Once, they were all seated around a large meeting table and relaxed the Pharaoh called forth her lackey. He removed another tablet from his robes, placed it in the center of the table, and tabbed a button. The tablet instantly dissolved and became a giant three dimensional image of a section of the universe. Tyr narrowed his eyes and glowered at it.
“The Mootaru Nebula.” Tamara intoned.
“Correct, Captain McPhearson. This is the location of the Orion Syndicate's headquarters.” the Pharaoh replied.
“Supposedly the Mootaru Nebula is just as unstable and unihabitable as the Badlands.” Tyr said.
“And that is precisely why the Syndicate placed their headquarters there. It is so unstable that no one would think to look there and investigate. If they do, how do you say? Poof!” the Pharaoh replied, using her hands to emphasize the action of something blowing up.
“Quantum multi-phasic shielding would make short work of that.” Tyr intoned.
“Yes, we could reconfigure some of our fleet for that.” HaxHis said, as she reached for the handy built in comm button. However, Tyr staid her hand-paw.
“That would take too long, and time is not on our side. I have ships at my disposal which already possess quantum multi-phasic shielding.” Tyr said. “It is considered standard equipment aboard all Nietzschean ships, especially warships.” he explained, as all eyes turned to stare at him questioningly.
“Now for the tricky or dicey part.” the Pharaoh continued. Her lackey tabbed another button and the view changed. Instead of the Mootaru Nebula they were presented with the view of a ginormous planetoid.
“That is obviously an artificial construct.” Khan said.
“Why?” the Pharaoh asked, playing the part of the Devil's Advocate.
“Supposedly the unstable environs of the Nebula would not allow something so large to remain in tact for long.” Tamara replied.
“Unless it too had the appropriate shielding. . . . .” Tyr started.
“Which not only shields it from the outside elements, but keeps undesirables from getting in.” Xena pipped up.
“They use triple sequential shielding which requires a complicated code to deactivate. Well, no so complicated if you know how to sing.” the Pharaoh stated.
“Sing?” Khan asked.
“Yes, sing. Apparently the tune is 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow.', and sung by a tenor.” the Pharaoh replied. All of Khan's fellow crew members turned and stared at him because they all knew he station's resident tenor. Khan would've laughed if the situation were not so dire.
“Any particular key?” he asked.
“B flat.” was the Pharaoh's reply.
“Now wait a minute, you know all of this stuff, how come you didn't go in and take care of these bastards yourselves?” Amanda frowned and wondered to herself.
“Now we come to the next line of defense. . . . .” the Pharaoh started. She signaled her lackey and he tabbed another button. This showed a cut away cross section of the Orion stronghold. “ . . . . . . . . In order to get to the core of the planetoid, which is the center of operations, one must first penetrate the first 20 levels which are kept flooded with poisonous gases. This is an effective deterrent against escape and infiltration.” she continued.
“My Divine! Your people have tried, to get in and out, haven't you?” HaxHis asked. This was information which had not been given to her in "the briefing".
“Yes, we have. So far the only one to survive infiltrating and exfiltrating the facility without detection is Captain Ascendant. And that is only because she is an artificial construct. I intend no offense by saying this, Captain.” the Pharaoh apologized. For androids, AI's, and EMH's were now considered to be living beings by the Federation and Starfleet, and possessed certain rights, thanks to Data's legacy. “You would need an entire army of ones such as she in order to accomplish such a task without significant loss of life.” she continued. Rommie smiled and nodded.
“You will have your army.” Tyr intoned. Everyone stopped and stared at him. His fellow compatriots wondering if he intended to build an entire army of highly sophisticated androids like Rommie. . . . . . Both the Pharaoh and her lackey were completely clueless. But Khan was not.
“It is a little known fact that Nietzscheans are capable of breathing poisoned gas without suffering adverse affects.” Tyr stated. “Admiral, Your Majesty, please give me a few hours to make the proper contacts and arrangements and I'll take it from there. Now, if you kindly excuse me.” he added, as he stood. A second later the doors closed behind him.
“Tell me Admiral, is he always like this?” the Pharaoh asked.
“Always.” HaxHis, Khan, Amanda, Tamara, and Xena replied simultaneously.
* * * * * * * * * * *
“WTH?” Kori thought as she looked up from the minor coolant burn she was treating. Rear Admiral Anasazi had once again darkened the doors of Sickbay.
“May I speak to you in private?” Tyr asked.
“Sure. Nurse Johnson, can you please take care of Ensign Summers for me? I'll be in my office.” Kori said, then led Tyr the rest of the way to her inner sanctum.
“Ooops! Time for me to skiddadle!” Darwin said, as soon as he saw the Admiral walk in. Tyr merely shook his head and rolled his eyes as Darwin activated his anti-grav planter controls, and sailed out of the office, posthaste.
“So, what brings you to our neck of the woods, Admiral. You don't look sick to me.” Kori said, as she stood with her arms akimbo. Standard, surly Klingon greeting.
“How many EMH's do you currently have at your disposal?” Tyr asked. He gave as good as he got.
“I have six, Sir. Why?” Kori asked, as she frowned.
“I would like to borrow one.” Tyr replied.
“You do know that Federation and Starfleet guidelines state that EMH's are living beings and are entitled to certain rights. . . . . . . .” Kori started. It was common knowledge, but it was her duty to inform at nauseum.
“I understand that, Doctor. And I personally assure you the EMH will not be abused.” Tyr stated.
“Is there any particular gender preference?” Kori asked. She did the brief retinal scan, which gave her access to the safe which contained the EMH's.
“Female.” Tyr replied. Kori selected and handed him a holo-emitter.
“Thank you, Doctor.” Tyr said, then took his leave.
"I don't know if I should say, your welcome." Kori thought. For it seemed like those words were like extending an open invitation to him return more often.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
In a small and undisclosed electronics lab Tyr activated the EMH.
“Please state the nature of your medical emergency. . . . . ” were the first words the non-descript female EMH stated. EMH's were created for their medical know how, not looks, nor manners.
“Shut up and listen up. It is necessary for me to reconfigure your perimeters. Do you agree with this?” Tyr asked straightforwardly. Stopping her in the middle of her infamous tag line.
“Will it help to save a life or many lives, Sir?” the EMH replied, as she noted Tyr's rank bars and pips.
"It will." Tyr replied.
"Then I agree, Sir." she responded.
“It is hereby noted and recorded today 2502.19 at 1523 hours. Thank you.. . . . ..” Tyr started, but stopped and frowned.
"I have no name, unless the Chief Medical Officer or the ship's commander officially choses one for me." she said, in response to Tyr's momentary befuddlement.
"Ada. Your name shall be Ada." Tyr stated.
"Thank You, Sir." Ada smiled and replied. She then shut herself down. Tyr caught the falling emitter in his left hand, placed it on the console, and sat.
"I do not know if you will thank me once this is over." Tyr thought gravely, as he picked up a micro spanner and went to work.
The Mootaru Nebula
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