SD 53108.12, 0800 hours, February 8, 2376, Flight Briefing Room, Freeman's Island

LCdr. M'Rel has just finished the day's flight briefing when Capt. Samson strides into the Flight Briefing Room and assumes the podium. "Good morning, Ladies, Gentlemen and Nivran. Lt. Swann will be working a detached mission with Lt. Talbot and the USS Seine. The USS Thames will ferry Dr. Keh'lef and Emissary Klaang to the IKV BortaS crash site in veng BortaS—BortaS City. You will all be armed with Phasers Mk II, worn openly since Klingons expect all military personnel to be armed." She raise a hand in admonition, "Yes, technically Starfleet is not military, but these old-style Klingons don't see the difference as meaningful—to their eyes, Starfleet officers are warriors and warriors go armed. All weapons will, of course, remain on heavy stun cycle and used only as necessary." She taps her PADD and a standard map-hex appears on the wall-screen. It depicts a mediæval walled city with a river running past it.


"You will note that in the past century and a quarter The surviving crew of the BortaS have grown into a pocket kingdom consisting of the City and a network of towns and villages encompassing several thousand square kilometres. They have conquered a couple of nearby races whom they consider kuve, or servitor races. They do not use tlhIngan Hol, but an archaic dialect called thlIngan Hubbeq. Those who speak daHol will find it incomprehensible save for a few shared words, so please rely on you commbages. We want no miscommunications.

"Note in the centre of the city is the IKV BortaS' command boom, which managed to soft-land intact and more-or-less upright. Klingons being relatively good civil engineers, they managed to restore it to level and built a fortification around it." The scene changes to an ærial view of the command boom.


This message was last edited by the player at 02:15, Fri 25 May 2018.

In reply to Capt. Delilah Samson (msg # 1):

[OOC: When are we with respect to the previous thread? How much time has passed?]

In reply to Lt (jg) Jonathan Clare (msg # 2):

[OOC: It's the next morning.]

In reply to Capt. Delilah Samson (msg # 1):

Jon raises a hand. "Are the crew members of the Thames, then, just playing the part of an armed escort for the Emissary and Dr. Keh'lef? Do we have any other duties? Who is the senior commander for this mission?"

"A good question, Mr.Clare. The Thames will transport the Emissary and Dr. Keh'lef to the city, where Lts. Nivran and Merawdr will be detached to act as their bodyguard and staff officer while the rest of you will liaise with our embedded SI agent, Cdr. K'Pok. As cover, he will pose as a local warrior acting as your guide." She indicates the screen.


"The commander is a Klingon Starfleet Intelligence officer who has been surgically altered to resemble the so-called fusion Klingons. Please review your briefing materials on the relevant Klingon physiological history. K'Pok's team is in BortaS City undercover and has been here for about a month establishing their bona fides. The crew of the Lena, led by Cdr. M'Rel, will be at the BortaS' command boom as the public face of Starfleet, while the rest of you will assume the guise of Klingon traders from out of town. Your commbadges will be programmed to use the appropriate regional dialect and accent. For the next two days, you will undergo intensive training in acting the part. Your overall mission will be that of reconnaissance, feeling out the attitude of the populace to the Federation presence and the mission to find a cure for the Augment Virus and apply it to the city's inhabitants. Lt. Swann has been detached to Cdr. K'Pok's team and may be working with you at K'Pok's discretion." She signals to switch off the viewer and asks, "Are there any questions?"

In reply to Capt. Delilah Samson (msg # 5):

"Have we received any preliminary reports from Cdr. K'Pok?" asks Jon. "I am just wondering if we know how stable the current ... um, political situation is in BortaS City."

"Yes, Jon. To make a long story short, Cdr. K'Pok says that up 'til now, the political situation has been stable, but in the last few days there have been rumblings of discontent with the idea of the so-called Imperials interfering with the rightful destiny of the nuvpu', or the People. This rhetoric sounds suspiciously like that of the Imperial Klingon State, a small polity in the Triangle which sealed its borders a hundred and fifteen years ago to prevent the Empire's spread of the original cure to the Fusion Virus," she replies.

"We have, however, no indication that the IKS even knows that the BortaS Klingons even exist. This is one of the things he wants you to assist with.  Unfortunately, Argent, several of the inhabitants of the City are familiar with Cdr. M'Rel, otherwise we would have you pose as a kuve, or a member of a servitor species from elsewhere in the Sphere. Likewise, Nivran is sufficiently similar to Caitians that we feel it risky to use this stratagem with hir. Thus they will openy identify themselves as Starfleet officers. If only we had some of the new holographic disguises being developed at the Daystom Institute fo the Intel types, but they're a couple of years away from being deployed in the field."

In reply to Capt. Delilah Samson (msg # 7):

“Captain, if we are going to liaison with K’Pok, what is the premise of our visit.  Obviously the crew of the Lena are acting as the prime contact with the BortaS.  Are we supplying aid, are we investigating a location in space we didn’t expect to find Klingons.” Sloane asks.

As he starts flipping through the briefing material Sloane adds “And what is the primary purpose of our mission?”

"The mission, Zed, is to locate the origins of the "resistance" to the overall plan of curing the Augment Virus. It may be indigenous or it may be fomented by one of the radical Houses within the Empire. It may even be fomented by an outside polity—the least likely being the Imperial Klingon State." She sighs and continues.

"The problem is, we simply have no idea who's causing this sedition. If it is indeed indigenous, then the Klingons will deal with it internally under Section XVI of the Prime Directive: Regarding Cultural Non-intervention and the 22nd Clause of the Khitomer Accords as a Klingon colony. If, however, it is an outside polity, it falls under the Federation's sphere of responsibility."

In reply to Capt. Delilah Samson (msg # 9):

"I presume we start our training now, or at least as soon as this briefing is over," says Jon. "And that we are leaving in 2 days. Once  deployed, is there a deadline or time limit for us to discover the information that we are looking for? Or is it 'as long as it takes'?"

"I'd like to get started as soon as possible," Jon continues. "It sounds like we have a lot to learn!"

Jon is trying appear calm, but he is both excited and anxious about this mission. This is exactly the sort of on-the-ground adventure he's been dreaming of since he joined Starfleet (up until recently, most of his assignments have been tedious at best, and definitely not dangerous). Now that he is faced with it, however, he's feeling butterflies in his stomach.

In reply to Lt (jg) Jonathan Clare (msg # 10):

“Understood, so we will go on the premise the Prime Directive is in place until we have proof otherwise. Knowing the BortaS has been trapped here for some time what appearance of uniform and technology can we use.   I would think they were accept that the outside world advanced while they were trapped here. But would think for a comfort level we should use old style uniforms.” Sloane says.


“Like the Lt. once done here I’m eager to start the training.”

"There won't be any need for uniforms. Only the Hod's staff at the BortaS fortress wear the old Klingon uniforms—the SuvwI' wear armour based on that of Kahless's time, and the populace at large wear simpler mediæval clothing, albeit with a Klingon twist," replies Samson. "Cdr. K'Pok will provide clothing. You're all baseline humanoids, so the disguises will be very simple—mostly a skin dye and hair colour. As to Jon's question about mission duration, that'll be up to K'Pok."

She waves to M'Rel to turn the viewer off. "Your full briefing materials have been downloaded to your PADDs. You have the rest of the morning to go over them, and training starts at noon sharp in the main holodeck. I hope you like authentic Klingon food."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:37, Tue 12 June 2018.

09:00 hours, February 8, 2376.

The crew has three hours to give the briefing a quick once-over before their 12:00 hours meeting at the holodeck. The notes give a brief history of the IKS BortaS's history detailing its final mission as reconstructed from official Klingon records and files copied by M'Rel and company from the BortaS's main computer.

The Klingon D7 Battlecruiser BortaS is the very stuff of legends within the Klingon Empire. Lost over a century and a quarter ago, its name has lived on, lending itself to a popular series of vids and holonovels translated into Federation Standard English as "Battlecruiser Vengeance".

Under her commander, HoD Qor'tathl, the BortaS had a sterling record in war and cold war against both the United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Star Empire. During the Four Years' War, the BortaS fought in over a dozen battles and was responsible for the destruction of several Starfleet vessels.

In the year 2250, she undertook a secret mission to Romulus, where her crew stole the Tokath, a Vulcan artifact dating back to the time of Surak, before the Romulans left Vulcan. Romulan Birds of Prey pursued her, damaging her severely. To avoid capture or destruction by the Romulan task force, the BortaS entered Federation space and encountered the Dyson Sphere. When the Sphere's docking beams seized the ship, its warp core finally gave out and the surviving crew crowded into the command boom, which was drawn into the Sphere.

The BortaS's command boom was of standard Klingon design and thus could manoeuvre independantly, therefore the crew were able to land the boom relatively safely. Over the course of the next few decades, a fortification and then a city grew up about the boom. Today, the boom sits at the centre of BortaS City, surrounded by stone walls. Its systems are kept at standby, power provided by hydrogen cracked from local H2O sources. The engineering crew has maintained its numbers at a skeleton crew level using the tutorials and manuals in the ship's library computer. Although poorly trained by modern military standards, they have kept the ship's systems in reasonable working order for over 125 years, an astounding feat by any measure.

BortaS City is a thriving metropolis of several thousand Klingons, descendants of the original survivors. With little in the way of technology, they have created a society reminiscent of their primitive pre-space forebearers in the time of Kahless the Unforgettable. At the centre of the walled city is the central plaza and the BortaS's command boom, flanked by statues of Kahless and HoD Qor'tathl.

The city is surrounded by 15 metre tall stone walls with a number of guard towers spaced more-or-less evenly along them. The city is roughly round in plan, with radial avenues leading from the central plaza. Buildings are typically Klingon; blocky, slightly tapered masses of stone, wood and stucco with buttresses at the corners. External staircases lead to flat roofs on many of the residential buildings, where much of family life is conducted in the open air. Much of the city uses a relatively low level of technology, comparable to that of 14th century Europe on Earth.

The descendants of the surviving crew of the IKV BortaS are genetically modified Klingons from the mid 23rd century, victims of a runaway experiment which affected all Klingons in the Empire for over a century until a cure was found in the late 2260's. They are, therefore, identical to the smooth headed Klingons of the 2260's. and the modern Imperial Klingon State in the Triangle. They have, however, rejected the neo-fascist ideology espoused by Klingons during the Klingon/Federation Cold War, and have returned to an idealised version of their ancestors. They worship the classical Klingon gods and live in a manner they imagine their ancestors did—rather closer to the romantic ideals of Klingon honour than existed in ancient times or, for that matter, in modern times. Like Worf, they have been raised on stories and folklore, and have taken it to heart.

