Mission 4

[Amanda Rose]

Jessie gave a nodd. They had choosen to attack a Federation vessel on a mission of peace and for that they would pay. The attacking ships configuration was a lot different than anything that she had seen before and in a lot of ways didn't make sense so it took her a lot longer to find what she was looking for than it should have. Still she was able to locate the weapons ports and target them with a rapid burst of phaser fire. Hopefully that would keep them from firing whatever weapon they were using on America's shields.

Laura rushed into engineering and quickly checked the status board. The lower ranking Ensigns and crewmen were trying to counter what was happening. The young lieutenant sucked in her breath.

"This is bad." she opened the intercom. "Captain..this is Wells. We have a situation. They're trying to crush the ship using the energy of our shields. They're trying to reverse it somehow. I need time to change the polarity and set up a duo-dynetic field that will push against this. But, you need to find a way to disable that beam while I do this. I may have to bring down our shields to reverse the polarity.

Can we get away if I need to do that?"

O'Connor barked back into the comm, =/\=You just want a miracle, don't you? If we lower the shields, we're toast. Hang on a second. I'm going to call down to the away team and see if they have found anything.=/\ =

O'Connor looked at Jess, full of determination. _Why are the Culture being so protective over the Huanni to the point of risking a war with the Federation? What's the missing piece?_

O'Connor called out, =/\= Delaney, this is the Captain. Tell me you have found out something down there because if you have not, you may not have a ride home. Capiche? =/\=

Jessie quickly ran her fingers over the controls to the targeting computer. Their opponent was definately tough, but then again the America was a lot tougher. She was a Constitution Clas... the pride of Starfleet, or at least one the pride of Starfleet. She definately wasn't going to let it take her ship down.

With the computers locked in place Jessie decided to up the ante a little "Locking on photon torpedoes." the Chief of Security announced. "High yield, full spread."

With that Jessie let fly with the most powerful weapons that the USS America had to offer.

Delaney held up a finger for T'Pruk to wait and answered her communicator,
giving the Captain a quick update. =/\= Captain, we've made contact with the plants down here. They can change to resemble our faces and they speak coherently and intelligently. They are angry with the Huanni for taking over their lands and destroying them, threatening the existence of their people. It'd really help if we could put nutrients back in the ground and give these plants a bit of their land back- they aren't very trusting. D'Val is down, but stable, and Keth is entangled in plants. Pendragon is trying to clear a peace offering to build trust, and I'm negotiating for Keth's release =/\= Aware of the essence of time, she
talked fast but tried to keep her voice clear.

"T'Pruk, help Brian with clearing a bit of land. We need to show them they can
trust us to try to help them, however small our efforts might be right now," Tegau told the Vulcan.

O'Connor gave a crooked smile as she watched Jess' salvo strike the Culture ship, weaking the beam enough for America to break away. =/\= That's it, Delaney! That's got to be it! =/\=

She turned to Tat, "What was your deal with the Culture? Obedience for 1000 years in exchange for technology. Right? What would the Culture do to a 'weaker' species they could not figure out how to negotiate with? Destroy it and pin it on, well," the thought of _incompetent_ crossed O'Connor's mind but she quickly corrected to "trusting species such as yourselves. After all, how would you know they were speaking? Plants would be just food or nice things to sniff to you, right?"

Tat stroked his small mane, "But why wouldn't they just destroy it when we ran into trouble?"

O'Connor snapped her fingers and smiled at Jess, "Plausible deniability. But if we were here, they knew we would figure it out sooner or later."

She spoke in her comm, =/\=Delaney, stand by. I think our little battle is about to end. =/\=

tag - Delaney/away team

"Screen on!"

Nothing appeared at first as O'Connor spoke, "Using the Huanni to do your dirty work? Destroy a sentient species you couldn't control? You just did not predict us coming in and figuring it out. That's it, isn't it? If you destroyed us, we could not broadcast the truth to those in our dimension. War you could handle but this publicity demise you could not. Isn't that so?"

After a moment, the screen went on, the same Culture representative appearing, "We will be withdrawing from this sector. General Tat, we now consider the contract fulfilled. Should you need to purchase anything to keep your technology in good working order, you know how to contact us."

Tat looked worried at O'Connor, "We don't know what to do without the Culture. Our whole technology is theirs and it does not match yours."

