Mission 4

[Amanda Rose]

> With the away team taken care of, Tegau turned her attention to the Huanni-plant. "We
just want to understand you. We never meant to hurt you- it was simple ignorance and
misunderstanding. Are you going to kill us for making a tiny mistake, when we just want
to know more about you? How in the world do you ever get to know anyone new, if that's
the case!"
>
> The thorn in Sinclair seemed to hesitate. It did not continue to burrow inside of him;
however, it did not withdraw, either. Next to the Huanni head, another plant grew a head
that looked very similiar to D'Val's own. It spoke much more clearly than the Huanni head.
"You, huuuuuman...." It bent over in Delaney's direction.

"Yes, I am human," Tegau affirmed, and then waited.

> "You seeeeeeeeeeemmmmmmmm to understand sommmmmmmeee.
Huannnnnnnnnnni killllllllllllllllllllllllll ussss. Kiiiiiilllllllllll oouuuur fooooood in
grrrrrrround. We warrrrned. Ssssssstop! Theeeeeey did not lisssssssten."

"Perhaps they misunderstood. We seem to have a misunderstanding here. D'Val did not
mean to hurt you. T'Pruk there was only defending Keth, who is our friend. And Keth will
not hurt you. He's just scared of you, but he won't hurt you. But you have to let them free
and stop hurting them, or we can't talk, and neither of us will understand the other.
Please, trust me," it was a heartfelt plea on solid grounds, from Delaney's viewpoint.

[Amanda Rose]

"Brian, help Keth," Delaney ordered. "If he falls down, he'll only squish more plants. T'Pruk, how are you doing over there?"

Brian stepped carefully over the tendrils, painfully aware that the slightest mis-step at this moment could make the situation much much worse. He supported Keth, letting him lean on his shoulder, but leaving his tricorder-hand free.
Next to the Huanni head, another plant grew a head that looked very similiar to D'Val's own. It spoke much more clearly than the Huanni head. "You, huuuuuman...." It bent over in Delaney's direction.
Brian scanned his tricorder and noticed that the plants seemed to have somehow incorporated Huanni DNA. However, even that changed slightly as Brian watched D'Val in horror. The plants were now starting to incorporate HUMAN DNA!
"Tegau... I mean, sir? Ma'am?" he stumbled, but now wasn't the time to worry about protocol. "They've sampled D'Val's DNA. That's how they're communicating. It's the same with the Huanni - they're building the faces from the samples they have."
TAG - Tegau
He turned to Keth. "This is good news. If they can use the DNA of someone and they're still alive, the other Huanni might be too..." he added, optimistically.
TAG - Keth

[Amanda Rose]

> Next to the Huanni head, another plant grew a head that looked very similiar
> to D'Val's own. It spoke much more clearly than the Huanni head. "You,
> huuuuuman...." It bent over in Delaney's direction.
>
> Brian scanned his tricorder and noticed that the plants seemed to have
> somehow incorporated Huanni DNA. However, even that changed slightly as Brian
> watched D'Val in horror. The plants were now starting to incorporate HUMAN DNA!
>
> "Tegau... I mean, sir? Ma'am?" he stumbled, but now wasn't the time to worry
> about protocol. "They've sampled D'Val's DNA. That's how they're
> communicating. It's the same with the Huanni - they're building the faces from the
> samples they have."

"The... what?" That was disturbing. And yet, at the same time, kind of intriguing. "Okay..
this has suddenly gotten a whole lot more interesting.."

> He turned to Keth. "This is good news. If they can use the DNA of someone
> and they're still alive, the other Huanni might be too..." he added,
> optimistically.

"You have a point," Tegau said, and looked at the plant. She almost asked the question on
the tip of her tongue, but then decided perhaps it would be better to save that for later,
just in case it was bad news. There was no use in freaking Keth out even more. Her eyes
darted to Brian quickly, trying to convey that without Keth's knowledge, but her gaze kept
drifting back to the plant, in case it had any more surprises for them.

[Amanda Rose]

"Brian, help Keth," Delaney ordered. "If he falls down, he'll only squish more plants. T'Pruk, how are you doing over there?"

Brian stepped carefully over the tendrils, painfully aware that the slightest mis-step at this moment could make the situation much much worse. He supported Keth, letting him lean on his shoulder, but leaving his tricorder-hand free.