At noon, the crew proceeds to the main holodeck, where they are confronted by Worf, Klaang and Keh'lef in a dimly lit pseudo-mediæval hall with Klingon sculptures and banners around the walls.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:40, Thu 14 June 2018.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 13):

Sloane walks into the surroundings in the holo deck and looks around to see who is there and wait for the rest of his crew.  He had fully versed himself prior to the meeting on the briefing info and did preliminary review of Klingon history.

He looks over to everyone and says “Once everyone is here I’m ready to begin, looking forward to this mission.“

After his time in the Dominion war Zed is looking forward to something different to sink his teeth into.

Worf stands and says, "Lieutenant, you're the first to arrive. Please be seated while we wait for the others."

Emissary Klaang picks up the briefing, "Lt. Sloane, in the past eighty-one DIS, [a Klingon year (DIS) lasts 564 Klingon days, or 567.38 Earth days, so 81 DIS equals 126 Earth years] the crew of the may'Duj Bortas [Battlecruiser Vengeance] have had to adapt their cuisine to local flora and fauna. The command boom of the ship contained a thriving colony of food-grade gargh, which they have maintained and cultivated so that they have a sufficient supply of the serpent worms to meet their needs, but their small herd targhs did not thrive and became extinct, so they found a local beast which is similar to, but inferior to the original.

"Your Federation palates are not used to our more robust cuisine, so for the duration of your orientation training, you will be consuming the same victuals as the BortaSngan Is that understood? You will answer 'lu' qaH' [yes, sir]."

Worf looks up as the others arrive. "You are late," he barks. "Lt. Sloane has been here for three minutes and thirty seconds. Further instances will be rewarded with an oy-naq." He holds up a Klingon pain stick. "Tonight and for the remainder of your orientation, you will be receiving hypnogogic lessons in thlIngan Hubbeq as native speakers will note something amiss if you use the universal translators in your commbadges. Specifically, the training will teach you the dialect an accent from the HuSnang province from which you will ostensibly hail. This may result in a headache for a few days and analgesics are forbidden. From now on, you are Klingons! Do not forget that. Today, we will speak Federation Standard English, but starting tomorrow at 07:00 sharp, all communication will be in thlIngan Hubbeq."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:02, Sun 17 June 2018.

[A note on Klingon dates:

Klingon Calendar
The Klingon day "jaj" lasts 1.006 Earth days, or 24 hours, 8 minutes and 38 seconds. A Klingon year "DIS" lasts 564 Klingon days, or 567.3 8 Earth days. The Klingon year is divided into eleven months or "jar". A Klingon day "jaj" is specifically measured from dawn to dawn (rather than from midnight to midnight). "Day" referring to the period when it is light is a completely different Klingon word, "pem". The book also makes it quite clear that Klingon "days," "months" and "years" are not identical to the same periods on Earth. From this, it doesn't seem unreasonable to assume that "jaj" refers to the time it takes the Klingon homeworld KronoS to rotate once on its axis (a day), "jar" at least approximates the time it takes the Klingon moon Praxis to travel once around KronoS (a month; at least, it was before Praxis blew up) and "DIS" refers to the time KronoS takes to complete one orbit of its sun (a year). The Terran year 2373 corresponds to the Year of Kahless "qeylIS DIS" 999. The current Klingon DIS is qeylIS DIS 1001.

Month       Klingon Days Long
a'qeylIS    51
jo'voS      51
maqtaH      51
So'jen      51
nay'poQ     52
lo'bral     51
mer'utlhIj  51
batlh       52
tlha'laH    51
do'qat      51
QuSten      52


Thus, the BortaS was destroyed in the year qeylIS DIS 920.]

In reply to Ambassador Worf (msg # 15):

Jon colours noticeably at Worf's rebuke and is about to point out that just because Lt. Sloane was early does not make everybody else late. But when Worf holds up the pain stick, he wisely decides to hold his tongue. "lu' qaH" he says, standing at attention.

Jon is not looking forward to this orientation. He is not an adventurous eater and is certain that speaking Klingon is going to give him a sore throat. He feels about as far away from his specialty of Planetary Science as he can possibly get. He is wondering how he got into this situation when he remembers it his idea to transfer to Dyson Sphere duty in the first place.

Before he can stop himself, Jon audibly sighs, and then catches himself and tries to stand more at attention.

In reply to Lt (jg) Jonathan Clare (msg # 17):

“Ambassador I’m ready to be fully immersed into Klingon culture. Once everyone is here let’s get started.” Sloane says, watching Worf for posture, facial expression, voice variation and where emphasis are put.  Knowing every detail may be a tip to the population below that they are not real Klingons.

Sloane has decided at a minimum he needs to pick up the most basic langauage in the event the universal translators don’t work properly.

Worf smiles at the group. "Relax. We'll be starting with something which should be palatable. Luckily, Lt. Rai is not with us. As a strict vegan, she would be unable to partake of most Klingon foodstuffs. To begin with, we'll begin with bIreQtagh [bregit lung] with ghraPotlh sauce [grapok sauce is a thick brown molasses-like gravy], followed by stewed HIlm'kach [zilm'kach is a type of fruit], washed down with raktajino [Klingon coffee]. To be certain, we're using the equivalents eaten by the BortaSngan rather than the real thing."

When the food arrives, the bregit lung turns out not to be lungs at all, but a roasted, somewhat gamy meat. The grapok sauce is very spicy, like a sticky garlic/jalapeño sauce. The zilm'kach is a small fruit like an apricot with a large pit and is very sweet. Raktajino is of course familiar to the Starfleet officers, like a super-caffeinated espresso.

The rest of the afternoon is spent on lectures and role-playing life in the HuSnang province.

The evening meal is pach pIpyuS [pipius claw], which looks like a chicken foot, but is actually more like a crab's leg with a flavour almost but not quite completely unlike chicken. It is served with gla'DSt [gladst] a vegetable sort of like a dark purple aloe vera but tastes and smells like boiled cabbage, served with grapok sauce on the side. Again, it is served with raktajino and followed by stewed zilm'kach in a bloodwine syrup.

After dinner, the group is put through a two-hour session of Klingon calisthenics, at which the diminutive Talja excels. This, on top of the heavy meal (Klingons do not seem to have the concept of a light supper) make half of the group feel queasy. They are then given a further download of files to read before bedtime, when Dr. Adonidas applies a neural stimulator pad to each person's temples for the hypnogogic language lesson.

In the morning, the group wake up with what feels like a hangover—enen those who do not normally suffer from hangovers—and Tony feels like someone has taken a spiked mace to his sore ribs. Everyone except Talja is stiff and sore from the workout of the previous evening.

Breakfast is zilm'kach with coarse toasted jInjoq bread and more raktajino&Klingons seem to be caffeine junkies.

The morning is taken up by clothing fitting and instructions on how to apply the disguises, consisting mostly of skin and hair dyes. They are advised that the dyes are long-lasting unless removed with a specific cocktail of chemicals. This is followed by the same routine as the day before, as well as pop quizzes of bontaSngan history and customs. As Jon had predicted, speaking tlhIngan Hubbeq—the only language they are permitted to use, under penalty of the oy-naq, which feels like touching an electric fence—gives him a sore throat. Dr. KeH'lef recommends gargling with bloodwine, which numbs the pain.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:36, Fri 22 June 2018.

In reply to Ambassador Worf (msg # 19):

After their first exposure to Klingon foods, Jon is feeling somewhat relieved.

"I don't usually go for strange foods," he says to the others, "but this Klingon stuff, it’s not bad."

In fact, by the time they get to the morning's clothes fitting, Jon is beginning to enjoy himself. It's hard work, yes, but it is interesting, and being wired on caffeine is keeping him alert. The clothes fitting reminds him of the times he'd play dress up with his brother and sister as a kid. In the back of his mind there is a niggling feeling that he is not taking this as seriously as he should, but a few sips and a gargle of blood wine pushes those thoughts away.

After the clothes fitting he barks out "I'm hungry! What's for lunch?" in his best tlhIngan Hubbeq. His dialect is not perfect but is coming along.

SD 53125.28, 0700 hours, February 10, 2376, Main Holodeck, Freeman's Island

The second and final full day of mission training dawns, and everyone has adjusted to the hypnogogic training, so none of them have headaches. Everyone arrives a few minutes early to avoid another taste of the oy-naq.

After breakfast, which consists of a fried greenish lizard egg with a side of zilm'kach segments and a mug of baHghol [bahgol, warm tea-like beverage with a spicy, earthy flavour], Worf starts the day with a round of calisthenics.

Next, the team undergoes a language exam which everyone passes with adequate scores. Worf is satisfied, though he remarks that "It is fortunate that inhabitants of the HuSnang province are uncommon as it is some 10,000 qelI'qams [kellicam, a Klingon unit of distance equal to approximate 2000 metres] distant. Lts. Sloane, Clare and Gröen, your accents are very good. Lt. Gazzo, you will need to watch your gutterals. Your Q sounds too much like q and you need to vocalise your gh further back in the throat. Otherwise, you can pass."

Tony, surprised that this shortcoming did not earn a touch of the pain stick, snaps "lu'qaH!", as there is no equivalent to thank you in any Klingon dialect.

The remainder of the day is taken up by a familiarisation with village life in HuSnang province. After a final meal of targh tIq [heart of targ, roasted animal heart on a bed of greens] washed down by mugs of a Klingon ale called warnogh [warnog] and finished by a toast to Kahless with Klingon bloodwine.

After being dismissed the team heads off to Sickbay for minor cosmetic surgery to apply various callouses and scars so that they look the part physically and have subcutaneous transponders implanted. That night they receive a last language session.

[Each character may now list Language: TlhIngan Hubbeq 2 on their character sheet]
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:41, Mon 25 June 2018.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 21):

[OC: I presume it is now the morning we leave on the mission, and there is a final briefing session.]

Jon awakes in the morning feeling really good about the mission. He has mastered the language and likes the food (at least what has been served so far). All his previous anxieties are gone, and he is looking forward to getting started.

"What's the timetable for today? I am ready to go!" he states as he enters the morning briefing session.

SD 53128.13, 0800 hours, February 11, 2376, Main Hanger Deck, Freeman's Island

The team meets up with Emissary Klaang, Dr. KeH'lef and Ambassador Worf.  Klaang and Worf are in full regalia, while Argent and Nivran are dressed in battledress and carry PEWS [Personal Energy Weapons Shields] and Type IIIA Compression Phaser rifles. Argent looks uncomfortable in the battledress, being a science officer. They both carry tricorders, a science model for Argent and a security model for Argent. Klaang and KeH'lef openly carry bat'leths and Worf carries his usual mek'leth.

The Thames lifts off, flanked by the USS Seine, under Lt. George Talbot. Without further ado, they head toward the BortaS's crash site and the city built up around it. Klaang and KeH'lef sit in the lounge behind the cockpit, going over the administrivia of the mission, while Worf is in the cockpit with Zed, Nivran and Argent, while Jon, Tony and Talja prepare their gear in the lower module.