O'Connor immediately saw what the Culture had been doing, creating an economic slave class. "General, I am certain we can speak to the Federation to provide whatever humanitarian assistance we can."

The Culture ship quickly disappeared from space as Tat answered, "We need Huannitarian assistance. We're not human, like you, Captain."

O'Connor resisted the urge to strangle the General, bit her lip, and uttered, "That's what I meant."

Tat insisted, "You really need to learn how to be much more clear Captain. It is no wonder that you have such difficulty communicating with new species such as the Lemmites."

"Lemmites?" O'Connor asked. "I guess that's as good as any other name for the plants. We will meet later to discuss Mr. Pendragon but for now, I must attend to the away team. Obviously, you will need to find a new colony planet."

Tat bowed and replied, "I think we have had enough of colonies for the time. I should be scared to step forward on a planet for fear of another species attacking us."

O'Connor resisted laughing as Tat appeared serious. "Very well, General."
She then called to the away team, =/\= The Culture are gone and the Huanni are willing to withdraw from the planet. We will beam the remnants of the base up to the ship. Beam up the nutrient requirements and we will have them beamed back into the soil. After that, see to it that Mr. Soban is released back to us. When all that is done, I'd like to hear how your first command went.=/\=

tag - Delaney

O'Connor then spoke to Pendragon through the communicator, =/\= It seems we need to have another chat. Apparently there are some diplomatic matters that you're intricately involved in. Some apparently involve Mr. Soban and General Tat's niece. =/\=

tag - Pendragon

To the entire away team she said, =/\= O'Connor out. =/\=

O'Connor gave a weary smile to Jess, "She held up pretty good, didn't she? Now what should we do with our problematic Commodore?"

tag - Jess

[Amanda Rose]

He began dismantling and clearing the ground by hand. It would take ages to clear this way, but actions were supposed to speak louder than words.
"What exactly do you intend to achieve by manually clearing space, Mr. Pendragon? You cannot possibly remove the Huanni base by yourself nor can you get it off the planet just by moving things around. Your actions are highly illogical. A logical course of action would be to have America transport these items to the ship and proceed with the accelerated substrata molecularization."
"That would be the logical course of action," Brian grunted as he lifted a piece of rusty metalwork, hefting it out of the way, "if the ship did not currently have its shields up. If they were able to beam these items up, they would have been able to beam us up and this..." he nodded toward Keth, writhing in... well... writhing anyway, "...wouldn't be happening at all."
He hoped he hadn't offended her. He had always had respect for Vulcans – they were more straightforward than pretty much anyone else and usually that meant he was less likely to put his foot in it, but as good as telling her her logic was faulty? She might not appreciate it...
=/\= Delaney, this is the Captain. Tell me you have found out something down there
because if you have not, you may not have a ride home. Capiche? =/\=

Delaney held up a finger for T'Pruk to wait and answered her communicator, giving the Captain a quick update.
"T'Pruk, help Brian with clearing a bit of land. We need to show them they can trust us to try to help them, however small our efforts might be right now," Tegau told the Vulcan.
Brian shot T'Pruk an apologetic smile and indicated a patch he had been working towards. At least it would go quicker with two.
T'Pruk hesitated for a moment. _This is completely illogical. If America does not survive, we will have to survive on this planet somehow, whether by eating these plants or figuring out what is edible. If America does, then it can beam everything. Either way, removing anything now would not make a dent in the problem._
T'Pruk thought again, _Humans. Illogical. I do not understand why I should have to follow their commands. Nonetheless, she is my superior officer._ She noticed T'Pruk's smile and wondered what it was supposed to mean. But, when Pendragon indicated what to start with, she knew exactly what to do. She purposely took a chunk that was larger and heavier than a normal human could lift and easily removed it.
tag - others on away team

[Amanda Rose]

Jessie gave a nodd. They had choosen to attack a Federation vessel on
a mission of peace and for that they would pay. The attacking ships
configuration was a lot different than anything that she had seen
before and in a lot of ways didn't make sense so it took her a lot
longer to find what she was looking for than it should have. Still she
was able to locate the weapons ports and target them with a rapid
burst of phaser fire. Hopefully that would keep them from firing
whatever weapon they were using on America's shields.

Laura rushed into engineering and quickly checked the status board.
The lower ranking Ensigns and crewmen were trying to counter what was
happening. The young lieutenant sucked in her breath.

