Episode 13.2.54: Irdana

S13, E2, Act 1: Coming Home
Commander Kyril Vree

Science Base 003

Stardate 1901.17

Admiral Sorvek was there waiting for them when the docking collar opened. Ky had also been standing on the other side anxiously waiting for the ship to dock. Zac had finally fallen asleep, giving the crew several hours of respite from the many adventures of a seven year old. Ky and Dakota sparred harmlessly with each other about which side of the family he got that trait from. But once the Coharis Nebula came into range, the environment on the ship turned serious. Ky was back in his uniform and had quietly snuck to the docking port to be the first one off.

“Admiral?” Ky didn't expect to see the vulcan there. It was currently 0100 hours station time.

“Welcome back, Commander.” He gestured for Ky to walk with him. “I’m sorry to hear about Neri.”

“Thank you, sir. I think we need to provide the group some counseling who understands where they are coming from. Not an outsider. Someone who was on the campaign with us. Anyone else would be inadequate.” Ky sternly said.

“Did you already have someone in mind?”

“LIeutenant Commander Natalie Radner, she was the ship's counselor on the Revenant.”

“I will have her meet with them.”

“I appreciate it." They walked onto the docking ring and walked in to the turbo lift. "Are the children here yet?”

“Not yet. I sent the Intruder to Earth to pick them up.”

Ky was surprised. “You did?”

“In fact, it provided me a reason to send a courier to Earth to double duty the ship. They should arrive within the hour.” Sorvek clasped his hands behind him and stared at the ascending deck numbers.

“I’m grateful you did that for them. I was a little bit uncomfortable sending them on public transportation.”

“Which broaches another subject,” Sorvek said as they reached the command office deck. “Neri’s remains must be disposed of properly.”

Ky had the same thought and was anticipating this. “I understand. I suggest a burial in space. Is sending her into a sun satisfactory?”

“I believe that is the best way.” Sorvek said with as much sympathy as he could muster in his Vulcan demeanor. “We have to take measures to be sure no one ever attains her core DNA or body to try to replicate Project Osiris.”

“I agree, Admiral." Ky's face turned somber and slightly worried. "But there's no need to replicate, Osiris came to fruition with Gen5, and by now, maybe even beyond."

That statement created a silent pall in the lift. It was one of the few projects Bravo Squad didn't shut down. And the possibility of the Gen5 eradication teams are still looking for the Gen1's. The lift doors opened onto the upper decks where the administrative offices were on Umbra One. Once the door to Sorvek's office closed behind them, he got right to new business.

"I need you deployed as soon as the service is over."

"Where to?" Ky asked.

"That's all I can say. Captain Lazarus will brief you once you're under way."

"Aye, sir."

"I'm also giving you four personnel transfers," Sorvek said, handing Ky a black padd that not only had software encryption, but hardware encryption as well. It required a DNA sample before its contents could be revealed. And in Ky's case, it would use his biometrics to transmit a signal into his artificial eyes so literally only he could see it. And that's what was projected into his vision now.

"'Lieutenant' Tal'Aura?" Was his top most question.

"Starfleet Medical has diagnosed her after her Borg nanite implantation. When you destroyed all the nanites in her biosystem, it also affected some of her memory centers. All she remembers is everything she was until she was a lieutenant, which was about 7 years ago. But her cognitive and abilities are intact."

"So she remembers how to fight, but doesn't remember any of her team?" Slowly reading through the medical reports on Tal'Aura the padd was feeding into his eyes.

"That is a fair assessment. With the loss of her XO, and her without the experience of command, I thought it prudent to dissolve the Soulseeker team and reassign the operatives."

Ky nodded. "Why give her to us?"

"Perhaps being in a team again, with a few of her original team mates, may help with repairing the destroyed memory centers. She remembers nothing that occurred on that mission. She doesn't even remember being recruited into Shadow Operations. And Bravo Squad did rescue them."

Ky looked at the other three transfers. "Lieutenants Nijn, Sh'eia, and Ginol, a vulcan, a caitian, and a bolian," he read off, recognizing all of them. "Did Sh'eia have the same adverse side effects as Tal'Aura?"

"Fortunately, no. She came out unscathed and unchanged."

Ky gave him a questioning look. "Can they be trusted? After all, Tal'Aura and Sh'eia both underwent the treatment."

"For what we know of Borg technology brought home by Voyager, and with the help of Annika Hansen, we have learned very much about how the assimilation nanites work. That is the reason we had a weapon to disable Ms. Hansen if needed. She was the one who helped develop it. Their bio records were analyzed by her and she assures me they won't have any lasting effects from the procedure."

Ky's silence implied a bit of skepticism and suspicion. Sorvek noticed the pause. "I assure you it was a difficult decision, Commander. Especially in light of your upcoming mission. I had to get special permission from the Commander-in-Chief Starfleet to raise all four of their security clearance. Bravo Squad is now at full strength," Sorvek said.

"It's been a long time coming." Ky said with a smile, already thinking ahead about the schedule of holosims with the new transfers with their current tight schedule.

