Some Inside Information?

Posted on 07 Oct 2017 @ 8:37am by Commodore Harvey Geisler & Lieutenant Commander Arjin Djinx & Lieutenant Avery Stuart Ph.D. & Lieutenant JG Dean Winchester & Ensign Elizabeth Bordeaux & Lieutenant Jennin Rhula

3,753 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: The Finnean Crisis
Location: Deep Space 15
Timeline: MD6 || 0900

They needed to get all the information they posibly could about the Convergance. Not only what the da Gama crew had gathered. But more than that. When they would get in, they had to know what was waiting there for them. And who better to know than the Aketi. So the captain had asked him to gather an away crew to depart for space station in order to talk to the Aketi over there.

So Arjin sent down his orders and requests towards the men and woman he deemed were to be his best shot at getting answers. Lieutenants Bordeaux and Rhula from his department. He also filed a request for a security officer to join them, as not to anger the department's chief any further.

Knowing full well that inter personal relations and diplomacy was not his stongest side, he decided to also request someone from the counselling department to come along to asses the answers that would hopefully be given to them by the Aketi.

With that done, he walked out of his office towards transporter room 1.

As soon as Commander Djinx had issued his orders for the DS15 away team, they had been routed to the personal computer terminals of those crew members required. Among them was Ensign Bordeaux, who woke up to her alarm at 0600 for Alpha shift as usual before the Black Hawk computer had informed her that she would be on an away mission in under three hours. It had been but six days since her arrival, and the prospect of being chosen to go aboard the space station and gather info filled her with a combination of pride and anxiety. By the time she arrived in transporter room 1, the fluttering in her stomach had subsided to tolerable levels, and her outside demeanour was that of dutiful stoicism.

Another away mission? Jennin thought. The Bajoran doctor had just gotten the samples from Ensign Akagi running. With the battery of tests and scans he was running, the computer would take several hours to return a full set of results. So he wasn't actually busy, per se. But the exobiologist had no desire to go traipsing about with the Chief Science Trill.

Still, he wasn't one to shirk his duty. And so, he pulled his personalized away kit from a locker in the morgue and, throwing it over his shoulder, headed towards the transporter room. He walked the corridors, his kit bouncing off his side gently. He'd assembled this kit when he was first commissioned in Starfleet and serving on Bajor. Like now, he'd often found himself being called upon to perform multiple roles and maintaining two separate away packs was unnecessary. So he'd created a combo kit that provided him with the tools needed to perform the basic and most important tasks for both of his specialties.

The doors to the transporter room parted. Wonderful, he thought, just me and the Trill. He didn't say anything, instead just dipping his chin slightly at the Commander.

"Morning Lieutenant. Ready for another away party?", Arjin said as he saw the Bajoran Scientist enter the room.

Not with you. "I suppose," Rhula mumbled. "I have samples running in my medical lab, so let's make this quick."

"I guess that will depend on our Akety friend down there and how quick we can get our information."

And that isn't up to me, the Bajoran thought, though he simply nodded to the Trill.

Winchester meanwhile had just slung his security harness, which contained a hand phaser, tricorder, stun grenades, and flex cuffs over his shoulder. Walking mindlessly into the transporter room, he looked up, and thought, " Oh great, company". He instead simply just nodded.

Arjin nodded back at the Security Officer, aknowledging his presence.

Avery had mixed feelings about this away team. On the one hand, and was an opportunity for her to get off the ship, which generally speaking, didn't happen all that often, but on the other hand, this particular away team mission wasn't without its stresses. She trusted the people around her 100% with her safety, and ultimately, she knew whenever they faced, they were in it together. She was quiet, but nodded to each of those around her in greeting.

Whith everyone present, they stepped onto the platform. Arjin waited until the officer operating the transporters was ready. With the familiar swirls envelopping him, he closed his eyes. Never very at easy due to his symbiont link with the transport procedure.
When he reopened them, he saw they had reached the transporters at the Star Base.

Even though he didn't much care for them, Rhula's exobiology knowledge meant he knew more about Trill symbiosis than the average person. He knew that some joined Trill had some difficulty with transporting. Having seen a quick glimpse of....something on Djinx's face, Jennin leaned towards the man. "Are you alright?" he asked, keeping his voice low to preserve privacy.

Arjin turned his head towards the Bajoran. He knew the man had a medical background and served both science and medical aboard the Black Hawk. He nodded and said: "Yes. Thank you for asking."

He stepped off the platform and asked the officer controling it the direction for the promenade. As his info had told him the persons they were looking for could be found there.

