RPG Silver One

[Aaryanna_Mom]

"[B]Why are we staying here in sector one William? Kiva has been sent elsewhere, we should get the hell out of here! All Jared has to do is get slightly curious about what Blaine was telling him and he'll figure out who I really am![/B]"

Daniel was pacing back and forth on the bridge of the Tryst. Ever since he had left the Creator he had been staying there with the rest of the crew. Since even though things were fairly calm in sector one there were still occasional fights breaking out. Especially on Reflection, people were getting restless and starting to question just how long Martial Law would be in place.

"[B]Relax Daniel, Kiva has been sent to sector fourteen, and my agents assure me that she'll be there for a while. Apparently a number of civilians took it upon themselves to head for that sector to do away with the research. Until that is dealt with Kiva won't be going anywhere. And even then it will take time for her to return. So long as she's gone we can outrun any military vessel here.[/B]"

Daniel shot William an annoyed glance before finally taking a seat next to him, sighing with frustration. "[B]Gods, how can you be so calm? Especially after what happened?[/B]" Daniel shuddered a bit at the thought. He wasn't sure which was more upsetting, dealing with Blaine or Jared. Blaine was annoying, but Jared was a much bigger threat. If he figured it out and Williams agents didn't catch wind of it in time. [I]Even the Tryst is not immune to a surprise attack. [/I]

"[B]Fine. I understand, we need to stay, I just hope to God I don't end up saying I told you so.[/B]" Daniel started to get up to head to his quarters on the ship but halted when William touched his sleeve.

"[B]I won't deny that it's a risk, but if things work out I intend to leave the sector after a few more things are dealt with. Erica's plans depend on us making sure certain things happen.[/B]"

He couldn't help but laugh at that. "[B]Honesty William, you never tell me anything. I mean, Erica Kendrik? Of all people I would have never thought that she was the leader of the resistance. How long have you known?[/B]"

"[B]She transfered control of the Resistance to me shortly before the attack in sector seven. Before that even I did not know who she was and I'm sure you can imagine why.[/B]" William smiled sadly. "[B]She's an amazing woman, that's for sure. Even in the end she's using everything she has to bring to light the problems with our government.[/B]"

Daniel sat back down with another sigh. "[B]She's a thousand times smarter than all of us. Hell! I wish we could do something about her. Even if they can't torture her, no one should be stuck in a tiny cell until they die. If they don't execute her that is.[/B]"

"[B]They won't not after she exposed Sandra's father and that her grandmother was also working for the Resistance. Stevens would be a fool to toss away the chance to learn what else Erica knows. And in spite of how Stevens appears, he's anything but a fool.[/B]" William leaned back a bit in his chair. "[B]You really should go and get some rest Daniel. We still have some things to take care of and you'll be useless if you're worn out.[/B]"

Daniel just nodded and left the bridge. If only William would just tell him what this other thing was that they were going to do. [I]God, I hate how secretive William is![/I] Moments later, when he had entered his quarters Daniel walked over to the desk and picked up the new locket he had made, looking briefly at the picture of his mother before closing it again. At least Blaine and Jared had never seen the picture before the other one had been destroyed. That would have been a total disaster.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[COLOR=darkslateblue]After beginning the data upload, Kiva took a concealed position and waited. She was hoping to be done before Kuro showed up, but she expected him to arrive before she was. And she was right. Kuro came into view, clearly in a hurry. He had to be; he didn't know how long he had before the data would be destroyed. Still, he was being careful. He clearly didn't intend to walk right into a trap.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=darkslateblue]Kuro was fully equipped, and in full combat armor just like Kiva. Fortunately, Kiva was just as fully equipped, and though her preferred weapon was terrible at penetrating armor, she'd made sure to bring armor-piercing weaponry. Specifically, she was equipped with a pair of AP-PE.5s, the most recent model in the AP-E series and Daego's favorite weapon. AP-PEs were fully automatic pistols, though they did have a semi-auto mode. They fired specially-designed rounds. AP-PE rounds were designed to penetrate strong armor. The casing was built almost like a drill. When fired, each round was shot at a high velocity, and spun rapidly as well. The drill-like casing and rotational motion allowed for maximum penetration, after which the rounds exploded, doing substantial damage. AP-PEs weren't standard-issue, but Specialists had access to all the best weaponry. Kiva had a pair on her, which she drew as Kuro came closer.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]Kuro was quick to notice that the computer terminal was active and running a routine. He didn't stop to investigate further, either. He'd figured out that it was an upload routine, so he knew that Kiva had to be around somewhere. But even if the data was uploaded to the [I]Transcendence[/I], Kuro could still accomplish his objective. He didn't have to stop the upload, just the destruction of the data that would follow. For that, he'd need to take out Kiva, who he guessed had been expecting him.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]Kiva knew that Kuro wouldn't want to risk damage to the computer terminal; his objective required the terminal to remain intact. So her position had been behind it. Kuro seemed to realize that Kiva was hidden there, and drew two guns of his own. Kiva didn't let him act first. She dove out from behind the terminal and fired, her guns set to semi-auto mode. She fired one shot from each gun. Kuro had been expecting her attack, and reacted quickly when she dove out. One of her shots missed Kuro completely and impacted the wall, while the other hit the left leg of Kuro's armor, blowing a few pieces off but not harming Kuro himself. Kiva rolled back to behind the terminal.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Nice try, Kiva," Kuro said, "but don't think I'll make this easy for you."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Whatever," Kiva said. "You and I both know this isn't the real fight. The real battle is between the [I]Transcendence[/I] and the [I]Exorcist[/I]."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"You're right. Killing you here won't matter if my ship is destroyed. However, don't think that the outcome of our little fight here doesn't matter. I do have to kill you, you know that. If I don't, you'll destroy the data I'm here to recover. I am somewhat dissapointed that we have to be enemies, though. I had hoped you'd aid me. But I knew I couldn't trust you as soon as you told me you released the information obtained from Erica's arrest. You are the first Specialist in history to betray the High Council, and your treason will not be forgiven."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]Kiva laughed. "You're the traitor here, Kuro. I'm acting at the request of Fleet Admiral Stevens. You're acting of your own volition. Even just making an unauthorized copy of classified data is grounds for arrest. But since the data's destruction has been ordered, you are going against those orders, and that's treason."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"I don't really care," Kuro said. "I'm still going to do what needs doing."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]At that moment, a signal sounded from the computer terminal. It wasn't hard for Kuro to guess what the sound meant. "The upload's done already? How did you upload that much data so quickly?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"I know a few tricks," Kiva said. "After all, computers are my specialty."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"And you were just talking with me to buy time until the upload was done. Damn it. I thought I had more time."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]'Yeah, but you're kind of out of time," Kiva said. She opened fire in full auto mode, shooting right through the computer terminal, destroying it and forcing Kuro to find cover. But he wasn't. He ran right through a transportation door that had appeared. [I]Damn it,[/I] Kiva thought, [I]he signaled for extraction[/I]. She signaled the [I]Transcendence[/I], and a transport door opened. She stepped through it and appeared on the ship's bridge.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"'Daego, Kuro showed up while I was down there," Kiva said as she took her armor off. "He escaped to the [I]Exorcist[/I]. I destroyed the computer terminal, but Kuro still has a chance to get the data. We have it on board. He'll come for us, but in addition to his inferior ship, he'll have the disadvantage of needing us disabled put not destroyed. Still, this could get interesting."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"You don't know the half of it," Daego said. "I was going to contact you, but then you signaled for a transport door. Kiva, the civilian ships have arrived."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Shit. Okay, this is some unfortunate timing. All right, then. Daego, integrate us with the fixed defenses. They and the remaining garriso are to focus on the civilian ships. We'll deal with the [I]Exorcist[/I], then join them. All right, let's do this."[/COLOR]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][I]So it's really come down to this. [/I]Crystal had known that Erica was not lying, but still, part of her had hoped. If only for Sandra's sake, but she should have known better. Crystal leaned forward, her elbows resting on the terminal in front of the screen in the genetics lab in the Council Center. She had already put the request for a communication with Tessa in and she was simply waiting for her to respond. Thanks to whatever Kiva had done she had been able to talk to her.

It hadn't taken long to discuss what she needed to do with Tessa and now that she had a couple of experiments up and running she only needed to get a few details from her to finish it. [I]Perhaps I should have Stevens arrange for her to be transported to this sector. It would certainly make things a lot easier. [/I] A moment later the communication opened and Tessa finally responded.

"[B]Sorry for taking so long Crystal,[/B]" She looked a bit nervous. "[B]But I've been packing up a few things just in case.[/B]"

"[B]In case of what? I thought there were two Elite Specialists there. I can't imagine a civilian force being strong enough to deal with two of them let alone one.[/B]" Crystal was puzzled. Just what was going on?

Tessa laughed nervously, "[B]Crystal, before I say anything I'm sending you the information you requested.[/B]" She paused for a minute and then after doing something off screen turned back with a huge sigh. "[B]Crystal, Kiva Salqarian may be here at Stevens' request but the other one? Before communication was shut down for this sector we heard how the other specialists are staying neutral until the conflict is resolved.[/B]"

Crystal started to say something but Tessa interrupted her. "[B]Don't say it Crystal, all of us here know that most of the people want us dead for what we've done here. Why do you think so many of the researchers have gone into hiding? Even the damn military is more than willing to look the other way. And don't try to tell me otherwise![/B]"

What could she say? Crystal knew she was correct. Even she had doubts about the research, doubts that she wished she had acted on instead of helping with the project.

"[B]I know Tessa, but even so, there are those who do not blame you for just doing your job. And though I can't explain why, you'll just have to trust that Stevens sent the best person possible to make sure nothing happens to anyone.[/B]" Crystal was cut off by the sound of chime for something else at Tessa's end. Something that when Tessa looked at caused her to turn white as a sheet.

"[B]Hell![/B]" She turned back to Crystal. "[B]I guess we'll see soon enough.[/B]" Tessa shuddered a bit. "[B]The civilians are [I]here[/I]. I'll talk to you later. If there[I] is [/I]a later.[/B]"

Crystal didn't get a chance to say anything, Tessa cut the communication immediately.[I] Damn! [/I] Crystal looked at the information Tessa had been sending her, it was incomplete. The data transfer interrupted when the transmission had been ended. Irritated Crystal contacted Stevens to find out what was going on. To her surprise for once he answered immediately.

"[B]What can I do for you Crystal?[/B]"

"[B]The civilians have arrived in sector fourteen. As a result a transmission between me and Tessa was cut off before I could finish getting the data I need.[/B]" Crystal couldn't help but glare at Stevens a bit. "[B]Stevens, Tessa was concerned that both the military and the Elite Specialists there don't give a damn about what happens to the researchers. So you tell me, just what the hell is going on?[/B]"

Stevens was going to avoid the question, Crystal could see it coming, And sure enough he did. "[B]It's not quite like that Crystal. It's true that many of them are unhappy with the research, but not enough to shirk their duties.[/B]"

"[B]Dammit Stevens! Don't avoid the question! What is going on in sector fourteen? With two specialists especially with one of them in command of the newest Messenger ship, those civilians shouldn't even be a concern.[/B]"

Crystal waited until finally with a sigh Stevens explained. "[B]I don't have confirmation yet, but it looks like the other specialist is not there to protect the facility at all.[/B]" For once Stevens almost looked pained. "[B]It seems that some of them have their own agenda based on orders from the High Council. I don't know everything that a specialist is told when they are appointed to their position. But if we are correct, their objective is simply to retrieve the data before the civilians arrive and nothing else.[/B]"

"[B]But...[/B]" Crystal started to say but Stevens shook his head.

"[B]I can't say anymore than that Crystal. Obviously Kiva is there at my request, to not only protect everyone but to retrieve the data as well as destroying the computer terminals there.[/B]"

"[B]But that would mean...[/B]" Crystal started to say.

