Mission: Swords to Ploughshares, Day 9 Stardate: 2408.05.25 (USS Boudicca - Deck 4, Shuttlecraft Maintenance - A/CEO Lorimar - 1415) He still couldn’t get used to his altered appearance; every time he passed a reflective surface he caught himself glimpsing at his own distorted image, like a man caught in some nightmarish house of mirrors, unable to escape. It was necessary of course... but Lorimar absolutely hated his appearance. The pewter pallor reminded him far too much of an artificial lifeform. He enjoyed and in fact reveled in his humanity. ~Ah love workin’ on machines... they are in mah blood right enough... but ah dinnae wish tae be one. Not now, not ever!~ He and several other engineers had finished sorting the parts remaining from the disassembled runabout. They were laid out in a logical order in anticipation of the reconstruction project. He strolled up and down the rows of sorted parts and storage bins. He was only supposed to be using up free time; he was actually waiting on some replication to be finished for the priority project, the mock up of the ‘Falthgood Device’. That had unconditional priority, but assembly was halted at the moment while the replicators caught up on the programmed materials list. He sat on the corner of a storage bin and gazed back toward the closed hatch leading into the main shuttlebay. In his minds eye he pictured the completed Runabout rolling out for its test flight… but some of the details were still fuzzy. ~What to improve? Surely with the minds on this ship we can come up wie some wonderful innovations... can we nae?~ He pulled his Grandfather’s pocket watch out and studied the hands. It was an antique, and he really shouldn’t be carrying it on duty... but some odd sentiment had overtaken him of late and he felt he should... felt he *needed* to carry it. ~Time enough afore the replicators are ready, ah’d say~ With another glance around, he stood and headed out. (USS Boudicca - Deck 10, Holodeck 3 - A/CEO Lorimar - 1427) Lorimar stood in the center of the empty chamber, the holodeck grid on standby, waiting for a program. He uploaded the basic design specs that Harris had begun to draft, along with the latest revisions from Fleet Engineering into a template he had created. The PADD beeped indicating the data had been fully compiled. He smiled thinly, satisfied he could begin. "Computer, load program ‘Runabout holo-assembly, Lorimar Alpha One." An unusually long pause, then the expected response. [Program complete. Exit then enter when ready.] "Override normal loading, execute program, adjust parameters for mah position on the holodeck." He shut his eyes to minimize the kinesthetic disorientation. It worked, mostly. He felt all sorts of odd sensory stimuli as the pseudo-environment around him shifted. After that settled, he carefully cracked open first one eye, then both, almost as a child might when looking for the monster they expect under the bed. No monsters were to be found, however... merely the design template. A mock up of the shuttle maintenance space, with the very basic stringers and trusses of a runabout’s spaceframe in the center. Surrounding that on three sides were the crated and uncrated parts the engineers had inventoried, along with an empty and open storage bin. Lorimar studied the blank spaceframe from all angles, walking a complete circuit around it. He rubbed his beard thoughtfully as he considered where to begin. After a moment, he walked to the parts bins, and opened the appropriate one. He reached in with one hand and withdrew the massless holographic copy of the Runabout’s warp core, carrying it without effort toward the center. As he passed through the spaceframe, it became a simple translucent and ghostly image. Checking the alignment carefully, he released his grip on the core and it ‘floated’ suspended in its future position by the magic of photons and forcefields. He returned to the parts bins and gathered some sections of support framing, along with the reaction chamber cradle assembly. Repeating the process until the heart of the Runabout was fixed in place, he pondered where he might go next in the design process. He walked back to the ‘empty’ bin and spoke. "Computer, generate image of one standard Runabout engineering control module." Obediently, the requested item appeared in the bin. Bob picked it out, and headed back into the skeletal vessel to place it. (Reply Any) (Posted by Russ) ========== Mission: Swords to Ploughshares, Day 10 Stardate: 2408.05.29 (USS Boudicca - Bridge - CO - Captain Susan Rivers - 0800) The reports from the preliminary away team had been analysed, and the data sent to the relevant departments. They were now ready to send down the away team proper. Susan had given Sasha a PADD with the correct disabling code for the device, and instructions on how to enter it. Of course, that would depend on the away team finding a way to get close enough to it to do so. The decoy version was under construction; fortunately there were no visible lights or moving parts, so any question of a power source was, thankfully, negated. They should be able to make a direct substitution. Assuming of course that they were able to replicate the appropriate materials, and get them to look identical to the original. Details of the omnipresent religion of Tobias V had been given to all members of the away team to read up. Given that it was a universal religion and that there seemed to be no indication that non-belief was anything other than extremely rare, and that the intention was to gain access to the device as members of the faithful, full knowledge was an essential pre-requisite. Interestingly there were no news reports of any artefact being entrusted to the Messenger Temarch, nor did there seem to be any wide-spread knowledge of it. This could, Susan realised, make things difficult. But time would tell. "Commander Stolev, is the away team prepared?" (reply Stolev) "As soon as you're all ready, transport down. Keep in touch as much as you can, and be very careful. Good luck, Number One." (Reply Sasha, any) (Posted by Liz) ---------- (USS Boudicca - Bridge - FO Commander Aleksander Stolev - Day 10 - 0800) "Excellent news," said Stolev into his comm badge as he stepped out of the turbolift onto the bridge. "The away team will be reporting to you shortly, then. Stolev out." Stolev then walked down to his chair in the center of the bridge, where Rivers greeted him. "Commander Stolev, is the away team prepared?" "As a matter of fact, I just received word from the quartermaster that he has our native garb ready and waiting," replied Stolev. "As soon as you're all ready, transport down. Keep in touch as much as you can, and be very careful. Good luck, Number One." Stolev nodded. "Understood, Captain." He glanced around the bridge. "Trei, Yalix, Nooras, Sprak, you're with me." As the group headed for the lift, Stolev tapped his badge. "Stolev to Lorimar, Tau, and George. Report to the quartermaster for away team outfitting." (reply any) ----------- (USS Boudicca - Transporter Room One - FO Commander Aleksander Stolev - Day 10 - 0840) As Stolev walked into the transporter room, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in one of the control panel displays and had to fight to not to appear startled. His skin had a sheen of silver, and what little hair he had was glittering gold, as were his eyes. Even though he had been this way for almost two days, it was still hard to get used to. As the away team gathered, he regarded them all. All were dressed in current yet nondescript clothing of the time on Tobias V, with the addition of leather headbands signifying them as religions pilgrims. Several were also carrying various instruments disguised as commonly carried accessories, including PADDs altered to look like the _Word of the Three_, the religious text carried by all pilgrims. "Ok, so here's the game plan," began Stolev. "We've identified an alleyway near the Temple that seems unused most of the time, and there are no windows facing it. This will be our beam-in point. From there we can walk right out into center of the city, where the government and church facilities are concentrated. Then we can identify a better central meeting point, if needed. All relevant information about the society, its religion, customs, et cetera is on your PADDs for reference, though I'm sure you've all memorized enough to get by with the basics. "Remember, our cover story is that we are tourists, and as devoted followers of the Divine Three, one of our primary destinations is the Temple, in which we believe the artifact to be hidden. We will head straight there and begin our search. Remember, no active scanning of any kind -- passive scans only. Once inside, we will evaluate the facility and determine the best way to conduct the search. "If you get in any trouble, or are separated from the group, head for the alley where we beamed in, unless we specify an alternate location. If you are somehow apprehended or captured by natives, make sure to use the autodestruct on any of your equipment, so that if they confiscate it they cannot use it or gain any knowledge from it. Hopefully that will not be necessary. "Any questions?" (reply any) Once the team was ready, they stepped onto the platform. "Energize," ordered Stolev, and the familiar tingling sensation of the transporter washed over him. ---------- ( Tobias V - Back Alley close to the Temple of the Divine Three - 2O/CCOUNS/Lt. Dorga 'cha Nooras - 0845) The away team had received word from Commander Stolev to finish preparing for their mission down on the planet. For the past couple of days the FO, Yallix, Sprak, Trei, George, Lorimar, Tau and herself had been altered to look like the inhabitants of the planet, so all they really had to do was get dressed in suitable clothing for a group of pilgrims. Dorga had been one of the first to be altered, so after two days she'd become used to seeing herself changed, although her children had thought it very funny at first and kept calling her Data Mom, which had become very annoying quite quickly, but apart from that she rather liked the pewter sheen of her skin and the gold and silver colored hair, not to mention the lack of brow ridges, though she did miss her pointed ears. ~Maybe I'll choose to stay this way, but then again, I don't want to be called Data Mom for the rest of my life.~ She thought as they all materialized on the planet's surface in a dark back alley, that had been scanned to make sure it was devoid of any of the humanoid populace. The 2O looked about her and wrinkled her nose. The alley smelled of unwashed bodies, rotting trash, stale urine and excrement. Perhaps some homeless people inhabited the place at night. It both looked and smelled like it, for along the walls of the tall buildings there were several large cardboard boxes with old rags draped over them, nestled among some black shiny garbage bags, that were just right for a homeless person to sleep in. They were surrounded by high concrete walls. Ahead, the alley stretched for over thirty meters in deep shadow and ended in another high wall. At lengthy intervals steel doors broke up the concrete vastness. Two meters ahead there was another alley leading off to the right, a weak slash of light pooled on the ground at the opening, which was where they would exit the alley and walk to the Temple of the Divine Three that was just up the main street about three city blocks away. Commander Stolev gave a signal and they all grouped together and silently followed him as he led the way out of the smelly alley and out on to the city street. It was a relief to get out of the dubious stench, although Dorga wasn't to sure the air was any healthier on the street as it smelled of combustion engines, dust and smoke. The sidewalks were fairly busy with pedestrian traffic moving in both directions, but nobody gave them a second look as most just walked around them. Soon they were headed towards their goal, weaving their way among the oncoming walkers. (reply Away Team) (posted by Sal) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three, Back Alley - TAC/ASC - Ensign JG Niles George - 0845) ~Welcome to the planet.~ Niles thought as they were all materialized into the back alley of the city. Of all the places to be transported, it had to be in an alley. He assumed, if it was supposedly anything like what he read in the archive files, the late 20th century of Earth on Tobias, then it would be quite dirty. He assumed right. The sight after arriving, on the planet, was just what he had pictured. The horrid smell of an unpleasant odor was drifting in the air. Which didn't tremendously bother him, because he had always thought his father smelled more foul than this. Not to say that his father didn't smell fresh at times. Just that, like a street, he didn't stay clean. Trash and waste lay scattered through out the area. What looked like concrete walls surrounded them and the only light was coming from around a corner of the alley. Commander Stolev gave a signal, they all clustered together, and silently followed him as he led the way out of the fetid alley. As Niles and the others was walking out of the alley, Niles was glancing at some very strange pictures on the facade of the concrete walls. One was decorated with different colors, with a circle and three symbols connected. What looked like a cratered moon, a sun, and bright colored planet. Many in the same design and various sizes. A number of the designs with the same symbols were connected with a star, triangle, or a three-leaf clover shaped design. ~Must be some of the religious emblems. Interesting.~ Although, there was a symbol that stood out from the others, which made Niles stop in his tracks. Its size was enormous and covered a large part of the wall. The whole portrait was surrounded in black, except in the center. In the center, there was drawn a face of a devilish looking creature. The irises of the monster were colored in red, with skin of more grayish color. It showed to have no hair, though it did looked as if it had a shaved head. The picture must have been drawn by a true artist, for the reason that it looked three-dimensional. At the same time, very frightening. ~A possible depiction of the Lord of the Black? I'm starting to have a "bad" feeling about coming on this away team.