"This is bad." she opened the intercom. "Captain..this is Wells. We
have a situation. They're trying to crush the ship using the energy of
our shields. They're trying to reverse it somehow. I need time to
change the polarity and set up a duo-dynetic field that will push
against this. But, you need to find a way to disable that beam while I
do this. I may have to bring down our shields to reverse the polarity.


Can we get away if I need to do that?"

O'Connor barked back into the comm, =/\=You just want a miracle, don't
you? If we lower the shields, we're toast. Hang on a second. I'm going
to call down to the away team and see if they have found anything.=/\=

O'Connor looked at Jess, full of determination. _Why are the Culture
being so protective over the Huanni to the point of risking a war with
the Federation? What's the missing piece?_

O'Connor called out, =/\= Delaney, this is the Captain. Tell me you
have found out something down there because if you have not, you may
not have a ride home. Capiche? =/\=

Jessie quickly ran her fingers over the controls to the targeting
computer. Their opponent was definately tough, but then again the
America was a lot tougher. She was a Constitution Clas... the pride of
Starfleet, or at least one the pride of Starfleet. She definately
wasn't going to let it take her ship down.

With the computers locked in place Jessie decided to up the ante a
little "Locking on photon torpedoes." the Chief of Security announced.
"High yield, full spread."

With that Jessie let fly with the most powerful weapons that the USS
America had to offer.


Delaney held up a finger for T'Pruk to wait and answered her communicator,
giving the Captain a quick update. =/\= Captain, we've made contact
with the plants down here. They can change to resemble our faces and
they speak coherently and intelligently. They are angry with the
Huanni for taking over their lands and destroying them, threatening
the existence of their people. It'd really help if we could put
nutrients back in the ground and give these plants a bit of their land
back- they aren't very trusting. D'Val is down, but stable, and Keth
is entangled in plants. Pendragon is trying to clear a peace offering
to build trust, and I'm negotiating for Keth's release =/\= Aware of
the essence of time, she
talked fast but tried to keep her voice clear.

"T'Pruk, help Brian with clearing a bit of land. We need to show them
they can
trust us to try to help them, however small our efforts might be right
now," Tegau told the Vulcan.

O'Connor gave a crooked smile as she watched Jess' salvo strike the
Culture ship, weaking the beam enough for America to break away. =/\=
That's it, Delaney! That's got to be it! =/\=

She turned to Tat, "What was your deal with the Culture? Obedience
for 1000 years in exchange for technology. Right? What would the
Culture do to a 'weaker' species they could not figure out how to
negotiate with? Destroy it and pin it on, well," the thought of
_incompetent_ crossed O'Connor's mind but she quickly corrected to
"trusting species such as yourselves. After all, how would you know
they were speaking? Plants would be just food or nice things to sniff
to you, right?"

Tat stroked his small mane, "But why wouldn't they just destroy it
when we ran into trouble?"

O'Connor snapped her fingers and smiled at Jess, "Plausible
deniability. But if we were here, they knew we would figure it out
sooner or later."

She spoke in her comm, =/\=Delaney, stand by. I think our little
battle is about to end. =/\=

tag - Delaney/away team

"Screen on!"

Nothing appeared at first as O'Connor spoke, "Using the Huanni to do
your dirty work? Destroy a sentient species you couldn't control?
You just did not predict us coming in and figuring it out. That's it,
isn't it? If you destroyed us, we could not broadcast the truth to
those in our dimension. War you could handle but this publicity
demise you could not. Isn't that so?"

After a moment, the screen went on, the same Culture representative
appearing, "We will be withdrawing from this sector. General Tat, we
now consider the contract fulfilled. Should you need to purchase
anything to keep your technology in good working order, you know how
to contact us."

Tat looked worried at O'Connor, "We don't know what to do without the
Culture. Our whole technology is theirs and it does not match yours."

O'Connor immediately saw what the Culture had been doing, creating an
economic slave class. "General, I am certain we can speak to the
Federation to provide whatever humanitarian assistance we can."

The Culture ship quickly disappeared from space as Tat answered, "We
need Huannitarian assistance. We're not human, like you, Captain."

O'Connor resisted the urge to strangle the General, bit her lip, and
uttered, "That's what I meant."

Tat insisted, "You really need to learn how to be much more clear
Captain. It is no wonder that you have such difficulty communicating
with new species such as the Lemmites."

"Lemmites?" O'Connor asked. "I guess that's as good as any other
name for the plants. We will meet later to discuss Mr. Pendragon but
for now, I must attend to the away team. Obviously, you will need to
find a new colony planet."