"They have been reporting to Lieutenant Commander Ayer until you got back. He's been preparing the Bravo Deck and the staff for the Intruder's arrival. If you don't have any other questions, you're dismissed."

Ky gave Sorvek a nod before leaving. He hadn't received a new member in a few years, and with them being deployed immediately, it doesn't give him much time assimilate them into the team well. Depending on the mission, he may have them sit out on this one. But he needed to see what their abilities were first hand before they can even deploy with them. But the first item on the agenda was the arrival ceremony for Neri.

He opened a subvocal channel to the entire Bravo Deck.

"This is Bravo 1 to the Bravo Deck, all personnel are to report to the Intruder docking collar in 30 minutes in full dress. We will render honors for a fallen Starfleet cadet."

Commander Kyril Vree

Intruder docking port

Stardate 1901.17

Bravo Squad, Admiral Sorvek, and the entire Bravo Deck staff stood at attention on either side of the corridor, lining the path to the observation lounge where the service was going to be held at the beginning of the alpha shift (in a few hours). Starfleet Academy had a similar ceremony when a cadet's life is lost while at the Academy, but usually not in the middle of the gamma shift.

Ky and Dakota stood in front of the docking port door, where they would first greet the somber party that was about to disembark. When the door finally opened, on the other side was Cale and Mayla, and four of their sibkos in full cadet dress uniform accompanying the antigrav capsule that now encased Neri's body. Behind them followed the rest of their sibko, then Captain Lazarus and the Intruder senior staff all in full dress.

Behind Bravo Squad came the sound of the boatswain's pipe call for taps as the somber group stepped onto the station. All was silent as the capsule floated by everyone at attention, giving honor to a fellow Starfleet comrade. Bravo Squad followed the procession to the observation lounge and when the ceremony was finished, the Bravo Deck and Intruder staves dispersed back to their duties before returning again for the service in a few hours.

Ky stood by the capsule with a hand on it. He softly apologized to Neri for failing to protect her. He felt it was his responsibility for her safety, and what he could have done differently to prevent this from happening.

"It's not your fault, Kyril." Mayla said softly, coming up next to him.

"How did you know that's what I was thinking?" He gave her a frown and a kiss on the forehead. "Never mind that question. How is everything at the Academy?"

"They are adjusting, at least that's what I thought until Neri did this." She put her own hand on the capsule, also feeling it was partially her fault as she was the one at the Academy supposedly watching and taking care of her sibko. She had been Cale's second in command in the Linea, and it was her responsibility to oversee and provide overwatch of the entire group.

"It's not your fault either, Mayla." Ky said with a sad smile, but feeling just as guilty as she did. He put his arms around her and held her close. They had to do better, and hope they, as the sponsoring host for the Osiris children, pay more attention to their needs to prevent this from happening again.

"Did Cale have any special requests for the service?" Ky asked.

She shook her head. "They had no cultural preferences since all they had before was a simple burial. Not even a ceremony. Just a reading of the deceased name, rank, duty, and what campaign they were fighting in when they died."

Ky scoffed. "Typical. We can't we expect a cultureless society have anything else but that." He looked down at her face. "We'll perform Starfleet ceremony then." He looked down at his chronometer. "I have to go break in new recruits. I'll see you in a few hours. If you have any questions, talk to Ayer."

"Aye," Mayla said and pulled away.

He watched her saunter over to Cale who were with a few others of his sibko and Ayer. He opened his subvoc channel to Bravo Squad.

"This is Bravo 1, report to the holodeck in one hour." Commander Kyril Vree

Bravo Deck main holodeck

Stardate 1901.24

Ky stood alone in the middle of the holodeck still in full dress uniform from Neri's arrival ceremony. His team needed to meet at least once before they departed on the Intruder, and it would be even most fortuitous if they can do at least one sim together before leaving. The door opened and Dakota ran in, also still in her dress uniform.

"I'm sorry I'm...late," she said as she slowed down and seeing no one but Ky in the room.

"Still waiting for everyone else," Ky said.

Bryce and Reece both came in, followed by their four new members.

"For those of you new to us, I am Commander Kyril Vree, my XO is Lieutenant Commander Kindred Dakota. Those two are Lieutenant Commander Jackson Bryce, and Lieutenant Antonia Reece. There is no need to introduce yourselves, we already know who you are."

Out of the four, Nijn, Ginol, and Sh'eia deferred to their former CO, Sienae Tal'Aura, out of habit to speak for them. Ky watched Tal'Aura carefully as her eyes told a different story than her tone of voice.

"Commander, even though I do not remember any of the events that brought me to Bravo Squad," she gave a quick glance at her former Soulseeker team mates, "my teammates here have explained to me those circumstances. On behalf of the Soulseeker team, we thank you for saving us."

Nijn was standing straight at attention like any Vulcan normally would consider their normal casual pose. "Sir, we are honored to be part of your team." She gave Dakota a quick knowing glance.

Ky gave them a wave of dismissal. "I am sorry for the loss of Tyler. He was a good man." He looked at the tall female Caitian. "What do you remember?"

