<<Engineering>>

As Lt. Commander Tiny and Doctor Jayngo go over the file logs for the time of the assassination, they find that temperature readings were set for four people's comfort level (three if one person is in a stealth suit, as pointed out by the Doctor). Since the LBH did not need the comfort levels, conclusions could be taken that a fourth entity was in the room at the time of the Ambassadors' meeting. Following such temperature changes, the two have worked through the following twenty minutes up until the hiding of the body. Further examination of the files will take a more time.

<<Medical>>

Upon receiving permission from the Bajoran Aides to the Ambassador to begin the rights of burial, Doctor Sule has exhumed the contents of Vedek Tow's system. He reports that the Vedek had consumed the Cardassian Hempik tea. Doctor Sule then continues the burial preparation.

<<Holodeck 3>>

After Ensign Corbin had programmed a meeting hall in the holodeck - complete with duck blinds containing Security Officers - twenty-one ambassadors and staff (including Dovenka Atylori) entered and took their seats, prepared for the meeting with Lieutenant Klaus, Counselor Dekelley and the security staff.

<<Ambassador Alley>>

Lt. T'Vala, Lt. JG Jefferson, and Ensign Hurt begin the searches of the Ambassadors' quarters, beginning with Dovenka Atylori, Berg San and Berg Cliffe's suite.

=^=chirp=^=

=^=Nganga to Ensign Paxton.=^=

David reached up and punched his communicator. "Paxton here, sir."

**waitaminute … didn't the commander just come onto the bridge from the captain's meeting room?** David looked over his shoulder to the meeting room door, which was now closed, with no sign of Nganga on the bridge.

=^=Ensign, meet me in Shuttle Bay One. You've got a ship to fly.=^=

**Huhhh?** "Uhh … yes sir. On my way!"

**Calmly D.J. … calmly …** D.J. composed himself … he had no idea what was going on, but it had to be more exciting than what he was doing now. He still didn't understand why he even needed to show up for duty most of the time … considering the ease of the flight so far, there's no reason the computer couldn't just do his job for him.

Swiveling away from the console, D.J. stood. Catching McGintly's eye, he nodded before heading up the ramp to the turbolift. He tried not to run …

-Shhhh-

D.J. looked through the open door, and into the shuttle bay.

Despite being aboard for several weeks already, he hadn't yet had the time to inspect any of the shuttles first-hand **of course, I don't have the authority to be near them most of the time, either** … not that he hadn't kept up his practice in the holodeck.

Entering the bay, the doors "sshhhhhd" shut behind him. D.J. walked over to the Mozart, and punched the door key. **Wonder what it's all about anyway? Does it have anything to do with the Vedek's murder … how could it?**

Smoothly, without a sound, the ramp lowered. Looking aboard, David saw nothing but gleaming, spotless, smooth equipment, lots of buttons, and a very inviting pilot's seat. Grinning, D.J. hopped onto the ramp from the side and launched himself into the seat.

Taking only a moment to examine the controls around him, he began the start-up procedure, running diagnostics and starting the pre-flight warm-up. **I wonder why Nganga picked me, anyway?**

Lights flashed on, and the hum of the engines rose softly. **There've gotta be more experienced pilots onboard …**

Already D.J. sensed a change in the environment, feeling the very slight vibrations running across the controls as the ship powered itself. **McGintly didn't tell him about my game in the sim before I came on board, did he? …***

Readouts of the power levels and systems check displayed on the monitor. **So far so good … reading are normal. Man, I hope Nganga doesn't know about that …**

As the controls and lights flashed a rainbow across his moving hands, David saw Commander Nganga through the viewport entering the shuttle bay. Subconsciously, he gulped. **Okay, enough. The Commander doesn't care about you … this is a job. And no matter what made him pick me, unless I want … Indigor … to get the next assignment, I'd better pull together …**

D.J. heard the commander's footsteps approach the runabout. **Take it easy … it's not like you've never flown before …**

David stood and straightened his tunic before walking back to meet the Commander. ** … just never with the 1st officer before … **

<<Bridge>>

Through computer monitoring, Norallah Tam has determined that all comm badges are registered and on board (or on the runabout.) An internal sensor scan registers 949 humanoid life signs aboard, 15 non- humanoid (pets). According to the crew manifest, there are supposed to be 953 aboard, excluding the now-deceased Vedek Tow. This scan obviously does not include the three security officers in Ambassador Alley.

<<Mozart Runabout>>

Nganga and Paxton's external sensor scan registers 952 humanoid life signs aboard, 15 non-humanoid (pets).

Ensign," Nganga said nodding towards the younger man. "Shall we?" he gestured back to the hatch of the runabout.

"Yes sir." D.J. replied. Walking with the commander, he mentioned, "I've taken the liberty of beginning a warm-up and pre-flight diagnostics of the Mozart, sir. All systems appear to be functioning at full capacity."

The Commander motioned to the pilot's chair for D.J., while sitting himself down as well, in the other forward seat. He also mentally noted Paxton's taking initiative, and was glad for it. "Very good, Ensign." Nganga paused as he considered his next words. Catching D.J.'s eyes, he opened his mouth …

"Uh, if I may, sir," D.J. interrupted, and then noticed the commander about to speak anyway.

Nganga raised an eyebrow, both at D.J.'s interruption, and then the awkward pause. "Ensign?"

D.J. hesitated. "Sorry sir. I was just … confused. We're not scheduled to be pulling out of warp anytime soon, and even if we do, according to the charts there aren't any inhabited systems nearby …"

Nganga responded, "This trip won't be far. We'll be making a few passes around the Cochrane. It may be tricky since we'll have to take into account her velocity. I'll be taking sensor readings as we go."

**may be tricky** D.J. held back a grin **yea, we'll see … shouldn't be too difficult. Still, it seemed an odd procedure** "Is there anything wrong with the sensor readings onboard, sir?"

"For the most part, no. However, we do have one area where we've dismantled the sensors: the ambassadors' living quarters. I was against it, but being 'diplomatic' for the sake of the mission..." Nganga's voice trailed briefly. "Anyway, all indicators are that whomever killed Vedek Tow took refuge in that area. And an external sensor sweep will be faster than resetting everything."

"And if you don't happen to find anything, you can avoid an incident with the ambassadors since they won't know their quarters were ever scanned in the first place," D.J. chimed in.

"Nganga to bridge. The Mozart's ready to head out. Please prepare to slow down the Cochrane." Nganga said into the air.

=^= Aye sir. =^= came the reply.

"Actually, I'd welcome the confrontation," Nganga said in reference to someone objecting to the scans. "We've already had a serious incident. I suspect only the guilty would object to our searching."

The sensation of the Cochrane slowing down was muffled somewhat, being onboard the runabout.

"Mister Paxton, let's get under way."

"Yes, sir," D.J. said. Blowing out a breath, he cocked his head to the side and leaned over the controls. **Here I go … let's hope I do better than my last sim flight …**

D.J. checked his board, noting that all systems were at 100%. Powering up the anti-grav generators, the runabout lifted from the deck. D.J. heard a "hmmmm" as he passed the Mozart through the docking bay's shielding, and then it was open space.

Linking to the Cochrane's computer, D.J. pulled up the starship's current impulse speed, and set the runabout's inertial compensators before they got left behind by the larger ship.

"Have some fun with it, Ensign." Nganga said, waving his hand in a very general motion towards the front screen.

"Sir?" D.J. looked at the commander incredulously.

"I told you what we need to do, but it is a trifle unorthodox. Therefore, there aren't any really set procedures," the Commander said. He looked at D.J. and smiled, "I'll tell you what. Why don't you pretend I'm not the person who will be doing your crew evaluations for the foreseeable future? You don't have to 'impress' me. Just fly comfortably around the Cochrane a few times. If I need you to do something specific, I'll let you know."

D.J. raised an eyebrow, stifling a grin at the same time. Nodding to Nganga, he replied with a "Yes, sir."

**Comfortably, eh … well, not very exciting, but I might be able to improvise a little , " D.J. thought. Commander Nganga set the sensor array for as thorough a scan as possible.

The runabout still faced the opposite direction of the Cochrane, having just exited the shuttle bay. D.J. allowed the starship to almost outdistance the smaller vessel. When the Mozart was at the tip of the Cochrane's aft section, he accelerated and turned toward the starboard nacelle.

