Posted by David Fergusson in Colony: Tunnels
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As the Away Team turned, prepared to enter the tunnel they were suddenly stopped as ten swift shadows exited the tunnel entrance and fanned out in front of them. Disruptor rifles were pointed at the Away Team.

Behind them came another seven or so forms. All were dressed in colonial/miner type clothes and all appeared to be a very pale form of Andorian. The last seven had disruptor pistols, also pointed at the Away Team. One in the middle did not look happy as a heavy scowl spread across his features.

“Stop, Starfleet! You trespass where you should not be!”

M’Mera scowled back and snarled. “How did you come out of therre without me hearring or smelling you?” She demanded in an accusing tone.

The head Andorian gave a sneering grin, “We’re telepathic, cat woman, we clouded your senses.”

M’Mera’s growl of disgust increased but she was smart enough to keep her hands well away from her weapon as she watched the Captain and this leader talk. She studied the group closely though. Definitely some type of Andorians, very pale blue skin, with antennae. But they had white eyes and was that brow ridge in their foreheads? They also were heavier set than any Andorians she had ever seen. They usually tall and lithe. These guys were shorter and bulkier.

Hunter wondered why the COS acted the way she did, they were outnumbered after all ‘’This doesn’t look good ‘’he whispered to the Captain ‘’ It would be suicide to retaliate our best bet is dialogue to discuss in order to reach an agreement or compromise.....hopefully ‘’.

Glen whispered back to Hunter, “if they are telepathic then they knew what she was thinking whether she spoke it out loud or not,” before wondering why he was now whispering himself.

“This mining facility is on a Federation planet, protected by Starfleet. We are on a peaceful mission. We mean no harm to you,” Glen replied. “Why do you say we trespass and have no business here?”

“Wrong Starfleet, this is disputed space along the Romulan border. It is not Federation or Romulan and we would like to keep it that way. It is outside of your so called Pioneer Fleet. Leave.” The Andorian leader’s voice was firm and uncompromising. “Tell those miners to leave or something worse will happen to them than bad dreams, missing or broken equipment and missing people.”

Hunter crossed his arms over his chest ‘’Didn’t we have a female Andorian crew member on the ship once ?’’ he asked not sure if he had dreamed it or not ‘’Don’t recall she had telepathic abilities ‘’ the doctor finished off.

“She wasn’t!” Glen replied. “I didn’t think they were,” although in the dark, they did seem to be some kind of pale Andorian relatives.

”…but Andoria is still mostly a hidden world to us, and come to think of it …I have heard of less mainstream Andorians; hybrids with another species, who do also serve in Starfleet, and who are paler and partially telepathic, and often blind because the other species are troglodytes …These must be some of those …but a long way from home,” Glen added, as if he was thinking out loud rather than to Hunter.

Hunter kept looking at these beings ‘’ Maybe they cannot see us if they live underground ,thus the telepathic abilities not to mention any movement we make they can detect ‘’.

The Captain replied to the Andorian leader, a little truth mixed with a little bluff, “No, you’re wrong! The ‘Pioneer Fleet’ is confined to the history books! You’ve been underground for too long! There is no longer any dispute over the Ardan sector ownership between the major galactic powers; not since the signing of the Khitomer Accords. The Romulans and the Klingons don’t care about this backwater. The Klingons have much better Dilithium deposits to mine. There are small interstellar governments around here who are in constant conflict, and there are pirates and other criminals who try to take advantage of that political instability. Does that adequately describe yourselves?”

Sharp was near the captain and over hearing the ongoing conversation ,he stood still not daring moving a muscle . The security wondered if they would make it out of there alive.

“No, we are not pirates. We are those who were abused and left here to die. This planet is ours by dint of our suffering. We just wish to be left alone here. We do not care about the riches of this planet but it is not for others to come strip it.”

If what they were saying was true ,then it was no wonder they were so hostile ‘’ Do those who are here for the rare metals such as Dithulium on this planet know of your existence ?’’ he asked in a soft tone ‘’ Two persons have been missing and we are rather worried about them ‘’ the doctor went on, putting the words in a way without directly accusing them.

The quasi Andorian shrugged in answer then his eyes flicked back to the Captain as he spoke.

Hunter figured to get out of this situation diplomacy was predominant .