After four hours, the Thames lands in a field outside the walls of BortaS City. A large unit of SuvwI' are awaiting them. Jon can see the sunlight glinting off their armour and weapons. The sight sends a chill up his spine until he realises it's an honour guard for the Emissary and the Federation Ambassador.


This message was last edited by the GM at 19:46, Thu 28 June 2018.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 24):

OOC I would assume we are in clothing similar to the BortaS survivors and similarly equipped with a conceal weapon. Do we have subcontinious transponders. Not sure if we have packs with hidden components or not.

Sloane is looking forward to the mission and tries to do 100% of his communication with the rest of his team in TlhIngan Hubbeq. Turning to them he says “This point forward only Klingon. Keep your eyes open, be aware of your surroundings at all times.”

[OOC: You are in BortaSngan garb and in full klingon makeup. As discussed, the makeup can only be removed with a solvent bath which will be administered on return to Freeman's Island. You all have dk'taghs with built-in Type I Phasers keyed to your DNA signature.]

Worf, Klaang, KeH'lef and the two feline Starfleet officers step out the hatch in the lower module. The undercover Starfleet officers remain on the upper level until the Klingon honour guard escort the diplomatic party through the city gates, then lift off vertically until they've cleared atmosphere. Zed sets the Thames's to station-keeping alongside the Seine. Lt. (jg) Sonam, a Vulcan microbiologist, beams over to monitor the undercover team's vital signs via the link in the subcutaneous transponders and await their beam-up signals, activated by firm fingertip pressure on the transponder injection site in the mastoid bone behind the right ear. Sonam can talk to the team through a tiny speaker in the transponder, but the team cannot transmit.

As the team materialises, Sonam says, "Com check, please." This is a prearranged signal intended to fool any listeners using the BortaS's communications array, which Nivran will acknowledge. It is also the signal for the team to press their implants in a final test. As they do so, Sonam replies, "Acknowledged, away team." If he hadn't received their signals, he would have only acknowledged Lt. Nivran.

Cdr. K'Pok steps forward and greets the team, "Welcome to veng BortaS [BortaS City], Lieutenants." He gestures to a female Klingon seated at a rough wooden table with a stein of warnog. "This is my XO, Cdr. Vaughn, cover named J'ovinn, daughter of Zessij. I assume you all have cover identities?"

[Zed and Jon, you can make up Klingon names for yourselves]
Talja replies, "Atsash of the House of Goral, Commander." and Tony says, "J'koq, son of Mraz, sir!"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:57, Tue 03 July 2018.

In reply to Ambassador Worf (msg # 26):

“VanolS, son of N’reB“ Zed replies watching to make sure everyone does the proper greetings.

“Are we expecting any major problems Cdr.K’Pok“ as he eyes up the warnog. Figuring he needs to be comfortable around them.

K'Pok replies, "Kai, [Good! in tlhIngan Hubbeq] Lt. Clare, your name?" he snaps impatiently.

Jon has flashbacks to Worf and the pain-stick. Cdr.Vaughn—J'ovinn— looks on impassively. Talja and Tony—Atsash and J'Koq— look at Jon expectantly,wondering what name he has chosen.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:43, Sun 08 July 2018.

In reply to Cdr. K'Pok (msg # 28):

"J'dik, son of Shacx, sir!" Jon snaps back, standing at attention. "We await your instructions!"

"Kai! Very good! Now, our company is complete and we may proceed. As you have been made aware,our mission is to ferret out the source of the resistance movement to the overarching project undertaken by both the Empire and the Federation to cure the BortaSngan of the effects of the Augment virus. Now,it may just be a case of stubborn racial pride or distrst of the Federation who were of course deadly enemies to the Empire eighty DIS ago,or it may be some form of outside interference by unknown entities," responds K'Pok.

"Now, be seated. We have much to go over. J'ovinn, you may begin."
Cdr. Vaughn stands and opens a cabinet on one wall, revealing a viewscreen. Something about the woman seems familiar to Jon and Zed. She touches a control pad and the screen lights up. "These are some persons of interest in veng bortaS," she begins without preamble. "First up, we have HoD tlhongzana [Captain Lord Klong], current hereditary captain of IKV bortaS and zan veng bortaS [lord], 36 years or 22 DIS of age; la' tlhreS [Cdr. Kresh], also 22 DIS old; and Dahar pIn'a' qolor [Dahar Master Qolor] - tactical officer from original BortaS, 93 DIS or 144 years old and now high priest of Q'naS'aqar [K'nash'akar—literally, The One Who Does Not Care, an alternate name for DurgaH (Durgath), the giver and taker of life, god of war]."


This message was last edited by the player at 04:15, Thu 12 July 2018.

In reply to Cdr. K'Pok (msg # 30):

Jon takes a long hard look at Cdr. Vaughn, trying to remember where he has seen her before.

"Are these persons of interest because of specific suspicious behaviour?" Asks Jon. "Or is it just because of their influential positions?"

"Mostly due to their positions, but none of them can be ruled out. Klingons are always interested in their own personal honour and prestige. Excepting the gods, of course, although the Dahar Master claims to speak for them," she comments wryly.

In reply to Cdr. Samantha Vaughn (msg # 32):

“Was there anything out of the ordinary in the rise to power of the Captain or Commander? Knowing how long the BortaS has been here they must be 2nd generation, possibly eldest of eldest of eldest of 3rd generation.   I would have thought the captain would have been older.“ As he looks around the room and also tries to place Cdr. Vaughn.

“Also is 93DIS long life or does it happen?“

"Doesn't seem to be anything odd, and as for Qolor's age, he's quite old—one hundred and forty-four standard years—but Klingons remain vital well into old age. For instance, Dahar Master Kor was one hundred DIS when he went to Sto-vo-kor, and only at the end did he go into a mental decline, but still died in battle against the Jem'Hadar," replies K'Pok. "He even gained General Martok's respect at the end.

"Dahar Master is the title given to the best Klingon warriors. These warriors are considered to have attained legendary status. Dahar Masters are respected by all, and the tales of their exploits are often repeated in stories, songs, and operas. Tactical officer Sogh [Lieutenant] Qolor was awarded the title of DaHar Master by HoD Qor'tathl, the original captain of the IKV BortaS after quelling a mutiny some years after the crash-landing. Qolor defeated the chief mutineer in single combat, armed with only a levek [Hubbeq for dk'tagh] against a bat'leth. Qolor had previously destroyed three Romulan Birds-of-Prey during their exfiltration from the Star Empire after seizing the Vulcan Tokath, so Qor'tathl already held him in high esteem.

"However, his title of DaHar Master is somewhat irregular, never having been ratified, so it is possible—repeat: only possible— that Qolor fears losing status. Alternatively, Klong may likewise fear loss of the absolute power he wields among the BortaSngan, or Kresh may be planning a takeover. We don't know. We'll be mingling among the city's populace to feel things out and if possible contact and infiltrate the conspiracy."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:04, Tue 07 Aug 2018.

In reply to Cdr. K'Pok (msg # 34):

"Are there any influential people among the general populace we should seek out?" Jon asks, looking for a place to start. "Somebody that we can, in our assumed positions, more easily come in contact with?"

K'Pok replies, "Well, zan [mister] J'dik, we have a meeting to go to this eventide at the Khest'sliv [Slow Death], a vis'lkah [grog] house in the lower quarter, where the komerex the'Durgath [Empire of the House of Durgath]—a fundamentalist sect of worship and a known resistance cell—meets.

"It's one reason I mentioned the Dahar Master, since he's high priest of one of Durgath's avatars."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:12, Sun 22 July 2018.

Cdr. Vaughn notes, "You're using an anomalous dialect, Lieutenants. TlhIngan Hubbeq is a modified version of Klingonaase [Klingonese], used in the IKS, which has been heavily influenced by tlhIngan Hol. It's not a real problem in the short run, since you're hicks from the sticks, but we'll run a refresher course of your hypnogogic training over the next two nights."

In reply to Cdr. Samantha Vaughn (msg # 37):

"Refresher course?!" Jon snaps out angrily. "We just finished our training. Why wasn't it done correctly the first time?"

Jon is wary of having to endure another round of hynogogic hangovers. He takes a deep breath to recenter himself.

"Does this also mean, sir," he adds more calmly, "that we won't be starting the core of our mission for another 2 nights?"

Vaughn rolls her eyes and snarls in English, "Some peckerhead at HQ fucked the dog. They ass-umed that the BortaSngan are physiologically identical to the citizens of the Imperial Klingon State, they must be culturally and linguistically identical as well. I smell Worf's hand in this—he's biologically Klingon, but was raised in the Federation. You'll note he has an idealised notion of bathl [honour], which is quite at odds to reality. He's only Ambassador because he put Martok in office and is bosom buddies with Kahless the clone. He was a bang-up Tactical Officer, but puts way too much faith in what Picard taught him about diplomacy. Bloody ivory tower dilettante!" she finishes, referring to Picard.

"G'daya [goddamn it!], Jo'vinn!" K'Pok snaps. "Klingonaase only! She's right, though. Some khestat [absolutely fucking worthless piece of shit] diplomat screwed up, but not fatally. You caught it in time, Jo'vinn. That's what counts. Since the War ended, everything's been totally shaken up. Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die... Tennyson should have been a Klingon," he muses.

"Still," interjects Vaughn, "We've got that gagny [damned] meeting tonight. We'll just have to hesta [do by force of will] on!"

She opens a chest against the wall and takes out a small case. Placing it on the table, she presses he left thumb against a concealed bioscan pad and the lid pops open, revealing a selection of cheap jewelry.

"Here, each of you take one of these. They're universal translators which will feed directly to your mastoid implants. We'd hoped not to have to use anything like this in case the resistance is receiving outside help with modern technology, but they've only got a range of less than a metre. They'll do until the refresher takes effect. You're all pretty smart, so you'll be able to pick up the local vocabulary on the fly—I hope. Wear them around your necks." She passes each officer a pendant.

A few hours later, more briefings on specific aspects of their mission completed, Cdr. K'Pok leads the team out into the agora, the central marketplace. There, they are assaulted almost physically, by unfamiliar scents and the babble of hundreds of vendors and customers. Armed and armoured guards lurk in the shadows, a visible presence to quell any disturbances. The clothing of passers-by is a riot of colour, almost psychedelic in its overall effect. In the central plaza, a pair of thieves stand in stocks, miserable not only from the public dishonour but from the odd piece of rotten fruit thrown by taunting onlookers.

As the daylight begins to fade due to the polarisation of the upper atmosphere, torches are lit along the winding streets of veng BortaS, lending a dim series of yellowish flickering light. The central Dyson star becomes as sallow as a full moon, bluish in colour against a sooty sky. The people in the agora carry on business just as if night had fallen on a planetary surface. Having grabbed the local version of street food at a stall.

