Where to Start

Posted on 2024, Wed Jan 17th, @ 11:40am by Admiral Christopher Townsend & Lieutenant Aubrie Fox & Captain Maddison Black & Commander John Fitzgerald & Lieutenant Rose Andrake & Sergeant Artemis Conway

4,665 words; about a 23 minute read

Mission: Dark Past’s Are Hidden For A Reason(Halo/Ross/Romulan)
Location: New Romulus
Timeline: Current

As the first Away team gathered in the Transporter Room. Townsend was giving some orders.

"Alright everyone, Please Grab a Vest, and Phaser, And Mrs. Fox, Mr. Fitzgerald will be welding Rifles, Captain Reese will also be getting one as well, I will only carry a Phaser, Since I have to meet with the Romulan Leaders, Any Questions?"

Fitzgerald put on his vest and picked up his rifle, inspecting it as he spoke "What kind of welcoming party can we expect, Admiral?"


Entering the beamer center, Mad, slipped unnoticed inside, her suits boots making noise. Sweeping the room with her eyes, she took in the way those inside were dressed, and mentally rolled her eyes, though her poker face didn't alter. Her metallic snow coloured suit would be unfamiliar to those within. It was a 'Mad issued item' created for her and her alone. The marines would notice elements in her suit, that made it marine issue. Any engineers, would also notice elements, that made it damage control engineering. There were other specialists who would notice elements as well, but put together it was anything but.


Mad moved into a position that enabled her to watch, and her sleeve communicator to capture their verbal chatter, her communicator translating it to sign allowing her to follow the chatter, by the way the sleeve relayed the chatter to her skin, which allowed her to capture the lot. She didn't like the lack of respect. She didn't like the lack of professionalism. She listed the things she didn't like, against the list of things she did like. The like list was empty. The main thing she didn't like, was the lack of protection, assigned to the man who was now her boss.


"One full of attitude I expect, But with their Military Police Helping, We might some help from them, but We still need to suit and be ready"

Crewman Zach suited up and Readied his Rifle. "Ready Admiral"
Chris nodded to the Crewman

"Yes, Admiral," Fitz replied, inspecting the Rifle one last time, 'One can never be too sure' He thought. "Ready, Lieutenant Fox?"

Mad disappeared into the background, her suit absorbing the colour and her. Even without her helmet, her black hair was something that simply blended it, as did her standard toolbelts, one engineering, one marine, both equipped with more than just those items. Unlike a normal suit, hers was without her rank, or name. In it she was just a person, there wasn't even a Starfleet, UFoP or Marine identifier.

Fox turned to Her Chief as She loaded The Rifle and added another few to her vest. "Yes Sir"

Rose looked to the rifles before shaking her head, her back and shoulders stiff. "Permission to go unarmed, sir? I'm... Not sure I should be handed a weapon, given my condition." Sure, she put on her vest as ordered, buttoning her uniform top to cover it. "And by the way, the system defense fleet knows about as much of what's going on as we do. Va'Tash made Captain not long ago, he said he'll meet us down there and asks if he can spirit your navigator away for drinks and history."

+Idiot+ Mad's brain reacted to the women's comment, about going unarmed. That wasn't something she never did. Just like, she never went unsuited. It was her uniform. It was her safety net, and like everything else, it concealed her weapons.

Spark laughed slightly, casually hefting her rifle in her hands. "Sounds like someone has a Romulan boyfriend! You bring him chocolates?"

"In point of fact, I did! But he's not a boyfriend, he's just a good man who's boarded my ship a few times and never mistreated my crew, so I'm not above offering him gifts no matter how terrible his uniform looks."

"I dunno, ma'am, that's either bribery or flirting."

"It's not like that! Shut up, sergeant!" Rose's rising blush and voice were met with Spark's racaous laughter as she stowed her weapon in the small of her back. Rose turned to the captain, an expression on her face as though asking for help.