“My Doctor is correct,” Glen replied to the Leader. “No one is aware of you existence, your history, or of your grievances …but I have heard of Aener, a kind of Andorian subspecies, blind ice-dwellers from an Andorian that I once had in my crew. You appear to share some ancestry with them and I am aware that you may have suffered violence, displacement, and the destruction of your culture.”

“We know we are what our parents called Aenar, but we were experimented on and genetically mutated.”

Glen continued, “As a Starfleet Captain, I am fully authorised to listen to your grievances and to negotiate with you. The USS Merrimack is on a mission of peace. I am independent of the miners here and of any commercial interests. I see the strength of the Federation in its diversity and ability to cooperate, and I believe in justice. I can highlight your case and promote your cause if it is genuine. However, if you attack us instead, only more will come after us; eventually the Starfleet Marine Corp. Rather than to continue with your aggressive attitude here, there has to be a diplomatic solution and a compromise to your problems or else you’ll never have peace.”

Glen added, “First of all though, you must stop intruding into the brains of these miners and meddling with their equipment and power, you must cease your attacks, make a truce, and free any hostages you are holding. You will have to account for your own actions, just as others must account for what they have done to you.”

Hunter was proud of how the Captain was handling the situation ,he knew that Glen carried years of experience .

“We have harmed no one. Only tried to scare them away like the others. They were not leaving so we took two of them to try and show them why they must leave. They are at our settlement. Can you truly negotiate for us? Would anyone believe us and help us?”

He asked as he appeared to be trying to scrutinize the Captain somehow. His antennae pointed at the Captain and his brow furrowed. He was probably scouring his mind though the Captain would feel nothing.

“As a Starfleet Captain, often working on the very fringes of known space, I do have some amount of autonomy, yes,” Glen replied. “Starfleet Captains are regularly tasked with diplomatic missions and are expected to represent Starfleet in a variety of situations. I have the capacity to make my own informed, uncoerced decisions …but I’m afraid that I know nothing about you, or even of the Aenar, merely that they shared the same satellite as Andorians, but that they were in very low numbers there. At least one Aenar has served in Starfleet, though. I think he was Chief Engineer aboard the first USS Enterprise under Captain Pike, but I think he is dead.”

”…but you also do have rights under Federation Laws …the reports of bogeymen and evil spirits coming out from Ardan V have been around for decades, since the Romulans were here, so if you have been here for that long then you will have historic settlement rights, which give you the right to remain here and of self-determination. If you also have proof of the experimentation and genetic mutation carried out on your people, then these are atrocities against persons, and classified as Genocide, which has been unlawful since before the UFP was first conceived. That applies no matter if you are Federation members or not. The planet Earth’s experience of Genocide under Colonel Phillip Green means that it would prosecute such crimes to their full extent, even against another founding member. So, you won’t require my advocacy, just as long as you can actually back up your accusations. Hearsay from your parents will not be enough, but genetic testing could be organised, and there must be records to uncover.”

The Aeneas leader barked with a derisive laugh. “Can you prosecute the Romulans?” He shook his head with a bit of despair. “If you have the Medical expertise, you will find the changes in our genome. We also have some digital evidence. Logs, that the Romulan scientists kept. They are fragmented but you can see what they were trying to do. They were experimenting on us to try to create a sub species they could use. What for I do not know. Our parents used their advanced psychic skills to drive them off. I think their mining operation here was just a front to cover what they were really doing. Or a convenience, I am sure they gained from it.” He shrugged again as he looked toward the doctor.

M’Mera shifted nervously as the Aenar’s attention moved off the Captain to the Doctor, she looked like she would leap between them if an attack was made.

Glen could see that Hunter was burning to ask about something, but he first added, “If you don’t trust me then read our minds. You probably already are. I’ve found that whenever low-grade telepathy is being employed, honesty is the best policy.”

‘’We know all too well what genetic modification can do,’’ Hunter replied, referring to Cross. ‘’Tell us was it a part from your side that there is an interference which we believe is coming from the planet and has effected our Comm system for we are unable to make contact with the rest of our crew?’‘

Some how the doctor believed someone or something else was at play .

The Aenar nodded once. “It is part of our psychic ability to cause disruption in machinery.”

