The Founder, the Plan and an 'eagle

Posted on Sat Jul 1st, 2023 @ 10:59pm by Commodore Finchley Kerr & Lieutenant Commander Jaal Jaxom & Lieutenant Kell Asaa Dr & Lieutenant T'Lira Sh'Karra & Lieutenant Commander Isabelle Savette & Lieutenant Commander Kevin Kilbane & Commander Shr'Nesh Karadis

4,887 words; about a 24 minute read

Mission: Investigate the Chintoka Shipyard Buildup
Location: USS Blackeagle, Bridge
Timeline: Current.

With the Senior and some Non-COMM crew now reasonably familiar with how they'd look, sound and react as their ranked Cardassian counterparts, it was now time to set up the next part of their mission, going to Cardassia Three.

Finchley looked at Shon and said "The next part is tricky, but essential, how to get there without raising too much suspicion, I've got the feeling we'll need some luck."

Shon smiled, “luck can come from many directions Sir or, we can make our own. I think with Vexis our luck just got a whole lot better. So long as we don’t have too much contact with the Cardassians. She turned to her console. Vexis has a record of all Cardassian ships movements in the sector.

"Lieutenant Jaxom, set long range scans to look for Cardassian vessels," Finchley said to Jaal. "We're looking for something small, like a Hideki Class patrol ship. Let me know if you come across one, where it is in relation to us, and what it's course is."

"Aye Sir," Jaal was ill at ease in his disguise but couldn't let that bother him as he did his duty. At least he could work his console with no problem. Thank the maker that Cardassians had the same number of fingers as everyone else. His well practiced hands did their dance over his control board as the full sensor capability of the ship came to life. "Commencing scans now."

Turning to Kell he said "Lieutenant Asaa, we're going to need a way to knock out the crew of that patrol ship, it'll mean beaming over there, work out a plan to do it and let me know."

Kell nodded, pausing her language study. She could still feel the odd pull of new skin as she did so; she would adjust that later. "I assume that means no phaser on stun mode that would be detected... Contact or ranged? How long do you need them out?"

"Well, we will be going in cloaked" Finchley replied "however, the cloak will have to be dropped in order for us to beam over. Preferably if we could have them stunned the moment we drop the cloak, that would make life easier for us. As for duration of them knocked out, for as long as possible."

Kell thought about it... "Maybe a sequenced transporter beam? Drop some strategically placed gaseous anomalies, and then we appear on scene to assist with that problem... while wearing nasal filters of course. Add stunners to the release, they used to be called Flashbongs or something like that..."

"I think the first suggestion will work well Lieutenant" Finchley replied, "Can you see to it's set up please."

Kell nodded, glad she'd already been studying Cardassian physiology, that would save her time. She moved to the side and began typing into her PADD...

He looked at T'Lira next "Lieutenant Sh'Karra, we're going to need a way of getting those voice synthesiser's tweaked so there's no hitch, see what you can do to make them a little better."

"Sir, If no one has an objection we can tie in a universal translator with a voice synthesizer as a dental implant in the throat or jaw, it would be very small, no larger than the size of a tooth which would act as an amplifier," T'lira replied.

Then it was to Isabelle "Lieutenant Savette, we'll need a good pilot to get us there, that's going to be you,"

Isabelle gave a surprised look. “Me? It’s a good job I know how to pilot then Sir. It’s been a while so I’m a little rusty.”

Shon was quiet assessing the mood on the bridge. The Captain had begin to push the crew and she wanted Isabelle to be able to assess and help. She turned to Kerr. “Captain May I have a word privately?” She asked.

Finchley rose from his seat and headed to his Ready Room. Once inside and the doors were closed, he turned round and looked at Shon.

