Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
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Post by Sven Aune on Jul 22, 2020 21:45:49 GMT
[ Kova Sh'qaleq - Promenade Security Office] [...] Hearing Eastman's voice, Kova began to focus on the woman's words. She couldn't help but feel as if she were being handled to an extent. Foldng her arms in front of her chest, Kova considered it. Perhaps this was the extent of their arrangement: quid pro quo... and trust as far as one could be bought. "We can discuss what you're inclined to give later," Kova said. "What you need, is an opening. Zechariah can give that to you."Kova reached into her pocket, producing what appeared to be a cylindrical tube, large enough to be concealed in one's hand. "It's something I worked on for a former client." The Maquis. "This is a transmitter. What it does is lock on to the nearest comm frequencies. Once the link is established, it uploads a virus to all receiving comm units within 20 to 25 meters, effectively making those units tasers." She'd seen a fair share of Cardassians get a nice little jolt courtesy of it. "It should incapacitate those it hits for a few seconds. It may or may not be long enough to move a team in to position, but... anyone already there could get a handle on the situation."It was a bit of a double-edged sword. Whomever was deploying it would be incommunicado, and anyone nearby would fair a great deal better if they left their comm badge behind. [...] [Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - Promenade Security Offices]Judy examined the device with the curiosity of an engineer. It seemed to be a remarkable piece of technology, and she would've liked to look over the details of its construction and operation. Maybe later. "Thank you," she said, taking it into her hand with much caution. She supposed she'd need to meet with this civilian asset at a different time to satiate her own curiosity... and clean up after Harmon. =A= "I'll accept his terms. His men can stay in the core, because they're not getting a ship. I'll send Ms. Fox over only after he fulfills his end of the deal. He's the terrorist, after all," =A= she dictated. =A= "Eastman out." =A= Then, she turned to Ryah. "Permission granted, Chief," she accepted. "I also have this little device that may be of use to us, courtesy of Ms. Sh'qaleq. It causes all communicators within 20-25 meters to send out an electric shock, like a taser. I'll leave where it's used up to you."Judy took a brief pause and swallowed. "For your planning, you should know that the Kurjarians refused to surrender the Computer Core. They're probably expecting us there," she added. "Gosh, my throat is getting a little dry. Do you know where I could get some water?"She had been talking far too much today, between the impassioned haggling of the family Settlers of Catan game, and the tense hostage situation they were in now. [Ensign Yino - Armoury]
Ensign Yino was a young, inexperienced Saurian officer, fresh out of the academy. And at the moment, he happened to be the ranking officer in the Armoury overseeing the process of securing it from possible Kurjarian intruders. He knew deep down however, that were it not for Chief Tlunch, the gruff Tellarite NCO, he would have had no idea what he was doing. In reality, Yino was pretty much just sitting back and allowing the Chief to take charge, Yino simply rubber stamping all his decisions. Suddenly, a group of Kurjarians emerged attacking quickly and without warning. Yino stood there in the middle of the room shell shocked and unable to move. One of the attackers fired a shot, right at the young officer, who was saved only by the quick intervention of Tlunch who rammed into the Saurian, knocking him off his feet and out of way of the disruptor. "Keep your head down!" scolded Tlunch. "Surrender, lay down your arms, we do not wish to hurt anyone!" called out one of the attackers. Tlunch, the ever arrogant and aggressive Tellerite was having none of that, he stood up, took aim and fired several shots with his phaser pistol. He hit one of the attackers, causing a slight squeel of excitement from Yino before he realised the Chief had also been hit. The next series of events happened quickly, a grenade of some sort was thrown and Yino ordered a retreat as he tried to drag Tluch to safety, inside the weapons locker room itself where he and his men barricaded themselves. Once had calmed himself, Yino sent a message.
=/\= Ensign Yino to Chief Meihn...oh god...they've attacked us...they hit the Chief....we're holding out in the weapons locker. Help us, please! =/\= [NPC - Chief Melihn Ryah - Promenade Security Offices] Hold tight, Ensign. We’ll have help on the way momentarily. Just stay put. Ryah made herself hold still and listen as Commander Eastman explained the small device. Her adrenaline was high, but ideas were formulating. While she thought, the chief gestured a crewman over and said, Get some refreshments in here for the team, especially a pitcher of water. Keep an eye on it.The crewman nodded and darted off to the break room. I’m taking the armory. We can’t let them get to the weapons. If the Kurjarians are locked outside, I should be able to pick them off.
That device might be most useful at the computer core. With a range of 20 to 25 meters, a team should be able to disable the insurgents without revealing themselves and move in quickly to take them into custody. The only problem...how much of a shock does this device give? If they have hostages, there’s no way to warn them to remove their communicators. They’d be hit, too.As she spoke, Ryah pointed to three security officers that were milling about waiting for orders. Come listen to this. I’ve got an assignment for you.She trusted this group to keep cool-headed in a crisis, and they were often on duty together.
Tag Judith Eastman , Kova Sh'qaleq , Sven Aune , and Matthew Harmon | Security offices, Promenade || lt. jr.grd Sorrin Mar'kin || Crewman Alice Duff || Crewman Vvverrk Sslith |
lieutenant junior grade Sorrin Mar'kin was, the quintessential Vulcan. With the idyllic pudding bowl hair cut, to the swooping brows, to the neutral expression on his face. He had worked hard to learn how to repress all emotions. Bottle them up and do with them, what ever it is that Vulcan do with their emotions. He was now working hard on how to be condescending without seeming to be emotional about. He was tall, and a bit top heavy, like an iron man that had gone slightly to seed filling out his uniform. Next to him stood little Alice Duff. A spitfire with flaming red, curly hair that seemed to be untamed and unmanageable. It was just a big frizzled mess but it worked well with her bright smile and freckled face. She had a phaser rifle strapped to her back, that was almost as tall as she was. And next to her was Vvverrk Sslith. About as tall as the average human male. With a complexion that would suggest he was a human male, along with a face and proportions hat made him look like he was a healthy young human male. And if one were to have access to his medical file they would find that he is, in fact 100% human. And a male. His parents were an eclectic bunch and decided to name their only child something as strange, as unique as the most unique name possible. But mostly because they found it funny. They were professional comedians back on Risa. He stood, a little more timid then the rest of the group, mostly because he was the newest member to the "Whomping Wombats." or so that was the unofficial name to their platoon. But despite the name, there were quite an effective group and these three were called up to employ their trade. Sorrin took the device offered by the security chief and gave it an impassive look. "It would be most logical to use this device and stun the hostages if it incapacitates the terrorists." he said in a dry monotone. "They can be taken to sick bay for any minor injuries they may have incurred.""Oh, don't be like that Sorrie!" Alice's voice was surprisingly deep. "No one likes getting hurt. If we can get in without using it, we should."Vvverrk shifted his feet. "I think the order is to use it and get it over as soon as possible.""Agreed" said the Vulcan. "The next logical course of action is to head to the computer core and take it back.""Right!" Alice said cheerfully, " Goooooo Wombats!" she put her hand in the middle and raised it. Sorrin ignored it and Vvverrk gave an embarrassed chuckle but made no move to put his hand in. They made their way down to the core and was found to be locked. "Take positions." the lt. jr.grade ordered as the other two stood next to the door. They knew he was about to override it. _______ Tags Ozu SayaMatthew Harmon
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jul 22, 2020 22:18:27 GMT
=A= "Niles, acknowledged. Stand by for confirmation."=A= [Lieutenant Harmon - Security Office]Harmon nodded an 'it's alright' to Ryha before turning to Kova. "I'll have to see if I can find the time, Kova," he replied dismissively. He had already recruited Avi by the time Kova made contact, and so he did not reply. Furthermore he didn't like recruiting those who approached him. He was far more suspicious of them and their motives than people he manipulated into working for him himself. "Besides, I'm quite happy with my current asset," he said flatly. The Andorian seemed to have an overinflated ego. "Fox can cover the story, but we shouldn't let her print whatever she wants, and I especially don't want her feeling free to disclose Avi's presence or any other sensitive details she may come across," plus there was the issue of her potentially undermining Starfleet or making it look inept and incapable of protecting the station, which was an especially dangerous prospect with the Nyberrite Alliance still circling for any opportunity.