Dipping low, he sailed the ship around the rear of the nacelle's support structure. The ion glow of the nacelle shown above, bathing the two officers in red light through the viewport as they flew underneath. Arcing gracefully around, D.J. faced the shuttle to the fore of the starship. Matching speed for a moment, the two paralleled each other's flight.

**Now, where should I take us …** D.J. thought. Accelerating, the runabout began to outpace the starship. Initiating a slight dive, the Mozart dipped under the saucer section. Although D.J. wanted desperately to "buzz" the larger vessel as close as possible, discretion suggested that he should control himself a little. Keeping his distance he sailed the runabout past the Astrometrics lab and under the saucer section.

Reaching the fore of the Cochrane, the Mozart sailed ahead and looped upwards while simultaneously turning to port. Heading back towards "home," he sailed over the top of the saucer section. As D.J. reached the tip of the Cochrane he dipped to his starboard to run parallel along the side of the starship, a pattern of light & dark windows playing in his peripheral vision as an assortment of crew and civilian quarters flew past. Keeping his distance so as not to alarm anyone (and respect their privacy), D.J. still couldn't help accelerating as he approached the rear of the saucer.

Hoping he remembered the location correctly, D.J. put on a burst of speed as the runabout sailed over the rear of the saucer and past ** … you watching this, Indigor …** the other flight controller's quarters, before diving down and heading straight aft between the starships twin nacelles. Dropping the speed back to normal, he sailed over the starships port nacelle, dipped the runabout downward, and looped around the back.

Completing his first circuit, the Ensign glanced at Commander Nganga. "First revolution completed sir. I thought I'd take us underneath the Cochrane this time, if you don't mind, to give you a chance to scan down below."

David Nganga was enjoying the flight. As an engineer, he enjoyed it when vessels were pushed beyond their 'norm'. At least that's how he rationalized it. He was also glad to notice that Paxton had relaxed some. The younger man seemed far less nervous. "Sounds good to me, Ensign, go for it."

"Yes sir," D.J. replied. Attention back on the controls, he continued the flight.

Shortly, they had skimmed the belly of the Cochrane, as well. The scans were complete, and Paxton's route had allowed for rescanning from multiple angles. "I have what we need. Let's head back in."

"Yes sir." Altering his path, D.J. dropped speed and programmed the coordinates to head directly for the shuttle bay.

**Well, that wasn't so bad … I guess. Hope the Commander feels the same way …**

The Commander was feeling disturbed, but not at the Ensign or the flight. **I'm not liking these numbers.**

As Ensign Paxton went through the process of piloting the U.S.S. Mozart, one of the Cochrane's three runabouts, back onto its parent vessel, Commander Nganga sat quietly thinking.

* 956 names on our Manifest. The Vedek is dead, 955. Paxton and I are out here, 953. *

He looked back at their sensor readings of the larger ship.

* 952! Damn. * the commander spoke to the comm system. "Norallah. How many did you get?"

The trill's voice came back from the Bridge, =^= 949. But there are three security guards in the blacked out field. So 954 counting you two. =^=

"Same as what we have. Start the computer on cross-referencing our two sets of sensor logs with our medical and transporter logs. I'll be up to the Bridge right away."

=^= Aye, sir. =^=

Dave really didn't expect much from Jayngo and Tiny yet. He knew what they were trying to do would be time consuming. But as he waited for Paxton to finish parking the Mozart, he couldn't help but wonder how the search of the Ambassador's quarters was going, and the interrogation.

He tapped his comm badge, "Nganga to Captain Starkin. Any news, ma'am?"

<<Ready Room>>

Captain Starkin receives a communiqué from Starfleet Security on Utopia Planitia. Based upon an anonymous tip, they reviewed the security tapes and found that the Obsidian Order agent known as Retlev has been caught tampering with a storage container due for U.S.S. Cochrane. While unclear what was put in, they did get the transit code (case #4257478) and destination (Cargo Bay 5 - a minimum security area located near Ambassador Alley). The communiqué also stated that surveillance on Reltev's quarters on Mordan IV revealed an encrypted coded message that appeared to be Romulan in origin.

Uriell Starkin sat in her ready room. She had recently returned from the holodecks, where she said a few words to the ambassadors to help smooth things over. Given their overall attitude, she was perfectly happy to turn the proceedings over to Klaus and Dekelley. Given how long and tiring the day had so far been, she didn't want to take the role of diplomat any longer than she had to.

On her return back to the ready room, she stopped by engineering to see how things were going. Tiny and Jayngo were working diligently, and Starkin was pleased. She left them to do their work, as she did similarly with Dr. Sule, who was at this point working on the burial preparations. Sule told the captain that it was in fact the Vedek who had consumed the Cardassian Hempik tea.

In a slightly morbid sequitor, the thought of the Hempik tea made Uriell realize she was thirsty. Trusting that her replicator had been cleared from any signs of tampering or wrongdoing, she made herself a warm beverage and sat back down.

Taking a minute to relax, Starkin leaned back in her chair and looked out the window. The lack of warp lines with the starts only confirmed what she had already felt, that they were currently out of warp. So she wasn't surprised when she saw the runabout out the window flying towards the port side. ::It must be going well,:: she thought, smiling slightly. But her ruminations were interrupted by the comm.

=^= Captain Starkin? =^=

"Go ahead."

=^= We have an incoming message from Utopia Planitia.=^=

"Patch it through." One chirp later, she was looking at a dark skinned man on the view screen. "Greetings, Commander."

"Captain, I'm Kent Terrell, U.P. security. I'm transmitting a report to you now, which details some troubling news we've recently made about some of your cargo. It seems one of your storage containers has been tampered with by an Obsidian Order agent known as Retlev. We're not sure what he put into it, but we do know which one and where it was going. It's all in the report."

"We had heard that an Obsidian Order agent had been arrested at Planitia... This may explain a few things. I appreciate you letting me know, Commander. We'll look into it at once. I think there's a good chance this information will help answer some questions we're both currently dealing with."

"Captain, one more thing. We looked into some surveillance done on Retlev's quarters back on Mordan IV. It picked up an encrypted message that seemed to be Romulan in origin."

::Romulan? This will make negotiations with those diplomats so much more interesting than they've already been. Klingons too, if they find out:: "That's certainly good to know. Thank you again, Commander. It's much appreciated. We'll be in touch."

"Captain." The screen went back to the blue Starfleet emblem and signage. The Captain pulled up the report and started reading. Soon, the comm chirped again.

=^= Nganga to Captain Starkin. Any news, ma'am? =^=

"Yes. I just received a report from Utopia Planitia. I just started reading it now... It seems that Obsidian Order agent there was somewhat busy before we left." She paused, remembering that the Ensign was probably still there. "Plus, there are indications that some other parties may be involved in all this. Parties that will certainly complicate matters."

=^= Wonderful. =^= The sarcasm came through the comm, loud and clear.

"I take it you're back from your little joyride?"

=^= Yes ma'am. You'll have to watch it, Captain -- Ensign Paxton can fly circles around your ship. =^=

That drew a smile from her. ::(Our ship, Commander.):: "So I noticed. Did your scans find anything?"

Nganga's voice sounded instantly serious again. =^=Yes. The numbers aren't looking right. Someone seems to be missing.=^=

"Missing? Do we know who?"

=^= Not yet. Norallah is cross-referencing our various logs as we speak. =^=

"Very well. Check up with her, then come to my ready room. We can discuss these details in person."

"Will do, Captain. I'll see you soon. Nganga out."

Commander Nganga stood from his seat on the runabout. He looked at Ensign Paxton, "You should probably head back to your post on the Bridge."

Nganga turned and headed for the hatch, but stopped and turned and looked at the younger David. He smiled, "By the way, thank you D.J. You made an unpleasant task fun."

Assuming that Paxton would be right behind him heading for the bridge, he didn't feel rude in heading out the hatch.

He tapped his badge, "Nganga to Bridge."

=^=Yes Commander?=^= came McGlintly's reply.

"Ned, Mozart's docked. Let's get moving again."

=^=Aye, Dave.=^= Nganga could hear Ned's smile.

D.J. saw Commander Nganga rise from the seat next to him. "You should probably head back to your post on the Bridge."

"Yes, sir," said D.J. Sighing softly, he turned back to the controls, and continued the shut-down procedure. Nganga turned and headed behind him, presumably for the hatchway. D.J. only heard him take 2 or 3 steps …

"By the way, thank you, D.J."

D.J. blinked. Looking up and turning to face his superior, he saw Nganga about halfway down the runabout.

