The Opera Ends With Ballet

Posted on Thu Feb 14th, 2019 @ 12:21pm by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Commander Sonak & Lieutenant Asa Dael & Baroness 2nd Class Schwein von Alcott

Mission: Dance of the Valkyries
Location: Starbase 336, Dance of the Valkyries
Timeline: 2396
Tags: Night at the opera 3/3

The Romulan Commander put on an even more haughty air about herself, as if that was possible. "Fine. In the interest of diplomacy." She then motioned to the sleeping Titan. "That twelve-meter tall creature... Is, as I understand it, the sleeping form of a being known as a Titan, called by your people Iapetus. We were performing joint research on it with Starfleet Intel, the minutiae of which, I was not made aware of." Technically, everything she said was true. She didn't concern herself with micromanaging the research - she was just concerned with the fact that it was being done expediently. Never mind that she might have known what types of research were being conducted in the Romulan labs. She then motioned for her slimy Starfleet counterpart to spill a few beans.

"Races of immortal beings who have interfered in human history in our formative stages, now taken to the stars as they wage their private little vendettas and wars," Commander Peirce began. "Taking over entire planets and bending them to their knee. Bulldozing their way into classified Starfleet operations whenever they wish. Convincing those whose lifespans are not forever to ally to them as they run roughshod over the entire galaxy. What if they decide to return to Earth, decide they don't care for our advancement and decide to hurl is back to the bronze age, where we were more tractable," Commander Peirce asked, looking pointedly at the phaser pointed at his head. "Take away our little toys, as it were."

"We live very finite lifespans, whereas they do not. They can put plans into motion that will take centuries to come to fruition because they have the time, you see. While we are scrambling to get things done in the meager time allotted us, they can play the long game. Immune to disease, to the ravages of time, empowered by bone and muscle mass ten times denser than a human. It hardly seems fair that such beings stride the spaceways, meddling in the affairs of we mere mortals." Looking up at Odin, Peirce raised an eyebrow.

"How dare we strive to study your progenitors, to learn their secrets, and through them, yours. How dare we wish to stand as equals amongst you, not below you. How dare we not know our place in the food chain and seek to understand, to know, to grant such gifts to our own people that you so selfishly keep to yourselves. That's what's been going on here," the sandy-haired commander gestured broadly to the slumbering titan. "The subject isn't dead, just sleeping. He was asleep when we found him and he's still asleep, and dreaming, according to the brainscans we've been monitoring. We've kept him safe, we've not harmed him, and we've been studying him."

"The sheer, unbridled gall, hm? How dare we try to learn more about beings who can do so much with so little effort that they can change the course of galactic history on a whim... or a tantrum," The starbase commander turned smugly, giving his audience a moment to digest all that.

Doctor Dael had just finished putting the downed Romulan's arm back in the socket when they looked up, eyes full of fury.

"How dare you hold any sentient being captive in the name of research? How dare you sully the name of science with your experimentation? How dare you claim the moral high ground when you inflict your will on others? Did humanity not learn firsthand knowledge is not worth the price? Or did you find Mengele a role model?" Asa said in a cold, flat voice. None of the doctor's usual compassion or warmth was in evidence as they strode to their next patient, a bleeding human, and began about the task of stopping his bleeding.

"Idiot. Did you miss the part where we've been protecting him?" Commander Peirce snarled. "Where do you think all of your medical knowledge and equipment came from? Research, moron. How dare we-"

"ENOW!" The butt of the great spear Gungnir came down, and the entire station reverberated from the impact, that rolled like thunder.

"Okay, let's try a little game I like to call jurisdiction," Paris interjected, trying to calm things down a notch. "Odin, you now know what's going on here. I'd like to hear your thoughts on the matter."

"Scavengers, circling one of the ancient powers of the universe... the very titan of immortality himself, he who lent his longevity to us all. Laid out as carrion for insects to devour and study..." the All-Father grumbled as a call came in on Paris' comms, which she took privately for a few seconds, then turned back to the assemblage. From her left forearm sprang video of a laboratory, with science officers in blue EVA armor alongside security gold.