Sh'eia gave a soft growl that almost sounded like a purr. "Unfortunately, I remember everything. The treatment didn't affect any of my memories like the others. I remember being captured, going through the treatments, and everything I did after that. Even fighting with Commander Bryce."

"Is that going to be a problem, Lieutenant?" Ky asked, seeing a slightly narrowing in her eyes at the mention of Bryce.

"No, sir. I was under foreign influence and understand the circumstances of the confrontation." She almost glared at Ky. "I'm not used to be taken down by a human."

"Draconian," Bryce piped in. "And I'm not a typical Draconian."

"You did blood him, so you did put up a good fight." Dakota said.

"I wanted to clear that up in case there are any concerns lingering from that mission. Are there any questions before we begin?"

"Begin what? What are we going to do?" Ginol asked, speaking up for the first time. "It's the middle of the gamma shift."

"We are on a tight schedule. So I've assembled you here now because Admiral Sorvek has informed me that we will be deployed as soon as the service is over. I need to assess all of your abilities so you can be integrated into our team."

"Assess us?" Ginol interjected. "We're not raw recruits."

"Ginol," Nijn said sternly.

He looked at his former teammates with a glare. "We all went through Shadow Ops training, and passed. We performed over a dozen missions together and came out unscathed."

Ky stood his ground and listened to the Bolian patiently. "Until your last mission where another Shadow Ops team had to rescue you. I suggest you put your past accomplishments aside and learn what you can to keep you and your teammates alive."

"This one is skittish, Commander," Bryce said from right beside Ginol who jumped at the comment. The Draconian had moved so silently behind the Bolian that he didn't even know he was there. He slowly and deliberately sniffed the Bolian. "He seems to be hiding something, Commander."

"We'll know soon enough," Ky said coldly. "Get them geared up and run them through the Gauntlet and initiate them. The funeral service is in four hours. We will debrief the sim on the Intruder. Get moving."

Ky walked out of the holodeck towards their armory to get geared up, hiding a chuckle behind his hand as Bryce's initiation that had already begun as soon as Ginol spoke up. Commander Kyril Vree

USS Intruder

Stardate 1902.14

The small shuttle bay door remained opened until Neri's capsule disappeared into the glare of the sun. The capsule was continuously monitored until it was completely burned up and nothing was left.

The assembled congregation stood at attention for another half a minute before Ky dismissed everyone. There were no tears shed. But the haunted look came back to all of them as when they had first found them on the Shadowfell. This was the first time Ky was able to look at each one of them, trying to assess their emotional state, or just their state of being in general.

Lazarus gave Ky a nod and left for the bridge. The shuttle bay doors started to close as the small crowd dispersed back to their duties, leaving Neri's sibko and Bravo Squad alone.

Cale came up to Ky. "Are we to return to Earth now?"

Ky nodded. "Yes."

Cale just nodded and walked away. He watched him fall in step with the rest of his sibko as they left the small shuttle bay. Mayla came up beside Ky.

"I was contacted by LIeutenant Commander Natalie Radner. She wants to meet with us before we leave."

"Good. Use your vast experience and help your sibko. I can't be there for them right now."

"I know, Kyril." Mayla held his hand. "Good luck on the mission. I'll keep you updated on their status."

He kissed her on the forehead. "You do that." He watched her walk away and out the door.

"Is it time to go then?" Bryce asked as he walked up to him. He had been waiting patiently before approaching the Bravo Squad leader.

"As soon as the Captain says so." Ky gave him a gesture to get ready as they both left the shuttle bay together.

S13, E2, Act 2: Mission Briefing
Commander Kyril Vree

Umbra One, public quarters

Stardate 1902.24

Ky had just walked into his quarters when Lazarus called for Bravo Squad to report to the Intruder. He acknowledged the call and gave a smile to his twins playing a game on a console.

"What do you feel like having for lunch?" Linsayla said, coming out from their bedroom.

"I have to deploy." Ky said, giving her a frown and a kiss on the lips.

"Now?"

"Now." He said, giving her a hug. This was one of the few times he really didn't want to deploy, but to just spend time with his family. He felt he's missed so much of their lives while he was away on the Linea campaign. How did the saying go? He had to make up for lost time.

And now it was time for him to leave again.

Linsayla wrapped her arms around him and held him. He nuzzled his cheek into her hair and smelled the fragrance she loved to use. "Take care. I love you."

"I love you forevermore." He said in return with a soft voice.

She broke away and took a deep breath. "Children, your father has to go away on a trip. Say goodbye."

Ky smiled broadly as the twins ran up to him and gave him a hug. "You gonna bring us back something?" Tylin asked, patting the patch of white hair on Ky's head.

"I will try. Mayla is also here, but she has to go back to Earth soon. Make sure you call her."

With that news, he jumped away from Ky and already activated he console comm system to contact his older sister. Ky just frowned and shook his head. How quickly they grow up, and grow weary of their parents.

Nilani kissed him on the cheek. "Bye, papa."

