Give him back! (Part IV of V)
Posted on Sat Apr 25, 2020 @ 2:56am by Captain Maritza Soran & Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Lieutenant Si'Lar Trellis
1,989 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Et In Arcadia Ego
Location: Various around DS5
Timeline: Back post : Doors of Perception, MD 17
Previously on
Annora watched as the target ship broke free of the tractor beam. Hopefully the team aboard would be able to gain control of the ship before it was too late. The other two vessels hadn't appeared to be taking advantage of the chaos to make a run. Most likely the Archangel was the culprit, but they hadn't ruled out the other two ships.
"Lt Trellis, would you be opposed to boarding the other two ships just to be safe. I figure we order them back to the station, boarding them if they refuse. As for the Archangel, I'm open to suggestions as to tip the odds in our favor."
Si'Lar grimaced in frustration. He knew that this was turning into a shit-show in short order. However, he also knew that he had an obligation as a Starfleet Officer to carry out the will of the station Commander. He might not have agreed with Commander Soran's suggestion, but he knew that he did not have the luxury of disobeying it.
And now the continuation
"Fine, I'll lead the second boarding team over to the John Bull." Lt. Trellis said, begrudgingly. "Lt. Cross, you should probably get over to the Brig and interview/interrogate/beat Petty Officer Walters and find out what he knows and who he is really working for." The Trill Security Officer suggested.
"I'll grab my gear, meet the team, and beam over right now." Lt. Trellis said as he made his way to the Armory.
"Great, thanks."
Hopefully the other ships didn't put up a fight, she didn't want to deal with three renegade ships at once.
"Chief, get a team together and meet Mr Trellis. Include one of the SRU teams. I'll have Florizel call up more personnel for the third vessel."
What they gained simply by killing the yeoman she wasn't sure. There had to be more to the story than that.
"Lieutenant Cross, you're welcome to stay here or question the Petty Officer. It's up to you."
"I'll head to the brig." Natalie replied and headed out to the brig.
As the various people headed off, Annora contacted the Commander. =/\=... Ma'am, Trellis is leading at team to the John Bull and I'm preparing to board the Viridian Dream as a precaution. Extra security teams are standing by as needed. =/\=
"All speed, Ms Tessaro." a cold fear gripped at Maritza. What if the tip was wrong. What if he was on the Archangel and they had killed him already. She'd rather be on the boarding party than here in OPS. She'd rather be in the brig interrogating the traitor than here in OPS. But she couldn't. Her place was here. "Good Luck"
Viridian Dream, Bridge
Annora and three others beamed onto the bridge, with the rest split between the corridors outside main engineering and deck 16.
"Captain Harrarr. By order of Commander Soran, you are to return to the docking bay and submit to a search."
Captain Harrarr, a man in his late 80's slowly turned around and faced the authoritative voice that had just beamed aboard his vessel. He had been listening to the back and forth between Captain Chapman and Starfleet over the tightbeam broadcast. He wasn't too happy to see Starfleet flexing its muscle against civilians, but he also did not approve of taking up arms against them either.
He stepped down from his Command Chair and looked at the young woman in the gold tunic. "Well, well, I see they making you Security Officers younger and younger, I suppose." He said in a drawl reminiscent of his Appalachian upbringing. "Back in my day, we always ha---" He began to say, but was cut off of Lieutenant Annora.
He didn't seem to be wanting to fight, which was nice. Therefore she decided to be straight up with the freighter captain. "Captain Hararr, our main concern is Deck 16. We have reason to believe cargo from that deck is contraband. Thus that will be the focus of our search."
Captain Harrarr was somewhat caught off-guard, but he answered anyways. "Deck 16? That's one of our cargo decks, but we don't have too many folks trottin' around there." He responded. "Heck, we haven't had anybody down there since we picked up some delivery about a week ago. We were told to block off the whole deck and not let anyone down there or to disturb the crate." He said as he made his way slowly to a console nearby.
"Something about. . .sensitive biological product or something like that." Captain Harrarr said. "I didn't ask no questions, I just accepted payment and made sure my boys cleared out the area." He said as he brought up an image of the large container on the console beside him.
"Is this what all that damn craziness is about on the other ships?" He asked. "All over a damn crate?" He asked while shaking his head.
So he was aware of the chaos elsewhere. It made sense, their actions weren't exactly being done in secrecy.
"More or less, that is the cause of this. Do you know who gave you the cargo?"
"Uh...I want to say it was a. . .Lissepian contract." Captain Harrarr said as he tried hard to recall the particular details of the contract. "I really don't focus too much on the details, my Second-Mate, Sheila usually handles all that paperwork. Matter of fact, I think she's down over on that deck." He said as he walked over to his console.
=/= "Sheila, I got some of them 'Fleeters onboard asking about that Lissipian contract we took on last week ago. You got a minute?" The Freighter Captain asked. Several moments passed by without any response. "What the hell. . ."
=/= "Sheila! This is Harlan, what the hell is the hold up?" The Captain asked with obvious irratation in his voice as he looked back towards Annora.
