The “Milli-Cochrane Caper” {Act 2.5a}
Posted on Sat 6th Mar, 2021 @ 10:47pm by Renato Solis & Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Lieutenant Commander Alora Baro & Lieutenant Commander Dallas Briggs
1,975 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Business Not At All As Usual
Location: Brown Sector/Dr. Graves' Office
Timeline: MD 4, 1500
-Start-
Meanwhile, in Cmdr. Graves' Office ....
Renato had run the simulation of what would happen next a thousand times in his mind. He knew the response would be for them to come to the Security HQ. They would scrutinize, seek to discredit, try to dig and find some ruse at work. Playing the game of psychology carefully, Renato declared a larger threat then he felt was necessary to ensure the attention was given. Forty decks drawn in red highlight showed immediate peril, and would have to be responded to. They would chop it down, using the areas where officers already worked, would eliminate seventy percent of the area in the first breaths of the meeting. That was fine, his evidence was solid, somewhere in the nooks and crannies a shadow hid a villain, he just needed their help to search it all in time.
"Four in the hospital, two dead. An apparition every day, somewhere within this area, extrapolated by the short-range discrimination patterns detected at the axiomicromic level and cross-referenced by location, yielding the ideal parameters are truly here on deck 2243, or 2244, ancillary wardrooms and overflow housing..." Renato was muttering, and looked to Paul sheepishly, "Do you care for the Terran movies "Kowbois?" He was clearly making words for distraction, "I saw an Entertainment of Terran media, 'The Hateful Eight,' are you familiar?"
"I'm not familiar with them at all," Paul said. "What's causing you to think of them?"
"All that killing... Maybe... I don't know. The desolation of the wilderness, nobody to call for help. My instincts don't like to think people can take joy in killing but with this case, what is going on here aside from willful serial murder?"
Paul grimaced. "My people don't much care for that genre of Terran entertainment. As for the deaths these apparitions cause--I'm not entirely convinced that they are willful, despite the malevolence that seems to accompany them, but they are certainly deadly, and we must find a way to stop them and get to the truth of the situation."
The desk chime cut off further pondering, Paul answered the hail. A young Bolian appeared on display with a stern demeanor, "Hold for Security Office..."
Renato sat up, the moment was here, he looked to Paul to get a grip on reality, glad his friend was there.
A beautiful Asian woman appeared on the screen. "I'm Lieutenant Commander Ming Wah. I'm the acting Chief of Security for the station. I'm getting some really strange reports, what is going on down there?" Ming wasn't demanding in her request, she just wanted to know exactly what was happening.
"Thank you, Commander Wah," Paul said. "I refer you to Mr. Solis, who wrote the report," Paul added and gestured for Renato to speak.
"Renato Solis Ma'am, resident of Brown Sector. I brought testimony to local law, but got no answers, so I was fortunate to have Commander Graves look over my report and send it your way. I was witness to events, and there have been other events I believe are linked to the machinations of a man named Theophilus Boule. It is all outlined in my report, I'd be glad to answer any questions."
"Well since there have been injuries and even death aboard a Starfleet asset, I can assume command of the situation according to Article 14, Section 31 of Starfleet regulations. I'd like to meet for a face-to-face while Security forces are being recalled. I have an idea of how to approach this situation," Ming said as gears turned in her head. They needed to resolve the situation soon, before anyone else was hurt or killed. This was now her show.
Paul nodded at hearing the regulation she named. "Very well. Where would you like to meet, Commander?" Paul asked.
"I'd like for you to come to my Briefing Room. That should give me time to get a few things organized and to make a call to Sheriff Li before I set on any toes." Ming paused. "Let's meet in about an hour?"
"That's fine. We'll see you in your briefing room then." Paul glanced at Renato. "Do you have anything you want to add?"
Afraid to spoil the success so far, he decided against sharing the dozen or so leads that he felt could be supplied but didn't bolster confidence. So he shook his head at Paul, silently confirming the deal was struck. It was simply marvelous to stand in a room of people with responsibility again, an old flame of leadership and integrity was being kindled within. The Starbase was his home, and he knew it very well, if this was the beginning of a cooperation then it was welcomed.
Before anything else was said, an alert sounded on both their screens.
=/\=Station Security Alert, Alarms registered: "...Kya Adtanis calling Security, Medics to Zodiac, Deck 2249, Sector 12, outside Proshky's Sandwich Shop.
Renato heard the panic in her voice, he stood to his feet swiftly calling out for her, "Kya!"
His eyes wide in panic Renato turned to Paul, "We must help her!" Without waiting for the answer Renato bolted out of the office.
(Community Center "Renato's" - Brown Sector}
"Where shall we go first?" Reon asked Kya. "I've heard something about the Zodiac, but I don't know anything about it. Is that a place you'd like to have lunch?"
With a brisk nod she replied, "It's a series of stalls of booths really, the name isn't important unless you really like it. So I have three names for you, "Sloppy Joseph's, Poor Praasad's, and Proshky. No context on those, you pick which one, they are all good." The game was fun, and she enjoyed the tease.