"[B]Exactly, and I hope it doesn't come to that, the last thing Kiva needs to deal with is a rouge Specialist. Now if you'll excuse me Crystal I have a lot to take care of. I'll let you know what happened the moment I find out.[/B]" And with that he terminated the transmission.

[I]Hell! [/I]Crystal thought with irritation. [I]This is insane! How are we ever going to get things back to normal again? [/I] At that moment another chime sounded, this time it was the one to remind her that it was time to go and gather her things for Erica's treatment. Crystal just shook her head and sighed, before getting up and leaving the lab to head for the transport location. [/COLOR]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="goldenrod"][COLOR=goldenrod][CENTER][IMG]http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/2571/silveronebanner001xi2aacw4.jpg[/IMG]
[SIZE=1]Banner by [URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/member.php?userid=19869][COLOR=goldenrod][U]Aaryanna[/U][/COLOR][/URL][/SIZE][/color][/CENTER]
Celestia did not want to see it, even if they had done things that warranted it, she still did not want to see it. [I]I don't care if the Council member is guilty of allowing the modifications to continue or if Commodore Sandra's father is guilty of murder. There's no reason to broadcast their execution to the entire [B]God Damn Versilan Empire[/B]! [/I] But James and the others did not see it that way and everything had been halted for that morning, everyone gathered in the main lab with the largest screen tuned into the proceedings where the two Council members were being tried for their crimes. [I]Gods, this is so wrong! Why? Why do we have to watch it? [/I]

She couldn't help but shudder at the thought and the longer the proceedings went the more she became upset. Until finally she turned from where she was sitting at the back of the room and threw herself into Jason's arms, burying her face into his chest. Nearly knocking him out of the chair he was sitting in.

"[B]Whoa! Calm down Celestia![/B]" Jason exclaimed. But she wasn't listening as she started to tremble violently. Finally Jason just wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He knew how much violence of any kind upset her. [I]I didn't think she'd react like this though. [/I]

"[B]Pathetic.[/B]" A voice filled with disdain spoke up.

Startled Jason looked up to see that one of the other researchers had turned to see what the commotion was.[I] Hell, what's the matter with these people? Are they really that indifferent to others dying?[/I] Even if Jason had no problem with the execution he still agreed with Celestia that there really was no need to make it public.

"[B]Got nothing to say scum? Or is true justice beyond your pathetic little brains?[/B]" He finished with a sneer.

Jason felt Celestia stiffen. [I]Hell, just go away! We don't need this nonsense![/I] But the researcher was not done. Fixing him with a look of disgust.

"[B]You do not belong here, and your pathetic sentiment for those who deserve what they get is not welcome either.[/B]"

Celestia started to pull free but Jason refused to let go. [I]Gods, I'm going to regret this, but this is ridiculous! [/I] He took a deep breath and then fixed the fool with a glare of his own.

"[B]What's pathetic is your complete lack of decency. I sincerely hope that all Versilans aren't as self centered and ego-centric as you are.[/B]" Jason said coldly.

Everyone had turned to watch at that point, more interested in the fight that was starting instead of the execution proceedings. [I]This is sickening,[/I] Jason thought. [I]Other than Matt they're like vultures, enjoying the misery of others.[/I] It wasn't completely true, but at that moment he was beyond tired of being treated like second rate scum. Beyond tired of being a slave to the Versilan Empire. He wanted to go back home and never seen another Versilan ever again.

"[B]Oh this is just rich, an inferior being from an inferior race thinking it actually understands the concept of decency.[/B]"

"[B]Shut up.[/B]" Jason snapped. "[B]Just shut the hell up! You've long since lost the ability to feel anything for anyone! Even if those Council members deserve punishment for their crimes there's no reason to broadcast their execution. It's barbaric and uncivilized.[/B]"

Jason flinched when the researcher turned a bit red, clearly angry, "[B]Now you listen here [I]scum[/I], the only one who is [I]uncivilized[/I] is you and that [I]half breed whore[/I] who's status is tied to yours.[/B]"

Shocked, Jason couldn't help but pull back, anger making it hard for him to see straight. He let go of Celestia and stood up facing the researcher who had also gotten up. Shaking with rage he gently pushed Celestia aside, ignoring her attempts to get him to let it go. Then with slow deliberation he pulled back a bit and then slugged the researcher as hard as he could, right in the face, causing him to stagger back a couple of steps.

A split second later all hell broke out as the researcher lunged at Jason. Celestia's pleas for them to stop went unanswered and when the others joined in and ganged up on Jason, Matt, who had been steering clear finally stepped in, attempting to pull them off of Jason. Along with Celestia who was kicking and screaming at everyone to stop until she was shoved aside and into the wall with enough force to stun her.

"[B]That's enough![/B]" A voice barked from the doorway. Everyone paused and turned to see James standing there, clearly displeased. Reluctantly the researchers pulled free of the fight to reveal Jason who had been knocked to the floor.

James shook his head in disgust as he opened up his handheld computer and put the order in for a squad. "[B]Don't think I'm going to overlook this incident. I've put up with all the silly snipping going on around here long enough. And no matter what Jason or Celestia may have said, there is no excuse for ganging up on them, ever.[/B]"

He fixed each one of them with a stern glance. "[B]You're all dismissed until further notice. Return to your quarters and stay there until I say otherwise.[/B]" James waited until everyone had left and then when the squad arrived he had them take Celestia and Jason who were still slightly out of it, to the medical wing.

Once the squad had left, James looked over at the screen, the proceedings coming to a close, [I]those idiots missed the executions[/I]. With a shrug of disgust he shut the transmission off. Then he pulled up the records of what had just happened. Just what in the world had led to them fighting like that? He knew that most of the team did not like Jason or Celestia, but he honestly thought they would never physically attack them. With a sigh he went to his office to finish reviewing just what the hell had happened.[/COLOR]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"][SIZE="1"]Sandra, to be blunt, was miserable. Even though she had told Jared that if her father was involved she would execute him herself, deep down she had never thought that he was. Sure he was innocent as far as the illegal modifications went but to find out that he had killed his own mother? That her grandmother who she thought had died in an accident when she was five had been a member of the Resistance? Sandra took a deep breath and let it out, ignoring how her right shoulder was going numb from her sitting on the floor in her quarters, her knees pulled up to her chin as she leaned against the floor to ceiling windows and stared mindlessly into space.

Why Jared and Stevens had simply disabled the terminals in her quarters and left her there with security outside the door instead of tossing her into a cell she didn't have a clue. Sandra knew better than anyone what happened to the family of Resistance members. And even if her grandmother hadn't been, her father, Jeffery Luciana would still be executed for murder. Being a member of the High Council did not make you immune to the law. [I]Why? Why father?[/I] Sandra ignored the tears that flowed down her face. There wasn't an answer and she knew it.

What else was he suppose to do? Exposing her would have spelled certain death. Sandra had never thought about whether or not the punishment or attitude towards others who had close family members in the Resistance was harsh, she had never in her wildest dreams imagined that she would ever face the same problem. Had Daniel Landers been telling Jared the truth after all? That he really didn't know that Nathan was his father or that he was in the Resistance? [I]How many innocent people have we killed? Why did no one ever question it? [/I] Sandra couldn't help but laugh hysterically before choking and crying again. [I]We can't even claim that it was the illegal modifications that made us so heartless. Hell! We're the ones who were never altered! [/I]

A few minutes later she reached up and wiped the tears away and went back to staring out into space, ignoring the sound of the doors to her quarters opening. She knew without turning that it was Stevens and Jared, she could see their reflection on the window as they approached where she was sitting on the floor.

"[B]Go away. Unless you've come to execute me as well, I have nothing to say to either one of you.[/B]"

"[B]Stop being such an idiot Sandra.[/B]" Stevens snapped. "[B]Or have you forgotten all the changes we've been discussing with Dakar, Zach and James? Did you really think we'd toss that aside just to find you guilty?[/B]"

Angry, Sandra turned her head to look up at the two of them. "[B]What I expect is irrelevant and you know it. Those changes have not been approved and I know the law as well as anyone. So don't patronize me![/B]"

Jared tossed her a handheld computer, "[B]Stop feeling sorry for yourself Sandra, it's not becoming.[/B]"

Sandra caught the computer and looked at the files on it. It was a detailed report of the investigation Jared had done of the information Erica had given her. Confused she looked back at Jared.

"[B]The investigation is complete. Your grandmother was a member of the Resistance as well as being a member of the High Council. And the accident was no accident. Your father did make the arrangements for her to be killed.[/B]" Jared paused for a moment to let it sink in before continuing.

"[B]Not only did I secure a confession from him but another member of the Council who was guilty of keeping the knowledge of the modifications a secret. Both of them were publicly executed this morning.[/B]"

"[B]I see.[/B]" Sandra said before looking away again. "[B]Anything else?[/B]" She couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her voice. Sandra gave out a startled shriek when Stevens grabbed her left wrist and dragged her to her feet and slapped her.

"[B]That's enough![/B]" He glared at her. "[B]Those changes are going to happen. You've already been cleared to return to duty you little fool![/B]"

Sandra reached up with her right hand, touching her cheek where Stevens had struck her. She pulled her left wrist free stepping back a bit. Surprised by the intent look in both Stevens and Jared's eyes. And to her embarrassment she couldn't stop the tears that followed.

"[B]We have a meeting tomorrow morning to go over the remaining Council members who have not been cleared yet. Four of the Faction leaders have still refused to hand over their code, leaving us with twenty members who need to cleared. I expect you to be there at seven sharp understand?[/B]"

Sandra just nodded. She couldn't bring herself to say anything else. But Stevens seemed to be satisfied as he simply turned and left. She watched him leave and then turned to Jared who had stayed behind. Not sure what to say, if anything at all.

Jared just favored her with a lopsided grin, "[B]You might want to talk to Darren, he's been asking about you.[/B]" And with that he too turned and left.

[I]What? Why?[/I] Her thought was interrupted by a familiar sound. The chime indicating there was a message for her. Startled she turned to face the terminal at her desk. If it was actually on... Sandra walked over and sure enough it turned on, all of her usual access codes once again working... Stevens had not been lying. They would never have restored her access if they were going to execute her. With a sigh she sat down and simply placed her arms on the desk and buried her head in her arms. Maybe later she'd look through things but right now? She still didn't know what to think. [/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Rachmaninoff]

Kerstin had been tracking down some information in regards to Anna Landers. Most of it was classified, but part of it was not. Apparently she had a child with a Nathan who served as the computer specialist on the Crimson, until it was discovered that he worked for the Resistance. But for whatever reason they had concealed the fact that Daniel was their son. It was a bit confusing, but if she understood what she found correctly, their son Daniel Landers had, as was standard procedure when it was discovered that a member of their family was in the Resistance, been stripped of his command and would have been executed as well. Regardless of whether or not he was actually guilty. It was common knowledge through out the empire, getting involved put your family at risk.

It was the very same Daniel who had been leading the resistance on Earth. The same person who had been responsible for imprisoning her brother Darren. [I]This is so confusing![/I] Kerstin thought. [I]Why would Daniel Timbers have a picture of the other Daniel's mother in his locket? [/I] So far her search had pulled up nothing to ever show that any of them had crossed the other person's path. She was about to turn off the terminal when a thought crossed her mind. After all, both Daniel's did look fairly similar. [I]I wonder if they're related? It would certainly explain why he was so quick to hide the photo from me. Even if he had nothing to do with what happened, he would have been held accountable as well.[/I]

Kerstin pulled up yet another software program from her art classes and input some information before having it run a query. Then she leaned back and simply waited for the results, picking up her glass of water to take a sip while she waited. But when the results came back she couldn't help but choke on her water as her glass fell from her numb fingers. Kerstin didn't even hear it hit the floor.[I] Hell! That can't possibly be right![/I] With a strangled cry she hastily input the information again, breaking into a cold sweat as she waited for the response. A few minutes later it came back, exactly the same as before. The probability of it being the same person... ninety eight percent.