"...a bit of doing to get in, but there's all sorts of nasty stuff down here, Commander. I'd need to do some genuine research, but just from here it looks like they've been growing his brain matter, hooking it up to replicators to tap into some sort of creation code? There are wards down here of Human and Romulan personnel who have all been injected with various serums and materials- again, there's a lot to take in, but this is definitely genetic engineering, highly illegal, and it's produced some horrific results." Panning his visual scanner about, the science officer showed a sealed ward filled with humanoids for the most part, although some were so mutated as to be unrecognizable as humanoid any longer.

"Lieutenant, over here!" called someone offscreen, and the scientist moved to intercept. "If this material is to be believed sir, they've been throwing every disease in the book at them, radiation, what have you... I think they're trying to figure out how to kill them, sir," the excited ops crewman explained. "The test subject is over..."

Following the gold-clad ops crewman, the image shifted as they saw a sealed chamber with a 1/2 meter cube of what looked like to be meat, until the camera zoomed in and skin and hair could be seen on one edge. As the hairs rose slightly in the breeze, it was suddenly evident that this was a plug of flesh taken from the titan itself, which the station researchers had been using to study, trying to find a way to kill the square of flesh which, even separated from the body of the Titan, was still immortal.

The young ops officer threw up in his helmet, as did the science officer, and Paris cut the feed. Her own ire rising, Paris turned to hold up her hands to Odin, whose rage was literally a palpable thing, radiating outward from him as the winds picked up inside the starbase.

"Whoah whoah whoah, this is bad, this is VERY bad, but PLEASE let's not get murdery here, because that's not going to do anything but start a war! You don't want a war with the Federation, Odin! I know it looks very tempting right now, but that's not going to go well for anyone. So let's calm down and discuss this like sensible-"

"Oh don't be naive," Commander Peirce began when Rita Paris stunned him, point-blank, dropping the man to the floor with a twitch in her eye.

"More than enough out of you today, mister. Now, do you have some remarkable justification for all of this, or can you come up with any reason whatsoever why I shouldn't just get out of the way of the old god's wrath?" Rita Paris asked the Romulan commander.

The Romulan Commander raised her hands defensively, her eyes wide. "Countermeasures against other seemingly immortal beings? Ah... I assume from your look that that's a poor justification. Would you believe for the future survival of the Romulan Star Empire, then? No? Then how about I just get out of your way?" Slowly stepping to the side, Riov Rendal tried to make sure she wasn't in any way inhibiting access to the Titan.

That was when yet another party decided to beam on in. In a sparkle, Commodore Meowlith and four of her black-uniformed security forces beamed in. "Commander Paris, it's good to see you again. Mighty Odin, it pleases me to see that your beard is as long as ever. As for Riov Rendal and Commander Pierce, I've heard most of your conversation thanks to the open comm channels with the USS Hera. I'll be relieving both of command and detaining both for questioning if no one has any complaints."

"I think not," rumbled Odin. "These are crimes against immortals, and they shall be judged by immortals. The Jarl of Valhalla trusts not the laws of men to adequately punish their own in such a matter. They seek our deaths, and the ruination of our people. Justice would be served ere they be remanded to the All-Father, not to the company of their fellows."

As Odin spoke, Meowlith signaled for her people to apprehend the two station commanders. When he was done, the Commodore raised a finger to count her points. "One, they are now in my custody so you'll have to request extradition for them or cause another intergalactic incident. Two, if I'm not mistaken, your wife and future daughter in law have taken custody of the Titan Iapetus." A bit of a stretch, but it guaranteed that Odin walked out of here with the slumbering form. "Three, unless you mean to violate our treaty... Again... And this time without reasonable cause... Might I remind you that our agreement states that Living Mortals are tried by Mortals and Immortals are tried by Immortals? Besides, unless you plan on meting out justice upon their brows at this very juncture, they'll never live long enough to see their day in your courts."

Meowlith turned to face Odin, dropping her hands to her sides. "Now... Do we have an accord?"

