[Galaxy] 2158, June 28 - Joint Duty Log - Meridian Crew, Amb. Berger, Councilor Sepok

[SUVYankee1 at aol.com]

~Captains  Mess~




Rog sat at his usual place and waited  for his guests to arrive. He'd sent 
out 
the word earlier as to when the welcoming dinner would be held. Rog was 
hoping 
everything went well, they couldn't afford to lose the Vulcans as allies.









Sarah  and her aides arrived early to make sure all the arrangements were  
satisfactory. Sarah
had spoken to Otto and inquired about all the food  and was 
quite impressed by the Chef's offerings for the evening. She was  sure the 
Vulcans would be quite satisfied with his choices. As soon as Sarah  had 
finished checking out the kitchen they arrived at the Captain's  table.



"Good evening Captain Finney.", she smiled as she and her  aides found their 
respective seats.



Rog replied,"Good evening  Madam Ambassador. I hope you're doing well this 
evening." Where was Sepok he  wondered?



"Indeed Captain thank you.", she  smiled.



T'Paz arrived a minute later after the ambassador and  nodded at Sarah. 
"Ambassador." She gave Captain Finney a
slight nod as  she sat down next to her table. It appeared that Captain 
Finney had thankfully  remembered that Vulcans were vegetarians and had arranged a 
variety of dishes  that should be 
satisfactory.



"Good evening Sub-Commander.",  Sarah nodded. She had hoped T'Paz would avail 
herself of some of the  selections the chef had prepared.



Ghayith entered the Captain's  Mess stiffly, taking a seat near the foot of 
the 
table. His dress uniform  pulled uncomfortably at his neck. He exhaled slowly 
and tried to still his  frustration. Something about that Orion's tricorder 
scan... none of the  inorganics had seemed unusual, exactly, but then they 
weren't all standard  compounds either. Two rare inerts and a boron tryclide 
in 
particluar... He  tried to put them out of his mind, concentrating on keeping 
his expression  blank and his hands from fidgeting.



Timo wasn't too excited about  the idea of the dinner. Formality was bad 
enough. Throwing Vulcan into the mix  was going to make the atmosphere even more 
stiff and formal - like too much  starch in his jumpsuit. He hadn't had to wear 
his dress uniform since the awards  ceremony they had on Forrest Outpost 
after the Klingon mission. It had not  gotten any more comfortable since then. He 
took a seat at one innocuous corner  of the table and waited for Zoe to 
arrive. It had been a long day in engineering  arranging repair schedules. He would 
have preferred a simple quiet, dinner alone  with her tonight.



Sepok arrived and said,"Good evening Capt.  Finney." He nodded to the rest of 
the officers and took a seat near the  captain. Delvok and Tolaris stood at 
the back of the room in case Sepok required  anything.


"Good evening Councilor Sepok.", Sarah added as he  sat.



Zoe zipped into the mess hall knowing she was late but  quickly composed 
herself before stepping into the Captain's mess. She hadn't had  an opportunity to 
wear her dress blues in a while and was pleased to get the  chance again. She 
never could understand why everyone else hated it so much.  With a grin she 
stepped into the room and quickly found a place next to  Timo.


Sepok looked across the table and said,"Good evening Ambassador  Berger."


Rog looked around and realized that they were waiting on  Ian. He knew Ian 
was 
probably still checking on Bardeck and would be here  shortly. One of the 
Mess 
attendants stood nearby and he said,"Wait for Lt.  Cmdr. Fraiser and then you 
may begin serving. In the meantime, please bring in  some refreshments." The 
attendant nodded and went to get the  drinks.



A few moments had past and Ian briskly walked through the  door. Out of a 
trained habit, he surveyed the entire dinning hall taking  note of who was 
there and where they were seated. He then made his way over to  the Captain.



"Sorry fahr tha tardiness sar... had a matter ta  follow up at tha Armory. 
Also 
oor guest has departed." Ian then took a seat  just past the
delegates. He looked 
over to Zoe with raised eyebrows and  shrugged.