[I]This can't be right! It just can't![/I] Kerstin panicked, reaching out to erase all of the data immediately. But she couldn't get the results out of her mind and just thinking about it was making her sick. [I]Why? Why would he of all people try to protect me?[/I] It made no sense! Kerstin turned the terminal off and practically ran to the sofa, sitting down and pulling her feet up. Rocking back and forth a bit without even realizing that she was doing it.

[I]What should I do? [/I] Kerstin started to cry again. [I]I don't know what to do! Hell! [/I] Why was that person even here at Reflection? But a moment later she had her answer. Celestia, the half breed, she was his daughter, wasn't she? Kerstin tried to compose herself as she got up and went back to her terminal to pull up the information on Celestia. Now it made perfect sense. He was probably here looking for a way to rescue her. And in a way, Kerstin couldn't blame him. She could only imagine how much that must hurt, to be separated from loved ones. It had certainly frightened her when she thought she would never see Darren again. [I]Gods.[/I]

Miserable, Kerstin turned the terminal off yet again. She had been thinking about contacting Daniel to see how he was but now? [I]Gods! This is so wrong! [/I] More than anything she wanted to talk to someone, but now? [I]Hell! [/I] Kerstin got up and went back to the sofa, throwing herself face down on the cushions. [I]It's not right![/I] She thought stubbornly, even as she cried.[I] If the Resistance is so terrible, why would someone like Daniel Landers even give a damn about what happens to me? Does he feel guilty for what he did to Darren?[/I] Torn Kerstin just kept crying, uncertain as to what she should do.

[Aaryanna_Mom]

It was surprisingly quiet on Reflection even at the beach where usually there was quite a bit of tourist activity. But ever since all hell had broken lose with Erica's arrest and then the execution of two High Council members had been broadcast. People were not only heading home but many were staying inside as much as possible. Scared of the fallout and of just what would happen in the end. Daniel couldn't blame them, in many ways he felt the same way. He would have never believed that Stevens or the others would actually seize control and actually do something about the illegal modifications as well as Commodore Sandra's father.

He was still having a hard time believing everything. He along with Kerstin had been held by Blaine when all that came out and Blaine had not allowed them access to anything while they had been there. Though upon reflection, even if Blaine had told them, Daniel would have never believed him. With a small little laugh he shifted a bit to relieve a sharp rock that he was sitting on as he watched the waves. Even if it was a tad creepy to be pretty much the only person at the beach, it was at least relaxing in a small way.

Movement caught his eye as two others were in the area, he had been so caught up in thinking about things that he hadn't noticed them. With a start he realized it was Kerstin with an escort from the Creator. [I]Lovely,[/I] he moved to get up and leave before she noticed him, but it was too late. With a motion to her escort who stayed far enough away to give them room to talk and yet close enough to keep an eye on her, she left him behind and came over to join Daniel who had stood up.

She looked almost angry, making Daniel wonder just what was going on, something that she made clear immediately when she snapped at him, making it clear that she was angry.

"[B]Why did you lie to me?[/B]" She came to a stop about five feet away, her hands on her hips as she literally glared at him.

Daniel froze, wondering and yet the fear that she had figured it out running through his mind at the same time. "[B]I don't understand.[/B]" He finally said, keeping his expression as neutral as possible.

She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward just a bit. "[B]Don't play stupid with me Daniel [I]Landers[/I].[/B]" She accused, putting an emphasis on the last name by drawing it out a bit.

[I]Hell! How did she figure that out? [/I]Daniel broke out into a cold sweat. Resisting the urge to run, though he couldn't help but glance around nervously to see if there was anyone else from the Creator there. But other than her escort who thankfully was not close enough to hear what she had just said, there was no one.

"[B]I really don't know what you're talking about.[/B]" He paused for a moment to attempt to compose himself.[I] Calm, there's no one here from the Creator to arrest you, just her escort.[/I] But how she came to that conclusion eluded him. "[B]Please, it's not funny. I don't want to be mistaken for a known Resistance member.[/B]"

Furious Kerstin pulled out a sheet of paper and showed it to him, one with a hand drawn image of his mother. Causing him to give off a tiny start of surprise. [I]Shit! I forgot that she's an artist. She must have remembered the picture from my locket! Hell! [/I] As he stood there, shocked over over the picture, he knew from her expression that nothing he said would convince her other wise.

Kerstin just nodded before putting it away. "[B]I thought as much. You do recognize that picture. I have a perfect memory for faces, once I've seen someone I can redraw it from memory.[/B]" She finally looked away, her voice softening just a bit when she continued.

"[B]Imagine my surprise when the picture did not match the one in your file but instead pulled up the public records of an Anna Landers.[/B]" She turned back to face him again. "[B]But that still made no sense whatsoever. The records indicated that Daniel Timbers had never been in the same sector as Anna Landers. But you look so similar that I checked with my software for altering appearances, a common thing for artists to do you know. Since I thought perhaps you were related and hiding that fact.

It is common knowledge that family of Resistance members are punished for the crimes of their loved ones. Still, even that could not prepare me for the program indicating that the probability of you and the other 'Daniel' being the same person was ninety eight percent![/B]"

[I]Damn! She'll never believe me if I try to claim it's just a coincidence. Not after seeing the picture in my locket. [/I] Daniel tried to say something, anything to convince her otherwise, but for once he was speechless. [I]Now what?[/I]

[CENTER]-----------------------------------[/CENTER]
[B]OOC:[/B] Take it from here Rachmaninoff.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[COLOR=darkslateblue]"Minor damage to the engines," Daego said. "Redundant systems only. No effect on performance."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Good," Kiva said. "Now, let's give him something to worry about. Drones are deployed. Open fire."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]The [I]Exorcist[/I] was able to evade the majority of the [I]Transcendence[/I]'s fire, and what did hit wasn't enough to do much damage. So Kiva'd deployed drones packed with explosives. The drones were deployed in a wide area, and it was likely that the [I]Exorcist[/I] would hit a few in its evasive movements.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Contact!" Kiva said. "Looks like the drone did some damage."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Structural damage only. I'm not seeing a drop in perf- okay, now I am. Another drone hit."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Fire level has dropped. I think it took out a couple guns."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Some of the ECM gear, too. Target lock achieved. Commencing missile fire. Damn, their anti-missile systems are still in effect. Wait- one got through. Significant damage to the [I]Exorcist[/I]'s engines."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]Excellent," Kiva said. "Let's swing around and take the engines out completely. We may be able to take them alive after all."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]Missile launch! Wait, what the hell? Oh, shit!"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"What the hell did they do?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Drones," Daego said. "They packed drones with explosives just like we did, but they launched them from missile tubes. I don't think we can evade all of them- nope. Impact on the rear. Rear armaments down to 50%."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Target their forward launchers. Don't let them do that again."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Firing... okay, I think we hit something important. Chain reaction throughout the forward section of the ship. All forward defenses are silent."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Then they're vulnerable from the front. Take them out."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Opening fire- civilian vessel incoming from the rear. Missiles inbound. Defenses are gettingthem... damn, one got through. Minor engine damage. Engines operating at 93% functionality."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"That's a littl high for civilian warheads," Kiva said. "They must have obtained better weapons illegally. Return fire."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Ha! They may have better missiles, but their defenses are just as bad as they should be. That ship won't be giving us any more trouble."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Excellent. Status of the [I]Exorcist[/I]?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Forward section's beat to hell," Daego said. "Rear section's in better shape, but still damaged. Weapons functionality estimated at 37%. Engine functionality estimated at 52%."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Okay, but they may have more tricks in store. Let's not risk it. Destroy the [I]Exorcist[/I]."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Firing... major damage to the midsection. We've got another chain reaction in the rear area, too. Concentrating fire on the middle... all right! Blew it right in two!"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Excellent. All right, the [I]Exorcist[/I] is down. Battle status?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Civilian forces down to 45%. Millitary garrison down to 45%. Fixed defenses down to 60%. Looks like we're winnig."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Let's not take any chances," Kiva said. "Join the battle. Let's get this over with."[/COLOR]


[COLOR=#483d8b]The battle was over quickly. About a quarter of the garrison was left, along with half of the fixed defenses. Two civilian vessels had escaped the battle, but the rest were destroyed. After making sure the facility was undamaged, Kiva reported to Stevens. "Mission complete."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"What's the status of the [I]Exorcist[/I]?" Stevens said.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Destroyed. Kuro's intentions were what I thought."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"All right, then. Status of the facility?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Undamaged. The garrison and fixed defenses have been substantially reduced, however. Four civilian vessels tried to escape. We got two, but we couldn't make it back over to the other two in time to get them. We sustained some damage durring the battle, mainly from the [I]Exorcist[/I]. There were a couple hits from the civilian ships, which of course didn't do much. Their warheads were above civilian-grade, however. It's likely that they obtained warheads illegally. From where, I don't know. They were on the lower end of millitary-grade weaponry, so they could've come from almost anywhere. Anyways, the garrison's facility here is sufficient to repair our damage. Repairs shouldn't take more than a day. We mainly need to replace damaged systems. Replacement parts are in our maintainance stores, and the facility hare can do the replacements. We'll return to sector 1 when repairs are complete."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"All right," Stevens said. "Good work, Kiva. Stevens out."[/COLOR]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR="goldenrod"]Crystal was trying to concentrate on her work, doing what she could with the information she had gotten from Tessa, but her mind kept going back to her conversation with her. Before she had ended that transmission when the civilians had arrived. She didn't even realize that she has spaced off until the chime indicating there was an incoming transmission sounded, causing her to literally jump and give out a startled shriek.

Her heart pounding, Crystal took a moment to take several deep breaths to calm herself, embarrassed for having reacted in such a manner. [I]I need to take some time off if I'm this tense,[/I] she thought as she finally answered the transmission.

"[B]Tessa! You're all right! What happened?[/B]" She exclaimed.

Tessa was grim. "[B]I'm fine Crystal, but hell! You'll never guess what happened![/B]"

"[B]What happened? I would assume that the civilians were no match for the military there, especially with two Elite Specialists around as well.[/B]" Crystal couldn't help but wonder if what Stevens said about the other Specialist had turned out to be true, she wasn't about to say anything to Tessa though.

Tessa snorted. "[B]Crystal, I don't know what the hell is going on in sector one, but Kiva Salqarian was attacked by the other Specialist! We all saw it! When the civilians arrived, instead of defending the facility he attacked her ship, forcing her to destroy him and his crew.[/B]"

[I]So Stevens was right, he was only after the data. If he attacked Kiva that means she had already gotten the data and destroyed the computers. Gods, what a fool![/I] Crystal shook her head a bit and turned back to talk to Tessa who was giving her an odd look.

"[B]I don't know what to say Tessa,[/B]" Crystal finally said. "[B]I thought that most of the Specialists were simply waiting until things were taken care of. The only one I know of who's done anything differently is Kiva and her crew.[/B]"

"[B]Well you may not know what to say but I do.[/B]" Tessa said angrily. "[B]It's clear that even if Stevens and the others are making sure those who are responsible for what happened are dealt with, on some level the High Council still considers themselves above the law. That or the idiot who attacked Kiva was acting on his own. I sincerely hope so.[/B]"

Tessa gave off a huge sigh, clearly depressed. "[B]I guess I shouldn't complain, things did work out in the end right? And you need the rest of the data right?[/B]" Tessa turned to something and started the data transfer, it didn't take long since most of it had already been sent.