She knew he didn’t like prevarication so she came straight out with it. “Sir, it is my duty to advise you on possibly a different use of our crew namely Lieutenant Savette. I feel she may be better in helping the crew psychologically at the current time as they have undergone this change in such a difficult mission and may be required to communicate with the Cardassians. She is a competent pilot yes but I am better, also the nanites are able to give me that edge, they know the systems so, I think I should pilot the ship, unless you have something else in mind for me?” She stopped on the question and waited.

Sitting on the edge of his desk, Finchley listened as Shon spoke. When she had finished he replied, "Whilst I appreciate your candour Commander, and your explanation and reasoning, I chose Lieutenant Savette to pilot the Cardassian vessel for a reason. As you're aware, this is a fairly new crew we have and we're looking to see how we gel as a unit. Each of us brings a set of skills, and that's fine, but, one of the considerations I have to look at is the fact that 'all' the crew are rounded in different duties. So, with that in mind, I looked at the records of the crew, and looked to see where certain improvements and sharpening of certain skills come into play. True, we could use holodeck simulations, however, we're never guaranteed that they have the necessary effect one needs to then cope with a realistic situation. Lieutenant Savette is a Counsellor, but she's also been in Batazed Intelligence, as an Infiltration Specialist. That in turn tells me she has to have had piloting training, because you can't always get to a destination by being 'dropped in', you sometimes have to get there yourself. So, I've made the decision based on her present skills, training and our current requirements."

He paused a moment, as if to stiffen a resolve, then carried on "You said about communicating with the Cardassians, that's where you come in, because yes, I do have something else I want you to do. Back on Runaman, you spoke as Sheil Barat of the Obsidian Order to Legate Jan, telling him that Dukat would be touring his facility, and that's what I want you to set up. Take Vexis with us, and once we're onboard the Cardassian ship, contact substation twelve again, speak to Legate Jan and get us landing access to the substation. Tell him we don't want any pomp and ceremony, as the Dukat visit is of the utmost secret importance to the safety of the Founder. Remind him again that if everything goes well, he'll be getting his award from Dukat...personally. What I'm asking you to do is a pivotal part of this subterfuge, if it goes awry, we're stuffed, our covers blown and there's no way we can get onto Cardassia Three. This is why I want Savette to pilot the ship, not you. You can give her all the help she needs whilst she's piloting, but I need you to convince substation twelve to let us land there."

Shon admired her Captain’s candour. “I see Sir and now, I understand what it is you are wanting of me and also of the crew. It’s a great plan, one that I can see working for us. Once we are onboard the ship I will check that Legate Jan is still in his position. Thank you sir.” She turned to go and then turned back. “Captain May I be frank?”

"I would rather you were Shon, but if you want to be called Frank from now on, that's fine with me" Finchley replied, trying to lighten up what had seemed a rather tense talk.

For a moment Shon looked puzzled then, like a lightening strike got the joke only she had not expected it from him. The corners of her mouth curled as she fought the laugh. Then she could not stop herself and began to laugh. “Touché Captain.” She said amongst the laughter. “I never thought myself a ‘Frank’ person.”

"Well, there you go" Finchley replied, "What was it you wanted to say?"

“Speaking ‘frankly’ then Captain, is it possible to discuss your plans with me prior to involving the crew? I believe a good executive officer is one who is able to help with including the crew and constructive communication with the Captain so we are, as the old adage goes ‘on the same page’?”

"No" Finchley replied succinctly, "That's why I'm the Captain and you're the Executive Officer, I don't need to run anything by you for approval or scrutiny. I'll inform you of anything if I feel I need to, and I'll ask for an opinion when I need one. When you make Captain one day, you'll come to realise what I just said is correct. As for being on the same page, there is only one page, and that's the one I'm on. When I give an order, or make a decision, I expect it to be followed and if it's not, then the person who doesn't follow it will soon find themselves out of here and somewhere else. Is there anything else Commander?"

She decided to brave it out. "I think I said the wrong thing Sir. I do not want you to run things by me, you are Captain for a reason but, it seems to me we have both wasted our time, your time for this conversation and mine for seeking you out to as about Lieutenant Savette. It would have saved time if you had told me what you had planned for me earlier and then I would not have bothered you.”