He was surprised when Eastman switched to calling the Kurjarians terrorist, given her prior restraint. It was a move he didn't agree with, but knew it was too late now to change it. [ Kova Sh'qaleq - Promenade Security Office, Front Ear Station] As Kova left her program in the hands of the commander so that she could speak with Lieutenant Harmon privately, the Andorian heard the voice of the Intelligence officer directing his comments at her. He stated that he'd see if he could find the time in response to her comments to him, but stated that he was happy with his current asset. If something handy and heavy had been in reach, she likely would have hurled it Harmon's head. Instead, she ignored him, turning her eyes back to her console. Zechariah, if used, would likely only help them retake one of the sites. The Kurjarians were all over the station. And there was still the matter of how they had managed to place themselves so strategically, as well as transport their weapons with them. Kova looked at the last known locations where the Kurjarians were positioned. Chief Melihn had opted to deal with those on Deck 21 in the Computer Core. It seemed Lt. Harmon's focus was on the Kurjarians here on the Promenade. There were searches underway for those on Decks 11 and 15 by several security teams. Though, the one that had Kova's attention were those in Sickbay. Suddenly, she was struck with an idea. Although, with the computer core presently compromised, she had to wonder if she would have a higher chance of success on site. She switched from her work console to her personal unit. She immediately opened up one of the holo-programs she'd been working on. A smile spread across her face as she isolated one of the characters. She made a few modifications and lowered the usual safety protocols. She also modified the routines to focus on Kurjarians with an 87% preference threshold. Satisfied with the modifications she'd made to the holographic character, she turned towards the others. "I think I can provide a suitable distraction in Sickbay," Kova announced, "and give someone time to activate the manual release so that the security team can secure the scene." Kova's eyes sought out the Bolian. "Perhaps there's a way for you to be useful after all."Kova quickly turned the screen of her personal computer so that the others could view it. "I can overlay this character profile onto Sickbay's EMH," said Kova. She'd be able to recover the original easy enough after the fact. Though, with time being of the essence, it was easier to commence with the overlay than actually upload the character. "It looks menacing enough, and will see the Kurarians as preferred subjects for interaction. The manual release can be triggered and the teams can move in." Kova took a deep breath. "I can attempt the graph from here, though accessing the grid that houses Sickbay's holographic relays directly may make things easier. Also, it may be wise to entrust the doors to someone expendable... with imagination... just in case there are unconventional countermeasures in place." Granted someone blue and bald was exactly whom Kova had in mind. [NPC - Chief Melihn Ryah - Promenade Security Offices] Hold tight, Ensign. We’ll have help on the way momentarily. Just stay put. Ryah made herself hold still and listen as Commander Eastman explained the small device. Her adrenaline was high, but ideas were formulating. While she thought, the chief gestured a crewman over and said, Get some refreshments in here for the team, especially a pitcher of water. Keep an eye on it.The crewman nodded and darted off to the break room. I’m taking the armory. We can’t let them get to the weapons. If the Kurjarians are locked outside, I should be able to pick them off.
That device might be most useful at the computer core. With a range of 20 to 25 meters, a team should be able to disable the insurgents without revealing themselves and move in quickly to take them into custody. The only problem...how much of a shock does this device give? If they have hostages, there’s no way to warn them to remove their communicators. They’d be hit, too.As she spoke, Ryah pointed to three security officers that were milling about waiting for orders. Come listen to this. I’ve got an assignment for you.She trusted this group to keep cool-headed in a crisis, and they were often on duty together. [Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - Promenade Security Offices]There were, without a doubt, too many things going on at once. =A= "Acknowledged," =A= Judy briefly shot off to Ensign Niles, before dealing with her subordinates one by one. "As far as I can tell, it should stun, incapacitate them, like a taser. I'd imagine it could do some bad things to an artificial heart, but it should be non-lethal otherwise," she theorized. The concern for artificial organs was near and dear to her artificial heart, but there were relatively few members of the fleet with her condition. She let Ryah go and turned towards Harmon. "There are two ways this story can be played. Option A is portraying the Kurjarians as sympathetic, plucky freedom fighters who resorted to desperate means, which positions us as the insensitive Evil Empire and her as the enlightened newswoman. Option B paints the Kurjarians as heartless monsters, which makes us the good guys, and her a hero. If we don't give her much reason to run Option A, we won't have to worry about censoring it," she explained. "Not that I think active hostage-takers will make for sympathetic interviewees in any case, but we should try not to upset Ms. Fox more than we have to."Judy was, as usual, spinning multiple plates. On the one hand, she meant to tip Harmon off to the fact that he had a charge waiting for him, and maybe he should attend to that. On another plane, she'd acted deliberately to taunt the Kurjarians. Her use of the word 'terrorist' was no Freudian slip, nor was the fact that she approved of the multiple offensives being launched now, to play out during Ms. Fox's stay. Judy Eastman had raised 4 kids, seen them drive each other up the walls on a daily basis, so she knew a thing or two about being annoying; more saliently, she knew how unsympathetic the recipient of such treatment often appeared. For the moment, she let one or the other of her subordinates, Melihn or Harmon, answer Kova. Gosh, she needed some water. And Mabel, she definitely needed Mabel. =A= "Eastman to Henriksen. I need you at the Promenade security office," =A= she summoned her Yeoman. =A= "Yes, ma'am," =A= Mabel's slightly scared but always dutiful voice could be heard.
Tag Matthew Harmon , Ozu Saya , Joshua Niles . Soft Kova Sh'qaleq , Avi Moz , maybe Sven Aune .
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Matthew Harmon
Intelligence
[TI42] Frontier's Most Malcontent Malcontent
Posts: 540 Likes: 18
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Intelligence Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Matthew Harmon on Jul 23, 2020 9:13:05 GMT
[ Leanna - Blue Beta] When she had stood up with the intention of not only trying to help Niles but also getting through to Jeren, the Betazoid was far from being perceived as a hero. No it had nothing to do with that rather an attempt to show what she was and using her talents so to speak to diffuse and bring this terrible situation to a peaceful conclusion. However as Sven acknowledged what she had said about Xander with a nod, Leanna knew that he wouldn't be going anywhere even before he had addressed Jeren. This wasn't what any of them had wanted and yet there was a vein of understanding weaving through the tone and words that were used. Whether Sven could also convince the Kurjarians to listen, she wasn't sure but at least they had tried. Although it did bring about a renewed sense of vigour from Niles as he agreed to contact the XO with the new terms of compromise. Their answer came a few minutes later and whilst she wouldn't of used the word "Terrorist", thinking it might cause more harm than good, Leanna waited to see how Jeren would react to that and what had been said so far. What followed made Leanna understand that little bit more about the Kurjarian's and why they were doing this as Jeren's tone became more passionate and animated. Of course there was some natural sympathy and empathy towards the plight that his people were experiencing, a hint of their suffering. Yet surely there could of been another way rather than holding people hostage and making demands to make their voices heard. " Now I understand and why you felt it necessary to try and force our hand, so we would listen ... but surely if you had just been honest with us, we could of avoided all of this and its not too late for you to do that".Whether or not she would get through to him, she didn't know but for now all she could do was continue to listen, especially as Jeren answered Sven, recalling more of the horrors that his people faced and what would happen if they returned to their home world. As an empath it was overwhelming but he wasn't lying. Even as he agreed to Judy's terms and made a more ideal compromise, she didn't need to use her abilities to tell that he was starting to lose patience, thanks in turn to the attitude shown by the first officer. Realising that this could become more dangerous if they continued and nothing was done. " He's not lying either .... the Commander could of just signed our death warrant" Lea warned Niles, not taking her eyes off Jeren. | Blue Beta Bar and Grill || Lt. Sven Aune | Xander McGrath |
Interactions: Sven -> JarenSven -> LeannaXander -> SeamusSven continued to stand tall, arms folded staring down at the terrorist leader. He understood what they were doing. He understood the motivation. The Federation very well could have been turning a blind eye to the treatment of their people for the acquisition of Terrilium. But how they went about it... Perhaps it was the only way to penetrate the bureaucracy. The Federation was a quagmire of red-tape and fillibusters. He let out an inward sigh. At least things were moving forward. It even seemed that Jaren had placed him as some sort of Federation officer. Not that it mattered. Xander was still breathing, but only just. He needed medical attention quickly, and he was a mix of emotions. Scared that he would die. happy that Seamus was there to help him. Raging pissed off at the terrorists for how they decided to handle things. Introspective at what Leanna said. But, things were moving forward. However he inwardly groaned when Eastman called them terrorists. That could unravel things very quickly. They were, in fact terrorists from the Command's point of view, but in their own, they were freedom fighters. But Sven wasn't pleased with the arrangement. He chewed his tongue and made another counter offer. "No, you will release all the children, and the elderly first. Xander can be released after the reporter arrives." he said with an emphasis on all. This very well could be signing Xander's death certificate. But the children needed to be out of this situation as fast as possible. The long term consequences on their psyche was unimaginable. He looked to Leanna and gave her a nod. Her presence was calming and he could see that it was facilitating a more peaceful resolution. Niles continued to handle things well. He made a good arbitrator. Perhaps that was his training. Sven knew he served as a tactical officer on the Mac & Cheese. He didn't know where exactly, but he hoped it was operating the ships weapons. A man with a cool head needed to be a gate keeper over a system that could level an entire city. Hell even an entire culture from orbit. He gave the man a small knowing look. [ Ens Joshua Niles - Blue Beta Bar, Front Ear Station ]=A= "Niles, acknowledged. Stand by for confirmation."=A= That was all he could tell the XO for now, at least, until he would confirm Jeren's decision. At long last, the Kurjarians' cause was being made clear to the young Ensign. Which, in a lot of ways, explained a number of things about their current stance and motivations. But, there was one thing that truly bothered the man: they were angry, desperate, and willing to die for their goals whether or not it would support accomplishing them; and that made them exceedingly dangerous. Jeren was willing to talk and show reason, but there was no guarantee his subordinates would be as accommodating. And that changed the math of the situation immensely, and it did not do much for his nerves even when his confidence had just taken such a boost from reframing the overall problem. Their cause was the kind that he could sympathize with on a personal level. However, Jeren and his people deciding to resort to terrorist tactics to further it soured it in Joshua's eyes. However, he did not speak until he heard back from Commander Eastman, and it would seem that Jeren, this time, chose to acknowledge what she said over the channel rather than wait for this ersatz negotiator to repeat what she'd said. However, it would seem he decided he would be altering the conditions he had just agreed upon and Niles' face hardened at that. But before he could get a word out, both Leanna and Lieutenant Aune spoke. The Betazoid's warning started echoing in his mind even as the big man offered a compromise, favouring those who would be certain to live, over the man he obviously cared about a great deal whose life expectancy could be measurable in minutes. That was the sort of thing that, however, stiffened his resolve even further. "Clan Chief, whether or not Mister Aune is offering you a compromise, you are not doing yourself any favours by changing the terms you have agreed to. If you renege, do you honestly think Commander Eastman will keep her end? Trust works both ways: you expect us to keep our word to you, but in return you damn well need to keep yours."That change of terms was entirely unacceptable, and should Jeren decide to stick with this new state of affairs, or even agree with Lieutenant Aune, then Commander Eastman would see the duplicity... and while, to Joshua, she seemed like a kindly grandmother more often than not, he also had the very strong impression she had no patience for any sort of dissembling or lying. "And think of the image you would be presenting. Miss Fox will have been told you would be releasing all elderly, child and wounded hostages in exchange for access to her. Should she see you lied, that will not go well for you either." [Jeren - Blue Beta Bar]"Honest words and pleading get you nowhere when you lack the power or wealth to make people care," Jeren shot back at Leanna. "This was the least worst option I could see. And besides, what will happen if I give in? Your people here have made it clear they'd be happy to throw us in a deep Federation prison." His answer to Leanna also served to demonstrate to the room how the increasingly touch rhetoric was pushing Jeren into a corner.