"[B]I'll get back to work on countering those modifications. Even if it's not perfect at least it will better than nothing.[/B]" Tessa snorted again. "[B]Not like it will matter to the lesser races anyway, I doubt those fools would even consider granting them full citizenship in the Empire. And I doubt they'd be happy with waiting for it to slowly be phased out, after all, if we freed all of them immediately, many areas of our society would collapse.[/B]"

Crystal didn't know what to say, after all Tessa was right. Even if they wanted to change it, doing so would take time and regardless of the modification, there were plenty of Versilans who really believed that they were superior.

"[B]That may be true, but for now I'm more concerned about fixing that modification as best we can. We can worry about the other issues once this one has been addressed.[/B]"

Tessa just nodded, "[B]You're right. Anyway, I need to go, there's a lot to be done around here.[/B]" With that she terminated the transmission.

Crystal closed it down from her end as well. Opening up the data Tessa had sent her, trying to focus on the part that she had not gotten before. But in spite of her best efforts she couldn't help but wonder about those who had died in sector fourteen. Surely they had to have realize that the military would not have stood by and let them destroy the facility. With a sigh she started working on adding in the information Tessa had sent her into the current experiment she was running. [/COLOR]

[Rachmaninoff]

Kerstin had intended to simply forget about what she had found out, but the more she thought about it, the more she couldn't get it out of her mind. Until finally, after contacting William and finding out that Daniel was at the beach at Reflection. She, along with her escort went to find him. It hadn't been hard, so many people were staying indoors, the beach was for all intents and purposes empty. And even then, when she finally saw him sitting on some rocks simply gazing at the sea she almost turned around and left.

But in the end she was too angry, furious at the deception even though she understood why he had lied. After all he couldn't very well enter the sector under his real name. He would have been arrested on the spot. Daniel Landers was currently the most wanted individual in the entire empire. And the implication that those he was with were most likely not who they claimed to be was also upsetting. Kerstin just couldn't see how William would not realize that someone was impersonating his best friend. So in the end she wondered if he and the rest of those on the Tryst were also members of the Resistance.

At the moment though as Daniel just stood their speechless after all she had said, the only thing she cared about was getting an answer, even if she still wasn't sure why she wanted one. [I]I should have never come here. What good will it do me to know if I'm right?[/I] When it became apparent he was not going to speak Kerstin did.

"[B]Fine, forget about why you lied about who you are, after all, it's not like you could enter sector one if you told the security at the checkpoints the truth. They would have arrested you on the spot. But that still doesn't explain why you kept interfering with Blaine.[/B]" Kerstin reached up with her right hand, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"[B]I already told Blaine and Jared, no gentleman would ever stand still and do nothing when a lady is being hurt.[/B]" Daniel finally spoke up. "[B]Regardless of what you think you know about who I am, I would do the same for anyone, it's my...[/B]" Daniel stopped, standing rigidly as if he was preparing to bolt.

"[B]Your duty?[/B]" Kerstin finished for him, noting how he flinched slightly. "[B]After all before your father was exposed and your mother executed.[/B]" Another statement that triggered a brief flash of pain in Daniel's eyes, of that Kerstin was positive. She shook her head and continued. "[B]You were the Commander of the Tempest. Even if I don't know the specifics, I do know that it is the military's duty to protect civilians from harm.[/B]"

Suddenly tired, Kerstin found a rock and sat down, looking out to the sea instead of at Daniel. "[B]Darren told me what happened you know. When he was on Earth and got caught up in those attacks.[/B]" Kerstin sighed. "[B]Not that it matters anymore, just as I don't give a damn that William is probably not who he claims either, or the rest of the crew on the Tryst.[/B]" She looked back at Daniel who was still strangely quiet.

"[B]You're not going to say anything are you? I can tell. Even if it was only for a short time, I did learn that much from being around you.[/B]" Kerstin got up, reached into her pocket and handed Daniel the sketch she had done.

"[B]I'm sorry,[/B]" Daniel finally said. "[B]I did not come here to upset you.[/B]"

Kerstin just smiled sadly, her anger burned out, "[B]I know. I would imagine you came here to try and find a way to free Celestia.[/B]" Kerstin ignored his pained expression and his attempts to hide it.

"[B]Anyway, I'll leave you alone. I honestly don't know what to think anymore. I don't know the full story and I doubt you're going to tell me either.[/B]" With that Kerstin left, more confused than when she had first confronted him.
[I]
Why? Why did I bother? Even if his reactions indicate he is Daniel Landers, what good will knowing that do? [/I] Kerstin sighed, hugging herself to ward of the slight chill of the ocean air. [I]Unless I plan on telling Jared,[/I] a thought that pained her, [I]there was no reason to even talk to him about it. [/I]

A few minutes later she was almost back to where her escort was waiting, Kerstin smiled at him for waiting so patiently the whole time. "[B]You ready to return to the Creator Miss Anderson?[/B]" He asked her once she was close enough.

Kerstin just nodded, "[B]Yes I am thank you.[/B]" Then a moment later when her escort contacted the ship and a transport door was opened she stepped through and headed for her quarters, feeling even more confused than when she had first left to come down and confront Daniel.

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="goldenrod"]Now that the executions had been carried out Stevens, Dakar, Zach and James were going over what to do next. Gathered together on the Conqueror in the main observation room just off the bridge instead of using standard communications. Each one sitting down facing one another as they reviewed the information on the investigation so far. As well as going over what had happened on the team working on hacking into the Council systems.

"[B]Let me get this straight,[/B]" Dakar was saying. "[B]Jason attacked one of the other researchers and you intend to do nothing about it?[/B]"

James just snorted, "[B]Come on Dakar, even if he attacked them those fools have been beyond disrespectful since I put those two on the team. Frankly I'm surprised that nothing happened sooner. After all, he's suppose to be from the[I] inferior[/I] race after all.[/B]"

James laughed contemptuously. "[B]It's rather ironic in my opinion, that other than Matt, the other researchers were far less civilized than those two were and there was no excuse for what he said to Jason.[/B]"

"[B]Gentlemen,[/B]" Stevens interrupted. "[B]This isn't why we are here. Besides with the upcoming changes in regards to the lesser races and families, such outbursts towards the lesser races will no longer be tolerated.[/B]"

Dakar started to object but Stevens cut him off again. "[B]I mean it Dakar,[/B]" He said with irritation. "[B]Commander Crystal was right, our own stupidity in how we've allowed them to be treated all these years is part of what caused the shortage in the first place. And no matter how you look at it Celestia is extremely smart, so claiming they are inferior is pointless.

If the rest of you can't see that given time they would match us in intelligence and power... You're idiots.[/B]"

"[B]I hardly think that was necessary Stevens.[/B]" Dakar said coldly. "[B]However, you are correct, we need to finish investigating the rest of the High Council. We've maintained control for now, but once news of what happened in sector fourteen spreads that could change.[/B]"

Stevens just smiled as they continued with the meeting. Once he was done he had something else to take care of. And though he did pay attention as they worked out the details of finishing up he couldn't help but think about what he was going to say to Erica. Once they were done he was planning on talking to her. [I]I just bet she knows why Elite Specialist Kuro Talmresec would have done what he did in sector fourteen. [/I] And when the meeting came to a close, he excused himself to head for her cell immediately.

[CENTER]------------------------------[/CENTER]
Celestia was just waiting for the axe to fall. If Dakar had tortured both of them over her simple argument from before, there was no telling what would happen as a result of Jason actually attacking one of the researchers. The fact that other than Matt the others had ganged up on Jason and would have beat him senseless if James had not interfered wouldn't matter.
[I]
It's not fair![/I] She thought, trying to not cry as she attempted to focus on their work. James had seperated them once again and she along with Jason and Matt were working in a lab by themselves.[I] Gods it's not fair![/I] She looked over at Jason who was also grim. He knew just as well what was going to happen. And Celestia figured it was only a matter of time. Before Dakar disciplined them yet again.

Finally she couldn't stand it and Celestia started sobbing silently and then some more when Jason stopped what he was doing to hold her.

"[B]I'm sorry Jason.[/B]"

"[B]I'm not.[/B]" Jason said firmly. "[B]I don't care how superior they think they are, they had no right to say such things.[/B]"

"[B]I don't understand,[/B]" Matt asked, clearly uncomfortable as they turned to face him. "[B]Why are you upset? You have nothing to be sorry for.[/B]"

All three turned to face the door when it opened to admit James.[I] Hell! [/I]Jason thought,[I] I'm the one who started the fight![/I] He let go of Celestia and stood between her and James.

"[B]Please sir,[/B]" Jason said. "[B]Celestia had nothing to do with that fight. It was my fault and my fault alone.[/B]"

James just looked slightly surprised. "[B]You misunderstand Jason, if anyone is going to be disciplined it's that fool who's been insulting both of you as well as enticing the others to fight. I have no intention of discipling either one of you. However, in the future I expect you to report such comments to me instead of taking matters into your own hands.[/B]"

"[B]Yes sir.[/B]" Jason replied. Too surprised to say much of anything.

"[B]Anyway, that's not why I'm here, I have a new assignment for you."[/B] James motioned to them to take a seat and once they had he started explaining how he wanted them to work on rewriting the deletion program used to protect the data. To turn it into a type of virus that could be launched to specifically take out the program when they used the other one to access the remaining data vaults.[/COLOR]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"][SIZE="1"]Stevens wasted no time in heading over to the Creator to where Erica was being held. Originally he had planned on waiting a little longer before talking to her, but it was obvious that if he didn't come to her, Erica was going to make sure certain information was released. Even locked up she still wielded considerable influence, in spite of what she had been doing. Many Versilans looked up to her, he had already received several petitions for her release. All of them along the tangent that she was already dying and that executing her would be pointless.

And ironically he agreed. Not about freeing her of course, only that execution would be pointless. If her disease continued to progress at it's current rate, Crystal had already told him that she only had about six to eight months left. And speaking of Crystal, as he passed the last security checkpoint before getting to Erica's cell, he ran into her coming from the other direction.

"[B]Cyrstal,[/B]" He nodded as she came to a stop. "[B]I take it that you just finished with a treatment?[/B]"

"[B]Correct. Erica asked for you again, though she didn't give me any information beyond that.[/B]"

Stevens grinned. "[B]Then I won't keep her waiting any longer.[/B]" With a slight bow he continued on his way. Pausing only briefly in front of her cell to enter the access code. When the door opened to admit him, he entered immediately, taking note how Erica was situated on a reclining chair that must have been brought in from her personal estate on Reflection.

"[B]It's about time you finally showed up Stevens. If I didn't know that you were understandably busy, I would wonder about your ability to handle an interrogation.[/B]" Erica raised her chair up to put herself into a sitting position. Noting how Stevens carefully took a seat on the edge of the bed, facing her.

"[B]Now, now Erica. You have kept everyone quite busy you know.[/B]" He grinned impishly. "[B]If anything you've only yourself to blame for the delay.[/B]" Stevens leaned forward a bit. "[B]But that's not why you've been asking for me now, is it?[/B]"

"[B]Indeed, it is not. Now that you've dealt with one of the traitors as well as Sandra's father, it's time to start looking at returning control to the High Council.[/B]" She gave him a knowing look. "[B]Once you finish investigating the remaining twenty since their faction leaders have refused to hand over their master code.[/B]"

Stevens just raised an eyebrow at that statement, "[B]I can see that I need to change the crew who is seeing to your care.[/B]"

Erica just laughed. "[B]Honestly Stevens, I don't need to talk to anyone to know what's happening. About the only thing I could not know for certain is whether or not the High Council would have been successful in suppressing the information. But seriously, just as you have used the others to maintain control I have made sure to use others to undermind that control.[/B]"

"[B]And why would you do that? Things are being investigated, two members of the High Council have been executed for their crimes. Isn't that what you wanted?[/B]" Stevens shook his head a bit. "[B]If you really think this is going to end in the lesser races being freed you are mistaken. The changes you were working on in regards to families will still happen, but that's it.[/B]"

"[B]On the contrary, I am talking about preventing Civil War among the factions. Freeing the lesser races is something that even I know would require phasing out, but if you don't see the dangers of war breaking out then everything I've done here will be pointless.[/B]" Erica stopped for a minute to shift in her seat.