"Let me ask you this Commander" Finchley replied "Do you seek out Lieutenant Commander Kilbane to inform him of the things you do or the orders you're about to give, he's the next Senior Officer down from you, in effect, basically the ships Second Officer?"

Shon began to realize she was heading down the rabbit hole and he was never going to see her point of view. She was his XO and should be treated as such, she could be so much for him but she also realized she was new and he did not trust her. “No sir, I am sorry to have bothered you, may I go?”

"Please bear in mind you're no longer the same person you were when you stepped onboard Commander," Finchley said, standing up. He turned round and sat down behind his desk. "Please return to the bridge, I'll be back out shortly."

She returned to the bridge.

On the bridge, Jaal's console beeped for attention. "Ah ha," he mumbled to himself. He had been so engrossed in interpreting sensor data he had no idea who was on the bridge.

"We have detected some Cardassian ships." He ran his fingers over his console to gain from more information. "Looks like one Galor, one Keldon, and two Hideki class vessels all within twelve light years. The closest one is a Hideki bearing zero, one, six, mark one eight, distance three, point, six, two light years. Their heading is a perpendicular course to ours. If we change our heading to three, four, six, mark three, three, six we can intercept in ten minutes." He looked around, now wondering if anyone had been listening.

Finchley walked out of the Ready Room just as Jaal gave his report.

Tapping his COMM badge he said "Kerr to McCrudden, what's the status of our cloak"

"We ran the simulations and it appears to be working fine Captain" McCrudden replied.

"Good, be prepared to deploy it in five minutes, Kerr out" Finchley said, closing the link.

"Bring us about, heading three, four, six, mark three, three, six" Finchley said.

“Aye Sir” Isabelle tapped in the heading Finchley had given her.

He looked around the bridge "I realise that this situation is difficult for some of us, believe me when I say I understand that all to well. We have to work with what we have, and what is the best opportunity to bring about the right end game. I have the utmost confidence that you'll all...we'll all...do our duty. I'm not going to sugar coat this, it's going to be bloody hard at best, and at worst a nightmare. We're the ones who stand between successfully bringing down a terror organisation who're looking to enslave entire systems and them succeeding in that goal if we fail. I've been trying to remember a quote that one of my first Captains told me, it's something like 'Success isn't final, failure won't kill you, it's the courage to go on that counts'. If we carry out our mission, we may not destroy the rebuild of the Dominion, but we'll certainly slow it down tremendously. All I ask is that you do your best, I can't ask anymore. If it helps, I'm frightened as hell, but I know I have a duty to do, so I'll carry it out the best I can, that's all I can ask of all of us here."

Looking at Shon he said "Commander, you have the CON, when we're cloaked and within range of the Hideki vessel, have Lieutenant Asaa beam the gaseous anomalies across, then lead the Away Team over to take over the vessel."

He walked across the bridge to the turbolift and entered.

“Aye Captain.” Shon said wondering why he was not coming with, but then she figured there was no point in asking him as he would not be forthcoming with the information.

"Lieutenants Assa, Jaxom, Sh’Karra you will be with me on the away team. Lieutenant Savette you will stay here at helm. Once we take the ship you will beam over to join us. Lieutenant Assa you will be in charge of bringing Vexis over. Any questions?”

"Yes Captain what exactly are we looking for," T'lira asked.

Shon looked at her wondering why she did not know the mission specs. She rested an eyebrow. “Lieutenant the Captain will not be accompanying us on the mission. He had asked you to attempt to ensure the Cardassian voice synthesizers are the best they can be. Any movement on that?” She asked waiting for an answer.

"The voice synthesizers work with four different Cardassian dialects. They have been fine-tuned with the latest Cardassian lexicons, however as you well know the Cardassians are a paranoid culture and very secretive, the voice synthesizers will not give us codes or accesses if we need them." T'Lira replied.

