The Federation Tribune - July 2004

[Rob Versteegt]

                  ==== The Federation Tribune ====
                           ==== June 2004 ====

Got a question? Visit the Newspaper FAQ!


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Academy Status Report June 2004: by Rob Verlinden.
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Current Stardate: 2387.01.20
Location: San Francisco, Earth <EG>

==================

Instructors (6):
Chief Instructor Sedaq, played by Adrian Rodd
Instructor Jonathan Rooms, played by Wes Buchanan
Instructor Joran Moore, played by David Susman
Instructor Sophie Jaune, played by Rob Verlinden
Instructor Vivienne Creenan, played by Rob Versteegt
Instructor Randy Orsolo, played by Dennis Church

Instructors on LOA(3):
Instructor Patrick Kelly, played by William Lea
Instructor T'Raysa, played by John Wenerowicz
Instructor Leal, played by Kelley McKinnon

Not sure about (1):
Instructor Solian Rixx, played by Mike Smith

==================

Lost Cadets (7):
Cadet Jah'mney, played by Tom Coates
Cadet Michael Borg, played by Michael Borg
Cadet Airika Calhoun, played by Rachel Cruz
Cadet Jonas Kr'ack, played by Joshua Willerton
Cadet Anastacia V'Rele, played by Jack Katsikaris
Cadet Andromeda Lynn, played by Jennifer Madison
Cadet Sean Dempsey, played by Sean Dempsey

==================

New Signups (16):
10 useless, leaves 6 new cadets.

Individual Cadets (6):
Cadet X'ok PaRel, played by Rick Clogston (David)
Cadet Jesper Banks, played by John Jansen (Bobby)
Cadet Andree Dothan, played by Kenneth Martin (Dennis)
Cadet Derrick Lim, played by Derrick Lim (Adrian)
Cadet Valarion Hawksly, played by Wuli Pawlat (Rob007)
Cadet Majok Denton, played by Matt Brown (Rob007)

Almost graduated (3):
Cadet Kelvok, played by Jan-Willem Schuurman Hess
Cadet Nigel Kaeter, played by Alessio Arleo
Cadet Sarah Jamison, played by Treassa Cumpston

Graduates (5):
Cadet Hearst Morgan, played by Chris Alexander
Cadet Shelq Mecroll, played by Brandon Wooten
Cadet Rowan O'Gallager, played by Dawn Johnson
Cadet Kaosu Hikaru, played by Matthew Baldwin
Cadet Alexander Ahra, played by Angelic Noble

==================
End of Status Report
==================

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USS CALHOUN / DELTA ONE STATUS REPORT by Adrian Rodd
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STARDATE 2391.04.06

Current episode: "The Network, Part 1"

Commander Peters' and Lieutenant-Commander Callahan's teams have returned
successfully to Talax through the portal after their first exploration
missions, albeit with a few bumps, bruises and unpleasant experiences.
Captain Tugg's team remains on its away mission, compelled by an alien
society holding two of its own to somehow destroy another world's portal.
Tugg, Sarin, Hequill, Harris and the others, stepping through the portal
onto a mountain slope on a new planet, discover an underground tunnel and
begin trying to find out exactly who lives there. . .

Meanwhile, back in the Delta Quadrant, a rescue mission is underway to
recover Dawn Summers' kidnapped twin children, being held as bait to lure
Summers herself to a notoriously lawless space station known only as the
"Meeting Place". . .

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STATUS REPORT: USS Odyssey, by Dennis Church
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Stardate 2391.04.14

The race to get Head Nurse Kylie to a starbase has come to a screeching halt
with the Odyssey crew unable to get the ship under control.  The group on
the holodeck has managed to make contact with the bridge, and found out that
the Titanic’s movement is linked to the ship-when it is moving, the Odyssey
is moving.  Captain Bennek orders the Titanic to slow down while they try to
discover a way around this predicament, slowing down the Odyssey as well.

The paradox facing the crew is that the longer the Titanic continues its
journey, the closer the trapped crew on the Titanic gets to meeting their
fateful end, including the Odyssey members on board…..

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STATUS REPORT: USS Valkyrie by Brandon Allard.
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Stardate 2391.03.16
(June 2004)

The sickness brought aboard by either the Romulans or the Borg has begun
spreading. For this reason, as well as the recovery of further Borg data,
has prompted the CSO to redirect to the Bertreka nebula. As Pandora station
is directly along that course, a stop has been included as well which will
no doubt leave the Valkyrie a very different vessel.

NRPG: Ok people, here we go. We aren't wrapping up this mission just yet,
but we are changing locations. A little over a month has passed between
where we are now and arriving at Pandora. In the interim we have gone ahead
and deborgified all our drones, so they are now individuals. Plus our
rescued Romulans have been turned over to their own government. There is
indeed a post or two coming to cover this. But if you want to recap for your
own characters, feel free. Also, if you have not guessed already, the
command staff is heading for a change as well. I can only share as much as I
know, and unfortunately that's not a whole lot, but if there's any questions
I (or HQ) will try to answer them.