The officer directed him up ten levels. He also gave the Commander some advice on various cafes and stores before returning to monitoring the transporter console.

The station they were walking in had definately seen better days. Some of the corridors lacked the basic maintenance they needed. Arjin hoped that with the return of Starfleet the situation would change for the better. As they stepped inside the lift he hoped they would arrive without getting blocked.

As the doors reopened he could see the promenade the officer had directed them to. Now it was a question of finding the right shop and some answers.

Far down the Promenade, three doors beyond The Net, was the Aketi Market. Its wares were far from impressive. Having been forced to live in this forsaken universe, the surviving Aketi, a pair of males, had been forced to scrounge for a living. Their collection of junk would make a Pakled jealous.

The Aketi themselves were unusual beings. Their biological composition made breathing oxygen impossible. As such, their store produced an excess of carbon dioxide in the air circulators. Each person wore a mask which allowed only the dioxide to enter their lungs, expelling the oxygen through vents as would a tree. Still, the concentration of the dioxide was barely tolerable. Therefore, the Aketi moved in a sluggish fashion. Should strenuous labor be required, they'd have to connect their breathing apparatus to a tank for a proper mixture.

Doctor Jennin slowly made his way down the Promenade, his tricorder in hand running bio-scans. Any information he could gather about the agglomeration of species that called the station home, even if only home for now, the better. As not only a pathologist but also an exobiologist, Rhula was always looking for interesting physiology.

As the group of Starfleet officers walked down the Promenade, they were met with varying looks. Since the station was under joint control, with the Federation holding a third of that agreement, the inhabitants were not unfamiliar with seeing Starfleet. But some regarded them with caution.

Rhula's attention was on his tricorder when he had a feeling something wasn't right. He looked up, his eyes darting around the commercial hub. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so he returned to studying his tricorder.

Liz Bordeaux was following Lt. Jennin. He seemed agitated, his attention drawn between his tricorder and the crowds of people flowing around the away team. She reached out and touched his forearm. "You OK?"

He jumped as someone grabbed his arm. Rhula spun around, ready to defend himself. It took a moment for him to process what had actually happened once he saw Bordeaux. "Apologies," he started. "I'm fine, thank you."

She raised her hands. "Sorry, sorry. You just looked agitated." She glanced around the station, now on alert after observing the jumpy exobiologist.

Silently, a figure tracked the intruders. They will not take this from us, the person thought, a hand tightening its grip on the hilt of a short sword. The blade was ultra-fine on one side, more than capable of slicing off a limb with a strong enough stroke, while the other side was serrated, designed to cause more damage specifically when stabbing.

Like a gentle breeze, the figure, clad in neutral colored robes, moved among the crowds, until they were within closing distance. Then, the breeze became an intense gale, rushing towards the intruders, sword at the ready.

Winchester looked up and could barely comprehend what he was seeing. Pulling his Phaser, he moved to the head of the group, and said, "Stay back, and take a look at this". Spinning his head back around, he leveled his weapon at the strange being and said, loudly and in an authoritative tone, "Stop right there and drop that weapon!!!".

The figure watched the intruder, a Human in a Starfleet uniform, raise a weapon of his own as he shouted something. But the words didn't register with the blade-wielding figure. Already moving at full speed, the figure closed the distance to the shouting man in a matter of seconds, driving the blade into the man's mid-section. The blade went several inches deep before the figure withdrew it, allowing the serrated edge to do additional damage, before swinging it in a slashing motion.

Rhula's immediate reaction to Winchester's verbal declaration that the away team should play spectator to some sort of grandstanding was to mutter some choice words in Bajoran under his breath. He never understood some people's need to show off. Then he watched as a robed figure, presumably the cause of Winchester's interjection, raced at the security officer and stabbed him. At once, he felt two separate instincts pulling at him, each in a different direction. The first, his professional training, was pushing him to focus his attention on the now-injured security officer and treat him. The second, a result of his time living under the thumb of the Cardassians and working with the Resistance, was to lash out at the robed figure. His mediocre ability with a phaser was certainly a negative in a situation like this. Engaging in direct hand-to-hand combat with the robed figure was asking for an stabbing of his own. During the Occupation, he'd mostly functioned as a medical capacity, patching up Resistance members injured during skirmishes. But he had been responsible for the deaths of several Cardassians, by his own hand. Some physicians would have balked at having to take a life, but Rhula saw killing Cardassian oppressors as saving the lives of his fellow Bajorans.

Winchester, blood pouring out of him, tried to crawl away, leaving a bloody streak on the deck. He only made it a few inches and collapsed, his strength fading fast. His vision fading in and out, he looked, and saw the figure still advancing, still a danger. As he passed out he leveled his weapon as best as he could, in the general direction of the figure and let off a shot. He fell completely unconscious then, unaware if he would live or die, or if his shot hit its target.

