PLOT - JDL | Cmdr Dahe'el, Cmdr Neyes, Mei'Zha Ilex - "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

Posted on 241511.15 @ 7:34am by Commodore Rochelle Ivanova

It didn't take long to spot Tristan's brother, the red Commodore, or the Romulan madman once Mei'Zha and Tristan had been granted access to the ballroom. In fact, gaining access succinctly lacked any real difficulty at all. On the arm of a Federation Officer, no one batted an eye at the turquoise haired rebel - if anything she felt purely invisible, something she quite enjoyed given the trouble her presence could have caused. Either they didn't recognize her, or they didn't care. Either way, it seemed to work for her. "Let them work their stuff out." She said to Tristan, nodding casually to the way his brother was working to reclaim his territory from the madman. "We need more allies before we approach them anyway." Mei'Zha half-mumbled to the Trill and half to herself as her eyes scanned the crowd for a familiar or friendly face.

One stood out.

A Cardassian in Federation dress whites.

An elbow gently found Tristan's ribs and again she gestured towards her target with her head in a most human fashion. "Him. He's one of yours, yeah? Can be trusted?"

"You mean Commander Dahe'el. His file is relatively clear, although I do have-"

"Ok good. He'll do just dandy." Mei'Zha practically chirped as she grabbed the Trill's hand and jerked him towards the wall, using the bodies of dancers on the floor as cover as she blazed a path towards the Cardassian Commander.

Tristan suddenly felt tense, his muscles tightening up. The lithe creature charging at his superior officer with a disturbing level of focus and intent. His eyes caught a sight of Landon, who was circling the table of diplomats and Starfleet officers like a stalking predator. "What. Wait! What are you planning to tell the Commander? 'Hey, sir. There's a murderous plot transpiring here the likes of which you've never dreamed of?" He nearly collided with a woman in blue and yellow, her elegant dress barely ruffled as he slipped by, sliding to the left and turning himself awkwardly around clockwise. Mei'Zha didn't flinch.

"Something like that." She replied almost dismissively. In truth, she hadn't given any thought to what she was going to say to their chosen 'ally' to try and convince them to enlist their skills by way of helping foil the plot afoot. With precision, she carefully wove herself around and away from the bumble footing of a drunken Stenellis bull, using Tristan's own motion to aid in her own endeavor to avoid being trod on as she went. The maneuver, however, meant that she'd lose sight of the Cardassian, something that forced her to stall her own forward motion long enough to reassess. Something that was easier said than done for someone so horribly vertically challenged. Even on tip toe she could barely catch a glimpse of the man's bright white uniform. "Damn it!" She cursed in a loud whisper, "Where'd he go? Do you see him?! People are too damned tall!"

Tristan was not too gifted in the height department, either. He rolled his eyes as he gently stood on his tip-toes to see where the Commander had disappeared to. It took a moment, but he spotted the dark haired engineer standing near the Commodore like a gentle shadow. Now with a drink in his hand. "There. I see him by the table."

Without so much as a single sound of acknowledgement, Mei'Zha was off again like an arrow and Tristan, once again, became her feathered tail as the duo made a distinctive bee-line in the general direction of the Cardassian.

"Commander Dahe'el?" She queried before they even came to a halt. Her heavily accented tongue and lips wrapped awkwardly around the scaled alien's name, but it served its purpose all the same. "I... We..." She gestured between herself and the Trill, "Have news you're going to want to hear and quickly." Of course the knowledge of Ael'Riov Vrith Tr'Bak having some sinister hand in the festering ooze of mistrust and subterfuge was easily apparent; the monster, after all, was idly toying with the red Commodore in much the safe fashion a cat would toy with a canary - just perhaps a bit more lasciviously. It made the Stenellis woman's stomach sour. They were running out of time.

"I'm afraid that unless it's dire, I'm quite busy at the moment," the Cardassian replied, his gaze fixed on the Commodore and the vile creature that was with her, his eyes also watched his guards, any who were kept in his company faced the scrutiny of the former Engineer.

The Stenellis's eyes narrowed slightly at both the answer and the predatory way the Cardassian watched the Romulan. The two didn't jive, then again it wasn't as if she'd poured the cat from the proverbial bag she held. "That makes two of us, but-ah..." She rocked on her heels with a small smirk, "we have common enemies, if you catch my drift."