"Come!" urges K'Pok, "We must hurry—it's just about time for the meeting." He leads the team down a dark alley-way to a nondescript door and raps three times. A sliding panel about the size of a small PADD opens, revealing a head silhouetted against a dim red light. K'Pok says conspiratorially, "The watchword is 'Kahlesste kaase' [Kahless's hand]," and the panel slides shut. The noise of a bolt being drawn presages the opening of the door.

A robed male Klingon ushers them in with a hushed "Kai kassai [Hail]," and the group enters a downward-sloping tunnel. An incense similar to Earth's dragon's blood resin, redolent of hot iron, fills their nostils. After about twenty metres, they come to an iron-bound door of dark weathered planks flanked by two torches and K'Pok knocks three times, then two ant three again. a bolt is drawn and the door opens on a scene out of Hieronymous Bosch. They are in a vast vaulted-arched chamber lit by torches and braziers in which the incense is burning. A few dozen Klingons of both genders mill about chatting quietly and reverently. In front of the small crowd is a low stone platform with long reddish tapestries displaying the Imperial trefoil in bright colours. The central disc is an ochre gold while the three points are black, red and green.

A deep voice rings out, "ChegHchu djajVam djajKak [It is a good day to die]!" and the trefoil on the tapestry splits in two revealing a tall, long-haired Klingon with light skin dressed in ceremonial robes. "I am the Durgathte kaase [Hand of Durgath]. Kai Durgath [Hail Durgath]!"

The assembled crowd raises their fists and shout, "Kai Durgath!"
This message was last edited by the player at 04:13, Mon 30 July 2018.

The Durgathte kaase throws a small pile of dark red crystals onto a brazier and a cloud of the 'aDanjI' incense rises into the air. "The Imperials wish to alter our genetic structure with a vaccine. We are Klingon! There is no reason to submit to this genetic engineering. We are Klingons! We worship the old gods. They are apostates, and we must return to Klinzhai—Qo'noS in their barbaric tongue—and bring the word of Durgath, the giver and taker of life and Cymele, goddess of the hearth; of Kar-tela, goddess of fate and Kohl, patron of medicine; of Tuq'mor, mother of all curses and of Consar, the muse of music! They say Kortar slew the old gods save for the Fek'lhr guardian of Grethor, the underworld. Blasphemy, I say!" he says, his deep voice rumbling in a crescendo which has the worshipers in this Klingon Mithraium yelling, "Kai kassai!" and waving their leveks [dk'taghs] in the air.

"They say Kahless the Unforgettable is back from Sto-vo-kor! We must reawaken the belief in the Klingon gods in his heart so that he may restore the true glory of the Empire! Like his namesake Kahless epetai-Riskadh, we must bind his hand to the tiller of the Komerex Klingon [Klingon Empire] so that he may guide it to its destiny! Kahlesste kaase! Kai kassai! Kai Kahless! So may it be!"

By the end of his speech, his face is red, sweat rolls down his brow and the crowd is going wild. "I am told there is peace with the Komerex Federazhon [Federation Empire]," he says, provoking a number of catcalls and the equivalent of booing. He raises his hand. "Enough!" he thunders. "The Federazhon has always been a brave and worthy adversary and will make an ally befitting the Empire! Together, we will resist the pathetic, mewling Romulans and crush them beneath our heel. We will defeat the Kinshaya demons! We will send them all to Kragyr [Hell] to be tormented by the Fek'lhr and his Jat'linn [spirits who torment the dishonoured dead] Kai! Kai kassai!"

The Durgathte kaase steps off the dais and strides to the centre of the vaulted cavern and approaches a cauldron of teaming mulled bloodwine and grabs a stein, plunging it into the fuming red liquid. "Kai kassai!" he growls and knock back the entire stein, bloodwine trickling down his goatee. "Drink, my brethren, drink!" he yells, tossing his stein into the crowd and passing others to the assembled, cheering Klingon men and women.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:35, Sun 05 Aug 2018.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 41):

Jon makes a show of cheering with the rest of the crowd, though privately he thinks he's been dropped into an insane asylum.

"I'm pretty sure we've found the nexus of the resistance!" he mutters quietly to Tony, who is standing next to him. "This 'Durgathte kaase', he must be some sort of spokesperson for that 150 year old priest. I wonder who is really running the show!"

Jon and Tony join the bloodwine throng. Jon would like to knock back his stein like all the others, but is not sure of his capacity.

Tony replies, "Gee, ya think? This Durgath is just another name for that One Who Doesn't Care character the old codger worships, after all." He drains his bloodwine and belches loudly.

Talja grimaces at the sour taste of the cheap bloodwine. "I'm not so sure, J'koq. He seems to actively want to rejoin the Empire so they can proselytise their religion. They just don't see why they should alter their phenotype. I get the impression the group we're looking for is more violently opposed to what they call Imperials."

Tony nudges Zed. "What do you think, Boss?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:00, Tue 07 Aug 2018.

In reply to Lt (jg) 'Fast Tony' Gazzo (msg # 43):

Jon is not convinced by Talja argument. "I think that impression is just a front to obscure a more violent undercurrent, Atsash. Hiding in plain sight, as it were. All we need to do is dig a bit deeper."

Jon takes another swig of bloodwine. "Bah! Maybe you are right!" he exclaims, laughing. "Any rebellion worth its salt would have better grog!"

A Klingon man with an ugly scar bisecting his face diagonally wanders up and says, "Kai thelerrin [young woman - equivalent to 'babe' when used colloquially]. New in town? I got something better than this gozhe [shit]! Got me some twelve DIS old dreton [a fermented fruit drink]. Want a slug? He pulls a flask from beneath his tunic.

Tony steps up and says, "The lady's with me!" firmly.

The lout, who seems to have already imbibed more than his share, replies with a sneer, "aack [an expression of disgust]<b>! And that concerns me how,chowIQpu' [an insulting epithet]? I'm taking to the thelerrin, kuveleta ["Servitor's half-child" A biting insult]."

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 45):

Jon, alarmed by the situation, steps in front of the drunken lout, blocking his view of Tony and Talja.

"You have some twelve DIS old dreton?!" he exclaims brightly. "That's amazing! Where did you get it?" Jon has no idea if distraction and diversion works on drunken Klingons, but he figures it is worth a shot.

The drunken Klingon snarls,"Oh, now the kuveleta's tokhe straav' ['willing slave' - a killing insult] speaks up! What idiot let these animals in here? Krilg epetai Dokor [epetai - a title of high social rank, a lord] was right. T'scha! [hell no!] This bunch of mewling cowards is going to roll over and let the Komerex Federazhon [Federation Empire] walk all over us and turn us into gutless straav' [slaves] like the khest'n [fucking] Imperials!

He reaches past Jon and grabs Talja roughly by the arm. "C'mon, little thelerrin, I'll show you what real Klingons are! We ain't gonna let no Federazhon-lovers tinker with our genes!"

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 47):

Jon, sensing that the drunken Klingon is off-balance as he reaches for Talja, steps to one side and grabs him by the arm, roughly pulling him in the direction he is leaning (being sure not to send him careening into Talja at the same time). As the Klingon stumbles past, Jon trips him up in hopes of sending him sprawling on the ground.

As Jon pulls the Klingon off balance, Talja pulls her arm free a spin-kicks him in the back of the head, sending him into the crowd, who are just now noticing the altercation. She picks up the flask and pulls out the stopper, pouring the sticky amber liquid on his head. As the surrounding Klingons break into cheers for her and jeers for her would-be molester, she steps over—well,actually on—his prone body towards her new admirers.

"Aydutywa [unwanted one]," she snarls in answer to his moans. "Kai J'dik! His attention was... unwanted." She bares her teeth menacingly.

The Durgathte kaase steps up and takes her by the shoulders and holds her at arm's length,, looking her up and down, finally making direct eye contact. "What is your name, thelerrin [using it in its literal sense, a younger female of a household]?" He asks.

"Atsash of the House of Goral, my lord," she says, meeting his gaze defiantly.

"Atsash, thelerrin of the House of Goral! Kai kassai! You are a true daughter of Cymele, goddess of the hearth and protector of women, consort of Durgath! I am Aron, the Hand of Durgath—and who are your stalwart companions?" he asks.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:42, Sat 01 Sept 2018.

In reply to Lt (jg) Talja Groen (msg # 49):

Jon waits for Tony to introduce himself, and then growls out "J'dik, son of Shacx! I found your speech inspiring!" Jon then adds, "If I may say so, not all did!" Jon waves dismissively at the figure on the ground.

Tony snaps to attention and says, "J'koq, son of Mraz, sir!", placing his right fist over his heart in an old-style Klingon salute.

"K'Pok, son of Morgh," replies the Commander. "And this," he says, gesturing at Zed, "is VanolS, son of N’reB.“ Commander Vaughn has disappeared into the crowd.

"Welcome to the komerex the'Durgath," says A'ron. "This," he says, kicking the unconscious drunk in the ribs hard enough to crack a few, "is unknown to me, save that he's been hanging around for the last two meetings. He talks big , but is no match for a true Klingon warrior woman." He grins broadly at Talja, who smiles demurely (for a Klingon, anyway).

"Come, you must join me in my chambers. I have some mulled warnog heating, or if you prefer, a pot of raktajino. I am curious about you—most of the rabble here come only for the free bloodwine, but you seem to fave fire in your guts! We need more like you in the komerex the'Durgath! This way..." He ushers the team onto the dais and through the door behind the tapestry. A murmur of puzzlement from the crowd follows them.

Aron leads them up a spiral staircase into a spacious circular room lit by oil lamps which lend a warm light to the scene. He removes the heavy ceremonial robe and hangs it on a stand in the centre, kicks off his boots and goes over to a samovar against the wall. Opening a cupboard, he takes out a collection of metal mugs of ancient Klingon design and turns the petcock on the samovar. A cloud of spicy steam rises from the stream of mulled warnog. He hands the mugs around and motions the five Starfleet officers to sit.

"So," he says, settling into a worn overstuffed leather armchair, "From whence do you come? I don't place your dialect and accent, though young Atsash is most pleasing to the eye."

K'Pok says, "My young friends here are travellers from the HuSnang province, many kellicamsdistant. Zan J'dik, why don't you tell the Durgathte kaase about yourselves?"

"Aron will do," insists the Durgathte kaase. "Please, young J'Dik, I am eager to hear of your journey."

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 52):

"There is not much to say, my lord," J'dik (Jon) says, not yet comfortable using Aron's familiar name. "I am a minor trader, as my father before me. It is an honourable life, and I am proud of my family! But something was missing, and I felt a pull towards BortaS City. I am on a quest, to find my true calling!