In the middle of this situation, the warning klaxons sounded. "Red Alert!" droned a voice over the intercom system. "All station personnel to battle stations. All non-essential personnel to protected areas." All around the Away Team, shops began to close their doors. If the Away Team was ever to make it to the Aketi shop, now was the time.

Arjin viewed the whole situation as in slow motion. He had been so focussed on finding the Aketi shop that he had not seen the robed person come towards them. It wasn't until Lieutenant Winchester had shouted a warning that had he seen him. Just in time to see the security officer being struck by a blade. Taking his phaser out, he aimed and shot at their attacker.

"Jennin see if Winchester can be moved and take him inside. Stuart help him. Bordeaux and I will try to cover you and follow as quick as we can.", he found himself uttering orders whilst taking another shot at the attacker.

Bordeaux heard the Trill commander as if in a dream. Rhula and Stuart were dragging a wounded Winchester to a nearby alcove while Djinx held his phaser at the ready. Bordeaux moved, but it was if watching someone else move—her feet obeying instinctual Starfleet training rather than being consciously told what to do. She ducked behind a nearby pillar and then drew her own phaser. She glanced at Rhula and Stuart, who had now made it to the recessed portion of the wall and were addressing the wounded security officer.

Knelling over Winchester, the Bajoran scanned the wound with his tricorder. The security officer was in need of some surgery to repair everything, but Jennin was able to stop the bleeding rather easily.

"He'll live," Rhula declared. "For all of his dramatics, you'd think the wound was fatal."

"I don't think you can overreact to being stabbed out of the blue," Avery offered grimly, helping to add pressure to the wound while offering side glances to look out for more potential threats. "Just moments ago, I was happy to be off-ship. This wasn't exactly what I had in mind either," she added.

Movement in the corner of his eye pulled Rhula's attention away. Looking around the room he and Stuart were now in, he realized it was a store of some sort. "Who's there?"

Seeing that Winchester and the others were safely inside a store, Arjin motioned to Bordeaux to follow them. He kept on giving crossfire to make things a bit easier. Once she was safe he shot his phasor some more before jumping out of his hiding place and running after the others. A head roll got him behind one of the station's pillars. From there it was only a small leap into the store.

"Is everyone ok?" he asked

At the very moment the alert sounded, the Aketi performed the most natural act, prepare oneself for defense. As their weapons had long since fallen into disrepair, the Aketi defensive arms were composed of a partially spent Jem'Hadar polaron rifle and a well maintained Bajoran pistol. Both of these weapons were aimed at the Starfleet personnel who had just taken refuge in their shop.

Winchester's eyes shot open at that point, and even though confused, he reached for his phaser, only to find it gone. "Alright, wheres my phaser at?"

"Shut up," Rhula said, applying a hypospray to the security officer's skin, injecting him with an analgesic to address the pain associated with the stab wound. It had the added effect, on most species, to make them more pliant. Turning toward the individual with weapons trained on them, the Bajoran locked eyes with their new 'friend'. "I'm a doctor. This man is injured. I was tending to his wound."

Having evaded the bolts of energy weapons from the interlopers, the robed figure slipped again into shadows, fading into the background. Failure will be met with punishment, the figure thought, the words having been repeated so often during training. Punishment will be severe.

The eldest Aketi looked at the fallen man and the Bajoran hovering over him. "Close the door," he told the woman in Science teal, the one armed with the phaser. "This station's medical facilities are controlled by the Selubassari. If he is to live, you must treat him here until you can get to a Starfleet facility."

Bordeaux moved to the shop's doors and reached up, pulling down security shutters with a clang. The interior of the shop immediately darkened, so she quickly used a nearby control panel and turned on some overhead lights. Moving toward Djinx, Bordeaux eyed the Aketi with suspicion. They wore breathing apparatuses on their face, which made it harder for her to judge their intentions. To their credit, they hadn't shot at the Starfleet officers after they had entered the shop, and seemed to be willing to provide shelter, so it seemd

Less than ideal, Jennin thought, after deciding that letting the security officer die wasn't an option. He consulted his tricorder again before loading the hypospray with another vial, this time a pharmaceutical to help Winchester's blood clot better. This would prevent him from losing too much blood while Rhula repaired the damaged tissue.

"Who are you?" the Bajoran asked as he removed a small autosuture from his medkit. As a result of its smaller size, the device was not as fast as a full sized device he'd have access to in Sickbay. But you've done more with less, Rhula, he told himself, thinking of his experiences during the Occupation.