Tat bowed and replied, "I think we have had enough of colonies for the
time. I should be scared to step forward on a planet for fear of
another species attacking us."

O'Connor resisted laughing as Tat appeared serious. "Very well, General."
She then called to the away team, =/\= The Culture are gone and the
Huanni are willing to withdraw from the planet. We will beam the
remnants of the base up to the ship. Beam up the nutrient
requirements and we will have them beamed back into the soil. After
that, see to it that Mr. Soban is released back to us. When all that
is done, I'd like to hear how your first command went.=/\=

tag - Delaney

O'Connor then spoke to Pendragon through the communicator, =/\= It
seems we need to have another chat. Apparently there are some
diplomatic matters that you're intricately involved in. Some
apparently involve Mr. Soban and General Tat's niece. =/\=

tag - Pendragon

To the entire away team she said, =/\= O'Connor out. =/\=

O'Connor gave a weary smile to Jess, "She held up pretty good, didn't
she? Now what should we do with our problematic Commodore?"

It seemed to be over just as quickly as it began. Once again Starfleet
had prevailed using brains, superior engineering and a lot of
weaponry. In a way it felt a little too easy, contrived even...
perhaps like they were putting on a show. Either way the crew of the
America had won the confrontation.

Jessie ran one more sensor sweep of the area and deciding that it was
safe took the ship down to yellow alert. "Told you that she was a
tough old girl. I doubt those sissy Excelsiors would have held up
nearly as well." she said.

The Lieutenant Commander tapped her fingers on the console for a
moment. "As far as Jamison goes... well I think spacing him wouldn't
be a bad idea. Of course we can't do that so I suggest we leave him in
the brig until we get back to Earth." she said.

Jessie wasn't really looking forward to going back. The only thing
that was there for her was a reminder of the fight she had with her
mother... and the fact that she turned down a promotion to XO on the
Defiant and serve under her brother again. When they got home Young
would come back and then things would go back to normal.

With a sigh Jessie started to run a ships status report. "When do you
want to head back?"

tag - everyone

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

[Amanda Rose]

> Delaney held up a finger for T'Pruk to wait and answered her communicator,
> giving the Captain a quick update. =/\= Captain, we've made contact with the plants
down here. They can change to resemble our faces and they speak coherently and
intelligently. They are angry with the Huanni for taking over their lands and destroying
them, threatening the existence of their people. It'd really help if we could put nutrients
back in the ground and give these plants a bit of their land back- they aren't very trusting.
D'Val is down, but stable, and Keth is entangled in plants. Pendragon is trying to clear a
peace offering to build trust, and I'm negotiating for Keth's release =/\= Aware of the
essence of time, she
> talked fast but tried to keep her voice clear.
>
> "T'Pruk, help Brian with clearing a bit of land. We need to show them they can
> trust us to try to help them, however small our efforts might be right now," Tegau told
the Vulcan.
>
> O'Connor gave a crooked smile as she watched Jess' salvo strike the Culture ship,
weaking the beam enough for America to break away. =/\= That's it, Delaney! That's got
to be it! =/\=

> She spoke in her comm, =/\=Delaney, stand by. I think our little battle is about to end.
=/\=

=/\= Good luck. Standing by =/\= came the prompt reply as Tegau watched T'Pruk help
Pendragon. She turned to the plants. "My people want to help yours. See, we're clearing a
good will offering for you," she told the D'Val head. "Will you give me back my last
crewmember? He will not harm you, will you Keth," it wasn't a question, it was a command.

<tag plants, Keth>

Then, =/\= The Culture are gone and the Huanni are willing to withdraw from the planet.
We will beam the remnants of the base up to the ship. Beam up the nutrient requirements
and we will have them beamed back into the soil. After that, see to it that Mr. Soban is
released back to us. When all that is done, I'd like to hear how your first command
went.=/\=

=/\= Looking forward to it, Captain.=/\= Tegau said.

> O'Connor then spoke to Pendragon through the communicator, =/\= It seems we need
to have another chat. Apparently there are some diplomatic matters that you're intricately
involved in. Some apparently involve Mr. Soban and General Tat's niece. =/\=
>
> tag - Pendragon
>
> To the entire away team she said, =/\= O'Connor out. =/\=


Tegau looked at the D'Val head. "You see? My people are going to make things right for
you. Please give me back Keth, and I'll send him back to the ship. You won't need to see
him again. And then we can return your fertile ground to you."