Oh how Ky hated to walk out that door today. Umbra One

Stardate 1902.24

Lazarus walked through the upper offices of Starbase Umbra One on his way to Admiral Sorvek’s office where he was summoned to as soon as the Intruder docked. When he walked in, he noticed the courier’s bag on the desk beside him with several ‘papers’ strewn about on his desk. It was the same bag Sorvek had ordered him to hand deliver to the commander-in-chief of Starfleet, and then to return to Sorvek.

Sorvek held out something in his hand for Lazarus to take. He took it and it was a small folded up piece of paper. He gave Sorvek a questioning look, but saw the subtle move of the Vulcan’s hand that signaled him to open it. Lazarus unfolded the paper and read the contents.

“Memorize it, and give it back to me,” Sorvek ordered.

Lazarus did, refolded the paper, and handed back to the Vulcan. Sorvek immediately took out a clear box and put the paper into it. He pressed a button on the side and the small piece of paper was vaporized.

“Good luck, Captain. Report back to me personally when you’re done.”

“Aye, sir.” Lazarus got up and left the office with questions running through his mind about the obvious subterfuge. When he was away from the upper offices and headed back towards the docking collar for the Intruder, only then he opened a channel to Bravo Squad. “This is Bravo Leader, report to the Intruder for immediate deployment.”

When he reached the ship, he informed the crew to prepare for immediate departure as soon as Bravo Squad boarded. Twenty minutes later, the Intruder departed Umbra One on an erratic  course to their cryptic new mission.

Fifteen hours later.

“Approaching designated coordinates, Captain.” Miril reported from the helm station. They had just spent the last fifteen hours zigzagging through the quadrant to a remote uninhabited star system only designated as LV426. The system had a brown dwarf star with several lifeless planetoids orbiting it. The weak star barely gave off just under 10% of the energy of a normal healthy star.

Lazarus tapped a key on his console. “Commander Vree, report to the bridge.”

“Acknowledged.”

“Anything on sensors?” Lazarus asked without taking his eyes off the main viewer.

“Aye,” that tactical officer reported. “A single Antares Class 4 freighter, the SS Nova Maru, is on our forward port quarter holding position.”

In less than a minute, Vree walked through the egress. “We’ve arrived?”

Lazarus gestured to the image of the freighter in front of them. “Open hailing frequency.”

A man in scruffy civilian attire common amongst freighter captains appeared on the screen. He pulled down his blue cap low over his brow and scratched is unkempt beard before addressing the Intruder CO by name. “Captain Lazarus, I am Captain Takeo Hara of the SS Nova Maru, we are prepared to beam you aboard.”

“Who specifically?”

The captain on the screen looked to his left side and a voice from there answered the question. “Captain Lazarus and Bravo Squad are to report for mission briefing in our cargo hold. Send them the coordinates.”

Vree stood to one side out of the other captain’s view and gave Lazarus a few SO hand gestures. Lazarus didn’t acknowledge that he saw it, but he did.

“We’ll beam over in 10 minutes. Intruder, out.” When the image of the man was replaced with the starfield, Lazarus looked over to Somez. "Keep sensors and an eye on that ship."

"Aye.” Lieutenant Commander Sonia Somez said from her Ops station. "Mission briefing on a civilian ship?"

“That’s why I asked the captain for 10 minutes so we can gear up,” Vree said. “Just in case.”

“Authorized. Let’s go. I’ll be damned if I go over there unarmed and unescorted.”

Within 10 minutes, all of Bravo Squad in their fatigues and weapons stood with Captain Lazarus with a phaser at his hip on the transporter pad. With now a full complement of the team armed to the teeth, he was confident that was enough if a firefight ensued.

"Where do the coordinates put us?" Vree asked.

"Cargo bay."

"Empty?" Lazarus asked.

"Nearly empty. Sensors reading nothing out of the ordinary," the chief reported.

“Keep a lock on us in case this meeting goes sideways,” Lazarus ordered.

“Aye sir, isotags are staged and locked,” he promptly responded. “Energizing.”

When they materialized in the cargo bay of the medium sized freighter, the first thing Lazarus saw were eight black skinned ships he’d never seen their make before. They looked like large attacking four legged spiders. But four members of Bravo Squad recognized them immediately.

“Prowlers,” Reece said with a murmur over her subvocal.

“Defensive positions,” Ky ordered. Bravo Squad’s weapons came up ready and immediately formed a circle around Lazarus. Ky and Dakota pointed their weapons at a small group of civilians gathered around a portable terminal/table five meters away.

A young Bolian stepped forward and held up his hands. “Hold your fire! I am Lieutenant Commander Craxin Chatt, Field Intelligence officer, 94th Pathfinder Unit, Shadow Operations Blackthorn Base.”

“Never heard of it,” Ky said.

“I’m not surprised. Only three people outside the Base know about us.” He walked slowly up to Ky and shook his hand. “Commander Vree, you, along with Bravo Squad and Captain Lazarus have been given a new security clearance as of this moment. Blackthorn Base is where all of the Linea technology you’ve attained are being researched and reversed engineered. Its location is top secret and a highly kept secret among a tightly controlled group of people. But I don’t need to tell you what Linea technology is to warrant such security and precaution.”