Rog nodded and said,"Quite alright Ian." He motioned to  the mess attendant 
who 
brought in the meals. Rog said,"I hope everyone  enjoys their meal." The stew 
is placed before the crew and the vegetarian meals  in front of the Vulcan 
guests. As Rog began to eat his meal, he wondered about  Bardeck. Ian had said 
he'd departed. Well the green guy is gone and nothing has  happened. Maybe it 
was just an accident he had after all.



T'Paz  poked at her salad, which tasted funny. She had heard the crew 
constantly praise  the chef, but lately his food had been standard at best, and this 
was  no different. The first officer hoped that the Vulcan delegates wouldn't 
be  too insulted. Often the meal itself can make or break negotiations. With 
that  in  mind, T'Paz gave Captain Finney an ice-cold look, silently announcing 
 her displeasure.



Ian wasn't too please with the thought of eating  something that was just 
placed in front of him. He would have rather ordered  something that he liked 
instead. Etiquette ruled out in this case and he decided  to at least eat some of 
it. 



Sarah was well pleased with the  offerings and curious as to why T'Paz 
settled 
on salad when there were so  many vegetarian dishes to choose from. Sepok, on 
the other hand seemed to be  sampling everything. Then she saw it. The 
division 
she'd have to deal with  in the council chambers. Those who clung to the old 
ways and those who were  prepared to embrace other possibilities. She had a 
rough road ahead. For now  though she'd concentrate on this fabulous stew Otto 
had prepared. 

Sarah  always ate quickly at diplomatic dinners so as to be prepared if any  
discussions arose and still have had some nourishment. Those discussions  
tended to interrupt the continuation of the meal and by the time they concluded  
the food had gone cold.



Zoe on the other hand was too excited to  eat. She had never been this close 
to 
so many Vulcans at the same time and  was curious. 



"Councilor Sepok, what do you think of the  Meridian?", she asked trying to 
start some dinner  conversation.



Sepok looked over at Zoe and replied,"Your ship is  quite interesting 
lieutenant. A bit primitive in some ways, but all in all I'm  sure she's a fine ship."


Rog was starting to get indigestion from the  stew. He wondered what was 
wrong 
with it and if anyone else felt  ill.

Timo let go a soft,rumbling burp. He thought the meal  was tasty enough, but 
something about it just wasn't setting right with the CEO.  Zoe looked at him, 
wide eyed with surprise and elbowed him gently in the rib.  "Excuse me," he 
said bashfully.


Sarah felt something  twitch in her stomach and before she could even guess 
what it was doubled over  in pain.



Ian noticed several of the crews faces and it was a look  of displeasure. A 
look that he was sure that he had if the way his stomach was  feeling. Sharp 
pains began to pulsate. 



"Ambassador!", Nigel  exclaimed as he was by her side at warp speed.



Ghayith half rose  from his chair as the ambassador collapsed, but was caught 
short by a sudden  pain in his own abdomen. He gasped, sucking in air 
quickly, 
and leaned  against the table with one hand.



"Fraiser ta Koss... get a detail  ta tha Mess Hall on tha double."



Just then Otto rushed in and  said,"Don't anyone eat the stew." Seeing that 
he 
was too late he  said,"Captain, that green bastard was stirring the stew, he 
must've put  something in it."



Rog had only eaten a little stew, but he too  was feeling some pain. He 
nodded 
and said,"Get the doctor in here  asap."



Sepok stood and replied,"Does anyone have an idea as to  what poison was put 
into the stew?" He had an idea as to what it might be, but  wanted 
confirmation first before saying anything else.



Suddenly,  sickeningly, Ghayith put it all together. He looked up, his face  
gray.



"It's strychnine, Ambassador. A simple vermicide that's  been in use for 
centuries." He sat down unsteadily and glanced an apology at  the Captain. "I 
was reviewing the tricorder data on the Orion, he was  carrying a couple of 
inert compounds. But he also had boron triclyde, a catalyst  that could 
have..." he winced "... activated the inerts, caused them to combine  into..."



His eyes flicked to the Ambassador, doubled over in  pain. "Captain, in 
sufficient quantities it can cause convulsions...  worse."



Sepok immediately said, "Delvok go get those zuclid  tablets from our 
quarters. 
There might still be time. Captain, due to our  copper based blood, we seem 
not 
to be affected. However, we have something  that will cure this insidious 
poison. I hope we are not too late to help the  ambassador." Delvok quickly went 
to the lift to get to the Guest Quarters. As he  did so Tolaris went to assist 
the ambassador. Rog said,"That is most kind of you  Councilor Sepok."