Lastly, if you don't see your name listed below it means you haven't been
posting for at least a month. Which means... get to it! No, but really, if
you're part of the crew you should be on here. As far as I know only John is
excused. Everyone else is just being bad. ;-) ...and you all know what
happens to bad people who don't post - you get buildings dropped on you. So
if have a reason, tell me. If you don't have a reason and DO expect to post,
tell me. If you know someone is gone and is still on the roster who
shouldn't be, tell me. All clear? Good.

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Pandora Station Status Report by Bram Peeters and Rob Versteegt.
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(] Current Situation [)

Mission 7 - Road to Perfection

Stardate: 2391.04.25
Location: Pandora Station, in orbit of Pandora II in the Pandora System

Pandora's crew has started to explain the true nature of the Borg to the
Kotarrani. Some of them seem to be losing faith in their Holified Ones
and their First.


(] Mission Summary [)

Written by Rob Versteegt
Edited by Bram Peeters

 Sickbay seemed to be the place on the station to be, because there sure
were a lot of people. Lt.Cmdr Jalando had beamed in, together with the
injured Kotarrani (the Fifth, as he was called.) This alien's implants
had malfunctioned, so the doctors saw no other option than to remove
these implants.

Luckily, Ensign Morabulu was able to fix the radiation leak. Not without
more people suffering from radiation poisening though. Still, now that
this little emergency was over, people across the station could finally
get some rest.

Counsellor Tek however, together with the Kotarran called Tin'rala,
didn't go to sleep that quick. They had gathered in Tek's quarters,
together with Aslam Izhal, Tek's daughter. They kept on talking about
the Kotarrani's religion and about who the Holified Ones really were.

The next morning, Lt.Cmdr Jalando, who had the night shift, received a
message which stated that a shuttle, containing two new crewmembers -
ASTC Ensign Kaosu Hikaru, and Security Officer Ensign Mera Lanyss - was
on its way to the station. When these security people arrived, Jalando
took them, and Petty Officer Zang, to have breakfast with him. However,
this breakfast was soon interrupted, by Security Officer Vankirk being
beaten by angry civilians, who thought that issuing a red alert at times
wasn't good for business. Vankirk quickly got beamed to Sickbay, while
Jalando and Kaosu looked for the person who hit Vankirk. They didn't get
far however, because they were called to sickbay by Ensign Mera (who had
to take care of an old Ferengi-nemesis of her), saying that the
Kotarrani had entered sickbay.

When Jalando and Kaosu entered sickbay, they found out that the First
wasn't very happy with the Pandora people saving the Fifth. The Fifth
himself, seeing how the First reacted, made a decision to stop believing
in the Holified Ones, and to protect the Pandora crew. Jalando, together
with Kaosu and Mera, were able to get all the Kotarrani out of sickbay,
towards Conference Room 2, where they would give information about the
Borg.

A conversation started: the First seemed to be holding on to his
beliefs, although other Kotarrani were starting to doubt. In an attempt
to let the Kotarrani see the facts, and only the facts, of the
Federation's encounters with the Borg, Jalando had ordered Virt to
impersonate a Borg, and tell the information that way, hoping the
Kotarrani would accept the facts more, when told by one of their
Holified Ones.

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USS Atlantis Status Report June 2004, by David Susman.
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Stardate 2391.03.28

The Atlantis is attempting to rescue the crew of an Alien craft
identified
as the Furewardo Afutso.  This is the first mission using the new Gamma
Flyer, Boryhas.

Commander Torn, accompanied by the STC, Leon Nefertii; the Chief
Counsellor, Circe Pilkington and Ensign Fletcher are joined by the EMH as
they take supplies to the crippled ship.

As they begin to off-load the medical supplies, two Dominion Scout ships
begin to attack.  Despite the efforts of the Atlantis and the Boryhas the
damaged Kokomo is destroyed.  A Furewardo warship uncloaks and destroys
the last Dominion craft.

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PR status Report June 2004, by Rob Versteegt.
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Well.. this month we had 16 signups. This is somewhat less then previous
months... so we'll have to work on that. ;-) The places where these signups
found us, are:

8: Google/AOL/Yahoo searchengine.
2: Unknown.
2: www.pbem.com
3: Through a friend.
1: Startrek.com message board.

So.. this means, that once again, Google and other search engines are useful
in letting people find us. Also, there are finally people who reacted to my
ads! ;-) (at the startrek.com message board, or at pbem.com for example.)

