U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901

/||\ ---------------------------------------------
/ || \ UCIP Starfleet Command, Fifth Fleet
/ || \ U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901
.-/ || \-. Fleet Captain Tebrun Lora Kor, Commanding
./ || \. ---------------------------------------------
.-_-. || .-_-. Simulation Teaser
.-_ \||/ _-. -[ SD 240103.12 ]-

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/ Simulation Teaser |
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"Death is light as a feather; duty as heavy as a mountain."
-- Ancient Vulcan proverb

"Sit down, Commander... Lieutenant. Can I get the two of you anything?"
The two Vulcan Starfleet officers looked over and shook their heads, then
sat. Admiral Thomas Bartleby looked from the man to the woman, as if
measuring them. Commander Surak was tall, olive-skinned, and had dark
straight hair like most Vulcans in Starfleet. His wife, Lieutenant
t'Shaela, was similar -- cool and austere, but Bartleby could detect a fire
underneath. Her Vulcan suppression was probably not as strong as it could
be. Both were young for Vulcans, in their mid-40s, and they were one of the
very few Vulcan husband-wife teams in Starfleet. Nodding to himself, he sat
and indicated the Starfleet officer behind him. "I assume both of you are
familiar with Captain Kor?"

The two Vulcans looked behind Bartleby to the woman sitting there. She was
tall, blonde, and extremely thin, almost emaciated. Dark brown spots were a
jarring contrast on her light skin; they started at her temples and went
down her neck. Underneath the typical red double-breasted Starfleet uniform
jacket, she wore a white turtleneck, indicating command division.

"Lonara, it is good to see that you are well after your latest adventure,"
Lieutenant t'Shaela said. Captain Lonara Kor nodded, chuckling.

Bartleby looked from the Trill woman to the Vulcan. "You two know each
other?" the Admiral asked. The Admiral was human male, 50ish, greying at
the temples, but still very fit.

Kor nodded. "Yes, Admiral," the Trill woman said. "Lieutenant t'Shaela and
I served together on the frigate Point Defiance six years ago, she at
Communications, I at Helm." t'Shaela nodded but added nothing.

The Admiral nodded. "It is of Captain Kor's 'latest adventure' that I wish
to speak." Bartleby turned his full attention on the two Vulcans. "The
Tomed Incident is over. The Federation Council has made its decision: there
will be no second war with the Romulans. Starfleet Command backs that
decision." The Admiral paused as both Vulcans nodded almost imperceptibly.
"However," Bartleby continued, "for there to be no response at all would
be... inappropriate." The human man leaned back.

"I've spoken with both of you separately," the Admiral said. "Both of you
have agreed, separately, to participate in a dangerous extremely long
duration mission for the good of the Federation." Commander Surak looked at
his wife and raised one eyebrow; her return look was calm. The Admiral
waited for this exchange to finish, then continued. "What neither of you
have realized yet is how long duration this mission is likely to be."

The side door of the Admiral's office opened, briefly revealing an inner
office with a view of Starbase One's starship construction facilities.
Through the door stepped a Romulan man and woman. Commander Surak stood,
faint shock apparent on his features for a microsecond before it was
suppressed. The man could be his brother; in particular, his build and
general features were very similar. The Romulan woman was somewhat shorter
than t'Shaela, but both were similar in their skin tones and hair color.
Both also had the same barely-restrained fire in them, though the Romulan
woman wore hers more openly. Surak composed himself and sat back down.

"This is Maec Vrih Terrh tr'Lhaihtrha and his wife, Shiarrael Nuhir Dhael,"
Bartleby said, ignoring the reaction of the two Vulcans. "Both were among
the Rihannsu that were captured by the Venture," he said, inclining his head
toward Captain Kor. "Both have also expressed disgust over the actions of
their government during the Incident--"

He was interrupted by Maec, who snorted. "To put it mildly," he said in an
acid tone.

