On the run (Part I)

Posted on Fri Jan 31, 2020 @ 10:40pm by Captain Maritza Soran & Civilian 'Arrival' Geral Lasuma & Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Charghwl'IH of the House of Soval & Civilian Dorian Torel

1,788 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Doors of Perception
Location: Various, DS5
Timeline: MD 15 1400

[ON]

Earlier...

Whatever had caused the delay in the departure had nearly resulted in his capture. No sooner had he left the trans port had the stations security began there search in mass. Ships had been searched before being allowed to leave, cargo scanned etc.

Present...

His employers had gone silent and his accounts showed that he hadn't been paid yet. At present he was sitting in a cafe on the promenade, disguised as a Romulan businessman, planning his next course of action. Keeping himself out of custody was key, but posed only a minor concern as he was only dealing with Starfleet security.

Next was to get his payment from his previous employer. With him on the run they would be securing themselves. Unless they were complete fools they had to know he would be coming for them. It was even possible that they might try to help with his capture; if they could do so without implicating themselves.

Finally he had to get off the station. There were several options none of them very appealing. Sipping his tea, his back to a wall, he watched the movement of the promenade as he had for last few days and most moved to their regular routine.


Once word came their main suspect appeared to be trying to leave, Annora wasted no time in beefing up security.
=/\="Miss Pinnell increase security around the docking rings and have OPS lock down the transporters. Put out an APB for Mr. Zento to all security teams. =/\=

Once that was taken care of, she made arrangements to reach out to a few of the plainclothes officers scattered around the station. They rarely put on the yellow trimmed uniform or identified themselves as belonging to security. While Annora didn't condone wholesale spying on a civilian population, the reality was that certain places on the station were hard to reach when in uniform.

[Lasuma's]

After he had awakened in the holosuite he paid the bill and headed back to his place to change and get back to work. Leaving his quarters his saw one of his contacts exiting a lift he was waiting to enter. Without a word he was passed a padd as the pair moved passed each other and once the doors were closed he had slipped the padd into a pocket.

Once in the shop he headed to the bosses office while reviewing the information. They had both been sure the Gev had been behind things and that Geral had been the target, but the information in hand seemed to clear Gev...just as Yolanthe had thought.

On the plus side they had ID'd the so called lawyer, who was actually a high end assassin known for his use of impersonations and disguises. Leaning back he began to go down a list of who could have afforded his services, who would have had something to gain by eliminating his boss.


[Promenade]

A subtle vibration let him know he had a call and he reached into his jacket and opened his padd to decrypt the message.

~Primary target still alive. What is the delay?~

~I cleaned up the mess from your first contract. No agreement for anything else. Payment is over due. Pay for the first and will discuss the second.~

There was a noticeable pause before the reply came through.

~Agreed.~

Splitting the screen he saw that that his payment was now in his account and he returned to the conversation.

~Payment reveived.~

Ever aware he saw two familiar faces. Never stopping they continued their patrol of the area and the corner of his mouth curled. Plan clothed security no doubt, he thought to himself. Closing his padd as his order arrived he would deal with his clients in his own time, if he even took the job. His first priority was to secure a way off the station. Everything else was second.

[Lasuma's]

Even though he had been told that Starfleet was handling the investigation he had information they may need. Ensuring Geral was covered by the additional security measures Dorian let them know and headed to the stations security office.


---
(Security Offices)

Petty Officer Stone knocked on Annora's door. "Ma'am I have some info on the investigation."

Motioning him in, she set down her Data Padd.

"What do you have for me?"

"We've competed our initial investigation into some unusual communications from around the time time of the attack. Initial results indicate they were sent to Ambassador Chraghwl'IH at the Klingon embassy. Intel is helping us with a more detailed analysis, but I thought you'd want to know what we've found so far."

"Thank you Mr Stone, do some discreet digging for any connections between the Ambassador and the Commander or Lasuma. Let me know as soon as you hear back from Intel."

Normally she'd simply have the person brought in for questioning, but dealing with ambassadors/diplomats required a bit more finesse. With a sigh, she tapped her comm-badge.