Kell shook her head at the XO's query for questions as she grabbed up the Vexis box and continued to read through the info from the target vessel. It was likely an all-Cardassian crew but she'd added a little something extra in case they had others aboard. She marked where her special packages should appear and sent that to the transporter control tech to work out the details for accuracy... They'd only really get one clean shot at this. Rolling her neck back and forth, she controlled her breathing and prepared to be a Cardassian crewman.

Shon sat in the central chair. “Away team be aware Hideki vessels carry a crew of twelve so we need to account for them all. Luckily they do have a brig. Lieutenant Jaxom once we have indications the crew is incapacitated you will be tasked with making sure we have all of them and that the brig is working correctly. Use Vexis if you have trouble. Then, join us on the bridge. Any questions?”

“It shouldn’t be too much trouble,” the Trill replied, “I can probably transport them all to the brig and add a containment field around it in case they attempt a breakout… or we can keep them all sedated,” he shrugged wondering if that was a good suggestion or not.

Shon nodded to Trill and turned to Kell. “Lieutenant Asaa could we flood the brig with say anasthezine gas? I would be much happier with them asleep during the whole trip, and I would rather not have any of us stuck in the brig. This has to be flawless if we are to carry this off.” Shon stood. “Is anyone unsure of their duties?”

"That's the direction I went with my compound mix-type, to drop them off for a minimum of an hour. Plenty long enough to secure them. The initial burst will be disorienting as well so when we show up, anyone not on the floor should be easy enough to deal with. At that point, I can further inoculate them while they're unconscious in the brig for whatever timeframe we need." Kell made a couple more notes on what to bring.

Shon stood, “ Lieutenant Jaxom are we cloaked? If so bring us as close to the Hideki vessel as you can.” She then addressed the rest of the bridge crew. “I hope we are all ready for this mission. I can see it working if we all take our part and are prepared for anything. I know these Cardassian personas are uncomfortable but, hopefully, it will not be for long.

“We are cloaked and fifty-four thousand meters away and closing,” Jaal answered after consulting his console.

The doors to the turbo-lift opened and Finchley exited onto the bridge. He'd gone to Main Engineering to check with McCrudden on the state of the cloaking device. It appeared to be working, though still not one hundred percent, the odd glitch still happened. McCrudden had assured him that he'd put two of his engineers on it round the clock to maintain it. Satisfied that as much that could be done had been done.

As he approached the center chair, he was about to ask Commander Dex to report when he saw her suddenly slump to the side. Dr Asaa dropped to her side to start assessing.

He was taking no chances, and hitting his COMM badge he said "Medical team to the bridge, NOW!"

Within seconds, two Medical officers appeared. Finchley told them what he had seen and told them to take Dex to the Sickbay and report to him once they were sure of what had happened to her.

His mind was working overtime and he was torn between pulling this part of the mission and carrying it out. If they pulled out now, they may not get a second chance, but then he had to think of what had happened to Dex. The practical, reasoning, side of his brain won. They had an excellent Medical bay on the Blackeagle, as good as anything that could be found on a Starbase or in SFHQ. The Medical staff were highly trained, the best in their field, that's why they were on the ship.

Setting himself, he turned to Jaal and said "Lieutenant Jaxom, status report."

Jaal was concerned about the commander suddenly slumping over but he maintained his composure and answered, “All systems operating within normal parameters. We are now forty-nine thousand kilometers to the target vessel and closing.”

Isabelle could only briefly watch as Shon was taken away, her attention had to be focussed on the helm, she couldn’t allow distractions whilst piloting the ship.

As the Blackeagle reached five thousand kilometers, Finchley said "Away Team to the transporter room. Lieutenant Asaa, deploy your compound the join us."

Kell nodded. "In place Captain and coordinates set; they're just waiting on us."

On the way to the transporter room, Finchley allowed the team to go on ahead and pulled Kevin back.

