The Ambassador
From USSArcadia
This plot follows Adventure on Paradisia.
Part I (Stardate 50707.18)
Arcadia is informed that the Federation has sent an ambassador to Paradisia, and his shuttle is going to cross paths with Arcadia. The shuttle is found to be unpowered, with a barely livable atmosphere and only 3 weak lifesigns aboard.
Former crewmember Sam Sema'J, returning from medical leave by long range shuttle, finds himself as the first responder to the ambassador's dead shuttle.
The shuttle beams over two people: Sam and an Ensign Red Shurte. Shurte tries to render assistance to the ambassador's pilot. The "pilot" turns out to be an exploding android; the explosion kills Shurte.
Arcadia arrives at the shuttle to pick up Sema'J and investigate the disappearance of the ambassador.
Part II (Stardate 50707.25)
Security defuses the exploding androids in the ambassador's shuttle, securing it for further investigation.
Lt Marx is injured by a booby trap. Medical tries to save him.
Arcadia follows the missing ambassador's shuttle's path, identifying the ship that attacked the shuttle as small and fast.
Part III (Stardate 50708.01)
Captain Dacotah informs Lt. Marx's wives about his accident, while Marx continues his recovery in sickbay.
Arcadia tracks the ship used to attack the ambassador's shuttle, finding it headed to a region of space known for piracy.
Part IV (Stardate 50708.08)
Arcadia chases the ship whose occupants are suspected of kidnapping (or killing) a Federation ambassador into an area of high concentrations of debris and plasma storms, causing both navigational hazards and limited sensor range.
Cmdr. Lo'Ami puts Sam Sema'J's medically-ordered flight grounding on hold so he can pilot the ship manually through the dangerous area. New tactical officer James Eagle must quickly tractor debris out of the way before it hits the ship at warp.
Part V (Stardate 50708.15)
Arcadia makes its way through the shortcut, while helm officer Sema'J battles his medical condition from the helm chair. Dr Porter stays on the bridge monitoring Sam's condition and wondering why he was allowed back at the helm in the first place.
Arcadia catches up to the small ship, and sends a security team of two. They find what looks like the ambassador, his assistant and pilot bloodied on the ground. The redshirt hears a loud, high pitched noise, inaudible to Thoros. Thoros approaches the "ambassador," who turns out to be another exploding android. The security team is beamed to sickbay.
Arcadia's new captain's yacht (piloted by Lt Col Quest) arrives at Arcadia's last known position to rendezvous, but finds that Arcadia went into the plasma storm debris field. She follows Arcadia into the field.
Part VI (Stardate 50708.22)
The forensics investigation begins into the second small ship that contained exploding androids in the form of the missing Federation ambassador and his assistants.
From the bridge, they attempted to find tracks of whatever ship the people from the original ship were transferred to. A charged plasma trail is found leading out of the plasma storm towards the Romulan Neutral Zone.
Part VII (Stardate 50708.29)
Engineering finds a part of unknown function in the exploding androids recovered in the small ship.
A tussle almost erupts in sickbay when returned Marine commander Lt Col Dana Quest sees Acting Ensign Swan there.
Arcadia speeds in the direction of the Romulan Neutral Zone to intercept the putative cloaked ship, and attempts to "mark" it with a particle signature before its plasma trail disappears. After they succeed in marking the plasma signature, two Romulan warbirds decloak behind Arcadia.
Part VIII (Stardate 50709.05)
Engineering identifies the unknown part as coming from Romulan origin.
The Romulans hail Arcadia and claim that an "ambiguity" in the Treaty of Algeron permitted them to claim the space for the Romulan Empire. They offer to allow Arcadia's captain to beam over to a Romulan ship for negotiations. Arcadia refuses to allow the captain to go over alone.
Eventually, it is agreed that the Romulans would beam a small party over to Arcadia for negotiations, and that both sides would keep their shields down while the party was onboard.
A Romulan party of 4, including the Romulan commander and three hooded individuals, beams to Arcadia and meets in the observation lounge. The hooded individuals take off their hoods and look exactly like the missing ambassador, his assistant, and his pilot, except that they're Romulans.
Part IX (Stardate 50709.12)
Capt Dacotah and Cmdr Lo'Ami meet with the Romulans and the "ambassador" in the observation lounge. Dac tries to verify that the Romulan-"ambassador" really is the ambassador they were looking for.
The bridge confirms multiple ways that Arcadia is in Federation space, raising the question of why the Romulans are pulling this border dispute ruse in the first place.
Meanwhile, Lt. Marx decides it is time to leave sickbay, against doctors orders, going as far as to attempt escape by transporter... just in time to actually be discharged by a Dr. Tynte.
Cmdr Alces tries to make sure that if the Romulans were actually aiming for Lt Marx (whom they had a long-time bounty on his head), they would think he was dead. Hence, Marx ended up getting put "under the wraps" in the brig.
Dr Porter informs Dac in the observation lounge that Marx is dead. Dac dismisses the Romulans from the observation lounge, without examining the ambassador, and the Romulans are returned to their ship.
Lt. JG Sema'J is released from medical by an irate Dr. Porter. He reports to engineering to discover that he has been assigned as acting cheif of the department. His first task is to oversee the analysis of the android recovered from the ship. Ens Stevens, a new officer in engineering is puzzled by the intricate design of the android.
Marine shuttles wait on standby.
Part X (Stardate 50709.19)
Arcadia's standoff with the Romulans continues.
Cmdr Lo'Ami gives the Romulans a chance to leave and open negotiations diplomatically. It is rejected, with the Romulans giving Arcadia a one hour ultimatum to withdraw.
Cmdr Alces' theory that the Romulans just wanted to test if Marx is dead is tested; he urges that Arcadia take the chance to leave.
Marine shuttles are on standby.
Lo'Ami and Daena go to stellar cartography to find if there is anything in the sector of space that the Romulans are claiming that is of strategic importance. A small explosion with no apparent cause takes place in stellar cartography. The Romulans use their transporters to rescue Daena and beam her to the bridge. They claim that Lo'Ami's pattern couldn't be separated from the explosion.
Everyone's shields go up.
Part XI (Stardate 50709.26)
Repairs on stellar cartography are completed quickly. Meanwhile, engineering tries to maintain shields.
Daena is taken from the bridge to sickbay.
Tom Servo figures out that Marx's death was faked. Tells Thoros.
Cmdr Alces has engineering prepare a Delta Wave replicator, in an attempt to use it to sync with the Romulan shields frequencies and find Lo'Ami, whom the Romulans claim to be dead.
After a mysterious tachyon burst, Baran Arvid, an overly muscled [tall] man with phasers strapped across his chest appears on the bridge. The bridge crew is ordered to lower their weapons. The man identifies himself to the captain via something only they would know "the wolf's name is Fricka." Baran reveals that the ship is in grave danger (as if we didn't know already) and must leave this sector of space immediately -- having nothing to do with the Romulans. He reveals that soon there will be a tear in space right near them.
Suddenly, the fissure starts opening. As soon as it's detected, Baran flashes off Arcadia.
A bruised and bloodied Lo'Ami appears on Arcadia, as Arcadia is dropped into the rift. There is a bright, hot and loud flash, and then the ship is bathed in darkness. Simultaneously, lots of crunching sounds are heard.