~ Niles ran to catch up with the others. They walked out of the alley into a busy street of people. People were walking back and forth, up and down, sideways, and down-ways. Anyway you could think of. No one ran into them as they walked out into the flow of perambulators. They simple walked around and continued on their way. Vehicular transportation devices were on some type of road system. They were fleeting by on some sort of round rubber looking material. Overall, the location looked like 20th century New York from what he researched in the ship's library computer access and retrieval system (LCARS.) Soon they were all heading up the street. Niles was trying the best he could to stay with the group, but was quite difficult in the heavy mass of individuals. If he got separated from the away team, it would be very hard to locate them again. All he could see when he looked down the street was, metallic silver skin and gold, silver, or red hair colors. So locating someone, after losing them in a hectic sidewalk, would be arduous. He strived to stay close to the away team. He took pleasure into his new clothing. The silky smooth feeling of his nicely replicated tunic and trousers were enough to make him fall to the addiction of wearing it everywhere. His tunic was a mixture of different colors. Glowing bright colors such as: orange, blue, or yellow. Plus, dark colors like: black, purple, and red. The trousers were a plain black that went down between his ankles and knees. He also had sandals to match. It was comfortable and easy to work in. If he was allowed, he would wear it to everyone of his duty shifts. Though, he knew the Captain would contradict his "new" uniform. They were all told to wear a leather headbands. Apparently, the headbands contained combadge technology and miniaturized video cameras for a live feed to the ship. Though, his wasn't on unless the others didn't. Which made sense, because he wasn't really needed to have it, just for precaution or a record of events. At the end of the third block, everyone stopped and Niles almost ran into the person in front of him. He had been glancing around at the attention- grabbing shops, buildings, and creature statue that they had passed. He noticed that everyone was gazing up. He then looked up himself to to see an outstanding, stunning, and exquisite temple towering in the sky. The temple was colossal. The precipitous elongated stairway were craved out of, what seemed to be, some type of dazzling goldish stone. After they had started up the immeasurable stairs, Niles noticed that the new ACMO was viewing the same thing that he had seen. The elegant morning sunlight glimmering off the golden exterior of the temple. The beauty made him smile. Filled with a sense of love and morale enlightenment. Niles began to wonder why anyone would even jeopardize this planet. The magnificence and splendor of this planet was almost enough to make Niles never leave. Just before they had reached the top, Niles, stopped and pivoted around on his feet and looked down to the city below. The sight he saw, at first glance, was nearly enough to make him disoriented and fall back down to where they started on the way up. Luckily, he was able to balance himself adequate enough to fall backwards instead, into the steps. He then quickly got back up and looked around, hoping no one saw what just happened. Niles had never been afraid of heights, but this might have just broken the borderline. They finally, after what seemed to be at least a three kilometer climb, reached the top of the temple. There were two guards at the entrance that were staring eye level with the ground, or surface top of the temple. They were both holding some type of bladed spears. That made Niles fervent. He walked up to one of the guards, at a close distance, and examined him. The guard did not even twitch. He tried inspecting the blade from all angles, still being cautious about the person inside the uniform. Niles then looked strangely at the guard as if he, himself, were four looking at a bubble float in the air. The guards eyes still did not alter direction to meet his stare. Niles then decided to do a completely unthinkable test. He quick glanced over to the away team fading away from his position. He noticed that some of them were putting currency into one of two boxes. He could also see they weren't looking, so he decided to do the test fast. Niles reached his hand out in the path of the guard's stare. Niles then moved his hand into a circular motion in the air, to see if he could make the guard look into a different direction. The guard didn't move. Niles dropped his hand back to his side and got a puzzled look on his face. Then he jump to inspiration. He then tried another test. Without any notice, Niles hopped into the air in front of the guard and on to the other side of him. Still nothing happened. He peered over to the other guard and back to the one before. He moved to position himself directly in front, facing the guard and then started to move his head squarely, only with his neck, left and right. Then he began moving it into random directions. The guard's eyes still did not follow his movements. Niles was beginning to feel challenged and went for the last test. He stared straight in to the guard's eyes and began moving his head closer, in a line towards the guard's eyes. Suddenly, an arm shot up, from underneath the guard's uniform sleeve and it went perfectly horizontal. Niles jumped back. All fingers extended straight out, from the hand, pointing to the entrance to the temple. The guard still did not move his eyes, with the spear upright in his other hand. Niles became disappointed and walked towards the door that the guard was pointing to. As he did so, he could hear the guard's arm drop back to place and a large, short amount of air being exerted from someones mouth. As Niles reached the doors to the temple, he could begin to see the boxes from earlier more clearly. They had a small opening, just enough for a coin or part of currency go through it. The boxes were also attached, somehow, to the tables they were on. Probably, so no one could steal it. However, the more Niles examined the box, the more he realized it was empty. Niles's supposition, then, was that they used a chute system. The tourists, visitors, or whomever wanted to put money in, of the temple, would put currency into the collection box and the currency would go down a chute. This "chute" would lead to an area where authorized person(s) would come along and gather the currency. It was brilliant and clever at the same time, but yet lead to questions. Where does the currency go? Niles passed the boxes and continued into the main hall, without donating. He determined, he would be the one to have all the money he started with when they left the ship. Not to be greedy, just encase they were happen to be stuck a little longer than expected. He ran, again, to catch up with the group. They were all still in the first room. Niles joined the others and looked around at all the fancy statues, windows, and columns in the room. It was all amazing, but what grasped his focus was the gargantuan portrait on the far corner wall. The painting was a model of the same designs that he had seen in the alley. There was only one difference in this one. All four symbols were there, together. The moon, sun, planet, and now the same (only more detailed) display of a grey fiend looking beast. The grey fiend stood square in the middle of the portrait. Surrounded by a vertical triangle. Only the triangle had slightly curved in edges, compared to last time. The sun was placed in the bottom right corner of the triangle, while the moon be on the left. The planet, that most likely resembled Tobias V, sat on the top of the triangle. This order gave the illusion of the sun was shining on the planet's surface and the moon was slowly following behind. The inside of the triangle was shaded black, around the monster, while the outside was pure snow white. Niles guessed that his painting was to show that the Divine Three, connected together, would bind the Lord of the Black away from humanity. Niles was in awe and could not stop staring at the painting. It was so detailed that it could jump out at you. Niles finally shook his head and walked away, back to the away team. Still thinking of everything had seen so far. (Reply Any... on the Away Team) (Posted by Niles George) ---------- (Tobias V - Back alley behind Temple of the Devinne Three - TAC/SC Lieutenant(jg) Detron Trei - 08.46) Detron spent the last two days getting altered to go on the away team. He had to admit pewter skin was not his best look. Detron felt strange not having his Klingon ridges for the first time in his life, but duty called for the deception. When the mission is over, he will go back to his natural appearance without question although he liked the color of his hair with some red highlight. Detron materialized on the planet surface in an alley behind the Temple of the Devinne Three. Detron smelled a potent stench in the alley probably coming from the boxes lying around in the alley. Garbage bags were scattered through the alley. That could be contributing to the stench. Detron followed Dorga out of the alley. The Temple was three blocks from the away team's current position. Detron followed the away team. ~This ought to be a real bag of tricks and great fun as well.~ (Reply any on away team) (Posted by Edward) ---------- (Tobias V - Back Alley close to the Temple of the Divine Three - AOPS- Lt. Tollian Yalix - 0847) Tollian on his feet as the gravity of the planet grabbed him immediately after they transported down to the surface. The sky was an odd metallic orange color highlighted by streaks of gold and silver. The strip of sky that could be seen between the walls of the alley were clear of clouds and Tollian inwardly wondered what the weather patterns on this planet might be like with so many metallic micro-particles suspended in the air. ~I wonder if they have lightning storms or if the metallic particles allow smaller discharges which prevent larger electrical formations to appear?~ The Away team had materialized deep in the bowels of the alley way, near a large concrete wall. It was fairly narrow, enough so that if Tollian stretched out both arms, he could just barely touch the walls of both sides of the alley with his fingertips. The concrete walls were punctuated by a few doors on either side and the decor of the alley suggested that there had been homeless people living there recently. Despite this, they were not present, and Tollian was thankful that he did not have to face that sort of poverty in such a direct manner. Efrosia had long ago managed to abolish all but the most stubborn forms of poverty. As the away team managed to exit the alley, Tollian found his attention drawn to the machines that obviously acted as conveyances for these people. They seemed loud and smelled of pollutants. He observed their complex motions and soon enough determined that he should be very careful when crossing anything that looked like a thoroughfare. As they walked uphill towards the temple of the Divine Three, Tollian caught a glance of himself in the window of a nearby shop, which seemed to be selling religious artifacts. He could not make out colors, but he had been told that his skin had been shifted from it's usual tan to a deep brass color, and his hair and mustache had been altered to more of a metallic copper color. His eyes were lensed and took on a metallic blue coloration. His clothing was simple, the leather headband denoting their status as pilgrims, a Tunic of rich deep metallic blue and matching pants. On his feet he wore moccasin type walking shoes. He noted the strange play of infrared light on his metallic skin, the inhabitants here reflected more infrared than any other species he had ever encountered, most likely due to the higher concentrations of metallics in their bodies, which would prevent a certain degree of absorption of the infrared wavelengths. It made for an interesting visual display, especially since to Tollian several of these people seemed to sparkle with small bursts of Infrared light as it was reflected from their skin. There was some of that for the away team, of course, but Tollian also noticed that they had a much different infrared signature. He took a degree of comfort in this knowledge since he could easily pick them out of a crowd as a result. And since there was no indication that the locals had the ability to see or view infrared radiation with their present level of technology, there was little worry that anyone would be the wiser as a result. The away team passed a few beggars along the way, and while the majority of the away team seemed to pay them no heed, Tollian found himself giving them some of the black triangular coins that passed for currency here. It must have been more than he had intended, because he was greeted in return with exhaustive thanks and prayers for his generosity. Tollian simply smiled, nodded and carried on with the rest of the team towards the temple. ---------- ( Tobias V - Outside The Temple of the Divine Three - 2O/CCOUNS/Lt. Dorga 'cha Nooras - 0856) Respectfully, the pedestrians they encountered on their trek to the Temple would try to clear a path for the pilgrims, making their advance far easier. Each would smile warmly at them and wish them well on their journey, which Dorga found to be quite charming, and she would smile in return and give her thanks. As they approached the steps to the huge Temple that rose majestically before them, and had to be at least take up a whole city block itself, Dorga couldn't help but be astonished and awe-stricken by the whole fantastic structure. The Temple loomed high above them as if it was striving to reach the sky. The steps leading up seemed to go on forever where they met enormous columns that appeared to be carved in great detail and she couldn't wait to study them. ~Every step closer to heaven? It reminds me of the Inca Temples but far bigger!~ Seeing such incredible beauty in the center of the grimy, noisy city made Dorga very glad she had thought of having the leather headbands they were all wearing, fitted with the commbadge technology, and her suggestion for the FO's to be on constantly and herself to have continual streaming video integrated into hers, so that the Bridge could constantly monitor the away team and get a live view of what the team were actually doing and seeing. When she had discovered, reading the PADD issued, that all pilgrims were required to wear the leather headbands to denote their status to the general public, (who would then offer them hospitality during their journey), Dorga had thought about getting the commbadge technology installed in them, as it would not be wise to carry actual commbadges on their persons. Consequently she had gone to visit Lorimar in Engineering and put her idea across to him. While doing so she had thought about the video, and when he told her that they had the miniaturization technology that would make it feasible, the 2O had taken her idea to the Captain who had authorized all the leather headbands to be fitted with both commbadge and video systems; however the FO and 2O would only use it constantly. The others would only use the vid systems if the primary ones were out of commission. For several seconds the team stood gazing up at the Temple, Dorga moved her head from one side to the other of the building and voiced her appreciation for such a sight. Others on the team were also vocal about their impressions as they began the long climb upwards from the world of urbanity to a more tranquil life of religious piety. When they reached the top of the steep steps, Dorga inspected a couple of the columns which appeared to depict the three Deities that the planet's inhabitants worshipped, showing the stories of their actions and adventures. After she'd given the Bridge crew a good look at those she turned to view the massive wooden doors which stood open and which were also carved in great detail; they had to be at least a foot thick. Standing on either side of the entrance were two palace guards dressed as they must have been dressed many centuries ago, right down to the bladed weapons they carried. The guards stared straight ahead, ignoring the pilgrims as they filed in to the cool, depths of the Temple's vestibule area where the worshippers would place their donations in the gold coloured boxes on either side of the inner doors that were also open. Dorga moved forward and placed some of the planet's currency into one of the boxes, and then peeked into the the vast space where the congregation would assemble to prostrate themselves before the three magnificent statues that represented Tresan, Goddess of the Radiant Star; Yeltendy, God of the Ground on which we walk; and Brensa, Goddess of the Evening Light. She stepped inside, unable to not do so, it was all so wonderful she just had to see it, and she looked about slowly, turning in a steady circle to see everything. This room also had columns in it, holding up the ceiling that soared high above it. Stained glass windows set to high for anyone to see out, lined the walls allowing plenty of daylight in. They were also a beautiful sight. (reply away team, any) (posted by Sal) ---------- (Tobias V - Approaching the Temple of the Divine Three- TAC/SC Lieutenant(jg) Detron Trei - 08.57) As Detron approached the Temple of the Divine Three, people cleared the path for the away team to make their journey easier. Detron climbed the steps of the pyramid structure ascending to the Temple entrance. Detron saw the two guards at the entrance looking straight ahead while the away team passed on through to a vestibule area. Detron matched Dorga's action of placing local currency in a gold colored collection box. Detron marveled at the beauty of the stained glass and structures within the Temple. Detron intended to go to the statue of Yetlendy praying for control over emotions. Reality proved that this was a constant struggle for Detron anyway. Maybe he could get some information from others this way. Detron waited for the team to decide where to go next. ~Marvelous church this is.