What the Hell are you doing?

Posted on Wed May 11, 2016 @ 2:22am by Lieutenant Liam Reynolds & Captain Maritza Soran

2,220 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Pangaea (Wrap up)
Location: CSO Office, Deck 15
Timeline: Pangaea MD 14 0700

::ON::

With the new planet, Maritza had a lot of work on her plate, and her weeks leave of absence had made it even worse. But in a stack of alarming reports, one gave her a real headache. What was going on with the Ferengi terrorists who'd held the children hostage.

Ryan's write up on the situation seemed to contain holes, and when she'd raised the issue with Aldrex all he'd said was he was aware and handling it.

And to compound insult to injury was the diplomatic attachments idea of solving the problem. This needed an explanation. She tapped her commbadge. "Commander Soran to Reynolds. Report to my office immediately."

Liam had literally been back on the station the whole of 30 minutes. 15 or those had been getting cleared by sickbay and given a direct order that a full mission report on the events of Pangaea be in by the end of play today. He had got back to his quarters, not bothered to undress and just flopped down on his bed ready to drift off when he received a summons from a Commander Soran. Groaning, he pulled himself back up and as it insisted straight away wasted no time, not bothering to change into a clean uniform.

He managed to work out half way through the turbo lift ride exactly who Commander Soran was. The second officer. The one who had been unavailable for him to report into the week he had landed on DS5 due to very unexpected compassionate leave.

He had to ask the computer to point the way, not remembering how he had located the office the time he had tried to see her. However he knew exactly what this was about. It had to be the Ferengi.

"Reporting as ordered Commander," he stated as he was granted entry.

"When did you begin to condone piracy in Federation Space?" She asked him. No greeting, no enquiry after his condition. Straight to the point.

"So this is about the Ferengi," he stated not breaking eye contact in the slightest. He could feel a swirly mass of heated anger emanating off the blond in front of him. "When did you condone that sending a squad to board their ships was the answer without considering any sort of cultural practices of an alien race?"

"After the third time they refused to dock and apply for compensation and failed to consider our cultural practices of considering kidnapping a crime. They decided in a time of crisis to hold children hostage. And you undermined our line on the matter by worming up to them and paying them under the table."

"I cleaned up your mess Commander," Liam stated. "I have spoken to the Ferengi Ambassador. Those children were not kidnapped. They had room to rescue them from the school when the station ordered evacuation. The school did not have enough life pods. And as for whatever you offered them, clearly you didn't offer full cost or communicate correctly. Of course they wouldn't take the first offer, or the second or third. They are Ferengi. Its a negotiation. They hold out for the best they can get. You should have pulled Mortimer in to do it. But no as usual, someone doesn't toe the line exactly as you want them too so instead send the guns in blazing. It worked out brilliantly. Well done."

"Mr Reynolds," she said very quietly. It was at complete odds to the vibrating rage echoing in his direction.

"Under conditions of abandon ship they were obliged to take as many as they could. Instead of respecting that obligation, which supercedes cultural practices, they extorted a rescue by raping a 16 year old. Please clarify for me what part of that deserved tea and cake at the lotus lounge?"

"Oh so its Mr Reynolds now. Not just Reynolds," Liam stated not fooled by the eerily calm voice she was projecting in the slightest. This women had a huge stick up her arse that was for sure. Mind you the huge blond plaits tightly pinned up her head made him wonder if she needed that stick up there just to keep her balance.

"First up nobody was raped. Or at least what I know of it. A sleazy aid called Nazl managed to get a 16 year old to give him some Oomax. Or so he boasted. Directly to me. And I can't read Ferengi emotions. Four lobed brain something or other, so all I had was his word. But you don't know me from Adam so I will tell you now and hope that you take mine on this matter, don't think for a second I let that go. I notified the security chief immediately and I voiced the wrongs of that with the Ferengi Ambassador and made it very clear that it would be investigated."

"Secondly you cannot judge a whole species or group of people by the actions of just one. You handled the situation entirely wrong. Something had to be done to make it right, to rebuild relations or all that would have happened is the Ferengi threaten to leave and every other alien delegation on the station lose faith and trust in us. For your information Commander, that particular sleazy Ferengi was shown the door at the Lotus Lounge and got no tea and cake. I made sure of that."


Soran looked at him coldly. "Oomox is a sexual act. That station was coming down around our ears. Ergo that girl was in fear of her life. Any consent she gave would have been under duress. Effetively no consent could be given. Therefore rape at worst, assault at best And I do not consider being banned from a teaparty to be a suitable punishment for assault let alone rape."

She gave him a hard look. "You will secure his extradition to federation custody. And you will do it promptly. I expect him in the new ASOs hands in forty-eight hours. That is an order. Is any part of it unclear?"

"You seem to be focusing too much on a "teaparty". And rationalising it in your head that that was punishment for something, when that was in fact the olive branch. Try considering that. However, it would be an absolute pleasure to see that man extradited. I had no proof, I couldn't take it any further than to the security chief for investigation. I assume you have something now. The 16 year old has confirmed this or made allegations yes? Otherwise we will end up in another very unpleasant situation with the Ferengi and as your chief diplomatic officer I strongly advise against trying to extradite someone without an allegation or proof."