If the plants seemed cooperative, she would then discuss what they needed to make sure
the nutrients they put into the soil would be a good match for these plants.

[Amanda Rose]

She spoke in her comm, =/\=Delaney, stand by. I think our little
battle is about to end. =/\=

=/\= Good luck. Standing by =/\= came the prompt reply as Tegau
watched T'Pruk help Pendragon. She turned to the plants. "My people
want to help yours. See, we're clearing a good will offering for you,"
she told the D'Val head. "Will you give me back my last crewmember? He
will not harm you, will you Keth," it wasn't a question, it was a command.

The Sinclair head spoke clearly. "When all's returned to fertility of
our roots, then's we's shall let Huanni go."

<tag Keth>

Then, =/\= The Culture are gone and the Huanni are willing to withdraw
from the planet. We will beam the remnants of the base up to the
ship. Beam up the nutrient requirements and we will have them beamed
back into the soil. After that, see to it that Mr. Soban is released
back to us. When all that is done, I'd like to hear how your first
command went.=/\=

=/\= Looking forward to it, Captain.=/\= Tegau said.

O'Connor then spoke to Pendragon through the communicator, =/\= It
seems we need to have another chat. Apparently there are some
diplomatic matters that you're intricately involved in. Some
apparently involve Mr. Soban and General Tat's niece. =/\=

tag - Pendragon

To the entire away team she said, =/\= O'Connor out. =/\=

Tegau looked at the D'Val head. "You see? My people are going to make
things right for you. Please give me back Keth, and I'll send him back
to the ship. You won't need to see him again. And then we can return
your fertile ground to you."

If the plants seemed cooperative, she would then discuss what they
needed to make sure the nutrients they put into the soil would be a
good match for these plants.

The Sinclair repeated itself, nodding, "When all's returned to
fertility of our roots, then's we's shall let Huanni go."

As if on cue, the base started disappearing from Lemmi's surface.
Then, the Sinclair head said, "Now, you mays takes hims to but he mays
not return here."

tag - Delaney/Soban

[Amanda Rose]

O'Connor gave a weary smile to Jess, "She held up pretty good, didn't
she? Now what should we do with our problematic Commodore?"

It seemed to be over just as quickly as it began. Once again Starfleet
had prevailed using brains, superior engineering and a lot of
weaponry. In a way it felt a little too easy, contrived even...
perhaps like they were putting on a show. Either way the crew of the
America had won the confrontation.

Jessie ran one more sensor sweep of the area and deciding that it was
safe took the ship down to yellow alert. "Told you that she was a
tough old girl. I doubt those sissy Excelsiors would have held up
nearly as well." she said.

+++
O'Connor thought to herself. _You're just saying that because we
don't have an Excelsior. We all know that she's still really a much
better ship._
^^^

The Lieutenant Commander tapped her fingers on the console for a
moment. "As far as Jamison goes... well I think spacing him wouldn't
be a bad idea. Of course we can't do that so I suggest we leave him in
the brig until we get back to Earth." she said.

Jessie wasn't really looking forward to going back. The only thing
that was there for her was a reminder of the fight she had with her
mother... and the fact that she turned down a promotion to XO on the
Defiant and serve under her brother again. When they got home Young
would come back and then things would go back to normal.

With a sigh Jessie started to run a ship's status report. "When do you
want to head back?"

O'Connor replied definitively, "The minute we straighten out this
situation with Pendragon and send the Huanni on their way and not a
minute longer. Agreed?"

tag - Jess

[Amanda Rose]

She turned to the plants. "My people
> want to help yours. See, we're clearing a good will offering for you,"
> she told the D'Val head. "Will you give me back my last crewmember? He
> will not harm you, will you Keth," it wasn't a question, it was a command.
>
> The Sinclair head spoke clearly. "When all's returned to fertility of
> our roots, then's we's shall let Huanni go."
>
> <tag Keth>

"I'm trying to work with you, but I need to be assured of the safety of my crew," Tegau
tried.