With the away team taken care of, Tegau turned her attention to the Huanni-plant. "We
just want to understand you. We never meant to hurt you- it was simple ignorance and
misunderstanding. Are you going to kill us for making a tiny mistake, when we just want
to know more about you? How in the world do you ever get to know anyone new, if that's
the case!"
The thorn in Sinclair seemed to hesitate. It did not continue to burrow inside of him;
however, it did not withdraw, either. Next to the Huanni head, another plant grew a head
that looked very similiar to D'Val's own. It spoke much more clearly than the Huanni head.
"You, huuuuuman... ." It bent over in Delaney's direction.

Brian scanned his tricorder and noticed that the plants seemed to have somehow incorporated Huanni DNA. However, even that changed slightly as Brian watched D'Val in horror. The plants were now starting to incorporate HUMAN DNA!

"Yes, I am human," Tegau affirmed, and then waited.

"You seeeeeeeeeeemmmmmmm m to understand sommmmmmmeee. Huannnnnnnnnnni killlllllllllllllll lllllllll ussss. Kiiiiiilllllllllll oouuuur fooooood in grrrrrrround. We warrrrned. Ssssssstop! Theeeeeey did not lisssssssten. "

"Perhaps they misunderstood. We seem to have a misunderstanding here. D'Val did not mean to hurt you. T'Pruk there was only defending Keth, who is our friend. And Keth will
not hurt you. He's just scared of you, but he won't hurt you. But you have to let them free
and stop hurting them, or we can't talk, and neither of us will understand the other.
Please, trust me," it was a heartfelt plea on solid grounds, from Delaney's viewpoint.
"Tegau... I mean, sir? Ma'am?" he stumbled, but now wasn't the time to worry about protocol. "They've sampled D'Val's DNA. That's how they're communicating. It's the same with the Huanni - they're building the faces from the samples they have."

"The... what?" That was disturbing. And yet, at the same time, kind of intriguing. "Okay..
this has suddenly gotten a whole lot more interesting.."

He turned to Keth. "This is good news. If they can use the DNA of someone and they're still alive, the other Huanni might be too..." he added, optimistically.

"You have a point," Tegau said, and looked at the plant. She almost asked the question on
the tip of her tongue, but then decided perhaps it would be better to save that for later, just in case it was bad news. There was no use in freaking Keth out even more. Her eyes darted to Brian quickly, trying to convey that without Keth's knowledge, but her gaze kept drifting back to the plant, in case it had any more surprises for them.
The plant with the human head responded, even more clearly than before. "No. The Huanni served as food. We do not waste. As you can imagine, this is not our normal method of speech. But the Huanni did not understand us, nor did you. So, it was necessary. We destroyed that which the Huanni built to destroy us. Huanni only hurt. They are not like you."

Another vine wrapped itself around Keth and Keth could start to feel the plants squeezing him.

tag - all

[Amanda Rose]

"Yes, I am human," Tegau affirmed, and then waited.

"You seeeeeeeeeeemmmmmmm m to understand sommmmmmmeee. Huannnnnnnnnnni killlllllllllllllll lllllllll ussss. Kiiiiiilllllllllll oouuuur fooooood in grrrrrrround. We warrrrned. Ssssssstop! Theeeeeey did not lisssssssten. "

"Perhaps they misunderstood. We seem to have a misunderstanding here. D'Val did not mean to hurt you. T'Pruk there was only defending Keth, who is our friend. And Keth will not hurt you. He's just scared of you, but he won't hurt you. But you have to let them free and stop hurting them, or we can't talk, and neither of us will understand the other. Please, trust me," it was a heartfelt plea on solid grounds, from Delaney's viewpoint.
"Tegau... I mean, sir? Ma'am?" he stumbled, but now wasn't the time to worry about protocol. "They've sampled D'Val's DNA. That's how they're communicating. It's the same with the Huanni - they're building the faces from the samples they have."

"The... what?" That was disturbing. And yet, at the same time, kind of intriguing. "Okay.. this has suddenly gotten a whole lot more interesting. ."

He turned to Keth. "This is good news. If they can use the DNA of someone and they're still alive, the other Huanni might be too..." he added, optimistically.