Vree and Dakota now stepped aside and allowed Lazarus to take control again. “Well, I’m not privy to it. But right now, I’m just interested in their next mission.”

The young Bolian smiled. “Captain, with all due respect, you will be. What Bravo Squad brought back from their campaign will give us a quantum leap in our tech by at least few hundred years. But unfortunately, it may take us that long just to figure it all out.”

The newer members of Bravo Squad gave each other a quick glance, feeling out of their depth being part of Shadow Operations elite team. They hoped they would measure up after their failed initiation by Bryce. They had much to learn from their new team mates.

Vree waved the admiration away and shouldered his weapon. Bravo Squad did the same. The team formed up behind him and Lazarus. “What’s the mission?”

“We found Irdana.”

“What?” Dakota exclaimed, looking at Vree whose demeanor suddenly darkened.

“In the Shadowfell computers, we found clues that led to the location of the development facility for Project Irdana. A kinetic torpedo whose sole purpose is to rupture the core of a planet to destroy it from within.”

“Irdana was one of the projects Bravo Squad was supposed to shut down,” Lazarus said.

“Now we have the chance to do it before it comes to fruition.” Chatt said with a smile.

Vree and Dakota looked at each other. The possible Linea invasion date hadn’t arrived yet, so if they still had a chance to shut down another project, this was it. In his mind's eye, he still saw four projects they hadn't touched upon, and this was one of them. He needed to find out more of what was going on.

“Where is it?”

Chatt gestured for them to join him at the portable debriefing console. He pressed a few keystuds and a three dimensional image of a star system floated above the table.

“It’s in an asteroid belt surrounding the Melkora System.

“Never heard of it," Lazarus said.

“It’s in the Andromeda Galaxy.”

“What?!” Lazarus asked with a bit of disbelief, which was uncommon for the gruff captain. The news also shocked the four new members to Bravo Squad. If they felt out of their element before, this revelation that Bravo Squad had been to another galaxy pushed them even further away.

"That's why I couldn't find it." Vree murmured to himself.

“The final coordinates are inside the core of a small planetoid. But our recon shows us the system originally had 27 planets.”

“Had?”

The Bolian nodded his bald blue skinned head. “They’ve been experimenting and testing the weapon on the planets in that system. It’s probably why they put the facility there in the first place. Of the 27 planets, there are 19 left. Five of them are inhabited. Two of those have already been destroyed.”

Bravo Squad took in the news in stride. Vree, Dakota, Reece, and Bryce were embedded within the Linea for months on that campaign, and this news of their callousness for non-Linea sentient life didn’t faze them.

“Recon?” Ky asked. “You’ve already been there?”

Chatt held up two fingers and gave them a big smile. “I’ve been there twice.”

“Wait,” Lazarus said. “How did you GET there?”

The bolian looked at Lazarus and gestured to the fighters in the cargo bay. “The Linea ships don’t use warp drive to travel through space. Their tech allows them to harness nearly infinite amount of energy from a zero point reactor-”

"Their ships have a dimensional jump drive that can take them anywhere in the universe instantaneously,” Ky interrupted quickly, forestalling the excited man’s enthusiasm to show off what he knows. “How well protected is this base? Are there any ships protecting it?”

"There are none.”

“What?” Bryce asked. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. No fighter patrols, no ships.”

“Isn’t that rather odd?” Bryce asked.

Vree held up a hand. “Which Linea is running the base?”

The Bolian referred to a small padd in his hand. “Fire Jaguar.”

Bravo Squad was stunned. It wasn’t any of the Linea they’d ever heard of. “I’ve never heard of them.”

“Shadowfell computers say it’s a dead Linea, shunned by the core Pentagon 22 years ago,” the Bolian said too proudly, to know something Bravo Squad didn’t.

“An exiled Linea.” Ky said, remember something Cale had mentioned about how the Linea exact the ultimate punishment on a rogue Linea. Exile rather than death. “That’s why they can’t announce themselves openly.”

“So they’re developing the torpedo as a way to try to gain graces to be allowed to participate in The Return. That's why Irdana was even in the Shadowfell computers.” Dakota said. Then she looked at Vree, speaking over the subvocal to him and Lazarus only. "We know they were successful because the weapon was used on Kronos in the invasion."

Lazarus shook his head in confusion. “I’m going to need a primer on all of this.” He looked over to Vree with a look of incomprehension at what Dakota just said. “I”m giving you operational command of this operation. I can’t make decisions for you on something you’ve been dealing with for years.”

Commander Kyril Vree

SS Nova Maru

Stardate 1902.24

"I understand this is all new to you, Captain," Chatt said with a slight tone of rare sympathy from a Bolian. "But I assure you, with confirmation from Bravo Squad, this threat truly exists."

Dakota held up a hand, putting them on hold. "We told Reva we would stop operations in Linea Space…." She said quietly and slowly. "That was part of our deal."