~ (Reply Dorga, Any on away team) (Posted by Edward) ---------- (Tobias V - Outside the Temple of the Divine Three, Main Chamber - FO Commander Aleksander Stolev - Day 10 - 0857) The walk up from the beam in point had been short, and the grandeur of the temple had been evident from the moment the away team had stepped out of the alleyway. As they walked up the steps of the temple, Stolev overheard Lorimar whispering urgently to Dorga, and moved closer to catch what was being said. "...suspect its our object ma’am. Mah tricorder is in passive mode, so ah can only gie ye a rough estimate… its at azimuth 220, aboot 150 meters, and it seems tae be below street level, ah cannae be mair precise from here.” "Transmit the rough coordinates to the rest of the team," Stolev said in a low voice. "We'll look for a way to get to those coordinates from inside first, then try outside if that fails. We'll stick together if at all possible." (reply any iyw) As they all walked together into the building, Stolev dropped some native currency into the donation receptacle and made his way into the main chamber of the temple. He subtly indicated through whispers and hand gestures for the team to fan out and check out all corners of the chamber, while making sure to look the part of awestruck tourists. Something told him this wouldn't be difficult for them to accomplish, judging by the amazing artistry and ornate craftsmanship of the paintings, sculptures, and woodwork displayed throughout the chamber. As he began to make his way in the general direction indicated by Lorimar's scan, he noticed a priest approaching Yalix. That in and of itself is not what set the warning bells off in his head. It was the way several of the other priests in the chamber subtly shifted, moving to cover all exists, and turning so that they all could watch this priest's interaction with Yalix. ~This is not good.~ (reply any) (posted by Aaron) ---------- (Tobias V - Outside The Temple of the Divine Three - A/CEO Lorimar - 0858) Lorimar adjusted the bulky load he was carrying and did his best to keep his expression neutral as he trudged along with the balance of the away team. He recalled the time spent in sickbay needed for the surgical alterations, and the displeasure he had felt at his mirror image after it was done. Such as it was, he liked his own face; no matter the reason for the change, he did not like it. Most of the time aboard had been spent constructing a sophisticated copy of the ‘Falthgood Device’. Using the data gathered by the initial scouting party, engineering had been able to make what was hoped would be a very convincing replica. It would not, of course perform any functions of the original, but then neither would it reveal any hints of Federation technology if and when it was discovered. The tricky part of course, would be making the switch. They first had to gain access to the original, then make the switch and escape. No mean feat indeed. He fingered the headband he wore, which was identical in fashion and function as those worn by the rest of the team. A brilliant yet simple suggestion had been made by Lt. ‘cha Nooras to include video and communication technology in the bands... much like a suit helmet cam, but smaller and without the helmet. They would in fact be undetectable to all but the closest of inspections, and they provided a real time visual and audio uplink to the ship. ~Assumin’ of course we dinnae go deep underground, or within some type o’ structure wie signal degrading or dampening properties, as ah warned the Lt. when we made these up~ He again adjusted the load he was carrying. Concealed within an oversized satchel/backpack was the duplicate ‘device’ they had fabricated. The dimensions had been replicated as exactly as possible, including the overall mass of the device. It was bulky and awkward, but not unduly heavy. That was fortunate, as it eliminated the need for anti gravs to handle the load. Limiting any possible exposure of advanced Federation technology was of paramount importance. Clearly, Falthgood had abused the Prime Directive badly already. Situations like this made Bob very happy that he was and would never be a command grade officer. Dealing with issues this delicate and complex he could do without. ~Ah’ll stick tae quantum mechanics and subspace field theory... the simple things!!~ He rubbed his thumb underneath the shoulder strap of his backpack to ease the pressure on his shoulders. Reaching into the fold of his tunic, he flipped open his tricorder, being careful that no one could see what he was doing. He stopped for a moment and studied the readings. He had locked the tricorder into passive only mode, and silenced the audible indicators. It wouldn’t do to have his tunic beeping when they were mingling with the natives. He confirmed what the data indicated then approached Lt. ‘cha Nooras, who was the closest ranking officer. He caught her eye and raised his voice just loudly enough for her to hear. "Lieutenant... ah’m picking up some verra interesting reading on mah tricorder. There is... ah can only describe it as a ‘dead zone’. There is a sort of general absence of energy somewhere inside the temple proper. Nae a dampening field in the conventional sense, but its as though something is absorbin’ generated power in the area. Tis’ low level, but definite. Ah suspect its our object ma’am. Mah tricorder is in passive mode, so ah can only gie ye a rough estimate... its at azimuth 220, aboot 150 meters, and it seems tae be below street level, ah cannae be mair precise from here." (Reply 2O, Any on away team) (Posted by Russ) ---------- (Tobias V - Outside The Temple of the Divine Three - 2O/CCOUNS/Lt. Dorga 'cha Nooras - 0858) As they were climbing the steps to the Temple, Bob Lorimar had caught up with Dorga and got her attention to inform her that he had done a scan with his tricorder and had some interesting readings. According to Bob there was a general absence of energy somewhere inside the temple proper. It wasn't a conventional dampening field but it was though something was absorbing generated power in that area. He suspected that it was the 'artifact' they were after, but because his tricorder was in passive mode, he could only roughly estimate that it was at azimuth 220, about 150 meters, and apparently it was below street level. By then Commander Stolev's attention had been attracted to them and he told the CEO to transmit the rough coordinates to the rest of the team, and that they'd look for a way to get to those coordinates from inside first, then try outside if that failed, and emphasized that the team would stick together if at all possible. ---------- (Tobias V - Bhenden - Vicinity Of The Temple Of The Divine - ACMO Tau Renora Ens.(Jg) - 0859) Tau Renora felt himself materialize on the planet's surface, though this time with a much larger away team than his scout team a few days ago. 'Only a week on board and two away missions in my first week.' Renora smiled guiltily, thinking of his fellow doctors stuck in the sickbay right now. This visit he was disguised as an indigenous Tobian, with a silver hue matching his eyes, but his skin still tingled from the polarised metallic atmosphere. Last time, he had transported down to a farm, captured the likeness of two houses full of family, and left within twenty minutes. This time, the team had beamed directly outside one of the planet's most important churches. As soon as they materialized and took a precursory look around, Renora noticed some of his human crewmates wrinkle their noses or foreheads at the smell or sight, respectively, of the homeless in the alley they were currently occupying. Sure if you spent your entire life on Earth, this might be a little disturbing or anti-humanistic. But Renora didn't spend his entire life on Earth. And in much of the universe, this was a normal by-product of a centralized urban industrial area. The capital on his Bajoran home colony of Valo II had a population of just over a million, the homeless population well over 50,000. They made their way through the streets of Bhenden, towards the monolith of a temple, dominating the skyline no matter what alley or street you were in. The away team reached the base of it. It looked like a scale model of the ancient pyramids built by now extinct cultures in the Bajoran rainforests, only much, much bigger, a near perfect pyramid with four massive staircases, one on each ordinal point, leading up to the plateau, where services would be held (or sacrifices performed, depending on the timeline). The pyramid itself still shone as if just plated with gold the previous night. For a minute or two, Renora enjoyed watching the way the metallic isotopes in the air bent the morning sun's reflections coming off the temples' side, causing spectrums of colours Renora had no words readily available for. The away team began to climb the stairs. With every step they rose, the city beneath them seemed to lose one more piece of realism, until it seemed like a mild painting. Renora knew at this moment, someone was getting mugged in some dark alleyway, but it all seemed so far removed from where he stood. He turned to face the stairs still yet to come. He was only halfway up. No religious leader at the top, he thought grimly to himself, would have a balanced view of their own people. This came as no surprise to Renora, who though quite religious himself, harboured an acute hatred of the institutions that sprung up around them to make money, control people, and restrict tolerance. Eventually they reached the top, as the last bits of morning were being washed away, the sun now determined to reach it's apex within the next few hours. Dr. Tau followed the Second Officer's lead, and tossed in some local currency to the collection plates, and then stopped dead in his tracks, jaw open, as the overwhelming magnitude of the temple's interior flooded his senses. Massive stained glass murals acted as windows for the vestibule, letting in the full light of the day, while telling the tales of the ancient struggles and miracles that define all faiths. Gods playing with mortals, fighting with themselves, and Tobian saints looked down at them from all directions. There were three massive, beautifully carved statues, probably thousands of years old, restored meticulously each time. The three Gods of the pantheon, in full war gear, stood, somber, solemn, protecting the holy inside from the evils of the Lord of the Black. As the away team took in the sights, (luckily, being the most important temple on the planet, their gawking drew no suspicions, as thousands of pilgrims flocked here every year) Renora could almost feel the presence and love of the Tobian trinity. He whispered to himself and them a Bajoran prayer of protection for his mother and sister, and then focused back on the away team. (Reply any away team) (Posted by Rori) ---------- ( Tobias V - Outside The Temple of the Divine Three - AOPS- Lt. Tollian Yalix - 0859) As the team reached the apex of the hill only to find their climb was not yet complete. Ahead of them lay the Temple of the Divine Three. It was a magnificently designed and massive flat-topped pyramidal shaped structure. There was a wide stairwell leading skywards, and the stone seemed to glow with a brilliant hue of infrared light. Tollian couldn't see the color of the temple directly, but he could imagine that it was glowing a vibrant metallic color, a result of the metal crystals in the stone that was selected to build the massive structure. The away team climbed the stairs until they reached the top of the building. There a smaller more conventional entry hall resided, and despite it's smaller dimensions the upper structure was still massive. it was built using columns more reminiscent of Greek and Roman architecture. The images carved on the columns seemed elaborate and well crafted. They were presented in story board form, full of exquisite images that told the tales of the three divine beings and their battle against the Lord of Black. As they entered into the temple proper, past the traditional guards standing watch at the doors, Tollian was immediately taken aback by the sheer grandeur of the building that they had just entered. It was glorious. There were high-vaulted ceilings with stained glass windows near the tops of the walls. these allowed the light to stream in and glorify the images of the three deities on the back wall. The religious icon painted on the back wall was obviously another reference to the combined might of the three divine beings holding the lord of the black in check. It was an intriguing image that was probably millennia old. There were small stone lumps, worn smooth over time, strewn in a pattern on the floor. they seemed to be arranged in a series of rows and columns, which were in turn assembled in some sort of cone-like shapes. They were not very large, each roughly a half-meter in height. they were adorned with deep blue padded covering, and were obviously clustered near the statues of the divine three, leaving the majority of the floor clear of obstruction. Tollian quickly noted that several of the stone knobs were being used by those in the temple as a sort of kneeling stone. he observed several individuals kneeling on the padded stones facing a given Deific patron, while a few had gently set the padded pillows aside and were kneeling directly on the stone, again facing a particular deity. Tollian suspected that it was used in manner of prayer, although it did not seem that everyone praying was using such a stone in their religious observations. In fact the majority of people present were standing and praying or kneeling directly on the floor, which made Tollian wonder if the kneeling stones were reserved for some particular type of prayer or for use by a particular type of person. The members of the away team had spread out, and now that they were inside, Tollian suddenly wondered how they might accomplish their goal of finding the device amongst the chambers that must be buried in the bulk of the pyramid without getting caught. There were way too many people present to simple find a door and exit the main chamber without someone noticing such an act. Priests were tending to the needs of their parishioners and there were a large number of pilgrims and attendants milling around the massive central chamber. Despite