[b]The Bridge:[/b]
There was a slightly dazed silence on the Bridge was the Captain disappeared, the ship counselor following close behind. Lt. Alton barely snapped off a "Yessir" before the turbolift doors closed. The soft sound was clearly audible in the silence. The silence stretched as the Tactical Officer tapped on her screen with determination. Then she let out a small sigh.

"The Vorta's in the brig." She turned in her chair to give a bright smile to the bridge crew. 

"Ma'am." The Andorian Crewman 1st class manning the Mission Status Display spoke up. "Transporter room one reports Commander Poxx and Chief Security Officer Brown have completed their mission. The Dominion ship is neutralized." The woman, relieved, returned Linda's smile. 

"Good." Lt. Alton said as she gazed at those still left in the room. Her eyes stopped on the two sitting at the Environmental and Auxiliary system controls. The two engineers meet her gaze steadily. "Send a call to Engineering and get someone up here to fix the breach." The duo nodded and one tapped his chest badge.

"Anyone else injured? Lt. Bishop, you okay?" Linda asked the poor Jag officer. Without a seat, she hadn't stood much of a chance against gravity. No pun intended. As she asked her question she could hear the Ensign tell the Chief Engineer what had happened.

[b]Transporter Room One:[/b]
Petty Officer Stan Wilkin hoovered nervously over the transport controls. After the first call about transporting out wounded. The Petty Officer hadn't even hesitated to beam him directly into sick bay with his co-worker Ensign Chevo giving the doctor notification. Usually Wilkin would eye his Bajoran, female, counterpart. Her nose was particularity sexy. But he didn't at the moment. There would be time for ogling later. Provided he didn't get anyone killed.

Wilkin was just about to go back to ogling, his will power was never that great, when the Chief Security Officer alerted them that they were ready to be beamed out. 

"Roger. Transporting in three, two..." Wilkin looked up as the men materialized. All six were still alive. He couldn't resist giving his lovely crew-mate a hug, which she ably sidestepped. Most of them were injured in some way or another. But nothing fatal. Or didn't look fatal, he wasn't a doctor. 

"Sir!" Ensign Chevo exclaimed as she spotted Brown. "You need medical attention. I can beam you directly to sickbay." Even as she spoke she prepared the proper coordinates. In her haste she completely missed the Petty Officer's look of jealously. 

[b]The Brig:[/b]
There were two Officers in the Brig, waiting for the Vorta to appear. They held on grimly as the ship shook. When that ceased they both turned their attention to the cell the Vorta should be appearing in. Indeed, just under five minutes later a tall, proud woman appeared. And that's where things stopped going to plan. The Vorta woman looked over her new cell before raising her hand. She pressed it to the right side of her face and jaw.

The two security officers on guard watched her curiously. Not much was known about the Vorta. So when she collapsed, they weren't quite sure if she was faking it in some elaborate scam to escape. By the time they decided to check the cell the Vorta was dead. The two officers did a quick game to decide who got to tell the captain.

"Captain." The losing Security Officer said. "The Vorta, she-uh, she'd dead sir."

[b]Vulcan:[/b]
Admiral Johnsan watched the Roluman Ambassador only partly. She was too focused on the [i]Orion[/i] and the harebrained Captain. The black woman didn't like Captain Vaella. At first she had been indifferent, then she had been snubbed. Johnsan wouldn't forget that. Though it did sooth her pride a little knowing that the half-blood Vulcan would have to spend a few hours at the planet. It would serve her right. She was brought out of her thoughts as the Ambassador spoke.

[quote=@Jbcool]"Fascinating," he said aloud, "Admiral Johnsan, may you tell me, do all your Captains perform such feats on their way to a rendezvous with important dignitaries?" Just to soften the implied criticism in his voice, something most Romulans did not care much about, he followed it up with further speech, "should an enemy vessel cross their path, I mean."[/quote]
The human Admiral studied the Romulan's face, just like a Vulcan's with nothing exposed, before replying. The woman attempted a smile. "We all do what we can in times of war. I'm sure Captain Vaella felt she had no other choice. The [i]Venture[/i] will take over for her and she'll continue her political mission." The brittle smile on the Ambassador's face implied that if the Captain didn't have a damn good reason there'd be hell to pay.

"But rest assured." Admiral Johnsan plowed on. "Captain Vaella is very much aware of how important this mission is. She wont do anything to jeopardize it." 

As the woman spoke, Spock slowly drifted closer to the screen. His eyes taking in all the details. If the Captain had reminded him of Jim only from the reports, her actions here cemented that. When the Admiral was done speaking Spock turned back to her.

"Do you know why a Dominion ship was this far into Federation territory?" His question wasn't accusing, just curious.

Admiral Storrik spoke up instead, nearly cutting off Johnsan. "That is uncertain at the moment. I am sure the Captain is doing everything in her power to discover that very fact." The Vulcan was only half looking at Spock as he spoke. Admiral Johnsan merely blinked before turning back to the screen, apparently to see if there were any developments. The [i]Venture[/i] was now only a few minutes out.