Game session: ?/2007

The next two days pass as the crew struggles to cope with the Badlands. Alberic switches the main viewscreen to show the ship's status rather then the churning mass of the Badlands. Daphne spends as much time at Conn as she can get away with, carefully nursing the impulse engines to avoid being buffeted by the plasma storms. The Saber shakes, but remains on course. Alberic stands ready to take control from Conn during switchovers, but Daphne and her usual replacement are fine.

Fal works to extend the range of the sensors, which have been severely curtailed by the plasma storms. He manages to increase their range from one-half kilometer to thirteen kilometers, which is a big help. He gets called down to Engineering to help integrate and test the warp masking system, and runs some simulations. Alberic learns of the necessary tests and uses a heavy-duty survey probe to act as a scanning ship, which Fal further modifies with increases sensor pallets. Against all odds, Alberic manages not only to get the necessary sensor data, but also to retrieve the probe before it was destroyed by the hostile environment. With the data in hand, Fal manages to tweak the masking system to peak efficiency.

She-Who-Swims continues to synthesize the red ice and also gather a few medical supplies that won't be missed for trading purposes, she has Operations bang up the equipment to make it look used. Chilp approaches Mel and shows her the final modifications to the photon torpedo they're going to use as a bribe; the detonator has been replaced by a false one that will refuse to fire once launched. That detonator also emits a subspace signal in the lower EM bands once activated, and is rigged in such a way to collapse the magnetic fields separating the matter and anti-matter packets if tampered with, thus causing the torpedo to detonate. The only drawback is that the matter/anti-matter packets are a little smaller to compensate; the torpedo is only at seventy-five percent power. Mel and Alberic deem that more then sufficient.

Mel also fine-tunes the targeting sensors to try and cut through the soup of the Badlands; she manages to partially cut through. Cidhela undergoes reconstructive surgery and Mel and Daphne argue about Ensign Virgil Thon, who will be manning Tactical while Mel is on the Away Team; Daphne is interested but Mel doesn't care for that idea. Daphne insists on "test-driving ensigns" while Mel states Daphne has lost her touch. That only serves to challenge Daphne, however.

At the staff meeting, Saval passes out their altered identities; Alberic's record now shows that he was the one who botched the Kobayashi Maru simulation and used familial connections to get the blame shifted, but this was discovered and he was cashiered out. Alberic betrays no reaction to the accidental truth Saval came up with. Cidhela has been altered by She-Who-Swims and now practically drips sex, much to Ganth and Fal's dismay; she chose to use the name Petra. Fal's false identity is pretty much his life story, minus his Starfleet experience; he chooses the name Fal Laras. Mel's new identity is as a professional mercenary, and she chooses the name Ayla. She-Who-Swims hands them the "salvaged" medical supplies – including Saber's prototype EMH program – and a dozen doses of red ice, of various potency. Saval quickly explains that communications will have to be encrypted to prevent their cover from being blown, and a double-tap on the disguised communicators will signal such a need. She forgets about mocking up their phasers to look used, but that won't be hard. Finally, she covers the necessary code words – Alberic has to claim Fat Willie sent him, and once challenged that Fat Willie is dead, he is to respond that the death must have occurred within the past three weeks.

The disguised Saber reaches Kel Nor at roughly 0935 ship time, the Away Team take their positions on the fake Bridge. Kel Nor scans them passively but fails to pierce the warp masking system. They are immediately hailed by an African Terran who calls herself "Alice." Alice and Alberic negotiate, and Alberic uses the Fat Willie code at Cidhela's whispered advice. The correct code and Alberic's offer of a photon torpedo as a "docking fee" go a long way, although Alice insists that Alberic comes over himself and not send his first officer. Alice invites them to dock at Docking Port C and meet her in twenty minutes. Fal mimics the appropriate movements at the "helm" while Daphne maneuvers the ship through the shield pylons and docking webs and safely docks at the appointed port. Kel Nor scans them a second time now that they're much closer, but again totally fails to pierce the disguise. Alberic decides not to bring the red ice and they find Saval left them properly battered phasers. They get their weapons ready and head to the docking bay on Deck Five There they find several engineers have already transformed the area around the bay to resemble a battered freighter in case anyone looks in as they disembark.

The Away Team disembarks from Saber and crosses the docking web to Kel Nor proper; Ganth pushes the torpedo on an anti-grav palette while Fal pushes the cart of medical supplies. As soon as they cross the threshold, the docking ring behind them closes, and they are greeted with an unidentifiable stench. Alice appears with four Nausicaan bodyguards; the Orion Syndicate woman is short and wears a dark green tribal robe. She greets them civilly, and asks to examine the torpedo. Ganth pushes it forward and Alice scans it with her tricorder – and completely fails to notice the modifications! She welcomes them to Kel Nor and gives them three standard rooms for two days as part of the deal for the torpedo. There is further discussion, and Alice agrees to a twenty percent cut "for maintenance fees" as opposed to the standard twenty-five percent. She also points them in the right direction to negotiate with either the Romulans or the Maquis. She then takes the torpedo and departs, leaving the Away Team seemingly unguarded, although Cidhela whispers there is audio surveillance everywhere.

