Shattering Diplomacy
| "Shattering Diplomacy" USS Pacifica NCC-72545 | |
| Mission No. | PAC-12 |
| Total Posts | 200 |
| Start Date | Saturday, November 29th, 2003 |
| Finish Date | Sunday, May 2nd, 2004 |
| Story | Daniel Butterworth |
| Guest Star(s) | |
| Previous Mission "Departure" | |
| Year 2379-2380 | |
| Next Mission "Excursions" | |
Contents
Introduction
The Pacifica is dispatched to the Archerian System to render medical aid and to investigate a number of unexplained crippling Earthquakes.
Summary
The Pacifica received orders from Starfleet Command to respond to a distress call from the Archerians who were in the process of negotiating membership into the Federation at the time, and were suffering from almost two weeks of unexplained earthquakes. Doctor Connie Morgan and Lieutenant James Harris were assigned to uncover any information about the Archerians whilst the Pacifica dropped off the marines on another planet for training simulations before changing course for Archerian IV. The Doctor and Harris discovered that the Archerians were a breakaway colony, who had distanced themselves from all major powers within the quadrant. After abandoning the Federation almost a century beforehand however for some reason they had changed their minds and were now considering Federation membership once again. Records showed that the Federation Officials who inspected Archerian IV found it to be perfect for expansion, which is why it was chosen for colonising to begin with. It was also discovered that the recent disturbances had stopped the process of terra-forming Archerian V the next planet in the system which was also to be used for colony expansion.
The Pacifica’s first foothold into this mystery was the Romulans who had apparently invaded the Archerian System during the Dominion War as it was ignored by all of the other powers, however the Romulans were recorded to only have stayed for four days before a Federation ship came to the Archerians aid. During their short ‘invasion’ they were recorded to have attacked several labs all focused on scientific engineering. Before they left they had set up an outpost which had been abandoned ever since, this was to be the Pacifica’s first port of call. Whilst on the way to the troubled planet the crew looked deeper into their records to find out about the planet’s culture. They discovered that Archerian IV was inhabited long before the colonies were set up, with minor hostilities between the humans and the green-skinned archerians breaking out for a short time before they learned to co-exist. Whilst the Doctor and Lieutenant Harris continued their work on the cultural investigation of the Archerians Ensign Owen Banks continued to run over the scans of the planet along with the records supplied by the Archerians about the latest earthquakes there was no way of avoiding the truth that the earthquakes were not natural.
Upon arriving at Archerian IV Commodore Daniel Butterworth ordered Lieutenant Harris to assemble an away team for an inspection of the Romulan outpost which Harris had suggested making their first priority. Whilst Harris assembled his team the Commodore responded to the distress call and was hailed by Governor Thorlack a native Archerian leader. It did not take long for the governor to invite the Commodore down to the planet’s surface where he could best review the situation, whilst also discuss the reapplication for Federation Membership. Whilst Lieutenant Harris, Lieutenant Junior Grades Marcus Cesarian and L’Verrem along with Ensigns Owen Banks and Richard Alexander beamed down to the Romulan Outpost to begin their work. Commodore Butterworth, Doctor Connie Morgan, [[Vanessa Baron|Counsellor Vanessa Baron and Lieutenant Akaris Venn all beamed down to the surface to meet with the Governor in the Archerian Capitial.
Harris’ team found out that the Romulans had collected detailed information on each earthquake and with Ensign Richard Alexander’s help at decrypting the Romulan’s computer data they also discovered that the Romulans had strategically placed themselves outside of the quake’s range. Quite suspiciously however records showed that towards the end of their invasion quite a severe earthquake hit the outpost, it didn’t add up, the Romulans may not have been responsible. Whilst conversing with Lieutenant Francine Hart who was still aboard the USS Pacifica Lieutenant Harris voiced his disbelief that it was the Romulan’s doing. Lieutenant Hart revealed that all of the quakes that had hit the outpost occurred after the Romulans had left and it seemed that whoever was responsible was trying to hide whatever evidence the outpost held. It seemed that the person responsible was still as determined as another quake struck the outpost with the away team still inside, fortunately the outpost seemed designed to survive such quakes and nobody was harmed.