Bartleby nodded. "In forty-five days, as part of the negotiations for the
Treaty of Algernon, both sides will repatriate captives that they have
taken. Maec and Shiarrael will be returned to their people then... or to
put it more precisely, the two of you will be, in their place," the Admiral
said, looking at Surak and t'Shaela. "Before you agree to this, you have to
realize that the two of you will be living in Rihannsu space for years...
perhaps decades. But it's critical that we have a better understanding of
these people... to prevent atrocities like what happened at Tomed from
happening again."

Surak nodded, having already seen where the discussion was going. "It is a
logical decision, and a worthy mission, Admiral. It is also quite logical
that my wife and I participate. I believe we both agree..." The Vulcan man
turned to his wife, who was already nodding. "But what of the Tal'Shiar,"
Surak asked. "Surely, they will examine each and every person we return to
them."

Bartleby nodded. "Our medical technology has always been significantly
better than that of the Rihannsu..." Shiarrael nodded. "...and with the
latest replicator and genetic technologies that have just been perfected,
it's even better. You and your wife will be altered at the immuno-genetic
level to pass for Romul-- Rihannsu," the Admiral said, stuttering a bit over
the final word. "Even a Rihannsu doctor will be unable to tell the
difference. Genetics, blood factors, chromosomes... all of them will be
altered. Your children, should you choose to have any, will be Rihannsu.
You will have the next six weeks to work with Maec and Shiarrael on culture
and society and their places in it." The Admiral paused. "May I be blunt?"
he asked. The two Vulcans paused, then nodded. Bartleby nodded and
continued. "I suggest the two of you use the mind-meld to your advantage...
it is critical that the two of you be completely indistinguishable from Maec
and Shiarrael before those 45 days are up... to *become* Maec and Shiarael,
as much as possible. Understand?"

Surak and t'Shaela had a few other questions, but they were not particularly
critical. In the end, they agreed. The two men and the two women filed
out, leaving Kor and Bartleby alone. Bartleby pressed a stud on his desk,
which caused part of the wall to retract, revealing the starship
construction facilities. Below, a Constellation class destroyer was under
construction. Bartleby could even make out the name and registry which had
been painted on a week before: U.S.S. Stargazer, NCC-2893.

Kor cleared her throat. "What is my position in all of this, Admiral?" she
asked.

Bartleby looked over his shoulder and laughed. "Haven't you guessed,
Captain? You're their control officer." The Admiral turned. "I'm already
58, Captain... I understand that the Trill are an extremely long-lived
species."

Captain Lonara Kor paused, then nodded. "I will outlive Surak, t'Shaela,
their children, and probably their grandchildren," she said honestly.

Bartleby nodded. "This mission will go on for decades, Captain. At this
moment, you, I, and two others know of it, besides the Commander, the
Lieutenant and their new best friends," he said. "After I and the two
others die, you will be all that's left." Bartleby leaned over his desk,
his eyes boring into the Trill Captain. "And you will tell NOONE, Captain.
You will keep this secret so long as you live, until those two and whatever
children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren they have want to come
home. Do you agree? Because if you don't, this mission is over before it
begins."

The Admiral paused and turned back to watching the workbees and construction
tugs at work on the Stargazer.

Captain Kor stared at the Admiral's back for a long time. "Admiral," she
said finally, "it shall be as you say." Bartleby nodded without turning
around, and Captain Kor turned and left his office.

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"Welcome back, Captain, and well done!"

"Thank you, Admiral," Captain Tebrun Lora Kor said, nodding a greeting at
Vice Admiral Brian Aldur in the Ready Room aboard the latter's flagship,
U.S.S. Stirling. At Aldur's gesture, Lora Kor took a seat across from the
older human.

"When this thing broke out and we didn't hear from you, we figured Coro for
a casualty. How's she standing up?" Aldur asked.

"The Klingons did a little redecorating on our secondary hull," Lora Kor
said, smirking. "I didn't care for their work, so I'm having it fixed right
now. Mobile Repair Facility Pearl is doing well by us, sir," the Captain
said.

