Firebug

Posted on Sun Jan 23, 2022 @ 5:42pm by Lieutenant T'Lul & Civilian 'Key Holder' Yolanthe Ibalin

1,406 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Si vis pacem, para bellum
Location: Promenande
Timeline: MD 14 2200

[ON]


T'Lul had not intended to appoint herself the leader of a rebellion. However, the petty officer, Silje Carter, while she had taken the initiative to set up a meeting had only managed to get people together. She had no direction. Lieutenant Ace Cannon seemed to be more interested in Silje Carter and Andi Williams than the rebellion. Oddly, T'Lul noted, despite his obvious flirtations with both women, neither seemed to have objected to being the target of his affection. The Vulcan made a note of this fact for study later. As to the remainder, the plan seemed to be merely to resist without any direction of how or any way to communicate. When T'Lul pointed out these flaws, she suddenly found that everyone was listening to her.

T'Lul's intent was to discuss this with Yolanthe. She had some insights that T'Lul did not and, truth be told, T'Lul was fond of Yolanthe's company. To T'Lul's disappointment, however, she found that Yolanthe had been captured by the Cardassians. What they intended to do with her, she was not certain. However, as Yolanthe seemed to be essential to the improvement of morale on DS5, logic dictated that T'Lul must find away to remove her from her current predicament. How she could do so without revealing herself as part of Starfleet, which had already left, eluded T'Lul.

With this predicament being calculated, as well as attempting to calculate the most probable ways to disturb the Cardassians without being caught, she had found herself in a discussion with a rather rash woman named Angharad.

"I have a solution."

T'Lul answered, "I would be most interested in hearing it. Please proceed."

"It involves fire."

"This does not sound like a promising solution. We are not intending to harm anyone."

Angharad looked over and batted her eyelashes. "Only a little fire."

"I get the distinct impression that your definition of little and mine are different. Nonetheless, I would hear your proposal, even if it is highly probable that your proposal will not be sound."

"You want her out, yes? Then you've got to make it more expensive to the spoonies to keep her, than let her go. fact 1:" Angharad flicked her lighter open and passed her hand through the yellow flame. "Everyone knows she actually likes spoonies, and has way more patience for them than most places round here, even before the invasion. Fact 2:" She waved her hand back again, and shut the lighter. "Everyone likes her. If she asked people to dial back their trouble making and stop setting fires," she snapped the lighter open again, "they would."

Something did not seem completely correct about Angharad's logic. Yolanthe had never mentioned liking Cardassians to T'Lul. And while the Vulcan had to agree that Yolanthe was nearly universally liked, it sounded like Angharad was encouraging the exact opposite result from Yolanthe that T'Lul was encouraging, which was a rebellion. Then again, Angharad was only suggesting reducing fires and that did not eliminate other methods of causing trouble.

The Vulcan continued to observe Angharad, trying to ascertain what she could learn about this individual. In watching her pass her hands through fire, it was highly probable that she was a pyromaniac. The question that T'Lul had was whether Angharad could control herself to limit her activities if she went along with it. Finally, the Counselor decided, "There is some logic to your idea. Simply breaking her out would make Yolanthe a fugitive and would not assist further plans. Having the station populace become unruly would exert undesirable pressure on the Cardassians, perhaps enough to allow her out."

Angharad let the lighter tumble over knuckles and back. "Of course there's logic to the idea. You can't break her out. You can't let the Cardassians ship her off to some gulag. You've got to remind them why her here, walking around, is better." The lighter snapped open. "It will mean we have to be a bit random. Look like disinfected masses, not like planned sabotage or nothing."

"And exactly how do you intend to connect said fires to Yolanthe?" T'Lul asked curiously. "Simply having random fires does not logically lead to your conclusion."

There was a pause. Angharad had plainly not got that far. "Well, maybe we need to make it a bit more than fire. General unrest needin' an appeal to calm and the like. Maybe get some eggings in. Or smuggle some voles or tribbles on board. That sort of shit."

"Tribbles?" T'Lul asked raising an eyebrow. "What credibility you had gained is diminished severely with that statement, Angharad. I fail to see how a Tribble would heighten anxiety. They are well renowned for their soothing effects, as well as their appetite and metabolism. One might think that you were asking me to endorse arson for the sake of your pleasure for arson."

"Klingons consider tribbles a class one bio-hazard. They nuke any planet they find them on from orbit, with extreme prejudice. They get everywhere. Stores, jeffires tubes, EPS conduits. Where they catch fire. Computer cabling, which they eat. Then catch fire. Under transporter panes and inside gravity coils..."

"But our adversary is not Klingons. They are Cardassians," T'Lul calmly and logically reminded Angharad. "And setting fire to Tribbles would be, as you might call it, inhumane."

Angharad shrugged. "Tribbles, cockroaches. Not much difference. Well. Cockraoches are less destructive. You want the spoonies kicking Rainbow Bright out of whatever hole they've got her in and telling her to make it all stop? We have to get a little messy. But if bio terrorism is out, we're back to burnings, which probably isn't interesting enough." The lighter made a reappearence, spinning between finger and thumb, before being flicked open and shut, the flame just a brief flash. "What about a riot?"

"Rainbow Bright?" T'Lul asked before she rose both of her eyebrows. "An apt and humorous description of Yolanthe." She then thought for a moment and asked, "A riot might work," T'Lul admitted hesitantly. "There is a great deal of risk people would get injured and we would need people we could trust to control the mob. The psychology of mobs is quite intriguing and letting it get out of control would be detrimental to our goal."

"Herding mobs is your job, but I can give you a pointer there. Find Dorian Gabriel. He'll give you your mob, I'll get you some collateral damage to go with it."

T'Lul blinked twice, not knowing whether collateral damage was just going to be fun for Angharad or whether she actually intended to assist. The woman definitely had a proclivity for calamities and destruction. "Very well. I will take your suggestion." She rose and took a stride or two away from Angharad before turning back and corroborating, "So, we are agreed that you do nothing until after I have consulted with Dorian Gabriel to get the mob, correct?"

"Okay." Angharad huffed, and this time the flame on the lighter stayed open for a long moment. Then she said. "Be careful with Gabriel. He's one of the human supremacist types. You know, convinced aliens are taking over and are going to make humans a second class species? Right wanker."

The Vulcan raised her eyebrows and then tilted her head to the right curiously. "And your basis for that analysis regarding Gabriel?"

Angharad gave the Vulcan a pitying look. "He worked at the Dilithium Chamber, though if you mean the other thing, I'm guessing its cos he's the sort who's too proud to use the holodecks like the rest of us."

To T'Lul, it sounded like Gabriel might be an upstanding individual if she thought that he was "too proud." Certainly, he likely rated to be of much better character. Noncommittally, T'Lul told Angharad, "I see. I will take your warning under advisement. After I have coordinated with him, we will be in contact to coordinate this scene." The tone of T'Lul's voice made it clear that she was done speaking barring Angharad re-engaging.

"Coolcoolcool" the human womanflicked her lighter in her hand. "You know how to reach me. I'm off to check how to sabotage the fire suppression off on the promenade."

T'Lul opened her mouth in protest and shut it wordlessly. Angharad was somewhat unpredictable but as long as she did not act prematurely, T'Lul calculated that the probability of Yolanthe being freed had increased by 40.21 percent.

Lieutenant T'Lul
Chief Counselor

and

Angharad
Fire Bug

 

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