"Listen, Commander Dex is now in Sickbay, I want you to temporarily step up to XO," he said to Kevin.

"Sure thing Bird, if that's what you need me to do" Kilbane replied.

"Good" Finchley replied, then hurried to catch up with the team. Once they were inside the transporter room, he tapped his COMM badge and said "Lieutenant Asaa, have you deployed the gas?"

"On your command... Just as soon as we drop the cloak, it will beam over and trigger. Targets should be rendered unconscious and/or helpless, but we should tread carefully of course."

"Make your way down here now, by the time we beam over, the gas should have taken its effect on the Cardassian crew."

Kell hurried along after confirming, typing a last comment to her team as she turned to enter the transporter room.

Finchley looked at the Away Team "This will be difficult for us all, but I have faith that you'll all carry out your duty. Remember, no phasers, if have to take down any of the Cardassians by force...do it!"

The Away Team stepped up onto the pads, and Finchley nodded to the Ensign at the controls. His hands moved over them, and the blue hue of the beam engulfed everyone. Mere seconds later, they all materialized on the Cardassian ship.

Kell refrained from checking her nasal filters, not that she really needed them, but it best to lead by example. She took a gaze around and then turned to head towards medical to ensure everyone is down and to see if any medical cases were being treated. Those might be isolated and unaffected, but would otherwise be secure, and if so, she'd make sure they stayed that way. Arriving in short order she reported in her best grumbly Cardassian, the 2 crew bodies found to add to the overall total accounted for.

Kell reported an extra body to the count as she examined a body on the exam table. In her new growly Cardassian voice, "Gul, I have a Xindi patient, lizard version. Missing two limbs, some other battle damage... I would guess they were torturing the creature, whether, for intel or pleasure, I cannot say until I've examined the logs. It is marginally alive but otherwise inert. I'm making that last part an enduring condition since we have other things to focus on at the moment." As she worked she noticed the downed medical crewmen fade out via the transporter, on their way to the brig. After making sure the Xindi would stay out for a good while, she reported that as well and stood back to watch it fade out too as she copied logs to review later.

Jaal went to the lowest deck. On the way, he found two knocked-out Cardassians. Fortunately, they were near the brig so all he had to do was drag them down the corridor and into a cell. He activated the containment field and went back about his business.

Next stop, the engine room. There was no Cardassian crew on the floor. He checked around and found no others awake either. He made a quick check of the ship's systems before exiting.

The door slid open and revealed an actual Cardassian. He was just as surprised as Jaal was. They stared at each other for an entire two seconds before the real one asked, "Who are you?"

Thinking quickly, Jaal answered, "Jenkins. I just came aboard last week," he told the Cardassian confidently.

The Cardassian's eyes narrowed, "What are you doing down here?"

"Captain's orders," Jaal said officially, "We've run into some trouble, some kind of spatial anomaly. He wants all crew to report to the brig."

The crewman didn't look convinced but at the same time, not entirely sure. "The.. brig?"

Jaal thought fast. "It's the safest place at the moment. The containment fields there seem to shield us from the effects of the anomaly."

The Cardassian folded his arms across his chest. "I don't believe you."

Jaal let out a breath realizing he'd have to get tough now. "Well then, you better believe THIS." The Trill threw his right foot right into the groin of the Cardassian. When he doubled over in agony, Jaal drove his elbow down and into the back of his head. The crewman slumped to the deck.

"Sorry bub, don't have time for a conversation." Jaal examined him hoping he was merely knocked out and not dead. Satisfied that he was still breathing, Jaal grabbed his feet and started dragging him to the brig. These bastards are heavier than they look..., he thought hoping he wouldn't come across any more that were awake.

Finchley began to make his way towards the bridge. His one specification when he'd been altered to look Cardassian, was to have the face of Dukat, the much-maligned former leader of the Cardassian Union. Though he had been imprisoned in the Fire Caves on Bajor, Finchley had a story he had concocted should anyone challenge him.