Everyone held their breath as the imposing figure leveled his spear in the direction of the Romulan commander Rendal. His one good eye blazed with fury, then abruptly he raised his spear, setting its hilt back on the deck. "The All-Father shall stay his hand this day, for truly, that is the pact he hath made with the mortals of Midgaard. If the word of Odin be not bond, then forsooth, what be? Away with these spurious knaves, these blackguards who would play dice with the gods. The liege lord of Asgaard hath time enow for eternity... but none for thou."

"Farenia, daughter of Meowlith, Odin doth thank thee for thy reminder of mine oath. Thou hast mine gratitude. Now, where be this vixen whom hath charmed my errant son?" Odin looked about, catching the eye of Freyja.

Schwein, for her part, was looking back and forth between Odin and Freyja when she was suddenly hoisted and with a stamp of her spear, Freyja leaped back across the broken catwalks to the splintered doorway they had previously entered. "She is here, husband. She has bested me in fair combat, no less, and I would welcome her into the family with my full blessing."

There was a tense moment as Odin bent over to look eye to eye with the cybernetic pirate. Peering deeply, as if measuring her worth by viewing it through the window of her soul, the golden-armored god stood up and stamped the heel of his spear on the deck once more. "If a mortal he hath chosen then a mortal shell Thor wed. So sayeth Odin!"

"For now, we must gather up poor Iapetus, who deserves better than this. If thou wouldst life to see another day, make haste from this place. For while mortal justice may hold sway, what hath been learned here must go no further. This place shall be no more- tis the will of the All-Father!"

A glance to the Commodore to confirm that was a concession she was willing to make, and Paris began barking orders. "All right people, round up the personnel and let's get this place evacuated. You heard the man, this place shall be no more. Mister Sonak, Doctor Dael, that experimental wing down on Deck 3- oversee the evacuation of those test subjects. Make sure any of them who need to be isolated are identified and moved accordingly. Miss Dox, organize our runabouts no longer involved in rescue from the Aldrin and get them busy getting these people out of here. Paris to Hera, inform transporter rooms to begin beaming personnel out of here and into custody, have Security turn Cargo bays 3 and 4 into a holding area. Release any Valkyries currently held on the Hera."

"Aye, Commander." Dox replied, holstering her weapon as she stepped away, already on her Comm badge with the flight deck of the Hera to enact Paris' orders.

''Acknowledged,'' also confirmed Sonak just as he tapped his suit's controls to open a channel to the ship. ''Hera, this is Lieutenant Sonak; get a fix on my position and prepare transporters for evavuation of afflicted personnel. Doctor Dael will direct the operation.''

Stepping over to the father of the Norse pantheon, Paris offered a salute. "Thank you for your patience, sir. Appreciate you bringing this to our attention, so we could root it out and put a stop to it."

"Look to thine own house, shieldmaiden," Odin rumbled. "Think thou where one vermin is found, might not a nest be hidden? Thy Federation hath lofty principles, yet 'twould seem not all within it share thy noble mein. Make not the wandering god point out thy folly a second time, lest he think thou'rt insincere."

At that, Paris looked troubled, but said nothing, nodding firmly to the cosmic being.

Taking a breath, Asa stepped forward to address Odin, All-father and figure of legend. In a clear voice, Asa called, “Haptasnytrir, Oski, Skollvaldr and Sanngetall. I ask thee a boon. You are teacher and wish granter, ruler over treachery and finder of truth. We mortal here have need of thee here. There are those who suffer, victims of treachery done upon them, dying and wishing for a miracle. I will do all I can for them, but I know not all the ways. I beg thee, Allfather, show mercy to those who suffer. Canst thou return to them their original form? Or impart unto me the knowledge to do so? I beg thy mercy and offer myself into a compact with thee to serve thy people for a thousand years. I will tell others of thy mercy, spreading word of thy might. When my time with Starfleet is complete, in no more than one thousand years, I will enter thy service directly and serve in thy court if thou wilt aid these souls. What say you, Valkjosandi? Chose not to slay these innocents, I beg you.”

