[Round 1] On Shaky Ground

[Rocar Drawoh]

((Command Hub - Starbase 118))

Hilzarie: =/\= Captain, Commander things are getting worse down here, the Embassy wasn't safe, Sickbay won't be safe with all the injured telepaths here. Plus I have a plan. =/\=

Stone: :smirking:: Best news I've heard all day, Lieutenant Hilzarie. Prepare for transport. Commander. Engage.

:: Cura glanced at her Captain. She knew he was concerned for his family's safety. Cura was glad that Gwen had called in and was alright. She and the twins would be safe here for the time being. Within a few moments time, the

trio of Gwen and the twins appeared in a haze of blue, florescent light. After another second or two, they materialzed. Cura turned to her friend, walked up to her and embraced her.::

Stone: Che? Xan! OH my goodness! Look at you two! My my my. you two have grown so big! ::Cura held out her hand towards them both, shaking their little hands.:: Do you remember me? I used to serve with your mommy and daddy

on the USS Constitution a few years ago. I remember when you two very very little. Have you ever been up here before?

:: The two children shook their heads, silently in awe by the activity in the large room. Just passed Cura they could see their tall father raditing power and authority as he looked up at the big screens on the deck above displaying fleet deployments. Whenever he spoke somebody did as he told them to.::

Stone: This is called the Command Hub. Your father is in charge up here, so this is where he works. So, this is the first time you get to see him at his job. He's a very important guy up here. He has to make sure everything is going on well. Right now, we are very busy trying to get everyone under control. So, do you think you two can watch your daddy and mommy do their

jobs?

::The kids nodded, about to speak enthusiastically. But they were cut off by a loud booming voice... Lt. Cmdr Cura Assanti-Stone, not giving the emergency beam in from Gwen and her kids a second thought, had allowed for the transport. As the transporter materialized Gwen and the twins, all her professionalism and adherence to regulations and protocol had gone out a nearby airlock and Cura got caught up in how the twins had grown. She had gotten carried away in explaining what was going on to them, when her Captain's loud, authoritative voice brought her quickly back to her senses.::

Rocar: (almost angrily, but more blunt) Get those children off my command deck!

:: Cura quickly snapped up on her feet and looked at her Captain with wide eyes.::

Stone: Sir!

Rocar: Stone resume your duties... someone get them out of here now. This is no place for civilians or children. ::The Ktarian’s eyes snapped onto his ex-wife’s:: Lieutenant Hilzarie you will do well to remember that before bringing your children to work with you please.

:: Immediately, Cura was sorry for having broken protocols. Sighing heavily, she quickly moved back into the heart of the command center, glancing at Gwen almost shaking.::

Rocar: Yeoman Colt, put them in the conference room until the situation passes. ::Rocar turned back to face forward, quietening his voice slightly:: Number 1... security update please?

Stone: Captain, Lt. Cmdr Zubowskivich has apprehended our invisible man and has detained him in the brig with proper force fields and is now scanning him for other devices he may have on his physical person.

I'm not sure what your orders would be. Shall we proceed with interrogation processes?

Rocar: Have security proceed... carefully.

Stone: Also, Captain, the criminal Armeni is still loose on the station. I had Lt. Geeva and Lt. Falcon scanning for her. I'm sure they were able to find her location, but I'm not sure with the curfew in place, where she would go. The plan was to have Lt. Falcon apprehend her as Lt. Falcon is not readable and more powerful than Armeni physically. Yet, other things happened and that plan never took place.

Hilzarie: Who?

Stone: ::to Gwen:: She's an old acquaintance of Lt. Cmdr Zubowskivich. Yet, she was not a nice person. She a full Betazoid that is EXTREMLY powerful telepath. I have a hunch she's probably behind some of what's

been going on, but ::shrugs:: there's no proof, of course. She had come before and attacked Ta...Commander Zubowskivich. We tried to catch her with a team of Betazoids, but the plan failed and she got

away. This time, she attacked me and Then went after his daughter, Ella. I moved his daughter to my quarters in the diplomatic wing, placed guards...she'placed guards...she'<WBR>s safe. However, other probably going around adding more flame to the fire, so to speak.

:: Turning to Captain Rocar:

Stone: But she's still a threat to the station as a whole. With all this anti-telepathic stuff going on, she's probably in

her own fantasy world. But since we put the curfew in place, there's no way she'd remain out in the open to get caught. There's no people to toy with. So, I'm thinking she's found a way into someone's quarters without them knowing it, probably using her telepathic skills to do it.

Rocar: oO Telepaths seem to be our main problem round here at the

moment. Oo

:: The Ktarian forced himself to take a deep breath and regained his composure a little. Wondering where his own bitterness was coming from he decided it was clearly a broken heart at the hands of a betazoid who'd reemerged in his life and the connected disapointment of his own offsprings development. ::

Rocar: Then this crisis is far from over.

Stone: Aye, Captain, There's still a lot of work to do. Where do you want me?

Rocar; Until we have a plan, right here... the question is where this woman was trapped. With security fields in place she can't be running far.