Aafter a few hours of getting to know the Archerian committee, Commodore Butterworth was shocked to receive word from Commander Buzz Polaris back on the Pacifica who had detected that a quake was about to strike the Capital. Even with a prepared evacuation of the Commodore’s away team they were still caught off guard when the quake rocked the city. Commodore Butterworth was knocked unconscious during the quake by falling debris and once the quake had subsided Doctor Morgan and Counselor Baron rushed to his aid and requesting a direct beam up to sickbay after accessing Butterworth’s condition. Commander Polaris gave the order to beam them up, but the bridge crew were equally as shocked when a report came back that the away team had disappeared. Scanning the surface Lieutenant Harris detected an energy spike in his readings, it appeared that the isolated lab gave out some strange signals during the quake which had now ceased. Determined to get Butterworth and the others back Polaris ordered Harris, Hart and L’Verrem to return to the planet and find Butterworth’s away team by investigating this strange lab, before they left however they received a disturbing message from the Archerians that the Governor was dead.
Doctor Morgan and Counsellor Baron found themselves imprisoned in a small cell with no visible door and with Commodore Butterworth unconscious on the floor. It seemed that somebody had rerouted their emergency transport and trapped them. Unable to contact the Pacifica all they could do was wait as the three Lieutenants scoured the damaged city for their crewmates. They soon realised it was a fruitless exercise, wherever the away team were they were not in the city any longer and so with few options left they moved on to the lab. Sadly the second away team was to suffer the same fate as the first and it was not long before they too had been captured and imprisoned in the same cell as the others. Whilst Commander Polaris tried in vain to contact the Archerians, Banks and Lieutenant Commander Kirkwood soon discovered that there were less than 15 minutes before a powerful quake qould hit the isolated lab where the away team were last reported to be. Unknown to the Pacifica’s crew both away teams were still there trying various attempts of escape.
When Minister Ro’chor demanded the return of the apparently dead Governor Commander Polaris realised that foul play was afoot and against the bridge officer’s suggestion assembled his own rescue team in order to get the others back before the quake hit. Whilst Commander Polaris & Lieutenant Akaris Venn searched, the trapped away teams were staging their own escape attempt as Lieutenant Hart managed to squeeze through the cramped service hatch that had been hidden within the cell. Searching for an escape route that would allow her to return to the ship and inform them of the true culprits Lieutenant Hart stumbled across another cell containing the fit and very much alive Governor Thorlack, he told her that it was Ro’chor who was responsible for capturing them all. The two separated as Thorlack tried to reach the surface to contact the Pacifica whilst Hart looked for a way to free the others. Back up on the ship Lieutenant Commander Kirkwood had finally worked out how to disable the dampening field around the lab that had thus far prevented transporters and communications from reaching the prisoners, with Banks help the dampening field was dropped and the trapped away team members were retrieved.
With Commodore Butterworth rushed to sickbay the others returned to the bridge, tired but determined to solve this mystery. Lieutenant Hart explained that Governor Thorlack was a victim as well and that Ro’chor was part of a radical group of Archerians who were against Federation membership. Seconds later reports came in that the lab was destroyed and everyone in it was killed, sadly it seemed the only person who remained within the lab was Governor Thorlack who was truly dead this time. It was upon hearing this that the crew finally made sense of the jumbled up clues. Whoever was responsible for the quakes was trying to set the Federation up by making it seem as though the Governor was having underhand dealings with the Pacifica’s crew but were all killed due to a freak quake. The bridge crew carefully planned their next steps analysing what they knew about Ro’chor and the Archerians. It seemed that Ro’chor had miraculously escaped all of the quakes even the one that struck the Archerian Capital that had injured Commodore Butterworth and apparently killed the Governor the first time around. It seemed that Ti'kin Ro’chor’s co-worker was also killed in this quake leaving Ro’chor in the perfect position to take the Governor’s seat.
It wasn’t long before the crew realised that Ro’chor had only called the Federation in to help because he was afraid that the Romulans would stop him before he had a chance to act. This determined radical needed time to instigate his plan if he was to destroy all of the scientific efforts to improve their technology before the Federation came to survey them for membership. By having the Federation remove the Romulan threat and then testing the quake technology on the labs Ro’chor’s faction were prepared for their next step - moving the quake technology to Archerian V where they intended to prevent any terra-forming attempts. It seemed that Ro’chor and the few extremists that followed him were against the human colonists expanding and bringing more strangers into their native system. Realising that the Archerian natives could not be fully trusted Commander Polaris contacted a representative of the human colonists Damon Brown and requested his help in this matter. After convincing him that the Pacifica was not responsible for the Thorlack’s death Polaris and Lieutenant Harris persuaded Damon Brown to help them prevent any more disasters. As the science and engineering crews began working on locating and preparing to dismantle any other labs on both Archerian IV and V Commander Polaris ordered the ship to take up a position between the two planets in case any Archerian ships began to make the final supply run to the labs on Archerian V. It wasn’t long before a ship was detected commanded by Ro’chor himself, not wanting to attack Ro’Chor directly the Pacifica’s crew tried to reason with the radical and only encouraged him to repel them more. More Archerian vessels then appeared and demanded that the Pacifica allow them to capture Ro’chor who was to answer for criminal charges. It seemed that Damon Brown’s words to the native and colonists of Archerian iv had paid off. Frightened by this show of force Ro’chor’s vessel began to flee but was destroyed before going to warp, however the Pacifica succeeded in beaming Ro’chor’s crew on board and moved them all to the brig.
