Window of Appearances

Posted on Mon Jun 23rd, 2025 @ 9:12am by Captain Rovak & Petty Officer 1st Class Ayol & Lieutenant S'Lace & Colonel Augie Kowalski & Lieutenant Commander Atna & Lieutenant JG Akaar Zuul & Senior Chief Petty Officer Gaz & Lieutenant Colonel Shoka
Edited on on Mon Jun 23rd, 2025 @ 12:52pm

1,353 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: The Serpent's Tooth [3]
Location: Conference Room, DS13
Timeline: 0800 Hours - MD09

Rovak arrived last, still in conversation with Ayol over the contents of a padd they were both looking over. As he took his seat he passed it back to Ayol, who left quickly.

"Good morning." Rovak said to the assembled but reduced senior staff. Notably, the purple face of Lieutenant Zuul replaced Lieutenants Thul and Eudlo. Other faces were also absent, but he trusted they had good reason to be. "There is a great deal to do for all of us, so I will be brief. If any of you should wish to rest up and resume work after a rest cycle, do not hesitate or feel guilt, we should all do what we can to take care of ourselves and ensure our own efficiency."

"Commander Flynn is still in sickbay, Lieutenant Atna will be serving as acting Executive Officer until her return. Doctor T'Zor will in turn serve as acting Chief of Science. Lieutenant Thul too is still recovering, Lieutant Zuul will be assuming his duties at Tactical, as will Lieutenant Eudlo in security, who sends his apologies."

"The CIC will be out of use until repairs can be completed. In the meanwhile, we will command the station from F-Dock Ops, being the only Operations centre free of the data corruption our computers have experienced." Rovak explained, the ozone smell of plasma weapons discharge and burning consoles was still somewhat olfactible despite the atmofilters working at extra capacity.

"As you have likely heard and seen, shortly after we disabled Hera's escape ship, a series of blocks emerged from some manner of artificial wormhole generated by a device aboard Akhenaten's ship. Together, they formed an even larger wormhole that allowed a ship to pass through. It is called the USS Bra'tac, and belongs to the beings the Atenists identified as 'Tau'ri', an Alliance of worlds centered on Earth, evidently formed in opposition to the Goa'uld. They called the device used to get here a 'Stargate', and while profoundly resource-intensive, they have made the journey to ensure the Goa'uld face justice for war crimes they have accused them of." Rovak explained.

"With that in mind, once we have secured the station, a special tribunal will be held under section 253 of the Starfleet code. The claims will be judged, and if found to be more plausible than implausible, the Tau'ri will take the accused back with them for trial." Rovak explained, looking around the group. "Does anyone have any questions about the state of things or the events to follow?"

"Why are we trusting these Tau'ri people? How do we know they're not just telling us what we want to hear to get what they want?" Gaz asked.

"If for no other reason, their technology seems superior to our own, yet they have elected to let us handle the Atenists. It would not be difficult for them to beam them all away, even now. They have acceded to our justice system. They have demonstrated trust. As Starfleet representatives, we are duty-bound to return that trust." Rovak told the Chief.

"Hm." Gaz made a non-committal noise to show he accepted the answer.

"Very well." Rovak said, tapping a button to view the current local time. "I understand they will join us presently to answer any questions we may have for them. Their transporter systems are faster than our own, so we -"

As if on queue, a white light and strange whooshing sound filled the space. At the foot of the table, three beings appeared. They were Colonel Kowalski, the leader, a large darkly-complected man who stood several heads taller than her, and a small, grey being with big black eyes, resembling an alien caricature from pre-warp Earth. The fragile-looking grey creature seemed to be nude, though its appearance was entirely epicene to most of their eyes.

"Colonel Kowalski, welcome." Rovak said, activating the function that displayed the name and position of everyone present, to avoid the time taken up by pleasantries.

"Hi. Augie Kowalski, Alliance of Free Worlds Star Force. This is my XO Shoka and my Science Chief slash legal advisor slash general smartass, Tyr. He'll be taking point on the prosecution. Thanks for considering our request. My people will be going back and forth helping out until the verdict, if they do anything that anyone's concerned about, speak me or Shoka. Any questions?" Kowalski asked, hoping they didn't have any.

Gaz had questions about why the little grey person was naked, but he wanted to get back to his work, so he kept them to himself.

Atna too remained quiet. Her Vulcan instincts told her that the tall man was Jaffa, there were subtle differences in their muscularity that were obvious even through the Alliance uniform. She looked forward to speaking with their scientists.

"What of the Goa'uld and Jaffa that defected and assisted our forces alongside the Atenists to retake the station? Will they be given consideration for their redeeming actions?" Akaar inquired of the Tau'ri Colonel.

S'Lace regarded the gray alien with some interest. She wondered if it would be impolitic to scan the being with her medical tricorder...

"We don't consider any last minute changes of heart or gestures of self-preservation to be particularly noteworthy. We want to give justice to them for what they did in our universe, not much they did here is going to make a difference for anyone who gets to our courts. But who exactly that consists of is a consideration your Captain gets to consider. I'm only taking anyone we can make a case against." Kowalski told the purple man. It was a little odd to her to see a person who was that colour, but she liked that about new universes. She got the impression she wasn't the only one who appreciated novelty.

"Admiral Gali has requested clarification from Earth on how best for us to proceed with regard to the events following the ceremony. Particularly given the potential diplomatic status of the insurgents. We have each made suggestions. We expect to have a response within twenty-four hours." Rovak explained, though the question had not been directed to him.

"At the risk of repeating Chief Gaz's earlier question, how do we know that anyone extradited will receive a fair trial?" Atna asked of both the Captain and the Colonel, her question spurred by the Colonel's somewhat inflexible demeanour. She did appreciate that trait in humans, but not at the expense of justice.

"It isn't like Starfleet could send a diplomatic team to the Tau'ri Earth for the trials, right?" Akaar asked in jest, a half grin on his lips.

"That would not be an option, no." Rovak said, the joke going over his head. "We have however had the opportunity to review their judicial records for the last few centuries. While their legal code is not identical to our own, the computer estimates a 95% compatibility with the guarantees of the Federation Constitution." He directed the second part of his answer to Atna.

Atna raised an eyebrow when she heard Akaar's suggestion, but did not say anything further, the answer was sufficient.

He briefly caught Atna's raised eyebrow as he spoke, though not sure why she'd given it. Akaar decided to move on, "we don't have an extradition treaty with the Tau'ri, do we?" He left that hanging.

"At present we have no treaties with any of our guests, however we do have an obligation to uphold the spirit of interstellar justice. We have not offered anything other than to consider their request based on the strength of the evidence they can provide." Rovak answered Zuul.

"Was there anything else?" The Captain asked.

"Understood sir." Akaar replied, he glanced around at the others before focusing on the Tau'ri colonel. He wondered about the alternate humans.

"If any of you have questions, I will remain aboard your station to coordinate our forces that will be providing assistance." Lieutenant Colonel Shoka said with a sternness that seemed out of place but was unmistakably Jaffa. He tapped something on his wrist and nodded to the Colonel.

With another sudden flash, the Colonel and Tyr were beamed away.

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