Also, I'd like to say thanks to Jeremy and Laura... you have each told
someone you knew about FF... and after that, they joined. Thank you very
much! ;-)

Well, that's the PR status report for this month. There was an offer for
partnership with another site, on which the PR department had to respond, (I
did ;-) ) but that's about the only exceptional thing that happened this
month. ;-)

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"All That Glitters, Chapter 1: A shuttle is found." By Bram Peeters.
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June 5, 2386, 19:00 - Din'ghes VII Outpost, Tiber Station

It had been two weeks since the small outpost on Din'ghes VII had been
completed and a small team of scientists had moved there. Dr. Francis
Moebius was looking at the reason for their presence on the small
inhospitable planet: a green crystal in a containment field. The crystals on
the planet seemed to contain all the chemical elements that the rest of the
planet's soil was lacking. The crystals also emitted various toxic gasses,
including methane, sulfur, naphthalene and at least two gasses he and his
colleague from Starfleet, Lt. Commander Seth Kane, hadn't been able to
identify.

The doors to the lab opened and a male Trill, Dr. Jalen Krel, entered.
"Frank, the away team has returned. They brought something you probably want
to see."

Moebius got up. "What did they find, Jalen?"

"Well, it seems we are not the first visitors on this planet," the doctor
said. "You better come and see it yourself."

Moebius followed Krel to the outpost's storage bay. On the floor lay several
sheets of corroded metal.

"What's this?" Moebius asked.

"Hull plating," Kane said. "Or what's left of it anyway. Someone must have
visited this planet before we did, but it seems they never left..."

Moebius looked at the remains of the shuttle. There hadn't been any records
in the Starfleet database that indicated someone had been to Din'ghes VII
before. He looked at the Starfleet officer. "Where did you find this?"

"Seven kilometers south of here. And we also found something else... The
crystals in that area contain traces of Duranium and several other metals
that seem to originate from this shuttle."

"So they absorb other materials? That was one of the theories I had for the
absence of chemical elements in the soil..." Moebius said. "How long has
this shuttle been here?"

Kane shrugged. "I haven't been able to determine that. My best guess would
be something between 30 and 70 years."

"Were there any traces of the passengers?" Krel asked.

"Nothing," Kane said. "I don't think they will have survived long in this
toxic environment. The density of the crystals wasn't very high in that
area, but spending a few hours there without protection... Even if they
didn't have any food rations, they didn't starve to dead."

"Did you take any samples from the crystals in that area, commander?"
Moebius asked.

"Yes, we have, Dr.," a female in a Starfleet uniform said. Petty Officer
Tanya Chernyshev had just entered the storage room, carrying a small
container. "I have them right here. Shall I take them to your lab, sir?"

Moebius nodded. "Thanks, Ms. Chernyshev."

"Have you thought about a name for these crystals yet?" Kane asked. "You
didn't seem to like the name I suggested."

"That's right..." Moebius said. "I don't want to name it 'Moebium', at least
not yet. We still don't know enough about it. For all we know it can be used
as a weapon... I don't want my name associated with that. At the moment all
we know is that it's toxic to most humanoids..."

"What do you think of 'Tiberium'? I've heard this area reminded you of the
Tiber Valley on Earth," Krel said.

"I'll think about it, Jalen, it is a nice suggestion though," Moebius said.
"We could also name it after one of you," he said, looking at both Krel and
Kane.

"No sir," Kane said. "You are the leader of this expedition. And you are the
expert on mineralogy and petrology here. If it should be named after a
person, it should be you."

"Your Starfleet file says that you took several additional geology courses
when you were in the Academy, Mr. Kane, and Starfleet wouldn't have assigned
you to this mission if you didn't know anything about geology." Moebius
paused and smiled. "As a matter of fact, I wouldn't have let you join this
mission if you hadn't been interested in geology."

"We should also have brought an archaeologist," Krel said. "Are you going to
try to find out what happened to the shuttle's passengers?"

"I think we first should find out if there have been any missing
shuttlecraft in this area during the last hundred years or so," Kane said.
"If we find any remains, we should know how to take care of them."

"If it weren't for the crystals, I'd suspect a body would be mummified by
the dry winds on these planet," Krel said. "But if the crystals indeed can
absorb materials from their surroundings, we may not find anything at all."

"Gentlemen, if it's alright with you then I would like to continue this
discussion tomorrow," Moebius said. "I doubt you want to send a team out
tonight, and there is no reason to hurry."

"You're right," Kane said. "But I will check the Starfleet database before
dinner though, who knows how long it will take to get some results back.
I'll see you later." Kane turned around and left the storage room.

"Do you know what's for dinner tonight?" Moebius asked.

"I believe it was T'Pek's turn to cook, the last two times when it was her
turn she made Plomeek soup," Krel said.

"Excellent, she's a great cook," Moebius said.

"Indeed, but I have some bad memories about Plomeek soup," Krel said. "One
of my former hosts was allergic to it and it almost got her killed."

