M1 - E1: Strategic Science Summit

[Kirok]

[USS Dutar]

Kirok guided the small but fast vessel to it destination, the Katra.  He had called a meeting of some of the brightest minds in Star Fleet that he knew.  All for one purpose, science.

More correctly, strategic science is what he had in mind.  Specific application that would help him with the new intelligence team that he had in mind.  A team that might have helped him prevent the assassination of the UFP President.

Yes, it still bothered him that the assassination had happened on his watch.  While he was at the head of Star Fleet Intelligence.  But at the time he had been busy exploring the Delta Quadrant.

A noble cause of course.  But not an acceptable excuse for his failure in preventing the assassination.  No he had to do better.

Doing better meant focusing on intelligence.  But the system needed updating and it needed people.  This summit was the first step on that path.

A duty station dinged.  A signal that the Katra was within haling range.  So he tapped a button and opened a comm channel.

-A-USS Durat to USS Katra.  This is Kirok.  I will be arriving shortly-A- he said.

[Susan Venator]

Delta Flyer Santa Ana, En route to Space station Katra

Suzie had been rather puzzled by the rather cryptic orders she had received over a week ago. She had been ordered to report to this out of the way station and to tell no-one where she was going.

As per the orders, she had been transported on the USS Rhode Island before taking the Mk II Delta Flyer, the Santa Ana, the rest of the way.

She had been alone with her thoughts for the last 48 hours. All she knew about the assignment was that it was under the purview of Admiral Kirok, a man she respected. But could only mean it was a Starfleet Intelligence assignment.

She flyer was on Autopilot and she had just finished her morning meditation when the alert sounded. She exited the rear compartment and sat at the helm. She could see from the readout that they were approaching the station and the flyer had already dropped out of Warp

She could see the huge station fill the window and was suitably impressed. She immediately opened a channel.

Delta Flyer Santa Ana to Space Station Katra. Lieutenant Venator arriving as per orders. Request permission to land.

Santa Ana, this is Station Operations. You are cleared to land on pad B6. Upon arrival, you will be met. Please await your escort.

Received Operations. Heading to pad B6 and will await escort. Santa Ana out.

Suzie closed the channel and headed for the identified pad. After gently touching down, she powered down the flyers systems, collected her bag and disembarked.

Exiting the Airlock, she waited for the escort that Ops had advised her of.

[Michael J. Tritter]

[Location: Shuttle Iroquois enroute to Starbase Katra]

Tritter wasn't a fan of being gone from the Columbus, it took him away from his Husband and Kids, but he was specifically requested by the Admiral, so that was definitely a strange thing to him. His Husband told him he would be dumb for not taking the offer. Tritter just looked out the window and watched space as it moved by them. He didn't speak to anyone else on the Shuttle, as there was a few others on the Shuttle. A few moments later, the pilot's voice came over the Comms, they were requesting permission to dock to the Starbase.

Tritter looked down for a moment, he took mental notice of the go bag by his foot. He was as prepared as he could be for this. About half an hour later, he felt the ship slow down and proceed to dock with the Station. Once the ship came to a complete stop and heard a hiss, he heard the pilot's voice coming over the comms to tell them that they could disembark. Once the instructions had been given, Tritter rose to his feet, grabbed his bag and made his way over towards the exit. He than ducked slightly as he made his way out of the ship, so he didn't his head.

He studied the area of the Starbase around him, it was totally different than the Columbus. He had been given instructions to report to Operations, so he had proceeded to make his way towards that section of the Starbase, he didn't know his way around this Starbase like he did the Columbus, so he had gotten lost on his way there. The large man was definitely a... unique site on this base.

[Kirok]

[USS Dutar]

Kirok guided the small but fast vessel to it destination, the Katra.  He had called a meeting of some of the brightest minds in Star Fleet that he knew.  All for one purpose, science.

More correctly, strategic science is what he had in mind.  Specific application that would help him with the new intelligence team that he had in mind.  A team that might have helped him prevent the assassination of the UFP President.

Yes, it still bothered him that the assassination had happened on his watch.  While he was at the head of Star Fleet Intelligence.  But at the time he had been busy exploring the Delta Quadrant.

