Gul Verrok (Part 1 of 3)

Posted on 30 Apr 2014 @ 3:09pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Commander Scarlet Blake & Petty Officer 3rd Class Alika Mahone & Commander Andreus Kohl & Commander Norvi Stace & Lieutenant Commander Dea Mialin & Lieutenant Commander Amynta Markos & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Lieutenant JG Wakeham Paul Alasia Ph.D. & Gul Verrok

2,562 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo - Lyshan III Orbit
Timeline: MD 02 - 1310 hrs

[ON]

Along the Federation-Cardassian demilitarized zone, a small bright flash in the vast cosmos signaled the arrival of Galileo at the outskirts of the Lyshan system, a collection of solar bodies home to both a Federation settlement on Lyshan II and a joint-venture Federation-Cardassian mining colony on Lyshan III. As the tiny Nova Class dropped out of warp, her impulse engine came online with a crimson glow and began to propel the starship towards her destination inside the inner solar system.

Inside her administrative office on Deck 2, Lirha could feel the ship's transition from FTL speed to sublight, and her eyes looked toward the window where they visually confirmed what she already knew. Leaning back in her chair and stretching her arms out over her head, she then moved her green hand to her commbadge and tapped it to summon Galileo's officer in charge. "Saalm to bridge, what is our ETA to Lyshan III?" she curiously asked, wondering how much time she had before she needed to report to the ship's primary command center.

=^= We'll be arriving in... =^= Scarlet Blake paused for a moment as she double checked before answering, not wanting to lead her astray, =^=...30 minutes, Commodore.=^=

John meanwhile had busied himself in the Ready Room. He had known for some time that they would be dealing with Cardassians upon arriving at Lyshan III and the Captain had taken the spare time as an opportunity to refresh himself on the more diplomatic elements of the big chair.


30 Minutes Later...

The turbolift swished open and Lirha stepped out into the bridge where she clasped her hands professionally behind her back and made her way around the aft consoles until she was standing next to Blake. On the main viewscreen in front of them was an image of Lyshan III, a small desert world with few clouds and speckled with blue lakes and one minor ocean.

Alika couldn't have arrived on the Galileo sooner. She had just barely gotten herself settled into the routine, and was now finding herself in the midst of a mission. Barely registering the Orion commodore as she appeared on the bridge, Alika continued her monitoring. Hopefully the mission wasn't too exciting.

At the Science I station, Andreus Kohl was standing over Norvi Stace's shoulder. His posture was relaxed, and he was alternating between pointing at a reading on her console and showing her something less-than-work-related on a PADD. At the sound of the turbolift door opening, Kohl caught the Commodore's entrance in his peripheral vision. Kohl muttered a quick pleasantry to Stace, and then he strode away to return to his own station at the aft of the bridge.

Stace quickly glanced at the data PADD Kohl had left behind and chuckled at it. Recipe for Argelian Root Stew the title read. Stace shot him a look as he ambled back to his own station shaking her head.

Blake nodded to Lirha with a ghost of a smile. Politeness. She wasn't feeling it. Not with who they were about to work with. "Helm, take us into orbit," she tapped her badge lightly. =^= Captain, we've arrived. =^=

"Establishing, geostationary orbit," Dea replied as she finished entering commands into the Flight Control console.

With the call from his XO, John left his chair and headed for the Bridge, stepping through the doors in front of him and out into the command centre of the little Nova-Class.

Skirting the outside of the Bridge, he headed for the big chair and settled into it, taking a look at the display panel situated between himself and his XO.

"Status report Commander?"

"We've just entered orbit," Blake settled back in her own seat, letting out a soft sigh, steeling herself for what was to come. Or more accurately, who they were about to be assisting. "No contact has been made yet. No problems en route."

"Thank you Commander. Science stations - your analysis please? Tactical - do we have any company out there?"

John knew that the Cardassians would have sent their own forces to analyse the situation, but wanted the reassurance that tactical had their eyes on the situation. Not that the Nova class would be much of a match for a Galor class warship.

