03 Sue for Peace ~ Haven

[Lupe]

OOG: This will pick up a few days after the Plasma Storm and Haven's visit from Death. Not a long time after but just a day or so. We won't know for certain that he is gone yet but he has not been sighted or scanned for over 24 hours.

ON

[Late Night]
[Rec room 28, paints and crafts]

There was no one in Rec room 28 at this late hour and that was just how Redcloud liked it. She had put a small pot with incense, and different herbs and holy items on a hot plate and turned on some soothing peaceful sounds (soothing and peaceful to her)

She had meditated before beginning, she had started oil painting because of Dorella, Dorella had painted pretty pictures with oils, and Redcloud wanted to also. It just really was not her talent. But her soul poured out into the canvas and maybe no one else could tell what she painted, she sometimes could see what she had been thinking in a clearer picture.

Redcloud had studied the footage of the egg shaped object till her eyes were ready to fall out, she had the computer make image after image from the footage, all to no avail. So Redcloud knew her unconscious mind knew something, she could feel it, but she was not sure what it was. So she decided to make it tell her what it sees.

The background first, she started with a large brush and a black, but not pitch black, a dark grey black, she sometimes brushed deliberate sometimes soft waves till her mind told her it was done. Then the large brush with a Tawney, then a brown. Redcloud puzzled over her picture, she had no idea what she was painting, it looked like a waste of time to her. If something didn't happen soon she would give up.

She reached for a smaller brush and the little voice in the back of her mind told her smaller still, she had a fine brush with just a little tip to it, and with that and a host of different colors she dotted the picture, both dots and small slashes. If anyone had came in they would have thought she had lost her mind, but her hand was steady, no indecision as to what color to use next. She worked steadily on it for over an hour, finally her mind told her it was done.

Redcloud set down the brush and tray of paints, now horribly mixed up from her work, and looked at the picture. A tear fell down her cheek, maybe they would hang it on the wall with the six year old finger paints, but she was not even sure it qualified for that.

She took her paint tray and brushes across the room to the cleaning station and started cleaning them, she had hoped that something would have came out of it. With her painting gear clean she turned back to the painting, what was she to do with that awful thing, and froze.

Standing over twenty feet away, and at about a 30 degree angle she could see the picture. Redcloud walked over to it and the prospective changed, it again resembled a mess that some not to bright kid made. She tried looking at it from straight on at the same distance as her first look and again, it was nothing, just a mess on a canvas.

She moved back to the cleaning station and looked, sure enough the picture was clear, she could see exactly what the egg had been telling them. In a three dimensional effect there was a planet hanging in space, she could see both the surface of the planet and enough space to tell her, if it was a real place, what planet it was.

She asked the computer to identify the planet in the painting, the computer could not see a planet. But once Redcloud told the computer what angle and distance to view the painting it answered.

"That is the home world for the Mordee race, the grid locator reference is on the capital city, this painting is of the planet approximately three thousand years ago."

The computer started giving spacial references to both where the planet and the stars were in relation to each other at that time. Redcloud stopped it.

Redcloud downloaded the data into her secure PADD, the one that already had the egg information on it. She knew one person that was very interested in this information, she didn't know why but the Captain had asked her more then once if she figured out the egg yet.

"Redcloud to Captain Williams," She said tapping her badge, =/\= Would you come down to Rec Room 28 please, I have something you will want to see. =/\=

[Aux OPS, Captain's Office]

Prudence was looking over reports and dockets, she had been trying to catch up on the truly shocking amount of paperwork involved in running a Space-dock class Starbase when she received a report of such information that she instantly forgot her other work.

The Xoanon were suing the Federation for Peace. Apparently they felt they had been at war with the Federation and that was why Starfleet ships where attacked and attacking the Xoanon ships. They had hinted at alliances, trade agreements, peace, and that it would be a very big step for their people, a maturity growth spurt.

But they didn't want to wait, they wanted it right away, and were putting together a diplomatic mission right now, even as the report was made.

One of the customs of the local races was that their diplomatic ships were unarmed, the host was required to protect them from not just enemies but also their own people that might not agree with the diplomats, so their ship was the responsibility of Starfleet, specifically Starbase Haven from when she broke orbit of her home planet till she re-entered said orbit, even if the diplomacy failed horribly they had to guard the ship back to her home planet, under the obligation of honor.