"[B]I know which faction members have not given up their codes.[/B]" Erica rattled off the names, smiling at Stevens tiny look of surprise. "[B]Now, what I'm telling you is there is a reason why those four, in spite of the threat of being handed over to Jared have still refused to cooperate.[/B]"

"[B]And that would be?[/B]" Stevens asked her.

Erica smiled, "[B]I think it will be more fun for you to discover that for yourself. Though I will give you a hint. Have Crystal test the genetics of all of their relatives, the answer is there.[/B]"

Stevens stood up to leave. "[B]Very well, I'll do that. Now if you'll...[/B]"

"[B]One other thing Stevens,[/B]" Erica interrupted him. "[B]I'd like to meet Celestia and Jason, if you could arrange that please.[/B]"

"[B]Whatever for?[/B]"

"[B]Consider it a last request if you will. Whether or not you choose to honor it is up to you.[/B]" Erica leaned back tiredly. "[B]Its a curiosity really, nothing more.[/B]"

Stevens just stared at her. [I]Why in the world would she even care about that? [/I] He tried to gauge what she was thinking but her expression was guarded.

"[B]I'll think about it.[/B]" He finally said.

"[B]Fair enough.[/B]" Erica turned a bit to the side, pulling up a blanket to cover herself, clearly done talking.

With a shake of his head Stevens left. He would have liked to ask her more but it was clear that she was not going to deviate beyond what she wished to talk about. And it was unfortunate but he really didn't have the time to discuss things at length with her. And just what in the world was she referring to in regards to the family and relatives of the remaining factions?

Having Crystal test all of them would take time. Not all of them would even have their genetics in the main data banks for the Council's close family. After all once the relation reached a certain point as far as how closely related they were, other than to be connected they were too distanced to even be considered as a potential candidate for becoming a member of the High Council. Just what is Erica hinting at?[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

The moment Kerstin and her escort went through the transport door, Daniel couldn't get out of there fast enough. He knew that Kerstin had not told anyone what she had figured out. If she had, there was no way Jared or the others would have allowed her to come here. They would have sent a full squad to arrest him instead. Still, he couldn't help but feel the urge to run or quell the feelings of panic that were making it hard for him to see straight as he headed back to where the Tryst was docked.

Of course no one was waiting for him, things were simply running normally like they always were, but he still felt terribly open as he made his way to the ship, half expecting something to happen on his way there. But other than the occasional nod from others who were heading to their own ships nothing happened. It was with great relief that he finally walked up the ramp and into the ship only pausing briefly to greet the member of the crew keeping watch.

Daniel didn't waste a moment, immediately finding William who was on the bridge, going over something with his crew. Without hesitation he walked over and placed his hand on William's left shoulder, causing him to turn and look up and Daniel.

"[B]I need to talk to you in the conference room immediately.[/B]" Daniel let go and entered the room, only waiting until William had followed and the doors had shut before speaking again.

"[B]We have a problem William.[/B]" He took out the sketch and handed it to William who looked at it and then back at Daniel.

"[B]Kerstin gave that to me at the beach. Not only did she draw that herself but she's figured out who I am.[/B]" Daniel sat down at the table, hunching over as he ran his hands over his face before looking up and continuing.

"[B]She drew that from memory since she saw my locket before Blaine's men destroyed it. When it pulled up Anna's records Kerstin started looking into things, even to the point of running my official picture against my current likeness through a program to see if there were any similarities.[/B]"

Daniel sighed, "[B]I'm sure you know about that type of program William, she claims that it showed the probability of Daniel Timbers and Daniel Landers being the same person as ninety eight percent.[/B]" Daniel couldn't help but laugh.

"[B]It is true after all, Daniel Timbers doesn't exist! Hell William! She's also convinced that you and the others on the Tryst are not who they claim to be and she's right![/B]" Daniel got back up and started pacing back and forth. "[B]What are we going to do? If she says anything to Jared we're screwed![/B]"

"[B]We're not going to do anything.[/B]" William finally spoke up.

Daniel shot him an incredulous look. "[B]What? Are you insane?[/B]"

"[B]Not at all, it's just that measures for this type of eventually have already been taken. You've been busy so you haven't noticed. That and some of the precautions were done while you were being held by Blaine.[/B]" William explained patiently.

"[B]The Tryst is not the only ship I have here capable of outrunning the military, just as the persona's I created are not the only one. If the military finds out we will simply move to a new location and let them find the Tryst. Losing the ship is meaningless. In fact I was already planning on transferring all of the crew to the new location in the next couple of days. We'll still come here from time to time to keep up appearances but that's all.[/B]"

Daniel took a deep breath to calm himself. "[B]I see. I hadn't realized. I take it that you have my new persona for me then?[/B]"

"[B]Almost, there a few details being finished up, but I'll have that for you shortly.[/B]" Williams smiled a bit. "[B]Trust me Daniel, I already expected something like this to happen. Not this soon but I figured it would, it's not easy to keep things a secret around here.[/B]"

Daniel just snorted. "[B]I know. After all Blaine was on to me in less than twenty four hours of our abduction. If Jared and them hadn't shown up when they did... Well lets just say it was about to get very, very ugly. Anyway, I'll go and start getting my things ready to move to the new ship.[/B]"

After Daniel left William took a moment to contact someone, issuing the order to expedite things. It wouldn't do to take chances that they didn't need to. If Kerstin had figured things out, there was a good chance that Blaine or Jared had as well, or were close to figuring it out. And that was something that would be disastrous, if he was caught, the damage would be catastrophic. Even more so than if Daniel was.

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR="goldenrod"]Now that Crystal had the information she needed from Tessa there wasn't much left for her to do. All the tests of the Council members were completed and other than to wait and see if the other modification would counter what had been done, she had nothing else to work on. The change her and Tessa had in mind wouldn't counter everything but it would reduce the effects by as much as thirty percent. Which considering that the original modification to keep them from caring about the lesser races was designed to be unchangeable, wasn't too bad. [I]I guess I'll go back to focusing on my duties as a Commander once I'm done here. [/I]

A short while later, when Crystal was getting ready to call it a day the chime indicating there was an incoming transmission sounded. Crystal answered it immediately. It was Stevens who didn't waste a moment.

"[B]I have a new task for you Crystal.[/B]"

"[B]I see, what is it this time?[/B]"

"[B]I need you to do a complete check of the genetics of the extended families of those Council members in the four factions who have not surrendered up their access code to the data vaults.[/B]"

Crystal couldn't help but raise her eyebrow at that, "[B]Just what am I looking for then? Surely you realize that such an extensive testing of so many people would take a while. Plus other than immediate family there are no genetic samples kept at the facility here. You'd need to get that for me.[/B]"

"[B]To be frank, I don't know what you are looking for Crystal. Erica is claiming that there is a reason why the last four factions are refusing to hand over their access codes and that testing their genetics will explain why.[/B]" Stevens ran his right hand through his hair in a nervous gesture, something that Crystal had never seen before, Stevens being nervous over anything.

"[B]She claims that if we aren't careful war will break out and to be honest, I haven't a clue what she's referring to. I do have some guesses, but I'd rather you did a full and total breakdown of their genetics since I don't want to bias the test and have you miss something due to what I said possibly influencing your work.[/B]"

She couldn't help but sigh at that statement, "[B]Stevens, you should know by now that I don't change my methods of doing a complete test based on what someone has said. Still could you be a little more specific? Did Erica give you any idea of where to start?[/B]"

"[B]No, she did not. And as much as I'd like to simply ignore what she said I can't afford to. So far everything Erica has brought to light has been true. First with the illegal modifications and then Sandra's father.[/B]" He shook his head sadly. "[B]I sincerely hope that she's wrong about whatever they are hiding being capable of causing war. We've come so far in getting things back under control, it would be a shame for things to fall apart at this point."[/B]

"[B]I agree, very well, I'm almost finished with what Tessa and I were working on. So first thing tomorrow I'll take the genetics of the immediate family that I already have a sample for and start the tests. It will still take time though. That sort of complete breakdown is time consuming.[/B]" She warned him. Crystal hesitated about bringing another matter up but changed her mind and asked just the same.

"[B]Also, I know it's none of my business, but could you thank Kiva for me? For protecting Tessa and everyone else.[/B]"

"[B]Of course Crystal. Though you can tell her yourself you know. Anyway, I have a lot to do. Stevens out.[/B]"

Crystal just laughed. Stevens was right she could do that herself. But since she already asked him she put it out of mind as she finished gathering her things to head for the transport door in the Council Center. Getting things set up for so many extensive tests was going to keep her very, very busy in the upcoming days. [I]I wonder if I can recruit more doctors to help? [/I] Mentally she began to run names through her head as she considered if pulling them from their current duties was feasible or not.[/COLOR]

[Rachmaninoff]

Something was wrong. Darren could tell, it was more of a feeling than a statement of fact. It was not due to the executions or how the change in regards to how family of Resistance members were treated. He had spoken to Sandra several times since she had been cleared for duty, and though there was a tiny bit of uneasiness, most of the crew was fine with her being back in command of the Creator. Now that it was in the open, it was becoming apparent that a lot of people disagreed with the policy of shared guilt, but had been to wary of actually protesting.

Darren had gone over the shipping earlier that morning and had found nothing amiss, there were problems, but nothing that was unexpected or too extreme. If anything it was more like a heavy cloud over the remaining Council members who refused to cooperate, even with the threat of being interrogated. And like those who were covering the investigation and broadcasting it to the entire Versilan Empire, he too agreed with the sentiment that they were hiding more than the illegal modifications. Twenty eight members had been cleared already and on some level were even starting to take part in the minor day to day functions of the government.

But until the remaining twenty were cleared, full control could not be returned to the High Council and Martial Law could not be lifted. [I]What is so important that they won't cooperate?[/I] It made no sense, the evidence indicated that at most only three people knew of the modifications and did nothing to put an end to it. So why were twenty members refusing to cooperate when it was likely only two were guilty?

He sighed and turned off the terminal in his quarters at the sound of a chime indicating someone was at his door. He got up and went to let Kerstin in, ever since her ordeal she had been struggling with the emotional trauma associated with all that had happened. And though Darren had insisted on having her come over for dinner every evening since she had been rescued to talk about what she was up to, it was clear that she was having a hard time getting over it.

In a way, he understood, it had taken him a while to get over being locked up in that tiny room. Though for him it had been easier, once he had been taken to the Resistance's base on Earth, he had not been mistreated like Kerstin had by Blaine, nor had he witnessed someone being tortured repeatedly. The doctor on the Creator warned him that she would struggle with that for a while. And truthfully it worried him.

Kerstin had seemed to be making progress until just about a week ago. She had gone down to Reflection to talk to Daniel, but instead of telling him what had happened she had suddenly gone completely quiet. Something that baffled Darren since she had been so vocal in her concern over what happened to him. And even more puzzling was her avoidance of Jared. Not that they were overly friendly or anything, but before she had no trouble chatting with him or giving him an earful if she thought his security measures were unnecessary. But now? Anytime they ran into Jared, Kerstin within minutes had an excuse to be elsewhere.

Darren turned his attention back to Kerstin who had poked him in the side. "[B]Some host you are.[/B]" She teased. "[B]You insist on my joining you for dinner and then to rudely tune your own sister out when she arrives?[/B]"

He couldn't help but laugh, it was the first time he had seen a bit of her old humor since the deal with Blaine. "[B]What can I say? I'm a boorish excuse for an older brother.[/B]"

Kerstin looked away as they took a seat at the small table, having gotten their dinner. "[B]I wouldn't say that,[/B]" She looked back at him and smiled. "[B]If anything, I'm the one who's been moody lately.[/B]"

"[B]That's alright. I understand.[/B]" Darren said. And though the rest of the conversation was fairly straightforward and to the point, even though Kerstin seemed to be in better spirits, he still couldn't help but feel like she was still hiding something that was bothering her. Had something else happened when she had been a prisoner? Something that she had not told Jared? Darren finally shoved the thoughts aside, if what the doctor said was true, she'd tell him when she was ready.