Stace confirmed her readings by over-laying the operational scans with her own and compounding the two. "The planet is as to be expected, Captain," the Trill replied, looking over her shoulder to him. "Over the past five years, the surface temperature and oxygen levels have risen from established chartered scans, but this is consistent with the terraforming process." She then continued. "It currently stands at almost 20 degrees below. But sensors aren't picking up anything unusual from orbit."

Quinn was quietly wandering around the Bridge with hands behind his back as he looked over the working Bridge crew at their various stations. His job was easy during moments like this. Keep his mouth shut unless spoken to by the Captain or XO, and to enforce any order given by the CO or XO and to be ready to do any position on the Bridge if required And on rare occasion, his 34 years of Starfleet service and his rank, would afford him the right to offer quiet advice to the command team."

Amynta frowned as she watched the scans before swearing loudly. "A Galor Class ship is coming around from the far side of the planet. Just got into the sensor range," she said and took a deep breath, her features slightly flushed. Her hatred towards Cardassians had started with the destruction of her home colony. Then, as if to remind herself as much as the bridge crew, she spoke. "They are armed with four phaser banks and large forward disrupter. Max warp we know of is warp 8. Some shuttles here will be armed similarly, it is usual amongst Cardassian colonists. They targeting systems can be tricked though."

Alika perked up at the flashing lights on her console. "Sir, incoming transmission from the Galor Class ship."

John sat further upright in his chair than normal as the notice came in that the Galor was hailing. He had taken all the time he could to learn more about them but had never managed to put any of it into practice. With a deep breath, he called back to Ops.

"Put it on screen. This is Captain Jonathan Holliday of the Federation Starship Galileo. With whom am I speaking?"

The main viewscreen blinked in acknowledgement of the hail, and suddenly the large ridged face of an armored Cardassian naval soldier now replaced the calm and serene image of Lyshan III from orbit. "Captain Holliday," came the pointed reply from the commanding officer's counterpart. "I am Gul Verrok, captain of the warship Aldara." He remained silent for a short moment, his sunken, dark and beady eyes surveying Galileo's bridge crew while some of his own men could be seen moving across the Galor Class' bridge behind him. "You are late," he finally added, more so an official judgement of Holliday and his crew than a simple statement of punctuality.

John frowned at the words of the Cardassian. Considering that the Galileo was originally intended to be heading to Deep Space 9, the fact that they were perhaps a few hours overdue at Lyshan III was nothing out of sorts. Keeping his gaze locked on Verrok so as not to appear in any way submissive to the Gul, he replied.

"Gul Verrok - this vessel was up until a few days ago still in docks being repaired and upgraded following our previous mission. We had been on our way to another destination before this change in our orders. I suspect that we have bigger things to be concerned about than the punctuality of one starship do we not?"

Verrok stared at Holliday with hidden disdain for the Nova Class and its captain. "Perhaps. But it is interesting that when the majority of our colonists are Cardassians, it takes over a week for a Starfleet vessel to arrive. We have been here for days, already. And -- no offense, captain," he continued with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I would have assumed Starfleet would contribute a more...capable starship."

John formed a fist with his left hand, doing his best to hold his tongue as the Cardassian played down his ship and it's crew. If only the Gul had the slightest idea what the Galileo had been through and was capable of.

"Starfleet insisted on sending a vessel with the necessary scientific capabilities to look into this incident. The Galileo has sensor platforms far superior to anything on board your ship and we intend to put them to good use. Now can we end the sabre rattling session of our conversation and move onto something more effective?"

"Very well," Verrok conceded with a hint of amusement barely noticeable in his stern features. "I suppose we should discuss the matter at hand in private before the situation on the colony deteriorates even further. Prepare to receive us. Gul Verrok out." The comm channel closed unceremoniously before any of the Federation crew could reply.

Standing near John and Scarlet, Lirha had had to bite her bottom lip to keep from saying something inappropriate regarding the Gul's condescending attitude, but now that the conversation was over, she leaned close to Galileo's two senior-most officers and spoke quietly. "I do not like him. And...what was his vessel doing on the far side of the planet away from the colony?"

"I would agree. It doesn't take a telepath to notice he is hiding something." John replied checking for his own peace of mind that the comm channel was closed before continuing any further.

"What do you think XO?"