He then turned to Sven, of half a mind to just shoot him and get him to shut up. "Your friend may not survive that deal," he said before Josh responded and attempted to intercede. "I am not reneging on anything. I offered to release them when your Commander was negotiating respectfully and in good faith. She changed that. She decided to begin disrespecting us, and so I am now forced to reevaluate my calculations as to if your Commander is really negotiating or buying time," he replied. In Kurjarian culture respect was a very important concept that played a strong role in dealings between people. In fact in negotiations respect was often viewed as if it was almost as important as the terms themselves. If one party failed to act respectfully, the other might withdraw even if the terms were in their favour, and often this was the course of action deemed socially required of a Clan Leader. On the other hand, if a party acts deferential and respectful a Clan Chief could often be forced to accept less ideal terms as their code of respect demands it. What was likely little more than a show of strength and taking a tough line by the Commander, may have turned out to be a major faux pas that could serious damage negotiations. "I may look worse for Charlie but so be it. Your Commander has been insulting, and this changes things," he asserted. "The children can go and the wounded can go. They are entirely innocent, and I don't want uncessary deaths so while you may be willing to gamble this man's life, I am not. The elderly can leave the moment Charlie is here," he made an indication to his men to get the children moving and help Xander up. "And she'd best arrive soon, you are running out of time on my deadline."
Tag: @leanna, Joshua Niles, Sven Aune
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Leanna Mazal
Civilian
Posts: 1,728 Likes: 32
Position: Civilian
Species: Betazoid
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Post by Leanna Mazal on Jul 23, 2020 11:07:04 GMT
[ Leanna & Seamus - Blue Beta] Her words of understanding and of trying to calm the situation had been born out of a desire to do something, to listen and more importantly, show that not everyone thought of the Kurjarian's as evil. Jeren and those with him were undoubtedly under a lot of pressure and ultimately desperate to be heard and no longer ignored. In some ways it had exposed the uglier side of what it was like to be part of the Federation, issues either not known or casually swept aside in order to protect a reputation. Of course Leanna didn't know everything but she was willing to listen and bring this to a peaceful conclusion without outside interference. However for the moment her attention moved to Sven as he offered another compromise, appreciating the nod he gave her and the reassurance he had gained from her presence. Still she knew what it would cost him, if Xander died ... knowing that she herself couldn't deal with any more loss right now. This was certainly one of the hardest, testing and extremely emotional events, that she had gone through so soon after losing her other half, almost as if a part of her had died the moment he had left. No she had to not think, especially as Ensign Niles, feeling his resolve grow stronger from what had been said, including her warning, as he spoke to Jeren once more. Although it seemed that what she had tried to do had failed at the first hurdle as Jeren answered her first, feeling the undercurrent of his words and quickly realised, how they were effectively pushing him into a corner, despite the reasoning behind the attempts being made. " I may not have the power or the wealth Jeren, but I do care .... I listen, I try to understand and look at my eyes, I'm Betazoid so I have no reason to lie or deceive you".Having said that, she wasn't sure what would be gained from telling the truth, especially as they were essentially tied to what could be a ticking time bomb. When Jeren then addressed Sven and Niles, it served a further proof at how volatile this was becoming and as Jeren gestured to his men to escort the children and Xander out, she spoke up again. " Sven, Ensign Niles, perhaps it's best to now wait for Ms Fox to arrive, there's little else we can achieve until then as we've already reached our first compromise".Lea hoped that they would listen and trust her, without her having to go into more detail about what she had learned. Meanwhile Seamus had gotten to his feet as the Kurjarian's helped Xander, wanting to make sure that the injured man, reached medical care without further issues. " Careful now ... we don't to cause him anymore trouble". the Irishman warned softly, as he led the way to the entrance and lowered the security field to allow them to leave.
tag Matthew Harmon , Joshua Niles , Sven Aune
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Matthew Harmon
Intelligence
[TI42] Frontier's Most Malcontent Malcontent
Posts: 540 Likes: 18
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Intelligence Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Matthew Harmon on Jul 23, 2020 12:38:48 GMT
[ Kova Sh'qaleq - Promenade Security Office, Front Ear Station] As Kova left her program in the hands of the commander so that she could speak with Lieutenant Harmon privately, the Andorian heard the voice of the Intelligence officer directing his comments at her. He stated that he'd see if he could find the time in response to her comments to him, but stated that he was happy with his current asset. If something handy and heavy had been in reach, she likely would have hurled it Harmon's head. Instead, she ignored him, turning her eyes back to her console. Zechariah, if used, would likely only help them retake one of the sites. The Kurjarians were all over the station. And there was still the matter of how they had managed to place themselves so strategically, as well as transport their weapons with them. Kova looked at the last known locations where the Kurjarians were positioned. Chief Melihn had opted to deal with those on Deck 21 in the Computer Core. It seemed Lt. Harmon's focus was on the Kurjarians here on the Promenade. There were searches underway for those on Decks 11 and 15 by several security teams. Though, the one that had Kova's attention were those in Sickbay. Suddenly, she was struck with an idea. Although, with the computer core presently compromised, she had to wonder if she would have a higher chance of success on site. She switched from her work console to her personal unit. She immediately opened up one of the holo-programs she'd been working on. A smile spread across her face as she isolated one of the characters. She made a few modifications and lowered the usual safety protocols. She also modified the routines to focus on Kurjarians with an 87% preference threshold. Satisfied with the modifications she'd made to the holographic character, she turned towards the others. "I think I can provide a suitable distraction in Sickbay," Kova announced, "and give someone time to activate the manual release so that the security team can secure the scene." Kova's eyes sought out the Bolian. "Perhaps there's a way for you to be useful after all."Kova quickly turned the screen of her personal computer so that the others could view it. "I can overlay this character profile onto Sickbay's EMH," said Kova. She'd be able to recover the original easy enough after the fact. Though, with time being of the essence, it was easier to commence with the overlay than actually upload the character. "It looks menacing enough, and will see the Kurarians as preferred subjects for interaction. The manual release can be triggered and the teams can move in." Kova took a deep breath. "I can attempt the graph from here, though accessing the grid that houses Sickbay's holographic relays directly may make things easier. Also, it may be wise to entrust the doors to someone expendable... with imagination... just in case there are unconventional countermeasures in place." Granted someone blue and bald was exactly whom Kova had in mind. [Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - Promenade Security Offices]There were, without a doubt, too many things going on at once. =A= "Acknowledged," =A= Judy briefly shot off to Ensign Niles, before dealing with her subordinates one by one. "As far as I can tell, it should stun, incapacitate them, like a taser. I'd imagine it could do some bad things to an artificial heart, but it should be non-lethal otherwise," she theorized. The concern for artificial organs was near and dear to her artificial heart, but there were relatively few members of the fleet with her condition. She let Ryah go and turned towards Harmon. "There are two ways this story can be played. Option A is portraying the Kurjarians as sympathetic, plucky freedom fighters who resorted to desperate means, which positions us as the insensitive Evil Empire and her as the enlightened newswoman. Option B paints the Kurjarians as heartless monsters, which makes us the good guys, and her a hero. If we don't give her much reason to run Option A, we won't have to worry about censoring it," she explained. "Not that I think active hostage-takers will make for sympathetic interviewees in any case, but we should try not to upset Ms. Fox more than we have to."Judy was, as usual, spinning multiple plates. On