"That's right... You told me that once. It was Nara, your third host if I
remember correctly."

"Yes, and no," Krel said. "It was indeed Nara, but she was my fourth host.
My third host was Lania."

"Oh right... The musician," Moebius said.

"Indeed," Krel said. "Shall we go to the mess hall now? I believe that was
where we were going."

Moebius nodded and Krel and he walked away.

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Posting Statistics June 2004, by Rob Versteegt
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Top 10 Posters in Frontierfleet, June 2004.

#10. Ben Versteegt: 16 (Ody 8, Panda 6, Atly 2)

#9 Sussie Andersson: 19 (Ody 2, Panda 17)

#8 Aaron Langston: 19 (Panda 19)

#7 Jeremy Beeler: 20 (Cal 20)

#6 Gael Imadeddine: 21 (Panda 21)

#5 Laura Elliot: 25 (Cal 25)

#4 David Susman: 29 (Ody 6, Panda 8, Atly 15)

#3 Adrian Rodd: 47 (Panda 12, Valk 5, Cal 25, Atly 5)

#2 Kelley MacKinnon: 56 (Valk 3, Cal 53)

AND THE NR 1 POSTER IN JUNE 2004 IS...

#1 Rob Versteegt: 77 (Ody 4, Panda 41, Valk 11, Cal 9, Atly 12)

Posts in Frontierfleet, per person:

#1 Rob Versteegt: 77 (Ody 4, Panda 41, Valk 11, Cal 9, Atly 12)
#2 Kelley MacKinnon: 56 (Valk 3, Cal 53)
#3 Adrian Rodd: 47 (Panda 12, Valk 5, Cal 25, Atly 5)
#4 David Susman: 29 (Ody 6, Panda 8, Atly 15)
#5 Laura Elliot: 25 (Cal 25)
#6 Gael Imadeddine: 21 (Panda 21)
#7 Jeremy Beeler: 20 (Cal 20)
#8 Aaron Langston: 19 (Panda 19)
#9 Sussie Andersson: 19 (Ody 2, Panda 17)
#10. Ben Versteegt: 16 (Ody 8, Panda 6, Atly 2)
#11. Jake Hanlon: 14 (Cal 14)
#12. Alonzo M.: 12 (Atly 12)
#13. Martin Miller: 11 (Atly 11)
#14. Wes Buchanan: 10 (Panda 10)
#15. Dennis Church: 9 (Ody 4, Panda 5)
#16. Matthew Baldwin: 9 (Panda 9)
#17. Chantal Marie Sellers: 9 (Ody 4, Atly 5)
#18. Aaron DeLay: 7 (Cal 7)
#19. Vincent Raposa: 7 (Atly 7)
#20. Bram Peeters: 5 (Panda 4, Atly 1)
#21. Rob Verlinden: 5 (ody 5)
#22. Dave Church: 5 (Ody 5)
#23. Dawn Johnson: 5 (Ody 5)
#24. Jed Cohen: 5 (Valk 5)
#25. Brandon Allard: 5 (Valk 5)
#26. Astrid Henricsson: 3 (Panda 3)
#27. Ann Montague: 3 (Valk 3)
#28. Cody Ferro: 3 (Cal 3)
#29. Mike Sheinin: 3 (Atly 3)
#30. Guido Dorssers: 2 (Ody 2)
#31. Angelic Noble: 2 (Cal 2)
#32. Craig D: 2 (Atly 2)
#33. Brandon Wooten: 2 (Atly 2)
#34. William Lea: 1 (Ody 1)
#35. Jonathan Hardy: 1 (Ody 1)
#36. Chris Alexander: 1 (Ody 1)
#37. Penelope Stubbs: 1 (Panda 1)
#38. Jamie Davison: 1 (Atly 1)

Top 3 Posters of the USS Calhoun:
3) Jeremy Beeler: 20 posts.
2) Adrian Rodd / Laura Elliot: 25 posts.
1) Kelley MacKinnon: 53 (1) posts.

Top 3 Posters USS Odyssey:
3) Rob Verlinden/Dawn Johnson/Dave Church, 5 posts
2) David Susman, 6 posts
1) Ben Versteegt, 8 posts

Top 3 Posters USS Valkyrie:
3) Ann Montague / Kelley MacKinnon: 3 posts.
2) Brandon Allard/ Jed Cohen/ Adrian Rodd: 5 posts.
1) Rob Versteegt: 11 posts.

Top 3 Posters Pandora Station:
3) Aaron Langston - 19 posts
2) Gael Imadeddine - 21 posts
1) Rob Versteegt - 41 posts

Top 3 Posters of the USS Atlantis:
3) Martin Miller: 11 posts.
2) Alonzo M. / Rob Versteegt: 12 Posts.
1) David Susman: 15 posts.