On reaching the bridge, he took a deep breath and entered. Those Cardassians there were out cold, except one...the Gul in charge. He was however slumped in the side of his chair. Walking over, he propped the Gul up and slapped his face to get his attention.

The Gul looked confused, but as his vision cleared and he saw who was in front of him, his eyes widened and he slammed back into his seat as far as he could go.

"You know who I am?" Finchley said, the voice synthesizer changing his voice to that of Dukat. The Gul simply stared in fright and nodded quickly, saying nothing.

"Good," Finchley said, "You never saw me, I was never here, is that understood, if you say anything to anyone ever, I'll find you and kill you, then I'll kill your family, then your friends and their families!"

Finchley needed at least one Cardassian, a real Cardassian, to see him as Dukat, in order for this to work. That now done, he chopped the Gul in the neck, knocking him out. He dragged the Gul, then the other two Cardassians who had been on the bridge, down to the brig and threw them in, raising the force field.

Logs copied, Kell turned and headed for the bridge. By the time she stepped into the comparatively tiny space, she noticed there were no Cardassians left around.

"Did we get all accounted for?" She asked at large...

Jaal walked into the bridge looking a little worse for wear. "I found three... two were knocked out, one gave me ... a problem... but I got him." The disguised Trill nodded for emphasis. "Did you all get the rest?"

"It would appear they're all accounted for" Finchley replied.

Tapping his COMM badge, disguised as a Cardassian insignia, he said "Kerr to Lieutenant Savette, please beam over, the Cardassian crew are all in the brig."

“Understood Sir” Isabelle rose from the helm and headed straight for the transporter room, it wasn’t long before she was beamed aboard to join everyone else. Arriving at the bridge she nodded to Kerr. “How did it go, Did you encounter much resistance?”

"There was a couple of uncooperative Cardassian crew, but they were dealt with," Finchley replied. He looked around those on the bridge, and with a wan smile said, "That's the easy part done, now we just have to blag our way to land on Cardassia Three, I've got to convince the Legate in charge that I'm Dukat, then we have to fool one hundred and twenty thousand Jem'Hadar soldiers there's no threat to the Founder, find the Founder and capture or kill them and get back off the base without being discovered. I suppose when you say it quickly, it's a piece of cake."

"That's a damn big piece of cake Sir," Jaal quipped.

"The voice synthesizers are working optimally, although if the Legate requests a security code Dukat or not we will not succeed," T'Lira advised.

Kell shrugged and stayed in her Cardassian voice. "At least with the Dukat having been in prison, he wouldn't normally have access to that, so that may work in his favor. Fear is a tangible resource when used properly..." She noticed a couple of surprised looks... "Just saying..."

"Regardless of that, we have to sound and look convincing" Finchley replied, "Remember, Cardassians are arrogant by nature, so use that.

Fully recovered, the Blackeagle’s Executive Officer beamed onto the bridge of the taken Cardassian ship. She noted the figure of Gul Dukat and she smiled. “Permission to come aboard sir?” she asked, the sound of the Cardassian voice synthesiser grating on her.

Finchley turned to see Shon standing on the bridge. "Permission granted Glinn, I'm glad to see you fully recovered. Station, we need to get underway for Cardassia Three. Take us out."

Dex walked over to Kilbane. “I have got this from here, thank you Mr Kilbane.” Waiting for him to get out of the way.

Kevin stood back "By all means, I need to go and check on our...I don't think we can call them hosts exactly...predecessors, yes, predecessors, that's a better term. We have to make sure they're uncomfortable."

On the bridge of the Cardsssian ship there were no chairs as on Federation ships so she stood. “Take us to Cardassia Three” she said her Cardassian voice synthesizer sounding rough.

Finchley turned to Kilbane and said "Kevin, any trouble, take the Killandra III solution, am I clear?"

"Understood Bird" Kilbane replied

Kell followed Kevin out, just in case he needed help, or a medical opinion.

 

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