"My companions and I," J'dik gestures to the others, "have had adventures on our journey here. But, until tonight, I felt no fire in my heart."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:29, Sat 08 Sept 2018.

In reply to Lt (jg) Jonathan Clare (msg # 53):

Zed step forwards and to places his fist over his heart to salute Dargathte.   “We are more interested in you and your following. We have been looking forward to hearing your story .”

Aron says, "But I am interested in how you came to visit our meeting. We are, of course, eager for new members, but we must be cautious as HoD Klong does not approve of those who are skeptical of his great plan to 'cure' us and take his place on Klinzhai [the Klingonaase name for Qo'noS] as a sycophant to the High Council and their puppet Emperor, this clone of Kahless." He spits on the floor in disgust. "Still, we are interested in joining the Empire once more, but with our heads held high. We are Klingons. We will not be bred as pets. What say you?"

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 55):

"We hear you!" exclaims Jon. "Although our far-away families may appear humble and unsophisticated compared to those of veng BortaS, we are not! We proudly share a culture of honour that must not be simply cast aside. I admit some puzzlement as to why we should even seek to join the Empire, if they want to suffocate us and everything we are!"

"But of course we must rejoin the Empire! We are of the Empire! We are Klingons! No more, but certainly no less than they. But the Empire must be komerex [the structure which grows] or it becomes khesterex [the structure which dies]—there is nothing in between. As we rejoin the komerex, so too do we bring in new vitality! New ideas, new blood! I do not pretend to know whether the new alliance with the Komerex Federazhon is a good thing for the Empire or a bad thing—we were taught from birth that the Federazhon was a weak, effete khesterex but they stood toe to toe with the best the Komerex Klingon could offer, so they must have truly been komerex all along. We must stride boldly into the future with our eyes open and our heads held high! We must once again live under the naked stars as our ancestors did!" Aron's eyes seem to glow in the light of the oil lamps.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 57):

"Your vision of bringing new vitality to the Empire is inspiring," says Jon. This humble warrior just fears what will come if we find that the Empire is weak, is a Federazhon puppet, is a khesterex beyond repair!"

Jon pauses, then adds with a laugh "Forgive me, my lord, my questions and doubts! My heart is beating with such conflicting emotions that I fear it will burst in two!"

At about this point in time, a babble of voices can be heard from the lower level, followed by the noise of a small explosion. A smell of burning wood and an acrid smell begin to overpower the 'aDanjI' incense.

Tony yells, "That smells like..." and stops abruptly as he realises that there is no Klingon word in the language database for what he smells.

Aron finishes for Tony, "Ngat..." This is the tlhIngan Hol word for gunpowder—apparently one of the words the two dialects have in common. He reaches for an ornate bat'leth on the wall. "Arm yourselves," he commands. "We're under attack!"

Sonam's voice echoes through the team's mastoid implants, "Warning. There appears to be some form of disturbance in your vicin—"

His voice is abruptly cut off by Commander Vaughn's, "Dammit, Sonam, it's a full-on attack on the meeting! That asshole Groën kicked must've called in some backup when the komerex the'Durgath tossed him out on his flea-bitten ass. We have an honest to God riot situation ans they blew the door with some kind of petard." A gunshot sounds in the background and Vaughn's signal cuts off in the middle of a curse.

Sonam says, his voice impassive as only a Vulcan can be, "Scanning... Cdr. Vaughn has been hit. She is unconscious but stable. Cdr. K'Pok, do you require extraction?"

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 59):

[OOC What weapons do we have available to us? Do we even have any energy weapons, while undercover like this?]

[OOC: You have a levek (Klingonaase for Dk'Tagh) with a Type I phaser (Cricket) built into the hilt, currently set on Heavy stun.]

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 61):

[OOC I take it that using the cricket will blow our cover]

Jon instinctively pulls out his levek, and then belatedly remembers he has almost no experience in edged weapon combat. He snarls audibly as this realization hits him.

Aron hears Jon's snarl and takes it as a sign of J'dik's anticipation of battle. "Kai J'dik, embrace your aetheln [a Klingon's destiny in life]!" he shouts as he brandishes his bat'leth.

A loud thumping on the door to the chamber begins, as from a battering ram. after a half dozen impacts, the door gives way and a pair of huge, heavily built Klingons muscle their way into the room carrying mek'leths and leveks. The brazier is knocked over spilling hot coals and crystals of 'aDanjI' incense onto the thick carpet, where they ignite. Within moments, a blinding pall of smoke fills the air, causing most present to cough. K'Pok pulls a mek'leth of his own from a back-scabbard beneath his jacket and attacks the intruders with a snarl, while Talja and Tony join in the brawl with their leveks. Tony in particular show a measure of skill with the blade, courtesy of a life on the streets in a gangland neighbourhood on Iotia.

In reply to Cdr. Samantha Vaughn (msg # 39):

OOC: I promise, I promise, I promise to post more regularly.  Now reading and catching up.

In reply to Lt Zedrick Sloane (msg # 64):

Zed realizes to that he must join in and like everyone else but Tony on the away team has no real skill with the leveks.   He keeps in the back of his mind that he has to access who is attacking as well. Knowing other teams are working with other surviving families of the Bortas that may have other interests from Aron’s following.

He shouts out to the away team hoping they understand his message.  “Be sure to access your appointment before attacking.”

Zed looks around and tries to determine number of attackers, what weapons they have, what the threat is to the away team.  He does want to blow their cover, but in turn he needs to keep his crew safe.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 63):

Jon hangs back momentarily, trying to learn from Tony and deciding which of the attacking Klingons looks easiest to handle. Ignoring Sloane, who is yelling something incomprehensible about appointments, Jon chooses his target: an attacker who looks younger and less inexperienced than the others.

In engaging his chosen opponent, Jon is relying more on his unarmed combat skills than his levek. His intent is to disarm or disable, not kill.

[OOC: The Type 1 phasers in the leveks issued to the team are Starfleet Intelligence specials specifically tuned so that the sound pitch is high enough to be only audible to Andorians and Caitians, and the light the beam gives off is very dim—invisible by oil lamps or torchlight.]

Jon is attacked by a huge brute of a Klingon (picture Andre the Giant) with a huge club. As the giant raises the club over his head, Jon punches him in the solar plexus, following it up with a kick to the groin (Kickboxing 2)—not a particularly sporting move but an effective one—and the Klingon drops to his knees clutching his groin and gasping for breath. a kick to the face renders him hors de combat.

Zed takes a graze to his shoulder with a mek'leth, barely scratching the skin but opening up the top of his shirt à la Kirk and he grabs the attacker's arm and pulls him off balance, dropping his levek in the process. He dispatches the Klingon with a double-handed chop to the neck. He hears a muffled crack as the neck breaks under the blow and the body tumbles at his feet.

Talja is knocked down but appears uninjured. Her assailant is the idiot who'd tried to manhandle her at the meeting, a large bruise showing on his face. Tony, who has picked up a mek'leth from a defeated Klingon, blurts out "Talja!" and brings the mek'leth down on the jerk's back in a welter of blood.

Aron beheads his opponent with his bat'leth, snarling, "Today is a good day to kill!", while K'Pok grabs a spear and plunges through the door.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 67):

Zed looks around the room to make sure all the attackers are accounted for.  If any are not being dealt with he will determine the best way to attack them.  If they are all being dealt with he will turn and follow K’Pok through the door with the levek ready.

Yelling as he’s going “We need survivors to integrate.“ trying to put a Klingon emphasis on it, hoping his crew will make sure there is no unnecessary deaths.

[OOC: Wow, we passed 2000 posts! This'll be post 2004.]

All the attackers are engaged. Zed can hear the sounds of combat below and K'Pok hurling curses at the enemy. As Zed makes his way down the spiral staircase, he enters the chapel cavern through the heavy tapestry. Bodies lie strewn about the floor beneath a churning mass of struggling Klingons. Blades crash and blood flows. The noise from the conflict and the sounds of the woubded assails Zed's ears. The smell of the incense, gunpowder, sweat and blood mixes with the stench of sliced-open bowels. There is a blinding flash and a deafening report as one of the invaders spots Zed fling back the tapestry, and a lead projectile sends splinters of stone into Zed's face as it misses him by a handspan.

Meanwhile, in Aron's sanctum, Jon stands over his opponent facing Aron, as Tony helps Talja to her feet. All the intruders are dead or unconscious on the floor. Aron yells, "After K'Pok and VanolS. Do you want to live forever?"

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 69):

Jon, hearing the sounds of gunfire below, hurls himself down the stairs into the room below. He tries to spot Zed in the confused mass of bodies.

In reply to Lt (jg) Jonathan Clare (msg # 70):

Knowing the tapestry will not provide any protection Zed quickly looks for a spot to dive for cover in the chapel before firing back.  Zed blinks several times to clear his eyes before aiming and firing at his attacker.

Jon actually collides with Zed, who is recoiling from the near miss shot. They spot K'Pok in the melée, spear gripped in both hands as he parries a bat'leth. Aron storms past them into the writhing mass of bodies, swing his bat'leth. Tony and Talja join them immediately after.

In the dim, flickering light of the torches and braziers, vision is mostly occluded by the smoke from the incense and the explosive devices and firearms. Tony takes advantage of this to use the Type ! phaser in the hilt of his levek The Klingon who'd shot at Zed falls nerveless at the periphery of the melée. Zed, doing the same, finds that his phaser does not fire. Examining his levek, he discovers that he'd picked up the wrong one upstairs and this is just a knife.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:34, Wed 31 Oct 2018.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 72):

Jon notices the problem Zed is having with his levek. He surreptitiously uses his own phaser to take down the Klingon Zed was aiming for. Under cover of the surrounding commotion, he says quietly to Zed "Sir, I think our cover is going to be blown real soon! We should get out of here."

OOC: are the modified levek based on Klingon or Federation energy weapons. I’m trying to determine which way to handle our potential blown cover. Can I still spin it that we are current Klingons that support their cause or not?  That will determine if we leave or not.

[OOC: The circuitry is modern Federation tech.]

Zed recalls dropping the levek upstairs when his shoulder was grazed. He'd picked up the levek he currently holds upstairs, thus meaning that his is still up there with the bodies of the intruders. The Thames crew is standing in the doorway to the spiral staircase, so nobody has gone up past them. The only problem is if any of the Klingon intruders upstairs are still alive and pick it up. Even so, the trigger on the cricket is concealed and will only be discovered by accident should it be handled by a BortaSngan.

The intruders are losing the pitched battle with the loss of their handgun user, that particular Klingon being the one Jon just stunned, and they're beginning to withdraw. The tapestries hanging on the walls have caught fire and some of the surviving attendees are using the kegs of bloodwine to extinguish the flames, adding to the stench in the chamber. J'ovinn (Cdr Vaughn) is nowhere to be seen, and K'Pok lies among the wounded on the floor. A'ron kneels over him, calling for a healer.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 75):

"You may have missed it in the excitement, sir" Jon mutters quietly to Zed, "but Tony called Talja by name during the attacked. We may be in for some awkward questions."