"Wherever that... thing goes, he has enemies, one here would be no different," Almar replied as he turned slightly and let his gaze move for a few seconds, taking in the young woman before him and the Trill she had dragged along for the ride, "Commander Neyes," he added, acknowledging officer who was with her.

"Sure, sure." Mei'Zha replied with a nod of agreement, "What if I told you that he's baited you lot into coming here? That this is all a trap?" She asked, her patience waning.

Tristan turned back into the din, his eyes carefully searching for his brother. Landon was significantly taller than Tristan, which was helpful, and his uniform was further contrast among the sea of alien garb. It didn't take as long as he had thought it would. The lean Captain was standing solid, his frame perched against a barstool as he stared in the Commodore's direction. Following his eyes, the counselor could make out what had the man so intent. Amid the diplomatic envoy of Romulans, Stenellis and Federation officer, there was the creature who'd wreaked havoc on their lives. Tr'Bak. The briefings on him were limited, but for both Landon and Tristan they burned into a deep memory neither would likely soon forget.

"I would not be surprised." Almar replied as he turned his attention back to the Romulan.

Tristan reached out and turned Mei'zha to face the Romulan torturer. "Do you know who that is?"

The spirited little blue-maned creature's nose wrinkled and her eyes narrowed in the barest beginnings of a complaint ready to be lodged against the way the much taller Trill had spun her around. It would be his reason for doing so that would remedy the situation and likely save his toes from a rude meeting with the heel of one of her shoes. "Ael'Riov Vrith Tr'Bak." Mei'zha's head bobbled along with her answer, "The reason why we need lizard lips over here to pay attention." She added, her thumb hooking in the Cardassian's direction.

"I think you will find that I have been paying attention, however you have not provided me with one minute shred of evidence to back up any of your statements, until such a time, I will maintain my focus on the one who concerns me the most." Almar replied as he rounded on the young woman quickly, his speed surprising for someone of his stature, "Now, do you have concrete proof? Anything I can take to the Empress or impress upon the Commodore herself? If not, then there is little I can do until Vrith Tr'Bak shows his hand."

"A whole lot of evidence. I was once the head of the Makta." The little creature puffed up defensively, peeling her eyes off the Commodore and the Ael'Riov and sternly placing them on the oil-black ones belonging to the Cardassian. "On the backside of town I have copies of communiques sent between the Ael'Riov and the Empress, things that would make the Empress guilty of treason, things that would make her an enemy of the Federation. It's all a rouse, Commander, a trick to lure the Federation into bed before the RSE and the Ascendancy quietly sneak in to destroy you along with the rest of their bed fellows." She bristled, curling her lip slightly as she spoke.

"Then why was this evidence not presented before we landed ourselves smack bang in the middle of such an event?" Almar replied with a slightly raised brow.

"This? This is just a distraction, Chameleon, and you are all very distracted." Mei'zha asserted sharply, flinging her hand in the direction of the Romulan pawing the Commodore somewhere in the general direction of behind her. Of course, being honed in on the wall of Cardassian in front of her, the Stenellis was brutally unaware of how trouble, in the form of a territorial Trill, had stalked across the dance floor to whisk his soon to be bride away and replace her with his own lithe form. Had she seen it, she'd have blanched completely. "You are all in danger. Even the Princess, the Arrain she dances with, all of you. In grave danger."

"The Vindicator is in orbit and is on standby to beam everyone back within a moments notice, if anything does happen, we'll be able to react." the Cardassian replied.

Tristan watched Landon pull a small device from his tunic, his eyes burning into Tr'Bak. "That's probably a good thing."

The Trill's words would prove to be prophetic, if not cathartic. Mei'Zha was speechless as she watched the spotted man replace the red Commodore in Tr'bak's arms, waltzing off without ever skipping a beat. The fingers of one hand wrapped around Tristan's wrist while the other hand lifted and folded to point at a situation turning from bad to deadly faster than they could blink.

Seconds passed, or at least it felt like mere seconds, and Mei'Zha flinched as Tr'Bak's men threw him to the ground to protect him, Romulan's surged forward, Federation surged forward, the Commodore barked something and the entire world seemed to melt away into chaos and oblivion.

Almar had begun moving towards the commotion when he heard the Commodore call out something and the world spun into bright blue light and tore him from the room.

--

Commander Almar Dahe'el
Executive Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NCC 78213-E

Commander Tristan Neyes
Chief Counselor
USS VINDICATOR, NCC 78213-E

Mei'Zha Ilex
Former Chief of the Makta Caste
Stenellian Ascendancy