the large number of people present, there was a great deal of silence. Those that were speaking were doing so in hushed tones, and the sheer size of the building seemed to swallow up anything louder than a whisper. Tollian moved to the center of the room, and casually turned himself into a 360-degree arc so that he could take in the entire room. it must have been an odd thing for him to have done, because almost immediately a priest made his way in his direction and it appeared that he was intent of having a discussion with the Efrosian. (reply any away team member, any Priest) (posted by Daniel Greene) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three, Main Chamber - Senior Sentry Betran Lennoch - Day 10 - 0900) Betran had been feeling edgy for days. As one of the few in the Church entrusted with knowledge of the delivery of the blessed artifact to the Church years ago, he had always felt a special responsibility, and the anxiety that went along with the weight of that responsibility. However, his meeting with Cardinal Lemani three evenings hence had served to ratchet it up to an entirely new level. It was unfathomable that word of the artifact had reached outside the walls of the church. Only a select few even knew of its existence, and each had been sworn to silence. He had been placed in charge not only of finding out who had let slip the information to, of all people, the Director of the Planetary Space Agency and/or the President herself, but also of increasing the security in and around the Church, in case Marken Bholl, Telgar Sallah, or their allies attempted to abduct the artifact from its rightful, God- appointed home. It was in the context of security that he first became aware of the group of eight pilgrims who entered the sanctuary together. While not unheard of, it was somewhat unusual for such a large group to come in together on their own; usually groups of such a size were led by a tour guide of some sort. The fact that not all of the pilgrims made a donation as they entered was another warning flag; normally only beggars and the very poor entered the Temple without making at least a token donation. Then, it was the way they moved about the sanctuary that was the final indication. To an untrained person, their movements would appear to be the uncoordinated, random rovings of tourists taking in the majesty and grandeur of the sanctuary and all its artwork. However, to Betran's trained eye, it was not uncoordinated at all. He took note of one giving subtle hand gestures, prompting the others to fan out. The rest spread out in a seemingly random yet very disciplined fashion -- yet another indicator of trouble afoot. Betran caught the eye of his Lieutenant and gave him two quick nods, and was pleased to see the rest of the sentries subtly shift to guard the exits and focus on the center of the room. Though dressed as ordinary priests, each sentry was trained in the most modern security techniques, as they were charged with safeguarding not only the temple itself and its priests, but also the legitimate worshipers who sought refuge within its walls. Satisfied that the proper measures were now in place, Betran approached the closest of the visitors, one who had just made his own full turn to take in the entire chamber. Again, such a movement would not have seemed out of place had it not appeared almost choreographed with the movements of several others. "Welcome to the Temple, Brother. My name is Father Betran Lennoch. May I be of assistance to you or your party?" he asked with a smile and a subtle gesture of his hand to indicate the rest of the newcomers. "What brings you to us today?" (reply Yalix, any) (posted by Aaron) ---------- (Tobias V - The Temple of the Divine Three - 2O/CCOUNS/Lt. Dorga 'cha Nooras - 0901) Once they were all inside the Temple proper, Stolev subtly indicated through whispers and hand gestures for the team to fan out and check out all corners of the chamber, while looking like awestruck tourists. It certainly wasn't hard to do the awestruck look because the amazing beauty of the place had that effect. The away team wandered off in different directions and as Dorga did another slow turn about, looking from one glorious piece of art to another, her attention was drawn to the fact that where just a minute ago there had been no sentries at the inner doors, now, as she gazed about the enormous room, she could see that every doorway had a priest standing before it. Glancing at the main entrance where just two sentries had been standing guard, she saw that they'd been joined by two priests, and that all the guardian priests were looking at one point in the room, and as her eyes followed the path of theirs she saw that Yalix had been accosted by another priest. Using her Vulcan stoicism, Dorga's face remained impassive as if she wasn't the least concerned about it, perhaps there was no reason to be worried, it could well just be standard procedure when to many strangers were inside the Temple. Although she kept herself aware of what was going on, Dorga moved from one item of beauty to another, moving steadily and slowly towards an entrance that she could now see, was hidden from view behind a column in the far back of the room. Amazingly it was not guarded. Often she would stop to caress something that just seemed to beg to be touched, while exclaiming with delight at such superb workmanship The intricacy and artistry was flawless. At one particularly large statue she crouched down as if examining the base of it where an inscription was engraved and with great care to conceal what she was doing, managed to get a passive scan of what was behind the door. According to the reading there was a smaller room beyond that was empty of any life forms, and several more rooms beyond that leading to a staircase. (reply any) (posted by Sal) ---------- (USS Boudicca - Temple, Main Chamber - TAC/ASC - Ensign JG Niles George - 0902) After getting done observing the symbolic painting, Niles turned around to a startling sight. Mr. Yalix was engaging in conversation with a priest. Niles eyes had widened and his eyebrows had raised, but only for a spilt second. He moved over to the closet display table and began looking at the artifacts. Trying to look as perplexed, at the artifacts, as he could, he peered up every so often to see where the other away team members were. Niles tried his best not to be noticed glancing up at the commotion, but this was a bit of a situation. Again, looking up to see the other away team officers, he could tell they saw the same thing he did. Glimpsing over to Lieutenant Trei, his department head superior and noticing he wasn't taking any immediate action, Niles let the condition go, while still keeping a close eye. Once the artifacts in the display case had ended, and there was nothing left for Niles to see in the case. He quickly searched, with his eyes, for something else to look at to ward off attention. On the wall there convened to bladed weapons, one like a Asian bolo knife from the 19th century and another like a European longsword from the 15th century, but without the cross guard. Niles elegantly walked over to the spot, where the swords lay diagonally on the wall. The more he examined the blades, it seemed to be that they were the weapons thought to be used, or a replica, by the Divine Three to fight off the Lord of the Black. They were vastly corroded and old looking. It was obvious that they hadn't been touched in a long while. Subsequently to further observation, of the weapons, Niles turned his head and peered once more to see what the status was with Lieutenant Yalix and the priest. To his shock, they were gone. He looked around, but couldn't see any indication to where they went. Niles looked over then to the "couple" of Trei (Wolton) and Nooras (Zena). They were fighting! It caught attention of most people in the room. He could hear almost everyone of their words. Niles guessed they were trying to make it obvious. So he decided to go help out with the agitation. As Niles made his way across room, he also noticed that the FO Stolev was gone too. Along with Commander Sprak as well. What had he missed in the last minutes he turned his head? He was about to find out. Niles also saw that the fight had cooled down. He could also see Lieutenant Nooras was looking angry. Niles guessed she was probably doing that to make it seem more realistic. ~Maybe she likes to act mad?~ he thought with a giggle. Just as he was about to reached the group, Dorga began signaling him personally. So Niles jogged up, for a half a second, to get there sooner. Dorga gathered them around her and then beckoning with her hands and told them in a normal voice, that Whin had gone missing again, but that this time he was nowhere in the great room. She suggested that the "family" split up and start looking for him in the other rooms, and advised them to activate their duel recorders also, until they were all together again, and that as there were four of them remaining, Trei, Nooras, Tau, and himself, she told Trei and Niles to team up and she would search with Tau. ".... He is such an inquisitive boy, I am sure he has gone exploring, but he's going to be sorry he didn't listen when I get a hold of him!!" She stormed making as believable as she could. Encase someone would happen to overhear. Niles nodded in acknowledgement and turned on his video system. Then turned to Trei for any orders, if he would happen to give any. After the two teams withdrawal in different directions, Niles followed Trei through a magnificent looking doorway, into the next room. They continued down a passageway. Where Niles could see there was no sign of Sprak. Although, sitting there dormant and almost spine-chilling, was a ghostlike stairwell. (Reply Any) (Posted by Niles George) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three, Main Chamber - AOPS- Lt. Tollian Yalix - 0904) Tollian watched as the priest approached him, there was a flushing of infrared color emanating from the individual. In a human or more familiar species, the Efrosian, would have thought the individual excited or agitated, in a Tobian, however, Tollian had no idea what that might mean. Tollian noted the slight shift in the priests, as if they were to cover the doors to the entry. He barely had time to register it as a significant event before the priest approached. ~Have I somehow done something taboo or incorrect?~ he wondered to himself. "Welcome to the Temple, Brother. My name is Father Betran Lennoch. May I be of assistance to you or your party?" he asked with a smile and a subtle gesture of his hand to indicate the rest of the newcomers. "What brings you to us today?" "Greetings Father," Tollian replied, "I am Nolas Brin, I am very excited to be here in the temple." He replied, not entirely falsely. "This is by far the most magnificent homage to the Three that I have ever seen. Much more impressive than the one I have visited in Verti or Gordan." "It soothes my heart, body and mind to see such devotion presented on such a glorious scale. It is simply breathtaking." he continued. "I am so overcome by everything that I hardly know to which of the Three I should pray to first." Tollian never shifted his attention to the other members of the away team. Instead he simply pretended that the priest had not mentioned them. (reply Father Betran Lennoch) "I, of course, am always in need of council, father, that is why I have devoted the last few weeks visiting the temples. I am searching myself to see if a calling to the priesthood is right for me, and while I have faith and love for the Three, I find myself torn between their worship and working solely and steadfastly in their service. It is, therefore, a blessing that you have come here to render me aid, certainly it is a sign that I should ask you about your time in the priesthood and then search myself in the hopes of determining what direction my life should take from this time forward." Tollian reached into his pocket slowly and withdrew a sheet of paper. It was a list of questions concerning the priesthood that a believer might ask when considering a potential choice to enter the service of the Three. He had written it in his own hand using a replicated writing device and paper native to this world. "I have but a few questions." he added, then carefully unfolded the document, which had been weathered and creased from several handlings. He had also caused the ink to run in a few places and added stains from some foodstuffs as well. The color of the ink was also inconsistent, giving the impression that these questions had not all been written at the same time. It was plainly apparent that the document was covered front to back with these questions. He held the document out for the priest to inspect, hoping that the daunting length and number of the questions would dissuade him from further inquiry. "Perhaps you have the time to answer them for me in a manner I can understand?" he finished. (reply Father Betran Lennoch) (posted by Daniel Greene) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three, Main Chamber - Senior Sentry Betran Lennoch - 0905) "Welcome to the Temple, Brother. My name is Father Betran Lennoch. May I be of assistance to you or your party?" he asked with a smile and a subtle gesture of his hand to indicate the rest of the newcomers. "What brings you to us today?" "Greetings Father," the visitor replied, "I am Nolas Brin, I am very excited to be here in the temple. This is by far the most magnificent homage to the Three that I have ever seen. Much more impressive than the one I have visited in Verti or Gordan." Betran smiled at the stranger called Nolas Brin, though he made a mental note to place a call to the temples in Verti and Gordan to ask if they had hosted a similar group of pilgrims recently. "It soothes my heart, body and mind to see such devotion presented on such a glorious scale. It is simply breathtaking," continued Brin. "I am so overcome by everything that I hardly know to which of the Three I should pray to first." Betran nodded. "It is a dilemma common among visitors to our Temple. You must search within your heart for guidance. Perhaps I can help you find your way -- what is it that you seek here?" "I, of course, am always in need of council, father, that is why I have devoted the last few weeks visiting the temples. I am searching myself to see if a calling to the priesthood is right for me, and while I have faith and love for the Three, I find myself torn between their worship and working solely and steadfastly in their service. It is, therefore, a blessing that you have come here to render me aid, certainly it is a sign that I should ask you about your time in the priesthood and then search myself in the hopes of determining what direction my life should take from this time forward." As Nolas Brin reached into his pocket, Betran stole a surreptitious glance at the other newcomers. They all appeared to still be simply taking in all the sights of the Temple, though he noticed fleeting glances being cast in his direction. Were those glances merely a byproduct of curious eavesdropping, or something more nefarious? "I have but a few questions," Brin said as he carefully unfolded the document, which had been weathered and creased from several handlings, and had various stains and discolorations across its surface. It was plainly apparent that the document was covered front to back with these questions. He held the document out for Betran to inspect. "Perhaps you have the time to answer them for me in a manner I can understand?" he finished. Betran took the document and skimmed its contents. The questions appeared legitimate, and many were of greater depth and complexity than he was capable of answering. However, as he read further, a solution to the problem presented itself to him, and he smiled to himself, while outwardly expressing mild dismay. "Alas, Brother Brin, I fear I am not fully qualified to answer these questions. However," he added, and with a simple hand gesture one of his fellow sentries strode to their side, "if you will allow Father Manx to show you to our prayer suite, we will arrange for you to speak to someone with a greater depth of understanding of our faith than I possess." (reply Yalix, any) (posted by Aaron) ---------- (Tobias V - Inside the Temple of the Three - A/CEO Lorimar - 0906) As requested, Bob had transmitted the general coordinates to the rest of the away team, in the hopes they might narrow their search somewhat. Anything to minimize their exposure. He was feeling very much out of his element. This was the first time he had been in a ‘first contact’ type situation, and although this was more of an ‘avoid first contact’ he felt somewhat apprehensive. ~Focus on the matter at hand, laddie... let the command types figure oot the diplomatic angles...