"Up to you Lt., But I am going armed, I have no idea who we are up against"

Mad studied the man, the idiot called Spark. He seemed a little too comfortable with the idiot. But he gave the impression that he knew his stuff. That didn't mean he couldn't be modified. ~At least he is armed.~ Mad thought, wondering, if he could hit his target.

"At any rate, I'd recommend extreme caution, whatever they may know, Romulan paranoia isn't without precedent. At any moment we could very well be walking into a trap or into the killer's sights" Fitz chimed in, "On the other hand, it feels like we may be only a means to an end, and end we may not like very well."

Rose grabbed the box of chocolates off a nearby chair, moving to the transporter platform and away from the rowdy Marine. "If it's all the same to you, hveolhaonn dei nim iudaiht iebhe uaefvalhuneitrde'h'n aerrhaarhoa t'hea're uwheawhoiiik'heqhr 'nhdh."

She punctuated the burst of Romulan with a loud raspberry. "And yes, I speak conversational Romulan. Kinda happens when you don't have translating comm badges and half your postage route's on the rim and in the neutral zone."

Mad wanted to stick her gloved finger's down her throat. If she didn't wrap them around the idiot's neck and snap it off. ~Hopefully she'd either stop the shit, or die quickly.~ Mad thought.

"Va'Tosh teach you that, over some dinner and a fine wine?" Spark chuckled again. "Fitz is right, we could be walking in to anything from a marriage proposal to a rebellion. Be ready for chaos, but hope for a nice chat. And some good food!"

"Replicators not enough for you, big gal?" One of the other Marines chuckled.

"Portion sizes. I have muscular hypertrophy and double bone density. Host of other genetic issues that balance to make me big and strong. So yeah, portions are a little skinny! Could really go for a bowl of gakh!"

Rose's brow twitched as she felt, and others could see, her blood pressure rising. "I think I've been teased about my history with the good people down there enough, sergeant. Not. Another. Word."

~Well, at least she's wearing clothes, and not suggesting we all beam in our underwear.~ Mad kept her thoughts to herself, not yet having said a word. Technically, if she followed the standard, she should have identified herself to the higher ranked, in this case male, but she didn't do standard. She needed to blend in, so she could see what needed to be fixed, and the list of hated was far longer than the single entry on the good list.

"Of course, Lt. Nacur." Spark's pale face split into a wicked grin, to be met with a pulse of feeling, a disturbance in the force perceptible to any in the room as Rose glared at her.

"It's Andrake. Nacur is a friend, nothing more."

John turned to face Admiral Townsend, "I think we'd all be grateful, Admiral, if you gave the word."

Townsend smiled and replied. "The Word is given, let's get down there and take a handle on the Problem"

They then all stepped onto the Transporter Pad and beamed down.


New Romulus

As they materialized, the 3 Romulan Officers Approached the Group. "Star Fleet Officers, I am Commander Indar, And why are you Suited For War, Carrying Rifles on Romulan Land?"

Townsend took a quick glance at the Commander. So Much for a Nice approach


+Stupid male+ Mad's brain stated, inside her head. Though it said little else. But Mad could sense they were being watched, and standing out in the open, wasn't something she normally did. Her brain didn't handle her, being a target, it took her back to the Yackandrah and she couldn't forget what had happened there. At least her suit would provide protection that, even the marine armour wouldn't. But given the additions to her suit, that wasn't out of the ordinary.

Following the verbal scatter, Mad knew this would tell her what she needed to know about the Admiral.

"I am Admiral Chris Townsend, We are only armed since you seem to have a Well Trained Killer, that is Wanted by star fleet, So can you please Show us where the Scene is?"

THe Commander Huffed and gave a dirty look and turned and walked away, Expecting them to follow.

"So much for a Warm welcome" Townsend said to the Group

+Idiot+ ~You've got that right.~ Mad answered her brain silently. It seemed the Admiral liked to keep everyone happy. He was acting like he was a simple lackey, not an Admiral. He needed to learn that, he wasn't a lackey and he didn't need to give excuses. Doing that made him look weak. +Boot up his arse+ Mad almost smiled at the message from her brain, but her poker face held.