Ky nodded to her. If they broke their word to the Revenant of Scions, and if she were to ever find out, it would ruin their relationship with her. "What exactly does that encompass? Does that include an exiled LInea that’s no longer part of the Pentagon of planets? Does the entire universe fall under that category?" Ky asked. He had to weigh in his next decision against the possible consequences. He gave it some thought and everyone knew depending on how Reva determines it, they might break their promise to her. It tugged at their conscience, but they were talking about destroying a weapon of mass destruction. And saving three sentient species from extinction.

"If we can make it look like an accident, without leaving any evidence we were there, we may get away with it." Reece said.

"We'll have to be really detailed. We shouldn't use or carry any Federation tech, remember the Linea forensic technology is highly advanced." Bryce chimed in his analysis.

Chatt raised his hand and stepped forward. “I’ve already planned the mission with that in mind.”

Everyone turned to look at the man who just continued to smile at them. “Well, let’s have it,” Vree said.

“That’s why the prowlers are here. Bravo Squad will take the ships and jump into the planetoid, drop off a payload, and jump out. Simple plan.”

“What payload are you talking about?” Dakota asked.

He pointed to a large cylindrical containers they now noticed beside each fighter. “Instead of using any Milky Way tech that may be traced back to us, we implode a device that will eliminate all traces of itself, the base, and our presence there.”

“What are they?” Bryce asked.

“Each fighter will be dropping off a modified singularity core and detonate it. The singularity will last for about 14 minutes and will not only destroy everything, but will absorb the entire planetoid. You wouldn’t be in there for more than a minute or two at most. Nothing will be left behind to find. You just need to jump outside to witness its complete destruction before jumping back here.”

Ky walked quickly over to one of the payloads and studied it a little. “Even I can see this is Romulan tech. You took these from four warbirds? They look brand new.”

“Actually, we took them off the assembly line at one of their core production facilities,” the man bolstered himself up proudly.

“How did you do that?” Reece asked. “That’s deep within Romulan space.”

Ky walked straight to the Bolian and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt. “You used Linea prowlers on a mission within the Milky Way?”

“Commander...” Lazarus warned.

“Admiral Sorvek’s explicit orders were to refrain from using any of their jump tech in our galaxy in fear of its existence leaking out. These ships are extremely dangerous in the wrong hands!” Ky yelled.

“Commander Vree, I assure you authorization came from Admiral Sorvek to perform the mission. He decided the destruction of Project Irdana was a higher priority than using the tech for this one mission. This came down from the commander-in-chief of Starfleet.”

“That’s how it starts, Chatt.” Ky let him go and stepped back. “You don’t have to explain to me the importance of Irdana. I looked for it for years, and Bravo Squad has seen the results of that weapon used in the field.”

Silence befell the cargo hold, each person to their own thoughts. And how they were going to pull off this mission.

Commander Kyril Vree

SS Nova Maru

Stardate 1903.21

Even Ginol was silent with the enormity of their first mission with Bravo Squad and how much more skilled this team of veterans were than he was. It made him feel almost inadequate and doubted his own abilities. Bravo Squad had been to ANOTHER galaxy and spoke as if it was just another day in the office. And if indeed it was just another day at the office….

Nijn was excited, at least as excited as a Vulcan could be. She was looking forward to the mission to see Bravo Squad perform again. Her first away mission with them was to rescue her own team who had been implanted with Borg assimilation nanites to be controlled. She glanced at Ginol and Sh'eia thinking those two, including Tal'Aura, wouldn't be here if it weren't for Bravo Squad. Not only did Bravo Squad rescued the survivors of her team, they also saved those who were captured. Was the team overly ambitious and cocky to have performed such a difficult objective beyond their mission parameters?

Tal'Aura just nodded as each piece of information filled her senses. One declaration after another about instantaneous travel through space, the technology that is required to perform such a feat, and the race who developed the awesome power of traveling through space without time dilation. Whomever had this technology could literally rule the universe. She was still trying to regain whatever memories she had lost, but she felt as if she should already know the skills her body knows. It was a bit confusing to feel this way. She wondered briefly whether or not she really was ready for field duty.

Nijn broke the silent pause. “How do you suggest we gain entry to the planetoid to deliver the payload? I am sure the way in is heavily guarded. A singularity on the surface may not reach the base before they evacuate.”

“There are no tunnels to get into the base," Chatt responded. "They’ve been jumping straight in and out of the planetoid to keep hidden. So there is a staging area inside for ships to jump in.”

"We don't even know what we're jumping into," Reece exclaimed. "And what do you plan on doing when we get in there?"

Chatt gave her a wry smile on the borderline of being irritated. "As soon as you jump into the planetoid, you drop your payload at the designated locations for maximum coverage, detonate, and jump out. The initial explosion will wipe out anything within a kilometer, then it will then draw in the entire planetoid into oblivion.

“Where have we seen this before?” Bryce asked no one. Bravo Squad already saw a singularity consume a planet from within at Kansu 7 where Section 31 had a secret phalanx base. "Why do you need us to pilot the shps? You obviously already know how to fly them."