"You have a point," Tegau said, and looked at the plant. She almost asked the question on the tip of her tongue, but then decided perhaps it would be better to save that for later, just in case it was bad news. There was no use in freaking Keth out even more. Her eyes darted to Brian quickly, trying to convey that without Keth's knowledge, but her gaze kept drifting back to the plant, in case it had any more surprises for them.
The plant with the human head responded, even more clearly than before. "No. The Huanni served as food. We do not waste. As you can imagine, this is not our normal method of speech. But the Huanni did not understand us, nor did you. So, it was necessary. We destroyed that which the Huanni built to destroy us. Huanni only hurt. They are not like you."

Another vine wrapped itself around Keth and Keth could start to feel the plants squeezing him.

D'Val struggled to move, to help... to do something, but no matter how hard he tried he couldnt move. Frustration, failure and shame flushed through his numb body. He was suppose to protect these people and now the plants were trying to eat Keth.... Granted there was little he could do, but it wasn't in his nature to give up.

Plants that could recreate the DNA of another being by simply taking a sample of it. It wasn't cloning, it was..... interpretation of the DNA and computing what the creature or being would look like then using that info to create the necesary tissues and cells to create a look alike. D'Val stared at his own face in wonder. Such intellegence and yet it seemed to be on a primal level to lash out at what they didn't understand. The range of human emotions still amazed him when he compared it to other intellegent beings. And his classmates had called him emotionally bereft.

Slowly, D'Val reached out and touched the flesh of the mimics face. It was wet and clammy, but there was a kind of warmth there. He wondered what else these.... plants were capable of.

"Commmproomise?" D'Val said sluring out his words, his worry fro Keth plain on his face.

[Amanda Rose]

> "So, it was necessary. We destroyed that
> which the Huanni built to destroy us. Huanni only hurt. They are not
> like you."

"Damn straight there like me....well not like me but you get the
idea!" Keth said, fighting a rising panic that threatened to consume
him, his arms and muscles spoiling for a fight.

> Another vine wrapped itself around Keth and Keth could start to
feel the plants squeezing him.
>
> D'Val struggled to move, to help... to do something, but no matter
how hard he tried he couldnt move. Frustration, failure and shame
flushed through his numb body. He was suppose to protect these people
and now the plants were trying to eat Keth.... Granted there was
little he could do, but it wasn't in his nature to give up.
>
> Plants that could recreate the DNA of another being by simply taking
a sample of it. It wasn't cloning, it was..... interpretation of the
DNA and computing what the creature or being would look like then
using that info to create the necesary tissues and cells to create a
look alike. D'Val stared at his own face in wonder. Such intellegence
and yet it seemed to be on a primal level to lash out at what they
didn't understand. The range of human emotions still amazed him when
he compared it to other intellegent beings. And his classmates had
called him emotionally bereft.
>
> Slowly, D'Val reached out and touched the flesh of the mimics face.
It was wet and clammy, but there was a kind of warmth there. He
wondered what else these.... plants were capable of.
>
> "Commmproomise?" D'Val said sluring out his words, his worry fro
Keth plain on his face.
>

"Yeah take them not meeee!!!" Keth squealed, and looked at Brian
"Sorry...knee jerk reaction."
Keth blinked, the vines squeezing tighter about him.
"Wait you can speak...talk, you know about us! We show compassion to
others, mercy...all that good stuff!"

[Amanda Rose]

O'Connor gave another quirky smile at Jamison and lowered her voice
as she approached Jamison, "That's if you can make a report." She
then turned to Hemd and smiled evilly. "Handle him as you wish.
I've got work to do."

Hemd gave a large grin and hauled Jamison off the bridge.

O'Connor nodded thanks at Jessie and then shook her head at Wells
toward the turbolift. Again she ordered, "Get that damn Culture on
screen."

Satisfied that Jamison (and by extension the situation on the bridge)
was under control Jessie gave a nod and moved to the tactical seat.
Looking over her should she gave a nodd to the Communications
Officer. "Open the Channel Trish." Jessie said, repeating the
captain's order.

Trish nodded and ran her hand over the communications board. "Yes
ma'am." she said. "Channel open."

There was quiet for a moment and then a loud booming voice.

"YOU HAVE NOT GONE. YOU HAVE FIVE OF YOUR MINUTES TO LEAVE OR WE
SHALL DESTROY YOU."

Jessie moved her hand to the button to raise shields. She knew that
she shouldn't have listened to Jamison. The blasted fool would have
gotten them killed. Still she held off on powering up the shields and
weapons. She would be ready if they wanted a fight but try to avoid
one if at all possible though she had a feeling that it wasn't going
to be.