Number of Posts per dutystation:
1) Pandora Station: 156 Posts.
2) USS Calhoun: 154 Posts.
3) USS Atlantis: 78 Posts.
4) USS Odyssey: 48 Posts.
5) USS Valkyrie: 32 Posts

Number of Posts in Frontierfleet in June 2004: 468 Posts!

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Promotions in June 2004, by Rob Versteegt
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Promotions in June 2004:

>From Cadet to Ensign:

Cadet Hearst Morgan, played by Chris Alexander => Ensign ACSO Hearst Morgan,
on the USS Odyssey.
Cadet Shelq Mecroll, played by Brandon Wooten => Ensign ASTC Shelq Mecroll,
on the USS Atlantis.
Cadet Rowan O'Gallager, played by Dawn Johnson => Ensign ACMO Rowan
O'Gallager, on the USS Odyssey.
Cadet Kaosu Hikaru, played by Matthew Baldwin => Ensign ASTC Kaosu Hikaru,
on Pandora Station.
Cadet Alexander Ahra, played by Angelic Noble => Ensign ACONN Alexander
Ahra, on the USS Calhoun.

And that's it.. congratulations all!

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The Alpha Centauri Mystery - Part 13 - Loyalties. By Ben Versteegt.
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Summary: Near Alpha Centauri, precious crystals have been discovered which,
once modified to function as a power source, could tip the balance of power
in the Alpha Quadrant. The Cardassians and Romulans have already tried to
steal it, but they failed. One Cardassian was captured and beamed to a
Federation starship, the USS Aquinas. En-route to a starbase, however, the
Aquinas was attacked by another Federation starship, under command of a
Captain that will go to any length to capture the samples. Having lost the
samples and a crewmember, Ensign Sandra Burke, to the unknown Federation
ship, the Aquinas' crew ponders what to do. Romulans have picked up the
scent of the samples, however, and beam aboard the Aquinas. Captain Ayer
reluctantly decides to help the Romulans find the samples and Sandra. After
beaming aboard, the Captain has doubts about helping the Romulans. In
respond to this, the Romulan commander forces Ayer to co-operate, under the
threat of killing his officers.

And now the continuation:

"Engines engaged, sir. Maximum warp," said the Romulan helmsman.

"What's the status of the Federation ship?" the Romulan commander demanded.
Ayer said nothing and just looked at his console. The Romulan in charge
decided that it might be best not to ask Ayer about this again. He would
probably give wrong information anyway. Looking in the direction of his
science officer, his gaze included the same order he had just verbally
given.

"Long range sensors cannot give accurate information, commander," the
Romulan science officer told his superior. "We can, however, tell that they
are travelling at a speed of warp two point one. Looks like that's their
maximum speed, sir."

"Excellent. How long until we reach them?"

"At this speed, we should overtake them within twenty minutes."

The commander nodded. "Perfect. Activate cloak."

The Bridge went a little darker as the cloaking device was activated.
"Cloaking device functioning perfectly, sir. They won't see us coming," an
officer reported.

"Have all hands report to their weapons stations. Within twenty minutes,"
the Romulan commander looked at Ayer. "and with Captain Ayer's help of
course, we will disable the Starfleet vessel. The samples will be ours, and
we can return to Romulan space after having successfully completed this
mission."

Ayer said nothing. He was thinking about how he got into this mess. He
hadn't really had a choice. It was either helping the Romulans in disabling
the Prometheus class vessel that had attacked them, or doing nothing and
allowing the Romulans to destroy that ship. He tried to convince himself
that the choice he had made was the only right choice to make. He tried to
convince himself that he had no choice. But he couldn't help wondering
whether Zjavick had been right: had Ayer really made the choice he had made
because it was the right thing to do? Or had he made that choice because he
wanted to get even with the people who crippled the Aquinas?

He looked at Zaag and Watters, who were still facing the barrel of a
disruptor rifle. This time, he knew, he had no choice. Either he helped the
Romulans to disable the starship they were chasing, or Watters and Zaag
would be shot. Captain Ayer didn't like this one bit. He guessed that after
they had helped the Romulans get the samples, they would probably not be
released to the Federation without being interrogated about Starfleet's
secrets.

His train of thoughts was disrupted as the Romulan commander began to speak
to him. "Captain Ayer," he began. "I couldn't help but notice that you had a
Cardassian prisoner in your brig. Naturally we beamed him aboard as well.
Now, I was wondering... why was this individual in your brig?"

"He wanted to steal the samples," Ayer answered curtly. "He was stopped. We
put him in our brig. That's how he got there."

"Interesting," came the reply. "Let's pay him a visit, shall we?"

"Why?"

"Because, Captain Ayer, we have twenty minutes until we arrive, and I want
to spend them well."

"By interrogating a Cardassian prisoner?"

The Romulan threw Ayer a condescending look. "Is there anything wrong with
that, Captain?"