A noble cause of course.  But not an acceptable excuse for his failure in preventing the assassination.  No he had to do better.

Doing better meant focusing on intelligence.  But the system needed updating and it needed people.  This summit was the first step on that path.

A duty station dinged.  A signal that the Katra was within haling range.  So he tapped a button and opened a comm channel.

-A-USS Durat to USS Katra.  This is Kirok.  I will be arriving shortly-A- he said.

[Starbase Katra - NPC Cartis]

-A-USS Durat, this is Starbase Katra.  We have docking pad 1 reserved for you.  You are free to land.  And my I say, Admiral, it will be acceptable to finally meet you-A- Cartis replied.  Then terminated the signal.

Delta Flyer Santa Ana, En route to Space station Katra

Suzie had been rather puzzled by the rather cryptic orders she had received over a week ago. She had been ordered to report to this out of the way station and to tell no-one where she was going.

As per the orders, she had been transported on the USS Rhode Island before taking the Mk II Delta Flyer, the Santa Ana, the rest of the way.

She had been alone with her thoughts for the last 48 hours. All she knew about the assignment was that it was under the purview of Admiral Kirok, a man she respected. But could only mean it was a Starfleet Intelligence assignment.

She flyer was on Autopilot and she had just finished her morning meditation when the alert sounded. She exited the rear compartment and sat at the helm. She could see from the readout that they were approaching the station and the flyer had already dropped out of Warp

She could see the huge station fill the window and was suitably impressed. She immediately opened a channel.

Delta Flyer Santa Ana to Space Station Katra. Lieutenant Venator arriving as per orders. Request permission to land.

Santa Ana, this is Station Operations. You are cleared to land on pad B6. Upon arrival, you will be met. Please await your escort.

Received Operations. Heading to pad B6 and will await escort. Santa Ana out.

Suzie closed the channel and headed for the identified pad. After gently touching down, she powered down the flyers systems, collected her bag and disembarked.

Exiting the Airlock, she waited for the escort that Ops had advised her of.

[Starbase Katra - NPC Cartis]

"We are going to have a busy day, it seems.  Good thing I foresaw this and got plenty of rest.  And I had a hearty meal before shift" the Ocampan said to the Ops Officer in the Command Center. 

[Susan Venator]

[Starbase Katra - NPC Cartis]

"We are going to have a busy day, it seems.  Good thing I foresaw this and got plenty of rest.  And I had a hearty meal before shift" the Ocampan said to the Ops Officer in the Command Center.

Starbase Katra - Docking Area B

Suzie had been waiting no more than a few minutes when the escort arrived. Three men, unarmed but dressed completely in black walked up to her.

"Lieutenant Venator?" The lead man asked.

Suzie nodded.

"Yes Sir." She replied, not knowing how to address them, she figured Sir would not go amiss. She was also not picking up any emotions from them, whether by meditation or natural ability, these men were impervious to her abilities.

"I'm so far off Sir, you can't even imagine." He replied without humour. "Orders and press your thumb here for ID please." He asked, holding out a small device.

Having been made aware of the high security of this base, Suzie was not surprised by the request. Opening her bag she removed the PADD containing her orders and handed it over before pressing her thumb to the device.

A second or two later the device beeped and her orders verified. The man nodded and handed the PADD back to her.

"Please follow me." He said, heading down the corridor. Suzie followed with the other two men behind her.

They went up in a turbolift and ended up in some sort of conference room.

"Wait here." The man said, exiting the room without a backward glance.

Conference Room

Suzie looked about her and saw it was a standard looking conference room, just a bit bigger than she was used to. She decided to sit down and wait for whoever else was joining them.

[Naira]

[Shuttlecraft ]

Two weeks prior, Naira had been sent a rather vague encrypted transmission requesting her assistance with a highly secretive assignment. She had little idea of why the admiral had reached out to her or what exactly he wanted, but she had been informed that he needed someone with her skillset to work on a very important project.

As to what that project was, she had no idea.