"You made an unpleasant task fun," Nganga finished.

D.J. widened his eyes, but held himself composed. Nodding to the commander, D.J. said "Thank you, sir." As the Commander about-faced and headed once more for the hatchway, D.J. also turned to again face the controls, a grin on his face.

Logging his flight time into the Mozart's records, D.J. checked the console for status of the shut-down procedure. Noting that all systems functioned at peak capacity during the flight, the computer had finished backing up all operational data, and the engine had finished its cool-down, there was nothing further for David to do here. Shutting down the interior lights, D.J. stood and headed for the hatchway.

On the flight deck, he noticed the commander had already departed. Underneath his feet, D.J. felt the vibration that indicated they were all probably back in warp speed, now.

**Well, guess I should head back. Just a few more hours of sitting at the helm doing nothing while the computer flies the ship …**

David walked to the doorway. **Still, having the ship fly itself is probably better than Indigor doing it for me ...**

D.J. headed for the bridge, the shuttle bay door closing behind him. -Shhhh-

The Commander Nganga arrived on the bridge via the turbolift, Paxton having stayed behind to take care of some runabout maintenance.

Lt. Commander McGlintly stood up, preparing to hand over the Bridge.

"At ease, Ned," David said, extending his right hand out flatly, palm down. With his left hand he gestured towards the Captain's Ready Room. "Norallah, are those cross-checks...?"

"Yes, Commander." the Trill said. She leaned back so Nganga, coming down the ramp, could see the results on her screen.

"Thank you." Forcing to keep his facial expression blank, Nganga turned and walked to the door of the Captain's Ready Room. The chirp on the other side of the door could be heard.

Talking to Ambassador Atylori had gotten him nowhere. All his instincts told him that she had nothing to do with the Vedek's murder. She simply had a conversation with him, shared a drink and returned to her quarters.

Now what, he asked himself. The answer came quickly enough. He must continue questioning the ambassadors.....delicately....and await the sensor reports from Nganga and Tiny. As he thought to himself, he couldn't help but think something was out of place....but he couldn't quite figure out what.

Ensign Corbin caught his eye from across the room and ran her hair over her left ear. Klaus immediately excused himself from a conversation he was having with a Federation ambassador. This was the update he was waiting for.....Corbin's gesture signaled that. He headed back toward the restroom that had been created for the meeting. He thought it a natural reason to excuse himself mid conversation. And for that reason, he installed an entrance to one of the duck blinds there. Klaus made his way to the last stall, closed the door and entered the blind. Once inside his communicator chirped.

"Starkin to Klaus."

"Klaus here Captain."

"I have some interesting news for you Lieutenant. Firstly, it seams that both Commander Nganga's and Norallah's scans agree. There is one person missing. They have yet to identify the species. You will also be interested to know that a transmission from an Obsidian Order agent named Retlev was intercepted at U.P. Lieutenant, the transmission was Romulan."

Lieutenant Klaus felt as if had been physically struck. All he could do was think.

"Lieutenant?" the Captain inquired.

Klaus' eyes scanned the holodeck and came to rest on Ensign Corbin interviewing the Romulan delegation. Romulans, he said to himself, of course! Who else would be experts in cloaking technology.

"Lieutenant?!" the Captain asked, more forcefully.

Suddenly, that funny feeling he had been having crystallized into rational thought. One, two, three, four.....where was the fifth.....he scanned the room. No other Romulans could be seen. He double-checked his manifest. Yes! Five Romulans were on board.

"LIEUTENANT!!!"

"Sorry Captain. I have identified the missing individual. It's a member of the Romulan delegation. I suggest we target our search to their quarters and seal the holodeck. We do not know what this person's intentions are next. I also suggest that we begin an internal scan that looks for any signs of cloaking use. Captain, I strongly advise placing force fields over all vital areas including the bridge. Armed security teams should also be in these same areas."

"Very well, Mr. Klaus."

Klaus depressed his communicator. "Computer, place a level 10 force field around the holodeck. Klaus to security, concentrate your search to the quarters housing the Romulan delegation. Security alert, level 1."

With that, Klaus headed down to the holodeck and toward the Romulan delegation.

After giving their report to the Captain during her rounds, the two large men return to their work tracing the heat signature through 10- Forward.

Jayngo sat looking at the readings. "What is the normal body temperature increase while wearing a cloak suit?"

Bruno looked up at Jayngo and thought. "Depends on the suit, a normal suit would be five, ten degrees. But they might be lighter or heavier, depending on where it was made."

"That would be if it was a Starfleet cloak suit, which is based upon borrowed Romulan technology. Logic would dictate that they would have better tech, seeing that they originated it, correct?"

Bruno nodded, thought he wasn't all that sure about whether the Romulans would bother.

"These readings are very strange. We've already determined that the suit is giving off enough heat to warrant two bodies, or 123 degrees. If it was a human in that suit, that would mean it is adding 24.4 degrees, far too warm for human comfort levels."

"Then our player probably isn't human..."

"True. What we need to figure out is a) what race is in the suit, and b) who developed the suit. What races have developed cloaking technology besides the Klingons and Romulans? Do the Cardassians have it?"

Bruno shook his head "I don't think the Cardassians have cloaking technology. They don't have it on their ships at the very least."

"Then that leaves the Romulans and Klingons. Let me check something real quick." Pulling a datapad from his coat pocket, Jayngo began searching for some data.

"You looking for Romulans? Klingons would never assassinate someone without showing their face first, it goes against their code of honor."

Moments later, he found what he was working on. "Exactly my thoughts. We don't use Romulan physiology that often, but I have it in the database because of this assignment. Something wasn't adding up for me. Then it dawned on me that they have a much higher rate of metabolism, and a physiology similar to Klingons, though they would be hesitant to admit it."

Bruno laughed once, "That makes sense. But it would have been easier to check Vulcan records, you don't have to have missing links there"

"But that is the strange part. Romulan physiology and Vulcan physiology isn't overly similar. Yes, they have the same background and genetic makeup, but evolution due to their surroundings have changed them. Anyway, Romulans body heat is much higher than that of humans. The average body temperature is 104.9 degrees. That would make a variable of 8.1 degrees, well within the parameters of someone who is agitated or angry."

The Engineer nodded, "Yes, it would. So we're looking at a Romulan here?"

"Or a Klingon, whose normal body temperature is 103.5. But, as you said, it would be 'dishonorable' to kill an opponent in this fashion."

Bruno nodded again, "So we either have a Romulan, or a dishonorable Klingon traitor doomed for Grethor.....look for the Romulan."

"I agree. I'll continue going through these logs to try and support our theory with tangible evidence. Why don't you give a report to the Captain."

Taking the PADD "Alrighty then, now we know who we are looking for." Bruno tapped his comm badge, "Cmdr. Tiny to Captain Starkin, Doctor Jayngo and I have our results, we think we're looking for a Romulan, I'm coming up to give you the full details now." Heading for the exit.

Starkin was pacing, considering the implications of her message from Utopia Planitia. Could the Romulans really be involved in murdering a Bajoran Vedek? It wasn't a good scenario, that much was certain. She wanted to wait until she could talk with her first officer, hopefully having more information, before letting Klaus know. But Starkin's impatience got the better of her, so she decided she would let Klaus know about the communiqué first, before Nganga got there.

"Starkin to Klaus."

It was of course at that moment that the door chirped.

=^=Klaus here Captain.=^=

Not wanting to interrupt herself, she walked over to the door while speaking. "I have some interesting news for you Lieutenant." She pressed the manual door controls. "Firstly, it seams that both Commander Nganga's and Norallah's scans agree." With a tell tale SHOOSH the doors opened, allowing Nganga's entry. "There is one person missing. They have yet to identify the species." Nganga stepped forward as if wanting to interrupt. The Captain, however, continued. "You will also be interested to know that a transmission from the Obsidian Order agent named Retlev was intercepted at U.P. Lieutenant, the transmission was Romulan."

Nganga leaned in. In a quiet yet urgent voice he said, "Captain, Norallah's cross referencing indicates that the one person we weren't able to scan _is_ one of the Romulans."

Starkin's eyes grew in concern. The security chief needed to know this, but as of yet made no reply to her first statements. "Lieutenant?"

Upon still getting no reply, Starkin started wondering what was happening. "Lieutenant?!" the Captain asked, more forcefully.

She was still feeling impatient, and at this point a little worried. She needed to tell him this but had no indication he was listening or even still there. Had something happened? "LIEUTENANT!!!"