With the radicals captured and returned to the makeshift government back on Archerian IV the Pacifica thanked Damon Brown for his helped and returned him to the surface. The bridge crew discussed the possible future of these two cohabiting races, the Humans and the Archerians and their chances of joining the Federation in the near future. Commander Polaris assured them all that they would not be forgotten and that the Federation had issued a diplomatic party to the system to help settle the problems on both planets, however the Federation could not interfere in these problems as they needed to be sorted out by Archerian people. Commodore Butterworth recovered from his injuries and returned to active duty with a lot to catch up on.
Other Characters
- Lieutenant Commander Vanessa Baron - Ship's Counselor - USS Pacifica - NPC
- Governor Thorlack - Archerian Governor - NPC
- Deputy Governor Ac'rin - Archerian Deputy Governor - NPC
- Science Minister Ro'chor - Arcerian Minister for Science - NPC
- Damon Brown - Archerian Human Representative - NPC
- Captain Gor'kin - Archerian Starship Commander - NPC
- Ti'kin - Archerian Scientist - NPC
- Perim - Governor Thorlack's Wife - NPC
- Captain Paul Newlands - Commanding Officer - USS Lesley - NPC
Noted Ship & Starbase Appearances
- USS Cortez NCC-50120
- USS Lesley NCC-50128
Memorable Moments
Dramatic Moments
After one more failed attempt of relaxing she got up off of the hard bench and walked into the small ajoining room. Spotting a small compact sink she went over to it and hit the switch that activated the water. Taking some water in her hands she threw it up onto her face, before glancing up at the bare wall behind the sink. She wanted to go home.
- Lieutenant Francine Hart During her confinement on Archerian IV.
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Everyone in the reception area much like Butterworth struggled to remain upright many fell over while trying to take cover, while others tried to remain exactly where they were. Through the deep rumble from the shaking Butterworth heard the slightest sounds of cracking before he had anytime to register what was going on he felt an impact on his head and everything went black.
- Commodore Daniel Butterworth During the Earthquake that hit the Archerian Capital.
---
Harris: Contrary to popular belief, I am not mad! however, Counsellor, I suggest you duck.
The Counsellor did not need to be told twice, and she fell to the floor, as seconds later Harris fired a short blast from the small phaser and watched with the others as the blast hit the wall and
caused it to ripple.fade.ripple back and solidify.
Hart: A hologram?
Harris: We're in the lab all right in a small cell, fitted with holographic projectors. A holo-cell, so to speak.
Hart: What is the point of that?!?
L'Verrem: *Caught on to Harris's idea* To hide the door.
- Lieutenant James Harris During the discovery of the holocell.
---
Polaris:Try and lock onto them and beam up the remaining memebers please Mr Banks.
Banks was typing in the commands as the last dot, a glowing blue one, was snuffed out. He tensed. The whole team was gone.
Banks: All the team's contacts have disappeared, we cant get a lock sir.
Polaris: Damn!
Banks: Permission to beam down to there last location and search for the sir.
Polaris: Denied! Im not losing any more men down there until I know whats going on.
Banks hunched over his console and tryed to get a lock on the missing Harris and co....
- Ensign Owen Banks During the abduction of the second away team.
---
Quickly looking over her shoulder she realised that Butterworth was beginning to stir. Quickly full of a lot more drive she got up and spun around the face him. Looking down at his face his eyes slowly blinked open as he started to come to. The counselor also spoted this and joined her by the room's only bed.
Morgan: Daniel, can you hear me?
- Doctor Connie Butterworth as she realises that Commodore Butterworth had regained consciousness.
---
Polaris: ;;shakes his head;; We don't have time for all this. Lieuteant Venn assemble a security team now then get yourself down to the transporter room we are going down to that lab.
Venn: ;;concerned;; Sir need I remind you that you are currently in command and it would not be wise for you to leave the ship.
Polaris: ;;shakes his head;; Noted but not this time I'm going assemble your team.
Without any more discussion Venn nodded his head and started to get his team together.
Polaris: =^= Kirkwood report to the bridge
Banks: Sir permission to join the away team?
Polaris: Negative I need you here.
Banks: But sir.
Polaris: Sorry Ensign but I need you here to monitor that quake. Don't worry we get everyone out of there.