~ He almost smiled at the thought, but the gravity of the situation quashed the desire before it happened. He looked around the great room and could not help but be impressed. Not only was the huge space ornately decorated and pleasing to the eye, but it was an engineering marvel as well. He found himself briefly wondering about the civil engineering skills required to construct such a marvelous edifice. Almost subconsciously he found himself reaching out to touch one of the huge yet beautiful and delicate appearing support columns. His trained engineer’s eye told him that some of them must be purely decorative rather than bearing the structural load, but it was difficult to tell which. He rubbed the column lightly with the tips of his fingers sensing the cool smooth surface and the huge amount of potential energy contained and supported within. He couldn’t help but be impressed. He allowed his eyes to follow the column upward toward the ceiling high above and noted the light streaming in through the magnificent -- and they were purely decorative! -- stained glass windows. As his gaze returned to floor level, he noted the redeployment -- subtle but definite -- of the Priests. He tensed despite his efforts to the contrary, and noted Mister Yalix engaging one of them in conversation. He cast a glance as surreptitiously as possible to try and catch a clue as to the reactions of the other team members. (Reply Any on away team) (Posted by Russ) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three, Main Chamber - AOPS- Lt. Tollian Yalix- 0908) "Alas, Brother Brin, I fear I am not fully qualified to answer these questions. However," he added, and with a simple hand gesture one of his fellow sentries strode to their side, "if you will allow Father Manx to show you to our prayer suite, we will arrange for you to speak to someone with a greater depth of understanding of our faith than I possess." ~Trapped!~ tollian immediately realized the predicament that he was in. If he bolted to run, there would be an altercation in which he would jepordize the rest of the away team, not to mention tighten security and make their job all the more difficult. To further complicate matters, he knew that Lorimar was carrying the replica that had been designed to replace the original device. Discovery of said device alone would put them all in an extremely difficult position. On the other hand, he needed to procede very carefully. He knew enough to know that Efrosian physiology was considerably different from that of the average Tobian, and if it came to that, then everything would be exceptionally more complex. The only real choice was no choice at all. He could only accept this priest's offer, even if he thought it likely that there was going to be an interrogation room rather than a prayer room in his immediate future. He didn't dare make any gestures to the rest of the team, it was best that he simply tried to ignore them completely and deny any association with them at all. They had developed a cover story, so as long as Tollian stuck with it, there should be no problems. "Thank you father for this unique opportunity." Tollian replied, summoning up the very best smile he could muster. He tried to add excitement to his voice as he spoke. "May the three bless you for thes good works you have done here today." he added. He turned to the newer priest, which he suspected was acting more in the capacity of a security officer and said, alittle bit louder than necassary, again masking his attempt to communicate under a mask of excitement, "Please brother Manx, lead on. I can hardly wait to see the prayer suite." As he followed the priest, Tollian carefully reached one hand down and activated the destruct on his tricorder. The puff of smoke coincided with the opening of a door from the mainchamber so that the air movement generated by the door instantly dispersed the visible traces of the destruction. He made certain to capture any visual imagery possible with the headband, looking about frequently as they passed several doors as they walked down a long corridor. ---------- (Tobias V - The Temple of the Divine Three - FO Commander Aleksander Stolev - Day 10 - 0908) Stolev, under the guise of Gallan Brin, watched out of the corner of his eye as Yalix spoke with one of the priests (whom Stolev suspected of being a guard of some sort), showed him a piece of paper, and then was led out of the chamber. Stolev recalled Yalix telling him something about a list of theological questions he had come up with to use as a potential diversion in the Temple, and suspected that's what the Efrosian had shown the priest. As he watched this situation unfold, he continued his pretended examination of the statue of Yeltendy. Stolev's attention was diverted by Dorga calling to Trei. "Where's our son? I thought he was with you." She drew closer to Trei, then asked, "have you seen him?" "Whin Apeth where are you?" she called out to Sprak in a scolding, demanding voice, like any mother would call out for their unseen child, who they expected to be where they could be seen. "Whin. Where are you son? Come back to your mother and I," echoed Trei. Then as if it was an afterthought, Dorga added, "where did Nolas Brin go? I saw him going through that door," she asked loudly, catching Stolev's eye as she nodded towards the door the priest had led him through. "Leader, do you know? Is there something wonderful beyond that door that we devout pilgrims should see?" Stolev used this pretense to walk closer. "I do not know, Zena. I, too, saw him go through the door, but I know not where it leads. I will ask." As he turned to look around for the priest with whom Yalix had spoken, Dorga whispered about the stairs beyond the door. "Good work," he whispered back. "Check it out, however you can." He then walked over to the priest to whom Yalix had spoken. "Good morning, Father. I noticed you speaking earlier with my son, Nolas. Do you know where he has gone? I hope he wasn't bothering you too much -- he is an inquisitive sort and has many questions." Lennoch turned at the sound of the approach and regarded the newcomer, whom he recognized as the one who gave the hand signals to the others as they entered. "Ah, so he is your son?" he asked, considering the likelihood of such a statement being true based on the physical appearances of the two. He had to admit, there was a strong resemblance between the two. "Yes indeed, he did present me with many questions, some of which are beyond my own meager ability to answer with any sense of completeness. We have inquired as to the availability of one of our more senior priests to discuss his questions in greater detail." Stolev smiled, inwardly wondering what the true nature of this "prayer suite" was. "I see. I'm terribly sorry for all the trouble. You don't need to bother your senior priest on his behalf. I will retrieve him... can you show me to your prayer suite so that I might do so?" Lennoch nodded. "Of course. This way, please." As he took a few steps, he decided to take a more direct approach with this one. "So you are Nolas Brin's father. Are you by chance related to the others that arrived with you, as well?" Stolev looked at the priest and smiled. "Yes, indeed, this is my family. My four sons, my daughter, and her husband and son. We have come here on a pilgrimage to see the sights of the capitol city -- the most important being the Temple, of course. In fact, that reminds me..." Stolev turned and glanced around until he spotted Lorimar. "Maethis, you had hoped to see the prayer suite at the Temple, to compare it with the one at Gordan, right? This priest will show us the way." (reply Lorimar) As Lorimar approached them, Stolev brought his hands together before his chest and gave a slight bow. "Gallan Brin, at your service, Father." Lennoch glanced back over his shoulder at the rest of the newcomers as Gallan Brin described them. He returned the older man's smile, and considered how his story fit in with observed events. ~The coordinated movements could have been simply the result of the planned pilgrimage of a family.~ Again, he cursed the paranoia with which had been filled over the past two days. Could he trust himself, trust that he would not see an enemy where there was none? Taking a deep breath, Lennoch decided that there was no immediate reason for alert, and gave a subtle signal to the nearest sentry to stand down. The sentry nodded in reply, passed along the signal, and shortly the sentries that had taken up position near the exits began to slowly circulate again, still staying close to the exits in case another alert was signaled. "The prayer suite is through this door," Lennoch said, indicating the now- unguarded exit. "It is the last door on the left. Feel free to join your son in prayer if you so desire," he added with a smile. Stolved nodded in response. "Thank you, Father. Perhaps I will." He and Lorimar then headed down the hall, and Stolev glanced over his shoulder in mild surprise as the door closed behind him, with no guards visible. As they walked down the hall, he looked around, sure to appear as any curious tourist, while being sure to transmit the entire journey back to the ship via his headband. Once they arrived at the last door on the right, he opened it and they walked in. ---------- (Tobias V - The Temple of the Divine Three - 2O/CCOUNS/Lt. Dorga 'cha Nooras - 0910) At one particularly large statue Dorga crouched down as if examining the base of it where an inscription was engraved. Being extremely careful to conceal what she was doing, she managed to get a passive scan of what was behind the door using her tricorder. According to the reading there was a smaller room beyond that was empty of any life forms, and several more rooms beyond that leading to a staircase. She tucked the small tricorder back in to her brown leather, mid-calf high boot that complemented the brown leggings and knee length pants she was wearing. Dorga liked simple clothing so her tunic was also brown, though the mandarin collar did have some pewter colored studs around it to match the buttons, which complemented her skin color perfectly. Dorga stood up, looking around slowly like any member of a group of tourists would, as if they sought their relatives or friends, and was slightly concerned to see Yalix being led through a door on the other side of the room. Spotting Trei who was supposed to be her husband in order to give the 'child' Sprak some parents, she walked over to him and pretended to be wondering where their son was. "Where's our son? I thought he was with you." She said in a slightly accusing voice any one within hearing range would hear. "There's a door unguarded in the corner of the room from where I came." She whispered so low only Trei could hear her, her lips parted but unmoving to allow the words to be heard. "Have you seen him?" This time more loudly and then another whisper. "There are stairs beyond that door." "Whin Apeth where are you?" She called out to Sprak in a scolding, demanding voice, like any mother would call out for their unseen child, who they expected to be where they could be seen. (reply Trei, Sprak, Any - Room for more) Then as if it was an afterthought. "Where did Nolas Brin go? I saw him going through that door." She asked loudly catching the Commander's eye as she nodded towards the door the priest had led him through and then stating. "Leader, do you know? Is there something wonderful beyond that door that we devout pilgrims should see?" (reply Stolev) When the Commander approached closer, she whispered about the stairs beyond the door. (reply Trei, Sprak, Stolev, Any) (posted by Sal) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three, Prayer Suite - AOPS- Lt. Tollian Yalix- 0911) Finally, Father Manx, indicated a door and smiling Tollian opened it and stepped inside. The room wasn't dismal or unpleasant, in fact it was just the opposite. ther was a small table with a pair of chairs, a smaller shrine to the three and a nice carpet covering the floor and a tall mirror hanging on one wall. Manx smiled and said, "Someone will be with you shortly." "Thank you Father, " Tollian replied smiling. "You are quite welcome." manx replied then closed the door leaving Tollian alone in the room. ~Now they would be observing my behavior.