As the group followed the Romulans they yelled "Get etreimnai culaina ueihwiaekaedl hrrafv valhthealh" at the Two Little Kids were playing and the kids then ran back inside. Chris fell back a bit to talk to Rose. "What did they Say?"

"She told the children to run away, get inside, that we have powerful and dangerous machines... Sort of. Her accent's odd," Rose responded to the captain, before reaching into her blouse and ripping the emergency release to her armor. "Though the specific word she used was 'machinery'"

"Hey!" she called out in Romulan, notably the unarmed one. "Captain Va'Tosh Nacur of the planetary defense fleet promised to meet me on the ground, here. I brought him chocolates. Do not let some fools' fear affect you. Sending the children inside will only scare their parents. Where is my abilai a'rhea?"

Finishing, she considered the team's options before looking over. "Captain, I recommend having the transporter room beam away our weaponry as a gesture of good faith. We've already pissed them off enough. These guys are scared as we are. Things are a bit chaotic."

+Stupid idiot+ Mad's brain corrected it's earlier title. ~What the hell does she think we're doing.~ Mad asked herself mentally, but held her tongue.

"Not completely unexpected," Spark stooped to pick up the armor Rose had discarded, shaking her head as though it was a foolish move. "You think I want to work for a living today? Why I beamed down with my weapons holstered. Hey, Rose, Romulan kids like candy as much as human kids?"

"Not sure. I was mostly working with the postal service. Didn't get much time to play tourist. Especially when a cargo inspection puts us a day behind schedule. But given how some of their adults like it, I can only imagine, why?"

"Cause I got ginger chews."

"Those should be fine, just don't eat any in front of the kids without offering some. Think Vulcans with human attitude and duty where Vulcans use logic. Little more complicated than that, but that attitude will keep you from starting a bar fight."

+Shoot them.+ Mad moved Spark from the good side of her list to the new middle. She wondered whether he'd actually seen battle, whether he'd actually killed. She didn't break her normal, she kept observing and following the verbal scatter. If anyone was watching, they, meaning the group Mad was apart of, looked decidedly unprofessional.

Chris sighed. Gonna have to get those two to talk with Kate Then a Romulan Captain walked around the corner. And made his way to Rose.

+Pussycat+ Mad didn't move her gloved hand from her nearest weapon, but given the response from her brain, he wasn't hostile. ~Tomato Paste~ Mad swore mentally, she felt she'd been beamed into a romance novel. This was getting ridiculous. ~Give me hostile.~ She was going to be sick.

He was tall, powerfully built, smartly dressed for a Romulan, and as Rose turned her head to movement, her face erupted into a wide smile as she let out a squeal of joy and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "Va'Tosh! I brought you chocolates. Gods, it's been years, I almost didn't recognize you! And you finally made Captain! Congratulations!"

Finally releasing the Romulan, she held him at arm's length for a moment, "Let me have a look at you. You look like you forgot to eat again... Here, have these." She pulled the box of chocolates from her bag and offered it. "This band of merry miscreants is my latest crew, Admiral Townsend, Lieutennant Fox, Sergeant Conway, and Commander Fitzgerald. I wish we were here for pleasure, but you know how Command is when one of their people gets hurt."

"I'd advise against beaming up our weapons, we should at least keep the hand units, perhaps keep them holstered, especially with things being as unstable as they are." Fitz added, "We definitely don't want to be caught off guard here."

"I agree with the Commander," Spark commented, double checking that her carbine was still stowed down her back as she watched the spectacle Rose put on, now entirely convinced her teasing held far more accuracy than she liked. "End of the day, better to have guns we don't need than to need guns we don't have. Now I know I'm a big and funny lookin' human, but I'm not lookin' for today's work to be more difficult than it has to be. Candy to the kiddos and minimize the stupid, right sirs?"