Some of her tension eased when Klaus finally replied. =^=Sorry Captain. I have identified the missing individual. It's a member of the Romulan delegation. I suggest we target our search to their quarters and seal the holodeck.=^=

So Klaus had come to the same conclusion. That left very little in the way of doubt, and Starkin felt something almost like relief -- at least they now knew who it was and could deal with it.

=^=We do not know what this person's intentions are next. I also suggest that we begin an internal scan that looks for any signs of cloaking use. Captain, I strongly advise placing force fields over all vital areas including the bridge. Armed security teams should also be in these same areas.=^=

The Lieutenant's suggestions struck her as being a little extreme, but seeing as they were dealing with a very crafty killer, it was certainly understandable. Starkin looked over at the Commander, her expression silently asking if he agreed with Klaus' recommendations. He cocked his head, his eyes indicating yes, it was probably a good idea.

"Very well, Mr. Klaus."

A small blip indicated that the transmission had ended. "Let's go." The door to the bridge opened as Nganga and Starkin walked towards it when the communicator chirped again.

=^=Cmdr. Tiny to Captain Starkin. =^=

Slightly exasperated, Starkin stopped. With a pointed finger she waved Nganga to continue to the bridge. The door closed as she responded, "Go ahead."

=^=Doctor Jayngo and I have our results, we think we're looking for a Romulan, I'm coming up to give you the full details now.=^=

He too came to the same conclusion. That settled it. She gave a slight smile. "Yes, we..."

Captain Starkin was suddenly thrown into the wall.

Lt. T'Vala stood in the quarters of Ambassador Atylori. She had already conducted a full scan of the room, including a physical search, but showed nothing for her efforts. She felt her stress levels rise, and smoothly ran through her Vulcan mental exercises to calm down and maintain control. She knew she was missing something. When she had entered the room twenty minutes ago, she had "felt" as though she was being watched. The room was visually empty, and by the time she was able to begin the scans, nothing was to be found. She once again began to feel her anger rise, and once again squelched it with the time- honored exercises of her people. She was about to leave the room when her eyes glanced across the replication unit.

Walking over to the unit, T'Vala saw in greater detail what had drawn her attention; the control panel had been put back into place slightly amiss. She had known that engineering had been in to fix the unit from being tampered with before, but they wouldn't have bothered pulling the control panel open. Grabbing hold of the edge, she yanked the panel off with a bit more force than she would have preferred and looked inside. The various chips inside meant nothing to her. It would take an engineer to come down and examine the panel to tell if anything was out of place.

Taking a step back, she said "Hempik tea, hot." The pad glowed in the typical radiance of combining atoms save for, upon completion, a Federation phaser sat where the mug should be. The high-pitched hum coming from the devise was a telltale sign of what was to come, giving the Lieutenant mere seconds to react. Slapping her communicator she stated in a clear Vulcan tone "Security to Transporter room one." Fluidity of movement matched her speech as she removed her communicator and placed it atop the overloading phaser. "Lock on my signal and beam it into space, NOW!" She noted the agitation in her voice at the end, but allowed herself the moment. The phaser beamed out of sight as it began its crescendo. At the same moment, she heard from a communicator in the hall, =^=Klaus to security, concentrate your search to the quarters housing the Romulan delegation. Security alert, level 1.=^=

On the bridge, Lt. Indigor sat at the helm awaiting the inevitable; the return of Paxton to take over "his" position. In the middle of his internal rant over how ineffective it was to be wasting his own personal skills, the ship pitched slightly to the right, caused by an unexpected explosion in space.

There is an inherent lag time with inertial dampeners. Usually, during routine flight on a large starship, the passengers and crew don't feel the effects of the ships motion. But sudden changes are felt.

Walking towards the Bridge, David stumbled; Newtonian physics keeping him going the same direction even as the deck under his feet (and the rest of the ship) pitched to the right.

Glancing over to see that the bridge crew was all right, Nganga called down, "What was that?"

"We're checking it now, sir," was Norallah's hurried reply.

The Captain walked in. "What happened? Are we under attack?"

"It was an exploding phaser..." was Norallah's reply, as data from various departments and systems flowed into the Operations Console, "...that T'Vala had beamed off the ship."

"Next time, beam it further," Nganga said wryly, picking himself up.

"It came out of Ambassador Aytolori's food repli..." the Trill continued, becoming confused, "...cator?"

"Red Alert," McGlintly said loudly. Red lights started flashing from various side panels.

"We have a murderous Romulan roaming our ship in a stealth suit. We have to find him. Start scanning for any signs of him," the Captain said. "Start with the Ambassadors' quarters. Look for anomalous heat signatures and any energy spikes or drops in the systems."

"And he's clearly familiar with our systems. Normally, phaser replication is restricted; he must have done some serious rewiring with that food replicator. Level ten security fields around all vital areas of the ship." Nganga had agreed with Klaus' plan though he thought it was a little extreme. He decided Klaus was right. "And get some armed security teams in those areas as well."

The captain's nod of approval indicated that she agreed. "Do it."

Calvin Skepti moves along the Promenade. In one hand he holds a Tricorder affixed with an extra nodule on its forward projection. He's just moving past one of the small shops. He taps his communicator.

=^= Mr. Falan? You getting a reading yet? =^=

Down along the garden area, Xavier Falan looks up from the tricorder, similarly enhanced as Skepti's. He can see the surly man moving slowly towards Ten-Forward. **What did he do to these Tricorders? This can't be Starfleet regulation. What would we do if we found the guy?**

=^= No, sir. I haven't seen the reading you exp...=^=

The floor lurched sideways and rushed to meet Falan as he was thrown bodily from his feet. A strange appearing plant catches his eye as his last thought of wonder fades to black.

Skepti's gruff voice cuts across the screams of the Boardwalk passer- byes. "What in the sam hell was that?!" A few of the panicked quiet, stunned by his cursing shout.

=^= Mr. Falan... Falan?? =^=

All around Skepti children were sniffling and some adults were glancing around wild-eyed. Then, the red lights went off.

"What next?" Skepti growled as he turned his eyes to his Tricorder once more and began to move towards Ten-Forward. **Where in the hell is this frickin' Romulan?**

D.J. walked the hallway, heading to the turbolifts. Being mid-shift, traffic was almost non-existent; the only sound the ever-present "hum" of the ship.

From further down the corridor, he heard a door open, and noticed another Starfleet uniform step out and turn in his direction. Not paying any attention, D.J. kept walking, wrapped in his own thoughts.

**I wonder …**

Suddenly, the ship lurched. Head snapping up, eyes wide, mouth agape, David kept his balance from the sudden jolt, only to be knocked down as the other crew member walking by him lost it, datapad spilling across the deckplates. **Whoah**

"What was that," the other crewperson said.

D.J. sat on the deck, left hand behind him propping him up, his right hand massaging the back of his neck. "I have no idea …"

Looking at the engineer, D.J. stopped. **Her again?** David recognized the young ensign that was slowly getting back to her feet across from him as the same one he had seen in the transporter room on Utopia Planitia. **I assumed she was stationed on the starbase …**

The other ensign looked around **her hair's nice … I always liked blondes**. David followed her gaze, and spied the datapad she had dropped. Before she could take a step for it, D.J. half-stood/half- stumbled to retrieve it. Picking it up, he straightened himself and handed it to her. "Uh, here …"

"Thanks. Sorry about the tumble … guess I was too caught up in …" she said.

"Oh, don't …" D.J. began, only to be interrupted by the young woman.

"Oh, we'd better get back to our stations."

Her eyes **green** were looking over his shoulder to the wall behind him. Glancing around, he saw the "red alert" light flashing. **Oh, man …**

The woman was already hurrying down the corridor away from him. David sighed and turned the other direction, heading more briskly for the turbolifts. **Still don't know her name …**

Klaus began walking towards the for Romulan diplomats when the decking suddenly lurched beneath his feat. Most of the ambassadors in the holodeck fell off their feet. The chief of security promptly followed suit. While picking himself off the floor, he noticed that the Romulans were just as confused as everyone else.

"Klaus to security."

"Security here, sir."

"What just happened?"

"A phaser just exploded in close proximity to the ship, sir. Lieutenant T'Vala found a phaser rigged to explode in Ambassador Atylori's food replicator. She ordered its emergency beam out."

Klaus pondered what to do next. "Expect some visitors shortly. Klaus out."