"Not al all," Ayer responded calmly, still unwilling to co-operate in any
way. He clearly let that show. "It's just that I don't see why we should
interrogate him now."

"Why do you not want to interrogate him?" asked the commander. "Is he hiding
something you don't want us to know?"

"I don't know. I haven't interrogated him yet," said Ayer without so much as
a smile. Watter and Zaag, however, did smile, and the Romulan commander grew
increasingly angry.

"Now I know that the Cardassian is hiding something," he said. "Something
very important, something... about the samples perhaps?"

"As I said, I don't know," Ayer answered with a straight face, albeit a
little annoyed by the Romulan. "We haven't..."

The Romulan commander cut him off as he moved closer to Ayer. "Do not play
games with me, Captain." With one hand, he pointed at Ayer, and he reached
for his disruptor with his other hand. "You would do well to start talking,
Captain. I could have destroyed you all, but I didn't. I could have left you
on that derelict ship of yours to rot, but I brought you aboard. I could
have vaporised your officers in front of your very eyes, just to show you
the power I have over you, but I didn't. I have been very patient so far,
Captain Ayer, but even my patience is wearing thin. So please, for your
sake..." He pulled out his disruptor and aimed it at Ayer. "Start talking.
Let's start with the Cardassian." He circled his enemy as he kept the weapon
pointed at Ayer. "Who is he? What does he know? Whom does he work for?" He
stopped walking around Ayer for a moment as an idea entered his mind, and he
opened his eyes wide. "Does he work for your government perhaps? Tell me,
Captain!" He took a step towards Ayer, his face only centimetres apart from
Ayer's now. The space between them was still large enough for the Romulan to
push the disruptor he was holding firmly against Ayer's yaw. "Have the
Cardassians and the Federation formed an alliance?"

Ayer was surprised at this sudden outburst from the Romulan Commander, but
didn't show it. He just kept staring in front of him, playing the stoic
Captain. This was of course pretty difficult when he felt the point of a
disruptor piercing into his skull. "You are completely paranoid," Ayer said
in a voice which he tried to keep calm. "That Cardassian tried to steal
Federation property and kill Starfleet officers. Why the hell would he do
that if he was allied with the Federation?"

"Don't take me for a fool, Captain!" the Romulan shouted as he pressed the
disruptor even harder against Ayers cheek. "That is the oldest trick in the
book! That Cardassian stole those samples because you had ordered him to.
That way you thought we wouldn't suspect that the Federation and the
Cardassians have formed an alliance."

"That is ridiculous," Ayer replied. "That Cardassian probably wasn't even
working for the Cardassian government."

"And how would you know that?" shouted the Romulan commander in a voice
which was filled with his feeling of victory. "If what you say is true and
the Federation and the Cardassians are no allies, then how would you know
that this particular Cardassian does not work for his government?"

"Because I cannot believe that the Cardassian government would be willing to
risk losing the help they need from the Federation, by stealing Federation
property."

"Nice reply, Captain Ayer, very nice," said the Romulan commander as he
released the pressure he exercised on Ayer's cheek, allowing the Captain to
look him in the eyes again. "But it won't do you any good," he continued. "I
already know the truth, and there is nothing you can say that will change my
mind."

Ayer sighed. "Even if the 'truth' which you know turns out to be a lie, made
up by a paranoid person who refuses to see the obvious?"

"When we have acquired the samples," the Romulan commander continued,
ignoring Ayer's remark, "We will go back to Romulus where you will be
interrogated and treated as a prisoner of war."

"What?" shouted Ayer. "You said you'd release us!"

A grin appeared on the Romulan's face. "That was before I realised that the
Cardassians have allied themselves with the Federation, obviously with the
intention of destroying the Romulans. After all, we have always been your
largest threat."

"You are out of your mind!" Ayer yelled.

"Yes," was the simple answer. "The war has changed everyone, Captain,
including me. So yes, you can say I am out of my mind. But make no mistake,
Captain: so are you."

"I beg your pardon?"

"The war has had a deep impact of all of us," the Romulan commander
explained, still aiming his weapon at Ayer. "This lead some people to take
desperate measures, as I have mentioned to you before. For one person, these
measures entail attacking a Federation starship. For the other, those
measures mean going after the attacker, thus helping the enemy."

Ayer flinched visibly. He knew that the Romulan Commander was right. He was
aiding the enemy by showing them how to unmask warp trails and by helping to
disable the ship that attacked the Aquinas. In essence, he was not only
betraying the Federation, but he was also helping the Romulans to get their
hands on a very precious source of power. What little they knew about the
crystals indicated that whoever had control over these crystals would be
virtually unstoppable.

And Ayer was leading the Romulans right to that source of power, even though
the crystals were still in Federation hands!