Officially, as far as anyone was concerned, she was taking some time away from the Athena to join a team working to reverse the damage done to Indri VIII so that the planet would once again be able to sustain life. Her daughters were staying with her mother while she was away and she tried to convince General Yoduk that she'd be too busy with work to maintain their regular exchange of transmissions. She hating lying to those closest to her, but she knew she had to do it. She didn't know what she was getting herself involved in and the last thing she would want would be to drag those she cared for in with her.

As she shuttle neared the station, she double checked the equipment she brought with her. Not knowing what she would need to bring with her, Naira packed a little bit of everything. She had long since developed a habit of overpacking  in the hopes of always wanting to be prepared for anything. Though, usually it resulted in her lugging around far more equipment than what was truly needed. Seeing as everything was just as she had packed it, she settled back into her seat and waited as the pilot contacted the station and made ready to dock.

[Docking Area B]

Upon docking and exiting the shuttle, Naira noticed what seemed to be an unusually large number of shuttles and small vessels docked within such a remote station. Clearly, she wasn't the only one to be called all the way out here for some mysterious project. However, before she had much of a chance to really inspect the other vessels, a trio dressed in black approached her demanding verification of her identity.

These men did not smile. They did not return her friendly greeting nor did they look amused as she dug through one of her bags for her padd with the required information on it. Once she had verified that she was exactly who she said she was, the leader of the group instructed her to follow.

"If you will follow us, we will escort you to your destination." The leader spoke in a matter-of-factually tone. He stood tall and watched as she attempted to gather up all of her bags and struggled to carry them. One would attempt to slip out from under her arm and as she'd try to tighten her grip on it, another bag slung over her shoulder would slide down her arm, throwing her off balance.

"Help her with those," he instructed the others.

As the other two men stepped forward and helped remove bags from her arms to lighten her load, she got the feeling that he was offering help more so she wouldn't slow them down in their task than he was trying to be polite and offer assistance to a pregnant woman struggling to carry her weight in equipment across a space station.

With her burden lightened, she followed the men in silence as they lead her through the station. She had grown up on a space station and again lived briefly on the Columbus, but this place was nothing like any station she had been to before. Where other stations seemed to be beaming with incoming and outgoing traffic and all manor of life, this place seemed more quiet and sterile than any hospital facility she had ever toured. She suspected the route they took intentionally bypassed any secured facilities so that she wouldn't accidentally catch a glimpse at whatever it was that they were doing here, but from what she could see, everything here looked new, well polished and state of the art.

This was one of those places that you'd hear talk of back at the academy but nobody ever knew if they really existed.

Well, now I do, she thought.

Finally, they came to a stop in front of a door that looked exactly like ever single other door they had passed. She had a feeling that had it not been for her escort that she would likely have gotten lost trying to find, whatever it was they were leading her to.

"In there," the leader pointed.

Once again she attempted to smile for them and offered a thanks, but the group dropped her bags at her feet, turned and left without another word.

Naira managed to gather up all of her equipment and walked into the room.

Starbase Katra - Docking Area B

Suzie had been waiting no more than a few minutes when the escort arrived. Three men, unarmed but dressed completely in black walked up to her.

"Lieutenant Venator?" The lead man asked.

Suzie nodded.

"Yes Sir." She replied, not knowing how to address them, she figured Sir would not go amiss. She was also not picking up any emotions from them, whether by meditation or natural ability, these men were impervious to her abilities.

"I'm so far off Sir, you can't even imagine." He replied without humour. "Orders and press your thumb here for ID please." He asked, holding out a small device.

Having been made aware of the high security of this base, Suzie was not surprised by the request. Opening her bag she removed the PADD containing her orders and handed it over before pressing her thumb to the device.

A second or two later the device beeped and her orders verified. The man nodded and handed the PADD back to her.

"Please follow me." He said, heading down the corridor. Suzie followed with the other two men behind her.

They went up in a turbolift and ended up in some sort of conference room.

"Wait here." The man said, exiting the room without a backward glance.

Conference Room

Suzie looked about her and saw it was a standard looking conference room, just a bit bigger than she was used to. She decided to sit down and wait for whoever else was joining them.