The Romulan delegation, along with Ensign Corbin, started their way toward Lieutenant Klaus. Struggling with their names for a moment, Klaus realized that it was one of the Ambassador's aides that was missing. The one known as Karlic.

Aid Tavalin spoke first. "What is going on Lieutenant?"

"It appears that Karlic may be implicated in the murder of Vedek Tow."

While saying this, Klaus noticed something he did not expect.....surprise....in all of the Romulans. Their diplomatic training quickly took hold and their faces became unreadable.

The Ambassador took over the conversation. "That is quite a charge Lieutenant. Unsubstantiated accusations of this magnitude tend to have outcomes that are most.....unfortunate for all those involved."

Klaus wasn't in the mood for diplomatic verbal fencing. He looked at the Ambassador and said, "All things will be made clear in time. My concern now is twofold. One, your aide has been implicated in a murder and you four gentlemen have yet to be cleared of any complicity. Second, once word spreads concerning the aide, others attitudes towards you may not be so friendly. For these reasons, I need to place you in protective custody.

"Klaus to security, beam the four Romulans to security and place them under guard."

"You can't do this! I will report you --" Sub-Commander Serino's objection ended in transport static.

"Klaus to security, make sure you check the Romulans for weapons and cloaking technology. Also send two security teams to the holodeck and security the ambassadors."

"Aye, sir."

"Bridge to Commander Nganga and all Security forces. The suspect is fleeing the area of shuttlebay 1, heading in the general vicinity of ..." Norallah double checked her internal sensors. "... of Ten Forward."

Klaus smiled approached Ensign Corbin. "Get your team ready and follow me."

Allowing herself a half-second to regain control, T'Vala moved toward the door to "borrow" a communicator. As the door slid open, she saw Ensign Hurt lying on the ground across the hall. Rushing over to him, she fell to her knees, placing one hand against his neck and the other against his comm badge. "Lieutenant T'Vala to Lt. Klaus and Doctor Jayngo. Medical emergency. Ensign Hurt is down. His pulse is slow and shallow and, if I did not know any better, he looks a bit younger."

"Captain," McGlintly said as he stepped to his left, allowing the Captain access to the Center Chair, "Romulans aren't known for their lone wolves or kamikaze tactics. Recommend we raise shields and scan for incoming Warbirds along with signs of cloaked ship."

David smiled slightly, Ned had beaten him to that suggestion. He was distracted. Klaus had said that they didn't know the Romulans intentions. Yet, now in two separate attempts the Cardassian Atylori appeared to be the target. The poisoned drink was a Cardassian beverage after all. And the phaser in the replicator... Nganga shuddered at that one. He started wondering about the kamikaze statement of McGlintly's.

"Yes, do it," Starkin said to McGlintly's suggestion. "Make sure the transporter rooms and shuttlebays are on that list of vital areas," she added.

Then again, an overloaded phaser exploding would take out most of Ambassador Alley. Depending on the timing, that would kill most of the delegations. And the ensuing study would undoubtedly indicate that the Cardassian's quarters were ground zero. "Target and/or frame victim." he said aloud.

"Sir?" Norallah asked.

"Atylori. She seems to be a target on some level. What was she trying to make when...?"

Norallah tapped a few keys, "Hempick Tea."

"Again?" Ned asked.

Dave had made up his mind. He walked over to one of the concealed wall panels and opened it. Inside were a row of phasers, he grabbed one.

Nearby, Ensign Bak, there as Norallah's relief looked at the commander and at the phaser row. At a nod from Nganga, he also grabbed a phaser.

"Permission to leave the Bridge, Ma'am?" Nganga said to the Captain.

"Permission granted," she replied.

Doctor Jayngo sat in engineering, examining the temperature logs from the night before. His communicator chirped, followed by his friend's voice. =^= Lieutenant T'Vala to Lt. Klaus and Doctor Jayngo. Medical emergency. Ensign Hurt is down. His pulse is slow and shallow and, if I did not know any better, he looks a bit younger. =^=

Springing to his feet, Jayngo quickly worked the averages in his head. Even at his accelerated speed, he knew that he couldn't clear the length of the ship in time. "Jayngo to Transporter Room 1. Emergency beam-out of Ensign Hurt to Sickbay."

=^= Yes sir. =^= was Ensign Salex's only reply.

"Jayngo to Transporter Room 2. Beam me to Sickbay immediately."

=^= Sir? =^= replied Ensign Gordon.

"It's an emergency, LaVar. Now."

The large doctor glittered out of sight as the heat signature entered "Ambassador Alley".

Getting into the Turbolift, Commander Nganga checked the setting on his phaser. "Heavy Stun should do it." Once Ensign Bak was on, Nganga said "Deck Ten" into the air.

The lift car started moving. Bak was setting his phaser and humming a melody that Nganga couldn't place. "What..." he started to ask.

"Who's the black private dick who's a hit with all the chicks." Bak said in a vaguely poetic fashion, then slipping into a falsetto he added "Shaft!"

Nganga looked at Bak, "Shut your mouth."

Bak replied "I'm just talk..." until he noticed the expression on Nganga's face.

The overall effect left Bak Xiam wondering if Nganga was putting one over on him or not.

Norallah's fingers flew over the computer system with fluid motion, first running the suggested heat signatures, energy spikes and drops in the systems. That failing due to the vastness of the ship, she switched tactics to the same ones being applied outside the ship. "Captain, short and long range scanners and tachyon readings indicate no other ships in the area."

"Any luck with the cloaked Romulan, Lieutenant?" asked McGintley.

"Switching to tachyon readings within the ship now, sir." Continuing her work with peak efficiency, she redirected a low-level tachyon burst throughout the entire ship by reversing polarity on the deflector array; low enough to keep from doing any harm to the crew of the Cochrane, but just enough to cause the cloak suit to stick out like a sore thumb.

"Got him! Bridge to Commander Nganga and all Security forces. The suspect is fleeing the area of shuttlebay 1, heading in the general vicinity of ..." Norallah double checked her internal sensors. "... of Ten Forward."

Rounding a corner, David stopped suddenly. In front of him, marring the otherwise spotless, clean and sanitized "regulation Starfleet corridor, " a security guard lay slumped against the wall, listing to his side. He was armed, though his phaser was still holstered.

Running to the man, D.J. crouched to feel for a pulse. Unlike David's own racing heartbeat, the security guard's was slow, and maybe a little unsteady.

Looking up and down the hallway, ear straining for any other sounds, D.J. punched his communicator. **who should I contact first … ?**

"Ensign Paxton to Sick Bay. I … uh, … have a medical emergency. Security officer down. He's … he's unconscious, and his pulse is weak." D.J. continued scanning the corridor, in-between worried glances at the crewman.

=^= Thank you, David. =^=

D.J. recognized Dr. Jayngo. Even to David's ears, the usually calm voice seemed a bit rushed. =^= I will have him beamed to sickbay immediately. =^=

"Thank you, Doctor." D.J. replied.

Within seconds, David could faintly sense the rising pitch of the transporter as it locked onto the security officer. Not realizing what he was doing, or why, D.J. quickly reached down to the guard before he became immaterial. Grabbing the phaser from his belt, D.J. stood and backed away to watch the other crewman dematerialize. The hall was once again spotless … ship-shape. But D.J.'s unease continued.

Another civilian had kept his feet better, but stumbled near where Skepti's aide had hit the deck plates hard. He immediately checked Xavier, who was knocked cold.

"Help. Help. It's Falan, and he can't get up."

L. Q. Clemonds emerged from his bar, a full beer in hand. "Well, tarnation, folks. What in the sam hill is goin' on?" Looking down, he saw the civilian and Falan on the floor. "Awe, shoot." Looking around, he spotted Marlo working his way along the sidelines. "Mr. Salvador! Git yerself overhere now, son! We need some help!"

Moss moved quickly over to the group forming around the downed Falan. Checking for a pulse, he hit his communicator. "Moss to Jayngo. We got a downed man, Doc."

=^= Give me a description, Moss. =^=

The groundskeeper could tell the hurried tone to the doctor's voice. Something was going on besides the typical post-accident casualties. "It's Mr. Falan, the Assistant Manager of the Boardwalk. He seems to have been knocked unconscious in the shaking of the ship. His pulse is steady and strong."

=^= OK. We have our hands kinda full down here, Moss. Can you manage to get him to sickbay for me? =^=

Marlo looked up at the civilian and Clemonds, who both nodded. "We're on it, Jayngo."