Lt.Fox smirked at the 'Candy to the kiddos and minimize the stupid' As did Crewman Zach, They were in the back of the group, Townsend and Fitz and were in the front, Spark with rose in the middle.

"Candy to Kiddos and Minimize Stupid, Sounds like a plan, =/\=Townsend to Halo, Beam all Phaser rifles up, Keep the Pistols=/\=" Townsend finished with a laugh. After the Halo beamed the rifles away, All they had was their Pistols which were in their hostlers.

+What the F..... Tomato Paste+ ~Crap. I'm on the good ship lollypop.~ Mad continued the conversation with her head, as if it were another person. It was clear that she was going to have to have more than a word with the Admiral.

"Captain Va'Tosh, It's good to meet you.." Townsend turned to the Commander who was escorting them. "Send the Drop pin to Us"
And he turned back to Captain Va'Tosh, after the Commander nodded and walked off with the other two. "Captain, What have you heard about the Incident? Or is the Romulan Government keeping a Hood over it?"

The Captain happily took the offered box of chocolates, softly laughing at Rose's fussing. Opening them, he gave her a smile and wrapped an arm over her shoulders, offering the Admiral a wide smile. Not the smugness often seen, or the cold professionalism of his peers. "Admiral Townsend, I've read a lot about you. I hope you've been caring for this troublemaker well. She has lost weight since last I saw her. No matter. I am happy to find her alive at all, after what happened to that beautiful freighter of hers. Ooh, you found the orange ones I like!" The offending chocolate quickly disappeared before he returned his focus to Admiral Townsend and Fitz, releasing Rose free both his hands. Though she was not spared a ruffling of her hair.

"That said, we really should get to business. The border patrol knows little of the incident, aside that we were ordered to allow your ship unrestricted passage. We know how unfortunate a loss as an ambassador's aide is, and that you have to investigate it as a murder even if we believe the death was natural. But our governance is highly compartmentalized. Commander Indar would know more than me."

"Your Standard's gotten better, Va'Tosh. Can barely hear your accent, anymore." Rose gave a soft laugh, pushing her hair back into place. "Better than my Romulan."

"Your accent is still boorish and provincial," he snapped back, eliciting a smirk and snort of barely contained laughter from Spark.

"Thank you Captain, Are there any rumors going around?" Townsend asked.

+Step away.+ Mad's brain instructed. This was getting to be a total joke. She scanned the back's of the people who made up the away party looking for any signs of kept weapons. Knowing full well her sleeve was capturing all of the chatter. It meant she could focus on the rest. +Next time alone+ She didn't bother acknowledging her brain's commands. It was telling her what she'd already decided.

"Nothing unusual, Admiral. The odd group of troublemakers trying to destabilize your Federation, some Captains trying to start a war, or trying to swing the Klingons or Cardassians to our 'side', et cetera ad nauseum. Even those foolish enough to trust the Ferengi. But you and I know that, much to their chagrin, tensions have been easing. The Federation has its own bloodthirsty extremists, as well. Most of those rumors I have heard have been in my own group, though. Which reminds me of an idea."

"Ah, shit, here we go," Rose figured she knew where this was going. "You're not going to hand me some local clothes and some ear prosthetics and tell me to go hang out in bars and pick up rumors, are you?"

"Not far off. But you are no spy, and can barely pass for a country farm girl, even if you had not already been seen in a StarFleet uniform. No, Aide Andrake, you will remain in your duty as the translator for the Admiral and his party. And assuming the Admiral's acceptance and discretion, you will be taking over the ambassador's aide slot for a few days." The Captain turned to Admiral Townsend with a small smirk. "It is the fastest way to gain access to everyone's files and... What is the term? Ah! Cut through the red tape, so to speak. As much as I would like to spirit her away and borrow her for any number of things, the final call is yours. And that of your team."

"Va'Tosh, how long have we known each other?"

"About... Fifteen years, I think?"