[OOC: I just realized that Jon has no first aid skill. That seems unlikely. Did I miss something when rolling up the character?]
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 21:30, Sun 04 Nov 2018.

"Shit!" says Tony, "Sorry. I fucked up."

Talja, meanwhile, hurries to K'Pok at A'ron's call for a healer. She places a firm hand on K'Pok's chest as he coughs up blood. "Yjuk [damn]!" she curses. "J'koq, I need some help! He's got a sucking chest wound."

A'ron watches with approval as Talja works on K'Pok. "You are a nada [battle surgeon] Atsash?" he asks.

"No," she replies, "but my mother was the local healer in my village and a devotee of Kohl [Klingon god of medicine] as well. I learned a few things from her."

Tony hands her his belt and his wadded up leather vest to bind K'Pok's chest. "I'll get a piece of tapestry for a bandage," he says and hurries to an area of wall hangings that is not in flames.

Talja says without looking up, "A'ron, get me some bloodwine to cleanse the wound. And we need to get him to fresh air!"

Sonam's voice echoes over the team's mastoid implants, "Cdr. K'pok's life signs are thready. Cdr. Vaughn's still unconscious, but her tracking signal is moving. There are several Klingon and two Vulcanoid lifesigns in her general vicinity. Do you require beam-out?"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:29, Mon 05 Nov 2018.

In reply to Lt (jg) 'Fast Tony' Gazzo (msg # 77):

Jon puts his hand on Zed's shoulder. "Sir, they've taken J'ovinn! Shall I pursue her?"

In reply to Lt (jg) Jonathan Clare (msg # 78):

“Yes go after J’ovinn, I will be right behind after I get another Levek.”

He knells down beside Talja, and whispers “Give me your levek I dropped mine,  I will help go after J’ovinn and you beam out with Cdr K’Pol and Cdr. Vaughn

Shutting towards Tony I say, “Once you have those bandages taken care off follow me.”

Once I get Talja levek I will go after Jon and J’ovinn.  Once out of easy earshot I then respond to Sonam, “Talja will let you know when ready to beam K’Pol, Vaughn and Talja.”

"Sorry, sir, got both hands busy with saving the commander's life. If you don't mind. Sir!" She snaps at Zed. K'Pok seems to have lapsed into unconsciousness, the only sign of life being his coughing up blood.

Tiny, returning with the wine-soaked tapestry, asks, "Where's yours, Vanols?"

Talja takes the cloth from Tony and draws her levek. Before passing it to Zed, however, she uses it to cut the heavy brocade into strips. She rolls one strip into a rod ans uses it to plug the hole in K'pok's chest. He then adds a generous padding of cloth before wrapping K'pok's chest. A'ron arrives with a cup of bloodwine, which uses to wipe the blood from K'pok's face and beard.

In reply to Lt (jg) Talja Groen (msg # 80):

[OOC: Can anybody on the away team talk to Sonam? I thought the communication was only 1-way]

Jon races out, after Vaughn. He looks for clues as to which direction she has been taken.

[OOC: Expanding on Msg #26 on the second page of this thread, you can communicate by pressing a finger firmly on the implant site in the mastoid process behind your right ear. You've been given a set of prearranged code signals for various situations. They are basically binary four-bit codes where a long pressure is a 1 and a short tap is a 0. For instance, if you have time, you can signal for a text message and then tap out a binay text message - time consuming and requires concentration, but it can be done. Messages of more than a few code groups are discouraged because of the risk of detection - remember, there may be external parties interested, as well as the possibility of the BortaS still having active communications equipment]

As he hurries down the access tunnel, there are signs of a large group of people's passage, including blood on the floor. Jon taps out the code for directions? on his implant. Sonam asks, "I assume you require directions to Cdr Vaughn's location. Tap twice for no, otherwise go straight ahead for two block upon exiting the tunnel. I will track you and provide updates as you proceed. I suggest you wait for Lt. Sloane."

[OOC: Milestone! We just hit 2018 messages as of this post!]

Sonam's voice reports, "Attention away team: Cdr K'pok's condition is critical. Get him as quickly as possible to a private area and signal clear for transport to the Thames. Cdr Vaughn' position is now 300 metres from the entrance to the tunnel. Lts Sloane and Gazzo should accompany Lt Clare while Lt Groën beams up with Cdr K'pok."
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:48, Tue 06 Nov 2018.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 83):

Jon runs out the tunnel and down the dark alley in the direction Sonam indicated. He stops when the alley reaches the street, takes a quick look around, and then turns to see if Zed is following.

In reply to Lt (jg) Jonathan Clare (msg # 84):

Once Zed catches up to Jon he asks “Did you see which way they went.” As he does a quick survey of the street.  Keeping an eye open for people who may have just been distributed by someone rushing by.

Sonam announces over the team's mastoid implants, "Lts Groën and Gazzo have returned to the Thames with Cdr K'pok. Lt. Groën has placed Cdr K'Pok in stasis. I have requested a medical officer to rendezvous with the Thames. Lt. Sloane, Lt. Gazzo has informed me of the loss of your weapon. I have done a tight scan of the location and located it. It is in the middle of a burning building, so I have engaged the destruct circuit for the phaser circuitry. Do you wish them to return? Tap one for yes, twice for no."

Behind Zed and Jon, a commotion is breaking out as someone had raised a fire alarm and a bucket brigade is forming to put out the fire which, as can be inferred from Sonam's message, has gotten out of control.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 86):

"Sonam said 2 blocks straight ahead from the tunnel exit," Jon tells Zed.

Jon leaves Zed to answer Sonam's queries and rushes in the direction that Sonam indicated, all the while looking for signs of Vaughn's or her captors.

In reply to Lt (jg) Jonathan Clare (msg # 87):

Zed quickly taps once for yes and follows after Jon.

Once he catches up he says “The fire will keep everyone somewhat distracted but let’s try not to draw attention.  Support should be here once they can get back .”

Zed keeps scanning for any signs of J’vonah or her captors.

Sonam replies, "Energising." Moments later, Talja and Tony emerge from the entrance to the tunnel.

"Hey, Boss, we got the commander squared away in stasis. Talja thinks he'll make it."

"Ja. It's a simple procedure," agrees Talja. "He'll be OK once Dr. Adonidas fixes him up. I am just glad I got to him in time. Even with the brak'lul, it would be touch and go with a wound of that type. Sonam gave me this..." She holds up a flashy Klingon brooch. "It's a tracker tuned in to Vaughn's implant. Press the central red gem firmly and one of the eight clear gems will glow yellow to indicate the direction." She passes the brooch to Zed.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 89):

Zed takes the brooch and points “This way, let’s catch up to them, and nobody else getting shot. Don’t care if it’s a good day to die” He says with a hardy laugh.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:51, Fri 16 Nov 2018.

"Right," says Tony, "let's go to the mattresses!" The Iotian idiom sounds odd in Klingonaase. He follows Zed's lead, Talja at his heels.

The team hurries for the two blocks along the road, a secondary artery and, as such, relatively straight. As they pause at a corner, Zed's brooch shows that Vaughn's signal comes from the left, the slow blinking of the gem indicating that they've decreased the mob's lead. Another block and the indicator shows her location in a squalid building on the right. The blinking now keeps time with Zed's trip-hammer pulse.

"Are they in this building?" asks Talja, a light sheen of sweat on her features. She is only lightly out of breath after running all out for the better half of a kilometre. She draws her levek, thumbing the built-in Phaser I into life.

Tony does likewise. "You spot any guards?" he mutters, a little more out-of-breath than Talja. Neither Zed nor Jon see any obvious guards. The street is dark and deserted, everyone having been attracted by the fire gong. The smell of woodsmoke wafts on the night breeze, carrrying a smell of roasting meat.

In reply to Lt (jg) 'Fast Tony' Gazzo (msg # 91):

Jon also draws his Levek and activates the built-in phaser. He quietly approaches the building, looking for the best way in, while also keeping an eye on any windows. The run down the street had helped focus his thoughts, though he is not sure if his heart is pounding because of the exertion or because of apprehension.

In reply to Lt (jg) Jonathan Clare (msg # 92):

“Keep your eyes open, they are in that building over there. Once we get in Tony and Talja go right Jon an I will go left. We know they have weapons so don’t put yourself in the open.”

After a quick glance to get acknowledgements he signals go.

OOC: since never mention I will assume I was never given a replacement levek with a hidden phaser built in.

[OOC: Back at the meeting hall, just after Talja finished using it to work on K'pok's bandages, she gave you hers. She got a new one on the Thames. If you want to switch weapons with her, you may, but as it stands you have a levek with built-in phaser. Sonam triggered the destruct in the one in A'Ron's sanctum.]

The door to the building is barred from the inside, but a phaser on narrow-beam severs the beam and the door opens. The hinges are well greased, so it's nearly soundless. Zed hears gutteral Klingonaase from a door a few metres on down the corridor. The door opens and a burly Klingon steps out. Zed's and Tony's stun beams hit him simultaneously and he falls to the floor without seeing the team. Luckily, the noise of his fall is masked by the sound of the door slamming behind him and the voices continue uninterrupted.

Talja whispers, "It seems left and right are not options, sir."

Tony mutters under his breath, "Best laid plans..."

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 94):

Zed grins at Taja and Tony’s remarks and signals to take up positions on either side of the door and listens to see how many distinct voices they hear from the other side of the door with phaser ready in case someone opens the door.

Once having a good feel of the number of Klingons in the room he signals go.

Though the door, Zed hears the following conversation:

Voice #1 (female): "So, can you revive her? I need to question her."

Voice #2 (male): "She should be coming to soon. She only caught a glancing blow to her head."

Voice #3 (male, somewhat oily): "So, do you think she's a spy from the citadel?"

#2: "It doesn't matter. Let's just kill her, whoever she is!"

#1: "No! Not until we've wrung her dry. Afterwards, you may do what you wish with what's left of her."

#3: "But, my lady, our superiors may want to do a more thorough interrogation."

#2: (almost inaubible) "Eneh hwau' kllhwnia na imirrhlhhse"

This last is not in any dialect of Klingon. The translator provided to the team by Vaughn and K'pok is a simple model with only a Klingonaase database.

From the above exchange, it is obvious that there are at least three persons in the room in addition to Cdr Vaughn. Vaughn is apparently still unconscious but alive.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 97):

“Tony you go first and take the right person, Talja middle, Jon left, I will take anyone else. Quick and clean. On 3.” Zed signals and whispers and looks to get confirmation from everyone.

Once he sees confirmation he hands signals 1, 2, 3....
This message was last edited by the player at 15:46, Mon 26 Nov 2018.