the one hand, she meant to tip Harmon off to the fact that he had a charge waiting for him, and maybe he should attend to that. On another plane, she'd acted deliberately to taunt the Kurjarians. Her use of the word 'terrorist' was no Freudian slip, nor was the fact that she approved of the multiple offensives being launched now, to play out during Ms. Fox's stay. Judy Eastman had raised 4 kids, seen them drive each other up the walls on a daily basis, so she knew a thing or two about being annoying; more saliently, she knew how unsympathetic the recipient of such treatment often appeared. For the moment, she let one or the other of her subordinates, Melihn or Harmon, answer Kova. Gosh, she needed some water. And Mabel, she definitely needed Mabel. =A= "Eastman to Henriksen. I need you at the Promenade security office," =A= she summoned her Yeoman. =A= "Yes, ma'am," =A= Mabel's slightly scared but always dutiful voice could be heard. [Lieutenant Harmon - Security Office]Harmon wasn't sure if he should speak his mind, and took a moment to weigh it up in his mind. Eventually, he chose to hell with it and voiced his opinion. "I'm not sure we do want to paint them as monsters. They haven't done anything yet. They're desperate. You have to be to entertain this course of action. There's the security aspect, we don't want to incite more attacks, but there's also the ethical side. You've read the reports. You know what's going on on Caldonia almost as well as I do," he pleaded. "We need to round them up and detain them, yes we need to respond with all the resources at our disposal, including force if necessary. But they haven't crossed the line yet. They haven't done anything irreparable yet...besides, its probably a moot point, I suspect Ms. Fox will write what she wants," he conceded. He then turned his attention to Kova and Avi. "I need Avi to see what the Alliance knows about the Kurjarians, or the Caldonians. Find out if they've done any business with anyone there," he said. He moved closer towards Kova's side of the room. "We can try Kova's plan, Avi can help there, then get back to the Alliance." By now he was next to Kova, "Get into the Alliance's network and then we can talk," he said quietly. Though the room was small it was possible Eastman could still hear his extralegal request, but she would at least have plausible deniability if she heard and chose not to stop it. "You two should get going, we need this dealt with as soon as possible."Once Kova and Avi departed, he ducked back outside to grab Charlie who was, to at least part of his surprise, still there. "Sorry for the wait Ms. Fox, I'm glad you decided to stick around. The Commander and I are ready for you in here," he said leading her back into the side room.
Tag: Judith Eastman, Kova Sh'qaleq, Felicity Ellis, Avi Moz
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Leanna Mazal
Civilian
Posts: 1,728 Likes: 32
Position: Civilian
Species: Betazoid
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Post by Leanna Mazal on Jul 23, 2020 12:59:52 GMT
[ Ellis Monroe - 12 Underground, Lower Promenade] Even the comfort of her favourite tipple and the company of three interesting men, was doing little to quell Ellis's excitement of seeing her plans come to fruition, especially after the hell she had gone through by transferring to this proverbial hell hole. Sure she could get her kicks another way and judging by the attention she was getting from one Sirius McColl who was doing his best to impress her more than Gohan and the other Freighter Captain Tenas, Ellis was beginning to think that a little private fun might just be what she needed after all and at the same time allow her to disappear for a few more hours until she received the call to leave. Then again, if she ended up staying on Sirius's ship perhaps that wouldn't be a bad thing and give her another way off the station, should her deception be discovered and that way, she could disappear without being traced to the ship that she had paid passage for. The thought of leading the authorities and the alliance on a wild goose chase sent a shiver up her spine, before she drained her glass and whispered in Sirius's ear. The Freighter Captain grinned eagerly and went to grab her hand, which Ellis took as she then playfully spoke to her other would be suitors. " Sorry boys, maybe next time".Feeling extremely pleased with herself and with the promise of some much needed release, Ellis walked out of the bar, her body pressed against that of the lucky Freighter Captain as he led her to his ship.
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Kova Sh'qaleq
Civilian
Posts: 516 Likes: 34
Position: Security Consultant
Species: Andorian
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Post by Kova Sh'qaleq on Jul 23, 2020 17:43:32 GMT
[ Lieutenant Harmon - Security Office][...]
"I need Avi to see what the Alliance knows about the Kurjarians, or the Caldonians. Find out if they've done any business with anyone there," he said. He moved closer towards Kova's side of the room. "We can try Kova's plan, Avi can help there, then get back to the Alliance." By now he was next to Kova, "Get into the Alliance's network and then we can talk," he said quietly. Though the room was small it was possible Eastman could still hear his extralegal request, but she would at least have plausible deniability if she heard and chose not to stop it. "You two should get going, we need this dealt with as soon as possible."Once Kova and Avi departed, he ducked back outside to grab Charlie who was, to at least part of his surprise, still there. "Sorry for the wait Ms. Fox, I'm glad you decided to stick around. The Commander and I are ready for you in here," he said leading her back into the side room. [ Kova Sh'qaleq - Promenade Security Office -> Sickbay Corridor, Front Ear Station] Pontification. Thus far, it was the one thing that Kova had deduced that Harmon was remotely competent at. It was rather impressive how effortlessly he stroked his own ego. It didn't surprise her when he found time to rave about his azure goose, and how she would use her skills to infiltrate the Alliance to discern their motivations, if any, where the Kurjarians and Caldonians were concerned. She was starting to wonder if he had a sociogram in his quarters. Something that eerily tried to connect any and every conspiracy. She was pretty certain that he did. He then actually mentioned trying Kova's plan. She was surprised he'd actually had time to hear any of the details. It seemed he actually wanted Kova to put her plan into action. With Avi's assistance as well, though only so she could get back to her infiltration of the Alliance. There was a slight roll of Kova's eyes. It seemed Harmon really had a hard-on for this strange bedfellows game he was playing with the Bolian and the Alliance. As he moved closer towards her, he commented that if Kova got into the Alliance's network, that they could talk. "You assume two things," Kova teased. "One, that I haven't done so already. And two... that I'm still interested." She shut her computer and lifted it, and started to retreat from Harmon as he gave a parting order for the two of them to hurry. Clearly, he wanted his shiny, blue toy playing soldier once again. "Hey, Blueball. You heard the man. Hustle!" Kova collected a few more items from her station and quickly made her way out the door. It was a slight sprint that carried the hacker from the security office to the turbolift. After a quick ride to Deck 10, it was a short brisk walk along the corridor towards Sickbay which revealed a security team already in wait. Kova's eyes weren't upon them, but on the wall. Once she saw the panel she was looking for, she knelt down and pulled the cover away. From one of her pockets, she produced a pair of isolinear rods connected to a wire, which she quickly connected to her computer. She then removed two isolinear rods from their slots in the relay and connected the wired ones. "Record and replay four second time index starting now," Kova said aloud. After a few moments there was an acknowledging chime. At least this way, there was less of a chance for them to be detected advancing any further without actually peeking outside the door, now that she'd reconfigured the external sensors with the looped feed. Kova then nodded at the security team, making them aware it was okay to move forward and position themselves at the doors into Sickbay. Kova then began to press the panel on her computer. Once she found the EMH program, she began to upload the character program and modifying the necessary subroutines. Why someone had ordered this creature to look like a pissed off Klingon-Naussican baby tragedy she'd never know. Whatever the reason it paid the bills. Once the upload was complete her eyes moved towards Avi. "Looks like you're up." Kova gestured towards the access panel one of the guards had removed adjacent to the door. Kova was tempted to tease Avi by asking if she wanted the Andorian to hold her hand, but thought better of it. Of course, that wouldn't stop her from telling the story that way later on. Either way, it was up to the Bolian to get them inside. Meanwhile, Kova waited a few seconds before activating the hologram inside Sickbay... that had a penchant for playing wall ball with Kurjarians (as the ball.)