In the meantime Nurse Jacobs arrived and began  assisting the officers and 
others who were ill. A short time later Delvok  returned and handed each officer 
atablet.



"Madam Ambassador. Help  is coming just stay with us.", Nigel almost pleaded.



"You know...  I've felt worse...", she winced trying to smile and put up a 
brave  front.



"I imagine it's like when you ate those  Tellerite
appetizers at the last trade negotioations? You were sick for a  week but 
managed to keep from throwing up throughout the entire conference.", he  grinned.



"Don't make me laugh.", She winced.  



Jacobs was by her side doing a scan. The look on his face wasn't  inspiring 
as he did a second scan to confirm his findings.



"What  is it?", Nigel asked recognizing the look on Jacob's face.



"There  is too much poison in her system. There's nothing I can do.", Jacobs  
reported sighing in defeat.



Sepok responded,"Nonsense. Delvok  give her another of the zuclid tablets. 
While a second dose is usually not  required Ambassador Berger, apparently in 
your case it is." Turning to Nigel he  said,"After Ambassador Berger takes the 
second tablet, see that she gets plenty  of rest and she may eat soup or light 
foods starting  tomorrow."



"Of course Councilor.", Nigel responded in  relief.



"Captain Finney this is most unfortunate. Clearly this  Orion was 
responsible. He must have been working for the Romulans to disrupt our  negotiations."



Rog started to feel better almost as soon as he  took the pill. He 
replied,"You're quite right Councilor Sepok. I intend to  make up for my 
mistake in letting him aboard. Madame Ambassador, I'm so sorry  that this happened 
and I hope that you get better soon." 



"I  think that is a certainty thanks to our Vulcan friends.", she said with a 
kind  nod to Sepok. If she didn't know before she certainly knew he was a 
friend  
now. 



"Mr. Abdurrashid, good work on those compounds. When  you get better continue 
your work on them." 



He saw Timo was  still green around the gills and said,"When your up to it 
Timo, I'd like to know  the progress on the engine repairs." 

Timo nodded. "I'll check in vid my  men right avay." 

Rog continued,"Zoe when you're up to it, I'd like to  know more about the 
signal we heard coming from the ship. Maybe you can pick it  up from the Vulcan 
surface. If so, we can perhaps trace Bardeck and catch him.  Speaking of 
catching that little green bastard, Sub-Cmdr. T'Paz, Ian, I'd like  to see you both 
in the Ready Room to discuss how we're going to capture  Bardeck." He nodded 
his thanks to Otto and said,"Otto find out how he got the  
poison in the stew." Otto said,"No need sir. Staines let him stir the stew  
before I kicked Bardeck out. He must've done it then." Rog nodded and made a  
mental note to talk to Staines about ship security.

T'Paz nodded. "Yes,  Captain."

"I'm up to it right now Sir.", Zoe replied with a determined  look on her 
face as she made her way to the bridge. This guy would most likely  be calling 
for a 
pickup and she needed to be at her station to pick up the  distortion signal. 
She knew what she was listening for. She wouldn't miss it  this time.



Ian still rubbing his stomach replied, "Aye sar... on  me way." Ian turn to 
the Armory detail that had just arrived, "Ya stay right  next ta tha 
Ambassadors an they doon't leave yahr sight." 

A Joint Log  by 
Capt. Roger Finney
CO
NX-06 Meridian
&
Sub-Cmdr. T'Paz
XO/CSO
NX-06 Meridian
&
Lt.Cmdr. Ian Fraiser
2XO/CAO
NX-06 Meridian
&
Lt. Timo Vanhanen
CEO
NX-06 Meridian
&
Lt. Zoe Sanderson
CCO
NX-06 Meridian
&
Ens. Ghayith Abdurrashid
SO
NX-06 Meridian
&
Councilor Sepok
apb
Capt. Roger Finney
CO
NX-06 Meridian
&
Amb. Sarah Berger
apb
Lt. Zoe Sanderson
CCO
NX-06 Meridian








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