[Conference Room]

She didn't know what or who exactly she expected to meet within the room, but she was not expecting to see Lt. Venator sitting across a long conference table from her.

What is going on here?

"Lieutenant, I don't suppose you have any idea as to what you are doing here?" She asked as she too took a seat at the table.

[Susan Venator]

[Shuttlecraft ]

Two weeks prior, Naira had been sent a rather vague encrypted transmission requesting her assistance with a highly secretive assignment. She had little idea of why the admiral had reached out to her or what exactly he wanted, but she had been informed that he needed someone with her skillset to work on a very important project.

As to what that project was, she had no idea.

Officially, as far as anyone was concerned, she was taking some time away from the Athena to join a team working to reverse the damage done to Indri VIII so that the planet would once again be able to sustain life. Her daughters were staying with her mother while she was away and she tried to convince General Yoduk that she'd be too busy with work to maintain their regular exchange of transmissions. She hating lying to those closest to her, but she knew she had to do it. She didn't know what she was getting herself involved in and the last thing she would want would be to drag those she cared for in with her.

As she shuttle neared the station, she double checked the equipment she brought with her. Not knowing what she would need to bring with her, Naira packed a little bit of everything. She had long since developed a habit of overpacking  in the hopes of always wanting to be prepared for anything. Though, usually it resulted in her lugging around far more equipment than what was truly needed. Seeing as everything was just as she had packed it, she settled back into her seat and waited as the pilot contacted the station and made ready to dock.

[Docking Area B]

Upon docking and exiting the shuttle, Naira noticed what seemed to be an unusually large number of shuttles and small vessels docked within such a remote station. Clearly, she wasn't the only one to be called all the way out here for some mysterious project. However, before she had much of a chance to really inspect the other vessels, a trio dressed in black approached her demanding verification of her identity.

These men did not smile. They did not return her friendly greeting nor did they look amused as she dug through one of her bags for her padd with the required information on it. Once she had verified that she was exactly who she said she was, the leader of the group instructed her to follow.

"If you will follow us, we will escort you to your destination." The leader spoke in a matter-of-factually tone. He stood tall and watched as she attempted to gather up all of her bags and struggled to carry them. One would attempt to slip out from under her arm and as she'd try to tighten her grip on it, another bag slung over her shoulder would slide down her arm, throwing her off balance.

"Help her with those," he instructed the others.

As the other two men stepped forward and helped remove bags from her arms to lighten her load, she got the feeling that he was offering help more so she wouldn't slow them down in their task than he was trying to be polite and offer assistance to a pregnant woman struggling to carry her weight in equipment across a space station.

With her burden lightened, she followed the men in silence as they lead her through the station. She had grown up on a space station and again lived briefly on the Columbus, but this place was nothing like any station she had been to before. Where other stations seemed to be beaming with incoming and outgoing traffic and all manor of life, this place seemed more quiet and sterile than any hospital facility she had ever toured. She suspected the route they took intentionally bypassed any secured facilities so that she wouldn't accidentally catch a glimpse at whatever it was that they were doing here, but from what she could see, everything here looked new, well polished and state of the art.

This was one of those places that you'd hear talk of back at the academy but nobody ever knew if they really existed.

Well, now I do, she thought.

Finally, they came to a stop in front of a door that looked exactly like ever single other door they had passed. She had a feeling that had it not been for her escort that she would likely have gotten lost trying to find, whatever it was they were leading her to.

"In there," the leader pointed.

Once again she attempted to smile for them and offered a thanks, but the group dropped her bags at her feet, turned and left without another word.

Naira managed to gather up all of her equipment and walked into the room.

[Conference Room]

She didn't know what or who exactly she expected to meet within the room, but she was not expecting to see Lt. Venator sitting across a long conference table from her.

What is going on here?

"Lieutenant, I don't suppose you have any idea as to what you are doing here?" She asked as she too took a seat at the table.

Conference Room

As the door opened, Suzie jumped to her feet. She was more than a little surprised when the XO of the Athena entered.

"Commander?" She asked. The paused while Naira finished speaking. "I'm here under orders from Admiral Kirok. I was given next to no information and I've seen no-one since my arrival apart from a trio of men who were less than forthcoming. I couldn't even sense their emotions." She added almost as an afterthought.