~ He moved over to the small shrine, knelt and began to pray, knowing that the communications information in the headband would relay his words directly back to the ship, whih would also transcribe them for text download for the away team members if they needed them. "Thank you oh holy trinity for allowing me the opportunity to pray in such a place as this prayer suite, where all my questions may be answered by a priest who can help me decide my path. Thank you for taking pity on this broken instrument of your word, so that I may learn to hear the good in your teachings and not reveal those things which are not worthy of your might. Thank you for taking pity on myself and for giving me my recent companions that I have met in the city to help guide me to your central temple. May you be praised in all things and may your will be done always." Tollian stood then and moved over to one of the chairs where he could wait for whatever might happen next. (reply Any as appropriate) (posted by Daniel Greene) ---------- (Tobias V - The Temple of the Divine Three - 2O/CCOUNS/Lt. Dorga 'cha Nooras & Priest Guard - 0911) Reyder Garus, a middle-aged priest of the Temple, had taken up guard position to the door that Priest Manx had taken one of the pilgrims through. He was unsure why Priest Lennoch had signaled for them to guard the doorways and not let anyone leave, but he was obedient and followed orders without question. He would probably find out the reasons later, over dinner. He had been disdainfully watching a boy child of about nine years of age scurrying about the room and was wondering where his parents were. ~ Parents these days, they have no idea how to raise kids! ~ Reyder thought, tutting with disgust. ~ They don't give their offspring enough discipline, let them do whatever they want even in a Temple. If he was my child he'd know how to behave himself. ~ He thanked the three that he was not or ever would be a father as he watched the boy stop running around and pull out some toys from his pack and began playing with them along the base of one of the pews, pretending by the looks of things, as if the toys were fighting, and moving along the floor towards Reyder. The child stopped at the priest's feet and looked up at him with wide eyes. Reyder stared down at the boy trying not to sneer at him and wished he could just give him a little shove with his foot. He disliked children intensely. "Hi," the boy said. "Are you really a priest? Do you exercise demons? My mum says priests do that? Have you expelled many demons, like in the movies?" He tried to look past Reyder with a curious expression looking up and down. "What's down there? Do you keep possessed people down there till you can exorcize their demons? Does The Messenger ever come out here? Do you think I could meet her? That would be really neat! I could tell all my friends back home!" He jumped up and down excitedly at the thought. "That is a deep, dark dungeon where we put snotty nosed children like you and they never come back out again." Reyder replied. "Go away before I lock you up too," and smiled evilly at the youngster. "Whin Apeth where are you?" ~ That must be one of it's parents. ~ Reyder surmised. "Aw!" The boy whined, looking down as his feet and not seeing the nasty smile nor hearing Reyder's dungeon description. "That's my mum. I better go before she gets mad." Sprak bowed respectfully to the guard before turning and hurrying back over to the rest of his group. Reyder gave a snort, he still didn't like children even if they had the manners to bow respectfully before taking their leave. If he had his way they would never be allowed within these hallowed walls. "Here I am mum!" Sprak yelled, waving one of his action figures over his head so she could see him. He was trotting towards them when he suddenly tripped and went sprawling face first onto the floor. Acting like any worried mother would, Dorga hurried over and dragged him up by his arm, and then swatted him on a buttock being careful to avoid where his tail had been and making it look harder than it was. "Just look at you, you've torn your pants, you naughty boy, and..." She gave him a shake, still holding on to his arm. "Don't...you...everrr run off again young man," Dorga emphasized each of the three words with a matching shake. "This is a place of worship not a playground and the priests don't want children running around getting under foot, so you'd better act respectfully OR ELSE." Then, as if she was overcome with remorse, she leaned down and kissed his cheek, whispering. "I Found a stairway behind the door in the far right corner, can you 'disappear' and find out where it leads? We can cause a distraction." (reply Sprak) The 2O figured that Sprak being the smallest and a child (who are naturally curious) he could wander around the Temple and be considered as just a curious, naughty boy, rather than a spy. Brushing her child down, she gave him another tap on the bottom and walked back to her 'husband'. She gave Trei a hard shove and placed her hands on her hips. "It's YOUR fault the child won't listen, husband. You have always been far to lenient with him!" She declared loudly, hoping Trei would turn it into an argument. (reply Sprak, Trei, Any) (posted by Sal) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three - TAC/SC Lieutenant(jg) Detron Trei - 09.11) Dorga approached Detron under the husband- wife ruse looking for their son played by Sprak. She called out in a scolding manner "Whin Apeth where are you?" Detron called out in a similar fashion. "Whin. Where are you son? Come back to your mother and I." Detron used a fatherly tone like if Sprak didn't get back now, he will be disciplined harshly. Detron would love to spank Sprak hard to discipline him. Detron waited with Dorga for Sprak(Whin) to come to them. ~Sprak. You are a bad boy. (Whap on your butt).~ (Reply Dorga) (Posted by Edward) ---------- (Tobias V, The Temple of the Divine Three, CSO Commander Sprak, 0912) Sprak was scurrying about the room, like a child overjoyed at being away from parental restraints. Weaving his way in and around the various other worshipers in the temple at that time of day, stopping to wave and bow to a few. ~This is fun. ~ He thought, as he stopped and looked up at one of the huge statues briefly. With his tri-corder secretly recording everything in his immediate vicinity and transmitting it all back to the ships computer for later analysis, Sprak took full advantage of his seemingly innocent child like guise, to move about without drawing too much attention from the guards. He was sure they were watching everyone, something surely had them spooked, of that he was sure, but how much harm could an 8 year old cause? ~And that is exactly what I want them to think.~ Sprak thought, pulling one of the replicated toys he had stuffed in his small pack and running the action figure along the base of one of the pews. ~What child goes on a pilgrimage without toys?~ he thought as he pretended to play, oblivious to the going about's of the adults, or so it seemed. He quietly took note of the doors the other members of the away team were exploring and chose a different one for his own investigation. He pulled another action figure out of his pouch and began a running gun battle across the pew and down onto the floor moving absently toward one of the 'priests' guarding one of the exits. Sprak looked up with wide eyes as he drew closer to one guards disguised as a priest. "Hi," He said innocently to the guard, "Are you really a priest? Do you exercise demons? My mum says priests do that? Have you expelled many demons, like in the movies?" He tried to look past the guard with a curious expression looking up and down. "What's down there? Do you keep possessed people down there till you can exorcize their demons? Does The Messenger ever come out here? Do you think I could meet her? That would be really neat! I could tell all my friends back home!" He jumped up and down excitedly at the thought. (Reply Guard IYW) "Whin Apeth where are you?" "Aw!" Sprak said, disappointedly hearing his 'mother' call for him and looking down as his feet. "That's my mum. I better go before she gets mad." Sprak bowed respectfully to the guard, as he had learned was custom, before turning and hurrying back over to the rest of the away team. "Here I am mum!" He yelled, suppressing a chuckle, waving one of his action figures over his head so she could see him. ~And now to see what my tri-corder picked up.~ He thought before he suddenly tripped over his own foot and went sprawling face first onto the floor. ~OW! I really miss my tail!~ (Reply Guard, Dorga, Any) (posted by Wes) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three, Prayer Suite - FO Commander Stolev - Day 10 - 0913) Stolev entered the suite and noticed its very pleasant decor. He also noticed Yalix sitting in one of the carved wooden chairs. "So there you are, Nolas," he said as he approached the other man. "What remarkable craftsmanship," he said as he bent over, pretending to examine the table next to the chair Yalix was in. "Dorga, Trei, and Sprak are checking out one of the other exits," he whispered. "The guards appear to have stood down, for now." (reply Yalix) Straightening back up, Stolev raised his voice to a normal pitch. "Have you found the answers you seek?" he asked, appearing to casually pick some lint of his sleeve, while in fact he was scanning the surrounding area for other life forms and surveillance devices. (reply Yalix) As Yalix spoke, Stolev watched the scan results. There were no life signs but there was a listening device attached to the underside of the table. "Let us pray together in silence, so that the Three might speak to our hearts," he said as he casually set his tricorder to emit interference, so that anyone listening would not hear anything at all. "Ok, we can talk normally now," Stolev said, continuing to scan for life signs approaching. "I brought Lorimar here along with me so that we can do the bait-and-switch routine if we happen to stumble upon the device. Have you found out anything?" (reply Yalix, Lorimar, Dorga iyw, any) (posted by Aaron) ---------- (Tobias V - The Temple of the Divine Three - 2O/CCOUNS/Lt. Dorga 'cha Nooras - 0914) The argument that Dorga had started with Trei about Sprak (their 'son' Whin), had caused the desired distraction. All heads were turned in their direction as they had a heated encounter about who was responsible for the child's misbehavior, with Dorga under the ruse of being Zena Apeth, (Wolton Apeth's wife and Whin Apeth's mother) accusing her 'husband' of not being strict enough with the boy. When she saw Sprak slip through the door unobserved, Dorga said a few more angry words and then pretended to storm off in a huff, to stomp around the great room looking at the artifacts and artwork, now and then stopping to glare at Trei until she figured it was time Zena calmed down. Now it was a matter of waiting to receive a message from Sprak about where the stairway led to, or if to much time had passed, time for concerned family members to spread out to search for the missing child. (reply Team) (posted by Sal) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three, Prayer Suite - AOPS- Lt. Tollian Yalix- 0915) The door to the suite opened and Tollian looked up in surprise to see Commander Stolev and Bob Lorimar entering the prayer suite. The AOPS watched as they approached, the former uncertain how to let them know that they may well be watched. "So there you are, Nolas," he said as he approached the other man. "What remarkable craftsmanship," he said as he bent over, pretending to examine the table next to the chair Yalix was in. "Dorga, Trei, and Sprak are checking out one of the other exits," he whispered. "The guards appear to have stood down, for now." Tollian nodded, then replied back. "Yes, the workmanship is magnificent. Just like the rest of the temple." Straightening back up, Stolev raised his voice to a normal pitch. "Have you found the answers you seek?" "I was asked to come here so that I could speak with a senior priest. I anticipate that he will hear all my questions and give me guidance father." Tollian used a slight inflection on the word hear in the hopes of alerting Sasha to the possibility of eavesdropping. "As you know I have many questions and am very excited to get the opportunity to speak with one so knowledgeable in the ways of the three." "Let us pray together in silence, so that the Three might speak to our hearts," Sasha said, "Ok, we can talk normally now," Stolev said, "I brought Lorimar here along with me so that we can do the bait-and-switch routine if we happen to stumble upon the device. Have you found out anything?" "Not much, I'm afraid." Yalix replied, "It seems that the temple priests are very much on guard. I had the distinct feeling that we were under exceptional scrutiny. I saw no one in the corridor and am now quite certain that the door was unlocked. It is possible that we could slip out of this place and look around a bit. I didn't know what to expect so I destructed my Tricorder, which means I would have to continue the search in a more conventional means. I imagine that a high ranking priest is on their way here now, I could perhaps tantalize them with a few questions, not found on my list, perhaps?" (reply Stolev, Lorimar, Any) (posted by Daniel Greene) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three - TAC/SC Lieutenant(jg) Detron Trei - 09.15) Detron, (Wolton), watched his wife being played by Dorga under the name Zena storm off to check out the artifacts. Detron saw Sprak slip through a door as did Dorga. Detron stood as if to wait for his wife to calm down as a ruse to serve that purpose and also to check out the artifacts like Dorga. Detron had an upset look on his face to serve the purpose of the ruse. Detron waited for Dorga to come back to him. (Reply Any) (Posted by Edward) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three, Prayer Suite - FO Cmdr. Aleksander Stolev - Day 10 - 0917) Straightening back up, Stolev raised his voice to a normal pitch. "Have you found the answers you seek?" "I was asked to come here so that I could speak with a senior priest. I anticipate that he will hear all my questions and give me guidance father." Tollian used a slight inflection on the word hear in the hopes of alerting Sasha to the possibility of eavesdropping. "As you know I have many questions and am very excited to get the opportunity to speak with one so knowledgeable in the ways of the three." "Let us pray together in silence, so that the Three might speak to our hearts," Sasha said as he set his tricorder to emit interference. "Ok, we can talk normally now," Stolev said, "I brought Lorimar here along with me so that we can do the bait-and-switch routine if we happen to stumble upon the device. Have you found out anything?" "Not much, I'm afraid." Yalix replied, "It seems that the temple priests are very much on guard. I had the distinct feeling that we were under exceptional scrutiny. I saw no one in the corridor and am now quite certain that the door was unlocked. It is possible that we could slip out of this place and look around a bit. I didn't know what to expect so I destructed my Tricorder, which means I would have to continue the search in a more conventional means. I imagine that a high ranking priest is on their way here now, I could perhaps tantalize them with a few questions, not found on my list, perhaps?" Stolev nodded. "I told the fellow in the main chamber not to bother with the senior priest, that I would come and get you, and that your brother here wanted to see the prayer suite. I think the priests have stood down but are probably still wary. I wonder what has them so nerved-up -- the information from the reports didn't indicate any problems with crimes against the church. Quite the opposite, really. "What's our current bearing on that dead zone?" he asked as he turned to Lorimar. (reply Lorimar) Stolev took another glance at his tricorder, and verified that there were still no life signs in the immediate vicinity. "Ok, let's get moving then. Lorimar, you keep us heading in the right general direction. I'll take point and keep my tricorder scanning. Yalix, you guard the rear." (reply Lorimar, Yalix) They walked out of the prayer suite and glanced both ways down the corridor before heading in the direction that Lorimar indicated. The corridor turned to the right, then opened up into a small antechamber, with three other corridors branching off of it. Stolev checked his tricorder and didn't see much activity -- they appered to be in a relative quiet area of the massive temple. Lorimar regarded his tricorder for a moment before pointing down one of the corridors. and the group resumed their cautious search. After another few meters, Stolev held up his hand, as his tricorder registered three life signs ahead in a room that opened off the corridor. Using hand signals he motioned for them to move ahead slowly and quietly. As they got closer, they began to hear the voices of the three Tobians as they discussed something in hushed, urgent tones. His curiosity piqued, Stolev slowly moved until he was just outside the door, where he could overhear the discussion, while checking his tricorder again to make sure no one else was coming. He motioned for the others to listen as well. "...there are two guards outside the chamber at all times. How are we to get in?" "We'll just have to subdue the guards. Between the three of us we can do it." "You suggest violence against our brothers?" "They guard something which might cause great harm to our world. We must get it to the proper authorities who can determine what dangers it presents, rather than leave it with these short sighted fools who would lock it away until such time as it will do whatever it was sent here to do." A sigh. "I suppose you are right, brother Esald. But we should plan carefully." "I already have a plan. You will distract the guards, and Lotran and I will each pick one to dispatch. We will then enter the chamber, take the artifact, and carry it in this ordinary looking box to the loading bay on the back alley. There, a representative of the government will meet us an hour after sundown. We must be ready." "We should go back to our posts then. We will soon be missed." "Agreed. Back to your posts, and we will meet in the Chamber of Sorrows at sundown. That will give us one hour to complete our mission." Stolev looked up in alarm as he heard a rustling from within the room as the Tobians prepared to exit. The three disguised officers hurried into a darkened alcove and watched as the three Tobians emerged from the room, nodded to each other, then headed their separate ways. Once all three were out of earshot, Stolev allowed himself to breathe. He glanced at the other two, eyebrows raised. "Well, that makes things a little bit more complicated," he said ruefully. (reply Lorimar, Yalix, any) (posted by Aaron) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three, Prayer Suite - A/CEO Lorimar - 0918) Lorimar listened intently to the exchange between Stolev and Yalix. He was somewhat apprehensive about the course the mission was taking; to be truthful, he had been uneasy about the whole thing since before the away team had beamed down. He only hoped it was merely nerves and not some sort of premonition. He himself had never scored highly on any sort of psi aptitude testing, but precognitive ability was the stuff of Scottish legend after all. Bringing himself back to the here and now, he focused on the task at hand, and how best they might accomplish it. He heard Stolev explaining his presence to Yalix. "I brought Lorimar here along with me so that we can do the bait-and-switch routine if we happen to stumble upon the device. Have you found out anything?" ~Ah... so ah’m the pack mule?