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"][SIZE="1"]Jared couldn't help but smile as he headed though the corridors of the Creator for the interrogation chamber. The claim that the remaining four factions held a secret great enough to cause Civil War did not concern him. Nor did the change that allowed Sandra to return to duty instead of being executed like her father had been. In the end he really didn't care. He had learned long ago that on some level he had little to no control over how things were done and considering that Sandra had been all of five years old at the time of her grandmother's death he was certain that she knew nothing of it.

As for the threat of Civil War, either it happened or it didn't, he'd worry about it when and if it did. Right now his concern was the interrogations being conducted. For now Stevens was handling the ones with the leaders for the four factions of the High Council while he was dealing with the one regarding Blaine Uratak. It wasn't too difficult, for all his pretense and claim to power, strip those away and Blaine was a coward. Once he had grasped the fact that Jared could and would torture him for the information he required, Blaine couldn't talk fast enough.

Then, there was the matter of Kerstin. As a trained interrogator he couldn't help but notice that her behavior had suddenly and drastically changed. It was more than the effect of having been subjected to what Blaine did to her and Daniel. Of that Jared was positive, and if he wasn't so busy he would have taken the time to figure it out. People did not suddenly start avoiding someone else without a good reason. There was nothing he had done recently that should have caused that sort of reaction. For now he would ignore it, but later? He would find out just what had her so afraid of him. Especially since he hadn't done anything to warrant such a reaction from her.

Jared smiled to himself as he finally reached the interrogation chamber, the doors opening up automatically upon his arrival. He entered to find Blaine already fastened to the chair in the center of the room with two security personal standing guard. With a nod he sent them just outside the room, this time not bothering to take a seat at the controls for the powerful disruptor's, but rather on the front of the small unit facing Blaine. A sly grin on his face. It was almost time to hand Blaine over for execution and watching Blaine's attempt to find something to bargain with to save himself from that fate was rather amusing. But other than a few tiny details, they were done and after today he would be sent to the Council Center for Execution.

Blaine's expression was a mixture of fear, defiance and resignation. "[B]I don't know why you're continuing with this Commander.[/B]" He finally snapped. "[B]After all you've already gotten what you wanted as well as ignoring my warning in regards to Daniel Timbers.[/B]"

"[B]True,[/B]" Jared said with a sly smile. "[B]And it's really a pity that you choose to cooperate. You've taken all the fun out of this interrogation.[/B]" Jared smiled even more as Blaine struggled to not respond to that comment and failed.

"[B]I know perfectly well what your idea of [I]fun[/I] is Commander.[/B]" Blaine said between gritted teeth. "[B]I'd rather slit my own throat first.[/B]"

"[B]How disappointing,[/B]" Jared said with a laugh, "[B]After all, your idea of [I]fun [/I]isn't much different. Don't think I don't know that you enjoy being part of that [I]education[/I] process you put your guests through.[/B]" He got up and walked over until he was looking straight down at Blaine, noting how he shivered just a tiny bit.

"[B]I know perfectly well what you would have done to Kerstin had we not interfered. So don't give me any bullshit about fun Blaine. In a way you're lucky, had you touched Kerstin in that manner, guilty or not I would have torn you to pieces.[/B]" Jared said coldly, staring Blaine down until he gave in and looked away. He went back to the terminal and sitting on the edge facing Blaine.

"[B]Now since you're so convinced that Daniel Timbers is not who he claims he is, we are going to finish this with you telling me everything that happened in detail. And remember we've secured the records from where you were hiding so I'll know if you're lying.[/B]" Jared paused for a moment to get more comfortable, "[B]Remember, what you say will influence whether your execution is swift and painless or an example for others who would be so foolish.[/B]" He smiled viciously , "[B]By all means, be a fool, I'd love nothing better than to torture you to death myself.[/B]"

Jared waited patiently for Blaine to begin, taking note of certain observations he made as well as asking questions when clarification was required. It took a while but several hours later Blaine was finally done. Jared reached back and pressed the button to summon the security. When they came back in he ordered them to toss Blaine back into his cell. Then after taking a moment to make notes on his hand held computer he finally left the interrogation chamber and headed for the bridge. Now that he was done with Blaine he could look into what was upsetting Kerstin so much.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="goldenrod"]As Celestia sat on the sofa in their quarters, watching the news, she couldn't help but feel depressed. Even though James had approved access to basic transmissions for their quarters they were still stuck with the disruptor restraints that Dakar had put on them when her and Jason had first been brought to the Council Center. And the news? For the most part it bored her. Even though it was apparent that those who had seized control were cleaning house so to speak, nothing would change for her or Jason. Or any of the other 'lesser' races as they were referred to. [I]Stupid stuck up...[/I] Celestia moved to switch it off only to halt at the next news report.

Startled at the mention of the illegal research for making the lesser races passive in sector fourteen being brought to a halt, but nothing could have prepared her for the next part. Celestia couldn't believe what she was hearing! She already knew that they were going to increase the lifespans of those of the lesser races. Her and Jason had been the first to have such modifications done. But as she listened to them callously discuss the ramifications of using genetic reproduction to ensure a healthy population among the 'lesser' races, she dropped the remote for the screen to the floor. Shock running though her at the thought that they would actually force her or any other member of the 'lesser' races to have a child.

[I]My God! [/I]She thought as waves of nausea made her feel sick and cold all over at the same time. Celestia struggled to keep it under control, to keep from losing her dinner to the floor. She slid off the sofa to her hands and knees, taking deep breaths as dizziness overtook her. [I]How could they? [/I] Celestia finally got it under control enough to sit up on her knees hugging herself as tears ran down her face. It wasn't that she didn't want to eventually have a family with Jason, but to be forced to? To have some stranger coldly take her genetics and Jason's and then place that inside of her?

"[B]Celestia![/B]" Jason exclaimed in alarm as he returned to the main room from the bedroom. He moved to help her back up onto the sofa, taking her into his arms and holding her when she threw herself at him and sobbed as if her heart was breaking.

"[B]What's the matter?[/B]" He asked her, even as he held her tight. But she was too upset to answer. But as he picked up the remote and moved to turn the news off he froze, the answer apparent as he listened for a minute before shutting it off in disgust.

"[B]Hell. There's nothing those bastards won't do is there?[/B]" Disgusted Jason tossed the remote aside.

"[B]Don't let them get to you Celestia.[/B]" He tried to console her, but how could he? He found the idea that they would force anyone to have children just so they would have a ready supply of slaves despicable. And when Celestia didn't answer he just continued to hold her.

"[B]I know Jason,[/B]" Celestia finally said. "[B]But I can't help it. It's not enough that they keep us prisoner and force us to work for them.[/B]" She said bitterly. "[B]But now they intend to force us to produce more little 'slaves' for them to use as they please.[/B]" Celestia started sobbing all over again.

Jason just held Celestia close. He had no words to comfort her, after all, even though it had been discovered that even the Versilans had been illegally modified themselves, to keep them from caring about what happened to the races they had enslaved. It was apparent that all they cared about was punishing those who were responsible. Not once had he ever heard any talk about freeing him or Celestia, or anyone else for that matter.

He looked at the disruptor restraints that he and Celestia still wore, no, nothing would change, all they would do is appoint new Council members to replace those who had been executed for their crimes. And for them life would go on. While he and Celestia continued with their forced work regardless of being seperated from family and loved ones. In the end, Jason did nothing to stop the tears that started to run down his face as well. [/COLOR]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[COLOR=darkslateblue]Kiva and Daego had barely arrived in sector 1 when Stevens contacted them. "Admiral Stevens," Kiva said. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you again so soon."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"I know I've been keeping you busy," Stevens said. "There's just a lot going on right now."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"It's fine. I realize things are pretty damn crazy. Anyways, what is it this time?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"As I'm sure you realize, there's no way the Resistance is going to remain idle right now. They're sure to make use of the current confusion. I don't know what they'll do, but odds are it'll be something big. Erica keeps dropping hints about something, but she hasn't givin me any real information yet. But she says she knows about something that, if it got out, could result in a civil war. I have Crystal looking into it; Erica claims that the secret will be revealed by complete genetic analysis of the Council members who have yet to turn over their personal codes, as well as those members' extended families. Meanwhile, I have something I want you to look into.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"It's highly likely that the Resistance is using the current confusion to its advantage. In particular, I believe they currently have active spies here in sector 1 making use of the current situation. There've been a few incidents lately. For example, at some high-level social functions-balls and the like-there have been one or two people attending under false identities. We don't know who these people really are, but I believe them to be connected with the Resistance. There have been other, similar incidents. The pattern suggests they're looking for specific information. Spies usually just take whatever information they have, but they don't go looking unless there's something specific they want to find."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Okay, so we've got at least two likely spies," Daego said. "I assume you don't have any leads as to their identities."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Well, there is one thing that may be significant. There has been recent access to the public records of Daniel Landers. Specifically, his most recent image was accessed and copied. This was discovered via routine security checks, so I know only that the information was copied. I don't know who has it, or why."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"We'll start there, then," Kiva said. "We'll do a full check on the file. That should tell us who accessed the information, and we can go from there."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"All right, then. Stevens out."[/COLOR]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR="goldenrod"]Crystal was just about to head to the cafeteria for the Council Center when she got the chime indicating there was an incoming transmission. Even though she was halfway out the door she turned back and took it.

"[B]Crystal,[/B]" Stevens nodded, "[B]I'm sorry to bother you but do you have any idea when you'll be done with the analysis of the Council members genetic code? The update you sent was pretty vague on the time frame.[/B]"

"[B]No Stevens, I do not. Depending on the amount of irregularities that have to be tracked down it can take anywhere from two weeks up to two months to completely map someone's genetics. Surely you were aware of that, after all it took me over a month to finish the modifications on both Jason and Celestia, mapping someone's code isn't a simple process.[/B]" She paused to think of the best way to put it. "[B]Well in a sense the actual process is pretty simple, but it's still time consuming[/B]."

Stevens sighed a bit. "[B]I see, I'll leave you alone then.[/B]"

Crystal just laughed, "[B]Don't worry Stevens, the moment I'm done with one I'll contact you immediately. I've already isolated a few that have less irregularities, I'm giving those samples priority so we can find out just what Erica is talking about.[/B]"

"[B]Understood. Stevens out.[/B]"

Crystal terminated the communication and left to go and get some lunch, it didn't take very long. As large as the Council Center was, the one advantage of the Genetics Lab was that it was fairly close to the recreation area where the gardens, cafeteria and other facilities for taking a break form work were housed.

But as she gathered her lunch and choose a spot out of the way, she hadn't been there for long when footsteps approached and then Dr. Jacobs came into view. With a cheerful smile he helped himself to a seat across from Crystal.

"[B]Crystal, I haven't seen you in a while, even though I've known you were here.[/B]"

"[B]Ah, well I still have work to do obviously.[/B]"

"[B]Still as closemouthed as always I see. It's not like it's a secret that you've been doing the testing in regards to the illegal modifications.[/B]" Jacobs leaned forward a bit as if to convey a secret. "[B]Just as word is that Stevens has you doing some more top secret research.[/B]"

Crystal just gave Jacobs an irritated glance, "[B]You know Jacobs, one of these days you're going to get yourself fired for being such a gossip.[/B]"

"[B]Oh come now Crystal, just as you tell the High Council to shove it without getting in trouble, they ignore my tendency to gossip, after all I am good at what I do. One does not get a position on the medical staff for the Council Center if they lack the necessary skills.[/B]"

"[B]You're still going to land yourself in trouble one of these days.[/B]" Crystal said flatly, even as she prepared to leave, but Jacob's next words caused her to freeze before she could do more than grab her tray.