"Wow, that's ... different," Reon laughed. "Okay, let me think ... that last one you said, Prossie's? That sounds ... uh, edible?"
"It's a rolled 'r' right after the 'p', P.rrroshhkeyyy and good call. It's a Human food that is identical to Bajoran Edalla cakes stuffed with whatever left over bits are on the cutting board. I say they stole it and gave it that cool name to sell the same stuff to Humans, but with an alien flair. Delicious appropriations though."
Kya felt fluid and bouncy in her limbs, the world weariness had abandoned her for the moment. They began to walk to the concourse path leading to the Zodiac. She was going to have fun, damn it.
"P.rrroshhkeyyy," Reon laughed. "You'd think that learning Spanish first would help me with those rolled letters, but not so much. Thanks for the explanation, but it all sounded like Klingon to me. I'll try it, and then I'll understand it. You're a smart woman, and I'll bet anything you've analyzed their marketing strategy correctly," he smiled down at her. "I'm wondering if I should pick your brain for marketing strategies for Miss Lantz. She's pretty good, but she's always on the look out for something new."
Kya furrowed her brow a bit at being called a smart woman so plainly, she giggled a bit. He was cute, so it was ok to be awkward a bit. "Well we can work on accents and tongue placements another time then." She said it with zero irony, in a serious way, then winked at him subtly shifting back to facing forwards.
Reon did a double take. Wait. Did she wink when she said that? His mind flooded with possibilities and kept him off balance as they approached the cafe with his chosen sandwich.
As they got closer, a scream overtook the pleasant and sultry thoughts comfortably resting in their shared moment, erasing the banter between them in a moment as Kya readied herself. Ahead, a portion of the Zodiac with a few food stalls and seats had become a whirlwind of activity. Flashing lights of cerulean and iridescent green seemed to lash in flickers towards power sources, making the lights dim and short. While almost everyone scattered, an Argelian man fell in apparent agony, clutching his temples and bleeding from his orifices. Kya remembered Renato's discussions on these, had written them off as something hyperbolic or stretched beyond reality by retelling.
She looked to Reon, "Don't look directly at it, it will blind you!"
Remembering her Civilian conduct training she placed her first call ever to Station security as herself. A former life had known this process well, and she had stayed well clear of it until now. There was no hesitation, though.
=/\= Kya Adtanis calling Security, Medics to Zodiac, Deck 2249, Sector 12, outside Proshky's Sandwich Shop.=^=
The wounded Argelian had been left behind, but now the blinding lights had subsided once the energy feeds from around the apparition had shorted out. Kya darted for the man, keeping her eyes averted, but the glow was tolerable. A Human male fluxed inside a columnar beam containing the sparkles which melted off of the form into the places embers go. The sound of the heat and tearing power currents drowned out the voice but at a low level now, an audible tone could be heard. She grabbed the Argelian, desperately hoping whatever this was didn't mean harm and dragged the unconscious man away from the spectacular form.
He whispered underneath the yelling"..."Dresdione ... you're Evil...", spoken in a demonic growl, "He will/ I will kill you!.." Sputtered out in terrifying staccato, "...To live forever..." was parsed from the gibberish. He spoke over himself, displaced in time, repeating the same technical phrases, "457 Megawatts applied..." and, "Calibrated manifolds..."and, "...insufficient containment will kill..." dripping particle by particle into the ether.
Startled at first, both by events and by Kya's warning, now that Reon saw her rush into danger herself, he was right on her heels, helping to drag the injured man away from whatever frightful spectre he could hear, but refused to look at directly.
When they had the man far enough away, he dropped to his knees and began a rough medical check, based on his previous life and training. "What in the hell was that? Did you record that thing?" he asked, knowing he hadn't, and not expecting an answer as he searched for a heart beat.
"I have a pulse, high and thready. Where are those medics? I don't know what else to do for this species!" Velasquez exclaimed, feeling inadequate.
The blinking staccato lights of the fiery form were retreating down the hall, the lowered noise allowed them to talk easier, "Renato was telling me about these... appearances, they affect telepaths more severely. This man must have telepathic senses! Distance from event... and beta wave blockers!" Her experience was rooted in long nights of keeping Renato in a Faraday cage for his senses seeking the drug addled mind.
They tended to the poor man as the sounds and furious lights receded into the depths of the deck's storage areas. Though they worked valiantly, it was only the distance from the ghost's retreat which eased the man's convulsion. Medics and Security arrived shortly thereafter but the thing had gone on, wherever it was.
She saw Renato running with the security forces to come to her rescue and smiled. A year ago, to tell Renato he would be running with law enforcement as a colleague would have been laughable. Now she was so proud to see him living large she felt her heart bursting,
"My Hero..." is how she greeted him as he ran to her.
He was on a mission, grim demeanor and set jaw. She knew the look, " and I am ok. It went down Corridor C, be careful, this man is a telepath, it affects you more!"
Without a word, he grasped her shoulders grateful she was unharmed, the beat passed and his demeanor returned, "Kya..."
She shook her head, "We've talked about this, now go, stop this man from doing... whatever this all is."
-End-
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