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"... and that's the situation, Captain Amana," finished War'en. He was standing in the conference room of the Pandora with Will and Shrel. On the large display screen in front of them was Captain Amana, the Starfleet Intelligence officer with whom War'en had worked with when he and the rest of the crew first encountered the Gnostics at Starfleet Medical. The Betazoid, who wore her usual expression of calm thoughtfulness, took a moment to mull over the new developments.
"Suffice it to say, it's troubling that the Gnostics have gained control of an entire colony, especially one with such strategic potential as Zarath III. And with regard to their... affiliation... with the Borg, unfortunately we have corroborating evidence." Amana appeared to tap something on her console. The captain's video feed shrank to about two-thirds its size, and three faces appeared in the open space below. War'en recognized one of them as Dr. Smith, the Starfleet Medical doctor who had attacked him prior to his Joining almost a month ago.
"Among the five Gnostic operatives that Starfleet Intelligence has apprehended since the start of our investigation, two of them were liberated as young adults from the collective after they were assimilated as children. You'll recognize Dr. Smith, Mr. Sadda. This caused us to suspect their might be some connection, but of course it could also be coincidence. It wasn't until our last arrest, unfortunately of an Academy cadet four days ago, that this theory gained some weight. He made a few comments in a New Orleans restaurant after a few drinks that were reported to us by a concerned party."
"So now that we've solved that problem, I have another for you, Captain. We know that these Borg still have at least one more ship that we can't account for: the USS Iowa. Given that we just destroyed two of their assimilated Birds of Prey with the help of the the Qoj, it's likely that it and any other ships they have at their disposal are en route. Additionally, a large number of the Pandora's crew, including her captain, have been captured and may be undergoing assimilation as we speak. When can we expect reinforcements from Starfleet?"
At this question, Amana frowned. "As you know, Mr. Sadda, our resources are stretched thin. I have ordered reinforcements to your location, but they will not arrive for another 36 hours."
War'en had to fight hard to keep his mouth shut. A frustration that was rare for him was boiling within him at unreasonable ETA. Will, however, had much less control.
"36 hours!? By that time, Captan Oren-De and the others will be Bo--"
Shrel cut Will off with an elbow to his side. Will looked at Shrel in annoyance, but got the message and kept quiet. Amana, in her usual patient nature, didn't react to the outburst. War'en frowned at the junior officer, then looked back at Amana.
"Then, in light of the circumstances, I plan on recruiting the crew members of the Cosmos that Lieutenant Roberts brought back with her to help us... as well as Captain Ghol."
This got a reaction from Amana, which caused War'en some small pleasure. The look of protest on her face was palpable, but War'en continued before she had a chance to speak.
"The Pandora is heavily damaged from our last fight, and a large number of our crew are currently being held hostage. We can't perform an adequate rescue operation without reinforcements, but they won't be here in time. Additionally, if you think informing a Klingon captain of a crazed cult that's gotten inside Starfleet and the Federation is a security breach... what would you call the Borg assimilating a Starfleet captain with access to the Federation's transwarp network, Starfleet's security codes, and one of its Phoenix-class escort ships!"
War'en could practically see, behind her eyes, Amana's mind weighing the risks of each. After agonizing seconds passed, Amana took a breath and shook her head in surrender.
"Fine. You are granted permission to brief Commander Tabashi and his crew on the full situation. You are also granted permission to brief Captain Ghol on the necessary particulars of the Gnostics, but nothing more than necessary. I will also require a complete report of what you told him once this whole affair is dealt with."
"Yes, ma'am," War'en said with a small victorious grin.
"Amana out," came the curt farewell before the video link cut out. Will let out a low whistle.
"She is not happy with that."
War'en allowed his frustration to seep out now that he didn't have any superiors in the room. "And I'm not happy that a good number of our crew is currently captured, that the Pandora is damaged and operating on a skeleton Engineering crew, and that Starfleet can't provide adequate support. So we're all out of our comfort zone." He turned and paced to the other end of the conference table, his hand over his mouth and his index finger tapping quickly as he thought. It was one thing to have limited resources when faced with an engineering problem. That was something War'en could deal with, even relish. It was entirely different in a command scenario when so many lives were at stake. Finally, he looked over at Shrel and Will
"Will, go to the Medical Bay and bring Talona and Commander Tabashi up here. By now the EMH should be done giving them their examinations. Shrel, take a security escort to the Transporter Bay to await Captain Ghol's arrival and escort him here. I'll be requesting his presence here. It's time that we all set a strategy for how to fix this mess."
The"> pair acknowledged their orders and departed the room. After they had gone, War'en let out a sigh as he looked at the planet below through the large windows of the room. Down there, somewhere, were Red and the rest of the captured crew members with who knew how many Borg. By this point, it was anyone's guess how many were undergoing assimilation. The fact that he couldn't immediately order... something, anything... done to save them was causing him a frustration the likes of which he had never known. And yet, there was a part of him that remained strangely calm about the whole affair.
War'en glanced up from the planet below to his reflection in the large windows. For the first time dealing with this kind of stress, he certainly was handling it well. How much of it was because of Sadda, and how much of it was because of himself?
Less than a month, and already I'm noticing changes. I guess though, I shouldn't complain if they will help me get Red & the crew back safely.The sound of the conference door sliding open startled War'en, who turned around to see Will entering with Talona and Commander Tabashi in tow. This was the first time he had seen the tall man that Talona had returned from Zarath III with. The blue hair was certainly an eye-catcher. It took War'en a moment to remember that Tabashi was also his superior.
"Commander Tabashi, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Lieutenant Commander War'en Sadda, acting captain of the
Pandora," he said as he walked toward the man and extended a hand. Tabashi gave it a firm shake.
"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Sadda, though I wish it was under better circumstances. Thank you again for providing assistance. Shall we get down to business?"
"In one moment. We're actually waiting on one more arrival."
At that moment, the door to the conference room opened again to allow Shrel and Captain Ghol to enter, along with a small cadre of security officers. Tabashi was surprised at the sight of a Klingon officer on a Starfleet ship, but was completely shocked when War'en told the security escort to wait outside the door. Rather than address his surprise, War'en motioned to the table.
"Everyone, please have a seat. We have a lot of ground to cover and very little time to do it in."
The group was in the process of taking seats when a voice came over the comm. "Lieutenant Commander Sadda, this is the Bridge. We've detected a transporter signal that was sent to a location on Zarath III. We're still trying to pinpoint its ultimate destination and origin."
War'en raised an eyebrow. "You don't know where it came from?"
"No, sir. We have a location, but there is nothing there."
Shrel, Will, and Talon gave War'en a knowing look. He nodded and responded. "That would be a cloaked ship, Ensign. It's likely moved from that location. Forget about its origin and figure out its destination."
"Yes, sir. Bridge out."
War'en looked at Tabashi and Ghol, who were sitting across from each other at the other end of the conference table. "First, I think I need to catch you both up on a group called the Gnostics, as well as a missing Federation ship known as the
USS Iowa."