=^= Be careful. Grab the first security officer you find and have him escort you. Make sure he has the modified visor on him. =^=

Marlo looked back over at the two men, fully realizing that they had volunteered to help before they knew there was hazard involved. They hesitated, and nodded again. "Will do. Moss out."

Red emergency lights flashed in the hallway.

D.J. stood alone in the corridor, body erect, phaser gripped tightly in his hand, pointed down. Still staring at the spot where the security guard used to be, he reached up with his left hand and pushed his communicator.

"Ensign Paxton to Security"

=^= Security here Ensign. Go ahead. =^=

"I … uh, I'm on level 10, near junction 19. I came across one of your team, unconscious. He's been beamed to sickbay."

=^= Do you know what happened? =^=

"Uh … no. I didn't see or hear anything." D.J. turned to look behind him, and then back again.

=^= Understood Ensign. I've just confirmed Lt. Rickard's communicator and bioscan in sickbay. I'll notify Lt. Klaus and have a team sent to investigate the area. Is there anything further you can tell me? =^=

"Uh … no. No."

=^=Security out. =^=

D.J. just stood for a moment. Looking down, he checked the phaser in his hand. **If I read this right … this button ** (beep) **should set it to stun. ** The ensign raised his head. Turning his head left to right ** all clear ** he let out a breath and headed for the bridge.

Getting off the turbolift, Nganga and Bak looked around unsure of which way to go.

"Which way, sir?" Ensign Bak asked.

"Well, he could be planning an escape, or he could be planning another attempt on ... " Nganga started to say when he felt a slight tingle at the base of his spine. "Heh. Good Girl."

"Sir?" Bak said, confused.

"Nothing," was all the Commander said.

=^= Bridge to Commander Nganga and all Security forces. The suspect is fleeing the area of shuttlebay 1, heading in the general vicinity of ... of Ten Forward. =^=

"Well, now we know which way, Ensign," Nganga said. "C'mon."

They broke into a run heading toward Ten Forward.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Bak." Nganga responded.

"What was that be..." Bak took a breath "...fore, about a ... 'good girl?'"

"Norallah reversed the ... deflectors. Hit the ship ... with some offbeat ... particle. Those suits were ... designed to move about with ... pre-warp societies. Not work so well ... against sub-atomic part... icles or cosmic radia ... tion. Subsonic .... hum from deflector ... was tip-off."

Bak Xiam had heard of engineers getting to know their ships so well that they could pick up subtle nuances in their operation. This was the first time he had experienced it. And he wondered if he'd ever know any ship that well.

As opposed to their normal positions on the interior of 10-Forward, Officers Kais and Rien stood in the outer corridor, phasers in hand and visors on their head. Neither of these things gave them the advantage as much as their empathy, which was currently focused down the entryway. Therefore, they knew exactly when the cloaked man was about to come around the corridor. Unfortunately, they were both a little on- edge, and both squeezed off a shot seconds too soon, sending the cloaked Romulan spinning on his heel.

:: You go after him, and I'll stay behind in case he doubles back. ::

:: I was just about to suggest that. ::

:: I know. ::

Roland stepped back into the doorway to use it for cover while Richard took off running after the phantom. Within seconds, he saw a blur round the corner. As he did the same, he saw the Commander and an ensign running toward him.

"Sir..." Bak called, "There's someone up ahead."

"He just ran past you, on your left, Commander."

Nganga whirled left, swinging blindly, even as his brain finished realizing that 'he' was the invisible Romulan. However, Nganga saw no better than someone in a pre-warp civilization and the Romulan heard Roland shout as well. He casually sidestepped Nganga's fist.

Too casually. Stealth suits are bulky and roomy.

Nganga hoped to feel his fist connect with the Romulan. He was disappointed. However, the feeling of fabric covered wire mesh was an adequate consolation prize.

Calvin Skepti, modified scanner in hand, had detected the cloaked Romulan, and had headed out following the path taken by Kais and Rein moments before.

D.J. approached the next junction when he heard voices ahead of him.

"Sir, get back," Rien called. Skepti ignored him and kept going. He came up on Kais, Bak and Nganga.

The voice wasn't panicked, but it sounded urgent. Something was going on up ahead. With a sharp intake of breath, D.J. set his jaw and steeled his resolve. Hand gripping the phaser, he lunged ahead into a run.

In the intersection before him, facing to D.J.'s left, was a security officer, along with ensign Bak. Calvin Skepti was quickly approaching them from D.J.'s right. The two Starfleet personnel had phasers drawn and pointed down the hall.

Nganga was pulling his left arm back. In front of him, a figure in orange appeared to be flickering into existence. A tongue of his suit was pulled out, still partially showing where Nganga's fist had pulled the suit, damaging it.

David followed the phasers. Just past the intersection junction, Commander Nganga was trying to grapple with … someone. **What the he …** The blurred form jerked left and right, fitzing in and out of view. Nganga pulled his left arm back, his right still holding a phaser. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, he appeared to be looking for a solid opening shot.

A stampede of security footsteps; Klaus, Corbin, and their team; could be heard from further down the hall.

Hearing tramping coming from the corridor on the right, D.J. backed up. **It's gotta be security … it better be security …**

From a branch hallway, a blond haired ensign in red, recently acquired phaser in hand stepped into the corridor. D.J. Paxton was still on his way to the Bridge. With the Romulan on his left, and hurried footsteps on his right, he stepped backwards out of the corridor, but stayed close enough to watch.

D.J. didn't take his eyes off of Nganga and the flickering assassin. Orange flared in and out, until the cloaked figure took a step away from the enraged officer. Suddenly, his head appeared **Romulan!!** at the same time that a pistol found its way to his right hand. Nganga stopped his movement, planting his feet solidly on the ground. Left arm still prepared to either block or launch a physical pounding of its own, the commander's right arm straightened before him, phaser pointed at the Romulan.

Removing his hood with his left hand, the Romulan used his right hand to produce a disruptor pistol.

"Give it up, Karlic!" Klaus called, coming into view. Corbin and the rest of the security team were right behind him. D.J. heard Lt. Klaus as he approached the junction. Peripherally he saw him and a security team as they approached the fight.

"You're trapped," Nganga said, his voice a deep rumble.

Karlic snarled, and didn't flinch. "Oh, really?" Left eyebrow raised, he looked over the faces before him. Straightening, he aimed his pistol directly at Nganga's chest. "Who wants to be the one to sign the commander's death warrant?" A sneer crossed his face. "Lower your phasers!"

The security force hesitated, their phasers wavering as some of them questioned whether the Romulan would really shoot the commander. Karlic and Nganga, however, had a standoff, neither budging in their aim.

Watching for phasers being brought to bear, the Romulan barked out, "You, pilot!"

D.J. blinked, a twinge going through him. **Wha …**

"You will be flying the commander and I back …"

<<<FrrrzzzAAAAcccckkk>>>

A wild bolt of electricity arced erratically past the Romulan. Surprised and half blinded by the flash, Karlic spun toward its source only to see a glimpse of a grey jacket flashed with green disappearing around the corner, trailing acrid smoke.

David's skin tingled as his ears registered the sound. **What was that?** D.J. squinted from a flash of light. The assassin did the same. Reflexively bringing his left arm up to shield his face, the Romulan's right arm left Nganga's line of sight. David glanced briefly at the pistol's new trajectory, only to see someone **Skepti??** sprinting down the adjacent corridor, smoke following behind him.

SMACK!

Nganga reacted as Karlic spun, knocking the disruptor away.

Jerking his head left, D.J. saw the pistol fly from the Romulan's hand and clatter off the wall. Nganga's left arm now arced behind him from its momentum. Nganga's right didn't budge. Before Karlic could make another movement, a half dozen beams of phaser fire, from myriad directions, brought the Romulan down.

D.J. couldn't tell whose beam hit the Romulan first. A split second later, the Romulan was knocked off his feet as more of the security force opened fire. D.J.'s phaser remained at his side, the ensign not having the skill or reflexes to try shooting when the commander was so close to the target.

In one short moment the light show was over. The Romulan lay on the deck plates. A few last sparks flickered across his body as the cloaking suit released its last burst of energy before it ceased working entirely. Pushing his way through the corridor, Lt. Klaus stood next to the Commander. With Klaus as his guard, phaser still aimed at the former "assassin", Nganga punched his communicator.

Glancing down, Bak Xiam noticed a large black glove on the deck plate.

"Nganga to Captain Starkin," he said, never removing his eyes from the body, "it's over."