[Naira]

Conference Room

As the door opened, Suzie jumped to her feet. She was more than a little surprised when the XO of the Athena entered.

"Commander?" She asked. The paused while Naira finished speaking. "I'm here under orders from Admiral Kirok. I was given next to no information and I've seen no-one since my arrival apart from a trio of men who were less than forthcoming. I couldn't even sense their emotions." She added almost as an afterthought.

[Conference Room]

Naira sat down at the long table and intertwined her green fingers in front of her. She listened to what the lieutenant had to say and nodded along in agreement.

"I can't say I know anymore than you do," she said.

She glanced around the sparely decorated room hoping to get some sort of clue as to the mystery of why they had been summoned all the way out here, but the room provided no such insight. The long conference table took up most of the space in the room, but it looked no different than dozens she had seen on various ships, space stations and those located at headquarters. In the one corner stood an uninspiring ficus of unknown origin that looked just like countless other species of plants that inhabited a number of worlds. Across the room, the wall gave way to a view of space devoid space traffic and the usual indicators that she was located aboard a space station.

Even the carpet and paint was standard issue.

Whatever was going on here, she hoped that someone would bring them up to speed and quickly.

[Kirok]

[USS Durat]

-A- Acknowledged, Katra.  It will be acceptable to meet you, Mr. Cartis.  I have heard many good things about you.  I will see you shortly.  Kirok out-A- the half Vulcan replied.

[Location: Shuttle Iroquois enroute to Starbase Katra]

Tritter wasn't a fan of being gone from the Columbus, it took him away from his Husband and Kids, but he was specifically requested by the Admiral, so that was definitely a strange thing to him. His Husband told him he would be dumb for not taking the offer. Tritter just looked out the window and watched space as it moved by them. He didn't speak to anyone else on the Shuttle, as there was a few others on the Shuttle. A few moments later, the pilot's voice came over the Comms, they were requesting permission to dock to the Starbase.

Tritter looked down for a moment, he took mental notice of the go bag by his foot. He was as prepared as he could be for this. About half an hour later, he felt the ship slow down and proceed to dock with the Station. Once the ship came to a complete stop and heard a hiss, he heard the pilot's voice coming over the comms to tell them that they could disembark. Once the instructions had been given, Tritter rose to his feet, grabbed his bag and made his way over towards the exit. He than ducked slightly as he made his way out of the ship, so he didn't his head.

He studied the area of the Starbase around him, it was totally different than the Columbus. He had been given instructions to report to Operations, so he had proceeded to make his way towards that section of the Starbase, he didn't know his way around this Starbase like he did the Columbus, so he had gotten lost on his way there. The large man was definitely a... unique site on this base.

[Starbase Katra - NPC Cartis]

Cartis had already heard from two of the three Command Officers already.   One was already here and the 2nd on his way.  So, it was likely time to reach out to the third.

-A-Starbase Katra to Shuttle Iroquois.  Do you read me Shuttle Iroquois?  Reply if you please -A- he said over an open channel.

[Klizh]

U.S.S. Euphrates

This had not been the glorious return to the Alpha Quadrant K'lizh had been hoping for, but if his Starfleet career had taught him anything, it was to roll with life's unexpected surprises. Still, he was glad to be out of the Gamma Quadrant if even for a short time. He didn't like it out there. Something about that corner of space felt unnatural to be in. Perhaps it was the looming presence of the Dominion. He had felt ill at ease in that quadrant even before their fight with the Dominion.

He emerged from the shower, as the computer informed him of the imminent approach to their destination. He had been showering frequently since they had left the ship. His nasal suppressants hadn't been doing the trick in a confined space with a Klingon, and though he found himself sniffling a lot, he was too embarrassed to tell the Ensign that he found her scent... well, the frank word was "nauseating." It had never been a problem before now, but he and his underling had never been stuck aboard a runabout for several days in a row before. He harbored no personal dislike for the Klingon woman, it was just a matter of... clashing biologies.