The Away Team heads to their assigned rooms and soon hears a loud conversation ahead. They find Thomas Eugene Paris boasting of his upcoming run to Kathos Prime to B'Elanna Torres. Tom recognizes Alberic by family name and they discuss having powerful relatives for a minute before Tom then recognizes Mel. Mel tries to brush him off by claiming she doesn't go by that name anymore, but the damage is done. Tom invites them to meet Chakotay and "the boss" in two hours to discuss trading the medical supplies, which they accept. They then part ways, and Alberic and Cidhela claim one room while Biayoh and Mel get the second one and Tuvonn, Fal, and Ganth share the last one.

With the Saber docked, Daphne quickly gets bored. The Bridge crew consists of herself, Saval in the center chair, Ensign Virgil Thon at Tactical, and Ensign Simon Rockwell at Ops. Daphne immediately starts hitting on Virgil by asking how far down his spots go. Saval interjects and manages to deflect some of Daphne's attempts, but Virgil still turns beet-red and slides down his chair once he figures out what's going on. Simon laughs in amusement. That amusement dies when Kel Nor does a more invasive scan, but again the Syndicate failed to pierce the masking system. Saval taps her combadge twice.

Fal, Ganth, Biayoh, and Mel all head out to find some food and kill time while Tuvonn remains behind and guards the Captain's door. Alberic and Cidhela mess around lightly to satisfy any listeners before she heads into the sonic shower. He joins her – fully clothed and deliberately keeping her towel up – to talk softly over the hum of the sonics. Things so far are good, but Alberic notes that Cidhela's eyes are flat – she's retreated into herself a bit. He slips out to perform yoga to accelerate his heartbeat and sweat to convince anyone who sees him that he had a good time with his Orion pet. His combadge vibrates, signaling Saval's call, and he returns to the sonic shower with Cidhela "for one more round." Saval reports the sudden scan, and they figure that Tom's recognizing Mel may have triggered some alarms from the Syndicate. Saval temporarily deleted Mel's biographical data from Starfleet's systems to protect her, so she thinks their cover is still safe. Alberic heads out for more aggressive yoga.

Fal, Ganth, Biayoh, and Mel find a crude replimat of dubious quality. Three Andorians are the only other patrons, and after a quick glance, they leave the others alone. Fal and the others pay for some replicator rations and get semi-identifiable slop, which they eat with reluctance. B'Elanna wanders in and gets some food as well. She sits and eats alone, but joins them briefly after she finishes and asks Mel if Tom was always a jackass. Mel assents, and they talk for a few seconds. B'Elanna reveals she was in Starfleet Academy for a year and a half before dropping out; Fal spoils the moment by trying to be smooth and mentioning Klingon gagh – which B'Elanna hates. She storms off, and Ganth ridicules Fal until they return to meet the Captain. The seven Starfleet officers rendezvous and head for their meeting with the Maquis.

After the brief scare with the sensor sweep, things have settled down on the Saber and Daphne is bored again. She passes time by playing a game on her console while the others keep an eye on the station. Virgil is still blushing with embarrassment but that ends swiftly when a Klingon Bird-of-Prey decloaks and approaches the station! The vessel is registered as the S.S. Valkyrie although the name "H.M.S. Bounty" is painted in white on the ventral wings. White futhark runes dot the wings, and the vessel is blood-red with green "feathers" on the wings, an exact reverse of the standard Klingon color scheme. Virgil scans the Valkyrie passively, which reveals phasers rather then disruptors, an enhanced shield grid, improved engines, and a Starfleet-grade sensor palette. Saval recognizes the Bounty from her childhood and taps her combadge twice.

Unfortunately, Alberic is in no position to answer. His combadge vibrates just as the doors open to the storage bay, and four Maquis approach. They recognize B'Elanna immediately and Chakotay by his appearance. Chakotay introduces himself and Lon Suder and Seska. Alberic asks about Tom Paris, but Chakotay simply says he's already departed. The Starfleet officers can tell Suder is Betazoid, and Alberic tries to divert his attention to himself since he is more resistant to telepathic intrusion then most humans.

Alberic and Chakotay talk for a few minutes about joining the Maquis versus remaining independent, and Alberic name-drops Gul Drucel and hints he has her location. Chakotay's combadge beeps and he taps it. A harsh male voice informs him "We've arrived" and soon four transporter columns shimmer into view. Both Biayoh and Suder wince in pain and Cidhela grips Alberic's arm tightly as two Terran teenagers, Thorir Atli Bjornson, and Saul Toro – Alberic's former first officer for the Kobayashi Maru – beam in!

Recap originally published on Livejournal.