She made a note, the Texas could do that, she was not as new as the Indefatigable but for Federation Battle Ships, she was the most impressive one at Haven. Starfleet ships, the Pareg was just as impressive but... Prudence thought Federation, a Federation diplomatic mission, it should be a Federation ship. But her Chief Strategic Officer was a proud person, a warrior from way back, she wondered how she would explain her choice without putting a slight on him or his ship...

=/\= Would you come down to Rec Room 28 please, I have something you will want to see. =/\=

Prudence tapped her badge and answered, "now? Do you know what time it is?" The fact of the mater was Prudence didn't know what time it was either.

=/\= It has to do with that object that we went to look at. =/\=

"Not another word on open comm lines, I will be right down." Prudence hissed. She stood up and secured the data terminal before heading out of her office and down to the Rec deck.

[Rec room 28, paints and crafts]

Prudence walked in, "Redcloud, why am I here at 2300?"

Redcloud smiled, if the Captain was going to play that way then she would too. "I painted a picture," she pointed at it, "what do you think?"

Prudence's eyes narrowed, "what do you mean, what do I think of a picture you painted?"

"You have not even looked at it." Redcloud pointed out.

Prudence looked at the picture, "yes, very nice, very pretty Redcloud." she told the Engineer.

Redcloud looked at her in a strange way, the kind of realization a person gets when they thought they were being taken seriously and they find out they are not. "What is it a picture of?"

Prudence looked it over very carefully, the tone of this girl was such that she knew she would get no peace till she went ahead and played the game. "Um..." She looked it over again, her sub-conscious mind telling her there was something in the picture but not tell her what it was. "Um... I don't know."

Redcloud smiled, "look at it from over here." She gestured to the clean up table.

Prudence walked over there and turned to look at the painting, she gasped, "you painted that? That is a nice effect, what planet is that?"

"The computer tells me it's Mordee." Redcloud told her, "the target grid is the capital city and the star pattern is about three thousand years ago."

Looking at the girl Prudence said, "and you just came up with this out of your own head?"

"No," Redcloud answered, she pulled out her PADD and interfaced it with the large monitor screen in the room, the one the art instructor displays things for the students to paint. The egg appeared on the screen, she showed the picture with the whole surface of the egg laid flat, Prudence still had a blank look to her face, Redcloud rotated the picture 137 degrees and changed the perspective sideways 30 degrees. That was when Prudence gasped.

"I knew I had seen it, but I didn't know what it was, so I let my sub-conscious mind paint a picture of it. When I got done I thought I failed till I walked over here to clean my brushes." Redcloud explained, she pointed at the picture on the wall, "I had seen it, I just didn't know it."

"So, where is that grid marker pointing to?" Prudence asked.

"It's where the capital city was built, but as far as I can ascertain it is a network of tunnels under the city, caves that were there centuries before. I have narrowed it down to a one kilometer area, but with this map that is the best I can do."

"And what is there?"

"I have no idea."

Prudence chewed her lip, a network of caves under the Capital City of a planet that is hostile to the Federation. Was this mystery weapon worth the risk? "I am going to need your PADD, and this picture, have you signed it? Good." Prudence smiled at the Ensign, "You did very good work here, thank-you, but I am going to have to ask you to do one more thing, don't ever mention it to anyone again, that is an order, this is a Classified project that I and Commander Mevynn are working on. Do you understand?"

Redcloud nodded, "Yes Ma'am, I understand."

Prudence smiled, "now go to bed, it's very late and you have duty shift in the morning."

"Yes, Ma'am." Redcloud said and left.

Prudence took the picture and PADD with her back to her office, it was not easy since the picture was not yet dry but she did manage to get it there undamaged and hang it on the wall where she would see the planet in the picture from her desk, she then went to her replicator and made a little brass plaque that read 'Mordee by Jeniffer Redcloud, best if viewed at 20 feet and 30 degrees to the right'

It was extremely late but she made a note for Commander Mevynn to see her in the morning, locked the PADD in her safe and left to catch a few hours sleep.

[Mevynn]

Kate felt like she was having a deja-vu, with this exception, she wasn't interrupted by some intruder, after taking her shower. The next moment she was in her uniform and sat at the table, eating a croissant or two or three, accompanied with a glass of milk.

She had spend the night in her own shuttle, but had gone back to her quarters, this morning, to get refreshed.