Tag: Matthew Harmon (& Sickbay Kurjarians) , Avi Moz , Judith Eastman (Kece)
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Felicity Ellis
Command
Cap'n Mum
[TI11]
Posts: 719 Likes: 59
Rank: Commander
Position: XO
Species: Human
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Post by Felicity Ellis on Jul 24, 2020 12:36:04 GMT
[Ensign Chloe Hudson - Security Office]
Chloe watched Charlie's expression and body langue as she spoke, picking up on all the queues. At first she seemed at best disinterested, then amused and unimpressed. Then, for a moment Chloe thought she'd blown it and offended Charlie with her attempt at offering some sort of reward. "Of course...sorry," she said sheepishly. Fortunetly, it seemed as though she said something right at some point during her mini-speech as Charlie agreed to hear Harmon out. "Thanks!" she said, smiling and bubbly again after a moment of embarrassment and disappointment when she thought she'd failed. "Yeah...I've been trying to teach him about the carrot. He's a slow learner, but one day maybe," she shrugged. "He should be finished with the Commander in a moment." [Lieutenant Harmon - Security Office][...]Once Kova and Avi departed, he ducked back outside to grab Charlie who was, to at least part of his surprise, still there. "Sorry for the wait Ms. Fox, I'm glad you decided to stick around. The Commander and I are ready for you in here," he said leading her back into the side room. [Charlie Fox - Security Offices, Promenade]Charlie merely shrugged at Chloe's words, still feeling discommoded as the time continued to tick by, but not irritated enough to take it out on the young officer. When Lieutenant Harmon finally made his appearance she speared him with an unimpressed stare, and spoke. "I was just leaving. Your ensign managed to convince me otherwise." Without another word to the ensign in question, she moved away from her and toward the room that had previously been closed off to her. "You should promote her," she proclaimed as she stepped over the threshold. She came to a stop just inside the door and remained there, her arms folded across her chest as her brow arched with expectation. "If someone could give me the CliffsNotes, that would be great." She still had no idea what it was they officially wanted from her.
Tags: @ Matthew Harmon , Judith Eastman
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Judith Eastman
Civilian
Grandma
Posts: 2,593 Likes: 84
Rank: Civilian/other
Position: Civil Servant
Species: Human
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Post by Judith Eastman on Jul 24, 2020 18:07:10 GMT
[Lieutenant Harmon - Security Office]Harmon wasn't sure if he should speak his mind, and took a moment to weigh it up in his mind. Eventually, he chose to hell with it and voiced his opinion. "I'm not sure we do want to paint them as monsters. They haven't done anything yet. They're desperate. You have to be to entertain this course of action. There's the security aspect, we don't want to incite more attacks, but there's also the ethical side. You've read the reports. You know what's going on on Caldonia almost as well as I do," he pleaded. "We need to round them up and detain them, yes we need to respond with all the resources at our disposal, including force if necessary. But they haven't crossed the line yet. They haven't done anything irreparable yet...besides, its probably a moot point, I suspect Ms. Fox will write what she wants," he conceded. He then turned his attention to Kova and Avi. "I need Avi to see what the Alliance knows about the Kurjarians, or the Caldonians. Find out if they've done any business with anyone there," he said. He moved closer towards Kova's side of the room. "We can try Kova's plan, Avi can help there, then get back to the Alliance." By now he was next to Kova, "Get into the Alliance's network and then we can talk," he said quietly. Though the room was small it was possible Eastman could still hear his extralegal request, but she would at least have plausible deniability if she heard and chose not to stop it. "You two should get going, we need this dealt with as soon as possible."Once Kova and Avi departed, he ducked back outside to grab Charlie who was, to at least part of his surprise, still there. "Sorry for the wait Ms. Fox, I'm glad you decided to stick around. The Commander and I are ready for you in here," he said leading her back into the side room. [Charlie Fox - Security Offices, Promenade]Charlie merely shrugged at Chloe's words, still feeling discommoded as the time continued to tick by, but not irritated enough to take it out on the young officer. When Lieutenant Harmon finally made his appearance she speared him with an unimpressed stare, and spoke. "I was just leaving. Your ensign managed to convince me otherwise." Without another word to the ensign in question, she moved away from her and toward the room that had previously been closed off to her. "You should promote her," she proclaimed as she stepped over the threshold. She came to a stop just inside the door and remained there, her arms folded across her chest as her brow arched with expectation. "If someone could give me the CliffsNotes, that would be great." She still had no idea what it was they officially wanted from her. [Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - Promenade Security Office]Judy was a senior citizen. She (officially) couldn't hear Harmon's illegal request. However, she was unofficially displeased with it. She poured herself some water and silently lamented the Intelligence games. Granted, her psychological game wasn't quite the pure truthfulness she liked to imagine she could lead with, but it seemed less bad. She'd just finished the drink, and a brief cleaning for her glasses, when Charlie Fox joined them. "Ms. Fox, thank you for coming," the First Officer greeted. "Commander Judy Eastman, I don't think we've been formally introduced."She extended a hand to shake, always courteous and decidedly non-military in her manners, before addressing the matter at hand. "The Kurjarians are a minority species on Caldonia. Their delegation came aboard for cultural exchange, but, as you can tell, that didn't quite go according to plan," Judy explained. "They've requested your presence, as a journalist, as a condition for releasing some of the hostages. Apparently, they've already researched you, and chose you out of our resident press pool, but we think this has more to do with the message they want you to send than anything else. As it were, we'd like you to go in, and to listen," she added. Charlie Fox being a member of the press, Judy restrained herself behind the comfortable veil of propriety and the dignity of her office. She left the Nixonian logistics to Harmon, and the classified humanitarian[fn]Outdated a term as that probably is.[/fn] concerns unspoken.
Tag Felicity Ellis , Matthew Harmon
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Sven Aune
Security & Tactical
[TI23]
Posts: 378 Likes: 23
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Chief of Security. Combat Engineer
Species: Human
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Post by Sven Aune on Jul 24, 2020 22:12:07 GMT
[ Ens Joshua Niles - Blue Beta Bar, Front Ear Station ]=A= "Niles, acknowledged. Stand by for confirmation."=A= That was all he could tell the XO for now, at least, until he would confirm Jeren's decision. At long last, the Kurjarians' cause was being made clear to the young Ensign. Which, in a lot of ways, explained a number of things about their current stance and motivations. But, there was one thing that truly bothered the man: they were angry, desperate, and willing to die for their goals whether or not it would support accomplishing them; and that made them exceedingly dangerous. Jeren was willing to talk and show reason, but there was no guarantee his subordinates would be as accommodating. And that changed the math of the situation immensely, and it did not do much for his nerves even when his confidence had just taken such a boost from reframing the overall problem. Their cause was the kind that he could sympathize with on a personal level. However, Jeren and his people deciding to resort to terrorist tactics to further it soured it in Joshua's eyes. However, he did not speak until he heard back from Commander Eastman, and it would seem that Jeren, this time, chose to acknowledge what she said over the channel rather than wait for this ersatz negotiator to repeat what she'd said. However, it would seem he decided he would be altering the conditions he had just agreed upon and Niles' face hardened at that. But before he could get a word out, both Leanna and Lieutenant Aune spoke. The Betazoid's warning started echoing in his mind even as the big man offered a compromise, favouring those who would be certain to live, over the man he obviously cared about a great deal whose life expectancy could be measurable in minutes. That was the sort of thing that, however, stiffened his resolve even further. "Clan Chief, whether or not Mister Aune is offering you a compromise, you are not doing yourself any favours by changing the terms you have agreed to. If you renege, do you honestly think Commander Eastman will keep her end? Trust works both ways: you expect us to keep our word to you, but in return you damn well need to keep yours."That change of terms was entirely unacceptable, and should Jeren decide to stick with this new state of affairs, or even agree with Lieutenant Aune, then Commander Eastman would see the duplicity... and while, to Joshua, she seemed like a kindly grandmother more often than not, he also had the very strong impression she had no patience for any sort of dissembling or lying. "And think of the image you would be presenting. Miss Fox will have been told you would be releasing all elderly, child and wounded hostages in exchange for access to her. Should she see you lied, that will not go well for you either." [Jeren - Blue Beta Bar]"Honest words and pleading get you nowhere when you lack the power or wealth to make people care," Jeren shot back at Leanna. "This was the least worst option I could see. And besides, what will happen if I give in? Your people here have made it clear they'd be happy to throw us in a deep Federation prison." His answer to Leanna also served to demonstrate to the room how the increasingly touch rhetoric was pushing Jeren into a corner.
He then turned to Sven, of half a mind to just shoot him and get him to shut up. "Your friend may not survive that deal," he said before Josh responded and attempted to intercede. "I am not reneging on anything. I offered to release them when your Commander was negotiating respectfully and in good faith. She changed that. She decided to begin disrespecting us, and so I am now forced to reevaluate my calculations as to if your Commander is really negotiating or buying time," he replied. In Kurjarian culture respect was a very important concept that played a strong role in dealings between people. In fact in negotiations respect was often viewed as if it was almost as important as the terms themselves. If one party failed to act respectfully, the other might withdraw even if the terms were in their favour, and often this was the course of action deemed socially required of a Clan Leader. On the other hand, if a party acts deferential and respectful a Clan Chief could often be forced to accept less ideal terms as their code of respect demands it. What was likely little more than a show of strength and taking a tough line by the Commander, may have turned out to be a major faux pas that could serious damage negotiations. "I may look worse for Charlie but so be it. Your Commander has been insulting, and this changes things," he asserted. "The children can go and the wounded can go. They are entirely innocent, and I don't want uncessary deaths so while you may be willing to gamble this man's life, I am not. The elderly can leave the moment Charlie is here," he made an indication to his men to get the children moving and help Xander up. "And she'd best arrive soon, you are running out of time on my deadline."