=/\= Ambassador Chraghwl'IH, this is Lieutenant Tessaro. Can you come down to the security office? I have some concerns I want to discuss with you. =/\=

[Amassadorial Quarters]

Charg was in a great mood. He had just spoken with Xea'dell and they had discussed to possibility of a her coming to visit. He thought about informing Maritza but deside to leaving as a surprise. On top of the Lord Da'nal had informed him od his decision to pesonally visit the construction site for the dilithium processing center in the Teralis system, and that be would be bring additional resources to help expidite the construction.

The call from the security office was puzzling but he looked forward to the opportunity. He assumed one of his people had gotten out of hand and needed to be taken care of. No matter...the majority of his career had been in security and getting a chance to get back to his roots was something he rarely got to do.

Setting his drink aside he replied. "I would be honored to Lieutenant. I will be there shortly." Rising he downed his drink and head out, his guards falling in behind him without a word. A few minutes later he motioned for his guard to remain and entered the stations security center. The doors closed behind him even as he remained in the doorway as he took in larger, but familiar surrounding.

Yeoman Salopek greeted the Klingon Ambassador.
"Welcome sir, the Lieutenant is expecting you. Her office is second to the right, head on in."

Nodding to the officer. Following the directions provided he stepped through the open doorway.

Annora stood up as the Ambassador entered her office.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice, I'm sure you're a busy man. Can I get you a drink?"

Shaking his head as he replied, "No thank you. What is it you wanted to see me about."

Sitting back down, Annora got straight to the point.
"Before we start, I want to make it clear this not an interrogation. You can end this conversation at anytime."

Her opening remarks didn't alter his mood but it did make him curious. "Go on."

She handed him a Data PADD with a picture of Mr. Zento.

"Have you or anyone in your senior staff had any dealings with this man? We have reason to believe he's connected to the attack on the Commander and Mr Lasuma. There is cursory evidence linking him to your embassy."

Taking the padd he examined the picture carefully. Comparing it to those he had met since his arrival. Handing the padd back, "I have had no contact with anyone resembling this person and no one in my senior staff would have taken action without my knowledge. Though you are free to question them for yourself.

"You should know Lieutenant that the Commander and I served together, during the Kzinti war*. Matitza is a good friend with not only myself but with my wife as well. She knows that I stand ready to come to her aid at anytime and if anyone raises a hand to cause her harm will answer to me personally. The only reason I wasn't here that night was because I was off station while aboard my ship. What is this cursory evidence you spoke of?"

A quick check of the station security logs showed he was telling the truth. He was off station during the time of the attack, presumably on his ship which was not docked. That alone didn't exonerate the ambassador, but led some credence to his defense. Scanning the Ambassador's public record showed his service with distinction during the Kzinti War. With Intel already running a deeper scan, she didn't see a problem letting the Ambassador in on the evidence. She handed over a second Data Padd with the pertinent information.

"These transmissions were sent around the time of the attack. Your office appears to be the intended recipient."

The connection snapped into place. "There was an anonymous message received the day after the attack on Maritza and Mr. Lasuma. All it said was 'Done'. It seemed quite...odd and is still in my database if you would care to examine it.

"Obviously, the message is a diversion. First, there would be no honor in hiring an assassin. Adding in my history with Maritza, and the lack of any other motive would all eliminate me as a suspect in trying to harm her or Mr. Lasuma. While there was a misunderstanding between Lasuma and myself that very night, if I had wanted him dead I would have killed him myself. That aside, Lasuma and I had just collaborated with another Starfleet officer on securing the dilithium now flowing into this sector. Mr. Lasuma's aid had brought honor and prestige to my House; not exactly a motive for killing him."

Handing back the padd he offered a possibility. "I wouldn't be surprised if there were other transmissions buried within the stations communications system."

"It's likely, we're working on identifying other transmissions but the one to your office was the most prominent."

While his alibi made sense, that didn't automatically rule him out. Wouldn't be the first time someone had cooperated with the authorities to remove suspicion from themselves. At the same time, the transmission itself was not enough evidence to charge the Ambassador with anything.

"If you don't mind, I'll have Petty Officer Ainsworth examine your database. He won't be digging into privileged information, just that message."

To Be Continued

Lieutenant Annora Tessaro
Chief Security Officer
Deep Space Five

Charghwl'ih Son of Soval
Klingon Ambassador

Dorian Torel
Henchman and bodyguard for Geral Lasuma

 

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