:: Cura folded her arms across her chest. She didn't have any ideas at the moment. She suddenly felt very tired. She walked to a replicator and ordered up some Argelian herbal tea. With her pregnacy, she had to lay off the

Klingon coffee. It was too strong for the baby. Sipping the tea, she began to think deeply about the situation with Armeni. She thought about the growing hatred of the telepaths on the station, a bit of anger rising from the recent

explosion of the Betazoid Embassy. She thought, at the moment, the best thing she could do was to be quiet, which is what she did.::

:: As the hot herbal tea trickled down her throat, Cura gradually began feeling a bit better. Deprived of sleep for some hours now, she was running on fumes. Quite frankly, they all were. The shout of Captain Rocar concerning

the breach of protocol had shocked her to the core. Yet, she had never known the boundry lines of her Captain. Yet, she should have known better than to think that he'd allow even his own children on the command hub. Mentally,

she kicked herself for having thought otherwise. Surely she knew Rocar well, but she knew him when he was an officer. She had not known him as a commander very long. There was a difference there that she was just now realizing. Biting her lower lip as she pondered these things, she leaned her backside against a console.::

:: John Stone would not have succumed to such, she thought. How quickly she had forgotten the very ideals she had fallen for before. Regulations..protocols was all that John had ever preached to her back when she

was an ensign. She had clung on to those ideals, embracing them and making them her own.

But had she forgotten them so quickly? She sipped her tea, looking at her fellow officers, but saying nothing. She glanced at Rocar, knowing what she needed to do, but feeling somewhat afraid to even approach him to do it right

now. She knew what had to be said...had to say it, but now wasn't the time for it. What she wanted was to explain herself and apologise for having ....forgotten herself when Gwen and the kids arrived. She didn't even think

that Rocar would want to hear what she had to say. Her mis-matched eyes danced from face to face in the errie silence.::

::Finishing he tea and returning the mug, she tapped her com badge.::

Stone: =/\= Stone to Geeva =/\=

Geeva =/\= Geeva. =/\=

::Geeva Kalpana still sounded irritated at the world, and as if the call were an intrusion upon her personal time.::

Stone: =/\= Lieutenant, I know you're busy, but are you still tracking the

criminal Armeni? =/\=

Geeva =/\= Aye. =/\=

Stone: =/\= Where is she located now, Lieutenant? =/\=

Geeva =/\= Habitat. =/\=

::The vague monotone answers would be a serious insult in her own culture, where

vagueness is liable to get somebody killed. Here, however, Cura is unlikely to

realize just how rude Kalpana is being. It has been a long day, after all, and the iridian

has been working her long-fingered hands to the bone.::

Stone: =/\= Habitat? Upper or lower? Can you telll? =/\=

Geeva: oO Fool woman. Not even the sense to be properly insulted.. Go bother

somebody else and let me do my job. Oo

Stone: =/\= Habitat? Upper or lower? Can you telll? =/\=

::Kalpana's voice gained an edge of sarcasm, as she went form no details at all,

to far more than Cura was asking for. It was a childish attempt to get the Commander to go

away.::

Geeva =/\= Lower level, Third deck that does be below the upper turbolift hub,

fifth corridor, fifteenth quad suite, second room on the left. The quarters do belong

to Heri Grina, single mother, who did arrive on the station five years ago on this date,

and who does work as a civilian contractor in one of our hydroponics gardens. =/\=

Stone: ::nodding: =/\= We should try and apprehend her there. What do you

think? =/\=

::Kalpana just stood there for a moment, not sure if she should be offended by

Cura's blithe disregard for her change in tone... or impressed at the woman's cool

head.::

Geeva =/\= I will do take care of the details. =/\=

Stone: =/\= How many life signs are around her. Is there a way to determine

that? =/\=

Geeva: =/\= Two, and there does be such a way. =/\=

Stone ::nodding:: =/\= I don't know if apprehending her there would be a

good idea then. With all the resentment of telepaths going on, for a civilian

to find they have been "tricked" and victimized, won't make things any better

around here. Keep tabs on her. Stone out =/\=

:: Cura sighed as she russled up some courage to approach the Captain.

She walked towards him slowly, with hesitant steps...self conscious steps.::

Stone: Um..Sir?,We have a location on the criminal Armeni

Rocar: Whereabouts Commander?

Stone: She's in the habitat area of the station, Captain. In someone's

quarters, I believe. Should we pursue her there or wait for her to

come out of the civilian residential area?

Rocar: Have Lieutenant Fanel and Ensign Moon move in on her location but instruct them not to engage yet. Also, put marines on back up and inform Lieutenant Commander Zubowskivich of the operation incase he wishes to join Jacen. Also, best get Falcon down there... as you said earlier, this job might take an android and have the Chief of Operations coordinate the action with technical support from a distance.

:: As Cura looked at the Captain, she wanted to say more about what had happened before, but she left it alone. After all, he had been right. She had dropped her guard...she knew it...she was sorry for having done so. But,

...there were not buts. She knew that too. Yet she wanted to explain and knew her explanation wouldn't make a difference. Okay, she was a sucker for little kids...she loved them and loved his twins like she loved her own Mulan and her own baby. But that was no excuse. So she bit her tongue and pushed

passed it...left it there....moved on.::

Lt. Cmdr Cura Assanti-Stone

First Officer

Starbase 118 Ops

Edited February 11, 2008 by Rocar Drawoh

[James T. Kolk]

I really like this post. It shows the struggle between personal feelings and duty extremely well. However, I couldn't give it 5 Stars because there were a number of grammatical errors throughout, and part of writing a Top SIM has to be taking the time to re-read and correct any errors before posting. I did love the post though, and kept wishing she could convince the Captain to let his children watch him work, or at least explain her lapse in protocol. I've never read any Starbase Ops sims before, but this one made me feel like I was there. Well done.