Tag: @leanna, Joshua Niles , Sven Aune | Blue Beta Bar and Grill || Lt. Sven Aune | Xander McGrath | Sven tilted his head. "I am aware of that." he responded to Jaren. It seemed the man had a shred of decency when he announced that he was going to let all the children, elderly and hurt go. There was hope still. And possibly hope for his cause. The question is, what would the reporter see. Though Sven was angry that Xander was on death's door, he shoved that emotion way down deep to get through this. "an act of compassion like that will go a long way to help your appeal." he said with a simple nod. Tags Matthew Harmon
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Joshua Niles
Security & Tactical
[TI22]
Posts: 649 Likes: 21
Rank: Lieutenant
Position: Tactical Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Joshua Niles on Jul 25, 2020 3:03:59 GMT
[Jeren - Blue Beta Bar]"Honest words and pleading get you nowhere when you lack the power or wealth to make people care," Jeren shot back at Leanna. "This was the least worst option I could see. And besides, what will happen if I give in? Your people here have made it clear they'd be happy to throw us in a deep Federation prison." His answer to Leanna also served to demonstrate to the room how the increasingly touch rhetoric was pushing Jeren into a corner.
He then turned to Sven, of half a mind to just shoot him and get him to shut up. "Your friend may not survive that deal," he said before Josh responded and attempted to intercede. "I am not reneging on anything. I offered to release them when your Commander was negotiating respectfully and in good faith. She changed that. She decided to begin disrespecting us, and so I am now forced to reevaluate my calculations as to if your Commander is really negotiating or buying time," he replied. In Kurjarian culture respect was a very important concept that played a strong role in dealings between people. In fact in negotiations respect was often viewed as if it was almost as important as the terms themselves. If one party failed to act respectfully, the other might withdraw even if the terms were in their favour, and often this was the course of action deemed socially required of a Clan Leader. On the other hand, if a party acts deferential and respectful a Clan Chief could often be forced to accept less ideal terms as their code of respect demands it. What was likely little more than a show of strength and taking a tough line by the Commander, may have turned out to be a major faux pas that could serious damage negotiations. "I may look worse for Charlie but so be it. Your Commander has been insulting, and this changes things," he asserted. "The children can go and the wounded can go. They are entirely innocent, and I don't want uncessary deaths so while you may be willing to gamble this man's life, I am not. The elderly can leave the moment Charlie is here," he made an indication to his men to get the children moving and help Xander up. "And she'd best arrive soon, you are running out of time on my deadline."
[ Leanna & Seamus - Blue Beta] Her words of understanding and of trying to calm the situation had been born out of a desire to do something, to listen and more importantly, show that not everyone thought of the Kurjarian's as evil. Jeren and those with him were undoubtedly under a lot of pressure and ultimately desperate to be heard and no longer ignored. In some ways it had exposed the uglier side of what it was like to be part of the Federation, issues either not known or casually swept aside in order to protect a reputation. Of course Leanna didn't know everything but she was willing to listen and bring this to a peaceful conclusion without outside interference. However for the moment her attention moved to Sven as he offered another compromise, appreciating the nod he gave her and the reassurance he had gained from her presence. Still she knew what it would cost him, if Xander died ... knowing that she herself couldn't deal with any more loss right now. This was certainly one of the hardest, testing and extremely emotional events, that she had gone through so soon after losing her other half, almost as if a part of her had died the moment he had left. No she had to not think, especially as Ensign Niles, feeling his resolve grow stronger from what had been said, including her warning, as he spoke to Jeren once more. Although it seemed that what she had tried to do had failed at the first hurdle as Jeren answered her first, feeling the undercurrent of his words and quickly realised, how they were effectively pushing him into a corner, despite the reasoning behind the attempts being made. " I may not have the power or the wealth Jeren, but I do care .... I listen, I try to understand and look at my eyes, I'm Betazoid so I have no reason to lie or deceive you".Having said that, she wasn't sure what would be gained from telling the truth, especially as they were essentially tied to what could be a ticking time bomb. When Jeren then addressed Sven and Niles, it served a further proof at how volatile this was becoming and as Jeren gestured to his men to escort the children and Xander out, she spoke up again. " Sven, Ensign Niles, perhaps it's best to now wait for Ms Fox to arrive, there's little else we can achieve until then as we've already reached our first compromise".Lea hoped that they would listen and trust her, without her having to go into more detail about what she had learned. Meanwhile Seamus had gotten to his feet as the Kurjarian's helped Xander, wanting to make sure that the injured man, reached medical care without further issues. " Careful now ... we don't to cause him anymore trouble". the Irishman warned softly, as he led the way to the entrance and lowered the security field to allow them to leave. | Blue Beta Bar and Grill || Lt. Sven Aune | Xander McGrath | Sven tilted his head. "I am aware of that." he responded to Jaren. It seemed the man had a shred of decency when he announced that he was going to let all the children, elderly and hurt go. There was hope still. And possibly hope for his cause. The question is, what would the reporter see. Though Sven was angry that Xander was on death's door, he shoved that emotion way down deep to get through this. "an act of compassion like that will go a long way to help your appeal." he said with a simple nod. [ Ens Joshua Niles - Blue Beta Bar, Front Ear Station ]"Clan Chief, you have come on board this station under false pretense; you have used force to secure a number of locations; you have taken hostages. I must ask you to be honest with us, and with yourself: how else would you expect us to react to you? How else should Commander Eastman treat with you, if not as a hostile, actively aggressive, force in her command area? If you'd talked instead, if you'd told us of your plight, we would have listened, and found ways to help if it was within our power."Niles spoke quietly, but firmly. The Federation and Starfleet had been willing to welcome them with open arms, and that hospitality had been met by acts of violence, and, frankly, of terrorism. Under any other circumstances, the young Ensign would have been most sympathetic. However, the moment Jeren and his people had chosen to employ violence rather than seek out help through diplomatic means, any good will he may have harboured had evaporated. And, well, as a Starfleet officer, let alone a very junior Ensign, his personal feelings had absolutely no bearing on things. "I'm not going to pretend I know your culture, Sir, or the whole of the situation your people are in; but what I do know is that I am a Starfleet officer, and my duty is to keep everyone in this room alive, including you and your people. If you are even perceived to renege or if anyone dies, it won't be Miss Fox on the other side of those doors, it'll be assault teams coming in through every point they can breach, and then people will die. I will have failed in my duty, you will be turned into a liar, and any support your cause might find anywhere in the Federation will die with these casualties. You keep your word as initially given, and I will give Commander Eastman the all clear to send Miss Fox."And just like that, the young Ensign took a stand, and he fully expected he would find a weapon in his face for his temerity, but he still harboured the hope he would be able to reach through to the Clan Chief, and hopefully reach a peaceful solution before all of it would drop into the pot.
Tag Matthew Harmon Soft Tags Leanna Mazal Sven Aune
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Avi Moz
Civilian
Scientifically, as a species, we are absolutely obnoxious.