"And how many times have you dragged me off on one of your hairbrained ideas?" Rose's voice grew sharper, as though the edge had grown serrated.

"Quite a few. I would never put you in danger. You know that. Not that your husband enjoyed it."

"You two hated each other. You refused to show up to my wedding," that sharpness increased again, leaving bitterness in its wound.

Fitz looked around, as much as Romulan paranoia was present, it helped to be a little paranoid in his duties as a security officer, the circumstances of the murder meant the killer could be looking right at them and the group wouldn't even know it. "As far as business is concerned, what exactly is our plan here, Admiral, Captain?" He said, "Where did the murder occur?"

"Reports say in the building down the road here, But it don't seemed very blocked off...." Townsend cut himself off. He noticed there were several Romulan MPs just dozing around outside. "That can't be good, Lets move" Townsend then moved to intercept the now dozing off Romulan MPs

Fitz followed closely, "Fox, Zach, secure the perimeter. Spark, you and your men check the surrounding alleyways." He pulled out his tricorder once they had reached the Romulan MPs.

Fox nodded as did Zach as they moved to do their job. As Townsend reached the MPs they quickly stood up and looked up at the Admiral. "No One said Star Fleet!"

Townsend laughed a bit. Typical Romulans. "Yea, I have heard that alot, But we got it from here, Just stay at these doors, And Don't Let Anyone In" Townsend told the MPs as he walked into the building with Rose, Va'Tosh, and John close behind.

"On it, sir." Spark nodded. "Andrake! Tell those MPs I'm not doing sketchy shit. Marines! Two squads, wrap and seek! I need every camera, shell casing, and crack needle in a bag!" The small group of Starfleet Marines split off and started their squad sweep of the surrounding alleyways while Rose dutifully translated Spark's intent to the Romulan policemen.

Va'Tosh's laughter sounded at Townsend's comment. Typical Starfleet. "Her Romulan is getting better. She always had a terrible accent. Commander Indar, what did your team find? Anything interesting? Your men look like they have been a little understaffed. Perhaps put some freshly rested faces on guard duty."


His words were spoken with a distinct glare, as though she should be embarrassed at her people's poor showing.

The Glare received by Va'Tosh didn't Affect Indar. "Nothing Really, But we did find the Dagger, But it seemed to be wiped cleaned.

+All idiots+ Mad could have wrapped a hand around, the only stable one among the others. But didn't, now was not the time nor the place. Besides if she stepped in now, she wouldn't capture the rest of what she needed to fix. If she'd known about starship lollypop and the romance novel before they'd beamed, she would have put a halt to it. She had their records, but she doubted she needed them. They ranged from idiot to Stupid Idiot with capital letters. Whether the Admiral liked it or not, Starship Lollypop and the romance novel was getting a stage left boot. Those things remained onboard and out of sight. They weren't brought out in the open, and not on an away mission. However anyone paying them any attention, could only get one impression. Starfleet people were total screw ups. ~If this is an act, they're over the top and pushing too hard.~

+Now.+ Mad's brains statement wasn't ignored. Mad slipped several fingers into both Fitz's and Spark's belts and eased away from the rest. Signing, Mad switched so her sleeve recorded everything, and lowered the sound, so what she said was for their ears only.

"I want a brick shit house on the Admiral, no more than a foot between them. One of you put a leash on the romance fool. If I see any one belonging to either of you handling out candy, I'll jettison what's left of your bodies out the airlock. This shit stops here and now. And it stays locked down when we return to the ship. This not a picnic. Clear?" Mad didn't have to check her sleeve communicator, it took her sign and translated it to verbal. It also added the small little words that a deaf person didn't add, making her sentences flow. Her look locked onto both men.

