services and law enforcement were getting ready to respond to the explosion. 

Old he may have been, indecisive, the councillor was not.  "Drop a transport inhibitor on that location.  Set the radius for 1km and deactivation for 30 minutes after transport, then bring it back.  That should give Starfleet enough time to vacate the area.  Make sure there is no record of this.  I don't like where this is going."  The aide acknowledged the order and began typing the necessary commands to execute.

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #20 – December 05, 2022, 04:27:25 AM

Lt. JG Dantius Thi Anh-Le |Street of Smiths | First City | Qo'nos | ATTN: @RyeTanker @BipSpoon

She saw the Klingon tail only a few seconds before she was going to comm for beamout. 

Klingon Intelligence?  The enemy?  Both? 

Probably Intelligence.  The enemy seemed to have limited numbers.  The odds of them having an infected tail on her were low, despite the reported temporal warfare the enemy were capable of. 

Anh-Le dawdled purposefully by a jeweler's stall, looking at some of the cheaper pieces with a careful bite of her lip.  The tail caught up with her shortly. 

"How much for an hour, pretty lady?"  She half-turned.  He was wearing a Klingon police uniform and badge.  She couldn't see any discrepancies from the norm, it was probably actually genuine.  He adjusted his collar, and just for a second she saw a flash of a Klingon Intelligence insignia, hidden by the position of her own head and the man's hand from prying eyes.  Good. 

She bit back her frustration at the man casting her as a hooker.  This was work.  "Sorry, friend, I'm on break right now.  Gotta rest the legs, you know?" 

The Klingon chuckled.  "I like the looks of you, and I had a good night at the targ fights last night.  How about a bonus?  My place is nearby." 

Anh-Le chewed her lip, pretending to think.  "I fancy a nice new necklace, handsome.  A girl needs to feel...special, you know?" 

He grinned at that.  "I'll take that one," he said over her shoulder to the shopkeeper.  Under her cloak, Anh-Le tapped out a quick message to the shuttle on her PADD. 

"How's the expense account in your line of work?" Anh-Le asked quietly as they slipped down a side street, a shiny new necklace around her neck. 

"Action-packed, these days," the Klingon quipped under his breath.  "In here." 

She followed him into an apartment block, ignoring the sneer from an older Klingon woman who poked her head out a door down the hall.  The man led Anh-Le into a Spartan room on the second floor, locked the door, and pulled a scanner out of his pocket. 

Anh-Le was no stranger to bug checks, and spread her arms as the Klingon went over the room.  He turned the scanner on her for a quick, professional check, then nodded, and pressed a stud on his collar. 

"Clear." 

The hum of a transporter took them.  Anh-Le took a quick look around--banks of computers, techs (Klingons and a few others--she saw a Nausicaan and another Orion at one of the stations) swarming around, notes typed frantically onto more computers.  A greying Klingon stepped up to her, and Anh-Le looked him up and down.  Piercing gaze, still fit from his smooth movements.  He walked with the confidence of a senior officer. 

"Starfleet," the older Klingon growled.  "Your intel was good.  But it's raised some questions.  I need answers." 

She would've told him "classified" and left it at that, but she was a guest, and the whole op had gone off because of this man's personal OK.  "I might not be able to give you all of them.  But I might be able to give you some leads.  A lot of this intel is...very need to know." 

The old man chuckled.  "As it always is.  But I think I've given your people quite the benefit of the doubt, yes?  It would only be...honorable of you to do the same." 

She nodded.  "Sure.  Did my team get out?" 

"We have footage of them evacuating the area.  Transporter inhibitors are up, the enemy's agents will not escape.  We're fabricating a story of a gang hit as a cover and eliminating all footage of your people."  The old man motioned for her to follow him into a side chamber.  "Here." 

Anh-Le followed.  The old man closed the door behind her, and flicked a switch, activating a buzz of white noise.  "This operation was not precise at all," the old man said.  "Messy.  Chaotic.  Is this typical of our mutual foe's operations?" 

"They...seem to have a flair for the dramatic.  It's biting them in the ass.  We have some countermeasures, which I'm sure my CO will be willing to share." 

"How many are they, approximately?" 

"We don't know.  But they have a limit.  They're targeting power players, we're not sure of the methods of infection but we have evidence that Command is compromised, and the Praetor of the Romulan Empire, too.  We had one on our crew, I'm still not sure how or why.  It's contained but still aware now.  Some kind of anomalous incident that is likely nonreproducible.  Overall, whatever they use to infect people, it doesn't let them grab people at will, just based on the low numbers of infiltrators.  That implies some sort of bottleneck, but I have no idea about the nature of such." 

"Their motivations?" 

"Unclear.  All I can say for certain is that they are hostile to all major powers in this part of space.  They seem to want civil unrest and political and military conflict for some reason." 