"Go ahead and signal our approach, Ensign," he said as he zipped up his uniform jacket and tossed his boots in front of the co-pilot's chair so he could wedge his feet into them after he sat down. Though he felt comfortable enough aboard the Tempest to go barefoot on-duty, as was allowed for Caitians, if they were about to meet some of Starfleet's brass, he wanted to look sharp.

[Jules Bash]

[Shuttle]

Jules woke up as the cabin lights turned on, and rolled his eyes as his hands rubbed over his face. The trip had not been entertaining. He was told to report to some remote starbase, something to do with some of his work from his days in the Andorrian Engineering Corp. To be honest, he hadn't really paid much attention to the orders, he just knew he had to pack to get shipped out, and did so. The ship had been on autopilot for the most part, and Jules hadn't questioned any of it.

"Arriving at destination in 5 minutes." The shuttle chimed in the cabin area where he'd unceremoniously laid to sleep for most of the journey. While the trip was far away, the only shuttle really available was one of the slower ones. He had been on the shuttle for the past 2 and a half days, simply killing time, sending the odd letter or two out, going through Ushaan fighting stances and practices.

He went to make himself somewhat more presentable in the few minutes he had, repacked all of his stuff, and managed to make it to the door of the shuttle as it docked.

[Docking Area B]
Three humans stood in the doorway of the shuttle as the doors parted, and Jules's eyes shot up slightly. Their clothing was black, without rank or insignia that he saw offhand.

"Thumb print." The front one said simply, holding out a PADD. Jules took a few steps down the ramp, pressed his thumb to the PADD, and watched as the man turned it around and glanced at the information. The front man simply beckoned him with one hand before turning around and beginning to walk. The other two waited for Jules to pass between them, before flanking him on either side.

Jules felt that something was terribly off, but he was not in a position to question much. He had been stuck on a shuttle for 2 plus days, and he wasn't 100% sure he wasn't just being paranoid. Not that being paranoid ever hurt. And since he hadn't paid much attention to the shuttle or the orders given him, he didn't notice that he was at a different star base than the one he was supposed to arrive at.

It was a relatively short walk, but it let Jules work the sleepiness out of his muscles better, and felt good after being restricted to just a shuttle. They stopped in front of a door as it opened, and the front man stepped to one side to wave him in.

[Conference Room]

Naira sat down at the long table and intertwined her green fingers in front of her. She listened to what the lieutenant had to say and nodded along in agreement.

"I can't say I know anymore than you do," she said.

She glanced around the sparely decorated room hoping to get some sort of clue as to the mystery of why they had been summoned all the way out here, but the room provided no such insight. The long conference table took up most of the space in the room, but it looked no different than dozens she had seen on various ships, space stations and those located at headquarters. In the one corner stood an uninspiring ficus of unknown origin that looked just like countless other species of plants that inhabited a number of worlds. Across the room, the wall gave way to a view of space devoid space traffic and the usual indicators that she was located aboard a space station.

Even the carpet and paint was standard issue.

Whatever was going on here, she hoped that someone would bring them up to speed and quickly.

[Conference Room]

As Jules entered, he immediately noticed the two females present, and instantly stopped just past the door, which closed shut behind him somewhat ominously, he thought. His antennae had spun around when the door shut behind him, and spun back to face the two females.

"If I'm fired, couldn't we have done it back on the Athena?" He said, slowly stepping forward to take a seat, seeing if anyone stopped him before settling down, dropping his pack on the floor next to his seat.

[Susan Venator]

[Shuttle]

Jules woke up as the cabin lights turned on, and rolled his eyes as his hands rubbed over his face. The trip had not been entertaining. He was told to report to some remote starbase, something to do with some of his work from his days in the Andorrian Engineering Corp. To be honest, he hadn't really paid much attention to the orders, he just knew he had to pack to get shipped out, and did so. The ship had been on autopilot for the most part, and Jules hadn't questioned any of it.

"Arriving at destination in 5 minutes." The shuttle chimed in the cabin area where he'd unceremoniously laid to sleep for most of the journey. While the trip was far away, the only shuttle really available was one of the slower ones. He had been on the shuttle for the past 2 and a half days, simply killing time, sending the odd letter or two out, going through Ushaan fighting stances and practices.