On the other hand, that Prometheus class vessel that now carried the samples
had crippled the Aquinas. They couldn't be friendly folk. Ayer figured that
handing over the crystals to those people would be just as bad as giving
them to the Romulans. Besides, he still had Sandra to rescue -- he would
never forgive himself if anything had happened to her. And maybe, just
maybe, he and his crew would figure out a way to escape, but that required
him to keep co-operating with the Romulans.

"Commander!" a young Romulan officer shouted, bringing Ayer out of his train
of thoughts.

Stepping back from Ayer, the Romulan commander holstered his disruptor and
went to sit in his chair. "What is it?"

"We have the vessel in visual range," said the young officer. "We'll be
within weapons range in a few minutes."

"On screen. Maximum magnification," the Romulan commander ordered. A moment
later, the Prometheus class ship was displayed on the viewscreen. Ayer and
the others could easily see that the ship had sustained damage; it would be
an easy target for the state of the art Romulan Warbird.

"There she is," the Romulan in charge said as he rose from his chair. "And
she doesn't even know we're here." He let this sink in for a moment and then
turned to Ayer. "I want to know the weaknesses of that ship, Captain."

Ayer swallowed and looked at the viewscreen. "I'm inputting the data into
your computer now," he said with a soft voice. In his mind, he could already
picture himself sitting at his court martial and explaining what had
happened to a bunch of admirals. A tear formed in his eye. He was doing this
for the Federation, but at the same time he was working for the enemy. Yet
he couldn't ignore his niece either. "For Sandra..." he muttered.

To be continued...

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In the Line of Duty: Part 4: Treason. By Rob Versteegt
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary:
4th year Cadet Esther Keel, who is temporary stationed at starbase 375, has
committed a murder. She did that, because a mysterious man ordered her to do
so, in the name of Starfleet Security. This act of murder proved to this man
that Esther could be trusted. Now, she is accepted in this man's
organisation. However, Esther was now ordered to kill her best friend:
Bernadette, a Huanni, who, according to this man, was a spy for the
Romulans. With pain in her heart, she followed through with this order...

And now the continuation.

"You bastard!" Esther shouted at the mystery man. She was now back in this
man's room, sitting in a chair, facing the man's desk. The man himself,
however, was simply walking around the room in his usual silver cloak. He
didn't seem to be affected by an emotional Esther sitting in his room,
having cried and swore for the last 15 minutes.

"You let me kill Bernadette!" Esther's eyes were red from all the crying,
but still she let her tears drop on the floor. "She was my friend, and I
killed her because of you!" She hated this man for making her kill her best
friend. She hated herself for killing. And she hated Bernadette, for being a
possible Romulan spy.

"It was for the greater good..." the man said, in a friendly, yet mysterious
voice. "You know that Esther. You know that you did the right thing."

Esther simply looked in the man's direction, with a killing-look in her
eyes. "No." She said loudly. "I don't. Explain it to me why I had to kill my
best friend! And don't just give me some bullshit about suspecting that she
was a Romulan Spy... I want evidence! I want proof!" She quickly stood up
while saying this. This, to let this man know she was serious about it.

The man smiled at first. But then he smile turned into a soft chuckle, after
which he started to laugh. Soft at first, but louder and louder every
second. Esther closed her eyes tightly, and put her hands in front of her
ears. She did not want to hear this man laugh. "Stop it!" she shouted. "Stop
it!"

The man stopped. "We have proof." He said, calmly now. Esther didn't
understand the behaviour of this man. She didn't even know this man's name!
But she wasn't at liberty to ask, because the man continued. "We have
photo's, taken by one of our operatives on this station, where a known
Romulan Intelligence Operative goes to your friends store... he gives her a
PADD, and she gives him a PADD..."

"That doesn't prove anything!" Esther shouted at the top of her lungs. "They
could just be exchanging recipes or something!"

"After that," the man continued, without even looking at Esther. "We
apprehended the Romulan. He had a PADD with him, full of Federation
authorisation codes, ship positions, everything." He stopped walking around
the room, and looked at Esther's eyes. For the first time, Esther could see
something else from this mystery man than just his cloak, or his hands. She
saw his eyes. They were bright green, which send a shiver down her spine.

"So yes.." he whispered in her face. "We have proof. Does that comfort you
Esther?"

Esther wanted to respond, but she couldn't. It was as if her feet were
nailed to the ground, and her ability to speak was gone. She couldn't say a
word. She could only look in those big, bright green eyes of this man. Those
eyes that scared her so much. They made her turn more calm. She wasn't
crying anymore.. she wasn't boiling from the inside. She was calm.

"Now.." the man asked, still looking at her. "Are you ready to accept your
next assignment?"

Esther wanted to scream out, tell this man where he could put his
assignments.. his orders. But instead, as on automatic pilot, she nodded.
She accepted. This horrified her: it was as if this choice was forced upon
her. Perhaps it was this man's eyes... perhaps she just got numb by the
killing...