Their speech complete, Asa stood boldly facing Odin, hoping they seemed brave in spite of the fear coursing through their veins. There was risk to this plan- and Starfleet may have some choice words for Asa entering this compact, but what they had seen from the test subjects was enough to move the doctor to any action to restore those souls to health. No one should suffer in such a way, and a loss of a thousand years was one Asa would gladly make to give back to others their own 200 years.

The Commodore paused in calling out orders to her own ship to intervene in the request from Asa to Odin. "Ah, that's not possible since they're mortal still, and worse, likely non-believers. I'll take them aboard the USS Photon and get them back to Starfleet Medical to see what can be done for them." She rested one hand on Asa's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'll make sure the best doctors are on the case."

“Thine offer of service for mercy doth not fall upon deaf ears, youngling. But this be mortal meddling, and best left to mortals. Were the laird of Asgaard to interfere, all might end in tragedy. I say thee nay- better for the mortals to tend to their own,” Odin relayed, his voice gentle with the young immortal.

“I thank thee for thy kindness, Grimnir, and for thy wisdom. I welcome our next meeting in the hopes we find ourselves upon a merrier field,” Asa replied solemnly, but with a soft smile. Something about Odin tickled Asa’s fancy…perhaps because he was supportive of his children’s decisions, or his true love of his wife. Things Asa had always wished to see in their own father, now prominently on display.

Then turning to the Commodore and Paris, “With your permission ma’ams, I will go aid in transport to your ship and in the triage of any wounded personnel?”

“Carry on, Lieutenant Dael. Okay people, let’s get this wrapped up,” Paris called, command steel in her voice. “The Commodore is going to handle the test subjects, Paris to transporter room 4, where are we at on getting station personnel beamed up?” Paris was switching channels as she spoke, the complex HUD in her armor making multitasking communications much easier than with her old flip front communicator.

“Twelve more personnel to beam up, Commander. ETA three minutes,” came the response from the transporter room of the Hera.

“Spectacular. Paris to Hera, route me to Security. How are those incoming personnel holding up, Chief Riley?” Rita asked.

“They’re getting very confrontational, ma’am,” Riley explained. “The Romulans are demanding to be remanded to Romulan custody.”

“Tell them they can sit down and be quiet and wait to be transferred or they can sleep off stunning, their choice. Feel free to make a few examples, I’ll be up there presently. Miss Dox, would you be so kind as to commandeer a runabout to pick me up? I’ve had enough molecular scrambling for today I think, and it looks like the Liege of Asgaard is being beneficent enough to give me time to make my exit before he blows this place to Hela.”

The guarded Romulan Commander raised her hand, pausing in her own evacuation efforts with the two surviving Romulan ships, small though they were. "If I may, Commander? There is a bay of Scorpion fighters not far from here. It would be a shame for them all to go to waste and the pair of antiquated warbirds at our disposal can't even evacuate a quarter of my staff, let alone any tech or data." Turning back to the person she was talking to previously, she looked annoyed. "Yes, leave it all behind and focus on the scientists. Get them all aboard and we'll worry about the rest later. If they have a clearance..."

“Good plan. Lieutenant Dox, commandeer a Scorpion, and oversee their deployment with the remaining personnel. If anyone tries anything, relieve them of their contraband or bad attitude and feel free to leave them behind if they are particularly obstinate. Two minutes to full evacuation, so move out!” Paris ordered the redheaded Romulan renegade. "I'd rather not bee here when the angry god unleashes his fury today..."

"Aye, Commander," Dox replied with the slightest of grins. Rita and she had discussed getting their hands on a Scorpion for just such an emergency and this was like a gift from the gods, almost literally. Immediately, she had called up their location on her Heads Up Display and took off at the marching pace Rita had made standard operating procedure on the Hera. As she walked, she unholstered the massive weapon from off of her back and called up the transporter tag ammunition again. As she did, she tapped her comm badge.

"Dox to Ensign Paulsen. Is that corner of Flight Deck 2 still clear?" She said as she walked. Within a few seconds, a voice replied quickly. "Aye, Chief."