"But not in a combat situation, and in tight quarters. We need your expertise in the fighters, in case you are engaged by enemy fighters. Dogfighting with a teledrive requires an entirely different mentality and skill set of experience. And you four are the only ones with that experience."

"I beg to differ," Bryce interjected. "I've never flown one."

"And I've only been in one limited dogfight with it. I'm not a tactical fighter pilot." Dakota said, looking to Ky and Reece. Then her eyes widened when she remembered their team size had increased by a factor of two recently.

Ky looked at his teammates and had to agree with them. Only he and Reece had extensive piloting experience, and only the two of them would be rated high enough for any type of fighter to fighter engagement. And only the two of them should be piloting the prowlers on a mission of this amplitude. As for the new members of Bravo Squad, they didn't even know travel to another galaxy was even possible before now. It would be suicide to send them untrained and untested into battle in a fighter with tech they never had any experience with before. One wrong calculation and they could literally end up anywhere in the universe. "I won't allow any of my team not trained in those fighters to operate them."

"What do you suggest then?" Chatt asked slowly through slightly gritted teeth. He had been ordered, specifically ordered, to put aside his ego and allow Bravo Squad determine mission details to achieve the mission goals. They had the most experience with the Linea military structure and tactics than anyone in the galaxy. He had to clamp his mouth shut as Vree laid out his own plan.

"Both Lieutenant Reece and I and will deliver the payload in the prowlers. I want Commander Dakota to lead the rest of the team onto the base and steal as much data as they could and plant explosives in vital areas where they keep the research."

Chatt's mouth almost opened with shock and awe. He never anticipated Bravo Squad to append mission objectives to the one that's already so very dangerous. He recovered quickly. "Then your target would be the lab center where all the data for Irdana resides. Also, you need to make certain none of the other ships there jump out to report what has happened or request for reinforcements. Or worse, escape with the research."

"That will be our job," Ky said with a quick glance at Reece. "We'll destroy all of their fighters as soon as we jump in, and wreak havoc while the away team infiltrates the base."

Dakota looked at the other five who would be with her. "Is that the only mission objective you have for us?"

"Think you can steal one of those kinetic torpedoes?" Ky asked.

Now the whole team, including Lazarus stared at him. "Commander, that's damn ambitious, don't you think?" He asked.

"These fighters don't have a transporter. How are we all going to get into the base in the fir-" Bryce trailed off slowly, remembering something from a past mission in Linea space.

Dakota had already caught on. "You want us strapped to the outside of your prowlers and use the subspace suits to translocate into the base. That's hard when we've never even seen inside the base."

Chatt cleared his throat. "We do have a map and surveillance footage of the entire base and cavern."

Now everyone turned their attention to the Bolian. "How did you get that?"

"On our first recon jump, I set loose two prototype recon nanoprobes fitted with low level phaser to slowly burrow through the rock from outside the asteroid. It's AI in each nanoprobe was instructed to be as stealthy as possible to avoid detection. Their mission was to burn its way in slowly towards what their scanners show was an atmosphere or energy source until they broke free of the rock. Then to map out the entire interior space and return to the outside for our return."

"That was your second recon mission," Ky said with a nod.

"Yes, to retrieve the probes. Even though they were prototypes, we calculated the risk of losing them was outweighed by the intelligence data they could bring back to us. We were only able to retrieve one of the probes, but the data was complete. We have an entire layout of the interior space mapped out with coordinates calculated for the Linea teledrive."

Commander Kyril Vree

SS Nova Maru

Stardate 1908.25

Chatt walked over to an exposed wall panel and started tapping keys on a panel. The spacious cargo bay suddenly resolved in to a structure they didn't recognized. The veteran Bravo Squad members recognized the design and style as Linea instantly and the memory washed over them like a cold shower, instantly causing them to become alert and on constant guard. It was as if they were embedded again deep inside a Linea stronghold. It also made them itch for a Linea pulse pistol.

"This is the command module of the base," the Bolian said, gesturing around their surroundings and to the window that looked out into the enormous cavern. They could clearly see nearly a dozen docking points for fighters and ships. Over to one side was what looked like a docking collar, but they could see that a ship wasn't exactly docked with it, just connected to the belly of a prowler.

"Now that is the weapons loader," Chatt said poignantly, noticing them staring at it. "The kinetic torpedo is loaded onto fighters there, very quick and fast for deployment," Chatt smirked despite himself. "Because the probe was there for a while, it was able to record the functions of the base for a full day." He tapped another key and the base came alive. "With that recording we integrated it into the holodeck program so it can be as realistic as possible."

Ky walked over to the window and peered all around the cavern counting the number of ships currently present. "Not all of us will be able to use the subspace suits," he said. "We have to find another point of entry."

"What is a subpsace suit?" Tal'Aura asked.

Bryce chimed in from the far side of the room, who was looking over the computer readouts on several consoles. "Subspace translocation suits allow the wearer to transport short distances instantaneously through subspace by thought. But you have to know where you're going. This simulation might help with-"

"No," Ky interrupted. "We don't have time for them to train and practice."

"The Commander is correct," Chatt said almost grudgingly. "Time is of the essence. You need to deploy as soon as possible before they finish and deliver the torpedo research to the Linea."