"Good." The man said, and broke eye contact, and walked to his desk. "Well..
this assignment is quite simple actually. You won't have to do anything.."
He smiled that eerie smile again, which made Esther look away from that man.
She sat down with a sigh, knowing that there probably would be some sort of
mission briefing.

But instead, she heard the man tap a button, opening a commchannel.
"Ambassador Ter'lyss to Starfleet Security... I have found the person you've
been looking for.." he smiled, but didn't let that be shown in his voice.
"The murderer of that Huanni..."

Esther's face turned blank. A fear crept over her, leaving a cold chill
going down her spine. She had been betrayed by the man who gave her orders.
By the man she hated. The same man who told her to kill Bernadette, was now
betraying her, telling Security about the murder. She could hardly believe
it. The only thing she did was look at the man in disbelief.

=/\=Don't go anywhere..=/\= a voice on the other side of the commlink said.
=/\=Be careful... this murderer could still be dangerous. We'll be at your
location as soon as possible... Security out.=/\=

The commlink was closed. The deed was done. Esther had been betrayed. Still
with disbelief in her eyes, she looked at the man. She couldn't be angry,
although she wanted to. She couldn't stand up and beat the crap out of this
man, although she wanted to. She could only open her mouth, and let one word
come out. "Why?"

With the same mysterious smile on his face, the man, still unusually calm,
answered Esther's question. "For the same reason you killed Bernadette.." he
said softly, in his whispering, eerie voice.

"But.. I didn't spy on.." Esther was now interrupted by the man, who moved
forward to her a bit, and put his finger on her lips, to silence her. "No.."
he said, putting a step or two backwards, at the exact moment the security
officers came in, and started grabbing Esther by the arms, dragging her off
the chair.

"For the greater good.." he whispered, just as Esther was being dragged out
of the room, towards the brig...

To be continued...

--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Study of Departments, part 3: The Lifesaving Serpents. By Iana Darnena.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

After observing the Lifesaving Serpents for quite some time now, this
reporter has discovered that there are two sides to these creatures. One
side, the side they like to show to all other creatures, is the side of them
helping others, healing others: the Lifesaving side. Always being there for
others, and doing something about injuries which could have been caused by
those Badgering Bullies.

The other side, however, is a side which the Lifesaving Serpents don't like
to show. They are afraid that this side may cause the others to stop
respecting them anymore. So they suppress this side. This side is their
aggressive side. The Serpent side. However, whether they like it or not, it
is a part of them. A part of what this creature is.

During normal times, a Lifesaving Serpent is calm, friendly, and can perform
well under stress. Which, of course, is only to be expected from a
Lifesaving creature. Still, it is impressive work they are doing:
re-attaching a broken limb from a Greasemonkey, or curing the pain from a
Badgering Bully (who would never admit he's in pain, of course,): It's all
part of what they do. However, this is of course only one side.

The other side comes up when other creatures start to irritate the
Lifesaving Serpents. When this happens, these Serpents start reacting out of
control. They start shouting, they start threatening the unlucky creature
that has irritated them, and, the most scary thing of all. It's what this
reporter describes as 'the Forked Tongue'. Although these Lifesaving
Serpents usually don't have a forked tongue, sometimes they can communicate
in a way as if they do: they seem to convince the creature opposing them
that she/he is not worthy of anything.

This 'Forked Tongue' attack is something you wouldn't like to witness. It's
horrible. If a Lifesaving Serpent doesn't like a creature which isn't hurt,
but which just enters his territory, this Serpent sneaks over, and starts
communicating. The two will communicate for some time, when the Serpent
initiates the attack. Usually, he make clear to this creature that he isn't
wanted in his territory. If that doesn't work, he starts insulting this
creature in such a way, that the creature will feel less and less sure of
himself, until he has no self-confidence at all.

The Lifesaving Serpents are very proud of what they are. They don't want to
be something else, nor do they wish to be called something else. They are
Lifesaving Serpents, not Greasemonkeys! As a result, they can, and will,
only do what they are meant to do: saving lives. They aren't flexible
creatures: they can't be used for something else.

So, there you have it. The Lifesaving Serpents seem to be extremely nice,
kind and caring. But underneath is the heart of the serpent, or, better yet,
the Forked Tongue. Beware... don't get on the Lifesaving Serpents' bad side.
It's not as if they won't treat you, (because they will.. they accept any
patient,) but they will make your life more miserable. A Lifesaving Serpent
is a great friend, and a terrible enemy.

Just remember... They are Lifesaving Serpents. Not anything else. Be nice to
them, and they'll be nice to you. Tease them, and you'll wish you never set
foot in their territory.

With this warning, I conclude this observation.
Take care.
Iana Darnena, Reporter of the Federation Tribune.

Written by Rob Versteegt.

==========