> Then, =/\= The Culture are gone and the Huanni are willing to withdraw
> from the planet. We will beam the remnants of the base up to the
> ship. Beam up the nutrient requirements and we will have them beamed
> back into the soil. After that, see to it that Mr. Soban is released
> back to us. When all that is done, I'd like to hear how your first
> command went.=/\=
>
> =/\= Looking forward to it, Captain.=/\= Tegau said.
>
> O'Connor then spoke to Pendragon through the communicator, =/\= It
> seems we need to have another chat. Apparently there are some
> diplomatic matters that you're intricately involved in. Some
> apparently involve Mr. Soban and General Tat's niece. =/\=
>
> tag - Pendragon
>
> To the entire away team she said, =/\= O'Connor out. =/\=
>
> Tegau looked at the D'Val head. "You see? My people are going to make
> things right for you. Please give me back Keth, and I'll send him back
> to the ship. You won't need to see him again. And then we can return
> your fertile ground to you."
>
> If the plants seemed cooperative, she would then discuss what they
> needed to make sure the nutrients they put into the soil would be a
> good match for these plants.
>
> The Sinclair repeated itself, nodding, "When all's returned to
> fertility of our roots, then's we's shall let Huanni go."

Delaney opened her mouth to say something, when....

> As if on cue, the base started disappearing from Lemmi's surface.
> Then, the Sinclair head said, "Now, you mays takes hims to but he mays
> not return here."


"Thank you," Tegau answered patiently, and helped Keth away before he could shoot
himself in the foot. With everyone clear, she tapped her badge to ask for transport for Keth
and D'Val to SickBay. She wanted to be sure they were both alright.

Tegau double checked the nutrients needed, passed on the information to the ship, and
then asked Brian and T'Pal if they were ready to beam back to the ship.

[Amanda Rose]

Brian's communicator chirped. It was O'Connor.
=/\= It seems we need to have another chat. Apparently there are some diplomatic matters that you're intricately involved in. Some apparently involve Mr. Soban and General Tat's niece. =/\=
Brian's heart sank. In all the fuss onplanet and the worry about what the Culture might do to the ship, be had complete forgotten about his... little problem.
=/\= Aye, sir. =/\= he acknowledged.
The characteristic pattern of the ship's transported began to fuzz around the bigger items and he and T'Pruk backed off to give them a clear lock. With the ship available to help, this would take mere minutes now.
Sure enough, the plants were retreating, letting them go. It looked like the truce would hold, at least for now. Tegau requested the casualties be beamed up, thankfully that included Keth and peace fell on the glade. Brian took a deep breath in. There was a tang of industrial... somethingorrather... perhaps what had been the root of the problem.
He chuckled to himself. Good thing he hadn't said that out loud.
"Are you ready to beam back now?" Tegau asked.
Brian paused a moment. Goodness only knows what he was about to beam back into. Perhaps he should offer to stay here and help out? No – that would only delay the problem. This was still Huanni space. They'd get him sooner or later. Better to face the music, get it over with one way or another.
"Yes sir," he replied.

[Amanda Rose]

The away team, having beamed up, and reports having been filed, it was time for O'Connor to deal with the last remaining matters with the Huanni. She called to Pendragon in his quarters when his duty shift was over. =/\= Pendragon, this is the Captain. Please report to my quarters immediately. =/\=

"Oh God," thought Brian. He paused briefly to check he was looking respectable, taking a couple of attempts to flatten the tuft of hair that wouldn't stay down before admitting defeat and heading for the Captain's quarters. He reached the door and took a deep breath before knocking. He knew it was old fashioned, the door chime would have announced his presence anyway, but that was what he had been brought up to do and he wasn't about to change today.

O'Connor stared at a contraption on her desk that had no perceptible purpose. When she heard the knock, she first listened to the table, wondering if her machine made the sound. Nothing happened, as she listened.

No reply... odd... thought Brian. But she had specifically said her quarters... maybe he hadn't knocked loud enough. He tried again, this time a more confident shave-and-a-haircut pattern.

O'Connor looked at her machine. She knew it did not do that. She searched her mind for the pattern. She seemed to remember it. _Damn it! Pendragon! Why can't he use the chime like everyone else?_ She went to the door and opened it. Her brows were fully furrowed in a pattern that Brian all too well meant she was annoyed.

Oh, heck. Great start... "Um... Captain? Er..." he snapped to attention. "Lieutenant jg Brian Pendragon reporting as instructed, sir!"

O'Connor gestured her arm to show Pendragon in. She curtly said, "At ease, Lieutenant, or as much as you're able to. I know that's not your stength." She frowned.