"Are we going in as Linea or Starfleet?" Dakota asked.

Ky took a deep breath. "High Guard."

She slowly nodded. "It would make sense for the Pentagon to try to prevent an exiled Linea to return to the fold. It may undermine their authority in future exiles."

Ky gave Chatt a nod. "I'll make the alterations to the fighters," the bolian said.

"Captain, I guess you are sitting out on this one," Ky said.

Lazarus gave him a blank look and the next thing he said surprised even Ky. "I'm going with you."

Bravo Squad was taken aback. "Are you sure?" Ky asked.

"If I'm going to be Bravo Leader, I need to have seen what you've seen of the Linea. I've trained with the subspace suit. And if they are eventually going to be a threat to us here, then I want first hand experience with them." Lazarus said with a finality that defied any rebuke.

Ky, of course, didn't have a choice. "Alright, sir." Then he looked at the rest of Bravo Squad. "For the new members to our team, only speak through the subvocal. Once you start talking outloud, they will suspect you are not Linea. We can't ever let them figure out we are not Linea. This also applies to you, Captain. Is that understood?"

"Aye," everyone said, even Lazarus. "You are mission commander."

Ky returned to the work table and studied the diagram of the base for a minute while formulating an assault plan. "We'll take three prowlers. Dakota will take Tal'Aura and Nijn who will secure the lab and all data pertaining to the project. Reece will take Sh'eia and Ginol who will secure the area the bombs are housed to make sure none leave the base. I will take the Captain and Bryce who will translocate into the command center to secure communications throughout the base before they raise the alarm. Each of us will be decked out in standard Linea fatigues, but covered head to toe. They will instantly attack anyone not human."

"You mean humanoid," Ginol said.

"No, human." He gave Sh'eia a brief look. "The Linea are all human with a selected breeding program to turn out the best warriors with the best traits for a specific job. They've been doing this for millennia, so they've had plenty of time to perfect it. Even though not all of their warriors are perfect." Ky rotated the diagram and picked up 3 prowlers that would represent them.

He looked to Dakota and Reese. "As soon as our passengers are off, the three of us will start destroying all the ships in the cavern as quickly as we can. We'll jump into these locations here, here, and here," he placed the three fighters in different areas of the cavern.

"My prowler will be outside this window," he pointed behind them. Then he pointed to Dakota's prowler, positioned at the docking pylon closest to the lab. "Tal'Aura and Nijn will drop off here and head directly to the lab to procure the project. Reece's prowler will be here on the opposite end of the base at the bomb loading bay. Once you drop off your passengers, proceed to destroy any fighters you find in the cavern. I most likely will be the first to start the attack runs since I don't need to dock to off load the Captain or Bryce. If all the ships have been dispatched before the base is secured, we will dock and translocate to any location we're needed. Any questions?"

Commander Kyril Vree

SS Nova Maru

Stardate 2002.19

"Are you ready for this?" Ky asked Tal'Aura as she followed him around the fighter as he checked its condition.

"I don't know. I'll be attached to the outer hull next to a romulan singularity drive set up as a bomb." She made note of the lines and curves of the strange looking fighter. "It's taken me a few months just to get used to what happened to the Seeker Team; to me."

The Trill stopped and looked at the half human half Romulan. He brushed aside the brief thought that came to how far he himself had come to trusting a Romulan anything. But Tal'Aura is the daughter of a defector and how she had come to measure herself within Shadow Operations, being who she is, was one of the reasons he gave her the chance to prove herself as trustworthy. But he quickly digressed. She had also been an SO team leader. And that meant for something to him.

"Has any new memories returned to you as Seeker Team leader?"

She shook her head. "I don't know if it will ever come back."

Ky turned to look at her. "It doesn't matter. You had held the rank as team leader for the Soulseeker team. You can do it again."

"With some guidance from you, I hope." She said.

"You had already done it without me. I'm just here to get you back on your feet. Your team is here to support you, and I respect that." Ky stepped up the ladder to the cockpit and looked over the instruments, turning some of them on. "Maybe out of all this, they may be better team members for you."

Bryce walked up to the fighter while running a hand over the hull. "Chatt has our new fatigues replicated."

"Has Dakota and Reece checked out their fighters?"

"All are nominal and ready to fly," Bryce said, looking at Tal'Aura.

"Then let's get suited up and get this over with," he said as an order and hopped back down on the deck. "I want us in and out and hopefully we're not discovered to be not Linea. I really don't want Reva to discover we returned to Linea space. I'm not too sure how she would respond to that. I don't want to lose a possible ally."

"Who's Reva?" Tal'Aura asked.

Bryce looked at Ky to make the decision how much to tell the new omer. And Ky already spoke too much. "She was someone we persuaded the Federation has good values for all sentient life."

The Romulan/human smiled and knew a shady explanation when she heard one. She was a Shadow Operative, and knew many things were classified. "I understand."

"That was a good answer," Bryce said over the subvoc.

Ky winced. "I just hope it was the truth."

[ Back to top]