He went to make himself somewhat more presentable in the few minutes he had, repacked all of his stuff, and managed to make it to the door of the shuttle as it docked.

[Docking Area B]
Three humans stood in the doorway of the shuttle as the doors parted, and Jules's eyes shot up slightly. Their clothing was black, without rank or insignia that he saw offhand.

"Thumb print." The front one said simply, holding out a PADD. Jules took a few steps down the ramp, pressed his thumb to the PADD, and watched as the man turned it around and glanced at the information. The front man simply beckoned him with one hand before turning around and beginning to walk. The other two waited for Jules to pass between them, before flanking him on either side.

Jules felt that something was terribly off, but he was not in a position to question much. He had been stuck on a shuttle for 2 plus days, and he wasn't 100% sure he wasn't just being paranoid. Not that being paranoid ever hurt. And since he hadn't paid much attention to the shuttle or the orders given him, he didn't notice that he was at a different star base than the one he was supposed to arrive at.

It was a relatively short walk, but it let Jules work the sleepiness out of his muscles better, and felt good after being restricted to just a shuttle. They stopped in front of a door as it opened, and the front man stepped to one side to wave him in.

[Conference Room]

As Jules entered, he immediately noticed the two females present, and instantly stopped just past the door, which closed shut behind him somewhat ominously, he thought. His antennae had spun around when the door shut behind him, and spun back to face the two females.

"If I'm fired, couldn't we have done it back on the Athena?" He said, slowly stepping forward to take a seat, seeing if anyone stopped him before settling down, dropping his pack on the floor next to his seat.

Conference Room

Suzie looked up as another of the Athena crew entered. She shook her head in exasperation.

"If they wanted the three of us here, they should have told us and we could have made our way together!" She said. "And no, this is not related to the Athena in any way that we know, it is just pure co-incidence that all three of us are from the same ship!" She added, sitting back down and pouring herself a glass of water from one of the jugs on the table.

[Jus'draal]

U.S.S. Euphrates

This had not been the glorious return to the Alpha Quadrant K'lizh had been hoping for, but if his Starfleet career had taught him anything, it was to roll with life's unexpected surprises. Still, he was glad to be out of the Gamma Quadrant if even for a short time. He didn't like it out there. Something about that corner of space felt unnatural to be in. Perhaps it was the looming presence of the Dominion. He had felt ill at ease in that quadrant even before their fight with the Dominion.

He emerged from the shower, as the computer informed him of the imminent approach to their destination. He had been showering frequently since they had left the ship. His nasal suppressants hadn't been doing the trick in a confined space with a Klingon, and though he found himself sniffling a lot, he was too embarrassed to tell the Ensign that he found her scent... well, the frank word was "nauseating." It had never been a problem before now, but he and his underling had never been stuck aboard a runabout for several days in a row before. He harbored no personal dislike for the Klingon woman, it was just a matter of... clashing biologies.

"Go ahead and signal our approach, Ensign," he said as he zipped up his uniform jacket and tossed his boots in front of the co-pilot's chair so he could wedge his feet into them after he sat down. Though he felt comfortable enough aboard the Tempest to go barefoot on-duty, as was allowed for Caitians, if they were about to meet some of Starfleet's brass, he wanted to look sharp.

[USS Euphrates]

Ensign Jus'draal had been sitting at the controls for the last hour and a half. The seemingly obsessive showering and cleaning that her superior was doing had her a bit worried.  Hecertainly had not done it so much back on the Tempest.  When they had come aboard the Euphrates, she had worn a lavender scented perfume, she thought maybe that had caused him the discomfort, so she had stopped using it.  Now her scent was pure unaltered Klingon.

"Yes, Sir," Jus'draal replied and openned a hailing channel to the Katro.

Station Katro, this is runabout USS Euphates originating from USS Tempest.  Greetings from the Gamma Quadrant.Requesting arrival instructions.

[Michael J. Tritter]

[USS Durat]

-A- Acknowledged, Katra.  It will be acceptable to meet you, Mr. Cartis.  I have heard many good things about you.  I will see you shortly.  Kirok out-A- the half Vulcan replied.