~ he thought as he listened to Yalix answer the question. He immediately regretted the very thought, and chastised himself for it. ~Ye are an engineer -- start acting like one!~ As always, the First Officer and OPS were the very model of professionalism. On mission, on point, and focused. Bob immediately felt ashamed of his thoughts and lack of action thus far. He had little time for self recrimination however, as Commander Stolev soon directed his attention to Bob. "What's our current bearing on that dead zone?" he asked as he turned to Lorimar. Lorimar took a very brief moment to orient himself relative to the Temple and the readings he had taken while still outside. He reached inside his tunic and activated his tricorder once more, comparing the previous readings with the passive sensing data stream that was coming in presently. He did a slow pirouette in place and activated the directional scanning function of his tricorder as he did so. After a few more seconds collating the readings, he spoke quietly to Stolev. "Unless ah go active, ah cannae be precise sir. But wie a bit of... ‘Kentucky Windage’ ah think is the right term... surely below us... quite a bit below. Mah best estimate is azimuth 272. The ‘edge’ of the dead zone is lower than we are, perhaps 35-40 meters, and 30 meters in..." he pointed "that direction sir. Tis mah best estimate at the moment." Stolev took another glance at his tricorder, and verified that there were still no life signs in the immediate vicinity. "Ok, let's get moving then. Lorimar, you keep us heading in the right general direction. I'll take point and keep my tricorder scanning. Yalix, you guard the rear." With a nod of assent, he followed Stolev and took his assigned place. As they walked out of the suite Bob did his best to stay focused. It helped with his nerves, to say nothing of the fact that he needed to pay close attention to maintain his orientation within the building. Shortly the trio came to an intersection with three corridors branching off. He frowned a moment, wishing he could go active and use the full capabilities of his tricorder. He didn’t dare, however so there was a certain part of of guess and guile involved. To say nothing of ‘Kentucky Windage’. He studied the readings briefly then pointed in what he was fairly certain was the correct direction. The three proceeded further on, then stopped at Stolev’s signal. In fact he almost walked into Stolev. The FO had stopped short and Bob’s attention was at that moment focused on his tricorder. He mouthed a sheepish and silent ‘Sorry sir,’ as he moved on carefully. At the first hint of conversation Stolev indicated by gesture that Lorimar and Yalix should listen as well. When the three emerged from cover a few moments later, Stolev was the first to speak. "Well, that makes things a little bit more complicated," he said ruefully. Lorimar moved a bit closer to the other two and spoke at a barely audible whisper. "Aye... it does at that sir. But perhaps we can use it tae our advantage? If we can find the bloody thing before they take it... we can make the switch and they would be takin’ the replica instead of the real thing. If they get a close look at the real device -- assumin’ of course they dinnae blow themselves and the whole system and us tae smithereens -- the Prime Directive would take an awful beating." He paused a beat, considering. "The guards of course will be problematic tae say the least. Ah dinnae see any choice sir... we *must* make the switch before they beat us tae the device. What dae ye think gentlemen?" (Reply Stolev, Yalix, Any) (Posted by Russ) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three, Prayer Suite - AOPS- Lt. Tollian Yalix- 0919) Stolev nodded. "I told the fellow in the main chamber not to bother with the senior priest, that I would come and get you, and that your brother here wanted to see the prayer suite. I think the priests have stood down but are probably still wary. I wonder what has them so nerved-up -- the information from the reports didn't indicate any problems with crimes against the church. Quite the opposite, really. "What's our current bearing on that dead zone?" he asked as he turned to Lorimar. Lorimar took a moment to glance around the room as if orienting himself in some manner. He reached inside his tunic and activated his tricorder He did a slow pirouette in place and activated the directional scanning function of his tricorder as he did so. After a few more seconds, he spoke quietly. "Unless ah go active, ah cannae be precise sir. But wie a bit of... ‘Kentucky Windage’ ah think is the right term... surely below us... quite a bit below. Mah best estimate is azimuth 272. The ‘edge’ of the dead zone is lower than we are, perhaps 35-40 meters, and 30 meters in..." he pointed "that direction sir. Tis mah best estimate at the moment." The Commander checked his own tricorder for a moment then issued orders. "Ok, let's get moving then. Lorimar, you keep us heading in the right general direction. I'll take point and keep my tricorder scanning. Yalix, you guard the rear." "Understood, sir." Tollian replied. The moved down the corridor a few meters, with Bob using hand gestures to give directions. Tollian for his part occasionally turned to walk backwards to ensure that no one had entered the corridor behind them. Tollian turned back to face their direction of travel when Stolev suddenly held up a hand indicating that they should stop. There was a good chance that there were life forms beyond the door and so Tollian slowly crept forward until he was close enough to over hear the conversation seeping out through the wooden door. Although it was slightly muffled, it was clear enough for the Efrosian to clearly make out all the words. It didn't take long fir him to realize that what he was hearing was a plot to steal the device and turn it over to the government. It was a fact that the individuals behind the door were plotting to steal the artifact as was the crew of the Boudiccia, albeit for two very different reasons. Stolev indicated that they should hide and so Tollian stepped back into the darkness of a nearby alcove followed very soon by Stolev and Lorimar. Once the three were well past them, Stolev spoke. "Well, that makes things a little bit more complicated," he said ruefully. Lorimar moved a bit closer to the other two and spoke at a barely audible whisper. "Aye... it does at that sir. But perhaps we can use it tae our advantage? If we can find the bloody thing before they take it... we can make the switch and they would be takin’ the replica instead of the real thing. If they get a close look at the real device -- assumin’ of course they dinnae blow themselves and the whole system and us tae smithereens -- the Prime Directive would take an awful beating." He paused a beat, considering. "The guards of course will be problematic tae say the least. Ah dinnae see any choice sir... we *must* make the switch before they beat us tae the device. What dae ye think gentlemen?" Tollian considered what Bob had said. "That's one option," he whispered, "But there is one other, and that is that we let them try. If they succeed, we could intercept it once they have it acquired. We don't interact with the guards then, and we have a convenient normal cover story for the inhabitants of this planet. And if we can't intercept it before they turn it over to the government, there is a good chance that we can locate it in a government facility where we may be able to acquire it. I'd say that the odds of their setting it off are slim, certainly there would have been several handlings before now and it has thus far remained stable. If we are successful, then these thieves are to shoulder the blame for a crime that they actually did commit." (reply Stolev, Lorimar) (posted by Daniel Greene) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three - 2O/CCOUNS/Lt. Dorga 'cha Nooras - 0920) It had been a few minutes since Sprak had gone, and Dorga had noticed that the priests guarding the entrance/exit doors had left their vigil since the FO and CEO had gone with one of the other priests to wherever they'd taken Yallix. She decided that now would be a good time to further their exploration of the Temple and it's many wonders, in particular one special wonder. When she'd seen Stolev and Lorimar leave she had switched her minuscule video recorder to a dual recorder so that the ship could monitor both now that the party was split up. She began to quickly seek out the remaining party members, looking a bit agitated, she gathered them around her and then gesticulating with her hands told them in a normal voice, that Whin had gone missing again, but that this time he was nowhere in the great room. She suggested that the family split up and start looking for him in the other rooms, and advised them to activate their duel recorders also, until they were all together again, and that as there were four of them remaining, Trei, George, Tau and herself, she told Trei and George to team up and she would search with Tau. ".... He is such an inquisitive boy, I am sure he has gone exploring, but he's going to be sorry he didn't listen when I get a hold of him!!" She stormed. (reply team) When the team broke up and scattered, Dorga and Tau did another round of the great room to make it look like they were making sure her son wasn't there, then they moved through another door on the opposite side to the one that Trei, George and Sprak before them, had disappeared through. If Sprak was in trouble Daddy would soon be coming to the rescue. (reply Team in assembly room) (posted by Sal) ---------- (Tobias V- Temple of the Divine Three - TAC/SC Lieutenant(jg) Detron Trei - 09.21) Dorga(Zena) suggested that the away team split up to look for Sprak and the Artifact. She told Detron and Niles to search together and check the tunnel Sprak went through. Niles looked at Detron for orders. When none were given, they ventured down the way Sprak went. They found a dark winding stairwell and descended to the unknown. The stairs led down to a hall of no special surroundings. Detron spotted a grate about the size Sprak could crawl through. He pointed it out to Niles and crouched down to inspect the grate. (Reply Niles) (Posted by Edward) ---------- (Tobias V - Temple of the Divine Three - ACMO Tau Renora Ens.(Jg) - 0923) ".... He is such an inquisitive boy, I am sure he has gone exploring, but he's going to be sorry he didn't listen when I get a hold of him!!" She rose her voice, in the process changing from Lt. Nooras, the 2nd Officer of the Starship Boudicca, into Zena Apeth, devoted wife of Wolton, loving mother of Whin. This transformation, of course, was necessary for the guards' sake. While their suspicions had dropped some, the away team still knew congregating and whispering to each other would quickly regain attention. Dr. Tau, 'Wolton's brother' saw one of the guards turn a half -interested eye towards the group at this outburst of hers. He said, loud enough for the guard to hear him as well, "Don't worry, he can't have gotten far, you know how excited he was to go to the gardens this noon." trying to play it off as any uncle would, just covering for whatever his mischief his nephew might be up to right now. And so it was that the father and his brother went storming off down a hallway, while Zena stayed with her brother-in-law, 'Kelas', to double check the vestibule, until it was they could slip into the door behind and to the right of the main podium (as there were six somewhat smaller podiums, one in each corner of the massive room). Renora closed the door quietly behind them, and they entered what looked like some high ranking official's office. They walked into the room facing the front of a massive desk occupying the eye space of the room, but a quick look around soon revealed that they were actually surrounded by massive, dark, ancient, priceless furniture, easily exceeding the desk's cost, but never drawing attention away from whoever sat behind it. They began a search of the room, looking for any helpful information. While Lt. Nooras was scanning them room, Renora noticed a computer behind the desk. It was ancient. Renora had toys at two years old more advanced than this thing. But he knew the people of this planet would consider it valuable, so he took a scan of its hard drive. He eyed the results, when a screen appeared that caught his eye. He looked over to Lt. Nooras, who had just discovered a hidden door at the back of the room, on one of the side walls, not steps from where he was. "Sir, you might want to take a look at this..." he said, apprehensively. The tone in his voice immediately concerned the Second Officer, and she strode over to him right away. She looked at the screen to which he had directed his attention. On the screen was a graphed wave signature, with some statistical data below it. "This is an energy signature. More importantly, it's a Federation signature. The only way they could have this energy readout is if they've been experimenting with Federation technology. I think it's a pretty safe bet it's our device the Church is testing." Having recognized the familiar signature, the Lieutenant nodded. (Reply Nooras) "It's worse than you think, Sir. This is, in essence, a radiological energy format. A hundred years or so AFTER the warp drive, humans were able to refine this type of reaction to safe levels, but to these people, at their level of development, this is lethal. Unless treated, whoever has been running these tests will die from radiation poisoning, within the year. And if the device is in this church, then it's safe to assume the tests are being held here. Meaning everyone here, including 'Sunday Worshippers', including us, are being exposed to toxic levels of radiation. And if they decide to start larger tests, the entire city is at risk." He sighed. Cleaning up breaches of the Prime Directive was stressful work. Only six days into his first posting in Starfleet, and he could already see the value in adhering to that specific principle. Renora kept scrolling through the related files, looking for anything that may indicate the location of a laboratory, or a schedule of tests, when they heard the door knob turn. Someone was coming in... (Reply Nooras, any) (Posted by Rori) ---------- (Tobias V, The Temple of the Divine Three, CSO Commander Sprak, 0925) Sprak had been surprised that he had been able to slip past the guard so easily. ~Guess Dorga and Trei made a more convincing distraction that I thought.