As Zed signals three, Tony kicks the door open and leaps through. The sound of the door slamming against the wall, the three Klingons inside dive out of the way, or try to, anyway. Tony's shot and Jon's each take out a male Klingon, but the female standing over Vaughn dives under the table and Talja misses.. The Klingon woman pops up with an old-style disruptor and takes out Tony and Talja, narrowly missing Jon and Zed. Tony and Talja collapse to the floor. The Klingon shifts her grip on her disruptor and fires at Zed, again missing him. She hits the door and has obviously changed the setting for a metre-wide hole appears in the centre of the door with a loud zap.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:16, Sat 15 Dec 2018.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 99):

As the second shot missed Zed, Jon takes a shot back.

She ducks back down behind the table, and Jon's phaser blast hits the table with Vaughn on it. Being unconscious already, Vaughn does not show any reaction to being stunned, but Jon suspects that, while it probably didn't do any harm, it definitely didn't do her any good either. Jon and Zed hear the Klingon woman muttering something and a low hum fills the room. The hair on Jon and Zed's arms stands up from a static charge and nothing more is heard from the woman behind the table.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:10, Thu 29 Nov 2018.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 101):

Hoping they had a preset signal to tap to request a scan he taps that on the comm device.  Using the table for cover Zed works his way around to see what happened to the Klingon suspecting that she may have beamed. While working around he says to Jon “Make sure those two are out and then look after the rest. Get everyone whose life in danger out before anyone else shows up, otherwise try to revive them.”

Zed taps out the preset code for scan area, and Sonam replies, "Acknowledged. Scanning..." As he'd suspected, the Klingon woman is nowhere to be seen. Talja and Tony are indeed stunned and can be expected to wake up in about a quarter-hour. The two other Klingons are also stunned, but since Klingons are less affected by stun settings they may be awake in as little as five minutes.

Sonam reports back, "There are residual signs of a transporter beam. I am unable to pinpoint the source of the transporter. Cdr Vaughn is in need of surgical intervention to relieve cranial pressure from a depressed skull fracture. Recommend you prepare her for immediate transport. There are three unconscious Klingons present as well as Lts Gröen and Gazzo, all showing signs of having been stunned.  Suggest you all return to the Thames. If you'll pardon my presumption, since the Klingons are undoubtedly aware of your presence, this would be an excellent opportunity to acquire prisoners, sir."

Suddenly, just as Jon and Zed hear a noise in the corridor through the open door, Sonam says, "Sirs, the Klingon outside the chamber is reviving."

The Klingon in the corridor mutters, "Khest! [profanity, equivalent to shit! or fuck!]" and makes a shuffling sound as he gets to his feet.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 104):

"Perhaps it is time to return to the Thames with our prisoners, sir" says Jon to Zed as he hurries out into the corridor and uses his phaser to stun the Klingon again.

As Jon steps out into the corridor, the Klingon leaps at him, a knife in his hand. John fires the phaser mounted in his levek, stunning the Klingon for a second time in only a few minutes. He crashes into Jon, unconscious. Jon feels a burning pain in his free forearm. He looks down at the knife sticking out of his arm in shock and feels his throat start to tighten. He attempts to call out to Zed for help, but he can only manage a croaking noise. His vision dims and a high-pitched ringing fills his suddenly aching head as he collapses to the floor atop the stunned Klingon.

Zed hears the strangled croak from Jon and sees him fall forward. Zed is now all alone with three unconscious Klingons and four unconscious comrades, two seemingly in dire need of medical attention. It takes all his command leadership training to keep from panicking.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:28, Sat 23 Feb 2019.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 106):

Zed taps acknowledgement to beam everyone in the vicinity out.   One extra Klingon prisoner is not going to make the difference.   And in the event there is a delay he gets his levek ready to deal with the Klingon in the corridor.  Once he has the shoot he will shot the Klingon that stabbed Jon.

Zed can't get a free shot at the Klingon since he's lying under Jon, unconscious. Sonam energises the transporter and the room disappears in a sparkling haze...

...and the Thames's cockpit materialises around Zed, Jon and Vaughn. The Klingons are nowhere in sight. Sonam is on the hailing frequencies saying, "...der Talbot, prepare to receive three Klingon prisoners. A medical team is urgently required. Lt Sloane will brief you presently. Sonam out," he concludes and turns to Zed. "Welcome aboard, sir. Please clear the transporter pads."

Once Zed is clear, Sonam activates the transporter, saying as he does so, "Sorry sir, but Cdr K'Pok is in our stasis chamber awaiting medical aide. I judged that Cdr Vaughn is in immediate need of care and so, it seems, is Lt Clare."

Behind Zed, the transporter hums and two medics sparkle into existence. They politely but firmly push Zed aside and begin bombarding him with questions. "What happened to Lt Sloane? Ens Sonam briefed us briefly on Cdr Vaughn." One of them, a male Deltan Removes the knife from Jon's arm and begins scanning the blade. Blood spurts from the grotesquely swollen limb, now the size of his thigh, and the Deltan swears and drops the knife and tricorder, pulling out a protoplaser to seal the cut and snapping to Zed, "My medkit, quickly. Give me a hypospray with 20cc of lectrazine, stat!"

Meanwhile, the other medic, a female Vulcan, is applying a pair of cortical stimulators to Vaughn's temples.

[OOC: Lectrazine is used to stabilize the cardiac and renal systems of humanoids.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:34, Sat 08 Dec 2018.

While the med team works on Jon and Vaughn, Sonam administers a stimulant to Talja and Tony to revive them from the stun effects.  He runs a tricorder over their bodies and turns to Zed.

"Lt Sloane, the weapon used on these officers was not a century-old Klingon disruptor which, as you know, did not have a stun function. It was a disruptor, though. I'll have to run some simulations to determine more," he says.

"Seine to Thames, come in Lt Sloane," announces Zed's communicator. "Zed, George Talbot here. The captain's aborted your undercover mission, She's recalling the Thames back to the new station so your wounded can be treated and you can be debriefed. Proceed there at Warp One."

Meanwhile, the medical officers have managed to revive Jon. He has the mother of all headaches and his arm is completely numb. looking down, he sees that the medics have placed a restraint around the whole arm from shoulder to wrist, and his hand is still swollen and red. "Careful," says the Deltan doctor, "I've administered a muscle relaxant and a pain blocker to your arm, so you won't be able to feel it or move it for a while. The knife the Klingon used on you was a qut'luch, an assassin's dagger, and it was dosed with poison. You'll be out of commission for treatment and observation."

Jon struggles to process the information from the unfamiliar Vulcan in medical blues.

"Sir," asks Sonam of Zed, "Would you like me to take the helm or would you prefer to do so?"

In reply to LCdr. George Talbot (msg # 109):

Touching the comm panel by the transporter, “On our way back right away.”

OOC: until I get a comm badge I don’t think I have one since we were undercover concerned about our technology being detected.

He grabs his comm  badge and turns to whoever is on the transporters.  “Are the prisoners secure?”

Walking to fligh5 control Zed repliesto Sonam, “I’ll take helm, everyone prepare for warp.”As he quickly types in the coordinates and hits engage.

Once engaged, Talbot, “Once you can identify the type of disruptor let me know, we need to know what we are up against and make sure the rest of the teams are notified.”

About five minutes later, the Thames and the Seine arrive at Dyson Station. Jon, Vaughn and K'Pok are transported directly to the sickbay, while Zed, Sonam, Talja and Tony beam to the transporter room, where Talbot, Samson, Dr. Adonidas, LCdr Glaucus and an unfamiliar male Human Lieutenant junior grade in Sciences blue are waiting. Samson introduces the junior officer as Lt (jg) William Xelox, a surname Tony recognises as Iotian. Xelox is of medium height and mass with a muscular look to him. He has light olive skin, not unlike that of Earth's Mediterranean area, with dark hair slicked back and a pencil mustache.

"Mr. Xelox is a sociologist attached to the new First Contacts department. He has some expertise as regards Klingons and is fluent in Klingonaase, so he'll be joining your mission for now," says Samson. Idly, Zed notices that she has trimmed her hair since he last saw her. "Before we continue, I'd like to reassure you that Lt Clare, Cdr K'Pok and Cdr Vaughn are all in stable condition and will survive their wounds."

Adonidas's commbadge chirps and a voice says tersely, "Dr. Adonidas to Sickbay, stat!" She leaves the room in a hurry without a word.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:42, Mon 10 Dec 2018.

Meanwhile, down in sickbay Jon swims slowly back to consciousness. The Deltan doctor flicks a light across each eye and says, "Welcome back, Lieutenant. You were dosed with a neurotoxin by your Klingon attacker. Luckily, his knife remained caught in your sleeve so we have a generous sample of the toxin and are currently analysing it. It is not like any Klingon poison in our databanks, so we are assuming that it in indigenous to the Sphere." A tone sounds from the console behind him and he turns to check the results. "Fascinating," he mutters, sounding almost like a Vulcan and taps his commbadge. "Dr. Adonidas to Sickbay, stat!" he snaps.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 112):

Jon does not like the sounds of what he hears. "What is the problem?" he tries to ask. In his groggy state, however, it probably comes out as an incoherent mumble. He can hardly believe he's been almost killed on his first major field assignment. My parents are going to be really upset!, Jon thinks irreverently.

Jon tries to focus on something pleasant. Images of Lintilla come to his mind, and he murmurs her name.

Dr. Adonidas breezes into the sickbay. "What's up, Dovan?" she asks the Deltan.

Dovan looks up from adjusting Jon's neural stimulator. "Good news and bad, Doctor. We've isolated the specific neurotoxin. That's the good..." he states.

Adonidas glares at him. "And the bad?" she snaps.

"It's noroxazine," he blurts out.

"Noroxazine? That's impossible! Klingons of that era didn't have noroxazine and we've no reason to believe it is available to anyone on the Sphere. Unless..." she trails off. She taps her commbadge and says, "Security, I'm reporting a case of noroxazine poisoning. Yes, that's right, noroxazine—in BortaS City. No I don't know where it came from! Adonidas out!"

She turns to Dovan. "I want a full blood exchange, Human O pos, RH negative, 5 litres with 5 more on standby!" As Dovan hustles to follow her instructions, she turns to Jon. "Lieutenant, you're a very lucky man. It looks like we caught it in time, so we're going to pull you through."

Two of the new officers, Lt Arthur Avalon and Lt (jg) Gwynneth Lance step into the examining room. They are the new Security Chief and his second in command. They both have tricorders out and phasers at their waists. Avalon spits out, "I've alerted the captain. What were the circumstances and timing of the exposure?"

As Dovan attaches IV tubes to both Jon's arms, Adonidas begins briefing the security officers. Dovan holds up a hypospray and says to Jon, "I'm going to put you out for the procedure." Before Jon has a chance to protest, the room darkens and fades away.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:50, Wed 12 Dec 2018.