"We don't know what contact they've already had with the colony," Blake pointed out quietly, shaking her head. "They've been here days, and as they say, they're heavily Cardassian down there. We should keep in mind that they have had time to talk and...coordinate between the ship and colony while we were enroute," she said quietly, the politest way she could think to say that, for all they knew, the Gul could already have placed his authority very firmly over the colony, and the colony could now be in his pocket.

Lt. Paul Alasia took a moment to collect his thoughts. He wanted his first contribution to at least have the appearance of authority. "Captain, if I may. I agree with everything Commander Blake has said but let's make sure we don't overreact to the Gul's demeanor. He's making flippant remarks about the Galileo's status as non-military ship because there are no non-military ships in the Cardassian fleet. To them, that conveys strength --resolve. But does it? Everything they do is what someone would do to appear intimidating while they feel terrified on the inside."

Paul continued "Even if this particular Cardassian ship has us outgunned, - and I'm sure someone else in this room could speak to that a lot better than me - they remain a broken people overall. What's worse is, they know it and wounds their fragile pride. All of this is by way of saying - to the extent that it's possible - massage that pride. Let him think he's totally in control of the situation. He may well end up thinking you're personally weak, Captain, but he'll be easier to manipulate."

"Understood Mr Alasia. Either way we have guests to deal with. Commander Blake, would you be so kind as to meet our new friends in the Transporter Room? Take a security detail, just to be on the safe side."

John really wanted to go down there himself. It was something that he had done several times before as Lirha's first officer, and resisting the urge to leap into the turbolift was almost more than he could bear. Fortunately there were rules and regulations regarding the meeting of foreign officials or dignitaries, and they were quite clear. John was not to be involved yet.

"Delighted," Scarlet replied lightly but dryly, nodding to Holliday firmly. Her own mistrust of Cardassians was whispering in her head, but she kept a cool expression and demeanor. This really, definitely, was not the time or place for it.

Quinn finly in clinched his jaw from the Cardassians insult of his home. "I have a suggestion, but it'd start another war. This ship can run circles around that bastards bucket of bolts."

"Easy Mr Quinn." John replied, sharing the veteran's dislike of the Cardassian opinion of his vessel. Had he been given free reign and cared less for regulations that he perhaps did, the Captain would quite happily have demonstrated how advanced his vessel was in a stellar version of a pissing battle.

Dea listened to the exchange quietly. Cardassians were not an easy group to deal with. However they didn't want to provoke the situation any further. Either way it was her duty to remain ready to react on short notice if the order was given, without making it appear that was the case.

"The Cardassians thrive on conflict - let's not give them any reason to try and prove their superiority - not yet anyway."

Scarlet made her way into the turbolift with a quick pace, tapping her badge on her way. "Blake to Security, I need a team to meet me at Transporter Room 1 to help greet our guests."

"Aye, Skipper." Said Quinn as he moved to stand by the tactical console, just to keep an eye on the warship next to them. He really never forgave those spoonheaded bastards for what they and their shape-shifting partners did to so many planets during the Dominon War....especially Betszed. He clinched his fists tightly as the memories of the horrors he witnessed on his one on the Defiant-Class ships, USS Thor.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CDRE Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

Gul Verrok
Commanding Officer
CDS Aldara
[PNPC - Saalm]

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

LT CMDR Dea Mialin
Second Officer/Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. Theron Rhodes
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

CPO Luke Wyatt
Security Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Andreus Kohl
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo

Lt Cmdr Allyndra illm Warrquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

CMCPO Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

Cadet FG Nesh Saalm
Scientist's Mate
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Kita]

PO 3rd Alika Mahone
Operations Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Kita]

LT Norvi Stace
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

LT Amynta Markos
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

CMCPO Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

LTJG Wakeham Paul Alasia
Diplomatic Officer
USS Galileo

LT Teth Miir
Counselor
USS Galileo

LT Delainey Carlisle
Counselor
USS Galileo

SWO Alexion Wylde
Medical Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

MWO Amon Mormont
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Markos]

PO1 Camibree Christoph
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Rhodes]

PO1 Gabriel Stark
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

PO3 Robert Jameson
Transporter Chief
USS Galileo
[PNPC Zhao]

RSS Feed