Chapter III: Reunited

I think we are negotiating with ourselves.

Well, son of a...

Of all the things Alex expected to hear back, particle filtration nubs were not among them. She nods to Lorq, "I'd like to believe that. It's certainly unlikely anyone would happen upon that phrase by mere accident."

She pauses for a long moment before responding. "Your kind offer is appreciated, but we are fully stocked with particle filtration nubs and have no need for more. Your brethren are unharmed and have been given free movement about the Verdun, save for the bridge, which we control. When you decide you are ready to negotiate, we will gladly listen."

To the others, she says, "Let's keep our fingers crossed, shall we?"

The proper completion of the code makes Cass' heart leap a little, and not only because this Alexandra Lloyd has indicated that she's not under duress. When Cass had used the code on Capt. Ery-An, she hadn't recognized the code and had provided an answer that was outside of the protocol, suggesting that the slugs have no access to the knowledge of the host once they are in control of the body. Otherwise, Ery-An might have gotten Cass to comply if she'd simply indicated that she was not under duress.

All of which leads Cass to conclude that Lt. Comm. Lloyd is neither under duress nor a slug-host posing as a Spacefleet officer.

Giving a gesture to Mezron to mute her outgoing audio temporarily, she asks, "How many life signs are we reading on that ship?"

Gesturing for Mezron to unmute her mic, Cass says to the negotiator, "To even consider making an exchange of hostages, we need to know how many of our brothers you actually have. We read nineteen life forms on the ship you've commandeered. How many of those are in your group of unruly meatbags?"

Alex mouths, "Unruly? Unruly?!" She looks over at Zephyr, comm muted to the other ship, and says with a teasing half-smirk, "They're talking about you, I'm guessing."

In response back to the (hopefully) fake pirate, Alex says, "We have fifteen of your brethren confined to the remainder of the ship that we would be willing to exchange. They are not currently unruly, but should that change, our negotiations by necessity will need to intensify."

In the Potential's Bridge

Moira listens to the negotiations stiffly. She leans over to Darcy.

Want me ta lock onta the bridge's life signs? Just in case we need ta make a snap transport?

Cass feels a sense of deflation when the negotiator says there are only four "meatbags" involved in the incursion on the pirate ship. Her away team had been four people. If Lt. Commander Lloyd is one of this four, that means that at least one of her team isn't among them. In fact, she is pretty sure that the list of names sent in the distress signal included two that were unfamiliar to her. Apparently, two of her missing crew are still unaccounted for.

Now, how to ask the next question in a way that doesn't tip off the eavesdroppers as to her true nature and intentions, while still (hopefully) communicating the right subtext to the "meatbags?"

"We do not believe you are being fully honest with us about the condition of all the meatbags in your group," Cass says aggressively. "We believe that some of you are carrying our brethren within your bodies. You may not be aware that use of the transporter device will kill both our brethren and the puny host body, so it is in your best interest to be honest with us. How many of you have been... improved?"

Zephyr responds to Alex, "Please. I am the ruliest."

He then steps near to Alex and says, "This is Lt. Commander Zephyr Borealis of the USS Potential. I have been 'improved', or so I've been told. The others on the bridge have not. There are also two other members of the Potential's crew on the ship that have not been located as of yet. I must insist they are located before the transaction is completed."

Alex starts to protest when Zephyr takes the comm, but she holds her tongue, reserving the right to chastise Zephyr later for his breach of protocol.

Hearing this, Cass nearly swears explosively before remembering that she's on the open comm. So, Zephyr is alive, BUT he's been infected. And two of the other away team members are unaccounted for even to him. This is really a glass-half-empty kind of day.

It occurs to her that Zephyr doesn't recognize her voice. If he did, he wouldn't have demanded the location of his other team members, knowing that she is not actually a slug-woman capable of communicating with and demanding compliance from her fellow slug-folk. Either Zephyr is not at the top of his game, or the infestation is impairing him.

Of course, blundering into the middle of a negotiation out of turn was exactly something Zephyr would do.

"Since you are in possession of the bridge and I am not," Cass says with exacting precision, "how do you expect me to determine the location of your compatriots on that ship, Lieutenant Commander?"

Zephyr mutes the communicator for a moment, and turns to Alex.

"I apologize for the interruption, but I know this woman. She is...or used to be...the commanding officer of the Potential. I wanted to see if she recognized my voice, but it seems she did not. If we could get her here, or me there, maybe I could get through to her."

Zephyr begins to move back toward the science station, indicating he is turning the comms back over to Alex, and unmutes the channel.

Alex closes her eyes, draws a deep breath, and lets it out slowly. Why oh why couldn't she have done better at those meditation classes she took? Ah well... mindfulness be damned.

She leaves the channel muted. "Lorq, Meyers, any of you," she says quickly. "Are their shields up? Could we lock on the commanding officer and beam her directly here?" To Zephyr, she adds, "I don't know if she was telling the truth or not, but I'm not taking chances that transporting you will kill you. You're irritating as hell," she says with a smile, "but I'm not ready to kill you. Yet."

Checking for shields. May I say that if codeword were used on both sides, why are we continuing this charade.
Lorq says his piece and checks to see if shields are down.