Continuing, Dox kept walking and talking. "I'm sending transporter tag coordinates. As soon as you get the signal, please hop on the cargo transporter and beam up the items that I'll be tagging, thank you. And, uh, make sure that area is completely clear."

As Paulsen confirmed his orders, Dox marched into the hanger bay where she saw 10 beautiful Romulan Scorpions: Sleek, two-person transport fighters. Running frantically around them were a number of Romulan officers grabbing whatever equipment they could carry, much like proverbial chickens with their heads cut off. Stopping at the entry. Dox retracted her helmet so her Romulan ears were as clearly visible as possible and whistled loudly into the room. As she did, the officers came to a halt, confused.

"Who's in charge, here? You're under orders to evacuate immediately, so why are you all still here?" Dox commanded. Immediately, one of the officers shouted back, "I am! And I do not take orders from a Starfleet..."

But as he spoke, Dox simply raised her weapon and fired a tag into the shoulder of the officer. "Paulsen, this one goes to the brig for now, thank you." As she spoke, he vanished, mid-sentence in the glistening spray of the transporter.

Clearing her throat, Dox continued to yell, this time in perfect Rihan, to the remaining Romulan officers. She began walking towards the Scorpions as she did. "Commander Rendal has ordered this bases evacuation and we have less than a minute to do so, so each of you pair off, get in one of these and MOVE, do I make myself clear?"

The confused officers began scrambling to the Scorpions as Dox continued, still speaking in Rihan. "Except for these. These are mine." And shot tags on two scorpion's hulls. "Paulsen, bring my new toys home, thank you."

As the small ships vanished in a shimmer of transporter lights, Dox walked over to a third Scorpion and climbed in the cockpit, stowing her weapon by her side. The controls were like old hat to the young Romulan pilot as she smirked. "Oh, you are beautiful."

Within seconds, the Scorpion was airborne, but instead of exiting through the space doors, Dox shot it expertly into the interior corridor back the way she came. Moments later, the small ship launched into the main hall where Rita Paris had been waiting as Dox slid the scorpion down into a hover beside the catwalk and lifted the shiny black cockpit shield as she gestured to Paris. "Commander. If you will."

“Paris to Hera, how are we progressing on the station evacuation?” the curvaceous commander called as Commodore Meowlith and the commanders of the base vanished in transporter twinkles.

“Looks like the last of the personnel are evacuating now, Commander. You and Lieutenant Dox, and Baroness von Alcott are the only life signs aboard other than the two gods and your titan there, ma’am.”

“Excellent. Stand by,” Paris ordered, then turned to the punchy pirate with a prim smile. “Baroness, will you be returning to the Hera or do you have some time to spend with your future in-laws?”

Freya pulled Schwein into a hug and whispered something into her ear which left the silver-haired pirate wide-eyed, but whatever it was, she just nodded and stepped over next to her friends. "I still have some business to take care of on ze Hera, Commander. And there is time before ze wedding."

“Wunderbar,” Paris declared. “That being the case, please beam back to the Hera, Baroness. Odin, Freyja, I leave the remainder of this matter of titans in the hands of the gods,” the golden armored Valkyrie declared, climbing into the cockpit of the Scorpion fighter craft. “I know it was not the ideal solution to this situation, but I hope it is at least satisfactory to you.”

The Baroness nodded and tapped her comm unit. "Baroness von Alcott to USS Hera. One to beam back." A moment later, a transporter beam whisked the golden armored pirate away.

"Then that's our cue as well," Commander Paris sealed the cockpit of the Scorpion fighter, and the hotshot pilot roared it out of the starbase, through the holes Freyja had smashed to get into the place and back out into open space.

Standing on the edge of the catwalk looking down, Odin shook his head. "A slumbering titan and they entrust him to our care, with all the research and work they've done for us. What fools these mortals be," Odin chuckled.

"Let us take our prize home, my dear."

The Bifrost radiated out, encompassing the chamber, then the core, then the hub and finally encompassing the entire station. It shone brightly.. then the entirety of Starbase 336 was simply no longer there, the only evidence the debris from the recent battle still floating in space.