Alternate Plans

[STSF_BluRox 0]

Brock rubbed his eyes, heavy with fatigue.  He had been holding his small vessel just off to port of the U.S.S. Republic, hidden deeply within one of the heavy dust clouds that had for so long, hidden the planet below.  A planet that he had spent the last 3 years searching for after getting a tip in a bar on Ragesh 3.  That tip had so far cost the lives of 6 men and a woman with whom he had thought to perhaps one day settle down with.  No, he had his objective in sight, and there was no way he was going to let this slip from his finger this time.

 

He had already sent a tight-beam transmission back to his contacts at headquarters as well as to those that he directly reported to.  The Maquis had been working on a biogenic weapon, a terrible weapon meant to wipe out their Cardassian enemies. The people he worked for, had reached an agreement with Maquis involved to share in this discovery, and provided much of the initial funds and outlay of equipment needed to equip the secret lab. One thing they Maquis refused to share however, was the location of this lab.  Fearing they would be double-crossed, being masters of the term themselves, they began to track down those working on the project.  From, from informants that he had contacted that were involved with the project, he had learned that the Maquis scientist were making progress refining their disease, but were still far from perfecting it. His last informant that had died while transmitting code to him, told how the substance, when released, had a devastating affect upon those of cobalt based blood as, as well as those species that hosted the more reptilian-like qualities of the Cardassians.  

 

Surely, more work would have to be completed, before this disease was unleashed. There would surely be an uproar throughout the Federation if the Andorian and Bolian races, amongst others were wiped out by this weapon.  Of more concern, was that it still affected virtually all species to some effect, and would most likely, be fatal to anyone exposed after some fashion of time.

 

From the transmissions he'd intercepted from the Republic, the Maquis had evidently failed to prevent it from only targeting their intended victims.  Headquarters had sent their orders finally to the Captain of the ship just a short distance from him.  If unable to find a cure, the away team would shortly be dead, and the entire complex was to be destroyed with a heavy salvo of photon torpedoes and phaser banks.  

 

He had routed his own transmission to the ship's captain, a rear admiral that was actually out here and not behind a desk. Though, with her record, it would surely be better to put her there soon, and prevent the loss of so many crewmen on such wild expeditions that her reports presented.  He had briefly encountered her after the events that transpired on Cait with Torrar, that involved the death of her grandmother, the then ambassador to Earth from Cait.  She had known he was with some branch of intelligence, but not exactly where.  He noted in his request to this BluRox,  that one of the ill was required to be sent to him in a stasis unit, to be studied back at Star Fleet Medical.  Sent in a shuttlepod to prearranged coordinates, no questions asked, knowing all too well, that the one in the stasis unit, would be sent elsewhere.  He doubted however, that she would comply with such an order, without the proper backing from her immediate superiors, and a long explanation why.

 

So, he would continue to intercept the data streams being uploaded by those on the planet to the ship, hoping that they would transmit that piece of the puzzle that would allow his superiors in Section 31, to control this  weapon.  And meanwhile, he had an alternate plan that he was working on.  Soon however, he would have to pull back, as his power supplies were being drained by the small cloaking device that was hiding his small ship.