On the bridge, the crew started to lightly cheer, and Starkin blew a sigh of relief. "Excellent." Looking around, she said to the immediate crew and over the comm, "Good job, people."

Ned asked, "Norallah, has there been any indications of any cloaked ships? Any minute anomalies or such?"

She looked at her screens and pushed a few buttons to double check. "No -- No sign of anything out of the ordinary."

"Is everyone now accounted for?"

She smiled. "Yes."

"Cancel red alert!" he said, a little too loud. "Keep us at yellow, and keep scanning for a while, just to be on the safe side."

The red flashing lights stopped flashing. "Aye, sir."

When Klaus was satisfied that the Romulan was unconscious, he holstered his phaser and retrieved the Romulan's weapon. Before touching him, he performed a detailed scan which revealed a small hypo containing the poison and the non-functional cloaking suit. These he removed carefully and placed in evidence pouches that a security member provided. Klaus then motioned to Ensign Corbin.

"Ensign, see to it that this Romulan is placed in the brig under watch. I don't want him dying under mysterious causes."

"Aye, Sir."

Klaus turned to Nganga. "With your leave, sir, I have a lot of work to do."

"Is there any assistance you need, Lieutenant?" Nganga replied.

"As a matter of fact, I was just notified that the storage container Utopia informed the Captain about was just discovered. I would like to request that Lieutenant Sulu accompany Lieutenant T'Vala to investigate it."

"Request granted. Good work, Lieutenant."

Klaus began making the arrangements as he made his way for security.

Commander Nganga smiled as Klaus' security people hauled Karlic off.

He wasn't really surprised that the rest of the Romulan delegation also showed up to watch, and to complain about how Klaus had treated them, since they *ahem* knew nothing of Karlic's actions.

"Well, I wasn't there, Ambassador," Nganga had said, "I don't know anything about the behaviour of Lt. Klaus or any of the security team."

It was a pathetic jab, but it was still a jab. He'd probably hear about it, since it was a sure bet they'd take their complaint to Starkin, and Starfleet, and anyone else who would listen.

"David Timothy Nganga!" a voice called out.

Only one person on this ship would use the Commander's middle name in such a fashion.

"Mom..." David said in an exasperated tone that Terran offspring had been using for centuries, "You really shouldn't be here. We're still cleaning up after a diplomatic incident."

"You may be able to tell most of the people on this ship what to do," M'tilda Nganga said, "but I'm still your mother. What's this I hear about you getting in a fist fight with the murderer?"

"It wasn't a fist fight. He brought a disrupter. I had a phaser. Not that I actually used it."

"THAT doesn't make me feel any better about it."

"It's a part of my job. That killer and saboteur was creating havoc on this ship. And I have a responsibility to this ship, its crew, and its passengers."

"Oh... I know that." M'tilda hugged Dave. "But I'm still going to worry."

"I know, Mom."

"Now I'm going to find your father." M'tilda said, releasing her embrace. "You go fill out all of your reports and such."

"Yes, Mom," Dave grinned. He then produced a PADD from his vest pocket. **Hmmm. I was wondering where I put this one.**

Dave started tapping away at it, even as he headed for the Bridge.

Skepti grunted, an animalistic sound of thought and pain. His quarters were dark, only his desktop lit with a bright work light. Along the left side of his desk, light winked off of clean tools of all shapes and sizes. Just under the light, was the arm. The prosthetic hard won from his time as a Maquis supporter lay before him. Sweat dripped from his brow and his nose scrunched at the smell of burnt flesh.

The 'arm' was all curves and sworls. Where it attached, near Calvin's bicep, the flesh was an oozing mess. Skepti mutters, "The power cell I bypassed to enable the low-level spark must have heated up the entirety of the prosthetic." Shaking his head the grizzled man continues his work.

<A Half hour after the fight in the corridors>

Doctor Jayngo applied the final hypospray dosage against the neck of Ensign Hurt. Having been exposed the longest, the antidote to the Cerebus II "rejuvenation" elixir had to be applied slower to keep from causing the exact complications that were being avoided. In the end, he now looked as though he was back in his teens, but given enough time the side effects would pass. The other four victims were resting comfortably on the other biobeds.

Doctor Sule, Nurse Kuehl and Simon Tarses were all hard at work on the various cuts and bruise victims from the ship being bounced around. Mr. Falan was the last one brought in, and was occupying the last table in Sickbay. He had suffered a mild concussion. He would need to stay the night for observation, but would be fine.

Doctor Jayngo moved to his office, sitting for the first time since leaving engineering. Word was already circulating that they had caught the murderer. Jayngo was torn between wishing he had been there and grateful because he was not. But he had his own work to do now. "Computer, begin Medical Log."

"Mr. Skepti, MR. SKEPTI."

Calvin turns obviously unable to ignore this person forever. It was Moss Salvitor, the groundskeeper. "There is something I can do for you, Mr. Salvitor?" he inquires. The scent of the Garden, usually so soothing to others seemed to tap the Manager's ire.

"Yes, Mr. Skepti, I believe so." He pauses slipping a modular device from a pocket of his overalls, "I thought you may want this, as Mr. Falan works for you. I'm not quite sure what he was doing with a Romulan scanner adapter, and I don't think I need to know," he said winking conspiratorially.

Calvin's own brows rise in surprise as he takes the adapter. "Well, Mr. Salvitor, I don't quite know what to say..."

Moss smiles and waves his words away, "I know you're busy with that meeting and all. Just so long as you got the adapter, I think everything will be fine."

Skepti finds himself walking away lost in thought. With a backward glance at the smiling Salvitor. **How did he know about the meeting?**

Klaus had been questioning Karlic for 2 hours....and was getting nowhere fast.

"Let's try this again, shall we? Who are you really?"

"My name is Karlic, aide to Sub-Commander Serino."

No surprise there. "What organization do you work for?"

"The Romulan Ambassador division."

Riiiight. "What was the purpose of your assassination attempt?"

Silence.

Can't say there is any surprise there. "Am I correct in assuming that the Vedek's death was unintentional?"

"Innocents will be lost. It is an unfortunate side effect of battle."

So their suspicions were correct.....The Vedek was not the intended target. The only thing that doomed him was a taste for Cardassian beverages. "Do you work for the Obsidian Order?"

"Obsidian Order is Cardassian," he says with disgust. "And the Order has been officially disbanded. Its what makes their former agents so easy to hire. The animals."

Interesting...."What can you tell me about a Cardassian named Retlev?"

Silence.

Well, Utopia security will have to deal with that end of things. "Who else assisted you on Utopia?"

"I believe an Ensign Frankes carried my bags to my suite. Other than that, I have no idea what you are talking about," he says with a smile.

Smart ass. "Do you work for Romulan Intelligence?"

"That is an oxymoron, you know."

"What were your intentions after the assassination? Did you have a contact? What was his/her name? How were you supposed to contact them?"

Again, silence.

Big surprise there. "Where did you acquire your cloak suit?"

"The Romulans created the cloak, you fool. Don't you think we would have created the cloak suit as well? I brought it with me. In case the Federation's paltry security would be incapable of protecting me."

"Where did you acquire your weapon?"

"Again, personal security. It is amazing what you can sneak aboard this ship."

Klaus immediately thought of the storage container. He wondered how the investigation of that was going. "Where did you learn how to alter our food replicators and power grid?"

"Federation technology is antiquated. A Romulan child could alter your technology."

Yeah, right. "Where did you acquire the poison you used?"

Silence.

Klaus strongly suspected Retlev. "Did you have any accomplices on board?"

"A person would need no accomplices to fool a backwards race like your own."

Well, that's about all the information I am going to get, thought Klaus. The rest will have to be up to Starfleet Intelligence. Klaus stood without a word and exited the interrogation room.

He tapped his communicator. "Klaus to T'Vala. Status report."

"Sir, I was just about to contact you. We discovered the storage container and with the help of Lieutenant Sulu, we have discovered some interesting things."

"Proceed."

"Firstly, we found traces of Romulan and Cardassian DNA on and in the container. Secondly, an unusual energy signature found in the container matches that emitted by the cloaking suit. The seal on the vial of poison must have been faulty because we found traces of that in the container as well."

"What about the disruptor?" The security chief inquired.

"That is what I don't understand, sir. We found a small chip of material that matches the disruptor housing. I can't explain how it got here."

"Perhaps when Mr. Skepti ran into Mr. Retlev, the Cardassian accidentally dropped it....causing the chip. Thank you for your efforts. Please secure all that material into evidence. Klaus out."