He laughed nervously. There was never a right answer when a superior made a joke. It was too much like "does my bum look big in this?" Damned if you did, damned if you didn't. Still, he hadn't been greeted by a security team, so how bad could it be..? He entered the room.

O'Connor shook her head sadly at Pendragon. _How in the world did he ever get through training?_ "I presume you know why you're here." The statement was as much a question as a request for an explanation. There simply was no mistaking it.

He closed his eyes - here came the bullet. "Outstanding diplomatic issues regarding the Huanni, sir." He opened them again. "By which, I assume, you mean me and..." He winced, "Clarabelle?"

O'Connor seethed, "Yes, Tat's niece. Exactly what are your intentions regarding her, Lieutenant?"

"I... well... none, really. I mean... I didn't mean to..." There was that frown again. He took anothe rdeep breath. "I gave her a component to hold, just to distract her from fiddling with anything in engineering, but she took that as some kind of marriage proposal. I can assure you, that was not my intent!"

O'Connor asked, "Really? Are you sure?" She turned her back, walked across the room and pulled out a PADD. On it were messages from the ticker tape. The first related to Pendragon being seen arm and arm with his Huanni girlfriend. The second related to Pendragon cheating on Drak'nah with Clarabelle. The third, related to Pendragon being involved in some sort of sordid affair with Clarabelle, Mr. Soban and the Captain. From there, it almost became repetitive but the list was long.

Brian blushed to see the "headlines". He had long since removed it from his desktop - it had got beyond the joke. "If you believe those, you are sleeping with half the crew!" he blurted out before he could censor himself.

O'Connor gave Pendragon a crooked smile. "Ah, the little man does have some common sense. But what's to say that I am not?" She coyly smiled, wondering what Pendragon's reaction to that would be.

"Well... um..." That couldn't be true. Not only would it be seriously inappropriate, but there just wouldn't be time, surely? And people would act... well... "You certainly haven't been at the same time as me. I think I'd have noticed..." he risked a small grin. OK, he hadn't slept with anyone, but maybe it wouldn't hurt for her to wonder.

"No, I must say that we have never had sex. Well, at least, yet...." She teased him, testing just how far she could push him.

Brian stifled a whimper. Why had he come to her quarters alone. Shouldn't this have been in a briefing room or something? Anything could happen! Maybe if he steered her back to the point... "Unfortunately, I don't think anyone witnessed my giving Clarabelle the component," he faced the front rather than makign eye contact with the Captain. "T'Pruk and Sinclair arrived later and may be able to provide some corroboroative evidence based on what they observed."

O'Connor did not know whether Pendragon got the joke or not. She gave him a quizzical look and then noticed that he was not making eye contact with her. _Well, at least he knows I'm damn good looking._ "Lieutenant, I don't bite unless you ask, so you can look at me. But, based on what I know of you, I suspect you bungled into something."

"Yes, sir. I hadn't done sufficient research on the Huanni to realise that merely handing them an object constituted a proposal," Brian had to try not to sound sarcastic. He didn't feel like he had bungled. It was a mistake anyone could have made. "I hope you didn't inadvertantly hand General Tat any items while he was on board, sir, or we may need a joint ceremony..." Damn - he'd said that out loud!

O'Connor laughed. "No. I have not had time to do much of anything other than try and keep this ship in one piece. Have you told her that she misconstrued?"

"I tried, but she started crying and I handed her a handkerchief and..." he shrugged. "It started all over again. I tried giving something even shiner to D'Val to give her the idea that it didn't matter, or at least if it did that she wasn't... well..." The Captain was giving him a really odd look now. "... um... well..." He decided not to go into details. "Anyway, that didn't work too well either..."

"Mr. Pendragon," O'Connor asked exasperatedly, "how in the world did you get out of your Cultures or First Contact classes?"

Brian bristled. He had actually got half decent scores on those. "The Huanni weren't covered on the standard syllabus, sir." He frowned. "I'm surprised it hasn't come up previously with Mr Soban, though... surely someone must have handed him something at some point in his time with Starfleet. I'm not aware of him trying to marry the canteen staff... Maybe they have multiple belief systems and it's a... um... cult thing?"

"Did you possibly consider, Lieutenant that the mating ritual only works when a female receives?" She waited impatiently for an answer.

"Perhaps, sir, but Mr. Soban may have handed things to other people." He couldn't resist it - now he made eye contact. "Yourself, for example."