O'Connor motioned to Jessie to raise the shields. She then called out
to the Culture, "We have no wish to fight but we will defend
ourselves if necessary. We were called here at the request of the
Huanni."

The booming voice returned, "WE SPEAK FOR THE HUANNI. WE DID NOT ASK
FOR YOU. THEREFORE, YOU WILL GO!"

General Tat entered the bridge. O'Connor was actually happy to see
him for a change. She turned to him and said, "Tell them to allow us
to finish our investigation."

Tat shivered and replied, "I cannot tell the Culture anything.
They're big and powerful and well, I'm sorry for what it is worth.
Do you mind seeing if they will allow us off? And, uh, maybe that
Mr. Pendragon, too. My Clarabelle seems to be rather fond of him and
well, despite the fact I disapprove...."

O'Connor interrupted loudly, "Look, General, this is not the time to
plan social occasions. You're going to tell them to allow us to stay
or I'm personally going to make sure that you get the full extent of
whatever the Culture do to us."

Tat swallowed hard. He was not a coward by Huanni standards but even
he could not prepare for O'Connor's fury. He probably would have
frightened to know that this was nowhere near her worst. "I'll do
what I can."

Tat then spoke to the viewscreen, "Favored, Culture. Those who have
given us so much. Please spare myself and this vessel. They come in
peace. Shoot to kill. Er, that's not what I meant! Wrong song!"

O'Connor restrained herself from killing Tat as the Culture
replied, "WE HAVE NO FURTHER USE FOR YOU, GENERAL TAT. YOU HAVE
BROKEN THE CONTRACT. YOU WILL DIE WITH THE REST IF THEY DO NOT
LEAVE."

O'Connor looked at Wells and Kirk, "Friendly sort, aren't they?"

tag

[Amanda Rose]

"Huanni only hurt. They are not like you."

"Damn straight there like me....well not like me but you get the idea!" Keth said, fighting a rising panic that threatened to consume him, his arms and muscles spoiling for a fight. Another vine wrapped itself around Keth and Keth could start to feel the plants squeezing him.

Brian couldn't see Keth calming down enough to resolve this amicably and they sure didn't need a first contact going straight into a war here, especially not with all of them on the front line. Tegau would stand a better chance if she could negotiate without hostages, especially a hostile one heckling from the sidelines... He moved around to stand between Keth and D'Val and quietly flipped his communicator open.

-/\- Pendragon to America. Requesting emergency beam out - two nearest to my position. -/\-
-/\- Sorry landing party. No can do. We're on alert up here -/\-
Oh that's just... great, thought Brian shaking his head. They were on their own and goodness only knew what was going on topside to need them to go to alert. Were the Culture back so soon? If so, this might be a tiny problem in comparison.
"Commmproomise?" D'Val said slurring out his words, his worry for Keth plain on his face.
"Yeah take them not meeee!!!" Keth squealed, and looked at Brian "Sorry...knee jerk reaction." Keth blinked, the vines squeezing tighter about him. "Wait you can speak... talk, you know about us! We show compassion to others, mercy...all that good stuff!"
"Now the Huanni can see that you are truly alive, I'm sure that they will apologise and make appropriate reparations," Brian shot a glance at Keth, hoping he would at least play along, even if he didn't entirely agree, "and that you in turn can show your... um... " It had been going so well until then, but the word he wanted to use 'humanity' didn't apply here and would probably make matters worse, "... your Mercy? Perhaps the Huanni even have knowledge or... er... techniques... that may be of benefit to yourselves?"
He shrugged at Tegau. She should have been the one handling the negotiations, as the senior officer, but it seemed like everyone was joining in, for better or worse...

[Amanda Rose]

> "Huanni only hurt. They are not like you."
>
> "Damn straight there like me....well not like me but you get the idea!" Keth
> said, fighting a rising panic that threatened to consume him, his arms and
> muscles spoiling for a fight. Another vine wrapped itself around Keth and Keth
> could start to feel the plants squeezing him.
>
> Brian couldn't see Keth calming down enough to resolve this amicably and
> they sure didn't need a first contact going straight into a war here, especially
> not with all of them on the front line. Tegau would stand a better chance if
> she could negotiate without hostages, especially a hostile one heckling from
> the sidelines... He moved around to stand between Keth and D'Val and quietly
> flipped his communicator open.
>
> -/\- Pendragon to America. Requesting emergency beam out - two nearest to my
> position. -/\-
>
> -/\- Sorry landing party. No can do. We're on alert up here -/\-
>
> "Commmproomise?" D'Val said slurring out his words, his worry for Keth plain
> on his face.
>
> "Yeah take them not meeee!!!" Keth squealed, and looked at Brian
> "Sorry...knee jerk reaction." Keth blinked, the vines squeezing tighter about him. "Wait
> you can speak... talk, you know about us! We show compassion to others,
> mercy...all that good stuff!"