Late last night, she had received the captain's note, and had tried to get some sleep, after setting up some extra safety meassures on the shuttle. Though except for a few short naps, the sleep never came.

After tossing and turning for another hour, she had given up and decided it was time for something else instead: a good work-out, surely that would take her mind of things. First she did some warm-up exercises in one of the gyms, which not to her surprise at this very early hour, were empty. Next she headed out to run some laps on the Station instead.

Now all she needed to focus on was her breathing and watching where she was running, avoiding a drunk here and there, that headed to their quarters or whatever place they intended to sleep off the booze. She picked up the pace, keeping a steady rhythm as she felt the adrenaline going through her body. She couldn't remember the last time she had been running like this. But the main important thing was: it did good. She would be ready to face the captain, later on.

Cleaning up the table, she left her quarters, and some minutes later she chymed the door of the captain's office.

< tags Prudence >

[Lupe]

Prudence called "come" and the door opened.

She didn't say anymore till it was firmly shut behind Commander Mevynn then she looked away from an oil painting hung on the wall to her Executive Officer. "We have a lead."

She gestured to the replicator and a chair, the meaning was clear, if you want a drink get it and have a seat.

"Redcloud found what the marking on the egg were." She handed a PADD over with the clarified image of the egg picture on it. "It's the Mordee homeworld, to be more specific the cave system under the capital city of the Mordee homeworld."

<tag>

[Mevynn]

Kate ignored the replicator, sat down, accepted the PADD and took her time to read the information. The Mordee homeworld, that meant they probably couldn't just go to the planet and ask permission to go walk around in the tunnels underneath the city. And even more, there was no way they could even inform the Mordee of what their intentions would be. Nor did they have a clue what to look for. This reminded her very much of the first step in this project.

"The Rainmaker, it lacks a runabout," she suddenly said out loud. She looked up from the PADD, frowning lightly as she realized her mistake, she hardly said her thoughts out loud like that.

"I'm sorry captain," she appologized and then focussed again. "Who did you have in mind to have on the team, Captain, providing you want to go through with the search?"

[Lupe]

Prudence smiled, the non-sequitur slipped past her for the moment. She handed the second PADD to Kate, the one talking about the Xoanon diplomatic party.

"I am going to send the Texas as the escort ship, but that leaves our noble Cardassian Warrior and his Valiant Battleship sitting here. His Cloaking equipped Battleship." Prudence emphasized the last words just a little bit.

"Here is my idea..." Prudence leaned forward, "I will send Gul Kevron and the Pareg on an expedition, I want you to go with them, if there is something we need to keep under wraps you will be on hand to do so. We will need an Archaeologist on hand, someone that can tell a genuine artifact from an old local god shrine. That would be Kennings I believe. And since he is a civilian we will need someone to stand over him, protection, I think we could send Lieutenant Amadahy and a squad of Marines. What do you think?"

[Mevynn]

Again Kate took the necessary time to read the second PADD. She found it rather odd that the Station was responsable for the security of the Xoanan diplomats from the moment they left their own homeplanet and that until they returned.

She listened to the suggestion the Captain made. A cloaked battleship, so there was no intention at all to let the Mordee know they were coming. She looked up, leaned forward, put both PADD's on the captain's desk and leaned back into the chair.

"It sounds like a plan, but what about Ensign Redcloud? Afteral she was the one who discovered the idea behind the patterns on the egg. Maybe she would like to see it for real?"

Truth was, Kate felt guilty about what happened with Redcloud during the first mission. Which wasn't a success at all. And on the other hand, maybe a Cardassian ship wasn't the best place for the ensigh either, yet she had asked now. And she had one more question.

"And if Gul Kevron leads the mission. Will he be aware of what we are looking for?"

[Kaziarl]

<Starbase Haven-Promanade Bar>

Lt. Kaziarl quietly sat at a table off in the corner, sipping his coffee and reading various reports from his engineering teams. Progress was good, and people were starting to get back to business. Ops was almost done as well, just needed some finishing touches and a paint job. And with Teach's end of their bargain arriving in the next day or two he could finally get started on the Hesperus, and on various personal requests. It was a shocking thought, but in the not to distant future he might actually catch up on work.

He stood, took a breath and walked out of the bar. Kaziarl nodded politely to people as he passed several crewmen on his way to the repair dock. Having been so focused on keeping the station together during the storm, had hadn't got around to doing anything more then a preliminary evaluation on the Hesperus. It was time to fix that.