"Not a minute ago you said he had confessed to you directly." She pointed out. "That is more than enough to call him in for questioning."

"I said he admitted he had Oomax. He did not admit it was non-consensual," Liam stated. "You make an accusation like that and its not founded, your going to create a diplomatic incident. Are you unclear? It will be on you as your giving me that order." He clarified.

"You professional opinion is taken under advisement." She almost spat back. "The Order is given."

"Another thing Commander," Liam said. "I came to report in to you officially a few days back and was informed of your compassionate leave. Of which I offer my condolences."

The weird thing was, aside from the anger at the whole Ferengi situation this women was not projecting any kind of numbness or the sort of anger you normally got from someone who had lost someone. She was a bit of an enigma in everything he knew of grief from his counseling background.

The only warning he got was a sudden overwhelming wave of pure incandescent rage. That seemed to come from everywhere at once. Unseen force lifted him and he was slammed into the wall opposite Maritza's desk at head height and then smashed him to the floor.

Liam had felt anger from a women before, in fact the last year it had pretty much just been anger off all the women he knew but whatever just unleashed itself on him coming from her was unbelievably powerful. His mouth opened and yelled in agony as all his internal shields fell to the unexpected attack before he had even processed his voice was screaming. It froze him, he couldn't move except he was moving. He was moving up and it made no sense. His head was clonked pretty hard before, just as he got his bearings again, suddenly he was slammed down hitting the floor. Something clicked. Sounding awfully bone like.

Maritza knelt at his side. Face pale and frightened, fingers on his pulse.

Blood trickled from the side of his head that had collided with the wall. Everything was getting fuzzy as Liam struggled to keep consciousness and his head injury made things messed up in his head. "Malefic?? ......" he asked confused.

"On your feet," she urged him, "What the hell was that?"

"I don't ....." Liam started as the throbbing in his head intensified. "I don't think I can get to my feet."

He tried to open his eyes while his senses made sense of what had just occurred. There was another presence in that room. One - Maritza Soran who was still pissed off, scared it seemed very very scared. And not wanting to admit it. She just wanted to shuffle him out of here and forget whatever that was happened. The other was just plain evil. In fact whatever it was, was shooting out it was taking direct pleasure in just having caused that. It wanted to cause harm, no wonder his confusion had decided one of the goddess had taken form.

"You're hiding something," Liam said angrily his hand going up to the back of his head and pulling back with blood on it which he looked at and then shuddered at the pain that shot in his wrist. He suspected the crack had been one of the bones there. He reinforced his shields. Whatever it was, it had taken a lot out of it making that move. It was weak. It wasn't going to try it again any time soon.

"Only my impatience," she snapped. "I don't know what happened, but I know we don't want to stay here. So get up."

"Don't lie to me. I know when someone is hiding something. Empath remember. And I don't care if you hate that fact about me. When I get attacked in your office by some unseen presence and you just order me up without so much as an "Are you okay?," on our first meeting too. It does not put us on good ground Commander. You might not know what this dangerous thing was, but something is most definitely not right about you," he concluded finally getting to his feet.

There was howl inside his mind, primeval fury. It boiled up between them, thrusting Liam back into the wall. Maritza thrown clean across the room, landing on her desk, rolling across it and landing awkwardly on the floor.

And then the aura of fury vanished.

Liam was getting fed up now. But ever the gentleman, and despite bleeding her got up walked across the room and offered his hand to help her up. "It's smaller now" he stated expanding his gifts to read whatever it had left lingering behind. The presence was ebbing away. "Tired. Its tired."

She ignored his hand, and hauled herself up by grabbing onto the desk. "Its gone?" Trill telepathic abilities were intensely limited, only really good for facilitating symbiosis. Her head ached where she'd cracked against the desk, and her back throbbed with bruising. She rested her weight on her arm, trying to process what had happened and what to do next through her concussion.

"I suggest we go to sickbay. If your patience can take it," he snapped back at her as she got on her feet. "And then security, to report this malicious alien presence that likes to manifest in your office."

Maritza felt a stab of panic, and she wasn't sure why. It was the correct course of action. but a formless dread froze her agreement. "I'll go to Security." she said in the end. "You need sick bay."

"We both need sickbay. You got tossed around too. Security can come speak to both of us there if necessary," Liam said firmly. She was definitely hiding something.

"Soran to OPS. Requesting site to site transport for Liam Reynolds. My office to sick bay. Energise"

Liam swore in Betazed that she just pulled that instead of listening to him, then immediately said. "Reynolds to OPS. Commander Soran needs transporting to sickbay too. We have both just -."

His words disappeared in a shimmer of transport. With him away and safe she could concetrate on next steps. Except now her office seemed to be spinning. She must have hit her head harder than she thought. A concussion of her own She touched her commbadge "Soran to Security, There's a-"

She didn't finish. Something cold seemed to swill around the inside of her skull, and then everything went black.


::OFF::

Lieutenant Liam Reynolds
CDO, DS5

Lt. Commander Maritza Soran
2XO/Cheif Strategic Operations Officer

 

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