Almost on cue, his console beeped at him. The results were finally in on the background check of Mr. Karlic. Klaus sat at his desk and began to read. He leaned back in his chair and massaged his temples. Revenge. That's all this was about....revenge.

"Klaus to Captain. I am ready to give you my report."

Captain Starkin, sitting in her chair, pleaded to the individual on the screen. "Do you have really have to? Won't they reconsider? The summit will be much less effective without a Cardassian presence there."

"I'm afraid the High Command is quite clear on this, Captain. They feel that given this incident, Starfleet's security has proven to be less than secure."

Starkin refused to let her feathers get ruffled by the jab. Instead she countered. "The conference is at a Klingon planet."

"Still, Command feels it would be inappropriate to attend under these circumstances."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Rukan. Atylori will be missed there."

"I'm sure you'll manage. We do, however, appreciate the zealousness and dedication of your crew in finding the assailant. I'm sure Dovenka could have taken care of herself and was in no real danger, but we are grateful for your efforts nonetheless."

::They can't even just say 'Thank you.':: "You're welcome."

"We also appreciate the fairness of your investigation. I wouldn't have been surprised if, with a Bajoran Vedek killed, Starfleet mistakenly assumed that we Cardassians are to blame."

"Starfleet looks for truth and facts -- not prejudiced assumptions."

The Cardassian smiled. "Of course. So tell me, Captain, what do you plan to do with the Romulan assassin?"

Starkin hesitated a moment, thinking of how to give a vague answer without being rude. If this Cardassian wants to find out about how both the Romulans and the Bajorans want dibs on Karlic, he'll have to find it out from some other avenue of information. "He'll be transferred to a facility and in time will face justice, as offenders should. But his exact fate is yet to be determined."

"As are all of our fates."

Starkin held her gaze, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at the Cardassian's melodrama. "Perhaps we will know more by the time we reach the summit..."

"And if we were there, then we'd know find out, I know. But my point is, if Starfleet needs assistance in dealing with the Romulan, we would be happy to help. Cardassian justice is very fair and swift."

"I'm sure we'll manage."

"Very well. Just be careful, Captain. The Romulans are a most duplicitous race."

She held her gaze again. "Thank you for the advice. Please let us know if your government changes its mind on the summit."

"It is doubtful, but I will let you know if there are any changes. Until next time, Starkin -- Rukan out."

Starkin got up, paced a little bit, and let out a big sigh. ::So that's that.:: She began to rub the bridge of her nose - a human trait she picked up years ago. The door chirped. "Come in."

Her first officer walked into the ready room, and held his ubiquitous PADD. Looking at her face, Nganga asked, "How bad?"

"It could be worse. The Cardassians aren't blaming us for anything. But they are pulling out of the summit."

"Both them and the Romulans, then?" Nganga asked.

"Yes. They're saying that they were treated badly by our security and have filed an official complaint. And for that, they're withdrawing from this meeting."

"Never mind that it was one of their delegation that killed a Bajoran Vedek," David added wryly.

"Oh, they assured me that they knew nothing about that." She finally allowed herself an eyeroll. "But yes, the embarrassment has probably made them look for any reason to pull out."

Nganga refrained from making a crude comment and continued, "Well, they're not the only unhappy diplomats."

"You mean the Bajorans?" the Captain asked.

"No," Nganga frowned. "Actually, some our own. Ambassadors Charles and Femel have gotten together and filed an official reprimand with Starfleet. It's in this report." He handed the his PADD to the captain.

Uriell's face fell slightly. She felt betrayed.

Dave continued, "On the plus side, though, Ambassador Tem and Commander Jackson both filed commendations for us." He smiled, "So it looks we about broke even with Starfleet."

That cheered her up a little bit. "What about the other Federation ambassador?"

"Solen? He thought that what happened to the Vedek was only the fault of the Romulans, not anyone on this crew. But he also thought that our handing of the situation was also just what he would expect, nothing extraordinary."

"Sounds fairly logical."

David swirled an upraised index finger in the air. Resuming a serious _expression he added, "What isn't logical is why the Romulans would want to kill a Cardassian ambassador."

"Actually, Lt. Klaus' report shed some light on that." She reached to her desk, trading Nganga's PADD for her own, and handed it to the man. "It appears that Karlic had a brother who was also involved in Romulan politics."

Nganga scanned the report. "Senator Vreenak. He was killed in a shuttle explosion."

"Outside of Deep Space Nine. The report said that it was done by the Dominion, because Vreenak had received information of an impending attack on Romulus. This brought the Romulans into the war."

Dave lowered the PADD. "But Karlic thought differently?"

"Karlic used his brother's connections to the Tal Shiar and found some kind of contrary information. The rumor was that Vreenak's shuttle had actually been destroyed by the station's captain and a Cardassian tailor there named Elim Garak."

"A tailor...?" Nganga was incredulous.

"Well, also another 'former' Obsidian Order agent. Makes the rumour a bit more credible."

"And Karlic believed this rumour?"

"Apparently so. And he wanted revenge."

Nganga thought for a moment. "And if the Cardassian died here, it would make Starfleet look bad as well."

"So he was partially successful, in that respect."

"I can't believe a Starfleet captain could ever do something like that." Nganga shook his head.

"Nor do I. I checked it out a bit with Starfleet. They said it was ridiculous. When I tried a little further, Admiral Ross' office told me they had heard the rumour as well, and even looked into it. But they found it completely baseless."

"That's good to know," Nganga replied. "So do you think Karlic really was working alone then?"

"Perhaps." She shrugged. "I don't think we'll ever know for sure."

"With Romulans, I'm sure we won't," Nganga said. "We should be reach Starbase 24 tomorrow."

"Very good." Her first officer turned to leave, but then heard, "David?"

Nganga turned. The captain continued. "I just wanted to say, good work in that hallway. You handled yourself well."

"Thank you, Ma'am." Nganga nodded slightly and smiled, "I'll be sure to pass that on. The others deserve it too." He turned and returned to the Bridge.

::Yes, they certainly do at that.:: She sat that down and pressed a button on her desk console.

"Captain's Log, Stardate 56011.8

"Things are finally settling down as we deal with the aftermath of Vedek Tow's murder. The Cochrane will be making a detour to Starbase 24, where we will be transferring, Karlic, the murderer we finally caught. The Romulans want to take him back to Romulus to try him there for his crimes, but Bajor of course wants to try Karlic as well and has already petitioned such. Seeing as it was one of their Vedeks who died... a good person too, from what I saw... I feel sympathetic to their wants. They've also officially asked the Federation to act as arbitrator, which the also Romulans strongly object to. And since Karlic is already in Starfleet's custody and committed his crimes on a Starfleet vessel, not to mention he assaulted several of my officers, there are also those in Starfleet who feel we should try him ourselves. But there are also those who want to pass Karlic off to be someone else's problem. It's bureaucratic mess which I will gladly let the various diplomats and officials figure out. I just want him off my ship.

"We will probably be leaving the rest of the Romulan delegation there as well. It seems they didn't like the way they were treated, despite the fact that it was one of _their_ aides who did all the damage. As such, they have pulled out of the Camp Khitomer meeting. The Cardassians have as well, though their reasoning is more security based.

"Given the circumstances, it's not too surprising, but nonetheless disappointing. Those two groups are probably the ones who most need to be there. Still, the remaining parties can still get a lot accomplished, so I'm certain won't be a waste of time.

"At least our hosts, the Klingons, are still in it. While they are confident nothing like this would _ever_ have happened on a Klingon vessel, they've kept their gloating to a minimum. They also viewed the Romulan's summit withdrawal as dishonorable, and will probably feel the same about the Cardassians.

"I am relieved that the crew was able to uncover this plot and prevent anyone else from getting killed. Doctor Jayngo assures me that all those others who Karlic infected with the Cerebus II elixir will make a full recovery, as will those who might have gotten hurt from the jostling around the phaser explosion caused.

"The critics of this ship and its concept have already started to use this incident against us. It was certainly a less than ideal starting run for this ship, and I hope things will be smoother from here. But I'm confident we will prove them wrong. When I think of the crew and how quickly they adapted and how well they handled themselves during this unfortunate situation, I cannot help but be proud of them. Their resourcefulness and dedication solved the problems we faced, and I know they will be able to do more in the future. I look forward not only to leading them, but to working and serving with them."

Next: FANTASY PLANET

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