As the captain seemed to have the Aenar talking rather than attacking, Eros relaxed. It wasn’t his place to interrupt while the Glen was playing diplomat.

Sharp also took a few steps backwards ,even if these beings attacked them there was no way the team stood a chance .

“No, I cannot prosecute the Romulans for such crimes,” Glen replied. Glen had believed that the Andorians must have done the genetic experimentations and wondered how the Romulans could have captured and brought the Aenar here …but it didn’t matter. It was a question for another day. “The Romulan Star Empire is withdrawing in upon itself, consumed with some internal matters. It has always been inscrutable but Federation ships hardly meet them at all now. The geopolitical balance is changing. They are no longer as powerful or as threatening as they were even a few years ago, so I don’t think they will be a problem for your people any longer. However, I’m sorry that I won’t be able able to bring you any justice or closure.”

Suddenly M’Mera’s combadge communicator chirped to indicate it was back online with the ship. She instinctively reached up and tapped it.

OOC: No combadges yet (coming soon, I believe.)

=^=M’Merra to USS Merrimack! Brridge, are you therre?=^=

It took Cross by surprise so much so that she took a moment before replying =/\= M’Mera finally !=/\= she exclaimed =/\= We hear you loud and clear ..is the landing party safe ? Are there any injuries ? I’ll inform the Captain everything about what happened to the ship but tell him its still in one piece =/\= the CMO was heard chuckling ,she had been worried , having thoughts occupied with unpleasant things and events that have happened or that may happen,it was now that Cross realized the mental state she had been in....... concerned, apprehensive and anxious .

Cross CMO.

=^=The Captain iss rright herre and I’m ssurre he’ss rrelieved to hearr the sship iss in one piece. Wass the sship in dangerr? I know the communicationss did not worrk as we arre standing herre with the people who caussed it. I don’t think they will interrferre anymorre.=^=

Lt. M’Mera COS

When Captain Glen heard M’Mera mention ‘Ship’ and ‘Danger’ in the same sentence he tried to listen to the answer. The Aenar were clearly assured by what they had heard, but it irked the Captain that their spokesman seemed to believe they had harmed no one. Miners may have been injured by faulty machinery and not received medical attention because of faulty comms. This could equally be true aboard the Merrimack. And the actions of the Aenar were considered and deliberate. Whatever their intentions had been, people had been harmed, thought Glen.

=/\= Hope not!! =/\= Cross exclaimed =/\= Cause everything stopped working from the engines to a simple medical tricorder .The ship went to total darkness for some time but thanks to our engineers they got them working again and the ship was able to move further away from the planet ,had they not done so tell the Captain he would have seen his ship falling from the sky =/\= .

Cross CMO

Hunter had heard Cross ,he wondered had it been better in the tunnels facing the Aenars or having been on the ship?.

’’ Miners and crew have been injured ‘’ he told the Aenars ‘’We understand it has caused you distress but I’m wondering could the genetic modification gave you dissatisfaction with one’s circumstances creating hostility, bitterness and resentment ?’’ the doctor asked.

Hunter Dr.

Glen wished Hunter would be a little more subtle with his questions. John Glen had thought that himself bit refrained from speaking his mind. Hunter needed to get a filter and keep his own mouth in check. This was a very delicate situation which Glen appeared he might have talked down from an ambush and execution, to the heated discussion level. He didn’t want to escalate it back up again. The Aeners would need to answer for what they had done at some point, but there would be investigations by others much more qualified to perform them. Their job right now was to get out of this alive in order to tell the others.

Another message came from the Bridge =/\= Lt. M’Mera, have you and the Captain been able to disengage the dampening field on the planet? =/\= from one of her newest officers.

“Why can we now get comms from the Bridge, but we can’t reach the other team on the surface?” Captain Glen asked M’Mera, puzzled!

• Glen, CO

Hunter realized the Captain wanted him to shut up and he did so but with the Aeners and their telepathic abilities he thought ..
* I’m asking perhaps there is a chance that the Federation can help ,unfortunately not you but future generations *.

For the doctor looked at a combination of all that has happened and there could be more then one reason that made them do the things they did. By keep accusing them won’t help after all everyone still seemed to be alive ,they didn’t riddled the party facing them with bullet holes even though they could have easily done so.

Hunter Dr.