Townsend walked into the Room where the Killing took place and studied the area. The room was practically surrounded by windows, and Yet No one saw anything. Chris sighed. He Moved to enter the bedroom There was nothing of Importance in here, As of now, Then he noticed a Cloth covered in blood thrown in the bathroom trash can. "=/\=Townsend to Commander Fitz, And Captain Black Can you two come inside the house please, In the Master bathroom=/\="

Mad was waiting for Fitz and Spark to answer her, when the Admiral's message came silently through her sleeve communicator, signing in reply, her sleeve touching out the symbols on her arm to acknowledge it had been sent. =/\+ Sir. On way. Sir =/\+ Mad didn't wait for the two she was speaking too, merely stepping around Spark to find the Admiral. ^Chip Reminder.^ She signed, her sleeve acknowledging the reminder with a single tone. Stepping into the correct room, she glanced briefly around before moving to stand within reach, and in a position so she could lip read, her hands automatically signing. Her sleeve automatically translating, "Yes, Admiral." What she thought of the lasp so far would wait till a better time. Her head wasn't speaking, so there was no threat, her eyes didn't miss the discovery. Gloved, she pulled an evidence bag from one of her toolbelts.

Fitz turned to Spark, "Well isn't she a bundle of joy. Fox, keep an eye on Lt. Andrake, Spark, you're with me." He said and made his way to the master bathroom, where he retrieved his tricorder and opened it. "What is it, Admiral?

One of the advantages of having her communicator customized meant, it caught everything, including people's tones. While she'd had to learn what they meant, she now knew that the man who handled security wasn't opposed to her so called direct speak. Those who heard, were strange. They did things that even she didn't understand. Somethings just didn't make sense to Mad at all. It seemed to her at least that they did these things when there was no reason at all to do them. Which is why she ignored the when her sleeve included them. It was obvious that he'd caught the evidence, though just because it was being called evidence, didn't mean it was. The room looked too clean. There wasn't the obvious signs of life in the room. Everyone had habits and there was always signs hell even her room had plenty of life signs. If she had to comment and she was trying very hard to observe and learn her new crews ways. Somethings she could ignore, somethings she couldn't. You didn't come onboard a new tasking knowing everything instantaneously it took tie to learn how people did what they did, and why. But she'd been marine long enough to prefer the structure. Now, she was back to the crazy way of doing things, and it was going to take time.

Signing, so her sleeve could translate her actions to verbal. ~It would be far easier if they all could sign,~ she thought.

"It is the only so called 'evidence' here. For someone to have spent excessively long cleaning up, your so called evidence, has probably been left deliberately to lead the investigation in the direction, they want us to go."

Mad handed Fitz the evidence collection bag and the sterile gloves it contained. Protocol had to be followed, she was the executive officer, not crime scene investigator. Fitz, wore the colours of security, therefore he should collect the evidence.

After Fitz and Black gave what they thought Chris had the bloody cloth put into evidence. But he also wants to talk to the Romulan Commander. After He arrived, Fox and Zach walked in behind the other Two Romulans who were always following him. “Commander, How did your people miss this?” Chris asked as he held the evidence bag up with the bloody cloth in it. The Commander’s face remained Straight.

“I Don’t Know, And Do Not Care, Just get this Job over with and get out of Romulan Space, and take the Killer with you, We have enough nonsense as it is.” The Commander said as he went to turn around, But Chris had enough, He grabbed the Commanders right arm, Pinned in behind his back and face planted the Romulan Commander in the desk. As this was happening the other Romulan MPs went to pull their Pistols, But Fox and Zach were quicker, Fox grabbed the 1st Romulans Arm and pulled him to trip over her foot and face planted him to the ground and pinned him there, Zach just pinned his against the wall “Try it, I dare you” Aubrie said her Romulan who seemed shocked as hell.

Then Chris began, He had had enough of this Stupid Commander, Who needed to be into his place. “Do I look like a Non-sense to you stupid fuck,Tell us what the fuck you know, Cause you know something that your not supposed to know, and Also lose the fuckin attitude, Before I knock it out of you, So Now Answer my Damn question or your going to the Brig for obstruction of Justice”

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