Mere minutes after Adonidas abruptly departs, Samson's commbadge chirps. "Captain, Avalon here. CMO reports a case of noroxazine poisoning. I've ordered a security alert!"

"Thanks, Art. Keep me apprised," replies Samson. "George, you heard?"


"Yes Ma'am! I'm on it!" As Talbot leaves the briefing room, a low hooting can be heard in the corridor and a tall Tellarite in security gold strides in and passes a phaser to Samson, who presses the backing of the holster to her waistband.

Cdr Claucus asks, "What, if I may ask, is noroxazine?" anticipating the question on Zed's lips.

In reply to Capt. Delilah Samson (msg # 115):

“Yes Captain, what is nororaxin, do I need to be quarantined, who is infected from my team.” He asks quickly before Samson can even start answering the first question. As he steps away from everyone else in case he is infected.

"Noroxazine is a neurotoxin which was administered to Lt Clare by way of a Klingon qut'luch, an assassin's dagger. He's the only one affected. Groën and Gazzo were stunned with a disruptor. This is suspicious because century-old Klingon disruptors didn't have stun settings. Compound that with the fact that noroxazine is a poison favoured by the Tal Shiar and Romulan disruptors do have a stun setting and you can see that we have a serious problem, which is why we're now on security lockdown. Ambassador Worf, Emissary Klaang and Dr. KeH'lef's security detail—Lts Merawdyr and Nivran—have  been notified and are taking appropriate measures." Samson pauses, then continues, "When you were listening to the Klingons, what did you overhear?"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:50, Thu 13 Dec 2018.

In reply to Capt. Delilah Samson (msg # 117):

“One of the males was wandering if Cdr. Vaughan was a spy from the citadel.  They discussed if they should kill her, but one of the male Klingons mentioned to the female Klingon that their superiors may want to do a more thorough interrogation.   And then there was some Klingon or similar language our translators could not understand.” Zed replied.

“And not to over step my bounds, but if the Tal Shiar are involved we need to do something, we can’t let them interfere, we need to find out how they got on the sphere, and why they are here?” He adds

"We are doing something. The first order of things is to secure the situation. We're in the process of doing that. The next step is to collate everything we know. Think hard. Do you remember anything about what you heard—anything at all?" asks Samson.

Zed concentrates hard, but the only thing he can remember is something along the lines of "Any how kill-something na something-unintelligible," spat out with a bit of a hissing accent and trilling the last syllable.

Samson's commbadge chirps. "Cap'n, Adonidas here. We're doing a complete blood flush on Lt Clare. He should be OK. There was another poison on the blade—a more traditional Klingon poison. That's what caused his arm to swell so dramatically. If it wasn't for that, he may have died before he showed any symptoms from the noroxazine. Luckily, Dr. Dovan's Deltan empathy noted the atypical mental changes and ran a scan in time. Five minutes longer and we'd've lost him. He'll be up and around in a couple of hours, but he'll have a nasty scar from the tissue damage caused by the Klingon toxin. We can fix that later with outpatient surgery."

In reply to Capt. Delilah Samson (msg # 119):

“Thank you for the update doctor.”

Zed keeps trying to rack his brain. “Commander the last word is just bouncing around my brain.   It started with imer, amer, emer, something like that.  It didn’t make any sense.”, after a moment, “Maybe it is someone’s name.”
This message was last edited by the player at 21:41, Fri 14 Dec 2018.

"So, what we have is something that sounded vaguely like 'Any how kill-something na imer-something'—is that right?" asks Samson.

"Would that be 'Eneh hwau' kllhwnia na imirrhlhhse' by any chance?" asks Lt Xelox. "It's a particularly obscene Romulan insult."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:35, Sat 15 Dec 2018.

A couple of hours later, Jon wakes up. His arm aches abominally and he feel's like he's in an ice-bath. Looking down, he sees that not only is he in bed, but there are a number of heavy, soft blankets covering him. Dr. Adonidas leans over him and says, "Cold? That'll pass. You've got a pretty impressive scar on your arm, but we can fix that later. The important thing is to get you up and moving as soon as possible. You've had a close call." She steps over to the replicator and says, "250cc hot chocolate with whipped cream." There is a brief humming noise and she hands Jon a steaming mug. "Here, drink this. It'll help raise your body temperature."

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 122):

Jon takes the hot chocolate with shaking hands and takes a tentative sip. It tastes wonderful. He tries to piece together what happened, but everything after being stabbed by the Klingon is fuzzy.

"What happened?" he asks. "I  remember getting stabbed in the arm. But that shouldn't be serious! Why am I in bed? And why am I so cold?"

He looks around to see if any of his team are there. "What happened to Tony, Talja, and the others? Is everybody OK?" Jon asks urgently. He makes a weak attempt at getting out of bed.

Dr. Adonidas gently places a hand on his good arm. "Slowly," she cautions. "You've had major medical treatments, so you're going to feel weak for a while. We want you up and about as soon as you're ready, but pushing yourself beyond your limits will just make your recovery slower. You may feel a little dizzy when you get up, and if you feel any pain, tell me immediately. Don't try to tough it out." She hold up a heavy robe for him to wear. It has large sleeves so the dressing on his arm would fit through.

Jon stands unsteadily and the room swims before his eyes, but it settles down quickly with a shake of his head. His head pounds like that damned 21st century ApocRock one of the other officers on Freeman's Island is so fond of. Adonidas gives him a hypospray of analgesic that dulls the pounding. He suddenly feels ravenous and she directs him to the replicator.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:52, Mon 17 Dec 2018.

As Jon wolfs down some food, Dr. Adonidas brings him up to speed. "Lts Groën and Gazzo are fine—they were merely stunned. Lt Sloane is  unharmed and got you all out. We have three Klingons in custody and LCdr Talbot is interrogating them." This is the first time Jon has heard anything about Talbot being promoted. He suddenly notices a new half-pip on Adonidas's collar and realises that she, too, had been elevated in rank. This, along with Samson's promotion to captain and the unexpected expansion of the Dyson Base infrastructure so soon after the rebuilding from the Kapecki attack leads him to the conclusion that Starfleet is finally taking the Dyson Sphere Exploration Mission seriously.

"So, everywhere we look, we smell Romulans. It's a working hypothesis, but we shouldn't jump to conclusions." She looks down at her PADD and says, "Computer, I want the full records of the medical scans of Groën and Gazzo copied to my PADD. Authorisation Samson Sigma Six Three."

The computer replies, "Authorisation acknowledged, transferring files."

"A salient point is that when the BortaS crashed, it was fleeing the Romulans after stealing the tor Fal, a Vulcan artifact dating back to the time of Surak before the Romulans left Vulcan. The tor Fal was a psionic weapon used by the orthodox Vulcans against the Romulan faction. The Romulans captured it but were unable to use it against the Vulcan orthodoxy, so when they fled Vulcan they took it with them. It was kept in a museum on Romii until 2250 when the IKS BortaS captured it and fled, chased by the 5th Squadron. The tor Fal is akin to the Stone of Gol, which was sought by a Vulcan faction known as the Isolationist Movement six years ago. Unlike the Stone of Gol, which was a psionic resonator, the tor Fal seems, based on our scans after LCdr M'Rel's crew in turn stole it from the BortaS, to be a temporal displacer capable of sending objects to an undetermined set of space/time co-ordinates. Ensign T'Zill, a Vulcan science officer, broke into the lab and stole it, trying to flee in a Romulan Theta class runabout. M'Rel and the USS Lena retrieved it from her and destroyed the Romulan runabout, killing T'Zill, who was later determined to be a Romulan deep-cover agent. Her body was never found. Starfleet returned the tor Fal to the Vulcans, where it is being studied by Dr. Sormok, whom some of you may have met when he was here last month. It appears that Lt. Dul was may have been right—Romulans may well be at work in the Dyson Sphere, though she was completely off-base when she suspected Lt Kurasa," Samson grimaces at the unpleasant memory.

[OOC: Lts Dul and Kurasa are former player characters in this game. Their conflict is a large part of the earlier posts in the game.]
This message was last edited by the player at 05:26, Tue 18 Dec 2018.

In reply to Capt. Delilah Samson (msg # 126):

To post 121.

“Yes, Lt. Xelox, yes it sounded something like that.” Zed replies.

To post 126.

“Captain, if the Romulans are involved that changes a lot.   It looks like they have infiltrated the BortaS or at least subsections of their culture.  Is it possible that T’Zill survived or perhaps someone working close with her is here?   What else do we know about her?”
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:06, Tue 18 Dec 2018.

[OOC: Edited your post—Zed, being a Starfleet officer wouldn't have forgotten the boss's promotion...]

"Yes, as noted, we never found a body. That's the nature of destroying a starship. Of course she could have beamed out at the last moment, which is why the book is still open on the incident. Needless to say, in a combat situation, transporters may well be overlooked, even with a thorough review of the sensor records. This is of course why we don't have a location on the ship—presumably cloaked—which beamed out your Klingon—or Romulan—kidnapper," Samson closes the file on her PADD, then changes the subject.  "Nightingale, our EMH, has surgically relieved the pressure on Cdr Vaughn's brain, by the way. I've also received word that Lt Swann is back from her TDY [Temporary Duty Yonder, a temporary posting] and will be rejoining the Thames in the morning. Once she does, you'll all be joining Ambassador Worf's security detail at veng BortaS."

She stands and says, "Go get something to eat. I'm aware that by your body clocks it's past midnight even though it's just 20:00 hours here, so I figure you're all pretty hungry. Stop by Sickbay afterwards to get your disguises removed and check up on Jon. Dismissed."

[OOC: By the time that the meal and disguise removal is done, Jon will be up and around, so unless there is something you want to add, we'll pick it up at that point.]
This message was last edited by the player at 18:37, Tue 18 Dec 2018.

The team grabs a quick meal, but with all that's been going on they barely notice what they're eating and chow down while discussing all the latest events. That done, they head for the sickbay where the EMH Mk III, Nightingale (named after and bearing the likeness of the legendary nurse Florence Nightingale), removes their Klingon disguises, leaving the mastoid implants in place for the time being.


Once that is completed, Dr. Adonidas comes out and says, "Lt Clare is up and around. He's still a bit fatigued, so take it easy on him guys, eh?"

Jon comes out wearing a heavy bathrobe and thick felt slippers. He looks a bit drawn with dark circles beneath his eyes. His Klingon disguise has been removed, so his red hair and freckles  are plainly visible.

[OOC: Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years, guys. I'm expecting everyone to be busy for the next few days, so I'll see you all after Christmas. Happy Yule, y'all!]
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:19, Sat 22 Dec 2018.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 129):

OOC: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

Wee fish a mare egrets mouse hippo gnu deer.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:25, Fri 28 Dec 2018.