[Starbase Katra - NPC Cartis]

Cartis had already heard from two of the three Command Officers already.   One was already here and the 2nd on his way.  So, it was likely time to reach out to the third.

-A-Starbase Katra to Shuttle Iroquois.  Do you read me Shuttle Iroquois?  Reply if you please -A- he said over an open channel.

[Location: Shuttle Iroquois, Starbase Katra Operations and Conference Room]

The pilot had remained with the Shuttle for the time being. He than heard a voice come over the comms, the pilot took a moment before he opened another comm with the station and replied with, "Starbase Katra, this is Shuttle Iroquois, I do read you, over" The man's tone was calm and professional, the Lieutenant was a tried and true combat Veteran, he kept things short and to the point, perhaps such is why he was take the Commander here.

The Commander on the other hand was studying the Operations area when he was approached by a figure wearing nearly all black, no rank, no insignia, they were an almost too thin Japanese appearing female, with black hair tied back into a pony tail. She than approached the Commander, her tone to him was almost as if she was talking down to him, he wasn't the typical type that would be associated with this, she knew his background, he wasn't a scientist or other intelligent type, she regarded him as a grunt and thusly, looked down on him. She than stated, "Commander, if you may"

She than lead him down a side corridor, to a simple room that almost reminded him of an interrogation room. His  blood pressure and heart rate increased slightly, as well as his adrenaline started to pump, but he controlled his emotions and nothing about his demeanor changed. She than stated "Your orders Commander", she offered her right hand to him. Tritter produced the PADD and handed it to the female. She reviewed it, nodded slightly and held onto it. She took out her own PADD, placed it infront of him and said "Right thumb Commander", he proceeded to do as requested. Once it came back a match, she nodded once again and said "Follow me Commander"

She than made her exit, taking both PADDs with her and leading the Commander to a nearby conference room. He than proceeded to step inside, she than informed him to wait. He than proceeded to make his way to an area a bit of a ways from the others and he simply was content to watch the goings on for the time being.

[Rayek trLhoell]

PO2 Rayek
[USS Resnik]

As Rayek approached the USS Katra, his destination according to the encrypted orders he'd received from Admiral Kirok,  he wondered once more what manner of work took place on the station.  None of his standard searches on the station revealed anything about the place.  That alone had him suspecting it were under the purview of Starfleet Intelligence or perhaps an outlier of Section 31.  In either case, he was admittedly a bit nervous as to the nature of his being sent there, especially when his orders specified that no one on his ship was to know the true nature of his orders.  A cover-up assignment had been provided; Rayek was apparently was taking additional hand-to-hand combat training for the next two weeks.  He wondered how long it would take the Captain or Cleroux to question his need for such a lame excuse.

A chime on his wrist chronometer, reminded him to take his  medication.  Rayek pulled out the hypospray from his gear and self-administered the inhibitor.  He tucked the hypospray into his utility belt pouch for safe-keeping.

His request to the station for permission to dock was accepted and he was directed to Docking Area A.

[USS Katra - Docking Area A]
After landing, he was met perfunctorily by three unarmed men dressed completely in a black uniforms.  They requested his orders and a thumb print ID verification.  Rayek provided both and was prepared to have security 'randomly' inspect his travel bag but for once no such demand was made.   Instead, Rayek was escorted through the 'well-polished, state of the art' looking station to a door, the name plate of which read - Conference Room.   Rayek was instructed to 'wait inside'.  Rayek entered.

[Conference Room]
As he stepped into the room, he glanced over the room alertly.  He took note of 4 other individuals already present.  Keen eyes took note of their pips -  a collection of various ranks from Commander to a Petty officer like himself.  Species also ranged as well, including an Orion, and an Andorian.  Three seemed to be in conversation as he arrived while one, the Commander, sat apart from the group.  Since no one was seated at the 'head' of the table, Rayek assumed the one in charge had yet to arrive.  Rayek moved to a spot at the table mid-way between the group and the Commander and took a seat, tucking his travel bag at his feet.  He waited, observing and listening in.