Posts: 124 Likes: 13
Position: Mechanic
Species: Bolian
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Post by Avi Moz on Jul 25, 2020 4:19:19 GMT
Avi Moz | Security → outside sickbay ]Avi slipped up and out of her chair after Kova, all appearances the agreeable and consenting civilian contractor attending upon a noble mission. The only trace of her true simmering resentment was a long last look at Matthew Harmon. As for Kova, the Andorian's attention-seeking and antennae-flicking were obviously, to Avi, a cover for whatever insecurity had her groveling for Starfleet approval. Or something. She jogged quickly and easily alongside Kova and the rest of the security team, pulling her Nyberrite Alliance jacket on loosely again. Avi made little effort to conceal herself, but there wasn't hardly anyone to see the strange party pass by. Once they arrived on deck 10, Kova cooked up her light-up nightmares and unceremoniously handed it over to Avi pull the pin, as it were. "You're chasing freighter ash with Harmon," Avi said to Kova, first words she'd said since they'd left Security. The opening behind the panel was small, but when Avi pulled up an adjacent bit of grating along the floor it revealed a Bolian-sized gap. It was left over from some retrofit but it exposed a vulnerable part of the door's machinery. "With all of them," she said with a sweet smile. Then Avi took a neutron spanner and disappeared into the floor. Fifteen long seconds later, there came what sounded like an explosion under the floor, the sickbay doors jumped in their track, and smoke came billowing out of the gap in the paneling. Tag Kova Sh'qaleq Matthew Harmon Judith Eastman
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Matthew Harmon
Intelligence
[TI42] Frontier's Most Malcontent Malcontent
Posts: 540 Likes: 18
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Intelligence Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Matthew Harmon on Jul 25, 2020 7:54:42 GMT
| Security offices, Promenade || lt. jr.grd Sorrin Mar'kin || Crewman Alice Duff || Crewman Vvverrk Sslith |
lieutenant junior grade Sorrin Mar'kin was, the quintessential Vulcan. With the idyllic pudding bowl hair cut, to the swooping brows, to the neutral expression on his face. He had worked hard to learn how to repress all emotions. Bottle them up and do with them, what ever it is that Vulcan do with their emotions. He was now working hard on how to be condescending without seeming to be emotional about. He was tall, and a bit top heavy, like an iron man that had gone slightly to seed filling out his uniform. Next to him stood little Alice Duff. A spitfire with flaming red, curly hair that seemed to be untamed and unmanageable. It was just a big frizzled mess but it worked well with her bright smile and freckled face. She had a phaser rifle strapped to her back, that was almost as tall as she was. And next to her was Vvverrk Sslith. About as tall as the average human male. With a complexion that would suggest he was a human male, along with a face and proportions hat made him look like he was a healthy young human male. And if one were to have access to his medical file they would find that he is, in fact 100% human. And a male. His parents were an eclectic bunch and decided to name their only child something as strange, as unique as the most unique name possible. But mostly because they found it funny. They were professional comedians back on Risa. He stood, a little more timid then the rest of the group, mostly because he was the newest member to the "Whomping Wombats." or so that was the unofficial name to their platoon. But despite the name, there were quite an effective group and these three were called up to employ their trade. Sorrin took the device offered by the security chief and gave it an impassive look. "It would be most logical to use this device and stun the hostages if it incapacitates the terrorists." he said in a dry monotone. "They can be taken to sick bay for any minor injuries they may have incurred.""Oh, don't be like that Sorrie!" Alice's voice was surprisingly deep. "No one likes getting hurt. If we can get in without using it, we should."Vvverrk shifted his feet. "I think the order is to use it and get it over as soon as possible.""Agreed" said the Vulcan. "The next logical course of action is to head to the computer core and take it back.""Right!" Alice said cheerfully, " Goooooo Wombats!" she put her hand in the middle and raised it. Sorrin ignored it and Vvverrk gave an embarrassed chuckle but made no move to put his hand in. They made their way down to the core and was found to be locked. "Take positions." the lt. jr.grade ordered as the other two stood next to the door. They knew he was about to override it. [Kurjarians - Core]
There were three Kurjarians holding the Computer Core. They had become increasingly concerned as they failed to make contact with Jeren or any of the other teams. They reasoned that their communications were blocked and that they'd best carry on as the plan was. Umeb was the leader of this group. A grizzled veteran of countless battles. He'd been fighting for the Kurjarian people for longer than most of the group had been alive. Combat and violence was all too familiar to him. As was death. With Jeren expecting the Core to be a key target for Starfleet to take back, he had been assigned to hold it. Knowing they would be outnumbered they had prepared a number of traps to help at the very least slow down the attackers. The first any attacks would encounter was an improvised explosive placed near the door and set to trigger when a rudimentary sensor detected someone moving past it. Further on in the room there were more explosives, these ones to be set to be detonated remotely by Umeb. If Starfleet tried to take back the Core, the Kurjarians were prepared to do as much damage as they could before they surrendered or were killed. As a final line of defence near the back of the room, where the Kurjarians had fortified themselves behind some consoles, there were makeshift incendiary devices prepared. A highly flammable powder found on Caldonia had been spread and when ignited it would effectively form a wall of fire for a few minutes. For now, they waited for the inevitable attempt from Starfleet to breach.
[Divri Sickbay]
Divri was suspicious. Was he being serious? Was the Federationers technology really so advanced they could be be implemented so simply and easily enough that Divri could be trained here and now? It was a fascinating prospect, and one that could greatly help his people, perhaps even beyond the battlefield. "Yes. Train me now. But we need those patterns. We need medicine. We need equipment." [Chief Dr. Kece Lunn - Sickbay]Kece rolled his eyes at the impatience. "I am a surgeon, not an engineer. The diagnostic is someone else's fault," he proclaimed. "Now, I will teach you."Kece walked over to a cabinet in the back and retrieved a field kit. "This is a hypospray. It can be used to quickly and reliably deliver medication without puncturing the skin at all," he grandly explained, brandishing one of the devices. "Hyposprays have turned injections into a thing of the past, and most pills, too."This hypo was empty, but there were capsules for several basic medications elsewhere in the kit. [Divri - Sickbay]
Divri was suspicious about what Kece was up to. The diagnostic was odd, but he seemed to be offering to teach him and so Divri decided to trust him. At least for the moment. "No injections?" he asked bewildered, "And its that simple? You don't need advanced training or any more equipment? You just use this...this...hypospray was it?" this was the kind of technology they needed. [ Kova Sh'qaleq - Sickbay Corridor, Front Ear Station] It was a slight sprint that carried the hacker from the security office to the turbolift. After a quick ride to Deck 10, it was a short brisk walk along the corridor towards Sickbay which revealed a security team already in wait. Kova's eyes weren't upon them, but on the wall. Once she saw the panel she was looking for, she knelt down and pulled the cover away. From one of her pockets, she produced a pair of isolinear rods connected to a wire, which she quickly connected to her computer. She then removed two isolinear rods from their slots in the relay and connected the wired ones. "Record and replay four second time index starting now," Kova said aloud. After a few moments there was an acknowledging chime. At least this way, there was less of a chance for them to be detected advancing any further without actually peeking outside the door, now that she'd reconfigured the external sensors with the looped feed. Kova then nodded at the security team, making them aware it was okay to move forward and position themselves at the doors into Sickbay. Kova then began to press the panel on her computer. Once she found the EMH program, she began to upload the character program and modifying the necessary subroutines. Why someone had ordered this creature to look like a pissed off Klingon-Naussican baby tragedy she'd never know. Whatever the reason it paid the bills. Once the upload was complete her eyes moved towards Avi. "Looks like you're up." Kova gestured towards the access panel one of the guards had removed adjacent to the door. Kova was tempted to tease Avi by asking if she wanted the Andorian to hold her hand, but thought better of it. Of course, that wouldn't stop her from telling the story that way later on. Either way, it was up to the Bolian to get them inside. Meanwhile, Kova waited a few seconds before activating the hologram inside Sickbay... that had a penchant for playing wall ball with Kurjarians (as the ball.) Avi Moz | Outside sickbay ]Once they arrived on deck 10, Kova cooked up her light-up nightmares and unceremoniously handed it over to Avi pull the pin, as it were. "You're chasing freighter ash with Harmon," Avi said to Kova, first words she'd said since they'd left Security. The opening behind the panel was small, but when Avi pulled up an adjacent bit of grating along the floor it revealed a Bolian-sized gap. It was left over from some retrofit but it exposed a vulnerable part of the door's machinery. "With all of them," she said with a sweet smile. Then Avi took a neutron spanner and disappeared into the floor. Fifteen long seconds later, there came what sounded like an explosion under the floor, the sickbay doors jumped in their track, and smoke came billowing out of the gap in the paneling. Before Kece could answer, some angry dangerous creature suddenly appeared out of thin air, it attacked one of Divri's men, grabbing him by the throat and choking him. The other man started shooting at the creature but it seemed to do nothing. "What is happening?!?!" he asked Kece, pointing his weapon at the good doctor once again. There was then a loud 'bang', an explosion of some sort and the doors opened. "Get back! Stay out!" he called pointing his weapon towards the door and alternating between looking at it and the monster, his attitude suddenly very skittish.