The old man grimaced.  Anh-Le sympathized.  It was a bad situation.  "Well.  You have my thanks.  I have agents in the field, they will ensure that your people escape safely.  You will be evacuated shortly to your shuttlecraft.  Please inform your superiors that we are willing to share intelligence with your operation in the future." 

That was...not huge, but important.  Good.  "I will.  Thank you, Councillor." 

The Klingon gave her a toothy grin.  "Thank me by bringing ruin to our enemy." 

I hope we can manage that.
---------
OOC: Apologies for the delay.  I came down with another bad cold and I've been effectively nonfunctional for days. 

Re: Day 08 [1830 hrs.] Operation Vigilant Sigil Pt.1

Reply #21 – March 26, 2023, 10:31:59 PM

[Lt (JG) XamotZark zh’Ptrell (Lt. Zark) | Alleyway | First City | Qo'nos]      @GroundPetrel @BipSpoon

While Valyn began blasting the various panels and other places with her disruptor, Zark quickly moved to the the power cell bay and opened it up.  Quickly rerouting everything into a feedback loop and shutting down the cooling system, the Andorian heard the universal whine of a system on over load.  The Andorian opened up a couple more panels exposing the cooling system and the hydrogen reservoir.  Quickly backing out, she pointed the areas to shoot and pulled her own disruptor to pump a few more shots into the necessary areas.  Only a few were necessary before Valyn yelled to run and the two took off into an alleyway between the tall buildings.  For whatever reason, the response by emergency services seemed to be really off as nobody was beaming in to take control of the situation, but that was a distant thought in the pair's mind as they made their way between the cavernous gaps.

The two made it to the first block, then stopped for a moment to check to see if anyone was coming, but the area was deserted and they quickly crossed the street.  The sound of sirens blaring hurried the pace of the two women as they looked for any sort of concealment.  Valyn spotted a gate that had been left open and ran through.  Her attempt to get through was stopped as the gate was stuck and she heaved again with a grunt of exertion, but it wouldn't budge.  Zark quickly joined and they pulled together.  The gate still refused to budge and they tried again.  With shriek of metal, the gate opened barely wide enough for them to fit through one at a time.   The siren blared past at high speed as the to hoped the authorities would just continue going.  They stopped and listened as they tried to control their breathing.  Andorian eyes met Romulan eyes and they quickly took off again as the siren started getting louder.  Entering a building, the two ran for a service entrance that was locked from the inside.  Valyn pulled her tricorder and punched several buttons quickly while Zark turned and put a hand on her dirsuptor just in case.  A clunking sound indicated the lock was bypassed and the door sprung open just a hair.  The Romulan pulled the door open and the two dashed inside, ignoring the hallway and descending further into the basement and into an area infested with pipes and other equipment that ran the water and power in the building.

The two continued running for a couple of minutes when their communicators crackled then came to life. "Valyn, Zark, Fisher here.  Keep going."  If the two women weren't breathing so hard they'd have sighed with relief at hearing the mission commander's voice.  "There's a door ahead of you about 100 meters away.  Take that into the hallway and down four flights.  There's a garage down there.  An unmarked vehicle will meet you.  Get in it."  Times were desperate otherwise the two would have considered asking what was going on, but they trusted Commander Fisher, so there wasn't much choice.  The two acknowledged and kept up their flight.  The instructions were pretty much followed to the letter and as they exited the stairwell, a black van was waiting with a Klingon standing outside holding the door open and waving the two in.  They almost ran back inside, but it was too late and they followed the instructions and jumped in.  The Klingon jumped in after and yelled for the driver to go as he slammed the door shut.  "Voreth, Imperial Intelligence." he introduced and both Zark and Valyn wondered if they were going to have to fight their way out of this vehicle, but the intel man quickly waylaid their fears.  "We're going to head out of range of the transport inhibitors and your Lieutenant Commander Fisher has permission to beam you out.  The Orion is already on the shuttle."  Zark laid her head back in relief.  "I wouldn't worry about the investigation, we've uhmmm influenced the choice of investigator and our man will make sure this looks like a gang shoot out between various factions of the Orion Syndicate.  Maybe even give is a chance to really clean the scum out."  The Klingon smiled at the prospect of breaking Syndicate heads and Zark was happy to let him fantasize.

It was about 30 minutes later when the hum and shimmer of a transporter beam whisked Valyn and Zark away, depositing them on the deck of the shuttlecraft, and greeted by the wry bearded face of Commander Fisher.  "Welcome back.  It's been a minute hasn't it?"  Tapping the comm button for the cockpit, the system beeped. "Dantius, they're on board get final clearance and let's get out here." Turning his gaze back on the two women, a look of relief was clear in his eyes. "Stow your gear and grab a drink.  When we break atmosphere, we'll have the hot wash of what went down.  No rest for the wicked people, there's still work to do."

~FIN~

---

This is the final post due to Bip going on leave