"We are the Aketi," said the eldest, lowering his weapon as soon as the door was closed. "I am Abtsuza. My companion is Tuuoh. Your presence, while welcomed, is confusing."

"What's not confusing is this man's medical needs," Jennin offered in return. "Either give me a hand or give me some room."

Tuuoh lowered his weapon as well, but kept a close eye on the fallen man in yellow. These lifeforms from another quadrant were curious indeed. One bore spots, another nasal ridges, and the other two were absolutely pale. Still, he preferred the presence of Aketi, should he ever get to see another besides Abtusza again.

Abtsuza gestured for Tuuoh to lend the Bajoran a hand. "Evidently, you are not from this station," he said. "What is your business here?"

"Currently," Rhula said, still addressing Winchester's injury, "my business is treating this guy."

"Why is he injured?" asked Abtsuza. "Did he cross the Selubassari or the Rakhari?"

The Bajoran was certain that the people standing around could hear his eyes roll in response. "He is injured because someone attacked him. I have no idea who it was. They moved quickly. Now, please shut up so I can work."

Arjin had opted to remain silent and observe rather than hastily speaking up. But now he felt it was time to do so. Seeing the Aketi had lowered their weapons, he did the same. Cautiously standing he adressed the Aketi who had called himself Abtsuza.
"You are right. We are not stationned aboard this station. We beamed down from our ship that is orbiting the planet. My name is Djinx.". Pointing to the others, he continued "And this are Stuart, Bordeaux and Jennin. Our wounded companion is Winchester."

"As to our purpose. We beamed over to visit you. We wanted to talk to you about the Convergence. We were almost at our destination when someone attacked us. I don't believe it were either the Selubassari nor the Rakhari."

Tuuoh, now kneeling next to the one named Winchester to assist the Bajoran, groaned. "You're some of those."

Abtusza frowned behind his breathing apparatus. "We tire of these conversations," he said, moving to the counter. The Aketi pulled out a drawer and fished around for an item. A moment later, having found what he was looking for, Abtusza closed the drawer and approached the Lieutenant Commander. "We've told the story often enough, we finally had it recorded. Ship's logs, interviews, it's all there," he told the one called Djinx.

Arjin was surprised by the Aketi answers. He stretched out his hand to take the info and thanked Abtusza.
"Maybe this will help us when we go inside.", he added

Abtusza shrugged, not nearly as confident as the science officer. "All I ask is this. If you manage to figure out a way inside, you will come back and take us home. Your Gamma Quadrant is not a place we wish to die."

"It is not my place to promise this. But I will ask our captain."

The Aketi scoffed at the Trill's reply. He expected as much, but it would do him no good to protest further. Several had already threatened to place him and his brother under guard to extract whatever information was desired. He'd take this junk heap of a shop until he had no other choice.

At that very moment, the klaxons shut off, and a voice over the station's intercom cancelled red alert.

Arjin was surprised at the sudden silence. He went to the front of the shop in the hope to see if anything was changed.

With the security shutter closed, there was nothing for the Trill to see except the shutter itself. Abtusza, just as curious as the Trill, stepped forward and reopened the door. Outside in the promenade, it appeared to be business as usual as everyone slowly came out from safety. A nearby turbolift opened, depositing several Starfleet officers in red collars. With station security still missing, it was left to the remaining crew to reestablish order and normal life. "Looks like you're in the clear, Commander," the Aketi said to the Science Chief. "You might take this opportunity to get your security officer to medical."

Not waiting for the Trill science chief to react, Rhula turned towards Bordeaux. "A hand, Ensign?" he asked. "Might as well get this kid patched up."

Bordeaux knelt down beside Winchester as the Bajoran scientist began to prep him for transport. Kneeling down, she placed an arm under his, and together, she and Rhula lifted the security officer off the floor. Hopefully the autosuture in the Black Hawk's sickbay would make quick work of Winchester's stab wounds.

Looking out at the promenade he made the same constatation as the Aketi. He thanked Abtusza and turned to leand a helping hand with Lieutenant Winchester.

Grunting in pain, Winchester said, quietly, "I got stabbed by a ghost, i cant believe it, but i got stabbed by a damn ghost"

This kid has a hell of resilient system to be this lucid after the dose I gave him, Jennin thought.

After all were gathered, Arjin called the Black Hawk. "Please lock on onto our Lifesigns. Five to beam up to sickbay please."

As instructed, the Away Team was surrounded by iridescent light, dissolving into thin air as their patterns were recalled to the Black Hawk.

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