Tegau gave Keth a withering look, annoyance beginning to show on her face. If the Huanni
kept going like this, he would destroy all their efforts to save him and D'Val..

> "Now the Huanni can see that you are truly alive, I'm sure that they will
> apologise and make appropriate reparations," Brian shot a glance at Keth, hoping
> he would at least play along, even if he didn't entirely agree, "and that
> you in turn can show your... um... " It had been going so well until then, but
> the word he wanted to use 'humanity' didn't apply here and would probably
> make matters worse, "... your Mercy? Perhaps the Huanni even have knowledge
> or... er... techniques... that may be of benefit to yourselves?"
>
> He shrugged at Tegau. She should have been the one handling the
> negotiations, as the senior officer, but it seemed like everyone was joining in, for
> better or worse...

Brian got a nod as Tegau returned her gaze to the plants. "Please let my people go, and we
will make sure they don't harm you anymore. These two individuals did not mean to harm
you- we simply didn't know. Please let them live, and I think we can begin to understand
each other and rectify this whole situation. But if you kill them, friendship between us has
scarcely a chance. We want to understand you. Will you help us do that?"

[Amanda Rose]

Jessie ran her hands over the controls and switched the ship to yellow alert, which brought the shields to life. The same thing that she had done just minutes before when the whole thing with that moron Jamison went down. She couldn't believe that she had let something like that slip past her even though she had a bad feeling about the man from the moment that he had stepped onto her ship. She could have stopped it from the get go but let it go on far to long. Partly because he was a Starfleet officer and she had no reason to doubt his word and partly because she was tired of doing things that would keep her from getting promoted.

Still if there was one thing that she should have learned by now it was to not ignore her instincts. She should have looked into it more. She wasn't as deligent as she should have been and it could have gotten them blown out of space but "The Culture". She owned both the captain and the crew and apology... one that she would give them when this was over.

General Tat entered the bridge. O'Connor was actually happy to see him for a change. She turned to him and said, "Tell them to allow us to finish our investigation."

Tat shivered and replied, "I cannot tell the Culture anything.

They're big and powerful and well, I'm sorry for what it is worth. Do you mind seeing if they will allow us off? And, uh, maybe that Mr. Pendragon, too. My Clarabelle seems to be rather fond of him and well, despite the fact I disapprove...."
O'Connor interrupted loudly, "Look, General, this is not the time to plan social occasions. You're going to tell them to allow us to stay or I'm personally going to make sure that you get the full extent of whatever the Culture do to us."
Moving her fingers over her console, Jessie prepped the weapons. She didn't bring them live but it never hurt to have the ready, just in case. When the Captain gave the word the America would be ready to fight, even though she was hoping that they could handle this peacefully.

Tat swallowed hard. He was not a coward by Huanni standards but even he could not prepare for O'Connor's fury. He probably would have frightened to know that this was nowhere near her worst. "I'll do what I can."

Tat then spoke to the viewscreen, "Favored, Culture. Those who have given us so much. Please spare myself and this vessel. They come in peace. Shoot to kill. Er, that's not what I meant! Wrong song!"

O'Connor restrained herself from killing Tat as the Culture replied, "WE HAVE NO FURTHER USE FOR YOU, GENERAL TAT. YOU HAVE BROKEN THE CONTRACT. YOU WILL DIE WITH THE REST IF THEY DO NOT LEAVE."
O'Connor looked at Wells and Kirk, "Friendly sort, aren't they?"

"Yeah and cuddly too." Jessie said as she sneered at the screen. "Looks like these cats are spoiling for a fight. Should I bring weapons to full?"

tag - O'Connor and everyone else on the bridge.

Lieutenant Commander Jessica Kirk
Chief Security Officer
USS America NCC-1776-A