"[B]You mean for mentioning that Jason and Celestia got attacked by a number of the researchers they were working with? Talking about something like that?[/B]" Jacobs smiled at her dumbfounded expression. "[B]You're so buried in your work that you must be the only person who didn't know about that.[/B]"

"[B]What...when...[/B]" Crystal started to say.

"[B]The day of the execution. Apparently Celestia is easily upset by violence and one of the other researchers decided to take exception to her sentiment that killing others is wrong by insulting her. Both her and Jason were brought to sickbay to be checked since Jason took exception to what he said and slugged him. I understand that when James arrived all of them were going at it, with most of them ganging up on Jason.[/B]" Jacobs laughed. "[B]Not that anyone really cares that Jason slugged him, most of those guys on the team that's working on hacking into the Council data vaults are arrogant jackasses.[/B]"

"[B]Are they alright?[/B]" Crystal asked.

"[B]You mean Jason and Celestia? Yeah, they're fine, all they got were some bruises, though Celestia's stress levels worry me a bit. I had intended on contacting you about it since something has happened that has her all tied up in knots and naturally neither one of them will tell me what it is. They just keep saying it's because they're tired.[/B]"

"[B]I see. If you really want me to check them over I will.[/B]" Crystal replied. "[B]Just give me some time to look at my schedule to see when I can fit it in.[/B]"

"[B]Thanks.[/B]" Jacobs said as Crystal got up to leave. "[B]Oh and one other thing Crystal, I don't need to talk to you to find out what Stevens has you working on. Even if the exact details aren't known, I'm not the first to hear rumors of Civil War between the factions that have been cleared and those who are refusing to cooperate.[/B]" Jacobs sighed. "[B]It's pretty obvious that you're a part of finding out just what would cause such a thing. I just hope that you find nothing, that's all.[/B]"

Crystal caught herself starting to agree and then stopped. With a nod she simply turned and left. Feeling a little unsettled by what Jacobs had said. As well as feeling like he was prying, sure she knew he had always been a gossip, but lately it made her uneasy. With a shrug she shook it off. No what was making her uneasy was the thought of Civil War as well as what she would find when she finished the tests.[/COLOR]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

It didn't take long for Daniel to switch from one persona to another, now that he had two identities to maintain, the doctor had removed the slight modifications that had been done, returning him to what he originally looked like. At first he had objected, until he realized that the other persona, one of a Tedric Kavans just wasn't possible, even with holographic technology. Paranoia was running pretty high and such devices were too easy to detect. Where using clothing, semi permanent makeup as well as keeping the hair color change not only worked well, but made it easy for him to switch and yet not have anyone realize that he was using any more than simple changes like everyone else. It was ironic that in the end he was relying on primitive means of disguise instead of outright changes like he had at first.

Daniel Timbers always wore clothing of a wealthy patron attending the University with his reddish brown hair pulled back into a pony tail. Where Tedric Kavans, a ship mechanic working at the port where the ships were docked always wore stained durable overalls and his hair was never pulled back but simply allowed to run wild. Combined with making sure he was always fairly dirty, no one ever talked to him let alone figured out he was the same person. If not for the program that Kerstin had used, Daniel was certain she would have never figured it out. After all there were too many people in the Empire who on some level looked similar.

With a sigh Tedric, finished his current job of tuning the hyper drive of a smaller ship for one of the wealthy visitors at Reflection. It hadn't been too hard really, the vibration the owner was complaining about was due to neglect instead of a real issue, it had taken very little to do the regular upkeep that all ships required. He explained it to the owner, handed him the data chip detailing everything that had been done along with the price charged. Then once the appropriate money had been transfered to the main account of the port facility that Tedric worked for, he was on his way back to the [I]Astera[/I] where he and some of his fellow workers for the port stayed when they were off duty.

Daniel couldn't help but smile a tiny bit when he got cleaned up and was greeted by a familiar face for a change in the mirror of his quarters on the [I]Astera[/I], if not for the reddish brown hair he would have looked as he always had before this mess. Once again he got into character, putting on slightly better clothing, for Tedric that is, and then snatching a small duffel bag he was off for one of the local bars. Yet another thing that Tedric did, find someplace to get drunk. Though Daniel mostly faked it since in reality he was listening in on all the gossip floating around, though that too was merely for show, the real information came from using a routine when he repaired the ships to hack into their main computer systems, the program was designed to hunt for specific information.

So far no one had detected that such a thing was being done, or if they had the program was designed to leave traces that looked like he had simply accessed the wrong section by mistake and went back to the part regarding the engines. Most of the time there was nothing of importance, but since he began working for the port, twice he had gotten his hands on some pretty damming information. All of which he had turned over to Williams. If he wasn't working for the Resistance, the information he had gotten would have fetched a good price on the black market.

"[B]Try to not get too drunk this time Tedric,[/B]" one of the port security commented as he approached the gate leaving the area.

Tedric pulled himself up a bit straighter, "[B]I do not get drunk, just a bit tipsy.[/B]"

"[B]Don't we all?[/B]" The other shot back and then continued when Tedric came fully into the light. "[B]Well now, since when did you ever get cleaned up for anything?[/B]"

"[B]Don't blame me if those rich little snobs can't be bothered to keep their ships clean. Besides,[/B]" Tedric said self-importantly, "[B]the ladies don't like it when a guy smells.[/B]"

Both security personal started laughing at Tedric, ignoring his offended look. "[B]You have a date? In your dreams![/B]"

Tedric just stormed off into the city ignoring the two security guards who were still laughing and making crude jokes as to what type of lady he could get. He mumbled under his breath about stupid ignorant locals until after turning a corner upon which he dropped the act. Continuing until he found a spot where he could quickly change clothing, take a moment to pull his hair back into a pony tail and then assuming the stance of a member of the wealthy, Daniel Timbers continued on his way

It didn't take him long to get to the [I]Tryst[/I] since all he did was turn around and head back the way he had come, leaving the duffel bag in a secure location for when Tedric came back from his usual weekend of going from place to place getting drunk and attempting to find a woman to spend the night with. Which was what he would have been doing if he didn't have to attend some silly functions over the weekend with Williams. He just hoped they got the rest of what William was looking for this time.

As he approached the gate, this time it was different, a formal nod and greetings were issued as well as wishing him a good evening. No familiarity like there was with Tedric. Daniel simply gave then a tiny absent nod as any wealthy member would and headed for the [I]Tryst[/I]. It was time to go over the latest information he had gotten as well as determine if it was time to finally leave sector one. If he was lucky, the information he had gotten earlier that day would be what they were looking for, saving him from having to attend yet another pointless ball.

More than anything Daniel wanted to get the rest of the information that William was looking for and leave. He already knew that the [I]Transcendence[/I] was back in sector one and the longer they stayed, in his opinion, the greater the risk. Just because Kerstin had said nothing so far didn't mean that would change. And it was only a matter of time before their activities were discovered. Daniel just sighed as he entered the [I]Tryst[/I] and went to find William who would be waiting or him.

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"][SIZE="1"]Jared had not gotten around to figuring out what was bothering Kerstin, for the simple reason that he didn't see it as a priority. It was more of a curiosity than anything else. But lately even though he was finished with Blaine and had already arranged for him to be transported to the Council Center, he still had far too much to do. Returning partial power to the High Council members who had been cleared had also required through checks of the personal who worked with them. Checks that he was required to review for inconsistencies before handing them over to Stevens for the final okay. It wasn't difficult, but it was extremely tedious.

And now as Jared reached up to press the button to let Sandra know he was just outside her quarters, it was time to go over some other concerns that she had as well. He entered without hesitation and immediately moved to join her in the small conference area to the right of the main area that housed the sofa and other amenities. Sandra motioned for him to take a seat at the small table and then pulled up a report for him on the screen built into the table where he was seated.

"[B]I'll get straight to the point Jared,[/B]" Sandra said. "[B]As you can see here, Darren has noticed that supplies are being slowly siphoned into sector nine. It's nothing major if you look at it on a day to day basis, but if you take a look at how much has been sent there once the High Council was put under house arrest, it's quite substantial.[/B]"

Jared looked at the figures for basic supplies and surprisingly, even the military in that section seemed to be stockpiling. That could only mean one thing, he looked back up at Sandra.

"[B]You realize what that means, Erica's claims that there is something that could result in Civil War has some merit to it.[/B]" Jared observed. "[B]What other reason would they have to start stockpiling supplies and weapons?[/B]"

"[B]None whatsoever. If not for the fact that a huge percentage of the extend families of those who have yet to cooperate are in sector nine and the surrounding sectors, I would think nothing of it.[/B]" Sandra closed the report. "[B]However, they are in sector nine and can think of no other reason for such a build up. It's clear that they are preparing for the eventuality of War breaking out.[/B]"

Sandra stood up and went back into the main room to first fix herself a drink and then stand patiently waiting while Jared did the same, staring out into space before finally turning back to face Jared.

"[B]What concerns me the most is that sections of the military are also doing the same, when I contacted them for clarification as to why they have requested more than they need, their answer was vague and merely alluded to a mistake in expected use of their current resources.[/B]" Sandra finished her drink and after setting the empty glass down at the bar in the kitchen she took a seat facing the floor to ceiling windows.

Jared took a seat as well, placing his untouched drink on the small table between the chairs. "[B]Have you ordered the return of the extra supplies? If it's just a mistake as they put it, surely they'll have the extra shipped back to the main supply station in sector one.[/B]" Jared paused, "[B]Or have you done that already?[/B]"

Sandra turned a bit so she was facing Jared, "[B]I already made that request and their answer was that they'll re-evaluate what they need and then send the rest back. Though I expect that check to be dragged out.[/B]"

"[B]What did you want me to do?[/B]" Jared asked.

"[B]I want you to check out a couple of the higher ranking officers in the fleet in that sector. Their answers to my concerns are a bit to pat for my liking, especially since they seem to be the only ones who are stockpiling military weapons.[/B]"

"[B]Anything else?[/B]"

Sandra just smiled and shook her head, "[B]No, that should do for now. I'll send you the full files on each officer that I want you to check out.[/B]" She stood up and took Jared's untouched drink and took it into the kitchen area to dispose of it.

"[B]I'll get started on it immediately then,[/B]" Jared replied when she came back out to the main area. With a slight bow he left her quarters. It would be interesting to see just who she wanted checked out. There just wasn't a reason for the military to be stocking up on supplies. The locals he could see since the whole mess had a lot of people panicking and doing the same, but the military? They had no reason at all. For them to have done so was a clear indication that something was up.

As Jared came to the junction in the corridors of the Creator that went separate ways, for a moment he hesitated, to the right was the direction of the bridge, straight ahead lead to other aspects such as sickbay, and the path to the left went to more of the top officers quarters as well as the guest quarters that both Darren and Kerstin were using. He almost headed to Kerstin's quarters to talk with her until a chime from his handheld caught his attention. Jared opened it to see that he had received several reports with matters that required his immediate attention. He turned and headed for the bridge, reading through the reports he had just gotten, once again, Kerstin would have to wait.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Rachmaninoff]

Darren had heard the rumors about Civil War, just like everyone else, but for the most part he had not believed them. There were quite a few rumors floating about and he was sure this one was no different. That is until the shipping protocols program flagged him with an unusual occurrence. It was merely meant to keep track of surplus supplies should the need to move them to a different sector that needed it more came up. And at first he hadn't thought anything about it, that is, until he realized that the excess supplies was in sector nine, where the extended families of the remaining High Council members who had not been cleared lived.