- Commander Buzz Polaris deciding to take matters into his own hands.
Entertaining Moments
L'Verrem: Are you sure Lt.Harris? This way is the quickest, and I believe that it is safe enough to climb up ;;nods towards the ladder;;
Harris: I don't like the phrase `safe enough'. I prefer the terms, `perfectly safe', `amazingly safe', or `this ladder is so safe, you'll be safer when you come out the other end'.
- Lieutenant James Harris & Lieutenant JG L'Verrem discuss the safety of using a ladder.
---
Hart sighed, then started her turn down the shaft. "I can just see my post mortem report now: 'killed by falling down an underground shaft, landing on a human male, and then a 500 kg fur ball landed on her' ", said Francine between coughs. The dust was getting thicker as they descended.
"I assure you, Francine Hart, that I weighed only 125 kg at my last medical exam", said L'Verrem as he started down the ladder. It creaked a bit, then seemed to settle.
"That's little assurance, L'Verrem".
- Lieutenant Francine Hart & Lieutenant JG L'Verrem as they start their descent down the ladder.
---
Polaris looked at the screen infront of Banks and noticed three flashing lights, two green and one blue. "These are the away team?"
Banks glanced down at the lower corner and the warm glowing dots and a small worried smile crossed his face. "yup, thats them"
Polaris:Why is one of them blue?
Banks: Er.. thats Lt Harris sir, hes in charge.
- Commander Buzz Polaris & Ensign Owen Banks track the movement of Harris' away team.
---
Harris: Hmmm take a seat ;;indicates the console;; I need you to get this up and running.
Alexander: What is it?
Harris: A computer *grins*
- Lieutenant James Harris & Ensign Richard Alexander
---
Harris: I think so L'Verrem. But I'm not sure if they'll rush here to get us. However, on a more positive side, maybe they're working on a way to take the dampening field down. Either way, the signal is a good idea. Of course, there's a down side.
- Hart had returned from the small attached room, and Harris noticed she looked a little pale*
Hart: Why is there always a downside? Can't we ever come up with a plan that has no downsides? A completely upward pointing plan?
Harris: When I find one, I'll let you know.
- Lieutenant Francine Hart & Lieutenant James Harris dwell on all of the downsides.
---
Hart: Well that stinks ;;sighs;;
Harris turned to look at Hart, his eyes wide open with excitement, his expression as crazed as before
Harris: Does it? DOES IT? ;;He turns to L'Verrem and stares;; WELL? Does it stink???
Everyone found themselves once again staring at the scientist, who was now in the centre of the room with his eyes fixed on the Caitian. There was silence for a few seconds, and then Harris began
to sniff, ever so gently, all around him turning on the spot, sniffing...
Hart: ;;Quietly, to L'Verrem;; (What is he doing?)
L'Verrem: Not quietly;; He is sniffing.
Hart: Oh, well, for a strategics officer, I'm impressed, you do a wonderful job. ;;Looks L'Verrem in the face;; WHY is he sniffing?
L'Verrem: Should I know the answer to that question, Lt.Hart?
Hart: He was asking you, remember?
L'Verrem paused, and fell silent for a moment. Then, reluctantly, he sniffed. It was an elegant sniff, but the single movement was actually quite amusing the those watching, and his feline nose
wiggled just a little. Another silent moment, and another sniff. Then another. Soon, L'Verrem was acting almost as crazy as Harris. The Doctor, who had been ensuring that the Commodore had not tried to join in with the conversation and to save his strength, had looked up at the madness and decided it was time to chip in.
Morgan: What exactly is going on? Or don't I want to know?
L'Verrem stopped dead in is tracks, and looked at the Doctor with a calm, collected expression. She was surprised by this, since he had looked so odd before.
L'Verrem: There is no smell.
Morgan: ;;Confused;; Surely that's a good thing? We are going to be here for some time.
L'Verrem: I do not think you understand me, Doctor Morgan. There is no smell to this room, at all.
Morgan: ;;Glances at Hart;; Care to explain?
Hart: ;;Shrugs;; Don't ask me I think they've both lost it.
- Lieutenant Francine Hart, Lieutenant James Harris, Lieutenant JG L'Verrem and Doctor Connie Morgan On the lack of a smell in their small holding cell.
OOC Moments
Almost time to collect the Marines thinks wouldn't it have been better if we had had them with us for our semi-invasion of those labs? Part of me thinks we would not have been kidnapped so easily if we had of done rofl.
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Oh and welcome back skipper, can't forget to mention that now can I.
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Tag Harris L'verrem and the make believe security guy.
Out of Character Information
None.