Tag: Sven Aune, Judith Eastman, Kova Sh'qaleq, Avi Moz
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Matthew Harmon
Intelligence
[TI42] Frontier's Most Malcontent Malcontent
Posts: 540 Likes: 18
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Position: Intelligence Officer
Species: Human
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Post by Matthew Harmon on Jul 25, 2020 11:33:56 GMT
[Charlie Fox - Security Offices, Promenade]Charlie merely shrugged at Chloe's words, still feeling discommoded as the time continued to tick by, but not irritated enough to take it out on the young officer. When Lieutenant Harmon finally made his appearance she speared him with an unimpressed stare, and spoke. "I was just leaving. Your ensign managed to convince me otherwise." Without another word to the ensign in question, she moved away from her and toward the room that had previously been closed off to her. "You should promote her," she proclaimed as she stepped over the threshold. She came to a stop just inside the door and remained there, her arms folded across her chest as her brow arched with expectation. "If someone could give me the CliffsNotes, that would be great." She still had no idea what it was they officially wanted from her. [Cmdr. Judith Eastman(-Williams) - Promenade Security Office]Judy was a senior citizen. She (officially) couldn't hear Harmon's illegal request. However, she was unofficially displeased with it. She poured herself some water and silently lamented the Intelligence games. Granted, her psychological game wasn't quite the pure truthfulness she liked to imagine she could lead with, but it seemed less bad. She'd just finished the drink, and a brief cleaning for her glasses, when Charlie Fox joined them. "Ms. Fox, thank you for coming," the First Officer greeted. "Commander Judy Eastman, I don't think we've been formally introduced."She extended a hand to shake, always courteous and decidedly non-military in her manners, before addressing the matter at hand. "The Kurjarians are a minority species on Caldonia. Their delegation came aboard for cultural exchange, but, as you can tell, that didn't quite go according to plan," Judy explained. "They've requested your presence, as a journalist, as a condition for releasing some of the hostages. Apparently, they've already researched you, and chose you out of our resident press pool, but we think this has more to do with the message they want you to send than anything else. As it were, we'd like you to go in, and to listen," she added. Charlie Fox being a member of the press, Judy restrained herself behind the comfortable veil of propriety and the dignity of her office. She left the Nixonian logistics to Harmon, and the classified humanitarian[fn]Outdated a term as that probably is.[/fn] concerns unspoken. [Lieutenant Harmon - Security Office]
Harmon didn't react as Fox revealed she intended on leaving and apparently would have were it not for Chloe's interference. She did good, as always. Before heading into the office after Fox he looked around for Chloe and gave her a 'thank you' nod before heading inside. "I would if I could," he said briefly of Chloe's hypothetical deserved promotion. He then let Eastman brief her before jumping in at the end to wrap things up. "Given they seem to want you to publish a story on them, unless they have some sort of grudge against you personally, you would most likely be the safest person in there," he reasoned. "We can't compel you to go in there, but if you do we'd like to monitor you through this," he said handing her a small object, the same model of bug that he had been using with Avi's undercover operation. They seemed to work well. "It means we can hear everything, it can be clipped wherever you want and has a cloak so they shouldn't find it. If anything goes wrong, we're right outside we'll come in if we can, but we'd rather avoid a dangerous confrontation," he paused for a moment for her to process. "Any questions, or are you ready?"
| Blue Beta Bar and Grill || Lt. Sven Aune | Xander McGrath | Sven tilted his head. "I am aware of that." he responded to Jaren. It seemed the man had a shred of decency when he announced that he was going to let all the children, elderly and hurt go. There was hope still. And possibly hope for his cause. The question is, what would the reporter see. Though Sven was angry that Xander was on death's door, he shoved that emotion way down deep to get through this. "an act of compassion like that will go a long way to help your appeal." he said with a simple nod. [ Ens Joshua Niles - Blue Beta Bar, Front Ear Station ]"Clan Chief, you have come on board this station under false pretense; you have used force to secure a number of locations; you have taken hostages. I must ask you to be honest with us, and with yourself: how else would you expect us to react to you? How else should Commander Eastman treat with you, if not as a hostile, actively aggressive, force in her command area? If you'd talked instead, if you'd told us of your plight, we would have listened, and found ways to help if it was within our power."Niles spoke quietly, but firmly. The Federation and Starfleet had been willing to welcome them with open arms, and that hospitality had been met by acts of violence, and, frankly, of terrorism. Under any other circumstances, the young Ensign would have been most sympathetic. However, the moment Jeren and his people had chosen to employ violence rather than seek out help through diplomatic means, any good will he may have harboured had evaporated. And, well, as a Starfleet officer, let alone a very junior Ensign, his personal feelings had absolutely no bearing on things. "I'm not going to pretend I know your culture, Sir, or the whole of the situation your people are in; but what I do know is that I am a Starfleet officer, and my duty is to keep everyone in this room alive, including you and your people. If you are even perceived to renege or if anyone dies, it won't be Miss Fox on the other side of those doors, it'll be assault teams coming in through every point they can breach, and then people will die. I will have failed in my duty, you will be turned into a liar, and any support your cause might find anywhere in the Federation will die with these casualties. You keep your word as initially given, and I will give Commander Eastman the all clear to send Miss Fox."And just like that, the young Ensign took a stand, and he fully expected he would find a weapon in his face for his temerity, but he still harboured the hope he would be able to reach through to the Clan Chief, and hopefully reach a peaceful solution before all of it would drop into the pot. [Jeren - Blue Beta Bar]
Jeren nodded at Sven, calmly, as he began to regain composure and calm down. The mountain appeared to be calming as well, and reasonable. Things seemed to be improving. Then came the young officer. Until now, he had been doing well. Indeed Jeren felt as though without him things could have gone much worse, however he didn't seem to accept Jeren's prior points. He appeared to be of the impression he could do better than the bartender when she tried a similar plea. Worse, he seemed to be doubling down on his Commander's inflammatory reference. Perhaps he was simply another drone in Starfleet's machine after all?
"Starfleet doesn't care about out plight. They ignore it. Pretend not to see it and then trade with the Technocracy to ensure it keeps access to its precious minerals. That is more important to them than our lives," he said, his tone becoming more irritated as he spoke. "The time for listening and talking and diplomacy is long gone," he asserted. "You talk of perceptions of my people. You say you'll make us look bad. Tell me, if you truly have sympathy for my people's plight, would you use the misguided actions of a small group of 'terrorists' to condemn all of us? If you really cared, if you really would have done anything, would you be so eager to slander and condemn an entire species for the actions of a few?" the Federationers sat in their ivory towers, looking down on the rest of the galaxy with their false sense of moral superiority, yet here they were exposing themselves. They say they'd have listened yet they haven't, they say they care yet clearly they're only willing to even think about the Kurjarians now that their lives are in danger. "The reality is there is no perception of us. You can make us look bad, but I would be few of your people even know we exist. You just sit there while our trillium helps fuel your empire and helps you enjoy your comfortable lifestyles. None of you think about what is required to make that happen, all you care is it does and you get your trillium. You can either help our plight come to light, you can condemn us, or you can ensure we remain obscure. Even if you condemn and demonize us at least people are talking about us. If you keep us obscure than nothing changes. So you see, nothing you can do can make things worse for us. We have nothing to lose but out lives, which mean nothing in the grand scheme of things."The other Kurjarians in the bar had remained quiet since Qembi's injury at the hands of Sven. They'd let their leader to the talking, as was expected of them. But Izeg, the young man full of hope, full of life and passion, eager to defend and liberate his people had been listening carefully. This wasn't the group he'd joined. This cynical worldview where their lives were meaningless. After all if his life was meaningless what about others? What about his little sister back home? Or his ageing grandmother? Did they matter in the grand scheme of things? And the innocents of this bar...Jeren had convinced him they were living off the exploitation of his people, but now he was saying most of the Federationers didn't even know they existed? How could they stand there and condemn these Federationers if they didn't even know what was going on? No, this was wrong. Jeren was an old man, he seemed to be leading them down the wrong path. "Clan Chief..." he started to say nervously, knowing that speaking up would get him in trouble. He eventually found his voice and spoke up, "Maybe you should hear them out," he voice clearly sounded anxious but he pushed on, "If they don't know what was happening to us then we should show them! Let them see! Let them help us! We need allies, not more enemies!" he pleaded. "We cannot rely on anyone but ourselves, Izeg! They have no reason to help us! They need the trillium, not us. We are nothing to them! Just wait a little longer, the journalist will be here soon and we can tell her our story. Things are going fine, we will leave soon. Have faith in me, have faith in Ahvaras!" he replied angrily invoking Ahvaras, the Kurjarian panthenon's Chief Deity.
Tag: Felicity Ellis, Judith Eastman, Sven Aune, Joshua Niles
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Leanna Mazal
Civilian
Posts: 1,728 Likes: 32
Position: Civilian
Species: Betazoid
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Post by Leanna Mazal on Jul 25, 2020 13:15:23 GMT
[Leanna - Blue Beta]
Leanna had been more than hopeful that Sven and Niles would listen to her subtle warning not to continue pleading and making their thoughts known to Jeren, given how volatile the Clan Leader was becoming. However out of the two officers close by, Sven seemed to be more positive with what had been said and how favourable it would look for the hostage takers by letting most of the hostages go.
Niles on the other hand took a more firm stand with what he said and whilst she understood his reasoning for doing so, could potentially cause the whole situation to just blow up more than it already had, thanks to the words used and how he essentially agreed with how Judy had handled it with the term she had so blatantly called the Kurjarians.
The Betazoid didn't know what else to do, other than watch it go to hell if Jeren decided to target Joshua or take his anger out on someone else. So as Jeren spoke, perhaps she wasn't the only one to hear the irritation in his voice. Then again it wasn't difficult not too along with how assertive he was in telling his side of the story and the misconceptions of how everything was painted like some fairytale, when in fact it wasn't. His people were facing such an injustice and this once again reminded Lea of why they wanted to be heard, to no longer be hidden whilst suffering and how it had led them to this.
Although as a member of delegation party made such an impassioned plea for Jeren to listen, there seemed to be a shift in emotions amongst the Kurjarians. Maybe they were starting to realise what they were doing and how they could of done this differently, even if Jeren refused, putting his faith in both Charlie and what must be one of their deities.
Deciding to keep quiet for now, not wanting to add to the powder keg and observe instead until the right moment.
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