~ He figured as he scurried down the corridor and then down some stairs deeper into the temple. He came down to a T-intersection when he remembered to activate the com unit in his head band allowing the ship to see and monitor his location, as well as allowing him to communicate covertly with the rest of the Away Team. "Isn't it lovely?" He said to no one in particular knowing that his voice would be transmitted to the ship. He looked both ways before choosing to peek at his tri-corder, conveniently disguised as a popular toy of children his apparent age in the region the Away Team was suppose to be from. Sprak had been through in his investigation into the Away Teams cover story, even incorporating a healthy dash of region specific slang to the universal translator data base. Sprak looked at the read out on the tricorder for a moment and noticed the primitive surveillance system and the location of all the active camera's. He appeared to play with his 'toy' for a small period of time before looking up and moving off in the likely direction of the artifact. ~What am I suppose to do assuming I do stumble over the device?~ He thought as he slid into a small alcove to avoid a pair of priests coming from the other direction. ~Not like I can drag the thing through the halls ways, someone might notice that.~ Once the priests had passed by and had moved out of ear shot, Sprak moved back into the hall-way when he something he saw brought a smile to his face. ~Oh, why not!?~ He thought as he quickly crawled under an intricately carved table to gain access to the small ventilation duct hidden underneath. Sprak smile. "Guess they weren't expecting three foot tall aliens visiting," He whispered softly so only the comm-unit could pick up his voice as he got to work loosening the protective grate over the duct, using one of his replicated toys as a makeshift screwdriver. In a few moments, Sprak had the grate off and took a peek down the duct. It was dark and dusty, but otherwise unobstructed and much too small for anyone much larger that Sprak to fit down. Sprak took a finally look up and down the corridor before scurrying into the ventilation duct, carefully to replace the grate behind him. Using his tri-corder for guidance, Sprak quickly scurried down the duct on his belly, propelling himself with his knees and elbows. "They really need to dust in here," He mumbled to himself. "Going to head toward the 'dead zone' Uncle Bob detected earlier." He chuckled softly. "Grandpa, if I find my new toy will you let me keep it?" He chuckled again. He knew the others most likely could not reply without giving themselves away, so Sprak didn't wait for a reply and plunged deeper into the ventilation system and deeper into the temple. (Reply Any on Away Team, Any) (Posted by Wes) ---------- (Tobias V, Temple of the Divine Three, Messenger's Office - Guard/Priest Lotran, Messenger Alora, Cardinal Lemani - Day 10, 1130) The knot in Lotran's stomach grew as he paced in the Messenger's outer office. He prayed that the messenger would believe that he had never once lapsed in his faith. Finally the door opened and Cardinal Lemani appeared and motioned him into the Messenger's Office. Lotran walked into the office and the Cardinal followed him in, shutting the door and locking it. Lotran had only meet the Messenger a handful of times, and spoken to her even fewer. Still, there she stood behind her desk. Lotran was tall, well above average, but he still felt like the Messenger towered over him, her eyes focused on his face, and he kept himself steady as he bowed. "Cardinal Lemani tells me you have an interesting tale to tell. That you have been approached by two other Guards to steal an artifact in the Church's possession?" "Yes, your Grace. Guards Esald and Toran, Toran was approached by someone from the government, and he approached myself and Esald." Lotran said, looking quite intently at his shoes. "And when did he ask you to do this?" The Messenger asked, his voice calm and steady. "He asked me this morning, and said they were going to meet in the Chamber of Sorrows an hour before Sundown. That it gave them an hour before their contact would meet them at the loading dock." "And did, he say why this artifact needed to be stolen?" Lemani asked. "He said that it needed to be checked out, that it could be dangerous and that the Church was putting us all in danger, Sir." Lortan said, then looked up at Alora, "I swear, your Grace, I only went along with the plan so that I might learn of it and inform you, you must believe, I never doubted you or the church once." Alora studied Lortan intently, before nodding. "I believe you, Lortan, however the Church is still in need of your service." "You have but to ask, Your Grace, and I will act." Lortan said, his heart lifted, that the Messenger had seen his true intentions. "And act is exactly what I ask of you to do. Meet with Elsad and Toran, and follow Toran's lead. Do not let them know you have given us this information. You have done well, today Lortan," Alora said. "Leave quietly and quickly, and return to your duties." Lortan bowed, nearly in half, and quickly left the room and waited until the hallway was clear before leaving the outer office. Alora walked around to the front of her desk and looked at Lemani. "She oversteps any sense of decency and faith with these actions, Tomax." "She does indeed, and Commander Vaylen as well. We know he has met with the President, and that he knows about the artifact, but I didn't think anyone in his organization would actually move against the church." "Tomax, he has given aid to Heretical cults, he surrounds himself with the faithless and the blasphemers, there is no low he wouldn't sink to." "True enough, Your Grace. It may soon be time to enlighten the public as to his actions." Lemani said. "It may at that, maybe you should go have lunch with the Speaker of Parliament tomorrow. Suggest that the Chief Justice of the First Circuit needs to get out of his stuffy office as well. Depending on how things go tonight, we may have things they would be interested to know about." Alora said. Both the Speaker and the Judge were devout members of the Faith, and they would be interested to hear of the Government's actions. "In the mean time have Lennoch quadruple the guard and assign them weapons, but tell him I want the two alive, on the artifact and have him assigned to me, I will be there when we confront the two blasphemers this evening. Also let the Chief of Police know we may have need of him later this evening and if he could keep his schedule free for the evening." "Of course, Your Grace, I will also be doubling your guard until this whole matter is resolved." Lemani said, then left to make plans. Alora sat down at her desk and looked up at the vaulted ceiling, knowing that the waiting was the hardest part. (Reply Any/None) (Posted by Patrick D.) =========== Meanwhile, back on the ship.... (USS Boudicca - Ten Forward - Bar Manager, SPC Arania - 0900) Arania floated in to the lounge, at least in her long flowing blue and silver robe she looked like she was floating on air, she just had a way of moving that was fluid and graceful. Stopping in the middle of the large area she looked around at what had already been accomplished by engineering and the operations department, what was still being worked on, and what was awaiting their attentions. She had spent the day after her lunch with the Captain, just meditating and thinking about all the things she wanted to do to Ten Forward to make it interesting, more family friendly and a place people would want to socialize in, and then after consulting Matthew, she had gone to see Bob Lorimar and Tollian Yallix to get their input and help in making out the required work orders and design drawings. Since then, Arania had curbed her impatience for a couple of days, keeping herself busy in personal quarters, making music and visiting Ten Forward to program the replicators with the recipes data Matthew had created for her. The first job she'd asked to be done was the children's small play area in one corner of the room just to the left of the main door with a cluster of three tables for the families to dine at, and parents to watch their young while they played. In the corner adjacent to the play area there was a stage about 1.5 feet high that was capable of retracting into the deck when not in use. This part of the transformation was already completed. Work in progress was in an area in the far right corner that Arania had felt would be ideal for private functions or dinner meetings. There were three square tables there that could be placed together for larger groups, and tucked in to panel covered recesses in two of the walls were fold out ceiling-to-floor screens that could be pulled out to convert the area into a separate room. Matthew had told Arania about certain games that people enjoyed playing when they were together in public places on Earth similar to Ten Forward, so in the left hand corner adjacent to the convertible privacy area, Arania had asked for a dart board to be placed on the wall and for a snooker table to be installed close by. She had also requested that the original round tables that could accommodate two to six people, have holographic game boards installed in them that would be programmed with many popular games from around the galaxy. This was something that would be done gradually, but for now she'd been promised three which would be arriving after the place had been renovated and decorated. Things were going well, and although she hadn't had any inspiration for the actual decor of the place, Arania was certain that the Goddess would give her ideas before to long. As it was, there was still plenty of work to be done, but already she'd seen an increase of young family activity in the lounge, which made her very happy. She walked over to the stage area and pressed the command key that brought the stage up, grabbed a bar stool and took it with her as she climbed up on to the stage. Soon she was perched on the stool and bringing out an ocarina. This was a larger one based on the sweet potato shaped ones and had three chambers, making it much more intricate than the small one she'd first started playing on. While the crewmen worked, she played sweet music to make their labors less tiresome, at least that is what she hoped. (reply none needed, any) (posted by Sal) ---------- (USS Boudicca - Ten Forward - ACMO SPC Ensign Jahlen - 0908) It was one of Jahlen's off duty days and for once she was determined not to do anything related to work. Having woken at 0700 hours the first thing on her agenda was *not* to get up for at least another hour and she'd managed to doze off again until she'd woken exactly one hour later, when she had risen and gone to the bathroom for her morning ablutions, where she had taken a long, lingering shower, enjoying the tingle of the sonic bombardment against her skin. When she was done, her stomach was growling at her to feed the beast within and so, after some thought, she had wandered in to Ten Forward, partly from wanting some food and partly because she had heard it was undergoing a transformation and was curious to see what was going on. The grapevine had been ripe with rumors that the Iradonian wife of Commander McLaren had taken over as bar manager and was giving the old lounge an overhaul. As she had entered she had seen right away that some things were different. There were several crewmen and women working busily. The far right hand end of the room had been re-arranged and to her left she saw a child-sized table with an assortment of toys and puzzles, against the wall there were a few bigger items. Delightful music was playing and a look to her right brought a smile to her lips as she saw Arania perched on a stool, on a small stage that, from Jahlen's guesstimate would accommodate up to eight musicians depending on what they played. Jahlen saw Arania looking at her and bowing her head in greeting, so the doctor returned the polite bow and headed for the bar, which seemed to be an oasis in the turmoil of activity. She sat on a stool at the counter and waited for someone to come and see what she wanted, wondering how long it would take. The construction work was a little loud but somehow the music made it tolerable and there was half a dozen crew members seated at various tables, away from the where the work was going on. It didn't take long before a server came along to ask what she wanted and she placed her order for food and drink. A glass of water over ice was brought to her whilel the order was being filled and she sipped it while watching Arania, who was playing a melody that somehow reminded Jahlen of her friend Tollian. It was a sober tune with periodical brighter tones in it. Thinking of Tollian, Jahlen realized that he'd be recently arriving on the planet, she prayed to her Goddesses and Gods that he'd return safely. (reply none needed, any welcome) (posted by Sal) ---------- (USS Boudicca - Ten Forward - SecO CPO M'Ren - 0910) M'Ren would never have admitted that curiosity drew her to Ten Forward. If pressed, she would have stated that she was hungry and wished to spend time away from the quarters she shared with two other NCOs. But like many others she had heard about the changes and wished to see for herself what had been done. As she entered, she immediately noticed that part of the room had already been rearranged, and that there were still people working there. The Iradonian wife of Lt Commander McLaren smiled a greeting as M'Ren entered, and the security officer nodded in return as she looked around. It seemed that children were to be expected in there, judging from the size of some of the tables and chairs, and there was a stage, presumably for performances by Arania and others. "Good morning. Your changes seem well underway," M'Ren observed to Arania. "It seems that you have given much thought to the optimal use of this space. You are to be congratulated." (reply Arania, room for more iyw) M'Ren noticed the J'naii doctor, Jahlen, giving her order to one of the servers, and nodded to her politely. There were several other crewmembers in there too , all occupying tables well away from the on-going work, but M'Ren opted to sit at the bar, near Doctor Jahlen. The music was not unpleasant, and helped to screen out the noise of the workers. When the server came to her, M'Ren ordered green tea, toasted kheh bread and yon-savas conserve. As she waited for her order, M'Ren looked around some more. "I believe the changes in here are favourable," she said to Jahlen. (reply Arania, Jahlen, any) (Posted by Liz)