"I don't know what he hell is her problem, she just beamed back over from the John Bull about an hour ago.
So much for this ship being the easy one to board. Of course, she didn't take the job because it was easy.
"Sorry to tell you this Captain, but your Second-Mate is likely involved with the Free Earth Movement. I have a team outside the cargo hold, they'll do their best not to damage any cargo."
Without giving the Captain a choice, she tapped her comm badge. =/\= Tessaro to Akioka, you have a go. Be aware, the Second-Mate was recently on the John Bull and is not responding to Comms. I'll be there in a short. =/\=
"Captain you're welcome to come with. You're still to return to the station until this situation is resolved."
Captain Harrarr was in complete disbelief. "Nah....nah, just no! There's no way that Sheila was involved with those fanatics! She's been my Second-mate for over 8 years!" He said, refusing to believe what the Officer was saying to him. "You can go ahead and check down there, but I'm not gonna believe that she had anything to do with this hogwash!" He said defiantly.
"Under different circumstances Captain, I'd agree. At the present, it's a bit suspicious. For all our sakes, I hope you're right."
She turned to the turbolift entrance. "Fitzwallace, McNally stay here on the bridge. Landingham you're with me."
(Deck 16)
The security team took up position outside the door to the main cargo hold. As soon as the doors were opened wide enough, the team moved into the large room. They cautiously moved forward in groups of two, sweeping the room for anyone who might be present. Leaving four in main engineering, Parson took the remaining security guards to deck 16 to provide backup.
Second-Mate Sheila Montegomery stood before the computer terminal in the inner portion of the cargo hold. It was the largest area within the ship, typically used to transport large shipments or smaller vessels. The cargo hold currently held several large creates that had been delivered by a Lissepian transport. Even she didn't know what was inside of the cargo and it troubled her. As Second-mate it was her duty to be aware of all deliveries brought onboard. However, this particular delivery paperwork was classified only for the Captain's eyes.
=/="This is a Human vessel and we have certain protocols we follow Mahkdun!" Shelia said tersely. "Our sensors can't even penetrate that thing to find out what the hell is in it!"=\= She continued, her anger rising.
The Lissepian transport Captain leveled an impenetrable stare at the woman. =/= "That is not our problem. We are under particular orders to deliver the product as is. Our customary fee was increased when we learned that we were to transport it to a Starfleet facility." The Captian responded. "As to its contents, you can take it up with the originator of the contract." He said as he looked briefly at his console. "The Raddon Corporation" He said as he returned his unfeeling gaze back onto the angry Human female.
"Raddon. . ." Sheila said, the name registering with her quickly. She knew that whatever was in those crates were not for her to know about. . .at all. The Raddon Corporation frequently used the Veridian Dream to transport sensitive items when it did not want to draw the attention of others.
=/= "Fine, but I still want to kn---" She was interrupted by the abrupt shouting of several Starfleet Officers behind her.
The Second-Mate was located in the middle of the cargo hold. She didn't appear to be hostile, but no one was taking any chances.
"Starfleet security! I need to see your hands!"
=/= "Sheila to Bridge, what the hell is Security doing he---" =\= She tried to call out; however, she received feedback from her communication unit. It was obvious that the cargo package's shield was interfering with communications throughout the deck, preventing communications.
Once they had her attention, the security team continued with their instruction. "Interlace your fingers and place your hands on top of your head. Turn away from the sound of my voice and kneel down, your ankles crossed."
Sheila turned around quickly and searched towards the voice shouting at her.
"What the hell are you doing here!?" She said, not entirely convinced that the intruders were actually Starfleet Officers. "Who are you??" She said as he made motion towards her sidearm.
Multiple phasers were trained on her as Sheila made a motion for her sidearm. "Hands where we can see them, or we will shoot!"
Having followed the last team into the cargo bay, Ensign Akioka answered the question. "Ma'am, we're with station security. We have a few questions about the cargo and your recent trip to the John Bull"
Sheila saw the numerous weapons aimed on her and recognized that she did not stand a chance of out shooting them. "This is a private Federation vessel. You have no right to just march on here like you own the place!" She said defiantly. "Besides, our cargo manifest is confidential. I want to speak directly with your supervisor!" She replied.
"I'm well aware we have boarded a freighter and not a Starfleet vessel. However, by doing business with DS5, your ship and its crew have agreed to certain regulations."
Another voice joined in the conversation, as Annora entered the cargo bay.
"Ensign Akioka is correct. With a few exceptions, Starfleet stations have jurisdiction over the surrounding space for 400 Kilometers. If you wish to wait to answer questions until we return to the station and you have access to a lawyer, that's your right. In which case, I'll just get permission from Captain Harrarr to inspect the cargo. Your choice."
To be Continued…
21 April 2020
17:24
Commander Maritza Soran
Commanding Officer
DS5
Lieutenant Annora Tessaro
Chief Security Officer
DS5
Lieutenant Silar Trellis
Undercover Operations Co-ordinator
DS5
Antagonists NPCs by Dorian Gabriel
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