<ooc>
I'll do a follow up later of him actually poking around.

[Lupe]

"It sounds like a plan, but what about Ensign Redcloud? Afteral she was the one who discovered the idea behind the patterns on the egg. Maybe she would like to see it for real?"

"I had thought of it before but then I remember what I have read of her record. I don't think we need her on a mission that might meet up with two plus meter tall five to eight hundred pound people with an attitude." Prudence said, then finished, "I don't want to have to explain to her grandmother that she was eaten by the local population while on an away mission."

"And if Gul Kevron leads the mission. Will he be aware of what we are looking for?"

Prudence grimaced, "Yesss," the last letter being drawn out like a hiss, she sighed, "he will have to know some but not all." She shrugged, "we really don't know what we are looking for in this case, more maps, a key, not the artifact I am sure." She shook her head, "we can tell him it is important to the peace of this sector that we find it rather then let one of the local races, but I don't think we need to tell him we are looking for a weapon per se."

"I would like to time the departure of the Texas and the Pareg to be at the same time. I think it is time to call a conference of the parties involved."

<tag>

[Sue]

Harry had been out of sickbay for just 29 hours and here she was back behind her desk where she belonged, Glinn Garhenn had done a good job while she was out of action . . . too good infact he had left nothing for her to do. That was not so good she hated to have nothing to do, she had been allowed out of sickbay on the condition that she take it easy. Normally she would ignore such orders but she got the feeling that if she did so now she would be under armed guard before she could yelp, between Gul Kevron, Glinn Garhenn and Mr Teach they had her well and truely watched.

In fact it was worse than being aboard the Rainmaker with Estaban, at least there she knew exactly where she stood if she was stupid enough to break his rules. Here she was not quite sure how far they would go to ensure she followed the doctors orders, and she was not sure she really wanted to find out but darn it she was bored.

So she sat there playing with the blade that Aries had brought into her as she sat thinking, the rota's had already been planned for the next three weeks and the reports on the whole 'Death' situation had also been written. Harry had never felt so useless in all her days, it made her wonder if 'Death' had been right and that her time had been up in that fight before she came here. . . . . . . . . .

Tag Open

[ShadowChampion]

With his phasor in hand he wenched up from his bed, taking aim at the phantom image of his target that appeared before him. He only shook his head, the phantom turning into his uniform jacket that hung on the other side of his quarters. He started laughing to himself for a few seconds as if he just saw himself on TV doing something stupid.
"...the shame of me getting nightmares at this point in life." Hunter said putting the phasor pistol down and holding his head. No matter how many times he tells himself those days were over, his mind would throw him in the torher chamber called a dream and make him relive those days again. The 12 years he spent, trying to survive with the remaining members that were on that name that forever haunted his mind and the admirality of the USSF, NOVIA DS Station 13.
His thoughts stopped as his mind wanted to stop thinking about it by giving him a pulsing headache. Hunter usually never sleeps with the toothpick in his mouth unless he's on guard duty, by which if he were asleep, he would be up at slightest bad feeling. He looke around for the box that contained the medical toothpicks used to tame his cancer caused headache. He mummered in frustration as he got up off the bed, walking bend over looking around for the box.
"Where the devil did I put those things..." He growled, angrly. The painful the headache got, the more grummpy he gets, a dangerious if crossed combination for anyone that irriates him in this mood. There was only one occausion where this was clearly demonstated. One of the senior officers challeneged him to gunoff, one in which he refused at the time when his headaches were unbearble and wasn't used to. The poor guy was missing 3 teeth before the hour was over. To this day, Hunter never did knew what happened to him or the reason he never got in trouble for it.
"Ah, here they are..." Hunter said, picking the box up from under his bag. He opened it and put one in his mouth, poping the mirco-capusles on it with no hesitation. The headache soon dulled until it was almost non-existent. Hunter took a deep breath then went to do what any person would do when they first wake up, clean up, dress up, then decide what to do next.
After Hunter was clean, and dressed, it came to his 3rd objective, what to do until his shift started. He then thought of heading for the Prominade for a drink. He wasn't that thursty just yet so he decided to make a jog around the station to stay in shape. He had took a small box of toothpicks, for when he went mobile and the box was too big to carry and took off to the door.

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