O'Connor twinged slightly, remembering the night he ended up in her bed. She recovered magnificiently. "But Mr. Soban has had Star Fleet training and may understand the difference. That, or maybe the ritual is more complex. Am I to assume that you have no intention of being with this Clarabelle, then?"

"Yes, sir. I mean no sir... I mean, yes I have no intention of being with Clarabelle, sir!" That came out more strongly than he intended. She was a nice enough girl, but he certainly didn't have any long-term plans with her. Or any short-term ones. Heck, any.

"Fine. And what is this that Mr. Soban is ranting about you and bondsman? What have you done to him?"

Oh no, that as well? "That goes back to our time travel, sir. The only feasible way to hide Mr Soban's fur and tail were to dress him in the manner of a female of the era. I... well... no one briefed him on that fact. When he found out, he believed I had set him up purposefully and..." Did he really want to get Keth in trouble? He remembered the sound his unsheathed claws had made on the table in the briefing room. "... he became... quite... um... definite that I owed him in some way, although he didn't go into details at the time."

O'Connor put her hand to her face. "Why is this the first I've heard of this?"

"It didn't seem important. I thought he might have been joking..." Brian was well aware of how pathetic it sounded, even though it had made sense at the time.

"The fact that a Huanni can hold to any thought for more than a few seconds means that they must be serious." O'Connor sighed. "Part of me wants to bust you down to ensign. Another part of me wants to force you through this farce of a marriage with Clarabelle. But I suppose we need to get you out of both."

"That would be... much appreciated," Brian replied, taking a sudden interest in his shoes.

O'Connor mused, "What we need is a plan. What would make a Huanni break an engagement and Soban his little peeve. Maybe I can explain to Soban it was my orders. But that still leaves Clarabelle.... Maybe Soban has the answer there, too. I'll talk to him."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." There was a gleam in her eye that told Brian she was keen to get on. Maybe now would be a good time to make his escape. "If that is all, I believe I am needed in Engineering..."

"You're off duty. I doubt you are needed there. You do know I was joking about you and the sex thing, right? Or do you have that little of a sense of humor?"

"I... I..." Oh heck, this was another of those catch questions, wasn't it. "I haven't quite got the hang of your sense of humour yet, sir. As for my own... well..." OK, he had never been the best of joke tellers, but he did appreciate a good one. Didn't that count for something? "I guess it could stand a little work..."

"Let me put your mind at ease, Lieutenant. You're not my type and I am sort of betrothed. You could not handle me. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to talk to Mr. Soban and learn a bit more about Huanni culture to save your neck."

Brian gulped a tad, muttered a quick, "Yes sir" and exited O'Connor's quarters.

[Amanda Rose]

O'Connor gave a weary smile to Jess, "She held up pretty good, didn't she? Now what should we do with our problematic Commodore?"

It seemed to be over just as quickly as it began. Once again Starfleet had prevailed using brains, superior engineering and a lot of weaponry. In a way it felt a little too easy, contrived even... perhaps like they were putting on a show. Either way the crew of the America had won the confrontation.

Jessie ran one more sensor sweep of the area and deciding that it was safe took the ship down to yellow alert. "Told you that she was a tough old girl. I doubt those sissy Excelsiors would have held up nearly as well." she said.

+++
O'Connor thought to herself. _You're just saying that because we don't have an Excelsior. We all know that she's still really a much better ship._
^^^

The Lieutenant Commander tapped her fingers on the console for a moment. "As far as Jamison goes... well I think spacing him wouldn't be a bad idea. Of course we can't do that so I suggest we leave him in the brig until we get back to Earth." she said.

Jessie wasn't really looking forward to going back. The only thing that was there for her was a reminder of the fight she had with her mother... and the fact that she turned down a promotion to XO on the Defiant and serve under her brother again. When they got home Young would come back and then things would go back to normal.

With a sigh Jessie started to run a ship's status report. "When do you want to head back?"

O'Connor replied definitively, "The minute we straighten out this situation with Pendragon and send the Huanni on their way and not a minute longer. Agreed?"

Jessie gave a nodd and pushed away from the console. "Frankly I can't wait to get away from this sector of space." she said. "How come every mission we go on ends up in a fight? What happened to the days when we were explorers and not enforcers?"

Of course it was a rhetorical question and she didn't expect an answer. Starfleet Officers wore many hats and did what needed to be done.

tag - anyone

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