Aldur nodded. "Excellent. Good work behind Klingon lines. I'm putting
Coro in for two battle stars for your work, one for the destruction of that
Klingon heavy cruiser, the other for the stealth attack you conducted on the
repair rally point. That should cheer your crew right up. Probably two of
the brighter spots in the last three weeks," the Admiral concluded.

Lora Kor nodded, his face grim. The two battle stars would look nice
painted under Coro's collection of Klingon ship silhouettes, but... when
Coro had reconnected to the Federation information network, the news had
started pouring in. Other than Coro's work and the work of a few other
ships, the news for the Federation was uniformly bad.

The Admiral nodded, as if reading the Captain's thoughts. "Between you, I,
and the sword--" Aldur hooked his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the
longsword hanging behind his Ready Room desk, "the way this war is being
prosecuted, I swear by Mithras I would not be surprised to learn Suzanna
Blokpoel is another Romulan plant."

Lora Kor went cold all over. "With all due respect, don't even joke about
it, sir!" he said, rubbing his arms. By now, everyone in Starfleet knew of
Rear Admiral t`Ajel's traitorous action that had given the Romulans Coriel
VII virtually intact. If a Rear Admiral that had survived Zakal's little
adventures could be a Romulan mole, anyone could.

Aldur nodded sourly. "My apologies, Captain, if I offend. It's only been
six weeks, and it's already been a long war. I don't like losing, and I
like constant retreating even less. It's time to start hitting back, and
hard." The Admiral paused. "Ready to go back out into it?" he asked,
picking a PADD off his desk and tossing it to Lora Kor.

The Captain caught it and turned it on. "What is this, Admiral?" he asked.

"Take a look, then let me know what you think," the Admiral replied, voice
cryptic, the ghost of a smile on his face.

Lora Kor looked over the specs on the PADD, then transferred to the other
documentation. It took him three minutes to get the gist, then he looked
up, eyes bright. "Are these things for real?" Lora Kor asked, holding up
the PADD.

Aldur nodded. "Flaky as hell and in no way ready for prime time, but yes,
they're real enough. What do you think?" he asked.

"Sir, I'm finding Coronado makes a damned good submarine and this could only
help. Who do I have to kill to get my hands on a couple of these?" the
Captain asked, grinning slyly, still holding up the PADD.

The Admiral laughed. "I knew you were the right man for this mission. Talk
to Yeoman Bronson when you leave and let him know I've authorized an O-7
promotion for you, approved by Starfleet Command. You're now a Fleet
Captain." Aldur held up both hands, stifling Lora Kor's smile. "Now,
before you start celebrating, let me tell you what I have in mind for you
and your 'submarine'..."

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Crew Roster:
Commanding Officer: FCapt. Tebrun Lora Kor (Jester)
Executive Officer: Cmdr. Jarod Bentall (Alffred)
Marine Commandant: LCol. Jeremy Ironside (Fraser)
Chief of the Boat: MCPO Olme Tlaloco (Tlaloco)
Command Liaison Interface: Savant (Savant)
Chief Tactical: LCdr. William Daren (Daren)
Squadron Leader: LMaj. Thomas Wayne (Masters)
Squadron Leader: 2Lt. Natalia Petrovna (Phishie)
Chief Flight Operations: Cmdr. Fornan Dejat (McC)
Chief Engineer: Lt. Zunite Oswald (Sonya)
Assistant Engineer: Lt. (JG) Aramis Skylooker (Skylooker)
Assistant Engineer: Lt. (JG) Jack C. Farley (CCC)
Assistant Medical: Ens. Ungtae Brie (Aggie)

On Extended Leave of Absense:
Chief Medical Officer: LCdr. Dalton (Heiwa)
Assistant Tactical: Lt. (JG) Norton Cavanaugh (Trooman)

Positions Available:
Science Officers, generally

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Ross Glenn aka Jester
Fleet Captain Tebrun Lora Kor, U.S.S. Coronado, NCC-97901
http://www.jestertrek.com/coro2400/