Stealing the Hypatia

"Keeping you busy?" Jakarri Kelley asks.
The Starfleet Security officer guarding the block stands to his full height - over seven feet. "Don't get smart, Tiny."

The door to Motharn's cell opens, and a Security officer enters: "Admiral, Starfleet Command -"
Valara Deva cuts him off: "Come here, take a look." The officer approaches the Admiral and the stricken doctor ... and is promptly knocked out.

Kelley's pinning the tall security man against the wall as Deva and Motharn leave their cell. "Side elevator - agents are on their way up," she says to her friends. As they're heading over, she knocks the guy on his back, then pulls a phaser from inside her vest and shoots up the controls. As she joins them in the elevator, she says to the tall man, "Don't call me Tiny."

Even as two more security officers try to enter the cell block, the elevator's already on its way up. Deva taps her communicator: "Unit 2, this is Unit 1. The Kobayashi Maru has set sail for Shambhala. Acknowledge."
"Message acknowledged. All units will be informed," the accented voice of Lyubimets says.
Motharn slides on a coat. "You're taking /me/ to Shambhala?"
"What are friends for?" Deva says, wryly.

Aboard the new starship /USS Excelsior/, Iolanda Error is heading for the turbolift, a case in her arm.
"Ah, Ms. Error. Calling it a night?" Captain Styles asks, stepping out from the turbolift.
"Da, Keptin," Error notes, letting more of her Russian accent slip in.
"Turning in myself. Looking forward to breaking some of the /Hypatia/'s speed records tomorrow," Styles says.
Error fakes a laugh. "Good night." She steps into the turbolift, orders it to take her to the Transporter Room.

"Roger, Old City Station at 2200 hours, all is well," Commander Sheari Velal comms from her post at the station's transporter room.
"You amaze me, Commander," a young Lieutenant says to the old Romulan.
"Oh, how is that?"
"A twenty-year space veteran, yet you choose the worst duty station in town. I mean, look at this place! /This/ is the hind end of space."
"Peace and quiet appeals to me, Lieutenant."
"Yeah, well maybe that's okay for someone like you, whose career is winding down," the Lieutenant starts. He doesn't seem to notice Velal's eyes lighting up. "I need some challenge in my life, some adventure, ...maybe even just a surprise or two."
Velal smiles. "You know what they say, Be careful what you wish for. You may get it."
The turbolift door opens - it's Deva, Kelley, and Motharn, all walking quickly to the transporter pads. "Good evening, Commander. Is everything ready?" Deva asks.
"Step into my parlor, ladies and gentlemen," Velal says.
"That's Admiral Deva, my God!" the Lieutenant whispers, amazed.
"Very good for you, Lieutenant," Velal says, working the controls.
"But it's damn irregular. No destination orders, no encoded IDs."
"All true," Velal says.
"Well, ...what are we going to do about it?"
Velal finishes her work. "/I/ am not going to do anything about it. /You/ are going to sit in the closet."
"The closet? Have you lost all your sense of reality?" The lieutenant mutters.
"This isn't reality..." Velal says, drawing a disruptor from her uniform and training it on the young man. "This is fantasy. You wanted adventure? How is this? Is the old adrenaline going? Good boy. Now get in the closet."
"Okay! Uh..." the shocked lieutenant mutters, stepping back.
"Go on! Go on!"
"I'll just get in the closet," he stammers, opening the closet door. "Okay!"
Motharn says to the Romulan, his antennae raised, "I'm glad you're on our side."
Deva asks, "Can you handle that?
Velal grins. "Oh, I will have 'Mister Adventure' eating out of my hand, ma'am. And I will see all of you at the rendezvous. Oh, and Admiral, ...all my hopes." She beams them away.

The lights on the Hypatia bridge activate. The trio from the jail enter, joining Error and Lyubimets.
"As promised, she's all yours, ma'am. All systems automated and ready. A chimpanzee and two trainees could do it," the Russian engineer says.
Deva laughs. "I'll try not to take that personally, Yoyo." She pauses, sighs.
"Admiral, we're losing precious time!" Lyubi says excitedly.
"What course, please?" Kelley asks, taking the conn.
"May the wind be at our backs," Deva intones. "Stations, please." As everyone takes their stations, she orders the ship away.

Soon, Hypatia's cleared the space doors; Excelsior moves in behind. As Hypatia prepares to go to warp, Captain Styles comms, over audio: "Valara, you do this, you'll never see a lab bench again."

Deva ignores the man, orders Warp Speed. Hypatia warps away.
The bridge crew aboard Excelsior take their seats, strap in, and prepare for Ultrawarp ... only to find their ship stopped, their computer rebooting.
"Good morning Captain," the computer says, as Styles, swagger-stick in hand, steps up to the console.

Back aboard a fully-lit Hypatia's bridge, Deva steps up to the engineering station. "Yoyo, as good as your word," she says, a hand on the Human's shoulder.
"Da. The more they over-think the plumbing, the easier to stop up the drain," Error says. She reaches into her pocket. "Here, Doctor, souvenirs from one surgeon to another," she says, and hands the doctor four small objects. "I took them out of her main computer drive."
"Nice of you to tell me in advance!" Motharn says.
"That's what you get for missing the staff meeting. Everyone, your work today has been outstanding. I intend to recommend you all for promotion, ...in whatever fleet we end up serving. Best speed to Genesis." Deva orders.