At that point he had decided to hand the information over to Sandra. It was probably nothing, but if the rumors were true at all, it was something she would want to know about. Now if things could only go back to normal, well as normal as could be expected. He would still be stuck with the job of being the shipping expert. A job that even now he still did not want. Blaine may have been dealt with, but he was not the only one who wanted him dead. Though Jared assured him that Blaine's trial and execution would most likely put an end to others trying to do the same. Now if he could just figure out what was bothering Kerstin so much.

[CENTER]-----------------------------------------[/CENTER]
Kerstin had returned to her quarters after taking a moment to go down to Reflection with her escort to pick up some supplies for painting. She thought that perhaps by getting back to work she could get her mind off of what she had learned. Or rather what she thought she had learned. After all Daniel had never admitted to being Daniel Landers instead of Daniel Timbers. [I]I'm such an idiot.[/I] She thought. [I]I should have left it alone.[/I]

She finished setting up a spot with several canvases, but before Kerstin opened any of the paints she left to go into the bedroom and change into a set of worn pants and a paint stained shirt. Then she expertly braided her hair and wrapped it into a bun at the nape of her neck. Kerstin took a moment to check herself in the mirror and then went back out to the main room. She stood there for a moment as she decided which painting to work on. The one of the home world from space? Or the one of the beach at Reflection?

But even that was not enough to still her thoughts. [I]I need to stop avoiding Jared, otherwise he's going to wonder what's going on. [/I] Though she figured that by now he probably already thought that something was up. Kerstin sighed a bit as she decided to work on the view of the home world from space, she set up the stand with the tray for the paints and mixing the colors.[I] Hell,[/I] she thought even as she started opening the paints. [I]Quit thinking about it! Unless you're going to tell Jared it doesn't matter! [/I]

Kerstin finished mixing the paints and started working, but still she couldn't get it out of her mind. It still made no sense, whether he really was Daniel Landers or not. She still did not understand why he had endured what he did. Kerstin sighed. [I]I wish Daniel would leave sector one. Then I could tell Jared and get it over with. [/I] Not that she wanted to, but she didn't want to get in trouble if Jared found out that she knew and said nothing. With a sigh of disgust she tried to put the thought aside and work on the painting. And for a while she succeeded as thoughts of Daniel were replaced by ones of what she was doing to finish the painting.

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="goldenrod"]Erica Kendrik was not expecting Stevens to actually grant her request to see Jason and Celestia. She really didn't need to see them, it was more of a whim really. She had spent so much time in the shadows, staying hidden, that a tiny part of her wanted to be able to openly talk to someone who was also a Resistance member. Well as openly as one could in a cell that was monitored. But still, Erica had been interested in them ever since she learned of their existence. It was true that they picked up people from other races into their ranks, but it was rare for them to be able to make much of a difference.

It wasn't that other races weren't capable, it was more of a case of their world being conquered before they had the chance to develop deep space technology. Earth, out of all that had been taken, was the most technologically advanced and yet they were far behind what her people were capable of. But considering what they had done, perhaps it was a good thing. Though Erica knew it was not, after all, given the same chance to develop as they had did not mean that other races would have done as they had, enslaving others. Though it was interesting to note that every single race at one time or another had enslaved their own people. Even Earth was guilty of such excess, though they had at least abolished it.

But that abolishment had come at a heavy price, the nation that allowed slavery ended up in Civil War over the matter. The slaughter had been terrible, at least for them, and even now, if she understood their history correctly, those who's ancestors who were once slaves still faced subtle discrimination from others. Erica had given Stevens the clues he needed to find things out for himself, the question was, would it do any good? For some Versilans, the knowledge would be unacceptable, for others it would only drive home how terrible the modification that had been done to them really was. If it got out, it would drive a terrible wedge between the people.

Erica leaned back a bit in her recliner, shifting a bit to try and get comfortable. [I]I think I'll ask Crystal to up the pain medications next time she comes. [/I] If she wasn't going to be doing anything, she may as well be half drugged. She had not bothered to ask for anything to read or anything to do, Erica would not let them know just how much being confined with nothing to do irritated her. She was sure Stevens knew, but Erica would not give him the satisfaction of knowing that. It was at least comforting to know that it probably irritated him even more that he could not use any form of coercion or torture to make her talk. Erica knew how much Stevens enjoyed interrogations, especially when it was a woman.

She started to shift again, only to stop in surprise when the door to her cell opened. Curious she turned to see who it was. It wasn't time for a treatment or one of her meals, and when Elite Commander Dakar entered, a cold look of disapproval on his face she couldn't help but smile over his irritation.

"[B]Dakar, it's so good of you to actually come and see me. I was beginning to think you didn't like me.[/B]" Erica twitted him even as she looked past him, curious as to why the door was still open.

"[B]You can blame Stevens for my visit,[/B]" Dakar said coldly. "[B]I would never grant your frivolous request.[/B]"

"[B]And what [I]frivolous[/I] request might that be?[/B]" Erica asked innocently, smiling inwardly at Dakar's irritation. Even if he was good at his job he had always taken himself too seriously. And twitting him over something he would know she knew of, was too much fun for her to resist.

"[B]I see that you have not changed,[/B]" Dakar finally observed. He motioned with his right hand and two people entered the cell. "[B]This request, you know, the [I]only [/I]request you've made since you were arrested. Besides the one to talk to Stevens that is.[/B]" Dakar turned to leave and then stopped, calling back over his shoulder, "[B]You have one hour.[/B]" Then he left, the door closing behind him.

Erica turned to talk to Jason and Celestia who were clearly confused over what was happening. She smiled at both of them.

"[B]Take a seat,[/B]" she indicated the bed. "[B]I'm afraid the accommodation's aren't much, but they'll do.[/B]" She waited for them to sit down before continuing.

"[B]Now, lets make the most of our hour shall we? I'll start, I'm Erica Kendrick.[/B]"[/COLOR]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR="goldenrod"]Crystal was working on the full genetic analysis of the High Council members and their extended families when she came across a very odd occurrence. Stray genes that served no purpose. Normally such an abnormality would be ignored since the genes in question were harmless. But when she tried to track down just what they were, they did not match any of the known and mapped genes of the Versilan race. It was to be frank puzzling. Further analysis of the genes showed that they were only a fragment of a greater code, leaving her even more in the dark as to what they could be.

A similar search on the members of the High Council who had been cleared showed that none of them had these stray genes. In fact, if not for the current extensive test, it was likely no one would have even realized they were there, even the genetics for reproduction were not required to be as extensive as the tests she was doing. Even though the technology was only a few thousand years old, it was a simple matter to trim out harmful code. They had learned a long time ago, that instead of attempting to completely eliminate recessive genes it was easier to simply trim things out with each person at the time of conception.

Over the years the process had become pretty routine and rarely was there an issue with problems cropping up. But then the random extensive testing done to provide a check on the system rarely turned up something like the stray genes she had found. For her to find the same thing, even though the number of stray genes varied slightly, in so many people, was unheard of. The problem now, was figuring out just what they were. Those who actually were High Council members had the least, where the further out she got into those who were in their extended families, the higher the number of genes she found.

It seemed to Crystal, that what ever the genes were, it looked like the families had slowly been getting rid of it, piece by piece. Much in the same way they did by trimming out harmful code for the reproduction genetics. With each generation, it was not uncommon to find bits and pieces that the person's code had hidden in another layer. Completely getting rid of a set of harmful code could take up to a thousand years, or rather three to four generations.

Crystal just shook her head as she prepared tests on the genes she had found, it would take time to do an extensive test on each one. Especially since not one of them was in the genetics database. It was in a small way kind of exciting, it wasn't often that she got to work with a completely new gene. Their technology had developed far enough that finding a new one was pretty rare and unexpected. She finished the preparation and then started writing up a report for Stevens, even if she didn't have the answer yet, Crystal was positive he would want to know what she had found so far.[/COLOR]

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[COLOR=darkslateblue]"Are you sure about that?" Daego said.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]Kiva nodded. "I'm sure. The data was copied by someone on board the [I]Creator[/I]. Specifically, to a room in the Command Quarters section, a section reserved for high-ranking officers and guests. I'll need to access the personell database of the [I]Creator[/I] to learn who's in that specific room, though."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Should I contact Stevens?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"No, not yet. I don't want to involve anyone on the [I]Creator[/I] until I know who requested the data. No, I'm going to excersize Specialist rights; specifically, I'll be making use of the authorization to access a ship's records without informing any the vessel's crew."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=darkslateblue]Upon gaining access to the desired records, Kiva learned that the occupant of the room the data on Daniel had been accessed from was none other than Kerstin Anderson. "Well, that's interesting," Kiva said.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Yeah, no kidding. Why would Kerstin access information about Daniel?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"That's what I'm about to find out." Kiva made her way into the program records for Kerstin's computer terminal. She browssed through the records until she found what she was looking for. "Kerstin ran a physical comparrison between Daniel Landers and Daniel Timbers."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Daniel Timbers is involved in this, too? Don't tell me he's actually Landers."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"I don't know," Kiva said. "The results of the comparrison aren't here. Kerstin must not have saved them. Not that it really matters. We'll just run the comparrison ourselves." Which Kiva did. When she saw the results, she wasn't really surprised. "98%," she said. "A 98% probability that Daniel Timbers is Daniel Landers."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"And we even rescued the guy," Daego said. "I don't believe it."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Yeah, it's crazy. But how did Kerstin figure it out? And more importantly, why the hell hasn't she informed Stevens? I don't like this."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"What should we do?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"First, I'm going to confirm Landers's location. Afterwards, we contact Stevens.I don't want to move on Daniel until we know what's going on here."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Sounds like a good idea. And what about that William guy? Is he with the Resistance, too?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"It's likely. When we move, we'll grab them both."[/COLOR]


[COLOR=#483d8b]Kiva accessed public [/COLOR][COLOR=darkslateblue]records to find the current residence of Daniel Timbers. After confirming its location, she pulled out, but not before leaving a message:[/COLOR]
[INDENT][I][COLOR=darkslateblue]You have been compromised.[/COLOR][/I]
[/INDENT][COLOR=darkslateblue]With the message left, she pulled out and contacted Stevens, who responded quickly. "Kiva, what is it? Did you find anything?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"You could say that," Kiva said. "Daego and I need to come aboard to speak with Kerstin Anderson. She is not to be informed of this."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"May I ask the reason?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Possibility of involvment with the Resistance," Kiva said. "She's the one who accessed the records of Daniel Landers. She ran a physical comparison between him and Daniel Timbers, the man Blaine abducted along with Kerstin. She didn't store the results, so we ran the comparison ourselves. Stevens, the probability that they're the same person is 98%"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Shit," Stevens said.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Exactly," Kiva said. "I've confirmed Daniel's residence, and it's likely that the man he's living with, William, is also a Resistance member. However, we don't want to move against him until we know what Kerstin's involvement with him is."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Makes sense. I've sent you the transportation code; you may come at any time."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"We'll be over momentarily," Kiva said. "Kiva out."[/COLOR]


[COLOR=#483d8b]Kiva and Daego were wearing light Specialist armor. Even that was probably unnecessary, but Kiva wanted to be able to take a couple shots on the off-chance that things got messy. She and Daego were both armed, but again, she didn't anticipate needing them.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]Kiva didn't bother to signal Kerstin. She simply keyed in a sequence, and the door opened. Kerstin looked up in surprise as Kiva and Daego stepped in, the door closing behind them.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Hello, Kerstin," Kiva said. "I am Elite Specialist Kiva Salqarian. I'm going to get right to the point. You ran a physical comparison between Daniel Timbers and Daniel Landers, correct?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"I- yes, yes I did," Kerstin said.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"And the result was a 98% chance that they're actually the same person."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Y-yes, that's ture."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#483d8b]"Okay, so tell me a couple things, Kerstin. First, why did you run the comparrison? What potential connection between Timbers and Landers did you find? And second, why the hell haven't you informed anybody?"[/COLOR]

-----------------------------------------

OOC: Tag, Rachmaninoff.