From:		Xavyre
Date:		15 July 1996 03:15
To:		U.S.S. Lafayette
Subject:		RE: Slater Planet

<OCC: Straylar on the hunt!>

As Straylar runs into the darkness of the alley he hears Beata call him on his comm badge.  

"Beata to Straylar, has your investigation led you to any new fact?"

Trying to be as quiet as possible while hunting down the Slider that attacked them he stops for a moment to catch his breath and slips his hand over the communicator and puts it in his pocket. 

Straylar breathing heavily now from the running, feels a sharp pain in his side and looks down to see that a small six centimeter slice running along his rib cage.  

Straylar thinks to himself. "Great, I was infected also.  I wonder how long I got before I turn into a puddle of ooze like Vyd is doing?" 

Straylar decides to keep running after the Slider.

After a few moments he comes to a small road that seems deserted.  He lost him.  He's nowhere in sight, so Straylar pulls out his Security Tri Corder and starts scanning the neighborhood for anything.  After a few moments he decides to head back to the market area and ask a few questions.

On the way to the market he pulls out his communicator and calls Beata.

"Straylar to Beata, I'm following some leads over in the market area. Ensign Vyd had to be beamed up to sickbay due to being infected by the shape changing plague. It seemed to do the opposite to him, it made him start to loose his form. I sure that he's in good hands with Doctor Mc Rae.  I'll be in contact as the situation develops.  Straylar out!"

Straylar gets to the market area and sees many Slider's. (OCC: BTW why do we call them "Sliders" when they are from "Slater's Planet?") He decides to question a few of them, as he is looking around for someone to talk to he sees someone spring by with a small satchel around one of it's necks and around the other is the same symbol that he saw before, the two headed bird, similar in design to the Romulan Imperial Bird symbol. 

Straylar bounds after the half Jack Rabbit half Antelope creature and yells to him.  "Hey you!  Hey messenger."

The Sldier halts and turns to Straylar with fear in his eyes.

Straylar walks up to him.  Where did you get that symbol your wearing?

The creature cowers at Straylar's height. "It is a political emblem worn by those affiliated with a certain party on Slater's Planet, I am just a humble messenger." 

Straylar feeling the skin on his back slowly starting to drip downward, decides to terminate the questioning and he lets the Slider go.  The creature scurries off.  Straylar watches him leave then follows him down the road at a safe distance.

Several minutes pass and Straylar realizes that they are now headed back to the Vidalican political headquarters.  He watches as messenger runs along the side of the building and starts to slip into the fastly approaching night.  Straylar follows a few paces behind.  Suddenly it appears as though the messenger steps sideways into the wall and disappears.  Straylar shakes his head to clear his now blurring sight.  After a  moment when he feels no one is watching, he stealthfully creeps over to the wall where the messenger vanished.  After a few minutes examining the wall he operates a push mechanism and slips through the wall and onto the grounds of the headquarters.

Once inside he crouches down against the wall. Now depending fully on his years of training with the Mokra.  Cautiously he scurries across the yard to the main building.  He sees a side door where the messenger must have accessed the building.  Straylar pulls out his security tri corder and scans the door for possible detection devices or traps.  None are read and Straylar puts the tri corder back into it's sheath and replaces it with his phaser.  Slowly he hits the button on the side of the door and it opens into a lit room that seems to be some sort of kitchen.  At the same time Straylar enters the room and sees the messenger.  The Star Fleet officer holds the phaser towards the creature.

"You there, freeze!"

"It's you, the human." the creature cries.

"Not quite human, but on the same side any ways." 
Straylar pulls out his security tri corder and activates it.  He sets a certain set of coordinates into the device and then turns it over and opens a small compartment and pulls out one of several one centimeter in diameter disks.  He takes one of the disks and attaches it to the messenger.

"What are you doing to me?" Chirps the messenger.

"Don't worry nothing bad is going to happen to you. I just can't tie you up and have you shape change out of it and alert everyone I'm here, so this is the next best thing."

Straylar initiates the security tri corder and a computer up on the Lafayette reads his incoming signal and activates it's transporters.  Instantly the messenger is beamed aboard the Lafayette and into the brig with the security shield activated.

After putting his tri corder away again, Straylar passes through the door that leads him into a long hallway with a turbo lift at the end, and a door to his left.  Straylar peeks through the door near him and sees stairs leading down to a dark basement.  Straylar makes a note to check it out later if he has time.  

He proceeds down the hall until he reaches the turbo lift door.  He presses the button and finds that the door is security locked.  So once again he pulls out his tri corder and sets the device to cancel out the security lock on the door.  The door opens to let him in.  Straylar enters the lift and surveys the control panel.  He interprets the buttons and finds one that seems t go to the top of the building where the political offices are located.

The turbo lift rockets up to the top floor and the doors open automatically revealing another long hall with a double door on the left about half way down the hall.  Straylar walks down the hall until he reaches the double doors. He listens at the door and hears two people speaking in Romulan.

"What do you mean your men can't find him?"  Where could he have gone?  He's just one Star Fleet officer and you can't find him in a city full of animals!"

Then the other voice lashes out.  

"Animals? Is that all you think us as? Your beasts of burden! We are a proud race."

"A proud race? Humph! Your planet was settled by humans who were muted by the planets radiation. If it hadn't been for the efforts of the Federation, your planet never would have been terra formed.  You would all still be huddled in the caves where you took refuge when your ship crashed here!"

"You will not address me in such a manner Romulan scum!"

At that Straylar hears what sounds like a body flying across the room and hitting a wall.

"You will pay for this assault.  We have two Warbirds in this sector and another two on the way. What will you say to us then, when your planet is blown into asteroids?"

At that note Straylar bursts into the room with his phaser aimed at everyone in the room.

"You were looking for me?  Well here I am.  I think all of you should just put your hands or paws or whatever you got up into the air where I can see them."

Straylar surveys the room and sees one Romulan helping another one up off of the floor and a human sized humanoid that has distinct dragon like features. For lack of a  better name he files it away in the back of his mind as a Dragonoid.

The Dragonoid leaps at Straylar and cries out.

"Let me introduce myself.  I am the leader of the Vidalican political party, and you are dead Star Fleet!"

As the leader of the Vidalican political party leaps towards Straylar he takes the brunt of the blast from Straylar's phaser knocking him back and unconscious.  The Romulan helping the other up drops his commander and hits a small badge on his armband that transports him up to his vessel.  Straylar then holds his phaser on the stunned Romulan commander.

"I think you better just stay where you are."

Straylar walks over to the Romulan and takes his personal transporter device from him.   He then orders him to stand over with the Dragonoid Slider.  Straylar then draws his tri corder and scans the entire building.  He sees something that brings a puzzled look to his face.  Then he closes the tri corder and taps his communicator.

"Straylar to Beata.  I've uncovered a plot between the Vidalican political party and the Romulans. I currently have the leader of the political party and a Romulan commander as prisoners.  Also is the entire away team accounted for?